Wednesday Reads: PLUBs and Pledges, Anonymous not so Anonymous?
Posted: July 20, 2011 Filed under: 2012 presidential campaign, anonymous, children, morning reads, PLUB Pro-Life-Until-Birth, religious extremists, Reproductive Rights, Republican politics, Republican presidential politics, We are so F'd | Tags: extreme pledges 13 Comments
Good morning, it is Wednesday…again. The weeks are just moving along, next thing you know, the local Hallmark store will have their Christmas ornaments out on display. (Actually, they already have the Christmas decorations up at the Hallmark in my little town of Banjoville.)
Alright, enough of that crap…let’s get on with it!
Republicans Are Signing Away the Right to Govern – NYTimes.com
It used to be that a sworn oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution was the only promise required to become president. But that no longer seems to be enough for a growing number of Republican interest groups, who are demanding that presidential candidates sign pledges shackling them to the corners of conservative ideology. Many candidates are going along, and each pledge they sign undermines the basic principle of democratic government built on compromise and negotiation.
I know that we have mentioned some of the crazy extremist beliefs of Bachmann and other possible 2012s…so some of this won’t be new news. Anyway…
And there is the particularly bizarre Marriage Vow, in which candidates agree to oppose same-sex marriage, reject Shariah law and pledge personal fidelity to their spouse. Until it was changed after a public outcry, it also contained a line saying that a black child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by a two-parent family than a similar child raised in the Obama era. It was signed by Mr. Santorum and Mrs. Bachmann.
Only one candidate, Jon Huntsman Jr., has refused to sign any pledge, saying he owes allegiance to his flag and his wife. It is refreshing in a field of candidates who have forgotten the true source of political power in America.
That Marriage Vow is f’d up…this next article from Bloomberg has more on that pledge, but I want to highlight a few other points. Pledging Allegiance to the Special Interests: Margaret Carlson – Bloomberg
Yet critics who argue that Bachmann lacks the judgment to be president are missing a key point. If Bachmann, a serial pledge signer, were to become president, she wouldn’t have a prayer of thinking for herself. She’d be locked into special- interest pledges for every occasion.
This is a huge point, it seems she is a serial pledger. Of course, as the article points out there are Democrat pledges too…Emily’s List and Naral for example, but we will stick with the Republican ones, since this article is primarily dealing with GOP’s 2012 Presidential Candidates.
The mother of all pledges is Grover Norquist’s Tax Protection Pledge. First issued in 1986, it has been signed by countless Republicans over the past quarter century, including 236 current House members and 41 current senators. Yet Norquist’s success is perhaps the best argument against rigid pledges, which infantilize officials, giving them no leeway to exercise judgment.
[…]
To enforce his pledge, Norquist threatens free-thinking Republicans with political ruin, a threat he backed in 2010 with $7.5 million in campaign spending. But where are all the dead bodies? Norquist did help to defeat a few state legislators last year, along with California Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado, who had offended Norquist by supporting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2009 budget. Norquist takes credit for the defeat of President George H.W. Bush, who broke his no-new-taxes promise, but the claim is patently ridiculous.
Yes, that claim may be pushing it too far, but the man obviously has sway over these politicians.
On to other news, it looks like Anonymous has had some members outed by the FBI. FBI Arrests 16 in Broad Cyberattack Crackdown – Chris Strohm – NationalJournal.com
In a nationwide sting operation, the FBI on Tuesday arrested 14 individuals for allegedly being involved in a November cyberattack on PayPal’s website, which the group Anonymous claimed credit for conducting, according to the Justice Department.
The individuals were arrested in nine states and the District of Columbia on charges contained in an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose. According to the indictment, they allegedly conspired with others to intentionally damage protected computers at PayPal from December 6, 2010, to December 10, 2010.
“The defendants are charged with various counts of conspiracy and intentional damage to a protected computer,” according to the Justice Department.
The article goes on to name 15 of the people arrested. The ages range from 20 to 42, one of the names was withheld. I wonder if that one was a minor…under 18?
Over at Fox, there is a Dr. Blowhard that actually had to defend himself by announcing, he is not a pedophile…great.
Fox News contributor insists he’s ‘not a pedophile’ | Video Cafe
As a general media rule, if you have to assure viewers that you’re not a pedophile then you’ve already lost the debate.
But this is exactly what happened when Fox News contributor Dr. Keith Ablow appeared on Fox & Friends Tuesday to object to a baby doll that helps children learn about breastfeeding.
