Henry, They are Messin’ with the Word of God!

Tags

bible, biblical exegesis, Blaze Nincompoops, funadamentalists, Humor

Hey ho, Ralphie, come on. Take a load off. Oh just throw that hot water bottle over there on that pile of newspapers. I took a little spill yesterday and landed on my hip. Damn kids in this park. You know as soon as you see them pull in with those trailers with wheels, they are no good lazy. Got them a passel of kids that sleep stacked up like sardines, and one of the little hoodlums left a bike on my lawn. I tripped over it coming home last night from Lou’s. I had a few beers, but that damn bike shoulda never been there. A double wide, now that’s a whole ‘nother class of people.

Anyway, Thelma called, and said that those Israelis were messin’ with the bible. I know we gotta support them and all, cuz of God,and end times and all, but a man’s gotta take a stand ya know?

Thelma is bringin’ Gert, and Jack is comin’ by with Arnie. Beer in the fridge, help yourself. Thelma is bringin’ something to eat. That woman can’t drink without stuffin’ her jaw, if you know what I mean. She broke my only kitchen chair last week with that wide rear of hers. And then Jack plugged up the terlit, but that’s another story, so don’t get me started.

Anyways, the Jews over there got them some computer “soft” ware that somehow, so they claim, can tell ya who wrote what. Says that it verifies pretty much what them elite “intellect-u-als” claim. You know those atheist God-haters and their crap that the bible, God forbid, was written by men. Well Thelma thought we should talk it out and decide about what to do, though I can’t figure out what we can do.

Anyway, I copied out some of the comments from the fine commenters over at the Blaze, to see if they had any ideas. You might want to look it over.

• TRONINTHEMORNING

Posted on June 30, 2011 at 9:37am

The Bible is real from Old to New testament; (sic) you can’t have one without the other. Christ is the Saviour (sic) of the world and we are shut up to the cross to make a decision for or against Him. Ah the simplicity of belief and faith.

Troninthemorning: It’s nice to remain in utter ignorance isn’t it? So simple and easy. Just shut the old brain case and swim in stupid.

• hauschild

Posted on June 30, 2011 at 9:47am

I can’t imagine a bigger waste of time and money. I wonder how much this one cost the taxpayer in grant monies???

Houschild: it helps if you read the article first dude. Why do you care what the Israeli taxpayers laid out?

• Bearfoot

Posted on June 30, 2011 at 10:18am

All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16

Bearfoot: okay, so what has that got to do with the price of beans?  And dude, the actual text says , “all scripture that is inspired” and don’t forget, that didn’t include the NT which hadn’t been gathered together yet.  Full steam ahead.

• Anonymous T. Irrelevant

Posted on June 30, 2011 at 10:40am

I wonder what they‘d find if they ran it on all of Obama’s books?

Anonymous T. Irrelevant: I wonder what they would find if they ran it on your brain? Or any of your books? Oh I bet there aren’t any are  there?

• Joseph28

Posted on June 30, 2011 at 9:44am

Anything beyond the old testament and the teachings of Jesus is just speculation amongst these scholars.

Joseph28: funny, they say the same thing about your intelligence. Pure speculation.

• hi

Posted on June 30, 2011 at 10:48am

It’s pretty amazing how the Bible was written hundreds of years, but it has a beginning and an end and all of the middle fits together.

Also, 3/4 of the Bible is prophecy and Christ fulfilled 300 specific things written about him 500 years earlier.

Fulfilled prophecy is evidence of divine intervention. Man cannot predicted 300 specific things someone is going to do 500 years from now.

Hi: The bible wasn’t written “hundreds of years” sweetie, and funny, but humans have the ability to place books in order. You’d be shocked that the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament to you) are in a different order.  I prophesy that you are nuts. Let’s see how I come out on that in 500 years.

• NOBALONEY

Posted on June 30, 2011 at 9:51am

God spoke to the writters, and they listened.

Nobalony: was that critters? What proof you got there that they listened? Oh the words themselves? Is that circular reasoning? Do you know what circular reasoning is?

• affinnity

Posted on June 30, 2011 at 10:13am

Let me see if I understand this – Israel needs Christian American dollars and moral support to continue to exist so they spend time and money inventing software that tells Christians that their entire faith is based on a fake book (the Bible). Why?

