Rendering unto Caesar: Liberal anti-Communism and rabid anti-communism

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

During a sojourn behind the Iron Curtain before the collapse of the Soviet Union, I was surprised to see how similar East Germany was to the US. Why was this the case? Was it because the US was under Communist domination, or was it because the USSR was just another Capitalist overlord? An ignorant American would favor the former conclusion, while a scholar might tend to support the latter notion. In any case it is clear that Communism was a far cry from communism, just as Republicanism is anything but republicanism.

( A Mormon John Bircher who...  )

Religious Fundamentalism - a real threat to society?

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

It was suggested in this community recently that Religion should be got rid of.

http://talk-politics.livejournal.com/1087837.html?nc=140

Given that the post was tagged as 'satire', I get that it was not a suggestion to be taken at face value, but to open up a discussion. And we had one.

But it left me thinking - 'it's not so much 'Religion', it is 'Fundamentalism' that we ought to eradicate from society. No, really.

Who else has taken bombs onto public transport in Britain, killing themselves and several others, except Religious Fundamentalists?
Who else consistently blocks women's rights to access to contraception in the USA?
Who else keeps their kids out of school and will not allow them to learn about Evolution in the class room?
Who else threaten to, and actually commit murder over things printed in books and newspaper cartoons?

Maybe you can furnish me with examples from other groups, but the point still stand that Fundamentalists do all these things. Maybe we should start seeing these people for what they are - a threat to our Democratic society and the modern way of life?

Maybe you will argue that they are no great threat, and we can safely ignore them , but I am not so sure.
Which raises the question of how we protect ourselves from their influence.( Read more... )

Pills and Pennies

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

http://news.yahoo.com/u-health-body-recommends-birth-control-coverage-181409769.html

A U.S. medical advisory group recommended providing women free birth control and other preventive health services under the nation's healthcare overhaul.

The Institute of Medicine report, commissioned by the Obama administration, recommended that all U.S.-approved birth control methods -- including the "morning after pill," taken shortly after intercourse to forestall pregnancy -- be added to the federal government's list of preventive health services.

"The evidence supporting contraception is quite straightforward. It works," said Dr. Alfred Berg, a member of IOM's Committee on Preventive Services for Women.


Well, if it didn't work then there wouldn't be much point in selling it, would there? *ahem* Okay, smartass asides aside I fully agree with the this idea. People who aren't really interested in being parents tend to not make the best parents. Yes, I'm making a generalization. Live with it.

However, as expected, there is opposition to this.

Without sufficient legal protection for rights of conscience, such a mandate would force all men, women and children to carry health coverage that violates the deeply-held moral and religious convictions of many," said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the bishops' conference.

Ya know, somehow I doubt little Johnny gives a fuck where the sales tax on his Slurpee will be spent by Uncle Sam. But I think this position is absurd. The US is a representative democracy. That means, for good or ill, the people we vote for get to decide how the $ gets spent. Complaining like this is like saying that a pacifist shouldn't have their tax dollars spent on jet fighters.

Top Gun hatin' hippies aside, it's just unworkable that we should all get to decide just where our tax dollars get spent. It would be a paperwork nightmare that makes dealing with a FAFSA seems like a walk in the park. Then there's collection and making sure every penny went where it was intended. Madness! Madness, I tell you.

Living according to your values is your job. Spending your taxes in whys that will benefit the US as a whole is the government's job.

A new bishop on the imperial chessboard

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

Your regular Russian update now! There are elections coming up in Russia as well, and a new type of oligarch, Mikhail Prokhorov is entering Russian politics with a bang. So what's so different about him? Well, hah, first of all he's tall. Very very tall. He's so tall that there's a joke that Medvedev would probably run him for prime minister just to annoy Putin. :)

Joke aside, after Prokhorov demonstrated that he's entering politics and was elected leader of one of the main Russian parties (Pravoe Delo, which means the Right Cause), the question is now how different he is exactly. He used some populist soundbites on his inauguration speech, like "Russia is ruled as an empire where only the president's power is functioning. The Russians need a new project". Of course he avoided attacking Putin directly but he seems to have some criticism for the current regime which was undoubtedly crafted by Putin: heavy federal control, centralization, hand-picking of the mayors of Moscow and St.Petersburg and the governors of the regions, limiting the influence of the parties, etc. So far Prokhorov is showing that he's aiming at Putin's chair on the elections in autumn.

( Read more... )