Library censorship has been alive ever since Christian zealots burned the Great Library of Alexandria in 391 CE.* So its not surprising that a movie was made about library censorship and has some subtle parallels to today's West Bend circus act. The movie was Storm Center. Its star was Bette Davis. The meme at the time (1956) was Communism since it was made at the tail end of the McCarthy era. Davis was remarkable in the role of a librarian who refused to take a book about Communism off the shelves. In the scene below, she gives her favorite youth a bitch-slapping like you wouldn't believe, but one that even James Dobson might approve of ...if he were to be publicly rebuked by an eight-year-old.
*Regarded as one of the greatest disasters to befall knowledge, some 400,000 scrolls were lost - works collected from all of western civilization - because they were housed in a building (the Serapeum) that had been a temple.
Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh joked that President Obama might be a deity because “God does not have a birth certificate, either.” Joseph Farah, the editor of WorldNetDaily.com — the site that’s been buying up billboards asking for Obama’s birth certificate — couldn’t contain his excitement, so he tweeted about it.
We must face facts: almost 50% of the American voting public voted for George W. Bush - TWICE.
Does that mean that the rest of the world sees us as gullible dopes? YES. Do we like to be viewed as a nation of morons? NO. What can we do about it? Unfortunately, NOTHING.
Of course, we could seriously confront people like "Birthers," but we are, alas, a country that does not exile people for stupidity.Birthers, televangelists, politicians (as apposed to statesmen), school boards, faux media, TV sitcoms, and Glenn Beck . All have succeeded in making the U.S. a laughing stock for other countries. But the really terrible fact is that many Americans don't have a clue that the rest of the world thinks we're morons.
Me? I became aware of this after watching the second episode of The Beverly Hillbillies.And, yes, I am as stupid as many people: when I trip over a piece of furniture in the dark I yell at it for simply being there - where I put it. So I am guilty of being stupid, which is why I can point out REALLY stupid people: I know whereof I speak. The things that scares me about REALLY stupid people (having occasion to be stupid many more times than I have) is that they are stupid about all the mean, petty and (blatantly) wrong things.
Take "Birthers". Who TF cares if Obama hasn't proven his citizenship to a small group of ... stupid people? Instead of spending time, energy, and what little brain power they have on important issues like the economy or civil rights, Birthers scream (all too loudly) that the elected President of the United States is in a sinister conspiracy to defraud the country regarding his citizenship.
Theirs is not the reasoning of intelligent people: they are not merely questioning Obama's citizenship. Nor are they questioning his transparency. They are convinced of a conspiracy because of the lack of a piece of paper. And their guns are cocked and loaded in the event that the conspirators will somehow win and dispossess them from their single-wides.
With a S.W.A.T. team.
And where do Birthers get their totally stupid theories from?
When the time comes for an open letter to the President, I will write it with full force and dignity. Until such time when I think he has not addressed issues adequately, I'll support him as much as possible. But I, (like a great number of people who voted for him) cannot wait long.Lawyers from Obama’s Justice Department are in court defending the Defense of Marriage Act as constitutional, and they compare same sex marriage to incest and marriage to children.
Slog, Dan Savage:
But Obama made it clear last week that he intends to defend DOMA—which he does not have to do—and he intends to defend it using the vilest terms and the most aggressive possible tactics. And on DADT the administration has made it clear that it's not going to do shit about DADT and says that DADT can only be ended through legislative action. And Congress—in the person of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid—says it isn't going to do shit to end DADT and suggests that the White House end it administratively.
Dan Savage is right. He is not necessarily right in the manner he's chosen to put his point across, but he mirrors the growing antipathy of the gay community.
President Obama:
We realize that you are burdened with more critical issues than any other President in American history. Perhaps we expect too much from you. However, in your short governance, you have not shown the LGBT community the willingness necessary to steadfastly fight for our rights. We need strong and definitive measures as soon as possible because hate and discrimination will not stand idly by and give us the luxury of time. You ask us to be patient. Then again, maybe it is YOU who expect too much from US.
