Some politics notes

A few notes from politics and beyond:

So the big news in politics for the past few days has been Mitt's long-awaited speech on religion. Basically he pandered to religious godidiots by talking about the "religion of secularism" and implied that atheists are not Americans.

Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.

The idiot says the above, then goes on to admit that Europe is becoming more secular (but is still a country with more freedoms than we enjoy, thanks to King W) without seeing any contradiction. Jesus' General offers serious analysis of the issues at play and why considering a candidate's religion matters (from a secular standpoint).

The Obama smear piece didn't work out so well.

The GOP's philosophy: "the government which governs least, governs best" -- boy, do they prove that one wrong.

The GOP's sex-ed policy proves itself an utter failure (yet again).

Paul Krugman explains why comparisons between Darth Vader and Cheney are unfair:

Back when Hillary Clinton described Dick Cheney as Darth Vader, a number of people pointed out that this was an unfair comparison. For example, Darth Vader once served in the military.

Here’s another reason the comparison is invalid: the contractors Darth Vader hired to build the Death Star actually got the job done.

In climate change-related news, hybrid sales are rocketing, the US is under mounting pressure to actually do something at Bali to help solve the global CO₂ problem, and the WSJ really is doing well in its new role as Fox News Lite:

WSJ editor insults scientists, attacks Gore.

In an op-ed this morning mocking former Vice President Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize win, Wall Street Journal editorial board member Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. “attacks the international scientific consensus without providing a single piece of counterevidence.” In order to cast doubt on the consensus, Jenkins insults the entire scientific community as people who “do not wait for proof“:

It may seem strange that scientists would participate in such a phenomenon. It shouldn’t. Scientists are human; they do not wait for proof; many devote their professional lives to seeking evidence for hypotheses (especially well-funded hypotheses) they’ve chosen to believe.

Climate Progress ably takes Jenkins to task for his insults and distortions.

Murdoch has certainly done well placing such editorials there.

Don't forget to Buy Blue this season (the site is undergoing reconstruction, so use the web archive links). I will.

Consider supporting some godless charities this holiday season, rather than giving money to organizations that proselytize.