Turkey's value to other countries lies in proving that secularism works, and you don't have to have an Islamic government run by Sharia law to have a Muslim country. Unfortunately, this has not really been working and there is not only the push to roll back secularism in Turkey but an even bigger push to abandon all vestiges of it elsewhere.

I travelled to Turkey twice as a Muslim convert, and was steeped in that mindset and asked Turks defiantly why they liked their government. I had heard (the official propaganda of the Muslims in the States) that Muslims were actually persecuted by the secular Turkish government and that Ataturk was some kind of Antichrist.

But the Turks said, "Without him, we would be like Saudi Arabia. And who wants that?"

And then I learned a little bit more about Saudi, and it was like....ohhhh...okay.

Three generations after the oil money has been coming in, 50% of Saudis still cannot read and write. There are many millionaires who hire people to manage their investments for them because they are illiterate. They hire others to do everything, but themselves--they do nothing and learn nothing. In Pakistan and Afghanistan rich Saudis wanting to hunt have denuded the entire country of wildlife--there is literally nothing left alive there, including in the so-called protected areas. As the post below shows, Saudis are still charging people with witchcraft. The list goes on and on. Still they use their money and their status as protectors and maintainers of Mecca and Medina (never mind that the hajj almost never occurs without loss of life anymore, that's how good a job they do) to influence all the world's other Muslims.

There's no excuse for any of that. What's the reason? Their idea of "pure" religion. And they are using their millions to export this "pure" Islam all over the world. Their status as the "first" Muslims means "best" in the eyes of most other Muslims, who defer to them.

The push to export the pure Islam includes sending it to Turkey. The circle always closes, one finds. Turkish women weren't running around wearing jilbab and Arabic style hijab before. There's a reason they are starting to look like Arabs now. Follow the money.

That's why repealing the headscarf ban is a stupid, stupid idea.

Bill Clinton was an able President who managed the economy well and had good foreign policy. For these reasons, I voted for him.

He was and is, additionally, a misogynist bastard who has treated women like cum rags his entire life. He thinks every woman he meets is his personal fuck toy should he so desire.

I don't really admire Hillary for being a part of what is obviously a loveless power marriage.

I don't really admire Obama's comment. He might have said the same thing about a male contender, but I somehow doubt it.

But Obama's sexism has nothing on Bill Clinton's, Hillary's nominal husband, so I hardly think it's appropriate to make much of it. I mean, you can hardly call Obama sexist compared to Bill with a straight face. And Hillary is MARRIED to Bill.

There is no real positive spin on womanizing, and yes, having constant affairs with your subordinates is sexist. Men who sleep with every woman they can get their hands on do not like women very much; quite the opposite.

Similarly if you scratch beneath the surface, you will find that most very promiscuous women hate men. I mean HATE them.

An inability to form a stable relationship points to a diseased psychology, and so does an inability to remain faithful to a spouse who expects it.

Now imagine if we had discovered a Republican who was having sex with his much younger intern, who thought she was in love with him and he was taking advantage of that, would we say that was appropriate? We'd be hitting the ceiling here at Broadsheet, folks!

But Bill Clinton--well, what a sly dog *guffaw*...

I did vote for him twice, but I sense a big double standard here, and if I have to vote for Hillary it will be holding my nose, because of her husband. The only reason I would ever vote for either of them at all is because I believe in voting on policies and not personal likeability. But Bill IS a womanizing sleazebag, and his compulsion to be so even in the Oval Office casts some serious doubt on his judgement in other areas. As far as I know, his behavior has not crossed over into the sphere of criminal, that is, harrassing or coercing women, but I think he's probably walked a fine line at times.

I sincerely hope that Obama wins in spite of his "blank slate" reputation and proceeds to surround himself with good, experienced people who will get things done. It's time to move past the Clintons.

Really, really hate to say this....

But I agree strongly with AKA Smith.

It is possible to overplay the Monica-as-victim card.

Monica's own account suggests nothing more than that Bill was a user and a piece of shit.

That said I do think Bill Clinton displays all the marks of a predator. But he has never been caught, so we must suspend judgement on this issue.

We have a man who was charged with a pretty serious case of sexual harrassment sitting on the Supreme Court. I don't know when the standards are going to change, so that treating women like dirt might, you know, put a damper on your career the way it should. Right now it doesn't.

But c'mon, I don't think Bill Clinton's a rapist.