The Attack We Do Not Speak Of

June 8th, 2012
by F. Grey Parker

45 years ago today, the U.S. suffered a brutal military humiliation as the result of a sneak attack.

Most Americans have never heard of it.

The conspiracy-minded traffic in fringe theories about it.

What little discussion there actually is of the event often results in accusations of racial or cultural bias against those who have the nerve to bring it up at all.

But it did happen...

GOP: It's Completely Different When We Do It, cont...

May 23rd, 2012

The recent decision by the Obama administration to grant a visa to Mariela Castro Espín, the daughter of current Cuban strongman Raul Castro, allowing her to attend the Latin American Studies Association in San Francisco later this week where she is set to chair a panel on LGBT issues has set off a firestorm of indignation in GOP circles. It's quite the conniption.

GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is "greatly distrubed."

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) called it "outrageous and an enormous mistake." (Video HERE)

The ever-temperate Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) participated in an angry joint statement with fellow congressional Republicans and some Florida Democrats writing that "The State Department needs to wake up from its delusional love fest with the dictators in Havana. I urge them to immediately revoke these visas."

Ed Morrisey sees it as a possible tipping point that will send Florida to Romney in the general election:

"The Cuban-American community in Florida leans Republican, but they’re strongly anti-Castro. They won’t appreciate the decision by the Obama administration to give the dictator’s daughter a pass to the US, especially not for the purpose of politicking. Listening to lectures from the Castro family on the nature of political and cultural freedom is somewhat akin to having to sit through a seminar on graciousness by Morton Downey."

What's that you say? You've never heard of Mariela Castro Espín? That's funny because she came to the United States repeatedly under the last administration.

Where was the outrage then? There was none. Where were the screaming headlines on right wing blogs and breathless pronouncements of near-treason on Fox and talk radio? There weren't any.

It's always just "different" when they are in charge.

The GOP War On The Separation Clause

Feb 8th, 2012
by F. Grey Parker

I regard myself as a Christian. I believe in the Gospels. I generally keep it to myself and out of my writing because I have the right to do so. In America, no one may tell me what, how, when or where to worship.

I am protected from litmus tests or societal demands to prove my faith by the Constitution. That's what the separation clause provides for.

What I am not guaranteed is special status to impose my religion when I participate in public markets. I am also (supposed to be) Constitutionally disallowed access to taxpayer monies while simultaneously demanding the right to implement policies driven by a theological agenda in those markets.

Period.

Contrary to popular GOP propaganda, there is no war on religion in the United States. That is absurd. What we do have currently is a coordinated effort to attack the bedrock principle of separation. Nothing illustrates this more than the current brouhaha over the Obama Administration's new birth control guidelines.

A Website Makes The Right Wing Go Higgledy-Piggledy

Sept 14th, 2011

As hard as it is to believe, a simple interactive website launched by the Obama re-election campaign has indeed caused an apoplectic conniption fit within the American Right.

Simply titled AttackWatch.com, the site is designed to allow supporters of the president to chime in about misinformation in the blogosphere, forward wacky e-mails from fringe types and generally complain about Fox. I guess.

It's Chess, Not Checkers

Sept 1st, 2011
by F. Grey Parker

It was the smartest possible move.

The President has been saying for weeks that the GOP is putting party over country. The right wing echo chamber has lashed out in response to this. Yesterday, Obama gave the GOP a chance to disprove his accusations. They failed.