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Catholic hysteria?!?!?Nuc said:Like when he tried to close down the Brooklyn Museum because of Catholic hysteria?
KarlMarx said:Catholic hysteria?!?!?
You mean depicting the Virgin Mary with elephant dung and pictures of clitorises is supposed to be something we Catholics are supposed to roll over and just take?
You were all outraged at the Boeing ad that showed soldiers being dropped on top of a mosque from a V-22 Osprey.
Why don't Catholics warrant the same respect to you people? At least Catholics don't fly planes into skyscrapers!!!!!!
KarlMarx said:Catholic hysteria?!?!?
You mean depicting the Virgin Mary with elephant dung and pictures of clitorises is supposed to be something we Catholics are supposed to roll over and just take?
You were all outraged at the Boeing ad that showed soldiers being dropped on top of a mosque from a V-22 Osprey.
Why don't Catholics warrant the same respect to you people? At least Catholics don't fly planes into skyscrapers!!!!!!
Nuc said:I saw the painting, did you? There was nothing wrong with it. In any case I was stating that any fool who would try to shut down an art museum because he doesn't understand art doesn't qualify as far left on the political spectrum, as was claimed. What didn't you comprehend?
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Not So Easy to Command
One of the justifications the White House has offered for Harriet Miers's nomination is that she is an evangelical Christian and thus can be assumed to be "conservative." As USA Today reported:
President Bush said Wednesday that efforts by his staff to underscore the evangelical religious beliefs of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers are appropriate because those beliefs are a crucial part of her background.
Miers' faith has become a key part of a White House outreach campaign to conservatives wary of her nomination.
"People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers," Bush told reporters at the White House.
"They want to know Harriet Miers' background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion," he said.
We objected to this line of defense on last week's episode of "The Journal Editorial Report," which put us in the unusual position of agreeing with the Washington Post's E.J. Dionne, who wrote last week that the president and his supporters were "thoroughly hypocritical":
Shortly after Bush named John Roberts to the Supreme Court, a few Democrats, including Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), suggested that the nominee might reasonably be questioned about the impact of his religious faith on his decisions as a justice.
Durbin had his head taken off. "We have no religious tests for public office in this country," thundered Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), insisting that any inquiry about a potential judge's religious views was "offensive." Fidelis, a conservative Catholic group, declared that "Roberts' religious faith and how he lives that faith as an individual has no bearing and no place in the confirmation process."
But now that Harriet Miers, Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee, is in trouble with conservatives, her religious faith and how she lives that faith are becoming central to the case being made for her by the administration and its supporters. Miers has almost no public record. Don't worry, the administration's allies are telling their friends on the right, she's an evangelical Christian.
Christopher Hitchens, scourge of religious believers, was even more outraged:
Of the nomination of Harriet Miers, . . . it can be said that only her religion has been considered by her conservative fans to be worth mentioning. What else is there to say, in any case, about a middling bureaucrat and yes-woman than that she attends some mediocre place of worship? . . . On this basis, the president and his people have felt able to issue assurances of her OK-ness. So, as far as I can determine, she was set, and has passed, a religious test: that of being an "Evangelical" Christian.
Yet it must be said that this defense of Miers has been far from completely effective. "Jimmy Carter was an evangelical Christian from Georgia, and what did that do for us?" asks conservative lawyer Mark Smith in the Washington Times. And while some "religious right" leaders, such as James Dobson and Pat Robertson, have lined up behind the nomination, others remain skeptical:
* Tony Perkins, Family Research Council: "We are the last people on earth to object to the news that she is a committed Christian; the Good News is, above all, great news for her. And we reiterate, this fact about her is neither grounds for objection nor a fit object for examination by the Senate. By the same token, this fact is not grounds for certifying her to us or to the public. It's not just that religious conviction is an unreliable indicator of a judicial philosophy (though it clearly is), it's that inferences drawn from an individual's religious affiliation have no place in decisions to nominate or confirm a judicial appointee."
