Man With the Muck-Rake

Man With the Muckrake Now on WordPress

2009-11-18T10:25:00.005-05:00

We have packed up our muckrakes and hauled them to WordPress. Stop by and see what information we have dredged out of the swamp, sewers and rivers:

http://manwiththemuckrake.wordpress.com/

Science: Gene Variant and its Religious Implications

2009-11-13T08:16:00.002-05:00

Neuroscientists at UC-Irvine released a study in the journal Cerebral Cortex that says, "People with a particular gene variant performed more than 20 percent worse on a driving test than people without it - and a follow-up test a few days later yielded similar results. About 30 percent of Americans have the variant.

"This gene variant limits the availability of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor during activity. BDNF keeps memory strong by supporting communication among brain cells and keeping them functioning optimally. When a person is engaged in a particular task, BDNF is secreted in the brain area connected with that activity to help the body respond."

I was wondering if, soon, neuroscientists will announce another break-through in brain-derived neurotrophic factor. I suspect that there exists another 'gene variant' that causes some people to believe in ghosts, dead men walking, angels and voices in their heads. It is clear to me that there must be something going on in the heads of this set of 'believers' which is not going on in the heads of millions of other human beings.

Dr. Steven Cramer, neurology associate professor and senior author of the study published recently in the journal Cerebral Cortex, said, "It's as if nature is trying to determine the best approach. If you want to learn a new skill or have had a stroke and need to regenerate brain cells, there's evidence that having the variant is not good.

Here's a question that needs pondering- why did Nature offer the variant in the first place? And, extending my hypothesis, of what benefit to human evolution was/is the 'believer's variant'? Further, of what value to modern-day humans are those who still carry the believer's variant?

With all of the religious wars past and present, how could such a BDNF gene-variant be useful for human existence? How was a belief in the paranormal helpful to furthering the human race? The only idea that comes to mind is that it limits population growth through war. The limit to population growth might be its only saving grace. One might conjure that, in those dark days of prehistory, there was a dog-eat-dog scenario played out among our predecessors in the hunt for food. Perhaps one tribe's "god" became the nemesis to the other tribe, and that offered a reason to attack and kill them off.

The Muslim world, I would suspect, might have a greater number of BDNF belief-gene-variant than most other groups of humans, as adherents to that religious sect seem to be most fervent. Christian fundamentalists and Zionists would, I suppose, also be high on the belief-gene-variant.

Those of us who rank at the bottom of the BDNF belief-gene-variant column have stood, scratching our heads, in wonder at the intense 'religiosity' that we see playing out on the battle fields of the world. We just don't get it. Now, perhaps, we know why. Yet I still do not understand the benefit to humanity of a strong belief-system. As with our appendix, it should have died out long ago, just after the neolithic period.

Veterans Day Thoughts: Afghanistan- Caught Between Two Warring Deities

2009-11-11T09:30:00.004-05:00

Today is Veterans Day, a time for Americans to reflect on the sacrifices that our military has made for the citizens of this nation. So many wars to remember; so many deaths to recall. The Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, First Gulf War, the War on Iraq, and now the Afghanistan War. It makes one wonder, what years did this nation endure without a war going on?

Veterans of the wars from Korea to the present might be wondering if their sacrifice and the ultimate sacrifice of their comrades was worth it. Why did they fight? What was their mission? Why did their president decide to send Americans onto the battle field? Was it really necessary to protect our nation from foreign oppression, from foreign aggression? Did the Communists in North Korea, the Vietcong in Vietnam. or Saddam Hussein in Iraq really threaten our nation? Many now are skeptical of the necessity of those wars.

And now, and for the past 8 years, we find ourselves in Afghanistan fighting the elusive al Qaeda and the religious Muslim fundamentalist Taliban. President Obama has a great weight on his shoulders deciding what he should do about this longest war in which our nation is involved. Public sentiment has turned against our involvement. Of course, it did in Vietnam, yet the president continued the useless involvement.

Afghanistan has turned completely into a war of tribal deities, Christianity vs. Islam. Christian fundamentalist preacher, Pat Robertson, said so two days ago. He said. "And they [Islam] talk about infidels and all this, but the truth is that’s what the game is. So you are dealing with not a religion. You’re dealing with a political system."

Well, no, Rev. Robinson, you're dealing with that other tribal deity, the one that your tribal deity doesn't like. It's all about religion now, since al Qaeda has left Afghanistan and is in many other locations around the world. We are fighting fundamentalist Muslims, period. Is that what our young men and women are giving their lives for? Is a war of religion what America wants? Our European ancestors fled here because of religious wars. Now, we are fighting one.

How very sad, especially on this day when when honor the memories of those brave men and women whose president thought that their lives would help preserve those at home.

The Birth of Humanity

2009-11-09T20:45:00.003-05:00

Last week, PBS aired the first in the 3-part series on evolution. It was fascinating to realize that there were human-like creatures as far back as 3.3 million years ago. An increase in brain size occurred about this time and has never stopped increasing in size or cognitive ability. We are the present end-product of this 3.3 million years of human evolution

Part 2 is Tuesday evening on PBS. The program examines an intriguing theory that long-distance running–our ability to jog–was crucial for the survival of these early hominids. Not only did running help them escape from vicious predators roaming the grasslands, but it also gave them a unique hunting strategy: chasing down prey animals such as deer and antelope to the point of exhaustion. "Birth of Humanity" also probes how, why, and when humans' uniquely long period of childhood and parenting began.

This latter point of a 'uniquely long period of childhood' was touched upon in part 1. In fact, the 3.3 million year old fossil discovered in Africa was that of a 3-year-old. It was noted that its brain had not yet begun to develop [enlarge] just as the human brain takes time to develop. The ape family, on the other hand, have fully-developed brains by the age of three. This is why 'Lucy's Child' began the switch from ape-like to human-like.

It must be quite exciting for a paleoanthropologist to stumble across a valuable fossil like this- just lying atop the rock and sands. It seems with each passing month, scientists uncover one more link to our past, one more incredible example of our epic journey towards 'humanity.'

It is too bad that there is a knot of nihilists both in the Christian and Muslim worlds who deny all of this, cling onto ancient and dusty journals written by men who thought the stars were atop the cloud layer. Oh well, we didn't cry for the demise of the ice man and we shan't for these non-believers. Enjoy part 2 Tuesday evening at 8 PM EST.

"No Weapons Allowed"

2009-11-03T11:09:00.003-05:00

I voted a few minutes ago- civic duty you know. But, what greeted me as I entered the building? A sign taped to the door, "NO WEAPONS ALLOWED." Can you imagine that? How un-American! No weapons at the polling place!!

In fact, I said to the nearly-empty room, "I left my shotgun outside!" They all chuckled. Normal people, they.

Yet, I can imagine a similar sign in another place which caused outrage. Teabaggers, them folks.

Clear and Present Danger- Taxes

2009-11-03T08:49:00.002-05:00

Rep. Virginia Foxx [R-NC] opened her trap again on the House floor yesterday to claim that taxes are a much greater threat to the security of the United States than al Qaeda and/or other foreign terrorist groups.

Yes, that's what she said. Of course, this old teabag often opens her mouth before engaging her brain, but isn't that exactly the characteristic of the current junta of teabaggers.

Recall that Foxx was one of a handful of Congressmen who voted against the Matthew Shepard Act, claiming that the murder of Matthew Shepard was not a hate crime. While debating the act at the House of Representatives, which was attended by Matthew Shepard's mother, she called the incident a "very unfortunate incident" but also "we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay". She continued that "It's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing hate crimes bills"

I wonder if there ought to be an additional requirement added to the list for those who seek a seat in Congress. An IQ of three-digits.

Old Math, New Math, Sensate Math

2009-11-02T08:34:00.003-05:00

If you went to school in the 40's and 50's, math lessons were not only boring, but often futile for the less-than gifted student. High school was worse because the math teachers were under the impression that, since they 'got' math quite easily, the students should as well. I had some gaud-awful math teachers and, for me, mathematics was an ugly exercise.

In grade school we copied and copied stuff from our workbooks and 'practiced' the rote lessons until our fingers blistered from holding the pencils too tightly. Then we went home and did the same nonsense there for another hour. Memorizing 'facts' was little more than drill and kill. The 'math' lessons were appropriately called arithmetic which might have been useful if we intended to grow up and become shop keepers. For most of us, it was pure boredom and it killed any desire to move on to higher level math.

Thankfully, times have changed for most kids in school today, because teachers, textbooks and curriculum have been updated and math class is truly math, not just arithmetic. I came across a lesson at this LINK that would have been useful to me in 3rd or 4th grade. Rather than rote memory and mounds of practice sheets, this lesson clearly demonstrates the intricacies of mathematics in a relational format that actually makes sense to the student.

Note the subtle algebraic equations that accompany the 'fact families.' Note also the diagrams which begin lessons in geometry. The total set of mathematical relationships are offered to the student in one sitting. Wow! If only I had been born 60 years later, I might have become an aeronautical engineer!

GOP Congressional Ex-Candidate Endorses Democrat in New York

2009-11-02T08:25:00.002-05:00

Republican Dede Scozzafava endorsed the Democratic contender for a vacant New York congressional seat over the Conservative backed by Republican leaders one day after she withdrew from the race. Ms. Scozzafava announced yesterday that she is supporting Democrat Bill Owens in his race against Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, in a Nov. 3 special election in New York’s traditionally Republican 23rd congressional district.

Dede Scozzafava, a state assemblywoman, had been handpicked by local Republican Party leaders and first backed by the national party. But the surge of conservative activists like Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh attacking Dede Scozzafava and endorcing Doug Hoffman’s independent bid for the congressional seat, energized his candidacy and money poured into his campaign.

Scozzafava stepped aside Oct. 31 after her lead in polls evaporated. Scozzafava said she was “outspent on both sides” as her fundraising foundered. Upon hearing the latest news, Newt Gingrich said, "How could she have accepted all that support? I'm very, very let down because she told everybody she was a Republican, and she said she was a loyal Republican."

Gingrich now backs Hoffman who had originally sought the Republican nomination, joining the Conservative ticket after his bid failed.

Republicans have just two other seats in New York’s 29 member House delegation. I see this latest trend as being quite telling when the Extreme Members in the Republican Party forces out moderate Republicans. I think that is very telling where the Republican Party is right now.

Recovering From Religion

2009-11-01T21:07:00.003-05:00

I found an interesting topic and website dedicated to people who have decided that they have had way too much religion in their lives. Recovering Religionists™ is a website that offers the person help in moving away from the religious indoctrination of their youth. It looks like a similar program as AA or CA or any number of other anti-addiction programs that are commonly offered for those who are looking to improve their lives of addiction.

I would not recommend such a program for those who suffer religious OCD, as that is a much more serious syndrome that requires both professional counselling and drug therapy. However, RR sounds like a great first-step for those who have tired of 'religion' and the associated baggage requirement for 'belief.' With the many advances in science and technology, adults in this wired world find it almost laughable that they are required to believe in miracles, ghosts, the undead, blood sacrifices, flying angels, and an invisible God who hovers just above the clouds.

For those wishing to divorce themselves from all of this mumbo-jumbo, RR may be just the place to begin emptying that sack of beliefs that they have been dragging around for many years.

H.Res.870 - Expressing Gratitude for Teabaggers

2009-11-01T10:41:00.004-05:00

Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) today introduced — along with 75 other Republicans — a resolution to officially commemorate the 9/12 taxpayer march on Washington. Other sponsors of H.R. 870 include Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa.), and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the party’s whip.

The names are all-to familiar to those of us who have been paying attention recently. They are the right-wing nuts sipping tea laced with hallucinogens. Add media comic Glenn Beck to the list, as he claims to be the instigator of the teabagger's get-together.

This brings back terrifying images of those numerous ceremonies when George W. Bush staged 'American Hero' photo ops and hung tin badges around the necks of Donald Rumsfeld, L. Paul Bremer, General Tommy Franks, George Tenet, and neocons Norman Podhoretz and Irving Kristol- honoring the idiots who brought the specious War on Iraq to our doorsteps.

What is most spurious about the current resolution is the necessity to 'honor' what every American citizen is entitled and encouraged to do- to peacefully and publicly assemble for redress of grievances. The First Amendment.

One could not imagine any Republican support for the millions of protesters of the War on Iraq who gathered on street corners, public squares and at the Capitol. No, not THESE people. The junta that now controls the GOP is self-serving ideologues who are only interested in their narrow agenda, rather than the interests of the citizens in general. This actions smacks of the awful pimping of Terri Schaivo at the hands of the right-wing of the GOP when in March 2005, a bill was passed by the GOP-controlled Congress to 'save the life' of the brain-dead woman. Recall how George Bush, in a carefully staged photo-op by Karl Rove, flew back to Washington from a vacation to sign the bill crafted for one citizen.

The GOP scoundrels are not all gone; many of them linger on. Hopefully, the citizens are more wise now than then, which may account for the plunging support for most things 'Republican.'

Teaching Homosexuality to Children

2009-11-01T01:53:00.003-04:00

Crooks and Liars picked up on a fascinating story of an Illinois teacher suspended from his job.

Bigotry is not a natural instinct, it is taught. Homosexuality is as natural as the sun in the sky, but ignorant, hateful people will never accept that fact. The suspension of this high school teacher in Piasa, Illinois is a perfect example of how this hatred and ignorance infests the minds of our children:

Why are some conservative folks so afraid of this stuff? Do you think Logan Murphy, writing at Crooks and Liars, makes a good point. Bigotry is not natural, homosexuality is?

Please leave a comment.

The Mysterious Islands': Film Challenges Evolution on 'Ground Zero' of Darwinism

2009-10-31T08:30:00.004-04:00

"The Mysterious Islands': New Galapagos Film Challenges Evolution on 'Ground Zero' of Darwinism." That's the headline from the Creationists who 'created' this film to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Darwin's 1859 book, On the Origin of Species. All of Bibleland is abuzz and tickled pink that this new film will be the perfect tonic to allay the fears that this anniversary presupposes. An antidote to atheism, they say.

Back here in the real world, the anniversary is clearly a triumph of scientific investigation. Scientific inquiry, of course, is the wizardry of the Devil to those who 'believe' and who close their eyes, ears and minds to what the science community presents to the free-thinking people of the world.

No doubt the new film, The Mysterious Islands, will run non-stop at that quirky Creationist Museum in the hill country of Kentucky. The Christian Newswire says,

" As the world prepares to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's landmark book, "On the Origin of Species," Vision Forum has unveiled details on a new documentary, filmed on the Galapagos Islands, that debunks the conclusions Darwin reached during his storied trip to this island chain during the voyage of the HMS Beagle. Shot and directed by the award-winning Jon and Andy Erwin of Erwin Brothers Motion Pictures, the 90-minute film, entitled "The Mysterious Islands," is set for release in early November, just weeks prior to the November 24 anniversary date of Darwin's influential book."

"Debunks," they write. It debunks Darwin; debunks science; debunks scientific methodology; debunks paleontologists, archeologists...

debunk: verb: expose while ridiculing; especially of pretentious or false claims and ideas.

False claims and false ideas. Ha! Pardon me while I laugh. OK, I'm in control now. What a hoot! And the filmmaker's claim? The odd life forms found on the Galapagos Islands show God's creativity.

Bunk.

Personally, the Galapagos Islands, Darwin and evolution are quite dear to me. Lo those many decades ago while I was in college, I signed up for a biology course titled, Evolution. It was offered at the large Jesuit University I attended. The professor announced the first day of class that each student would present a theme to the rest of the class. Nervous and muted laughter swept across the classroom. "Who will be first?" the professor queried. No hands. "Someone has to be first and it is an interesting topic: the Galapagos Islands." he said. Oddly, I found my hand shooting up. "Yes sir, see me after class." the professor said, and then went on.

What had I done? How did my hand get raised? I was unaccustomed to speaking and clearly unprepared to give a one hour university lecture on a topic that I did not even understand. Well, actually, it went quite well, if I do say so, and I received applause from my classmates at the end of the slide-show presentation [no Power Point back then].

Of this new film, some 50 years after my debut performance at the university, the article drones on:

"This October and November, Americans and other Westerners will be confronted with an unprecedented onslaught of pro-evolutionary propaganda as the major media and leaders of academia heap praise on Charles Darwin, the patron saint of evolutionism,"

Propaganda, they write. Is that so. Seems to me that the Creationists and fundamentalists have been deluded through propaganda for those 150 years and continue to propagandize generation after generation with their myth-telling to the children. The poor children are always the victims. And they grow up to, naturally, continue the cycle of myth-telling to the next generation. And so it goes.

"New pro-Darwin feature films will be launched, including 'Creation,' a major motion picture produced by atheists and starring an outspoken atheist that will present a negative perspective on the biblical account of origins."

The biblical account of origins. Oh, THAT account. Yes, read that, used to believe it as a child; Santa and the Tooth Fairy as well. Grew up. Turned on my brain, became a free-thinker, became excited about science, and am quite excited with each new scientific discovery that is announced.

"Told through the eyes of 16-year-old Joshua Phillips, "The Mysterious Islands" presents a remarkable quest to Darwin's Eden with Joshua, his father, and a team of scientists and investigators including Dr. John Morris, president of the Institute for Creation Research."

Creation Research? Isn't that an oxymoronical phrase? Imagine, a 16-year-old child of Bible-thumping, church-going parents, telling us that he sees God's creative genius at every turn on that mysterious island. The credibility is astounding!

"Christians look to Jerusalem, Muslims to Mecca, but for the followers of Charles Darwin, the Galapagos Archipelago is the spiritual homeland to their evolutionary faith," Phillips observed. "Our film -- shot on ground-zero of evolutionism -- will be a counter-offensive to the Darwin adulation that blows holes in the conclusions he formed while observing the wonder-filled creatures that inhabit the Galapagos Islands."

Oh, for sure it will, especially to the head-bobbing, brainwashed faithful. Don't miss this film. Check your local fundamentalist church for show times.

The Ignorance, he said, the Cross Burnings

2009-10-30T13:48:00.004-04:00

President Obama signed the Ryan White Act today, a bill that will fund critical HIV/AIDS treatment and some prevention programs. The House passed it 408-9. One can only imagine the intelligence of the 9 'Nay' members- all Republicans, of course, all Christians. Four from Texas, Wyoming, Tennessee, Georgia, Arizona and North Carolina.**

During his pre-signing remarks, with Ryan's mother present, Obama spoke of the ignorance that existed at the time Ryan was diagnosed with the syndrome. He also mentioned that there were cross-burnings, just like the KKK.

When Ryan tried to go back to school 151 of the 360 the students stayed home. Ryan lost his paper route as well, as his customers thought they could get AIDS through the paper. Ryan's mother recalls frequent comments like, "We know you're queer." Ugly ignorant people. The editors and publishers of the Kokomo Tribune, which supported White both editorially and financially, were also called homosexuals and threatened with death for their actions.

Right here in America, just 20 years ago, burning crosses, insulting remarks and death threats. Where did the ignorance and hate come from? Of course, it is not gone here in this nation. Bigots and hateful people still flock to church on Sunday, and write and say hateful things on Tuesday. Many call themselves Christians; Jesus is mocked.

Where are the strongest pockets of fear, ignorance, hate and bigotry against AIDS and homosexuals? Inside of the fundamentalist churches. Yes, right there, but the organ and the choir drown out the hate in their hearts.

** Here are the Christians who voted 'Nay':

Rep. Kevin Brady [TX] Saints Simons and Jude Catholic Church.

Rep. Paul Broun [GA] Prince Avenue Baptist Church
Rep. John J. Duncan [TN] Elder at Eastminster Presbyterian Church
Rep. Jeff Flake [AZ] Mormon

Rep.Louis Buller "Louie" Gohmert, Jr [TX] Green Acres Baptist Church

Rep.Cynthia M. Lummis [WY]Lutheran (L.C.M.S.)

Rep. Ron Paul [TX] Baptist
Rep. Ted Poe [TX] Church of Christ
Rep. Virginia Foxx [NC] Roman Catholic nut case

note: Foxx expressed opposition to the Matthew Shepard Act, claiming that the murder of Matthew Shepard was not a hate crime. While debating the act at the House of Representatives, which was attended by Matthew Shepard's mother, she called the incident a "very unfortunate incident" but also "we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay". She continued that "It's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing hate crimes bills"

MARCY KAPTUR Under Investigation

2009-10-30T08:22:00.008-04:00

"Nearly half the members of a powerful House subcommittee in control of Pentagon spending are under scrutiny by ethics investigators in Congress, who have trained their lens on the relationships between seven panel members and an influential lobbying firm founded by a former Capitol Hill aide. A document obtained by The Washington Post shows that the subcommittee members under scrutiny include MARCY
KAPTUR.

The document obtained by The Post offers the most detailed picture yet of a widening inquiry into the relationships between lawmakers and PMA, a lobbying firm founded by Paul Magliocchetti that has been under criminal investigation by the Justice Department. A year ago, the FBI raided PMA's offices and carted away boxes of records dealing with its political donations and the firm's efforts to win congressionally directed funds, known as "earmarks," for clients.

Together, the seven legislators have personally steered more than $200 million in earmarks to clients of the PMA Group in the past two years, and received more than $6.2 million in campaign contributions from PMA and its clients in the past decade, according to an analysis by Congressional Quarterly and Taxpayers for Common Sense.
The Post reviewed earmark and campaign records and found that the seven had each supported funding for PMA clients and also received donations.

While lawmakers received generous contributions, PMA used its growing influence with the panel over the past decade to become one of the top 10 lobby shops in Washington and took in $114 million in lobbying fees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group.

Several Hill staffers said they are confused by what appears to be a dual track, with the OCE and the ethics committee simultaneously pursuing similar questions.

Kaptur's spokesman said her office does not understand the duplication but is happy to answer all questions. "The congresswoman has always emphasized openness and transparency, and it almost goes without saying she will continue to cooperate with the OCE and, if it goes to the [ethics committee], with that committee as well," said Kaptur spokesman Steve Fought. "She has nothing to hide."

The article appears in the Washington Post today. Whether or not Kaptur has used
the power of her authority to provide earmarks to a power defense lobbying group
and in exchange receive kickbacks in the form of campaign contributions, this is
just further demonstration of how power corrupts. The continued use of taxpayer
money to benefit themselves has long been prevalent with our long term, for life
politicians. The real question is the influence of Congressional lobbying.
There is only way to change this out of control system of providing earmarks for
campaign contributions, namely, term limits. Moreover, the system will try to
bury these charges, ignore them, and hope people forget about it. Why do we continue to support people who take personal risks with taxpayer money?

Evolution- Becoming Human

2009-10-29T22:11:00.004-04:00

Where did we come from? What makes us human? An explosion of recent discoveries sheds light on these questions, and NOVA's comprehensive, three-part special, "Becoming Human," examines what the latest scientific research reveals about our hominid relatives.

Part 1, "First Steps," examines the factors that caused us to split from the other great apes. The program explores the fossil of "Selam," also known as "Lucy's Child." Paleoanthropologist Zeray Alemseged spent five years carefully excavating the sandstone-embedded fossil. NOVA's cameras are there to capture the unveiling of the face, spine, and shoulder blades of this 3.3 million-year-old fossil child. And NOVA takes viewers "inside the skull" to show how our ancestors' brains had begun to change from those of the apes.

Here is a quick video preview.

-----------------------------------

Fascinating stuff that will surely make the viewer reexamine the Adam and Eve myth. I wonder just how many school children will be tuning in to this NOVA presentation. I know that we regularly watched NOVA with our children, and, as a consequence, hopefully they passed on the love of science to their children.

