Keyboard Kommando Krusades for Freedom
Relax everyone - tonight you can rest easy. A pasty faced loser with an Internet connection is protecting us all from the crusading hordes of brown skinned people who wish to run rampant over our superior society. He's young enough to enlist, but he knows that people like him – white people with diplomas and no common sense – can better serve their country by fomenting anger and racist violence.
Oh, and that better be flavored tobacco in your hookah, 'cause Joe Kaufman is watching your terrsymp ass.
Kaufman's site is only one of a constellation of blogs ... that are dedicated to the surveillance of American Muslims. The blogs link to one another, with more-traveled sites amplifying stories from more obscure ones, like Kaufman's.
He claims he has not found a single mosque in Florida that is not linked to terrorists.
A lot of people are listening.
Last month, after Kaufman called a Tampa Muslim religious retreat a "jihad camp for children" and wrote that the speakers were "linked to al-Qaida," death threats poured in to the Presbyterian camp hosting the event.
Muslims say the blogs breed hate.
"He's spreading lies, slandering individuals," said Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the Tampa Bay chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "These are vigilantes."
Kaufman and other bloggers say their work is vital to the country's safety.
"I don't hate Muslims," Kaufman said. "But I'm going to fight to have the public understand that there are enemies of America ... that are living in America as we speak."
......Kaufman said he got his roommate kicked out of school for smoking marijuana.
"It made me feel ... that I finally punished the people who were punishing me all of my life."
On Sept. 11, 2001, watching the World Trade Center's twin towers fall, he said it felt again as if time had stopped.
"I decided, like I'd decided in college, to fight against hatred."
......The bloggers say they're safeguarding the country.
......Jennifer Valko opened her e-mail and saw a message of hate.
I will undress you paint your body with pig fat & light you. America is on to you! Watch your back!
It was the Thursday after Christmas. In two days, the Muslim spiritual retreat she had helped plan was scheduled to take place at Cedarkirk, a Presbyterian camp and conference center in eastern Hillsborough County.
That morning, Kaufman had appeared on Fox News to talk about the retreat.
On his Web site, he had posted articles about it. He posted computer-altered images of masked terrorists standing in front of the Lithia campsite.
He said these images were meant to be "tongue in cheek." But some readers took them seriously. Hate mail and death threats poured in to the Tampa Muslim American Society.
......But he added, "I can't let it stop me from what I'm doing. ... I'm assisting in the safety and security of the American people."
Other bloggers agree.
Robert Spencer of JihadWatch.com said his blog sometimes attracts racists. He bans them, he said.
But he won't stop blogging.
"If I give it up and go away and take up the saxophone, then what the heck is going to happen to society and to the rest of the world?" he asked.
Now, I was all ready to go off on this guy. I was warmed up, feeling the love, ready for action, and I remembered that someone had already done all the heavy lifting for me. And since it's easier to steal than to write,...
...I started to wonder who these people are and what bothered me about their approach to politics.
Then I thought back to high school and realized that all of the proto-Republicans were guys, nerds, who were physically slight, not fat, and had even less hope of getting laid than I and my friends did.
They weren't popular or funny or even pleasant to be around. They were, for lack of a better word, schmucks.
Now, years later, these guys like the NRO staff, talk tougher than a room of SEALs trying to impress Vegas showgirls. They want to hang and kill traitors, confront liberals. Now, I laugh, because I'd bet that these people haven't ever been in a fist fight in their lives. I mean, Jonah Goldberg went to a girl's college for God's sake, and couldn't get laid there. In fact, if you asked, they'd probably find him repellent. He probably didn't even make female friends.
LGF is a collection of losers, the creepy guys at work, the people in the Star Trek club, the guys who can't get a date, even on Match.com. The ones that call themselves nice guys and talk about women as if the Handmaid's Tale was a liberal treatise, who worship at the alter of Kim Du Toit. They vent their anger online.
As a black guy, you learn to size these folks up quickly. They may whisper nigger under their breath, but when confronted, they run like little girls. You know they're punks.
......These guys are conflicted. They don't have any personal courage. They know they're suppsoed to, but they cringe at the idea of confrontation. But they create this image of machismo which makes people laugh.
