Sunday Links: Bad Snowman Edition
8th October 2006
by gordo
The Christian Coalition has a new president, Florida evangelist Joel Hunter. Hunter’s election represents a new direction for the Coalition, which was once seen as a mechanism for pushing the Republican Party to the right, and is now often thought of as little more than an appendage of the Republican Party.
While Hunter is considered a conservative, some of his opinions diverge sharply from those of Republican leaders. Hunter has pressed political leaders to fight global warming, and opposes the death penalty, and has said that he thinks past presidents of the Coalition have not acted to further the agendas of most Evangelicals:
Sitting in the book-lined study of his Casselberry home, Hunter said he wants to teach Christians how to integrate and apply their spiritual values to public life. He does not intend to be “just a talking head representing an imaginary constituency.”
Although he is against abortion and gay marriage, Hunter also opposes the death penalty. “Traditional right-wing issues,” he said, “are not sufficient to express the Gospel.”
Several months ago, Hunter’s suburban church published his latest book, Right Wing, Wrong Bird: Why the Tactics of the Religious Right Won’t Fly With Most Conservative Christians.
In other religious news, Catholic League president and all-around nutcase Bill Donohue has a question for Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), who now claims to have been molested by a priest:
Most 15-year-old teenage boys wouldn’t allow themselves to be molested. So why did you?
(via Welton Gaddy)
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During their recent invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces left quite a few unexploded cluster bombs behind. So who’s going to pay to clear southern Lebanon of the bomblets? The American taxpayers.
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Remember how Biting Beaver was denied emergency contraception because she was unmarried? Well, she’s pregnant. That’s one more abortion, thanks to the Bush administration’s refusal to allow EC to be approved for over-the-counter use through the normal FDA process. Also, thanks to the hypermoralist doctors in BB’s area who refused to prescribe EC.
Of course, it goes without saying that BB has been getting death threats from the “Culture of Life” crowd.
This is about a lot more than one woman’s access to birth control, or one woman’s choice to terminate her pregnancy. It’s about how the Culture of Premarital Chastity for Women masquerades as the Culture of Life. It’s about how they see pregnancy and child-rearing as a form of punishment that women should have to endure if they have sex. Understandably, the whole ordeal has filled Biting Beaver with resentment:
I resent the fuck out of the fact that something which is 1/16 of an inch long and which looks amazingly like a reptile trumps the life of a woman and her three children. I resent that this glob of cells which is smaller than a wad of snot is clearly valued more than the life of a 34 year old woman who is trying like hell to support her existing kids.
(snip)
I resent that the same sort of shame is being forced onto me by this as the shame that was forced onto me when I was raped as a child.
I resent that if I talk to people about it, about my feelings, about my fear and my anxiety that I may very well be the target of death threats, hatred and condemnation.
I resent that so many people would like to see me hide myself because I was awful enough to consent to sex. I resent that this is an issue that, while I need, desire and want to talk to people about, I must hide from everyone because to tell them would mean that I instantly become a ‘worthless cum guzzling whore’ who deserves to be ‘brutally raped before being slaughtered in the most painful way I can think of’.
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Dr. Violent Socks links to a story that reminds us why John Kerry cannot be allowed to win the Democratic nomination in 2008:
Kerry: I’m prepared to kick Swift Boat’s ass
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The New York Times profiles “Two Spirit” societies, which are organizations of gay Native Americans.
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Katherine Harris has decided that if she can’t win a senate seat in Florida, she can at least make herself into a national laughingstock. Harris is now accusing her opponent in the Florida senate race of not being a good Christian. Of course, Rex Kramer thinks that Harris is right on the money.
When I read Article VI of the Constitution, I start thinking that Katherine Harris isn’t a good American:
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
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Stram of 15 Seats points out that Republican senate candidate Michael Steele is running ads that accuse his opponent of being a tool of the big drug companies. How is Steele paying for the ads? With money that big drug companies raised for him.
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You haven’t yet read This Old Brit today? Then hurry over and read about how the US and Russia are slipping toward a new Cold War, only this time with a resurgent China on their side. The Old Brit would also like you to read this article about how the entire Central Asian region is now on a war footing.
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TJ from The Blue Republic points out that Foley is not a victim of his own inner demons, but of the Curse of the Contract With America.
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Alon Levy thinks that bloggers like me are missing the boat when we pound away at Mark Foley (R-FL) and the torture scandal. I gave what I thought was a good defense of us scandal-mongers, but you’ll have to head over to Abstract Nonsense and read it in the commments. As an added bonus, celebrity blogger Lindsay Beyerstein of Magic Thighs also makes a guest appearance in the comment section.
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Echidne o’ th’ Snakes highlighted this special report by Bill Moyers on the Abramoff scandal. I think that’s a scandal that even Alon Levy could love.
Echidne also slaps around Tim Harford of Slate magazine for misusing data.
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If you ever break into someone’s home, budget your time wisely. You might have a few minutes to hunt for hidden safes, but you probably don’t have enough time to do your laundry. Ordering a pizza is also unwise.
(via Shoutwire)
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Check out these updated Monopoly cards.
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As it turns out, the Pentagon used to consider waterboarding to be torture.
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My brother and I have always had a low opinion of Harry Potter. I’m glad to report that Slate magazine now agrees.
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Tex of Red State Feminist profiles a bad Texas family court judge.
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Pam Spaulding of Pandagon catches Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) doing some gay-bashing. You’ve got to see the Brady Bunch ‘fro he used to wear in college.
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Over at her own blog, Spaulding peeks into Dennis Hastert’s closet.
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Video:
From now on, the video links are going to go into a separate post. Stay tuned.