It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.

These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread.

Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.


 
It's 2011, and so, the 2012 presidential campaign season has begun. Confused? Don't be. The presidential campaign season starts the year before the year that the presidential campaign actually takes place in. That's so that in January, when the first presidential primaries take place, voters will already know a great deal about the presidential candidate choices in their political parties.

This year, the heat is with the Republican Party, because Barack Obama is fairly certain to sit pat as the Democratic presidential nominee. (Some action still with Iowa for Obama) So, we're seeing a lot of efforts already by Republicans to elevate one candidate over another in a great early jostling for initial advantage.

Witness the breadth of Republican presidential campaign gear already available - in opposition to rival campaigns:

Against Mike Huckabee:

Florida Against Huckabee tshirt
Idaho Against Mike Huckabee tshirt
Texas Against Huckabee tshirt

- these shirts are all made in the USA, by the way -

Against Mike Pence:

New York Against Mike Pence bumper sticker
New Jersey Against Pence bumper sticker
California Against Mike Pence bumper sticker

Also:

Iowa Voters Against Romney
New Hampshire Against Tim Pawlenty

Feel behind already? Never fear. There's much, much more to come!

Posted by 24thIndependent at 12:37 PM. # (permalink)
(0) comments

 
Goodness gracious, what do you have to do to get an import to Wordpress?

Labels: import, wordpress

Posted by James Cook at 5:10 PM. # (permalink)
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It's easy to see the contradiction: The Democratic National Convention claims that it is seeking "unity" and "common ground" by holding meetings at the convention with the leaders of tax-exempt religious organizations in order to plan partisan political campaigns and develop an agenda for imposing religious beliefs using the power of government. In the name of unity, the Democratic Party is excluding secular and nonreligious leaders from participating in these meetings in order to represent the interests of Americans who don't belong to politically powerful churches.

The Democratic "faith-based" plans don't promote unity. They promote division.

Read a few statements of outrage by rank and file Democrats:

VJack:

"I find it appalling that the progressive party would set aside the framer's clearly secular intent and embrace superstition and religious delusion. I am not at all swayed by the argument that the Democrats are simply trying to wrestle Christianity away from the Republican Party."

Tazimo:

"Secular and atheist members of the Democratic Party have not been invited to attend the Democratic convention. It seems that Obama’s message of inclusiveness can only be stretched so far, at least when it comes to issues of faith, or the lack there of."

PZ Myers:

"I am particularly annoyed by the claim that "Democrats have been, are and will continue to be people of faith" — which I take as a declaration that I can't be a Democrat."

Labels: atheist, democrats, denver, discrimination, religion

Posted by 24thIndependent at 6:44 AM. # (permalink)
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