* Stephen Crampton, American Family Association: "Merely being an evangelical Christian does not automatically qualify one for any position. Specific knowledge and skills are required for almost any job, and sitting on the highest court in the land is not just any job. Dr. Dobson's endorsement, while admittedly weighty, was predicated upon the private assurances of Ms. Miers' friends and colleagues, and her church affiliation. While these may be important factors, they do not provide assurance that she possesses the necessary skills and knowledge for the job, and they do not settle for most of us the question of her judicial philosophy."
* Mark Sutherland, National Policy Center (link in PDF): "The President has made it a key selling point that she is a 'born-again Christian.' This is wonderful, and speaks highly of her as a person. But this fact does not give us any insight into her judicial philosophy, her constitutional interpretation, or how she would perform as a judge. While I could worship with her, study the Bible with her, and spend eternity with her, it does not mean I want her sitting on SCOTUS."
In 1993 the Washington Post infamously described conservative Christians as "easy to command." It appears the White House has made the mistake of buying into this stereotype.
Kathianne said:I saw it. If 'free art' fine. Since gov't $$ backed it, not ok.
Nuc said:What are you talking about? Museums can display whatever they want. The Brooklyn Museum does not receive all of their money from the public. And this begs the issue. If tax money can fund wars, or bridges, or roads the majority of Americans disagree with, why not art people disagree with. Until we get rid of taxation, this is a bogus argument.
BaronVonBigmeat said:People will say that voting for a 3rd party candidate is throwing your vote away. I'd say it's the opposite. If you vote for Bush because he's not quite as bad as the other guy, then when he wins it's interpreted as a "mandate". On the other hand, if a party serious about cutting government got even 10% of the vote, it would be a huge bitchslap to both parties.
And let's say you voted for that Constitutionalist party or the Libertarians. Let's say lots of other republicans did too. Would Kerry win? Yes. Would that actually be the worst thing ever? I don't think so. You'd have a republican congress vs. a democrat president. Sweet, blessed gridlock would insue. Can anyone imagine a scenario where Kerry vs. republicans would result in higher spending than Bush & republicans? We could probably put a ex-Soviet planner in the white house, and he couldn't outspend Mr. Bush.
dilloduck said:still better than Kerry
Max Power said:Bullshit. With Kerry in the White House, the Republican controlled Congress would have cock blocked his every move. And he would've done the same to them.
Partisan politics at its best.
The result would've been a significant decrease in government spending
... Unless that's not what you want...
Nuc said:A lot of people on the religious right are upset he has not delivered on abortion and some of the other issues they sold as "values" in the election.
9/11 happens with Kerry in the senate?manu1959 said:tell me with kerry in the white house does 9/11 happen?
Avatar4321 said:I think most understand that abortion is not something that will change over night. In fact, I think the only think the President might be able to do is appoint judges who will over turn that stupid decision and let the states decide again.
Nuc said:This is probably correct. If it's something he can't do anything about, why beat it to hell in the election cycle?
dilloduck said:So predict an outcome for me---the US gonna cut and run ?
It's not up to us who Iraq chooses to buddy up with in the long run. And look what happened to Viet Nam----communism?------looks more like rampant capitalism to me.
Avatar4321 said:I think Bush has lived up to his promises to the base. He promised that he would spend more on education and Medicare. I don't think he needed to but it was one of his campaign promises so why on earth should we be surprised when he follows through? And increasing military spending is a given considering the war on terror and the fact that Clinton decimated our military spending. I think the President could offset more of the costs but cutting into social programs.
My only question on President Bush fulfilling his promises is the Supreme Court nomination. Both Roberts and Miers are still relative unknowns. However, knowing how the President has followed through on his other promises I believe he believes he has fullfilled his promise.
KarlMarx said:Catholic hysteria?!?!?
You mean depicting the Virgin Mary with elephant dung and pictures of clitorises is supposed to be something we Catholics are supposed to roll over and just take?
You were all outraged at the Boeing ad that showed soldiers being dropped on top of a mosque from a V-22 Osprey.
Why don't Catholics warrant the same respect to you people? At least Catholics don't fly planes into skyscrapers!!!!!!
