unreasonable.org

An Open Letter to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Dear DCCC:

I am greatly distressed and disappointed to learn that during the recent special Congressional election in Mississippi, the DCCC ran ads linking a key Republican donor, Sheldon Adelson, to what you refered to as "atheist China".

Certainly there are good reasons to point out the influences a foreign nation - especially one with a questionable human rights record - might have with a candidate.

But labeling China as "atheist" in this context can only be seen as a slur against atheists.

In a story right out of the headlines from fifty years ago, Wendy Gonaver was recently fired from a teaching job at Cal State Fullerton for refusing to sign a loyalty oath.

The oath, a remnant of the 50s Red Scare, required Gonaver, a Quaker and a pacifist, to swear to "defend" the U.S. and California Constitutions "against all enemies, foreign and domestic." She was willing to to sign she could attach an addendum expressing her pacifism - a practice allowed by other state agencies. But Cal State Fullerton insisted she sign the oath as is if she wanted the job.

Excuse me, but anyone who wants people to sign a loyalty oath meant to enforce doctrinal conformity is an enemy of the U.S. Constitution and the free and vigorous debate of democracy.

Our good friend Brian Jefferson posted something on his MySpace Blog that meshed with some recent thoughts of mine. This is a slightly edited version of what I posted there in response, a few typos fixed.

I've been thinking about this a little bit, since the Obama speech a few weeks ago.

George Carlin said, about the end of slavery, "So we freed the slaves. But not so you'd really notice, just sort of on paper." A lot of people say that the end of slavery was a long time ago and we ought to put it behind us, but the problem was that it didn't just end. It changed into Jim Crow.

And that stayed with us long enough that it was only in 1967 that the Loving case overturned miscegenation laws - and they were still on the books in Alabama until 2000. And 40% of people voted to keep them!

In a speech to a meeting of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Hillary Clinton compared herself to Rocky Balboa, the hero of the Rocky movies. "Let me tell you something, when it comes to finishing a fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up. And neither do the American people," said Clinton.

She seems to have forgotten that at the end of Rocky, Balboa lost the fight. (To the black guy, no less.)

Now, if Clinton needed to prove something to herself, the way Rocky Balboa did, that'd be fine - but it would be pretty sad if a U.S. Senator had such self-doubt, felt a need to prove herself by stepping into the ring with the champ. It would pretty much prove the point that she got where she is by riding Bill's coattails rather than on her own merits.

(BTW, as silly as some of the sequels got, the original Rocky is a damn fine movie.)

From the "things I didn't know existed" file: Pink Pistols, whose motto is, "Armed Gays Don't Get Bashed". Outstanding.

They've submitted a brief in the Surpreme Court case of the D.C. gun ban, which states in part:

Laws that prevent the use of firearms for self-defense in one's own home disproportionately impact those individuals who are targets of hate violence due to their minority status, whether defined by race, religion, sexual orientation, or other characteristic. Even in their homes, LGBT individuals are at risk of murder, aggravated assault and other forms of hate violence because of their sexual orientation. In fact, the home is the most common site of anti-gay violence. Thus, for certain [lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered] individuals, the possession of firearms in the home is essential for a sense of personal security -- a fact generally lost in the majoritarian debate about restricting individual's access to, and use of, firearms. . . . [N]ot only do members of the LGBT community have a heightened need to possess firearms for self-protection in their homes, the Second Amendment clearly guarantees this most basic right. . . .

Did you know that Hillary Clinton was president of the College Republicans at Wellesley College? It's no wonder she grew up to marry "best Republican president we've had in a while."

Ah, beautiful beautiful irony!

Casey Knowles is a high school senior in Washington state. Like a lot of people her age, she's a big Obama fan. She's even gotten involved as a precinct captain for the Democratic caucuses, and could be a convention delegate.

Unlike a lot of people her age, about a decade ago she did some film work, and appeared as a sleeping kid in some footage shot for a railroad company ad. Getty Images got the rights to that stock footage. The Hillary Clinton campaign bought it from Getty Images, and used it in the now famous "3 a.m. phone call" ad.

Yes, the girl in the Clinton ad supports Obama.

The Times (London) considers presidental poetry and notes that Barack Obama "may be the best amateur poet to run for president since Abraham Lincoln, which is saying quite a lot." Obama had two poems published in a college magazine back when he was 19.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, this story of a remote-controlled robot armed with a water cannon that its creator, Rufus Terrill, claims has helped prevent break-ins and drug deals on his block and stopped vandals from trashing a local day care center. Others suggest he's a vigilante who's harassing the homeless.

A while back, I mentioned the town of Obama in Japan. The Ethiopian Review has a story on how "this ancient fishing town of 32,000 people" is rooting for the candidate with the same name to win, hoping he'll put them on the tourist map.

Supporters in Obama — which means "small shore" in Japanese — have held parties to watch election results, put up posters wishing the senator luck and plan a special batch of the town's "manju" sweets bearing his likeness.

...

Lest cynics find the city's efforts naive, it was Obama himself who first drew attention to the connection.

Obama, speaking to Japan's TBS network in December 2006, said that when he flew once to Tokyo, an officer stamping his passport told him of the town.

"He looked up and said, 'I'm from Obama,'" the senator said.