The Progressive Puppy

Sugar's Rainbow: Dark Souls and Gradual Victories

North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx is trying to backpedal after crassly suggesting that the hate crime against Matthew Shepard was a hoax.  (Judy Shepard, Matthew's mother, was sitting in the house gallery at the time.)  The Republican congresswoman now says "hoax" was a poor choice of words.  I wonder how Foxx would feel if her own son had been savagely beaten and left hanging on a barb wire fence to die.  John Aravosis at AmericaBlog nails her intolerance to the wall.  Pam Spaulding brings the hammer.  (Yesterday the House of Representatives approved hate crimes legislation 249-175.) 

Students at Jim Hill High School in Jackson, MS, were told in no uncertain terms that gay students wouldn't be welcome at this year's prom.  The administration circulated flyers warning that: "All dates must be of the opposite sex."  Deb Price relates the story of a brave 17-year-old who stood up to school officials.

Adam Nagournery claims that the GOP is rethinking its position on same-sex marriage.  They're still against it - big surprise - but Nagournery says party leaders might consider placing the issue on the back burner.  From the NY Times.

The New Hampshire Senate on Wednesday passed legislation that would make the Granite State the fifth in the nation to grant Marriage Equality.  After a final vote by the state house, the measure will be heading to Democratic Governor John Lynch for his signature.  365gay has details.  And this just in: The Maine Senate has approved a bill to legalize same-sex nuptials.

Ben Smith at Politico reports that the fundie-backed National Organization for Marriage is hiring Carrie Prejean (Miss California) to star in a TV spot promoting its anti-gay agenda.  NOM is the organization whose phony "Gathering Storm" promo was ridiculed by human rights groups when audition tapes of untalented actors playing "real people" surfaced.  Prejean spoke out against Marriage Equality at the Miss USA pageant. (How long do you suppose it will be before Prejean is offered an anchor position on Fox News?)  

Over at The Advocate, Kerry Eleveld notes that President Barack Obama has already appointed 37 openly LGBT people to serve in key positions at the White House, setting him on course to become the most inclusive president in history.  (Proof, however, isn't in the pudding.  Joe.My.God discovers that Obama's famous "LGBT commitments" have been scrubbed from the administration's website.)

Despite the fact that France, Germany, Belgium, the UN's AIDS-fighting agency and the British medical journal Lancet have all called Pope Benedict's remarks about condom use  irresponsible and dangerous, the Vatican is standing behind its message.  (Been-a-dick said that condoms make the AIDS epidemic worse.)  From the Washington Blade.

Below is an inspiring trans-positive commercial for a bank in Argentina.  (via Pam's House Blend.)  Have tissues ready.

ProPup World - Connections, Responses, Entanglements

U.S. military commanders are hoping that an increase in troops and financial aid will result in curtailing the multimillion-dollar opium crop that finances the Taliban.  Under NATO rules of engagement, American forces are prohibited from attacking targets or people related only to narcotics production.  So they're pouring thousands of troops - and $250 million - into three Afghan provinces to convince farmers to switch crops.  (This is the plan?)

Five-year-old Edgar Hernandez is  "Patient Zero" in the Swine Flu epidemic that has MSM outlets slavering in pandemic anticipation.  The young boy, who survived the illness, lives in a tiny village in the Mexican state of Veracruzoff.  Although medical authorities insist that people cannot contract the virus from eating cooked pork, several countries are banning pork products from the United States, angering hog producers.  Pork sales at Walmart are down by single digits, a spokesman said.  The World Health Organization has raised the pandemic threat level from 4 to 5.  Schools are closing across the country.  Egypt is slaughtering every pig within its borders.  And I have small ham in the oven.

Yesterday a Spanish judge opened an investigation into the use of torture at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, following accusations by four former prisoners.  Judge Baltasar Garzon said that documents declassified by the US administration "have revealed what was previously a suspicion: the existence of an authorised and systematic programme of torture and mistreatment of persons deprived of their freedom."  Since 2005, Spain has adopted universal jurisdiction in cases of crimes against humanity, genocide, and terrorism.  (Remember the good old days when America took the moral lead in situations like this?)

