Friday, December 31, 2004
Via talking points memo...
Comes this article from New Donkey. I'm not enough of a political junky to know the merits of the argument but it is interesting (and the Dems have to do something).
Comes this article from New Donkey. I'm not enough of a political junky to know the merits of the argument but it is interesting (and the Dems have to do something).
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Susan B. Anthony
“The religious persecution of the ages has been done under what was claimed to be the command of God. I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do to their fellows, because it always coincides with their own desires.”
- Susan B. Anthony, Remarks at 28th annual convention of the National-American Woman Suffrage Association, January, 1896, pleading in vain with the association not to repudiate Elizabeth Cady Stanton's The Woman's Bible. Reprinted in appendix of The Woman's Bible Part II (1898). See Women Without Superstition
via FFRF and Freethought of the Day
“The religious persecution of the ages has been done under what was claimed to be the command of God. I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do to their fellows, because it always coincides with their own desires.”
- Susan B. Anthony, Remarks at 28th annual convention of the National-American Woman Suffrage Association, January, 1896, pleading in vain with the association not to repudiate Elizabeth Cady Stanton's The Woman's Bible. Reprinted in appendix of The Woman's Bible Part II (1898). See Women Without Superstition
via FFRF and Freethought of the Day
Sunday, December 26, 2004
War Crimes
Via John Callender at lies.com comes this little gem from the WaPo.
War Crimes (registration required (ugh))
And the no fault no accountabilty Bush Presidency keeps chugging right along...
(Oh yes, meander over to lies.com and see John rant in a religious fashion over this article...it's well worth the read)
Via John Callender at lies.com comes this little gem from the WaPo.
War Crimes (registration required (ugh))
And the no fault no accountabilty Bush Presidency keeps chugging right along...
(Oh yes, meander over to lies.com and see John rant in a religious fashion over this article...it's well worth the read)
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Robert G. Ingersoll
Few authors have ever impressed me to the level that Bob Ingersoll has. He may have lived and died 68-years before I was born, but when I read his words for the first time it was incredible. Here was someone expressing many of the same views/doubts I'd had my whole life but doing it much more articulately than I ever could. He may have died in 1899 but his words still live on:
“The good part of Christmas is not always Christian--it is generally Pagan; that is to say, human, natural.
Christianity did not come with tidings of great joy, but with a message of eternal grief. It came with the threat of everlasting torture on its lips. It meant war on earth and perdition hereafter.
It taught some good things--the beauty of love and kindness in man. But as a torch-bearer, as a bringer of joy, it has been a failure. It has given infinite consequences to the acts of finite beings, crushing the soul with a responsibility too great for mortals to bear. It has filled the future with fear and flame, and made God the keeper of an eternal penitentiary, destined to be the home of nearly all the sons of men. Not satisfied with that, it has deprived God of the pardoning power.
And yet it may have done some good by borrowing from the Pagan world the old festival called Christmas.
Long before Christ was born the Sun-God triumphed over the powers of Darkness. About the time that we call Christmas the days begin perceptibly to lengthen. Our barbarian ancestors were worshippers of the sun, and they celebrated his victory over the hosts of night. Such a festival was natural and beautiful. The most natural of all religions is the worship of the sun. Christianity adopted this festival. It borrowed from the Pagans the best it has.
I believe in Christmas and in every day that has been set apart for joy. We in America have too much work and not enough play. We are too much like the English.
I think it was Heinrich Heine who said that he thought a blaspheming Frenchman was a more pleasant object to God than a praying Englishman. We take our joys too sadly. I am in favor of all the good days--the more the better.
Christmas is a good day to forgive and forget--a good day to throw away prejudices and hatreds--a good day to fill your heart and your house, and the hearts and houses of others, with sunshine.”
-- "The Great Agnostic" Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899), "A Christmas Sermon," Evening Telegram, Dec. 19, 1891.
via FFRF and Freethought of the Day
Few authors have ever impressed me to the level that Bob Ingersoll has. He may have lived and died 68-years before I was born, but when I read his words for the first time it was incredible. Here was someone expressing many of the same views/doubts I'd had my whole life but doing it much more articulately than I ever could. He may have died in 1899 but his words still live on:
“The good part of Christmas is not always Christian--it is generally Pagan; that is to say, human, natural.
Christianity did not come with tidings of great joy, but with a message of eternal grief. It came with the threat of everlasting torture on its lips. It meant war on earth and perdition hereafter.
It taught some good things--the beauty of love and kindness in man. But as a torch-bearer, as a bringer of joy, it has been a failure. It has given infinite consequences to the acts of finite beings, crushing the soul with a responsibility too great for mortals to bear. It has filled the future with fear and flame, and made God the keeper of an eternal penitentiary, destined to be the home of nearly all the sons of men. Not satisfied with that, it has deprived God of the pardoning power.
And yet it may have done some good by borrowing from the Pagan world the old festival called Christmas.
Long before Christ was born the Sun-God triumphed over the powers of Darkness. About the time that we call Christmas the days begin perceptibly to lengthen. Our barbarian ancestors were worshippers of the sun, and they celebrated his victory over the hosts of night. Such a festival was natural and beautiful. The most natural of all religions is the worship of the sun. Christianity adopted this festival. It borrowed from the Pagans the best it has.
I believe in Christmas and in every day that has been set apart for joy. We in America have too much work and not enough play. We are too much like the English.
I think it was Heinrich Heine who said that he thought a blaspheming Frenchman was a more pleasant object to God than a praying Englishman. We take our joys too sadly. I am in favor of all the good days--the more the better.
Christmas is a good day to forgive and forget--a good day to throw away prejudices and hatreds--a good day to fill your heart and your house, and the hearts and houses of others, with sunshine.”
