Other Stories Make Their Way Back As Foley Fades (Friday's Show)
Hi guys. We've got John full time tonight because Anderson is on his way back. We begin with a piece from Arwa Damon in Iraq. I haven't seen her in a while and was beginning to wonder if she was still there. Anyway, Arwa is with some troops that just got there and their mission is to go out and meet the Iraqis. This is easier said than done because to go out means to be out in the open where shots can come out of nowhere. And they do. The soldiers refer to it as chasing ghosts. Shots ring out and they try to find the shooter, but in the end they find no one. Such is Iraq.
Next up we have a Jamie McIntyre piece with the news that republican senator John Warner has actually realized that stay the course isn't working in Iraq. He believes if things don't change in two or three months we may need to try something else. You think? It's always nice when reality sets in for one of these guys, but it might have been nicer for about 2,700 (and counting) soldiers if it happened a little faster.
Keeping with Iraq we have a Dan Simon piece on the toll all this is taking on the families back home, specifically Fairbanks, Alaska. Soldiers from this community had already done a year in Iraq and were set to come home, but their tours were extended for four more months. This is devastating to the loved ones actually waiting for their return. And the people running the show claim to have a monopoly on family values. Sheesh. What kind of family values are splitting up families for indefinite lengths of time? Anyway, the citizens of the community are taking their anger out on Rumsfeld and have passed a resolution for him to go. Oh, and one other thing, four men who would be alive right now are dead because they weren't allowed to come home on time.
Transitioning back to Foley with a John Roberts piece that recaps the saga and a Dana Bash piece that explores how the scandal is hurting republican candidates. We then have an interview with author Richard Viguerie, who believes the president and republicans have betrayed the conservative cause. People on the left have been trying to tell them this for years. I guess they're slow learners. Anyway, Viguerie believes that the republicans have "in essence dissed their voters." And yes, he actually used the word 'dissed'. Also discussed is how the republicans came into congress promising to clean up the cesspool of corruption, but now that "cesspool has turned into a hot tub." It's funny because the republicans have controlled congress for a lot shorter time than the democrats did, yet they've basically surpassed them in corruption. It just goes to show that absolute power corrupts absolutely-no matter what party you come from.
On now to a taped interview with Stephen Jones, the lawyer of the former page that Foley IM'd. He's not sure if there is evidence of a crime yet against Foley, but he does know his client's privacy has been invaded. That would be pretty embarrassing. This piece leads us into a Joe Johns piece about being gay in the GOP. Rumor has it there is a list out there somewhere that has all the names of gay republican staffers and elected officials. There's also been talk about a group called The Velvet Mafia, which is believed to be made up of these gay staffers and officials for the purpose of looking out for each other. Some think The Velvet Mafia was behind protecting Foley, but there really is no evidence of this. I have to say, I have no idea what to do with this story. Seriously, The Velvet Mafia? WTF? I'm not sure if I should be mad at CNN for airing what looks to be a sensationalist piece of crap or if I should be mad they didn't look into all of this further. Thoughts?
Transitioning now to a Brent Sadler piece on the Israel/Lebanon situation. I'm glad CNN is keeping us updated every now and then on this. I hate it when they intensely cover a story or issue and then completely drop it once it fades from the headlines. Anyway, to sum up, Hezbollah is still very popular there and no one has the clout to disarm them. Also, it will take at least a year to clean up the cluster munitions.
Finally tonight we have a piece from Gary Tuchman (who apparently is CNN's go to guy when covering religious extremists in our country) on the new documentary "Jesus Camp" about a summer camp called "Kids On Fire" that aims to indoctrinate kids to be Christian fundamentalists. This stuff is pretty creepy. We're shown kids crying and screaming "no more" as fetuses are held up and the pastor tells the children that in the Old Testament Harry Potter would be put to death. This is brainwashing. The kids are way to young to fully understand issues like abortion. Abortion has been happening since the beginning of time and it will continue until the end of time. You can't stop it, but what you can do is reduce it through things like sex education, prevention, and improving the financial lives of women. When you take kids and give them such an extremist view they're more likely to grow up to be a clinic shooter than someone who actually helps the problem. I am so sick of these fundamentalists taking my religion and perverting it to something unrecognizable. Christianity is supposed to be about the Golden Rule and forgiveness, not hating gays and trying to get evolution out of schools.
Back in the piece, Gary interviews a kid who firmly states that people who don't believe as he does won't get into heaven. This kind of absolutism is scary. No one knows what happens after we die-not for sure anyway. I'm a Methodist and we believe that the only way we know to get into heaven is through Jesus Christ. However, you'll notice I said it's the only way we know, meaning it's very possible there are other ways that our tiny little human brains aren't privy to. Are we really so arrogant that we think we know everything God knows? In the grand scheme of things we don't know anything. Anyway, there's a diary on dailykos.com that dug up more stuff on the people behind this church and the broader fundamenalist movement (which is very much connected to the republican party), which I wish they would have included in the piece. But whatever. Anyone who wants an example of true Christians in action from this week should take a look at how that Amish community handled the unbelievable tragedy that happened to them. One family actually invited the wife of the shooter to one of the girl's funeral and they're setting up a fund for the shooter's children. Now that's forgiveness.
