February 10, 2011 · 7:31 pm

Budget Cuts and Bad Faith – Jim Wallis – God’s Politics Blog

I do like to remind myself and others sometimes that not all Christians are Evangelical loonies….

I continue to enjoy reading Sojourner’s Magazine that my friend Renee put me on to…

Great article/blog on Social Justice and true Christian expectations…

House Republicans announced a plan yesterday to cut $43 billion in domestic spending and international aid, while increasing spending for military and defense by another $8 billion. This proposal comes just months after billions of dollars were added to the deficit with an extension of tax cuts to the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. House Republicans focused in on only 12 percent of federal spending, and targeted things like education, the environment, food safety, law enforcement, infrastructure, and transportation — programs that benefit or protect most Americans. They also proposed cutting funding for programs that benefit the most vulnerable members of our society, such as  nutrition programs for our poorest women and children. We don’t yet know all the cuts Republicans are targeting in their proposals, but it’s good to finally know what their priorities are.

Under the proposed budget cuts, deficit reduction will not come from the super-rich; it will come from the rest of us. And the poorer you are, the more vulnerable you become, and the more you will pay for the burdens of deficit reduction. For example, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a program that helps provide food to hungry mothers and their children faces a $758 million cut. Also, the proposed budget cuts $544 million in international food aid grants for organizations such as World Vision. AmeriCorps, a program that provides public service opportunities for our young adults, would be eliminated entirely. But our military and defense budget, which sends our young adults off to kill and be killed, would receive an $8 billion increase.

It used to be very popular for Christians to ask, “What Would Jesus Do?” They even wore bracelets with the initials “WWJD.” The bracelets acted as reminders that as Christians, our actions should always reflect the values and example we see in the life of Jesus. Already, in a first wave of response to the proposed cuts, thousands of Christians told their members of Congress that they need to ask themselves, “What Would Jesus Cut?” They believe, and so do I, that the moral test of any society is how it treats its poorest and most vulnerable citizens. And that is exactly what the Bible says, over and over again.

via Budget Cuts and Bad Faith – Jim Wallis – God’s Politics Blog.

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February 10, 2011 · 7:26 pm

12 Examples of Stunning Hypocrisy from Tea Party Republicans In One Short Month| AlterNet

Dare I say “I told you so?”

It’s only been a month since the new Tea Party lawmakers took office, but the entirely predictable results of their ascension are already coming in. The Republican Party’s newest class of “mavericks” have again stormed into office intent on proving their theory that government is inherently evil by screwing up everything in sight.

Before we embark on our tour of the Tea Party politicians’ early moves – and those of the party they were supposed to be “taking back” — let’s recall exactly what they promised: they were relentlessly focused on economic issues – and, we were told, would eschew the kind of social issues that had long marked Republican politics in the era of the Religious Right. They would bring greater transparency and accountability to government. They promised to be good fiscal stewards, respond to the wishes of the people and, above all else, they swore up and down to obey the letter of the Constitution.

Let’s see how they did in the early going.

MORE:   12 Examples of Stunning Hypocrisy from Tea Party Republicans In One Short Month | Tea Party and the Right | AlterNet.

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February 10, 2011 · 7:24 pm

Vision: New Approach Brings US Homeless in from The Cold | AlterNet

Interesting article on a new approach that seems to be working…

I just don’t believe anyone should be homeless…

It’s just not acceptable that we as a society allow this to happen…

And the problem really started  to build during the Reagan years…

“We know there are strategies out there that actually work. It’s a matter of committing to those strategies and making sure we keep that momentum going,” says Anthony Love, deputy director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness, which brings together 19 federal departments and agencies.

Officials and advocates alike argue that housing the homeless is not only the most humane solution but also the cheapest, since it reduces the cost of emergency medical care and law enforcement.

There are fears, however, that as governments at every level are forced to slash budgets to cope with the lingering economic crisis, the available funding may not match the ambitious goals set by Housing First campaigns.

“There’s just less local money available for housing as state and local budgets have gone down,” says Jeremy Rosen, program director at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

“Ending homeless at this point is really not a mystery in terms of tactics, it’s a question of being able to get the resources.”

via Vision: New Approach Brings US Homeless in from The Cold | News & Politics | AlterNet.

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February 10, 2011 · 6:43 pm

PolitiFact Rates Republican Statements as False at 3 Times the Rate of Democrats

Duh….

And who is surprised?

I’ve never seen anything like the GOP ability to look the camera in the eye and downright lie…

Amazing…

Republican statements were graded in the dreaded “false” and “pants on fire” categories 39 percent of the time, compared to just 12 percent for statements made by Democrats.

