Dems first. We have Joseph Shannon and Bill Reedy running for the Democrat nomination. Joseph Shannon's website is here:
Joseph Shannon
It's hosted by that bestest friend of Daily Kos and the liberal blogger community, the Democratic Party's very own, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). That's one point against him. Maybe even all the way up to five points against him. And his website? Is nothing! It's crap! Devoid of content! All he can do is say "Oh, look at Judy Biggert, Judy Biggert bad". Here's the extent of content on his website:
# Judy Biggert has taken $1,764 from Tom DeLay's ARMPAC. No surprise that Biggert voted with Tom DeLay 90% of the time.
# Judy Biggert voted to weaken the ethics rules in a move that many say served only to protect Tom DeLay.
# When Republicans realized it was "impossible to win the communications battle" over the gutted ethics rules, Biggert flip-flopped and voted to put the old rules back into place.
# When Democrats offered a solution to clean up the House by strengthening ethics rules, Judy Biggert voted twice to make sure it never even came to an up or down vote.
Well, at least she's a discount representative. Shit, I have more then that in my bank account right now. Wow! Less then $2k bought a congressperson! REAL impressive DCCC, no really, good job guys. Very damning. Joe-mentum!
And that, my friends, is it. Entirety of the campaign website. I know it's a Republican cliche to say that Democrats have no new ideas or suggestions or solutions, in this guy's case it is definitely true. Hell, he can only find one scandal out of probably dozens to complain about. Why is that? Well, I suspect it's because most of the other scandals the DCCC has been on the wrong side of.
So, not real impressed by the first of two Democrat candidates. What's the next guy look like? Check out the website of Bill Reedy. Based solely on content and web design, sure beats the Shannon website. It's got a lot more information too. Even an issues page. Seriously, looks pretty good. The important part, though, is the issues. Couldn't find his position on Iraq or National Defense, so I shot him an email asking for clarification. I agree with his positions on healthcare, education, and retirement security, but what really resonates with me is his position on having a more open government and more private for private citizens. That's a hot-button issue for me and no mistake. Here's what he says:
Our American Democracy was founded on the principle of accountability, openness and honesty on the part of our elected officials. Today however, our federal government is operating in an atmosphere of secrecy and inscrutability that is unprecedented in US history. The current administration, along with its Congressional allies, apparently do not trust American citizens with the basic information and First Amendment protections our Constitution guarantees us in order to function as a government of, by and for the people.
By operating under cover of darkness, with no oversight by the people, a culture of corruption has been allowed to flourish in Washington, DC. As an ordinary citizen concerned with the American tradition of a free and Democratic Republic, I will represent the citizens of District 13 by bringing your concerns to the table and advocating for you and for our families rather than moneyed special interests.
...
American citizens should have the assurance that their government will not interfere with the most personal and private decisions we make with regard to our health and well-being. I will work to protect the rights of women to work with their physicians when making decisions concerning their reproductive rights, and with individuals and families struggling with critical care and end of life issues of themselves and their loved ones. The government has no business coming between the very personal health decisions that are properly determined between patients and their doctors.
Hear hear, boss. But wait, you ask, what is his background? Where are the skeletons in his closet? Won't such a liberal be unpalatable to the religious right? Well... no. Check out his background.
Bill and his wife, Cathy, have been married thirty seven years and have lived in Downers Grove since 1984. They have two grown children, Tyler and Rachel, both graduates of Downers Grove North High School.
Bill was born in Conway, Arkansas and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He graduated from the University of Tulsa (B.S. Ed, 1970), and taught English, speech and vocal music in the Tulsa Public Schools. In 1975 Bill moved his family to Kansas City, Missouri where he attended Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1978). He served as Associate Pastor in youth, family, senior adult and music ministries in Southern Baptist churches from 1975 to 1991. Since 1991, Bill has been in business selling church furniture and choir robes.
Wow! What a corrupt and immoral person! What a paragon of political cronyism! Oh wait, no. The guy could be our own Pastor Dan throwing his hat into the political ring. I'm sure Republicans will find a way to smear a nice old baptist pastor who sells church furniture, but somehow I doubt they'll be that effective. With any luck I can convince my crazyfundy Republican parents to consider voting for him. The guy looks like the example of what an ideal Christian should be. In other words, not Pat Robertson or James Dobson. Or Republican challenger Bob Hart.