Ever seen a Freeper rally? You could wet one with a few water balloons. No, Freeperland is for the frustrated Wal-Mart manager with the cheating wife and fat kids. He rails against the world. LGF is the junior loser version.
Instead of sucking up to the jocks, they want to suck up to people in power. So they worship Bush, not because they agree with him, but because they need that power in their powerless life. They feel stomped on by everyone, but they feel like big men online or in their little chickenhawk rallies.
They think liberals are these weed smoking 1960's rejects and who cringe at any possible physical confrontation. Come on, Ann Coulter cries when people toss shit at her, Goldberg? Stupid fat coward. If you slapped him in the face, he'd run like the punk bitch that he is. He's too goddamn stupid to avoid confronting Wolcott and Juan Cole and being humiliated in the process.
......You know, I don't like Muslim terrorists either, but I certainly don't want to kill a bunch of kids to make me feel better.
......They shake and bluster and run their mouths, but that's it.
Peter Daou has a long piece on how blogs should work better with the Dems, but many liberals miss the point. On our side of the fence, we mobilize support, raise money and get the attention of the media and deal with the Dems on our terms. The right sees bloggers as junior partners, to do what they are told without question. We want to be seen as equals. Personally, I can live without central direction from the party.
But the point is that we fit in to the political world in different ways.
The difference is simple, while the right wails and whines about Daily Kos, they can't reproduce it, they can't tolerate disagreements while working for a common cause. They get angry when people don't go along with them. Notice the lack of comments and frequent bannings. Because their egos can't handle it. They suffer from a case of fragile ego disease.
......So all they can do is imagine the Turner Diaries coming to life , killing liberals instead of blacks, hanging them from the street lamps. Of course, that just feeds into their fantasies of omnipotence, imagining swatting their boss with a +9 power sword, as they do in an MMO or conquering imaginary Muslim foes like they do in Rainbow Six, when in reality, they're Melvin, the guy who eats tuna at his desk at lunch.
St. Pete NAACP joins chorus of tolerance
Uncle Tom Scott, the only black person on the Hillsborough BOCC, was happy to second Ronda Storms' declaration of war against gays. Uncle Tom says that he is not a bigot, and besides, even if he is, it's not the as bad as slavery.
Thankfully, Thomas Scott does not speak for the St. Petersburg NAACP.
We want you to know that we stand with you in your courageous fight against bigotry and prejudice.
The actions taken by the Hillsborough County Commission are an affront to us all who are actively fighting against racism, anti-Semitism, bigotry and injustice.
Institutional bigotry reminds us of a time not long ago when institutionalized racism was the order of the day in St. Petersburg and throughout the Southern state. It was only tthrough the efforts of decent men and women that we finally changed the hearts and minds of most people throughout the entire country. The struggle is still not over, hence we want you to know, and the Hillsborough Commissioners to know that bigotry has no place to hide anymore and that the dark shadows of injustice will be exposed to a new light of day throughout all of Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties.
Darryl Rouson, President
Trenia Cox, 1st Vice President
Harry Harvey, 2nd Vice President
Norman Brown, 3rd Vice President
Herb Snitzer, Chair, Press
So, where's Tampa's NAACP on this issue?
Also see:
NAACP unit decries vote on gay pride
Some cities give pride a capital P, for popular
Storms Irate At Gay Flier At A Library
Disagreeing with the gay lifestyle doesn't equal intolerance
Rove: liberals want troops to die
The SP Times blasts Karl Rove and the White House today for Rove's nasty speech in NYC this week.
Before an audience of cheering conservatives this week, Karl Rove lambasted liberals for their "moderation and restraint" in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war," Rove said. "Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."
What a despicable smear coming from the political right hand of the president of the United States. Democrats are demanding that Rove apologize or resign, but the White House defended his remarks and - get this - accused Rove's critics of engaging in partisan attacks. Only last week Rove was demanding that Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., apologize for comparing U.S. treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to the methods of Nazis, Stalin and Pol Pot. Durbin apologized. But Rove is hanging tough.
