Bubble Rings!

via Sullivan

World Builder

What kind of world would you create for the one you love?

Star Trek - The New Trailer

Heeeee!

The Radical Right Revealed

During this past week we have been witness to what the right wing really think about freedom.

Exhibit A:
"First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully,"- John Yoo, in a Bush administration memo entitled "Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activity Within the United States."

Exhibit B:
During Ken Starr's moment in the sun in the Prop. 8 hearing, one of the justices asked if the majority of California voters voted to repeal freedom of speech, she asked, if that vote would be valid? Ken stated unequivocally "yes".

Now on first glimpse, these two examples may not seem similar, but look closely at the motivations. The right wingnuts are stating that majority rules should always be paramount to minority rights. Which begs the question, what are the courts for if not to protect minority rights? As for John Yoo's assertion that the President of the United States of America can block freedom of speech and press rights, use the army to attack anywhere within the boarders of the U.S.? Well, I'm sure the President would only do those things to protect us. The same argument is used by the proponents of Prop 8. They only want to "protect" traditional marriage. See, it's for our own good.

The right wingnuts only want to protect us by taking away rights. Because a society without freedom for all is a society protected.

Proud to be an American where at least I...know...I'm...um...free? Brought to you by George Bush and the Gestapo

Holy. Shit.
This is stunning. Absoulutely stunning.


"First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully,"- John Yoo, in a Bush administration memo entitled "Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activity Within the United States."

via Sullivan

That feeling down your spine? That chilling feeling? That's what attempts to subvert the Constitution feels like.

From the White House on May 1, 2008:
"May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day. Just and open societies protect and rely on the freedom of the press. That freedom is enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, because freedom of speech is integral to a free society.

Brutal regimes and others who seek to stifle liberty often do so by closing down private newspapers and radio and television stations. They kidnap, arbitrarily jail, and beat journalists. Some journalists have been taken from their families for years, and others have been killed for speaking out. Many were killed by terrorists, extremists, and insurgents who seek to deny people even basic access to information as well as the right to free speech.

Journalists should be able to report without fear of persecution. In countries such as Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe, repressive laws severely restrict freedom of speech, and those who attempt to report are often imprisoned. In 2007, for the ninth consecutive year, China remained the world's top jailer of journalists, followed by Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, and Azerbaijan.

The United States condemns the harassment, physical intimidation, persecution, and other abuse that journalists, including bloggers and Internet reporters, have faced in China, Cuba, Egypt, Tunisia, Venezuela, and Vietnam, as well as the unsolved murders of journalists in Belarus, Lebanon, and Russia. We call on all governments to guarantee the inalienable rights of their people, including, consistent with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to freedom of speech and the press.

America stands with those who struggle for their liberty, including those in the press who continue their work in spite of risks. During Fiscal Year 2007, the United States provided $78 million in approximately 40 countries to promote media freedom and freedom of information. As President, I have met with many journalists and editors who are struggling against forces that seek to suppress media freedom. We salute these courageous individuals, and we recognize the importance of the right to a free press in spreading freedom around the world."

via Think Progres

It's hard to know which side of his mouth Bush was talking out of.