Anne Graham Lotz Helping to Create a Boston Bible
Party

Billy Graham’s daughter, Anne Graham Lotz, took time out from her swim in the shallow end of the Graham family gene pool this weekend to assure everyone that she would NEVER vote for an Atheist.

This isn’t particularly unusual. The Graham family has a long-held antipathy toward Atheists and other minorities. Son Franklin Graham entertains rather birther-like suspicions that maybe Barack Obama isn’t a Christian.

NO WISDOM FOR THE AGES - And thus the angel Camael spoke, "You are among God's most miserable creatures for thou hath no wisdom. You will be cast out of politics for your transgressions."

“You have to ask him,” Graham said in a February interview. “I cannot answer that question for anybody. You have to ask every person. He has said he?s a Christian, so I just have to assume that he is.”

Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich: Holy Men?

However, he gave Rick Santorum more benefit of any doubt. “Do you believe Rick Santorum is a Christian,” Frank was asked.  ?I think so,? responded Graham. Why? “Well, because his values are so clear on moral issues. No question about it. I just appreciate the moral stances he takes on things. He comes from a Catholic faith? I think he?s a man of faith,? he said.

Ditto for serial thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wifer Newt Gingrich. “I think Newt Gingrich is a Christian, at least he told me he is.” Newt’s decidedly unchristian behavior to the contrary.

Frank isn’t so open to other faiths either. On Mitt Romney and the Mormons, “Most Christians would not recognize Mormons as part of the Christian faith,” Graham said. On Muslims and Obama? “Under President Obama?the Muslims of the world, [sic] he seems to be more concerned, than Christians who are being murdered in Muslim countries,? said Graham.

Even Big Daddy Graham had a Romney-like semi-commitment to racial equality and antisemitism in the closet. He kept his “eye on public opinion, and the shifting winds of American culture”  before finally settling down and denouncing his previous, less tolerant, positions. Plus, Billy tried to sue me once, but that was another story.

But back to Anne.

Her comments seem less than tolerant for a woman whose religion preaches loving one another. ?I would not vote for a man who was an Atheist because I believe you need to have an acknowledgment or a reverence or a fear for almighty God,? Lotz said. ?I believe that?s where wisdom comes from.?

This isn’t so much troubling from a personal perspective. She can, of course, vote for whoever she likes and say whatever she likes about those she wouldn’t vote for. However, she and others of her ilk seem to be quite non-plussed when those they insult rankle at their statements. These CINO (Christians in Name Only)  almost never see they are defacto disenfranchising the few with the tyranny of the many.

Not Even If Atheists Had the Wisdom of Solomon?

The real danger of her statements is the strife her intolerance brings to society. In essence, Graham is saying that no matter how good an Atheist is on the issues or whether they have a long history of making decisions and solving real problems, or are as wise as Solomon, they will always be inferior. Inferior in the same way that many Christians feel Jews, Muslims, Atheists, or a host of other religions and minorities are.

It is unconscionable for a religious leader to condone this type of thinking. Atheists and other minorities are becoming less than full citizens because of their choice not to believe in God. That is exactly the type of situation, albeight with different players, that led to the American revolution. Her unfair and uninformed opinions help foment a Boston Bible Party mentality among the non-believers while pushing the believers to become unbending Torries to the death.

There would be need no need for an imaginary War on Christianity if the cheap rhetoric were scaled back. There would be no need for tit-for-tat politicization. We could all live in the relative peace and harmony Jesus preached if Christians made some room in their hearts and minds for the rest of us. Unfortunately, things seem headed for worse before, or if, anything ever gets better.

If there is real evil walking among us thy name is Graham.

Related articles

• Anne Graham Lotz: I Would Never Vote For An Atheist (inquisitr.com)
• Billy Graham’s Daughter: I Would Not Vote for an Atheist to be President (patheos.com)
• I would not vote for … (steelcityskeptics.net)
• Glad That’s Over: Listening to Men on Easter (themoderatevoice.com)
• Belief Blog’s Morning Speed Read for Monday, April 9 (religion.blogs.cnn.com)
• I forgot (thewritelife2.wordpress.com)

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

GOP Panicking on John Doe Criminal Probe

Scott Walker - Ringleader?In a telling sign the GOP can read the writing on the John Doe investigation's wall, the GOP propaganda organs led by Media Trackers, WTMJ and Charlie Sykes have launched their first direct public attack on the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office.

Sykes in his WTMJ column Monday, says the John Doe investigation known as WalkerGate, "has been dogged by criticism of possible partisan bias, its selective prosecution, and frequent leaks," without specific attribution or even one example.
Sykes then references the rightwing Media Trackers site which broke the news?as it were?that some 19 assistant prosecuting attorneys, and perhaps as many as 70 employees of the Milwaukee DA's office have signed the historic Recall Walker petition.

