Also, let me clear this off my chest.  I’ve had a few people who I think very highly of end up in the “Obama is a scary Muslim” camp.  This makes me sad because these people are normally pretty forward thinking, open minded people.  These people are claiming that Obama makes fun of the Bible and other assorted nonsense based on this video:

I watched the video a couple of times and I reread the Sermon on the Mount and I’m sorry, but I don’t see the problem here.  I have never met anyone from any Christian denomination that lives literally by the Bible which, I think, was Obama’s point about Leviticus.  The Sermon on the Mount part I see as him saying that the soldiers wouldn’t last very long b/c of the part where Jesus said don’t murder people and if you have an enemy you should forgive him.  I love Jesus, I do.  Even people I know who don’t necessarily believe He is the son of God admire Him for his humanitarian acts.  The 10 Commandments and the things Jesus says about how humans should treat one another are your basic tenents for pretty much every major religion.  I don’t get into the whole organized religion scene because I think so much is routinely misinterpreted and taken out of context.  I’ve been to too many Christian church services where Jesus is never mentioned and the larger chunk of time is spent talking about church budget.  I personally would rather stay at home and worship in my own way.  I don’t particularly care what church or god my government leaders are loyal to as long as it’s not extremist and as long as they don’t attempt to force their beliefs on me, especially by changing laws and the Constitution.  (I’m looking at YOU, Sarah Palin.)  Honestly, to me, if we were to compare modern government and clergy to the Bible, they more closely resemble the Pharisees.  There that is, take it however you want.

Lyrics:

Jesus Christ didn’t have blue eyes or blond hair
He looked just like all those people that you want to kill
Spin your hell into a heaven you can sell
Make it look like California with a bible belt
Jesus didn’t look like the boy next door
Unless you live in Palestine
I wonder what you mean by the golden rule
I think it is a scary play on words
I wonder what they taught you back in Sunday school

I bet you think of him
As a nice clean long haired Republican, nah
He would be all locked up in Guantanamo Bay
If he were alive today
He would have been a revolutionary
Wanted by the CIA

I picture him in all the wrong places
Finding diamonds in the dirt
A star of David tattoo
And a Che t-shirt
Jesus Christ was a left wing radical Jew
Murdered by people like you

If Jesus was a Democrat like the bible says he was
I don’t think he’s going to want to take the blame
For all the awful things you say and do in his name

If Jesus was alive he would be sad to see
That it is no different than it used to be
Someday he’s going to call you out
I am pretty god damned sure ……
He is going to be angry
He is going to be angry

You want to know what I think?…….

I think Jesus would have been a card carrying liberal
If he was a young man born in the USA

He would not be “fiscally conservative”
And he wouldn’t vote for John McCain
All those so called Christians that you see on TV
Maybe they scare Jesus like they scare me
Kick you the hell out of my temple too
Too many elephants in the room

If Jesus was a Democrat like the bible says he was
I don’t think he’s going to want to take the blame
For all the awful things you people do and say in his name

If Jesus was alive today he would be sad to see
That it is no different than it used to be
Someday he’s going to call you out
I am pretty god damned sure……
He is going to be….mad
He is going to be angry
He is going to be….mad
He is going to be….mad

You say Jesus loves the little children
And I say I know that’s true
I say he loves all the Muslims and the Jews
All the addicts and the porn stars too
You say Jesus died to save us all from a fiery hell
I say Jesus died to save us
Save us from ourselves
Will you save me from myself?

If Jesus was a liberal like the red letters say he was
I know he would have big love for all the killers and the racists
And the bullies in this world

If Jesus was alive today
And you had a chance to meet him face to face
I’m pretty God-damned sure that you and your friends
Would find some way to kill him all over again
You would kill him all over again
Again and again and again
Just like you always do
You do just what you always do

On “Meet the Press” today, Colin L. Powell concluded his endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama by referring to the death of a Muslim soldier, Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan of Manahawkin, N.J., who was killed in Iraq on Aug. 6, 2007, and whose remains were buried in Arlington.

