Tuesday, November 25, 2008

A Day In The Life Of The Irrational Right


Yes, most of the reports I get for posts are from The Washington Independent and ThinkProgress.org. Sometimes they overlap, but not often, and the news is VERY current, usually within 5 hours, sometimes within 15 minutes. The shenanigans of Christofascists, Right Wing politicians and the "Republican-friendly" media are mostly scary, but there are days when, put together, they show a bunch of clowns ineptly using fear and hatred - sometimes to no avail and oftentimes to their own embarrassment. Today was one of those days.
Media Matters reports that in the month before the election, Fox News pundit Dick Morris “repeatedly used his columns and Fox News appearances to promote and raise money for the National Republican Trust PAC without disclosing that the organization has paid $24,000 to a company apparently connected to Morris, according to FEC filings.”
Hasn't Morris ever heard of "paper trails?" With "accountability" in the news you'd think that he'd learn from all the Republican mistakes. Of course, he's attached to Fox News, so that should tell us something. Bush's staunchest supporters are folding too:

(from wikipedia)
Freedom's Watch is supportive of the Bush administration's positions in the War on Terror and of Republican Congressional candidates. The group is run and supported, in part, by several former officials of the Bush administration. The organization states that its goal is "educating individuals about and advancing public policies that protect America’s interests at home and abroad, foster economic prosperity, and strengthen families."
It must have been the "fostering economic prosperity" that did them in. Were they part of Bush's 27% approval rating? I don't think anyone in the country can fully understand it (after Wall Street's meltdown, it should have been lower). Crawling out of the woodwork, single-wides, pulpits and Colorado Springs is sneaky and underhanded and makes the Republican electorate look, well, a bit seedy. Speaking of seedy: since the election, some people from the woodwork and single-wides are stock-piling guns before Barack Obama takes office:

One vendor with Liberty Firearms was wearing a button with Obama’s name crossed out and warned a couple, “Get ready for the Obamanation.” He told us that he was actually having trouble restocking and ordering new wares because suppliers were canceling orders and getting ready to dramatically increase prices to take advantage of the hype, as they did in 1994. The man selling the “NObama” shirts said that his business was also way up. “People are afraid,” he said.

Actually they really do need those AK-47s to shoot ducks.

Jusgt a thought.

Posted by DFV at 12:48 AM 0 comments

So Who's To Blame For Young Abraham Biggs Online Suicide?


How About St. Augustine?
(Purveyor of Original Sin)

"I have let everyone down and I feel as though I will never change or never improve. I am in love with a girl and I know that I am not good enough for her. I have come to believe that my life has all been meaningless. I keep trying and I keep failing. I have thought about and attempted suicide many times in the past. I used to think of my failure as some mystical way of telling me that I was really meant for something meaningful."

- Abraham Biggs - from his online suicide note

That Abraham Biggs died thinking he was a failure was no fault of his own. His cries for help on the internet yielded very little. Although some people tried to help him, most ignored his cries while in utter fascination of viewing a suicide. Some people taunted him and called him "faggot." The 19-year old college freshman wanted to succeed, but some overwhelming feeling prevented him from achievement. Could that feeling have been guilt? Guilt planted from infancy? "We are all born in sin." In other words, we are imperfect and tainted before we take our first breath.
I cannot tell you how sorry I am for ending my life the way I did. I hope that you can all find it in your heart to see it as way for me not suffering anymore and that I am finally at rest with myself, for being at rest with the guilt that constantly ate at me for so long.
"See what you did!?" "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" A parent's frustration lashing out. "Jesus Christ died for your sins!" A purposely malevolent (but oh so righteous) way of making you feel guilty.

From GotQuestions?org:
The Bible mentions five specific people who committed suicide: Abimelech (Judges 9:54), Saul (1 Samuel 31:4), Saul's armor-bearer (1 Samuel 31:4-6), Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23), Zimri (1 Kings 16:18), and Judas (Matthew 27:5). All of them were wicked, evil, sinful men (not enough is said regarding Saul's armor-bearer to make a judgment as to his character). ... The Bible views suicide as equal to murder – that’s what it is – self-murder. God is the One who is to decide when and how a person should die. To take that power into your own hands, according to the Bible, is blasphemy to God.
Isn't it strange that the entity (the Christian Church) that tells you that you are wicked, evil, sinful even when you're born, should tell you that it is also a sin for you to end your life? So many "religious" people profess to be "pro Life" but are they encouraging life? I think not. Abraham's video lasted twelve hours. During that time, there were approximately 1500 hits to the site, but of those 1500, 185 were in almost continual contact with young Biggs. Of those 185, which of them were born believing that they were sinners? Which of the taunters used their own anonymity to tell Biggs that he was no better off than they were: he was "born in sin" just as they were. He was just as guilty of sin as they were. And which of them, in watching him die, saw their own selves dying?

Teen suicides are up. Christian ministers and churches may point with pride at their "teen counseling" programs, but they're in denial. The programs aren't working. Gay teens are especially high in teen suicide statistics. To them, they're not only born in sin, but the essence of who they are is sinful. Yes, St. Augustine is to blame for Abraham Biggs' suicide as much as the ones who taunted Biggs online. He's the one who propelled the concept of Original Sin to the forefront of Christianity. He's the one who made the sin all inclusive and non-discriminatory:

Guilt for Everyone!

Spread it around!

Just a thought.

Posted by DFV at 12:45 AM 2 comments

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