Job Duties VS Voices In Head

Rose Marie Belforti was
A brave and honest clerk
Who said that God himself decreed
She could not do her work

To serve the state, her job required,
But Rose observed a flaw—
She could not serve New York; instead,
She served a higher law

She will not sign certificates
When same-sex couples wed;
The path to hell goes that way, and
She simply won’t be led.

She could not “hold her nose and sign”
She could not “go along”
She could not in good conscience
When her God said it was wrong.

Mind you, other people said
That God was fine with gays
But Rose Marie Belforti’s God
Sees things in other ways.

Her God is quite the homophobe
So Rose Marie is, too;
Her bigotry is there , cos
It’s what Christ himself would do.

Well, Christ as she perceives him,
Not the Christ from in that book
So really, not a claim that’s gonna
Let her off the hook.

She’s asking dispensation; could
Some clerk sign those instead?
Her job is making troubles for
The voices in her head

Story at Camels With Hammers.

The Spiritual Guide To Losing

When life gives you lemons, when life steals your hope,
When tragedy o’erflows your cup
When suffering comes, amidst crisis and loss
The key is to learn to give up.

The things you’ve achieved, and the battles you’ve won
Your possessions—your piece of the pie
Your retirement savings from decades of work,
It’s much better to just let them die.

Refocus your mind from the things of the world
To redemption, forgiveness from sin
The key to it all, in the spiritual sense?
Re-defining a loss as a win.

Rant, after the jump:
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Just Haggling Over The Price…

When Bachmann accused him of selling his vote
Perry quickly composed his rebuff;
It wasn’t the principle, viewers may note–
But five grand wasn’t nearly enough

There are hundreds of donors who’ve given donations
Of one hundred thousand or more
If you want to be one of Rick Perry’s temptations
It’s six figures to get in the door!

There are two different worlds–there’s the people with money
And the people without it, like me
Which is why I just laugh, even though it’s not funny
When they tell me that freedom ain’t free.

Brief comment, after the jump:
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The Credible Threat

There is a lot of talk about a current “credible threat” of terrorism on the anniversary of 9/11. I suspect I am thinking of a different man than “they” are.

If a man whom you met
Was a “credible threat”
There’s no way that you’d let
Him evade you
And if somehow you knew
Your suspicion was true
What could anyone do
To dissuade you?

You’re the patriot type
And you’re not one to gripe
But you see through the hype
That they feed you
And you’re always aware
And you think that it’s fair
For your country, you’re there
When they need you.

With the hour growing late
There is no more debate
There are people who hate
And detest us
And they’ll cheat and they’ll lie
(Which they’ll always deny)
Through their teeth, as they’re try-
ing to best us

A religious extrem-
ist whose ultimate dream
Is that faith will redeem
Us, is scary
There’s a face in that frame
And we learn, to our shame
That this lunatic’s name…

Is Rick Perry
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Headline Muse, 9/9

At the tail of the red distribution
Where they love to deny evolution
There’s a troglodyte sort
With a strange sense of sport,
Who will cheer and applaud execution

Headline: GOP Debate: Thou shalt kill, cheer the Republicans

MODERATOR BRIAN WILLIAMS: Governor Perry, a question about Texas. Your state has executed 234 death row inmates, more than any other governor in modern times. Have you…

(APPLAUSE)

Have you struggled to sleep at night with the idea that any one of those might have been innocent?

PERRY: No, sir. I’ve never struggled with that at all. The state of Texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place of which — when someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens, they get a fair hearing, they go through an appellate process, they go up to the Supreme Court of the United States, if that’s required.

But in the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you’re involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is, you will be executed.

WILLIAMS: What do you make of…

(APPLAUSE)

What do you make of that dynamic that just happened here, the mention of the execution of 234 people drew applause?

PERRY: I think Americans understand justice. I think Americans are clearly, in the vast majority of — of cases, supportive of capital punishment. When you have committed heinous crimes against our citizens — and it’s a state-by-state issue, but in the state of Texas, our citizens have made that decision, and they made it clear, and they don’t want you to commit those crimes against our citizens. And if you do, you will face the ultimate justice.

I once worked in a lab where we occasionally had to cull rats. It was not taken lightly; if you wanted that job, you could not have it. The idea was, killing is not trivial. This was with rats.

Perry has never struggled with killing his fellow human beings. Not even Cameron Todd Willingham, who (read the link) very likely did not commit the crime he was executed for. If Perry does not struggle with that, he is (not a professional diagnosis, but true nonetheless) a sociopath.

Edited to add…

I was so outraged by Perry’s comments that I completely forgot to be outraged by the fact that the fucking audience fucking applauded his fucking words. And the odds are that the vast preponderance of those clapping bastards are self-professed christians.

No Clergy At 9/11 Ceremony?

We’d like a moment of your time
At most, a single minute—
We’ve noticed, the memorial
Has got no clergy in it.

There are both friends and family,
And those who joined the search,
But missing from the program here?
The Southern Baptist Church!

New York is such a melting pot—
It always has been thus—
The program can’t fit everyone;
I’m sure there’s room for us

Some churches might not want a spot
Like Methodists, or Jews—
If you asked the local Muslims, why
I’m sure that they’d refuse

The Mormons probably want to,
But they’re really just a cult
And I really think they ought to be
Turned down, as a result.

When you look with cold-eyed reason
It is obvious to see
There’s no reason for inviting
Any clergymen but me

I’ve considered all the angles, and
I really think it’s best…

And it’s simply un-American,
Denying my request!

A bit more after the jump:
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The Equal And Opposite Scientist

I’m the “equal and opposite scientist”
And my thinking is outside the box
I’m the one who knows climate is cooling
And I’m willing to say so on Fox

Metaphorical six-gun for hire
If your story is lacking “both sides”
I can give you an expert opinion
From somebody with real bona fides

An idea outside of the mainstream
Needs a face with a real Ph. D.
If there’s nobody else in your corner
For a price, there can always be me

I can give you my expert opinion
Make it sound like an absolute fact
What you need isn’t really an expert
But an expert-ish-type who can act

“Well, the jury’s still out on this issue”
“Yes, but not every expert agrees”
“We’re still waiting for adequate data”
I’ve got dozens of answers like these!

“We don’t know if it’s safe for our children”
“Might have side effects yet to be seen”
“We are messing with powerful forces”
You’re beginning to see what I mean

And when science has reached a consensus
That’s the time that it really gets fun
When it seems there is no opposition
On the news, hey, you only need one

All it takes is one expert opinion
All it takes is one chance to confuse
I’m the “equal and opposite scientist”
I’m the one that you see on the news

When you need to create some confusion
I’m the one you can count on to thank
I’m the “equal and opposite scientist”
And I’m smiling my way to the bank

thoughts, after the jump:
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