Affinity: now I’d say they are pretty darn smart wouldn’t you? Kind of like the Koch brothers, but on a larger scale.  And who said anything about fake?  Who first said it was the “word of God” tootsie?

• Country

Posted on June 30, 2011 at 10:49am

Christians do not stone thier children. Shellfish is a food law because it is bad for our bodies. Just think, if we obeyed the food laws we would not have obamacare. 😉

Country: But some children still get stoned, and yeah, we’d all live to be 500 if we just didn’t eat shellfish. And pork, you must include pork. Satan sent us pork way back when, just to get  the Affordable Health Care Act. You are a moron Country, seek help.

 And so my dear friends, if you woke up feeling a bit on the dumb side, cheer up, you are way smarter than these folks. In fact, you might qualify as super human by comparison.

Don’t Know Much About History. . .

Tags

Essays, Humor, Literature, short stories

I took this photo of my planet just Sunday. My planet is called Morgandilla (More gan D ya) and I am the supreme ruler and Queen. They call me Our Majestic Wise One.

Now, you may not believe me for a minute, but the genius of the Internet, is that I know that I can surely find one hundred human beings among the nearly seven billion who would agree with me. I know this. I don’t have to convince them, and moreover, no amount of scientific/logic/common sense will persuade them that they are wrong in believing me.

This rule of the Internet was learned by a Republican operative many moons ago (and Morgandilla has seven of them should be care to know). They, of course, need to target a much larger group than my one hundred of course to be successful in gaining and retaining power, but the same principle applies. Except they do it backwards.

The GOP figures out who its target audience is, say. . .just for instance,. . .the religious fundamentalist. They discover what it is these people believe. And then the high muckety-mucks of the GOP sat down and had a conversation a bit like this:

GOPer Operative: “I have discovered the beliefs of the fundies grand viziers of the GOP.”

Super Grand Pupon Vizier: “Do tell, minion.”

GOPer Operative: “They believe in the bible as literal truth, as written. They don’t believe in evolution, climate change, or any scientific principle if it conflicts with their interpretation of the Holy Book. They do not believe government programs for the poor. The think the Constitution was written by Christians for Christians, and the bible should govern all government decisions.

 They don’t believe in abortion. They believe that African-Americans (and they don’t like that term–it’s un-American and denotes a black person who is playing the race card) are free enough. They believe that all Muslims are dangerous and are too free in this country. They believe that America is the natural god-given leader of the world, and wars are necessary to preserve that notion.”

Super Grand Pupon Vizier: “But minion, I am a Christian. I haven’t found any basis for most of those beliefs in the bible, and some of them are directly against what I  read in scripture.”

GOPer Operative: “I know sir, but that is what they believe.”

Second to the Grand of Grands: “If we wish to court and win these crazy people, we shall have to tell them that we believe in what they believe don’t you think?”

Super Grand Pupon Vizier: “But it’s blatantly not true, and moreover, rational minds can pretty clearly prove it’s not true. The worst thing a politician can do is get caught telling a lie!”

Third in Line to be a Somebody: “But Grand Pupon, that’s the beauty of this. To them, no amount of facts will ever change their mind. If we agree with their lies, they will love us, and hug us and most important: VOTE for us.”

Ass-Kisser of the 4th Magnitude: “And, and AND, once we convince them that we believe their lies, they will believe anything else we tell them, even though logically it makes them our permanent slaves! They are so used to believing what is not logical, that they will literally give us all their money and future, just because they are so happy to find people who agree with them on these crazy things! We can’t lose!”

Super Grand Pupon Vizier: “Thy will be done, high muckety-mucks! Thy will be done!”

And thus ladies and gents, was born the ability to lie bold-faced, with nary a blinking eye, the most outrageous mush-mouthed clap-trap that ever passed as human discourse.