Another Damned Federal Law Limiting My Freedoms!

2009-10-28T16:22:00.004-04:00

You know, "Freedom isn't free!" And don't you forget, 'We're fighting for your freedoms! "Freedom is on the march!" - George W. Bush

Patriotic lines said by our former president. He got two wars agoing to protect our 'freedoms' but back home in the good old US of A, they are taking my freedoms away. Just today Obama he signed that so-called Hate Crimes Bill. Says that I can't say anything about those homosexuals that's been ruining marriages all over this God fearing land! Just like when we could call them blacks by the 'n' word! They can use our toilets, too, etc.! Says so in the law!!We set them free and now they want to marry my daughter! Theys already passing bills says I can't carry but two weapons at a time, too! More damned taxes ever time I turn around, also. Damned socialist government, just like Hitler as well etc..

Now I got to be nice to them homos, also. Next, they tell me I have to wear pink, I suppose so. Communists! Why we fighting over there and we oughts to be fighting here???!!!

The Maverick Governor Palin Does It Again

2009-10-28T00:20:00.004-04:00

A Book Review by Engineer of Knowledge:

With the release of Sarah Palin’s new book, “Going Rogue" not only gives an enlightening, inside look of Sarah Palin’s political success after resigning her position as Governor of Alaska while being investigated for abuse of power, but it is also proving some surprising medical breakthroughs.

The Food and Drug Administration is now considering approving Sarah Palin’s book for some medial uses. The book is not only showing success curing “Chronic Insomnia” sleep disorder, but is also showing much success as a very effective laxative.

Sarah Palin has also made it known that she will accept personal checks for her book when she is selling it out of the trunk of her car so long as the checks are made out to “Ms. Cash!”

Three 'Why Not' Ideas

2009-10-27T22:11:00.003-04:00

While listening to the evening news droning on with the same stuff, my right brain kicked in and came up with three ideas that are worth trying. After all, it couldn't get much worse.

The segment on Afghanistan [year 8] showed one of the American troop outposts in the middle of nowhere handing out food to a small village. The people were very happy to receive the packages. Of course they would! Idea #1: Drop Food Not Bombs. How much food could be purchased for the price of one small bomb? A lot, I'd imagine. Well, what about CARE packages with "GIFT OF USA" dropped on villages? The bullets, grenades and bombs don't seem to be winning too many Afghan friends. Food might.

Then there was the story of a man whose CitiBank credit card interest rate was raised to 29.99%. Yes, up from 8% a year ago. CitiBank, the billions-from-Uncle Sam bank screwing the same citizens who saved their sorry asses a year ago. Idea #2: Public Credit Card Burning Ceremonies. Recall the Draft Card burnings of the 1960's? Who knows if that had any effect on policy, but if Americans got together in the centers of town all across the nation, lit a fire, and invited townsfolk to throw their credit card into the inferno, Wall Street bankers might take notice. Even if they don't, one less credit card is good for the consumer.

One other story catching my eye this evening was the one about tight small business credit. It seems that those greedy banks that we bailed out don't want to lend their precious money [our precious money] to small businesses. They have bonuses to pay, you know. Idea #3: Government Loans Directly to Small Businesses. There is TARP money lying around, unused. How about funneling that money to local banks throughout America, earmarked expressly for small business- on the order of FHA home loans in the 1950's. One locally-owned bank in each of the 435 Congressional districts would receive ¼ billion dollars for starters. Paper work and loan distribution by 435 specially trained, local accountants.

Anyone want to add a 'why not' idea to these?

"It's Their War"

2009-10-27T11:51:00.006-04:00

"I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan," he wrote Sept. 10 in a four-page letter to the department's head of personnel. "I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end."

But many Afghans, he wrote in his resignation letter, are fighting the United States largely because its troops are there — a growing military presence in villages and valleys where outsiders, including other Afghans, are not welcome and where the corrupt, U.S.-backed national government is rejected. While the Taliban is a malign presence, and Pakistan-based al-Qaeda needs to be confronted, he said, the United States is asking its troops to die in Afghanistan for what is essentially a far-off civil war.

Hoh said he decided to speak out publicly because "I want people in Iowa, people in Arkansas, people in Arizona, to call their congressman and say, 'Listen, I don't think this is right. "I realize what I'm getting into . . . what people are going to say about me," he said. "I never thought I would be doing this."

Hoh was assigned to research the response to a question asked by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during an April visit. Mullen wanted to know why the U.S. military had been operating for years in the Korengal Valley, an isolated spot near Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan where a number of Americans had been killed. Hoh concluded that there was no good reason. The people of Korengal didn't want them; the insurgency appeared to have arrived in strength only after the Americans did, and the battle between the two forces had achieved only a bloody stalemate.

Korengal and other areas, he said, taught him "how localized the insurgency was. I didn't realize that a group in this valley here has no connection with an insurgent group two kilometers away." Hundreds, maybe thousands, of groups across Afghanistan, he decided, had few ideological ties to the Taliban but took its money to fight the foreign intruders and maintain their own local power bases.

"That's really what kind of shook me," he said. "I thought it was more nationalistic. But it's localism. I would call it valley-ism."

"but the truth is that the majority" are residents with "loyalties to their families, villages, valleys and to their financial supporters."

Hoh's doubts increased with Afghanistan's Aug. 20 presidential election, marked by low turnout and widespread fraud. He concluded, he said in his resignation letter, that the war "has violently and savagely pitted the urban, secular, educated and modern of Afghanistan against the rural, religious, illiterate and traditional. It is this latter group that composes and supports the Pashtun insurgency."

With "multiple, seemingly infinite, local groups," he wrote, the insurgency "is fed by what is perceived by the Pashtun people as a continued and sustained assault, going back centuries, on Pashtun land, culture, traditions and religion by internal and external enemies. The U.S. and Nato presence in Pashtun valleys and villages, as well as Afghan army and police units that are led and composed of non-Pashtun soldiers and police, provide an occupation force against which the insurgency is justified."

This week, Hoh is scheduled to meet with Vice President Biden's foreign policy adviser, Antony Blinken, at Blinken's invitation.

If the United States is to remain in Afghanistan, Hoh said, he would advise a reduction in combat forces.

He also would suggest providing more support for Pakistan, better U.S. communication and propaganda skills to match those of al-Qaeda, and more pressure on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to clean up government corruption — all options being discussed in White House deliberations.

"We want to have some kind of governance there, and we have some obligation for it not to be a bloodbath," Hoh said. "But you have to draw the line somewhere, and say this is their problem to solve."

The foregoing is a letter of complete resignation of a career pentagon officer over
the continued presence of the United States in Afghanistan as published on MSN.com.
He has been actively conjoled by the Obama Administration not to resign with
Holbrooke even offering him a position to keep quiet. Hoh seems to be a man of
principle and can't be bribed for his silence.

Carla Hughes Facing the Death Penalty

2009-10-27T03:03:00.004-04:00

CNN reports on the conviction of Carla Hughes.

After about eight hours of deliberations, a jury has found Carla Hughes guilty of two counts of capital murder. Hughes was charged with killing her lover's fiance, Avis Banks, who was five months pregnant.
Prosecutors say Hughes killed Banks and her unborn child. They accused Hughes of fatally shooting, stabbing, and slashing Banks with a knife.

Jurors asked only one question during deliberations: could the prosecution have called Hughes to the stand. The judge sent a note back to the jurors directing them to their jury instructions. Hughes decided not to testify in her own defense during the trial.

This is a very fascinating case, for one reason that a woman could end up on death row in Mississippi. But also for the question of soundness of mind. Could a person do what she did while enjoying soundness of mind? In the midst of such an awful rage, is it possible for someone to understand the difference between right and wrong? Isn't it possible that crimes of passion like this have a built-in temporary insanity?

What's your opinion? What do you think about that decision to not let her testify? Did they think the verdict might be not guilty and she could mess it up by speaking? It makes me wonder what kind of advice she was getting. They must have known which way the jury was leaning and might have benefited from her testimony.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

The Public Option

2009-10-26T21:42:00.002-04:00

It's in there! At last, the possibility of competitive insurance programs for the citizens of this nation. No doubt the right-wing is on fire with the news. Who the hell cares about them, anyway. The just say no collusion!

So it will be an 'opt out' option- a plan that permits an entire state to just say no to insurance competition. Hope that the state of Ohio has brains enough not to do that. Kent Conrad of North Dakota was lured aboard through this opt-out provision because he gets a lot of campaign money from the one insurance company that serves 87% of North Dakotans. I guess they like having one insurance company. Beats me, though.

Will the exemption from the anti-trust laws for insurance be eliminated in this bill? Who gave an exemption to them in the first place? No wonder our citizens go bankrupt from medical costs. So much for democracy, right Mr. Insurance man?

Now we will sit back and watch the Republicans in the House and Senate tell us why giving 'choice' is such a bad thing for this nation. Isn't it ironic that the GOP, the party that always demanded the freedom to choose in the business world, now wants to limit our choices.

The party of nowhere.

Colors of the Oak Openings on an October Afternoon

2009-10-26T16:36:00.007-04:00

The Oak Openings of Northwest Ohio is a unique habitat formed from sandy glacial deposits on the edge of what was the precursor of Lake Erie tens of thousands of years ago. As the name suggests, the sandy soil is perfect for many large oak trees as well as scrub bushes and unusual plant species. On this warm and sunny October afternoon, I mounted my bicycle and road through the openings, camera in hand.

Islamic Fundamentalists Don't Like Democracies Either

2009-10-26T07:15:00.004-04:00

We all know that Christian fundamentalists here in America don't like our democracy, but the Islamic fundamentalists are a bit more vocal about it. Yesterday in Kabul, there was an anti-democracy rally during which signs like the one here were raised. Reuters reports:

Protesters, claiming foreign forces had burned a copy of Islam’s holiest book during a raid in Maidan Wardak province last week, blocked traffic in Kabul for more than an hour. A spokeswoman for U.S. and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan said none of their troops were involved in the incident and blamed the Taliban for spreading a false rumor that a copy of the Koran had been burned.

Thick plumes of smoke rose above the crowd as protesters set fire to a large effigy of what they said was U.S. President Barack Obama. “Death to America. Down with Israel,” chanted one man at the rally, which was organized mainly by university students. Others threw stones and clashed with police but no casualties were reported.

“No to democracy. We want just Islam,” said one banner carried by protesters, many of whom shook their fists in the air.

No democracy- just like the Christian fundamentalists working a bit more secretly within this nation of ours. Just in case there are new visitors to this blog and are confused about anti-democratic American fundamentalist Christians, think 'denial of civil rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.' Some fundamentalist Christians here wish to supplant the laws of the Constitution with Mosaic Law. Read my post from Sunday.

The truly sad irony about the fundamentalist movement both here and in Afghanistan is that we Americans just lost another 14 of our military men and women today while fighting the fundamentalist Taliban in Afghanistan.

Dangerous people, fundamentalists. Very dangerous to a democracy.

2009 National Book Festival In Washington D.C.

2009-10-25T10:54:00.009-04:00

Every year the Library of Congress puts on the “National Book Festival” on the Mall in Washington DC. For those who do not know, “The Mall” is the grassy area that is surrounded by the Capital, Washington Monument, Jefferson Monument, National Art Gallery, Air and Space Museums, and the rest of the Smithsonian Museums. The tents were set up on the Mall with scores of authors, illustrators and poet’s presentations on the National Mall throughout the day in Children, Teens & Children, Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers, History & Biography, and Poetry & Prose pavilions. This year it was held on September 26, 2009 and there were authors like John Grisham (A Time To Kill, The Firm, The Associate), Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Message in a Bottle), Ken Burns (The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The Brooklyn Bridge, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea), just to name a few. People line up and speak with their favorite authors and get their book’s signed….for free! This was our second year attending and my family just loves this time together and we will do it again next year.

We park the car in the New Carrollton Station in the suburbs of DC and ride the “Metro Light Rail” and get off at the subway stop right at the Mall. It is the perfect “One Day Trip” to leave in the morning and be back home that night to sleep in our own beds.

Now what I really want to get to is that as we got on, sat down in our seats on the Light Rail, this “Poindexter Dweeb” type, wearing a clownish bowtie and vest without a suit jacket with pants that did not match any other piece of his clothing, stepped in our rail car and he was carrying his copy of the Glen Beck book, “Arguing With Idiots” so that everyone would see the cover.

Well it came to me how perfect this scene was pointing out the mind set of the type of people who read, follow, and believe the crap within the hard back covers of those pages. This obvious social reject lemming had found his voice and views within the pages of this extreme spouter of hate.

I then went on to think of those who present the counter side opinions like Bill Moyers, Charlie Rose, Bob Schieffer, George Stephanopoulos, etc. and none have ever dressed up like a Nazi to promote their books, shows, or the basis of their opinions. I want to continue by saying that Poindexter did not get off at the Mall to attend the National Book Festival, nor was Glen Beck invited to speak or sign his book. Poindexter was just making his own personal statement….and the rest of us in society were just laughing once again at his blatant display of stupidity.

Lessons from Michael Moore

2009-10-25T10:33:00.002-04:00

My wife, some friends and I saw Michael Moore's film, Capitalism: A Love Story. Not unexpectedly, the theater was mostly empty, but next door, Amelia was well attended. I suppose in this economic and psychologically depressing time, escapism trumps reality.

The film was a review of the economic disaster that has been bubbling dangerously for the past 12 years and which came to a full boil in September 2008. The 'lessons' I walked out with last evening are ones that I already knew- Americans are a gullible lot. That sad truth has been told many times on this blog. The second lesson- Wall Street and its associated banking structures are a worthless parasitical commodity and, in fact, anathema to a fully-functioning democracy.

Tea-baggers, Limbaugh-listeners and Beck-watchers come to mind in lesson one. Many of these Americans are ripe for propagandist infusion. And, oddly, tend to believe in and propagate an economic 'system' which, in fact, acts counter to their own economic situation. The prime example of this was their support in killing the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, an act of Congress that kept banks out of the investment markets. Libertarians and right-wingers applauded the efforts of former Senator Phil Gramm to kill that legislation. Of course, this led directly to the home mortgage fiasco and the subsequent failure of many large banks.

How many of the cheerleaders were immune from that disaster? Few if any. Yet, like pre-programmed robots, they called for [shouted!] deregulation so to 'get the government off of our backs.' They and we 'got' just that.

The parasite known as Wall Street with its associated financial institutions has proven to be a toxic and extremely costly cancer on our society. It is a totally unnecessary commodity for a fully-functioning democracy. In fact, I contend that it is worse- it is a plague on a democracy that is meant to corrupt that society. The system operates by taking advantage of the citizens, most especially, the under-educated and naive citizens. One needs only look at the 401 K 'instrument' that was sold as a secure financial tool to guarantee a decent retirement income. Hundreds of millions of Americans now look at their 401 K and see that much of their savings has disappeared. Disappeared into the portfolios of smarter, more adroit investors who took advantage of the minions in this society. That 'great sucking sound' that Ross Perot uttered decades ago was heard in the past few years as 401 K's were emptied into the pockets of the well-to-do.

That is how Wall Street operates- there has to be a small set of winners and a large pool of losers. Gambling, in fact. Yet the perversion is much more insidious. Citizen's homes were stolen. The very life-blood of a middle class democracy, the family home, was gambled away through complex mortgage schemes written by investors who bet on foreclosures. The loss of a job has been a historic fact throughout our history as a nation, but not wholesale loss of homes.

The 'theft' of a person's home through manipulative and deceptive loan practices is tantamount to undermining the very security of this nation. Those who formulated and sold these 'instruments' to unwary citizens are as dangerous as terrorists with bombs. Yet, they continue to go about their ugly business as if nothing had happened.

Worse yet, the tax-payers, the very people who were preyed upon, have given hundreds of billions of their dollars to prop up the people who raped them! It is staggering to know that our tax dollars were given to these filthy institutions who gambled with the savings and homes of the citizens and lost. Yes, they lost and we rewarded them for losing. That fact is stunning!

What other 'business' in this nation has been so generously rewarded for having failed? If there is even more egregious detail to understand and digest, it is this fact- these Wall Street institutions were given the billions of dollars with no strings attached. Correct. No rules, no demands on what they were to do with the money. That piece of the legislation did not appear anywhere in the document. Nada. Of course, the legislation was written with the help of Wall Street executives and former executives including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Foxes guarding the hen house!

What are the citizens to do? Do we throw up our hands and surrender? Do we filp the channel from the news to a sit-com or a ball game? Do we eat more comfort foods and get more obese?

What the hell can the citizens of this democracy do?

Your Local Neighborhood Christian Homophobe

2009-10-25T09:03:00.005-04:00

Do you know who your neighborhood homophobe is? There ought to be a registry where one can identify them and know exactly where they live. They are a danger to your children and our democracy. Most are difficult to identify as they appear to be 'normal' citizens, blending in with other neighbors. In fact, these homophobes seem to be loving Christians, often humming Christian tunes and driving off to church services on Sunday mornings and other evenings during the week. They sing in the choir and bring macaroni and cheese casseroles to the pot luck dinners.

Yet they are secretly scanning the audience, looking for gays and lesbians who, they believe, are abominations to God and not worthy of full U.S. citizenship rights. Here's a comment from a Toledo area homophobe who runs the best homophobic blog in the area:

People writing the constitution never dreamed we'd be letting men marry men and women, women. These two-somes are unnatural --and unnecessary and hazardous to health of body, mind, and the future of civilization, families and nations.

Of course, people writing the Constitution never dreamed of women voting and blacks being free citizens. They also never wrote a single word referring to marriage, either. The homophobic and oh-so righteous christian woman who penned the words above, is a clear and present danger to this nation- like most fundamentalists around the world. Fundamentalists, whether Christian or Muslim, work hard to infuse their religious beliefs into the laws of the nation. The Taliban comes to mind. We have American military men and women fighting and dying to keep these fundamentalists from usurping political power and denying basic rights to its citizens.

As with the Taliban in Afghanistan, identifying fundamentalists is difficult, as they blend in well in society. They seem so, well, American, yet, beneath the facade, they have the same agenda as the Taliban- infusing fundamentalist laws onto the citizens. She writes:

As for constitutional rights, we all have the same rights regarding sex --to marry someone of legal age and the opposite sex --if we can find a consensual mate!

She hopes to bamboozle others, which is customary for propagandists, into believing false claims. Those who do do not know what the U.S. Constitution proclaims might believe that this document contains laws regarding marriage. Slick trick, but false.

Another trick played by fundamentalists is to present lies as facts . Here the local homophobe attempts to proclaim that gay and lesbian relationships are illegal:

Kindness to homosexuals does not include condoning sodomy and granting legal status of marriage.

Sodomy laws [note state laws] were invalidated throughout the United States in 2003 by the Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas.

When all else fails, the obsessive homophobe will declare that gay and lesbian relationships are in the same category as actual illegal activities. She writes:

This is not hate speech --it IS a denunciation of anal and oral sex as a substitute for the natural. Just as we should denounce adultery, incest, promiscuity, prostitution, rape, bestiality, necrophilia, various fetishes --because of their downside consequences.

Your local christian homophobe, working hard to deny a group of merican citizens their rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. They are a danger to this nation and they are organizing with other fundamentalist christians to overturn state and federal laws that protect the rights of our citizens. They are the American Taliban.

Holiday Gift Suggestion: Scintillating Bolometer

2009-10-24T07:28:00.004-04:00

Young and budding physicists would be thrilled with a brand new scintillating bolometer this holiday season! Even more desirable than an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!

"That dark matter has never been found is no deterrent to the physicists who are looking for it." That oddly constructed English sentence and head-scratching thought fairly well describes the work of particle scientists today. These physicists tell us an astonishing fact: only around five percent of what makes up the universe can be detected. Thus, they hypothesize the existence of a substance/force/entity named, dark matter- a name that sends chills down the spine of SciFi and Star Wars fans everywhere!

The theory contends that the motion of distant galaxies can only be explained by a gravitational pull caused by more mass than can be seen. Estimates of dark matter are about 20 percent of the universe. Curiously, the remaining 75 percent made up of dark energy, a repulsive force that is causing the universe to expand at an ever-quickening pace. [cue the music from Twilight Zone]

WiredScience says, "At the heart of Abancens’ team’s detector, which is called a scintillating bolometer and resembles a prop from The Golden Compass, is a crystal so pure it can conduct the energy ostensibly generated when a particle of dark matter strikes the nucleus of one of its atoms.

"To prevent interference by cosmic rays, the bolometer is sheathed in lead and kept underground, under half a mile of rock. It’s also frozen to near-absolute zero, the temperature at which all motion stops. At the edge of absolute zero, it’s possible to measure expected changes of a few millionths of a degree Fahrenheit."

----------------------------------------------end of article

Frequent commenter, Steve, linked an article in ScienceDaily titled, Is Unknown Force In Universe Acting On Dark Matter? This article begins, " An international team of astronomers have found an unexpected link between mysterious 'dark matter' and the visible stars and gas in galaxies that could revolutionise our current understanding of gravity."

It goes on, " "The dark matter seems to 'know' how the visible matter is distributed. They seem to conspire with each other such that the gravity of the visible matter at the characteristic radius of the dark halo is always the same. This is extremely surprising since one would rather expect the balance between visible and dark matter to strongly depend on the individual history of each galaxy."

Dr. Zhao at the SUPA Centre of Gravity notes, "The pattern that the data reveal is extremely odd. It's like finding a zoo of animals of all ages and sizes miraculously having identical, say, weight in their backbones or something. It is possible that a non-gravitational fifth force is ruling the dark matter with an invisible hand, leaving the same fingerprints on all galaxies, irrespective of their ages, shapes and sizes."

Steve wonders if what many refer to as 'God,' might be this 'force and/or balance in the universe. This line from the article is especially God-inducing: "Such a force might solve an even bigger mystery, known as 'dark energy', which is ruling the accelerated expansion of the Universe."

Surely this highly-technical and coldly abstract version of God/god is way-too impersonal and 'humanless' for the 'believers' among us. God needs to have a human face, human emotions, and, most importantly, preside as a punitive human judge- perhaps residing in the state of Texas.

Israeli War Crimes: Dilemma for the United States

2009-10-23T22:18:00.003-04:00

VOA NEWS:

The United Nations Human Rights Council approved the Goldstone Report, which accuses the Jewish state of war crimes against Palestinians. The Goldstone Report also accuses Palestinian militants of war crimes during the Gaza conflict of nearly a year ago. The resolution by the Human Rights Council endorses the Goldstone Report's recommendations that both the Israelis and Palestinian militants show the U.N. Security Council they are investigating the war crimes accusations.

Israel has rejected the report as one-sided and biased and says the Gaza war was a legitimate act of self defense in response to years of Palestinian rocket attacks. Israeli officials say opening a war crimes investigation would be tantamount to accepting guilt.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered officials to prepare for a long diplomatic, legal and public relations battle explaining Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism. As Mr. Netanyahu put it, "We will delegitimize those who try to delegitimize us."

------------------------------------------end of article

Bill Moyer's Journal this evening featured Judge Richard Goldstone, author of the 'disputed' report. Judge Richard Goldstone served as the chief prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda. He also investigated the South African apartheid system and was a member of the International Panel of the Commission of Enquiry into the Activities of Nazism in Argentina. More recently he was appointed by Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to the Independent Inquiry Committee, chaired by Paul Volcker, to investigate the Iraq Oil for Food program.

Goldstone's credentials are outstanding. His life has been endangered by those who do not wish the light of his investigation to uncover their dirty deeds; he is the ultimate muckraker. He has received countless death threats, especially while investigating white supremacy in South Africa, his native country.

