Archive for Republicans

True Motives Exposed

Posted in Politics, Religion with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2011 by RJ Evans

(Editorial Comment from  host RJ Evans on his American Heathen® radio show – Air Date 08/12/11)

About 5 years ago I was having a very spirited debate with the guy who built my home.  Born and bred to be a Christian Nationalist, and far from knowledgeable on the Constitution, he raged mightily against the “liberal agenda”. He verbally trashed any possible idea of compromise and utterly refused to acknowledge that the Democratic Party could ever offer any sort of guidance on how to run the country.  After arguing with him for about an hour, I finally decided to ask him the following question, “So, are you saying that the Republican Party should be the only political party allowed to govern?”  For the first time in the very one-sided debate, he shut up.  He wouldn’t even look at me.  I asked him again, “Are you saying that the Republican Party should be the only political party allowed to govern the nation?”  Still no answer.  It was as if I had caught him red-handed with his hand in the cookie jar, trying to steal the last cookie.  He was speechless.  After a few moments of silence, he quickly changed the subject, deciding to move the conversation to something as trivial as possible.  Nothing more was said.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you the autocratic mentality of the Christian Nationalist Party. I give you the real reason they will not compromise on anything! I give you the ammunition you need to silence any Christian Nationalist in a debate.  Ask them, to their face, if they support a one party system of government… a Christian Nationalist Party form of government where no one can run for office unless they hold Christian Nationalist views and worship the christian god.  What you will hear is total silence.  Then, without so much as the skip of two or three heartbeats, and a sudden disengagement of your eye lock with them, they will change the subject.  They have been caught, caught like the thief that they are trying to steal past the Constitution of the United States, the very document they claim to love so much.  Their autocratic goals exposed, their plans laid bare for the whole world to see, they will quickly retreat back into the dirty, dank swamp from which they were born.

Much of what we are seeing from the Christian Nationalists today has been fermenting deep in the putrid swamp of bigotry, racism, and fear.  What was once a fairly noble party, one that actually worked and played well with others for the most part, has devolved into one of the most vile, despicable, grotesque, and utterly autocratic renditions of toxic political sludge ever produced.  In no small part, the brew masters of this filth are the purveyors of the greatest piss swill ever unleashed on mankind.  The christian religion.  The masters of totalitarian tyranny, christians of all denominations foment uncivil discourse, vilifying anyone and anything that may preclude them from stealing power away from humanity.  Even the most quiet and demure renditions of christianity are simply waiting at the bottom of the religious cesspool for their due date, a day when they will follow their more toxic brethren in a geyser like explosion that will lay waste to the landscape of humanity.

As we have witnessed since the 2008 election, the Christian Nationalist Party has done everything in its power to seduce, cajole, wrangle, lie, cheat, steal, deface, slander, demoralize, polarize… They’ve done everything and anything to prevent this nation from moving forward under a Democratic president or Democratic congress.  They are moving, any way they can, in the direction of a one party state, a theocratic plutocracy where no one can participate in the political or social arena without State approval.  They want total control.  And what of the Constitution?  King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta.  But, that didn’t stop him from discarding it a short time later.  But, unlike the eventual ouster of King John, the Christian Nationalists won’t give way to the people so easily.  They have made it abundantly clear that they will have no intention of relinquishing the throne they so desperately want to create, a throne that will figuratively be occupied by the myth of Jesus, but which will be physically occupied my a megalomania-cal despot.

In my opinion, the 2012 election will probably be the most important election in this nation’s history.  We currently have a sitting President who has stumbled and blundered his way through his term by trying to compromise with Christian Nationalist terrorists. He has allowed himself to be maligned on every level, including his race and birthright, and with this upcoming election, he will most likely crumble and lose to a tyrannical, despotic, fascist powerhouse called the Christian Nationalist Party.  At this time there seems to be no third-party option for consideration, as both the Democratic Party and the Christian Nationalist Party have effectively polarized the electorate. Time and again, the two parties have conspired to cultivate the myth that the electorate can only vote one of two ways.  But, the truth of the matter is that more Americans are choosing to abandon traditional party favor, either withdrawing from casting their vote completely, or choosing to vote Independent.  Now the most coveted of voter positions, both the Democratic and Christian Nationalist parties are courting the Independent voter.  Unfortunately, while there are voters abandoning the ship of traditional party politics and grabbing the independent life-preserver, many more are preferring to jump ship and swim away from politics altogether.  But, keep in mind that this is exactly what fuels the Christian Nationalist push for supremacy. The more voters they can scare away from the polls, the better. While they may have a small base, they know their base will produce the votes.