That is why the history of the US of America now contains these claims made by politicians:

1. John Quincey Adams was a Founding Father, and worked tirelessly during the revolution as a child to end slavery. ~Michele Backmann
2. Paul Revere warned the British they weren’t going to be takin’ away our arms, and he was riding his horse and ringing those bells, and firing his gun. ~ Sarah Palin
3. Because the bad folks don’t want to follow the Constitution, let me tell you about that little part in it that refers to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. ~Herman Cain
4. American doughboys fought WWII so they could make their own decisions about health care. ~Rick Santorum
5. The Constitution was written for only one express purpose: to limit the Federal Government. ~Ron Paul
6. President Roosevelt went on TV in 1929 to explain the greed of Wall Street and the Crash. ~ Joe Biden
7. The nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it. ~Barack Obama
8. It was here in New Hampshire that the short that was heard around the world was sounded, here in Lexington and Concord, New Hampshire. ~Michele Bachmann
9. Obama is engaged in a spectacular spending binge, during any peacetime in American history ~Mitt Romney

Oh ain’t it grand, just makin’ it up as ya go along? To suit your own agenda and purpose?

Now we on Morgandilla don’t allow revisionist history. We find it distasteful and unhelpful in staying on the same page. I dictate the true history of our planet while reclining on my Queen couch on my weekly trips there and back.

You may wonder why I bother coming here, since, as you can imagine, everything is pretty darn perfect on Morgandilla. Well, I  enjoy the sport of keeping my writing talents finely honed which only correcting the record on this confused planet, allows me to do.

You may petition for a visit to Morgandilla for the small fee, of $4,322 American dollars, food and all amenities included,  window seat extra.

Until I have more pearls of wisdom to offer. . . .signing o u t.

Okay, So What’d I Miss?

Tags

1st Amendment, Bulger, children, Election 2012, Entertainment, FBI, GOP, Humor, Media, Michele Bachmann, murder, SCOTUS, video games

So the super Supremes (SCOTUS) has spoken. There shall be no video too violent for the tend eyes of our youth (or utes if you are from Brooklyn).

Having not read the opinion nor examined the basis of said decision, I shall refrain from comment. I am also not a parent, so this factors into my tiny bit of “I really don’t care” attitude. Being a fair facsimile of a human being, however, I am forced to care even though I don’t have a horse in the race.

That all being said, I still have no opinion on the rightness or its opposite of this decision.

What I am confluffled about is how it was treated by the mainstream media, or at least CBS which I was watching last evening.

CBS had occasion to examine this decision. California’s ban on extremely violent video sales to children was  struck down, the Court finding it in violation of the freedom of speech.  

What puzzles me is that CBS kept telling me that they could not show examples of the videos that could be sold to children because they were too violent for TV.

Who is this prohibition aimed at? Surely not children, since the SCOTUS has spoken. Senior citizens? Afraid to cause a coronary to some unsuspecting octogenarian? Prudish religious types? They are offended at virtually everything already including cartoon movies like the Lion King and Chronicles of Narnia. So I’m forced to conclude that excessively violent videos might offend the tender ears and eyes of our pets.

I get that. I’m constantly catching our dogs sneaking in to play Donkey Kong when nobody is looking. I’m sure you have the same problem with yours. But really, shouldn’t CBS just told us to “remove our pets from the room because some of which follows may be graphic?” I mean really.

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The bad news was that Michele Bachmann was in Iowa yesterday, trying to claim us as her own even though she hasn’t lived here in decades. The good news is that the media is determined to fact check the lady on everything, and of course she never fails to please.

After mentioning Iowa some twenty or more times, and how familiar she was with everything Iowan, she talked about how she and John Wayne were both from Waterloo. She was wrong of course, Wayne was born in Winterset, a hundred+ miles away. His parents before he was born, lived for a short time in Waterloo. John Wayne Gacy, serial killer was born in Waterloo however.

And now Michele (dull bulb), thinks that John Quincy Adams was a Founding Father. Michele is still trying to defend her Barton-induced belief that the FF “tirelessly worked against slavery”.

Bachmann remains the lyingest candidate by far among the GOP. And that’s according to Politifact.

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Am I the only one who is bored to tears and generally totally uninterested in the capture of James “Whitey” Bulger? I mean, it’s not like it’s the FBI’s finest moment, though they seem to think it is. And frankly, like other serial killers, and wife killers, husband, and child killers, there are plenty to go around.

Frankly I hate all the media frenzy over the likes of Ms. Anthony and over Scott whateverhisnamewas, who killed his wife. Once in prison, we move on to the next one. Such cases distort the judicial apparatus, exploit people who need no further notoriety, and play to our worst personal sentiments.