Sykes' report does not mention that Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf, who is leading the John Doe probe, or DA John Chisholm have signed the Recall petition, so we can be reasonably certain that they have not signed.

But the fact that the rightwing machine would bring up the topic of WalkerGate, following the news that the veterans' funds-embezzling Tim Russell?Walker's former top aide and long-time political confidante?may be feuding with Walker and seeking a plea bargain in the middle of the Recall campaign points to a preemptive strike against the criminal probes as a last-resort, political option.

Up to now, Walker has been pushing the line he is "help(ing)" the investigation.

News of the criminal probe which Walker falsely claimed he is voluntarily helping is not the message the Walker campaign wants leading the news.

Walker has retained two criminal defense attorneys, a defense attorney for the 2010 Walker campaign for governor, and has set up a criminal defense fund.

Scott Walker sure does go to a lot of trouble to help the John Doe investigation.

Stat tuned.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

No Grand Jury in Trayvon Martin Case

?Let?s give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she knows there isn?t enough for first-degree murder but she wants to maintain control and charge him with something else,? Hill said. ?What does she need a grand jury for? She cuts out the unpredictability of the grand jury. She goes where she feels she has more evidence.? – AP

Prosecutor Angela Corey has decided not to take the case to a grand jury, which is something reports say is not unusual for her.

The prior prosecutor, Norm Wolfinger, who recused himself, had decided to utilize a grand jury, which is often used when political ramifications enter into it and someone is looking for cover.

There’s been enough evidence confusion to rule out a first degree murder charge, which trips the grand jury wire in Florida.

The investigation continues, according to Corey’s office.

Earlier today, a small student protest temporarily shut down the Sanford, FL. Police Department.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Rubio endorses Romney, then says wishes someone
else won

Adios, señor vice presidente.  (This is from a week ago, but I hadn't seen it, and it's all the more relevant now that everyone is chattering about the possible VP candidates.)

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Limbaugh: Obama is the 'Generalissimo' in the War
on Women

Click here to view this media

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Monday pushed back against claims that Republicans were attacking women's rights and insisted that the "real war on women" was being directed by President Barack Obama.

"The real war on women is being conducted by the regime, by the Obama administration," he explained. "Since Barack Obama took office, the unemployment rate for women has gone up from 7 to 8.1 percent. ... The poverty rate among women rose to 14.5 percent last year, up from 13.9 percent when Obama was immaculated."

Limbaugh continued: "If there is a war on women, it is happening and it is being directed from the White House with Obama as the generalissimo."

Politico's Josh Boak noted last week that job losses for women appeared to be worse than for men during Obama's presidency because "[a]lmost 3.3 million men were fired during the George W. Bush?s last year in office, while the losses for women were more drawn out over time."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Monday insisted that the so-called war on women was a "manufactured issue."

"There is no issue," McConnell told radio station WHAS. "Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison [Texas] and Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe from Maine, I think, would be the first to say ? and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska ? ?We don?t see any evidence of this.'"

But the Kentucky Republican's claim doesn't line up with remarks by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who recently blasted her own party, according to Homer News.

"It makes no sense to make this attack on women," she said during a local radio call-in show. "If you don't feel this is an attack, you need to go home and talk to your wife and your daughters."

During a Sunday interview on CNN, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) asserted that the "war on women" label was fair given recent actions by Republican lawmakers.

?The policies that have come out of the Republican Party, saying that we should have a debate again over contraception and whether we should have access to it and it should be affordable, saying that ? like Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin, you know, he tried to quietly repeal the Equal Pay Act,? Wasserman Schultz noted.

"You have Republicans who have engaged themselves for the entire Congress trying to redefine rape as only being forcible rape, defunding Planned Parenthood and family planning programs," she continued. "So, the focus of the Republican Party on turning back the clock for women really is something that is unacceptable and shows how callous and insensitive they are towards women?s priorities."

(h/t: Mediaite)

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Pell Grants Next Year Will Cover Smallest
Percentage Of College Costs In Their History

Since 1985, the combined cost of college tuition and fees has gone up by about 559 percent, leading to outstanding student loan debt that, by some estimates, has cleared $1 trillion. As colleges have kept on increasing their costs, financial aid has failed to keep up.

Case in point, according to the Institute for College Access and Success, a non-profit organization aiming to expand higher education accessibility, Pell Grants next year will cover the smallest percentage of overall college costs since the creation of the program:

The program has not been able to keep up with ever-escalating college prices: Since 2008, annual spending on the Pell Grant program has more than doubled, to nearly $40 billion, and thanks to the Obama administration and Congress, the maximum grant has jumped from $4,731 to $5,550 (and is scheduled to rise again to $5,635 in fiscal year 2013). Despite these increases, the maximum Pell Grant is expected to cover less than one-third of the average cost of attendance at public four-year colleges next year ? a level that would be, according to the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), ?the lowest in history.?