The Worldwide Quality of Living Survey has named its fifty "most livable" cities on the planet.  Topping the list is Vienna, Zurich, Geneva, Vancouver, and Auckland.  U.S. urban centers don't show up until numbers 29 and 30, where Honolulu and San Francisco get a nod.  In the survey, political stability, security, air pollution, schools, and transport rank highly; while cutting-edge culture and architecture count for relatively little.  (No cities in my home state of Texas made the list.  Maybe it's because of that "political stability" requirement.  Damn the guv for threatening secession!)

Question: What current European monarch wields the most actual power?  Answer: Queen Beatrix of Holland, of course!   Queen Bea celebrates he 71st birthday this week amid rumors that she's preparing to abdicate the throne.  Her son, crown prince Willem-Alexander, is expected to assume the queenly duties, which will require him to quit his day job in water management.  (From sewer to scepter.  Thanks for the promotion, Mum!)

During Prince Charles' recent visit to the Vatican, the pope had planned to give him "a magnificent facsimile of the letter written by English peers to Pope Clement VII in 1530, pleading for the annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon."  But since Charles and wife Camilla are both royal divorcees, and His Worshipful disapproves of divorce, it was decided that the gift lacked "diplomatic finesse." And it was withdrawn.       

North Korea is now threatening to carry out nuclear missile tests unless the UN Security Council apologizes for condemning its April 5th rocket launch.  (Pyongyang's first and only nuclear test occurred back in October of 2006.)  Following harsh criticism by the UN, the communist state pulled out of international negotiations on denuclearization and ejected all monitors from the country. Government officials later announced its plans to build a light-water nuclear reactor.  (So, is "we're very sorry we upset you" sufficient?  Kim Jong-il's ass, waiting for a kiss.)  continued...

Specter leaves the GOP - in the lurch!

Republican lawmakers are stunned over PA Senator Arlen Specter's decision to switch parties, a step that brings Senate Democrats within one vote of a filibuster-proof majority. (Al Franken's imminent ascension will provide the other.)  But Specter was quick to tell reporters, "I will not be an automatic 60th vote."

This is undoubtedly true.  He has already come out against the labor-friendly Employee Free Choice Act, which won't help him get elected as a Democrat in union-heavy Pennsylvania.   And Specter's opposition to Dawn Johnson, President Obama's nominee for Assistant Attorney General, seems odd since Johnson opposes torture and advocates for limited executive power, positions which Specter claims to endorse. 

From American Thinker:  Of course, Specter's move was very cynical...  As moderate Republicans have switched their registration to the Democratic Party in recent years, the GOP in Pennsylvania has become more conservative.  (And Specter is very unpopular with right-wingers who would line up behind conservative Pat Toomey in a GOP primary.) 

Sen. Mitch McConnell has called Specter's announcement a "threat to the country" and says that the issue "really relates to whether or not in the United States of America our people want the majority party to have whatever it wants, without restraint, without a check or balance."

Appearing on Fox News, Karl Rove sneered: "He's always been a liberal Republican."  Rush Limbaugh told Specter, "Take McCain and his daughter with you."

Thad Cochran (R-MS) said that he was glad of the news because it meant he would no longer have to go to Erie to campaign for the senator.  (Specter rejoined:  "He can go on his own now.")

RNC chair Michael Steele shared his thoughts, such as they are:  "Some in the Republican Party are happy about this. I am not. Let’s be honest. Senator Specter didn’t leave the GOP based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record."  (And, uh, maybe because he realized that the GOP has turned into a horror show.)

President Barack Obama praised the move, adding, "I don't expect Senator Specter will agree with every decision I make, and support every one of those policies.  I'm eager to receive his counsel and advice, especially when he disagrees, and I have great respect and admiration for the decision he has made."

