Scary News from the Christian Coalition

I did not opt out of the Christian Coalition newsletter mailing list that someone unknown signed me up for some months ago. It helps to keep an eye on what the other side is up to. The Aug 5, 2011 issue includes the following scary observation:

"Critics and supporters of the Budget Control Act ... agree that the Tea Party now controls the agenda in Washington D.C. As one who attended Glenn Beck's Tea Party event last August -- along with over a half million other Tea Party supporters -- when looking at the hundreds of thousands of families near the Lincoln Memorial on Washington D.C.'s Mall, I realized that those families represent the large majority of the American people, as anyone with any kind of commonsense would.

Why in particular do I find this scary?
  • Open admission that The Tea Party (not even an official political party) controls the actions of our legislature. This group is a powerful vocal minority, arguably smaller but richer than the 1980's "Moral Majority."
  • Lack of fact checking: The attendance of the Glen Beck event is well established by several independent sources. They range from Beck's hopeful "300,000 to 600,000" and Michelle Bachman's "at least a million" to several actual counts from aerial photos between 60,000 and 87,000.
  • The massive innumeracy that equates "thousands of families" with "large majority of the American people." Please divide several thousand by hundreds of millions and show that this is somehow more than half. 87,000 / 330,000,000 = 0.00026 or somewhat less than a majority, however you massage it.
  • The implication that the openly theocratic ideals of the Tea Party are somehow related to common sense. Even Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" argued against a government supported by the church (as is England's).
  • And in totality, the tone that says that the oddball ideals of this group are somehow mainstream. They seem hopeful about Lenin's maxim that a lie told often enough becomes the truth. And the Christian Coalition is all about The Truth.

Continue ReadingScary News from the Christian Coalition

Channeling George Carlin in these difficult times.

I'm feeling down in the dumps these days, and much of my mood is caused by following "the news." When I do this, I see that on the national level we are represented by a people functioning as psychopathic ignoramuses, with very few exceptions. That’s what our political system does to virtually every person who goes to Washington. We've designed an electoral system almost guaranteed to repulse any honest and decent human being. I don't like to think these thoughts, because letting these ideas soak into much will cause one to stop trying, and I truly despise the idea of not trying. As I battle my own dark thoughts about America and its political "leaders," I'm almost finished reading a 900-page collection of George Carlin's writings titled An Orgy of George. I’m thinking that it might be healthier to let Carlin articulate my dark thoughts so that I can move on to more positive ideas (Carlin can also be upbeat and playful--If you've enjoyed his stand-up routines, you'll enjoy much of this book). In other words, I have recently been engaging in a Carlin catharsis, and here are some of Carlin's thoughts that seem the most sardonically vivid to me in these difficult times (the following passages, tiny passages from a huge book, are quotes): If you want to know how fucked up the people in this country are, just look at television. Not the programs, not the news. The commercials. Just watch only the commercials for about a week, and you'll see how fucked up the people in this country really are. [Page 225] Think of how it all started: America was founded by slave owners who informed us, "All men are created equal." All "men," except Indians, niggers, and women. Remember, the Founders were a small group of unelected, white, male, land-holding slave owners who also, by the way, suggested their class be the only one allowed to vote. To my mind, that is what's known as being stunningly--and embarrassingly--full of shit. And everybody bought it. All Americans bought it. [Page 304] And those same Americans continue to show their ignorance with all this nonsense about wanting their politicians to be honest. What are these cretins thinking? Do they realize what they're wishing for? If honesty were suddenly introduced into American life, everything would collapse. It would destroy this country, because our system is based on an intricate and delicately balanced system of lies. [Page 304] When the United States is not invading some sovereign nation--or setting it on fire from the air, which is more fun for our simple-minded pilots-we're usually busy "declaring war" on something here at home. Anything we don't like about ourselves, we declare war on. We don't do anything about it, we just declare war. "Declaring war" is our only public metaphor for problem solving. We have a war on crime, a war on poverty, a war on hate, a war on litter, a war on cancer, a war on violence, and Ronald Reagan's ultimate joke, the war on drugs. More accurately, the war on the Constitution. [Page 386] [More . . . ]

Continue ReadingChanneling George Carlin in these difficult times.

For one Republican, reason prevails.

I'm sorry to say that this reasonable approach to Muslims shown by Jersey Governor Chris Christie (i.e., the lack of bigotry) is all too rare among Republicans. Lawrence O'Donnell reports:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Christie's words shouldn't be inspirational, but they are in this climate of Republican bigotry.

Continue ReadingFor one Republican, reason prevails.

Barack Obama continues to deceive– but will you still vote for him?

If you supported candidate Barack Obama for President back in 2008, you probably got an email like the one journalist Glenn Greenwald received. Provided one was willing to kick in a mere $5 to Obama's re-election campaign, one could potentially win one of four spots to sit down and have an intimate dinner with the president. Greenwald excerpted the email:

Most campaigns fill their dinner guest lists primarily with Washington lobbyists and special interests. We didn't get here doing that, and we're not going to start now. We're running a different kind of campaign. We don't take money from Washington lobbyists or special-interest PACs -- we never have, and we never will. We rely on everyday Americans giving whatever they can afford -- and I want to spend time with a few of you.
So, those words sound good, don't they? Promises about no lobbyists or special interest having a seat at the table are cheap. Three days before Greenwald published his post, the New York Times published an article titled "Obama seeks to win back Wall Street Cash". The article notes that Obama had more than two dozen Wall Street fat-cats over to the White House for a couple of hours to discuss whatever hot-button issues they wanted to discuss. Those who couldn't make the meeting received a personal follow-up call from the President. All part of the President's plan to get re-elected by pandering to Wall Street executives.

Continue ReadingBarack Obama continues to deceive– but will you still vote for him?

Credit limits: A Simile

Consider having finally bought the sports car of your dreams, getting your bills paid, and being able to afford the interest on your credit cards, even paying them down. You drive down the interstate smoothly, and see signs of construction ahead. That would mean a slow-down, but nothing insurmountable. But then you are told to hand the keys over to another guy, a good old boy with whom you've never agreed. But now he has the roadster, and is seeing what it can do. But shortly, through no fault of his own, a rock is kicked up, and cracks the windshield. "Duck this," he yells, and steers that roadster off the pavement and heads out at right angles from the obvious way forward to bounce through the desert. Rocks, gulleys, and sand are not really where a roadster belongs. So this fellow runs up the credit cards to the limit seeing to the incessant need for repairs. And he increases the limit regularly, as he cannot pay the bills. Seeing that this keeps the car running, he wants to see how far he can make it jump. Finally, the car is damaged almost beyond repair. He spends and raises the limit several times, in a last ditch effort to get the car almost running. But then he is told to hand the keys over to another guy: A tall, dark, erudite type with training specifically in aspects of handling a roadster. The new guy tries to steer the car back toward smooth roads, but the car barely runs when he gets it. He spends up to the limit just to keep it running. Then he begs to extend the credit limit enough to make it fully road worthy. But the friends of his predecessor are determined to prevent any extra spending. "Too much!" they cry. They don't feel that the car really needs work. Perhaps it should heal itself. Now, that makes sense!

Continue ReadingCredit limits: A Simile