It will be difficult for the United States to defend Israel from these charges, yet that is exactly what Israel is hoping that the United States will do. Israel has begun a smear campaign against Goldstone, attempting to 'kill the messenger.' The Obama Administration is placed in a tight spot especially because our nation has historically defended nearly every action that Israel has taken. Israel hopes that the US will veto a UN proposal that Israel set up a credible investigation of its own on this subject.

I would imagine that many Americans will be sympathetic to Israel and hope that Obama will order such a veto. Yet, it is amazing to realize that Judge Goldstone is himself a Jew and a Zionist, which he admitted to Bill Moyers. Many Israelis have branded him a 'traitor.' Clearly, his reputation for fairness and impartiality along with his previous courageous work in Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Argentina, and South Africa will make it difficult to charge Goldstone with incompetence.

Knee-jerk 'support' for Israel here in the US may this time be somewhat muted if those supporters open their eyes to the credibility of Judge Goldstone.

Incompetence as Usual at the Ohio BMV

2009-10-22T11:35:00.004-04:00

Incompetence, is there a stronger word? Stupidity mixed with arrogance, perhaps. Who do they hire at the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles anyway? Is there a competency test or is it the good old boy system? I think of my 5 grandchildren in the Ohio school system who must pass proficiency tests to move along, yet these adults at the BMV display no hint that they passed a competency test themselves.

Look at my copy of the check I wrote to the BMV to renew my license plates. Is it crystal clear to you? Each car we own cost $54.87 to renew, for a total of $109.74. Have you seen anything wrong with my check? Neither do I, yet, upon calling the "BMV Citizens Advisory Committee" I was told that my application was denied. By the way, if you notice the date, it is one month to the day and I am without a sticker- a violation of state law, I am told! Try calling 1-800-589-8247 and let me know when you get through. That's the number for "questions regarding your registration." It has been busy since 9 AM. it is noon and still busy.

As a result of not being able to get though ,I found the BMV Citizens Advisory Committee, a service that "is to provide feedback to the BMV on the state of its relations with the public by undertaking a review and evaluation of the client service practices of the BMV and advising the BMV on methods to improve its interaction with the public." Yes, that's what it says. So I called.

"Did you call 1-800-589-8247 before contacting this department?" asked the agent. "Oh, it's busy, been busy for quite some time," I replied in a restrained voice. I the I explained my 'case' to the 'agent' who checked for me and I was told that my application had been denied. "Denied?" I asked, "why is that, an outstanding warrant, a traffic violation?" [joking!] "No sir, they cannot read the amount on your check." "You mean, $109.74?" i said, looking at the copy of my check. "It's the '4'" he said, it looks like an 'x'." "What '4'?" I asked, looking more closely at my copy of the check, "It looks like a '4' to me." "Oh, not the numerical four, the one written," he stated, " the one over the 100." Then he went on, "The 'y' of Boyer obscures the 4 and makes it look like an X or a K." "You must be kidding!" I said. "What else wouild it be other than a 4, for crying out loud!" Then I did the math, "$54.87 plus $54.87 equals a number ending in four, like 7 + 7." "Well that may be, but they could not process the check due to that problem with the 4."

Seriously, that was the conversation. I'd like to tell you that this is a Halloween joke, but it was true, word for word. I told him that this was insane.

"I'm contacting my supervisor," he told me."Good," I told him. "It will be a few minutes." We waited and during this time, he thought it would be a good idea to recap the 'problem' for me as though I were a complete jackass. I told him that the BMV clearly hires incompetent people if they cannot distinguish a 4 from an X or K. Yet, he assured me that each check needed to be verified by a person before continuing the registration process.

By a person. As opposed to? "if the person cannot read the correct amount," he droned on...

Luckily, before he raised my blood pressure even higher, the supervisor came on. Fortunately, she must have passed a competency test along the way. She told me [and the agent] that the check would be processed. I thanked her and she disconnected, but the agent was not yet done. He thought that he should finish his last lecture, but i interrupted and I said to him, "So, you are part of the Citizens Advisory Board created by House Bill 182..." I was reading to him what the website stated. "Surely, you will be passing on my complaint to the Board and Senator Bill Harris, won't you?" "Yes, but you have to remember..."

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Return to Pokagon

2009-10-22T08:07:00.014-04:00

Chief Simon Pokagon of the Pottawatomie is honored

with his name attached to a great state park in Indiana. My wife and I visited the park yesterday, a warm and breezy last touch-of-summer day. Ah, the childhood memories! The Potawatomi Inn has stood on the edge of Lake James since the late 1930's. It was a project of the CCC and much of it remains just as a kid had imagined it.

We had a great dinner in what is now called the 'historic dining room.' Those CCC workers were great construction crew because much of the inn looks as it did, lo those many decades ago.

Of course, not the indoor swimming pool or deck of the additions to the lodge and the removal of the 'motel' rooms at front. The child mostly recalls the long grassy slope leading down to the sandy beach at the edge of the large lake. Our family spent several days wading and swimming as well as making sand castles on the water's edge. Yesterday the dock lay oddly on the beach- an unusual look for one who recalls it 'floating' in the lake. The trees were in their fall colors rather than the summer's green.

Interestingly, we were not alone at the Inn. There was a large church conference going on [wasn't I lucky!] whose attendees enjoyed walking along the beach and sitting outside soaking in the warm rays of the October day. In fact, some did not leave for the 'afternoon talk,' choosing to find God outside in this beautiful fall day. I'm quite sure that black check marks were not earned for these unorthodox members, as they were from mainline Christian churches.

The quaint town of Angola brings back memories from the past, especially its curious roundabout in the center of town. Today the roundabout is the new trend for intersections, but Angola had one back in the 50's if not earlier. I have a most curious boyhood memory of seeing pneumatic tubes zipping money from one end of the store to another there in downtown Angola. I don't remember which store but surely the tubes have long disappeared. Perhaps the store as well.

Pokagon Park has a toboggan run that was also constructed by the CCC; today, it is updated and electrically cooled to extend the season. Going down was much more fun than dragging the heavy toboggan back up to the beginning.

The cabins are still available for those wishing to stay in more 'privative' surroundings. Many have been restored but this one looks like the one our family used those many summers ago. We would alternate between the lodge and the inn.

The buffalo, moose and deer no longer are penned up for wide-eyed children to examine, yet the Nature Center still offers children exciting 'adventures' deep into the woods or along the shoreline. I wonder if a child can still earn a badge for participating in one of the nature adventures.

Our short but warm and sweet retreat was a needed get-away because we have been much too busy doing things with and for others. Sometimes a bit of narcissism is needed to refresh the spirit.

Organic Molecules Surround Another Planet

2009-10-21T21:06:00.003-04:00

ScienceDaily (Oct. 21, 2009) — Peering far beyond our solar system, NASA researchers have detected the basic chemistry for life in a second hot gas planet, advancing astronomers toward the goal of being able to characterize planets where life could exist.

"It's the second planet outside our solar system in which water, methane and carbon dioxide have been found, which are potentially important for biological processes in habitable planets," said researcher Mark Swain of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Detecting organic compounds in two exoplanets now raises the possibility that it will become commonplace to find planets with molecules that may be tied to life."

-------------------------------------------------

Life beyond earth? From simple organic 'debris' floating in orbit around a planet? A bit of H2O, CO2 and CH4, add some heat, a few million years to cook and, voilé, LIFE!

Way to simple for some who would argue that this formula is oversimplified and needs a little more chutzpa!

╫╨ + ☼(♫♪) ÷[♀♂] • 3y{♠♣♥☻} -☺²ⁿ

Well, yes, that plus just one more special, magical touch- like a super catalyst! Something cosmic- even larger than cosmic! ☼ ▒ ∞ ▒ ∞ ▒ ☼

Any guesses??????????

Flaming Bag of Dog Shit

2009-10-21T16:18:00.000-04:00

I often find a bag of dog shit on my doorstep each morning when I turn on my computer. Those who follow this blog regularly know what I am talking about. There was one this morning. Why 'they' send me one so frequently remains a mystery- I never open it. All of their creative bitterness goes directly to the recycle bin without seeing the light of day. Such a waste of talent and time! But then, who would want to look into a bag of poop on the porch anyway?

Well, as Halloween is just around the corner, I recall several rather minor pranks my friends and I would pull on the nasty old ladies in the neighborhood, the ones who yelled at you if you stepped on their grass. Of course we soaped her windows and then threw corn at them before we ran away. Corn was easy to get in late October, just down the dead-end street for me.

Another creative annoyance someone taught us was the thread spool, string and pencil trick. We would get a large spool of thread and notch it all around the circle. Then, we'd wrap a string around it and shove a pencil into the center. Approaching the target window, we would press the notched spool gently to the glass by holding the pencil ends. Finally, we'd pull the string making a horrible noise on the glass.

However, the most creative trick was saved for the absolutely worst grouch on the block. My best friend had a dog, and for a couple of days before Halloween, he would collect his dog's poop. When the time was right, we emptied it into a paper bag, walked to the target house, ring the doorbell, and quickly lit the bag. Although we ran like hell and never saw the result, we hoped that the victim would stamp out the fire and, well, you know the rest.

Now that the poop ladies know this special prank [because they check this blog 24/7] I might get a REAL surprise tomorrow morning when I sign on!

Pope Fishing

2009-10-21T07:45:00.003-04:00

The Pope is fishing, cast his rod just yesterday, hoping to lure some fine trout. But, he doesn't want any carp or catfish, only the finer variety. Pope offers Anglicans a place in church is the headline in most papers today. The opening line is this: The Catholic Church said Tuesday that it would make it easier for Anglicans to join the church, reaching out to those upset by the election of female and gay bishops.

It's all too funny. Imagine- what 'church' would want to open its doors to women and those abominable gays! Jesus would weep and demand the same thing, as he often showed during his life. Yes, Jesus is happy with the way things are, the way his church has closed its doors to certain people throughout the years. Surely he supports and encourages that type of bigotry within his church.

"Keep THEM out!" he would surely shout.

Fifty Phone Calls

2009-10-20T21:41:00.003-04:00

My wife and I spent two hours this evening making phone calls to the citizens of Ohio, urging them to call Republican Senator Voinovich, urging him to vote for health care reform. The gathering reminded me of the days we spent prior to the election; in fact, we were with many of the same people who worked for Obama. Tonight's event served as a great homecoming.

Whether Senator Voinovich will actually buck his party and vote for health care reform is unknown. He has been on the wrong side of most issues during his time in Congress and the hope is that, since he is retiring, maybe he just might make up for his dismal voting record with this positive vote.

I noted the Washington Post poll today that gave support for the public option at 51%, and increase over previous poll numbers. It seems to be a positive trend. On the other hand, the Republican Party continues to shrink to a 26-year low of 20%. Perhaps the party will just die out and take the Do Nothings with it.

I feel invigorated with these numbers and the positive response I received during my calling session. Who could have imagined after that ugly summer of tea-baggers on the loose, that health care might actually pass yet this year.

60,000 Spankings

2009-10-20T10:25:00.002-04:00

In the year 2008 there were 60,000 students
receiving the corporeal punishment of
spanking in Mississippi which gives it
bragging rights as a State with most
spankings. Spanking is generally in
areas away from the capitol of Jackson.
Jackson public schools reported no spankings
for 2008. My county reported 742 spankings,
but none in the largest city, Pearl.
There are 152 school districts in the State,
and spanking occurred in 110 districts.

As we might imagine, the research shows that
spankings take place in the more rural
parts of MS, especially in the poverty and
minority areas with white administrators.

Those who support spanking say that it is a
way to get a student's attention, that it
is an immediate consequence, it's embarrassing,
and it's the biblical way. On the otherhand,
those in opposition say that spanking is not
a scientific based process as there is no
study that shows physical punishment is effective.
In Mississippi a spanking, usually three whacks,
must be witnessed by an adult of a different
race. There is parental notification.

There is no doubt that there has to be order in
a public school. It would be nice if it was possible
to have a situation where students, teachers and
principals recognized and respected one another.
However, there are many disruptive kids, and the
school must be able to have a system of discipline.
And, the definition of disruptive runs the spectrum.
Moreover, there are many physical and mental
disabilities which impact the behavior of our
children. Many of these do not improve with a form
of corporeal punishment. What is a public school
to do?

Furious, Foaming Fundamentalists: Genesis by Crumb

2009-10-20T10:22:00.000-04:00

I understand that the fantasy world of the christian fundamentalist is all in a tizzy after the release of the Genesis Cartoon Book by cartoonist Robert Crumb. The Telegraph says, "A sexually explicit illustrated Book of Genesis by controversial artist Robert Crumb, which features Bible characters having intercourse, has been condemned by religious groups.

"It is turning the Bible into titillation," said Mike Judge, of the Christian Institute, a religious think-tank. "It seems wholly inappropriate for what is essentially God's rescue plan for mankind."If you are going to publish your own version of the Bible it must be done with a great deal of sensitivity. The Bible is a very important text to many many people and should be treated with the respect it deserves."Representing it in your

own way is all very well and good but it must be remembered that it is a matter of people's faith, their religion."Faith is such an important part of people's lives that one must remember to tread very carefully."

------------------------------------------------end of article

What a hoot! "If you are going to publish your own version of the Bible..." Nonsense! Crumb did nothing of the sort. He took the exact words of Genesis and illustrated the nouns, verbs and adjectives. And this chuckle from Mike Judge [interesting name]: "It is turning the Bible into titillation..." Titillation? The book is filled with sex and violence, ripe for a Hollywood film.

What Judge and his set of purist fundamentalists are really upset about is that, for the first time in history, the reader can get a visualization of the harsh words coming from the holy god and the holy men. After all, we all have become visual rather than auditory learners through the age of TV. That's what irks them- that the graphic nature of the words have been put into graphics.

Compare Crumb's illustrations with the Disney characters displayed in the Bible for Children for laughs. The poor, uneducated child has been propagandized into 'believing' that the Bible is a wonderful love story when, in fact, it is essentially porn.

The homophobic fundamentalists will be especially upset, panties all tied in knots, over Crumb's illustration of the Lot section. Rather than depicting the suggestion of homosexual activity- one of the pillars of the bigoted fundamentalist agenda- Crumb shows Lot screwing his two daughters! What a hoot!

Serving the United States

2009-10-20T10:18:00.000-04:00

"This student carries a 4.0 average in advanced studies and could demand a high-paying salary in June, when he receives his degree."
You would think so, but the fact is that the country is in a major recession, and the corporations have manipulated a massive down sizing of their work force. To be sure, people do retire and die, but that is a hell of a way to hope for a job with his credentials. It is my opinion that we are in false recovery. In just one example, lets remember what happened when oil hit $100 a couple of years ago. Even if a person in the corporation dies or retires, he/she is not being replaced. Unfortunately, there are few jobs available for experienced workers or for new hires from the graduation of our college seniors.

"Rather, he's going to join the Peace Corps after graduation."
Maybe this is the correct direction for him to go, as it is an out when recession is high. Graduate school and public volunteering have always been alternatives to be productive in a dismal economy. Moreover, in this period of globalization the Peace Corps presents a great learning environment for a young grad who, despite his ability, is still immature. In addition, he will probably learn to read, write, and to speak fluently a foreign language. This will be important when he finishes his service and joins a corporation or a public government enterprise.

However, philosophically, it seems to me a person should chose to be in-service to our own national territory, not the land of a foreign country. We need the "best and the brightest" at work right here in the United States. We must stop exporting our corporations, our jobs, and our brains to other countries. I know that you realize that there are places in the United States that are third world. We need to have people like this student to come and work in these areas. Let's look at Obama's experience. What did he do with a top of the class law degree from Harvard? While he could have joined a major law firm, he went to Chicago and worked the streets and helped United States citizens to organize and improve their position. Sure, he could have joined the Peace Corps, but he didn't. Send that young man down here to Mississippi and the still ravaged Gulf Coast from Katrina or go into destroyed New Orleans. Obama was just in NO for a couple of hours and bobbled the entire visit. It's being compared to the "Bush fly over." In these areas of Katrina, MS, LA, and AL, its as if a nuclear device was detonated. Sure the roads have been repaired(well the interstate), the casinos have been rebuilt, and the NO SuperDome has been repaired and open for NFL games. Do you realize that there is no full functioning hospital yet operating in NO? Many medical professinals from specialists to family doctors, to radiologists, surgical nurses, critical care nurses rns, lpns, cnas, secretaries, receptionists, maintainance, and all support services are lacking. Now, why is this? Poverty and Racism in a nutshell. Let young men and women come to NO and be in-service to their own citizens.Do you realize that whole towns on the Alabama and Mississippi Gulf Coasts were wiped out. Where there was once a town with schools, churches, businesses, support systems, its all gone, only the foundations are remaining. So, you might ask, where did all the money go? Do I need to say more than these three states have Republican Governors and legislatures? Most of the money has gone to the bureaucracy, to corporations, the casinos, and the support services for those industries such as major transportation. The Governor of Mississippi, our friend Haley Barbour, has appropriated the lion share of the money to rebuild the shipbuilding industry, Ingalls, to build a new export-import trade port, and a cruise ship port. The rationale? Barbour justifies using the money, and Bush agreed, for these purposes as a way to provide for future jobs. In the meantime, human misery continues.
Don't we have a responisibility to take care of our own first? Another example, what do you suppose happened to all the nursing homes residents in Katrina's path? It's suffering that we usually don't think about, yet the needs are immense. Where is the volunteer in America? Tilting at windmills in some foreign global village? Can't we be do-gooders to our own citizens? Do these young men want to speak out against poverty, injustice, and racism? Let them stay home in the United States and provide their exceptionalism to their own citizens. Maybe you can bring this alternative to the young man that you have written about. Hasn't Obama shown the way?

Genesis in Comics! Robert Crumb

2009-10-19T19:32:00.003-04:00

USA Today:

Behold! Robert Crumb has found God, or at least a hint

of what he looks like. With a mixture of anticipation and anxiety, the art world has been awaiting Crumb's long-rumored illuminated manuscript, a four-year, monastic-like effort to

adapt every word of the first book of the Bible in distinctive pen and ink.

he result, The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb($24.95, W.W. Norton), out today, is a beautifully drawn and relentlessly faithful rendition of the first 50 chapters of the Bible by an apostle of the 1960s and sometimes profane progenitor of underground comics.

Crumb has produced what could be the ultimate graphic novel — using the Bible's sacred text to retell the stories of Creation and Noah's flood along with Sodom and Gomorrah, the family saga of Abraham and the collaboration of Joseph and Pharaoh.

Its 224 pages are sensual and violent, unblinking when it comes to incest and lust, and at times, like the Bible itself, mystifying. "Nothing left out!" shouts a cover blurb.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Nothing left out! Graphic representation of one of the most violent stories ever told. Just what eager, young minds need to read before bed. Like the one below where 'god' destroys the 'evil' cities [which just happen to be the enemies of the Jews, wink, wink!] and all the people and kids, too. And their grandmothers, and dogs. Even the farm crops, burned to a crisp!

That'll teach people not to mess with the Jews! Not to question the 'almighty!'

They are a Nutty Lot

2009-10-19T19:04:00.002-04:00

After my session with the Health Care booth, my wife and I were invited to dinner with some old friends. We love to discuss politics and the church and so my tea-bagger story, naturally, was told. After we all had a good laugh, their 21-year-old son, a senior at a prestigious university, made the casual statement that fundamentalists are a nutty lot.

Recently, one of his professors invited the CEO of a Texas oil exploration company [worth tens of billions] to speak to the class on the topic of leadership. The very wealthy man cited passages in the Old Testament that demanded that christians ought to become wealthy and that wealth was a sign from god that the person had god's blessing. In fact, he handed out a paper with the biblical quotations so that the students could 'verify' that what he told them was true.

The next day, the students were to write a 2-sided, single-spaced critique of the presentation. The student shared it with the assembled group. We all marveled at his wisdom. He 'got it' clearly and exactly. The student wondered where the NEW TESTAMENT fit into the oil man's scenario. Where were the beatitudes, for example? Where was Jesus's message for the poor, the down-trodden, the widow, the beggar in the script?

Then he said, quite sincerely, I don't think that those who call themselves 'fundamentalist christians' are Christians at all.

Imagine that! This student carries a 4.0 average in advanced studies and could demand a high-paying salary in June, when he receives his degree. Rather, he's going to join the Peace Corps after graduation.

Imagine that.

"What Faith Are You?"

2009-10-19T07:54:00.005-04:00

My wife and I spent a bright, chilly Sunday afternoon at a Health Care booth at a local fall festival. We had information on the health care plans that are running through Congress, bumper stickers, and petitions to sign for passers-by. Soon after the parade passed by, a smooth-looking gentleman and his wife and well-scrubbed children approached our booth. My intuition lit a bulb in my brain which proved to be accurate.

He approached us and asked, "What faith are you?" Unfortunately, before I could give him my 2¢ worth of opinion, another at the booth said, "Methodist." Then came the lecture. He was fully prepared from the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. It was all about 'taking money out of his wallet,' which he demonstrated as if we were dolts. Why the 'faith' question was asked beats me.

During the endless rant, in which I did not engage, I told my wife, 'See, I should have brought that tea bag to wave for people like that.' I wonder if he would have understood the symbolism; probably not. His wife and two children were obviously irritated with the righteous arrogance and smooth, well-prepared speech.

At the end, no minds were changed, but he was surely content that he got 'the message' to us socialists. Actually we all had a good laugh as he dragged wife and children down the street. I wonder what his boy, about 10, thought of the encounter? And his wife? I have a suspicion that they probably wouldn't open their mouths all too often during and after one of his dissertations. He didn't appear to enjoy confrontation and surely his family learned that long ago.

The Lost World Museum: A Creationist's Dreamland

2009-10-18T10:22:00.004-04:00

If you live too far from the Creationist Museum in Kentucky, there's another one in New York. The Lost World Museum in Phoenix, New York has just added a 'glorious' exhibit to its collection- the Chupacabra. The what? The Chupacabra is the vampiric "goat sucker" of Hispanic folklore! Or a hoax.

The Lost World Museum is 'dedicated to exploring the origins question through comparing and contrasting archeological, geological and anthropological evidences from both an evolutionary and creationist perspective.' Oh, the 'creationist' perspective?

In other words, the operators of the 'museum' hope to draw gullible Christians who hope like hell that Darwin was wrong. And bring their money to the gift shop where, no doubt, there are Noah's Ark baubles to buy.

In fact, the gift shop is on-line for those fundamentalists who can't make it to Phoenix. For $14.95 [plus shipping] the believer can purchase [great Christmas gifts!] action figures of Moses, Daniel, Noah, Goliath, David, and, in a nod to the women, Esther!

But wait! For an additional $14.95, you can purchase for the children the Two by Two Matching Game. The famous game Memory now has a new look. Noah's Ark picture cards give kids the chance to help Noah get all the animal cards matched and into the ark before the rain starts! Round tin lunchbox type case with clasp and carry handle contains 20 pairs of sturdy square cards for hours of playtime memory game fun! 2 by 2 from BIBLEQUEST is portable and fun for home or Sunday School. Recommended for children over age four.

I wonder if there is a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the Noah box?

Yet, one of the best gifts for the entire believing family is the comic book, The True Genesis Story of Creation! For only $2.95, you can brainwash your little fundamentalist children with this: Biblical archeologist Ron Wyatt states that the story of creation is precise, reliable and totally accurate. Part I takes you on a journey through the step-by-step process of the 7 days of Creation. Part II continues with this visual slideshow of the Flood, ice age and possible remains of Noah’s ark and the giant thumb bone of a pre-flood man!

