The Republican Strategy for Resolving Disagreements

On The Superiority of Western Civilization vs. the Middle East

A senior Egyptian general admits that "virginity checks" were performed on women arrested at a demonstration this spring, the first such admission after previous denials by military authorities.

The allegations arose in an Amnesty International report, published weeks after the March 9 protest. It claimed female demonstrators were beaten, given electric shocks, strip-searched, threatened with prostitution charges and forced to submit to virginity checks.

At that time, Maj. Amr Imam said 17 women had been arrested but denied allegations of torture or "virginity tests."

But now a senior general who asked not to be identified said the virginity tests were conducted and defended the practice.

"The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine," the general said. "These were girls who had camped out in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found in the tents Molotov cocktails and (drugs)."

And yes, this probably has a lot to do with religion. Religion is the primary reason that Middle Eastern women, for the most part, are treated as second class citizens.

Sometimes people will say to me that I have to understand that there are cultural differences that I cannot possibly comprehend, and that culture makes it "OK" -- or at least makes it beyond the ability of those not within that culture to judge. I disagree. And I judge it foul and unfair. The Middle Eastern culture will continue to be inferior to Western culture until the fair treatment of women is a regular practice and scum like this general are prosecuted for such horrible treatment of women.

Where Your Taxes Go

A U.S. taxpayer earning the 2009 median income ($34,140) and paying $5,400 in federal income tax and FICA ponies up for the following, for starters:

Social Security $1040.70
Medicare $625.51
Medicaid $385.28
Interest on the national debt $287.03
Combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan $229.17
Military personnel $192.79
Veterans benefits $74.65
Federal highways $63.89
Health-care research (NIH) $46.54
Foreign aid $46.08
Education funding for low-income K-12 students $38.17
Military retirement benefits $32.60
Pell Grants for low-income college students $29.75
NASA space program $28.09
Internal Revenue Service $17.69
Environmental cleanup (EPA) $11.67
FBI $11.21
Head Start $10.91
Public housing $10.50
National parks $4.27
Drug Enforcement Administration $3.14
Amtrak $2.23
Smithsonian Museum $1.12
Funding for the arts $0.24
Salaries and benefits for members of Congress $0.19




From Feb 2011 Reader's Digest

Rick Perry: Idiot

We have a drought in Texas... not much rain has fallen the past couple of months throughout the entire state.

We also have an idiot Governor named Rick Perry. What do these two things have in common? Well, I don't blame Perry for the lack of rain, though perhaps I should. His solution is for Texans to pray for rain. I guess his god just doesn't care about Texas... or maybe Rick isn't praying hard enough. Sky Daddy needs his appeasement!

Even more idiotic is Perry's absolute hypocrisy! For example:

"You have to ask, 'Why are you taking care of Alabama and other states?' I know our letter didn't get lost in the mail," Perry, a Republican and frequent critic of the federal government, said after addressing a Texas emergency management conference.

Yes, this whining comes from the same man who talked about Texas seceding from the union and has rejected federal funds that could have helped many Texans. So let's see, we'll talk smack about the Federal government until things get really bad... then complain that the Feds aren't responding.

And this idiot stands a chance to become a leading Republican candidate for the presidency, perhaps as early as 2016. Well, he kinda fits the mold (Bachman, Palin, Trump...)

{sigh}

By the way, FEMA has made 20 emergency declarations for individual fires in Texas.

A Vengeful or Forgiving God?

I Shake My Head Sadly...

Follow Jesus? You'll Burn in Hell!

It says so right in your bible.

Luke 14:26 says that you must hate your family to be a disciple of Jesus.

1 John 3:15 says that if you hate your brother you are a murderer.

Revelation 21:8 says that all murderers will burn in hell.

So if you understand transitivity, christians are gonna burn in hell...

Good Things Come From Labor Unions and Collective Bargaining, For Example...

The 40 hour work week

Child labor being illegal

Paid vacation days/weeks

Fair salaries

Paid health care

Paid leave with a guaranteed job upon return

Pensions

A "Middle" class

...And some of the more recent "good" things about unions...

• Data from the March 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS), for example, shows that unionized workers are 16.4% more likely than similar non-union workers to be covered by an employer-provided health insurance plan; and 18.8% more likely to participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
• According to the Economic Policy Institute unionized workers receive 26% more vacation time and 14% more total paid leave (vacations and holidays).