Activism Across America

Last night at the Democratic National Convention, Senator Claire McCaskill delivered a purposeful and nasty insult to her nonreligious constituents, declaring that the people of Missouri are “God-loving” and asserting that the United States of America is a nation “under God”

It wasn’t an accident that these words came out. They were scripted in a purposeful rhetorical move to appeal to right wing Christian voters, and to try to push secular Americans out of the Democratic Party.

Let’s get this straight, Senator McCaskill. Facts are facts. There are a large number of people in Missouri who don’t believe in God at all. See as an example the Community of Reason - based in Missouri.

The USA is by no means a nation “under God”. There is no mention of God in the Constitution, the defining document of our nation. The Constitution does state, however, that there shall be no religious test for public office, and that there shall be no government establishment of religion.

All Americans, religious or not, should pay attention to Claire McCaskill’s theocratic agenda, because it’s tied to a larger right wing agenda. Oh, sure, at the Democratic National Convention, Senator McCaskill can give a good speech, but it’s only talk. In the Senate, McCaskill has earned a right wing legislative score that is nearly double her progressive legislative score.

Senator McCaskill and her ilk are dragging the Democratic Party backwards into the past, using the appeal of religious discrimination against secular Americans to whip up popular support. That’s an ugly, discriminatory vision of the Democratic Party that I want no part of.

When they found out that the Democratic National Convention was planning several days of meetings between religious leaders from tax exempt organizations and Democratic Party officials in order to plan for the use of tax exempt resources to support Democratic campaigns, and begin to coordinate for kickbacks under the expansion of government-funded religious programs, the Coalition of Secular Voters asked to be present at the meetings, to make sure that they were honest and legal, and to represent the interests of secular Americans.

Democratic Party officials refused to allow anyone from the Coalition of Secular Voters to attend. Why? What backroom dealing with religious leaders are the Democrats trying to cover up? Illegal campaign coordination? Corruption?

Ironically, the Democrats say that their theme for the Denver convention is unity. How is it unity when the Democratic Party refuses to allow non-religious Democrats full and equal participation?

This morning at 10:15 local time, the Secular Coalition of Voters will be meeting at the corner of West 14th and Fox in Denver. From there, they will move to protest at the start of the Democratic Convention’s parade, at the corner of Civic Center Park.

If you care about honest government and the survival of the separation of church and state, please join them, and speak out against the Democrats’ new attacks against the First Amendment’s guarantees of a government free of established religion.

Tomorrow in Venice Beach, California, there will be a protest march consisting of a group of women wearing no shirts. The initial reaction many people, especially teenage boys, may be nothing beyond the level of a hubba hubba, but there’s a lot more at stake in this demonstration than the groin may indicate.

Americans have no trouble understanding the burkha as a tool of repression against women in fundamentalist Muslim societies. For men to be able to show their faces, when women are not, limits the social humanity of the women who are enclosed by their clothes.

You may say that a woman’s shirt is not the same, because breasts are sexual objects that ought not to be displayed in public, where strange men can ogle them. However, fundamentalist Muslims make the same arguments about women’s hair, or their faces.

It’s true, of course, that hair can be sexy. A face can be very sexy. However, we American men are able to go through our lives with women’s hair and faces exposed without being distracted by them.

The same can be true of breasts. When I was a teenager, I couldn’t even think of a woman’s breast without becoming excited. Now, I realize that the excitement came not from the breast itself, but from the transgression of a limitation in order to create a sexual display.

A breast exposed for sexual purposes is exciting. A breast that just so happens to be exposed is not exciting. American men can learn to understand that.

Let’s not burkha the torsos of American women. Let us make chest and breast equal.

Go to Go Topless to find out more about the protest.

The establishment Democrats in Vermont are playing the role of Republicans, trying to scare Vermont voters about higher property taxes.

In the following campaign video, independent candidate for Governor Anthony Pollina asks the question that the establishment Vermont Democrats don’t want asked: If you had to choose between cutting your property taxes in half and cutting your health insurance premiums in half, which would you choose?

If you’re like most people, cutting your health insurance premiums in half would save you more money. Thanks for seeing through the tax-scare charade, Mr. Pollina.

Seen today at the convergence Goodman Avenue and East Avenue in Rochester, New York today: A determined anti-war protest, with demonstrators holding signs with slogans like Stop the War System on all four street corners.

Some people are trying to suggest that, simply because America’s wars have been going on for so long, there is no point in protesting against them any more. They call peace activists nuts for keeping up their efforts. I say that they’ve got it backwards. It is precisely because America’s Homeland Security wars have been going on so long, with so little success, that it is necessary to maintain protests against them.

Congratulations to Direct Action to Stop the War for a successful anti-war protest… against a software company in San Francisco.

Fail to see the connection between a San Francisco software company and an antiwar protest? Let me help you out, then: The connection is a game called America’s Army that since 2002 has been used by the U.S. Army to target minors as young as thirteen for military recruitment.

Ubisoft developed the game in cooperation with the Pentagon as a propaganda tool to encourage kids to join the Army and support George W. Bush’s wars.

Direct Action to Stop the War has responded with a successful protest against UbiSoft’s involvement in the recruitment pro-war software project. Yesterday, a large group of people gathered outside the offices of Ubisoft, and rallied under the theme War Is Not A Game.

Keep up the good work, Direct Action.

In Georgia’s 10th congressional district, Democratic Challenger Bobby Saxon has blasted Paul Broun for voting against H.R. 3999, the National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act. Remember the deadly collapse of that bridge in Minnesota? H.R. 3999 is designed to help prevent that kind of disaster in the future. It’s the kind of common-sense legislation that everyone ought to agree upon.

137 Republicans in the House of Representatives joined the Democrats to vote for the National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act. Not Paul Broun. Congressman Broun was one of only 55 extremist Republicans in Congress who voted against safe bridges.

Saxon wrote,

“Our highways are one of the most visible and important parts of our state and national infrastructure. Bridges are a key link in that infrastructure and we must ensure they are safe for travel. We must put a priority on the safety of our citizens and the proper maintenance of the roads that we all travel.

Mr. Broun’s vote against the National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act potentially endangered the lives of our most precious resource, our citizens. Fortunately, responsible leadership prevailed and the bill passed on a bipartisan vote of 367-55. 87% of the Congressional delegation voted in favor of safety for their constituents as I would have had I been the Congressman for the 10th District.”

In 2008, Georgia’s 10th congressional district has the chance to leave the fringes and rejoin the mainstream that is willing to uphold responsible government for the sake of public safety. The 10th district has the opportunity to vote for Bobby Saxon instead of Paul Broun.

Environmentalists in Florida must be feeling a little bit used right now. A few weeks ago, they gave a Obama a great photo opportunity, with a speech about how important it is to preserve Florida’s coastlines by keeping the nationwide moratorium on expanded offshore drilling for oil.

Then, with that photo op over and done with, Barack Obama performed his trademark flip flop yesterday, and declared that he is now willing to support expanding offshore drilling in America’s coastal waters.

So, it’s become clear that Florida voters can’t count on Barack Obama to stand up for them against big oil corporations. Who can they count on, then? Try Environment Florida, who is running a campaign against offshore drilling.

Thanks to them for working for Florida when politicians refuse to do so.