What WILL those Conflucians Say tonight?

With so much going on it could be anything . . . .

We’ve been thinking about the Assassination of Dr. Tiller & the shooting at Holocaust Museum  — is domestic terrorism spreading? What about Internet censorship and Obama’s bid to control the Internet? Is Obama’s expressions of commitment a sign of progress toward Health Care Reform? Or is the AMA’s opposition a sign of trouble to come? And H1N1 Flu — what DOES Level 6 Pandemic really mean to us?

What have you been thinking about?  Call in tonight to make sure we give your thoughts the attention they deserve:

Conflucians Say, Tonight: 10pm EDT

Comments closed until just after the show
Tonight: 10pm EDT

The Zombie Tribe

Obama! Obama! Obama!

What’s so hard about condemning sexism and misogyny?  Does it really matter who the victim is?  John Cole gets it:

You know, I have no idea what the hell David Letterman is thinking or what he thinks he is accomplishing with crap like this, but this was inexcusable. He should be ashamed of himself.

And I’m not trying to sound like some politically correct scold, and I have no problem with comedians being comedians. There are lots of reasons to dislike Sarah Palin, there are lots of reasons to not be impressed with her leadership, her beliefs, or, well, anything about her, but when you start with the “slutty” crap, or are making jokes about her daughter getting “knocked up,” you’ve crossed a line. I have no problem attacking Palin for her idiotic proposals and all the stupid things she has said, but this just is the kind of nonsense that is no good for anyone.

Maybe I’m over-reacting, and I know I’m not always perfect, but I’m really losing my patience and tolerance for this kind of stuff. There was no place for this kind of stuff with Hillary and Chelsea, there is no room for it with Michelle and their kids, and the same standard should apply for Sarah Palin and her kids. Hell, it should apply to all women.

But some of his readers don’t:

She worked that slutty angle —and no way in hell can anyone say certain men didn’t respond. Starbursts, remember? It was an image she carefully presented and I don’t get all the vapors people here get for her getting called on it.

By the way, this whole ‘insulting to women’ chorus of protest is so fucking misplaced. You people seemed to missed that the very real and much more damaging diss occurred when Palin ran for VP using her best MILF act.

Part of the reason conservatives loves them some Palin is she is an anti-feminist. What could be a bigger diss than to get where she is because she has a vagina and men like her because she’s hot?

She made herself into the lapdance the rednecks couldn’t buy (while pushing her high heels into the face of every woman who ever fought to get their due for their competence, intelligent and capability, and not for being a hot mamma). And somehow, amazingly, a comedian joking about Palin’s carefully cultivated Fuckable Me image is the thing that is over the top.

Sheesh. Some of you really missed what Palin was up to. Palin was the manchurian candidate for feminism.

The hot fuck-me chick who can’t be fucked. Like a slutty stewardess. She’s got the fuck-me thing going on but what can you do? Bend her over one of the seats? Unobtainable Sex Object. Akin to the Hot Librarian with the Big Glasses. (Another stock male fantasy character Palin more than hints at as well). Cuz guys, you know when she takes off those glasses and lets down her hair she’ll fuck you so hard on the book stacks your dick’ll be bruised.

Sure that’s stereotype that demeans women. Hell yes. But Palin is totally reinforcing that one. She’s projecting it: This is the modern Conservative Woman.

It’s a feature not a bug that it’s undermes feminism. Why do you think conservatives love this exemplar of Woman? And where’s the vapors over that?

It’s actually interesting that Letterman said ‘stewardess’. No flight attendants for conservatives. Women are stewardesses. Waitresses in the sky.

You can get pissed at Letterman but I think he’s noticing something here. It says more about how conservatives see women than Dave does.

Letterman did wasn’t nice. But comedians often say harsh shit. A difference between comedy and a comedian making gratuitous insults is whether it was true or not. Good for Dave for calling her on it. She doesn’t get to have it both ways.

