One of the reasons I believe that religion has lost its grip on the popular imagination is the refusal of religious leaders to discuss Heaven and Hell. We have lost the desire for Heaven and the fear of Hell. How can you be surprised? The image of heaven is a bunch of cherubs sitting on clouds and strumming harps. The image of Hell is one of a creature with horns and a red flannel suit scorching people by fire. The first seems hopelessly boring and the latter is too comic to be scary. It is a scandal that these are the prevailing visions of the afterlife. No wonder people say, "I don't care if I go to Hell, all my friends will be there" Was it not Billy Joel who said I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, the sinners are much more fun?
My objection to this attitude is that it has tragic consequences in THIS world. First of all, the hope of an afterlife is not an escape hatch for the problems of the world. The hope of Heaven is designed to give you strength to make the current world a better place. After all, a person who believes that he is truly immortal is much more likely to stand up to the princes who are despoiling this world. How can they hurt us if we are going to live forever? This should have real world consequences in this life. But I am going to dare to take it farther. I am going to dare to say that we all have experienced Heaven in this life. I will also dare to say that we have all experienced Hell. And I will triple dare state that our decisions involving other people, including our political decisions , are the major factor whether we experience Heaven or Hell on earth.
I believe we experience Heaven on Earth when we are in the company and experiencing the love of other people. Think about your most incredible joyous experience. Were you not in the presence of other people? Perhaps it was at a party. Or you were with your family. Or alone with your loved one. Or, especially in the service of others. All of these things have the same thing in common: we were feeling so much love and giving so much love to someone else that we forgot about ourselves! I am going to go out on a limb and say that these experiences are times you at least tasted a tiny part of Heaven.
If there is a Heaven, there must be a Hell. Yes, we have been there also. Every time you have been there you have been alone. I am not talking about peaceful solitude. (Nor am I talking about those people who are downright hellish to be with!). I am talking about Loneliness. Heartbreak. Hatred. And, especially that one deadly sin that does not even bring us cheap pleasure, and that is ENVY. How many times have you sat alone, plotting revenge on your neighbor? Or just feeling jealous? Or just feeling downright miserable. All alone, just you and your miserable hate-filled thoughts to keep you company. Welcome to Hell, brother.
What does this have to do with politics? well, I doubt the politicians ability to bring Heaven on earth , but they can sure bring Hell. War. Poverty. Famine. Disease. Genocide. Racism. Hatred. And what is the one thing they have in common? The worship of the self and the fear and hatred of your neighbor. Yes, Hell. Hell for you and Hell for your neighbor. Wage war on your neighbor. Neglect him. Vilify him. All because I am better that him. Because I am afraid of him. Maybe I just don't like him! To Hell with him. So off to hell he goes, in thousands of evil ways. Divide and conquer has been the successful strategy of many a politician. But what the pols don't tell you is the Hell they put you in. You can't enjoy your things because you might lose them. Someone might take it from you! Kinda hard to love your neighbor when he might take your job. The world is a dangerous place! Look out for number one! Yep, Hell can be that deathbed in the hospital, all alone, your toys far away. Maybe at that time you pray to God to take you to Heaven. Maybe he grants your request. But wouldn't it been better not to have spent your time on earth in the prison of the self? Or forcing people to become selfish just to defend themselves from you?
I'm going to take my dare even farther. I am going to speculate what Heaven is like after we die. I have taken most, if not all, of my ideas from spiritual writers. Why not? Why not speculate about this glorious place called Heaven in glorious communion with others? Certainly not by myself! Are you ready? Here goes! Heaven and Hell will be very recognizable to us. They will look like the world. If fact there will just be one thing different in each place. Heaven will be the world without sin. Hell will be the world without love. I will write further about my musings about Heaven and Hell in another post. But first I want you to contemplate my two little ideas. And maybe, just maybe, you will feel the same hope that is now surging within me. Maybe, just maybe we can share it.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
Donald Trump and the Continued Perversion of Manhood
UPDATE: Absolutely nothing has changed
. Men, especially white men, seem to be eating up Donald Trump's shtick. The Donald is tough! The Donald is a leader! The Donald is whipping those sissybricthes like Jeb Bush and Rand Paul! The Donald screws supermodels and has no time for ugly women like Hillary and Carly Fiorina! The Donald is going to make America Great Again! Why? The Donald is a billionaire! The Donald kicks ass! Implied in all this is that the Donald is a Real Man, and only a Real Man, a Strongman, can save us!!!.
Nothing can be further than the truth. The fact that Donald Trump is looked on by so many people as the Ultimate Male is just a shining example of how the concept of maleness has been twisted and perverted by the miasma that is modern life. Once upon the time, the Trumps of the world would have laughed out of town for the phonies and posers they are.
