-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
Last week I wrote two guests blogs that were essentially two sides of the same coin. “How We Are Manipulated #1” and “The Decline of Journalism” were akin in that in the former I was writing about the use of “False Equivalency” that has long been a propaganda tool, especially from the wealthy backers of the conservative movement and the bland acceptance of “False Equivalency” by our mainstream media. I receive “E mails” each week from “Media Matters for America” the organization that examines bias in the media. http://mediamatters.org/ . This organization often provides me with ideas for this blog and I think performs a yeoman service for the people in this country who wish to clear the mental fog of propaganda, supplied by people who want to destroy the democratic process, and that has bombarded us since the Age of Reagan. These people own the major media and/or use their media ownership to ensure that the truth about our country is not only hidden, but subsumed in a planned torrent of propaganda. In this piece I will continue my series by providing various quotations that serve as examples, or admonishment of the prevalence of “False Equivalency” memes in the media. Links will be supplied at the end of this blog. Continue reading “False Equivalency: How We Are Manipulated #2”
Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
As a Jew who is familiar with “The Gospels” there is something perplexing about some Christians in America who have risen to power in our political process within the last four decades. Much of Jesus message, as detailed in “The Gospels” has been one of sympathy to the poor, enmity to the rich and love for humanity. I can give you the time tested quotes but just about everyone is familiar with them. Indeed through my childhood and formative teen years Christmastime every year would yield endless repetition of “Peace on Earth, Good Will to All Men”. Sometime in the 1970’s people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell gained prominence and political power preaching their version of Christianity. These Christians became Kingmakers as it was assumed and actually true that their millions of followers would vote as a bloc. The Christianity that they preached had little to do with the American Christianity that I grew up with. To be sure their teachings on sexuality differed little from Christian thought for the previous 1,700 years and so abortion was evil, virginity was prized and sexuality was to be performed in subscribed methodology. What was different was that this version of Christian belief was a far more muscular and mach one. War was good when fought for American principles of capitalism and self interest. The wealthy needn’t worry about the “eye of the camel.” Poverty was seen as the result of moral failure. Rendering unto Caesar (the Government) was no longer the moral thing to do.
Now knowing history there were always periods where certain Christian leaders were in favor of warfare, favored the wealthy and sought to kill non-believers. Nevertheless, all through those era’s the same message of peace and love was preached as doctrine, whilst the religious leadership ignored the dichotomy of their own works. However, hypocrisies have always existed in every religious belief. The overriding principles always remained static, even if logic had to be twisted to ignore the obvious dichotomy. This is certainly true of the religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam, that each give their own interpretation of the “Torah.” The most glaring example of this is the entire Chapter of Genesis, which is literally riddled with dichotomy. Who did Cain, Abel and Seth marry and where did their brides come from? The standard method of dismissing these dichotomies was to ignore them and censor the questioner. Today though, in certain Christian circles these overarching principles derived from the teachings of Jesus have become ignored, to be replaced by a new “Dominionist” view, which would turn Jesus into a warlike, wealthy Republican that hated government and taxes. That is the subject of this guest blog. Continue reading “Ted Cruz, Dominionism and Jesus”
There is a tragic story in Texas where a 15-year-old girl was raped and her step grandmother murdered after a judge ordered her to be sent back to a home with a sex offender. The offender, Edward Clinton Lee, was once married to the guardian, the girl’s step-grandmother, Jean Slovacek, at a house in Caldwell, Texas. Retired state District Judge Terrill L. Flenniken is under fire for an order to send the girl back to the home. A lawsuit filed by The Texas Center for Defense of Life against Flenniken as well as three teachers — Bliss Bednar, Vance Skidmore and Bradley Vestal — and the Caldwell Independent School District for allegedly failing to report threats from the sex offender who professed in a plea bargain for a life sentence.
There is a horrific story out of Alabama where Christian Adamek, 15, committed suicide. Unfortunately, teen suicides are not uncommon but this suicide occurred after Adamek was arrested for running naked across the Sparkman High School football field and was told that he faced expulsion and be registered as a sexual offender. That is clearly too much for a 15-year-old kid, particularly after a common prank like streaking.
