Colleen Thomas
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lucky-E-leven said:
I'll meet ya there....or at gitmo.
-Colly
Ashcroft singles out internet pornography
- Thread starter AngeloMichael
- Start date
I'll meet ya there....or at gitmo.
-Colly
dr_mabeuse
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Nothing's been done about porn since the Meese commision under Reagan tried without success to prove that porn causes an increase in sex crimes. But the anti-porn lobby hasn't gone away, and supposedly cleaning up smut would have been a Dept of Justice priority had 9/11 not changed the focus.
The general consensus is that the religious right likes their chances with the Supreme Court now (& if Bush gets to appoint one more justice, they'll have a pretty good right-wing lock on the Supremes) and that they're just waiting for Bush's second term to start going after the internet. They won't have to go after everyone either. A handful of stiff fines will clear out most of the free sites, and even defending yourself against an unsuccessful prosecution can pretty much ruin anyone who has to deal with the DOJ.
As for Ashcroft, you might like to treat your ears to a patriotic tub-thumper he recorded called "Fly Eagle, Fly". It;s for real, and it's on the site "Miserable Melodies". Here's a link:
http://www.miserablemelodies.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/miserabl/listall.cgi?arg=Artist
It's the fourth song down. Just click on the little speaker icon. They load pretty quickly.
---dr.M.
The general consensus is that the religious right likes their chances with the Supreme Court now (& if Bush gets to appoint one more justice, they'll have a pretty good right-wing lock on the Supremes) and that they're just waiting for Bush's second term to start going after the internet. They won't have to go after everyone either. A handful of stiff fines will clear out most of the free sites, and even defending yourself against an unsuccessful prosecution can pretty much ruin anyone who has to deal with the DOJ.
As for Ashcroft, you might like to treat your ears to a patriotic tub-thumper he recorded called "Fly Eagle, Fly". It;s for real, and it's on the site "Miserable Melodies". Here's a link:
http://www.miserablemelodies.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/miserabl/listall.cgi?arg=Artist
It's the fourth song down. Just click on the little speaker icon. They load pretty quickly.
---dr.M.
lucky-E-leven
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Colleen Thomas said:
wonder if they'd let us share a cell...
suddenly, being a terrorist has promise
~lucky
rgraham666
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I kind of feel sorry for you Americans sometimes. You got off to such a good start, what with Washington and Jefferson. Now what do you have? Some rich man's kid and his aristocratic compadres.
However, we have many similar ambulatory carnivorous fungus in places of responsibility up here in Canada. So I know how you feel.
Ashcroft is the walking embodiement of the definition I read for a Puritan. "A person who lives in deadly fear that someone, somewhere, is having fun."
Colleen Thomas
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lucky-E-leven said:wonder if they'd let us share a cell...
suddenly, being a terrorist has promise
~lucky
If they do then poor Sneator Santorum is going to flip if he ever makes a visit
-Colly
lucky-E-leven
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Colleen Thomas said:If they do then poor Sneator Santorum is going to flip if he ever makes a visit
-Colly
Poor Sen. Santorum? HA!
We'll be held indefinitely, of course, according to the tribunal laws...but they'll be selling tickets to cell-side seats in order to line their own pockets, to be sure.
Not that I'm complaining...
~lucky
Edward Teach
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Lit itself may be safe but don't forget the advertisers who make Lit possible. I'm not so sure they will be able to withstand the heat of a full Justice Dept attack and if they go, Lit probably does too.
We really need to get the Bush crowd out of power.
Ed
We really need to get the Bush crowd out of power.
Ed
lucky-E-leven
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edward_teach said:
Amen, Ed.
~lucky
Colleen Thomas
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Lit is no more safe than anything else. Strictly speaking, untill GWb, Asscroft and the rest are safely gone nothing is safe. they simply have no reguard for the constituion or its safeguard for individual liberties. And that is the sad truth.
