Defend Joe Wilson Against Leftist Attacks!!
Haha, I promise the title of this post does not reflect how I feel. Also, know that this post is not a poe. This is an email I received from World Net Daily today. I’m not going to bother with extensive commentary, but there are a few remarks and extra links at the bottom. (Note: All the “CLICK HERE” links linked to a Minuteman PAC donation page.) For your convenience, the text is quoted below the image captures.
Fellow Patriot,
This is an urgent alert! A fellow patriot, Congressman Joe Wilson, is under severe attack from the left for telling the truth!
Last night, Barack Obama tried once again to sell the American people on his fallacious government health care plan. And he continued the pandering when he claimed, “the reforms I am proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.”
Rep. Wilson, in a fit of patriot passion, yelled, “You lie!“
FINALLY! Some one said what’s on all of our minds!
No more milquetoast passing of the buck like calling lies “misinformation”, “misdirection”, or “confusion of the facts.” We need to call a lie a lie…and that’s just what Joe Wilson did!
Now, Rep. Wilson is under vehement attack from the Left. Turncoat Sen. Specter is calling for Wilson’s censure and now the forces of the left are using the event to raise thousands of dollars in campaign funds for Wilson’s Democrat opponent.
We MUST rally around Joe Wilson and send a message to our patriots in Washington: “Don’t be afraid to tell the truth! Call a spade a spade!”
The future of our country is at stake, yet the politicos in Washington are more worried about perception and decorum than telling the truth to the American people.
Not backing down, Joe Wilson is defending his argument: that ObamaCare WILL cover illegal aliens.
And he should know:
Rep. Wilson is an immigration attorney in South Carolina AND he helped push amendments to the health care bill that would have expressly prevented coverage for illegal aliens …
… but the Democrats in the House killed those amendments.
This begs a question: If illegal aliens aren’t going to be covered by ObamaCare, then what’s the harm in specifically prohibiting it?
We all know the answer to that question: BECAUSE THEY’RE LYING!!!
Pure and simple.
Now, the pro-amnesty, pro-ObamaCare forces of the left are loading all their guns to take out Joe Wilson.
Are we simply going to stand by and watch while a patriot congressman gets destroyed in the media?
NO! We will fight and defend him. We MUST send the message to Washington that the American people will support and defend leaders who don’t back down to pressure from the media and threats from the Obama White House!
We need to move quickly to send a clarion message to the Left…
… help us act now on behalf of Joe Wilson!
Friends, it’s in times like these that our patriotism and belief in our republic are put to the test. Let’s not fail this test. Let’s not fail Joe Wilson. Join us in ensuring his re-election now!
For the Republic,
Brett Farley
Executive Director
Minuteman PACP.S. Rep. Joe Wilson called Barack Obama out as a liar in last night’s address to Congress. And now he’s being dragged through mud… simply because he cared more about the truth than about what others think. The Left is doing everything in their power to destroy him, and they’ve already raised thousands for Wilson’s opponent. Help us fight back and defend Joe Wilson.
In case you forgot, missed it, or are just curious, here’s what Wilson said in his “apology”:
This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.
As Rachel Maddow reported last night, he apologized for being rude, but not for being wrong.
This convoluted non-apology is consistent with his ramblings to the press today:
Since last night, Wilson’s 2010 Democratic opponent has raised over $500,000.
Senator Arlen Specter has called for censure.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Wilson used to be a page for Strom Thurmond, and even defended Thurmond from accusations he had an illegitimate daughter with a black woman.
Joe Wilson is also known to have defended the Confederate Flag, claiming, “the Confederate heritage is very honorable” and dismissing any claims of racism or hate as “offensive.”
What a winner. Thanks South Carolina.
AFA Action Alert: "The Mythical 'Safe Sex' Message"
Well, yesterday was a fluke. The AFA Action Alert emails are back to being ridiculous. Today’s is too good, so I needed a full post just to tear it apart.
The headline was:
ObamaCare will put Planned Parenthood clinics inside your child’s school
Well, I think it’s ridiculous enough. I mean, were they not listening last night when Obama clearly said:
And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up – under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.
Since teabaggers don’t believe anything Obama says, it’s no surprise that part of his speech went unheralded. Anyways, tell us more about this impending atrocity, AFA…
Yes, you read that right. Under an innocuous-sounding section titled “School-Based Health Clinics,” H.R. 3200 will authorize Planned Parenthood, as a “sponsoring facility,” to run a clinic during school hours on the grounds of public schools, with absolutely no accountability either to parents or school administrators.
Clinics would be accountable only to the Secretary of Health & Human Services, the radically pro-abortion Kathleen Sebelius, who was a fervent supporter of late-term abortionist George Tiller.
I can see it now… Excuse me, Mrs. Smith, may I be excused to the school nurse. It’s time for my abortion appointment. Seriously, these people will believe anything. And nobody is pro-abortion. People are just not anti-choice.
All this will be done at taxpayer expense. And unlike the rest of the bill, which isn’t slated to go into effect until 2013, these clinics are scheduled to go into schools next fall.
Oh no! Next fall! No wonder this is so urgent! We need to start emailing our congressmen and senators immediately!!
Okay, but here’s the best part…
As you know, Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider and the most dangerous purveyor of the mythical “safe sex” message which has deprived so many American teens of their sexual innocence and left them with diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
That’s right. There is no such thing as safe sex (obviously that’s why they put it in quotes). There is such a thing as “sexual innocence.” And obviously, having sex even just one time will lead to tons of STIs and pregnancies.
