Political Cartoons December - US News and World Report

I'm including this here simply for the Dalai Lama cartoon ...

Political Cartoons December - US News and World Report

An atheist view of December – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

I found this fascinating and worth a thorough reading. Quoting one passage from David Silverman, president of American Atheists: 'Silverman says it’s a problem that Christmas is a religious holiday that’s also a U.S. federal holiday. “If you’re going to force Jews, atheists, Hindus to observe Christmas by shutting down the country, what we’re going to observe is the most secular parts of the holiday,” he explains.'

An atheist view of December – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

Of Conflicts and Keith Olbermann

Journalists and editorial commentators have become embroiled in incidents that call their impartiality in question. Juan Williams was shown the door at NPR for saying on a Fox News program that obvious Muslims on airplanes make him nervous. He responded by telling Bill O'Reilly that he was viewed disfavorably at NPR because he appeared on Fox News programs.

Now it's Keith Olbermann's turn. The host of Countdown and one of MSNBC's brightest stars was suspended indefinitely last Friday for contributing to three Democratic candidates for Congress in violation of NBC policy. As it turned out, indefinitely lasts only a few days; buoyed by hundreds of thousands of protest messages, Olbermann was reinstated as of Tuesday, November 9.

There are those who argue that the old rules of impartiality should not apply to commentators who have a partisan point of view; only transparency is necessary. I do not agree.

I first became a fan of Countdown because of Olbermann's razor-sharp humorous sarcasm, honed by his ESPN days. He was an equal-opportunity spotlighter of the foibles of all public figures, whether celebrity or political. But his Special Comments developed against the excesses of the Bush Administration, and he rocketed to cable TV stardom.

However, it became clear during the 2008 presidential campaign that Olbermann showed favoritism toward Democrats in general and then-candidate Barack Obama in particular. What I once saw as righteous indignation toward Bush-era outrages had disintegrated into mere partisanship. As a result, I now watch MSNBC less and CNN more (and Fox News not at all).

Olbermann has castigated Fox News over owner Rupert Murdoch's $1 million donations to the Republican Governors Association and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. How can he now claim the moral high ground when he himself has contributed to political candidates he has covered on Countdown? There is no difference. And this is why journalists and commentators should not contribute to those who they cover.

False Belief

Nothing is as frustrating and deflating in public policy debate as false belief -- either in the form of willful ignorance or those taken in by deliberate misinformation. Never in my lifetime has there been such an overabundance of false belief as now.

Our politically polarized world has gone beyond a difference of opinion to a place of malicious fictions where demons abound, anger is easy, and ignorance fuels the flames. As one reporter put it, how can the president get people behind his policies when he can’t convince a third of the people he’s a Christian.

So we have Rick Santelli's famous call for a tea party because of "losers' mortgages," blaming the housing crisis on the victims and not the predatory lenders. Forbes magazine stated "the U.S. is being ruled according to the dreams of a Luo tribesman of the 1950s" in a cover story. Proposed mosques are frantically opposed from Manhattan to Murfreesboro, and even wild charges have been made of Sharia law coming to Dearborn, Michigan. Such fears of terrorist havens were never leveled at Christians after Timothy McVeigh bombed the Murrah Building.

This naked deception by some and willingness to ostracize by others is poisonous to the health of our society. The only way it stops is for enough people to stand up to malicious falsehoods and demand "enough."

Letter to Daily News, 9/10/10

This was a letter I wrote to the Daily News in Bowling Green KY and published on September 10, 2010:

Your Sept. 1 editorial “Hope and Change Was Disappointing” sounded wearily like the constant drumbeat of automatic opposition that has come to characterize the Republican Party.

The editorial’s language – “ram a stimulus package down the American people’s throats,” “Chicago-style politics” – came straight from GOP talking points rather than thoughtful analysis of current events.

