Richard Mourdock’s View On Rape Is The Same As Paul Ryan’s View On Rape–Romney/Ryan Would Redefine Rape

(Blogger’s Note 10/26/12–This is a post I ran on the blog last month. It seems appropriate  to run this post again given the comments of Republican Indiana U.S. Senate nominee Richard Mourdock. Mr. Mourdock said that pregnancy that results from rape are “something God intended.”  Mr. Mourdock is one of a number of Republican candidates across the nation in 2012 who oppose abortion even in cases of rape. Mr. Romney recently filmed an ad for Mr. Mourdock and still says he supports Mr. Mourdock. These are  positions supported by Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan.)  

When I was in Cincinnati recently I saw Mitt Romney’s jet at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati.

Above you see a picture I took of Mr. Romney’s plane. Governor Romney was speaking at Cincinnati’s historic Union Terminal.

The RR on the tail of plane stands for “Redefining Rape.”

Or–if maybe there are 3 R’s on the tail–it could be “Romney Redefines Rape” or “Ryan Redefines Rape.”

Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan shares the view of Missouri Congressman Todd Akin that some forms of rape are not “legitimate rape.”

How have we reached the point where we feel that some forms of rape are not rape at all?

Here in Texas, women who seek a constitutionally protected abortion are subject to the state-mandated rape of the forced sonogram law. Rick Perry signed that law.

These folks fly around in big airplanes and hold the highest offices in the nation and run for President and Vice President of the United States–But really they are simply brutal men who would redefine rape and brutalize the poor.

It Is Always The Right Time To Take Responsibility For Your Future—Ann Johnson Working Hard For Your Vote

Here’s a picture I took today of Texas House District 134 candidate Ann Johnson.

I told Ms. Johnson I’d hand out leaflets for her on Thursday at the early voting place.

It is always the right time to take responsibility for our future.

In this election, I’ve donated to President Obama and Green nominee Jill Stein, blogged, made my case on Facebook, and attended events for Stein and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown.

My mother has donated to Brown and gone door-to-door for Obama in Cincinnati.

The hopeful work of freedom is up to each of us everyday.

Ann Johnson is to my right on many economic issues. But this is a big world and people are going to disagree.

At the bottom line, Ms. Johnson is somebody who shares my view that we each have to work hard, and that we have to put ourselves out there to help make the world a more hopeful place.

Ms. Johnson is a decent and hard-working person who will listen to everybody and make her decisions based on what she thinks is best for 134 and for the people of Texas. Ms. Johnson is very clear that 134 has many Republican voters and that these are folks  she also wants to hear from should she be elected to serve in Austin.

The Houston Chronicle has endorsed Ms. Johnson.

Here is what The Chronicle said about Ms. Johnson–

The tea party turnout of 2010 gave Republican candidate Sarah Davis the narrow victory she needed to win in District 134, a prosperous swing district that covers areas from River Oaks to Meyerland and the Medical Center, as well.

Davis speaks about politics with a fiery passion, but her passion often seems aimed more at Washington than Austin.

She successfully navigated the minefield of wedge-issue votes that defined the previous legislative session – voting no on the sonogram bill, for example. But voters deserve a representative who doesn’t just avoid bad votes, but leads on good ones. We believe Democratic challenger Ann Johnson can be that sort of leader.

Johnson began her career as a prosecutor at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, where she was known for her no-nonsense, hardworking attitude. After leaving the prosecutor’s office, she dedicated herself to the world of juvenile law, where she focused on issues like child exploitation and sex trafficking – two issues that need the attention of the Texas Legislature. (In one notable case, she successfully argued before the Texas Supreme Court that girls too young to consent under the law could not be charged with prostitution.)

Johnson’s focus on juvenile issues doesn’t end at the courtroom. On the campaign trail, she rattles off embarrassing statistics on Texas kids – we’re 43rd in high school graduation rates, 45th in SAT scores, and have the highest percentage of children without health insurance. Texas should not be content with these rankings, and Johnson certainly isn’t, advocating smart educational investments like all-day Pre-K and capping class sizes.

Issues like education and health care aren’t just matters of compassion, they’re necessary to ensure that Texas has the healthy, educated workforce we need to power our economy.

In this race, Ann Johnson is the better bet for Texas’ future.

Swing State Miss America Contestants—We Can Respect People While Also Objecting To What They Do If We Choose

Here I am the last month at a Cincinnati Reds game with swing state beauty pageant winners.

These ladies recognized me in Cincinnati as the Texas Liberal blogger and approached me for a picture.

The above sentence is a lie.

On the left is Ms. Ohio and on the right is Ms. Pennsylvania.

Miss Ohio is Elissa McCraken of Ada, Ohio. 

Miss Pennsylvania is one Jordyn Colao of Erie.

I know some folks dismiss these folks as shallow or symptomatic of a sexist culture—and of course it is a sexist culture in very many ways—but I wager life is as difficult for the contestants in these pageants as it is for most of us.