Mr. Khan graduated from Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin in 2005, and enlisted in the Army a few months later, spurred by his memories of the 9/11 terror attacks. “His Muslim faith did not make him not want to go. It never stopped him,” his father, Feroze Khan, told the Gannett News Service in a story printed shortly after his death. “He looked at it that he’s American and he has a job to do.”

Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan

He and three other soldiers, including a corporal from Washington Heights, were killed in Baquba after a bomb detonated while they were checking abandoned houses for explosives. They served in the Stryker Brigade combat team of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, based in Ft. Lewis, Washington.

What I want to know from McCain supporters and in particular, people who are “scared” of Obama b/c of the popular misconception that he is a Muslim (which the above article is a great reason why that should be a non-issue if he were) is how does this article make you feel?  If you have been rallying against Obama for being a Muslim and if you believe all Muslims are terrorists, how does it make you feel to know that this man, Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, died fighting for America?  Does it give you pause?  Does it make you rethink some of the ignorance that has been so popular in the last few weeks?  Does it make you realize that ALL American citizens are “REAL Americans”?  Really, I’m just curious.  I think the NYTimes piece is an incredible way of reminding us, particularly the xenophobic racists, that America is a melting pot and that religion, race, or economic status should not divide us.  As I’ve said before, America was populated by immigrants.  Unless you are a Native American, you are a decendent of an immigrant.  We all are.  Freedom OF and freedom FROM religion, guys.  This man, Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, DIED fighting for AMERICA.  Just think about that for a while.  Also, please watch the following video, I’d like to know if after hearing General Colin Powell’s logical and well-stated endorsement of Barack Obama and reading the article about Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan fighting and dying on the side of AMERICA and then watching this attached video makes you feel differently.  I’m serious.  I would really love to hear some honest replies about why or why not your mind was changed, even if you still don’t intend to vote for Obama due to political disagreements or what have you.  Thank you in advance.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/14/palin-rally-kill-him-yell_n_134597.html

Chris Hackett addressed the increasingly feisty crowd as they await the arrival of Gov. Palin.

Each time the Republican candidate for the seat in the 10th Congressional District mentioned Barack Obama the crowd booed loudly.

One man screamed “kill him!”

This is getting ridiculous.  Where is the secret service at times like this?  I am so incredibly embarrassed and fearful at this point.  Are we coming to a time where it will be unsafe for a person to publicly support Barack Obama?  Are we spiraling back in time to the civil rights era?  I personally feel that if the unspeakable happens to Barack Obama, the blame will lay in part on Sarah Palin and John McCain and every one of their supporters who condone this behavior.  Palin and McCain’s silence during these hateful comments is the same as condoning it.  I don’t for one second believe that they can’t hear these hateful, ignorant people.  Sarah Palin has addressed people calling her “a hottie” by saying “what does that have to do with anything” and also the other day when she thought she had some protestors at her rally, she parroted her practiced talking point about the soldiers who are fighting to protect their right to protest.  By the way, the Iraq war has nothing to do with my right to protest idiots like her, the Constitution took care of that.  My step mother, whom I love but whole heartedly disagree with, sent me an anti-Obama email today.  I will not post the email b/c it’s crap and doesn’t need to be circulated any further.  My response is below:

But Obama isn’t a muslim.  That’s old news that was started by a very ignorant and racist person and has circulated like the wildfires in Cali.  Is daddy OK with electing a man (McCain) who repeatedly votes AGAINST veterans?  Also on foreign policy, General Petraus and McKiernan have voiced that Obama’s foreign policy proposals on Afghanistan and Iraq are correct.  I’m sorry.  I respect your opinions but I am very terrified of turning over the country to a 72 year old man who flip flops daily on his ideas and a complete twit of a woman who is nothing more than a parrot for talking points.  She is a complete liar, has abused power (as has McCain) and she is so incredibly uninformed it turns my stomach.  Not to mention the fear, ignorance, and hate mongering at their rallies.  Their rallies are beginning to look an awful lot like KKK rallies or something from 1930s Germany.  I respect Palin’s religious beliefs but can not respect her attempts to force them upon America.  If I were to be raped she would have me carry my attackers baby while Ken would be forced to watch AND I would have to pay for my own rape kit b/c apparently a woman who allows herself to get raped was just too stupid to stop it and was probably asking for it in the first place.  I can not and will not support what the GOP has become.  The GOP is no longer the party of Roosevelt and Lincoln.  It’s turning into the extreme right-wing Evangelical scare tactic mess that was outlined and documented in the compelling documentary Jesus Camp.  Trust me when I say I have deeply investigated BOTH tickets and I can find nothing to fear from an Obama/Biden administration.  I have everything to fear from a McCain/Palin administration….namely, my Constitutional rights.

