Vets Need Health Care, Teabagger on Drugs, RNC pays for Abortions, Church Taxes, Christian Conservative Image, and Jefferson Corruption

Quick Hits for November 14, 2009

* We have heard the "support the troops" mantra from the GOP in time of war, yet we haven't ever heard them talk about "supporting the troops" at home. It was seen in the Bush Administration's poor job in taking care of medical bills for wounded Vets, and the poor hospital conditions. Yet, we forget that while it took six years to have over 4,000 soldiers die in Iraq, every two years, over 4,000 veterans die from a lack of health care at home in America. To take it a step further, about one in every four homeless people are veterans. There is a reason for it, but regardless of reason, we must take better care of our veterans.

* Tea Party Candidate Ezell Harris was arrested on drug charges in Florida. At first I have to admit it made me think that it showed the Teabaggers might be Libertarians trying to gain credibility in the GOP after Ron Paul's strength in the last election. Then I realized he was arrested for prescription drugs, then I realized he was just a Rush Limbaugh follower. Ron Paul followers have more integrity than to abuse prescription drugs.

* Christian Conservatives often feel that there is a movement towards atheism and that they are often maligned. Maybe they should try to understand why. When they go around preaching intolerance towards people who live in ways they don't approve of, then they get caught in airport bathrooms, or with congressional pages, or with prostitutes, and the latest, Tony Alamo (evangelist) was just sentenced to 175 years in jail for taking minors across state lines for sex on several counts. Then they isolate themselves with their own "Christian Wiki" and "Christian Twitter" while building the "Conservative Bible Project" to reinterpret the Bible to exclude other views based on politics.

When you preach your views as the only right views and attempt to politically insist everyone else accept your views through law, but you get caught over and over not being able to live up to your views, of course no one will take you seriously or view you as credible. Attempting to redefine the world to exclude any deviations in political views doesn't make you more credible, it makes you less credible.

* Speaking of religion and churches, given that the Catholic church has decided to intervene in politics more and more; and the churches of the right are attempting to redefine the Bible as "conservative," it may be time to start re-evaluating the tax status that churches get. It isn't to say that they necessarily violate the letter of the law, but maybe that the law should be changed because they are choosing to enter the political arena. After all, there is no tax exempt status for churches in the constitution, and political groups don't get this tax break, so why should churches?

And before the right wing readers say it, the problem isn't that people that are religious are expressing their points of view, but rather that churches that are expressly supposed to be religious are doing it. If a pastor or minister or preacher, whether left or right, decides to use a church event for political purposes, they are now a political organization. If the people of the church wish to be political, they should be... outside the church. A minister can work for a political group, but it shouldn't be as a representative of the church. At least not if they want the tax exempt status. Do I really need to go into why religion in politics is dangerous?

* Former Louisiana Democratic Congressman William Jefferson was given 13 years in jail for corruption, taking bribes to attempt to gain favorable influence for companies. Whether it is Duke Cunningham or William Jefferson, conviction for bribery should be a longer sentence for a member of our government because it betrays the trust of so many people. Life might not be a bad start, but 20 years might be a good mandatory minimum.

* RNC Chairman Michael Steele decided to drop the RNC's health care provision that allows employees to have abortions paid for under their health care plan out of fears of being viewed as hypocritical in the health care debate. News for Mr. Steele, too late, BUSTED! The RNC has funded its employees' abortions under its health care plan for 18 years. It wasn't like it was just a one year oversight, this was a long standing health care policy.

So rather than simply admit that women should be treated fairly, especially considering it is a LEGAL procedure, they took it away from their female employees. It turns out that their employees may still get Viagra covered though. There is no word about whether or not Steele is removing provisions that fund birth control pills as they have tried to do in their amendment.

My wife deserves her OBGYN pelvic exams just as much as Mr. Steele deserves his prostate exams. My wife deserves her birth control pills just as much as Bob Dole deserved his Viagra if not more. Send a letter, an email, and make a call to every Senator and Congressperson that you want to, and don't just do it once, do it DAILY. Our women deserve better than this. You wouldn't let them take away your gun rights, why should we let them take away our wives' rights to equal medical care?