Ocassional Thoughts of an Independent Progressive Atheistic Humanist
One part of political debate I like is using images to make a point. Whether it is a chart or a quote image, these graphics hold on to the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. They are also easy to share in social media. However one still needs to be careful one isn’t sharing inaccurate information. Don’t post or share any graphic unless you can confirm the accuracy of the information.
Earlier this year this chart was making the rounds of the blogs I read:
Guess who showed up in a news clip showing a tacky photo-op by supporters of HB 125 aka “Heartbeat” Bill? Senator Cliff Hite (R-Findlay) received a Teddy Bear that made a heartbeat sound when squeezed. The whole photo-op was a circus that P. T. Barnum would be proud of.
Here is a screenshot from the video:
Political issue ads are a sad fact of life. One thing I really wish would happen is that issue ads would be required to be factual about the issue in the ad. One ad which lacks the facts is one featuring Mike Huckabee speaking out against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act derided by the right as ‘Obamacare’. The ad gets heavy play on the Military Channel and plays fast and lose with the truth about the law and the reaction to it. Free speech shouldn’t give cover to a false political advertisement.
I couldn’t find the exact ad online that is playing on the Military Channel but below is one that is 98% close. I did transcribe the audio from the one playing on TV following the clip.
Read an article on the Washington Post about a new political party called the National Atheist Party. While I applaud the effort to get atheists more involved in the political process, trying to include a broad progressive platform into such a narrow religious belief label is the wrong way to go.
The National Atheist Party is a non-profit, 527 political organization devoted to issue advocacy. As a 527 they can’t endorse candidates. In their mission statement the NAP says:
Today in my twitter stream was someone ranting about Glenn Greenwald and Katrina vanden Heuvel writing nice things about Ron Paul. In fact the person said both were RWNJs for supporting Paul. Of course the tweeter was wrong. Neither was supporting Paul only pointing out the ideas that Paul has that liberals usually support. I agree with most of what Greenwald writes but when talking about Ron Paul I disagree with his unstated conclusion.