It’s January 16, Religious Freedom Day.

So act like a real American and mind your own damn business regarding other people’s faith or lack thereof.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release January 15, 2010

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DAY, 2010

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION

Long before our Nation’s independence, weary settlers sought refuge on our shores to escape religious persecution on other continents. Recognizing their strife and toil, it was the genius of America’s forefathers to protect our freedom of religion, including the freedom to practice none at all. Many faiths are now practiced in our Nation’s houses of worship, and that diversity is built upon a rich tradition of religious tolerance. On this day, we commemorate an early realization of our Nation’s founding ideals: Virginia’s 1786 Statute for Religious Freedom.

The Virginia Statute was more than a law. It was a statement of principle, declaring freedom of religion as the natural right of all humanity — not a privilege for any government to give or take away. Penned by Thomas Jefferson and championed in the Virginia legislature by James Madison, it barred compulsory support of any church and ensured the freedom of all people to profess their faith openly, without fear of persecution. Five years later, the First Amendment of our Bill of Rights followed the Virginia Statute’s model, stating, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .”.

Our Nation’s enduring commitment to the universal human right of religious freedom extends beyond our borders as we advocate for all who are denied the ability to choose and live their faith. My Administration will continue to oppose growing trends in many parts of the world to restrict religious expression.

Faith can bring us closer to one another, and our freedom to practice our faith and follow our conscience is central to our ability to live in harmony. On Religious Freedom Day, let us pledge our constant support to all who struggle against religious oppression and rededicate ourselves to fostering peace with those whose beliefs differ from our own. In doing so, we reaffirm our common humanity and respect for all people with whom we share a brief moment on this Earth.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do more hereby proclaim January 16, 2010, as Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to commemorate this day with events and activities that teach us about this critical foundation of our Nation’s liberty, and show us how we can protect it for future generations here and around the world.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

You’re not the president of me!

I had a custom bumper sticker of that statement printed during the first term of George W. Bush’s malodorous presidency, and the sentiment grew stronger day by day by day throughout his entire reign. That sticker, and my Re-elect Gore in 2008 sticker, decorated the back of my Trooper the whole time, and were joined by an Obama 2008 sticker only after Barack Obama sealed the deal as the Democratic candidate once and for all.

After Obama took office, I tried to remove the sticker, but the adhesive was too strong. I kept intending to take some sort of solvent to it, but didn’t get around to it. I did, however, take a black permanent marker to the word “not” as a temporary measure, making it read You’re the president of me. I didn’t want anyone seeing the sticker and thinking it was meant for Obama. He was not my first choice ( I still maintain that Gore should have run, and was the right man for the job), but I voted for him and hoped he’d do great things. He got automatic points for replacing the worst fucking president this country has ever had.

Obama’s been in office about a year now, so it’s worth appraising what he’s accomplished done so far.

• Abandoned a leadership role in health care reform, except when he has worked to cripple it (as in taking single payer off the table before the debate even began, making secret deals with the very corporate powers we need to de-power, stating support for a public option while actually working against one behind the scenes, and allowing Joe Lieberman and a handful of other congressfolk to seize control of the issue from the elected majority).
• Refused to allow proper investigation into probable criminal acts perpetrated by the Bush administration, obstructed release of incriminating information about same, and an embrace of  the same sort of misuse of executive power that Bush specialized in.
• Treated the progressive constituency that elected him with condescension and disdain while seeking over and over to court right-wing cooperation in “bipartisanship” that never gets anywhere, and has netted him only unflinching and uncompromising obstruction from those he’s trying to reach, as well as a widespread personal demonization from the conservative rabble that often walks the line of encouraging violence.
• Scuttled from making any changes to help his LGBT constituency in any ways at all, contrary to what he’d promised.
• Failed to follow through on his promise to close Guantanamo Bay (and when it does happen, shows every sign of continuing similar policies toward prisoners wherever they happen to be held instead).
• Poured untold billions of taxpayer dollars into bailouts of the corrupt entities that (unregulated during the Bush years) destroyed our economy, without bothering to make them accountable for the money or what they did with it, while millions of Americans lose their jobs, homes, and financial security without help.
• Unceasingly favored corporate/financial interests over the interests of the American people at large.
• Increased our commitment to pointless, expensive wars rather than beginning an intelligent process of withdrawing our troops.
• Buckled over and over in the face of partisan opposition, failing to stand strong as a president elected by a strong majority.

God, I could go on and on, but it’s wearing me out just looking back at this man’s record thus far. There’s still time for him to step up and do some good things, but at the moment, I couldn’t vote for him again regardless of who he may be running against, because he’s taking my vote for granted in a way I just will not support. He and his staff obviously figure they can count on progressive votes because, after all, who else can we vote for?

The answer, as far as I’m concerned, is (a) anyone who gives him a primary challenge. or (b) no one. My best case scenario at the moment is a strong Democratic challenger bumping him from office next time around, and keeping Democratic majorities in Congress that that person would hopefully actually use for the good of our country. Second best, and this is something I never would have thought I’d say, would be a Republican defeating him while Congress stays Democratic enough to hopefully prevent the Republican from doing too much damage. No politician should hold themselves above accountability for their actions.

And that bumper sticker?

Well, unlike my Obama sticker, it’s still on my truck. Over the months the black ink over the word “not” has gradually washed away. Now I figure maybe I couldn’t remove it because I wasn’t meant to just yet. Listen up, Barack:

You’re not the president of me!

