I was on the news and I'm a Humanist (apparently)

So, I was on the local news today. I'm near the end and I am not the lady with the less than profound comment. Check it out:



Sorry about the ad. The local NBC affiliate has to pay the bills, too.

Here's the condensed story. The American Humanist Association bought ad space on the Metro buses that look like this:



The Humanist message is that one does not have to be religious to be a moral human. In fact, with so many Christians freaking out about gay marriage (in essence, hoping to keep gays and lesbians from attaining full equal rights), I tend to argue that humanists tend to be actually more moral than many supposedly "religious" people. The Humanist idea is that humans don't need religion to tell right from wrong; the idea should be intuitive. If not, read up on your Mill and Kant.

So this afternoon I was exiting the metro on my way to class today when a reporter from the local NBC affiliate approached me. The reporter asked me if I would be offended by something like this. Uhh... no. I respect all religious viewpoints, even if I don't agree with them. Moreover, Humanist have Freedom of Speech, too.

But according to the person in this video, I must be part of BillO's "War on Christmas." (Don't Panic. I did not link to Fox "News," so there is no danger of giving them more hits.) Apparently, it is just fine for me, a non-Christian, to be assaulted with Christmas from before Halloween until Twelfth night. Funny thing, though. The second something like this comes out, all of the Fundies get their panties in a bunch and are suddenly offended. Nativity scenes on the courthouse lawn? Fine (if Santa Claus is represented). An atheist organization buys ad space? Time to get offended!

I don't get it, either. Sounds like a teensy bit of a double standard there.

Oh well. It will be a nice change of pace from the usual ads I see every day. In fact, if you look out the train windows at just the right time between Judiciary Square and Gallery Place-Chinatown, you can see what looks like an animated ad for Nestle Quik. That one's actually pretty cool. (Come to think of it, I should hit up Nestle for a few bucks for product placement.)

As for the lady at the end of the video, I wonder if she has a more nuanced reason for being offended other than she believes in Jesus.

Chris

Update: We had some fun and interesting discussions about this on the cross-post at Daily Kos.

Democracy Now! host Goodman arrested at RNC (Updated x2)

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this, but the prima facie evidence is that Democracy Now host Amy Goodman was arrested by St. Paul police while reporting on the protests at the Republican National Convention. The details are unclear, but it appears that Goodman was attempting to secure the release of two producers, Nicole Salazar and Sharif Abdel Kouddous. They are being held on suspicion of rioting.

If the details from DN! are accurate, this is a clear violation of freedom of the press. It is particularly troubling because DN! is a leader among the new media. Goodman and her staff are notable for their hour-long broadcasts on issues that the traditional media tend to gloss over. Incidentally, the CNNs and MSNBCs of the world make no mention on their websites, but the news of the pregnancy (and pending shotgun nuptials) of Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter are featured prominently.

Update: The Washington Post, and the Associated Press have filed stories. As of this writing at 10:10 p.m. Eastern Time, the Dickinson Press in North Dakota had posted the story on line.

This is not the first time that DN! has run afoul of the local constabulary in the Twin Cities during the RNC. While reporting from the RNC Welcoming Committee's convergence space, Elizabeth Press was caught up in a preemptive police raid over the weekend. Here's her report. She claims that a lot of the activists are having run-ins with police even though they had not (at least yet) committed any crime or engaged in violence.

Important note about the RNC Welcoming Committee: They are a self-described group of anarchists and anti-authoritarians. As such, the local law enforcement would have a very good reason to keep an eye on these people.

Protests are certainly an important part of the American political process and I will generally support the right to peaceably assemble. The key word is peaceably, though. The people who damage property are not only rightly subject to arrest and detention, but are also hurting their own cause by casting the entire movement in a bad light. Protest the GOP, but be respectful about it. That will be much more effective than torching the city.

On the other hand, it does seem like the police in Minnesota showing an inordinate amount of zeal in carrying out their duties. Innovations like cheap video cameras and YouTube will be key to keeping an eye on the conduct of law enforcement.