-- "The Great Agnostic" Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899), "A Christmas Sermon," Evening Telegram, Dec. 19, 1891.
via FFRF and Freethought of the Day
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Happy Solstice - er, a few hours late
Sostice, of course, happens twice during the year, once in summer (typically around June 21) and once in winter (typically about December 21... golly gee whiz Batman, that's today (left-overs of a mis-spent youth, heh)).
"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still (this sounds about right to me and I'm too lazy to check up on it right now so if either of you, dear readers, feel the need to check and correct feel free to do so).
Now why would this date be important? And why would the Christian and Jewish holidays fall around this time? (Actually some Buddhist, hindu, pagan, etc., holidays fall around this time also) Because, of course, Christianity and Judaism ripped off these dates from earlier "Pagan" or "Heathen" religions. See www.religioustolerance.org/winter_solstice.htm or "Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist" by Dan Barker (I forget what chapter) or "The book your church doesn't want you to read" edited by Leedom or a dozen others...or just do a quick web search. (the two books mentioned above are excellent, however).
On the winter solstice the sun is at its lowest point in the sky and hangs at that position for about 3-days (no christian symbolism there eh?). Generally by the 25th one can tell based on observation that the sun is "rising" again from its low point and is "re-born".
So Christmas is a relic of sun-worship as the post below indicated but don't try telling a Christian that (well, most Christians, some don't even worship the date because they know it was taken from other religions).
So Praise the SUN and pass the mashed potatoes...ah hell, just pass the mashed potatoes. I like the sun as much as the next person but I'm not going to worship it...I mean jeesh, next you'll be telling me some "god" impregnated a woman so she would have a son, then sacrificed that son to atone for some sins that humanity had because their ultimate ancestor ate something they shouldn't have...(Oh, wait...)
Sostice, of course, happens twice during the year, once in summer (typically around June 21) and once in winter (typically about December 21... golly gee whiz Batman, that's today (left-overs of a mis-spent youth, heh)).
"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still (this sounds about right to me and I'm too lazy to check up on it right now so if either of you, dear readers, feel the need to check and correct feel free to do so).
Now why would this date be important? And why would the Christian and Jewish holidays fall around this time? (Actually some Buddhist, hindu, pagan, etc., holidays fall around this time also) Because, of course, Christianity and Judaism ripped off these dates from earlier "Pagan" or "Heathen" religions. See www.religioustolerance.org/winter_solstice.htm or "Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist" by Dan Barker (I forget what chapter) or "The book your church doesn't want you to read" edited by Leedom or a dozen others...or just do a quick web search. (the two books mentioned above are excellent, however).
On the winter solstice the sun is at its lowest point in the sky and hangs at that position for about 3-days (no christian symbolism there eh?). Generally by the 25th one can tell based on observation that the sun is "rising" again from its low point and is "re-born".
So Christmas is a relic of sun-worship as the post below indicated but don't try telling a Christian that (well, most Christians, some don't even worship the date because they know it was taken from other religions).
So Praise the SUN and pass the mashed potatoes...ah hell, just pass the mashed potatoes. I like the sun as much as the next person but I'm not going to worship it...I mean jeesh, next you'll be telling me some "god" impregnated a woman so she would have a son, then sacrificed that son to atone for some sins that humanity had because their ultimate ancestor ate something they shouldn't have...(Oh, wait...)
Yeah, what she said...
"For a fact, the Christians stole Christmas. We don't mind sharing it with them, but we don't like this pretense of theirs that it is the birthday of Jesus. It is the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun--Dies Natalis Invicti Solis. Christmas is a relic of sun worship.
The customs of this time of year endure because they are pleasant customs. It's fun to hear from distant family and friends, to gather, to feast, to sing. Gifts, as Robert Ingersoll once said, are evidences of friendship, of remembrance, of love.
The evergreens displayed now as in centuries past flourish when all else seems dead, and are symbols, as is the returning sun, of enduring life.In celebrating the Winter Solstice, we celebrate reality.”
- Anne Nicol Gaylor, president emerita, Freedom From Religion Foundation. Speech written for the 8th annual Winter Solstice Party, New Jersey chapter of FFRF, Dec. 22, 1985. (Freethought Today, Jan/Feb 1986) via their Freethought of the Day
"For a fact, the Christians stole Christmas. We don't mind sharing it with them, but we don't like this pretense of theirs that it is the birthday of Jesus. It is the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun--Dies Natalis Invicti Solis. Christmas is a relic of sun worship.
The customs of this time of year endure because they are pleasant customs. It's fun to hear from distant family and friends, to gather, to feast, to sing. Gifts, as Robert Ingersoll once said, are evidences of friendship, of remembrance, of love.
The evergreens displayed now as in centuries past flourish when all else seems dead, and are symbols, as is the returning sun, of enduring life.In celebrating the Winter Solstice, we celebrate reality.”
- Anne Nicol Gaylor, president emerita, Freedom From Religion Foundation. Speech written for the 8th annual Winter Solstice Party, New Jersey chapter of FFRF, Dec. 22, 1985. (Freethought Today, Jan/Feb 1986) via their Freethought of the Day
Yeah, what he said!
“Anybody who wants religion is welcome to it, as far as I'm concerned--I support your right to enjoy it. However, I would appreciate it if you exhibited more respect for the rights of those people who do not wish to share your dogma, rapture, or necrodestination.”
- Frank Zappa, cited by Warren Allen Smith in Who's Who in Hell
(via the FFRF and their Freethought of the Day)
“Anybody who wants religion is welcome to it, as far as I'm concerned--I support your right to enjoy it. However, I would appreciate it if you exhibited more respect for the rights of those people who do not wish to share your dogma, rapture, or necrodestination.”