I bet many of them come from blue-collar or middle class homes and that winning the contest takes plenty of personal discipline and hard work.

Here is website of the Miss America pageant.

I believe that the division of the nation is so complete that separate Miss America pageants are now held for solid Obama states, solid Romney states and for swing states.

This is why Miss Ohio and Miss Pennsylvania were hanging out together.  Miss North Dakota and Miss Utah must be on some other circuit.

If you are old enough, you can recall that Bert Parks hosted Miss America for many years.

Here is an article about a protest against the Miss World competition in London in 2011.

From that article—

” The Miss World contest doesn’t have a pleasing past as far as its experience with feminist organizations goes. The protest in 1970 against the Miss World Contest in London was a spurring moment in the women’s liberation movement….Girls, will you turn around? host Bob Hope asked the contestants during the live event at London’s Royal Albert Hall so that judges could get a 360-degree view of the participants in bikinis. Hope didn’t have a clue that he was going to be pelted with flour bombs and tomatoes by feminists present in the show. Police later arrested five protesters. Police later arrested five protesters.” 

That is excellent. I wish I had been at that event and seen the protest.

While we need to be respectful of how people live and what people do, we also reserve the right to hold strong opinions and to take actions that we are prepared to accept the consequences of when we disagree with what is taking place.

Fill In Your Own Commandments

Above you see the Ten Commandments outside a Cincinnati church. I took this picture two weeks ago.

There can be no doubt that moral relativism in running rampant when even at a church only one Commandment remains visible.

You could come to this monument and fill in your own commandments.

Though I am not suggesting you really do that.

Here are the Ten Commandments as listed by Judaism 101. 

I’m not aware of any large group of people that truly live by the words they assert as holy. 

What is more frustrating though is people who tell others to live by words that they themselves do not follow.

Relationships Of Various Kinds Are The Start Of Things—3,000 Blog Posts Is A Lot Of Work

Earlier this week I reached 3,000 posts on Texas Liberal.  This is post # 3,003.

3,003 blog posts is a lot of work.

I thought it would be good to note 3,000 blog posts with pictures of many of the friends I saw on my trip to Cincinnati last week.

I’m also appreciative of the many folks I’ve met in Houston and elsewhere in Texas through this blog. There are very many good hopeful people in Texas.

Everything starts with relationships and with the acknowledgment that all things are connected.

From the very beginning of things, the elements of existence have moved in concert and in reaction to each other.

Our relationships are with other people, with the natural and man-made world (to the extent the natural and man-made world are separate), and with our own values, thoughts and aspirations.

And in any other way that I’m missing here and that makes a hopeful difference to you.

Everything you need to understand the world is around you each day. These things are accessible with effort and imagination.

Thanks for reading Texas Liberal and—as Ronald Reagan often said—Stay the course.

Joe Biden Knows Just What He Is Doing—I’d Not Bet Much On Paul Ryan Getting The Better Of Him

Above is a picture of Vice President Joe Biden campaigning in Ohio over the past weekend.

(A great resource to learn about the men who have served as Vice President can be found on the U.S. Senate Vice Presidential website.)

While this picture has attracted some national comment, it does not surprise me at all.

There is a popular conception that Vice President is a bumbler of a kind or prone to gaffes that hurt President Obama.

It is so that Mr. Biden sometimes says things that make news in a way that President Obama might regret. At least that may be the case if Mr. Biden’s comment about gay marriage earlier this year was a gaffe at all.

However, it also the case that Mr. Biden is a man who was elected to the U.S. Senate at age of 29 in 1972, and who was selected among all possible contenders to be on the ticket by Barack Obama in 2008.

Mr. Biden overcame the loss of his first wife and his daughter in a 1972 car accident.

I saw Vice President Biden speak at the Hamilton County, Ohio AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic in 2011. Beyond the fact he gave a rousing hard-hitting speech, Mr. Biden also worked the crowd with skill.

He connected with folks and spoke to people as equals. I watched Mr. Biden talk to folks for maybe 20 minutes because he had people skills that were off the charts.

Here is a link to a New York Times story that says supporters of Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan are looking forward to Mr. Ryan getting the better of Mr. Biden when they debate on October 11.

(The Green Vice Presidential nominee is Cheri Honkala.)

Regardless of how you may feel about Mr. Biden or Mr. Ryan, I’d not bet much on the idea that Mr. Ryan will make Mr. Biden look silly or outclass him in some way.

Below are two pictures I took in Cincinnati last year of Mr. Biden talking to people at the Labor Day picnic.

The RR On Mitt Romney’s Jet Stands For Redefining Rape

(Blogger’s Note 10/26/12– I need to add a mention here of Republican Indiana U.S. Senate nominee Richard Mourdock. Mr. Mourdack said that pregnancy that results from rape are “something God intended.”  Mr. Mourdock is one of a number of Republican candidates across the nation in 2012 who oppose abortion even in cases of rape. Mr. Romney recently filmed an ad for Mr. Mourdock and still says he supports Mr. Mourdock. These are  positions supported by Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan.  