Order several for all of your believing friends and their sponge brains.

All the Answers are in The Bible

2009-10-18T00:56:00.002-04:00

Newser.com ran a fascinating story about a Texas jury that consulted the Bible before rendering a verdict of death.

Death-row foes are complaining that a Texas jury ordered to consider only evidence presented in court consulted the Old Testament before condemning a man to death. Jurors examined highlighted passages in Bibles passed around the jury room to help them decide the fate of Khristian Oliver. The con killed a man by shooting him in the face and beating him with a rifle. One of the passages stated that a person who smites somebody with iron "shall surely be put to death."

The use of the Bible made the trial a "travesty," charged an Amnesty International official. "Religious texts provide consolation and spiritual guidance for billions of people the world over, but this use of the Bible to decide life or death in a capital trial is deeply, deeply troubling," she told the Telegraph. The Supreme Court has refused to hear Oliver's appeal and he is due to be executed early next month.This is even worse that the usual Texas Justice we hear about. Usually it's simply that letter-of-the-law, excessively harsh, vigilante justice, you know that one that says, "Let's give 'em a fair trial and then take 'em out and hang 'em." But this is something else again.

Here's a Guardian article with more details about the case.

What's your opinion? Even for Christian jurors, is this kind of thing acceptable? Isn't this the very thing jurors are screened for before being admitted to participate in the trial?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

The History of the Republican Party

2009-10-17T21:24:00.004-04:00

Unlike today, the Republican Party from its conception was a very drastically different in their views than what it has become today. The extreme fanatical right political population of this country has taken over MY Republican Party and made it something that the founders of the Party would not like at all. The Neo-con, inaccurate, radio blowhards have these uneducated lemmings believing that the Republican Party has always been in the ultra-conservative view that they are presenting. I have taken it upon myself the give evidence to the contrary in the hopes that the progressive moderates still within the Party may purge this damaging aspect from MY Republican Party. Wish us all luck in this task.

An important aspect of Republican rule from its first president in Abraham Lincoln was the idea that the government, and especially the federal government, was an important tool to help protect and promote prosperity. If government needed growth to keep up with a nation changing at the societal and economic level, then proper growth was done. Lincoln presided over the National Banking Acts which created a national financial system and then saw to the creation of the Department of Agriculture. Later Republicanism success stories such as the Sherman Anti-trust Act were passed by a republican controlled congress and Republican President.

In the 1900 election the Republican Party with President McKinley as its leader, who was regarded as generally an economic conservative, pushed for a party platform that would establish a Department of Commerce in order to keep the public informed on the behavior of corporations. McKinley being a business republican nevertheless saw the threat to the free-market that bad corporations could do and set the stage for Teddy Roosevelt’s administration by setting up the United States Industrial Commission to investigate and recommend a course of action on these “trusts”. This same commission returned when Teddy Roosevelt had ascended to the presidency after McKinley’s assassination and helped recommend the course of action that would help lead Teddy down the road of trust-busting.

This was just one example of how common sense Republicanism was present even in the industry conservative faction, a faction that compared to today’s extreme conservatism would have been considered moderate. His view was that the GOP was represented the unifying nationalism that had kept the nation from breaking apart in the Civil War against the wishes of the secessionists and of being the party that had led the nation from this disaster to become an industrial power. It therefore only seemed logical that this party was a party that believed in Federalism where the balance of power was needed between local, state and federal governments and that made it clear where the final power lay, a point made clear by Lincoln and the Union victory in the civil war. This was not a state’s right’s party and he believed that it was only natural for Republicans to keep the principles of their party intact by having the government employed with vigor and purpose to ensure that the benefits of the industrial economy that was quickly growing be available to all of society. Even many in the pro-business faction of the Republican Party believed in some needed regulations or protectionism in contrast to the laissez-faire democrats, although they being more conservative were not quite as progressive as Teddy Roosevelt and likeminded Republicans.

Teddy Roosevelt believed that it was necessary to regulate corporations so as to keep the fundamental belief of a working free-market society. He did not seek to punish any company that reached monopoly status, as it was seen that if a company had been so successful then it should have the right to reach the top of success. But he realized that many of these corporations had been employing tactics and measures to ensure that no other startup business that had the potential to challenge their supremacy could be able to do so. It was these trusts that he believed were in the wrong and threatened the free-market itself and therefore hurt the average consumer.

His pursuit of fairness in dealings regarding labor and industry and competition and necessary regulation against any entity considered to be powerful enough to pose a threat to fair competition in the markets was the basis of both his brokered deals and general support from union and business as well as sometimes breaking up a corporation and/or union that was considered to have become too dangerous. This ability to see the necessity of industry and workers rights but also knowing when either one could become a monster would form an important part of his domestic policies.

Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal, which famously settled the Coal Miner’s Strike of 1902, would set the precedent that the federal government and the president should never remain detached during any type of crisis be it war, natural disaster, or any domestic economic crisis. Instead of sending troops to settle the situation he had both sides come to the bargaining table and push away both extremes and settle for a fair or as he put it “square” deal.

He was also a great leader of the progressive movement, which believed that government should evolve to meet the needs of a changing nation and world. It also believed strongly in using the sciences including social sciences to be able to find ways to make government run much more efficiently with less corruption and respond to the demands of the people, to help develop new ideas and techniques to help educate the public in the sciences and education in general, and sought to make social justice such as industrial worker conditions and environmental/conservation matters important to deal with.

Hence Teddy Roosevelt was in every regard one of the leaders in this new view of government as well as the Republican Party which overall welcomed the new progressive movement at both the state and local levels.

Teddy Roosevelt also had the belief that Americans were the stewards of the natural environment and that the federal government as the elected representative and unified arm of the people should lead the way in creating nature reserves and parks would also be a prominent signature of progressive republicanism in the administration of Teddy Roosevelt.

What is important to note however that while the progressive republicans were the leading faction of the GOP that the conservative wing of this time period, “The Stay Puts,” where becoming increasingly cozy with major industry at times, was nowhere near the lunacy of the far-right today in any issue.

The “Progressives” and the “Stay Puts” that split the party in the 1912 election did much to hurt the GOP as the party of practical or pragmatic progressivism as the fight between Taft and Teddy Roosevelt turned into a party split. Taft was in fact disliked by progressives due to his industry supporting rhetoric and industry itself as a result of trust-busting that was continued over from the Teddy Roosevelt administration. Taft considered himself a progressive but due to miscalculations and general tactlessness would wind up alienating all sides, especially the progressives. This split would pull away from the party many moderate to liberal republicans who had made up an integral and mostly leading faction of the party under the term progressive and would thus enable the industry oriented conservatives to gain and keep control of the party apparatus for the next 20 years, although there was still many remaining moderate and liberal republicans from the progressive era that would still make themselves an important part of the GOP and who would end up retaking the party after the later conservative defeats.

So to conclude, those whom do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it and we are again seeing it today, a 100 years later, where the “Progressives” and the conservative “Stay Puts” within the party are going to split the Party. Until my fellow moderately progressive Republicans can purge this cancer of the ultra-fanatical, non-factually based on reason thinking, religious right wing movement within the Party; we will not have any influence in the political process. A fact that I will securely stand by and vote against my Republican Party until they do.

"Evidence and facts aren't enough to deter the perseverance of false beliefs."

2009-10-17T08:41:00.007-04:00

UPDATE 1:45 PM Saturday [below]

Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Thursday spoke to his fellow Tennesseans about their ignorance. Well, actually to the ignorant Republicans of that state, although I would imagine that his concern about ignorance might tap the entire national Republican Party.

Frist addressed the ignorance of half of the Republicans in his state who 'believe' that President Obama was born in Kenya and is therefore not eligible to be president. The birthers, of course.
A recent survey conducted by Middle Tennessee State University demonstrates the extent to which "evidence and facts aren't enough to deter the perseverance of false beliefs." According to the survey, "34% of Tennessee adults believe that President Obama was born in another country. 47% of Republicans hold that belief. About a third -- 30% -- say Obama is a Muslim. 46% -- and this includes many Democrats and independents -- say he's a socialist."

"Evidence and facts aren't enough to deter the perseverance of false beliefs." Ain't that the truth?

Earlier in the month, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham called the birthers "crazy" and told them to "knock the crap off." This past week, the South Carolina Republican was shouted down by town hall protesters for his position on climate change legislation. Sen. Graham remarked, "We're not going to be the party of angry white guys," Graham responded. "If you don't like it, you can leave."

Imagine that! Both Frist and Graham, along with numerous other GOP leaders, worry that their party has been essentially purged of level-headed, thoughtful people, and now is essentially a party of angry men who 'believe' what talk show hosts tell them.

"Evidence and facts aren't enough to deter the perseverance of false beliefs."

I could not have predicted, when I came of age back in the 1950's, that the Republican Party that I knew then, the party of Robert Taft, Nelson Rockefeller, Dwight Eisenhower, Everett Dirksen and Margaret Chase Smith, would shrink to the knot of angry dolts of today. Never!

In my last post, I showed the map of states [red] that did not give up their interracial ban on marriage until the Federal government forced them to do so. One clearly notes that these are the traditionally Republican states. The one to one correspondence begs comparison. What is it about 'The South' in general and 'false beliefs?' Do parents continue to teach their children these same 'false beliefs' from one generation to the next? Surely, the public schools do not spread such ignorant pap to the pupils.

Why can we peg so many Southerners with the statement, "Evidence and facts aren't enough to deter the perseverance of false beliefs." Two southern senators decry and confront the current state of their [southern] party.

I often bristle at the word, 'beliefs.' My mind goes directly to religion, to that list of 'beliefs' that churches demand of the congregation. A few days ago, I presented this piece by Sam Harris of the Reason Project that completed a study that shows people of faith take their "belief without evidence" as fact. The trite statement, 'don't confuse me with the facts,' comes to mind.

It may lead one to conclude that this southern dilemma that the GOP is currently battling may not, in fact, be solvable. Because the South is also known as the Bible Belt, the people there may be easily duped, bamboozled by shysters who know that these folks, especially, are essentially sponges for half-truths.

That's my conjecture and I have data to back it up. After all, one can correctly equate the statement in the title with religious believers, and it is one small step from there to the 'birthers' and 'deathers' and the grand Tea Party folks of this past summer.

UPDATE 1:45 Saturday

While noticing on the blogs at right, I clicked on Pharangula's post, "Believers in Holy Ghosts..." and found a link to the Baptist Standard, speaking on the topic of gullible Christians that says, David Gushee, a Baptist ethicist at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta, agreed Christians who spread tall tales by e-mail reflect a significant slice of American culture and act out of deep emotion.

“Certainly, many Christians seem attracted to conspiracy theories and urban myths and these mass e-mails that propagate them,” he said. “But I am not sure if that is because they are Christian or because they are just Americans of a certain type—people who feel angry about the way the world is, who feel alienated from ‘elite culture,’ who feel embattled by cultural trends that they cannot control and do not at all like, and who often feel looked down upon by those with more education or higher social status.”

"But I am not sure if that is because they are Christians..." David Gushee said. Well, Mr. Gushee, I have an altogether different take on that statement which may be something that you would not care to discuss. I think it is their 'believing' brain that is ripe for rumor, innuendo, gossip and propaganda.

Miscegenation, Phinehas and the Bible Belt

2009-10-16T08:13:00.003-04:00

Miscegenation is an interesting word in the English language which received much attention yesterday when a Justice of the Peace in Louisiana refused to marry a black and white couple. This is 2009, isn't it? No doubt Keith Bardwell, of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana is a Bible-thumper, perhaps his favorite passage being Phinehas.

There exists an amorphous group of 'believers' here in the United States referred to as The Phineas Priesthood. The 'fellowship' is named for the Israelite Phinehas, grandson of Aaron. According to Numbers 25, Phineas personally executed an Israelite man and a Midianite woman while they were in the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, running a spear through the two and ending a plague said to have been sent by God to punish the Israelites for sexually intermingling with the Midianites.

Wikipedia reports that the The Phineas Priesthood (Phineas Priests) is a Christian Identity movement that opposes interracial intercourse, the mixing of races, homosexuality, and abortion. It is also marked by its anti-Semitism, anti-multiculturalism, and opposition to taxation. Wow! Sounds like the Republican Party.

In fact, it sounds like the South. The map at the top represents the date at which a state rescinded Miscegenation laws; the red color represents 1967 when it became a Federal Law. Had that law not been enacted, one wonders if, today, some of those southern states might still have miscegenation laws in force.

The Bible Belt and the Miscegenation Belt. Quite the cozy relationship. For the Bible says...

In 1945, Germany was forced to nullify its Nuremberg Laws, the Gesetz zum Schutze des deutschen Blutes und der deutschen Ehre (The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour). It was enacted in 1935 as anti-Semitic propaganda. Yet, those same laws continued here in the land of the free and the home of the brave for 22 more years. Biblical mandate, you know.

How many more racial bigots, assured by the Bible that it is righteous, go about their daily lives 'believing' that biblical law, the Law of Moses, supersedes the laws of the United States Constitution? I am afraid that there are more than we ever imagined.

All Is Now Forgiven With The Irsay Family From A Childhood Baltimore Colts Fan

2009-10-15T10:43:00.009-04:00

As a child I grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore. I remember well the excitement in 1958 when the “Greatest Game Ever Played,” was unfolded before us all in Baltimore. This is when the underdog, “The Baltimore Colts,” beat the much favored “New York Giants,” for the nationally televised championship football game.

So many future Hall Of Fame players like Frank Gifford, Rosey Brown, Sam Huff, Don Maynard, Andy Robustelli, and Emlen Tunnell played on this Giants team. On the other hand Baltimore had only been in the league for 6 seasons as an expansion team. Coached by Weeb Ewbanks who had future Hall Of Fame players like the GREAT Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry, Alan “The Horse” Ameche, Lenny Moore, Gino Marchetti, and Don Joyce. Football historians have given the credit to Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry for inventing the “2 minute drill.”

Yes in 1953 the Baltimore Colts, (who use to be the Dallas Texans and were moved to Baltimore), were now here in 1958 playing for the National Football League Championship. The Colts name came about because of the tradition of Baltimore’s rich history with racing, and breeding of horses. The obvious example of this history being the second leg of the triple crown, “The Preakness Stakes.”

The game was played on December 28, 1958 at Yankee Stadium in New York. The 1958 game was the 26th annual NFL championship game. To add to this drama, this was the first nationally televised Championship Football game and the game played out better than if someone had written a suspenseful script. The Colts beat the Giants 23-17 in overtime, earning their first ever championship. The game would later be known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played!” Then as if to prove that they were not just a fluke, there was a rematch between the two teams in 1959 and the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants again by a score of 31 to 16.

The Colts went on to play and win many Championships and later Super Bowls establishing many memories to the young “Engineer of Knowledge.” As a child playing quarterback in little league football teams in the area…I did not know any better than my heroes who played for the Colts….that they did not walk on water.

I remember all too well my father, a physical education major school teacher, surprised me one Sunday in 1967 and took me to Memorial Stadium to see the Baltimore Colts play the Minnesota Vikings. We sat on the 50 yard line, 6 rows back from the field, and I watched Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry work their magic. The tickets cost $7.00 each and I can say that this day was one of the best days of my life!

Well I can only say that it is hard to describe the feeling when Bob Irsay, with Mayflower moving vans, snuck away in the dead of that cold, snowy night; and stole my Baltimore Colts along with my fondest childhood memories, to Indianapolis. Little did anyone know on that December 18, 1983, the Colts would play their final game in Baltimore. Almost after the season ending win at Memorial Stadium; Colts owner Robert Irsay began talking to other cities about moving the club. On February 13th he toured the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis and the rest is history.

To this day football fans in Baltimore still burn in effigy the image of Bob Irsay. Even though we are now Baltimore Raven’s football fans, “named after the Edgar Allen Poe poem, “The Raven,” still will not forgive and move on past their distain and hatred of anyone with the Irsay family name.

By now you must be asking, “Engineer, where are you going with this story and isn’t your title, “All Is Now Forgiven?” My answer to you is “YES.” I can say today that on a personal level, I can forgive the son Jim Irsay for his father’s sins of stealing my Baltimore Colts and childhood memories because Jim, as the owner of the Colts and with the foresight of what is best for the NFL; VOTED AGAINST RUSH LIMBAUGH FROM OWNING THE ST. LOUIS RAMS!!!!!

I want to say to Jim Irsay that he has single handily with his vote restored my faith in professional football and enabled me to release my resentment and inwardly held anger after these so many years. In closing I want to say “THANK YOU” and may nothing but good things happen for you in the future.

Life as Delusion: The Neuropsychology of Religion

2009-10-15T08:17:00.004-04:00

I borrowed the photo at right from Chuck O'Connor's blog, Battling Confusion. I would also quote from his most recent post, To the Brain, Faith is Fact. O'Connor cites a study conducted by UCLA titled, The Neural Correlates of Religious and Nonreligious Belief. The study process was MRI imaging:

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure signal changes in the brains of thirty subjects—fifteen committed Christians and fifteen nonbelievers—as they evaluated the truth and falsity of religious and nonreligious propositions

Questions such as these were given to each participant: 'Santa Claus is a myth; God is a myth. Jesus Christ performed miracles. Alexander the Great was a famous military leader.'

The MRI brain data clearly delineates the 'believer' from the 'non-believer.' The 'discussion' section of the article is most interesting and there is a plethora of linkable articles on the topic for those who care to read further.

Why do I bring this article to your attention? The simple answer is that it is a fascinating study of the human brain. Additionally, I have become interested in the brain-functioning of Fundamentalist Christians since the inception of this blog. As with head lice, I am infested with evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians and I wonder: exactly what is their 'draw' to my blog? This blog is like raw hamburger sitting out on a warm summer day. Or cooties!

Perhaps it is a bit of narcissism, but I rather gloat at the knowledge that so many of 'them' are attracted here. Even when I tell some of them- do not post comments on this blog, they do so anyway. Do you think that they are missionaries attempting to convert the pagan? Do they receive more 'heavenly points' if they convert someone? A higher place in heaven?

Or is it OCD? The OCD characteristic of 'checking' comes to mind- the need to check on things to suppress the uneasy feelings of disorder and disarray. My Sitemeter® indicates that this blog is 'checked-on' regularly. If it is not checked, I suppose, there could be angst, hand-wringing, diarrhea and other physical expressions of worry. It's a sad state of affairs, to be sure. Of course, a simple Rx taken daily could help manage this OCD condition.

Perhaps it is my laissez-faire attitude or my tongue-in-cheek humor toward those living in religious delusion that is an irritant, and like a mad hornet, a 'sting' is required to mollify the situation. Spitefulness and nastiness are often the 'sting' given for my wanton, irreligious postings. Curiously, un-Christlike.

How is life as delusion, anyway? I've often wondered about that. Of course, many Americans regularly take drugs or drink to enter that ethereal state of delusion where fantasy trumps reality. The schizophrenic, sadly, lives that state. Do do the severely autistic. Life as fantasy- spirits moving through time and space, visions of colorful bright lights, heavenly choirs of angels singing... LSD, I've been told, creates a similar notional state of mind.

Must be interesting. Escapism. Like lying on one's back in the grass looking at the clouds on a warm summer day. Or, just above the clouds, looking at the heavenly realm and wishing that you were there. Dreaming of 'eternal life,' marshmallow sundaes, wings to fly, and radiant white robes. Chocolate rivers, caramel apple trees, and sirloin steaks grilling on celestial fires!

I wonder though, would these 'saved,' these Jesus sheep be saddened to look down at those goats burning in the fires of eternal hell? Or would that vision be blocked, like the parental controls on a TV set? Curious stuff to ponder. But, what the hell, that 's the price they pay for their sinful time on earth! It's a damned shame that 'they' didn't come to the Lord and profess their sinfulness. They had the opportunity to get right with the Lord, but chose to turn their backs on him! They deserve to burn for eternity in the fire and brimstone!

Zot! Sorry about that last tirade- I got caught up in fantasy and delusion. Apparently it's easier than I 'believed.' Well, here I am on a cold, rainy Thursday in Toledo, wet snow on the way for tomorrow. Reality check. Bills to pay, furnace filter to change, car in for a tune-up, letters to write, project to complete, flu shot, rake the yard, take the screens down...

Oh, to live in delusion, but I haven't the time just now.

Arminianism: The heresy plaguing the modern church of the 21st century.

2009-10-14T22:12:00.003-04:00

Modern Christianity is clearly a mulligan stew- that hobo stew which consists of 'whatever else can be begged, scavenged, found or stolen.' Just look in the Yellow Pages under 'churches' and you would be amazed, perhaps baffled, at the many choices offered. A stew.

One comment I received today chided me for not knowing much of Calvinism; but then, why should I? I know that John Calvin was one of a bunch of men who decided to found a church in opposition to the Catholic Church. So did many others, the first, of course, Martin Luther. Since that heroic nailing to the cathedral door, hundreds of copy-cat churches developed across Europe, each one proclaiming that it alone held the secrets to immortal life. Like those awful pharmaceutical ads running nauseously on TV.

What great difference can there be in the interpretation of 'faith' anyhow? After all, it's really a con game based on some non-verifiable writings of zealots 20 centuries ago, is it not? Then there are those older writings, the tales of the desert-wanderers who created a god who would destroy their enemies if they supplicated themselves often enough. Generally, these tales are not fit for persons under the age of 18- like the 'R' rating of Hollywood.

Nonetheless, people identify with one of these stew-churches, like a badge of courage or a flag lapel pin, or and Ohio State sweatshirt. 'Go Bucks!' 'Go Calvin!'

I understand, upon further research on Calvin, that his nemesis was a man named Jacobus Arminius. Was he from Armenia? Just joking. So, what I get about this dueling pair of Protestants is one believed that, as God is omnipotent, He knew your destiny before you were a zygote. The other said, well, not so fast! Arminius figured out that if God already knew where you were headed at your last breath, then, what the hell would make you toe the line during your lifetime? Predestination, Calvin said. The game's been fixed.

Of course, if the' game was fixed,' then there would be no need for a church, a pastor, sermons, or the collection plate. Arminius figured out that such a scenario would lead to hedonism, humanism and humping. Bestiality too, perhaps. Those 'deadly' sins, of course. Like those barbarians or aborigines or atheists! Way too much sin [and fun].

Thus, Arminius won out, for the most part [as if we didn't already know that.] And so, we have sin and abomination and guilt. And sermons, and will the ushers pass the collection plate? The whole ball of wax.

But wait! There is salvation! Yes, you can be saved from your wicked ways and we know how! For $19.95 plus shipping and handling... Sorry, too much TV.

The title of this post, Arminianism: The heresy plaguing the modern church of the 21st century, is a piece on the website apuritansmind.com. A Puritan's mind- that seems to be a narrow topic, but nonetheless, it presents a judgement of 'heresy' against Mr. Arminius. There is even a book about the heresy, The Pelagian Captivity of the Church, by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon.

Great reading material, no doubt, but just a bit too 'spicy' for my kind of stew. Who the hell cares about this doctrinal dustup anyway? And how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? I think 666.

About those hedonist atheists- are they really the trouble makers that they are purported to be? Going to hell in a hand basket, for sure! Too bad they don't go to church where they can be 'saved!'

"Darwinopterus" Fossil Cements Piece of Evolutionary History

2009-10-14T16:59:00.002-04:00

New pterosaur named to honour Darwin is the headline of this CBC News story. A new type of pterosaur has been found in northeast China and it's filling in some of the gaps in the evolutionary record of the extinct flying reptiles.

