If you’re out there on the internet swallowing a bunch of crap about Obama being the antichrist, you are putting America in jeopardy. I just saw this video…

…and I want to counter it with a couple other facts and a warning.

First, here’s a book written in 2004 which claims George W. Bush was the antichrist: http://www.amazon.com/George-Bush-Antichrist-Stephen-Hanchett/dp/1411609832

Here’s a website devoted to the same claim against Bill Clinton: http://www.soundanalarm.net/ClintonSetsthePatternofantichrist.html

And Saddam Hussein: http://www.bible-codes.org/letters-Saddam-antichrist-type-figure-only.htm

The list goes back at least 500 years of world leaders being equated to the so-called “Antichrist” so why should our current leader be any different?

Rather than have a serious policy argument using facts to show why the Right really doesn’t like Obama (“socialism,” “fascism” and “communism” are three completely different, incompatible ideas, btw, so I don’t know how it is some morons think he can be all three at the same time), people continue to swallow this crap about him being Muslim (who cares if he is, which he’s not?) or worse, pure evil. The more this ridiculous fear-machine gets fed, the more likely we are to reach the point where this man who is trying to do the job that 53% of the country wanted him to do, and who happens to be biracial, will be ripped from his wife and children by a lone nutjob with a gun who believed a bunch of outlandish conspiracy tripe.

This kind of propaganda gets into the wrong people’s hands and pushes them over the edge to violence and insanity. If you want to protect America while we are at war, the last thing we need is to be made vulnerable by an internal coup or worse, an assassination caused by viral videos, toxic chatrooms, and salacious email forward chains. Stop circulating the suggestion that our President is evil and support your country! I’m pretty sure I heard that from your side for the last 8 years.

THERE IS NOTHING SATANIC ABOUT BARACK OBAMA.

So the Nobel Committee announced today that President Obama is the recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

Too soon!

Politely turn it down, Mr. President. It would be an amazing PR move and would preserve your credibility. Don’t just do it for your country, do it for your image!

There. I said it. I’m not comfortable with it. Not because I believe in some stupid slippery slope into socialism (we’ve been there for 70 years anyway). I just have a hard time believing it will be managed adequately, and since the predominant group of patrons will be the poor, I don’t like the idea of providing them with shoddy healthcare. I say beef up Medicare and Medicaid so that it covers the gaps and throw government dollars at private providers.

There are my two cents.

The folks at FactCheck.org are having a field day with all the Republican wingnuts running around worried about “death panels” and “the government taking away my Medicare.” They’re also busy debunking the pro-reform myths from the Dems.

Check out 7 myths below and read more at FactCheck.org:

False: Government Will Decide What Care I Get (a.k.a. they won’t give grandma a hip replacement)
False: The Bill Is Paid For
False: Private Insurance Will Be Illegal
False: The House Bill Requires Suicide Counseling
False: Families Will Save $2,500
False: Medicare Benefits Will Be Slashed
False: Illegal Immigrants Will Be Covered

It’s your day, so we all chipped in and got you something really really special. Check it out here.

Why aren’t we done with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Mr. President?

From RawStory:

U.S. Army Lieutenant Dan Choi, a graduate of the West Point military academy and an Arabic translator, will face a military panel on Tuesday which may discharge him for admitting he is gay.

His case was mentioned in a letter to President Barack Obama, signed by 77 Democratic members of Congress. They called the 10-year veteran an “exceptional” soldier. Some have even referred to him as “the de facto face of the movement to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“I face a discharge tomorrow morning, simply for being honorable and telling who I am, in truth” he told CNN host John Roberts on Monday morning.

Should he be discharged, it would “strip away a lot of the veterans benefits, and that can include education, home loan, and even veterans hospital and medical benefits,” he added. “These benefits that I’ve earned being a combat veteran of the Iraq war.”

So things are moving rather quickly this century. This year, four states have legalized same gender marriage…and it’s only early June! Today, the New Hampshire legislature and then the governor legalized the institution. Let’s take a look at the timeline of legalizations taking effect:

May 17, 2004 – Massachusetts
November 12, 2008 – Connecticut
April 27, 2009 – Iowa
September 1, 2009 – Vermont
September 14, 2009 – Maine
January 1, 2010 – New Hampshire

18 other jurisdictions don’t have state constitutional amendments banning same gender marriage. I will include California on this list only because its constitutional ban will undoubtedly be overturned by the voters in November 2010. These are locales where codifying the institution into law would not require a constitutional overhaul (merely a new statute), making same gender marriages more likely to occur:

California
Delaware
District of Columbia
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Maryland
Minnesota
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Washington
West Virginia
Wyoming

To recap, 28 state constitutions ban same gender marraige. 22 state constitutions say nothing of the matter, and six of those states have gone ahead and legalized the institution. Are the other 16 states far behind?

