Quote Of The Day - Charles Blow

"The sheer volume of bile spewing from the mouth of the Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, is staggering. But just as awe-inducing, and stomach-churning, is the unrestrained breadth of its variety, which makes putting the offenses in order — if one were inclined to — nearly impossible. But high on any list — on a par with the racism, sexism, misogyny, paternalistic plantation thinking and bias cloaked in benevolence — has to be Sterling’s attempt to AIDS-shame Magic Johnson. [snip] In attempting to AIDS-shame Johnson, Sterling further shamed himself — if that’s even possible — and proved supremely disrespectful of and destructive to people living with H.I.V. and those (like Johnson, who responded magnanimously) who are working to reach the affected and protect those at risk. In this it is clear that Johnson is a far better example for our children than Sterling." - Charles Blow, writing for the New York Times.

CNN Panel On The N-Word & F-Word

Mediaite's Josh Feldman recaps the show:

They first tackled the n-word, with Don Lemon saying “you shouldn’t use that word like a pronoun” and Charles Blow admitting his conflicting feelings on the use of that particular word, even when used among young black youths. Lemon pointed out that it’s not just black youths, but also young white people who feel it’s okay to use that word. As for Baldwin, HuffPost’s Noah Michaelson argued Baldwin’s not necessarily homophobic, but then questioned why Baldwin’s mind automatically jumps to that word when he’s trying to insult someone. Morgan admitted in the second segment he wasn’t aware that “cocksucking” was an anti-gay phrase to begin with. He asked why gay men would want to use a phrase that’s been used to denigrate them. Michaelson said it’s about “reclaiming language,” while Lemon admitted that the word does not offend him because “if that’s the first and last thing that you can reach, then I’ve already won the argument.”

Advisory: No words are bleeped. You might want headphones if you're at work. It's a longish clip, but worth your time.

Quote Of The Day - Charles Blow

"Witnessing a historic moment is such an odd and exhilarating thing. It is hard to register the full scope of it because you are chest deep in it.That is how I feel about the gay-marriage arguments made before the Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday.However the court rules on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal government’s Defense of Marriage Act, there is no denying that something historic has just happened: an aggrieved group has taken a stand and given voice once again to the American — and indeed Democratic — ideals of justice and fairness and freedom." - Charles Blow, writing for the New York Times.

Quote Of The Day - Charles Blow

"No, you cannot have your country back. America is moving forward.
That’s the message voters sent the Republican Party and its Tea Party wing Tuesday night when they re-elected President Obama and strengthened the Democrats’ control of the Senate. No amount of outside money or voter suppression or fear mongering or lying — and there was a ton of each — was enough to blunt that message. President Obama and his formidable campaign machine out-performed the Republicans, holding together a winning coalition that is the face of America’s tomorrow: young voters, urban voters, racially and ethnically diverse voters and women voters. You would think that the world came to an end Tuesday night. And depending on your worldview, it might have. If your idea of America’s power structure is rooted in a 1950s or even a 1920s sensibility, here’s an update: that America is no more. Republicans are trying to hold back a storm surge of demographic change with a white picket fence. Good luck with that." - Charles Blow, writing for the New York Times.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

Charles Blow has an interesting opinion piece in the NY Times about the Pew Forum's recent survey which surprisingly shows that 70% of Americans believe that people from religions other than theirs (and even atheists) can go to heaven.

One very plausible explanation is that Americans just want good things to come to good people, regardless of their faith. As Alan Segal, a professor of religion at Barnard College told me: “We are a multicultural society, and people expect this American life to continue the same way in heaven.” He explained that in our society, we meet so many good people of different faiths that it’s hard for us to imagine God letting them go to hell.

In fact, in the most recent survey, Pew asked people what they thought determined whether a person would achieve eternal life. Nearly as many Christians said you could achieve eternal life by just being a good person as said that you had to believe in Jesus. Also, many Christians apparently view their didactic text as flexible. According to Pew’s August survey, only 39 percent of Christians believe that the Bible is the literal word of God, and 18 percent think that it’s just a book written by men and not the word of God at all. In fact, on the question in the Pew survey about what it would take to achieve eternal life, only 1 percent of Christians said living life in accordance with the Bible.

There's a great discussion going on in the comments to the piece. My favorite is this little poem left by one atheist:

It seems that I was unaware
That to a Place that isn't there,
I'll end, like True believers will,
Ungrateful, unbelieving still!

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