The fossil skull of the pterosaur Darwinopterus is about 19 centimetres long. (Lü Junchang) British and Chinese paleontologists found more than 20 fossil skeletons of the new pterosaur, which they've dubbed Darwinopterus, to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species, Darwin's founding book on evolutionary biology.

Darwinopterus, about the size of a crow, had long jaws with rows of sharp, pointy teeth and a long, flexible neck. The researchers said these features could suggest that it was a mid-air predator, catching and eating other flying creatures, such as other pterosaurs, gliding mammals and feathered dinosaurs.

The gap in the fossil record between these two types of pterosaurs was identified in Darwin's time, and the researchers were surprised to see Darwinopterus filling that gap.

"We had always expected a gap-filler with typically intermediate features such as a moderately elongate tail — neither long nor short — but the strange thing about Darwinopterus is that it has a head and neck just like that of advanced pterosaurs, while the rest of the skeleton, including a very long tail, is identical to that of primitive forms," David Unwin of the University of Leicester said in a release.

Unwin said the rapid evolution of groups of related features, or modules, seen in Darwinopterus support a controversial theory called modular evolution.

"Whole groups of features that form important structures such as the skull, the neck or the tail seem to have evolved together," Unwin said.

"It seems that natural selection was acting on and changing entire modules and not, as would normally be expected, just on single features such as the shape of the snout or the form of a tooth," he said.

-----------------------------------------

Well, well, this important 'link' has been named for Charles Darwin. One wonders if the Creation Museum will be displaying this new fossil. Good joke, eh?

The Creed of Christian Reconstructionism

2009-10-13T22:14:00.004-04:00

UPDATE OCT. 14 below

In an earlier post, I pointed out that there is a group of fundamentalist christians who wish that the Constitution of the United States would be recalled and, in its place, the Mosaic Laws of the Old Testament. These right-wing christians believe in the philosophy of Dominionism, that is, to seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action—aiming either at a nation governed by Christians or governed by a conservative Christian understanding of biblical law.

The umbrella term applied to such a radical coup of the government of the United States is Reconstructionism. Many fundamentalist and evangelical christians either do not know or pretend not to know of the radical ends of this movement.

Rev. Andrew Sandlin, former executive vice president of Chalcedon and editor of the Chalcedon Report, was an important voice in Christian Reconstructionism. He wrote the following summary outline to help understand the idea of Reconstructionism. I find this piece quite enlightening and frightening.

The Creed of Christian Reconstructionism

Rev. Andrew Sandlin

A Christian Reconstructionist is a Calvinist. He holds to historic, orthodox, catholic Christianity and the great Reformed confessions. He believes God, not man, is the center of the universe--and beyond; God, not man, controls whatever comes to pass; God, not man, must be pleased and obeyed. He believes God saves sinners--He does not help them save themselves. A Christian Reconstructionist believes the Faith should apply to all of life, not just the "spiritual" side. It applies to art, education, technology, and politics no less than to church, prayer, evangelism, and Bible study.

A Christian Reconstructionist is a Theonomist. Theonomy means "God's law." A Christian Reconstructionist believes God's law is found in the Bible. It has not been abolished as a standard of righteousness. It no longer accuses the Christian, since Christ bore its penalty on the cross for him. But the law is a description of God's righteous character. It cannot change any more than God can change. God's law is used for three main purposes: First, to drive the sinner to trust in Christ alone, the only perfect law-keeper. Second, to provide a standard of obedience for the Christian, by which he may judge his progress in sanctification. And third, to maintain order in society, restraining and arresting civil evil.

A Christian Reconstructionist is a Presuppositionalist. He does not try to "prove" that God exists or that the Bible is true. He holds to the Faith because the Bible says so, not because he can "prove" it. He does not try to convince the unconverted that the gospel is true. They already know it is true. They need repentance, not evidence. Of course, the Christian Reconstructionist believes there is evidence for the Faith--in fact, there is nothing but evidence for the Faith. The problem for the unconverted, though, is not a lack of evidence, but a lack of submission. The Christian Reconstructionist begins and ends with the Bible. He does not defend "natural theology," and other inventions designed to find some agreement with covenant-breaking, apostate mankind.

A Christian Reconstructionist is a Postmillennialist. He believes Christ will return to earth only after the Holy Spirit has empowered the church to advance Christ's kingdom in time and history. He has faith that God's purposes to bring all nations--though not every individual--in subjection to Christ cannot fail. The Christian Reconstructionist is not utopian. He does not believe the kingdom will advance quickly or painlessly. He knows that we enter the kingdom through much tribulation. He knows Christians are in the fight for the "long haul." He believes the church may yet be in her infancy. But he believes the Faith will triumph. Under the power of the Spirit of God, it cannot but triumph.

A Christian Reconstructionist is a Dominionist. He takes seriously the Bible's commands to the godly to take dominion in the earth. This is the goal of the gospel and the Great Commission. The Christian Reconstructionist believes the earth and all its fulness is the Lord's--that every area dominated by sin must be "reconstructed" in terms of the Bible. This includes, first, the individual; second, the family; third, the church; and fourth, the wider society, including the state. The Christian Reconstructionist therefore believes fervently in Christian civilization. He firmly believes in the separation of church and state, but not the separation of the state--or anything else--from God. He is not a revolutionary; he does not believe in the militant, forced overthrow of human government. He has infinitely more powerful weapons than guns and bombs--he has the invincible Spirit of God, the infallible word of God, and the incomparable gospel of God, none of which can fail.

He presses the crown rights of the Lord Jesus Christ in every sphere, expecting eventual triumph.

UPDATE OCT. 14

Here is a bit more information about this 'secret' agenda of the Calvinist-Reconstructionists. It is from the essay, Dominion Theology: The Truth About the Christian Right's Bid for Power by Sara Diamond

• Many Christian Right activists have never even heard of reconstructionism, whose advocates call for the imposition of an Old Testament style theocracy, complete with capital punishment for offenses including adultery, homosexuality, and blasphemy.

• Christians alone are Biblically mandated to occupy all secular institutions until Christ returns--and there is no consensus on when that might be. Dominionist thinking precludes coalitions between believers and unbelievers, which is why many Christian rightists will have a hard time compromising with some of the very same Republicans they recently helped elect.

• The idea of taking dominion over secular society gained widespread currency with the 1981 publication of evangelical philosopher Francis Schaeffer's book A Christian Manifesto. Schaeffer and his wife Edith ran a retreat center in Switzerland, where young American "Jesus freaks" came to study the Bible and learn how to apply Schaeffer's dominion theology to the political scene back home.

• Since humanists place human progress, not God, at the center of their considerations, they pushed American culture in all manner of ungodly directions, the most visible results of which included legalized abortion and the secularization of the public schools. At the end of A Christian Manifesto, Schaeffer calls for Christians to use civil disobedience to restore Biblical morality, which explains Schaeffer's popularity with groups like Operation Rescue.

• Christ will return only after Christians have been in charge for 1,000 years. The Coalition on Revival, founded by Jay Grimstead, consistent with post-millennialism, was the development of position papers, called "world view documents," on how to apply dominion theology to Christian Right activism in more than a dozen spheres of social life, including education, economics, law, and even entertainment. Grimstead and his colleagues advocated running stealth candidates in selected counties as early as 1986. [I know of one of those 'stealth candidates who ran for a school board position in the Toledo area]

• The Reconstructionists are theologically committed to Calvinism. They shy away from the Baptists' loud preaching and the Pentecostals' wild practices of speaking in tongues, healing and delivering prophecies. To secular readers, the minutiae of who believes what--or which group of characters likes to dance on one foot--might seem trivial. But some of the details and divisions of Christian Right theology are politically relevant.

• Reconstructionism's leading proponent has been Rousas John (R.J.) Rushdoony, an obscure figure within the Christian Right. Born in 1916, the son of Armenian immigrants to the U.S., Rushdoony was strongly influenced by Westminster Theological Seminary professor Cornelius Van Til, a Dutch theologian who emphasized the inerrant authority of the Bible and the irreconcilability between believers and unbelievers. A recent issue of Rushdoony's monthly Chalcedon Report noted his Armenian background. Since the year 320, every generation of the Rushdoony family has produced a Christian priest or minister. "There was Armenian royalty in the Rushdoony blood, and a heritage of defending the faith, often by sword and gun, against Godless foes bent on destroying a people of faith and works."

• It was Rushdoony's seminal 1973 tome The Institutes of Biblical Law that articulated Reconstructionists' vision of a theocracy in which Old Testament law would be reinstated in modern society. Old Testament law classified a wide range of sins as punishable by death; these included not only murder and rape but also adultery, incest, homosexuality, witchcraft, incorrigible delinquency by youth, and even blasphemy. In the Reconstructionists' vision of a millennial or "kingdom" society, there would be only local governments; there would be no central administrative state to collect property taxes, nor to provide education or other welfare services.

• It is the Reconstructionists' religion of Calvinism that makes them unlikely to appeal to most evangelicals. Calvinism is the by now almost archaic belief that God has already preordained every single thing that happens in the world. Most importantly, even one's own salvation or condemnation to hell is already a done deal as far as God is concerned. By this philosophical scheme, human will is not involved in changing the course of history. All that is left for the "righteous" to do is to play out their pre- ordained role, including their God-given right to dominate everyone else.

• One of the classic works of sociology, Max Weber's Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, links the rise of Calvinism to the needs of budding capitalists to judge their own economic success as a sign of their preordained salvation. The rising popularity of Calvinism coincided with the consolidation of the capitalist economic system. Calvinists justified their accumulation of wealth, even at the expense of others, on the grounds that they were somehow destined to prosper. It is no surprise that such notions still find resonance within the Christian Right which champions capitalism and all its attendant inequalities.

• Calvinism is an essentially reckless doctrine. If God has already decided what's going to happen, then the Dominionists do not have to take responsibility for their actions. (They can kill abortion doctors "knowing" it is the right thing to do.)

• The Christian Right wants to take dominion and collaborate with the existing political-economic system, at the same time. Liberal critics, who also endorse the ruling system, can recognize only the Christian Right's takeover dimension. Radicals can see that the dominion project is dangerous because it is, in part, business as usual.

Federal Taxes

2009-10-13T17:34:00.002-04:00

Basically, there are three federal taxes on
individuals: the payroll tax paid by most
U.S. families and which amounts to around
15.3% tax rate; the income tax which amounts
to about 10% on most families, except up to
30% for the very wealthy; and the inheritance
tax which is in remission under the Bush tax
cuts for the very wealthy until 2010 when it
is to expire and be reinstated affect at most
2% of tax payers.

Republicans always decry the burden of federal
income taxes. However, interestingly they never
call for lowering the payroll tax which falls
heavily on lowerclass and middleclass working
families. It is from this tax which pays for
Social Security and Medicare and has been the
way the Republicans 2001-2008 paid the off
budget monies for the two wars and the
prescription drug plan. You see, they used
up the Clinton surplus and saddled the government
with a trillion dollar deficit, let alone the
collapse of Wall Street, Banking, and the
national economy, using the payroll tax of the
underclasses to pay for their off-budget spending,
while giving the tax breaks to the wealthy.
Republican tax relief always benefits the affluent.

It is not class warfare to say Republican tax cuts
disproportionately benefit the very wealthy. Cutting
taxes on the rich does not lead to economic growth.
We know far to well how our economy grew in the
BushII years, the repeal of Glass-Stegall. It was
not the tax cuts to the wealthy.

We know BushII's tax cuts were dishonest. Now, my
question is how dishonest will be the Democrats
and Obama. How much are they misrepresenting their
spending bills, especially the health care reform?
How are 25 million added to health insurance and we
don't have to pay for it. Obama tells us it will be
done by eliminating fraud, deceit, and abuse. Sure
thing? HOw many times in the last 60 years have we
heard that refrain?

Moreover, the CBO gives its estimate for the 10 years
apparently beginning in 2010. Yet, the reform doesn't
go into effect until 2014. Yep, there is that Washington,
D.C. funny banking at work again. If 2014 is correct,
as of this moment with the Senate Finance Committee
reported out bill, it would be important to have the
CBO score it for 2014-2024. Three or four years of no
expense certainly minimizes the cost. What was it that
Obama and the Democrats campaigned on? Transparency,
wasn't it? Where does the money come from?

The Constitution and Bill of Rights are merely Addendums to Old Testament Biblical Law

2009-10-13T17:10:00.003-04:00

I found the title of this post, "The Constitution and Bill of Rights are merely addendums to Old Testament Biblical law," while doing some research on the connection between evangelical, fundamentalist christians and the U.S. Government. Fellow contributor to this blog, UptheFlag, made a comment regarding christian fundamentalists, saying, "This is why I suggested that a book demonstrating their [fundamentalists] place in U.S. history and methods to prevent them [fundamentalists] from enlarging their adherents. Benign neglect will not work; neither will wishful hoping."

On a website called, TheocracyWatch.org, I came across an article that helps the non-fundamentalist understand the overt meddling in government by the so-called religious right. The author, Chip Berlet, Senior Analyst, Political Research Associates, speaks of the group of conservative Christians called Dominionists; he says that they are Christian nationalists. He goes on to say of them: They believe that Biblically-defined immorality and sin breed chaos and anarchy. They fear that America's greatness as God's chosen land has been undermined by liberal secular humanists, feminists, and homosexuals.

Clarifying the term further, he speaks of Hard Dominionists who want the United States to be a Christian theocracy. For them the Constitution and Bill of Rights are merely addendums to Old Testament Biblical law. They claim that Christian men with specific theological beliefs are ordained by God to run society. Christians and others who do not accept their theological beliefs would be second-class citizens. This sector includes Christian Reconstructionists, but it has a growing number of adherents in the leadership of the Christian Right.

Interestingly, many fundamentalists do not realize that they are, in fact, dominionists. In fact, they will deny that label while ascribing to the agenda above. Does it matter what they are called? I think not. The agenda is clear and frightening which is why my former post referred to them as 'treasonous.' I stand by that term more strongly now than ever.

New Perspective on Capital Punishment

2009-10-13T01:42:00.002-04:00

Iranian.com ran a story on capital punishment that really caught my attention. First, I liked it because the site itself is fascinating. I suppose it's aimed at Iranian Americans due to the bi-lingual presentation, but I couldn't tell for sure. Secondly, I found it fascinating because the sub title is "nothing is sacred." I'll bet they love that one in Tehran.

Today, October 10th, is the World Day Against the Death Penalty. Morbidly ironic, Behnoud Shojaee’s execution on this day is a stark reminder of the brutality of Islamic Republic of Iran’s policies in executing its citizens on a whole host of criminal and belief-based charges.
The judicial system in Iran has proven time and again to be unfair, discriminatory, and perversely criminal itself in dealing with social maladies inflicted upon its own society through implementation of barbaric laws.

It almost sounds like Texas. The judicial system is "unfair, discriminatory, and perversely criminal itself in dealing with social maladies," could easily apply to any jurisdiction in the U.S., but down Dallas way, this description fits to a tee.

Perhaps I'm being too flip, though. The graphic provided on the Iranian.com site is most illuminating for putting things into perspective. When turning the death penalty stats into per capita numbers, we see a very different story than what we're used to.

Recently we discussed a report from Amnesty International which put China on top and the U.S. fifth. That was total numbers of executions. The Iranian stats show that Iran is tops with Saudia Arabia a close second. China is much lower than both of those in a per capita comparison, and the U.S. much lower still.

I don't feel this information changes much, since of the countries ahead of the United States, there is not a single one that I'd want to live in. The U.S. is still associated with a group of countries that it should be ashamed to be aligned with.

What's your opinion? How do you feel about that company we're keeping in the capital punishment lists?

Please feel free to leave a comment.

America's Treasonous Christians

2009-10-11T08:51:00.006-04:00

Fundamentalist christians are a threat to the security and functioning of this nation. They openly subvert the Constitution and many openly support a foreign government. Therefore, they engage in treasonous activities.

Julian Bond, civil Rights leader during the 1960's struggle for African Americans to attain their full rights under the U.S. Constitution, and a former Georgia legislator and history professor, said on CNN this morning that the gay and lesbian struggle for full equality is the same as his struggle some 50 years ago. "It isn't black rights or gay rights," he said, "it's civil rights." He was asked by CNN for his thoughts on President Obama's speech at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in Washington last evening.

Obama promised to end the military's policy, 'Don't Ask Don't Tell,' and further promised to sign the Matthew Shepherd Act as soon as the Senate passes it. He received great applause for both commitments.

Back in the 1960's, opposition to black civil rights came from bigoted men and women who 'believed' that blacks were not equal to whites. Interestingly, many of these racial bigots quoted passages from the Bible's Old Testament as mandates for separating blacks from whites. Following the same pattern, these days the bigots [evangelical and fundamental christians] use the same Bible to deny gays and lesbians their civil rights.

Just find some fundamentalist blog [i can give you a few] and you will see these quotations from Genesis, Leviticus and Deuteronomy posted as 'proof' that God hates gays. Of course, some fundamentalist churches post these hateful passages on their marquee, warning gays not to enter. Reminds me of 'white only' signs in the South.

Yet surely, these homophobic christians 'believe' that they are doing God's will by their continual denial of civil rights to gays and lesbians. Surely, some of the white bigots in the South must have 'believed' the same. Isn't it curious that the Bible and God are used by bigots to mollify their obvious hate for another?

Naturally, those who have studied the history of the human race clearly understand how often 'religion' and 'beliefs' have been used to attack, subjugate, imprison, rape, and kill another tribe or group of people. Hundreds of bloody historical pages chronicle these sorry deeds.

Often we Americans point the finger of guilt at African, Asian and European nations who have used 'beliefs' or long-standing cultural traditions to deny the rights of those within their boundaries. Even today, those traditions continue.

Yet, here we are, in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, and there are Americans who 'believe' that other groups of Americans ought not enjoy the full and endowed rights of this nation. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness is openly and summarily denied to gays and lesbians by evangelical and fundamentalist christians because... because that ancient Jewish journal, that dossier filled with misogyny, bigotry, slavery, and disdain for neighboring tribes 'tells them to.'

Apparently, to the evangelical, fundamentalist christian, the Bible is a more valid document than the United States Constitution. In other words, these christian bigots 'believe' that they owe more allegiance to the Bible than to the Flag. Imagine that! Here in this nation there are thousands of 'citizens' who do not put country first! Should we alert Homeland Security? Are some of them working to subvert the Constitution of this nation? Do they wish to alter the structure of this nation so that the Bible replaces the Constitution. Might this be called treason? I think so.

Additionally, some of these treasonous christians are giving open support to another nation, promoting civil unrest within that nation and the agitation of its neighbors. It is the State of Israel.

An organization calling itself, Christians United for Israel, says on its website:

Israel’s time of need is now. There is a new Hitler in the Middle East --President Ahmadinejad of Iran -- who has threatened to wipe out Israel and America and is rapidly acquiring the nuclear technology to make good on his threat. If we learned anything from the Holocaust, it is that when a madman threatens genocide we must take him seriously. During the Holocaust, too many Christians were silent, and we were left to mourn the slaughter of 6 million Jews. Today, Bible-believing Christians must speak up and stand up for Israel. We must act to do whatever we can to protect Israel’s 6 million Jews from the second Holocaust. We must get it right this time. Our faith demands it. The times require it. Silence is not an option.

The infamous pastor, John Hagee, is part of this 'ministry.' Christians United for Israel has its own congressional PAC, helping to sway our congressmen and senators to direct our tax dollars to the State of Israel to defeat and dislodge Muslims from 'the Holy Land.' This is because Revelations demands that the landing pad for the second coming of Jesus be cleansed of the unholy infidels.

How many American chrisitans send money to this organization? Do they receive a tax-deduction for supporting the State of Israel? Is that constitutional and/or treasonous? The IRS ought to investigate and Homeland Security should be notified.

I repeat what I said at the beginning: fundamentalist christians are a threat to the security and functioning of this nation. They openly subvert the Constitution and many openly support a foreign government. Therefore, they engage in treasonous activities.

Toledo Rep. Marcy Kaptur Tells Obama to Fire the Generals

2009-10-10T07:15:00.004-04:00

Congressman Marcy Kaptur was a guest on PBS's Bill Moyer's Journal last evening and pulled no punches regarding Wall Street Bankers. She told Moyers, referring to Timothy Geithner and Larry Sommers, "When Lincoln ran into trouble during the Civil War, he got new Generals. He brought in Grant. I hope that President Obama will bring in some new generals on the financial front. I don’t think any individuals who had their hands in creating this mess should be in charge of cleaning it up... I don’t think President Obama has the right people around him."

Kaptur went on to excoriate Wall Street and the big banks of America, pointing out that they are right back at their 'game' of fleecing the citizens and gorging themselves with profits and bonuses. She said, "Let me give you a reality from ground zero in Toledo, Ohio. Our foreclosures have gone up 94 percent. A few months ago, I met with our realtors. And I said, "What should I know?" They said, "Well, first of all, you should know the worst companies that are doing this to us." "Well, give me the top one." They said, "JPMorgan Chase."

JPMorgan Chase- the company we taxpayers bailed out. Simon Johnson, another guest with Kaptur said, "I'm afraid that it's pretty obvious, and it's very tragic, that they have no interest in helping the homeowners. They make money with what they're doing. They expected a lot of these mortgages they made to default, okay? It was in their models. A high default rate. Now, they didn't expect house prices to come down so much. That's where they got their losses. But they absolutely made these loans expecting they would have to foreclose on people. And figuring they would make money on that."

It was noted that when President Obama came to Wall Street to address the members, not one of the CEO's of the largest banks was in attendance. Not one. Why?
Because they know that they are now free to do what they want to as the 'crisis' is over and the time for Congress and the Executive Branch to act has already passed.

Johnson said "the opportunity for real reform has already passed. And, not only is there not going to be change, but I'll go further — I'll say it's going to be worse, what comes out of this, in terms of the financial system, its power, and what it can get away with."

Kaptur points out that there is 'socialism' in America and Wall Street got all of the benefits: " what they're doing is they're taking their mistakes and they're dumping them on the taxpayer. So, you and I, and the long term debt of our country and our children and grandchildren. It's all at risk because of their behavior. We aren't reigning them in. The laws of Congress passed last year in terms of housing, were hollow. Were hollow."

Socialism...Wall Street and the big banks of America. And Congress is impotent, paid-off, putty in the hands of the financial institutions of this nation.

Johnson predicts disaster down the road. "And by the way, Bill, it's going to I think it's going to be a long haul. I think that the economy will start to recover. We'll get some jobs back. It's going to be very painful for a lot of people. But other people's attention is going to drift. It's a three, five, seven, maybe twelve year cycle. But when it comes back, it will come back with a vengeance. And it will be even, I think, even more devastating, in all likelihood, than what we just saw."

Money influencing members of Congress. Representatives bought and sold like cattle, like slaves. This is what American democracy has become. Disgusting!

Curious Card in the Mail Today

2009-10-09T22:47:00.003-04:00

I received this card in the mail today; it had no return address. When I opened it, I wondered if it was from an evangelical, a fundamentalist attempting to set me straight with the Lord. They always seem to know what's best for other people, you know. But then I realized that I don't actually know any evangelical fundamentalists and knew it must be a gag.

Upon opening it, it reads, "So you might as well enjoy them!"

I suppose this raises the prospect of some long theological discussion on whether one's 'sins' have been already wiped clean before one 'commits' them or not and, part two, whether the enjoyment of said pre-forgiven 'sin' compounds the 'sin' problem and erases the automatic forgiveness there of. Deep stuff.

