http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/party_foul_tea_partiers_eat_their_own_in_bitter_in.php?ref=fpb

TPMMuckraker

Party Foul! Tea Partiers Eat Their Own In Bitter Internal Feud

Zachary Roth | November 12, 2009, 5:08PM

The Tea Party movement is being ripped apart by bitter internal rancor, highlighted by a lawsuit against a former leader, vituperative name-calling, and charges of financial mismanagement and corruption.

As we told you this morning, board members for the Tea Party Patriots (TPP) this week filed suit against Amy Kremer, a former TPP leader who fell out with the group over her involvement with a rival Tea Party faction, the Tea Party Express. And on Tuesday, a judge granted a preliminary injunction, ordering Kremer to return control of the TPP websites to the board, and to stop representing herself as a TPP spokeswoman.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the Tea Partiers' internecine strife. Emails obtained by TPMmuckraker detail how a rogue faction of Tea Party Patriots is lashing out at the board for going ahead with the suit against Kremer, and challenging the board's financial management, triggering a state of acrimony that appears serious enough to threaten the upstart movement's ability to continue to mount an effective grassroots challenge to the Obama agenda -- just days after the House passed the health-care-reform bill that the Tea Partiers view as socialism.

In an email to fellow TPPers sent Wednesday, Gerald Merits called the lawsuit "the single most insane act of self destruction I have witnessed since this country elected Obama," and asked "how much donor money is being spent of (sic) suing Amy?"

For the rest of the day, the email list was consumed with charges and counter charges. In response to Merits, Josh Parker, a supporter of the board, wrote: "Amy created a situation where TPP couldn't do anything BUT sue her, then she goes on with her poor me crap. She brings this on herself and all the rest of us."

At the root of the dispute is the acrimony between TPP and the Tea Party Express, a newer group formed by a team of GOP consultants. Many TPPers sees TPE as inauthentic, calling it the "Astoturf Express," and deriding it as a "Republican front organization." But others -- including Merits -- have flirted with TPE, apparently out of frustration with the TPP's sprawling structure and unwieldy decision-making process. On Wednesday, David McKalip, the Florida neurosurgeon and one-time Tea Party Patriot activist, who found himself in hot water after we published an email he sent showing President Obama as a witch doctor -- addressed a Tea Party Express rally in Orlando.

In Wednesday's email exchange, several other TPPers sided with Merits in raising concerns about the lawsuit. And one, Jack Staver, raised a separate charge against the board, suggesting that board members were being insufficiently transparent about the organization's finances.

Wrote Staver:

How much money does TPP have? How much did we make in DC? Where are the financial statements? Do board members get paid and if so who? Who signs the checks? Where does our money go?

Merits echoed that theme. "Why are the financial records not public knowledge?" he asked. "Show me the money!"

Eventually a Tea Party Patriots loyalist couldn't take it anymore. "Why are you intentionally trying to destroy this movement??" he demanded.

Charges of lax book-keeping -- and worse -- appear to be breaking out across the Tea Party movement. In a separate email written Wednesday and obtained by TPMmuckraker, Matt Perdue, the president of a San Antonio Tea Party group, ripped into the group's treasurer, her husband, and their supporters for conducting a "mass redirection campaign," apparently to line their own pockets using Tea Party donations.

"Where has all this money gone?" asks Perdue. "If there is nothing wrong going on, why has there not been one single piece of paper produced to back up why people got checks, some for $3,000, $7,400+, $4,000, $10,400+??? Where is the documentation? Why isn't the cash deposited like it should be? Why did it take more than two weeks to deposit cash from the meetings?"

Meanwhile, other Tea Party factions are trying to distance themselves from the dispute between Kremer and TPP -- and position themselves to benefit. Darla Dawald, the leader of the Patriotic Resistance, a far-right grassroots group, wrote in a message on the TPP email list that her organization has "not supported any lawsuit or fighting ... but I felt obligated to inform our base what is happening so that you could make an educated decision about your support of the Group called the Tea Party Patriots." Dawald has been a key participant in the bus tour organized by the Tea Party Express -- an effort shunned by TPP.

