Rush Limbaugh in 2006: "I'm getting so sick and tired of people rooting for the defeat of the good guys."
Rush Limbaugh in 2009: "I hope Obama fails. Somebody’s gotta say it."
And to think they called John Kerry a flip-flopper.
30 January 2009
25 January 2009
Ungagged
BBC: Obama lifts ban on abortion funds
For the eight years of the Bush presidency, the global gag rule was in place. No federal funding was given to foreign family planning agencies distributing information about abortion.
This hindered the ability of such agencies to work in third world countries that need sex ed and family planning information the most: countries where people think HIV is caused by demons, countries where access to contraception is limited or nonexistent, countries where children starve to death as a matter of course.
Thus the president known for 'family values' kept people ignorant about the whole subject of family planning rather than risk them learning about one controversial part of it.
In his first week on the job, President Obama has overturned this detrimental ban, so has promised women more control over their health and poor countries more control over their populations. As Planned Parenthood wrote in a statement praising the move, "No longer will health care providers be forced to choose between receiving family planning funding and restricting the health care services they provide to women."
Thank you, Mr. President.
For the eight years of the Bush presidency, the global gag rule was in place. No federal funding was given to foreign family planning agencies distributing information about abortion.
This hindered the ability of such agencies to work in third world countries that need sex ed and family planning information the most: countries where people think HIV is caused by demons, countries where access to contraception is limited or nonexistent, countries where children starve to death as a matter of course.
Thus the president known for 'family values' kept people ignorant about the whole subject of family planning rather than risk them learning about one controversial part of it.
In his first week on the job, President Obama has overturned this detrimental ban, so has promised women more control over their health and poor countries more control over their populations. As Planned Parenthood wrote in a statement praising the move, "No longer will health care providers be forced to choose between receiving family planning funding and restricting the health care services they provide to women."
Thank you, Mr. President.
21 January 2009
Mr. Obama comes to Washington
"Let me say it as simply as I can. Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency. Our commitment to openness means more than just informing the American people about how decisions are made. It means recognizing that government does not have all the answers, and that public officials need to draw on what citizens know. And that's why, as of today, I am directing members of my administration to find new ways of tapping the knowledge and experience of ordinary Americans, scientists and civic leaders, educators and entrepreneurs, because the way to solve the problems of our time as one nation is by involving the American people in shaping the policies that affect their lives. The executive orders and directives I'm issuing today will not, by themselves, make government as honest and transparent as it needs to be, and they do not go as far as we need to go towards restoring accountability and fiscal restraint in Washington; but these historic measures do mark the beginning of a new era of openness in our country, and I will, I hope, do something to make government trustworthy in the eyes of the American people in the days, and weeks, months, and years to come. That's a pretty good place to start."
- President Obama, 21 January 2009
A president who talks to the American people like adults. A president who will lend his ear to those who have "knowledge and experience". A president who views government as inherently neither good nor bad, but as a tool that, if wisely employed, can be used to fix problems.
In a word, a president who is smart.
This is the change we needed. This is the man I voted for. This is a Chief who's actually worth Hailing.
It's a pleasure to see you get to work, Mr. President.
- President Obama, 21 January 2009
A president who talks to the American people like adults. A president who will lend his ear to those who have "knowledge and experience". A president who views government as inherently neither good nor bad, but as a tool that, if wisely employed, can be used to fix problems.
In a word, a president who is smart.
This is the change we needed. This is the man I voted for. This is a Chief who's actually worth Hailing.
It's a pleasure to see you get to work, Mr. President.
08 January 2009
The Atheist Bus Campaign
New York Times London Journal: Atheists Send a Message, on 800 British Buses
LONDON — The advertisement on the bus was fairly mild, just a passage from the Bible and the address of a Christian Web site. But when Ariane Sherine, a comedy writer, looked on the Web site in June, she was startled to learn that she and her nonbelieving friends were headed straight to hell, to “spend all eternity in torment.”
And then she thought, how about putting some atheist messages on the bus, as a corrective to the religious ones?