Fundie Alarmists Misrepresent Hate Crimes Legislation

During a rules committee hearing on federal hate crimes legislation today, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx of North Carolina rubbed Vaseline on her slippery slope: "Why is it worse to go after someone who's gay than going after someone who is a prostitute?  Should there be an amendment to this to say that prostitutes are a protected class?" (Right-wing syllogism.) 

Matthew Staver at the fundie Liberty Council frantically stroked his hate pole:  Sexual orientation and gender identity include pedophilia and every imaginable deviant fetish. Cross-dressers and pedophiles find refuge in this, while veterans and grandmas are left to fend for themselves.  (Pedophilia is a disorder not an orientation.)

David Limbaugh (lawyer/brother to Rush) writes on World Nuts Daily:  Color me, also, alarmist, but I think the main purpose of this bill is to demonize and criminalize thought, especially the politically incorrect belief that homosexual behavior is either abnormal or sinful. It is to make an emphatic societal statement that this belief constitutes "hate" and possibly to lay the groundwork for outlawing speech expressing this belief, including from the pulpit.  (Consider yourself so colored.)

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) embraces the lie: Liberals in Congress want to create new laws to protect classes of people that have never been defined or identified as a class before...  Punishing ‘thought crimes’ will infringe on freedom of speech and religious expression, rights endowed to all Americans in the Constitution.  (It's not about that and King knows it.)

The Family Research Council drops the "agenda" turd:  The enactment of so-called "hate crimes" legislation is a long stated objective of the homosexual agenda.  What "hate crimes" legislation does is lay the legal foundation and framework for investigating, prosecuting and persecuting pastors, business owners, and anyone else whose actions reflect their faith. (Those poor persecuted pastors.)  continued, after the jump...

Much Ado About The Swine Flu?

A few days ago the World Health Organization said that the recent outbreak of swine flu in North America had "pandemic potential."  Now WHO director Margaret Chan is calling it a "health emergency of international concern" and has raised the "influenza pandemic alert" to Level 4 - still not officially a pandemic but increasingly pandemic-oriented.  As pandemics go. Pandemically speaking. But let's put this in perspective.  According to the CDC, more than 200,000 U.S. residents are hospitalized each year with regular influenza, and about 36,000 Americans die from flu complications annually.  I haven't read anything to suggest that swine flu is any more or less lethal than other strains of flu. And all the precautionary actions health officials are suggesting - washing hands frequently, not breathing on people if you're sick - are no different than the precautions one would take during regular flu season.  (I do feel sorry sufferers of obsessive-compulsive disorder whose fear of germs makes them scrub their hands raw even under normal circumstances.  Just imagine what their poor hands will look like now.)  

CBS medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton was asked what the difference is between regular flu and swine flu.  She said:  "A couple of things. There are four genetic materials comprised into one hybrid here. There's bird flu, pig flu from two different sources, and the human influenza virus. So, it just makes it much more difficult to kind of pinpoint. It's never been seen before. That's one thing making it very significant."  (And then she hurries to the next question without telling viewers what the second difference is!) 

It's hard to view this "swine flu menace," as ABC calls it, in the dire terms MSM outlets are presenting.  By hysterically warning everybody not to worry, they're making people worry.  Yesterday the United States declared a "public health emergency."  From the Washington Post:  With the U.S. announcement, civilian and military stockpiles of antiviral drugs were being readied for rapid distribution in the event that transmission of swine flu virus accelerates. The declaration also called for greater vigilance at border crossings and in airports for travelers who are coughing or appear ill.  Those steps fell far short of those that could be invoked in a confirmed pandemic, which could include restricting travel, actively screening travelers for fever or illness, quarantining the sick, closing schools and banning public gatherings.  (A commenter on the WaPo story wrote:  "Millions of illegal Mexicans cross the US border each day while Team Obama and Napolitano do NOTHING.  If your family gets swine flu from Mexico - you can thank Obama!"  Will this be right-wingers' new talking point?)  And in a later story: Cases of swine flu were confirmed early today in Israel and New Zealand, the first definitive proof that the dangerous new virus has spread to Asia. 

