Iowa Family Policy Center: Gay marriage more destructive than smoking

By GottaLaff

There's this group, The Iowa Family Policy Center. They oppose stuff like, you know, equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, that kind of stuff.

They sound like a reasonable, open minded bunch, don't they? Of course they do. You can tell by this, from Chuck Hurley, their president:

“The Iowa Legislature outlawed smoking in an effort to improve health and reduce the medical costs that are often passed on to the state. [...] The secondhand impacts of certain homosexual acts are arguably more destructive, and potentially more costly to society than smoking. [...] Homosexual activity is certainly more dangerous for the individuals who engage in it than is smoking.”

There now, nothing wrong with that... if you're a small-minded, despicable little bigot.

Apparently, his "logic" stems from this report saying gay men have higher rates of HIV and syphilis.

Or from the fact that he's a small-minded, despicable little bigot. How're those family values goin' for you, Chuck?

Newsflash: Heteros spread disease too. In fact, you're spreading some nasty stuff yourself, there, Sparky.

Here's an idea: How about addressing the STD issue rather than condemning your fellow man. Shouldn't you be loving them or something?

It is your hateful attitude that is "more dangerous than is smoking". And just as costly.

People matter. Who they love is none of your damn business, and comparing people who love each other to death sticks makes me want to... offer you a cigarette.

Rupert Murdoch's son-in-law attacks Fox's Roger Ailes

By GottaLaff

Maybe Sarah Palin will have something to say about this during one of her brand spankin' new spots on ClusterFox.

From the Department of Families Eating Their Own:

Matthew Freud, who is married to Elisabeth, Mr Murdoch’s second daughter, told the New York Times he was “ashamed and sickened by Roger Ailes’s horrendous and sustained disregard of the journalistic standards that News Corporation, its founder and every other global media business aspires to”.

For once, a member of the Murdoch family speaks the truth. "Freud" yet. I'd love him to put Ailes on the couch, record it, and share.

Mr Freud, a public relations executive whose London parties attract politicians from Tony Blair to David Cameron, prefaced his comment by saying he was “by no means alone within the family or the company” in his views.

I can safely say he has plenty of company on TPC.

ClusterFox Family Values are alive and ill.

H/t: Me old chum Edward

Family Values Pol Resigns After Sex Bragging Caught On Open Mic

Tsk tsk, won't they ever learn. At least he didn't drag it out like they're wont to do. More here.

Kennedy Memorial Service Lays out the Contrast Between Dems and GOP: Service to the Nation or Service to the Self

By GottaLaff

The first thing I said to Paddy on the phone today was that, after watching a very moving speech at the Kennedy funeral about giving to the poorest among us, the hypocrisy of the "Christian Family Values" Rushpublics became even more salient. They are about as far from practicing what they preach as anyone can be...

...which of course made me realize: The Rushpublics are the poorest among us.

With that, I give you your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash, via my pal Mark Karlin:

Ted Kennedy remained the tenacious battler for what would benefit the people of the American nation. The Senate was his career, his job, his passion, his defining sense of purpose -- and his commitment to improving the lot of all Americans -- not just a select few -- was his mission. [...]

As Vice-President Biden eloquently and movingly noted, with Ted Kennedy it was never about him, it was about "you." His life's work was spent working not for himself -- born to the privilege of the Kennedy fortune, mystique and fame -- but to uplift the lives of less fortunate Americans.

In hearing so much about the generous and thoughful personal Ted Kennedy, we learned even more how he represented the best of what Democrats and liberals stand for: service to the nation and to the American community.

It is a far cry from the greed, hate and hysteria of the Republicans who champion only service to the self.

Please read the rest here.

"You could call that 'socialism.' Or you could call it 'family values.'"

By GottaLaff

Personal stories like this need to be spread around, especially at town hall meetings and on the Tee Vee Machine... but that's not going to happen, so it's up to us bloggers:

I was born and raised in America, but I've lived in Europe for the last twenty years. I''m thinking it might be time to come home, but whether I can or not depends on the answer to this question:

Does America take care of its children?

