“As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion…”
Treaty of Tripoli
Passed unanimously by the Senate,
and signed by President John Adams
1797
With those simple few words in mind, let’s see what mischief Oklahoma’s greatest embarrassment — batpoo-bananas Sally Kern (R-Nutjbonia)— is up to now (with video and much more after the jump):
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Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Christianity, Church-State Separation, Civil Rights, Hate Speech, Homophobia, Mental Health, Oklahoma, Radical Religious Right, Republicans
June 25, 2009
For instance, did you know that the government is run by secular humanists? And did you know that “a secular humanist believes he or she is a god and does not need the true God”? (Wow, I’m a god!)
And did you know that the “nearly 7 million American Muslims in our country today … enjoy incomes and educational levels that are higher than the American average”? (Where have I heard that before…? Oh, yeah! All gay people are rich, too! Which reminds me — I keep forgetting to inform my wife that we’re rich. We must be, because everyone who hates us keeps saying we are.)
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Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Atheism/Agnosticism, Christianity, Homophobia, Mental Health, Radical Religious Right, Random Bigotry, Random Stupidity
June 19, 2009
Pretty dramatic headline, eh? But there’s no other way I can read it (and, by the way, we do have poor people in California — lots and lots and lots of them, thankyouverymuch, Governor Reagan):
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Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Business/Economy, California, Health & Wellness, Mark Leno, Mental Health, Ronald Reagan, Tom Ammiano
June 18, 2009
What scumbaggery. What’s next, excusing racist emergency room doctors not only from treating black people, but from sending them to non-racist hospitals?
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Filed Under: Catholicism, Homophobia, Mental Health, Radical Religious Right
June 10, 2009
Backstory:
Feds Search for Another Would-Be Obama Assassin, June 5, 2009
Feds Catch Nut “On A Mission” To Kill Obama, June 6, 2009
We’re still very much relieved they caught him, but at the same time we’re bugged that he’s being set up for an insanity plea (just as Scott Roeder is). Murray hasn’t actually entered a plea yet, but it’s clear his parents are doing everything in their power to set the stage for it, with a big assist from the prosecutor in the case.
Before we get to the story about Murray’s court appearance, what I want to know is what church he belongs to. No, not because I’m looking for a reason to slam any particular sect (not even Mormonism), but because if he can be connected to a church, and if he shares any of his obvious (to us) religion-based insanity, then it’s not legally insanity at all.
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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Christianity, Crime, Homeland Insecurity, Mental Health, Nevada, Radical Religious Right, Religion & Spirituality, Utah
Hey, cool your jets. It’s not my idea — merely the rational response to their idea of chemically castrating gay Mormons:
Latest Mormon Suggestion for LDS Gays?
Chemical Castration
Well, I guess it’s better than their earlier “suggestion” of murdering us.
P.S. to my dear friends at the DHS and FBI: Isn’t it about time you started keeping an eye on Mormon Apologetics? I’m really starting to wonder if one of them is going to pull a Scott Roeder, in the name of The Revisionist Jesus.
I tell ya, folks, these nutjobs make the Rapture Ready loonies look nearly sane.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Civil Rights, Homophobia, LDS/Mormons, Mental Health, Radical Religious Right
June 7, 2009
We agree, for all the same reasons we’ve been putting out there for some time now — just not half so well or so succinctly as Herek does.
For one thing, we just don’t have the numbers for a 2010 win. We’ll probably lose.
More importantly (in my mind, and I think in Herek’s; he’s a psych prof who’s been studying this stuff for a quarter-century):
“Win or lose, another initiative campaign will exact a substantial psychological toll.” On us, that is. And he’s absolutely right.
