Day: December 8, 2003

Barbara Streisand’s Political Donations

USA Today’s Life section had a front page story today about Hollywood liberals who donate to Democratic candidates — no big surprise there. One of the people they highlighted as a Hollywood donor was Barbara Streisand. Again, no shock there that Streisand gives freely to Democratic candidates.

What did shock me was the list of precisely who Streisand had given money to — specifically that she had donated $1,000 to the campaign of Al Sharpton.

I knew Streisand was out there on the Democratic fringe, but I didn’t realize she supported even extremists like Sharpton. It amazes me that a man with a history of anti-Semitism and of encouraging violence is allowed the in Democratic debates and receives the supporter of people like Streisand (and, no less, by people who accuse Bush of being a frightening extremist).

Source:

Candidates bask in Hollywood glamour, greenbacks. Cesar G. Soriano, USA Today, December 8, 2003.

No You Can’t Invade My Privacy Just to Get Me to Spend Money In Your Stupid Store

A couple weeks ago I found myself in the local Circuit City. This should have set off a warning flag right away as I have never had a totally satisfactory experience in Circuit City (which is odd considering I’m usually trying to give them money in exchange for things). In fact, I downright loathe Circuit City, but occasionally there is something I need a) right now and b) the Best Buy just down the street doesn’t have.

In this case it was a piece of software and I while I was at it I picked up a couple of DVDs and a CD that they had on sale.

So I’m at the register about ready to give the salesperson the $150 cash or so when he asks for my name, address and phone number. Gee, would you like my checking account number, my third grade report card, and the results of my last HIV test as well?

In hindsight I should have asked the kid that, but instead I politely inquired why in the hell they needed any of that information. To which I get a scripted response about how they collect that information on any purchase over $100 (that’s brilliant — pester the customers who spend a lot of money in your store). I could just make up fake information, but WTF — why should they make spending money this difficult?

Which means the merchandise stays on the counter, I head out the door, and I think I’ve finally got a reason never to go back to Circuit City again.

Jim Towey Reinforces Fears about Faith-Based Initiative

Back on November 26, Jim Towey — Director of the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives — held an online chat to answer questions about the faith-based projects which President Bush championed before and after his election.

Towey really flubbed a rather simple question seeking to find out if non-Christian groups would have an equal footing in seeking funding for Faith Based and Community Initiatives monies,

Colby, from Centralia MO writes:

Do you feel that Pagan faith based groups should be given the same considerations as any other group that seeks aid?

Jim Towey

I haven’t run into a pagan faith-based group yet, much less a pagan group that cares for the poor! Once you make it clear to any applicant that public money must go to public purposes and can’t be used to promote ideology, the fringe groups lose interest. Helping the poor is tough work and only those with loving hearts seem drawn to it.

That’s a rather abusive answer for what is a straightforward question, and of course Towey avoids actually addressing the main issue of the question — would Pagan/Wiccan groups applying for money be treated in the same manner as Christian groups?

It’s also extremely insulting for Towey to imply that pagans would only be interested in promoting ideology and don’t have the heart for helping the poor.

Later in the interview, he gives the correct answer to this question when the very same thing is asked about Muslims,

Rob, from Chicago writes:

Why can’t my Muslim brothers and sisters participate as easily in this Administration’s faith based initiatives? Most of the people I know who have any association with the Muslim faith are being harrassed, not helped or supported, at this time.

Jim Towey

Muslims are welcomed to participate in this initiative. The issue isn’t whether a group believes in God or not but whether their program works. So the faith-based initiative isn’t faith-specific. I think America needs to do all it can to avoid religious rivalry and competition -that is the beauty of our heritage of pluralism.

Why couldn’t he have just said something like that in answer to the pagan question? (And what’s more religiously pluralistic than pagans/wiccans with their odd mix of poly/pantheism?)

Source:

In Focus: Thanksgiving. White House chat transcript, November 26, 2003.

Witches Committ Suicide in India

Here’s a disturbing story from the BBC back a the end of October. In India, three people accused of being witches killed themselves after being publicly humiliated in their village in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.

According to the BBC account of the incident,

Local police told the BBC that one of the three family members, a 60-year-old woman, Kari Devi, had been the subject of attacks for a year.

Last week a group attacked her, her husband and daughter-in-law.

The two women had their hair cut off before the three were forced to eat human waste, the AFP news agency reports.

Villagers had said the three were responsible for the death a local person they had cast spells on.

On Thursday, the three all took poison and died, the police say.

Apparently such attacks are all too frequent in eastern India, with the BBC noting that in the Indian state of Jharkhand in July a mob burned to death two women accused of witchcraft.

Sources:

Three ‘witches’ kill themselves. The BBC, October 24, 2003.