But as I turned the card to the back, I saw that it was produced by "Mooning Duck" and that pretty much put closure on the discussion.

The Rev. Needs a History Lesson

2009-10-09T11:28:00.003-04:00

She signed her Letter to the Editor of the Toledo Blade, Rev. Carolyn Eyre. I suppose she earned that title somewhere, some time, but that does not imply any deep understanding of either the U.S. Constitution or American history. Those 'church' people like to imagine stuff, like angels, raised dead bodies, and a place, just above the cloud layer, called heaven. They like to imagine that our America government ought to include that stuff, too.

The Reverend writes,

Members of the Ohio House who voted in favor of H.B. 176 voted to deny one of our most basic constitutional guarantees: The freedom of religious expression.

The behaviors associated with certain "sexual orientation" are contrary to our religious convictions. The Ohio and the U.S. constitutions guarantee our freedom to make decisions based on such deeply held convictions. Further, courts have established criteria that groups of persons must meet to qualify as a protected class under civil rights laws. Those who self-identify by their "gender identity" do not meet those criteria.

I would suggest we remember this as the 2010 election approaches and vote for candidates who respect our beliefs and retain those who uphold our constitutional rights.

Rev. Carolyn Eyre

I believe that she is confused, as her essay displays, over the separation of church and state and ignorant of the guarantee of equal rights to all U.S. citizens. An obvious bigoted homophobe, the Reverend curiously wants to deny gays and lesbians Constitutional rights because of some ancient writings in that dusty journal kept by the wandering Jews. It seems that, in writing this letter, Rev. Eyre is positioning herself for another run at public office, something that she continues to do election after election. Clearly, she has established herself as the 'choice' candidate among the evangelical fundamentalists of Toledo. Luckily for us, few other voters see her as a viable candidate for anything higher than dog catcher.

The Peace Prize- One More Log on Obama's Pire

2009-10-09T08:32:00.003-04:00

One can only imagine the anger, the curdled words flowing off of the tongues of the right-wing gas bags today as they address their audiences. Recall that just a few days ago they were all agog, tickled pink that the United States did not get the Olympics. Chicago, you know. Now, they have a very different scenario to spin, more hate for President Obama. 'Why Obama?' will surely be the opening salvo heard blaring form the radios all across right-wing America today. 'What has HE done?' question two. Stoke the fires, add more logs. Soon there will be a grand bonfire into which they may toss the President, vicariously. Many, I believe, would prefer an actual conflagration.

You do have to admit that 'they' provide a humorous undertone to our society. Really, if one acknowledges the fact that hucksters like Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck are just hucksters, carnival barkers who make their living off of this stuff, then, like the circus, it becomes pure entertainment for the more proficient audience. But sadly, there are those also sitting in this 'circus' who think all of it is real, like wide-eyed children.

Food for the animals, scraps for the peons, hungry for anything that will perpetuate their fantasy- it is all there at the right-wing circus. "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen..."

The Homophobes are not Dead: Another One Just Raised his Ugly Head

2009-10-08T08:51:00.002-04:00

I received an email this morning concerning Catholic homophobia. It seems that the evangelical fundamentalists do not have a corner on bigotry and denial of human rights. Of course, the right wing of the Catholic Church and Calvinists are kissing cousins [insestually]. My email reads,

"President Obama has nominated Chai Feldblum to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Feldblum has had an exemplary career culminating in her current role as a Full Professor of Law at Georgetown University and Director of the Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic.

But since her nomination, she has been vilified by the Right Wing, and attacked specifically by the Catholic Right Wing. In an editorial on CatholicOnline, Deacon Keith Fournier wrote:

"Ms. Feldblum’s work to, in the words of the announcement, advance “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights”, places marriage and religious freedom in America at grave risk."

Founier is essentially saying that Feldbaum's advocacy of basic human rights under the law somehow threatens the very fabric of the nation. We must counter this hysterical nonsense.

Hysterical nonsense. Nonsense to the majority of Americans who uphold the Constitution and the 'human rights' articulated in many of the sacred documents upon which this nation was founded. Nonsense to most of the first-world nations on this planet.

Yet, not to those obsessed with Leviticus and Deuteronomy. No, not to these holier-than-thou Sadducees who live among us, watching us, chiding us, examining our 21 Century lives through the microscope of Mosaic Law. "Abomination!" they yell from the steps of the Temple. They know all of the passages by heart and will recite them for you whether you ask or not.

The poor souls. It must be extraordinarily difficult for them to live in these times. Occasions of sin everywhere! Ritual hand washing at every turn. A cloak of bible verses to ward off the demons, the sinners, the unclean. A lightening rod ready to stab a sinful soul! And the guilt, the ever-present guilt. The compulsive prayers, compulsive bible reading, compulsive thoughts raging through the head.

Loony, we'd say. Probably true. Psychologists have already labeled it: Religious OCD. ABC's 20/20 recently reported on the syndrome and said that nearly 7,000,000 Americans are afflicted, clearly 10% of all OCD patients. They believe that they must constantly 'please' god because he is a 'punitive' god.

Of course, the mentally healthy adult knows that it is impossible to 'please' an angry god, a god of judgement and punishment. The 'wrath of god' knows no boundaries and takes no prisoners. Therefore, the mentally healthy adult has moved beyond this childlike vision, this adolescent concoction, and lives his/her life well by treating others with love and compassion. After all, isn't that what Jesus taught?

We ought to have compassion for those stuck in pitiful Religious OCD. I do. I recommend mental health counselling and prescription drugs. After all, this is the 21st century.

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk

2009-10-07T15:39:00.002-04:00

One of the things I miss about living in the States is watching those TV preachers. It's hard to top some of them for pure entertainment.

FOX News Poll: 61% Say Use Force To Stop Iran

2009-10-07T08:12:00.002-04:00

FoxNews Poll:

Most Americans say they are worried about Iran developing a nuclear weapons program, and think President Obama should be tougher on the rogue nation. In addition, a clear majority supports the use of force to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

According to a new FOX News poll released Thursday, a sizable 69 percent majority of Americans thinks President Obama has not been tough enough on Iran. That includes over half of Democrats (55 percent), two-thirds of independents (67 percent) and almost all Republicans (88 percent).

------------------------------------------------

Can you imagine that 61% of Americans want to use 'force' against Iran? Of course, it was a FoxNews poll, yet the result is astonishing to me, absolutely mind-numbing! Have we as a nation truly become the warmongering police of the world? Do that number of American citizens understand what an attack on Iran would mean? A third theater of war? Even more military men and women coming home in body bags. Billions upon billions more tax dollars? Three wars with Muslim nations?

Didn't the faux Iraq war teach any lesson? Are we still dumbed-down? Are the residual effects of the propaganda put out by the Pentagon and the White House still affecting the brains of many Americans? This is an amazing phenomenon.

Further, I worry about such an attack on Iran from Israel; when that happens, how will the American citizens respond? Will there be a wide-spread call here in America to join 'our friends' the Israelis in the war? Will the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) beat the drums of war here? Will Americans once again be blinded by so-called patriotic fervor, wave flags, demonstrate in the streets, and call on President Obama to join with Israel in the attack? After all, we are a knee-jerk nation.

Today, incidentally, is the 8th anniversary of the War on Afghanistan. We all can see how well that war is going.

Sixty-one percent. Astounding!

Praying Couple Sentenced in Child's Death

2009-10-07T07:43:00.003-04:00

Postcrescent.com, a Wisconsin web site, reports on the sentencing of the couple who allowed their 11-year-old daughter to die by not seeking medical help, all the while praying over her.

Marathon County Judge Vincent Howard crafted a unique sentence Tuesday for Dale and Leilani Neumann, who prayed instead of seeking medical care for their dying 11-year-old daughter.

Howard placed the Weston couple on probation for 10 years each and ordered that both serve 30 days a year in jail for the next six years. However, he stayed the jail terms pending appeals.

The Neumanns were convicted at separate trials of second-degree reckless homicide in Madeline Kara Neumann's March 2008 death from undiagnosed diabetes and could have received up to 25 years in prison.

Under terms of the sentence, the two parents would serve their jail sentences at different times. One would serve time in March and the other in September.

The probation, which begins immediately, includes having the Neumanns' surviving children undergo regular and random health checks until they reach the age of 18, and seeking medical attention if their three surviving children become seriously ill or injured.

I guess that fourth paragraph means they would serve their jail sentences at different times if they end up serving them. The second paragraph says those sentences were "stayed" pending appeals.

What's your opinion? Is this a fair sentence? I often write about people who let their kids kill themselves with guns and wonder if any jail time is just that much overkill since they've already suffered such a great loss. Would that kind of leniency apply here, do you think?

What about the fact that they may have been sincere in their beliefs about healing? Would that mitigate the culpability?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

White House Openly Confronts Fox News’s Lies!

2009-10-05T16:54:00.002-04:00

There have always been factions that publish or make public oppositional political viewpoints with their own slant to a sitting President in the past, but Fox News has gone to the extreme of just propagating blatant lies.
Harry S. Truman banned reporters he disliked from his presidential yacht. Franklin Roosevelt placed his journalistic critics out of earshot at the back of the room during presidential press conferences.
No such subtleties in Barack Obama's White House. The White House is taking a full out frontal assault exposing the Fox News Channel calling quite bluntly, “their broadcasting of lies.” Of course the White House does not expect an apology from the network’s owner and driving conservative force, Rupert Murdoch.
As a response to the Fox News’s propensity to fabricate facts and inaccurate broadcasting topics for the sole purpose of showing the President in a bad light, the Obama White House gave all major networks interviews except Fox News for their Sunday talk shows. Chris Wallace of Fox News response was to simply call the White House "the biggest bunch of crybabies." (Oooooh, what a scathing editorial from this intellectual group. Is this the best that Fox News has? Name calling?)
One of the White House's main targets to date is Glenn Beck, the conservative Fox News commentator whose rants of provocative commentaries that are more often full of inaccurate and misstatements than not.
This past Wednesday, September 30, 2009, Glenn “Blowhard” Beck went on a negative rant about President Obama going to Copenhagen to try to get the Summer Olympics for Chicago. The White House’s counter attack pointed out Beck's lack of research of the subject and misinformation by referencing the financial losses Vancouver sustained hosting the Olympics. What any well read person knows is that Vancouver won't host the Olympics until 2010, and the clueless Beck should have said the Calgary Olympics.
Beck has also gone on another negative rant to say that President Obama’s confidante, Valerie Jarrett, had participated in a controversial August phone call that attempted to recruit artists to create works that promoted President Barack Obama's policies. The White House noted that Jarrett did not participate in any such call. Just another fabricated incorrect lie for the sole attempt to make the President look bad.
Now of course Beck has stated that the White House political director, Patrick Gaspard, had ties to ACORN but the Pulitzer Prize winning Web site, PolitiFact quickly debunked these claims by publishing the facts, and once again, Glenn “Blowhard” Beck, had just made up more lies to base his arguments against the President. PolitiFact has posted and debunked many false claims with regards to the White House that Glenn “Blowhard” Beck continues to repeat along with others on the Fox News Network.
As I see it, the White House has no other option but to meet these falsehoods head-on at every turn or the lies will have a tendency to take on a life of their own to be quoted by the conservative lemmings who want nothing more than to believe them to be true. The President said in his speech to Congress that he would call out those that misrepresented his record and that includes ideological news outlets like Fox News and its various commentators. "In this day and age," Dan Pfeiffer, the White House deputy communications director, added, "every falsehood must be met head-on no matter how absurd the charge or discredited the source."
Now in conclusion, I do want to caution this administrations calling every inaccurate comment a “lie” because it could end up like the old fable, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” but do not be afraid to call it what it is and do not back down from its meaning. When there's a willfully dishonest statement made by these fabricating conservative bias personalities, attack and expose the “LIES” when there is not any question in the context that it is being referred to, and do not be afraid to call it a “LIE” as an accurate use of the word.

Amish Women Replacing Colored Cleaning Ladies

2009-10-05T09:10:00.004-04:00

A young Amish woman, about 25-years-old, is presently cleaning the house of my daughter in the Cleveland area. A van drops off the women at the houses early in the morning and picks them up in the afternoon, when the cleaning is completed. There are many Amish communities just south of Cleveland and the women have found an opportunity to bring some money into their households through cleaning . 'Laura,' the one who just finished in the study, speaks fine English, is intelligent, and attractive, yet is stuck carrying pails of water and mops from room to room, perhaps for the rest of her life.

Back in the 40's and 50's, my mother had a 'colored' woman do the cleaning for her. She and other colored women would get off of the bus in the white section of town, and walk down the street, each entering a separate [and unequal] house to do the daily maid's work. Black women today, of course, have been partially liberated from that dead-end job and are able to find work beyond cleaning. Amish women, on the other hand, are stuck. There is no 'equal opportunity' for the Amish because of their culture, their education, and their overarching religious beliefs. They are stuck doing the work of the 'colored' women of the 1940's.

My wife is reading a novel, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, a book that opens the door of the colored maids of the South, specifically those who served the white households of Jackson, Mississippi. Occasionally she reads a passage to me and it brings back memories of those awful Jim Crow Laws and that terribly shameful period of American history.

Racism is not dead; it often raises its ugly head. And when it does, a shiver runs through my spine, and my mind floods with those black and white TV images of police dogs, water hoses, and white policemen beating the heads of black men and women in the streets of the South.

I know racism: I lived through the 1960's. And when I hear a racist joke my hair bristles and affect falls from my face. When I hear those phony, whining white teabaggers and other right-wing nuts accuse blacks of 'racism,' my blood pressure and adrenalin levels rise in response. Those blokes have no clue, no idea of what racism is all about. They just want to score a cheap point in the game of politics. Ignorant twits.

Laura just wrung the mop, water splashing into the pail. Is she happy with her limited opportunities in life? Perhaps she is. Yet, like the colored cleaning ladies of the past, there are boundaries, prohibitions which keep her stuck in the service of The Help.

Bitch Dog Territorial Marking

2009-10-05T08:07:00.004-04:00

I understand that dogs like to 'mark' their territory with urine and feces droppings. I suppose it is a throw-back to their primitive state eons ago.

The Humane Society says this about dog marking: "Some dogs go to the extreme of urinating and defecating to mark a particular area as their own."

I wonder about people, too. Is there, for example, a 'territory' or a 'subject area' that needs to be claimed by some people in order that they feel better or can function more properly?

This thought popped into my head this morning about 7:30 as I looked at the blog's 'comment monitoring' log. It seems that the posting by Mike titled, 'Where have all of the Christians gone?' has irritated a certain bladder, so to speak. And bowel! Apparently the 6 comments on that thread did not give the 'real' answer, the 'holier-than-thou' input that was required.

We 'Men with the Muckrake' are so very fortunate to have an auxiliary 'member' who serves as our expert in all things religious; a religious editor, so to speak. Every once in a while [fortunately] she drops by to urinate and defecate a little morsel for us to inspect. Sadly, the bitch dog has chronic diarrhea and therefore one comment is never enough. This morning there were three. What does one give a dog for irritable bowel disorder?

I never read the comments, but rather just 'trash' them so that the entire blog will not smell of that certain odor, you know. Ever vigilant of each 'agnostic' and 'atheistic' post on this blog, she surely must be frustrated that her turd, her pile of crap never sees the light of day. Yet, she is undaunted in her missionary work because, surely, she is doing the will of god. I believe the Catholic Church of old coined a phrase for that type of effort- potential grace.

Some dear nun assured us, one afternoon as we struggled to keep our eyes open, that if you had the intent to do good or to obey a church law, but you were foiled in that attempt, you received 'potential grace,' a kind of 'atta-boy!' pat on the shoulder for the effort. Perhaps even one of those very special and endearing holy cards that sister passed out to the good boys and girls.

So, to our religion editor in absentia, don't fret that your triple chunk of religious wisdom entered the abyss of cyber trash in vane. You received god's grace- potential grace- for your ever-so righteous actions. And, here's a Holy Card that you can stick in Leviticus, your favorite book of the Bible, for your effort.

Only in California

2009-10-05T02:17:00.004-04:00

Front page of the Los Angeles Times.

Photo credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

The Blessing of the Waves is an annual celebration that includes officials from various religions. This year organizers decided to include a more somber note: a moment of silence for victims of recent natural disasters in Southeast Asia.

Where Have All the Christians Gone?

2009-10-03T17:50:00.001-04:00

In a recent study of Americans’ religious beliefs shows the number of people who claim no religious affiliation has doubled since 1990, a reduction of fifteen percent, and is the highest point in history.
Those whom identify themselves as Christians are taking plummeting losses in America, while the number of non-believers is on the increase. Non-believers now represent the third-highest group of Americans, after Catholics and Baptists.

Protestants now represent half of all Americans, down almost 20 percent in the last twenty years. If this trend keeps up, in the near future America will become a minority Protestant nation for the first time since the pilgrims.

The demographics of those rejecting organized religion are the under 30 young people. Nearly a quarter of Americans in their 20’s professing no organized religion.

I should state at this time that these non-believers are not particularly atheist. Instead, these individuals have a belief in God but no interest in organized religion, or they believe in a personal God but not in a formal faith tradition.
Organized religions that have been catering to the fanatical right wing aspect believers have been a recipe for failure. It has only turned off and exposed the hypocritical views of this group and turned off the freer thinking younger Americans. Many of the “20 something’s” in Americans who could be interested in God, but they don’t think existing institutions are helping them draw closer to God. The constant drone of the religious right wing political preaching just does not hold up to the truths they can see for themselves.

It is also a fact that Americans’ interest in religion has not always been stable. It dipped following the Revolution and again following Civil War. In both cases it rebounded because religious institutions adapted and found new ways of relating to everyday Americans.

Today, the rise of disaffection is so powerful that different denominations will need to band together for financial reason and transform into shared religious message that will enable a movement beyond the fading divisions of the past traditions. If organized religion does not adapt then America will just become like Europe, where religion is fast becoming an afterthought.

Bravo Senator Gram

2009-10-03T16:54:00.002-04:00

I am writing this piece from the prospective of my moderate Republican views. I want to pass on a job well done for Senator Gram with regards to his most recent comments of the fanatic right wing.

Senator Gram’s straightforward and brave account of how far the right wing lunatic fringe the Republican Party is tending to. Senator Gram told a conference hosted by Atlantic magazine the Glenn Beck is aligned with that strange group I like to call “very rich white men whining” and said about Beck, “Only in America can you make that much money whining. He (Beck) is aligned with cynicism but we became a great nation not because we are a nation of cynics but a nation of believers.”

Senator Gram also called those who claim President Obama was not born in America “crazy” and told them to knock this crap off and get on to more significant problems.” He went on to say, “I’m here to tell you those who think the president was not born in Hawaii are crazy.”

Good for Senator Graham. He also stated he was very worried about the passions that cable news cannels were whipping up in recent weeks.

For those who have read my postings before, I have stated and essentially predicted the current poisonous atmosphere could lead to an assassination attempt on President Obama. Graham stated, “If you get rewarded for being a jerk, you are going to just keep doing it.” Graham pointed out a recent article in Newsmax magazine, a far right wing rag, which said a military coup against President Obama could happen as an example of the media madness.

It is a good thing that there are Republicans like myself and Senator Graham who are not afraid to criticize their own political party. We can only hope that such truth and decency will permeate many more politicians at this dangerous time. America badly needs it!!!

Those Crazy Polygamists

2009-10-02T06:47:00.005-04:00

Yahoo News reports on the testimony of Elizabeth Smart in Salt Lake City.

Taking the stand for the first time since she was snatched from her girlhood bedroom seven years ago, Elizabeth Smart testified Thursday that her captor raped her three or four times a day, kept her tied up with a cable around her leg, and threatened to kill her if she tried to escape.
Asked by a prosecutor to describe Brian David Mitchell, the self-described prophet accused of holding her captive for nine months, Smart replied: "Evil, wicked, manipulative, stinky, slimy, greedy, selfish, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God."

Smart, now a 21-year-old college student, gave her horrifying account in federal court as part of a proceeding over whether Mitchell is mentally competent to stand trial.

Wow, that's some prophet. The 55-year-old Mitchell has been incarcerated since 2003, in and out of the state mental hospital. Twice he was ruled incompetent to stand trial. The day of Smart's testimony, Mitchell had been removed from the courtroom for disrupting the proceedings.

Smart testified that within hours of her 2002 kidnapping at knifepoint, she was led away to a secluded mountain campsite and in a quickie ceremony became the polygamous "wife" of the older man.

Isn't it interesting that he organized a ceremony? I think some of these extreme Mormons have lost the ability to distinguish proper from improper behavior. As long as it's covered by their religious rules they seem to be able to justify just about anything.

The article describes how the so-called prophet was pretty wacky when he committed the abduction, but since his arrest it's escalated to the point of delusional impairment, rendering him incapable of standing trial.

Does anyone else get the impression he might be manipulating the system?

Is there any similarity between the Mormon fundamentalist and his Christian counterpart?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Some 200,000 generations ago

2009-10-01T13:42:00.004-04:00

Some 200,000 generations ago, a woman affectionately named, Ardi, wandered through a grassy woodland with patches of denser forest and freshwater springs in what today is known as Ethiopia. Time Magazine article, Excavating Ardi: A New Piece for the Puzzle of Human Evolution, says of her:

"[She is an] interesting mosaic" with certain uniquely human characteristics: bipedalism, for one. Ardi stood 47 in. (120 cm) tall and weighed about 110 lb. (50 kg), making her roughly twice as heavy as Lucy. The structure of Ardi's upper pelvis, leg bones and feet indicates she walked upright on the ground, while still retaining the ability to climb. Her foot had an opposable big toe for grasping tree limbs but lacked the flexibility that apes use to grab and scale tree trunks and vines ("Gorilla and chimp feet are almost like hands," says Lovejoy), nor did it have the arch that allowed Australopithecus and Homo to walk without lurching side to side. Ardi had a dexterous hand, more maneuverable than a chimp's, that made her better at catching things on the ground and carrying things while walking on two legs. Her wrist, hand and shoulder bones show that she wasn't a knuckle walker and didn't spend much time hanging or swinging ape-style in trees. Rather, she moved along branches using a primitive method of palm-walking typical of extinct apes. "[Ardi is] a lovely Darwinian creature," says Penn State paleoanthropologist Alan Walker, who was not involved in the discovery."

Wow! 200 thousand generations ago. Does that go back further than the Eve of the Bible?

It is interesting to note that Ardi is not chimp-like, and therefore suggests that chimps were from an entirely different branch of the tree than humans. The article notes that many people 'envisioned Great-Great-Grandpa to have looked most nearly like a knuckle-walking, tree-swinging ape. But "[Ardi is] not chimp like," according to White, which means that the last common ancestor probably wasn't either. "This skeleton flips our understanding of human evolution..."

The apologists in the Creationism wing of the loony right have often scoffed at and held to ridicule the concept that we, the apes and chimps all came down the same ladder. Ardi mutes that nonsense altogether, yet it will not inhibit the 'true believers' in any way.

Here's to you, dear Ardi! You can't have imagined that your bones would mean to us, some 200,000 generations later.

Stock Market Falls

2009-09-30T17:38:00.002-04:00

The big news on the economy today is that the
stock market fell. It dropped 30 some points.
The reason given for the fall is weak manufacturing
for the month.

Now, this is news? There has been much discussion
on this blog about the diminishing manufacturing
sector of the U.S. economy. We don't even
manufacture baseballs any more! Apparently, the
Republicans would like to kill U.S. automobile
manufacturing as well. How can people be put
back to work with no manufacturing? How can a
civilization exist without manufacturing?