Our son has juvenile diabetes. He's had it for seven years, since he was two years old. During that time we've lived in three countries -- Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Italy -- and he has had excellent treatment in each country. [...]

I've calculated the cost of all that over seven years, and here's what it comes to: zero. [...]

[E]verybody is paying. I guess you could call that "socialism." Or you could call it "family values." But what difference does it make what you call it? [...]

I've seen the European system up close and I'm here to tell you, it works.

Please go read the rest here. It's terrific.

H/t: pprakash

Ralph Reed's New Values Group: 'Not Your Daddy's Christian Coalition'

By GottaLaff

Nothing inspires trust like a failed candidate, a plagiarist with an arrest record, who's been investigated, been accused of election-rigging, who turned to lobbying, who is forever associated with felon Jack Abramoff, to mobilize the brand spankin' new version of Values Voters: The Next Generation:

Ralph Reed [...] is quietly launching a group aimed at using the Web to mobilize a new generation of values voters. In addition to targeting the GOP's traditional faith-based allies—white evangelicals and observant Catholics—the group, called the Faith and Freedom Coalition, will reach out to Democratic-leaning constituencies, including Hispanics, blacks, young people, and women.

Faith and Freedom? Really? With actual people of color, young 'uns, and ::gasp!:: women?! That's quite an undertaking. By the way, Ralphie, who's your daddy?

"This is not your daddy's Christian Coalition," Reed said in an interview Monday. "It's got to be more brown, more black, more female, and younger. It's critical that we open the door wide and let them know if they share our values and believe in the principles of faith and marriage and family, they're welcome."

That's swell how he recognizes that people other than white old men exist, isn't it? I'm excited for him. This opens so many doors so wide! See? Even Rushpublic doors have wide stances!

"There's a whole rising generation of young leaders in the faith community, and rather than nab the publicity I did at Christian Coalition, I want to cultivate and train that rising generation," Reed said. "One question is, who is our future Barack Obama, doing local organizing just like he was in the 1990s?"

One: Cultivate and train = Coerce and brain wash.

Two: He's in search of the next Barack Obama, Community Organizer? Did I read that right? WWSS??*

Moving on:

Reed is serving as chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and says he has filed papers with the Internal Revenue Service to register it as a 501(c)(4), a tax-free designation that permits lobbying and certain political activities. Gary Marx, Reed's deputy at the 2004 Bush campaign and Mitt Romney's conservative outreach director in 2008, will help advise the group. Jack St. Martin, a former top Republican National Committee staffer, is running day-to-day operations. [...]

"People of faith today are still a minority, but they're not a beleaguered minority," Reed said. "Twenty years ago, we never had people who had been the chief speechwriter to the president or senior staff at the Justice Department and all that has changed."

And hey, if that's not reassuring, nothing is.

*What Will Sarah Say?

Obama Heads Home to Chicago

By GottaLaff

Next stop: Washington D.C.

President-elect Barack Obama bid adieu to his native Hawaii on Thursday, wrapping up his 13-day pre-inaugural vacation here with a morning workout before returning home to Chicago.

Obama is scheduled to arrive in Chicago early Friday morning and will spend just over 48 hours at home before moving his family to Washington on Sunday, in time for his daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, to begin classes at Sidwell Friends School. The future first family will stay at the historic Hay-Adams Hotel, just steps from the White House, before moving to Blair House on Jan. 15.

Obama concluded a relaxing respite in Hawaii during which he remained largely secluded at a seaside vacation compound with his wife, Michelle, their two daughters and several friends from Chicago and their families. The president-elect maintained a relatively low profile in Hawaii, some days venturing out in public only for his morning workout at a Marine Corps base.

Me-oh-my, he's a real glutton for attention, isn't he? Amazing how all those nasty campaign accusations have been proved wrong over and over and over again.

Making his last stop at the gym Thursday morning, Obama was greeted by about 20 onlookers. "We love having you with us," one woman told the president-elect. Obama shook hands, posed for pictures and signed autographs with a red Sharpie.

"I wish I could hang out with you, but I've got to go home," Obama told the crowd.