Just 30 years ago, Pell Grants covered nearly 70 percent of the cost of college:

Over those 30 years, the U.S. has made exactly zero progress in terms of increasing its college graduation rate. Instead of doing anything to address this, House Republicans approved a budget that eliminates Pell Grants for up to one million students.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Local Grassroots Efforts Restore Lost Title X
Funds In Miami County, Kansas

After the all-male county commission voted to cut off $9,000 in Title X funding for contraceptives, residents of Miami County, Kansas decided to restore the funds to provide access to contraception for low-income women in the area. Through individual contributions, the group raised enough to restore what had been cut. “The money was given with contingencies, and after meeting in closed session with their attorney, the commissioners decided to accept the money,” one woman in Miami County said in a statement to RH Reality Check, “how could they not?” Watch what the women had to say when they presented their check to the commission:

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Fantasy Casting the ‘Blood on the
Tracks’ Movie

The idea of making a movie out of Bob Dylan’s 1975 album Blood on the Tracks is ludicrous, and not just because the brilliant, weird movie I’m Not There already burned through all the best, most inventive ideas for who could possibly play Bob Dylan. If you do Blood on the Tracks as a straight narrative of a relationship breaking down, reducing the music to background atmospherics, you lose all the weird brilliance of the world Dylan’s created. And if you try to od it as a series of short vignettes, it’s hard to think how the narrative might work. But as long as this thing’s in the works anyway, here are five ideas for who should play some of the more entertaining characters on Dylan’s album:

-The Ex-Husband from “Tangled Up in Blue”: If “she was married when we first met / soon to be divorced,” it’s worth remembering that someone else got their heart broken before Dylan’s operatic love story even got kickstarted. John Hawkes is awfully good at portraying hope that expects to be disappointed, whether as Sol Star on Deadwood or paralyzed journalist Mark O’Brien in The Surrogate, about a paralyzed man who decides to lose his virginity, which will be major Oscar-bait when it comes out later this year. If anyone deserves to be in proximity to Bob Dylan, it’s him.

-The Parrot from “Simple Twist of Fate”: If the parrot from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is available, he’s definitely put in enough time in the background on a goofy project. Now’s his time to prove that he’s an artist.

-Mrs. Gray from “Idiot Wind”: Now that the American Pie franchise has come to a conclusion, Jennifer Coolidge is free from the obligations of obligations of playing Stifler’s mom. But she could put that experience to good use playing a sexy widow who runs off to Italy with someone inappropriate and an enormous amount of money. Maybe Eugene Levy can play Mr. Gray, who gets shot. Those eyebrows are great at conveying surprise.

-Lily, from “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts”: Emma Stone got famous as a redhead, only to reveal that her natural hair color was actually blonde. So who better to play a gorgeous frontier girl who switches hair color as part of a life transformation. She’d be awesome in an adaptation of the most epic song on “Blood on the Tracks.” And now that David Milch is available, maybe he could dust himself off and go back to the frontier well. I would totally watch this as a stand-alone movie.

-The message-deliverer from “If You See Her, Say Hello”: It has to be pretty stressful being the go-between for Bob Dylan and a woman he’s broken up with. But Adam Pally deserves a European vacation after all the awesome work he’s put in on Happy Endings this year. And any awkward news is more palatable when delivered by a man who’s in full-on bear mode.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

CBS Affiliate Will Stop Airing Limbaugh

Philadelphia CBS affiliate WPHT will no longer broadcast Rush Limbaugh’s show, replacing the hate radio host with the far more moderate talker Michael Smerconish. While “the move does not appear to be directly related to the recent ad boycott” against Limbaugh in the wake of his sexist attacks on Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke, it’s latest sign that Limbaugh’s dominance in the talk radio world may be waning. Limbaugh will likely move to an AM station in the city.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Withdraws
Support From ALEC

Following Kraft, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Intuit, another influential sponsor of ALEC has withdrawn its support from the right-wing corporate front group. Roll Call reports:

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation today became the latest backer to withdraw financial support for the American Legislative Exchange Council.

A foundation spokesman told Roll Call that it does not plan to make future grants to the conservative nonprofit, which has come under fire from progressive activists for its support of voter identification laws and other contentious measures.

The Gates Foundation said it supported ALEC on issues regarding ?teacher effectiveness and school finance.? Lee Fang reports the funding could potentially have benefited ?Microsoft as privatized charters adopt more technology in the classroom.?

Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Color of Change, among others, had targeted the Gates Foundation for giving more than $375,000 to ALEC over the past two years. PCCC garnered more than 28,000 signatures in a matter of hours.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!