Ladies and Gentleman, the fringe, lunatic, bat-shit crazy Right has stacked the deck in their favor.  They have scared away the vast majority of voters who actually have the potential to lower the boom on them.  They have driven a stake deep into the heart of their perceived enemy, democracy, and they will continue their march to domination over everyone.  Unless the American electorate grows a fucking spine by the 2012 election, our Democratic Republic will crumble under the jack boots of jesus jackals.  As the sound of thundering foot steps echos in the distance, and the voices of Christian Nationalist intimidation reverberate off the walls of freedom and liberty, the silent majority of America are hastily abandoning the streets, closing their shutters, locking their doors, and hiding in their cellars, afraid to come out.  Just like their brethren, the Democratic Party, they have chosen to surrender to their conqueror, shrinking from their responsibility to defend freedom and liberty for ALL.  Only hoping to be granted mercy by the new king, they silently ignore the true fate that awaits them.  I certainly hope they haven’t forgotten the Lord’s Prayer.  Because that is what they will be reciting every single day before their mandatory weekly attendance at the local Christian Nationalist re-education classes. And woe unto anyone who doesn’t heed the call of “Every knee shall bow”.  Think I’m joking?  We’ll see.

Pastor Martin Niemöller

First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

David2

First the moralists came for the paintings…
And I said nothing because I didn’t own them.

Then they came for the sculptures…
And I said nothing because I didn’t care for art.

Then they came for the books and magazines…
And I said nothing because I didn’t read them.

Then they came for the burlesque shows…
And I said nothing because I didn’t visit those places.

Then they came for talk radio and racy TV shows…
And I said nothing because I didn’t like those programs.

Then they came for the rap albums and music videos…
And I said nothing because I didn’t care for them.

Then they came for the Internet…
And I said nothing because I didn’t visit “those” web sites.

Then they came for the rest of the things that they found objectionable…

And I still said nothing because I didn’t like those things either.

And then they came for the things that I DID like…
And by then there was nobody left to speak for me.

4 Comments »

Another Seed Is Planted

Posted in Politics, Religion with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 29, 2011 by RJ Evans

(Editorial Comment from  host RJ Evans on his American Heathen® radio show – Air Date 07/29/11)

Weeds.  We all have them.  In many cases even the most beautiful lawn isn’t immune to the inevitable invasion of opportunistic weed seeds as they blow from one yard to another.  Only the most diligent of yard men and women are capable of battling each invasion.  Spending hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of hours carefully trying to manage the onslaught, these landscape warriors still find themselves overwhelmed from time to time.  But, somehow they manage to win most of the battles against their ever evolving foe.  Weeds evolve.  They adapt.  And, so the battle to keep them under control must continue unabated.  This past week, a weed seed found fertile ground in a yard overseas. It rooted in a beautiful green pasture of grass, kept tightly cropped, well fed, watered, and cared for.  For the most part, this yard was weed free. But, this new weed’s seed had been laying dormant, slowly adapting to its environment, waiting for the right opportunity to blossom and then destroy the lawn in which it lay.  When this weed sprouted this past week, it quickly sowed more of its seeds far and wide, carried on the wind to wherever fertile ground was ready to receive it. Could our yard be this weed seed’s next destination?

The weed seed I’m talking about tonight is the most heinous of species.  But, it’s really just a tiny variation of an indigenous species here in the United States.  Unfortunately, this particular invasive species has the potential to be far more destructive, and it comes from a place where the lawn was thought to be untouched by weedy tentacles.  Norway has given birth to a weed that truly has the ability to destroy our lawn.  While we have our own variations of this weed, this new variation will easily cross pollinate and assimilate into our existing species.  The name of this weed?  Christianus Fundamentalus Extremis Ji-hadis.  Or, in layman’s terms… With us or against us… or simply, you’re fucked.