(06-16) 20:28 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
President Barack Obama, under growing criticism for not seeking to end the ban on openly gay men and women in the military, is extending benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.
Unfortunately, around the country, people are grumbling "too little, too late" while Howard Dean is try to patch things up by reminding people that the extension of benefits is "the first step, not the last."
Still, no matter what he says, the arch enemy of the LGBT community, Pat Robertson, must be very, very pleased.
Someone Tell This Guy That Voodoo Dolls Are More Effective!
The Drudge Retort:
Last week, Rev. Wiley Drake of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, CA, declared the murder of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller answered his "imprecatory" prayers. Now, he's announced a similar prayer of death for President Barack Obama. "if people don't like that, they need to talk to God," Drake told Alan Colmes on his radio show.
I looked up the words "imprecatory prayer" in wikipedia. In short, it's a curse and akin to voodoo. Wiley (Coyote) probably uses it because it sounded more "Biblical" than "hex", "curse" or "evil eye." I also looked up "Rev." Drake on wikipedia.:
California-based Southern Baptist minister and radio host. He was the vice-presidential candidate for the America's Independent Party ticket in 2008, and the second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2006-2007
In his bio, there is nothing about his ministerial call or where he matriculated. Maybe, like Fred Phelps, he simply got his "Doctor of Divinity" out of a box of Cracker Jack.
The Southern Baptist Convention is desperately trying to "distance" itself from "Rev." Drake with a flurry of "don't look at us" press releases. Call up their offices and you'll just get "Drake who?" But since he was a former vice president of SBC, they won't be able to distance themselves very much. And he's just the kind of dimwitted Christofascist they need to march in their army in the culture war. The problem was that he started to think that he was more like his namesake (Wile E. Coyote) in pursuit of Obama the Roadrunner.
Oh, AND he has a radio show. Let's hope that either his listeners have a cumulative I.Q. above that of a dead flashlight battery (scratch that hope) or that he doesn't have any listeners. I certainly hope that members of Christian Identity don't listen.
But the real victims in his attempted assassination are the residents of Buena Park, CA. They're probably wondering if they're on the pastor's "hit list to God." And there's irony here, folks, because Buena Vista lies next to "The Happiest Place On Earth" in Annaheim, CA. (Psst - he campaigned against Disneyland, too, because it hosted a special "gay day!")
Micha Jaystone - Seattle Humanist Examiner:
How deep is the hate emanating from the Christian right? How many good Christians are praying for the death of our President? And aren't those prayers a tacit endorsement of the political assassination of President Barack Obama?
Every American should be alarmed by this threat from within.
Unfortunately, Micha, Wiley (Coyote) Drake is just the tip of the Christofascist iceberg.
Are The Likes Of Rod Parsley Making Future Neo-Nazis?
I came to incite a riot. I came to affect a divine disturbance in the heart and soul of the church. Man your battle stations, ready your weapons, lock and load!
From: The Carpetbagger Report:
And lest there be any confusion, Parsley isn’t a one-trick pony — sure, he hates Muslims, but his bread and butter includes attacks on gays, abortion, the federal judiciary, and civil libertarians. Best of all, his rhetoric frequently includes what sounds like appeals to violence, telling his followers, “I came to incite a riot! Man your battle stations. Ready your weapons.” (One wants to assume he’s speaking metaphorically, but it’s not entirely clear.)
We've written about the "Onward Christian Soldier" bit and the take on it from some of the most militant pulpits (pun intended). But when we first heard about the Department of Homeland Security's report on "home-grown" terrorists, we sensed that Christofascists had a hand in that story.
I think we were right. A separate report from DHS comfirmed that right-wing extremists have been, in fact, in the military for years. And with groups likeChristian Identity, the roots of their militancy become clear in the light of some of our own far right religious extremists and their rhetoric.