The Times gets it partially right: Rove's remarks were outrageous, and the double standards applied to this and the Durbin case are hypocritical, to say the least. Of course, Durbin was right. He apologized anyway, which just energized his detractors, and they continue to tenaciously attack him. This crowd sees an apology simply as a sign of weakness.
But the Times, like many other news outlets, is ignoring the most outrageous of Rove's remarks. Rove said that liberals strive to kill American troops. Not that liberals fail to support the troops or even that liberal policies would put them in danger, but that liberals want harm to come to American soldiers.
"Has there ever been a more revealing moment this year?" Mr. Rove asked. "Let me just put this in fairly simple terms: Al Jazeera now broadcasts the words of Senator Durbin to the Mideast, certainly putting our troops in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals."
The motives of liberals are to put our troops in greater danger. That's what he said, and that's what the White House is defending. They planned this offensive to distract from W's plummeting poll numbers, the Downing Street Memo and the rest of the increasingly bad news emerging from Iraq.
If these vicious clowns had simply dedicated the same energy and forethought to fighting terror, our troops would be safe at home right now celebrating the capture and trial of Osama rather than being sucked deeper and deeper into the Mesopotamian morass.
Now the White Hosue is trying to brush off the controversy as simply philosophical differences. Here's a philosophic reality check.
Democrats
Believe capturing the person primarily responsible for the attack should be a top priority.Republicans
It's been four years, and Osama bin Laden is still free, even though Bush's CIA chief says he knows where he is.Democrats
Investigate the intelligence failures that led to 9/11.Republicans
Do everything in their power to block the 9/11 Commission from doing its work.Democrats
Propose creating the Department of Homeland Security.Republicans
Push tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.Democrats
Believe we should have stayed the course in Afghanistan, not allowing the Taliban to resurge, the warlords to take power, and the opium trade to skyrocket.Republicans
Ignore Afghanistan as the situation worsens.Democrats
Believe that we should be honest with our troops about the reasons we go to war, give them everything they need to be safe, and make sure we go in with an exit plan.Republicans
Manipulate intelligence to trump up reasons to go to war, don't give our troops the support they need, constantly mislead the public about the direction the war is going, and fail to make an exit plan. And turn Iraq into the ultimate terrorist training ground.
Tampa Mayor comes out for fags
Tampa's Mayor Pam Iorio strapped on a microphone and stiffly thrust herself into the dark chasm of controversy yesterday as she came out in favor of fags.
Speaking to an, uh, artsy audience downtown, Iorio's comments drew moans of pleasure from some in the crowd.
One audience member who would only identify himself as “M.S.” commented lispily: “Oh, Jesus Christ!”
Elsewhere, a new alliance, The Gay Rights Association of Bay Area Sodomites, or GRABASS, was formed in order to further the homosexual agenda and increase recruitment of future gays and lesbians within the boundaries of Hillsborough County.
One of the primary GRABASS missions will be coordination. A committee was immediately formed to study the exact hue of the Pink Triangles that must now be worn at all times. Suggestions for coordinating outfits will be posted on the group's website.
Back in Tampa, County Commissioners were shocked when intimate details of a group sodomy party attended by many local politicians and business leaders were revealed.
Wearing snappy suits and anxious looks, Tampa Bay area leaders leapt from their chairs, whooped, hugged and pumped their fists.
According to witnesses, it was a veritable orgy of fisting and pumping. Ronda Storms has vowed to closely study film of the event to determine any possible violations of God's law. A personal aide to the commissioner, sent out to fetch some batteries, would only say that Ronda was ”Hard at work and unavailable to comment.”
MORE:
Tampa Tribune: Mayor: Gays Deserve Respect
Storms said ``the intent of the motion is clear'' but didn't offer further explanation. She said the policy is being ``construed and described in inaccurate ways,'' including an Internet site claiming gays will be arrested in Hillsborough.
Sp Times: Iorio challenges county after ban on gay pride
Full BlogWood coverage
Storms protects us all
After long and hard debate, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms (R – Homophoburbia), working with a super majority of County Commissioners, pushed through legislation yesterday that will protect us all from the subversive and predatory practices of the small 'g' gays.
