BUCKNACKT'S SORDID TAWDRY BLOG
We should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate, bier or wein in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WHOO-HOO, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!"
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Verse of the day
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. - Hebrews 13:8
Voice of the day
The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it. - Flannery O’Connor
Prayer of the day
Unchanging and eternal God, help us to embrace your unwavering truth even when it challenges us beyond our comfort.
Explore the hidden words of Jesus, waiting in the secret chamber of your soul. The world has done its best to make you forget. But the words you are about to read are here to help you remember. Meet not the Jesus of stained-glass windows but the living Jesus, speaking in the rolling breath and rhythm of his mother tongue, Aramaic. May these words be not history, but heartbeat. For Sermons, Bible study, and Seekers of truth. From the Bestselling Author Rev Gert Janse van Rensburg.
In a world that often isolates, God calls us into community. That’s why we’re gathering at the AACC Conference — to unite Asian American Christians to grow in faith, reconnect with identity, and lead with greater purpose! Join us October 27-29, 2025 in D.C. for a powerful three day experience.
As part of an investigation into the Trump administration’s dangerous Anti-Christian Bias Task Force, Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a federal Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State.
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Verse of the day
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. - Genesis 2:15
More than a memoir, From Dropout to Doctorate empowers communities to break barriers and champion every young person’s success. Through mentorship, advocacy, and faith, Dr. Terence Lester demonstrates how we must break the cycle of injustice and open the doors of possibility for future generations.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has defended against infringements on our right to live and believe as we choose, so long as we don’t harm others for almost eight decades.
SEN Mark Pryor D AR is one of those third way jellyfish democrats who has turned his back on 99% of the people of Arkansas and the nation because he had to vote according to walmart and the waltons, the corporation and wealthy family who bought and paid for his election and so his votes in the US Senate. They don't want the minimum wage raised so he is going to oppose it, disregarding the poverty of so many of his own constituents. It is time for the Bold Progressives of the Democratic Party to issue new marching orders to Sen Pryor, he either starts representing ALL the people who elect him, or he can check with the waltons and see if his position with walmart is available. From Daily Kos..... Laura ClawsonforDaily Kos Labor
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-WM)
Will conservative Democrats never learn? Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) is
facing a tough re-election battle in Arkansas, which is both a
low-income state and the home of Walmart. So what position is he taking
when it comes to raising the minimum wage, which would pull many of his
constituents out of poverty but require Walmart to pay higher wages? If
you guessed "he'd find a way to be mealymouthed and spineless," give
yourself a gold star.
On the one hand, Pryor kinda sorta supports
a state ballot initiative that would raise the Arkansas minimum wage to
a whopping $8.50 an hour over three years. (The state currently has a
$6.25 minimum wage on the books, below the federal level, so that's the
initiative's starting point.) On the other hand, Pryor opposes raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10:
“I know $10.10 still isn’t a whole lot of money, but I think
it’s too much, too fast,” Pryor, who is seeking a third Senate term,
said in an interview at the Capitol. “I’m not supportive of that.”
Seriously. It's not much, but it's too much for the poors, apparently.
That's $21,000 a year for a full-time worker, enough to get a family of
three out of poverty, but leaving them well within food stamp
eligibility.
Meanwhile, 52 percent
of Arkansas voters support raising the minimum wage to $10 while just
38 percent are opposed, according to a Public Policy Polling poll, with
47 percent saying they'd be more likely to vote for a candidate who
supported raising the minimum wage. Maybe that's why Pryor went way out
on a limb to say raising the state minimum wage all the way to $8.50
over three years is "a pretty reasonable approach." But he should look
at another question in that poll: 73 percent agreed with the statement
that "Someone who works full-time should be paid enough to keep them out
of poverty." That's your winning argument, and it points to a wage well
above $8.50. Except that apparently Walmart's money (they're Pryor's
sixth-largest campaign donor) speaks more loudly—and Pryor doesn't seem
to get that being Walmart's lapdog won't make them go to bat for him
over a Republican.
Originally posted to Daily Kos Labor on Fri Feb 07, 2014 at 09:05 AM PST.