Don’t we have anything better to do?

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Don’t miss Political Irony‘s collection of the late-night comics take on the political scene. Always a few gems that bear repeating at the water cooler.

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 What’s on the stove? T-Bones, boiled taters and peas.

Related articles

• John Wayne & John Wayne Gacy Aren’t The Same Guy, Mrs. Bachmann (wzlx.radio.com)
• Michele Bachmann Says, ‘I’m Like John Wayne’ in Hometown of John Wayne Gacy (littlegreenfootballs.com)
• Michele Bachman Tries To Identify With a Serial Killer. (tinfoilhatman45.wordpress.com)
• I Knew Bachmann Would Be a Delight! (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
• Supreme Court Declares Sale of Violent Games to Kids Constitutional (geektyrant.com)

Whose Reality You Talkin’ ‘Bout Willis?

Tags

big oil, budget, Don Juan DeMarco, economy, Election 2012, GOP, Johnny Depp, Michele Bachmann, tax cuts

Saturday night was Depp night in the Peyton household. A fairly old (1995)romp with Faye Dunaway and Brando was a perfect end to the day. I don’t think the movie ever got much acclaim, but I sure liked it. It was amusing, and beautiful eye candy to boot.

Brando plays an aging and retiring psychiatrist who is drawn to help Depp, a young man functioning under the dilusion that he is Don Juan. In the end, we find that Brando is the one who is “cured” and Depp lives on in his fantasy.

It raises the very interesting question of “whose reality is it?” Depp’s character seems fairly sane and functional, and no one can deny he is having a great time pleasuring women who cannot stop smiling following their encounter with him.

The clearly sane psychiatrist learns that there is more to life than literal reality. Love, Depp teaches him, is what makes life worth living. Without it, life is but a series of events.

In the end, we are never quite sure whether Don Juan is the real deal or not, and frankly it doesn’t matter. Brando terms the ending scene “our fable” suggesting of course that Don Juan is really John Arnold DeMarco. Yet he is also making a statement that it’s not necessarily a mental illness to operate under a thoroughly erroneous reality. It may in part be dictated by whether deep down the person knows of their “delusion.” Perhaps, we learn, it may be an effective and appropriate treatment plan.

So next time you find yourself daydreaming in some fantastical dream life (mine involves a multimillion dollar estate on the beach in Oahu, with the Contrarian I might add), don’t feel that tinge of guilt that you are being silly or worse. You might just be doing what needs be done to retain your mental health.

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I wonder if the average American, who I don’t esteem as being all that bright when you get right down to it, will figure out why the economy is stalled.

I suspect, given all the reading I’ve done, that mostly it’s due to Republican intransigence. We no longer duke it out and then congratulate the winner, getting on then with the business of governing. No. We no longer do that.

We whine and snivel about why we lost, about the dirty tricks and underhanded lies of the opposition and we convince ourselves that all hell will descend if we don’t retrieve the golden ring of control the next go around.

Republicans are geniuses at this. They simply dig in, complain that all that is wrong is due to the other party, and then refuse to budge one millimeter on any issue, even those that they had previously supported.

This is largely what is behind the recent breakdown in negotiations led by Vice-President Biden on the debt and budgetary issues. While Democrats have agreed to lots and lots (trillions) of spending cuts, the GOP walked away from the table again declaring that under no circumstances will they even discuss revenue issues. Even when we are talking about removing some tax breaks for those making over half a mil, they balk.

Worse, they are now refusing to even consider something many of them once championed: the removal of a tax loophole (an accounting mechanism) that saves billions each year for industry, mostly big oil and gas interests. This particular loophole called LIFO (last in first out), is disallowed internationally, but the GOP refuses to even consider removing it now.

This economy must fail for them to have a chance in 2012 and they know it. They rant on with their idiotic rhetoric that somehow debt reduction by increased revenues is no good, while cutting the hearts out of the working class in every way known to humanity is, all the while protecting at all costs big business in their continuing rape of America.

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We caught part of the interview on CBS Sunday morning with Scheiffer and Bachmann. She was asked a few hard questions, mostly of her own bizarre and outlandish statements. She avoided answering them all, saying that the issues were about Obama and his utter incompetence and lack of any understanding about economic issues.