The discussion went like this:
Storms: "I move that we adopt a policy that Hillsborough County government abstain from acknowledging, promoting or participating in gay pride recognition and events, little g, little p."
Castor: "I think it's inappropriate for government to promote discrimination."
The new policy was then voted on and passed 5-1.
Inspired by library books that do not explicitly condemn sodomy, These new rules should ensure that Hillsborough residents will never again have to face the sudden ejaculation of silence that inevitably results from the surprise revelation that the coworker who likes to suck your dick during lunch is not just being friendly but is, in fact, an actual small 'g' gay.
§ 175 Lewdness between men
I. A man who engages as the active or passive partner in lewdness with another man is to be punished by imprisonment.
II. With an involved party who at the time of the act had not yet reached the age of twenty-one years, the Court can refrain from punishment in mild cases.
§ 175a Severe lewdness (Schwere Unzucht)
A punishment of up to ten years in the penitentiary, and even with mitigating circumstances no less than three months imprisonment for:1. a man, who by force or by threat of harm to life and limb forces another man to engage in such an act as either the active or passive partner;
2. a man, who by abusing a dependency founded in a service-, work-, or employment-based relationship coerces another man into engaging in such an act as either the active or passive partner;
3. a man over twenty-one years old who entices a male under twenty-one years old to engage in such an act as either the active or passive partner;
4. a man who professionally offers himself for such an act as either the active or passive partner.§ 175b Bestiality
Unnatural fornication of a man with a beast is to be punished by imprisonment; a sentence of loss of civil rights may also be passed.
(Remember: only UNnatural fornication is to be punished. Natural beastial relations shall be excluded from the statute.)
As well as spelling out the punishment for the sweaty, passionate consummation of man love, Ronda's new rules will help those butch leather clad policemen identify the enemy as it codifies a dress code of sorts for the small 'g' gays who dare to live and work amongst normal folk.
From this day hence, small 'g' gays shall be required to display a pink triangle on their person at all times that they are in a public place. (Small 'd' dykes shall wear a black triangle, and a veritable rainbow of other colors may also be worn depending on one's own personal preferences.)
Hopefully, these much needed new rules will help to keep the incorrigible homosexuals and their literature out of our libraries. I think that Hillsborough resident Carolyn Nowell speaks for us all.
"My concern is that it would actually increase the homosexual population because it's sending a signal to children that it's okay,"
These children, from a small town in Pennsylvania, were not so lucky as to live in such an enlightened place as Hillsborough County. They received that signal that “it” is okay, and now the boys are flamboyantly displaying flowery hats.
The only downside that I can see in this legislation is that it might not go far enough.
What if a gay student group wants to meet at a county library or any other meeting space?
Only on that point would Storms elaborate. "We're not saying that because of your sexual orientation you can't come into the library," she said.
Hopefully, that little oversight will be rectified next time.
County Commission debates censorship and discrimination today
I get mail...
(Wednesday June 15) the Hillsborough County Commission is considering two library issues that could limit what you read and watch: one to prevent the library from purchasing any DVD's which are not "educational" and one to prevent the county from expending any funds for Gay Pride events and materials (which affects the library collection too). Please attend the commission meeting if you can, or call your commissioner to express how you feel about these proposed changes. See http://www.tampasafeandfree.org/library.html for agenda items and details.
District 1 - Kathy Castor - 813-272-5470
District 2 - Ken Hagan - 813-272-5452
District 3 - Thomas Scott - 813-272-5720
District 4 - Ronda Storms - 813-272-5740
District 5/At-Large - Jim Norman - 813-272-5725
District 6/At-Large - Brian Blair - 813-272-5730
District 7/At-Large - Mark Sharpe – 813-272-5735
And from another correspondent:
Wednesday, June 15, the Board of Hillsborough County Commissioners (BOCC) will consider some very important issues that impact every single one of us, including Item F-9: “Discussion regarding the adoption of a policy that Hillsborough County government abstain from promoting and participating in Gay Pride recognition and events.” This item relates to Commissioner Storms’ objections to the gay and lesbian literature displays in the public libraries in honor of national Gay Pride Month. As you can see, however, the issue in question has broadened beyond a little innocent book banning.