And Eric Odom, the founder of the Tax Day Tea Party events, wrote in his own message that the acrimony "presents a dangerous situation for the movement as a whole," and urged TPPers to return to "defeating the socialist thugs who seek to destroy our country, not fellow patriots who seek to stop them." We reported that Odom this week launched a political action committee designed to channel Tea Party activism toward an electoral goal.

As Wednesday wore on, the TPP internal email list degenerated into name-calling, sarcasm, and personal attacks. "Jack, you REALLY look clueless right now," Parker wrote to Staver at one point. Parker also ripped Merits for "your usual pissing and moaning without knowing nothing." And Staver deemed Parker "not worthy of a response."

Some TPPers expressed concern that the acrimony could damage the movement if exposed. "Daily Kos and other left wing interest groups are going to love running with this story," wrote one.

Merits appeared to share that concern. "This will go public if we let it drag on long enough and if you don't think this will have a chilling effect on all Tea Party movements raising funds you are living in a world of fairy dust and gingerbread houses," he wrote. "Read my previous emails. If this goes on long enough, we all go down - NOT just TPP and TPE - ALL OF US."

Folks, I have a theory.
   After asking on Twitter, and using two different ISPs in two different cities, and trialling different browsers, I have found that in New Zealand, I (and one other Twitter friend) cannot reach our Autocade site without the browser coming up with an error asking one to save the page.
   However, using a US proxy server, there is no problem, and the page functions normally. It actually opens.
   I suspect something is afoot with ISPs in New Zealand blocking certain sites. Can friends reading this confirm this with me, please? The site is autocade.net.
   I remember last month there was quite a bit of furore on Twitter when TelstraClear customers could not reach justinflitter.com (since closed). Again, I had no problem accessing Justin’s site via a proxy server. I simply could not reach it from New Zealand, even though Justin is a New Zealander.

This from the preceding post:

And Dr Collins sees no problem with where aliens might fit in with the belief that man was created in God's image.

"Every creature reflects the goodness and the creativity of God. Humankind, we certainly would argue that we represent that most fully and most completely," he said.

"But all of creation represents God's creativity. So any extraterrestrial being would certainly represent that creativity as well and may be or may not be more developed than we are."

 

I've long thought that humans make a fundamental mistake in that they arrogantly assume that the universe is all about us. That is why stupid statements like the above are made. We see God as some super human who created a stupendous universe for us to run around sinning in. And, what's more, we are supposedly made in God's image. All the other creatures on this Earth apparently weren't. Only us. Yeah, right. God must be delighted with that one. Think Hitler.

We weren't even around for most of the Earth's history. The first life appeared 4,000 million years ago. Something resembling us (and supposedly God) appeared on the scene 60 thousand years ago. Why did God take so long you may ask? And just when did we acquire a soul? One would think such questions could be easily answered by the men who point to a book written 2,000 years ago for answers. Of course they can't. So I do wonder why they pontificate at such length with such inane garbage that can be easily disproved by anyone who cares to exercise a few brain cells.

Do they really think we're that stupid? Apparently so. I think I need another drink. 

 

 

 

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/13/2742484.htm?section=justin

 

Alien life is possible: Vatican

By Barney Porter for The World Today

Posted 1 hour 35 minutes ago

The Pope's chief astronomer has conceded other intelligent beings could exist in outer space.

The conclusion has been drawn by scientific experts called in by the Vatican to study the possibility of extraterrestrial life and its implications for the Church.

It has been four centuries since the Catholic Church locked up Galileo for challenging the belief that the Earth was at the centre of the universe.

The Vatican's five-day conference attracted 30 astronomers, physicists and biologists, including non-Catholics.

It was led by Jesuit priest Father Jose Gabriel Funes, an astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory.

Father Funes says the possibility of alien life raises "many philosophical and theological implications" but that the gathering was mainly focused on the scientific perspective.

One of the organisers was Chris Impey, a professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona.

He says the aim was to assess the most recent research in the burgeoning field of astrobiology - the study of life in the universe.

"And also getting a sense of when you know the vital breakthrough is going to be made, which is the discovery of life elsewhere," he said.

"Because even though we're looking hard we still only know one planet anywhere with life and that's this one."

Breakthrough coming soon

He says that major breakthrough may be just around the corner.

"If you were going to take a set of bets of the 30 scientists gathered for that meeting, I think most of them would have said on about a time scale of 10 years maybe," he said.