“It’s beyond ridiculous,” Ablow told Fox News’ Alisyn Camerota. “It’s destructive. Little girls aren’t even aware how their secondary sexual characteristics will develop, let alone imitating how they’ll be used after childbirth. This is another way of turning little girls into adults. It blurs the boundary between children and adults in society. It contributes to the sexualization of children and it makes them targets of assailants, frankly, because it blurs that boundary. It’s a terrible, terrible idea.”
“I’m going to have to respectfully disagree,” parenting expert Jessica Gottlieb told Ablow. “I’m not sure that if you see a little girl as her breasts being sexual that that doesn’t reflect more on you than on what breasts are.”
“I assure you I’m not a pedophile at all,” Ablow objected.
Oh, that is choice isn’t it…Ablow goes on to blow it further by suggesting a play house OB/GYN suite, so that little girls who don’t have any breast yet can pretend to deliver babies…you know, does this dude even have little kids of his own? Perhaps all children should be kept from playing “dress up” or any other childhood play acting developmental games. My question is, what the hell does this guy have a Ph.D. in?
This month alone, Ablow has proclaimed that President Barack Obama pursues a “communist manifesto” and offered and psychological profile of Media Matters’ David Brock.
Wow, this doctor seems to have some paranoia issues…I wonder if he runs away in fear from homosexuals too? My guess is Ablow has signed some of those pledges mentioned up top. All these wackos really get me worried and anxious.
Someone….quick…get me a non-PLUB pledge, I gotta get this out of my system…instead of placing my hand over my heart I will place it over my uterus, declare my unfailing loyalty to ovaries, uteri and boobies the world over, and you can bet your ass, this pledge will cover both the fully developed and undeveloped ones.
What you reading about today? Got any pledges you would like to make?
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You know, one of the cutest pictures I have is of my daughter playing “having a baby” with on of her friends whose mommy had just home-birthed their third child. He played the La Maze daddy, and she lay there with a pillow under her shirt. Seriously adorable.
Exactly what I mean. Thanks for sharing your story bluelyon.
It sounds like he was being sarcastic about OB/GYN suite. I kind of agree about the doll and breastfeeding. But If kids are really playing games like that now, maybe I’m wrong.
Generally, it’s best not to give kids specific information about sex until they ask specific questions. But I know that little kids are learning a lot more these days than when I was growing up.
Ablow is an MD from Hopkins. He has an incredible education so his fear of breasts mystifies me.
Thanks for the shout out. I’m sorry that folks thinks breasts are sex organs. My understanding is that our ears and lips probably get kissed more. I’ll have to reconsider the burka.
That wasn’t a personality “profile” of Brock — it was two guys gossiping — nasty gossip at that.
Most of the so called profiles I’ve heard by the gas bags pundits have nothing to do with profiling.
Where do these people get their PhDs?
There are personality profiles that can be done without interviewing the individual — someone trained in personality assessments would want access to specific tests and details about reading habits — friends, clubs, hobbies and samples of writing etc.
Oh well this was Glenn Becks buddy — so what can one expect?? Which tells us a lot about the personality of the gas bag.
Spies collect the data I mentioned above on world leader & CEOs of major corporations in order for spooks back at Spy Central to do a personality profile.
I don’t think Keith Ablow has a PhD. He’s a psychiatrist and therefore amedical doctor. He’s from Boston unless he has moved recently. I had no idea he was right winger.
The Repubs are more loyal to Grover Norquist than they are to the American people. It seems almost like a cult the way they are tied to him. I thought they took and oath of office and what’s up with the President, isn’t he supposed to serve and protect?
Debbie Wasserman Schultz has responded to West written comment about her not being a lady.
Hot Air has spun a reaction to West comment…and it is written by a woman. You can take a look at it here: Debbie Wasserman Schultz dismisses Allen West’s searing e-mail « Hot Air
The post ends with this nugget:
Don’t need to say anything about that, it is obvious.
In other Wasserman Schultz news:
More jabs between RNC and DNC – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs
I’ve said before that I don’t always agree with Wasserman Schultz, like when she goes on and on about Obama and his achievements in supporting women’s rights. Which is nothing but BS.
But she does have a great way of telling the GOP like it is.
Allen West, Poster Child for the Republican War on Women | Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Analysis, Independent Political Opinion on Progressive Politics
Backtrack Obama is at it again per CNN breaking news:
My guess this will disturb the markets because we’re going to have to go through this again and wtf does he mean by a “significant reduction plan?” I assume more catfood commission
well that,s change for you.. 🙂