The Bloody Consequences of Higher Gas Prices

The Bloody Consequences of Higher Gas Prices
Originally uploaded by lorenzodom

On the left: Remember these posters during Operation Desert Storm?

Now it's 2008

We never got our wish,
did we?

But This is an HONEST Snake Oil Salesman

snake oil salesman
Originally uploaded by Farl

As opposed to the one in the White House.

I have yet to read Scott McClellan's book, but I have a feeling it doesn't quite tell all. Such a secretive administration must have a LOT of skeletons. Remember: after he left office as Governor of Texas, all of Bush's files were sealed and placed under lock and key in his father's Presidential Library. Why? What does he have to hide so desperately?

The entire country has now become curious. Will he be able to hide things forever?

And as for the snake oil. How stupid does a con artist have to be in order to believe in his own snake oil? When did he actually start believing (if ever) what he has been saying to the American public?

The Great Auk and The Great Idiots

This is a rather sad but contemporary commentary on how we've treated animals and resources. The Great Auk was a large bird in the Pengiun family that was made extinct by the popularity of its down.

From Wikipedia:

The Little Ice Age may have reduced their numbers, but massive exploitation for their down drastically reduced the population. Specimens of the Great Auk and its eggs became collectible and highly prized, and collecting of the eggs contributed to the demise of the species. On Stac an Armin, St Kilda, Scotland, in July, 1840, the last Great Auk seen in the British Isles was killed by two St Kildan residents. Haswell-Smith claims that this was because they thought it was a witch.

Huh?

Travel Advice: never go to St. Kilda looking like a penguin.

The Church Choir's Latest Hit: Guns! Guns! Guns! Kill! Kill! Kill! - Allelujah!!

You Can Get the CD at Most Any Evangelical Church!

(From The Politico) This story was written by Jonathan Martin.

The National Rifle Association plans to spend about $40 million on this year’s presidential campaign, with $15 million of that devoted to portraying Barack Obama as a threat to the Second Amendment rights upheld last week by the Supreme Court. “Our members understand that if Barack Obama is elected president, and he has support in the Senate to confirm anti-gun Supreme Court nominees, [the District of Columbia v. Heller decision] could be taken away from us in the future,” Chris Cox, head of the NRA’s political arm, told Politico. The politically powerful gun rights group will split its message efforts between communicating with its 4 million members and the tens of millions more firearms owners across the country.

This fall, NRA members will get automated phone calls, mail pieces and pre-election editions of the group’s three magazines making the case against Obama. More broadly, the group will use an independent expenditure effort to hammer the Democratic nominee via TV, radio and newspaper ads in some of about 15 battleground states in the Midwest and Mountain West.

“We look forward to showing him ‘bitter,’” Cox said, referring to Obama’s statement this spring that some in rural America “cling” to guns and religion out of bitterness.

***

Flashback:

I lived with my partner in San Francisco's Bayview District for 5 years. The apartment overlooked Third Street, the worst part. In those years, there were 6 homicides near our apartment complex (one directly in front). One of them was a double homicide of two 16-year-olds. We reported gunshots twice a week. After a while we could tell the police how far away the shots were and whether they came from a handgun, automatic rifle or AK-47. Some of the homicides were during the daytime. We lived in a very nice building with a community room and places for kids to play. We wanted to build a moat around the building. One time, 12 high-powered rifle shots were leveled at the building. It was a Sunday evening. Although the bullets traveled through three wall, amazingly, no one was hurt. Kids playing in their living rooms were inches away from death. One found a slug that had dropped next to him.

Needless to say, I couldn't care less about the rights of "sportsmen" to kill deer or fowl. Do they constitute a significant national food supply? The definition of "sportsman" includes giving the prey a substantial chance of escaping or fighting back. Fisherman are sportsmen, while gun-toting flannel-clad men aiming at a large target (a moose) are not. Owning a gun for "protection" is a joke. How many people have foiled an attack or a robbery with shots from a gun? Not many. And if perchance the perp lives, the gun owner will most likely be sued.

Gun ownership is up. And so are hate crimes.

Nor do I care about the Constitution's statement about a well-formed militia. There are people holding up in Idaho wearing camouflage and communicating through walkie-talkies - playing Army. Just in case.

Colleges and universities are now debating whether or not to allow guns on campus. Protection. Right.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing about gun control (or lack of it) is how very much evangelicals support the NRA. I suppose it's natural, considering how many of them always vote for the death penalty. And, of course, you can't "destroy Islam" with popguns. Nor can you mow down unrepentant sinners without the proper artillary. Ask Rod Parsley, him of the military rhetoric. "Onward Christian Soldier" is a small sample of the righteous forces that stream out of the church. Parsley's own youth group is called "Battle Cry." Becoming "soldiers in Christ" is routine. The horned image of Satan is transmuted to images of people: Muslims, foreigners, liberals, New Agers, athiests, abortionists, cultists, gays. Christ is always shown brandishing a sword. If they had AK-47s in the first century, some evangelicals would be praying in front of a Rambo Christ.