Worth the full read:
Don’t Rush Into A New Prop. 8 Campaign
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: California, Civil Rights, Election 2010, Marriage, Mental Health, Proposition 8
June 1, 2009
That’s what this telegraphs to us from the right-wing Christian, anti-choice site, LifeNews.com:
Scott Roeder, the 51-year-old Kansas man who authorities have detained as the only suspect in the shooting of late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller, may have suffered from mental illness. That’s according to his ex-wife, who said in a recent interview that Roeder always held extremist views. …
Then we get the typical, frantic attempt by the anti-choice movement to dissociate itself from Roeder:
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Filed Under: Choice, Crime, Domestic Terrorism, George Tiller, Hate Crimes, Mental Health, Radical Religious Right, Women
May 30, 2009
Backstory:
Hysterical Homophobe Tries to Crash Air Force One, Secret Service Carries Her Away, May 28, 2009
More on “Catholic Priestess” Brenda Lee: “Gay” Secret Service Agent, Not Mental Illness, to Blame, May 29, 2009
As “Grateful Atheist” wrote in response to Wasilla preacher Ron Hamman’s whackjob-o-nutter-rama-lama-ding-dong op/ed in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, “Will the Antichrist be a homosexual?“:
As an atheist, Ron, I really have to thank you for your honest opinion.
By making Christianity look stupid, hateful, and dishonest (yeah, I saw what you did with that elided quote from the book of Daniel), you do all the heavy lifting for us.
Again, thanks.
Ready? Read on…
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Filed Under: Barack Obama, California, Catholicism, Christianity, Civil Rights, Hate Speech, Homophobia, Marriage, Mental Health, Proposition 8, Race/Ethnic Issues, Radical Religious Right, Random Stupidity
May 29, 2009
Backstory:
Hysterical Homophobe Tries to Crash Air Force One, Secret Service Carries Her Away, May 28, 2009
The OC Register caught up with her after she went batpoo on the tarmack, and learned it was all A Ghey’z Fault!:
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Filed Under: Barack Obama, California, Catholicism, Christianity, Civil Rights, Homophobia, Marriage, Mental Health, Proposition 8, Radical Religious Right
May 28, 2009
You just have to read it to believe it — and make sure to read the comments, most of which are priceless! (My contribution, not yet approved: “The real question is: Does Wasilla need more funding for mental health services? If so, where do I donate?”)
Will the Antichrist be a homosexual?
By Ron Hamman
Pastor, Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Christianity, Homophobia, Mental Health, Radical Religious Right, Random Stupidity, Sarah Palin
“Crash” as in “crash a party,” not crash the plane. Not that that diminishes the threat to Obama; seriously, how did this Looney Toon get so close to AF1?
“On what grounds does Rev. Lee speak for GOD? Her credentials out weigh that of Benedict XVI and every other Christian, or religious leader in the world. They have not heard the VOICE of GOD and they do not have the gift of prophecy or healing. None are willing to meet her face to face and call upon the name of GOD, as of the days of old because they know that she ranks with John the Baptist and Saint Peter.
By the GRACE OF GOD elderly people with a Black Catholic priestess have united GOD’S CHURCH and there is nothing anyone can do about it.”
— Self-described “Black Catholic Priestess” Brenda Lee
Video of this whackdoodle going batpoo crazy, and details of who she is and why she has a beef with Obama, after the jump.
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Filed Under: Barack Obama, California, Catholicism, Civil Rights, Homophobia, Marriage, Mental Health, Proposition 8, Race/Ethnic Issues, Radical Religious Right
May 24, 2009
Photo: D.B. King
DSM-IV™ Diagnostic Criteria
Behavior or a fantasy of grandiosity, a lack of empathy and a need to be admired by others. As indicated by at least five of the following:
1. Grandiose sense of self-importance.
2. Fantasies of and preoccupied with beauty, brilliance, ideal love, power, or unlimited success.
3. A belief of being special and unique and can only be understood or a need to associate with people of high status.
4. A need for excessive admiration.
5. An unreasonable expectation of being treated with favor or excepting an automatic compliance to her / his wishes.
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Filed Under: Crime, Democrats, Mental Health, Washington, D.C.
Shame on you, Ron Packard.
Shame on you,
Ron Packard.