-Colly
-Colly
G
Guest
Guest
Just inserting a bit of humour (albeit sarcasm) from the very wild west. Perdita
---------
Jon Carroll, March 9, 2004, San Francisco Chronicle:
So I was watching "Welcome to the 11th Dimension," the second of two "Nova" shows based on Brian Greene's book "The Elegant Universe," and I thought: It's a good thing the Christian fundamentalists don't care too much about theoretical physics.
The demagogues and biblical literalists on the Christian right have a lot of trouble with evolution, a 150-year old theory that includes apparently objectionable assumptions about the age of the Earth and the specialness of human beings.
By contrast, the current "theory of everything," which is also called string theory or M theory, holds that there are 11 dimensions, most of which are inaccessible to us, and that the universe may very well be located on a membrane that occasionally collides with other membranes containing other universes, resulting in what we have learned to call The Big Bang.
Although now it would be more like A Big Bang.
Not a lot of room for intelligent design in that scenario. Not only are we not special, but our entire universe is not special. Even our gravity is not special. Needless to say, the cosmology of the Bible says nothing about membranes, quarks, gravitons or invisible dimensions. All we need is for the wingnuts in Congress to get a whiff of this heresy, and it'll be Galileo time on "American Grandstand."
The shameless pandering by the Bush administration and its allies to the brainless theories of the fundamentalists has pretty much ruined the national discourse. The fundamentalists have been allowed to set the terms of the debate, and the results have been dreadful.
For instance: stem-cell research. Using objections based on a weird theory that postulates the sacredness of life not yet created, fundamentalists are intent on shutting down this promising line of inquiry. Doesn't matter how many diseases might be cured or how much suffering alleviated -- if the Bible doesn't tell us so, forget about it.
Warning: This is not a parody.
Or, say, what about "indecency" on America's sacred airwaves? People get all weirded out about Janet Jackson's right boob at the Super Bowl -- do none of these people have premium cable? Did their cultural education stop at Fibber McGee and Molly? -- and suddenly it's become an excuse to censor almost everything.
Some of it is obviously political payback waving the banner of good taste -- interesting that Bush-beloved Clear Channel booted Howard Stern only after he turned against the war in Iraq -- and some of it is just wimped-out liberal cowardice -- Los Angeles FM station KCRW kicked commentator Sandra Tsing Loh off the air for uttering the F-word.
It's the New Puritanism or some damn thing. It is also, not incidentally, a fabulous distraction from various foreign policy failures and the systematic sellout of America to a handful of large corporations.
And then, of course, there's the whole hoorah against gay rights, based on the reading of selected verses of the Bible as translated in the 17th century by clerics trying to curry the favor of King James I, the first Stuart king and a man of uncertain temperament.
That makes as much sense as Mel Gibson translating an English script into Aramaic to make it more authentic.
It would be fabulously comic were it not for the blameless human lives being affected. But now we're in the middle of a nasty constitutional amendment fight, and once again George Bush has a golden opportunity to hold on to his base of true believers while distracting the electorate from his real and manifold failures.
I believe in religious tolerance and the freedom of people to believe in anything, including the literal truth of any book at all, including "Peter Pan. " But when such a belief threatens to become the official policy of my country, I think it's OK to be intolerant of intolerance and to try to protect the ideals of science and the primacy of human kindness.
It's a shame what happened to God. He used to be such a jolly deity; now he's all crabbed and angry and constantly whining about blameless scientists.
---------
Jon Carroll, March 9, 2004, San Francisco Chronicle:
So I was watching "Welcome to the 11th Dimension," the second of two "Nova" shows based on Brian Greene's book "The Elegant Universe," and I thought: It's a good thing the Christian fundamentalists don't care too much about theoretical physics.
The demagogues and biblical literalists on the Christian right have a lot of trouble with evolution, a 150-year old theory that includes apparently objectionable assumptions about the age of the Earth and the specialness of human beings.
By contrast, the current "theory of everything," which is also called string theory or M theory, holds that there are 11 dimensions, most of which are inaccessible to us, and that the universe may very well be located on a membrane that occasionally collides with other membranes containing other universes, resulting in what we have learned to call The Big Bang.
