Tag: rick perry

Deal with the devil

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

One of the editorials that was featured today in Punting the Pundits addressed the lack of choices for the office of President of the United States that voters are facing. The author, Hadley Freeman, called the Republican field “farcically unelectable”. Barack Obama may well have made a Faustian pact considering that if faced with a reasonable opponent from the GOP, he most assuredly would be leaving office on January 20, 2013.

But then there is that word: “reasonable”.

Rachel Maddow gave her take on two of more absurd candidates, Rick Perry and Herman Cain:

A new unsettling side of Rick Perry exposed

Jon Stewart’s explanation:

Best case scenario, that dude’s hammered. Worst case scenario, that is Perry sober and every time we’vee seen him previously, he was hammered

Herman Cain, the practical joke no one is getting. It was the Pokemon moment

And then there is Mitt Romney and as Heather at Crooks and Liars points out:

I could not do a better job of summing this speech up if I tried, so I’ll just refer everyone to this post by Stephen D. Foster Jr. at Addicting Info — Mitt Romney Vows To Privatize Medicare, Raise The Retirement Age, And Fire Thousands Of Government Workers

Overall, Romney’s plan is heartless, gutless, unimaginative, and caters to the extreme right wing, the wealthy, and to corporations. It’s a blueprint for making America fail and wiping out the middle class and should automatically disqualify him from holding any office. It kills the voice of the American people and destroys the programs we hold most dear. If a Republican wins the election next year, it will be perilous for the United States and the American people. Their policies have been destructive for thirty years, and now they want apocalypse.

As Ms. Freeman said, “That sound you heard on the breeze? That was the sound of Obama laughing.

Curing Cancer & Protecting Women: HPV Vaccine

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

During the latest of what will be a year long parade of circus clowns, Michele Bachmann once again demonstrated not only her ignorance but hatred of her own womanhood when she lashed out at Texas Governor Rick Perry for his school program to vaccinate young girls with Gardisil, that protects against nine strains of the virus, HPV, the major cause of cervical cancer. While taking issue with the possible ulterior motive for the program which he had instituted by an executive order, Bachmann took it a step further alleging that the vaccine is dangerous, “”Little girls who have a negative reaction to this potentially dangerous drug don’t get a mulligan” and “They don’t get a do-over. The parents don’t get a do-over.”

In her post debate interview she went even further making the specious and debunked claim that the vaccine can also cause mental retardation. claiming that a woman had approached after the debate telling her that she had a daughter who suffered mental retardation as a result of that vaccine”, repeating the same nonsense unchallenged in a morning interview. This woman will do and say anything to bolster her fading campaign.

Not that this will put the myths that is being strewn as a factual but here are the facts:

According to a Center for Disease Control page devoted to health concerns surrounding HPV vaccines, 35 million doses of Gardasil were distributed as of June 22, 2011, resulting in 18,727 reports of adverse events. Ninety-two percent of those adverse events were “non-serious” and included things like “fainting, pain, and swelling at the injection site (the arm), headache, nausea, and fever.” Among the serious adverse events were reports of the neurological disorder Guillain-BarrĂ© Syndrome, blood clots, and death. There’s no mention on the CDC page of any reports of Gardasil resulting in mental retardation.

Just to double check, we asked Dr. Kevin Ault, an associate professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Emory University and an investigator in the clinical trials for Gardasil, whether he’s familiar with allegations that Gardasil can result in mental retardation. “I’ve not heard that one before,” he told us. He added that even for the serious adverse effects that have been reported, there’s been no evidence that they were actually caused by Gardasil. “There’s been a nice study from the CDC,” he said, “that basically [showed that] if you compare a group of people who got the vaccine to a group of people who didn’t get the vaccine, all these things are rare and they occur equally” in both groups.

Rick Perry: Doin’ the Pharisee Strut

Cross-posted at Firedoglake.com and ThomHartmann.com

Rick Perry.  Oh My G-d.

I’m a Texan, and I had the misfortune to watch part of Perry’s loudly-publicized “The Response” prayerapalooza a few weeks back.  You can see archives of it here (You have to go to Part 2 to see Perry).

The ostentatious praying and public piety.  The exaggerated ritualism.  The loud caterwauling of his followers–and it struck me:  I’m watching a Pharisee.

And that reminded me of some writings in a book he’s apparently never read:  The Christian Scriptures (“New Testament”).

Like this one, from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” as recorded in Matthew 6:1-8:

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Of course, Perry doesn’t have to worry about whether his giving of alms is too public, since he gives only about 1/2% of his income for charitable causes:

“Between 2000 and 2009, he has earned $2.68 million, according to the Houston Chronicle. That’s a lot of means and opportunity to give back to all those who have lost their jobs, suffered through a harrowing addiction or endured a housing foreclosure.

And Texas has plenty of people in need, whether it’s the chronically unemployed in the Rio Grande Valley or the men and women huddled in Austin’s crowded shelters. Yet Perry’s money hasn’t answered many prayers. A review of his tax records from the mid-1990s through 2009 show the governor has contributed very little to charity. When he has, Perry has given mainly to charities connected to his family, and even then, his donations have sometimes been slight. An analysis by the San Antonio Express-News in mid-June reported that of his $2.68 million, Perry ‘gave half a percent to churches and religious organizations, or $14,243.'”