That was one of many comments in a long thread (361 comments) where numerous people defended David Letterman’s misogynistic comments about Sarah and Willow Palin.  What was so hard about denouncing something that is obviously wrong? Why would these people defend the indefensible?

The answer is tribalism

H1N1 Flu Update: WHO at Level 6 today

Hiya, guys.  there’s breaking news on the flu front today.  The World Health Organization has elevated the pandemic alert system to level 6.  Basically, this means that we are at a pandemic level of flu and governments around the world will start putting their pandemic flu plans into action.

Vaccine manufacturers are being instructed to commence manufacturing the H1N1 flu vaccine.  The vaccine makers were sent “seed” virus about a week ago.  They are now in the process of optimizing the growth and replication of the virus for the production of vaccine.  There will be some clinical trials to gauge effectiveness of the new vaccine.  This process should take a couple of months.  If all goes well, the vaccine should be ready by early fall.  However, the government has contracted with the vaccine makers for a finite amount of vaccine.  Although there will be millions of doses available, there won’t be enough for every American.  If you are offered the vaccine, take it.  Don’t skip it this year.  Those of you who will not be in populations offered the vaccine can still get relief from the severity of flu symptoms by taking an antiviral medication.  Relenza has been cited as being effective against H1N1.

If your employer hasn’t worked out a plan in the event of a health emergency, now is the time to ask about one.  Here’s why: the H1N1 strain is the same one involved in the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918.  The flu at this stage is relatively mild.  But the problem is that our generation has virtually no immunity against H1N1.  That means if you are exposed to the virus, your chances of getting infected and sick are higher than they would be in most other years.  Even if the infection is mild, the sheer number of infected individuals makes the likelihood of a dangerous mutation that much greater.  Additionally, because the body has few defenses against a strain it hasn’t seen, the viral load is likely to be higher.  The danger is that this will trigger a cytokine storm in young, healthy individuals with robust immune systems.  Therefore, it is very important to minimize your exposure to the flu even if your friends, colleagues and kids seem to be only mildly ill.  Follow the advice of your public health officials and your personal physician.

Our local paper reports 2 confirmed cases in one of our township’s elementary schools.  The accompaying article describes what to do if you or a family member is infected.  Normally, an infected individual can return to regular activities after 72 hours of being fever free.  Not so with H1N1.  Because the viral load is higher, it is cleared from the body more slowly.  An infected individual will remain infectious for approximately 7 days.  So, get your affairs in order in case you have to stay home for a week.  The flu will seem to go dormant in the summer.  Having kids out of school should limit transmission somewhat.  But H1N1 will probably return in the fall in a more serious form.  No need to panic.  Just stock up on hand sanitizer, limit your exposure to sick individuals, be vigilant and have your doctor’s phone number handy.

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Your Breakfast Read, Served By The Confluence

Anti-Semitic Hate Crime

At a Monument of Sorrow, A Burst of Deadly Violence

the attack inside the famed Holocaust museum turned the crowded building and Washington’s nearby tourist-thronged Mall into a scene of fear and chaos, with black-clad SWAT teams, hovering helicopters and racing emergency vehicles. Stunned witnesses described a fusillade of gunfire — five shots or more — the blood-streaked floor and the screams of frightened visitors inside the museum and on the street.

Grief, Shock After a ‘Gentle Giant’ Loses His Life in the Line of Duty

Co-workers praise Stephen Johns, who was killed in the line of duty.

Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn’s ex-wife says his racism ‘ate him alive’

He’s a twisted kook with a toxic hatred for Jews and blacks who vowed to go out “with his boots on.”

Solemn Reminder

THE UNITED STATES Holocaust Museum is a living memorial, a place where visitors go to confront hatred, learn the danger of prejudice and promote human dignity. Yesterday this most special place was the setting for a tragic lesson in the worst and best of human behavior.

DHS Report “In A Different Light”

Fox News spent much of April hyperventilating about a report from the Department of Homeland Security, warning of possible threats posed by violent radicals, specifically from anti-abortion and anti-Semitic extremists.