That means a supermajority of falsehoods documented by PolitiFact over the last year – 76 percent – were attributed to Republicans, with just 22 percent of such statements coming from Democrats.

As a consequence, Democrats have therefore been presented as much more truthful – with over 75 percent of statements receiving the top three grades of True (16 percent), Mostly True (27 percent), or Half True (33 percent).

Less than half of Republican statements graded by PolitiFact were regarded as half truths or better – just 90 out of 191 (47 percent).

Republicans were also assigned a larger percentage of “Barely True” statements than Democrats, bringing the tally of all falsehoods or near falsehoods in the bottom three categories to 52.9 percent of Republican statements to just 24.6 percent of those made by Democrats.

via Smart Politics – Selection Bias? PolitiFact Rates Republican Statements as False at 3 Times the Rate of Democrats.

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February 10, 2011 · 8:08 am

Is Glenn Beck Sinking? | | AlterNet

We can only pray that people are really getting tired of this circus…

Since Glenn Beck launched his television show on Fox News Channel in January 2009, the program has become the premier conservative showcase for conspiratorial incoherence. But in recent months his ratings have taken a nosedive. Most strikingly, nearly half of his audience has disappeared in the last year. Has Beck gone too far even for Fox News? And how will Beck respond to his falling fortunes? Will he take a sharp turn toward reality, or will he double down even further into the paranoid world of nonsensical conspiracy theories that has become his signature? And, if so, will Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes pull the plug before Beck implodes on the air?

via Is Glenn Beck Sinking? | | AlterNet.

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February 10, 2011 · 8:06 am

The GOP Unleashes a Horrifying Attack on Women | | AlterNet

I don’t think people are paying enough attention to this….

What’s shocking about all these attacks is that the GOP doesn’t even pretend to care about women this time around, as they sometimes do–instead, they’re waging an all-out war on women’s health. One of the most egregious salvos in this war on women is the treatment of “rape” exceptions to a proposed abortion funding ban. A massive outcry arose when the phrase “forcible rape” appeared in the notorious H.R. 3 bill–essentially redefining “acceptable” rape using an arbitrary term. It was a nasty bit of work, allowing for rape exceptions only if was the “right kind of rape.” Note to Republicans, women said: all rape is forcible. The bill’s sponsors claimed the offensive phrase had been removed. But according to reports on Wednesday, it was still there.

And yet another controversy has followed in this one’s wake, thanks to anti-choice congressman Joe Pitts (PA) who introduced a new facet to yet another awful bill, H.R. 358. This new provision would allow emergency room and other hospital and health personnel to refuse emergency care rather than perform abortion procedures they disagree with. As Dante Atkins at Daily Kos writes, “This modification is simple: it would allow hospitals to make a ‘decision of conscience’ to let women die.”

via The GOP Unleashes a Horrifying Attack on Women | | AlterNet.

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February 10, 2011 · 7:59 am

A study finds drinking diet soda is linked to increased risk for strokes and heart attacks – latimes.com

I’m not surprised…

The only drink more unnatural than a soft drink is a diet soft drink.  These things are full of chemicals.

I don’t understand why people drink these things anyway.  I’ve felt much better since I switched to only water and tea years ago…

 

A study just presented at the American Stroke Assn.’s International Stroke Conference reported a link between the amount of diet soda someone drinks and the risk of having a stroke or heart attack.

Really?

Here’s the outline of the study, which was started in 2003, and what it found:

A total of 2,564 people in the study were asked about their intake of sodas (among other questions) at the start of the study. After nine years, 559 cardiovascular events had occurred, and those who had reported drinking diet soda every day had a 60% higher rate of these events, which included various forms of stroke as well as heart attacks.

The scientists adjusted for certain factors, such as age, sex, race, smoking, exercise, alcohol and daily calories. When they added additional factors to do with heart disease risk, such as metabolic syndrome, the risk was still 48% higher for the daily-diet-soda-drinking group. (Metabolic syndrome is a group of factors that can include extra weight around the waist and the inability to efficiently process blood sugar.)

“If our results are confirmed with future studies, then it would suggest that diet soda may not be the optimal substitute for sugar-sweetened beverages for protection against vascular outcomes,” noted the study lead author, Hannah Gardener of the University of Miami School of Medicine, in a release from the stroke association. She made that point also in news reports, such as one written up by WebMD.

via A study finds drinking diet soda is linked to increased risk for strokes and heart attacks – latimes.com.