And you won’t be until you start doing the goddamned job you promised you were going to do.

Let’s make that

Bush’s Presidency Ends

Though Obama’s better than Bush (as most people, animals, plants, or objects would be),  he spent the last year mainly pissing me off. But this is supposed to be things I enjoyed, and watching Bush go the hell away was a definite high point.

BUSH'S PLAN FOR AMERICA

Who decides if YOU get health care?

While our esteemed young POTUS gets all sincereish for the cameras about this wonderful Senate bill, let’s take a pause and look at what other countries are really doing with their national health care, as opposed to the scary stories woven throughout our shoddy national debate.

One of the essential arguments conservatives use against “socialized” care is that they shouldn’t be forced to pay for someone else. This principle trumps all, even down to the welfare of poor children. After all, they’re their parents’ responsibility. I guess if they die, that just gets lazy, unproductive genes out of the genetic pool.

Socialized systems vs. free market systems is a valid debate, though, well worth having. It all depends on what you think government is “for,” and how much duty American citizens owe their “greatest country on earth,” and how Darwinian you are in your concern about the welfare of other human beings.

Do Americans have a right to a good education?

Do Americans have a right to expect bridges they drive on to be well-built and maintained?

Do Americans have a right to emergency services maintained by their communities such as the fire department?

Some argue that we shouldn’t have those things, or that they should be part of the free market. That way, Paris Hilton gets the best schooling in private schools (lord knows she seems to need it), she can use a private helicopter to just fly over unsafe infrastructure, and she can use the money she would save on taxes to hire and manage her own fire department. Or maybe her condo association would handle that or something.

Meanwhile, poor people wind up with no or poor education, sometimes die in bridge collapses, and grab a bucket if their house catches on fire and they can afford a bucket.

The American way?

Most people, though, rightfully expect those matters, matters of basic human welfare and opportunity, to be handled by the government. But a lot of those same folks just can’t make the cognitive leap that health care, the most basic system of human welfare, is thrown to the free market like leftovers to the dogs.

Americans were traumatized and scarred by an attack on 9/11/2001 that killed nearly 3,000 people. It was a terrible day. But right now, 45,000 people a year are dying in our great country because they don’t have insurance coverage.

Forty.

Five.

Thousand.

Do those people deserve to die simply because they don’t have as much cash as someone else? Does Paris Hilton have a greater right to life than some poor kid dying of untreated leukemia? According to our way of life, and apparently our collective morality, the answer to both those questions is yes.

If we can pay for schools, bridges, and fire departments, not to mention uncalled-for wars that drain our national coffers (the Iraq war is costing us $7.3 billion per month) and godzillions of dollars to bailout the assnecks that ran our economy into the ground, we damn well should be able to provide health care to all our citizens, like every one of our peers around the world manages to do.

Concerned about the deficit, and all those tax bucks that would presumably get soaked up by a socialized system? Take a look at how much various countries spent per person for healthcare in 2007:

United States: $7290
Switzerland: $4417
France: $3601
United Kingdom: $2992
Italy: $2686
Japan: $2581

All those other countries provide far better health care to their citizens than the United States, and they’re spending a lot less money doing so. Why? Because they’re not leaving everything in the hands of corporate vampires with no morality, only a balance sheet.

Frontline did an investigation into the health care systems of a few of our peer countries around the world, resulting in a report called Sick Around the World. It’s very interesting, showing not only the good things about those alternate ways of doing things, but pointing out the problems that have come up with them. It’s definitely worth watching, and you can do so at this link. It’s also available for streaming on Netflix.

“President Obama says that Congress is very close to getting a new healthcare plan, but due to compromises it ‘won’t include everything that everybody wants.’ For instance, it covers everything except trips to the doctor or the hospital.”
—Conan O’Brien

She was suing Miss USA in a fine moral snit, claiming religious persecution, when the Miss USA folks pulled out a tape of self-made porn she’d produced for a boyfriend at some point and ran it for her and her mom. Voila. Instant settlement.

Apparently there are at least eight such videos that have come to light, and it seems inevitable that they’re going to wind up on the Internets. Under normal circumstances, I frown on such things, because they’re immense invasions of privacy. But in a case like Carrie’s, I have to admit to enjoying some schadenfreude, much as I do when rabidly anti-gay GOP leaders get caught blowing dudes in bathrooms or texting dirty messages to teenage boys. The only thing that might make this better would be a porn tape Carrie made with Sarah Palin.

For the interested, two NSFW stills from one of her home movies have been leaked already, and can be seen here and here.  And, yes indeed, Carrie Prejean is a beautiful woman.

We have gun-toting buffoons showing up at presidential appearances, a congressman heckling the elected president in a joint session of Congress, legions of ignorant sheep letting Beck and Hannity and Limbaugh lead them toward the Apocalypse that many of them actually desire, a set of political values that can be summed up as (a) keep anything good from happening under Democratic rule so they can’t get credit, (b) cripple Obama’s power, and (c) do anything we can to regain our dominance so we can better serve our corporate masters.

Want to see a great example of the sort of healthy debate Republicans are bringing to policy issues now? Just watch this video, in all its glory, and see how it looks when unchivalrous, dishonorable rabble with nothing to offer get into government.

Me, I get a kick out of the “What is your objection?” “I object” exchange. With debate like that, who needs morons?