THE attack, the attempted murder of 14 year old Malala Yousufzai, a child prodigy in school and politically, has rocked the conscience of Pakistani women and may send shock waves through the Pakistani political, military and intelligence communities. The taliban has shown it's true colors in their attempt to silence a young girl that has had the courage to challenge the repressive, regressive perversion of Islam the taliban fights to impose on Pakistani society. She has the courage to stand up to the taliban, something those in leadership positions in Pakistan have lacked. It is unknown if the government will finally cut all ties and support of the taliban and other terrorist organizations and take the necessary action to eliminate their bases in the FATA and areas of operation throughout the country. Before Americans get too self-righteous we need to remember we have many among our political, religious and military leadership who believe in and support "christian" reconstructionist, dedicated, through their perversion of Christianity, to imposing "christian" sharia on America. From the PBS NewsHower and AlterNet....
JUDY WOODRUFF: For more on all of this we
turn to NewsHour special correspondent Saima Mohsin. I spoke to her a
short while ago from Islamabad, Pakistan.
Saima Mohsin, welcome.
First of all, we know the Taliban are claiming responsibility. What more do we know about that? SAIMA MOHSIN: Yes, the Taliban has released a
statement accepting responsibility and saying that this is because they
believe that Malala Yousufzai, this 14-year-old girl from the
Swat Valley, stands for a secular state. Because she stood up and spoke
up against the Taliban and fought for young girls' rights, girls like
herself to go to school.
But, interestingly, they're arguing that this isn't because she's
fighting for the right to education. It's because she stands for a
secular society and because she's bringing in Western ideals into
Pakistan.
And, tonight, they have insisted that should she survive this attack,
they will attack her again, and this time they say they will ensure
they kill her. JUDY WOODRUFF: Why do you think they believe that a 14-year-old girl is a threat? SAIMA MOHSIN: Well, this is something that everyone
across Pakistan has condemned, and, indeed, said that, how could a
teenager be a threat to the Taliban?
Certainly, this shows how callous and cruel they are, which is what a
lot of political leaders are saying today, and the fact that they will
leave no stone unturned to get their message out, even if that means
attacking a young girl.
Malala Yousufzai was a very important figure in the battle against the Taliban in the Swat Valley and for the rest of Pakistan.
She's a revered and respected teenager, and it was this teenage voice
that struck so many people across the country when she started writing a
blog and talking about how she longed for an education.
And it didn't matter that she faced the potential of being killed by
the Taliban, who had taken over the Swat Valley and her home and
neighborhood. She would -- carried on going to school.
In fact, I interviewed her father back in 2008, who spoke to me and
insisted that he, as a teacher, would continue to go to school, continue
to teach, and he wouldn't stop his daughter from going out to defy the
Taliban and attend school. JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, how widely is she supported,
Saima? Because I also read today that religious parties and mosques were
largely silent about this and not condemning the attack. SAIMA MOHSIN: Yes. As ever, the extreme right and
perhaps some right-wing religious leaders will be reluctant to come out
and condemn the attack because the Taliban used the name of religion.
But we have seen a reasonable amount of change this time around.
Because Malala is a young girl, because she is a teenager and because
she was a symbol of the battle against the Taliban, political leaders
have come out, they have spoken out against this with unequivocal
condemnation this time.
Remember that the terrorists and these right-wing groups are a very
small majority of the 180 million people living here in Pakistan. JUDY WOODRUFF: We also know that, today, Pakistan's
top military official, the chief of army staff, General Kayani, went to
visit her in the hospital. How significant is that? SAIMA MOHSIN: Well, that's significant on a number
of levels, because, of course, the military has not been able to leave
the SwatValley. They still have a considerable presence alongside the
civilian administration and the police there to keep it protected, to
ensure that the Taliban do not return to that area.
And, of course, Malala's is in a civil military hospital where she's
being cared for and operated on last night. General Kayani's statement
in particular is of interest, because of what I mentioned, the
unequivocal condemnation.
And he is, arguably, one of the most powerful men in this country.
And, today, part of his statement said, "The terrorists have shown how
low they can fall in their cruel ambition to impose their twisted
ideology."
Now, that is crucial because, previously, we haven't heard about how
twisted ideology, how the Taliban are using religion in Pakistan to try
and gain favor of the local people or to fight this jihad, as they call
it. And for the military leadership to condemn the Taliban will send out
a powerful message to the people of Pakistan. JUDY WOODRUFF: Saima, finally, in your own
reporting, whom do you want to talk to, to get a better sense of just
how supportive the country is behind her and behind what she's doing? SAIMA MOHSIN: Well, today, for the first time after
many, many years, we have seen people take to the streets. And it's the
real average man of Pakistan that needs to -- as analysts say, needs
come out and stand up against the Taliban, because this is what is being
dubbed the silent majority of Pakistan vs. a very vocal minority, which
is the terrorist groups.
