Woah, slip sliding away. Slip sliding awayaya!

A Serious Coverup

Wouldn't the rich diet be bad for the lions? 

     By now you have all heard about the Lobby of Hobby and its victory in the highest court in the land.  (I actually think these old geezers must actually be high given some of their rulings recently)  In case you have been hiding under a rock, put quite simply the SCOTUS ruled that Hobby Lobby has the right to not provide certain forms of birth control based on their own personal religious beliefs.  Never mind that a healthy chunk of their employees do not follow the company's beliefs, the Chain still has the right to deny services to these employees.  In short, the Chain is forcing its employees to follow certain tenets of the Chain's faith.

     Now for the record, let me state that I am okay with this action.  Hobby Lobby has the right to fun their business the way they see fit.  The employees thereof have the choice of following company policies or finding employment   You won't find many companies that don't have their own specific code of conduct and rules that all employees must live by.  You don't have to like them but you do have to follow them to work there.

     No, my little ramble here is based off of just how much a slippery slope it is when a branch of the Federal Government decides that a public company has the right to enforce its religious beliefs on everyone who works there.  First it is Hobby Lobby and Birth Control, but what happens next?  What happens when a Non-Christian store decides that its Christian Employees must follow its religious laws?

     The two articles above are both Satire and should not be taken seriously.  (They are also a pretty funny read especially the Little Caesars tossing its employees to the lions.)  However, they illustrate in the absurdity the problems that can be caused by the SCOTUS ruling.  I have found that Christians, especially White Christians are okay with the Fed making rulings that effect everyone's rights just so long as those rulings are favorable to Christians.  What happens when the same rules start being applied to other faiths?  Under the SCOTUS ruling, a Muslim based business would be well within their legal rights to require its associates to dress in what the Religion demands.  Heck it could even demand that all employees refrain from eating pork products during their meals.  

     See despite what so many people seem to want to think, a SCOTUS ruling on religious rights doesn't just affect the religion you like, but ALL religions.  If a Christian Business can require its employees to be a certain way than a Pastafaran Business will be well within its rights to demand that everyone wear a colander on their head.  

     So you see, we are facing a slippery slope and I suspect that when the slide starts, a whole lot of people won't like where it ends up.

End of Rant 

A plague on all your houses!

