Monday, September 27, 2010

Well, yeah, Eddie, but…

Eddie Long, a Bishop, has denied charges of sexual misconduct with young men of his congregation.

You might have seen television coverage of his denial from the pulpit yesterday. 

Here is the gist of it:

I have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect man, but I am not the man being portrayed on television That’s not me. That is not me.

I am not going to try this case in the media, it will be tried in the court of justice and decided in the court of justice. Please hear this: I’ve been accused. I’m under attack. I want you to know as I said earlier I am not a perfect man. … But this thing I’m going to fight. I feel like David against Goliath, but I’ve got five rocks and I haven’t thrown one yet.

Notice Long doesn’t deny the charges.  He’s going to fight them, but he doesn’t deny them.

Long has made a lot of money preaching against gay rights.  What does that tell you?

Long needs to remember the Biblical admonition: For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?

Trust, but verify.

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Monday, September 20, 2010

A block to inevitability?

Andrew Sullivan linked this from a posting by Walter Shapiro:

…the Republican National Committee recently voted to switch to proportional representation (the system that was used by the Democrats during the protracted Obama-versus-Hillary Clinton battle) for all primaries held during the first two months of the 2012 season. What that means is that it will very difficult for a divisive candidate like Palin to sweep the table before the party establishment (buffeted though it may have been recently) can regroup.

Could it be the first salvo (albeit a quiet salvo, who knew about this?) in the Republican establishment’s skirmish with La Palin?

Trust, but verify.

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Friday, September 10, 2010

Who leaves out?

Over at the Los Angeles Times, Robin Abcarian has a column entitled “For Muslims, Koran is ‘light from God to humanity.’”

Abcarian gives the standard info about how the Koran is too often misunderstood by non-Muslims.  Interesting, as far as it goes; but the article ends with a bit of obliviousness.

One Akbar S. Ahmed is quoted by Abcarian:

"The Koran is often criticized in the West by people pulling out one verse or another to establish its violent nature," said Ahmed. "They will say the Koran says 'Fight the Jews and Christians and Muslim renegades,' but they leave out the next line — 'But make peace because God prefers peace….' "

What Ahmed didn’t admit, or Abcarian didn’t include, is that those Islamist murderers who kill far more fellow muslims than they do any other religionists and non-extremists, seem to “leave out the next line” far more often.

Get it together, Akbar.

Trust, but verify.

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Monday, September 6, 2010

Um…sure about that, Ruth?

Ruth Marcus, astute columnist for The Washington Post and occasional participant on The News Hour, came up with a “Huh?” moment in her Labor Day posting in the Post.

In an otherwise dead-on as usual piece on Palin, Marcus writes, “No male politician accused a female reporter of being hormonal or frigid.”

That sentence ought to be easily disproved.  Perhaps it can’t be, but I would be mightily surprised.

If not accusing, at least wondering by men about various female biological functions and influences is so ubiquitous in our culture that it’s hard to conceive that somehow female reporters are exempt, by anyone.

Apologizing in advance if I leapt too soon, Here’s to you Ms Marcus.

Trust, but verify.

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