Father's Day

Political Cartoon is by Larry Wright in The Detroit News.

Global Warming - The Proof

Clinton Has Elbow Operation

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took a tumble at the State Department and would up fracturing her right elbow. On Friday morning she had surgery at George Washington University Hospital, and by Friday evening, she was already recuperating at home.

It looks like everything went well with the surgery, and the family has released a statement through the State Department saying they are "grateful for the many prayers and messages of good will they have received these past few days, and are so very thankful for the excellent care provided by the doctors, nurses and the staff of The George Washington University Hospital."

Believe me when I say I know how she feels. I'm about the same age as the Secretary of State, and a couple of summers ago I broke my left elbow. I wasn't watching what I was doing and tripped on a potted plant trying to get through a door. As I fell, I hit the elbow on the concrete pavement and broke it rather badly.

I had an operation the same day, and it was so badly broken the doctor had to put in some metal pins. I was off work for only two weeks (like Hillary, I am fortunate enough to have a job that requires more brain-work than physical labor). Secretary Clinton is one tough lady and with the importance of her job, I doubt she'll take that long before returning to work.

My own doctor told me I could lose about 20% of the mobility in that elbow. Fortunately, he was wrong and I have gotten my full range of motion back and experienced no lasting pain. To tell the truth, I can't tell any difference in the elbow now from how it was before the accident.

I wish Secretary Clinton well, and I hope she has a full and pain-free recovery as I did.

Mainstream Media

Political Cartoon is by Cameron (Cam) Cardow in The Ottawa Citizen.

Creationist Tactics

While most of the world and the United States have a deep respect for science and teach it in their classrooms, here in Texas (and some other parts of the country) there is a right-wing religious element that still wants to teach their religious myths at "science". They are the creationists, and they argue that the world is only about 6,000 years old and the evolution of species is a false concept.

In order to force their own religious beliefs on all school children, they have tossed logic and the scientific method out the window. They have developed their own tactics to further their unscientific beliefs. Daniel Florien at Unreasonable Faith has gathered the creationist tactics into one list containing eleven main tactics. Here they are:

1. Interpret any uncertainty anywhere in science as implying total uncertainty everywhere in science.
2. Trumpet any mistakes made by any scientist, and ignore the fact that these mistakes are corrected.
3. Shift the burden of proof to your critics any way you can.
4. Any facts or explanations not immediately at hand may be regarded as nonexistent.
5. Bury your opponent in quotes.
6. Use “cafeteria science.”
7. Find an instance of a scientist behaving badly, and use it to make the claim that all scientists will do the same.
8. Scientific facts and theories need have no effects except where convenient.
9. When cornered, change the subject.
10. When really cornered, call names.
11. When an explanation shows you to be absolutely wrong, ignore the explanation and reassert the original claim.

Wall Street Driver

Political Cartoon is by Pat Bagley in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Where's The Change ?

Political Cartoon is by Mike Keefe in The Denver Post.

Rape And Inequality

The South African Medical Research Council has just conducted an anonymous survey in that country concering rape, and the results were quite shocking. The survey was conducted in both rural and urban areas and crossed all racial lines. Here is what they found:

* One out of every four men admitted to committing at least one rape.
* Of that 25%, nearly half admitted to committing multiple rapes.
* 73% of those admitting rape committed their first one before age 20.
* One in 20 men has committed a rape in the last year.
* Gang rape was common and considered a form of male bonding.

Obviously, that country has a serious problem. Professor Rachel Jewkes, who carried out the research, says, "The absolute imperative is we have to change the underlying social attitudes that in a way have created a norm that coercing women into sex is on some level acceptable....it's partly rooted in our incredibly disturbed past and the way that South African men over the centuries have been socialised into forms of masculinity that are predicated on the idea of being strong and tough and the use of force to assert dominance and control over women, as well as other men."

Mbuyiselo Botha, from the South African Men's Forum, which campaigns for women's rights, agreed saying, "I think that yes, the figures are that high and for us, for me in particular, that is a very sad state of affairs. It means that we continue in South Africa to be one of the highest capitals of rape in the world. I don't think it's cultural per se; I think it has to do with how a lot of us men worldwide were raised. The issues of dominance against women, issues of inequality, are pervasive and you find them throughout the world."

Botha is right. While the South African numbers may be particularly high, this is a worldwide problem. Men all over the world have been brought up to believe that women are second-class citizens -- sometimes little more than property to be used as a man sees fit.

And we in the United States should not be feeling superior to any other country. Although things are slowly beginning to change here, we have a history of relegating women to an inferior status. It was not until well into the twentieth century that most women in America even gained the right to vote. (Above picture is of suffragists in 1913.)

In fact, the idea of second-class status for women is so pervasive that it has even been codified by many of America's religious institutions. And this is true in all religions (with the possible exception of some modern pagan sects), including christianity. It is not uncommon to hear ministers and priests telling women to be obedient to their husbands, and denying them leadership positions in the church.