Here's a great collection of photos from Monday's protests from the Star Tribune in the Twin Cities. Yes, the traditional media are doing their bit and deserve a bit of recognition.

This should be a wake-up call to the GOP. The DNC protests were sparse and mainly consisted of die-hard Clinton supporters. These protesters absolutely loathe the Republican Party and their policies. Maybe it really is time for a real change, ladies and gentlemen. The kids (read: the future) are willing to get pepper sprayed and arrested for it.

As for Ms. Goodman, there is not much more information about this incident. Hopefully more details will emerge tomorrow.

Update: The Post reported that Goodman, who was displaying her press credentials was charged and released, but the producers could be held for 36 hours. Hopefully, DN! will continue to cover the protests. Tomorrow's edition will be interesting.

Chris

Update: All three were released, but the producers are looking at felony rioting charges. Here's hoping they encounter a judge who understands First Amendment rights.

h/t to Daily Kos diarist smartinez and Alternet for picking up the story.

Another whistleblower silenced

Journalists and public relations people tend to lead parasitic professional lives. Journalist need PR people to get their information and PR people need journalists to get their messages out to the public. I have many friends in the PR business, but it is always an uneasy professional relationship. Journalists are supposed to report the most accurate version of the story while PR professionals are supposed to promote the version of the truth most favorable to their organization. Believe it or not, sometimes the PR version of the truth is actually an untruth.

This story is not about promoting untruths. This is a story about a government PR professional who believes in reporting the truth. Unsurprisingly from this administration, she got canned. This is also a story about the military's obsession with sanitizing the Iraq War by, among other things, hiding the costs of war by keeping the media away from soldiers' funerals. It took two years just to convince the Defense Department to release some photos of flag-draped coffins.

Keep in mind that there is a dead American in each one of those boxes. No rants about the politics of the war. These men and women fought and died for their country. Their military has actively engaged in keeping their sacrifices a secret. Military funerals are the nation's reminder that there is a war on and that war is terrible, not glorious.

Which brings us to Gina Gray, who has worked for many years as a military public affairs officer. Ms. Gray started a job with Arlington National Cemetery in April and was fired in late June. Dana Milbank reported her story for the Washington Post today.

Gray realized early in her tenure that the military was placing even more restrictions on media coverage of funerals. This is true even after the families had invited the media (which a majority do) to the funeral and thus broadcast their grief to the world.

According to Milbank's column, reporters were positioned where they could at least hear prayers and eulogies during the Rumsfeld era. Ten days into her new job, Gray found that the cemetery's deputy superintendent, Thurman Higginbotham, positioned the media some 50 yards from the funeral of a marine colonel who left behind two little girls. The location made it impossible to hear the service and the view was obstructed, so photographs were out of the question.

Milbank wrote a column on April 24 about the funeral. Almost as an aside, he noted:

Nor does the blocking of funeral coverage seem to be the work of overzealous bureaucrats. Gina Gray, Arlington's new public affairs director, pushed vigorously to allow the journalists more access to the service yesterday -- but she was apparently shot down by other cemetery officials.

Specifically, she pointed out that such treatment of the press was not in accordance with standing policy. Gray was subsequently treated poorly by co-workers and supervisors. She was demoted from public affairs director to public affairs officer June 9. She was fired at the end of June and contends that she would still be working there had she just gone along with Higginbotham and the superintendent John Metzler.

Gray also contends that Higginbotham contacted family members and urged them not to allow the media into the services for their fallen loved ones. Milbank confirmed the charge through an anonymous source at the cemetery. I am assuming that the source requested anonymity in order to keep his/her job.

Gray received her termination letter June 27. The letter accused her of being disrespectful to her supervisors and failing to act in an appropriate manner.

I cannot conclude better than Milbank, so here is his quote:

On June 27, Gray got her termination memo. (Gray's supervisor, Phyllis) White said Gray had "been disrespectful to me as your supervisor and failed to act in an inappropriate manner." Failed to act in an in appropriate manner? The termination notice was inadvertently revealing: Only at Arlington National Cemetery could it be considered a firing offense to act appropriately.