His name is Anders Behring Breivik, 32 years old from Oslo, Norway.  Described by people who knew him as a modest person that seldom engaged himself in political discussions.  Breivik mercilessly blew up a building and then shot and killed scores of people at a youth camp.  In the end, more than 70 human beings were dispatched with ruthless abandon and all in the name of cultural conservatism and a right wing revolutionary movement.  Breivik openly and unabashedly called himself a christian anti-jihadist.  Some officials have claimed that Breivik committed the crimes to call attention to his manifesto, a document that lays out his ideology and reasons for the attacks.  And, indeed, the document does give ample information to that end.  But, what’s striking to me about Breivik’s manifesto is that it echos throughout, almost word for word, the sentiments of many CNP (Christian Nationalist Party – aka Republicans) members, and 2012 candidates for president.  Anti-multiculturalism, anti-Muslim, anti-immigration and pro-free market.  What’s more, Breivik describes how he became involved in the right wing movement of Norway in a couple of very telling paragraphs from his manifesto:

“When I was around 16-17 years old, I joined the Progressive Party’s youth organization (FPU), which was anti-immigration and pro-free market. Every journalist in the country considered the party’s members to be racist because of their anti-immigration platform. The Progress Party was under constant attack from every media organization, from NGOs and all other political parties. They were called racists and Nazis, and were generally labeled “fascist pigs.” The Progress Party appealed to me because I had seen the hypocrisy in society, and I knew even then that they were the only party that opposed multiculturalism.

Around 2000, I realized that the democratic struggle against the Islamization of Europe, and European multiculturalism, was lost. It is simply not possible to compete with democratic regimes that import millions of voters. 40 years of dialogue with the cultural Marxists / multiculturalists had ended up as a disaster. It would now only take 50-70 years before we, Europeans, were the minority. So I decided to explore alternative forms of opposition. But the biggest problem then was that there were no options for me at all. There was no known armed culturally conservative, or Christian, anti-Jihad movement.”

Notice any similarities to the rhetoric coming from the Right here in the United States?  Well, Breivic was heavily influenced by American anti-Muslim bigots like Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller, two people among many who are on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s hate watch list.  Of course, we know the anti-Muslim mentality is part of the ideology that drives the CNP.  And, most, if not all of it, is echoed in Breivik’s words.  Anti-immigration, anti-Muslim (even though in both Breivik’s words AND the words of CNP’ers here in the States, it’s “nothing personal”), anti-multiculturalism, the use of words like “Marxism” and “Marxist”.  More than that, Breivik openly wanted to be an armed conservative christian, anti-Jihadist.  Can you say Tea Bagger, CNP, “kill’em all and let god sort them out”?  But, there’s so much more that Breivik revealed about himself, and his political and religious affiliation, that run almost perfectly parallel to the CNP’s political platform and aspirations.  First and foremost is Nationalism.  The CNP’s version of Nationalism and Breivik’s are the same.  In this context the word is easily defined as “you’re either with us or against us”.  The CNP thinks in terms of black and white and so does Breivik. If anyone doesn’t support the CNP worldview, they are deemed “socialist”, “liberal”, “marxist”, “communist”, and “unpatriotic”.  Outsiders are considered to be threats.  To quote Breivik, “The operation was not to kill as many people as possible but to give a strong signal that could not be misunderstood that as long as the Labor Party keeps driving its ideological lie and keeps deconstructing Norwegian culture and mass importing Muslims then they must assume responsibility for this treason.”  Now, let’s replace a few words. “The operation was not to kill as many people as possible but to give a strong signal that could not be misunderstood that as long as the Democratic Party keeps driving its ideological lie and keeps deconstructing American culture and mass importing Muslims then they must assume responsibility for this treason.”  Frightening huh? And, how many times have we also heard the word “treason” used against anyone who disagrees with the CNP?

Breivik also alluded to two other “cells” of his religio-political network — which he imagines as a new Knights Templar, the medieval crusaders who protected Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land. At one point, his manifesto briefly referred to an intention to contact two other cells, but no details were given.  Christian soldiers?  Where have we heard this before?  Now, add to all this a very damning piece of evidence that further supports my point. Breivik said his acts were intended to start a revolution to inspire Norwegians to retake their country from Muslims and other immigrants. He blames liberals for championing multiculturalism over Norway’s “indigenous” culture.  He blames liberals?  The CNP has been using this exact rhetoric for quite some time.  And, in fact, has ramped up this type of rhetoric to the point of obstructing and evading compromise on any legislation the Obama administration brings to the table.  The “liberal agenda” must be cleansed. And, we don’t need to get them started on the “indigenous” culture thing!  They’re already screaming “Christian Nation”!!

