Tag: herman cain

Our Daily Links: Doin' The Math Edition

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God spends $390 million lobbying Washington every year.

Jonathan Jones writes at The Guardian about the now-iconic photo of 84 year old Occupy activist Dorli Rainey after being pepper sprayed in Seattle:

America is a religious nation and I can’t help thinking that either the people in the picture, or the photographer, consciously or unconsciously reached for an image from the iconography of Catholic faith. No movement, in its early history, recognised the power of martyrdom more thoroughly than Christianity did. Obviously, martyrdom is a Christian concept. To die for the faith, by being pinioned to the ground and beheaded – say – or crucified upside down, was to imitate Christ, to reenact the suffering of a God made flesh.

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Our Daily Links: Doin’ The Math Edition

Posted on by

God spends $390 million lobbying Washington every year.

Jonathan Jones writes at The Guardian about the now-iconic photo of 84 year old Occupy activist Dorli Rainey after being pepper sprayed in Seattle:

America is a religious nation and I can’t help thinking that either the people in the picture, or the photographer, consciously or unconsciously reached for an image from the iconography of Catholic faith. No movement, in its early history, recognised the power of martyrdom more thoroughly than Christianity did. Obviously, martyrdom is a Christian concept. To die for the faith, by being pinioned to the ground and beheaded – say – or crucified upside down, was to imitate Christ, to reenact the suffering of a God made flesh.

Continue Reading →

Not all Sex is a Scandal

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Cain, Sandusky, Catholic Priests. Sex has been in the headlines a lot lately. But some important distinctions are getting lost in the rush to categorize offenses, blurring the difference between crimes against marriage with those against women or minors, or the crimes of institutions with those of individuals.

So much commentary about the cover up of sexual abuse at Penn State has wrongly made comparisons of the University to the Catholic Church. While both are large, patriarchal institutions, both have kept the long-term abuse of children under wraps for the sake of those in leadership positions, and both have all the ritualistic trappings that inspire devoted followers and protect strict hierarchical structures, Penn State is not the Roman Catholic Church. Continue Reading →

Searching Herman Cain's Soul. In Iowa.

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By Andy Kopsa 

Standing before a crowd of reporters at the Friar’s Club in New York, Sharon Bialek told her story.  With her lawyer Gloria Allred at her side, Bialek painted a picture of an unwanted sexual encounter in a parked car in Washington DC: what she was wearing – pleated skirt, suit jacket; a pleasurable dinner and cocktails; and to her surprise, an upgrade to a suite at her hotel, courtesy of her host for the evening, Herman Cain.

Bialek shockingly revealed that Cain “reached for my genitals” and then pulled her head toward his crotch.  She resisted and asked, “What are you doing you know I have a boyfriend?” Cain’s reply was simply, ‘You want a job, right?’

For a man who has likened himself to Moses, claims God* told him to run for presidency and is a registered minister at Antioch Church in Atlanta, these charges should be troubling.  Instead Cain’s personal response has been indignant, his campaign’s ham-handed and somewhat juvenile.  Cain’s lawyer recently cautioned that women considering going public with claims of harassment by Cain should “think twice,” a threat like that of a playground bully.

What Bialek has described is sexual assault.  While sexual harassment is serious, sexual assault is, criminally speaking, a whole other level.  In Washington DC, where the alleged Bialek – Cain incident occurred, a misdemeanor sexual abuse charge carries a $1000 fine plus up to 180 days in jail.  If a case reaches into 3rd or 4th degree assault territory fines can reach $100,000 and jail time soars to 10 years in prison. Continue Reading →

Searching Herman Cain’s Soul. In Iowa.

Posted on by

By Andy Kopsa 

Standing before a crowd of reporters at the Friar’s Club in New York, Sharon Bialek told her story.  With her lawyer Gloria Allred at her side, Bialek painted a picture of an unwanted sexual encounter in a parked car in Washington DC: what she was wearing – pleated skirt, suit jacket; a pleasurable dinner and cocktails; and to her surprise, an upgrade to a suite at her hotel, courtesy of her host for the evening, Herman Cain.

Bialek shockingly revealed that Cain “reached for my genitals” and then pulled her head toward his crotch.  She resisted and asked, “What are you doing you know I have a boyfriend?” Cain’s reply was simply, ‘You want a job, right?’

For a man who has likened himself to Moses, claims God* told him to run for presidency and is a registered minister at Antioch Church in Atlanta, these charges should be troubling.  Instead Cain’s personal response has been indignant, his campaign’s ham-handed and somewhat juvenile.  Cain’s lawyer recently cautioned that women considering going public with claims of harassment by Cain should “think twice,” a threat like that of a playground bully.

What Bialek has described is sexual assault.  While sexual harassment is serious, sexual assault is, criminally speaking, a whole other level.  In Washington DC, where the alleged Bialek – Cain incident occurred, a misdemeanor sexual abuse charge carries a $1000 fine plus up to 180 days in jail.  If a case reaches into 3rd or 4th degree assault territory fines can reach $100,000 and jail time soars to 10 years in prison. Continue Reading →

Daily Links: Apocalypse Edition

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Click right over to Mary Valle’s latest at Killing the Buddha on “A Kinder, Gentler Apocalypse.”  Of the May 21 fake-out she writes:

Apparently God was playing more of his “I’m gonna pretend to high-five you, then pull my hand away at the last minute and say ‘Psych!’” games with all of us.

Look out Jews.  Here comes Chrislam!

Mother Jones lists some of the better entries in the #HermanCainPizzaJams flourish that occupied twitter earlier this week.  Our favorites are of course:

“Give Pizza Chance” –Daudig

“Cheese Crust is Just Alright by Me” –JElvisWeinstein

“Cheesus Chrust Superstar” –AriVABeerGuy Continue Reading →

I Like My Guns and My Bible

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Amy Levin: From suggesting that his tax code is modeled on Sim City 4, to the new twitter trend #HermanCainPizzaJams, Herman Cain has become quite the easy target. Putting my favorite track, “Give Pizza Chance” aside, much of the media seems to be just as confused by Cain as they are tickled, pleased, or angered. Besides mulling over the fact that the conservative candidate could be pro-gun and possibly (eek!) pro-choice, Cain’s hometown church seems to be the greatest enigma of all.

CNN’s Belief Blog featured an article this week called “The Liberal Church of Herman Cain.” Cain is an associate minister of his Atlantic megachurch, Antioch Baptist Church North, known for its “stronghold liberal activism” and history of hosting notable civil rights activists such as Jesse Jackson and Andrew Young. Continue Reading →