I know this is a sore subject but just as you and daddy are solidified in your political beliefs, so am I. I respect yours and ask that you please respect mine.  I am incredibly informed and spend much of my waking time flipping between news sources and scouring the internet for information.  I have done extensive fact checking and refuse to base my opinions on forwarded emails (that are 9 times out of 10 debunked as false) and political ads.  I have been careful not to voice my political opinions unless I’m speaking to the choir.  This country was founded in part on freedom FROM religion, not just freedom OF religion.  Also, Muslim doesn’t equal bad terrorist.  Palin’s got closer terrorist ties than Obama.  By the way, the Ayers thing is a load of crap seeming as Obama was 8 when Ayers was actively protesting the Vietnam war and the charity committee that Obama and Ayers sat on endorsed John McCain.  Guilt by association could work both ways.  Cindy McCain is STILL involved with Keating.  Palin’s husband was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party until 2002, when Palin was Mayor of Wasilla, that wishes to seccede from the States.  If you want some direct quotes from Joe Vogler, the founder, I can provide them.  They’re not very patriotic.
“I’m an Alaskan, not an American. I’ve got no use for America or her damned institutions.”

“You get to think why the hell do I owe them anything and then you get mad; and you say to hell with them; and you renounce allegiance; and you pledge your efforts, your effects, your honor, your life, to Alaska; that is how I do it; I am an Alaskan; they know it; I’ve told them to go to hell in every way I can in a nice way; I took a case to the Supreme Court believing in the Supreme Court, but I’d rather be tried in a whorehouse with the madam as the Judge; there is more Justice in a whorehouse than in the Supreme Court; and if they don’t like they know where they can go; ….. and if you think I am ever going to forget that, the fires of Hell are glaciers compared to my hate for the American Government, and I won’t be buried under their damn flag; I’ll be buried in Dawson and when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones back to Alaska, back to my country.”

Sarah Palin addressed this committe via video and told them to “keep up the good work” very recently.  Last year and this year.  I can provide video if you want it.

My point after writing this novel is that if the GOP wants to sling mud and stoke fires that will throw us right back to pre civil rights era bull crap, they ought to be careful b/c they have way more skeletons than Obama has.  Every smear that has been said/written about Obama has been proven false and weak straw man arguments.  It frightens me that people will support a ticket that has people screaming “terrorist”, “treason”, “off with his head”, “kill him” and “bomb Obama”.  It makes me wonder if McCain’s supporters are ALL closet racists who feel they have been given permission.  I don’t want to think that b/c there are some Republicans that I love who I would like to think don’t condone this.  How long til people start lynching black people again?  This is the reason why so many well known GOPers have turned their back on this ticket and are flocking in droves to vote Libertarian or for (gasp!) Obama.  I love you very much, but on this subject we can not and will not agree.  I am too informed this election to vote Republican.

She didn’t say anything back, really, other than that she loves me and her two sons (who support Obama).  I think she realizes that she is willfully ignorant on the issues and controversies in this election.  My father admitted to me that he hasn’t watched or read any information about this election because he works roughly 10 hours a day.  He is voting Republican because he always does and he doesn’t like Jeremiah Wright.  He wasn’t interested in hearing about Palin or McCain’s radical religious affiliations (of course).  I love them though, I do.