It should be noted that Milbank and the military obviously have differing opinions of appropriate behavior. I tend to agree with Milbank's assessment and applaud a PR professional for fighting for more access instead of less.

Also, the cemetery is now looking for its fourth PR director in three years.

Chris
h/t to Think Progress for this one.

Update: I replaced the final quote from Milbank's story. I missed the significance of the word "inappropriate." It was a typo, I hope. Otherwise, this is proof that these people have a culture of acting inappropriately. Thanks to this Dailykos diarist for pointing that out.

Frightening prospects

The news from the last few days has been pretty frightening both in terms of physical safety and preservation of civil liberties. Here's a quick round-up.

First is the biggie. Today is the Senate vote on the FISA bill. Here's Daily Kos' recent take on it with a video from Countdown with guest host Rachel Maddow (give her a show already). I have avoided talking about this issue. (Full disclosure: I work for a cell phone company, but we have not turned records over to the feds.)

I am not particularly enamored with the immunity provision, but have argued that the telecoms were in a bad situation. Initially we heard that the telecoms were reassured by the White House that the telecoms were only helping to spy on suspected terrorists after the attacks of Sept. 11. The White House assured the telecoms that what they were doing was perfectly legal. In the interest of preventing another attacks, the major telecoms complied. The problem is that the spying probably started months BEFORE the attacks. True to form, the administration retaliated against Qwest Communications for refusing to help with illegal spying in February, 2001. Classy!

After discussing it further, I came around to realize that FISA is a bad deal all around. The problem is the warrant-less surveillance provision. While there are some restrictions in place to prevent abuse of the system, a determined CIA/FBI/NSA agent could easily circumvent any restrictions. Then it is only a matter of time before the Nixonian mindset kicks in and honest dissent is equated with active subversion.

Sure, our intelligence services need to be able to listen to the bad guys' conversations, but get a warrant first, please.

This is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment. Considering the current supreme court, I am not expecting them to strike down FISA, either.

Update: as of the writing of this, it looks like the bill with pass easily and that the immunity will stay. Pennsylvania's own Arlen Specter is the only good guy Republican, according to Kos.

Also h/t to Kos for keeping up to date on this for months.

The next scary proposal of the week comes from the friendly skies and our friends over at the Department of Homeland Security. They are liking a proposal to make all flyers wear something euphemistically called a "safety bracelet." (Remember, this is the same DHS who brought us the color-coded threat level chart. To date the treat level has not yet been in the green or blue range, meaning that we are not much safer now than on 9/11.)

Here's the deal. Every airline passenger would be fitted with a bracelet like the ones they put on you at concerts and other festivals. The festival bracelet lets security know that you paid and are allowed to be there. This safety bracelet would serve essentially the same purpose. It would replace the traditional boarding pass. So far, so good. It would also contain all kinds of personal data (in other words, government surveillance. See above.) Okaaaay. It would also act as a GPS device, meaning that DHS knows when you go to the loo or jump out of the plane. errrr. The GPS is also supposed to track your luggage. I just KNOW that the airlines will never lose another bag again. Snark.

Here's the nefarious part. These bracelets would also have the ability to shock an unruly passenger, rendering him or her immobile. This is how we control ornery dogs. While this thing might work on the shoe bomber, what happens when this thing accidentally goes off and 92-year-old great grandmother dies from the shock? What about indiscriminate use of the things. Is it okay to shock a person who had a little much to drink at the airport bar and is talking (or slurring) a little too loudly?

On the other hand, here is an interesting counter-proposal to keep airline passengers calm without the booze.

I haven't flown since 1999. It seems like every week I find a better reason to take a bus from New York to Los Angeles. I don't think I will be allowing a government agent to fit me with a torture device.

This is an oldie, but goody. Under Our Fearless Leader, liberals and Democrats needed not apply to the Justice Department. Those horrid lefties already working there might just as well clean their desks. If you are a Democrat, keep your nose clean or DoJ might come after for you.

The worst part about the Siegelman case is that Congress just can't get Karl Rove to testify about it. Anyone else who refused to testify before Congress would be arrested and dragged into the hearing.