Fear and intimidation.  Breivik used an extreme form of fear and intimidation to maximum effectiveness.  Not surprisingly, similar methods are the hallmarks of the so-called “conservative” CNP mentality.  Scare the fuck out of everyone until they crumble into Stockholm Syndrome.  And violence has been used by members of the CNP from time to time to accomplish the task. Once their mission is accomplished, however they choose to execute it, the CNP can claim a need for “purity” in our national identity to counter the forces of “evil”.  They can convince everyone that our nation is threatened by multiculturalism, liberalism, secularism, and Separation of Church and State.  Our melting pot of diverse cultures, the richness of our national identity, our openness, our very freedoms and liberties, in the eyes of the CNP, are threats to the manifest destiny of our nation.  And, we can’t have that can we? No!  America’s destiny is to lead the world to jesus, to be ruled by a fictional god that they have created and control.

Our political soil is rich, ready, and more than fertile for a dangerous weed.  Need I call attention to the historical parallels here?  While I firmly support the freedom of speech and the Right Lug Nuts have the right to spew their hate filled filth far and wide,  I must draw the line at incitement to violence.  But, can we question the idea of incitement?  Reluctantly, I have to agree with a paragraph from a blog commentary on Bold Faith Type:

“It would violate basic American understandings of the First Amendment to suggest that Spencer and Geller be held legally responsible for the way violent individuals act on their writings, but that doesn’t mean they should get a free pass. Their rhetoric is still false, incendiary and oriented towards a dangerous ‘clash of civilizations’ paradigm. Just because they have a right to hate speech doesn’t mean their voices should be endorsed or amplified by more ‘mainstream’ actors. These attacks are a good reminder that the political organizations and media outlets who continue to give these extremists platforms deserve more scrutiny. The bigotry they promote isn’t just hateful, it’s dangerous.”

It’s far too early to nail down any real and tangible reason for this tragedy.  Political and religious ideologies have a way of intermingling to such a degree that they are inseparable at times. What is clear is that innocent people died, again,  at the hands of radical, extremist ideology. Innocent people are dead because someone believed that humans should be separate and not equal. Not surprisingly, quite a few CNP lug nuts here in the United States have been quick to defend themselves against criticisms of the ideological similarities they share with Breivik. The whole idea of taking responsibility for the bullshit they spew is unthinkable to them.  But, the fact remains that they can’t distance themselves from the reality of violence inspired by the rhetoric they spew every day.  Facts speak louder than bullshit.  And facts dictate that when the seeds of extreme ideological weeds are left unchecked, bad things happen to the lawn of freedom and liberty for all.  And, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see the weed seeds of Norway blow in on the wind and flourish in American soil, right alongside our own native freedom choking species called the CNP.  Fact is, the ground is fertile for such a weed.

______________________________________________

For those who wish to argue that Breivik’s “not a real christian”, I refer you to the following blog posts…

1. What’s The Harm?  (They thought they were real christians!)

2. Christianity vs. Islam: Peace & Dignity?  (And, don’t forget to read the scriptures that are taken directly from the New Testament)

3. Things Change: That’s Not Christian!  (After reading the ENTIRE post, be sure to visit the link in the last paragraph.  God sure loves murder!)

4. The Same Fuckin’ Poison  (A beautiful, comprehensive look at the immense diversity of christian belief! So, who’s really a christian?)

Breivik isn’t a christian when someone provides tangible, verifiable evidence for their version of the christian god.  Oop’s!  There is NONE!

An Un-American Education

Posted in Politics, Religion with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2011 by RJ Evans

(The following commentary is part of a weekly series called “Reflections” by John Mill.  John is a noted free thought advocate and broadcaster.  His series airs on my American Heathen® internet radio show. Air date of this particular segment: 05/13/11)

Last month, Republican presidential hopeful and former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania gave public education the ultimate insult: he called public schools “government-run schools.” He claimed these “government-run schools” are used to “indoctrinate … your children.”

Wow! This is John Mill and I guess I’m lucky to have made it out alive! You see, I’m a product of public education and, while I was not a straight-A student by any stretch of the imagination, I did emerge from “government-run” schooling, and a “government-run” university system, with my imagination and my critical thinking skills intact. I also learned a few facts along the way: such as why we have public education in the first place.

You see Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and the ever-present Rick Santorum either don’t know or fail to recognize history. Even their own history: Santorum, the son of government employees, is also a product of “government-run” schooling and a “government-run” university system!