What if Obama WAS Muslim?  Does that matter?  There’s no law saying that the POTUS has to be a Christian.  Why is being Muslim or Arab now considered bad?  This country was populated by immigrants (after they stole the land from the Natives).  Speaking of Natives, Sarah Palin isn’t exactly on their side.

This whole election season is exhausting me.  I’m so ready to fast forward to the inauguration of President Obama.  I have seen this election bring out the worst in people.  People that I respected have shown their true racist and fearful colors.  America is a melting pot.  Why does the idea of a biracial President scare people so badly?  Barack Obama has the potential to be a wonderful President.  He surrounds himself with highly intelligent people with experience in areas he may lack.  We have spent the last 8 years with a President that people voted for because he was the type of guy they’d like to have a beer with.  How bout voting for the smart guy this time?  I wouldn’t mind having a beer with the Obamas.  I think Barack is a very likable guy and Michelle is incredible.  I highly admire them both.  They have done wonderful things for people.  John McCain has a sense of entitlement, like we OWE him the Presidency.  He was one of 600 POWs.  His daddy issues are better left to a qualified therapist, not the White House.  I’m rambling.  I’m becoming incoherent.  Sarah Palin is rubbing off on me!

Brave New Films posted a new video regarding all this race baiting, hate and fear mongering, and just outright IGNORANCE at the Palin rallies.  Let’s watch:

Remember, babies know a good person when they meet one.

The Wasilla Project covers the Sarah Palin rape kit controversy, interviewing several Alaskans who add to the case that she knew of the policy of charging victims for their own rape kits. Eric Croft, the Democratic lawmaker who worked to overturned the practice, says its hard to believe Palin didn’t know about it. Dr. Colleen Murphy, a former member of the Alaska Violent Crimes Compensation Board, says she was approached by rape victims who had been charged for their exams. Wasilla Project points out that while Palin said that it would be “crazy” to charge rape victims for their forensic exams, she never denied that her hometown did so while she was mayor. A Wasilla City Council member (once a Republican, now an independent) wonders why Palin’s mayoral administration couldn’t cover the cost of rape kits when, according to reports, she redecorated her office several times. Watch:

Just in case you thought that if John McCain and Sarah Palin were going to take your abortion rights away but leave you with your right to non-emergency contraceptive access, think again! McCain’s health “reform” could leave you without health insurance, he’s tried to end Title X programs that help fund contraceptive access, he supports the HHS plan to allow pharmacists to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions, he voted against a bill to force insurance companies to cover birth control and he’s opposed to comprehensive sex ed. Nicholas Kristof would like to add that McCain also supported the Bush’s recent efforts to defund contraception programs in Africa. Unsurprisingly, Obama’s votes, legislation and policy stances are all in direct opposition to McCain’s on these issues. [RH Reality Check, NY Times]

LOL also, this:

Here’s a video of Palin addressing the AIP convention last year.

Joe Vogler has been quoted as saying the following:

• “My government is my worst enemy. I’m going to fight them with any means at hand.”

• “When the [federal] bureaucrats come after me, I suggest they wear red coats. They make better targets. In the federal government are the biggest liars in the United States, and I hate them with a passion. They think they own [Alaska]. There comes a time when people will choose to die with honor rather than live with dishonor. That time may be coming here. Our goal is ultimate independence by peaceful means under a minimal government fully responsive to the people. I hope we don’t have to take human life, but if they go on tramping on our property rights, look out, we’re ready to die.”

• “The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government and I won’t be buried under their damn flag.  I’ll be buried in Dawson. And when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home.”

It’s funny how she accuses Obama as being unpatriotic when these are people she and her husband “pal around” with.  Did you also notice she didn’t say “heck” or “doggonit” or “maverick”?  Also, she seemed to pronounce the “g”s at the end of words.

So, if Joe Vogler was someone who wanted to commmit treason and, if necessary, domestic terrorism, would the Palin’s also be guilty by association?  hmm.  Why isn’t the MSM talking about this??

Here’s this video just because I like it.