Day: June 30, 2014

Why Do Right-Wing Christians Think ‘Religious Freedom’ Means Forcing Their Faith on You? | Alternet

Personally, I am sick and tired of all this ‘religious freedom’ crap!

It is more about running rough shod over peoples lives than some vague religious belief…..now corporations have the rights and humans do not……how much further are these twats going to go?

“Religious Freedom” has become a damn smoke screen for taking what few rights we Americans have away….they use this ‘religious persecution’ bullsh*t for all it is worth…..the truly sad part is they get away with it!

 

Why Do Right-Wing Christians Think ‘Religious Freedom’ Means Forcing Their Faith on You? | Alternet.

Corporations Are Better Than Humans!

SCOTUS has made it official!

The Supreme Court today dealt a decisive victory to Hobby Lobby, ruling in a 5-4 decision that closely held companies can refuse the ObamaCare mandate to provide birth control for employees. Chief Justice John Roberts, the swing vote that upheld ObamaCare two years ago, this time crossed over to side with the court’s conservative justices, notes the AP. But the justices stressed that the ruling applied only to contraceptives specifically, and only to companies under the control of just a few people. “Our decision should not be understood to hold that an insurance-coverage mandate must necessarily fall if it conflicts with an employer’s religious beliefs,” wrote Samuel Alito in the majority opinion.

“The Court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield,” countered Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the dissent. The justices had earlier appeared poised to rule in favor of Hobby Lobby. In a separate decision today, the court ruled that home health aides cannot be forced to pay union dues, reports the AP. That ruling was also a 5-4 split along ideological lines, and held that forcing the dues payments was a First Amendment violation.

Now all you have to do is claim some vague bullshit like “religious beliefs”……..this is the type of stuff that happens when you let conservatives make laws……corporations will always take the lead over humans.

Just makes me so proud to be an American!

What The Hell Is A “Caliphate”?

Inkwell Institute

Middle East Desk

for the last couple of weeks there has been the thought of ISIS may establish a caliphate…..and of course everyone has an opinion….ut not one of them has any idea what is meant by the ‘caliphate’……and now there has been an announcement and I am sure it will be the talk of the day…….

First, just hat is the ‘caliphate’?

Caliphate, the political-religious state comprising the Muslim community and the lands and peoples under its dominion in the centuries following the death (632 ce) of the Prophet Muhammad. Ruled by a caliph, who held temporal and sometimes a degree of spiritual authority, the empire of the Caliphate grew rapidly through conquest during its first two centuries to include most of Southwest Asia, North Africa, and Spain. Dynastic struggles later brought about the Caliphate’s decline, and it ceased to exist with the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258.

Now that you have a rudimentary grasp on the concept…….

Reflecting its virtually uncontested control over a broad swath of land in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has announced the formation of a new nation, dubbed simply The Islamic State (TIS).

According to the announcement, TIS has been determined by Shura councils to be the “restoration of the Caliphate,” and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been declared the Caliph.

While TIS has been a de facto state for quite some time, albeit one with ill-defined borders engaged in multiple wars, the declaration of themselves as the new Caliphate is likely to fuel controversy around the world, and a direct challenge to Islamist factions.

That’s because a Caliphate claims to be the direct successor of the Prophet Muhammad, and its Caliph would at least claim to be the consensus final religious authority for all of Sunni Islam.

Caliphates have a long history across the Middle East, with dominant Caliphates ruling significant territory and wielding broad influence through much of history. For centuries, Ottoman sultans also held the position of Caliph. In 1924, Turkey dissolved the institution of Caliphate, and there has been no consensus Caliph since. In recent decades several Islamist factions have called for the restoration of the Caliphate, though naturally each has envisioned itself at the head, and none has gained anywhere near this much traction.

With the declaration, ISIS is making an enormous power play, aiming to put itself formally in command of all “faithful” Sunnis on a religious level. While that’s unlikely to matter across the broader Sunni world, except as a slap in the face, among Salafist factions like al-Qaeda this is a direct challenge, and a call for al-Qaeda and other such factions to submit to a position under Baghdadi’s rule.

Now that the ‘worst’ fears have been realized…..what will it mean to the rest of the world?  Well, not much I gonna change in the world…for now…I am sure that the doomsayers will be all over this as a harbinger of doom….the first thing to remember is that AQ is NOT a friend of ISIS……….that should lead to a bunch of in-fighting.  Next, see just which country or group gives their support to this Baghdadi dude……he got the big head and claimed he was the leader of ALL Muslims……..not gonna sit well in most cirlces….

For now all it will be is a pundit talking point……I would not go out and buy a slightly used bomb shelter…….

 

Just Wait For It

An issue that has had much confrontation is that of immigration……there is a wealth of solutions to the problem but NO one will support any of them…….the Right has said of years that the best way to handle the issue of immigration is for people to put their names on a list and wait for the opportunity to come to this country legally…….sounds good right?

Here is what that solution will get you……..

In 1981, Norma Uy was deemed eligible for an immigration visa by way of her sister, a U.S. Citizen. At the time, her two-year-old daughter also applied for a visa through a provision of U.S. immigration law that allows the children of visa applicants to also be considered. The petition was approved the very same day it was filed. But it wasn’t until 21 years later that Norma’s name got to the top of the visa waiting list and she was granted legal permanent residence. By that point, her daughter Ruth was 23 years old, and wasn’t permitted to immigrate with her mother, under an agency interpretation of federal law that deemed Ruth no longer a “child.” Norma was forced to choose between leaving her daughter behind and attempting to bring her over later, or not going at all after a 21-year wait.

That mindless solution seems to be no solution at all…..I can understand why some choose to enter the States illegally……doing it the right way is NO way not all…….

Thoughts?