Bob Hart, now this guy is a REAL hoot. Joseph Shannon is running on a platform of Judy Biggert being too corrupt, Bob Hart is running on a platform of ARMAGEDDON IS COMING SAVE TEH WOMENS AND CHILDRENS THE MARK OF THE BEAST IS UPON US. You doubt? Check out his website, Bob Hart for Congress. Not a whole lot of content there, but what there is, it's priceless. And this is not a hoax, it's his officially registered campaign website. Seriously. First, the front page, the entry page.
PLEASE NOTE:
THIS IS NOT A TYPICAL POLITICAL CAMPAIGN. THIS IS NOT A TYPICAL POLITICAL CAMPAIGN WEBSITE. ONE MAY FIND INFORMATION ON THIS SITE THAT CHALLENGES ONE'S CORE BELIEFS. IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN A CHALLENGE TO YOUR CORE BELIEFS THEN PLEASE EXIT IMMEDIATELY AND DO NOT RETURN. IF, ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR TRUTH, NO MATTER WHAT THE COST, THEN YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. PLEASE ENTER WITH AN OPEN MIND BUT DO NOT FORSAKE YOUR REASONING ABILITY. PROVE OR DISPROVE WHAT YOU READ YOURSELF. MAY THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE BE WITH YOU IN YOUR QUEST FOR TRUTH.
Heh heh, WOW. Oh God. That's good. I still can't read that without laughing. It's got to be hard to live up to that, right? He (heh heh) pulls it off though.
Main page shows a helpful picture from a ballot, with his bubble filled. This is for the more intellectually challenged of his constituents. Just print it out and take it in the voting booth with you! You don't have to be able to read, just match the picture. He also has a poem there. This is the poem, and these two items are the entirety of his front page, with the exception of the sidebar:
Tales of a River
Be open to peace with peace,
And you will find peace.
Be open to love with love,
And you will find love.
Be open to truth with truth,
And you will find truth.
Be Peace.
Be Truth.
Be Love.
And I have a sudden urge to convert to the Hara Krisnas. I have a sudden urge to shave my head, conveniently it already is, grab a drum, and go around the airports and malls of the land singing. But I digress. The sidebars! Can't forget the sidebars. First off, "#1-Abortion":
(some excerpts)
#1 Issue: Abortion (Child Sacrifice)
God's law is clear. Thou shalt not kill. In other words, do not murder. When man puts his law above God's law then it's time for God fearing men and women to take a stand. Abortion (I call it child sacrifice) is murder. If you are not convinced of that then I invite you to take a look at photos attached to the links provided on the right. Be prepared. They are gruesome. Murder is never pretty. Can we join together to stop this?
blah blah blah definition of children = prosterity or something blah blah
blah blah abortion unconstitutional blah blah
And then he goes a step further than most politicians in "demonizing" the opponent:
(I totally apologize for this)
The incumbent for the 13th Congressional District in the State of Illinois is Ms. Judy Biggert. Would you like to know her stand on abortion? I invite you to take a look at a link to the right if you want to know. She scored an 88% from the leading providers of child sacrifice, Planned Parenthood.
The battle is not against Judy Biggert. It's against principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness in high places. It's against the foe of darkness; the enemy of souls. She is simply a pawn in the game. Did you know that God loves her? It's true. He hates her stand on abortion but He loves her and doesn't want to see her perish. Instead, He wants her to come to repentance. I invite you to pray for Judy. Remember, we overcome evil with good. I hope I see her in the Kingdom someday. That goes for everyone else who is suffering from the guilt and shame of an abortion. Both man and woman. I want you to know that God will accept you the way you are. You don't have to wait to become good enough for Him. Fall into the arms of Jesus and accept His forgiveness. The Father and the Son will send the Holy Spirit to you and change you into a beautiful person. They'll even change the way you think about abortion. You'll see clearly that it's a violation of His law and it hurts His heart to see His little babies destroyed. Why don't you give Him a chance? What have you got to lose? Your pride? Your guilt? Your shame? Your misery and woe? I'm telling you from personal experience that God will not take anything good away from you. He sends down every good gift and every perfect gift. And once you accept Him, He'll send you some of His gifts. It's guaranteed. It's a promise in the Bible. I'm like Paul. I'm the chief of sinners. Yet God accepted me. If you want to hear my personal testimony then I invite you to click on the link to the right.
I invite you to join me in this battle. Make an appointment in your day planner for March 21, 2006. Vote for Bob Hart. Together, we can defeat this insane evil.
Wow. DEAR GOD WOW. Actually, I believe wow has ceased to have meaning. I need a new, stronger form of wow. Like "HUJAWAJAWHA???". Reading that inspires me to say "HUJAWAJAWHA???".
He then goes into ways to try and overthrow Roe V Wade. He'd like a Constitutional amendment. He wants a SCOTUS decision but doesn't think he'll get it, and thank fuck for that. now for the next issue, Creationism.
Creation
Darwin's "Theory" of Evolution is a lie. It was a lie 150 years ago and it's still a lie today. Here is one of Darwin's quotes from The Origin of Species (1909 Harvard Classics edition) p.190:
"To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree."
God created man in his own image. He didn't create him in the image of a bacteria, or a monkey or a missing link. I'm not going to get involved in arguing the point. If you want to read about it then check out "Refuting Evolution" by Jonathan Sarfati. His credentials are impeccable. There are a number of websites that provide evidence to the creation account as depicted in Genesis. Please see the links to the right.
Another interesting point involves giants. The Bible mentions "giants" in the Old Testament. If man were evolving by "survival of the fittest" then one would expect man to get bigger and stronger over time. Instead, the opposite has happened. If you want to see a photo of a giant's skull then click on the link to the right.
Incidentally, it's much easier to sacrifice your child if you think he came from some other life form (see Issue #1 above).
If you read Darksyde's diaries on a regular basis... you know this guy has no clue. He's got some funny links in the right sidebar though. And next, we have, and this is toooo good, the 9/11 Prophecy.
The wha? The 9/11 Prophecy? Yep. Observe:
The 911 Prophecy and The Prophet who Gave it
After September 11, 2001, there was news about fulfillment of a Nostradamus prophecy. It was fraudulent. Ellen White wrote about 911 in the early 1900's. Here's an excerpt from the chapter entitled, "The Last Crisis" under the subheading of Section One, "For the Coming of the King", (incidentally the chapter is from Testimonies for the Church, Volume 9; starting on page 11):
" On one occasion, when in New York City, I was in the night season called upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven. These buildings were warranted to be fireproof, and they were erected to glorify the owners and builders. Higher and still higher these buildings rose, and in them the most costly material was used. Those to whom these buildings belonged were not asking themselves: "How can we best glorify God?" The Lord was not in their thoughts... The scene that next passed before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fire-proof buildings and said: "They are perfectly safe." But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire engines could do nothing to stay the destruction. The firemen were unable to operate the engines."
If you want to read any of her published work then click on the link to the right.
She also wrote a book entitled "Last Day Events". In it is the following excerpt from 1906:
" I am bidden to declare the message that cities full of transgression, and sinful in the extreme, will be destroyed by earthquakes, by fire, by flood."
Does that remind you of New Orleans?
Has the major media covered this prophet of the Lord or is someone trying to prevent her words from reaching the people?
She lived in the 1800's and started receiving dreams and visions from the Lord after the Great Disappointment of 1844. She had over 2,000 dreams and visions. Among some of the more noteworthy pertained to:
1. The Civil War and a Divine Hand confounding the North until it resolved to abolish slavery
2. Deceptions of Spiritualism
3. Explaining Tobacco as a poison during a time it was prescribed for lung ailments (tobacco's harmful effects confirmed by scientists decades later)
4. Cancer caused by germs; predominantly from eating dead animal meat (cancer/germ connection confirmed by scientists decades later)
5. Mind/body operates from electrical impulses
6. Health reform
7. Destruction of San Francisco prior to 1906 earthquake
8. A correct understanding of the Gospel
9. United States of America's role in end time events
10. Antichrist's last deception
1. Would God allow Satan to impersonate His Son in looks, words and actions?
2. Would God allow Antichrist to change the Bible?
3. Would God allow the devil to imitate the return of Jesus?
11. Correction and helpful instruction to others
12. Many more than can be listed here
Click on the link to the right to read about "America in Prophecy" (Incidentally, regarding this book the Lord told her, "Write in a book the things which thou hast seen and heard, and let it go to all the people; for the time is at hand when past history will be repeated.").
HUJAWAJAWHA. You know, I wasn't sure he was crazy before. But now, well. Yeah. Umm... I think I may have blown a funny fuse. Hoo. Yeah. Anyway. Next, up, Health Reform. What is his idea of health reform?
It's interesting to note that the Bible refers to "sorceries" as a way of deceiving all nations. The verse is found in Revelation 18:23 if you care to look it up. The specific word "sorceries" found in the King James version is called "pharmakeia" in the original Greek language. This is where we get our modern word "pharmacy". Why is there such a big push for prescription drug benefits? Does it have something to do with this modern day witchcraft that keeps prescription drug users under its spell? Why is there a call to screen tiny, preschool children for mental illness? Does someone want to keep them under a lifelong spell? Initially, I thought the description of sorceries/pharmaceuticals was far fetched. Shortly thereafter, I visited my son's orthopedic surgeon (a truly necessary doctor). My son's visit was a follow up for previous nose surgery. The doctor sprayed some numbing medication in my son's nostrils prior to removing the gauze. I looked at the spray can he used. Behind the manufacturer's name was a graphic logo of some sorts. The logo consisted of a big iron pot (similar to a witches kettle) with two tridents (similar to pitchforks). I no longer thought that the connection between sorceries and pharmaceuticals was far fetched.
DOCTORS ARE SORCERORS. I could not make this stuff up. The really scary thing? This guy lives in my home town of Naperville. Well, at least my mother isn't the craziest religious nut in Naperville anymore. Shoot, she's seeming saner and saner compared to this guy. Of course, I'm trying to get my parents to vote and campaign for him, cause he'll be easier to defeat then Alan Keyes.
And next we have something else really incredible. He talks about the "National Sunday Law", whatever the fuck that is. Oddly enough, this section has his sanest statements yet:
(before this he talks a lot of nonsense that I can't puzzle out about an impending law referred to only as the national sunday law, which apparently was almost pased once as the "Blair Bill")
I didn't think we would ever lose any of our constitutional rights but then 911 happened. Shortly thereafter, motivated by fear, the Patriot Act was passed. Now, it appears, we are losing some of our rights, just to name a few:
1st Amendment: freedom of the press (Valerie Plame?), the right of the people to peaceably assemble (protesters segregated to cordoned off areas at political conventions?)
4th Amendment: the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures (the FBI's "Sneak a Peek"?)
5th Amendment: right to a jury trial (secret tribunals?), private property only allowed to be taken for public use (never for private use; is the Supreme Court listening?)
6th Amendment: right to a speedy and public trial (ask Jose Padilla about this one)
Is it possible for us to lose more of our constitutional rights? If recent history is an indication then it seems highly likely. The majority are sometimes motivated by fear more so than freedom.
Well hey, that looks pretty reasonable. I think we might even be on the same page. But wait, no! He has to continue!
As for me, by the grace of God, give me the right to worship according to the dictates of my own conscience or give me death. And if I'm still around when the Sunday law is passed then that's what I'll be facing; the death penalty; according to the prophet of the Lord. That's fine by me; to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Ya lost me Bob. He doesn't explain at any point how Christians will be facing the death penalty, and I have no idea how he even considers that possible, but then, he considers Aspirin a magical spell (probably a 2nd level Cleric spell), so I'm not too surprised. Be sure to check out the right-side sidebar link for this section. It will take you to somewhere you can Prepare for Eternity. This link is supposed to explain the whole National Sunday Law thing, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Looks like an ad for a book called "national sunday law".
And next, the gays part of God, Guns, and Gays, the Defense of Marriage section. What, you really thought he'd be without one?
What God has joined together, no man is to put asunder. This speaks of marriage between a man and a woman. Marriage is not between a man and a man nor a woman and a woman. That is not marriage. It's an abomination. Now, I want each and every person who is engaging in homosexual acts to realize that God loves them and accepts them as they are. They don't have to wait to become good enough to go to Him. Just accept his free gift of salvation by faith and be changed by faith. The faith is a gift from Him. The forgiveness is a gift. He can come into your life and help you overcome this sinful tendency. He doesn't want you to perish; He wants you to come to repentance. If you neglect this free gift and turn from him then you will suffer the same fate as did Sodom, Gomorrah and the cities of the plain. Maybe your "tolerant" friends won't tell you that. Maybe they don't love you. But God loves you and love tells the Truth.
Aaaand there's more in the Defense of Marriage but there really wouldn't be any point to repeating it, you get the idea. Actually, there is one more part you HAVE GOT to read:
I was an alcoholic; the Lord took the desire for alcohol away. I was demon possessed; he got rid of the demons.
>.< and even HUJAWAJAWHA??? has lost all meaning. But you have to admit, it is wildly entertaining to have a registered Republican candidate claiming he was possessed by demons but God cast them out. And God will cast the demons of gayness out of sinful homosexuals as well! Praise Jesus!
And the last two sections are on the Flat tax and Congressional Pay, which are two issues that he amazingly is not able to put into batshitcrazy religious terms. As such, they're boring and I won't relate them. let's just say it won't change your mind of his sanity.
When talking to my dad about this election, I joked that I hope Bob hart up there wins, because the debates between him and Bill Reedy would be high-larious. Old Bob there makes Alan Keyes look like Al Sharpton. It'd be a race between nice sane old Southern Baptist and batshitcrazy redemptionist apocalyptic nutcase. It'd be an easier win for the Democrats then Obama v Keyes. Sadly, I doubt this guy has a chance of making it through the primaries, unless only my aunt's crazy church votes in the primary. Or if he never opens his mouth and closes his website and hopes he gets the coveted "Whoops, I meant to vote for the other one" vote. I'm looking forward to seeing the numbers after the primary election is over, see how many residents of IL-13 aren't okay upstairs. In the head.
So, who would you vote for?
*UPDATE*
Hasn't even been a day yet, and I already got an email back from Bill Reedy. Check it out:
Dear Sgt. N******:
Thank you for your message and your interest in the campaign.
I agree that America needs a strong national defense, and am enormously proud of the brave men and women serving in our armed forces. However, sending troops into battle should always be a last resort--I agree with you that our military resources should be used wisely and with great care. The doctrine of pre-emptive war has proven itself to be a horrible failure and has not been an honorable use of our military resources.
I also believe that we should support our servicemen and women with state of the art equipment and supplies when we do ask them to fight, as well as ensure that military members and their families have the compensation and support that they need at home. The fact that many rank-and-file military families must rely on food stamps and other assistance because we are not paying them enough to provide for their basic necessities is shameful. Instead of tax cuts for multi-millionaires such as Rep. Biggert, I would propose that we pay those who serve our country a liveable wage, and make that pay exempt from federal taxes.
Further, at a time when so many are being killed or gravely injured in an illegal and unnecessary war in Iraq, the GOP is voting today to cut $15 billion from veterans programs over the next 10 years. The soldiers and sailors who are currently in harm's way in the the Middle East are about to have their future veterans' benefits and health care slashed. This is a disgrace.
According to the Veterans Administration, 28 million veterans are currently using VA benefits and another 70 million Americans are potentially eligible for such programs, a quarter of the county's population. With the economy in a downward spiral and unemployment on the rise, an increased number of veterans will be turning to the VA for assistance. Yet, the Republican-controlled Congress would prefer to extend tax cuts benefitting the wealthiest 1% of Americans than ensure that veterans and their families are taken care of.
On Homeland Security, the current administration and its allies in Congress have fallen down. The National Guard has largely been sent to combat operations abroad and is simply not available to handle emergencies here, leaving a giant gap in ensuring our safety at home (see Katrina, for example). We are also not doing enough to secure our ports, power plants, mass transit systems etc. from potential attacks.
Finally, the illegal wiretapping and domestic spying programs that the President stated were within an acceptable range of his powers during his State of the Union speech this week tells me that he has no regard for our Constitution. Russ Feingold has described the President's attitude as a "pre-1776 mindset", which pretty much sums it up.
I appreciate your service to our Country and your defense of the Constitution. I hope to earn your support in the primary and will support you and all service members and veterans when I win the 13th Congressional District in Illinois.
If you have further questions or if I can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Very best regards,
Bill Reedy
Candidate for Congress
Illinois CD-13
Looks good to me.