Three Orthodox rabbis — Mendel Epstein (shown right), Rabbi Jacob Goldstein, and Martin Wolmark — are under arrest this week for allegedly plotting kidnappings and beatings of Jewish men to get them to consent to religious divorces. They allegedly hired out to women who wanted a religious divorce but saw nothing immoral about kidnapping and beating their husbands to achieve it. So far a total of four people have been arrested.
I am in New Mexico today to speak at the first conference of the New Mexico Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. The establishment of the chapter is a significant milestone for the New Mexico bar, which only recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of New Mexico’s statehood. The chapter will finally integrate the New Mexico bar into the national association of lawyers practicing in the federal system.
Continue reading “Federal Bar Association Opens Chapter In New Mexico”
This is Miklos Terrell Dates Jr. who is accused of a heinous crime against a 31-year-old woman who was robbed of her cellphone and then urinated on allegedly by Dates and his friends. The sexual assault charge in the case could prove challenging depending on the actions of the individual defendants.
There is a disturbing video out of Skokie, Illinois where Cassandra Feuerstein is shown being thrown face first into a concrete bench by officers after her arrest for DUI. Feuerstein, 47, is suing for the alleged abuse, which included four deputies stripping her and leaving her in a cell without her clothes. Several bones were broken in her face.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev appears to have taken a lesson from Alice in Wonderland’s Red Queen: “Sentence first—verdict afterwards.” However, Aliyev has modified it to “victory first, votes second.” The authoritarian regime was slightly embarrassed when the state media released the results of the election showing Aliyev winning with 72.76 percent of the vote. The problem is that the polls had not opened yet.
It seems that restaurants are struggling to find any novel fad to gain recognition but this one has been baffled. People get together with friends for a Friday night dinner and they go to Brooklyn’s “Eat” restaurant where they are promptly told that they must eat their meal in silence. Could be a bit rough on a first date.
Continue reading “Shut Up And Eat: New York Restaurant Bars Conversation By Patrons”
Donald Eugene Miller Jr. is truly a dead man walking. He went to Judge Allan Davis at Hancock County Probate Court to inform the court that he was very much alive despite Davis’ ruling that he was deceased in 1994. He was surprised, however, when Davis said that there was nothing he could do. Miller was dead in the eyes of the law and that was the end of it . . . and him. It is not clear how Miller will rid himself of the first legally recognized status as an undead Zombie life form.
Forbes has a story on the ranking of law school on employment placement and salaries. I am happy to report that George Washington has placed within top ten schools. The dip in the legal market has affected applications at top schools but overall the impact is felt more severely at the lower ranked law schools. While legal education remains expensive, it remains a good investment for many students. The problem occurs at law schools with low bar passage rates and employment placement. We previously discussed how some of the lowest ranked schools report the highest levels of debt for students. There are some law schools which have dubious academic programs and even more dubious claims of placement. Frankly, some paring of law schools would be a benefit in this economic downturn as would more demanding certification standards by the American Bar Association.
Continue reading “GW Makes Top Ten Law Schools on Job Placement”
There is an interesting case out of France this week where four former members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church have been arrested and charged with torture, barbarism, and kidnapping of Antoinette, a 19-year-old Cameroonian. Their defense is novel: consent. Her former boyfriend, Eric Deron, who fashions himself to be something of a prophet, insisted that they were performing an exorcism by tying her to a mattress in a crucifixion position and kept her alive with small amounts of oil and water.
There is an interesting ruling out of the Sixth District Court of Appeal in California where a unanimous state appellate panel ruled that beating a child with a wooden spoon is not child abuse, even if it leaves bruises. The mother, Veronica Gonzalez, was reported for possible child abuse of her 12-year-old daughter. The daughter says that a friend “tricked” her into going to school officials about the beating. The case is Gonzalez v. Santa Clara County Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 802.