As long as this type of thinking occurs, as long as women are relegated to an inferior status in our institutions and in our society, rape will continue to be a problem. And America does have a serious rape problem. Consider some of our own statistics:

* Nearly 15% of American women have been raped.
* About 15% of rape victims are under age 12.
* Every two minutes someone in the U.S. is raped.
* In the last thirteen years, there were 4.2 million rape victims.
* About 73% of rape victims knew their rapist (acquaintance, family, boyfriend, husband, etc.)
* And perhaps the worst statistic of all -- ONLY 6% OF RAPISTS WILL EVER GO TO JAIL!

Those statistics may not be as high as South Africa's, but they are just as unacceptable. We preach gender equality in this country, but seldom is it practiced. Far too often, women are relegated to second-class status. And if a man believes women are inferior, it is just one more small step to commit and/or justify a rape. That is the true root of the problem.

Too often our society wants to blame rape on things like movies, magazines, music, books, television or the internet. But these things aren't the cause or the problem. They are merely symptoms of the real problem -- the societal treatment of women as being inferior to men.

The only way to stop rape is to start treating and respecting women as equals to men. Of course, those who commit the rapes must be punished, but this alone will not solve the problem. We must stop mouthing the word equality and make it a reality.

Intransigence

Political Cartoon is by R.J. Matson in The New York Observer.

God Is A Tortoise

Found at the creative web site of Atheist Comics.

Role Model

Political Cartoon is by Mike Luckovich in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Republican Racism

Before the mid-sixties, the dominant political party in the South (and in Texas) was the Democratic Party. In fact, at that time, most of those states had virtually a one-party system. I know that in Texas, the only real election was in the Democratic primary, because the November election was a foregone conclusion. Republicans didn't have a chance.

But that changed in the mid-sixties, when President Lyndon Johnson and the Democrats stepped up, bit the bullet, and did the right thing by passing the civil rights laws. It was badly needed and long overdue, but it was also disastrous for the Democratic Party in the South. Sadly, there were still a lot of racists in Texas and the South at that time, and they fled en masse to the Republican Party.

With the addition of this huge volume of racists, the Republican Party in the South not only became competitive, but became the dominant party of the region. It is still that way, although due to changing attitudes the Democrats are now starting to become more competitive in Texas and many Southern states, as more and more whites shed their racism.

But while white racists fled the Democratic Party in the late sixties, African-Americans flocked to that party. Even to this date, it is not uncommon for African-Americans to vote for Democrats in a block -- many times voting 90-95% Democratic in elections.

Republicans have pushed forward their tokens like Alan Keyes and Michael Steele, trying to give the impression they are a "big tent" party. Then they are amazed that these tokens aren't able to attract African-Americans to their party. They haven't figured out that the tokenism won't work as long as their party harbors and accepts a rabidly racist element.

They not only harbor these racists, but in many instances they allow them to assume positions of power and influence in the party. A couple of fresh instances of this came to light just in the last week.

In South Carolina, a prominent GOP activist named Rusty DePass responded to a Facebook comment about a gorilla escaping a Columbia zoo by remarking, "I'm sure it's just one of Michelle's ancestors - probably harmless."

When called to task on this incrediby racist remark, his only defense was "The comment was clearly in jest." He thinks it's OK to be racist, as long as its funny. Well, it's not OK, and it shows just how accepting of racists and racism the Republican Party has become.

Meanwhile in Tennessee, Sherri Goforth, a legislative staffer for Republican State Senator Diane Black, e-mailed a little racist humor to some others in her party. It was a poster that been knocking around the internet for a while among right-wing racists. It shows pictures of all the presidents of the United States -- all but President Obama. Obama's square is just a black space with two eyeballs.

Was Ms. Goforth embarrassed by her obviously racist action? Not in the least. She was just upset because she accidently sent the e-mail to some who weren't racists and she got exposed. She said, “I went on the wrong email and I inadvertently hit the wrong button. I’m very sick about it, and it’s one of those things I can’t change or take back.”

It's perfectly OK to be a racist in the Republican Party, as long as you keep it "in house" and pass it off as a joke. These are not the only instances of Republican racism. There have been many others, like the poster showing the White House lawn turned into a watermelon patch. Is it any wonder that most African-Americans (and other minorities) don't feel comfortable in the Republican Party -- the party that accepts such behavior from its members?

With each succeeding generation, the United States becomes a little less racist. Added to the fact that many whites are shedding their racist tendencies, is the fact that in many parts of this country, the majority of the population is now composed of minorities. Both of these trends are going to continue, and that's bad news for the Republican Party.

The Republican Party must face its internal racism and get rid of it. Failure to do so will ensure they become a party of little significance in the future, and could result in their demise. Dump the racism or go the way of the Whigs!

Hanging Chads

Political Cartoon is by Cameron (Cam) Cardow in The Ottawa Citizen.

Sadly True

Shamelessly stolen from my friends at Panhandle Truth Squad.