A recent study showed that more church goers are carrying guns - even to church:

Armed and dangerous?: Falwell receives life membership in NRA Church & State, Feb 2001

National Rifle Association President Wayne LaPierre traveled to Lynchburg, Va., in October to appear on the Rev. Jerry Falwell's television program and present him with a life-time membership in the NRA.

"Guns Don't Kill People. People Kill People." True, but sticks, stones and arrows are less effective.

And Obama was right about the bitterness. Think of this portrayal of America every time you see someone with a gun. (From William Buroughs' Thanksgiving Prayer)

Thanks for the American dream,
To vulgarize and to falsify until
the bare lies shine through.

Thanks for the KKK.

For nigger-killin' lawmen,
feelin' their notches.

For decent church-goin' women,
with their mean, pinched, bitter,
evil faces.

Thanks for "Kill a Queer for
Christ" stickers.

I guess the last line is why I'm frightened of the Rod Parsleys of our world. Can you imagine him with a gun? I can.

"Well, you liberals always think of an evangelical as either an Elmer Gantry or and Elmer Fudd."

Sounds ridiculous but oh so true: the televangelists who pray for a theocracy are latter day Elmer Gantrys and their flocks are the uneducated, gullible, spiritually lazy or just plain stupid Elmer Fudds.

But always remember: in the cartoons, Fudd's the one with the gun!

A highly-prized "lock 'n load" Christian bowling ball

The NRA's Gallery of Church Icons:

And in truly Christian church parking lots:

A small pile - getting larger

Pile of guns
Originally uploaded by spacewalker115

Simply...

This Is NRA Porn

Getting Involved In Government Programs - Secular Volunteers YES, Churches NO

Change We can Believe in...Huh?

The Change We Can Believe In
Might Not Be the Change We Want to See.

Obama's fallen into an Evangelical trap: 45 minutes ago, AP announced that Barack Obama would be seeking to expand Bush's Faith Based Initiative.

(AP) Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups. Obama was unveiling his approach to getting religious charities more involved in government anti-poverty programs during a tour and remarks Tuesday in Zanesville, Ohio, at Eastside Community Ministry, which provides food, clothes, youth ministry and other services. "The challenges we face today ... are simply too big for government to solve alone," Obama was to say, according to a prepared text of his remarks obtained by The Associated Press. "We need all hands on deck."

We need all hands on deck alright, but with proselytizing hands, the right hand may keep secret what the left hand is doing. The faith-based initiative was risky from the start, and it was only by the grace of God (sorry) that Bush was tight-fisted to give the program the money he promised. There are plenty of non-religious, non-profit organizations doing what the government should be doing. And there are a host of people waiting to volunteer their time and efforts who don't need to say, "First tell me Jesus is your personal savior, then you can have your bowl of soup." And who will the bulk of the money go to? Only churches big enough to have a grant proposal writer, a promotion director and a glossy introduction kit. Megachurches will get bigger and small churches may go the way of the Dodo. Question: does Joel Osteen really need more money? And just where is Rod Parsley going to come up with an agency to feed the poor instead of himself? He'd have to agree to some kind of transparency - something many megachurch/televangelists are loathe to do. Something stinks in the Obama campaign.

That's right, brother, you better pray that tomorrow you're not my bitch

Barack, Let's Get Out Of Here! This Isn't Our Country Anymore!

"THEY" Are Out To Get Us!

Read this Washington Post article and you'll see why the people who scream they are Values Voters may be Values Liars: False Obama Rumors Fly in Flag City.

For every post, I cruise that fantastic site, Flickr. Sometimes I get more than I bargained for. This was one of those times.

I searched for "Barack Hussein Obama" Below are some of the results. They are horrendous, yes, but they are truthful in that they show us the ugly side of America - the irrational hatred that comes of ignorance and blind belief. These people need to hate someone, something, anything. The problem is that they are also the ones who have guns. Some of them anyway. And they have the right to vote. And they have the right to be "religious" and act on what they hear coming from the pulpit.

I'm afraid for Barack Obama. I'm afraid for myself and for everyone who believes in the Greek virtues of Knowledge, Wisdom, Compassion and Love. Every morning I wake up trying to put my faith where it belongs: in humanity. Images like the ones on this post always challenge that faith. I'm tired of the sniping and the hatred, the intolerance, the racism, the homophobia, the sexism that comes with today's "Faith." Sometimes I feel like Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind's last scene when he says to Scarlett that he wants to see what little there is left of grace and dignity in the world. Then when she asks him what she will do after he's gone, the classic line, "My dear, I don't give a damn," resonates within me. I hate myself for having such feelings. There are, I know, wonderful people outside of my beautiful sanctuary of San Francisco, but with all the hatred and the posturing, they're getting harder and harder to pick out.

O.K.: Let's get this over with.





And the worst of it all: the photo is real and the commentary is real:

Hussein Obama thinks:

And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

This country was founded on principles found in that big book I'm clinging to.
Obama wants to ban guns, the greatest equalizer to bitter assholes who want to harm me and/or my family and property.
Obama wants to spread over $800 billion in 13 years around the world with his Global Poverty Reduction act.
Fuck you Obama!

Proud "typical white person" NRA member and talk radio listener.

In 2003 the US knocked a Hussein out of power. 2008 we are looking to put a Hussein back in power.