The word husband comes from the word "husbandry". Husbandry was the whole process of an independent, free man taking care of his family and his estate. This man was a loyal companion to his friends, and did not shirk from leadership responsibilities. He acted for the good of the community and not just out of self-interest. He took care of the land, taking care to preserve it and not pollute it or harm his neighbors. He took a leadership role in his family but did not abuse or oppress his wife and children. Other male archetypes, such as the knight, the hunter, and the warrior were from the same bent. This man was always willing to sacrifice, even to die for his lord, his king (or queen), his country, his family and especially his comrades in battle. The there running through all these archetypes is self-sacrifice. There was no greater honor than to lay down ones life for his friends. The selfish dandy was recognized for what he was: a man of weak character whose selfishness placed in danger everyone around him. No, this was not always put into practice, but is was an ideal sincerely strived for and universally admired. The man who succeeded in living these ideals was a man of respect. He was a Real Man.
Somewhere along the line, we lost our way. The Fake Real Man of today does not seek to co-operate, he seeks to dominate. The accumulation of money and power to crush others is the hallmark of the New Fake Man. I will look out for Number One and have no obligation to my fellow man. This New Fake Man is often seen on Wall Street, making billions producing nothing of real value and shouting into his Blackberry clutched by his soft pink hands. Indeed, the New Fake Man scorns honest physical labor as fit only for lesser subhumans. The New Fake Man is really not man at all but just an image, a brand. Trapped by the consumer culture, desperate for his paycheck, caged in his cubicle, he finds himself totally unable to strive for the old ancient ideals. Those who fail in the winner-take-all society ( which is almost everyone), often find themselves expressing their maleness in strange and bizarre ways. Guns. Violence. Domestic Violence. Screaming at the TV because Eli Manning threw yet another interception. This New Fake Man has trouble relating to women, who still yearn mostly for the old-style Real Man. In his frustration he resorts to domestic violence. Or serial infidelity. Or porn. In his heart, he wants to be a Real Man but doesn't know how. He is angry. He is frustrated. He desperately searches for a strongman. A savior. A cause in which he can forget about his miserable existence. Someone like Donald Trump.
Folks, this is not to mock the modern American male. He is trapped in a cheap, banal consumer, kleptomaniac culture with precious few opportunities to be a Real Man. So what is his solution? Why, he can escape from the society that binds him. Transcend it. Rise above it. If you want to be a Real Man, turn to a Real Savior. Someone who loves you. Someone with the power to allow you to shake off the chains, frustrations and failures of this world and live for Eternity in the next. Yes, this is Jesus Christ, the ultimate Real Man. All the attributes of a Real Man can be found in his Sacred Heart. All the love for your fellow man can be found on the Cross. The legions of New Fake Men, personified in its most monstrous form by Donald Trump, want to keep the whole world imprisoned in an iron cage of selfishness. This is killing our world, our friends, our families and our neighbors. Folks, I am a very weak man. But in my weakness I am strong. In my weakness I turn to Jesus. And become the Real Man He created me to be.
. Men, especially white men, seem to be eating up Donald Trump's shtick. The Donald is tough! The Donald is a leader! The Donald is whipping those sissybricthes like Jeb Bush and Rand Paul! The Donald screws supermodels and has no time for ugly women like Hillary and Carly Fiorina! The Donald is going to make America Great Again! Why? The Donald is a billionaire! The Donald kicks ass! Implied in all this is that the Donald is a Real Man, and only a Real Man, a Strongman, can save us!!!.
Nothing can be further than the truth. The fact that Donald Trump is looked on by so many people as the Ultimate Male is just a shining example of how the concept of maleness has been twisted and perverted by the miasma that is modern life. Once upon the time, the Trumps of the world would have laughed out of town for the phonies and posers they are.
The word husband comes from the word "husbandry". Husbandry was the whole process of an independent, free man taking care of his family and his estate. This man was a loyal companion to his friends, and did not shirk from leadership responsibilities. He acted for the good of the community and not just out of self-interest. He took care of the land, taking care to preserve it and not pollute it or harm his neighbors. He took a leadership role in his family but did not abuse or oppress his wife and children. Other male archetypes, such as the knight, the hunter, and the warrior were from the same bent. This man was always willing to sacrifice, even to die for his lord, his king (or queen), his country, his family and especially his comrades in battle. The there running through all these archetypes is self-sacrifice. There was no greater honor than to lay down ones life for his friends. The selfish dandy was recognized for what he was: a man of weak character whose selfishness placed in danger everyone around him. No, this was not always put into practice, but is was an ideal sincerely strived for and universally admired. The man who succeeded in living these ideals was a man of respect. He was a Real Man.
