Moonhowlings

Christine O’Donnell really needs to do better than this.  Part of going to Washington must include basic understanding of what’s makes our government work.  She really isn’t prepared on the most basic of levels.  Ms. ODonnell is correct.  Senators don’t have to memorize the Constitution, but they should have some basic knowledge of key ideas.

Christine O’Donnell really needs study harder.  According to the Wall Street Journal:

Ms. O’Donnell attacked her Democratic opponent, Chris Coons, for insisting that public schools teach evolution but not “intelligent design,” which posits that life forms are too complex to have evolved through natural processes and must have been created by a conscious being such as God. Mr. Coons, the New Castle County executive, said that public schools could not teach intelligent design or similar theories, like creationism and creation science, because they were “religious doctrine” rather than science.

“That is a blatant violation of our Constitution,” Ms. O’Donnell said. “The Supreme Court has always said it is up to the local communities to decide their standards.”

That’s generally true–except when it comes to teaching religion-based nonscientific theories of human origin. In 1968, the high court struck down an Arkansas law prohibiting instruction in evolution. In 1987, the court invalidated a Louisiana statute requiring that “creation science,” an antecedent to intelligent design, be taught alongside evolution.

Ms. O’Donnell likened Mr. Coons’s position on evolution to those of “our so-called leaders in Washington” who have rejected the “indispensible principles of our founding.”

She lacks facts on such a basic level, it makes her unqualified for office.  I felt sorry for her watching the video.  We are aware that the words in the Constitution do not say ‘separation of church and state.’  However the courts have continued to reaffirm this interpretation.  Jefferson’s writings also support separation. 

PBS is running a great documentary series 6 hours long that investigates religion in the United states, from its very beginnings until, I assume, the present. So far the documentary, God in America,  is excellent. My favorite part so far has been religion during colonial times. The show also explain the split from the established church. I had no idea that Anglican Church was the official church of Colonial Virginia and that taxes supported it. Night one was full of information I had no idea about.  Much detail was given about Thomas Jefferson and the establishment clause. 

Night 2 part 1 mainly centered on Abraham Lincoln as a spiritual being. Ho hum. Night 2 part 2 was about Judaism in the United States. Fascinating. Lots of new material in that segment. There was a part 3, involving the Scopes Trial. I haven’t finished watching yet. More on that later. I need to think about that part. We haven’t even gotten close to finishing that debate that took place 85 years ago.

Tonight wraps up the series. In watching this show, I saw how we haven’t really evolved all that much as a nation. Religious ideas are still center stage in our political arena, much the way they have been throughout our history.

Who else is watching this series and do you find it worthwhile?

It has come to our attention that the merchants of  Old Town Manassas are being asked by the anti-KK zealots to close up shop for 1 hour during the middle of Fall Festival, between 12:00 and 1:00 pm.  Are they nuts? 

Fall Festival and the other events held in the City are to promote fun, highlight the city, and bring in folks to spend money in the City of Manassas.  Localities all over America do this and each place tries to add its own unique touch to an event; something that makes the festival special. 

What kind of a self-serving, narcissistic, selfish person would ask merchants in this economic crunch to turn away potential business for an hour?  Why?  Are they going to pay each merchant their lost revenue?  Are they going to replace the BPOL tax loss for the  City?  Are they going to replace the sales tax to the state?  Are they going to pay the salaries of the worker bees who might get put on unpaid ‘break’ for an hour? 

Do these people think that the average shopper coming from outside Old Town Manassas gives a fig about KK Temptations, which by the way,  isn’t even open for business yet?   The Moonhowlings roving reporters will be taking note of which businesses were bullied into closing.  We will publish those names.  Our readers and contributors may handle the situation as they feel best. 

[Clarification:  People may chose to spend their money in establishments opposing KK Temptations or instead they may choose to withhold their money from said establishments.]

One has to ask what on earth these people are trying to do to the City.  This proposed behavior is illogical.  What people boycott themselves?  The object of the boycott won’t even be open for business. 

Knowledge is power.  This boycott is all about bullying and power.  Some of us will not allow ourselves to be bullied.

Elena

Moon-howler

From the American Library Association:

Censorship can be subtle, almost imperceptible, as well as blatant and overt, but, nonetheless, harmful. As John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty:

If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. Were an opinion a personal possession of no value except to the owner; if to be obstructed in the enjoyment of it were simply a private injury, it would make some difference whether the injury was inflicted only on a few persons or on many. But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.