But more than that, the right-wing agenda is clear: in spite of broad public support for the local public school, even if people think public education generally is failing, the key is to mend it, not end it. And if you want to know why public education, the so-called “government-run” schools, is worth defending rather than defunding – through vouchers and tax credits for religious “alternative” schools and home schooling – then you haven’t been paying attention in history class.

The move by Republican, that is, Christian Nationalist Party members, is to destroy public education. Their alternatives are what families were left with in the Dark Ages: after the fall of Rome, with its free schools for the children of working people, by the sixth century in Europe the population was left with home schooling (or nothing) for the poor and unfortunate, and tutoring and mentoring for the more fortunate. In fact, 95% of Europe were agricultural workers called serfs (that is, slaves with fewer rights than under the Empire) and of course illiterate and uneducated. Is it any wonder that from 500 to 1100 there was almost no intellectual or scientific progress in Europe?

This is what Mr. Santorum wants to return to? Does he want the US to become as ignorant as the Muslim world with which he claims we are at war?

Maybe I have misunderstood him. Maybe we just have different ideas of the purpose of general education. It seems clear that Mr. Santorum and his fellow bomb-throwers don’t like government “indoctrination.” What are they are for? We can surmise: since Mr. Santorum is a creationist, he would favor schools that are free of those pesky “government-run” rules that allow only science in science class, and facts rather than David Barton’s Christian distortions in history class. He would keep Muslims out of schools altogether, I suppose, and build a fence to keep out those nasty brown people from south of the border.

Here is the question Mr. Santorum fails to answer because it was never asked: why was government in the education business in the first place? Clearly, the private sector was either uninterested in the job or poorly equipped to handle it. Industry needs workers and educated workers make better employees. Since 19th century business would not pay for general education and 19th century churches could not educate beyond a small scale, local governments took over the role. Taxes were levied and everybody paid because everybody benefits. As American society grew more complex, education had to expand to keep pace. Only government, with the power to tax people and business to raise revenue, was equal to the job. And only government could enforce educational equality – as opposed to the measurably unequal education provided by churches and families.

Why is government still in the education business? Because whatever “indoctrination” goes on inside the classroom, it’s an indoctrination of which Mr. Santorum, if he really believes in America, should whole-heartedly approve: “government-run” education makes good American citizens. Let me say that again because most conservatives and Christian Nationalists forget what makes the United States strong. They forget what binds us as a nation. They forget what it means to have a nation in the first place. Here it is: government-run education makes good American citizens.

Mr. Santorum would have us believe the purpose of education in America is to turn out Christian soldiers who will join a militia when they’re old enough to shoot a gun at a liberal and reliably vote Republican so they’ll perpetuate the party. Mr. Santorum and those like him apparently believe that now that they’ve made it to the top they can pull up the ladder of opportunity after them.

Do I have to point out that this belief would most certainly destroy the nation? And, far from fearing “government-run” public education, as Americans we should embrace it. Why?

Because only through public education can we ensure that every child gets the education they deserve. Because public schools do not turn children away; they educate all children, whatever their learning needs. Because public schools are the key to addressing inequality in our society; they give young people and families the chance to overcome social and economic (and ethnic) disadvantage. Because public schools help build mutual understanding among people of different ethnic, religious, vocational and socioeconomic backgrounds . Because the key to national prosperity is a highly skilled and educated workforce and this can be achieved only through public schools. Because America’s future depends on the decisions of all its educated and informed citizens, the cornerstone of our democracy. Because with strong public schools, we can be confident of the education and development of the next generation.*

Mr. Santorum and his fellows would take us back to the ignorance of the Middle Ages, encouraging us to fear the bogeyman of government indoctrination. Does he think indoctrination in pseudoscience, religious credulity, Christian Nationalist jingoism, and fear of dark-skinned people is better? Can we please call Rick Santorum and the whole Tea Party-Christian Nationalist-Republican-conservative fear machine what it is?

It’s un-American.

Private education is un-American. Public education is the bedrock of the American nation: without public education, there is no United States of America. I’m John Mill.

*Note: To give credit where credit is due, I have borrowed an argument in favor of public education authored by the public school system of New South Wales [http://www.forourfuture.org.au/whypubliceducationmatters.html]. If only American educators could defend themselves so strongly!