- Frank Zappa, cited by Warren Allen Smith in Who's Who in Hell
(via the FFRF and their Freethought of the Day)
Zen Mantra
Great Doubt: great awakening.
Little Doubt: little awakening.
No Doubt: no awakening
Great Doubt: great awakening.
Little Doubt: little awakening.
No Doubt: no awakening
Monday, December 20, 2004
Update
The article Confessions of a cultural elitist disappeared from the yahoo news site (and thus the link below is worthless) but I managed to find it (google is a great thing) on commondreams.org.
I'll also paste it below so I dont' lose it again:
Published on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 by Ted Rall
The article Confessions of a cultural elitist disappeared from the yahoo news site (and thus the link below is worthless) but I managed to find it (google is a great thing) on commondreams.org.
I'll also paste it below so I dont' lose it again:
Published on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 by Ted Rall
Win or Lose, Kerry Voters Are Smarter Than Bush Voters
by Ted Rall
Democratic hand wringing is surrealy out of hand. No one is criticizing the morally incongruous Kerry for running against a war he voted for while insisting that he would have voted for it again. Party leaders have yet to consider that NAFTA, signed into law under Clinton, may have cost them high-unemployment Ohio. No, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, darling of the "centrist" Democratic Leadership Council, blames something else: the perception "in the heartland" that Democrats are a "bicoastal cultural elite that is condescending at best and contemptuous at worst to the values that Americans hold in their daily lives."
Firstly, living in the sticks doesn't make you more American. Rural, urban or suburban--they're irrelevant. San Francisco's predominantly gay Castro district is every bit as red, white and blue as the Texas panhandle. But if militant Christianist Republicans from inland backwaters believe that secular liberal Democrats from the big coastal cities look upon them with disdain, there's a reason. We do, and all the more so after this election.
I spent my childhood in fly-over country, in a decidedly Republican town in southwest Ohio. It was a decent place to grow up, with well-funded public schools and only the occasional marauding serial killer to worry about. The only ethnic restaurant sold something called "Mandarin Chinese," Midwestese for cold noodles slathered with sugary sauce. The county had three major employers: the Air Force, Mead Paper, and National Cash Register--and NCR was constantly laying people off. Folks were nice, but depressingly closed-minded. "Well," they'd grimace when confronted with a new musical genre or fashion trend, "that's different." My suburb was racially insular, culturally bland and intellectually unstimulating. Its people were knee-jerk conformists. Faced with the prospect of spending my life underemployed, bored and soused, I did what anyone with a bit of ambition would do. I went to college in a big city and stayed there.
Mine is a common story. Every day in America, hundreds of our most talented young men and women flee the suburbs and rural communities for big cities, especially those on the West and East Coasts. Their youthful vigor fuels these metropolises--the cultural capitals of the blue states. These oases of liberal thinking--New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Boston--are homes to our best-educated people, most vibrant popular culture and most innovative and productive businesses. There are exceptions--some smart people move from cities to the countryside--but the best and brightest gravitate to places where liberalism rules.
Maps showing Kerry's blue states appended to the "United States of Canada" separated from Bush's red "Jesusland" are circulating by email. Though there is a religious component to the election results, the biggest red-blue divide is intellectual. "How can 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?" asked the headline of the Daily Mirror in Great Britain, and the underlying assumption is undeniable. By any objective standard, you had to be spectacularly stupid to support Bush.
72 percent who cast votes for George W. Bush, according to a University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) and Knowledge Networks poll, believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or active WMD programs. 75 percent think that a Saddam-Al Qaeda link has been proven, and 20 percent say Saddam ordered 9/11. Of course, none of this was true.
Kerry voters were less than half as idiotic: 26 percent of Democrats bought into Bush-Cheney's WMD lies, and 30 percent into Saddam-Al Qaeda.
Would Bush's supporters have voted for him even if they had known he was a serial liar? Perhaps their hatred of homosexuals and slutty abortion vixens would have prompted them to make the same choice--an idiotic perversion of priorities. As things stand, they cast their ballots relying on assumptions that were demonstrably false.
Educational achievement doesn't necessarily equal intelligence. After all, Bush holds a Harvard MBA. Still, it bears noting that Democrats are better educated than Republicans. You are 25 percent more likely to hold a college degree if you live in the Democratic northeast than in the red state south. Blue state voters are 25 percent more likely, therefore, to understand the historical and cultural ramifications of Bush's brand of bull-in-a-china-shop foreign policy.
Inland Americans face a bigger challenge than coastal "cultural elitists" when it comes to finding high-quality news coverage. The best newspapers, which routinely win prizes for their in-depth local and national reporting and staffers overseas, line the coasts. So do the cable TV networks with the broadest offerings and most independent radio stations. Bush Country makes do with Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity syndicated on one cookie-cutter AM outlet after another. Citizens of the blue states read lackluster dailies stuffed with generic stories cut and pasted from wire services. Given their dismal access to high-quality media, it's a minor miracle that 40 percent of Mississippians turned out for Kerry.
So our guy lost the election. Why shouldn't those of us on the coasts feel superior? We eat better, travel more, dress better, watch cooler movies, earn better salaries, meet more interesting people, listen to better music and know more about what's going on in the world. If you voted for Bush, we accept that we have to share the country with you. We're adjusting to the possibility that there may be more of you than there are of us. But don't demand our respect. You lost it on
November 2.
© 2004 Ted Rall
If only it were true...
A Not So Wonderful Life
I give Maureen Dowd full marks for this one! I've also pasted it below since the NYT has this really bad habit of archiving its files and making you pay to see them at that point.
December 19, 2004
OP-ED COLUMNIST
A Not So Wonderful LifeBy MAUREEN DOWD
XTERIOR BRIDGE OVER POTOMAC RIVER - NIGHT
CLOSE SHOT - Rummy is standing by the railing, staring morosely into the water. The snow is falling hard. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he wheels around and wrestles an old man with wings into a headlock.