When I was in Cincinnati recently I saw Mitt Romney’s jet at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati.

Above you see a picture I took of Mr. Romney’s plane. Governor Romney was speaking at Cincinnati’s historic Union Terminal.

The RR on the tail of plane stands for “Redefining Rape.”

Or–if maybe there are 3 R’s on the tail–it could be “Romney Redefines Rape” or “Ryan Redefines Rape.”

Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan shares the view of Missouri Congressman Todd Akin that some forms of rape are not “legitimate rape.”

How have we reached the point where we feel that some forms of rape are not rape at all?

Here in Texas, women who seek a constitutionally protected abortion are subject to the state-mandated rape of the forced sonogram law. Rick Perry signed that law.

These folks fly around in big airplanes and hold the highest offices in the nation and run for President and Vice President of the United States–But really they are simply brutal men who would redefine rape and brutalize the poor.

Obama Socialism Sign In Public Space—All You Need Is Some Black Tape

Above is a anti-Obama sign I saw in Cincinnati on my recent trip to that city.

I enjoyed this sign a great deal.

It is on a busy Cincinnati street and I wager a number of motorists will see it is only a pro-Obama sign.

I guess using public space in what is likely an improper fashion is okay with people concerned about socialism taking over the nation.

Why don’t they do the capitalist thing and purchase billboard space?

If you see one of these signs, all you need to do is put some black tape over the socialism part and you will have a fine Obama sign.

You Can Go Home Again So Long As You Realize The Many Ways That Home Is No Longer Home

You can go home again so long as you realize the many ways that home is no longer home.

The view here is from this afternoon in Cincinnati’s great Mt. Echo Park.

Remains Of Hurricane Isaac Over The Cincinnati Area—Post Parade For The 2nd Race At River Downs

At least some portion of the remains of Hurricane Isaac are currently over River Downs race track just outside Cincinnati.

You see here horses on parade on the rain-soaked sloppy track in advance of the 2nd race this afternoon. You also see the American Flag blowing about.

The misty backdrop are Kentucky hills across the Ohio River.

I’m sorry for persons who have been strongly impacted by Hurricane Isaac.

Here in the Cincinnati-area the storm has brought needed rain.

I hope folks are having a nice Labor Day. Please treat people who are working the holiday well. Respect for our fellow working people and self-respect are the very same thing.

American Sign Museum In Cincinnati Is A Great Place To Visit

Here is a picture from the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.

This museum opened just a few months ago.

I visited this museum yesterday. It was well worth my time.

I’ll have more to say about this place when I’m back in Houston.

It Seems Sincere—But You Can’t Be Sure

Here is a sign I saw yesterday that opposes Cincinnati Public School taxes.

I don’t know if the sign is against all CPS taxes or just against an upcoming levy.

It looks like a homemade or hand made sign.

It did occur to me though that a superpac opposes these taxes and commissioned 5000 of these signs to give the impression of a grassroots revolt.

My theory is dented by the fact that this is the only such sign I’ve seen so far. Though maybe it is just that this is the first of the 5000 signs.

People Wading In Ohio River—I’m Not Certain That Is A Good Idea

Here is a picture I took a few days ago of people wading and just hanging out in the Ohio River in Downtown Cincinnati.

The people have jet skis with them.

I’ve never seen anybody just standing in the river. I’ve always known it as polluted to some degree and as having snapping turtles dredging about.

I don’t believe that folks should be standing in the Ohio River.

Considering It All In Cincinnati

In Cincinnati, Ohio this week I’m taking a look at the big picture.

Here is Cincinnati yesterday from one of the many overlook parks in the city.

Cincinnati and the Ohio River Valley is a place of geological history and of human history both collective and for individuals.

All these histories are connected. Everything is connected

I Donated $20 At The Cincinnati Obama HQ—The Work Of Freedom Is Up To Each Of Us

This evening I went to the Obama headquarters in Cincinnati and made a $20 donation.

Included with this post is a picture of the Cincinnati Obama office. There were maybe 10 people making calls. I thought that was pretty good for a Wednesday night in August.

While I intend to vote for Green candidate Jill Stein for President in my non-swing state of Texas, the folks in this Obama office are decent people who are doing the work of freedom and who merit support.

And at least folks in Ohio are calling people close to home. In Texas Democrats are being asked to call over for the country for Obama while extremist Ted Cruz marches on the U.S. Senate.

I understand Texas is likely a Republican state in 2012. But how long will we be asked to hand our future over to crazies without even a fight? When do we begin to build the foundation of something hopeful in Texas?

In any case, the work of freedom and progress is up to each of us. We each need to take steps to move society in the direction we hope to see it go.