Next up, is honor killings in Georgia, and I am not talking about the former Soviet republic. In some cultures honor killings to avenge "disgracing" the family are not only okay, but actively encouraged. The offenses that can lead to extra-judicial summary executions: In this case it is a 25-year-old considering divorce to end an arranged marriage to a man she has not seen in months.

I accept multi-culturalism, but this is just simply not okay.

Speaking of "not okay," apparently atheists are not welcome in the U.S. military. It is a Christians-only group, I guess. I remember something from Sunday School about Christianity being a religion of peace. Praise the Lord and pass the ammo, anyone?

We also learned today that there is a fundamental flaw in the Internet that would allow hackers to control all of cyberspace. Here's hoping the experts fix this thing fast.

Finally, even relatively Western-friendly Dubai is not a good place to go on a booze-fueled sex romp. This British woman is facing years in jail for doing exactly that. Of course, this probably won't help her case:

She is alleged to have called the cop a f****** Muslim **** and tried to hit him with her high-heeled shoe before being restrained.

I realize this story is from the UK Sun, but the BBC had a smaller piece about it.

All things considered, I think I am going back to bed. It's scary out there.

Chris

Voting for Jesus

While reading POAC today, I came across this link. As I listened to these ladies, who I am sure are very nice people, two things came to mind. First, there is way too much religion in politicking. Second, the Internet has become the single greatest resource for anonymous libel campaigns. I will address the lies that have been propagated regarding Barack Obama later. For now, you can read the facts here and here.

There are two false premises going on in this video clip. One is that it is desirable to base American law on holy scripture. The other is that only Christians and Jews have a right to hold public office in the United States.

I once had a bumper sticker on my car that read, "If you want a country run by religion, move to Iran." That pretty much sums it up. Granted, it is disingenuous to assume that a legal code based entirely on Christian teachings would be tantamount to introducing Sharia Law. On the other hand, consider the similarities between these two sentences:

Recently, 12 states in northern Nigeria instituted laws based on teaching in the Koran.
Recently, Kansas attempted to institute laws based on teaching in the Bible.

Before the comments section blows up: It's not like anyone is calling for amputations and floggings for violations of the law here. Instead, the domestic movement toward a theocracy is much more subtle than that. This leads to the second fallacy noted above.

It is illegal to require a religious test for American public officials. At least that's the official verdict. The First Amendment is pretty clear on this point. The text reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." The church's meddling in affairs of state led directly to Europe's wars of religion, pogroms, and inquisitions. The Founders were not looking for a repeat performance in the New World. Maybe they did not foresee the diversification of religion, but it happened.

Moreover, it is outright discrimination against non-Christians to assume that the legal code should be based on the Bible. Non-Christians are a growing minority and are theoretically protected under the First Amendment. The slippery slope starts with the indoctrination, er... teaching of school children Creationism rather than the scientifically accepted version of the beginning of life. If shenanigans like this continue, expect to see more from folks like this.

Theocracy efforts are doomed from the start. Theocrats practice a form of institutionalized discrimination. Granted, the discrimination is subtle. (How many non-Christians/Jews hold elected office?) Even as we become more accepting of alternate metaphysical world views, there is still a notion that a non-Christian will never be a presidential nominee because such a person would never be elected.

If the American race riots taught us anything, it is that a people facing institutionalized discrimination will eventually rebel. Then we will face a slightly bigger problem to deal with than whether or not it is legal for two men or two women to get married, as is specifically prohibited in a handful of Bible verses, notably in the Book of Leviticus. Of course, the practice of slavery is also sanctioned in the Book of Leviticus. Here is a humorous reaction to that particular argument.

Cartoon by Daryl Cagle. (I hope he doesn't mind the repost.)

If all of this sounds like a veiled attack on Mike Huckabee, it kinda is. The man is rather funny in a good way, but wanting to amend the Constitution so it is up to God's standards has me more than a little concerned.

As for the ladies in the video, they are certainly welcome to their opinions and it is not too difficult to guess for whom they plan to vote. I just think they should get out and meet a few people from outside of their own church sometime.

Chris