“J.F.K.’s speech was to reassure Americans that he wasn’t a religious fanatic...Mitt’s was to tell evangelical Christians, ‘I’m a religious fanatic just like you.” - author and authority on Mormons Jon Krakurer as quoted by Maureen Dowd in the New York Times.
The "Matthew Shepard Act," legislation that would add sexual orientation to the federal hate crimes statues and would help protect gays and lesbians, has been scuttled in the U.S. Senate - by DEMOCRATS. Aren't we so glad that the Democrats won control of Congress? Well, what should we expect from what is basically a center right party, the less nutsy branch of the Demorepublican U.S. national political party?
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who has changed his position on just about everything in order to garner the political support of conservative extremists, yesterday gave a speech designed to get him in good with Christian conservative fundamentalists. I'm like you, Romney wanted them to know, and by the way, all Americans of faith are on the same side against the unbelievers. This blatant attempt to pander to right wing religious conservatives runs completely counter to true American values, particularly, the freedom to believe or not to believe, and the separation of church and state, a core concept of fundamental importance to our system of government. This man Romney is truly a disgusting individual. That he is seriously in the running for president shows just how far this country has sunk. 
I had a spirited exchange at dinner last evening with a younger friend who believes that the U.S. is more liberal now than it was decades ago. He pointed to more tolerance of gays and Jews to back up his argument. Unfortunately, I had to strongly disagree with him. If it is the case that there is more tolerance of certain minorities today, I do not believe that the tolerance is universal...you would not find it in Des Moines or Paducah, for example, nor do I believe that increased tolerance of minorities that you find in parts of the "blue state" areas is a result of any shift to the left in this country. I think that the tolerance that does exist in certain relatively small areas of the country has happened in spite of our overall national shift to the right over the past four decades.The last great liberal era in the U.S. occurred almost 45 years ago, when important civil rights legislation was passed and Medicare was instituted under Lyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society." With the election of Richard Nixon in 1968, we embarked upon our national journey to the right. Most notably, under the "Great Communicator," Mr. Reagan, the progressive income tax structure that was in place was gutted, adding fuel to the growth of economic inequality that today is nothing short of disgraceful. Right wing Republican presidents have predominated in office since Nixon, interrupted only by Jimmy Carter's failed presidency, and Bill Clinton's eight years of "centrist" governance that was marked notably by the destruction of welfare, called "welfare reform," which threw many poor people into the streets. "Dubbya" Bush, with the complicity of Democratic lawmakers, passed yet another tax cut for the rich during his first term and tried to destroy social security during his second term. Social Security, of course, is the most important lasting liberal program remaining from F.D.R's "New Deal," which was the great liberal era previous to LBJ's "Great Society."
On the social front, right wing politicians now universally demonize "illegal" immigrants to the point where hate crimes against them are on the increase. Attempts have been made to pass a national constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a blatant attempt to actually write discrimination into our constitution for the first time in our history. A few "blue" states treat gays and lesbians better, but only one allows marriage and thirty some states have written discriminatory provisions banning gay marriage into their constitutions.
As for our stature as a respected citizen nation of the world, that has been destroyed by our illegal war and occupation of Iraq. We refuse to sign the Kyoto Agreement, the treaty that encapsulates the international movement to protect our environment. We, along with China, are the two worst polluters in the world. We have renounced the Geneva Conventions and we have engaged in the torture of detainees. We have gutted key provisions of our own constitution, removing the great habeus corpus protections that have been the hallmark of democracy and individual rights for centuries, and we are engaged in spying on our own citizens. The current president is a liar, war criminal, and a law breaker.
No, we are not "more liberal" now. We have, in fact, dangerously drifted far to the right both in terms of domestic and foreign policy. If this trend is not reversed soon, there are observers that think we could actually degenerate into a fascist state.
Who out there now running for president would reverse this shift to the right? Not Ms. Clinton, who recently voted for what is essentially another blank check that would authorize Bush to attack Iran. All of the Republicans would continue in the mold of the current president. Liberals like Kucinich or Dodd have no chance to be elected.
We live in a very conservative, backward country. I fear for the future.
Photo: Another colorful view of our "private' path trough the park.
Jim
Bradley and I have our own private little pathway and park just across the street from the house. The leaves on the trees looked great a couple of weeks ago when this shot was taken. It's nice to have your own private little park. Of course, it's not ours alone but I often think of it that way.Jim
This time of year there are usually those who whine about the commercialization of Christmas. It happens like clockwork. This year a commentary by one Ben Stein, which apparently aired recently on network TV, is now making the rounds on the net. Mr. Stein, a Jew, is upset about what he feels is the way we have removed god from the public sphere in this country. He believes that we can trace our problems as a nation to things like removing prayer from public schools.
So, Imus is back on the air. We get the "RFD" channel on our satellite service, so I'm able to tune in. Imus made a conciliatory statement during the first hour. He claims to be a changed man and promised no more statements by himself or by anyone else on his program similar to the one that got him in so much hot water last April. He still has the same cast, though, including the virulently anti-everybody producer that started the fracas in April. However, he now has one or two African American cast members that he has added to "balance" out the group. So we'll see. I'll watch and listen. It will be interesting to see which of his former guests come back on. It seems like many will, including people like Senator Christopher Dodd, which surprised me.PHOTO: This great Art Deco building from the 1920s is just around the corner from our house. It has been turned into a wing of the Philadelphia Museum Of Art, and it is now known as the Perelman Building.
Jim
I've always been leery of accomodationists and assimilationists within the gay community - those people who feel that the best way to make progress on gay rights is to try to get along with our enemies or become like them. That's why I don't support the Human Rights Campaign with my contributions, and why I think the Log Cabin Republicans are seriously deluded. Richard Rothstein, who is never shy about expressing himself and is no fan of HRC, The Log Cabin Republicans, and the Clintons, puts it this way on his "Proceed at Your own Risk" blog:Joining forces for a worthy cause, no matter how worthy a cause is still lending credibility to those who stand against us. What's next, a partnership between hen house manufacturers and the National Association of Hungry Foxes? Hillary, whose husband is responsible for Don't Ask, Don't Tell,
dances with Rupert Murdoch and Joe Solmonese sleeps with The Log Cabin
Republicans. Politics surely does make for strange bedfellows.
And yes, I know, many of you will say that at the time this DADT policy seemed
progressive. That's horse shit. At the time Hillary's vote to invade Iraq
seemed right to her as well. I remember that in both circumstances, many
Americans, including myself, looked at this new "progressive" DADT policy and
the call to war against Iraq in response to 9/11 and said "what the
fuck?"HRC and the Log Cabin Republicans in partnership? What the
fuck?
PHOTO: The newly reconstructed steep walkway that leads from the Schuylkill Banks path to the Art Museum's rear plaza.
Jim