How does the United States eliminate its huge
debt without manufacturing? We already run huge
deficits in our balance of trade, importing more
than we export. How do we pay our existing debt,
our interest on the debt, Social Security-Medicare-
Medicaid, repair the infrastructure, education,
general health care, explore space and the oceans,
develope science and technology, national defense,
maintain our national parks, environmental issues,
sustain agriculture, airline safety, consumer
protection, and the rest of our needs and obligations?
How do we do this without manufacturing, whereby
citizens work, earn money, and pay taxes. How do we
work our way back even without manufacturing? What
has Obama and Congress done to change the situation?

Incredible: Toledo mayoral candidates speak on their faith

2009-09-30T08:17:00.005-04:00

"Toledo mayoral candidates speak on their faith," is the lead story in the Toledo Blade this morning. The story begins, "Toledo's two mayoral candidates stuck to safe positions last night when it came to religion in Toledo, expressing belief in Christianity..."

Imagine that. It must be so very comforting to the citizens of this economically depressed city to know that they will have a 'mayor of faith' who attempts to steer the ship off the rocks of the financial abyss in which it currently stagnates. Maybe he will get down on his knees and ask God to bless the city. Surely God wants supplication had groveling before 'he' sends his financial blessings upon Toledo.

How nuts and what a waste of debate time! During the primary, the voters rejected [last place] a self-designated christian prophetess who, after losing the 2005 primary, predicted that god would send plagues and pestilence upon the city if she were rejected.

One of the candidates believes in the Genesis creation story and 'believes' that this should be taught in the science classes in Toledo schools along with evolution. No doubt that will surely help make the students first-class scientists in tomorrow's world.

Wouldn't it have been courageous if one of them had said, 'Pray if you want to, but let's get busy thinking and discussing how we can get the city of Toledo back on track and pull it out of the economic morass in which it lies.'

Rather, it has to pander to the 'christian vote' as if that sector of the electorate actually has a brain and any ideas other than supplication to a deity.

On a historical note, Toledo was known as Frogtown in its early years due to the many festering swamps throughout the town. Perhaps nature is at last reclaiming it and bring it back to its original state.

A Wonderful Time Capsule

2009-09-30T07:45:00.003-04:00

The Herald of Monterey California reports on the time capsule recently sealed in the Salinas library. Three students were selected to write letters describing what they think the future will be like 100 years from now.

Along with more than 100 of their classmates, the trio submitted "letters to the future" with their musings about what libraries and reading will be like in a century as part of the Salinas Public Library system's 100th birthday bash on Sunday.
The letters and other mementos were all sealed inside a time capsule, which was ceremoniously sealed by Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue, library director Elizabeth Martinez and the three students at El Gabilan Library. The capsule, which will be on display at the city's three libraries in the coming months, will be reopened in 2109 for the library system's 200th anniversary.
Also going into the silver capsule were a range of mementos from the early 21st century, including photos of modern-day Salinas, money, the "Guitar Hero" video game, a phone book, a copy of a local newspaper, a TV guide, and representations of a computer, a smart phone, an iPod shuffle, and a car, among other items.

I find time capsules extremely fascinating. I think it has to do with the computer age which I feel so fortunate to have experienced. When I read about someone who died 30 or 40 years ago, Jim Morrison, for example, I think what a shame, he missed out on so much.

When this thinking is transported 100 years into the future, it becomes truly mind boggling. There must be a scientific way of describing the accelerating nature of progress. What happened over a decade or two in the mid 20th century now takes place in a year. And what happens now in a year's time in the future will take a month - or so it seems.

What do you think? Is progress speeding up? Or could that be an illusion somehow? Is it like the way every generation of parents says the same things about their kids when they become teenagers? In the 1950s people were probably saying how fast everything is progressing, compared to the previous generation.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Living in the Wilderness of Cleveland

2009-09-30T06:56:00.004-04:00

I've been staying in a suburb of Cleveland for the past week, along the Aurora River Valley. It's an upscale community built smack at the top of the valley. Deer and other woodland creatures often are seen wandering through the backyards as hawks and other birds of prey circle overhead, looking for a tasty morsel.

Yesterday, however, I was startled to see a fox trotting between the houses, big fluffy white tale wagging with every step it took. Soon it ducked back into the woods, leaving me astonished at the confrontation. It was my first fox-sighting ever. Later in the evening, as I was driving my grandson to a lesson, a flock of 8 wild turkeys emerged from the wood, their gray feathers blending nicely with the background. They stuck their long necks up to give us a look as we passed, then hurried back into the 'wilderness.' My grandson and I were met with a group of deer crossing the road at dusk when we returned.

My first sighting of wild turkeys and a fox on the same day. How frontier-like; I had experienced what those first pioneers into Ohio had hundreds of years ago. Right here in a busy suburb of Cleveland. What a great experience.

You Can Lead A Moron Anywhere

2009-09-29T09:05:00.002-04:00

There is a new theist apology book with the nasty title that most assuredly comforts the believers: You Can Lead and Atheist to Evidence but You Can't Make Him Think.

Here are two 'reviews' found on Amazon:

Editorial Reviews

I find it so encouraging that in these challenging times of 'culture wars,' Christian leaders like my friend Ray Comfort are passionately defending the authority of the Bible from its very first verse. --Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis

Ray Comfort has once again laid hold of the greatest power on earth, the power of the Gospel. Here he brings that power to bear, makes that light to shine in the darkest corners of our times, among fools. He proclaims with fidelity and winsomeness, remembering that such were once we, walking in the paths of darkness. --Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr.

'The paths of darkness,' he said. Defending the authority of the Bible,' said the other. Funny stuff, really. Reminds me of the pot and kettle.

Darkness, as in ignorance. One can only imagine how the 'fear' and 'trepidation' psychology, foisted on the masses for thousands of years, kept them in line and manageable, like sheep and the dog. Darkness, as in lack of knowledge- belief in magic and spirits and winged-creatures, vanishing, appearing, and vanishing once again. The carnival comes to town.

The authority of the Bible. Two questions arise: what authority and who doled it out? To my oh-so righteous, daily fundamentalist readers- I don't want 'the answers,' please. Authority, as in parents, police, teachers, boss, preacher... Childhood. Control issues. Dumbed-down.

It is a real hoot, actually, when I discover nonsense like this book. It brings a big smile to my face to think that there are people in this day and age who put on their morning blinders and wander through the day avoiding the realities of life that research scientists bring to light 24/7.

Darkness and the authority of the Bible. Thanks for the chuckle. By the way, what 'evidence?'

Israelis- Just Another Gaggle of Aggressive Semites

2009-09-29T08:21:00.002-04:00

CNN. A scathing United Nations report has accused the nation of Israel of war crimes in its military offensive into Gaza. In the report, released earlier this month, a U.N. group accused Israel of committing "actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity" during its military incursion into Gaza from December 27 to January 18.

Is anybody one bit surprised? Anyone fall off their chair in astonishment?

Of course not. Everyone I know understood what that 'excursion' into Gaza was all about- tribal punishment, right out of the Bible. Perhaps the UN report should have included words like, 'smite' and 'smote' in the report to really connect the actions of the modern Israelis with their ancestors- that wandering tribe which blustered its way throughout the region several thousands of years ago, slaying and smiting their enemies- with permission and encouragement from Yahweh, their tribal deity.

Today's 'encoragement and permission' comes from the United States, the deity which looks over the Israelites, encouraging them to smite their enemies. We even supplied them the 'lightening' to do their smiting, with in nuclear weapons, which is a hush-hush secret. It is ironic that the US wails against the Iranian nuclear facilities when Israel has tens of dozens of nuclear weapons, just waiting to be launched on their enemies.

The United States has created this rogue teenager wandering the dusty sands of the Middle East, And we have armed him well. Now, we hold our breath, hoping that 'he' behaves and doesn't do something stupid. Great 'parenting!'

The Absurd Idea of 'Winning in Afghanistan"

2009-09-28T10:44:00.002-04:00

Twice in the past 24 hours I heard a US Government official speak of 'winning the war in Afghanistan. The latest was Defense Secretary Gates. Winning in Afghanistan is about as absurd as that idiotic concept during the Bush years: winning in Iraq. After all, the salient question is: what does 'win' mean?

When was the last 'win' in a war in which the U.S. was involved? WWII, perhaps. Clearly not Korea or Vietnam, and hardly Iraq. These last two were particularly specious anyhow and begged the question, What are we fighting for, anyhow? The Bush Propaganda Team attempted to link Iraq with 9-11 and many ill-informed citizens waved their patriotic flags and nodded and yelled in lockstep.

Fortunately, the truth won out and the voices muted and the flags were taken down, not before 4000 deaths and 30,000 injured American troops.

And now Afghanistan. The 9-11 link. Eight long years of fighting an illusive enemy which has morphed into fighting a well-armed and entrenched group of fundamentalists who wish to keep Afghanistan locked into a middle ages society. The al Qaeda 'guests' of the Taliban are mostly dead or gone.

The question arises: does the United States continue to fight the Taliban on the chance that al Qaeda may reform in the mountains there? If so, will the US be unable to watch them from their drones? And, what are the chances of another 9-11 style event, now that our nation has stringent anti-terror methods in place?

Seems to me that we ought to pull our troops out and continue aerial surveillance as the preferred method of gaining intelligence against al Qaeda.

One final question: what about Pakistan?

Dwindling Faith in the Czech Republic

2009-09-27T10:09:00.004-04:00

The New York Times says in Sunday's edition, "PRAGUE — As Pope Benedict XVI arrived in the Czech Republic on Saturday on a three-day pilgrimage aimed at battling against the forces of secularism, religious leaders warned that he faced a daunting challenge in a nation of mostly natural-born skeptics."

Wow! He should come over here, to the land of the free and the home of the believer. Odd, isn't it that our nation, founded on a clear separation of church and state, would be populated with more 'believers' than skeptics.

Further in the article, the NYT reports that the Pope came to the Czech Republic on a mission; Vatican officials said that he had chosen the Czech Republic for a mission central to his papacy: fomenting a continent-wide spiritual revolt against what Benedict labeled Saturday as “atheist ideology,” “hedonistic consumerism” and “a growing drift toward ethical and cultural relativism.”

Apparently, the Pope would rather have the Czechs 'believe' in some intangible, ethereal realm in the sky where The Man notes sins and doles out appropriate punishments. Surely, the average person living in that nation needs such a sky-watcher so that immorality does not break out widespread throughout the population.

The article notes the sordid history of the Czechs and 'their' church, including the amassing of great wealth and its support for the Austro-Hungarian emperors.

Ironically, the Pope "is expected to emphasize the moral imperative that the Continent rediscover its religious roots."

Moral imperative? On what 'authority?' I may ask. And, further, who set up the 'morality scenario' in the first place? Seems to me that the history of the continent of Europe has been littered with the bodies of those who had some religious imperative to kill others who 'believed' differently than they.

Lest I ignore those fairly-odd American evangelical fundamentalists, surely we don't want any part of their 'morality scenario' either. They and the Pope can continue to live in their spiritual realm of irrelevance and gee-whiz! Seems to me that the Czechs have the right idea about all of this church nonsense: ignore it.

Anglers Feel Effects Of Ocean Warming

2009-09-25T20:01:00.005-04:00

Living between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, I know many sport and commercial fisherman. Those who make their living or free time on the water, they took notice that this summer brought the warmest ocean surface temperatures since statistics were first recorded in 1880, and now local waterman are talking about how it impacted them.

Sport and commerical fisherman tend to be more on the conservative side of politics but are now admitting that global warming is a reality. This past summer when they noticed that tuna and marlin catches became less common this summer and with the documented data showing warmer currents off shore, they are now admitting that the ocean’s temperatures are rising due to climate change. According to the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climatic Data Center, Delaware had its eight warmest August since the center first began recording data in 1895.

Sport fish typically congregate in areas with large temperature gradients between warm and cold waters. But because the warm water was everywhere and the lack of colder currents offshore, they all suffered financially.

What to do About the Underclass?

2009-09-25T09:04:00.002-04:00

According to Wikipedia:

Potential Answers to the Underclass:

There is no consensus amongst social scientists as to how to solve the problem of the growing underclass... Some philosophers claim that without fundamental structural change, attempting to eliminate this underclass will do more harm than good.

My good friend UptheFlag posted just prior to this a treatise on Black crime statistics. The data is solid and I have no argument with the facts. Yet, it seems to me, these data provide a springboard to the next topic: what to do about it?

This statement by William Julius Wilson, in his book, The Truly Disadvantaged, is dead-on:

"[M]anufacturing industries have always traditionally been a big employer of inner-city African Americans, but are also very responsive to a wavering economy, and the recession-plagued 1970s put a lot of the manufacturing employees out of work. This decentralization of work has not only put a lot of inner-city African-Americans out of work, but has also served as another barrier impeding the impoverished from obtaining work. Without reliable means of transportation, it is unfeasible for the poor to be able to keep a steady job. The shift of jobs out of the inner-cities, paired with the shift of working, lower, and middle-class blacks out of the cities as well, have placed an even more important stress on the value of an education, which just is not a reality for the majority of the underclass. "

Exactly my point.

'Education,' as I said in a recent comment, is not highly valued in the black community and, again my opinion, will not become more valuable in the next 5- 10 years at least. That results in thousands more under-educated black youth attempting to 'survive' in the inner city.

It seems to me that what America needs, and needs to place on 'fast-track' status is a WPA project aimed directly towards this black, urban underclass. The pull-out from Iraq and Afghanistan would immediately free tens of billions of dollars to fund such a massive program. The reactionary right-wing would, needless to say, scream at both ideas, but let them howl all they want. Most don't live in large urban centers anyway so they are not directly involved nor exposed to the distress, drugs, and crime in that neck of the woods. Perhaps some in the right-wing would like to witness a massive black genocide, black-on-black murders, to eliminate 'them' altogether.

Nonetheless, the reality is that, unless a public works program can be assembled and implemented, the growing unrest in the central cities of nation will continue to fester. It doesn't take a grand study to figure out what can be done. Construction jobs with varying degrees of skills could easily put hundreds of thousands inner city black youth to work, giving them a sense of self-worth and financial stability.

Comments?

Afro-American Crime

2009-09-23T16:50:00.001-04:00

MURDER IN AMERICA: A HISTORY (Ohio State U. Press) by the Haverford College social scientist/historian Roger Lane:

Lane's MURDER IN AMERICA emphasizes industrialization as a violence-reductive factor in the Western World: the Industrial Revolution required and produced disciplined, orderly work forces.1 Current American murder rates are driven by the very disproportionate murder rates among some Afro-Americans.2 These disproportionate rates may be attributed to the virtual exclusion of Afro-Americans from major sectors of employment during the post-Civil War period which continued through the mid-20th Century. ]

AFRO-AMERICAN HOMICIDE RATES

As indicated in my article DO GUNS CAUSE CRIME?, murder rates seem to have diminished across Europe from the period before guns existed. The decline was particularly marked in Europe from the 18th Century on.

The major exception to this has been rates of homicide by blacks which are six to eight times higher than white murder rates in both the US and England. Reader Mark Clark (presumably not the general, who is long deceased) queries the reasons.

It should be noted that some studies have suggested that rates of black homicide and other violence are no greater than those of similarly situated (i.e., economically deprived) whites. See, Brandon S. Centerwall, "Race, Socioeconomic Status and Domestic Homicide, Atlanta, 1971-72," 74 AM. J. PUB. HLTH. 813, 815 (1984) (reporting results of research and discussing prior studies). See also Darnell F. Hawkins, "Inequality, Culture, and Interpersonal Violence," 12 HEALTH AFFAIRS 80 (1993). For a discussion assailing racist theories of the prevalence of violence see Jerome A.Neapolitan, "Cross-National Variation in Homicide; Is Race A Factor?" 36 CRIMINOLOGY 139 (1998).

The only time I have treated this matter at any length was in a never-finished article written a few years ago. Though large parts of it have been published elsewhere, the portion on black homicide has not, nor have I revised it here. In fact it is not my own research, but rather relies almost exclusively on the seminal work of historian Roger Lane (see below).

He emphasizes industrialization as a violence-reductive factor in the Western World: the Industrial Revolution required and produced disciplined, orderly work forces. Current American murder rates are driven by the very disproportionate murder rates among some Afro-Americans. Thus John DiIulio argues that "America does not have a crime problem; inner city America has a crime problem." John J. DiIulio, "The Question of Black Crime," 117 THE PUBLIC INTEREST 3 (1994) also quoting 1969 National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence to the same effect; id. at 5.

We have added emphasis to DiIulio's words to focus attention on the geographic limitation which refutes any notion that race per se is the factor underlying the Afro-American homicide rate. It is not Afro-American homicide per se that makes the American homicide rate so enormous, but rather "inner-city" homicide grossly distorts both American and Afro-American homicide rates. As we shall see, urban blacks actually have far less gun ownership than either whites in general or rural blacks. Yet the gun murder rate among young black urban males is 9.3 times higher than among young black rural males. Lois A. Fingerhut, et al., "Firearm and Non-Firearm Homicide Among Persons 15 Through 19 Years of Age: Differences by Level of Urbanization, U.S. 1979-89," 267 Journal of the American Medical Ass'n. 3048, 3049, Table 1 (1992). Obviously, neither guns nor race can account for the fact of homicide being so much less among the well-armed rural Afro-American population than among their relatively poorly armed urban compeers. The obvious lesson is that, whatever their race, the small fraction of (highly aberrant) people who want to murder find guns regardless of how prevalent guns may be in their general community.

Historically, disproprotionate black homicide rates may be attributed to the virtual exclusion of Afro-Americans from major sectors of employment during the post-Civil War period which continued through the mid-20th Century. Lane's seminal research has documented the role of racism in both promoting murder by Afro-Americans and excluding them from the violence-reductive effects of industrial employment: In the post- Civil War period though black murder rates were high, they were far lower than today ... and lower than those of their immigrant Irish competitors while Italian murder rates [when Italians began immigrating] soared well above those of blacks.

[ A]fter the [Civil W]ar both unions and employers, all over the country, combined to drive [blacks out of high paying trades]... [ F]actory work, all across the country was considered too good for black workers.

[ Black homicide is] another social-psychological [deprivation that] resulted from black exclusion from the regimenting effects of industrial and bureaucratic work. These effects are shown in the relatively rapid decline in homicide rates among Irish and Italian immigrants, two other ethnic groups with high levels of preindustrial violence, as their integration into the industrial work force demanded unprecedented levels of sober, disciplined, orderly behavior, which carried over into their private lives.

[ Later when they were] no longer shut out of the urban-industrial revolution, blacks were instead let in too late. During the 1940s and 1950s blacks in effect were piped aboard a sinking ship, welcomed into the urban industrial age just as that age was dying, with industrial cities losing population and jobs.

[ In late 19th Century Philadelphia] blacks consistently outscored their competitors on written tests of all kinds... [] Even the white press generally agreed that black civil servants (and, a historian would add, blacks as a group) were overqualified for the [low level jobs to which they were confined] in this era, as a result of a general refusal to promote them to positions where they might have authority of any kind over white workers.

[ Blacks were acutely aware of the need for education and struggled heroically to attain it. B]lack literacy in the city soared from roughly 20 percent to 80 percent over the final thirty years of the [19th C]entury ...

[Philadelphia blacks included doctors, lawyers and other professionals -- graduates of Harvard, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania. But] that was no guarantee that they could make a living. As whites would not hire them and blacks could not afford them, licensed black physicians were found working as bellhops.... In the early 20th Century not one of Philadelphia' black attorneys could make a living through his law practice alone.

The lesson blacks learned from this was that for them education had no economic value.

(NOTE: the quotes just given are taken from Lane's MURDER IN AMERICA, pp. 181-85, 298-300 and 327, as well as Roger Lane, "Black Philadelphia, Then and Now" 108 THE PUBLIC INTEREST 35, 42 (Fall, Summer, 1992) and Roger Lane, ROOTS OF VIOLENCE IN BLACK PHILADELPHIA: 1860-1900 (Cambridge, Harvard U.Press, 1986).

Murder / Suicide - 90-Year-Old Man Charged

2009-09-23T01:45:00.005-04:00

The Associated Press reports on this sad story.

A 90-year-old retired physician has been charged with killing his terminally ill wife at their Southern California home but remains hospitalized after turning the gun on himself.
Dr. James Fish was charged Monday with voluntary manslaughter and could face 21 years in prison if convicted.
Authorities say Fish apparently wanted to end his wife's suffering when he allegedly shot 88-year-old Phyllis Fish on Sunday at their Leisure World home in Laguna Woods.
District attorney's spokeswoman Susan Schroeder says Fish gave the bedridden woman morphine and first used a gun that didn't fire. A caretaker called 911, but prosecutors claim Fish got another gun and shot both his wife and himself in the head.

There's certainly a big difference between this case and the frequent incidents of abusive male gun owners shooting their wives. I find it almost hard to believe this man will be charged with anything.

On the other hand, I realize we cannot allow people to decide willy-nilly when euthanasia is appropriate. I would never condone people taking guns out of their closets to address medical emergencies, but in this case I feel only sympathy for Dr. Fish.

What's your opinion? Although this is an extreme twist on "doctor assisted suicide," do you think what he did is morally acceptable? Does this present more evidence of my own confused stance? I'm opposed to capital punishment, pro-choice on abortion and pro-euthanasia in certain cases.

What do you think?

(Cross posted on mikeb302000)

The CCR5 protein or God?

2009-09-22T07:59:00.004-04:00

"Now, blessed be God, all our fears are over for none have died of the plague since the eleventh of October and the pest-houses have long been empty," wrote the church leader of the Derbyshire village of Eyam, William Mompesson, in 1666. The plague to which Mompresson referred was the Black Death or bubonic plague which wiped out millions of Europeans during those rat-infested years.

The Science Channel documented the events of that small village outside of London and the startling discovery that was made about the descendants of the villagers of Eyam. In the summer of 1665, the village tailor received a parcel of material from his supplier in London. This parcel contained the fleas that caused the plague. The tailor was dead from the plague within one week of receiving his parcel. By the end of September, five more villagers had died. Twenty three died in October.

Some of the villagers suggested that they should flee the village for the nearby city of Sheffield. Mompesson persuaded them not to do this as he feared that they would spread the plague into the north of England that had more or less escaped the worst of it. In fact, the village decided to cut itself off from the outside would. They effectively agreed to quarantine themselves even though it would mean death for many of them.

The village was supplied with food by those who lived outside of the village. People brought supplies and left them at the parish stones that marked the start of Eyam. The villages left money in a water trough filled with vinegar to sterilize the coins left in them. In this way, Eyam was not left to starve to death. Those who supplied the food did not come into contact with the villagers.

By November 1666, the plague was considered at an end. 260 out of 350 had died in the village but their sacrifice may well have saved many thousands of lives in the north of England, yet the 'sacrifice' has had a marvelous rippling effect into modern times. It is all about DNA, the DNA of the relatives of the villagers of Eyam.

Medical detective Stephen O'Brien, as documented in the Science Channel episode, "Secrets of the Great Plague," wondered why the entire village of Eyam wasn't wiped out, as it quarantined itself and allowed no one to 'escape' the village. Why had 83 'survived' the plague? The village grave-digger even survived despite handling the hundreds of plague-infected corpses. O'Brien suspected that the survivors may have had 'natural' immunity to the disease and so he journeyed to the village to ask the descendants for DNA samples so that he could analyze them. To his great satisfaction, a CCR5 gene mutation called "delta 32," was found in a statistically significant number of the villagers: in 14% of direct descendants of the plague survivors.