From Crooks and Liars:
A recent Department of Homeland Security report, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," stated: "The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today." Many white supremacists join the Army to secure training for, as they see it, a future domestic race war. Others claim to be shooting Iraqis not to pursue the military's strategic goals but because killing "hajjis" is their duty as white militants.
Tom Metzger is the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and current leader of the White Aryan Resistance. He tells me the military has never been more tolerant of racial extremists. "Now they are letting everybody in," he says.
But is the rhetoric of preachers like Parsley to blame for the upsurge in hate group and gang member enlistment? It may surprise people to know that some churches in the U.S. are actually listed as hate groups! Lou Sheldon's Christian Coalition is certainly named as one because of its rabid homophobia. And youth groups like Rod Parsley's "Battle Cry" fulminate hatred for Muslims and all other "sinners."
Randall Terry:
I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over you. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good... Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a biblical duty, we are called on by God to conquer this country. We don't want equal time. We don't want pluralism.
The result of militarism and hatred taught by some "churches" is that the teachings stick to people, following them through the military and, especially significant, afterwards:
From Crooks and Liars:
The initial concern that this raises is the possibility of a new wave of citizen militias, particularly when you have mainstream pundits like Glenn Beck out there helping to promote the concept. As Glenn Greenwald observed, the "Patriots" are back with a vengeance.
However, we are starting to see a trend that's even more disturbing: Military veterans voicing Patriot-movement beliefs, including threats of violent resistance to the Obama administration.
Gary DeMar:
The long term goal [is] the execution of abortionists and parents who hire them. If we argue that abortion is murder, then we must call for the death penalty.
No wonder Pat Robertson thinks that the possibility of home-grown terrorists coming from veterans is "outrageous."
The fuzzy schematic to the right (sorry - my graphic skills are terrible at 3AM!) shows the procedure the military must take if the enlistee has a tattoo.
Asking about one's tattoos must be awkward to say the least: "And what the f*ck is THAT one?" An officer might have to flip through hundreds of pages of tattoo design to determine if it's considered "extremist."
From Crooks and Liars:
Army regulations prohibit soldiers from participating in racist groups, and recruiters are instructed to keep an eye out for suspicious tattoos. Before signing on the dotted line, enlistees are required to explain any tattoos. At a Tampa recruitment office, though, Fogarty sailed right through the signup process. "They just told me to write an explanation of each tattoo, and I made up some stuff, and that was that," he says. Soon he was posted to Fort Stewart in Georgia, where he became part of the 3rd Infantry Division.
In 2003, Fogarty was sent to Iraq. For two years he served in the military police, escorting officers, including generals, around the hostile country. He says he was granted top-secret clearance and access to battle plans. Fogarty speaks with regret that he "never had any kill counts." But he says his time in Iraq increased his racist resolve.
For a reference on hate group tattoos, click HERE.
Of course, some recruiters or boot camp officers "overlook" the ink. After all, they have a quota to reach.
Below is a small sampling of racist/Neo Nazi and gang tattoos. There are literally hundred of designs worn by thousands of guy seeking to identify with a particular hate group.
If you thought tattoos were really pretty markings with little or no meaning, then you'd better rethink your tattoo philosophy.
Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
Mark Twain
American, Author Quotes
more famous quotes
Library censorship has been alive ever since Christian zealots burned the Great Library of Alexandria in 391 CE.* So its not surprising that a movie was made about library censorship and has some subtle parallels to today's West Bend circus act. The movie was Storm Center. Its star was Bette Davis. The meme at the time (1956) was Communism since it was made at the tail end of the McCarthy era. Davis was remarkable in the role of a librarian who refused to take a book about Communism off the shelves. In the scene below, she gives her favorite youth a bitch-slapping like you wouldn't believe, but one that even James Dobson might approve of ...if he were to be publicly rebuked by an eight-year-old.
Posts