Shame on you.
Somebody’s in serious need of schoolin’, and there’s nobody else I see who’ll take him on, so… here I am. It won’t be the first time I’ve tried to get through to him, and it probably won’t be the last.
Settle in for a long one, friends — and if you’re not in the mood for a long one, bookmark this post and come back to it when you’ve got a bigger block of time to read — really read. This involves themes of power, denial, religious delusion, blame, accountability, and “ex-gay” suicide — themes far larger than any grudge I might hold against my homophobic hometown ex-mayor.
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Filed Under: "Ex-Gays", California, Civil Rights, Hawaii, Homophobia, LDS/Mormons, Marriage, Mental Health, Mitt Romney, Proposition 8, Radical Religious Right, Utah
April 14, 2009
I remarked (”remarked” being a subjective word; my verbosity IRL even surpasses my verbosity online) to my lovely wife this evening that I never imagined, at this stage in my life, I’d be trying to understand all the peculiar (and I do mean “peculiar”), under-the-radar quirks and rules and code words and the like of religions I neither believed in, nor cared much about. Oh, it’s very important to know a thing or two about religion in general (that Passover has nothing to do with Easter, for instance) just to keep from making a fool of yourself, and very helpful to have a good grasp on others’ belief systems, if for no other reason than to understand what you believe or not, and why (or why not), and to prevent you from getting suckered into snake handling.
But here I am, feeling, in the immortal words of Edina Monsoon, like I hit an oil patch at 35, and have been sliding toward the grave ever since — and, when I’d much rather be gardening, or engaging in hot monkey love, I’m learning about strange, usually bizarre, belief systems I’d rather have kept only at the furthestmost outer fringes of my peripheral vision.
“Know thine enemy” goes the oft-quoted and nearly always mis-cited saying. As I wrote some months ago to Mormons at large, I was quite content to leave you and your church be, and blithely ignore your missionaries on my doorstep. Now, I know more about Mormonism than I ever wanted to, because the Salt Lake PTB decided they weren’t content to leave me be, and barged into my home to rip up my marriage license. Thus, I need to know about Mormonism, so I know what I’m dealing with. And, besides, when you know all about a thing, it ceases to be scary. The Mormon church is no longer scary; the more I know, the more it’s like that fine piece of advice to folks who fear speaking in public: Picture your audience naked. (Granted, I now picture Mormons in their magic underwear — or, since that episode of “Big Love,” in their baker hats and green aprons — which is far less taxing on my imagination. News flash: Gay people do not want to see everyone naked. In fact, most of us want to see very few people naked.)
(Oh, while I’m thinking about it: Our friend and tireless freedom fighter Chino left a comment explaining some Mormon code that flew right past me; if you’d like to know about the “White Horse prophecy,” see his comment here.)
Anyway… I stumbled across a fairly new blog that offers a fascinating look into the mindset of the “Quiverfull” Christians — the sort of “biblical patriarchy” cult (spread through the usually disturbing homeschooling movement) I think Maggie Gallagher would belong to if she weren’t constantly compelled to run off at the mouth, unlike a submissive little wife shouldn’t. It’s called “No Longer Quivering,” written by one Vyckie Garrison, who, after quite the unstable childhood, dove headfirst into the wifely-submission role (she “adored” her role model, Michelle Duggar), popping out as many babies as possible for her ungrateful and domineering husband, even at risk to her own life, because, well, of course, God wants women to be miserable (and gender equality is the tool of Satan).
Vyckie — thank God — emerged from this destructive lifestyle after a year’s correspondence with her un-believing uncle (yes, Christians, g’head, blame the atheist; you will anyway), not unscathed, but definitely far more rational. She takes you through her ongoing journey in lengthy, well-thought-out posts, with, as a big bonus, comments from readers who are, overall, smart, articulate, and compassionate.
Rather than just hit the main link, you might want to start with this article about Vyckie first: “All God’s children” by Kathryn Joyce, author of Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement.