Although now it would be more like A Big Bang.
Not a lot of room for intelligent design in that scenario. Not only are we not special, but our entire universe is not special. Even our gravity is not special. Needless to say, the cosmology of the Bible says nothing about membranes, quarks, gravitons or invisible dimensions. All we need is for the wingnuts in Congress to get a whiff of this heresy, and it'll be Galileo time on "American Grandstand."
The shameless pandering by the Bush administration and its allies to the brainless theories of the fundamentalists has pretty much ruined the national discourse. The fundamentalists have been allowed to set the terms of the debate, and the results have been dreadful.
For instance: stem-cell research. Using objections based on a weird theory that postulates the sacredness of life not yet created, fundamentalists are intent on shutting down this promising line of inquiry. Doesn't matter how many diseases might be cured or how much suffering alleviated -- if the Bible doesn't tell us so, forget about it.
Warning: This is not a parody.
Or, say, what about "indecency" on America's sacred airwaves? People get all weirded out about Janet Jackson's right boob at the Super Bowl -- do none of these people have premium cable? Did their cultural education stop at Fibber McGee and Molly? -- and suddenly it's become an excuse to censor almost everything.
Some of it is obviously political payback waving the banner of good taste -- interesting that Bush-beloved Clear Channel booted Howard Stern only after he turned against the war in Iraq -- and some of it is just wimped-out liberal cowardice -- Los Angeles FM station KCRW kicked commentator Sandra Tsing Loh off the air for uttering the F-word.
It's the New Puritanism or some damn thing. It is also, not incidentally, a fabulous distraction from various foreign policy failures and the systematic sellout of America to a handful of large corporations.
And then, of course, there's the whole hoorah against gay rights, based on the reading of selected verses of the Bible as translated in the 17th century by clerics trying to curry the favor of King James I, the first Stuart king and a man of uncertain temperament.
That makes as much sense as Mel Gibson translating an English script into Aramaic to make it more authentic.
It would be fabulously comic were it not for the blameless human lives being affected. But now we're in the middle of a nasty constitutional amendment fight, and once again George Bush has a golden opportunity to hold on to his base of true believers while distracting the electorate from his real and manifold failures.
I believe in religious tolerance and the freedom of people to believe in anything, including the literal truth of any book at all, including "Peter Pan. " But when such a belief threatens to become the official policy of my country, I think it's OK to be intolerant of intolerance and to try to protect the ideals of science and the primacy of human kindness.
It's a shame what happened to God. He used to be such a jolly deity; now he's all crabbed and angry and constantly whining about blameless scientists.
kellycummings
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an older joke but still cute:
George W. Bush's Intelligence Quiz
While visiting England, George W. Bush is invited to tea with the Queen. He asks her what her leadership philosophy is. She says that it is to surround herself with intelligent people. He asks how she knows if they're intelligent.
"I do so by asking them the right questions," says the Queen. "Allow me to demonstrate."
She phones Tony Blair and says, "Mr. Prime Minister. Please answer this question: Your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother or sister. Who is it?"
Tony Blair responds, "It's me, ma'am."
"Correct. Thank you and good-bye, sir," says the Queen. She hangs up and says, "Did you get that, Mr. Bush?"
"Yes ma'am. Thanks a lot. I'll definitely be using that!"
Upon returning to Washington, he decides he'd better put the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the test. He summons Jesse Helms to the White House and says, "Senator Helms, I wonder if you can answer a question for me."
"Why, of course, sir. What's on your mind?"
"Uh, your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"
Helms hems and haws and finally asks, "Can I think about it and get back to you?" Bush agrees, and Helms leaves. He immediately calls a meeting of other senior senators, and they puzzle over the question for several hours, but nobody can come up with an answer. Finally, in desperation, Helms calls Colin Powell at the State Department and explains his problem.
"Now look here Colin Powell, your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother, or your sister. Who is it?" Powell answers immediately, "It's me, of course, you dumb ass."