OLD MAN: Ouch! Tut, tut. When will you learn that force doesn't solve everything?
RUMMY: Who the dickens are you?
OLD MAN: Clarence, Angel First Class. I've been sent down to help you.
RUMMY, squinting: You're off your nut, you old fruitcake. You can't help me. I was a matinee idol in this town, a studmuffin. Now everyone's turned on me - Trent Lott, Chuck Hagel and that dadburn McCain.
CLARENCE: No more self-pity, son. I'm going to show you what the world would have been like if you'd never been born.
Clarence, who can fly now, takes Rummy's hand and they soar over the icy Potomac to the Pentagon. Beneath the glass on the desk of the defense secretary is a list of members of Congress and their phone numbers.
RUMMY: Who put that there?
CLARENCE: Sam Nunn. He's the defense secretary. Sam consults with Congress. Never acts arrogant or misleads them. He didn't banish the generals who challenged him - he promoted 'em. And, of course, he caught Osama back in '01. He threw 100,000 troops into Afghanistan on 9/11 and sealed the borders. Our Special Forces trapped the evildoer and his top lieutenants at Tora Bora. You weren't at that cabinet meeting the day after 9/11, so nobody suggested going after Saddam. No American troops died or were maimed in Iraq. No American soldiers tortured Iraqis in Abu Ghraib. No Iraqi explosives fell into the hands of terrorists. There's no office of disinformation to twist perception abroad. We're not on the cusp of an Iraq run by Muslim clerics tied to Iran. Here's Sam. He's with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
GENERAL SHINSEKI: We got some good news today on the National Guard, sir. Recruiting is up 40 percent. With the money we saved killing that useless missile defense system, we up-armored all our Humvees.
RUMMY, fists and jaw clenched: Grrrrrrr...I want to see Wolfie!
CLARENCE: Sam never hired any of those wacko neocons. Wolfowitz is a woolly headed professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a consultant to Ariel Sharon. Richard Perle was never in charge of the Defense Policy Board, so he was unable to enrich himself through government connections, or help Ahmad Chalabi con the administration. Perle stayed an honest man, running a chain of soufflé shops. His soufflés were so fluffy he became known as the Prince of Lightness. Doug Feith never worked here, either, so he never set up the Office of Special Plans to spin tall tales about W.M.D. and Qaeda ties to Saddam. And he never bungled the occupation because there was no occupation. Without you to swoon over in a book, neocon doyenne Midge Decter became a fallen woman, like Violet.
RUMMY, dyspeptic: Holy mackerel! Take me to Dick!
CLARENCE: Dick and Lynne run a bait, tackle and baton-twirling shop in Casper, Wyo. You didn't exist, so you never gave him those jobs in the Nixon and Ford administrations, and he never ran for Congress or worked for Bush 41 or anointed himself 43's vice president. W. chose Chuck Hagel as his running mate. So without you and Dick there to dominate him, he was guided by his dad and Brent Scowcroft, who kept Condi in line. Colin Powell was never cut off at the knees and the U.N. and allies were never bullied. There was never any crazy fever about Iraq or unilateralism or "Old Europe." Here's Colin now, heading for the Oval Office.
POWELL: Merry Christmas, Mr. President. With the help of our allies around the world, we have won the war on terror. And Saddam has been overthrown. Once Hans Blix exposed the fact that Saddam had no weapons, the tyrant was a goner. No Arab dictator can afford to be humilated by a Swedish disarmament lawyer.
RUMMY: Goodness gracious, I've heard enough now. I'm going home. Unless you're going to tell me my wife is an old maid, because I wasn't around to marry her.
CLARENCE: Oh, no. Joyce lives across the street from your old house on Kalorama Road. She's happily married to the French ambassador.
"Auld Lang Syne" swells as we FADE OUT.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
A Not So Wonderful Life
I give Maureen Dowd full marks for this one! I've also pasted it below since the NYT has this really bad habit of archiving its files and making you pay to see them at that point.
December 19, 2004
OP-ED COLUMNIST
A Not So Wonderful LifeBy MAUREEN DOWD
XTERIOR BRIDGE OVER POTOMAC RIVER - NIGHT
CLOSE SHOT - Rummy is standing by the railing, staring morosely into the water. The snow is falling hard. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he wheels around and wrestles an old man with wings into a headlock.
OLD MAN: Ouch! Tut, tut. When will you learn that force doesn't solve everything?
RUMMY: Who the dickens are you?
OLD MAN: Clarence, Angel First Class. I've been sent down to help you.
RUMMY, squinting: You're off your nut, you old fruitcake. You can't help me. I was a matinee idol in this town, a studmuffin. Now everyone's turned on me - Trent Lott, Chuck Hagel and that dadburn McCain.
CLARENCE: No more self-pity, son. I'm going to show you what the world would have been like if you'd never been born.
Clarence, who can fly now, takes Rummy's hand and they soar over the icy Potomac to the Pentagon. Beneath the glass on the desk of the defense secretary is a list of members of Congress and their phone numbers.
RUMMY: Who put that there?
CLARENCE: Sam Nunn. He's the defense secretary. Sam consults with Congress. Never acts arrogant or misleads them. He didn't banish the generals who challenged him - he promoted 'em. And, of course, he caught Osama back in '01. He threw 100,000 troops into Afghanistan on 9/11 and sealed the borders. Our Special Forces trapped the evildoer and his top lieutenants at Tora Bora. You weren't at that cabinet meeting the day after 9/11, so nobody suggested going after Saddam. No American troops died or were maimed in Iraq. No American soldiers tortured Iraqis in Abu Ghraib. No Iraqi explosives fell into the hands of terrorists. There's no office of disinformation to twist perception abroad. We're not on the cusp of an Iraq run by Muslim clerics tied to Iran. Here's Sam. He's with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
GENERAL SHINSEKI: We got some good news today on the National Guard, sir. Recruiting is up 40 percent. With the money we saved killing that useless missile defense system, we up-armored all our Humvees.