Tonight was okay. B
What are your thoughts on The Velvet Mafia and Jesus Camp?
Next up we have a Jamie McIntyre piece with the news that republican senator John Warner has actually realized that stay the course isn't working in Iraq. He believes if things don't change in two or three months we may need to try something else. You think? It's always nice when reality sets in for one of these guys, but it might have been nicer for about 2,700 (and counting) soldiers if it happened a little faster.
Keeping with Iraq we have a Dan Simon piece on the toll all this is taking on the families back home, specifically Fairbanks, Alaska. Soldiers from this community had already done a year in Iraq and were set to come home, but their tours were extended for four more months. This is devastating to the loved ones actually waiting for their return. And the people running the show claim to have a monopoly on family values. Sheesh. What kind of family values are splitting up families for indefinite lengths of time? Anyway, the citizens of the community are taking their anger out on Rumsfeld and have passed a resolution for him to go. Oh, and one other thing, four men who would be alive right now are dead because they weren't allowed to come home on time.
Transitioning back to Foley with a John Roberts piece that recaps the saga and a Dana Bash piece that explores how the scandal is hurting republican candidates. We then have an interview with author Richard Viguerie, who believes the president and republicans have betrayed the conservative cause. People on the left have been trying to tell them this for years. I guess they're slow learners. Anyway, Viguerie believes that the republicans have "in essence dissed their voters." And yes, he actually used the word 'dissed'. Also discussed is how the republicans came into congress promising to clean up the cesspool of corruption, but now that "cesspool has turned into a hot tub." It's funny because the republicans have controlled congress for a lot shorter time than the democrats did, yet they've basically surpassed them in corruption. It just goes to show that absolute power corrupts absolutely-no matter what party you come from.
On now to a taped interview with Stephen Jones, the lawyer of the former page that Foley IM'd. He's not sure if there is evidence of a crime yet against Foley, but he does know his client's privacy has been invaded. That would be pretty embarrassing. This piece leads us into a Joe Johns piece about being gay in the GOP. Rumor has it there is a list out there somewhere that has all the names of gay republican staffers and elected officials. There's also been talk about a group called The Velvet Mafia, which is believed to be made up of these gay staffers and officials for the purpose of looking out for each other. Some think The Velvet Mafia was behind protecting Foley, but there really is no evidence of this. I have to say, I have no idea what to do with this story. Seriously, The Velvet Mafia? WTF? I'm not sure if I should be mad at CNN for airing what looks to be a sensationalist piece of crap or if I should be mad they didn't look into all of this further. Thoughts?
Transitioning now to a Brent Sadler piece on the Israel/Lebanon situation. I'm glad CNN is keeping us updated every now and then on this. I hate it when they intensely cover a story or issue and then completely drop it once it fades from the headlines. Anyway, to sum up, Hezbollah is still very popular there and no one has the clout to disarm them. Also, it will take at least a year to clean up the cluster munitions.
Finally tonight we have a piece from Gary Tuchman (who apparently is CNN's go to guy when covering religious extremists in our country) on the new documentary "Jesus Camp" about a summer camp called "Kids On Fire" that aims to indoctrinate kids to be Christian fundamentalists. This stuff is pretty creepy. We're shown kids crying and screaming "no more" as fetuses are held up and the pastor tells the children that in the Old Testament Harry Potter would be put to death. This is brainwashing. The kids are way to young to fully understand issues like abortion. Abortion has been happening since the beginning of time and it will continue until the end of time. You can't stop it, but what you can do is reduce it through things like sex education, prevention, and improving the financial lives of women. When you take kids and give them such an extremist view they're more likely to grow up to be a clinic shooter than someone who actually helps the problem. I am so sick of these fundamentalists taking my religion and perverting it to something unrecognizable. Christianity is supposed to be about the Golden Rule and forgiveness, not hating gays and trying to get evolution out of schools.
Back in the piece, Gary interviews a kid who firmly states that people who don't believe as he does won't get into heaven. This kind of absolutism is scary. No one knows what happens after we die-not for sure anyway. I'm a Methodist and we believe that the only way we know to get into heaven is through Jesus Christ. However, you'll notice I said it's the only way we know, meaning it's very possible there are other ways that our tiny little human brains aren't privy to. Are we really so arrogant that we think we know everything God knows? In the grand scheme of things we don't know anything. Anyway, there's a diary on dailykos.com that dug up more stuff on the people behind this church and the broader fundamenalist movement (which is very much connected to the republican party), which I wish they would have included in the piece. But whatever. Anyone who wants an example of true Christians in action from this week should take a look at how that Amish community handled the unbelievable tragedy that happened to them. One family actually invited the wife of the shooter to one of the girl's funeral and they're setting up a fund for the shooter's children. Now that's forgiveness.
Tonight was okay. B
What are your thoughts on The Velvet Mafia and Jesus Camp?
posted by eliza at 1:47 AM
2 Comments:
Velvet Mafia? Sounds like that Gay Mafia Will& Grace episode. But I sort of believe it. It's sick hoe poeple abuse their kids in the name of religion. This country is so going backwards.
Bill Maher talked about Jesus Camp a week ago on his show.
Un.freaking.believeable.
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