So people are wanting to see that the people of Pakistan themselves
are going to take to the streets to stand up and condemn the Taliban and
say that they do not represent us. And for the first time today, we
have seen those protests and demonstrations, reasonably small, but in
terms of numbers, a couple of hundred in major cities coming out and
saying that, we do not stand for and the attack on Malala is not
acceptable to the rest of Pakistan. JUDY WOODRUFF: Saima Mohsin in Islamabad, Pakistan, thank you very much for talking with us. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec12/pakistan2_10-10.html
AR Republican Charlie Fuqua Advocates Stoning Rebellious Children, Per Deuteronomy
8OKT12
"The
maintenance of civil order in society rests on the foundation of family
discipline. Therefore, a child who disrespects his parents must be
permanently removed from society in a way that gives an example to all
other children of the importance of respect for parents. The death
penalty for rebellious children is not something to be taken lightly.
The guidelines for administering the death penalty to rebellious
children are given in Deut 21:18-21" - Republican Charlie Fuqua, from
his book God's Law
"I think my views are fairly well-accepted by most people" - Charles Fuqua, as quoted by the Associated Press
It has rapidly migrated from the Arkansas Times - which has broken the story about a controversial book written by Republican candidate for the Arkansas Legislature Charlie Fuqua - to the Huffington Post , but so far media has not identified the most astonishing aspects of Fuqua's suggestion, in his e-book God's Law: The Only Political Solution, that rebellious children should be executed in accordance with Deuteronomy 21:18-21.
First, Fuqua is not advocating just any form of execution. By citing
those verses from Deuteronomy, candidate Fuqua is recommending stoning
rebellious children to death. Here is the scripture Fuqua cites,
Deuteronomy 21, verses 18-21, from the King James Version of the Bible:
"18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which
will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and
that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and
bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his
place;
20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is
stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton,
and a drunkard.
21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he
die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall
hear, and fear."
Next, Fuqua's view that the American legal system should be based on
Biblical Law identifies him as a type of Christian Reconstructionist. On
Fuqua's website for his book, he explains,
"Everything that is wrong with the United States will be
corrected only when we turn back to the Biblical principles followed by
our founding fathers. The prophets of the Bible told Israel that the
nation would suffer as a result of disobedience to God's law. It is no
different today. God made the universe and the laws that govern it.
Disobedience of those laws always produces bad consequences."
"[Christian] Reconstructionism seeks to replace democracy
with a theocratic elite that would govern by imposing their
interpretation of "Biblical Law." Reconstructionism would eliminate not
only democracy but many of its manifestations, such as labor unions,
civil rights laws, and public schools. Women would be generally
relegated to hearth and home. Insufficiently Christian men would be
denied citizenship, perhaps executed. So severe is this theocracy that
it would extend capital punishment beyond such crimes as kidnapping,
rape, and murder to include, among other things, blasphemy, heresy,
adultery, and homosexuality.
Reconstructionism has expanded from the works of a small group of
scholars to inform a wide swath of conservative Christian thought and
action."
Among the crimes identified by Christian Reconstructionists as
deserving the death penalty (by stoning) is also juvenile deliquency.
Stoning disobedient children is, needless to say, slightly
controversial, even among leaders of the hard religious right. As a
brilliantly satiric 1998 essay pulbished in the libertarian magazine
Reason, by Walter Olson, titled Invitation to a Stoning: Getting cozy with theocrats described,
"For connoisseurs of surrealism on the American right, it's
hard to beat an exchange that appeared about a decade ago in the
Heritage Foundation magazine Policy Review. It started when two
associates of the Rev. Jerry Falwell wrote an article which criticized
Christian Reconstructionism, the influential movement led by theologian
Rousas John (R.J.) Rushdoony, for advocating positions that even they as
committed fundamentalists found "scary." Among Reconstructionism's
highlights, the article cited support for laws "mandating the death
penalty for homosexuals and drunkards." The Rev. Rushdoony fired off a
letter to the editor complaining that the article had got his followers'
views all wrong: They didn't intend to put drunkards to death."