RUMMY, fists and jaw clenched: Grrrrrrr...I want to see Wolfie!
CLARENCE: Sam never hired any of those wacko neocons. Wolfowitz is a woolly headed professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a consultant to Ariel Sharon. Richard Perle was never in charge of the Defense Policy Board, so he was unable to enrich himself through government connections, or help Ahmad Chalabi con the administration. Perle stayed an honest man, running a chain of soufflé shops. His soufflés were so fluffy he became known as the Prince of Lightness. Doug Feith never worked here, either, so he never set up the Office of Special Plans to spin tall tales about W.M.D. and Qaeda ties to Saddam. And he never bungled the occupation because there was no occupation. Without you to swoon over in a book, neocon doyenne Midge Decter became a fallen woman, like Violet.
RUMMY, dyspeptic: Holy mackerel! Take me to Dick!
CLARENCE: Dick and Lynne run a bait, tackle and baton-twirling shop in Casper, Wyo. You didn't exist, so you never gave him those jobs in the Nixon and Ford administrations, and he never ran for Congress or worked for Bush 41 or anointed himself 43's vice president. W. chose Chuck Hagel as his running mate. So without you and Dick there to dominate him, he was guided by his dad and Brent Scowcroft, who kept Condi in line. Colin Powell was never cut off at the knees and the U.N. and allies were never bullied. There was never any crazy fever about Iraq or unilateralism or "Old Europe." Here's Colin now, heading for the Oval Office.
POWELL: Merry Christmas, Mr. President. With the help of our allies around the world, we have won the war on terror. And Saddam has been overthrown. Once Hans Blix exposed the fact that Saddam had no weapons, the tyrant was a goner. No Arab dictator can afford to be humilated by a Swedish disarmament lawyer.
RUMMY: Goodness gracious, I've heard enough now. I'm going home. Unless you're going to tell me my wife is an old maid, because I wasn't around to marry her.
CLARENCE: Oh, no. Joyce lives across the street from your old house on Kalorama Road. She's happily married to the French ambassador.
"Auld Lang Syne" swells as we FADE OUT.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
Science, like art, is fun, a playing with truths....
-W.H. Auden
-W.H. Auden
Hell
Yes, this post could be about the Bush years but isn't. The topic today is Hell (H-E-double toothpicks-as we said in my youth). Anyway, I ran across this post on the secular web:
Hell for Nonbelievers by Nevyn O'Kane
Since these things often disappear I'll also cut and paste it below. Since many/most religions in this day seem to believe in a heaven/hell, and also believe if you are not a member of their religion you go to the hotplace...then putting the first two together means that everyone goes to hell-I just hope there's a separate one for Atheists/agnostics and nonbelievers (can you imagine putting up with them in another life too? Ugh? That would be hell). I think Dante had several levels of hell and in one of them freethinkers would be "eternally sad" but we'd all be together... So here it is, Hell for Nonbelievers:
"If there is a special Hell for atheists and other nonbelievers, I shall never fear for my comfort. The musings of Epicurus will entertain my mind and Voltaire will tickle my wit. While Paine harries the Devil, Franklin will write us a constitution. Cicero, Madison and Frederick the Great can in turn conspire a government that Marx will quickly deride.
Goethe and Poe will tell delightfully chilling tales by the eternal lake-of-fire-side. Mrs. Cady Stanton and Mrs. B. Anthony will preserve our equality and Darwin will write our history. Messieurs Robert Ingersoll and Bertrand Russell will entertain our ears in the theatre built by Carnegie and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and they'll speak through the sound system invented by Thomas Edison.
Twain will make us laugh with his satire of old split-foot and criticism of the almighty, and Clarence Darrow will win his right to do so. Nietzsche will philosophize and Freud will analyze. Wells and Roddenberry will give us fantasy, Frost will give us poetry, Shaw will write us a play and Hepburn will be the queen of the stage.
Virginia Wolff will biographize our very own Margaret Sanger, a choice we'll all applaud. Rubinstein will play us a tune and Berlin will pen the words. Charlie Chaplin will adapt for film a comedic tale of H.P. Lovecraft and Earnest Hemmingway that will star W.C. Fields. Howard Hughes will fund the disastrous project.
Pearle Buck and Ayn Rand will make us think and give Skinner thoughts to study. Snoopy will once again have daily installment in our paper, with Schulz returning to the drafting table. All in all I will be quite entertained.
My social calendar will be full to busting, and I'll have many calls to make. The Huxleys (Aldus, Thomas, and Sir Julian Sorell) will be worth a talk on biology and authorship. Perhaps I myself can compose the great novel of the underworld with the help of Lawrence, Orwell, Joyce and Asimov.
I am in good company in my disbelief."
Note: I don't honestly believe there is a heaven and hell and, in the words of Bertrand Russell " I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive. I am not young, and I love life, But I should scorn to shiver with terror at the thought of annihilation.” (from Why I am not a Christian)
Yes, this post could be about the Bush years but isn't. The topic today is Hell (H-E-double toothpicks-as we said in my youth). Anyway, I ran across this post on the secular web:
Hell for Nonbelievers by Nevyn O'Kane
Since these things often disappear I'll also cut and paste it below. Since many/most religions in this day seem to believe in a heaven/hell, and also believe if you are not a member of their religion you go to the hotplace...then putting the first two together means that everyone goes to hell-I just hope there's a separate one for Atheists/agnostics and nonbelievers (can you imagine putting up with them in another life too? Ugh? That would be hell). I think Dante had several levels of hell and in one of them freethinkers would be "eternally sad" but we'd all be together... So here it is, Hell for Nonbelievers:
"If there is a special Hell for atheists and other nonbelievers, I shall never fear for my comfort. The musings of Epicurus will entertain my mind and Voltaire will tickle my wit. While Paine harries the Devil, Franklin will write us a constitution. Cicero, Madison and Frederick the Great can in turn conspire a government that Marx will quickly deride.
