(Jeff Danziger’s website)
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Cannot resist sharing the latest from the best political cartoonist now working, and the complimentary excerpt from my favorite professional political blogger:
… Have you watched those lop-ears fall in line over the last month, since it’s been clear that I’ve cleared the deal for the mortgage on their minds and levied the lien on their souls? I mean, seriously, have you? Perry was out the other day defending me on Bain and all, and every verb had a subject and an object. Finally got the dosage right, I guess. And Gingrich? Geez, he was on TV just the other day acting like private equity was the best damn thing he’d heard of since the last time someone told him about that hot number that the Appropriations staff just hired. They’d all form a kick line at the Venetian if I asked them to, and I just might, because I sealed the deal last night in Texas, and they all know just as you all know that…
I’m Mitt Romney, bitches, and I’m all you got left.
So, on the night I sewed it up, I went and hung with Trump. So what? You got a problem with that? Here, let me lay a couple hundred thou’ on you and make that problem go away. You think it’s going to matter in a week? A month? Or, as we figure things in the campaign, 9000 commercials from now? Give me a freaking break. George F. Will is puzzled by why I’m hanging out with Trump? What do I “hope to gain”? Let me clear it up for you, George. Right now, I could go to California tomorrow, hang out with Charlie Manson at Corcoran for a few hours, and come away with the buck-and-a-half a week he makes folding sheets in the prison laundry. We could both carve X’s in our foreheads and call in the AP for a photo op. Watch this: “HELLLLLTER SKELLLLTER! SHE COMIN’ DOWN FAST!” You think it’s more than a one-day story, a bunch of people I wouldn’t hire to clean out the dressage barns mouthing off on TV about what I “hoped to gain” from associating with crazy-ass mass murderers? You keep worrying about LaRussa’s bullpen, or that 36-ounce Mizuno you’ve had stuck up your ass since the Carter Administration, and you let me worry about what I hope to gain from things. I remember guys like you from prep school, hanging back while guys like me did the real work of bullying the people who didn’t look like me. Back up on the roof rack, George. We’ll be in Ontario in no time…
Thank you, Mr. Pierce, for saying what needed to be said. Believe in Amercia!
What’s on the agenda on the day when it becomes overwhelmingly clear that five days’ work into a four-day week won’t go?
David Koch
Too funny.
Cory B00ker fired his communications director of six years, yesterday — 8 days after his MTP meltdown.
No Cory, no staffer forced you to slit your own throat by zealously defend Bain, Romney, and vulture capitalism.
Maybe that’s what they do on Wall Street, but blaming her only makes you look more scuzzy and minor league.
Randy P
Love this exchange in the comments:
Shatner, yes! Absolutely brilliant. Now I can’t be happy until I actually see this.
the fugitive uterus
!
Older_Wiser
I don’t care about what religions people practice, nor do I think there should be bias against them. But when should the law and even job requirements permit “expressions” of religious beliefs by exempting such people from those requirements? http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/mta-lets-muslim-employees-wear-head-coverings.html
To me, this is nothing more than an insertion of religion into jobs that are secular in nature. It shouldn’t be done for any religion, no matter what it is, Christian, Judaism, Muslim or Flying Spaghetti Monster. I would be just as offended if someone at the next desk displayed a crucifix on the wall next to it. Practice your religion elsewhere, not on the job, please. And, does it make any sense to exempt such folks from safety requirements, too, such as hardhats, motorcycle helmets, seatbelts, etc? The ideas of head coverings or other such expressions are relics of another era, where such concerns had not been developed in a modern society. We should want to evolve as progressives in all areas of our lives, not sink into past practices simply because a religion requires it.
the fugitive uterus
i’m with Rachel, what’s $2M to Romney? Trump’s a “successful business man”? the only business Trump has ever been successful at is self-promotion.
it’s more a message to the 1%, “i’ll take care of you, you just take care of this election”
republicans, at this point, could not be more clear about their plans for the country. they’re not trying to hide it, AT ALL. the media, for the most part, appears to be completely oblivious. i must say, Ed nailed this the first 5 or 10 minutes of his show last nite.
amk
Obama campaign’s new excellent ad on mittbot’s MA govnorship.
The only promise he kept ? Tax-cuts to the rich.
the fugitive uterus
@Older_Wiser: i worked in law firms and i saw crosses, Christian sayings and bible quotations plastered all over offices and workspaces.
i even worked with a Jewish lady whose Christianist co-worker put a bible in her chair. i worked with the woman, btw and she was not a true Christian, she was a back-stabbing bitch with those Christian and religious quotes plastered all over the place.
i also worked for an attorney who was Mormon and another co-worker put a bible in his chair with a note “the true word of God” i got very upset about it but to the attorney’s credit, he laughed it off and they remained friends. i guess he was pretty used to it.
that’s the sort of environment i have worked in for over 15 years and nobody cares.
