The Progressive American Report - Get On PAR!

We are Progressives because we understand the complexity of the many problems that face our country, our world and its people...and we care about moving America forward.  But, let's face it, not everyone understands complex issues. So, how do we reach those people?

Comment with your ideas. I promise to consider and reply to all of them. ;-)

Why Christians (and therefore the GOP) Hate Women

I've figured it out. It all makes sense. I now understand why Christians and the GOP hate women. It's a long and preposterous story so, let's get started.

Let's take a look at this issue through their eyes.

In the Beginning

In the Bible, God created man and animals and everything was going great. Adam had the ultimate man-cave, the Garden of Eden, to hang out in - unlimited fishing, bear wrestling, ball scratching...all the great stuff about life.

But after a while, God noticed that Adam was spending WAY more time on ball scratching than necessary & when the light was just right, his eyes were lingering a little too long on the Beaver.  So, God created woman.  She was beautiful and alluring and Adam couldn't stop thinking about her naughty parts.

But, then Eve got hungry and Adam told her he wanted to watch football and didn't feel like going out. Just find something to eat here, he told her. Fine, Eve found something to eat but, then Adam started yelling from the couch that if she was making herself something she could bring a sandwich or something for him. So, she did.

Well, apparently, they had gotten into God's secret stash of Oreos or something and He wasn't happy about it. Not happy at all. In fact, He was so unhappy that he kicked Adam and Eve right out of the ultimate man-cave.

But, that wasn't all. God - knowing how much everyone enjoyed Eve's naughty parts - also put a "curse" on them that made them frightening and confusing for Adam but, yet, he still couldn't stop thinking about them.

So. The first reason Christians hate women is because Woman got Man thrown out of the ultimate man-cave when she pissed off God for eating His cookies...or as the Church labels it - created SIN. [remember that for later]

The second reason is because those naughty parts of ours are confusing and frightening to men yet, they cannot stop thinking about them...and that confuses and frightens them.

A RWNJ's Guide on How to Argue with Liberals on Twitter

[You can read the updated 2013 edition of this list here.] 

It can be hard to remember all of the important elements involved in arguing with a liberal, but here is a handy checklist to make sure you've included all of the pieces essential to maintaining the purity of the RWNJ brand.

1. Whatever FOX says, you say. When in doubt, watch Glenn Beck.
2. Incorporate the #fox, #glennbeck or #tcot hashtag in every tweet, because by calling forth other RWNJs to also attack your opponent, you'll never have to give a real answer for anything.
3. If a liberal asks you to provide a source for any claim you have made to prove it is a fact, always respond: "Do your own research!!" or "I'm not going to do your research for you." That way, you don't have to do any research.
4. If you feel you must send them a source link, make sure it is only a link from a right-wing blog or op-ed piece. It doesn't matter if you've read it.
5. It is also helpful to have a ready list of links on-hand that are completely unrelated to the topic of discussion to flood your opponent's @replies with. Again, it doesn't matter if you've read them.
6. If you're unsure about how to start a tweet, try "Why don't you ask Obama/Reid/Pelosi why..." That should get your creative juices flowing.
7. All of your tweets (whether you are in a debate or not) should contain at least one insulting name for liberals. Libtard is a favorite, but it is getting a bit less effective from constant overuse. I suggest the more modern twist, Libturd.
8. Stay away from facts. Facts are only opinions reinforced by truth.
9. Never answer a question. The best way to counter the left's expectation for meaningful dialogue is to ask them an unrelated question in return, such as "Why do you like to kill unborn babies?"
10. Make sure each of your tweets is riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. After all, you wouldn't want anyone to be able to accuse you of being one of the "intellectual elite".
11. Each of your tweets should include one of the RWNJ signature terms - commie, Marxist, socialist, or Nazi. You may use them interchangeably to keep things fresh. To keep up on the latest trend, trying using "Caliphate" or "sharia law".
12. Mention Soros.
13. Sprinkle the terms "Patriot," "Constitution," "liberty" and "freedom" here and there to constantly remind others that you're a real American, even when you're not acting like one.

What's most important to remember is that as a RWNJ, you have an image to uphold and a duty to build yourself up by putting others down. For freedom.

[You can read the updated 2013 edition of this list here.]

How is the AZ Immigration Law Racist?

With all the discussion over the new and controversial Arizona Immigration Bill, and multiple requests from at least one demanding and, I suspect, mentally unstable troll on Twitter, I have decided to put some time into answering the question, "How is the Arizona Immigration Law racist?" because it cannot be answered in 160 characters or less.

It's true that the Arizona Legislature has amended the law (after a public outcry) with a specific rule that racial profiling is not permitted as a way to single out people to target with this law, and as we all know, because it says racial profiling is not allowed, no one will do it, right? Because, that would be unheard of. LOL! But...for the sake of argument, let's make the assumption here that all law officers in Arizona are above reproach and would never cross the line in some sort of megalomaniacal exhibition.