Goethe and Poe will tell delightfully chilling tales by the eternal lake-of-fire-side. Mrs. Cady Stanton and Mrs. B. Anthony will preserve our equality and Darwin will write our history. Messieurs Robert Ingersoll and Bertrand Russell will entertain our ears in the theatre built by Carnegie and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and they'll speak through the sound system invented by Thomas Edison.
Twain will make us laugh with his satire of old split-foot and criticism of the almighty, and Clarence Darrow will win his right to do so. Nietzsche will philosophize and Freud will analyze. Wells and Roddenberry will give us fantasy, Frost will give us poetry, Shaw will write us a play and Hepburn will be the queen of the stage.
Virginia Wolff will biographize our very own Margaret Sanger, a choice we'll all applaud. Rubinstein will play us a tune and Berlin will pen the words. Charlie Chaplin will adapt for film a comedic tale of H.P. Lovecraft and Earnest Hemmingway that will star W.C. Fields. Howard Hughes will fund the disastrous project.
Pearle Buck and Ayn Rand will make us think and give Skinner thoughts to study. Snoopy will once again have daily installment in our paper, with Schulz returning to the drafting table. All in all I will be quite entertained.
My social calendar will be full to busting, and I'll have many calls to make. The Huxleys (Aldus, Thomas, and Sir Julian Sorell) will be worth a talk on biology and authorship. Perhaps I myself can compose the great novel of the underworld with the help of Lawrence, Orwell, Joyce and Asimov.
I am in good company in my disbelief."
Note: I don't honestly believe there is a heaven and hell and, in the words of Bertrand Russell " I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive. I am not young, and I love life, But I should scorn to shiver with terror at the thought of annihilation.” (from Why I am not a Christian)
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Natalie Angiers
The subject of this post is an excellent writer for the New York Times, Natalie Angier. She writes on science and scientific topics and also happens to be an atheist. I've posted to her article "Confessions of a Lonely Atheist" before but unfortunately the link changed so I'll do so again. It is probably the best expression of the angst, and hope, of being an atheist in modern day America.
Another article that I ran across was this one "My God Problem" which expresses her frustration at scientists. Why frustration? We try to get her to explain to the public that evolution is as much a fact as anything can be in the sciences, and then give religion a pass on everything else. Ethics, morals, big bang and how it relates to the Genesis texts (there are two creation stories in the Bible, did you know that?)...we musn't upset those nice religious folks who love everyone and treat everyone equally. No, mustn't upset them. Anyway, I'd better get some work done.
Later.
The subject of this post is an excellent writer for the New York Times, Natalie Angier. She writes on science and scientific topics and also happens to be an atheist. I've posted to her article "Confessions of a Lonely Atheist" before but unfortunately the link changed so I'll do so again. It is probably the best expression of the angst, and hope, of being an atheist in modern day America.
Another article that I ran across was this one "My God Problem" which expresses her frustration at scientists. Why frustration? We try to get her to explain to the public that evolution is as much a fact as anything can be in the sciences, and then give religion a pass on everything else. Ethics, morals, big bang and how it relates to the Genesis texts (there are two creation stories in the Bible, did you know that?)...we musn't upset those nice religious folks who love everyone and treat everyone equally. No, mustn't upset them. Anyway, I'd better get some work done.
Later.
Another Quote
“A nation which thinks that it is belief in God and not good law which makes people honest does not seem to me very advanced.”
- French Encyclopedist Denis Diderot (1713-1784). "Missionaries, Atheists, and Marriage," excerpted from letters to his favorite mistress, Mlle. Volland, quoted in French Thought in the Eighteenth Century, edited by Geoffrey Brereton, and cited in Classics of Freethought, edited by Paul Blanshard.
This one hits so close to home it's scary, especially for those living in "red" states.
“A nation which thinks that it is belief in God and not good law which makes people honest does not seem to me very advanced.”
- French Encyclopedist Denis Diderot (1713-1784). "Missionaries, Atheists, and Marriage," excerpted from letters to his favorite mistress, Mlle. Volland, quoted in French Thought in the Eighteenth Century, edited by Geoffrey Brereton, and cited in Classics of Freethought, edited by Paul Blanshard.
This one hits so close to home it's scary, especially for those living in "red" states.
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Gonorrhea lecthim
New STD alertCenter for Disease Control Warning: Warning from the CDC
The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of sexually transmitted disease. This disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior.The disease is called Gonorrhea lecthim (pronounced "gonna re-electhim"). Many victims have contracted it after having been screwed bythe Bush-Cheney-Rove-Ashcroft administration for the past 4 years, and failing to have taken adequate measures to protect themselves.
Cognitive sequelae of individuals infected with Gonorrhea lecthim include: Antisocial personality disorder traits; delusions of grandeur with a messianic flavor; cognitive perseveration; inability to incorporate new information into a rigid idée fixee; xenophobia; inability to accept responsibility for actions; and a strong propensity for categorical, all-or nothing thinking.