As of 7am on Tuesday, fifty cases of swine flu had been confirmed in the U.S.  In the weeks ahead there may be hundreds, or even thousands of cases.  But  wouldn't this happen during regular flu season?  From BBC:  The fact that all the cases in the US have so far produced mild symptoms is encouraging. It suggests that the severity of the Mexican outbreak may be due to an unusual geographically-specific factor - possibly a second unrelated virus circulating in the community - which would be unlikely to come into play in the rest of the world...  It may also be the case that the form of the virus circulating in Mexico is subtly different to that elsewhere - although that will only be confirmed by laboratory analysis. There is also hope that, as humans are often exposed to forms of H1N1 through seasonal flu, our immune systems may have something of a head start in fighting infection.

Dr. Robert Klitzman, a Columbia University Medical Center psychiatrist says: "Right now there's a lot of hype and fear.  Next week, when the CDC gets a grasp of its spread, things go back to normal and people relax." 

Still, I wonder if America's unwieldy health care system is prepared to handle a major medical crisis. President Obama’s nominee for health secretary, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, is still waiting for confirmation by the Senate.  Republicans have balked at Ms. Sebelius’s appointment because of her pro-choice views.  (The swine flu outbreak may cause GOPers to see the error of their obstructionist ways.  HuffPo reports that confirmation will probably occur today.)

UPDATE:  True to form, conservative pundits Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck are blaming illegal immigrants for swine flu.  And Rush Limbaugh says it's all Obama's fault.

Ex-Chaplain Prays For Two People To Die

Apparently right-wing Christian values involve praying for the death of your enemies - and then asking God to punish their children. 

Ed Brayton reports on Dispatches from the Culture Wars:  Uber-wingnut Gordon Klingenschmitt is now praying -- in Jesus' name, of course -- for God to strike down Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State... It's what they call an "imprecatory prayer," the same thing Southern Baptist Convention officer Wiley Drake did against Barry Lynn and others before. It's basically a curse, praying to God to kill those you pray against.

Here's a transcript of the prayer (Brayton supplies audio):  "Almighty God, today we pray imprecatory prayers from Psalm 109 against the enemies of religious liberty, including Barry Lynn and Mikey Weinstein, who issued press releases this week attacking me personally. God, do not remain silent, for wicked men surround us and tell lies about us. We bless them, but they curse us. Therefore find them guilty, not me. Let their days be few, and replace them with Godly people. Plunder their fields, and seize their assets. Cut off their descendants, and remember their sins, in Jesus' name. Amen."

Klingenschmitt is the former Navy chaplain who claimed he was kicked out of the military for praying in the name of Jesus when really he was discharged for refusing to follow orders.  Taking his D-List celebrity status by the teeth and shaking it, Gordie Boy managed to spin 15 minutes of fame into a rallying cry for persecuted deluded fundie Christians everywhere.  In 2006, the self-indulgent chaplain staged a hunger strike in front of the White House where he accused the U.S. Navy of harassing him, when in fact his superiors had planned a non-judicial punishment on the insubordination charges.  It was Klingenschmitt who demanded the court-martial, which could only lead to one outcome.  At trial, Capt. Loyd Pyle, commanding officer of Norfolk Naval Station, testified that Klingenschmitt's performance as a chaplain was overshadowed "by his lack of military bearing and his disdain for military authority."  Another superior officer, Capt. Norman Holcomb, described the defendant as "untruthful, unethical, insubordinate, contemptuous of authority - and a totally frustrating independent operator."  On the final day of the trial, Klingenschmitt instructed his lawyers not to call any witnesses because he'd heard God's voice three times the previous evening (presumbaly, offering legal advice).  Sayeth Klingenschmitt: "In the trial of Jesus Christ, he never opened his mouth in his own defense."  

It's amusing that Klingenschmitt likens himself to Jesus, and then publicly prays for the death of two men he believes maligned him.