Rousas J. Rushdoony held many notable positions, including a rejection of the Copernican model of the Solar System (he was a Geocentrist .)
That position provoked a bitter dispute with Rushdoony's son-in-law
Gary North, who cleaved to the modern theory espoused by Copernicus and
Galileo. But both men were in accord about stoning. As Olsen's Reason
article acerbically described,
"when Exodus 21:15-17 prescribes that cursing or striking
a parent is to be punished by execution, that's fine with Gary North.
"When people curse their parents, it unquestionably is a capital crime,"
he writes. "The integrity of the family must be maintained by the
threat of death." Likewise with blasphemy, dealt with summarily in
Leviticus 24:16: "And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall
surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone
him."
Reconstructionists provide the most enthusiastic constituency for
stoning since the Taliban seized Kabul. "Why stoning?" asks North.
"There are many reasons. First, the implements of execution are
available to everyone at virtually no cost." Thrift and ubiquity aside,
"executions are community projects--not with spectators who watch a
professional executioner do `his' duty, but rather with actual
participants." You might even say that like square dances or quilting
bees, they represent the kind of hands-on neighborliness so often missed
in this impersonal era. "That modern Christians never consider the
possibility of the reintroduction of stoning for capital crimes," North
continues, "indicates how thoroughly humanistic concepts of punishment
have influenced the thinking of Christians." And he may be right about
that last point, you know."
Charlie Fuqua's positions track quite closely with those typical of
Christian Reconstructionism along another spectrum as well - Christian
Reconstructionism embraces a form of radical economic libertarianism in
which the proper function of government is restricted to mainly to the
spheres of defense and basic policing but little else. As Fuqua puts it,
on his website,
" If government gives all of us security in our social
status (social security), it takes away our ability to excel or fail. As
more of us get economic security from our government, rather than from
our productivity, we become more insecure as a nation. This is because
more and more of us lose the motivation to work to avoid poverty.
[...]
...Our founding fathers realized that government was a necessary
evil. It is vitally important that we understand both aspects of that
statement. Government is necessary to restrain the evil inclinations of
individuals who would harm others for their own gain."
"The foundations of Christian Reconstructionism were laid
by the late Rousas J. Rushdoony in his prolific writing including his
major tome, Institutes of Biblical Law and promoted through his
Chalcedon Foundation. Reconstructionism teaches that all institutions
of society and government must be reclaimed from "humanists" and
reconstructed on the basis of biblical law. Reconstructionists claim
that the unfettered free markets are biblically mandated. In other
words, God is the invisible hand behind laissez-faire capitalism and
government intervention is putting faith in man instead of God.
Reconstructionist leaders have overlapped significantly with two other
organizations that have sacralized radical free markets - Lew Rockwell's
Ludwig von Mises Institute, which promotes Austrian School economics,
and the John Birch Society."
EnlargeAFP/Getty Images Malala Yousufzai on a stretcher as she was being taken to a hospital earlier today in Mingora, Pakistan.
"Shooting attacks happen every day in Pakistan," as NPR's Philip Reeves reports from Islamabad.
But
the shooting of a teenaged girl who became nationally known after she
documented the Taliban's cruelty in Pakistan's Swat Valley has caused
particular shock in that country, he tells our Newscast Desk.
The
Pakistani Taliban are claiming their fighters carried out today's
attack. According to Philip, "officials say Malala Yousufzai was outside
her school when a gunman approached, and opened fire, injuring her and
at least one other child."
(Note at 7 a.m. ET, Oct 10:
Earlier, we wrote that Malala is 14. That is what The Associated Press,
Reuters and other news outlets are reporting. Phil, though, has checked
with Malala's school and been told she was born on July 12, 1997 —
making her 15. He also spoke with her in August 2009. Malala said then
that she was 12.)
Pakistan's Dawn newspaper says
it has been told by a spokesman for the Taliban that the girl was
targeted for spreading "anti-Taliban and 'secular' thoughts among the
youth of the area." Malala, Dawn says, was "hit by couple of
bullets to her neck and head." While hospitalized, she is said to be
"out of danger." She may, though, need to be sent overseas for treatment.