This epidemic is out of control. MMWR reports it has already resulted in brain death in over 59,000,000 Americans. Excessive exposure to trailerparks, country gospel music and yellow ribbon asphyxiation are thought to be contributing factors. New CDC Director Archbishop Burke has ordered a halt to research into the disease after determining the disease is incurable and is merely God's will. Apparently, however, at least 55,000,000 of us have natural immunity and are poised to lead a brief, but exciting life right after the rapture begins and our afflicted fellow Americans ascend to their eternal reward. Godlessness has its rewards.
New STD alertCenter for Disease Control Warning: Warning from the CDC
The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of sexually transmitted disease. This disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior.The disease is called Gonorrhea lecthim (pronounced "gonna re-electhim"). Many victims have contracted it after having been screwed bythe Bush-Cheney-Rove-Ashcroft administration for the past 4 years, and failing to have taken adequate measures to protect themselves.
Cognitive sequelae of individuals infected with Gonorrhea lecthim include: Antisocial personality disorder traits; delusions of grandeur with a messianic flavor; cognitive perseveration; inability to incorporate new information into a rigid idée fixee; xenophobia; inability to accept responsibility for actions; and a strong propensity for categorical, all-or nothing thinking.
This epidemic is out of control. MMWR reports it has already resulted in brain death in over 59,000,000 Americans. Excessive exposure to trailerparks, country gospel music and yellow ribbon asphyxiation are thought to be contributing factors. New CDC Director Archbishop Burke has ordered a halt to research into the disease after determining the disease is incurable and is merely God's will. Apparently, however, at least 55,000,000 of us have natural immunity and are poised to lead a brief, but exciting life right after the rapture begins and our afflicted fellow Americans ascend to their eternal reward. Godlessness has its rewards.
FFRF again
I know, it's like beating a dead horse (whatever that's like) but they just keep coming up with these great quotes. So, without further ado...
“Religion is the most malevolent of all mind viruses. We should get rid of it as quick as we can.”
- Author Arthur C. Clarke, 87, Popular Science, Aug. 2004
And...
He [Clarke] told London Times reporter Mark Nuttal (Aug. 4, 1992): "I remain an aggressive agnostic." He has mused that Lucretius "hit it on the nail when he said that religion was the by-product of fear--a reaction to a mysterious and often hostile universe. For much of human prehistory, it may have been a necessary evil--but why was it so much more evil than necessary--and why did it survive when it was no longer necessary?"
I know, it's like beating a dead horse (whatever that's like) but they just keep coming up with these great quotes. So, without further ado...
“Religion is the most malevolent of all mind viruses. We should get rid of it as quick as we can.”
- Author Arthur C. Clarke, 87, Popular Science, Aug. 2004
And...
He [Clarke] told London Times reporter Mark Nuttal (Aug. 4, 1992): "I remain an aggressive agnostic." He has mused that Lucretius "hit it on the nail when he said that religion was the by-product of fear--a reaction to a mysterious and often hostile universe. For much of human prehistory, it may have been a necessary evil--but why was it so much more evil than necessary--and why did it survive when it was no longer necessary?"
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Fitting post for a Sun(s)day I suppose...
“The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it seems to me the deepest root of all evil that is in the world.”
- German physicist Max Born, born on Dec. 11, 1882. (Internet sources)
via FFRF and their Freethought of the Day
“The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it seems to me the deepest root of all evil that is in the world.”
- German physicist Max Born, born on Dec. 11, 1882. (Internet sources)
via FFRF and their Freethought of the Day
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Lack of inspiration
I haven't posted much meaningful since right after the election. This probably stems more from "What's the point" than depression or well...I guess "what's the point" might be a sort of depression...hmmm...
Anyway, every time I sit down to write something I find other things to do, and with the semester winding down the grading and finishing up is quickly getting out of hand.
So the only "meaningful thing" I can do is point to the Freedom from Religion web page and their freethought of the day. The second person mentioned of the three, James Thurber, is actually related to me (or was before he died). Oops, correction, he died before I was born. I think he was the uncle of my paternal great-grandfather whose name was also Thurber. Somewhere in the haze of my childhoold memories I remember my great grandmother talking about him - the most famous of the Thurber clan. Well, yeah, I know it's distant but I found it entertaining to think I'm not the only atheist/agnostic in that branch of the family.
Ah well, back to grading.
I haven't posted much meaningful since right after the election. This probably stems more from "What's the point" than depression or well...I guess "what's the point" might be a sort of depression...hmmm...
Anyway, every time I sit down to write something I find other things to do, and with the semester winding down the grading and finishing up is quickly getting out of hand.
So the only "meaningful thing" I can do is point to the Freedom from Religion web page and their freethought of the day. The second person mentioned of the three, James Thurber, is actually related to me (or was before he died). Oops, correction, he died before I was born. I think he was the uncle of my paternal great-grandfather whose name was also Thurber. Somewhere in the haze of my childhoold memories I remember my great grandmother talking about him - the most famous of the Thurber clan. Well, yeah, I know it's distant but I found it entertaining to think I'm not the only atheist/agnostic in that branch of the family.
Ah well, back to grading.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Days of the Theocracy
Being a damned (both literally and figuratively, I suppose, depending your world view) liberal, secularist, humanist and (gasp and shudder, stop reading here before it's too late...aiiiiiii) Atheist (note the capital A), I enjoyed this song quite a bit.
Of course, being damned I probably would.
Days of the Theocracy
You can find the words to the song here.
I might actually buy the tape when I get some spare money.
Being a damned (both literally and figuratively, I suppose, depending your world view) liberal, secularist, humanist and (gasp and shudder, stop reading here before it's too late...aiiiiiii) Atheist (note the capital A), I enjoyed this song quite a bit.
Of course, being damned I probably would.
Days of the Theocracy
You can find the words to the song here.
I might actually buy the tape when I get some spare money.