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February 9, 2011 · 9:55 pm

Yogi Cameron

More on my latest fascination:  Yogi Cameron, former male model, now Ayurvedic healer…

I’m sure it helps the effectiveness of his treatments that he takes his shirt off to administer them…

And I’m wondering:  Does the Today Show only cover pretty yogis who were in Madonna Videos or is there broader criteria?

This guy must have one hell of a publicist.  New York Times today, the Today Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show…

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February 9, 2011 · 6:55 pm

AMERICAblog News: Bristol Palin’s ‘memoir’ comes out this summer? FOX’s discusses future ‘President Bristol’

I’ll post without comment…

John at Americablog.com says it all….

Pity a political party that embraces the Palins as a dynasty. The TV show ‘Dynasty,’ perhaps. But the ongoing hagiography of this trashy family doesn’t speak well to the future of the Republican party. What are the party’s hopes and dreams? Where does it want to see the country head in the future? And does anyone seriously believe Sarah and Bristol are going to take us there?

Yes, so Bristol, the one who got pregnant (though let’s not forgot that Bristol’s family-values mom has never explained why her first child was reportedly born eight months after she got married), is reportedly going to be publishing her memoirs this summer at the ripe age of 20. Oh, you hadn’t hear about Palin’s first pregnancy? This is from the NYT during the campaign, it was overlooked by most everyone:

The Palins eloped on Aug. 29, 1988, and their first son, Track, was born eight months later, a fact that Maria Comella of the McCain campaign, declined to elaborate on. “They were high school sweethearts who got married and ended up having five beautiful children together,” Ms. Comella said.

Yeah, not a denial at all. And these are family values religious right folk we’re talking about. If the baby were simply born early, wouldn’t we have been told the baby was simply born early? Would the McCain campaign really want this hanging over their heads if there was a simple non-controversial explanation? It matters because people like Palin would be the first to criticize the values of a Democratic White House contender who got pregnant out of wedlock.

Not to be topped, via Media Matters we learn that FOX is now talking about whether Bristol is going to be President.

More:   AMERICAblog News: Bristol Palin’s ‘memoir’ comes out this summer? FOX’s discusses future ‘President Bristol’.

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February 9, 2011 · 8:02 am

Yogi Cameron Alborzian, an Ayurvedic Guru – NYTimes.com

I’m sure it would really up my dedication to yoga and make me take ayurvedic eating much more seriously if a former Versace male model,who had been in a Madonna video, was my consultant…

Yes, my tongue is firmly in my cheek…

YOGI CAMERON thought I was hot. Which, I figured, was a flattering thing to hear from a man whose cheekbones used to earn him thousands of dollars a day.

Alas, he did not mean it as a compliment. Yogi Cameron, whose given name is Cameron Alborzian, was talking about the three types of energy that tend to show up in the human body, according to the principles of ayurveda: an earthy energy known as kapha, an airy one called vata, and a fiery one, pitta. Mr. Alborzian had taken a look at my face, soon after we’d sat down for lunch at Szechuan Gourmet on West 39th Street, and had determined that I was overflowing with pitta. My vata was in the red zone, too.

“You have too much fire in your system,” he said. “You have too much air in your system — that’s why you move a lot.” He detected “a slight redness inside the eyes. And the redness isn’t, say, getting-up-in-the-morning redness. It’s really fiery redness.”

Mr. Alborzian has a book out, “The Guru in You” (HarperOne, $25.99), much of which is devoted to the ayurvedic approach to eating. He has high praise for ginger, turmeric, licorice and clarified butter. (“A life without ghee is no life at all!” he writes.) He’s down on cooking in oil, using a microwave and overdosing on icy beverages. At Szechuan Gourmet, he declined the customary glass of water.

“The body doesn’t really need more water,” he said. “What it needs is more lubrication, especially as it’s getting older. Ghee will take care of that.” Now and then Mr. Alborzian drinks a teacup full of ghee, or rubs a dab of it inside his nostrils. “Especially when I’m flying,” he said. “Because I’m sucking in six hours of dry air.” He had kicked off the morning with some hot water, followed by “two or three spoonfuls of full-fat plain yogurt.” A few hours later came “two pieces of dried mango, and then that was it” for breakfast.

When he’s not writing or studying in India, Mr. Alborzian makes house calls, sometimes even moving in with clients to observe their daily routines and guide them toward healthier habits. One of the first things he attends to is the way a person chows down. I figured he could do the same for me. I’d chosen Szechuan Gourmet, one of the city’s shrines to tongue-scorching, because I crave spicy food the way other people might crave, say, a bowl of ice cream.

More:  Yogi Cameron Alborzian, an Ayurvedic Guru – NYTimes.com.

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