2 Comments »

Slaying The Green Dragon: Environmental Science Misinformation Linked To Religion

Posted in Politics, Religion with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on April 29, 2011 by RJ Evans

(The following is a transcript of  a commentary made by co-host Dr. Charles A. Doswell III (2Buck Chuck). Air date of this particular commentary: 04/29/11)

RJ has invited me to offer my views on a topic that has recently caught his attention:  that is, an effort by a coalition between the religious right and the CNP (aka the GOP) to squash what they refer to as the Green Dragon.  The idea is that environmentalism, evolutionary science, and global climate change science (as embodied in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC) represent some sort of devil-inspired “liberal” cabal to both bankrupt corporate America and simultaneously to wage war on Christianity.  It seems that some Christians actually were embracing principles of environmentalism, including efforts to mitigate the impacts of global climate change.  Faith-based environmentalism was a specter the CNP fears, as its corporate sponsors would be inconvenienced by having to reduce their massive profits in what many corporations have characterized as draconian environmental policy changes.

Thus, we have the so-called “Cornwall Alliance” led by E. Calvin Beisner who “… asserts that God has placed all of nature at the disposal of humanity.”  This is the classical biblical notion known as dominionism:  that we humans have the god-given right to use or abuse the Earth to any extent we choose.  Dominionism has its roots in Genesis 1:26:  “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.  And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ “

I suggest that our listeners might explore the Web for insights regarding this partnership between politicians and religious fanatics.  I’m not going to use my time to make you all aware of the dirty history of the Cornwall Alliance and its partners.  Rather, I want to comment on the attempt by the religious right to cast environmentalism as an opponent to religious faith.

This alliance is both figuratively, and arguably literally, a match made in heaven!  It links the authoritarian principles of religious faith with the most rapacious, cynical,  and callous political figures who are the beneficiaries of policies favoring corporate America.  George W. Bush was their perfect president, combining born-again fundamentalism with a profound fondness for oil money.  Both the fundamentalist religious zealots and the CEO’s ruining the American economy without apparent consequences share a common cause in condemning policies clearly associated with the so-called liberals.  It’s those freethinkers we need to smash, and the way to do it is to rouse the righteous in a jangling jihad against anyone who dares to challenge the ascendancy of the deity and the existing economic system.  By the way, that economic system actually is quite far from a truly “free” market.  No, this economy is about welfare for the rich, seemingly without concern for what crimes they might perpetrate on the rest of us.

Freethinkers, in their tree-hugging and alarmist statements about global climate change, might interrupt the gravy train that flows out of the taxpayer’s pockets into corporate executive bank accounts. As Watergate’s “Deep Throat” (FBI assistant director, Mark Felt) in the movie All the President’s Men admonished:  “Follow the money.”  From CEO coffers, the cash flow enters the political arena on behalf of the CNPers, who not coincidentally, are big supporters of privileges associated with churches – notably, their tax-exempt status.

As I see it, the sad part of the situation is that this effort to support global climate change denialism and eviscerate environmental protection has harnessed science’s uncertainties against the scientists.  Since science makes no absolute claims, CNP politicians can drag their feet over implementing any substantial “green” policies – that is, anything that would favor the environment.  They claim to want to see more compelling scientific results, but it’s just a stalling tactic.  This is a cynical manipulation by masters of obfuscating rhetoric to create doubts in the minds of the under-educated American public about the science that underlies environmentalism.  Scientists always operate under uncertainty and rarely, if ever, make absolute claims.  Scientists can be brushed aside by those whose biblical texts and political cynicism make them bloated with unsubstantiated certainty about their pseudo-scientific claims in opposition to the scientists.  They don’t hesitate to argue that they know, with biblical absolutism, what is best for America.  And the public seems inclined to believe them to a degree that leaves freethinkers astonished.  Freethinkers can ask embarrassing questions, which makes them a target!

David Barton (Founder and president of WallBuilders – an organization claiming to be “dedicated to presenting America’s forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built.” – a thinly-disguised fundamentalist christian organization) accuses scientists of ignoring anything that does not support their worldview and manipulating data to support it, while complaining that it is all a plot to increase government control and play God.  This is the most astounding case of the pot calling the kettle black I’ve ever seen!  It’s the religious right and their corporate partners who are manipulating the truth to support their worldview.  It’s they who claim to know absolute truth.  And yes, they seem to be acting as if they are implementing the will of their almighty deity.  They’re narcissistic to an extreme, and their rhetoric projects their very own flaws onto their opponents.

In a society dominated by christians, this conspiracy between the religious right and their political representatives to link environmentalism with atheism is disturbing.  If we as Americans allow this to prevent implementing environmentalist policies, we’re going to deserve what happens to us as a consequence!