While amusing, the Contrarian pointed out that one Sharron Engle deflected questions about her nutzy remarks over and over again, by claiming the election was all about Harry Reid and his horrid ability to do the job.

What these two morons miss is that in the end, it is about them. Do we stay with the one we already know, or do we trade in for a new model. Most new buyers want to test drive the new car before they buy it. If Bachmann thinks she can win while dodging why she claimed the Lion King was gay-subversion, among many of her more famous weirdisms,  she has another thing coming her way than a win in 2012.

Related articles

• Was Johnny Depp ever in a sex scene (wiki.answers.com)
• Depp creates characters in sauna (hollywood.com)
• How has Johnny Depp made an impact on other lives (wiki.answers.com)

Hurrah!

Tags

Alfred Stieglitz, American Petroleum Institute, birthers, Florida, gay rights, Georgia O'Keeffe, Iowa, marriage equality, religious right, Rick Scott, WND

At last! New York State passed a marriage equality bill and Governor Cuomo signed it into law immediately. We’ve been waiting for this for some days, and late in the day yesterday, we learned that the probable delay was the attempt to gather some extra votes so that it would not pass with a one-vote majority and thus leave one person as a target for the right.

It ended up passing with four votes more than needed and apparently eruptions of happiness occurred in the streets.

We congratulate the people of New York and welcome them into the circle of states that have finally recognized that all people are entitled to the freedom to love and be united with the person they love.

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Keeping to the theme of love for the moment, great love affairs are a favorite of mine, and the way I often name my pets–Kate and Spencer our first two cats are named after Hepburn and Tracy. A new book is out about the love and lives of Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O’Keefe. Stieglitz was a photographer, and O’Keefe of course was the well-known painter. Her papers were released in 2006, twenty years after her death, and provide much of the basis for My Faraway One.

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I guess even dumb and evil Republican governors can hear the footsteps behind them. Rick Scott, the criminal that was elected in Florida, promised 700,000 jobs. So far he has only lost more jobs for the state with his “business first” schemes. Apparently realizing that his 20’s percentile favorables ain’t gonna win him a second term, Scott has taken to tweeting want-ads he finds. T’would be funny if it were not so darned sad.

There is a new organization in Iowa. Why should you care? Because one is probably coming to a city near you, if it’s not there already. The Iowa Energy Forum claims, through its “members” to be a grassroots organization concerned with “energy self-sufficiency and holding our elected officials accountable.” It’s pet project is the Keystone XL pipeline coming from Canada, and they are pressing presidential candidates to come out in support.

IEF is anything but grassroots. It is funded by the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association representing all the big oil companies, including Koch, Exxon-Mobil and BP. The group has been spotted passing out literature and asking their questions at events for Herman Cain and Mitt Romney as well.

There will no doubt be more of these “grassroots” groups in every state, all being paid for by one corporate interest or another. Beware and check them out. Their websites of course are sparkling clean of any fingerprints left by the corporate masters.

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 We all know the religious right is ummm, crazy would be a good word. Now you can read all about it from the inside, from Frank Schaeffer who was raised from birth in the home of two very dedicated evangelicals and his book, How Should We Then Live? was considered formative for no less than Michele Bachmann. We’ll he’s seen the light, and now tells a much different story. This is actually his second book on the subject and is entitled Sex, Mom and God.

The Daily Beast does a nice review, and it’s quite an eye-opener. Schaeffer documents the religious right’s fear and fascination with sex, and how this dominates nearly all their thinking. His own mother told him that his father demanded sex every single night in some weird attempt to avoid the temptation of David with some potential Bathsheba.

Weird, but then you always knew they were.

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From time to time, we’ve had occasion to mention the rag WorldNetDaily. It purports to be a “Christian” website, but in reality it is anything but. My crazy high-school classmate used to refer me to it constantly, and she walked with Jesus 24/7 in her own mind.

They always have a banner at the top offering you something to buy that will prepare you for the coming of the final War, such as survival gardens or bunkers or some such crap.

Today’s editorial explains for the zillonth time that Barack Obama is not eligible to be President, just like Hitler wasn’t. Read if for the amusement and leave a nice Facebook comment letting them know they suck.