     Let me start this rant by stating that this rant isn't about Immigration, Immigration Reform or any sort of more complicated ideas.  This is simply my observations on human nature.  If you read any more into it then that, you are thinking too much and inferring way to much.  Okay disclaimer done, on with the rant. Now anyone who hasn't been living in a cave for the past few months (Heck with WiFi, even those folks probably know) knows that a massive influx of underage children from Central and South America has hit our borders and this has provoked a Poop Storm ™ of commentary from both sides of the political bunkers and more rhetoric than you can shake a stick at from all of the talking heads you see on the magic talkie box.  Liarberals are screaming “Oh Lordie!  We has got to do everything we can to welcome these poor homeless waifs into the country!” and Cantservatives are screaming, “Got those dead beat, terrorist spawn back across the borders!”  (I paraphrase here,  but that is mostly the gist of it.) A big phrase I am hearing being bandied about, mostly by Fox News, is “Diseased Illegals” and sometimes the long form “Diseased Illegal Aliens.”      
     They go on and on and on about the clear and present danger these Plague Spreaders are presenting with their TB, Swine Flu and Ebola (Note here that despite what Cant Pundits want to think, Ebola isn't very common (See non existent) in Central and South America.  But hey we can let that one slide since most of these people are not medical types.)  If you believe the Cants we are on the verge of World War IA (Illegal Aliens) and the IA are using germ warfare.
     As another disclaimer here, let me say I am not medical type either so I cannot state specifically that the Cants are wrong.  Course if they are, I do find it rather ironic since Cants also tend to be Vaccination Haters so if we suddenly have an epidemic of Whooping Cough or Measles from Unvaccinated children coming to our borders we know who to blame. 
     Anyho, moving on. So after that rather long intro, we finally reach the meat of my rant (BACON!).  Anti-Immigration types have done everything in their power to dehumanize people who cross our borders illegally.  Comparisons to Leeches, Parasites and other much less kindly words have been used in abundance over and over again to make these people appear less than human.  Cantservative rhetoric has gotten harsher and harsher as the years have gone by.   Now we have a new buzz word for Pundits to use.  “DISEASED!” 
     That is right.  Now not only are they illegal drains on our wealthy nation, their very existence is a threat to our health and our continued survival!  Cants say that if we don't stop these disease carrying people from entering our borders, all Heck is going to break lose. Any student of history can tell you that the first step in making one group hate another group is  to make the target group seem somehow less than human or even animal like.
      Hey it worked for all the Greats, Hitler, Stalin and don't forget good old Mao.  You take your target group and convince your people that these less than humans are some kind of threat.  Then you keep repeating that same dross over and over again.  People start believing you and poof you can take any actions you need to fix the problem.  (BTW I would be amiss if I didn't mention the US treatment of American Indians and Black Slaves in that list.)
     So here is the plan.  Cantsevatives and their Rich Backers (won't name names but one group's last name sounds suspiciously like another name for male anatomy) have their bought and paid for Taking Heads rage on and on about Diseased Illegals.  People start panicking and thinking “OMG, we are all gonna die from Laughing Cow Disease!”             
     These panicked people start pressing Cants to “do something!”  Since these people are no longer people but instead Diseased Illegals, pretty much anything goes.  Its okay if some get hurt or even killed, because they are DISEASED!  If we don't respect their basic rights its okay. Besides any sort of moral reasons, there is one reason why this particular approach is dangerous.  It is a slippery slope.  Not far a slide to getting rid of other groups for similar reasons. 
     Homosexuals are the most common carriers of HIV/AIDS so wouldn't it make sense to get rid of them to keep the rest of the country safe?  Old People are a drain on resources so why not get rid of them.  (Huh on second thought, that one is prolly safe considering most of the Grand Old Party are well, really really old.) Is illegal immigration a problem?  Yes and I feel it should be dealt with. 
      However, inciting people to hate other people and dehumanize them isn't the way to do it.  The vast majority of Aliens coming across our borders are not criminals.  They aren't evil and dead set on destroying America.  Most of them are simply looking for a better life for themselves and their families.  Send them home, yes, but quit trying to turn them into monsters.

End of Rant

Gaza into my eyes

     So for the most part, I have stayed out of the whole Israel/Hamas discussion.  The opposing sides of the argument have been reduced to screaming at the top of their lungs without any attempts at rational discussion. Views are so polarized that any attempts at moderate opinions are ignored or even worse, they are seen as bigoted.
     I don't have anything resembling a dog in this fight.  I have several friends who are Jewish and I am particularly opposed to people who use non-combatants as living shields so my natural leanings are for Israel.  However, I could also point out that of the Dozen or so peace treaties peace treaties brokered between the two forces, Israel has broken a few of them.
     Anyhow, like I said this little rant isn't about the conflict.  I was reading an interesting piece written by an English reporter who wrote  very good article.  He gave interesting information on both sides and actually did the best job I have seen so far  of giving an impartial study of the current conflict and the history behind it. It wasn't until his concluding comments that what he said bothered me.
     In his conclusion, he said, "Israel is entitled to all its freedoms and if ensuring their freedoms means that the freedoms of others is suppressed, then Israel is well within its rights to do so."
     See the problem with this reasoning is that it presumes that one group of people's rights are more important than others. ow admittedly this isn't a new idea.  One only has to look at America's treatment of Native Americans, Blacks and even Asian Americans during WWII to see prime examples of this attitude.  The assumption is that the one group has some sort of moral or ethical high ground.
     Of course, people will argue that Hamas is the most base of evil throwing unprovoked attacks and threatening their own people so isn't Israel justified in suppressing their opponents?  On the surface it seems like a reasonable question.
     The problem with assuming that one group's rights and freedoms are more important than another is that what happens when the tables are turned?  If one group can justify injustice in the name of defense than another group can use the same reasoning.
     In the end, if one group's freedoms and rights come at the expense of another's then both sides ultimately lose.
                                                             End of Rant

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