Pope Fishing

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

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

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

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

"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

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

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?"

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

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

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.