Attacks validate DHS report, some say

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Health Care Battle

No More Kumbaya Among Health Care Reformers

[T]he last week has shown that love-ins don’t last forever. Now the different groups writing bills and weighing in have begun to clash in ways that portend bigger fights to come. “People are still being gentle,” says Robert Laszewski, an influential Beltway health policy consultant. “But the fissures are going to be deep.”

‘Single-Payer’ Supporters Challenge Democrats

As Obama and congressional Democrats work to hammer out landmark health-care legislation, they face increasingly noisy protests from those on the left who complain that a national program like those in Europe has been excluded from the debate.

This Time, We Won’t Scare

Back in the election campaign, some people spread rumors that Barack Obama might be a secret Muslim conspiring to impose Sharia law on us. That seems unlikely now, but what if he’s a covert Canadian plotting to impose … health care?

Obama to hold town-hall style meeting to push healthcare reform

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The Next SC Justice

Is Sotomayor Liberal Enough?

The Supreme Court nominee’s life story is certainly compelling. But her slim record on progressive concerns warrants a closer look.

In Her Own Words: Excerpts From Sotomayor’s Videos

Republicans Say Sotomayor Questionnaire Incomplete, Request More Information

Sotomayor’s appointment should end the High Court’s unfair track record on Puerto Rico

Unlike other Latinos, the Supreme Court has deeply scarred Puerto Rican political life. Thanks to its rulings, the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico do not have the same rights as citizens living in the states and the U.S. Constitution does not apply in full to Puerto Rico – or to the other territories of Guam, the Virgin Islands and American Samoa.

Where Sonia Sotomayor Really Stands on Race

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Economy Watch

Fiat Closes Deal With Chrysler

April trade deficit edges up to $29.2 billion

America’s debt is Barack Obama’s biggest weakness

U.S. Targets Excessive Pay for Top Executives

The Obama administration named a “compensation czar” yesterday to set salaries and bonuses at some of the biggest firms at the heart of the economic crisis, as part of a broader government campaign to reshape pay practices across corporate America.

U.S. Foreclosure Filings Top 300,000 as Bank Seizures Loom

U.S. foreclosure filings surpassed 300,000 for the third straight month in May and may hit a record 1.8 million by the first half of the year, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

GOP: Did Bush team force BofA merger?

Capitol Hill Republicans investigating the fire sale purchase of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America last year are digging for evidence of improper behavior by two Bush appointees – former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Fed Emails Bash BofA Chief in Tussle Over Merrill Deal

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War On Terror

Guantánamo’s untouchables: What to do with Uighurs

The US moves toward sending the Chinese Muslims to Palau, a remote Pacific island. But some experts say that would be a mistake.

Democrats Aren’t Yielding to Obama

After years of lambasting President George W. Bush’s war on terror, some congressional Democrats still act like the party of opposition, even with their own man in the White House. They are asking tough questions about the wisdom of President Barack Obama’s plan to expand military assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where an eight-year conflict has failed to defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Obama’s arms bazaar

The administration’s focus on building coalitions may spur more arms sales for the world’s leading weapons exporter — a welcome prospect for U.S. defense contractors.

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Around The World

An Innocent Abroad

For five months now in the Umbrian hill town of Perugia, an American exchange student called “Angel Face” by the tabloid press has been on trial for the murder of her roommate. On Friday, for the first time, that student, Amanda Knox will testify on her own behalf.

Has President Ahmadinejad finally met his match in Mrs Mousavi?

Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mirhossein Mousavi, has impressed voters on the campaign trail with her calls for equal rights

Pakistan targets Taliban in new combat zone, kill scores

Let’s hope the experts are right:
2 US journalists unlikely to see harsh prisons, specialists say

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Our Recommendation

Decoding God’s Changing Moods

You’d think the Abrahamic God would make up his mind — Can he live with other gods or not? What’s with the random mood fluctuations?

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