Older_Wiser
@the fugitive uterus: I’ll believe “nobody cares” when I’m not shunned because of my atheism.
jwb
@the fugitive uterus: what makes you think the media is oblivious rather than playing for the other side, when all the evidence suggests that the media are motivated by the interests of the ownership, the 1%?
Omnes Omnibus
@Older_Wiser: I really don’t see any problem with this decision. From the article, it does not appear that they are asking to be exempted from any safety requirements, like wearing hardhats or the like. The job that the people are were hired to do is not headgear modelling. No one asked that a core job requirement be changed. These people are not pharmacists refusing to fill certain prescriptions – a core task; instead, they are asking that they not be required to wear a certain symbol on their permitted headgear. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bans discrimination on religious ground and mandates that employers reasonably accommodate their employees’ religious practices. The new rule appears to do just that.
Older_Wiser
@Omnes Omnibus: OK, then, I’ll invent a religion that requires that a person must–oh, sleep–4 hours out of their 8 hr working day on any job or that women wear a pillbox hat from the 50s (trying to illustrate the absurdity of religious practices, of course) I’m afraid those folks are singling themselves out by wanting an exemption to the job requirement that an MTA hat be worn on the job. In other words, special treatment because a “religion” requires it. Even if the private sector, there are dress requirements on many jobs, no matter whether you’re religious or not.
Corbin Dallas Multipass
Today’s lesson in cause and effect, sponsored by Susan G. Komen for the Cure:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/dc-komen-race-registration-is-down/2012/05/30/gJQAjvvj2U_story.html
Race registration in DC down from 40,000 to 25,000.
Omnes Omnibus
@Older_Wiser: As I noted with respect to pharmacists, the accommodation must be reasonable. The person must be able to do the job. Are the MTA workers hired to wear MTA symbols on their hats? I think not.
You obviously think religious practice is absurd; by and large, I am with you on that. If you want a ban on publicly funded religious displays, I am with you. If you want to tell Mary Margeret O’Leary not to wear a cross around her neck at work, you lose me.
Older_Wiser
@Omnes Omnibus: May I announce that as an atheist, I wish to wear no head covering at all, even the MTA headgear? I doubt that argument would fly in the instant case. “Religious expression” never applies to what atheists as individuals would like (do you see where I’m going with this?). I don’t care if MMO wears jewelry (which is what I consider those gold and sometimes gaudy crosses), but she shouldn’t be allowed to carry a cross on her back at work.
Omnes Omnibus
@Older_Wiser: Of course, I see where you are gong with it. I also agree that there is societal discrimination against nonbelievers. What I would like to know is what is the harm done by allowing a Sikh MTA worker to be in uniform while wearing a turban that matches his uniform? Is anyone hurt by this? Since I see the answer as no, I don’t see any reason that this accommodation should not be allowed. MMO is is less likely to be able to do her job while lugging about a big cross, so that makes a difference.
Fundamentally, the original decision comports with civil rights law. If you have a problem with it, seek to change the law to ban all forms of religious expression in public and see how quickly you bump up against the Constitution.
On that, I need to get ready for work. Punctuality is religion at my workplace, so off I go.
Ash Can
@Older_Wiser: Of course that argument wouldn’t fly, because it’s obviously disingenuous. Keep in mind that a Muslim woman’s head covering is more cultural than religious. Many Muslim women don’t cover their heads at all, and those who do simply feel more comfortable wearing their traditional scarves. It would be absurd (and dickish) to force them to wear miniskirts or sleeveless shirts; why should there be any problem with allowing them to wear scarves on their heads? Omnes has already spelled out how this has no impact on the work they actually do.
Hillary Rettig
It’s 8 am and I’ve already read one incredibly moving dog essay
http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/05/meaning-of-life-with-the-old-dog/
and seen one incredibly moving dog video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtnb1dap1Is
Right now I am filled with love for the Internets and animal lovers everywhere! (And dogs, too, of course!)
danielx
Housecleaning with the daughter in preparation for her graduation party this weekend, and reminiscing over songs we used to make up when she (and I) were much younger. Like this, in honor of our late Oriental shorthair bestest boy Greg (don’t ask).
Big fat grey cats
Stuff my self if I catch enough rats
Oh yeah
etc
Sung to the tune of White Punks On Dope by the Tubes, although I never filled her in on that part.