The Taliban reportedly say they'll target her again. As
Philip reminds us, "Malala is a national figure. She lives in Swat
Valley and was there several years ago when the Taliban took control and
began burning down girls' schools. The Pakistani army rolled in, in
2009, to retake the area. Malala wrote an anonymous diary, broadcast on
the BBC, about life under the Taliban. She advocated education for
girls, and defied the militants' ban on this by secretly going to school
with her books hidden in her clothes. Her bravery was recognized last
year when she was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize."
The BBC report, "Diary of a Pakistani schoolgirl," is posted here. In one diary entry, she wrote:
"I
had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the
Taleban. I have had such dreams since the launch of the military
operation in Swat. My mother made me breakfast and I went off to school.
I was afraid going to school because the Taleban had issued an edict
banning all girls from attending schools.
"Only
11 students attended the class out of 27. The number decreased because
of Taleban's edict. My three friends have shifted to Peshawar, Lahore
and Rawalpindi with their families after this edict.
"On
my way from school to home I heard a man saying 'I will kill you.' I
hastened my pace and after a while I looked back if the man was still
coming behind me. But to my utter relief he was talking on his mobile
and must have been threatening someone else over the phone."
BRAVE NEW FOUNDATION exposes the koch brothers AGAIN!!!! Check out the video report from The Young Turks and BNF, and try not to by georgia-pacific products......
Our second victory comes after the release of "EXPOSED: Koch Industries and Cancer Risks." Through our webpage, more than 2,400 people left comments to show solidarity with Mr. Bouie and his neighbors, who have been tragically afflicted by Koch Industries. Mr. Bouie along with Cheryl Slavant of Louisiana Environmental Action Network will confront the Koch brothers with the thousands of messages posted by activists. With communities like West Crossett dying, we can no longer afford to let the Kochs buy their way out of environmental responsibility. Your support, coupled with unprecedented press coverage, is putting pressure on the Koch Brothers and policy makers who can make this right.
Thanks for everything you do to protect democracy,
Robert Greenwald
and the Brave New Foundation team This is the report from The Young Turks THIS is the complete video from Brave New Foundation
by George Zornick at The Nation One of the early storylines about Koch Industries involved its efforts to attack scientific evidence that formaldehyde causes cancer. It was first exposed by Kevin Grandia at DeSmogBlog last fall, and Jane Mayer’s seminal New Yorker story explored it as well. In short, while a member of George W. Bush’s National [...]
by Sue Sturgis at The Institute for Southern Studies/Facing South A new video from Brave New Films is drawing attention to an unusual number of cancer cases and other serious health problems in an Arkansas community next to an industrial facility owned by Koch Industries. The Kansas-based oil and chemical conglomerate is owned by the [...]
The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur on a shocking report from Koch Brothers Exposed on how the billionaire Koch Brothers efforts to increase their profits may have increased cancer deaths in Arkansas.
Robert Greenwald, Filmmaker, political activist and founder of Brave New Foundation joins Thom Hartmann on RT America/The Big Picture. Robert says the Koch brothers have been linked to political bribery, funding right wing think tanks, financial ties to foreign businesses and now…cancer!
by David Edwards at The Raw Story Residents of a small Arkansas community say that the toxic pollutants being dumped for years by a Koch Industries plant is killing them. Only 15 families reside around Penn Road and already 11 people have died of cancer. Even more are sick. In a new documentary by Brave [...]
by Tara Lohan at Alternet A new video from Brave New Foundation shows how people are paying the ultimate price for the Koch brothers’ politics and profiteering. The many sins of the Koch brothers have been keeping Robert Greenwald and his crew at Brave New Foundation busy. Since January they’ve been working on their Koch Brothers Exposed video investigations, [...]
Thom Hartmann talks with Robert Greenwald, Filmmaker, political activist and founder of Brave New Foundation, about Robert’s latest documentary that exposes a connection between the Koch brothers and a small community dying of cancer.
by David Dayen at FireDogLake A provocative new video from Brave New Films exposes what appear to be serious environmental crimes in Crossett, Arkansas, caused by waste product at a Georgia-Pacific plant. Georgia-Pacific is owned by Koch Industries. In the video, the citizens of Penn Road, a residential neighborhood behind a channel into which the Georgia-Pacific [...]
by Brendan DeMelle at DeSmogBlog The Brave New Films project may ring a bell with DeSmogBlog readers. Earlier this year, I wrote about a previous installment in the series taking a look at how the Kochs stand to profit from the construction of the Keystone XLpipeline, if it is ever built. (That video is even more interesting [...]