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Ship of Fools
I haven't posted political stuff for awhile now - maybe it's just as well. However, I need to clean out my inbox of excellent articles that I've forward/been forwarded so now's a good time to do it.
I still think Josh Marshall's "President Bush's reelection evoked a mixed Democratic reaction of bitter disappointment, insensible depression and sheer terror." was a brilliant summary of my emotions in the aftermath of our recent national disaster (and to all those who think I should just get over it I only have this to say "Phhhflfllhhffftttttt").
Equally brilliant was this post by Timothy Burke at Swarthmore College called Ship of Fools. As my friend Brian wrote "The intense, cold, meticulously paced, absolutely clear, absolutely logical fury of it actually gives me a chill at certain stages of reading.". And each time I read it it gets better.
Then there's this little gem that another Brian pointed out to me
CONFESSIONS OF A CULTURAL ELITIST
A well paced vent against the "right" (or wrong as I like to call them) and everything they represent. And if that makes me an elitist so be it, I'll carry the name with pride.
Ah well, there goes the blood pressure again- at this rate I'll be on medicine by the end of next year. (sigh)
I haven't posted political stuff for awhile now - maybe it's just as well. However, I need to clean out my inbox of excellent articles that I've forward/been forwarded so now's a good time to do it.
I still think Josh Marshall's "President Bush's reelection evoked a mixed Democratic reaction of bitter disappointment, insensible depression and sheer terror." was a brilliant summary of my emotions in the aftermath of our recent national disaster (and to all those who think I should just get over it I only have this to say "Phhhflfllhhffftttttt").
Equally brilliant was this post by Timothy Burke at Swarthmore College called Ship of Fools. As my friend Brian wrote "The intense, cold, meticulously paced, absolutely clear, absolutely logical fury of it actually gives me a chill at certain stages of reading.". And each time I read it it gets better.
Then there's this little gem that another Brian pointed out to me
CONFESSIONS OF A CULTURAL ELITIST
A well paced vent against the "right" (or wrong as I like to call them) and everything they represent. And if that makes me an elitist so be it, I'll carry the name with pride.
Ah well, there goes the blood pressure again- at this rate I'll be on medicine by the end of next year. (sigh)
Ixnya on the...well, you get the idea
“There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”
-- Anne Nicol Gaylor, wording proposed to counter religious displays. Appears on annual Winter Solstice sign displayed at the Wisconsin State Capitol every December. Also see Women Without Superstition and Lead Us Not Into Penn Station.
From the FFRF and their Freethought of the Day (again...lacking inspiration I can always post something of theirs)
I actually thought this quote was originally attributed to Robert G. Ingersoll...I'll have to check up on that.
Anyway, another quote from the same link and day.
“The whole scheme of Christian Salvation is diabolical as revealed by the creeds. An angry God, imagine such a creator of the universe. Angry at what he knew was coming and was himself responsible for. Then he sets himself about to beget a son, in order that the child should beg him to forgive the Sinner. This however he cannot or will not do. He must punish somebody--so the son offers himself up & our creator punishes the innocent youth, never heard of before--for the guilty and became reconciled to us. . . . . I decline to accept Salvation from such a fiend.”
-- Andrew Carnegie, to Sir James Donaldson, Principal of St. Andrews University, June 1, 1905. Letters (except to Haldane) in Library of Congress collection, cited by Joseph Frazier Wall, Andrew Carnegie, 1970.
I wonder how many christians know those public libraries were funded by an Atheist!
“There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”
-- Anne Nicol Gaylor, wording proposed to counter religious displays. Appears on annual Winter Solstice sign displayed at the Wisconsin State Capitol every December. Also see Women Without Superstition and Lead Us Not Into Penn Station.
From the FFRF and their Freethought of the Day (again...lacking inspiration I can always post something of theirs)
I actually thought this quote was originally attributed to Robert G. Ingersoll...I'll have to check up on that.
Anyway, another quote from the same link and day.
“The whole scheme of Christian Salvation is diabolical as revealed by the creeds. An angry God, imagine such a creator of the universe. Angry at what he knew was coming and was himself responsible for. Then he sets himself about to beget a son, in order that the child should beg him to forgive the Sinner. This however he cannot or will not do. He must punish somebody--so the son offers himself up & our creator punishes the innocent youth, never heard of before--for the guilty and became reconciled to us. . . . . I decline to accept Salvation from such a fiend.”
-- Andrew Carnegie, to Sir James Donaldson, Principal of St. Andrews University, June 1, 1905. Letters (except to Haldane) in Library of Congress collection, cited by Joseph Frazier Wall, Andrew Carnegie, 1970.
I wonder how many christians know those public libraries were funded by an Atheist!
Getting Religious Instruction out of Public Schools
“Between being praised and persecuted, condoned and condemned, I might understandably have become bewildered, particularly at the brand of ethics sometimes displayed by the staunch defenders of Christianity. But of one thing I am sure: I am sure that I fought not only for what I earnestly believed to be right, but for the truest kind of religious freedom intended by the First Amendment, the complete separation of church and state.”
-- Vashti Cromwell McCollum, One Woman's Fight. Also see Women Without Superstition
She won her case before the supreme court in 1948!
Thanks to the FFRF for their Freethought of the Day.
“Between being praised and persecuted, condoned and condemned, I might understandably have become bewildered, particularly at the brand of ethics sometimes displayed by the staunch defenders of Christianity. But of one thing I am sure: I am sure that I fought not only for what I earnestly believed to be right, but for the truest kind of religious freedom intended by the First Amendment, the complete separation of church and state.”
-- Vashti Cromwell McCollum, One Woman's Fight. Also see Women Without Superstition
She won her case before the supreme court in 1948!
Thanks to the FFRF for their Freethought of the Day.