This is about as normal a First Family as I can remember. I guess those "evil terrorist" rumors that squirted from the orifices of Palin and her wannabes turned out to be the duddiest of duds, huh? Although he could be hiding an IED in his Hawaii flip-flops.

On the other hand, I saw a post-election interview Wolf Blitzer had with DimBulb Palin in which she continued to voice concern about President-elect Obama's associations.

Funny, I don't seem to hear anything about his pallin' around with known druggies or having a dysfunctional family that would put Britney Spears' antics to shame. Nope. The Obamas are about as close-knit a family values family as you can get.

Barack Cleaver

By GottaLaff

You want Ward Cleaver? Meet Barack Obama. Michelle is June Cleaver with a law degree. Family values don't get more traditional than those of the Obamas, who ooze marital bliss and whose adorable daughters make feminist cynics want to bake cookies and learn to smock.

Though we may perish of boredom, the Obamas may do more to elevate the American family than all the pro-marriage initiatives conceived by those who claim to speak for the deity. As a family unit, they're not significantly different from the Bushes, but they can be an inspiration in particular to African Americans. [...]

The change we've been waiting for may not be immediately quantifiable, but personal responsibility, educational ambition and smart public diplomacy -- all by example rather than exhortation -- could go a long way toward curing what ails us.

Whose column is this, you ask? Why, none other than Kathleen Parker's.

Wally Cleaver: What a dumb thing to do. I bet you wouldn't have done anything like this if Mom and Dad were here.

Grandma-In-Chief

By GottaLaff

When Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, moves to Washington, she'll help redefine the notion of the 'all-American' family.

Great piece in The Daily Beast by Patricia J. Williams. Here are some excerpts:

Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama’s 71-year-old mother, is moving to Washington to help make the transition smoother for her grandchildren, Malia and Sasha.

Her plan to accompany the Obamas represents a kind of on-the-ground cultural reality: Among African Americans and certain other ethnic groups, extended families are more common than among middle-class white families. [...]

Marian Robinson is often described as the “linchpin” of the Obama family—and she’s largely responsible for the family’s ability to devote themselves to public service. [...]

The timing seems right for an iconic American family that depends on a granny rather than a nanny. In the last few years of exhaustion and economic downturn, there has been a shift away from thinking that floors will mop themselves or that moms can really effortlessly whip up 30-minute gourmet meals after a long day at the office. [...]

[W]e have the dizzying and hilarious spectacle of Sarah Palin trying to negotiate her last spate of interviews in the kitchen, juggling questions about energy policy, double standards, and handmade potholders. What calculated imagery of tight-rope walking: There she was in a jeweled necklace and black Oscar de la Renta suit, stirring stew and serving hot dogs, expressing her intention to “call Hillary tomorrow” to express her gratitude for cracking that glass ceiling.

That image is why I resist thinking of Michelle Obama as “mom-ified,” as some have called her. She’s doing one thing at a time. She works, she shops, she mothers, but she remains sane. She relies on her mother, her brother, her co-workers, her friends to make things work. Her husband has done the same. Their dependence on a close network of others is a fact. As a result, their life seems balanced: They’re consistently calm and collected; neither makes work look irrelevant or parenting look like a dead end; and their children shine with that reflected intelligence and their own good manners.

As our culture becomes more varied and diasporic—and as our economy continues its awful downward spiral—I suspect we will engineer new or hybrid models of both work and family. Like the Obamas, we will learn how to depend on one another in cycles of sharing and independence, foregrounding certain talents at one point, and others at another. The role of primary breadwinner may go back and forth between partners over the course of a career. In a globalized world, the education of children can no longer be considered an entirely domestic affair, or derogated as lesser, or “merely” women’s work. And ultimately, the American workplace—as soon to be modeled by the incoming occupants of the White House—cannot, must not, remain so enduringly hostile to the needs of family life.

Barack Obama has kept his promise. He has already brought noticeable change to this country, right up to, and through the doors of, the White House (and he hasn't even moved in yet). His family values are real, not manufactured, cynical attempts to bamboozle voters.

He continues to dazzle, with or without the speeches. Let's enjoy the honeymoon while it lasts.