There are also some good related articles linked downpage, particularly “Submit, woman!,” which explores the line (is there one?) between “wifely submission” and domestic abuse. Within this second article is another link, this time to Joyce’s article, “Biblical Battered Wife Syndrome: Christian Women and Domestic Violence,” also a worthy read — especially if you want to know where Rick Warren is coming from.
If you read these pieces first (and they’re quite riveting and digestible, albeit infuriating to anyone with even a shred of self-worth), you’ll go into Garrison’s blog with a good overview of what Garrison herself endured — and more importantly, why.
Joyce writes: “The experience of Garrison’s friend Laura — a mother of 11 who collapsed under the demands of the lifestyle — also helps explain why many unhappy women are afraid to turn their backs on the movement, when they’ll be left with scant financial resources, years without work experience, and a dearth of references from a community that often shuns them.” Which has all the earmaks of any cult: Isolate the victim, destroy her independence, and hold the threat of ostracization over her head.
(Which always makes me think of Mormonism. I’m not just getting in a jab at the Mormons here, honest, but: Consider the vast “support” network the Mormons have set up solely for the care and feeding of one another — right down to silos full of food to be distributed in case of Armageddon — and then consider the fate of Mormons who are excommunicated or leave the church voluntarily; they are often completely cut off, and may as well be dead, even to their own families. And Mormons wonder why so many, especially Christians, consider their church a cult? Such Mafia-like intimidation tactics — once you’re in the family, you can never leave — under the mask of Us Against the World, is but one warning sign of a cult.)
While Garrison’s blog, which she writes in tandem with her friend Laura, who is undergoing a similar — and in some ways, much more difficult — journey (Laura’s ex-husband wrenched custody of all eleven of their children from her), is only a little more than a month old, there is much material to absorb, and there is a natural chronology to it. So I would suggest reading the introductory links under “What It’s All About” (in the righthand menu), and then navigating your way back to the women’s first posts (Laura: “Part 1 ~ In The Beginning”; Vyckie: “Part 1 ~ Married At 16″), and proceeding from there.
Even if you have no interest in “biblical patriarchy” to begin with, I assure you that you will after you’ve read a few posts (and the many comments). You may never come to truly understand this mindset (I doubt I ever will), much less relate to it (I know I never will), but you will come away with a few more pieces to the puzzle that stymies those of us who cannot imagine life without having, and fighting to maintain, our freedom, our dignity, and our very personhood.
And, while this may sound flip (as I’ve really been ragging on her this week) you will actually come to understand Maggie Gallagher… and Phyllis Schlafly, and all the others like them. There’s really no difference among them at all.
The only danger: You may come to pity them.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Atheism/Agnosticism, Christianity, Heterosexuality, LDS/Mormons, Marriage, Mental Health, Parenting, Radical Religious Right
March 31, 2009
It’s easy to see where the normal, well-meaning believers (A&P Protestants, bothersome but harmless Jehovah’s Witnesses, yoginis, most Catholics) fall on the spectrum, and where the extreme psychotics (Jim Jones, David Koresh, numerous living members of the kill-the-gays cult I won’t name for fear of a lawsuit) fall; but it’s that immense grey area in between that scares us. And the closer you get to the middle of the spectrum, the more the distinctions blur.
Where in the muddy middle are, for example, the Sally Kerns, and the Yes On 8 sign wavers? When one truly believes s/he is a warrior in a final showdown between good and evil, submitting mindlessly to the directives of an imagined entity, a flesh-and-blood false prophet, or that “still small voice,” how much does it take to push such a person into the psychotic end of the spectrum?
More chilling: How can religious insanity be cured (or at least managed), when religion is always perceived to be an inviolable right?
When is “freedom of religion” just a catch-all for “My actions are unassailable, because I’m on a mission from God”?
Death Opens Doors on Group
Ministry Members Charged in Baltimore
After Baby’s Body Is Found
Members of One Mind Ministries drew little notice in the working-class Baltimore neighborhood where they lived in a nondescript brick rowhouse.