— On Liberty, John Stuart Mill

Banned Books Week began back in 1982.  It is always designated as the last week in September.  It is the only national celebration of  the freedom to read what we want.  More than a thousand challenges from every state have come in since 1982. 

 The following list is the top 100 banned or challenged classics:

Read more…

Today the Contract ON America 2010 will be released under the name of Pledge to America. The original Contract came out in 1994 and was orchestrated by Newt Gingrich. One thing caught my eye in the advance that came out on Wed. Sept. 22:

“They agreed to include the abortion provision and a vaguely worded statement on social issues: “We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life, and the private and faith-based organizations that form the core of our American values.”

What does this all mean? Is this a first amendment issue rearing its head? Those words are vague and unspecific, and on a topic I always think needs watching…closely. What if my American values differ with the GOP  American values?

Bad, bad deja vu. Wait! It isn’t deja vu if it has happened before, now is it?

Updates as the entire Pledge is released.  The spin has become and there will be lots of photo ops on Thursday.

According to the Washington Post 9/23/10 :

Highlights of the plan include:

• Requiring all bills to be posted online three days before votes and requiring legislation to cite the constitutional authority for the new law;

• Holding the trials of detainees from Guantanomo Bay, Cuba, outside the United States.

• Reducing federal spending to fiscal 2008 levels, except for national security.

Draft of the Pledge to America  available for download.

A good synopsis and analysis–Washington Post: The GOP’s ‘Pledge to America’: A closer look at the details

Rachel Maddow interviews Major Micheal Almy who was dismissed from duty because of DADT laws and examines his role in the the ruling that was just handed down.

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While Judge Virginia Phillips has remarked, The logic defies description” regarding currect DADT policy, an appeal is expected in many circles. This very well might be a case of ‘be careful what you wish for.’ Regardless, this is a huge decision that has the potential for huge impact on our military.

Do you think DADT is unconstitutional? What will the outcome be? Will we revert back to a nation that prohibits gays and lesbians from legally serving in the military? Will the military now actively begin a witch hunt to weed out all gays and lesbians or will there be new legislation that allows gays and lesbians to serve?

Gen. David Petraeus said a church's Quran-burning "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses."

Several weeks ago we put up a thread about a minister in Florida who planned to burn copies of the Quran on 9/11. To date, there seems to be mo change in his misguided plans.

CNN reports:

CNN) — The U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Monday criticized a Florida church’s plan to burn copies of the Quran on September 11, warning the demonstration “could cause significant problems” for American troops overseas.

“It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan,” Gen. David Petraeus said in a statement issued Monday.

The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, plans to mark the anniversary of al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington by burning copies of the Muslim holy book. The church insists the event is “neither an act of love nor of hate,” but a warning against what it calls the threats posed by Islam.

Good for General Petraeus. Its time someone called out this arrogant man. Who better than the commander of all US troops in Afghanistan.

More from CNN:

With about 120,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement, Petraeus warned that burning Qurans “is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems — not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community.”

And one of his deputies, Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, told CNN’s “The Situation Room” that event “has already stirred up a lot of discussion and concern” among Afghans.

“We very much feel that this can jeopardize the safety of our men and women that are serving over here in the country,” said Caldwell, the head of NATO efforts to train Afghan security forces.

Caldwell said American troops “are over here to defend the rights of American citizens, and we’re not debating the First Amendment rights that people have.” But he added, “What I will tell you is that their very actions will in fact jeopardize the safety of the young men and women who are serving in uniform over here and also undermine the very mission that we’re trying to accomplish.”

“I would hope they would understand that there are second- and third-order effects that will occur that will affect that young man and woman who’s out there on point for America, serving their nation today, because of their actions back in the United States,” he said

The stupidity and arrogance of this minister is almost unspeakable. When the U.S. Commander tells you that you are endangering the troops, you should listen. If even one of our men or women is killed because of this ignoramous, his entire ministry should be held responsible. How sad that Americans would involve themselves with book burning. Sounds Third Reich to me. I would have no problem with the press being ordered to stay away and the minister barred from his bonfire on 9/11, as a matter of national security. The first amendment is not without some limitations.