Based on recent activity, I have a feeling California, DC, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island are the next jurisdictions to legalize. The courts probably won’t let the country remain split on the matter forever–a federal response in favor of liberty is no doubt the solution.

These are exciting times!

Let them eat crow. This guy lasted less than six seconds. “It is way worse than I thought it would be, and that’s no joke,” he said. “…and I don’t want to say this: absolutely torture…I mean that’s drowning…it is the feeling of drowning.”

Forget “Home Economics” (which wasn’t even required by the time I reached high school). I propose a sophomore year requisite course for ALL public high school students: “Personal Economics.”

Dave reminded me this afternoon that the only economics course available at his high school was at the AP level. This is common everywhere. Most students aren’t even exposed to practical knowledge about operating their lives in the American economy until they’re dumped into the real world.

Since the age at which students may elect to drop out of high school is 16 years old, the course should precede the junior year of high school so those students who drop out might still have the tools to survive. It should be taught by tenured or tenure-track teachers who would therefore actually know what they’re talking about. The course should encourage Americans to enjoy their lives independently, without relying on government aid or family assistance.

I imagine the curriculum should look something like this:

–What $10/hour will buy you and why you’ll need welfare to survive on that
–The rules and limits of local welfare programs
–The cost of having a child and its effects on various levels of personal wealth
–Dead-end jobs: the difference between working and having a career
–Diploma v. GED v. Associate’s v. Bachelor’s v. Graduate degrees
–The positive impact of a college education on personal wealth
–Choosing the right college education
–Ways to pay for college
–Balancing a checking account on paper and online
–Making and (more importantly) adhering to a personal budget
–Building an effective resume
–How to apply for, interview for, and keep a job
–How to climb the ladder in any field
–Personal spending habits: prioritizing wants, needs and goals
–Credit card management
–Avoiding predatory lenders: beware of payday loans and title loans
–The anti-investment: how to wisely buy a car
–How to wisely buy a home
–Choosing and paying for insurance: health, car, homeowners, title, life, renters, travel, etc.
–The worthlessness of status symbols and their impact on your ability to survive
–Crime and economics: good and bad neighborhoods
–Red flags to look out for in your social life
–The American Delusion: get-rich-quick will not happen for you
–How to do your taxes at all levels of wealth
–Retirement planning at all levels of wealth

Governor Palin just released a statement today expressing support for Miss California, claiming “I respect Carrie for standing strong and staying true to herself, and for not letting those who disagree with her deny her protection under the nation’s First Amendment Rights.

The problem with that statement is that Carrie Prejean’s constitutional rights have not been denied. You are free to speak your mind, yes. But am I not given the same freedom to disagree with you?

The Constitution prohibits the government from passing laws that abridge freedom of speech. It does not protect individuals from the risks associated with expressing themselves. For example, it does not prohibit me from shunning you for your ideas.

The First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

A much bigger government could offer the kind of one-sided, pseudo-fascist “protection” that Mrs. Palin believes to be necessary. I don’t think anybody should be arguing for more government, Governor. Especially not a Republican with presidential aspirations.

You’re really not helping the GOP change its reputation as the party of money during a time when everyone’s getting poorer.

Now that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) has become Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), all the Democrats need for a supermajority in the Senate is Al Franken swearing on a bible to uphold the Constitution. No more filibusters. More floor votes. Filled judicial seats. Affirmed executive branch appointments. Budget enactments with diminished wrangling.

But be wary, Mr. Obama. The last President to get a supermajority in the Senate in his party was Jimmy Carter, and look how that worked out…

The drama of the above sentence aside, I am remiss for not pointing out that FDR had a supermajority in the Senate for nearly all of his 12 years in the White House, and it can’t be ignored as a factor in his administration’s effectiveness as it is judged by history. Kennedy/Johnson too experienced a Democratic supermajority in the Senate (though the party itself was so split on social issues that it didn’t really help at all in securing a legacy of unusually high efficacy).

My point? Americans like when stuff gets done in Washington. Carter had a chance but fumbled a lot and never seemed to possess a grip on the public’s expectations of him. Obama is no Carter.

I am made uneasy by the thought of a supermajority for any party. I am cautiously optimistic, however, that this President will use this opportunity wisely and for the good of the nation and the world.

Please don’t prove me wrong, sir.