Actually a foul slander on Greg, who was indeed grey but was slinky and slender as Oriental shorthairs typically are. We used to joke that he made everything look graceful, while our somewhat tubby female domestic shorthair tabby CeeCee was incapable of looking graceful.
rea
LaRussa still has a bullpen?
the fugitive uterus
@Older_Wiser: mmm, i personally don’t care – i would not shun you – my religious beliefs are personal and i have no desire to foist it upon others and have no issues with others who believe differently as long as it doesn’t involve human or animal sacrifice; my point was that people in positions of authority and power in the workplaceshould care. but i live in Redstate, what are you gonna do, esp. when jobs are so scarce, you don’t dare stir things up or you will be gone.
the fugitive uterus
@jwb: i guess i meant they “act” oblivious
i’m not very popular on this particular thread here this morning! back to work.
Older_Wiser
@Omnes Omnibus: Well, I see it as religious exceptionalism, and sometimes, as we’ve seen over years of developing Constitutional law into more contemporary laws, sometimes even that document can be wrong. 3/5 of a person, anyone? Just as wrong as “christian nation.” Or denying women the right to vote. Cultures change, and shouldn’t we wish for all cultures to be forward looking? And btw, miniskirts and other fashions didn’t arise out of religious convictions, but hijab, mentioned in the Quran as “the veil which separates man or the world from God” actually did, though sectarian scholars interpret hijab differently, as they did the burka later, in maintaining the “modesty” exhorted in the Quran, so cultures were also informed by religious convictions; the influence of religion in all cultures has been well documented over time. If the particular sect or culture requires it, is it also discrimination to ban it, as France and other countries have done?
the fugitive uterus
on second thought, anybody feel free to jump all up in my shite, regardless if my well-meaning intentions, if it makes you feel better. that’s what i’m here for. that’s my role in life and it’s a privilege to serve as a pressure valve for frustrated, angry people as i certainly can relate to those feelings.
don’t get me wrong, i’m no pushover in real life, but the internets are different. SOMEBODY has to be on the receiving end when that pressure valve blows.
Older_Wiser
@the fugitive uterus: Don’t take it personally. I just don’t care if people practice religion as long as I don’t have to be constantly reminded of it. After all, I don’t put my atheism up front; it only comes out when I’m subject to the whims of religionists and those whims become articles of consternation.
Linda Featheringill
To the folks in Wisconsin:
With all due respect to DWS, I think the upcoming Wisconsin vote is very important. If the good guys win, that victory will demonstrate a way for The People to overcome Big Money, without resorting to pitchforks and torches.
Of course this is important for the Democratic Party. It’s also important for our republic and for all others who have or hope to have a republic.
Polls have been bouncing up and down a lot but the last one I saw showed the race to be about even.
Hope we [the good guys] can pull this off.
Waiting with bated breath, Me.
Amir Khalid
@Older_Wiser:
I seen that story. The newly-rescinded requirement was that the MTA logo must be displayed on your religious headgear. That was obviously not a safety requirement. Maybe it was justified as a security requirement; but given that the public can identify other MTA staff by an ID tag or a logo on their uniforms, it was clearly superfluous.
In my country, you see military personnel and armed police officers in Muslim headscarfs and Sikh turbans (specified in the respective uniform codes for people who need to wear them) and no one gives it a second thought.
By the way, in case anyone is wondering where John McCain and Joseph Lieberman are, rest easy. The two Senators are safely out of mischief, right here in Kuala Lumpur.
satby
@Randy P: thanks Randy! that’s me!
Mnemosyne
@Older_Wiser:
Except that, as the article pointed out, the MTA was allowing people to wear secular non-MTA headgear on the job (like a winter hat) but was punishing people for wearing religious headgear.
Like it or not, that’s religious discrimination. You can’t say that it’s A-OK for one employee to wear a non-MTA stocking cap but another one can’t wear his non-MTA turban because it’s religious.
It sounds like the MTA came to a reasonable compromise. If you don’t want to be reminded that Sikhs live in New York, don’t ride the subway.
ETA: Also, too, the fact that the complaining employees were perfectly happy to wear a “uniform” (ie MTA blue) turban or headscarf says to me that they’re willing to compromise and bend their religious/cultural beliefs a little bit, too, in order to address the MTA’s concerns that employees be identifiable as MTA employees. Win win for everyone.
gaz
I’ve got to travel about 50 miles each way to go see my medical professionals. Freakin specialists. I don’t try to be difficult, I just am difficult. =)
So it’s off to seattle for much of the day. On the upside, it’s a good excuse for my wife to take some time off of work, and also a good excuse to go clothes shopping (and size a brand of boot I’ve been coveting before I have to order the particular type I want, directly from the mfgr – there’s nothing worse than ordering shoes online – particularly from a foreign company, it’s harder than a priest at a playground – hopefully sizing a similar type from the same brand will help).
Older_Wiser
@Mnemosyne: Don’t assume that I’m discriminating against anyone. It’s just my opinion that everyone should wear standard work gear, and if people were not, secular or religious issues aside, they should.
rikryah
Charles Pierce has a lot of fun with his job