Much relieved, Helms rushes back to the White House and exclaims, "I know the answer, sir! I know who it is! It's Colin Powell!" And Bush replies in disgust, "Wrong, you dumb ass, It's Tony Blair!"
George W. Bush's Intelligence Quiz
While visiting England, George W. Bush is invited to tea with the Queen. He asks her what her leadership philosophy is. She says that it is to surround herself with intelligent people. He asks how she knows if they're intelligent.
"I do so by asking them the right questions," says the Queen. "Allow me to demonstrate."
She phones Tony Blair and says, "Mr. Prime Minister. Please answer this question: Your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother or sister. Who is it?"
Tony Blair responds, "It's me, ma'am."
"Correct. Thank you and good-bye, sir," says the Queen. She hangs up and says, "Did you get that, Mr. Bush?"
"Yes ma'am. Thanks a lot. I'll definitely be using that!"
Upon returning to Washington, he decides he'd better put the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the test. He summons Jesse Helms to the White House and says, "Senator Helms, I wonder if you can answer a question for me."
"Why, of course, sir. What's on your mind?"
"Uh, your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"
Helms hems and haws and finally asks, "Can I think about it and get back to you?" Bush agrees, and Helms leaves. He immediately calls a meeting of other senior senators, and they puzzle over the question for several hours, but nobody can come up with an answer. Finally, in desperation, Helms calls Colin Powell at the State Department and explains his problem.
"Now look here Colin Powell, your mother has a child, and your father has a child, and this child is not your brother, or your sister. Who is it?" Powell answers immediately, "It's me, of course, you dumb ass."
Much relieved, Helms rushes back to the White House and exclaims, "I know the answer, sir! I know who it is! It's Colin Powell!" And Bush replies in disgust, "Wrong, you dumb ass, It's Tony Blair!"
Couture
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edward_teach said:
If you think Lit is safe, I suggest you listen to what Howard Stern has to say about the subject.
....oh that's right. He isn't saying much of anything now is he. They pulled his show for a helluva lot less than goes on here at Lit. This is it boys and girls. The right wing fundamentalists are just almost in majority, and once they have the courts, it's a wrap.
This is the most important election that we've had in a long long time. And I don't care what people say...I'm just interested in what they do. And what this bunch of neo-cons are doing is attacking the very freedoms that made this country so great to begin with and turning it into some sort of abusive father state.
Think about this.... the house and senate are perfectly willing to roll back Roe vs Wade, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom to protest, right to a trial, no search without probable cause, freedom to be with someone of the same sex, and freedom to not be poisoned by the air and water. More, the president is willing to go right along with all of these things.
The only thing standing in their way is the courts. Nothing else. And given a little more time, they will be able to pack them with the most puritanical fundamentalists they can lay their hands on. Once the majority is in the courts...that's it. End of ball game. We'll be lucky to get these freedoms back in twenty years.
Look, it was only a few years ago that I looked at each candidate individually and voted on who I thought was the best person for the job. But, not anymore. I'll make one check come November. Democrat...straight ticket. What's more, I will continue to do so no matter whether the democrat in question is as smart as Einstein or as dumb as fucking dirt. I will continue to do so until the religious right no longer controls the Republican party.
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Colleen Thomas
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Couture said:
I'm afraid I agree with Couture. The barbarians are at the gates and just because they are weilding bibles and not swords dosen't make them any less dangerous.
-Colly
Boxlicker101
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Originally posted by Colleen Thomas
I'm afraid I agree with Couture. The barbarians are at the gates and just because they are weilding bibles and not swords dosen't make them any less dangerous.
-Colly
As Mindy said:
It makes them more so. They really do terrify me.
Fanatic Christians and fanatic Muslims are more alike than different. Both groups are fixated on what they perceive as the absolute rightness of their beliefs and neither will listen to any disagreement. Both groups base their beliefs completely on faith, even though those beliefs tend to defy logic and reason. The main difference is that Muslims will commit suicide while Christians won't. Of course, their beliefs are different also.