Maybe we should all just take a lesson from Quinn and the Celibacy Club girls on Glee:
“If the balloon pops, the noise makes the angels cry.”
I think I liked Rachel’s approach better…
Atheism, Contratheism, and Why I'm An Antitheist
Well then! I have no clue what this individual means by my “inferiority complex.” If anything, I think pretty highly of the ideas I present, and I think I continue to make a pretty good case for the prevalence of religious privilege, the undeserved respect that supernatural beliefs, belief systems, and related practices receive in society.
I am an atheist. I am also an antitheist, though I don’t think I’m in Christopher Hitchins antitheism territory! I don’t know if this cowardly tweeter meant to insult me or express a self-victimizing concern, but either way, it’s pretty laughable. I am not ashamed of my antitheism. :-)
The only concern I have as a result of this tweet is the confusion between the words “atheism” and “antitheism,” because I do not think they are mutually exclusive. Since I recently developed another similarly confusing word, “contratheism,” I thought I would provide a post to clear up any confusion.
The terms atheism and contratheism refer to WHAT a person believes. The term antitheism refers to HOW A PERSON FEELS about what other people believe. Let’s start with the first two.
» atheists – those who do not believe in God/gods, recognizing that such entities have no supporting evidence, and thus they live their lives as if no gods exist (the prefix a- meaning “without”)
» contratheists – those who do believe there is no God and/or who actively deny the existence of God, often known as “strong atheists” (the prefix contra- meaning “opposing”)
I personally think it is important to contrast those two, as they are often thought to be the same. I am an atheist; I am not a contratheist. (Read the post where I introduced the term for more detail on this matter.)
So what’s antitheism all about?
Well, first, from my point of view, it’s important to note contratheism as a separate concept, because some would say that contratheism is inherent in antitheism. I argue that it is not. In fact, there are some believers who might also identify with antitheism, suggesting that even if God or god-like beings existed, they would not automatically deserve respect and subservience.
Next, it’s important to recognize that there are different degrees of antitheism. Some, like Dawkins and Hitchens, have been accused of being “militant” antitheists. They are not literally militant; like me, they are simply very open and direct critics of religion. I write, I hope, more like Dawkins than Hitchens, approaching such issues by offering an argument for discussion instead of writing uncompromising attacks. I think Hitchens is right about a lot of what he says, but I just don’t think he is quite as approachable.
Here are some tenets of antitheism as they apply to me (with thanks to Wikipedia and RationalWiki):
1. As an antitheist, I speak openly about my atheism and challenge those religious beliefs I disagree with.
While I argue that atheism and antitheism are overlapping and not mutually exclusive, it’s easy to see how some might think of antitheism as a different “brand” of atheism. As author Stefan Baumrin writes: “A mere atheist might think, or even write, as in a diary or a wellworked manuscript to be left in a locked desk drawer these words but would never broadcast them.”
2. As an antitheist, I hold that skepticism and critical thinking are intellectually superior to supernatural belief.
I have written before about how I do not respect beliefs. I have gone so far as to argue that this is a matter of the potential of the human mind. To hold a religious belief, one must suspend a critical analysis of the world in favor of a self-serving fiction. The only difference between religious beliefs and delusions is popularity. To exercise the full potential of our brains, we must challenge our instinct to forgo reality so that we can define our existence by that which we can know instead of that which we cannot.
3. As an antitheist, I hold that humoring any religious belief is dangerous to society.
I know, I know… I’m extremist and intolerant, right? No. This is an intellectual argument. Allow me to demonstrate mathematically. The commutative property will come in handy.
“There is a God and the Bible is His Word.” = A belief with no supporting evidence = x
“Slavery is an acceptable practice, since Jesus condoned it in the Bible.” = A belief with no supporting evidence = x
“Gay people lead immoral lives and should not be treated equally in society, because the Bible says so.” = A belief with no supporting evidence = x
x = x = x
When we’re accepting truths that have no substantiation, there is nothing to distinguish between them. By allowing for one as “harmless” as believing in God, we’re opening the door to any others. (Interestingly, when people cherry-pick their beliefs, they do so using secular moral reasoning, the very thing atheists/humanists/secularists espouse.) The only way we can eliminate stupidity and oppression is if we demonstrate that none of the supporting beliefs have any merit and we stop respecting them as if they’re okay.
Oh, and if you’re curious about the slavery thing, I would check out (you can just scroll over them!) the following verses: Matthew 10:24, Matthew 24:45-46, 1 Timothy 6:1-5, Ephesians 6:5-6, Titus 2:9-10, and 1 Peter 2:18-29.
4. As an antitheist, I hold that there are no unique benefits to religion.
Many have attempted to couch things like morality, charity, community, and inner peace within religion. I argue that while religions may be organizing structures for some of these “benefits”, that alone is not reason to preserve religion. No religion is responsible for the existence of those values, nor are those values dependent upon religion to persist in our society. In fact, there is substantial evidence that they reflect the very nature of humanity and how we evolved as a species. We can be selfish, but it’s easy to be selfish when society is prosperous. Our morals, our concern for taking care of others, our need to connect with others, and our need to feel good about ourselves… these qualities are universal properties of humanity. We do not need supernatural beliefs to access them, maintain them, encourage them, or provide opportunities for them.
..
So, here is a quick review:
I am an atheist.
I am also an antitheist.
I am not a contratheist.
There are plenty in the gay community who would never wave a rainbow flag, just like there are plenty of atheists who would never speak out against religion. I am one that would.
Oh, and don’t attack me anonymously or I’ll call you out on my blog.
A podcast w/ Peterson Toscano!