In today’s Tampa Tribune, Commissioner Storms is quoted as saying that “it’s not appropriate for the library to be introducing issues of sexuality to people’s children without their consent.” Jim Norman said that the issue is about “celebrating a controversial lifestyle.”
Folks, this is not good. Please take action and join me tomorrow at the BOCC meeting. Please show solidarity with your fellow citizens who recognize that this is ignorance, bigotry and censorship of the first order, who recognize that even entertaining this issue as an agenda item is the first step on a very slippery slope. Even if you do not wish to speak, please join us. It is vital.
Here are the details:
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
County Center
601 E. Kennedy Blvd., 2nd Floor
9:00 a.m. Call to order, invocation, Pledge of Allegiance
9:10 a.m. Public comments begin and continue for 45 minutes. (Note: if you want to speak, you must sign in beforehand. Three minutes are allowed per speaker.)
Here’s what you should know:
The commissioners’ premise is utterly false: they are framing this question in terms of “sex,” not who people are at the very core of their beings. It is ludicrous to assert that the library is “introducing issues of sexuality” by showcasing gay-themed books by gay and lesbian authors. We are not one-dimensional beings, and our sexuality – whether it is heterosexuality, bisexuality, asexuality, or even, yes, homosexuality – is but one aspect of who we are.
Beyond that, this issue is one of censorship, equal access to information for everyone, and of our county government’s accountability to all of us, not just a few constituents. Book banning is an extraordinary affront to American values and our Constitution. Libraries are important sources of information for everyone, regardless of background. Gay men and women are part of every family and community.
We need to question our commissioners: is our county government willing to abstain from “promoting and participating” in events that mark Hispanic and/or African-American heritage? All ethnic and minority groups, e.g. women?
Those are logical questions and they need to be answered.
Here’s what you can do now:
Pass along information about the BOCC meeting Wednesday. Attend if you can. Speak up if you’re able. Just be there. I hope to see you there.
Background:
Until we as a society become enlightened enough to uphold God's law, those of us who know the truth must remain ever vigilant against the perpetually rising tide of tolerance and understanding.
Also see Storms ‘n Norman.
Ronda protects the children
Ronda Storms (R – Homophoburbia) is continuing her remarkable crusade to rid our libraries of objectionable material.
Two Hillsborough County commissioners say public libraries are no place for Gay and Lesbian Pride Month exhibits.
Commissioner Ronda Storms said she will schedule the issue for a board discussion where she intends to ask that such displays be banned. As the mother of a 6-year-old daughter, she said she does not want to be forced to explain homosexuality and transexuality if her child passes such a display and starts asking questions.
"I do not want to have to explain to my daughter what it means to question one's sexuality," Storms said during a budget workshop Wednesday.
Commission Chairman Jim Norman said that he, too, is concerned and said a policy discussion is warranted given that commissioners approve how money is spent on library operations. He noted that commissioners have previously taken a stand on such issues, voting roughly a decade ago to yank county funding from the annual Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Commissioner Kathy Castor was alone in expressing opposition to such a move Wednesday.
"I would hope this board would not use this dais to promote discrimination," Castor said. "I think it would be a terrible thing to put something like this on the agenda."
The exchange came a day after a story in the St. Petersburg Times noted that a book display honoring Gay and Lesbian Pride Month was taken down at West Gate Regional Library in Town 'N Country after some patrons complained. Library officials have since said it was a misunderstanding that led to the dismantling of the display, which they intend put back up in another part of the building.
Now, before we criticize too harshly, we need to realize that Storms' primary concern is for the children.
After all, some people might say that recruiters for the homosexual lifestyle often target libraries, lurking amongst the stacks in stylish tight fitting shirts. Perfectly coifed, tanned and svelte, these agents of sin descend upon our youth with ribald tales of Tea Dances and interior decoration, luring innocent, genetically straight children into the hateful, flamboyant, and self-destructive world of Sponge Bob and Barney.
The following set of unretouched pictures, from an actual library in Pennsylvania, illustrate my point exactly.