Great Spasms of Intolerance

Posted in Politics, Religion with tags , , , , , , , , , , on April 29, 2011 by hewhay

(The following commentary is part of a weekly series called “Yahweh Speaks” by Yahweh.  Yahweh is an assumed name to protect his identity on-line.  He is a noted  free thought advocate and Constitutional attorney.  His series airs on my American Heathen® internet radio show. Airdate 04/29/11)

The history of mankind is replete with great spasms of intolerance.

The Hebrew myth text some call the Old Testament is virtually a blueprint for intolerance at its  worst: stoning, fratricide, patricide, and genocide.

Let us examine an horrific example.

Gen 14:13
“Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram.”

So, in the time of Abraham the Hebrews and Amorites were allies.

But, by the time of Joshua the Amorites fell so far out of favor with the Hebrews and the genocidal god they had divined that Joshua slew them ALL~~~, every man, woman and child.

And not only did the Hebrews slay every man, woman and child, but their god suspended the laws of nature so the Hebrews would have more daylight to find, see and  slaughter them all.

Joshua 10:12

“Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.”

13

“And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.”

40

“So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.”

History tells us this  wholesale slaughter is not unique to the Hebrews .They, too, were slaughtered by the Egyptians. And although the Babylonians slaughtered many, many more were taken into captivity. The Assyrians also slaughtered and captured the Hebrews. The Romans , in about 70 a.d. actively dissembled the Hebrew state and drove them from Jerusalem and Israel.   Then the Romans turned to the Christians and began to slaughter and persecute them. Within centuries  the Christians were in ascendency and they began to persecute and slaughter in the name of their Lord.
Then,various Christian sects began to persecute and slaughter eachother and used  the Civil authority, the power of government, to do so.

By the 18th century this bigotry and persecution had ensconced itself on the American shore to such an extent that James Madison concluded, “During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.” (Memorial and Remonstrance).

As Justice Story said, “The Catholic and the Protestant had alternately waged the most ferocious and unrelenting warfare on each other; and Protestantism itself, at the very moment, that it was proclaiming the right of private judgment, prescribed boundaries to that right, beyond which if any one dared to pass, he must seal his rashness with the blood of martyrdom.”

Despite the words of Madison, the words of Story and the actions of our Framers, bigotry and intolerance persisted in America: Africans were enslaved, women disenfranchised and  considered property, “Chinamen”  and “Mics” brought here to labor, but treated as subhumans, and so on and so on.

A Great Civil War, Constitutional Amendments, Landmark Supreme Court decisions, bold Federal Legislation have all fought back against this history of intolerance.

But, certain parts of human nature remain as atavistic traits, lurking, brooding, waiting to unleash  its terror against others~~~ the different, the outsiders, the unfavored, the “unchosen”. A credo  threads its way through the  historical tapestry of  intolerance:Blame a different minority for all problems, and wrap the accusatory finger in the drapery of  religious mysticsm and inerrancy.

And how does this manifest itself in 21st century America? By the Rabid Religious Reich physically and legally lashing out at gays, lesbians, women exercising choice,immigrants, muslims,  and non xtians…

Yet, some might counter that the RRR is not slaughtering others, that they are only exercising their “god given” , and Constitutionally recognized right to organize, speak, participate and pass legislation.

But, this ignores several salient facts. There have recently been, in the name of religion, acts of violence against “outsiders”.There are “holy wars” now on-going.  More importantly, human nature has not changed in thousands of years ,and if the Rabid Religious Reich finally gets full power they will inevitably arm themselves with all the terror of civil authority and exterminate those who doubt their dogma~~~all in accord with and sanctioned by their blueprint, their Ancient Myth Text.~~~ and it will make the internecine warfare we have seen for decades in the Middle East look like a king of the hill fight in a playground sandbox.

“But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god.It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”

Under God or Under Goal?

Posted in Politics, Religion with tags , , , , , , on March 11, 2011 by RJ Evans

(The following commentary is part of a weekly series called “Reflections” by John Mill.  John is a noted free thought advocate and broadcaster.  His series airs on my American Heathen® internet radio show. Air date of this particular segment: 03/11/11)

What just played out in Wisconsin, and may soon be echoed across the United States, is a valuable lesson in what is wrong with American politics and what is right with America.