 

Related articles

• New York Becomes Sixth State to Approve Gay Marriage (VIDEO) (blippitt.com)
• Bachmann: Crazy and Dangerous (unreasonablefaith.com)
• Georgia O’Keeffe’s Life (wiki.answers.com)

From Sling-Shot Gliders to Weeping Camels

Tags

Camels, Essays, gobi desert, inspiration, lifestyle, Mongolia, New Guinea, Story of the Weeping Camel, WWII

I long ago learned that if I were to talk politics every day, my head would explode. I want things done now and usually my way. That seldom happens in the political sphere, so I am often frustrated and well, to be honest, freakin’ mad at the idiots that stand in my way of utopia.

So I often engage in learning about things that are far from the land of Washington D.C. Which explains why we often watch weird stuff on TV. It’s pure escapism from the slow-as-molasses moving of a progressive agenda.

And, learning can be a humbling experience. Take last night.

Jon Stewart had a guy, Mitchell Zuckoff on, who wrote a book about a plane crash in New Guinea. Only three survived out of 24. This, during WWII. A group of paratroopers was sent in, but there was no way to land a plane nor walk out. Eventually parts of a glider were air dropped in, and a set of goal posts erected, between which was strung a giant rubber band. The glider was affixed somehow, and a low-flying plane with a hook, captured the band, and catapulted the glider over the mountains where it landed safely.

I kid you not. The glider was named Faggot, and such planes were universally known as flying coffins. One person from that group is still alive today.

If that isn’t incredible enough, I offer you the documentary called “The Story of the Weeping Camel“.

For this we travel to the Gobi desert into the land of the Mongols, who live in round portable houses called Gels and raise camels, sheep and goats. Life is harsh but seemingly happy. The people subsist mostly on camel’s milk with a bit of meat.

All is well. The female camels are dropping their babies. The mothers are tied up so that assistance can be rendered if necessary. All goes well until the last of the expectant mothers finally begins to give birth. It is apparent that she is having a somewhat rare white colt. He is big, and the men help in pulling the gangly babe free.

This is her first birth, and given it’s difficulty, she is decidedly not interested in the colt. Days go by and she makes every effort to evade his attempts to nurse. Of course the family (four generations) offer as much help as possible, milking the mother and trying to get down enough to keep him going. When let loose, the colt follows the mother relentlessly, but she will have nothing to do with it.

A discussion is held by the men, grandfather, father and son. Of course there is only one solution–an ancient ritual, but alas there are no near neighbors of the desert who play violins (or what passes for that in Mongolia–generally a three-stringed instrument that looks more like a guitar).

A trip must be made to the “Centre” what appears to be a smallish town-trading center, one serviced with electricity and a certain modernity. The oldest boy (about 12 or 13) and his brother (about 7) set out on camels to locate a violin player.

They stop at a lone neighbor part way for refreshments. These folks have a satellite hook-up and the younger boy is mesmerized by the cartoons being shown on the TV. A truck and motorcycle are also evidence that the two are closer to “civilization.”

After being told to follow the power lines, the boys finally arrive at the Centre. Crowds of youngsters play games in the dirt around dozens of Gels and wood frame buildings. The boys apparently find relatives and tell them of their needs. An aunt (or equivalent older woman) leads them to the school, where a dance class is interrupted to locate the musicians. Second floor it is. The violin teacher is located.

The boys return home and advise that the teacher has much work, but will come. Indeed, he arrives aboard a motorcycle and the ritual soon begins.

A woman, wife to the youngest adult male and mother of at least one child, begins to caress the tied-up camel mother. She begins to sing in a three-tone voice that goes on for a few minutes. Then the violinist joins her, and the song continues for some time. The colt is slowly brought forth. The mother noses it, and looks off to the horizon.

The colt is urged to the teat, and all hold their breath, as the singing and playing continue. The colt begins to nurse, and for the first time, the mother does not try to walk off. The camera zooms in to her eye, and a distinct tear forms, and then more, until her eye is flooded with water.

The colt drinks his fill. Quietly the song ends, the woman moves away, the violin stops, and the family who has remained at a respectful distance, smiles and congratulates each other on the success of the ritual. Mother and colt are left alone, the mother now solicitous of her child, nuzzling and watching over him.

So.

We who are so filled with our exceptionalism can but shake our heads and remember that there is more in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our “civilized” philosophies. With much apology to Shakespeare, I remember again, that this world is full of so much that we do not understand, and are in our arrogance too “smart” to realize.