That's a guess from the scientists involved and it could come from either of two directions - it could come from a planetary mission within the solar system that looks at one of the most hospitable places for life nearby which is probably Titan, Europa or Mars.

"Or it could come from telescopic observations of planets that we're finding in increasing numbers around distant stars."

But before one starts looking at the concept through Hollywood eyes, professor Impey has another observation.

"I think there's a big distinction between the finding of microbial life, bacteria or something like that which is actually the most likely form of life to discover initially, and intelligent life - sentient beings with technology, and that's a different strategy," he said.

"So I think on the former, on microbial life it's not likely to challenge the world's major religions - but if we find creatures that rival us or exceed us in intelligence, then I think that's going to be very interesting."

Church's positive response

But perhaps not too interesting, according to Dr Paul Collins, a former priest and now Church historian and Catholic commentator.

He says a belief in extraterrestrial life does not necessarily contradict any basic tenets of the Catholic religion.

"I would think that our response would be a positive one," he said.

"I'm not infallible on this of course, but the reality is that I don't think it does contradict anything within Catholicism.

"Essentially what the Christian faith generally is saying and certainly Catholicism specifically is saying is that God is the ultimate source of life, the ultimate source of reality."

The views of the Catholic Church have shifted radically since the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1600 for speculating other worlds could be inhabited.

The Vatican Observatory has been at the forefront of efforts to bridge the gap between religion and science and today senior clergy openly endorse scientific ideas such as the big bang theory and evolution.

And Dr Collins sees no problem with where aliens might fit in with the belief that man was created in God's image.

"Every creature reflects the goodness and the creativity of God. Humankind, we certainly would argue that we represent that most fully and most completely," he said.

"But all of creation represents God's creativity. So any extraterrestrial being would certainly represent that creativity as well and may be or may not be more developed than we are."

 

While I can now compose on Vox (not, incidentally, something I could consistently do from Christchurch, either, so we can now conclude the problems were not ISP-specific), is anyone else having problems with the YouTube conduit? I know at least one other user is.
   It gets me a bit worried how things fall down here regularly. But I don’t think we can blame Vox exclusively. I am sure the other site, in this case YouTube, is to blame in part, for perhaps changing its specifications.
   Still, YouTube clips are going to be fewer in number for a while, I expect.

What was your favorite class in high school? (And no, lunch doesn't count.) 

Lunch class?  Pah.

How about smoking behind the newsagents across the road class?

Or bunking off and going to Drummonds class?

Or maybe those free periods either side of lunch when my friend would drive us to the Dome on the Kings Road and I'd drink gin and tonics before returning to my A Level English Literature class?

 

Lunch class, schmunch class.

I have blogged here about Italy and stuff, and will be doing so regularly from now on.  There's quite a lot to say.  Do drop in and comment - 'twould be lovely to see some friendly faces.

So, the music quiz answers, in the style of e.e. cummings, are as follows:

1. marry the man today, guys and dolls
2. distance, editors
3. the last resort, eagles
4. the accidental, gene
5. local god, everclear
6. how do you feel, 5ive
7. am i the only one (who's ever felt this way)?, dixie chicks
8. sweden, divine comedy
9. spinning the wheel, george michael
10. mile end, pulp
11. disco inferno, the trammps
12. lady marmalade, labelle
13. i just wanna make love to you, etta james
14. manhattan, kings of leon
15. you better you bet, the who
16. jimmy olsen's blues, spin doctors
17. mirrorball, elbow
18. changes, david bowie
19. goodnight moon, shivaree
20. goodnight goodnight, maroon 5

OpenJDK is the place to collaborate on an open-source implementation of the Java Platform, Standard Edition, and related projects.

There are two OpenJDK streams:

• JDK6
  
• JDK7
  

CentOS and OEL include a java-1.6.0-openjdk rpm in their yum repos and you can find java-1.6.0-openjdk-plugin rpms for Fedora 9,10 & 11 at:

• http://www.icewalkers.com/rpm/java-1.6.0-openjdk-plugin/fedora-core-9/
• http://www.rpmfind.net/linux/rpm2html/search.php?query=java-1.6.0-openjdk-plugin

You can test your OpenJDK Java SE plugin is working by running the java jre jvm demo examples that can be found at:

• http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/1.5.0/demos/plugin/applets.html