I'm afraid I agree with Couture. The barbarians are at the gates and just because they are weilding bibles and not swords dosen't make them any less dangerous.
-Colly
As Mindy said:
It makes them more so. They really do terrify me.
Fanatic Christians and fanatic Muslims are more alike than different. Both groups are fixated on what they perceive as the absolute rightness of their beliefs and neither will listen to any disagreement. Both groups base their beliefs completely on faith, even though those beliefs tend to defy logic and reason. The main difference is that Muslims will commit suicide while Christians won't. Of course, their beliefs are different also.
Colleen Thomas
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minsue said:
And neither group reads their own fucking holy book. They listen to what select "holy" men tell them and they believe.
-Colly
rgraham666
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But belief is so much easier than thinking.
The political climate over the last few years is why I'm re-reading Escape From Freedom.
The political climate over the last few years is why I'm re-reading Escape From Freedom.
CharleyH
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AngeloMichael said:Well, we all knew he was against it, but it looks like now he is making a considerable effort to eliminate it.
http://madville.com/link.php?id=65400&t=12
Think Linterotica will feel the heat, or maybe get burned at the stake?
This is an intriguing topic, and unfortunately I think better in the morning, so I will revisit the thread in the morning. It is of interest, and what affects the U.S. affects me - I've noticed some tightening Porn laws, and especially where I.T. is concerned - can't talk til I know more . . . but Colly - I WILL post on this!
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Boxlicker101
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minsue said:
I might be wrong but I don't think any other religions produce fanatics but Christianity or Islam. I've never heard of a Jewish fanatic or a Buddhist fanatic or a Wiccan fanatic. Except for those two, I think major religions tend to have a live-and-let-live attitude.
KarenAM
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Actually, religious extremism is a growing problem worldwide. A lot of the Jewish settlers on the West Bank are viewed by mainstream Israelis as scary fanatics, as typified by the guy who went into a mosque with an assault rifle some years ago and starting shooting the Muslims who were praying there. And there have been disturbing reports about Hindu persecution of Muslims in India in the last few years, not to mention the issue of the "untouchables" there, which showed up in a recent National Geographic. So unfortunately the capacity to hate seems quite universal.
Most religious people have a live-and-let-live attitude, because most religions are founded on good, inspired ideas. But fanatics can spoil a good thing fast, and Ashcroft certainly qualifies as a fanatic.
Most religious people have a live-and-let-live attitude, because most religions are founded on good, inspired ideas. But fanatics can spoil a good thing fast, and Ashcroft certainly qualifies as a fanatic.
lucky-E-leven
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KarenAM said:Actually, religious extremism is a growing problem worldwide. A lot of the Jewish settlers on the West Bank are viewed by mainstream Israelis as scary fanatics, as typified by the guy who went into a mosque with an assault rifle some years ago and starting shooting the Muslims who were praying there. And there have been disturbing reports about Hindu persecution of Muslims in India in the last few years, not to mention the issue of the "untouchables" there, which showed up in a recent National Geographic. So unfortuantely the capacity to hate seems quite universal.
Most religious people have a live-and-let-live attitude, because most religions are founded on good, inspired ideas. But fanatics can spoil a good thing fast, and Ashcroft certainly qualifies as a fanatic.
I don't have anything to add, but that was a nice post, Karen.
~lucky
kellycummings
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Boxlicker101 said:
I can't blame the religions. It's all about the people. Some are good, some are bad. Since Christianity and Islam are so big then it stands to reason that they will produce the most fanatics. The religions themselves are peaceful, it's the people that screw them up.
Boxlicker101
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kellycummings said:
I don't think Islam was all that peaceful when it started. Mohammed was born in Mecca but when the people there didn't want to follow him, he went to Medina and returned with an army to conquer his home town. After that, the religion was spread by conquest throughout the Middle East and north Africa and even into Europe.
Christianity was spread by conquest also, in all of South and Central America but that happened 1,500 years after its founding.
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