Motley Moose – Archive

Or, get out of my relationship, my bedroom and/or my uterus.

I’m tired.  I’m tired of people who don’t know me trying to tell me what to do because of something he or she believes.

Why do people care so much who I sleep with?  Who I marry?  What I do with my body?  It’s my f*cking life and I should have some damn choice.  And it is getting to the point where I’m going to reach into my computer screen and choke the crap out of the next sanctimonious, smug jerkwad who tells me that I should be forced to carry the product of a rape.  I’m going to toss my smartphone out the window the next time someone tells me same-sex marriage is ruining this country.

By the time the robo-signing scandal had spread across all fifty states their attorneys general started looking for a coordinated and comprehensive settlement with the banks:

The current settlement stems from revelations in late 2010 that banks had filed hundreds of thousands of flawed and fraudulent foreclosure documents in their rush to keep up with a tidal wave of delinquent loans wrought by the housing crisis, a practice known as “robosigning.”

Under the proposed deal, the five banks involved – Wells Fargo, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Ally Financial and Citigroup – would agree to end those practices and overhaul the often-convoluted way they deal with borrowers trying to stay in their homes. They also would pay about $25 billion that would go toward lowering loan balances for borrowers who owe more than their houses are worth, helping others refinance at lower rates and paying up to $2,000 to hundreds of thousands of people who lost homes to foreclosure.

Brady Dennis – Proposed settlement with banks over foreclosure practices dealt a setback Washington Post 8 Feb 12

The Obama administration also sought some relief for a broad segment of affected homeowners rather than individual prosecutions of specific cases.  Sounds good?  Well, maybe not so much, as the legal ramifications of the settlement are still open to interpretation:

In effect, the White House was willing to sell blanket immunity to the originators and distributors of mortgages over the past decade. The price of this legal protection would have been low. Understandably, bankers are still keen to take the offer.

Simon Johnson – Last chance on mortgage mess Politico 22 Jan 12

Those seeking a tougher stance on bank malfeasance and a broader inquiry, potentially resulting in criminal prosecutions, into the complex mortgage retail and securitisation practices which largely precipitated the 2008 crash have been reluctant to go along with this proposal.

I don’t plan to ever log in again. I don’t want this account to get hacked and have words written by others posted under my username.

Take care and God bless,

Andrew

The Republican primary continues to lurch forward with three contests today; Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.  None of these are binding in the allocation of delegates:

It is not a pretty image, believe you me.

Now, as the latest chapter in this drama, the Republican National Committee felt obliged to send out an e-mail reminding reporters that today’s voting in Colorado, Missouri, and Minnesota will mean sweet fk-all, despite what you may hear from John King and my man Chuck Todd.

Charles P Pierce – The RNC Clusterfk Esquire 7 Feb 12

Notwithstanding, there may be something at stake here for the Romney campaign which lit up recently with an unusual objection to the methodology of a specific poll, largely on the grounds of this little nugget:

According to ABC’s poll out this morning, by a 2 to 1 margin voters say the more they learn about Mitt Romney, the less they like him.

Josh Marshall – Taking a Toll TPM 6 Feb 12

Romney’s favourability is declining nationally as Obama’s enjoys a modest rise.  Not to mention that with Santorum leading in Missouri and competitive elsewhere the Romney juggernaut just might lose two out of three; a concern further evident by their pivot to attacking Santorum in recent days.

So, as far as delegates are concerned these events don’t amount to much but as a potential deflation of the Romney campaign with an upset or two it may be worth watching.

I didn’t really set out to become a feminist theologian, but with a feminist mother, coming out as a gay man, and an interest in theology, that’s kind of what ended up being the focal point of my CV.

Feminist theology arose out of religious reflection on the Women’s Movement of the 1970s.  Crossing institutional religious divides, it interprets religious traditions with emphasis on women’s experience, integration of mind and body, and a “this-worldly” understanding of spirituality.  This is a re-posting, with some revisions, of a diary on the subject I posted a couple of years ago over at the Orange place.  It has many links to both full-length books (in italics) and shorter essays to explore.

If the Euro goes into a tailspin this summer, it will undoubtedly scuttle economic recovery in the US.  Can Obama win if Europe fails?

In my research on South Carolina’s 2010 gubernatorial election, I came upon a fascinating chart. The chart describes the number of Democrats and Republican in South Carolina’s State House of Representatives from the Civil War to the present day. The data offers a fascinating story of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, and the Deep South in general.

Here is the story:

Most individuals familiar with politics know the history of the Deep South: it seceded from the Union after President Abraham Lincoln was elected. In the resulting Civil War, it fought the hardest and suffered the most against Union forces.

Victorious Union forces were identified with the hated Republican Party, founded with the explicit goal of destroying the southern way of life by ending slavery.

Under military Union rule, the Republican Party flourished in South Carolina:

More below.

Progressives and other supporters of women’s health have been disappointed and angered by the politically-motivated decision by the Susan G. Komen Foundation to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening, prevention, and screening services.  In many poor and rural communities, Planned Parenthood is the only option for women to obtain these lifesaving services.

(If you want to support the Breast Health Emergency Fund established by Planned Parenthood in response to these events, here is a secure donation link.)

In a glimmer of good news, it was widely reported yesterday (originating, I think at the Huffington Post), that the Connecticut chapter of Susan G. Komen had broken with the national decision and would continue to fund Planned Parenthood.  The Boston Globe appeared to follow suit.  Perhaps other affiliates would follow this courageous move, women’s health supporters thought.

Only one problem with the courageous move.  It didn’t happen.  Follow me after the jump to see how many good people were fooled.  

Since I came across this a couple days ago, I have been forwarding it to near everyone I know. I am now sharing it with all of you. Some of you may have seen it already, it really has spread like wildfire…and rightfully so. It is, quite simply, the best thing I have read in a very long time.

What I have been forwarding is a letter from one Jourdon Anderson to his former owner.

Yes, owner…Jourdon and his wife were both slaves.

The letter was written in reply to Colonel P.H. Anderson’s (note the last name) request that Jourdon and his wife return to Big Spring, Tennessee to work for him. Needless to say, heading back to the old plantation was not high on Jourdon’s list of things to do.

I found myself cheering for a man long deceased…cheering for his family and hoping that they lived long and prospered. Hoping that his fighting spirit and beautiful wit live on in his descendents.

Follow me below the fold to read Jourdon’s letter in full…let me know if you find yourself rooting for him as well. /grin

People move mountains.

Over the past 4 years, I have taken to pen and keyboard to write my thoughts–however disjointed, misguided or ill-conceived they might be–and to share them, for your consumption and debate. The topics we have discussed have maintained a mostly-political bent, but have touched on the religious, spiritual, economic, social and deeper human issues that I have faced or witnessed others face around the world.

For years, I have thought of myself as a writer. This small piece of the Internet, and its tagline–“Long runs, legendary musings and an insatiable quest for knowledge”–was my attempt to “learn through writing.” Perhaps better stated, I had hoped to take a position, argue it, and through the various work to back up that position through the gamut of opposing remarks and stances, learn a lot more about the issues themselves, the country we live in and the people who comprise her.

What I have learned is that I am part of the problem.