In the first picture, we see a normal, average group of healthy children wholesomely mimicking the jingoistic fervor of their elders by sacrificing nothing to support our troops. Good kids!
Then the homosexual icon Sponge Bob Squarepants pays a visit to the library and is allowed to interact with the impressionable youth.
The final picture, taken soon after Mr. Squarepants' indoctrination class, shows the very predictable results: boys in flowery garb! What's next for our libraries? Disco lights?!?
I think that this proves beyond a doubt that we need to monitor not only the reading materials and displays that our public tax dollars pay for but also the activities and guests that our libraries sponsor.
Until we as a society become enlightened enough to uphold God's law, those of us who know the truth must remain ever vigilant against the perpetually rising tide of tolerance and understanding.
No Compromise
I don't mind politicians looking to cut a deal, well, because that's their job. But when I read the missives of Amy Sullivan and Kevin Drum, they say nice, moderate things about insane, immoderate people.
They say they're Democrats, they say they endorse the party, but then they want to talk to people who want to destroy it.
I don't want to have a discussion on values with the fundies, I want to prevent them from imposing their values on me. I don't want to coddle newspapers who are not my friend, but challenge them.
These people are not interested in a discussion, they want to win, they want to win and destroy everything we value in the process. It is not my fault the GOP invited them into the tent. However, it's their tent and when we're talking to people who believe the Grand Canyon is 6,000 years old, we're not able to have a rational discussion. Neither are they, as they will find out this week, either in losing the fillibuster fight or watching Senate business crawl to a halt.
FL GOP joins rush to silence independent voices
Citizens beware: it doesn't matter if you're right – if you fail to toe the line, you're wrong .
Lawmakers quietly eliminated a state office that was meant to review Florida education programs because the office was too often critical of state policy, critics of the move say.
Gov. Jeb Bush pushed for the elimination of the Council for Education Policy, Research and Improvement, and governor's office officials and House Republicans said it was because other officials could do the council's job.
Asked about the office's elimination, Bush said this week, "I think they should be given a proper burial."
The council was set up in 1980 by Gov. Bob Graham to evaluate college and university programs. Its duties were expanded in 2001.
The council recently pushed for a more costly prekindergarten program than state leaders approved and recommended spending more money on other programs to create new doctors instead of allowing universities to open new medical schools.
......Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, criticized the move.
"This is a very dangerous path when you start eliminating the only objective, independent research arm that is there to give you objective analysis," Ausley said.
CEPRI was a citizen board which seems to have agreed with about as many of Jeb!'s programs as they disagreed with – they were neither strident critics nor cheerleaders, and their refusal to support 100 percent of Jeb!'s agenda seems to have cost them their existence.
There is no compromising with zealots. They will take the smallest victories and turn them into precedents and toeholds and continue to claw and scrape until they get everything that they want. Then they'll decide they need more.
Which leads us to the nuclear option. A power grab that seeks to silence the minority. Attempts to reach a compromise are ongoing and misguided.
If it goes down this way, it's a huge loss for the Democrats. They will have put a bunch of extremists on the federal bench, and only preserved the right to filibuster in "extreme circumstances" and more importantly, only through the 109th Congress. All of the Supreme Court justices except perhaps Rehnquist can hold out until 2007 - and then the Republicans will make the same move to end the filibuster they are making now and we'll be back at ground zero.
......Sometimes it's better to just roll the dice. So everyone, whichever side you are on, call your senators and tell them, No Retreat, No Surrender.
Call your senators and call key GOP senators as well. This is important.
When I was a kid, I remember reading about how democracies ended. What surprised me was how often it was a peaceful takeover. Fascists took power in many places not through force, but through rigged elections, broken rules, and consolidation of power, all hidden behind flags and God and promises of glory.
Today, the fanatics who have seized the GOP are beginning their attempt to flagrantly defy a half-dozen Senate rules which have existed for generations in order to install federal judges more interested in ideology than legal precedent.
......If you haven't already... if you live in RI, ME, OH, SC, NE, AZ, AK, OR, PA, or VA, some of your Senators might be the last best hope to hold the line against this "nuclear option" and unprecedented seizure of Senate power.
......Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island
(202) 224-2921Susan Collins, Maine
(202) 224-2523Mike Dewine, Ohio
(202) 224-2315Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
(202) 224-5972Chuck Hagel, Nebraska
(202) 224-4224John McCain, Arizona
(202) 224-2235Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
(202) 224-6665Gordon Smith, Oregon
(202) 224-3753Olympia Snowe, Maine
(202) 224-5344Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania
(202) 224-4254John Sununu, New Hampshire
(202) 224-2841John Warner, Virginia
(202) 224-2023
And while you're dialing the phone, peruse The Top 10 filibuster falsehoods ... (click the link for all the details I cut out)
Falsehood #1: Democrats' filibuster of Bush nominees is "unprecedented"
Falsehood #2: Bush's filibustered nominees have all been rated well-qualified by the ABA; blocking such highly rated nominees is unprecedented
Falsehood #3: Democratic obstructionism has led to far more judicial vacancies during Republican administrations than Democratic administrations
Falsehood #4: "Nuclear Option" is a Democratic term
Falsehood #5: Democrats oppose Bush nominees because of their faith, race, ethnicity, gender, stance on abortion, stance on parental notification ...
Falsehood #6: Public opinion polling shows clear opposition to judicial filibusters, support for "nuclear option"
Falsehood #7: Filibustering judicial nominees is unconstitutional
Falsehood #8: Clinton's appellate confirmation rate was far better than Bush's rate
Falsehood #9: Sen. Byrd's alterations to filibuster rules set precedent for "nuclear option"
Falsehood #10: Democrats have opposed "all" or "most" of Bush's judicial nominees
Christians threaten Schiavo judges life
Selfish men are trying to make capital for themselves out of the cause of Terri Schiavo. (paraphrased) These people are well aware that her physical condition precludes any kind of recovery. Important parts of her brain are simply gone - replaced by spinal fluid, never to return.
But facts dont matter. These are the same people who incessantly harass women entering abortion clinics, who stalk doctors and use terrorist tactics to bully others into going along with them. These sick Christian fucks who claim to hold the value of human life above all else have absolutely no problem taking innocent lives, especially when their actions might lead to a little personal infamy.
Now theyre threatening the life of Judge Greer, a man who has carefully weighed every empty objection they have thrown his way, a man who has bent over backwards to accommodate the specious arguments and self-serving pap that is oozing from the brains of these supposedly healthy cowards.
When pressed, they claim that no threat was issued, but the aspiring martyrs have gotten the message, and they will take it to heart: Kill Judge Greer, and you will be rewarded.
Remember: these are the people that Fox News and Rush Limbaugh revere as heroes. These are the folks that Jeb! and Mel Martinez implicitly endorse as they try to invade your deathbed by legislating their own perverted version of morality. These amoral twits are the ones who are held up as examples for the rest of us to emulate.
Prayer vigil for Schiavo draws crowd
They came from as far away as California, Pennsylvania and Georgia and stood along the grassy roadside in Pinellas Park, praying out loud and asking, once again, for a miracle for Terri Schiavo.
More than 100 people gathered for a seven-hour vigil on Saturday outside the Woodside Hospice where Schiavo lives. A judge has ordered her feeding tube removed on Friday.
A parade of people took turns on a makeshift stage, lined with long-stem roses and baby's breath, calling the crowd a "modern day religious Calvary." Young men and women took turns holding a wooden crucifix on stage, a rosary dangling from Jesus' neck.
Speakers, including religious leaders from Virginia and New Jersey, urged the crowd to continue writing letters to lawmakers, signing petitions for the impeachment of Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer and trying to persuade hospice nurses to refuse to participate in the "scheduled killing" of Schiavo.
In remarks to the crowd, Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski mentioned the recent killing of an Atlanta judge. Greer, Malanowski said, probably will need more security now. He said he hopes "the judge sleeps well at night. His life is in danger."
More than a few people snickered.
Later, Malanowski, who has served in Largo churches and often visited Schiavo with her parents, said he meant nothing by the comment, except that all judges, particularly Greer, likely are taking security more seriously in light of the Atlanta incident.
He said the crowd assembled Saturday was peaceful, and no one was advocating violence.