But inside, prosecutors say, horrors were unfolding: Answering to a leader called Queen Antoinette, they denied a 16-month-old boy food and water because he did not say “Amen” at mealtimes. After he died, they prayed over his body for days, expecting a resurrection, then packed it into a suitcase with mothballs. They left it in a shed in Philadelphia, where it remained for a year before detectives found it last spring.
Tomorrow, five of the group’s alleged members — including the boy’s mother, Ria Ramkissoon — are scheduled to be tried in Baltimore on murder charges. Sources and Ramkissoon’s mother said Ramkissoon, 22, has agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge on one condition: The charges against her must be dropped if her son, Javon Thompson, is resurrected.
Psychiatrists who evaluated Ramkissoon at the request of a judge concluded that she was not criminally insane. Her attorney, Steven Silverman, said the doctors found that her beliefs were indistinguishable from religious beliefs, in part because they were shared by those around her.
“She wasn’t delusional, because she was following a religion,” Silverman said, describing the findings of the doctors’ psychiatric evaluation. …
The group claimed to find authority for its beliefs in the Bible. …
Silverman said he and prosecutors think Ramkissoon was brainwashed and should have been found not criminally responsible; prosecutors declined to comment. Although an inability to think critically can be a sign of brainwashing, experts said, the line between that and some religious beliefs can be difficult to discern.
“At times there can be an overlap between extreme religious conviction and delusion,” said Robert Jay Lifton, a cult expert and psychiatrist who lectures at Harvard Medical School. “It’s a difficult area for psychiatry and the legal system.” …
According to charging documents, in December 2006, Javon stopped saying “Amen” at mealtimes. Queen Antoinette told members the boy had developed a demonic spirit and needed to be cleansed through fasting and by being denied water…
Ramkissoon found it “unbearable” to watch but followed the instructions, the officials said. “In her mind, an apostle of God had ordered this,” Silverman said.
Javon’s skin turned dark and he stopped moving, according to charging documents. Ramkissoon tried to feed him, but his mouth would not open. She felt for a heartbeat but detected none.
The body was placed on a mattress in a back room, and Queen Antoinette told her followers that God would “raise Javon from the dead,” according to the charging documents. …
The group came to believe there had been no resurrection because someone among them was not a true believer… With that person no longer part of the group, they headed north out of Baltimore with the suitcase, believing Javon could be raised at a future date…
More at the link.
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Filed Under: Christianity, Crime, Maryland, Mental Health, Religion & Spirituality
March 21, 2009
And you’d think the Rapture Reptiles would be grateful we were working to bring on their Armageddon, so they can fly up to Heaven on a cloud with Jesus.
Minnesota gay marriage ban ‘will prevent world from ending’
The Minnesota Family Council has introduced an amendment to ban gay marriage, which it claims will stop the world from ending.
The group made the announcement at a press conference, accompanied by religious leaders from all major faiths who said that gay marriage would trigger the end of the world.
“If everyone is a gay, this world will cease to exist in ten years,” said Ikram ul-Huq, the imam and religious director of the Muslim Community Center of Bloomington.
Andre Dukes, pastor of Shiloh Temple church in Minneapolis, said: “This is not a political issue, or an issue of choice or rights. It is an issue of life.” …
Seriously, what’s their “logic” here? That if we marry, God will end the world? Isn’t that what these people want?
Or are they saying that if we don’t marry MOTOS, we won’t pop out babies (and, presumably, there won’t be enough heterosexuals left to keep popping out babies, because, I guess, all you hetero folks will suddenly turn gay and stop multiplying, or just go sterile)? Do they want us to breed? Isn’t the numero-uno argument against marriage equality that a child needs two parents with heterogeneous plumbing? (Never mind those of us who aren’t having kids in the first place; we don’t fit anywhere into their lunatic arguments.)
Is Ikram saying he hates homos, but he’d want one to marry his sister, just to keep overpopulating the earth?
