TRUTH NOT TRUTHINESS, GOVERNOR JINDAL

Yesterday's issue of the Daily Comet carries an opinion piece and Republican commercial by Governor Bobby Jindal sent out before he left for the Republican convention in Tampa Florida.  I assume that's where the governor is, although we never know for sure until he's left the state and landed wherever he's headed, because he doesn't tell. 

Jindal was passed over as Romney's choice for vice-president, and he is not the keynote speaker at the convention, although he will give a speech sometime during the gathering, thus he may not have been in the best mood when he wrote "A Peek Behind the Curtain".   He speaks of gaffes and spin by Obama and Biden, but Jindal has his own collection of gaffes and spins.  You can read the entire propaganda piece with its varying assortment of truth and truthiness, but I want to focus on the one untruth that is spreading wildly in Republican commercials and speeches.

Romney says it, Ryan says it, the commercials say it, and now Jindal says it.  Although it has been pointed out time and again that that Obama did not remove the work requirement from the welfare reform law, the Republicans continue to push the lie.  Apparently, Republicans care not at all about the truth.  What a surprise!  An article in the Los Angeles Times explains the waivers to various states well.  I thought I should answer Jindal's false statement with the truth, so I left the following comment to the article in the Daily Comet online site.

Governor Jindal says:

"Even with rising unemployment, the President has moved to dismantle the historic reform of 1996 that instituted work requirements for welfare. Despite the fact that the welfare caseload fell by half after those historic reforms, the President is telling states that his administration will waive established work requirements for welfare assistance."
  
Either Governor Jindal is ignorant about what the waivers to the 5 states that requested them do, or he is less than candid about what he knows.  Why not ask his fellow Republican governors in the States of Utah and Nevada why they requested the waivers and how the waivers work?  The waivers do not eliminate the work requirement.  Any state that fails to meet the 20% employment requirement loses the waiver.

Republicans call for more power to be returned to the states, but when the president does just that, they slam him.  Gov. Jindal suggests that the American people don't need spin from the president and vice-president, but the governor seems to have learned a bit about spin himself, as he's spinning like a top with his charges that the work requirement for welfare has been eliminated.

There you have it.  I also gave a contribution to the Obama campaign, my first and probably only contribution of this election season, because the thought of the Romney-Ryan team running the country scares me to death.

YIDDISH CURSES FOR REPUBLICAN JEWS

• May your grandchildren baptize you after you’re dead.

From Yiddish curses from Republican Jews.

Thanks to Paul (A.) for the link.

JOE SCARBOROUGH - "STUPID PARTY"

Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe:

“I’m just tired of the Republican Party being the ‘Stupid Party!’.  Stupid people saying stupid things and scaring off independent voters and swing voters!”
~Joe Scarborough 

LITTLE RICHARD - "LUCILLE"

Listen, but maybe not right before retiring.  The music can have an effect similar to caffeine.

WEEKLY REMINDER

BISHOP ALAN SPEAKS OUT FOR GAY MARRIAGE

Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, one of my heroes, says in the video:

“It all comes down to how we see gay people and how we see God. We don’t actually believe gay people are sick or stunted or criminal. We don’t believe God is an angry old man out to get us.

“Let’s stop behaving as though we did. Recognising gay people are equal means they won’t dilute or spoil marriage but potentially enrich it.”

Condemnation of the statement comes quickly.

Duncan Boyd, chairman of Keep Marriage Special, said: “The bishop’s statement is a disgraceful and disingenuous distortion of biblical teaching by someone who ought to know better.

“Scripture, the Church of England’s doctrinal foundation, makes clear that homosexual desire and practice are sinful.” He called it “a gross distortion of biblical teaching” to suggest such behaviour could be practised freely, adding: “The Government should not change the law and the bishop should teach what the Bible says or resign.”

"Keep Marriage Special" sounds like a club for teenage girls organized by a clueless adult.  I pray Alan does not entertain the thought of resigning for one second.  What nonsense.  Thank God for a bishop in the Church of England with the courage to speak out.

Then comes the voice of negativity from the church:   

 A Church of England spokesman contradicted Dr Wilson. “Our Church is committed to marriage as being between a man and woman,” he said.

The people of the country are far ahead of the church, which needs to catch up or the institution will be left further behind than it is already.

UPDATE: Bishop Nick Holtham of Salisbury has also spoken out in favor of gay marriage.

PUNS FOR THOSE WITH A HIGHER IQ (???)

A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.  

Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.  

Practice safe eating - always use condiments.  

Shotgun wedding - A case of wife or death.  

A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.  

Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.  

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?  

Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.  

When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.  

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.  

In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes.  

She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.  

You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.  

Local Area Network in Australia - the LAN down under.  

Every calendar's days are numbered.  

A lot of money is tainted - Taint yours and taint mine.  

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.  

He had a photographic memory that was never developed.  

A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.  

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.  

  
Thank or blame Ann.  I culled those I thought were repeats, but I make no guarantees.

CHAPEL OF ST JOHN - TOWER OF LONDON

 From the Guardian:

This room of pure clean beauty is hidden inside a forbidding fortress. In 1078, the victorious William the Conqueror started to build the White Tower, the square keep at the heart of today’s Tower of London. In it, he included this scintillating example of the style of building known as Romanesque. The arches, columns and rounded vault of this ethereal chapel are dazzling in their confidence and humble in their piety. It is a place that creates a mood, still and sensitive and spiritual. This ravishing masterpiece of the Middle Ages proves the Normans had soul as well as strength.

The chapel is plain, simple, and beautiful and one of my favorite structures in all London.  The proportions of the chapel are perfect.  Click on the picture for a closer look at the lovely simplicity of the carvings on the capitals of the columns.The chapel is a haven of peace in the midst of the Tower with its history of violence and blood.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

     Picture from Wikipedia.

WAXING CRESCENT MOON

Amber crescent moon
Hangs in west-southwestern sky
Pure delight for me

JB

Yes, I am moonstruck.

Picture from Earth/Sky.

Reposted from May 2012.

I SHALL BE TOO LATE!

"Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!"

This is my life.  I seem always to be rushing, always under pressure to be somewhere at a certain time, to finish a task quickly.  My blog time is way off, and I'm sad, because I enjoy blogging.  Offline life rules!  Which is, I suppose, the way things ought to be. 

Illustration from The Victorian Web.