This is John Mill and if you’ve been watching the slow-motion evisceration of the middle class as played out just recently in the Wisconsin legislature, where a Republican governor and his ditto-heads in the state house used the power of the law to take away the right of workers to bargain as a group, you’re seeing not just a microcosm of the gradual disenfranchisement of the American people under corporate power masquerading as popular power, but a pretty good parable of religion being a divider rather than a uniter.

One Nation Under God, anyone?

I’ve always despised the motto, and not just because it excludes me. I always preferred E Pluribus Unum, the Latin dictum on the Seal of the United States that means “Out of many, one.” Which do you think should be the motto of a nation? While never made the law of the land, until overturned in 1956 by a law designating its divisive successor, the Latin motto gave us something to believe in – as a nation.

But are we a nation? Filmmaker Michael Moore brought up that point when he addressed the crowd at a rally in Wisconsin last Saturday: if we disrespect the commons, if we care more for corporate welfare than the welfare of the people, how are we to “provide an outstanding educational system that then grows a new generation of inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists and thinkers who come up with the next great idea”?

Maybe it’s time we had a little class warfare. It’s time we attacked welfare for the rich instead of welfare for the poor. Sure, you might be rich someday. And that’s why many of our politicians want you to vote for the party that protects the rich man or woman that you might be some day. But in the meantime, they’re taking away the very foundation, the shared foundation, poisoning the seed corn of the next generation.

What does “The United States of America” really mean?

We know what divides us. What unites us? If we’re all just independent contractors, with nothing to make us a whole people, then what’s the point in having a nation?

This is where the entire Tea Party argument falls flat: if we share no responsibility for the commons, and for the welfare of our fellow citizens, then there is truly no point in having a nation.

This is where religion divides us rather than uniting us: if we are really “One Nation Under God” instead of “E Pluribus Unum,” then we are a nation in name only, because we will be loyal first to 40,000 different versions of God, and only second to the “one” that comes of “many.”

So which is it, America?

“A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.”

Politicians are great at dividing us: they will define a problem, fill us with fear of it, then tell us who to blame for it. A statesman will define a problem, make us understand how it affects all of us, they inspire us to solve it together. You see the difference? The politician shifts all the responsibility for our problems onto someone else. That’s a lot like religion, shifting all of our troubles onto the Big Sin Eater in the Sky. It may feel good, the way it felt good as a child when Mommy kissed it and made it better. But at some point most of us have to grow weary of being treated like a child if we’re ever going to have the self-respect which is the due of an adult.

The statesman is really concerned about the state of the state; he or she is a true leader, not a blame-shifter; an organizer of people toward a common goal, not a shepherd tending sheep; someone who creates an environment, or at least a mindset, in which the members being led feel they have something at stake that is shared by the other members, not someone who uses the members to further his own ends by setting us against each other.

Politicians do it, not by pointing us toward a common goal, but by making us fear another group for taking advantage of us individually. Religion does it, not by pointing us toward a common goal, but by pointing toward a selfish salvation in heaven. But if we truly are a nation, not under God but under Goal, we see no reason to fear and no benefit in selfishness.

The dismantling of the commons under color of “fiscal discipline” is based on a lie of our leaders: America is not broke because we ran out of money. We’re broke because we ran out of commitment to the commons, because we lost not our funds or our faith, but lost our common direction.

So which is it, America? If we choose divisiveness, demons and deities, there’s no point in having a nation. What I saw in Wisconsin was the people rallying against their misleaders: I saw, shared, American democracy!

2 Comments »

Welcome To The Republican Party!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on July 23, 2009 by RJ Evans

The nut jobs of the right wing are not a new phenomena.  In fact, they are referred to as “the base” of the Republican party.  These are the folks that believe in a skydaddy, think guns are for hunting liberals (or anybody who disagrees with them), and bitch, moan, whine and throw tantrums over anything and everything that threatens their fundamentalist, crackpot world view.  Hmmm… sounds like three year olds.

Anyway, the disorganization of the Repugs, and the lack of leadership (when have they really done that?) have led to a screaming fit over an irrational question of President Obama’s citizenship.  But, what can you expect from folks who will believe anything without evidence?  From skydaddy’s and saviors to prophets…from the Rapture to Armageddon…from little green men to…Yep.  I said little green men!  Watch the video.  America…welcome to the Republican Party!  Hallucinogenic drugs aren’t needed here.  Just pull up your favorite myth, supposition, “feelings” and let it rip!  And the delusions continue!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 155 other followers

%d bloggers like this: