Nishnabe's Comments (131)

“I abhor domestic violence. But I also know that a person accused is a person not yet convicted and thus innocent. Perhaps he does have issues with past behaviors, but how many of us have to live with the same windows into our every move and mistake? Think about it and consider the kids.”

“Folks, you can't get more left than me; red Indian grandparents on one side and a Wobbly on the other. But you have to have civil discourse. It stings Joe Wilson more to hear from Bush Sr. than anyone on the left who condemns his remarks. We have bigger fish to fry. Repeatedly I have tried to get Huffpo to cover Indian issues and we are still left in the cold. If this is how progressives treat the least of us, then I will just keep trying. Give Bush Sr. his due and keep the discourse civil.”

“Folks, In 1864 a Methodist minister by the name of Chivington allowed his militia to slaughter dozens of Cheyenne people and his men cut out and wore the private parts of women as hat bands, and paraded down the streets of Denver. Within the lifetime of living people, many African American men and boys were strung up and/or burned in lynchings. I would be willing to bet that if we had public executions of the same type, they would be well-attended by folks willing to also buy a hot dog or two and some beer and swill it down while the accused was buried in the ground. Here in Indianapolis, two young men shot to death an entire family in a drug robbery. Matthew Shepard ring a bell? It is not religion, it is human willingness to view other life as just that, the "other." To say it is human nature is accurate, to say it is animal behavior is not. No animal I know of engages in systematic torture of its own kind.”

“kudos to this post. Fanned. On Sunday I find an elightened atheist. I am saved, thanks to Gee Beezus.”

“Done. And the article misstates the name of the jerk from Unity Health Care who argues against the clinic. His name is Vincent Keane. And here is his information:

Vincent A. Keane, President & CEO

unityhealthcare.orgthcare.org”

“They take it seriously because 90% of Oklahoma high school students cannot name the first president, 38% of Americans still believe in Noah's Ark, 80% still believe in the virgin birth, and 48% believe that evolution is a religion whose god is named Darwin. With that kind of a market and that kind of a voice on Faux news, Beck could sell snake oil as a remedy for alzheimers and probably make a killing on it.”

“You really mean that this is the first time you heard that her mother is alive? Cause we all gots mommies.”

“WDiary, I am as left as they come. To say the Senate or House operates without quid pro quo is to say the sun is responsible for global warming. And it is "losing" not "loosing." I am also a pragmatist. The corruption in Lousiana is well known and to think that Landrieu will cast her vote without some kind of exchange is ludicrous. As a progressive I am deeply discouraged by the course this "reform" has taken. I come from Indiana and the Demos are so blue here they make the sky look dark for any kind of reform.”

“Here's an idea. The Democrats should offer Ensign oh, I don't know, say ten million dollars for his vote on health care. Ensign can use the money to pay off the husband. Husband is a money-grubber, Cindy is a consenting adult obviously willing to parley with Ensign, and they are all Republicans without a shred of the morals they want us to suffer. It is a win/win/win situation and the Democrats can be truly bipartisan. Nothing else seems to be working on the Repubs. Landrieu's vote was 300 million. By my count, they can throw her under the bus and drag in at least ten Republicans having affairs. What a mess this is.”

“thanks stoat, one of the best reviews out there. fanned.”

“Maverick, 50% of medicine and 70% of all foods come from tribal gardens. Democracy is a marriage of tribalism and anti-colonialism. B.Franklin said in 1751 that if six nations (referring to Iroquois confederacy) can bring about a union why not 12-13 colonies (paraphrasing). Do your homework before you attack tribal nations. It is the most successful social organization withstanding 500 years of warfare by EuroAmericans. Nuff said.”

“Mayhaps people of color throughout the world are just sick of American greed and a unilateral foreign policy that strips them of resources under the guise of exporting democracy. Venezuela is a country, Chavez is a duly elected sovereign, and he is/was opposed to the Bush Cowboy Doctrine which our first tribal president is trying to clean up. Two tribal men, one American, the other African American, maybe can find common ground. Give them chance.”

“Actually there are only a few passages that refer directly homosexuality, and it was in reference to a larger context of the influence of Greek culture. There are a lot of passages that are used to slam homosexuality, but many of those are in reference to temple-based prostitution, or some other "aberration" to orthodox sexual behavior. "Go forth and multiply" could be interpreted to mean anti-gay or a directive to study physics. I prefer to think it means having wild inter-group sex, but that is just me.”

“I teach college and many students are American or foreign born Muslims. They hear these things and consider it is the opinion of many Americans. While we are free to express our opinions and we should, citizens in countries where there is a tightly controlled press do not understand that these idiots are not making sanctioned statements. Many believe, and are led to believe, these musings represent official policy. If you watch how they speak, O'Reilly, Beck, Hannity, "think" out loud and say things that a rational person would filter out of their speech. In our class discussions, American students know less about the Islamic world, don't watch Islamic or foreign press, while overseas they do. Not only are there 1.5 billion Muslims, there are more than thirty countries with predominantly Islamic govts. O'Reilly likel did not even know that the invasion of thirty countries would be utterly impossible. Stupid is as stupid does.”

“Folks, Couple of things to consider. The only real legal precedent for criminal charges is child neglect when parents refuse treatment to their children because of religious beliefs. But these were adults who willingly entered the sweat house. The other thing is the corruption of native beliefs as only being about "the spiritual warrior," the margin or boundary of human endurance as being the source of enlightenment. Homicide requires intent, or neglect, and the point of Ray's corruption of native philosophy is to push the limits of human ability to withstand the "rituals" he runs. Prosecutors would have to prove that he was doing the ceremony wrong, and knew it was a corruption of native ways. Don't get me wrong, he deserves to be exposed and prosecuted, but it will be a tough row to hoe.”

“This man went through army training where we can assume he learned to kill people. Killing is taught, not inborn in humans. He purchased a weapon that should be illegal, designed not for hunting, but for killing humans. He violated his Hippocratic oath. At the bottom of his list of reasons or possibilities or training, was his religion. If you want to bless the innocent, or kill the unbeliever, you can find justification in the Bible or the Quran, but you first have to make the decision that you want to bless or kill. Making a decision to support the innocent is sanity. Making a decision to kill is insanity. He was walking a line between sanity and insanity for years and was put into a position where he listened to soldiers recount the insanity of war. This not Muslim or Christian, this is insanity on top of insanity. If we as a society do not figure out another way to deal with the world other than killing each other don't be surprised by these outbursts. What religion was the guy in Florida in the shooting the next day? The same as Timothy McVeigh.”

“I went to a small Catlick school where the nuns were sisters of gashed and bleeding heart of Jesus. I know that cause they all wore gold and ceramic bloody hearts that hung in our faces as they bent over our desks. Having that hang in our faces was much more painful than the alternative. Because the parish was so small, we were "blessed" with nuns and priests who were on their way to the rest home or could not be sent where they might be "exposed" (pun intended) for their behavior. The nuns wore floor length black habits , faces encased in starched white concrete, and sported gold wedding bands. Entering the order, they were given silver engagement rings, and then married Jesus when they took the full orders. Celibate women who married a dead Jewish rabbi and then stood in the bathroom while the boys went to make sure we didnt "horse around" in the stalls. Truthfully, I still cannot take a dump in a public bathroom for fear Sister Rosanna will kick open the door to make sure I am not committing a mortal sin. We are a terribly sexually repressed society that gives women the alternative between virgin or prostitute, and that natural urges are sinful. Nuff said.”

“"struck the siding and fell to the ground" I am an ex-hunter, when I as way younger. A spent bullet of small caliber might, as in might, strike something and fall to the ground. A large caliber bullet fired from a distance might strike the siding and fall to the ground. Convenient that he gets hammered for his vitriol and now a bullet strikes the siding and falls to the ground. Makes me wonder.”

“Coyotes were confined to west of Mississippi until the eradication of the eastern wolf. It is likely they attacked this woman because she was on her menstral cycle. Indian women knew not to go alone into the woods when on their cycle, predators mistake the scent for wounds. Finally, Mr. Webster. I would not trust the NASS reports on livestock kills by coyotes. The govt reimburses ranchers for predation and often lost or poorly managed animals are reported as such when they are not. One of the longest wars against animals is against coyotes and they have flourished. Wolves, not so, but coyote have just gotten smarter and rangier.”

“Hold on a minute, Drury University has 1500 full time students. A congregational church school in the middle of the conservative bible belt? In order to support an undergrad major, there has to be way more students than this will draw. They have a 75 million dollar endowment and it will likely cost them way more for this position than grads it will produce. And exactly what kind of job does a grad with a degree in animal rights going to find? Also, a French teacher heads up the program? I like Bob Barker and think he is a wonderful guy for doing this, but the university would have been much better served if it were in veterinary science.”

“At our peril, we blame the "other party" for this decline. Some things to put it in perspective. Attention span is now about 7-10 minutes, the exact amount of time between commercials. In the classroom, I have learned to use more visuals in order to get the message across. MSM, including here (look at the responses between hard news and fluff even on here) are obsessed with events rather than news. Balloon boy gets hundreds of responses, this news gets little. Those of us on the front line in education are finding that students simply do not want to read and can barely write. And that is scary since I teach college. And I know high school science teachers who find students only have to snivel about "I don't believe in evolution" and they have to back off or water down their curriculum. We have to take a stand against this hostility to science. We are raising a generation of knuckle-dragging creationists. Remember,last year three of the Repubs in the start of the horse race were willing to say they don't believe in evolution.”

“Thanks Mr. Rich, With a 24-7 news cycle dedicated to the sensational instead of the reality of life, it is these kinds of stories that make the headlines. There are two stories of late which merit a note. For twenty years Indian people tried to get the press to investigate the story of Ward Churchill at UC Boulder. It was not until white folks ox was gored over his 9-11 article did it make national news. For twenty years we tried to get people to see that the exploitation of our religious beliefs were going to lead to no good. Three people are now dead and still not a single national press organization has interviewed a single Native American about this issue. The solution? More in depth reporting, more news stories that require some work. BTW, we also have a story about freedom of the press in Indian Country and the most corrupt tribal chairman in America. I have been writing letters for almost five years about this and cannot get a single news organization to even reply. When it falls on everyone's head, like the Abramoff scandal, then someone will aks, "Why did we not know this?" You do, you just choose to ignore it.”

“Such a horrible commentary on the breakdown of the family. At fault? Developers and officials who approve restrictive housing covenants for profit. Seniors who distance themselves from their own families for whatever reason. Finally, the grandparents themselves who bought into the "community" which is not a community at all. And ourselves. We did not protest the development which would lead to this problem. Elected the officials who approve these kinds of projects, and support a society which divides people by age, ethnicity, and any other factor which hates the "otherness" of age, gender, and ethnicity. Just willing to bet, the "community" is all white.”

“Folks, he is shedding tears over advertisers that have fled his show. It is a deep-seated anxiety which he cannot express in words, only drops of salty water spilling from his puppy-dog eyes. In the old days, when he was a child, the thought of being ostracized made him wet his pants. But that is childish. So, he weeps; real men weep when Coca Cola and Kodak will not buy ads for his show.”

“Part Deux: It is no longer a case of stopping non-Indians from using the sweat, they are here, deal with it. As they have with corn, democracy, land, gold, silver, followers of western Christianity feel that they have the god-given right to take from Indian cultures everything including the clothes on the backs of indigenous people of the world. Ray's mistake, and he will learn from it, as will literally dozens of other faux shamans, was putting too many people in the sweat, getting too greedy. Make no mistake, Ray is about greed, that is the foundation of the "Spiritual Warrior" seminars he teaches. As for Indians, if you connect with your tribal roots, these kinds of events, with more to come, will bother your tribal ceremonies not at all. As for Indians who don't have connections with your tribal families, be careful. Finally, the mass media has completely ignored the native voice in this whole tragedy. Last night CNN allowed Ashleigh Banfield, whose somehow step-brother (or brother in law, she couldn't even get that right) allowed her once to go to a sweat somewhere in Canada to comment on the Native point of view. No wonder people died. No wonder people pay thousands of dollars to be berated, burned, and murdered in the interest of making more money by becoming "Spiritual warriors." Indian people have a voice, we have something to say about all this, but we are shouting our common sense in a whirlwind.”