God’s candidates

God called Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan to run for President of the United States of America. The only problem is that Bachmann, Cain, Perry and Santorum are all declared Republican candidates for President in 2012. In a Republican presidential primary season so far filled with over a dozen candidates, the numbers called by God to run are ever increasing and may give us an all time high for those to whom the Almighty has spoken. With what appears to be a record number of Republican candidates called by God to run for President in 2012, Mike Lofgren’s characterization of the GOP and its relationship with the Almighty rings ever more true. This article is the second in a series of three analyzing recent statements by Mr. Mike Lofgren, who spent 28 years on the GOP staff of the US House and Senate Budget Committees. He had some interesting things to say about the Republican love affair with the Almighty as the guide for its members’ ambitions. For instance, Mr. Lofgren says the following:

Give me that old time religion. Pandering to fundamentalism is a full-time vocation in the GOP. Beginning in the 1970s, religious cranks ceased simply to be a minor public nuisance in this country and grew into the major element of the Republican rank and file. Pat Robertson's strong showing in the 1988 Iowa Caucus signaled the gradual merger of politics and religion in the party. The results are all around us: if the American people poll more like Iranians or Nigerians than Europeans or Canadians on questions of evolution versus creationism, scriptural inerrancy, the existence of angels and demons, and so forth, that result is due to the rise of the religious right, its insertion into the public sphere by the Republican Party and the consequent normalizing of formerly reactionary or quaint beliefs.

I guess the rest of us, not called by God to run for President, have some less lofty calling or are just somehow less morally upright than those chosen few of the GOP. But, I just wonder what really is going on here? I mean can God have called all these people to run for President? How did they receive their call? Is it the height of hubris to claim the allegiance of the Almighty or just another day on the 2012 Republican Presidential campaign trail? I can honestly say that I have not been called by God to run for President and that fact does not upset me in the least. [More . . . ]

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Paul Krugman sums up the epicenter of the Wall Street Protests

Paul Krugman applauds the protesters who, in his words, are "angry at the right people." Here is the short story of the reason for the protests:

In the first act, bankers took advantage of deregulation to run wild (and pay themselves princely sums), inflating huge bubbles through reckless lending. In the second act, the bubbles burst — but bankers were bailed out by taxpayers, with remarkably few strings attached, even as ordinary workers continued to suffer the consequences of the bankers’ sins. And, in the third act, bankers showed their gratitude by turning on the people who had saved them, throwing their support — and the wealth they still possessed thanks to the bailouts — behind politicians who promised to keep their taxes low and dismantle the mild regulations erected in the aftermath of the crisis. Given this history, how can you not applaud the protesters for finally taking a stand?

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The Reverend Billy gives a rousing sermon on Wall Street

I've written about the Reverend Billy before. He is a former actor who figured out that he can effectively spread his word in the guise of a preacher. to many it seems like he's a bit crazy . . . but I think he's crazy like a fox. In this recent video, you'll see the Reverend telling the faithful about those guys in those corner offices up in the sky.

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I’m feeling bittersweet because people are stealing credit for my work

A couple months ago, I took the time to shoot, edit and publish a Youtube video on a protest of the Bank of America in St. Louis. I was surprised that the traffic was relatively modest (less than 1,000 views). I had designated the video to be Creative Commons - Attribution. Now I find out that my video has gone wild on the Internet--almost 100,000 views, but it's because at least two individuals have taken my video, chopped off the information where I identify it as my work, and failed to give me any credit for my work on their Youtube uploads (I'm not going to share their links because, frankly I'm not happy about this). Instead, here is my post, and here is my upload, the only one out there where you can see the entire video, including the credits. Yes, I'm honored that my video has taken off, and I'm glad that it has become part of the national dialogue. I wasn't trying to make any money off of this video (in fact, there is no advertising at Dangerous Intersection--I decided six month ago to fund all hosting fees--any ad you see on my site will be a donation by me to that cause). Yet I'm sorely disappointed that multiple people are willing to chop my name off of my video and present my work as their own.

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