Meanwhile, we can only hope that our troops will be safe.

From Netsafe Kids:

WHAT IS PORNOGRAPHY?

“I shall not today attempt further to define [obscenity]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it….”

That famous statement, uttered by the late Justice Potter Stewart in 1973 when faced with a case involving obscenity, illustrates the difficulty of trying to determine what constitutes obscene or pornographic content. The term “pornography” has no well-defined meaning, certainly no legal definition. And if a Supreme Court justice had trouble defining the nature of sexually explicit material, how easy is it for the rest of us—each of whom looks at the world in a different way? Lack of consensus is one reason the subject of pornography is such a contentious legal issue.

Pornography is a word thrown about all too easily.  We call lots of things ‘porn’ or pornography when we really don’t mean it.  We joke a lot about porn.  Obviously the XXX girlie shows are porn, aren’t they?  Anything that says XXX has to be porn and it has been my experience, if it has even one X, it is. 

I realized last week that people have very different ideas about what constitutes pornography.  A new adult boutique will be opening in the City of Manassas in the near future  and the townspeople are beside themselves.  I am asking what’s the big deal?  Another such shop exists on route 28 that has been in business for at least 20 years.  People don’t like the location of the new kid on the block, it seems.  Not in the City of Manassas!  So do we want to take what we perceive as porn and brush it under the rug?  Do we want it far away so we can sneak into the store and buy something we wouldn’t want our mothers to know about and not be seen by our friends and neighbors? 

Is Old Town Manassas the crown jewel where there are no secrets?  Young people (under 40) seem to have a lot easier time simply discussing things like sex toys and real fancy erotic underwear much easier than those of us who are post 40.  Yet, some of the people hollering the loudest are not in the post 40 demographic. 

The best example I can come up with when someone asks what is porn would be the John Bobbitt flick he made after he was sliced and diced.  Someone got Mr. Howler an advanced copy and he was all proud of himself for getting the coveted video.  I lasted maybe all of 30 seconds before I left the room.  Mr. Howler, tough guy that he is, was even grossed out and he didn’t last more than 5 minutes.  So is porn stuff that grosses us out?  Is it always sexual?  How do we decide what ‘community standards’ are?  Is the issue of porn on a collision course with 1st amendment rights?

Before we can decide what kind of shops we want to condone or condemn , it seems sensible to clarify what we really consider pornographic, obscene or indecent.  In doing so, we have to realize that our neighbors probably won’t come up with the same set of attributes. 

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and his sidekick, Sideshow Bob (Marshall) have quite a dog and pony show going.  Marshall asks a question of a controversial nature and AG answers it, thus setting the Old Dominion on a collision course with civil liberties each and every time.  Does anyone notice a pattern? 

The Loudoun Times:

Loudoun County’s controversial debate over public displays on the courthouse lawn now has the ear of Virginia’s top attorney.

State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on Aug. 24 issued an opinion saying Loudoun County can erect holiday Christmas displays on public property as long as the displays represent other faiths and beliefs.

The opinion came at the request of state Del. Bob Marshall (R-south-central Loudoun).

  Read more…

Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the talk radio host, apologized and decided to retire from her conservative radio program after using the N-word on the air 11 times in 5 minutes, while talking to a female black caller.

According to Huffington Post:

Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced Tuesday night that she would end her radio show following her N-word rant last week.

“My contract is up for my radio show at the end of the year and I’ve made the decision not to do radio anymore,” she told Larry King. “The reason is I want to regain my First Amendment rights. I want to be able to say what’s on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry, some special interest group deciding this is the time to silence a voice of dissent and attack affiliates, attack sponsors. I’m sort of done with that.”

Dr. Laura emphasized that she is “not retiring” but rather just ending her radio show.

“I’m not retiring, I’m not quitting, I feel energized actually,” she said. “Stronger and freer to say the things that I believe need to be said for people in this country.”

(See video from the Larry King Show below)

Read more…

From Huffington Post: (and it is many other places for those who think Fox News is the definitive news(sic) station)

Posted by:  

Shannyn Moore

Just a girl from Homer, Alaska

Sarah Palin & company spent several days in Homer filming her “Sarah Palin’s Uh-laska” show. (Eyes rolled).