If “the country is angry” as the Daily News stated, it is from the constant stream of Beckian diatribes, official GOP revisionism and death panel and birther nonsense designed to appeal to people’s fears rather than their aspirations. It is also due to President Barack Obama’s lack of vigor in standing up for his policies. Whether his energy was sapped by the health care bill debate or the pro forma Republican stonewall of opposition, Obama needs to buck up and be as motivating in the Oval Office as he was on the campaign trail.

Someone should send Obama a DVD of “The American President.” In that movie, Andrew Shepherd refused to answer allegations from his political opponents and became defined by them since, like the real-life conservative blowhards and angry tea partiers, the public only heard their voice.

Obama needs to forcefully advocate his policies so the public knows his vision, not Fox News Channel’s take on his vision. And he needs to tell the tea party movement that, in Shepherd’s words, “your 15 minutes are up.”

Bunning's Hypocracy on Paygo

Our retiring Senator Jim Bunning has made a national spectacle of himself the past few days, singlehandedly holding up an emergency extension for unemployment in the Senate, which was also tied to highway, health care, and small business loan funding. Bunning finally relented last night and allowed the stopgap bill to be debated (it passed 78-19).

Bunning's stated rationale was that the bill did not follow paygo, the principle Democrats want reinstated in spending that each spending increase will be paid for in a spending cut or tax increase. Bunning said the 30 day extension would cost $10 billion.

However, as a Senate colleague pointed out in last night's debate, Bunning was unconcerned about paygo during the Bush years when he voted for two unfunded wars and all the deficit spending that W pushed through. If the Republican party wants to avoid the label of the party that hates the poor, Bunning did them no favors.

Musicians' New Years Resolutions by David Kibler

A co-worker shared these New Year's Resolutions with me from a central Kentucky music publication memusicnews.com, resolutions specific to different types of musicians. They're so spot-on that I had to share them with my musician friends on this blog. Proper credit: these are reprinted without permission and come from the column David's Slingshot by David Kibler, who is lead minister at Catalyst Christian Church in Nicholasville KY. Thanks to David - enjoy!

Lead Singers:
1. Don't be like the lead singer who was asked to change a light bulb. He just held it and let the world revolve around him. Other people in the band are important, too.
2. If you can't hit the notes, don't blame the sound engineer or insist on Autotune. There are some things even reverb won't fix.
3. Don't sing through your nose. The Jonas Brothers don't need any competitions in that area.
4. Realistically, though, if anyone in the band disagrees with you, just can 'em and move on. The band is all about you, anyway.

Drummers:
1. Resist the urge to overplay. Most songs don't need a Neil Peart wannabe on drums.
2. Don't be like the guy who delivered me a pizza the other night. His knocking sped up, and he didn't know when to come in.
3. Get your own place to live -- pretty soon, you will have to move out of the parents' basement.
4. Cowbells are only cool if you play in Blue Oyster Cult. Other than that, leave them to the cows.
5. If you break up with the girlfriend, don't sweat it. There are plenty of homeless shelters for you to stay the night.

Bass Players:
1. This year, realize that none of the fans think you are important, and you will not be receiving any praise from them.
2. Resolve not to say the words "Hey guys, let's do some of MY material!" That is the quickest way to get kicked out of a band.
3. Find the "pocket" and stay there. Especially when the lead singer is picking up chicks.
4. Unless you are Geddy Lee, Michael Anthony, or Sting, don't try to sing. BAss players don't have any talent anyway.

Lead Guitar Players:
1. Develop good people skills. They are necessary for waiting tables and working fast food while you wait for your band to "make it big."
2. Effects DON'T cover up for sloppy technique.
3. This year, resolve to show up to practice actually knowing your part so the rest of the band doesn't have to waste time listening to you learn it.
4. This year, resolve to show up to practice beforehand, giving yourself time to set up and be ready when practice actually starts.
5. This year, resolve to show up to practice at all.

Keyboard Players:
1. This year, resolve to make peace with your bass player by staying off the left hand.

Accordion Players:
1. Get rid of the pager. No one is going to call you.