Are these people insane? Stupid? Attention whores? Rhetorical questions, all.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Civil Rights, Homophobia, Marriage, Mental Health, Minnesota, Radical Religious Right
January 15, 2009
Backstory (full rundown, with numerous quotes, links):
Glen Race Murder Trial Begins in Plattsburgh, NY, September 10, 2008
Race sentenced to life in prison
PLATTSBURGH — During an emotional proceeding this afternoon, convicted murdered Glen Race was sentenced to life without parole for killing Darcy Manor in 2007.
The 27-year-old Canadian man didn’t react when Clinton County Court Judge Kevin Ryan announced his fate before a packed audience.
After a September bench trial, Race was found guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and three counts of fourth-degree grand larceny in connection with Manor’s death.
Manor, a 35-year-old married father of two, was shot in the back as he worked at a private Mooers camp where Race was hiding out as he fled from allegedly killing two Canadian men. …
Two gay Canadian men, which is what put this bizarre story on our radar in the first place.
In the meantime:
An American mental-health advocate fears a Canadian man diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic will receive inadequate medical treatment if he’s sentenced to life in a U.S. jail for murdering Darcy Manor. …
After he is sentenced, [said Joel Pink, the lawyer for Race’s family in Nova Scotia,] Race would get a new psychiatric assessment before he’s sent to prison.
His family fears that jail will worsen his condition while his conviction is appealed, said Pink.
Bob Corliss, director of forensic services for the Mental Health Association for New York State, said mental-health treatment is available in some state and federal prisons, but it is likely to be inadequate in Race’s case. …
The advocate for the rights of the mentally ill also said it’s possible that Race could eventually be sent to the Central New York Psychiatric Centre, where some severely ill inmates receive more intensive treatment.
Corliss said he was surprised that an insanity defense was not pursued.
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie noted in a July 2007 e-mail that psychiatrists found Race competent to stand trial. …
More here.
We hope Race does get the treatment he needs. We’re also very glad there is essentially no death penalty in New York (it’s available, but, in short, it was ruled unconstitutional, and is thus unenforceable) — and equally glad Race is off the streets, for good.
There can be no happy ending to this story, but those of us whose passion for justice is matched by our unyielding opposition to capital punishment could not ask for a more reasonable outcome.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Canada, Crime, Mental Health, New York
January 14, 2009
Backstory: Gotta Love Them Family Values: “Any parent that would impose such horrific names on their children is mentally ill”, December 16, 2008
Adolf Hitler, Sisters Taken from Parents’ Home
Remember 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell?
He’s the little boy whose name was the center of an international firestorm last December after a Greenwich, N.J., supermarket refused to write his name on a birthday cake. The store said it was inappropriate and refused to give an apology after the parents demanded one.
Adolf and his two sisters — one-year-old JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and 8-month-old Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell — were removed from their parents’ home Tuesday night by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, Holland Township police chief David Van Gilson told LehighValleyLive.com.
It is unclear why the children were removed from their parent’s home. Gilson said his department did not receive any reports of abuse or negligence.
Heath and Deborah Campbell, the children’s parents, were scheduled to appear for an undisclosed hearing Tuesday, but it was postponed, according to the website.
Due to confidentiality laws, Kate Bernyk with the N.J. Division of Youth and Family Services would not comment or even acknowledge any involvement with the Campbells when NBC10’s Doug Shimell contacted them.
DYFS isn’t talking much about the Campbell’s situation, but the kids being taken away has nothing to do with the names and birthday cake issue in December, according to Sgt. John Harris, Holland Twp. Police in Milford, N.J.
Calls to the children’s parents were met with a message that the line had been temporarily disconnected. …
More at the link, and at LehighValleyLive.com.