On the public dock, private security patted down private citizens. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure from their government. Private security searching private citizens in a public place, doesn’t fall under that category. It’s a bit more hinky.

Read more…

From Huffington Post:

NEW YORK — A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a government policy that can lead to broadcasters being fined for allowing even a single curse word on live television, saying it is unconstitutionally vague and threatens speech “at the heart of the First Amendment.”

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan threw out the 2004 Federal Communications Commission policy, which said that profanity referring to sex or excrement is always indecent.

“By prohibiting all `patently offensive’ references to sex, sexual organs and excretion without giving adequate guidance as to what `patently offensive’ means, the FCC effectively chills speech, because broadcasters have no way of knowing what the FCC will find offensive,” the court wrote.

“To place any discussion of these vast topics at the broadcaster’s peril has the effect of promoting wide self-censorship of valuable material which should be completely protected under the First Amendment,” it added.

The court said the FCC might be able to craft a policy that does not violate the First Amendment.

It cited several examples of chilled speech, including a Vermont station’s refusal to air a political debate because one local politician previously had used expletives on the air and a Moosic, Pa., station’s decision to no longer provide live coverage of news events unless they affect matters of public safety or convenience.

“This chill reaches speech at the heart of the First Amendment,” the appeals court said.

In a statement, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said: “We’re reviewing the court’s decision in light of our commitment to protect children, empower parents, and uphold the First Amendment.”

Carter Phillips, a Washington lawyer who argued the case for Fox Television Stations Inc., called the decision satisfying. He said the court had “sent the FCC back to square one to start over” by not only tossing the FCC’s fleeting expletive policy but also a broader indecency policy as unconstitutionally vague

I am not so sure this is a good thing. Talk is trashy enough on TV as it is. On the other hand, what difference does it make if the show is network or cable. It seems the burden of decency is all on network TV and radio and not on the satellite and cable stations. Do our contributors think this is a good plan or not?

And yet another first amendment issue surfaces. The contributors on ‘Howlings have been discussing freedom of speech for weeks. Here is yet another example of different points of view:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What say you? Should the picture be taken down?

Well, in her case, Helen Thomas, White House reporter for years, put her foot in her mouth.

Ok. While we might not agree with her words, there is something bothering me about the hue and cry over her remarks. For starters, she offered an opinion. She said she felt that Palestine was occupied by Israel. I never heard her utter the word ‘Jews.’ There are an awful lot of people in the world who believe that. Why is Helen Thomas, daughter of Lebanese immigrants, not allowed her opinion? Additionally, she said that those occupying needed to go home. Good grief, that is said every day towards Latinos here in this county.

Helen Thomas is almost 90 years old. She apologized. Many news agencies have said her apologies were not good enough because she didn’t really mean it. This is where the thought police come into play. There is just something about that kind of mind control that bothers me a great deal. Who are we to tell others how to think? While we can be held accountable for what comes out of our mouths, how can anyone hold us accountable for what they think we should think.

On June 4, Helen Thomas issued the following apology:

“I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.” (June 4, 2010)

To her credit, Ellen Ratner of Fox News issued the following:

Helen Thomas has apologized. What more do people want?

If I had a dollar for every American who has said something in private about a racial, ethnic, or sexual minority in this county I would be a multimillionaire many times over.

Let’s face it we all have said things — or thought things — about “other” groups of people, things that we would not want to see in print or on video. Anyone who denies it is a liar.

Helen is three months short of ninety and her brain’s filters might not work as well as a forty year old’s. Give her a break.

Ellen Ratner is Washington bureau chief for Talk Radio News Service and a Fox News contributor.

Helen Thomas has resigned. Her resignation was announced around noon. I think the greater tragedy is that a 90 year old woman can’t be allowed to retract her statements, especially a lady of her stature.

She is a very remarkable woman. I can’t image being her age and doing the job she is still doing. Many of us who grew up with Helen Thomas will miss her. The good news is, now she is a free agent, she can also speak freely. I expect she will, knowing Helen Thomas and I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that acerbic tongue.

[disclaimer: This post does not imply agreement with Helen Thomas]

Joe Biden throws one hell of a picnic and Stewart ponders some serious question on Israel and Palestine.

Much as been said whether our obsession with Helen Thomas’s remarks overshadowed the real questions about what happened on the high seas. Are we more concerned with someone’s words or a nation’s deeds?