May you find something amazing in your life today that makes you stop and ask, just how much is still wonder in the world we inhabit?

 

History is What I Say It Is

Tags

abortion, American History, Atlantic Slave Trade, Clarence Thomas, David Barton, founding fathers, GOP, Michele Bachmann, right-wing Christianists, SCOTUS, Women's issues

It’s been apparent for some time that some of our states have been engaged in revising history to say what they feel more comfortable with. Spurred on by pseudo-historian David Barton, such Republicans as Michele Bachmann and Mike Huckabee have given new versions of our country’s beginnings that soften substantially the evils that we have faced from our past.

Bachmann has an entirely new version, based on Barton’s made up nonsense for instance, on slavery. We are now told that the Founding Fathers were intent on ending slavery and even that one of the impetuses for migration to this continent was to get away from British slavery practices. This shocks Britain no doubt, since they ended slavery decades before the US, and moreover faced American intransigence in their efforts to stop the movement of slaves across the Atlantic.

This would be bad enough, but of course it doesn’t end there. School districts across the south are revising their curricula to reflect a “whiter” and more religious orientation, whether it be history or science. This is perhaps where Barton and his religious firebrands do their worst damage–deeply infecting the next generation of Americans with a mindset that is incorrect. Colleges thus become more and more, correctors of misinformation rather than furthering the knowledge of their students.

The link today relates to the Atlantic Slave Trade. It revisits some older work that is still considered some fifty years later as being basically sound research. The review is carried on the link from History Today, and there is an internal link to the original abstract, published in 1958. It’s good to be reminded of the truth.

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 For some time now, the rabid Right-wing Christianists, the ones who say “do as I say, not necessarily as I do,” have aimed their vitriol at Planned Parenthood. Screeching about fetuses and murder, these crazed nut cases have offered a trade–their votes to the GOP in return for a GOP assault on all things PPH.

Planned Parenthood, as most people know, does so very much more than abortions. It is often the only means of general women’s health in communities that are loaded with poor women. They screen for cancer, offer birth control, and in general provide free health care to low-income women who are in dire need. They counsel teens and help them avoid pregnancy.

Yet, state after state is denying funding to PPH in hopes of retaining the Christianists in the voting booth. And the toll is horrific. In all too many states, PPH is being forced to close their doors, and thus turn their backs on women and their health needs. Zander has a couple of excellent posts on the subject.

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Don’t expect much to ever come of this. The SCOTUS is one of the most insulated branches of government. It is definitely not self-governing in the sense that the Congress is (ethics investigations, censures, expulsions). Individual justices who are miles apart ideologically, go to extraordinary lengths to get along, since the work of the court is so intimate in its nature.

Abe Fortas was one of the few justices who was “forced” to leave the bench for his unethical relationships with those who gifted him. I’m not sure that we live in the same times today. The far right tends to glam onto any dark face that talks like them, as proof of their lack of bigotry, so they are likely to raise a loud defense today against the increasingly scandalous behavior of one Clarence Thomas.

Thomas has for years now been gifted and supported by those who ultimately find themselves before his court. And he votes accordingly. It remains to be seen whether he will even bother to recuse himself from cases in which he has financially benefited. The man remains one of the most successful grifters in the country.

♦

We consider Michele Bachmann and idiot, but she is not the same kind of idiot as Sarah. Sarah is both stupid in general and has no particular desire to learn anything. She is simply engaged in self-promotion. Not so Michele. Michele is a true believer in all the right-wing Christianist crap from being anti-gay to creationism, PPH to God whispering in her ear and leading her down the right path. This makes her willing to rely on the stupid (if wishes were reality) blabberings of Barton and others of his ilk. She is also a savvy politician, and absolutely loves the game and is willing to learn the basics of economics and domestic policy.

This all makes her dangerous. If you read nothing else today, don’t miss Matt Taibbi’s fine piece at Rolling Stone today. Her minions love her with the same crazed devotion as Sarah’s do, yet she is Politifact finds her statements the most untruthful of any politician. Beware. I beg you to read this. It is long and every paragraph is filled with so much insanity, that you will be chilled to the bone. This woman is fifty times more dangerous that Sarah could even contemplate.

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