O'Brien knew that certain populations have inherited the Delta 32 mutation resulting in the genetic deletion of the CCR5 gene. He also knew that the deletion of a 32-bp segment results in a nonfunctional receptor, thus preventing HIV R5 entry; two copies of this allele provide strong protection against HIV infection. Homozygous carriers of this mutation are resistant to HIV-1 infection, and O'Brien suspected that some of the Eyam villagers of 1665 were homozygous carriers as well. These were the 83 survivors.

O'Brien has further suggested that there are 'survivors' in this world, people who rarely are affected by wide-spread diseases and epidemics. He believes that those with double Delta 32 mutation may, in fact, be the real human survivors of all time, able to withstand bubonic plague, flu epidemics, cancers, and HIV-AIDS. This is yet to be determined and is yet only hypothesis.

One can muse, however, on those Sunday prayer services held by Rev. Mompesson in those dark years of 1665 and 1666. Did he, in fact, ask God to 'bless' the villagers and keep them safe? Did those who lay dying of the plague wonder why God forsook them? Did they believe that their 'sins' had caused the illness? How many abandoned 'God' altogether in the last throes of their illness? Did Mompresson ever doubt that God would 'save' his village, his wife, his children?

A mutant chromosome 3 protein or God? What 'saved' the village?

Catholics Against the Death Penalty

2009-09-22T01:48:00.004-04:00

The CatholicSpirit.com, which is the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, published an interesting article on the movement to abolish Capital Punishment in Oregon and the role Catholics are playing.

"We need to share our Catholic teaching with courage and clarity," said a memorandum sent to parishes recently by Mary Jo Tully, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Portland. "We need to reach out to our teachers and to our parishioners. We need to form and to persuade. We need to be advocates for change."

Tully has joined other lay Catholics on the board of Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

With statements from the catechism, Pope John Paul II, the U.S. bishops and most recently Portland Archbishop John G. Vlazny, Oregon Catholics are being urged to oppose execution as an affront to the sanctity of life as well as an ineffective and expensive public policy.

According to the article, Catholic leaders believe capital punishment encourages the idea that violence is an appropriate solution to social problems. I agree with this. My view has always been that you can't tell the people don't kill each other and then kill the ones who disobey. It's moral hypocrisy.

The Oregon Catholics are also concerned with the fact that innocent people have probably been executed. Archbishop Vlazny of Portland recently commented on the arbitrary and disproportionate application of the death penalty against the poor and minorities.

One part of the Catholic catechism says state acts of justice are meant in part to improve the offender and allow for possible redemption, even if it occurs within prison walls. The idea is linked to the Christian value of forgiveness, which comes straight from Jesus.

"If punishment is supposed to correct someone, you can't correct them by killing them," says Mary Ryan-Hotchkiss, a member of the peace and justice group at St. Pius X Parish in Portland.

At least these people have a consistent message. We can probably assume they're against abortion for the same reason they're against capital punishment. That's consistent. I'm the first one to point out the inconsistency in the right-wing Christian who is fanatically opposed to abortion yet when it comes to murdering murderers on death row has all kinds of biblical justifications. The Catholics in Oregon are better than that.

The problem is that concerning the death penalty and abortion, I have an inconsistent but opposite belief. I'm opposed to capital punishment in all cases for the same reasons mentioned above. But, when it comes to abortion, I'm pro-choice. I don't even think men should be talking about abortion too much, it's a women's issue, and we certainly shouldn't be trying to legislate it or control it.

Am I guilty of the same hypocrisy I accuse others of? Can a pro-choice stand on abortion be consistent with opposition to capital punishment.

What's our opinion?

Glenn Beck as Fantasy Ringmaster

2009-09-21T07:31:00.003-04:00

"Ladies and gentlemen and boys and girls of all ages!" The circus ringmaster calls attention to the next act. Hyperbole generally accompanies the description and the audience eagerly awaits. Fantasy and entertainment- good for the soul from time to time. Like once a year.

Yet, what if one could live in fantasy all-year-round? What if a person could live-out one's fantasies and obsessions daily? Like a circus every day!

Wouldn't that be swell? Well, perhaps but would it promote and encourage illusionary living, aka paranoia? Sort of like being on drugs? Skewed reality. Stupor-living.

Enter the current gaggle of folks often labeled tea-baggers. They are a reactionary lot, heads filled with fantasy. They 'came out' of the closet this summer. It was, to most Americans, a chilling exposure. Most of us didn't know they were in the closet. Most of us wish they would go back and shut the door. It was kind of creepy, an uneasy feeling that gripped this nation. Adult bodies, adolescent behaviors.. The loony bin emptied out. An ugly scene. Embarrassing, too.

The fear is that they melted back into society and are still among us. Like the Sci-Fi fantasy films of the 50's, the living dead. Zombies, pre-programmed to search out intelligent life and zap it at every chance! 'They' are with us still awaiting their next programmed mission.

Enter the master programmer himself, Glenn Back. [why do I always see him with clown makeup?] Glenn Beck- the circus ringmaster! "Ladies and gentlemen...our next fantasy..."

There is a certain personality type, mindset, or predisposition to loving fantasy. Paranoia, OCD, and other mental disorders seem ripe for fantasy-control. Those odd fundamentalists live most of their lives in the religious circus tent, pun intended. Malleable minds. Easily duped. Trudging bags of fear and guilt on their backs.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

Mr. Beck is a class act, for certain. He loves his role; he loves the attention; and he loves the money rolling in. Daily fantasy. Audience aghast. Fantasy fulfillment. Illusionary living at its best.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

The Polygamy Tours

2009-09-21T02:03:00.003-04:00

The USA Today reports on an interesting idea for domestic travel.

Former members of a polygamous church are offering outsiders a guided tour with promises to answer questions about the history and traditions of the community.
Richard Holm and his brother Heber Holm are among those who are launching "The Polygamy Experience: A Guided Tour of Colorado City." The first tour is Saturday.

Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah are twin towns controlled by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The four-hour tour will include accounts from those who have lived in the towns. Richard Holm was exiled from the FLDS faith in 2003 by church leader Warren Jeffs. Heber Holm left the community 35 years ago.

I've been quite fascinated by the story of Warren Jeffs. I tend to oppose government intervention in the private lives of citizens, but in his case I came to believe he was abusing women and children and hiding behind the tenets of his religion to justify it.

What's your opinion? Do you think these sects which practice arranged marriage between middle aged men and teenage and sometimes pre-teen girls are legit? Is there a place for polygamy in our society? Even though it violates laws, in the privacy of people's homes, assuming only adults are involved is this practice acceptable.

What do you think?

Introduction from Engineer of Knowledge

2009-09-19T15:40:00.003-04:00

Hello All,
I have been invited to become part of the team here on “Man With the Muck-Rake’s” blog. I want to take this time to say how honored I am to be included with the fine intellectual writings of this group.

Good Luck to us all with our future endeavors of keeping this country on course per our Founding Father’s visions.

Not the Mad Hatter's Tea Party

2009-09-19T08:58:00.005-04:00

update below

Lewis Carrol wrote in the chapter "A Mad Tea Party", the Mad Hatter's famous riddle: "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" When Alice cannot solve it, the Hatter admits he does not have an answer himself.

Enter the 2009 characters of 'A Mad Tea Party.' They may have appeared at a town hall meeting or at a venue in your location this past summer. They were in costume, often carrying their props. They had memorized their lines, too. Quite the medieval-esque troupe, looking to entertain the townsfolk. The only difference between the modern jesters and the 14th century version is bathing regularly.

"The Hatter admits he does not have an answer himself."

A key phrase. Madness for madness sake.

He has no answer.

They have no answer.

Ask any one of them, if you dare, "What's the answer?"

You'll likely walk away in a stupor with a riddle rattling around in your head.

A riddle with no answer.

Today, just before noon, I will be at a non-tea party in downtown Toledo. No birthers. No deathers. No 'I hate Obama-ers.'

A rally of normal people who are concerned with the lack of affordable health care in this nation. A group of people worried about middle class joblessness. A gathering of folks who believe in Jobs with Justice. Citizens with a purpose, not a quixotic riddle. Americans who believe that the right to affordable health care is a right of citizenship.

I'll report back later today on what went on. Stay tuned...

update:

About 100 souls gathered in the parking lot of Maritime Square on the Maumee River to be encouraged to continue the fight for a public option. The U.S. Representative from the 5th Ohio district, Marcy Kaptur [D] was one of the speakers as were local politicians, but not the current mayor of Toledo. Two citizens told their health care nightmare stories and a Protestant minister and a Muslim doctor cited passages from their Holy Books regarding the need [demand] to care for one another. The minister noted that most of Jesus's life was spent ministering to the sick and dying.

The Muslim doctor chided the tea-baggers for throwing around the words, 'Socialist and Communist,' in referencing Obama. "I know communism!" he said. I was born in one of the Muslim states of the former Soviet Union. "It is ignorant to suggest that affordable health care is somehow socialism or communism," he said. "They have no idea what communism is!"

Many of the participants are long-time advocates for peace and justice and we had met on other venues for similar issues at former times. Pax Christi, Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition and the Gray Panthers were represented along with Jobs for Justice, Interfaith Worker Justice Coalition and several trade unions.

Here are some photos of today's event:

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers

2009-09-19T08:06:00.002-04:00

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers is a new film by director Dan Merchant who is on a quest to understand why Christians have such a hard time following the simplistic message of Jesus. Like a Michael More film, this " is a fast-paced, highly engaging documentary that explores the collision of faith and culture in America."

Why does it 'divide America' so greatly? asks the director. Why, indeed? And I might add, why such a inane question, especially about this nation, this experiment in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Why in this nation which was carefully set up by the Founding fathers NOT to be a religious state?

A quirk in fate, for certain, that this carefully formed and crafted new nation is now 'torn apart' by religion.

I just returned from a 2-week stay in Europe and visited monasteries and churches which were destroyed or taken over by competing Christian faiths, often in a bloody coup. Entire villages wiped out, burned to the ground because they 'believed' in something deigned 'heretical' by another Christian faith. During the Thirty Years War, the present German state of Württemberg lost three-quarters of its population.

Today, one of the less-serious results of this religious war is that entire villages in Württemberg are of a single faith. The small Schwartzwald town of my relatives is totally Catholic while the neighboring village, 3 km away, is Protestant. They like it that way.

Men like Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Jay, Madison, and Hamilton knew their European history. They understood what religious bigotry and hate had done to that continent. They longed for a new nation, free of religious intolerance, free from the deadly grip of religious fanaticism.

Yet, here we are some 230 years later, and the 'religious theme' permeates the politics and government of this nation. Stains it. Defiles it.

Rolling over in their graves.

NEXT TIME

2009-09-19T05:31:00.000-04:00

Microdot reacts to the new cover of Time Magazine with Glenn Beck, who has reminded us that he is no Edward R. Murrow. I was going to publish the May 8, 1954 Time magazine Cover that featured Senator Joe McCarthy, but I always try to look to the future.

Glenn Beck Speading the Lies

2009-09-19T00:09:00.003-04:00

The Huffington Post published a fascinating article by Jim Wallis on Glenn Beck. The title: "Pray for Glenn Beck." It seems the master showman, Beck, has again invoked the tear-jerking story of his handicapped daughter in order to further the lies about Obama's intentions with health care reform.

They [the government] will say exactly what doctors said about my 21-year-old daughter: "She may not really have a quality of life. She may not walk or talk or feed herself. But then again miracles happen." The "then again, miracles happen" part of that will be left out of the conversation. And I will not be able to see my daughter's 21st birthday, where I can reflect with her how miracles do happen. Because really, as I was told at the beginning of her life: Well, what kind of quality of life is she going to really have? I don't know, but that's for God to decide, not the government.

All this, obviously preys on the fears of people taken in by talk of "death panels" and other nonsense. Nothing in the proposed bill says anything about euthanasia. "All of the reform proposals being debated include provisions to cap out-of-pocket expenses, end exclusions for pre-existing conditions, and eliminate limits like our friends' annual $250,000 cap on coverage."

The last time I heard Glenn Beck talking about his daughter it was in the context of the gun debate. At that time I thought he was a bully. Now, after a bit more exposure to him, I still think he's a bully. What's your opinion?

Do you find the behaviour of Glenn Beck is morally reprehensible? Or, do you think he's sincere in what he says? I think that's the key question. If he does this just for the ratings, he's a moral criminal, in my opinion. If he's sincere, on the other hand, he's just another misguided person who happens to have a huge audience.

Please let us know what you think?

New Contributor

2009-09-18T10:03:00.002-04:00

I'm honored to have been invited to be a contributor to this blog. I'm not really sure what's expected of me, so any comments about that or input from the other contributors would be greatly appreciated.

Florida school officials in prayer case could get jail time

2009-09-18T05:44:00.002-04:00

(CNN) -- Two Florida school administrators were due to appear in federal court Thursday to face contempt charges for saying a prayer at a school luncheon.

Frank Lay, principal of Pace High School in Pace, Florida, and school athletic director Robert Freeman are accused of violating a consent decree banning employees of Santa Rosa County schools from endorsing religion.

---------------------------------------------

Prayer in public school promoted by the principal. Were this Afghanistan, Iran or Saudi Arabia there would be no issue at all. Of course the 'principals' of those Taliban/Muslim nations would lead the children in prayers. Why not?

No doubt the odd American religious right have their panties all in knots over this issue in Pace High School. The oh-so righteous fundamentalists 'believe' that ours is a Christian nation and, as such, Christian prayers are not only permissible in school, but necessary.

Odd stuff. Odd people. But, you already know this.

Dopey Republicans Decry Scrapping of Missile Defense Shield

2009-09-17T10:43:00.003-04:00

I can just hear them now. Those dopey Republicans and their moronic right-wing radio jocks maligning Obama for scrapping the Bush missile defense plans. No doubt Limbaugh will be at near-stroke blood pressure levels as he vomits his garbage to his eager, mindless dolt listeners.

The right-wing doesn't want health care for everyone, but wants billions spent on an iffy defense shield. Go figure! What is the greater chance, for example, of a person in Dubuque Iowa dying from an insurance-denied medical procedure or being hit by a missile from 'the enemy'?

I could laugh at the idiocy of it all if it weren't for the millions of Americans who actually will suffer that fate or bankruptcy because of the quid-pro-quo of the insurance companies and the politicians.

We need a defense shield against the insurance industry rather than from 'the enemy.'

Conclusion of the European Seminar- Highways

2009-09-17T04:51:00.004-04:00

As I write at this early time of the morning, my body believes it is nearly mid-day, European time. Let me not dilly-dally and get directly to the point- Europe is a socialist state. At least Switzerland, Germany and France. Very much socialists.

During my two-week trip abroad, I was not in contact with the daily rants here in the states. The Stuttgarter Zeitung, the Strasbourg Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace, and the Zurich, Die Weltwoche allotted little space to American news. Perhaps they know that their readers are little interested in the daily outrages of this dysfunctional nation of ours.

And so I return to the mess I left. The insurance industry still squeezes the nuts of the senators, racism continues to fester, and the ever-volatile voice of right-wing radio continues to corrode the brains of the listeners.

Why would the average German, Swiss or Frenchman care much about such a colonial society as ours? We truly are the odd, backwards distant cousin- the ignorant, hillbilly relative who bungles through life but gets nowhere. The relative that you hope doesn't make a surprise visit.

As an example of the effects of socialism, I note a comparison of the roads: the ones I travelled are as smooth as a baby's butt. German highways, town streets and the Autobahn were all in excellent condition as were those in Alsace and central Switzerland. As a stark and harsh comparison, the expressway from DTW to Toledo is a joke, especially in Michigan. Its condition would not be proper for an alley in Europe. The crumbling streets of Toledo are, at minimum, an embarrassment.

But our taxes are lower.

Exactly that.

Our taxes are lower.

Therefore, as one wise man once noted, you get what you pay for.

Our stuffy European ancestors understand that principle well and have concluded, after experimenting with 'low taxes' and resultant low services, that they would rather enjoy proper services and pay a little more in taxes to enrich their lives on a day-to-day basis. Thus the man who works in Mercedes in Stuttgart expects the roads he travels each morning and afternoon to be smooth, safe and well-designated. And they are.

One might question whether a 'road' ought to be deigned as a proper indicator of the level of civility, maturity and accomplishment of a society. Indeed, one might question such an index.

Ask the Romans.

Toledo Auto Workers Tops- Too Bad they Have to Make Jeeps!

2009-09-01T09:16:00.002-04:00

The Blade's top story today reads

3 metro Toledo automotive plants again tops in productivity

For the second year in a row, three metro Toledo automotive plants have been recognized as the most productive factories in North America in their respective categories

Behind the strip of car dealers on Central Avenue are rows and rows of 'Clunkers' that were traded-in for new, fuel-efficient models in the Cash For Clunkers program. Jeeps and Chryslers make up the vast majority of this collection of ugliness. Gas-guzzlers, dogs with terrible quality records now waiting to be hauled away for the crushers.

As if Chrysler didn't know that they were making a terrible product. Several years ago Toledo was the proud home of a spanking new automobile plant- state of the art. City officials were all agog at the opening of the plant, heaping praise and other hyperbole upon the Chrysler CEO's.

Everything might have been swell had Chrysler decided that, with the opening of this new facility, a brand new product would be manufactured there. But no. It was destined to produce some of the worst cars in modern history- the Dodge Nitro and the Jeep Wrangler.

The CEO's knew best. They always do. The same old, same old. Innovation is a dangerous concept to these traditionalists.

As a result, the Toledo workers do an excellent job at making duds. So goes the American corporate world!

A Sabbatical to Study Socialism

2009-08-31T07:46:00.003-04:00

I'm on sabbatical in order to study this oft maligned system of government called 'socialism.' This style of governance has been castigated throughout the summer as evil and something that a great nation such as ours ought to be on guard against lest our democracy, our way of life, becomes forever damaged by such a monumental shift in values. Of course the knot of people shouting these things put graffiti moustaches on Obama and believed in death panels, so that pretty much stamps them as escapees from the loony bin.

Socialism is not quite communism, but an aberrant relative nonetheless. Remember when the condemnation expletive used to be 'Communist!' Or Pinko! McCarthy and his buffoons. I was called a communist back in early 2003 as Istood, feet frozen, on the street corners of Toledo with my 'No War' poster just prior to Shock 'n Awe. I was also told to' go back where I came from!' by a passing Luddite. Apparently these and many others who rolled down their windows thought that I had an un-American attitude about this nation. Their concept of America and Americanism saw me as, well, some sort of outsider, traitor, or illegal alien.

They are a queer lot and even more idiotic when they cluster. And they did this summer, shouting, yelling, and making asses of themselves in public. Mooning the citizens, so to speak, with their asinine behavior. Like fanatic fans at a football game. They thought it was what democracy was all about. They knew. They had the gift of wisdom and were clearly more American than the rest of the audience. In their minds, there was no distinction between bedlam and discourse. After all, they were the true American.

Socialism was their purported fear, although they would have carried any baton if it could fed their anger, their negativity. They are a queer lot.

Thus, I need to investigate socialism first-hand so that I can report the purported ugliness of that system of governance to my faithful readers. So, my field-trip to that bastion of socialism, the continent of Europe. Where else would one find such a fertile field of creeping socialism than there?

Ruined castles on hilltops remind their citizens of a time when kings ruled their people. Grand and drippingly ornate palaces help the European recall the days of opulence for the few. Holocaust museums and concentration camps recall the days of militaristic fascism. Remnants of The Wall recall a time when governments kept their people imprisoned inside their boundaries as do rusting barbwire fences.

The continent of Europe, then, just may offer me an opportunity to study this 'new' type of governance which so many angry Americans this summer decried as 'dangerous.'

It seems that our stuffy European ancestors have been the snowplows for us, much like an older brother for his younger siblings. They have been there, suffered that, stumbled this way, cleared a path over there, been imprisoned, repressed, fell down and got back up again. If any group of people know a multiciplicity of governance systems, it surely would be the Eurpoeans.

Socialism! is the cry from the ignorant, huddled masses. Look for irregular reports from the land of the free and the home of the socialist.

Changing Comment Permissions

2009-08-29T22:57:00.002-04:00

Blogger allows the administrator to select certain opitions regarding comments. I have been using comment moderation wherein I must review the comments before publishing them. This takes time that I no longer wish to expend.

As a result, I am using the option that allows only certain email addresses to post comments. As I generally get comments from less than ten persons, this might work out quite nicely and it will reduce the number of comments that I must review each day.

I direct this post to the following 'regulars' whose comments I most often permit to be published:

• Engineer of Knowledge

• steve

• Mikeb302000

• Jack Jodell

• Sepp

Microdot, UptheFlag and History Mike are members of this blog and therefore already have permission to post comments here.

If the people whose names I listed wish to continue to post comments without moderation, please send me an email at my address: mud underline rake at hotmail dot com. This offer will close on Wednesday 2 September.

Regards,

Muddy

The Most Christian Senator Laid to Rest

2009-08-29T13:33:00.003-04:00

Senator Kennedy is perhaps the most Christian senator yet to be seated in that august chamber. I just watched his funeral mass and it affirmed that conviction. Yet he never wore it on his sleeves like some of his phony christian colleagues.

The Gospel chosen to be read at the service was all of Ted Kennedy was Matthew 25:31-46. The versus which stand out and are easily remembered from childhood are these: `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'

To the least of my brethren. The poor, the outcast, the disadvantaged, the immigrant, the gay, the deformed, the debilitated, the lame, the sick. Mother Theresa herself as she ministered to the poorest of the poor. Jesus as he met the lepers and the Samaritan woman at the well.

Ted Kennedy ran with the Gospel of Matthew all of his life, he took it to heart and made it his life's goal. Jesus would smile on him.

One of the eulogists said of him that he always remembered who he was fighting for- the disadvantaged in America. Not the corporate interests, not the wealthy, not the well-connected. He knew he was there for The People. The People who surrounded Jesus.

Who now will take up that baton? Who will rise to fill the gap left by this Lion of the Senate? This man of The People?

The Religious Fanatic and the Criminally Insane

2009-08-28T08:33:00.005-04:00

Phillip Garrido, the kidnapper and rapist of 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard, listens to angels. Not only that, but he believes that he has God-given powers to speak in an "unearthly" language used by angels. He is convinced he was being used by God to bring about the salvation of humanity. Garrido had a penchant for wandering the neighborhood distributing religious tracts and quoting Bible verse.

I'm wondering just how similar are the religious fanatic and the criminally insane. Both seem to hear voices, believe in angels, and believe that they are 'chosen' by a god who lives in some spiritual realm above the clouds. Some even have blogs; Garrido did. They love to drop Bible verses too.

Is there a fine line between the two? Is there a osmotic membrane separating the religious nut from the insane? Does intense religiosity demand the lifting of the curtain that separates reality from imagination? And, if so, are there any boundaries? What tethers a person so that they do not float away into that 'other' realm? Or, can one move effortlessly between reality and the spirit world and find one's way back?

Apparently Phillip Garrido made many trips between the two. It would be interesting to find out which Bible verses he loved to quote. One that often appears on the religious nut circuit is, "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and have eternal life." One wonders how that person 'knows' this stuff. How do they 'know' that god wants one to repent and have eternal life? Have they crossed that membrane a few times? Heard those angelic voices? Or is all part of a severe psychosis for which there are prescribed drug and counselling therapies?

God speaks and so do angels. How do we know? Well, because long ago someone heard something in his head...