So, "racial stereotyping" is forbidden in the text, it's true; but class-based stereotyping with racial connotations is apparently permitted and even encouraged. How, you ask?

As part of the immigration bill, a police officer responding to city ordinance violations would be required to determine the immigration status of an individual they have reasonable suspicion of being an undocumented immigrant. How does that translate into racial stereotyping against Hispanics?

Well, in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 50% of Arizonans living below the poverty line were Hispanic, which is the highest percentage of any race living below the poverty line in Arizona.

An email from one of the activists who helped draft and modify the law (Kris Kobach) clarifies: "Police are able to use violations of property codes (i.e., cars on blocks in the yard) or rental codes (too many occupants of a rental accommodation) to initiate queries" into someone's immigration status.

So, a poor person (and don't forget, most of the poor people in Arizona are Hispanic) that must work on their own car at home because they cannot afford to pay, often outrageous, garage fees is at risk, and a family who cannot afford the rent on a large apartment or home for their large family is also at risk if they have, say, many children sharing a bedroom.

Also, the law states that an officer has reasonable suspicion to check the immigration status of anyone "soliciting work in a public place" (§ 5(C), page 5) such as in front of a Home Depot, where the majority of day workers seeking day labor jobs are Latino.

It also "authorizes (§ 6(A), page 6 7) law enforcement officers to arrest an individual without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe the individual has committed any public offense that makes him/her removable from the U.S." ...you know, such as, being in the U.S. illegally.

So, who takes credit in drafting the language of the AZ Immigration law? Click on the links for more information.

• Kris Kobach - A birther who's running for Kansas Secretary of State. He’s also an attorney for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, the legal arm of an anti-immigration group called FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
• John Tanton - Founded FAIR in 1979 and is still listed as a member of their board of directors. In 1986, Tanton wrote this, “To govern is to populate. Will the present majority peaceably hand over its political power to a group that is simply more fertile? As whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night or will there be an explosion?”
• The Pioneer Fund - Funders of FAIR and is self-described as based “in the Darwinian-Galtonian evolutionary tradition and eugenics movement.” For the last 70 years, the Pioneer Fund has funded controversial research about race and intelligence, essentially aimed at proving the racial superiority of white people. The group’s original mandate was to promote the genes of those “deemed to be descended predominantly from white persons who settled in the original 13 states prior to the adoption of the Constitution.”

Now, let's spend a little time on Russell Pearce, the Arizona state Senator who sponsored the immigration bill.

• Alleged wife beater - In divorce papers, his wife, LuAnn had claimed that he has a violent temper and had hit and shoved her, including an incident in which he grabbed her by the throat and threw her down to the floor.
• Tea party supporter. 'nuf said.

Sure, those two things make him a jerk, but does that mean he's a racist? No, but the things below might.

• Friend to J.T. Ready, an AZ state precinct committeeman who just happens to be an exposed Neo Nazi (he's the one holding the image of Hitler).
• Pearce is the author of HB 2631, which amends current AZ marriage law to require that a prospective bride and groom provide both their social security numbers and proof of citizenship before a marriage license is issued. So, only American citizens can wed American citizens. If your boyfriend or girlfriend has a greencard, you can forget about getting married in Arizona.
  
• In October 2006, Pearce forwarded an email from National Alliance, a white separatist group, to a group of supporters. The email titled "Who Rules America? The Alien Grip on Our News and Entertainment Media Must Be Broken," which criticized black and white intermixing, Jews in the media for promoting multiculturalism and racial equality, for depicting "any racially conscious White Person" as a bigot, and for presenting the Holocaust as fact.
• He has declared his intention to place a referendum on the November ballot that would prohibit AZ hospitals from issuing birth certificates to children born of illegal parents. So, I guess as a tea party supporter, he loves the Constitution, except for the parts that he doesn't love...like the 14th amendment.

Even though many Americans claim to be in favor of the AZ immigration law, most of them have not read any version of the bill. Many supporters are also largely unaware of what the law is regarding checking the status of illegals, which according to Federal & state laws, already allows law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of someone who is placed under arrest.

In addition, they may not understand the lengths to which this bill's authors have gone to hide their intentions within the legalese of the bill's text; intentions, which based upon the authors' previous records of anti-immigrant rhetoric, are suspect at best.

Pathos

Distorted candor
tumbles freely;
Words of discord
trials of peace.
Disjointed all
from one another,
heaving sobs
of their disgrace.
Swept in depths
of haughty rhythms,
Melodious is
one's own deceit.
Entrenched in life
that's unrequited;
Heaven's jest,
the soul's defeat.