It sickens me to imagine what might have prompted the removal, but I’m glad the kids are out from under the influence of those whackjobs, at least for now.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Mental Health, New Jersey, Parenting, Race/Ethnic Issues, Youth
January 7, 2009
Makes my Ken Ham as White House Science Adviser joke sound a whole lot less like a joke now:
Obama Wants Journalist Gupta
for Surgeon General
President-elect Barack Obama has offered the job of surgeon general to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon and correspondent for CNN and CBS, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
Gupta has told administration officials that he wants the job, and the final vetting process is under way. He has asked for a few days to figure out the financial and logistical details of moving his family from Atlanta to Washington but is expected to accept the offer.
When reached for comment today, Gupta did not deny the account but declined to comment.
The offer followed a two-hour Chicago meeting in November with Obama, who said that Gupta could be the highest-profile surgeon general in history and would have an expanded role in providing health policy advice, the sources said. Gupta later spoke with Tom Daschle, Obama’s White House health czar and nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, and other advisers to the president-elect.
The Michigan-born son of parents who were born in India, Gupta has always been drawn to health policy. He was a White House fellow in the late 1990s, writing speeches and crafting policy for Hillary Clinton. His appointment would give the administration a prominent official of South Asian descent and a skilled television spokesman. …
“OK, Sapph,” some might ask, “what’s your problem with Sanjay Gupta?”
He smeared (libeled, actually) Michael Moore claiming Moore “fudged the facts” in the film Sicko (and, in a story within a story, again demonstrated that he doesn’t always get his “facts” right).
He’s dead-set against the use of medical marijuana because (in our opinion) he’s a shill for Big Pharma (but says he’s “amazed” so many people smoke pot, suggesting it must be a generational thing; he “was born a couple of months after Woodstock”).
With what one might call reckless irresponsibility, he pooh-poohed the very real risks (namely, fatal heart attacks) of the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx, and hyped Gardasil (the vaccine aimed at killing HPV, Human Papillomavirus, which can lead to cervical cancer) before all the data were (or are) in, and with “facts” he appeared to pull out of thin air.
And that’s just for starters. The Daily Green’s “6 Most Idiotic Positions of Dr. Sanjay Gupta” provides even more disturbing food for thought, including a comment that points out Gupta’s “sketchy and unscientific views on developmental disabilities and mental illness,” particularly in the area of “facilitated communication” (which, in our layman’s view, is the equivalent of a religionist claiming to “translate” the gibberish uttered by another religionist “speaking in tongues“).
The commenter also leaves a link to a 2007 article by international horse-puckey de-bunker James Randi, who calls FC a “major farce,” and opines that Gupta, through his reporting on FC and autism, “has apparently abandoned any critical thinking he’d formerly had.”
“OK, Sapph,” some might ask, “who do you think should be Surgeon General?”
“Easy,” I reply: “Dr. Howard Dean.”
Now, me, I’m no longer a fan of Dean’s (he broke my heart), but fair’s fair, and I’d be remiss in pretending Dean is not the perfect choice for SG. He’s quite qualified, and has more than paid his dues to the Dems.
But it’s clear as crystal that Dean, who represents the last remnants of anything even remotely progressive about the Democratic Party, is not Obama’s cup of tea; witness Dean’s unceremonious ouster as head of the Democratic National Committee in favor of right-wing DINO Tim Kaine.
In the meantime, as long as Obama seems set on appointing celebrity talking heads to posts of grave importance, there’s been a host of excellent suggestions across the Webosphere for positions both filled and unfilled; e.g.:
• Judge Judy for the Supreme Court (actually, she’d be a lot better than Alito, Thomas, and Scalia)
• Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman for Department of Homeland Security Border Control
• Ann Coulter for White House Press Secretary
Here are some of our ideas:
• Paul Cameron for AIDS Czar
• Britney Spears for head of Administration for Children and Families
• Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina Teen USA, for Secretary of Education
• Sago Mine CEO Ben Hatfield for head of OSHA
• Joseph Hazelwood for Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet
The possibilities are endless! Make up your own (and post them in the comments)!
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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Health & Wellness, Howard Dean, Marijuana, Mental Health