The Express-News goes on to note: “By comparison, Americans averaged gifts of nearly 1.2 percent of their incomes to churches and religious groups from 2004 to 2008, according to Empty Tomb Inc., an Illinois-based research firm specializing in U.S.-church giving trends.”

(Huffington Post)

Rick Perry Will Be The Republican Nominee

Cross-posted to MyLeftWing and CandyBullets

“If you want to live in a state that is favorable to smoking marijuana and gay marriage – then move to California,” — Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Zombie Mondale has entered the race!

Mullah Rick Perry To Toss His Turban Into The Presidential Ring

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Fresh off his prayer event, The Response, Gov. Rick Perry will announce his candidacy for the Republican Presidential nomination in South Carolina at the third annual RedState conference in Charleston. A lot of attention has been given to Perry’s connection to the event and Rachel Maddow in an extensive piece exposed the hate message that many of the so-called Christians were spreading as the crowds prayed and cheered.

One of the sponsors is a little known bizarre, evangelical group, the American Apostolic Reformation. Al Jazeera notes the AAR’s similarity to the Taliban. The group has been around awhile and was first noticed in the 2008 campaign when one of its most prominent practitioners, Kenyan witch-hunter Thomas Muthee, anointed Sarah Palin. AAR has bragged on line about destroying ancient Native American artifacts much like the Taliban did in Afghanistan with the destructions of the two colossal images of the Buddha in Bamiyan province in early 2001. The ultimate goal is to replace secular democracy, both in America and around the world, with a Christian theocracy, an ideology known as “dominionism”, striking similar to the Taliban and radical Islam. And this is the group that social conservative, religious zealot Rick Perry embraces.

In a long article, the Texas Observer describes them as “Rick Perry’s army of God”:

The new prophets and apostles believe Christians–certain Christians–are destined to not just take “dominion” over government, but stealthily climb to the commanding heights of what they term the “Seven Mountains” of society, including the media and the arts and entertainment world. They believe they’re intended to lord over it all. As a first step, they’re leading an “army of God” to commandeer civilian government.

On a lighter note, Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC,  Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, has produced its first two campaign ads in Iowa  targeting “Rick Parry”.

That Makes Three

WBZ channel 4 Boston

Rick Perry

Rick Perry

Rick Perry

“Post 911 world”

“Post 911 world”

“Post 911 world”

http://www.google.com/#sclient…

Why indeed do lamestream media outlets run “commercials” for their own “news” programming?

Send In More Clowns, Felons and Religious Zealots

The Republicans “crazies” are flooding the primary field with felons, the head of the KKK and the religious fanatics that make the Westborough Baptist Church members sound sane.

GOP candidates court crackpot constituency

Rachel reviews the role of the social conservative fringe in 2012 Republican politics.

And now for you’re main event, Texas Governor Rick Perry, fresh from his raucous Day of Prayer in Houston, will toss his cowboy hat into the fray on this Saturday in his bid to out crazy Michelle Bachmann and the other clowns in the GOP Clown Circus. What can you expect from Perry? Well, certainly not peace, prosperity or sodomy but lots of praying and revisionist history.

This bunch make Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater look like left wing radicals.

GetEQUAL’s Response to the Rick Perry’s Hate

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Don’t let these faux Christians fool you, they hate America.

A funeral procession is held for all thr LGBTQ people murdered or who have taken their own lives because of the hateful rheteric of the American Family Association. Their hate event is sanctioned by Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Protesters Travel From Across Texas to Picket Hate-Based Event

   “Our Governor invited, and therefore endorsed, groups to preach hate in our state,” said GetEQUAL Texas State Lead Organizer Michael Diviesti. “The American Family Association and the Family Research Council empower the bullies that are driving our youth to suicide and the murderers who kill out of hatred and ignorance.”

   For the LGBT community, this was a day to stand up and fight back – not against prayer, but against those using their religion as a justification for the harm they cause to others.

   “Governor Perry called for prayer to confront the crisis faced by our nation. Sadly, those sponsoring the event are the cause of the crisis that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans and their families are facing”, said Jay Morris, GetEQUAL Texas State Lead Organizer. “Religion and prayer should not be used as tools for bigotry and inequality.”

   “I’m not surprised that he spoke at this event,” said Julie Pousson, GetEQUAL member and supporter. “He has chosen to align himself with these groups and has made it clear that he only represents the radically intolerant.”

   “Growing up in a loving Christian family, I was always taught that prayer means asking for protection, healing, and love,” said John Dean Domingue, GetEQUAL Texas South Plains Coordinator. “This event supports the use of prayer as a tool for violence – something every human being is morally obligated to refute and reject.”

H/t Teddy Partridge at myFDL

BREAKING: Today’s Planned Texecution STAYED!!

UPDATE: 6:20 pm EDT:  The Innocence Project reports that the US Supreme Court has issued a stay that prevents the execution of Hank Skinner.



Photobucket

Hank Skinner

Texas plans to kill death row prisoner Hank Skinner by lethal injection today.  Even though DNA from the crime scene has never been tested, and even though Skinner has insisted for more than sixteen years that he is innocent, Texas plans today to have its inexorable revenge against Skinner for a triple homicide.  Stopping the execution now so that DNA testing can be conducted depends on long shots: Texas Governor Rick Perry and last minute appeals to the Supreme Court.