John Kerry vs. Assorted Right-Wing Nutjobs

What a bunch of maggots Fox News and the Republicans are. In an effort to further prove that they are fair and balanced, Fox News posted this headline; “Kerry Reloads in Dogfight Over Snipe at Troops in Iraq”

Problem is, John Kerry's recent comments were aimed at President Bush. Not at the troops.

Hell, the Republicans, who are getting their asses handed to them in most polls and are in real danger of losing control of both branches of Congress, are scrambling to make something of nothing. Fox News is in the lead, as usual, but they're not out there alone.

So. Let's look at this. Here's what John Kerry said.

While campaigning in California, Kerry told a college crowd on Monday: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.” Like ... say ... George W. Bush?

The Republicans sounded a loud “Eureka!” believing they had at last stumbled across something that might effectively distract the American public from their party's moral depravity, their dismantling of American democracy, and the war profiteering of their rich corporate campaign donors. President Bush, who has been running around of late trying to remind Americans of what should be foremost on their minds when heading to the polls (keeping same-sex couples from getting married, for example), seized upon Kerry's comments immediately.

Said President Bush; “The senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful. The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer Armed Forces are plenty smart.”

True. The men and women of our Armed Forces are plenty smart. Unlike their President, who completely missed it that John Kerry's remarks were a jab at him, not the troops.

Not to miss an opportunity to kiss some Conservative ass and bolster his imminent 2008 Presidential bid, John McCain said; “The suggestion that only the least educated Americans would agree to serve in the military and fight in Iraq is an insult to every soldier serving in combat.”

Now, I don't think John McCain is stupid or uneducated. I think he knew exactly what John Kerry meant. However, being a politician, he couldn't help but pile on when all his right-wing buddies were doing the same.

Uncharacteristically, John Kerry came back out swinging.

He said his remarks, which he conceded were part of a “botched joke,” had been distorted and called the criticism directed at him the work of “assorted right-wing nut jobs and right-wing talk show hosts.” He went on to say “It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country, lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have. If anyone thinks a veteran would criticise the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy.”

Dayum, brother. You tell 'em!

At a televised news conference today in Seattle, Mr. Kerry said he was “disgusted” by the Republican attacks, which he noted were coming at the end of a bloody month in Iraq. “Sadly, this is the best this administration can do,” he said.

He stepped it up today, issuing a fresh denunciation of the administration this evening as Bush was in Georgia. “Had George Bush and Dick Cheney been in combat one minute of their comfortable lives, they would never have sent American troops to war without body armor or without a plan to win the peace, and they wouldn't be exploiting our troops today,” the senator said. “No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut-and-run policy in Afghanistan and a stand-still-and-lose strategy in Iraq.” He accused Republicans of creating “straw men” because “they're afraid to debate real men.”

I have to admit that this skirmish tickled the hell out of me. I was glad to see a Democrat come out swinging. Typically, there has been a lot of hand-wringing in some Democratic circles, with some worrying that Kerry's remarks will hurt Democrats at the polls on Election Day. I doubt it. If anything, I think Americans will be glad to see a Democrat who has some balls for a change, instead of the snivelling candy-asses who are too afraid of making waves to make an effective stand. It's no wonder Democrats have generally lost the last couple of elections. It's rare for one to say what he or she means, or to take a stand without running opinion polls first.

Al Gore is a good example. How many people have been stunned at the man who we now know as Al Gore, who is steadfast in his opinions and willing to fight it out? Where was this man during the 2000 Presidential campaign? All of his friends and associates say that this is the real Al Gore; this passionate eco-warrior who is an energetic and charismatic man who makes a compelling case for the issues he believes in. Where was he in 2000?

He was supressed by the same hand-wringers who are so worried today that John Kerry's remarks will hurt the Democrats' chances on Election Day. I say if Kerry's remarks hurt the Democrats, it will be because his principled and defiant stand provides such stark contrast to the policy of appeasement that Democratic strategists prefer to pursue.

Finally. A Democrat with balls (sorry, Hillary, I don't mean that in the literal sense)!

Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if John Kerry's recent passion (which was so sadly lacking in the 2004 Presidential campaign) was the rule among Democrats and not the exception?

- Watch Alert archived post

Pagan Movement Steps In To Help India's Witches

Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:42 AM BST171
By Bappa Majumdar

KOLKATA (Reuters) - Followers of a global pagan witchcraft movement plan to introduce their beliefs in India to curb the persecution and killing of hundreds of witches every year. Witchcraft has been practised by women in rural, isolated communities in India for centuries but in recent years witches have become ostracised. Many have even been murdered by neighbours or family who blame them for doing the work of evil spirits.

In the past five years, police say they have reports of more than 700 women being killed as witches or witch doctors in eastern India alone. But the real figure could be many times higher, they say.

Now, followers of the Wicca faith from the United States, Britain and India plan to introduce their religion in the eastern city of Kolkata to promote awareness of witchcraft and provide support for harassed witches.

"People from different walks of life and even governments had asked me to institutionalise Wicca, but I was waiting for the right moment," Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, a prominent social activist who practices Wicca, told Reuters.

"Now is the time we stood up against people who persecute and kill innocent women," said Chakraverti, adding that the Indian "Wiccan Brigade" would also register complaints of persecution and coordinate with police to ensure cases were brought to trial.

Around 100 people have already signed up to take a training programme in Wiccan philosophy, literature and psychology and the students will also set up a grievance cell where persecuted women can register their complaints, she said.

Like many Pagan religions, Wicca practises magic and witches believe that the human mind has the power to effect change in ways that are not fully understood by science.

In their rituals, as well as honouring their deities, witches also perform spells for healing and to help people with general life problems.

In India, many witches practise the Dakini Vidya form of witchcraft, where women invoke the Mother Goddess to draw spiritual strength, a belief which has similarities to the Wicca faith in a Great Mother.

In remote India, where literacy is low and lives are governed by superstition, villagers often persecute witches and blame them for natural disasters or for illness, death or theft in a village.

"They cannot afford medicines for ailments and often put the blame squarely on innocent women and later kill them," said Chakraverti, who studied the Wiccan faith at a chalet in Canada's Laurentian mountains.

Chakraverti has also written two books on Wicca -- one of which, The Sacred Evil, was adapted for the big screen earlier this year.

witchcraft across the world is experiencing a renaissance of sorts after centuries of bad press, led by television characters such as Buffy, Sabrina and the ladies from Charmed.

Internet sites have also encouraged pagans -- worshipping as wiccas, druids, or shamans -- to come out of the broom closet.

- Watch Alert archived post
- Original Article