Fresh Conservative: "Holocaust Museum Shooter Was Left Wing Radical?"

By GottaLaff

You have got to be kidding:

It appears that the right wing conservatives have not cornered the market on homicidal murderers. The frequent battle cry from the left recently has been to point to Dr. Tiller’s murderer and say, “See, this is what right wing conservatives do!” [...] The Examiner states that most, if not all, of [Von Brunn's] ranting is skewed with a liberal, conspiracy theory tone usually associated with the stereotypical “freeman” white supremacists. Von Brunn’s conspiracy theories on the September 11th tragedy read like a liberal manifesto on the topic. But here’s the real point I want to make. Because the murderer of Dr. Tiller was an extremely emotionally unstable Christian, does not mean that all Christians are killers. The same rings true for liberals. Though most liberals are seriously politically misguided, they are not violent criminals as a whole. It is very unfortunate that something this tragic had to happen to silence the “conservatives are terrorists” voices in the crowd.

The word KagroX used to describe this was "desperate".

More here.

H/t: KagroX

Pope likens "saving" gays to saving the rainforest

By GottaLaff

Pope Ben says The Gays have to be saved. Those sinners! Don't The Gays understand that loving someone is wrong!? Wrong I tell you, wrong!

Pope Benedict said on Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behavior was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.

"(The Church) should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed," the pontiff said in a holiday address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration.

He should have been the obvious choice to head the EPA. That must have slipped right by P.E. Obama.

"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."

The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are.

Let me get this straight (no pun): You can be gay, but there should be no expression of your love or passion for anyone under any circumstances. That would be wrong. Worse than wrong. That would be, according to Pope B, reprehensible.

So, extending that argument to straighties, I can secretly love my husband, but I should never have married him. In fact, I should never have had kids with him, either. And intimacy? To quote one of our more articulate trolls, "Pfft!"

Wow, good thing I happen to have been born hetero. Oh, it's a choice? I wonder at what age people choose to be gay. Two? Nine? Fourteen? Thirty?

Continuing:

It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound."

The pope said humanity needed to "listen to the language of creation" to understand the intended roles of man and woman. He compared behavior beyond traditional heterosexual relations as "a destruction of God's work."

Seriously, I oppose his irrational opposition with every fiber of my being. If I comment any further, I will most likely offend, so I'll stop here.

H/t: Kingsburyqc

Supreme Court to decide Ashcroft, Mueller immunity

By GottaLaff

Somehow I don't think the Supremes will side with a Muslim Pakistani named Iqbal over Ashcroft and Mueller:

The US Supreme Court will hear a case Wednesday on whether cabinet-level officials could be held accountable for controversial tactics President George W. Bush ordered as part of the US-led "war on terror."

Former attorney general John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller have sought immunity from the charges in a lawsuit filed by Javaid Iqbal, a Pakistani national.

Iqbal was among more than 700 Arab and South Asian Muslim men from the New York City area rounded up after the September 11, 2001 attacks. While they were all eventually charged with immigration violations or minor crimes, none was linked to terrorism.

In his lawsuit, Iqbal alleges that Ashcroft and Mueller targeted the men for investigation and punitive detention, sidestepping procedural protections usually granted to such detainees.

Iqbal, who was held at a maximum security section of a Brooklyn federal prison, says he was subjected to harsh treatment and discrimination and that federal officials classified him as a "high interest" suspect because he was a Muslim from Pakistan.

A June 2003 report by the Department of Justice inspector general found "significant problems" in the treatment of detainees like Iqbal. [...]

Ashcroft was among those who "willfully and maliciously approved of, endorsed, and/or ordered that these searches take place" and "knew of, condoned, and willfully and maliciously agreed to subject (Iqbal) to unreasonable, unnecessary and extreme strip and body-cavity searches," according to the suit.

Let's not forget about precedents. It's always about setting precedents:

"The government's position will have the practical effect of ensuring that these officials will never be held accountable for unconstitutional conduct," [Alexander Reinert, who will argue for Iqbal,] said in a statement. [...]

Iqbal claims that during his five-month confinement he was held 23 hours a day in a constantly lit cell where the air conditioning was turned on in the winter and the heat was turned in the summer. He says he was also beaten and strip-searched.

When he was released in 2003, he had lost nearly 44 pounds. I'm guessing he also lost more than a little dignity and most of his emotional equilibrium.

Palin Wrong About Harry Potter

By GottaLaff

Another "oy" moment from you-know-who:

In an interview, Gov. Sarah Palin took issue with reports during the presidential campaign that she encouraged banning books as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaksa.

Said Palin: "That was a ridiculous thing also that could have so easily been corrected just by a reporter taking an extra step and not basing a report on gossip or speculation. But just looking into the record. It was reported that I tried to ban Harry Potter when it hadn't even been written when I was the mayor."

Of course, Palin became mayor of Wasilla in 1996 and the first Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was published in 1998 during her first term.

Ready? One, two three: Oy.

Bonus quote:

"It's amazing that we did as well as we did."

-- Gov. Sarah Palin, in an interview with the Anchorage Daily News and KTUU-TV.