Category: Politics

Treason To The Future

Posted on July 20, 2011July 28, 2011 By Mark Tiedemann

No, I’m not going off on some political rant.Â At least, I don’t think so.Â (I was accused recently of using my blog as a soapbox…well, I thought, isn’t that what it’s for?Â The question is, how good is the soap.)

At our recent Dante session I was reminded of a quote I’d forgotten all about.Â One of the best philosophical thinkers of the 20th Century was Alfred North Whitehead.Â I recommend him.Â Even where I disagree with him, there is plenty to stir the imagination and encourage new thought.Â One of his better books, quite short and to the point, is The Function of Reason.Â …

How To Put This As Delicately As I Can…

Posted on July 13, 2011July 13, 2011 By Mark Tiedemann

Governor Rick Perry, who may or may not be running for president on the Republican ticket (any day now we may—or may not—get an announcement) has put out a call for a great big Texas style get-together prayer meeting.Â He has a passel of preachers coming to harrangue about the problems of America.

There’s only a couple of problems with the guest list and what it says about Perry.

He has one preacher who said that Hitler was sent by god to force all the Jews back to Israel (part of the Grand Design).

Another insists that not one more permit be issued for another mosque anywhere in the United States.…

Independence Day

Posted on July 4, 2011July 4, 2011 By Mark Tiedemann

It’s the Fourth of July.Â I’ve been pondering whether or not to write something politically pithy or culturally au courant and here it is, almost noon, and I’ve made no decision.Â I think I pretty much said what I had to say about my feelings about this country a few posts back for Memorial Day, so I don’t think I’ll revisit that.

Last night we sat on our front porch while the pre-Fourth fireworks went off in the surrounding neighborhood.Â Folks nearby spend an unconscionable amount of money on things that blow up and look pretty and we benefit from the show.Â …

Pathological Hypocrisy

Posted on June 13, 2011June 13, 2011 By Mark Tiedemann

I thought I might leave this alone, but some itches are too difficult to leave unscratched.Â Others have posted about Rick Santorum’s unbelievable hypocrisy over abortion.Â You can read the article here.

Basically, Mr. Santorum has it in mind to use the law to prohibit a medical procedure his wife had to go through in order to save her life.Â As the piece makes clear, in October of 1996, Karen Santorum underwent an abortion in the 19th week of pregnancy in order to save her life from an infected fetus.Â She had a 105 degree temperature.Â She would have died without the procedure.…

Teach the Controversy (!)

Posted on June 11, 2011June 11, 2011 By Mark Tiedemann

I wasn’t sure I’d do this, but I’m really pissed off.

This morning I opened my front door to find a flier lying on the porch.Â I thought it was another local contractor ad or announcement of a barbecue-and-rummage sale, so I scooped it up to glance at it before dropping it in the recycle hopper.Â Instead, I find in my hand a vile piece of unconscionable poison.Â And it seemed like it would be such a nice day!

I’m not going to dignify this crap by citing the source.Â The header of the two-side sheet reads: The Holocaust ControversyÂ The Case For Open Debate.Â …

Pathetic

Posted on June 6, 2011 By Mark Tiedemann

Representative Andrew Weiner has admitted that the now-famous snapshot of cock-in-shorts really is his.Â I have only one reaction:

What the hell is wrong with these people?

I am a photographer.Â I photographed all sorts of things, even naked people, and I have taken more than a few photographs for laughs.Â But I was never tempted to mail any of them to someone just on a lark!

This is beyond juvenile behavior.Â Sorry.Â It’s not even so much that boys will play with their toys, but there must be something about being able to tweet that scrapes a few I.Q. points off.Â …

Will ‘E Or Won’t ‘E?

Posted on June 4, 2011 By Mark Tiedemann

Mitt Romney has declared his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination.Â I don’t have a lot to say about him, other than about his declaration at the same time that one of his priorities (it’s too early to tell if it’s number one or just one of the top three or four) is the repeal of Obamacare.Â My reaction:Â How’s that going to get him elected?

See, Mr. Romney put something in place for Massachussetts that is virtually identical.Â The main difference is, you know, he—a Republican—did it, not someone else, a Democrat.Â Oh, and it’s a state thing not national.…

Memory Day

Posted on May 30, 2011August 4, 2011 By Mark Tiedemann

It’s Memorial Day.Â Lot’s of flags flying around the neighborhood, most of them made in China.Â Barbecues will permeate the air with the hunger-inducing aroma of charcoal and burning meat, the pop-spritz of cans opening will mingle with the sounds of conversation, laughter, and portable stereos pumping out classic rock or C & W quasi-patriotic gunk.

We bought a push mower this morning from Home Depot.Â Go green.

I would like to take a few moments to tell you what I feel and have felt about this country.

I grew up on a steady diet of John Wayne and wanting very much to make my dad proud.Â …

Aye of Newt

Posted on May 19, 2011 By Mark Tiedemann

Okay, I’ve been trying to get some sense of how the GOP intends to retake the White House in 2012 and not having a lot of luck.Â Now this nonsense with Newt Gingrich.

On Meet The Press he was asked what he thinks about Paul Ryan’s budget plans—plans which include massive eviscerations of social programs like Medicare—and he made one of his rare reasonable statements.Â He criticized the budget as, basically, right-wing social engineering and went on to say social engineering from the Right is as bad as social engineering from the Left. Think what you will about the merits of that in terms of national policy, it is nevertheless a self-consistent, reasonable statement.Â …

Invisible Women

Posted on May 11, 2011May 11, 2011 By Mark Tiedemann

I’m taking time out (already) from all the rewriting I have to do to complain and restate a principle.

Here’s a lovely little bit of misogyny.

Read the article?Â A newspaper took the photograph of the ready room where Obama and his cabinet received the news of Bin Ladin’s death and photoshopped out the women present.Â For reasons of “modesty” they claimed.Â They then apologized but asserted they have a First Amendment right to have done this.

Inadvertently—and I am sure they didn’t think about this when they did it—they gave Bin Ladin a small cultural victory out of his own death.Â …

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