And so were planted the seeds of the Atheist Bus Campaign, an effort to disseminate a godless message to the greater public. Supported by the scientist and author Richard Dawkins, the philosopher A. C. Grayling and the British Humanist Association, among others, the campaign raised nearly $150,000 in four days. Now it has more than $200,000, and on Tuesday it unveiled its advertisements on 800 buses across Britain.
Hear, hear! It's encouraging that so many Britons want to spread anti-superstitious arguments with as much zeal as the religious spread their nonsense.
If your reaction is like that of the woman quoted in the article, who objects, “I think it’s dreadful... everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I don’t like it in my face,” that's a valid point. It can be uncomfortable when viewpoints you disagree with are shoved in your face. Like, for example, the cross, the most ubiquitous symbol in the western world. Or the notion of salvation, tirelessly proselytized by Christian churches through the ages, which holds that without irrational belief in an ancient carpenter's divine status, you're in for an eternity of postmortem suffering. How's that for 'in your face'?
I also like the American advertisement:
Many believe that religion is a precondition for ethical behavior. Given the amount of immorality perpetrated in this world despite - and often because of - religion, it's amazing people still can argue this with a straight face, but the notion persists. Being "good for goodness' sake" is not only possible, it's much more fulfilling and meaningful than acting ethically only out of fear of being sent to a make-believe lake of fire.
The strongest feature of these ads is their uplifting tone. "Stop worrying and enjoy your life!" "Be good for goodness' sake!" This is a far cry from the bleak, desolate nihilism that is usually attributed to the faithless. These ads show that atheism is not merely about tearing down the old idols; it is about replacing them with rational humanist ethics, and a genuine embrace of life that backward and destructive ideas like sin render impossible.
I encourage you to read the deft and witty article by Ariane Sherine that sparked this campaign. Now stop worrying and go enjoy your life!
LONDON — The advertisement on the bus was fairly mild, just a passage from the Bible and the address of a Christian Web site. But when Ariane Sherine, a comedy writer, looked on the Web site in June, she was startled to learn that she and her nonbelieving friends were headed straight to hell, to “spend all eternity in torment.”
And then she thought, how about putting some atheist messages on the bus, as a corrective to the religious ones?
And so were planted the seeds of the Atheist Bus Campaign, an effort to disseminate a godless message to the greater public. Supported by the scientist and author Richard Dawkins, the philosopher A. C. Grayling and the British Humanist Association, among others, the campaign raised nearly $150,000 in four days. Now it has more than $200,000, and on Tuesday it unveiled its advertisements on 800 buses across Britain.
Hear, hear! It's encouraging that so many Britons want to spread anti-superstitious arguments with as much zeal as the religious spread their nonsense.
If your reaction is like that of the woman quoted in the article, who objects, “I think it’s dreadful... everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I don’t like it in my face,” that's a valid point. It can be uncomfortable when viewpoints you disagree with are shoved in your face. Like, for example, the cross, the most ubiquitous symbol in the western world. Or the notion of salvation, tirelessly proselytized by Christian churches through the ages, which holds that without irrational belief in an ancient carpenter's divine status, you're in for an eternity of postmortem suffering. How's that for 'in your face'?
I also like the American advertisement:
Many believe that religion is a precondition for ethical behavior. Given the amount of immorality perpetrated in this world despite - and often because of - religion, it's amazing people still can argue this with a straight face, but the notion persists. Being "good for goodness' sake" is not only possible, it's much more fulfilling and meaningful than acting ethically only out of fear of being sent to a make-believe lake of fire.
The strongest feature of these ads is their uplifting tone. "Stop worrying and enjoy your life!" "Be good for goodness' sake!" This is a far cry from the bleak, desolate nihilism that is usually attributed to the faithless. These ads show that atheism is not merely about tearing down the old idols; it is about replacing them with rational humanist ethics, and a genuine embrace of life that backward and destructive ideas like sin render impossible.
I encourage you to read the deft and witty article by Ariane Sherine that sparked this campaign. Now stop worrying and go enjoy your life!
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