Somewhere along the line, we lost our way. The Fake Real Man of today does not seek to co-operate, he seeks to dominate. The accumulation of money and power to crush others is the hallmark of the New Fake Man. I will look out for Number One and have no obligation to my fellow man. This New Fake Man is often seen on Wall Street, making billions producing nothing of real value and shouting into his Blackberry clutched by his soft pink hands. Indeed, the New Fake Man scorns honest physical labor as fit only for lesser subhumans. The New Fake Man is really not man at all but just an image, a brand. Trapped by the consumer culture, desperate for his paycheck, caged in his cubicle, he finds himself totally unable to strive for the old ancient ideals. Those who fail in the winner-take-all society ( which is almost everyone), often find themselves expressing their maleness in strange and bizarre ways. Guns. Violence. Domestic Violence. Screaming at the TV because Eli Manning threw yet another interception. This New Fake Man has trouble relating to women, who still yearn mostly for the old-style Real Man. In his frustration he resorts to domestic violence. Or serial infidelity. Or porn. In his heart, he wants to be a Real Man but doesn't know how. He is angry. He is frustrated. He desperately searches for a strongman. A savior. A cause in which he can forget about his miserable existence. Someone like Donald Trump.
Folks, this is not to mock the modern American male. He is trapped in a cheap, banal consumer, kleptomaniac culture with precious few opportunities to be a Real Man. So what is his solution? Why, he can escape from the society that binds him. Transcend it. Rise above it. If you want to be a Real Man, turn to a Real Savior. Someone who loves you. Someone with the power to allow you to shake off the chains, frustrations and failures of this world and live for Eternity in the next. Yes, this is Jesus Christ, the ultimate Real Man. All the attributes of a Real Man can be found in his Sacred Heart. All the love for your fellow man can be found on the Cross. The legions of New Fake Men, personified in its most monstrous form by Donald Trump, want to keep the whole world imprisoned in an iron cage of selfishness. This is killing our world, our friends, our families and our neighbors. Folks, I am a very weak man. But in my weakness I am strong. In my weakness I turn to Jesus. And become the Real Man He created me to be.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Hey Hillary, Thanks for nothing
UPDATE Why did Hillary Lose??? Maybe its because she left a stunning trail of incompetence. One last reminder before we throw her into the dustbin of history.
GAY RIGHTS- Hillary did not come out for gay marriage until late in the game. People like Hillary and Obama are getting credit for the gains that gays have won themselves through their brave and tireless actions. Without their activism, Hillary type liberals would have trapped gays in "civil unions" without the right to express their love like the rest of humanity. And do not forget, it was the the Clintons who cooked up the ludicrous "Don't ask, Don't tell" chains on gays in the military. Again, it was gays themselves who had to free themselves from this ridiculous "solution". Whenever it got too hot, the Clintons tried to distance themselves from their gay supporters.
THE PATRIOT ACT- Hillary voted for this civil rights crushing pile of paranoia. Bernie Sanders voted against it. In America's darkest hour, when she needed leaders to defend freedom from those who would use fear to take it away, Hillary was asleep at the switch.
EDWARD SNOWDEN- Hillary would toss in jail the man who exposed the fact that our government was illegally spying on us. Snowden's disclosures were simply exposing the evils of Washington and its armies of useless (but dangerous) bureaucrats. Snowden posed almost no threat to national security. What he exposed is how dangerous our out of control government can be. Never mind. Hillary will lock him up. (Sanders supports Snowden)
WAR & PEACE- Hillary supported the Iraq War, again going along with the crowd. She has halfheartedly admitted her mistake. 4,500 war dead probably do not want to forgive. Despite her crocodile tears about her Iraq vote, Hillary pushed an aggressive forging policy as Secretary of State and continues to do so.
FREE TRADE-It was the Clintons who cooked up the job killing NAFTA. Clinton is all for each and every one of these monstrosities. Americans have been waiting for 20 years for jobs that never come. These agreements have killed off tens of millions of American jobs, but the elites of both parties still pushed them. Hillary was all for TPP as Sec. of State, but has been dodging the issue now when it became obvious this might be a problem. Oh, yes, Donald Trump has promised to end free trade agreements, hereby attacking Hillary on the LEFT. How is she going to defend her record? How stupid to become so elitist that she would be vulnerable to demagogues like Trump.
BANKRUPTCY REFORM- People have forgotten this little Hillary gem. First, the credit card companies were allowed to charge interest rates that would had made Fat Tony Salerno blush. They justified this usury by claiming that we need to be able to do this because all of the people filing for bankruptcy. So what did the credit card companies do? Go to Congress and get cabal of big business stooges of both parties to pass bankruptcy "reform", making it harder to discharge credit card debt, much of it interest from the brutal interest rates charged. Bipartisanship at its finest. And Hillary went along with it, standing with the loan sharks instead of their victims. Much later, Hillary says she's going to "fight" for workers and the middle class. Really?
WALL STREET- During the New Deal days Roosevelt and the Democrats had a very radical idea. They decreed that banks should not be allowed to take your savings and but them into bad or risky investments. You know, stuff like chinchilla farms and ......subprime mortgages. They passed a law. Called it Glass-Steagall. Prevented regular banks from acting like investment banks. Worked great for 60 years. But the Clinton administration had a better idea. Repeal Glass-Steagall! Set the banks free! The Great Recession would NOT have occurred if Glass-Steagall were not repealed and the banks properly regulated. This alone disqualifies anyone involved in it from any consideration to be president, especially a Clinton. You say you remember the Clinton Years as prosperous ones? You can call it prosperity. History will call it the High-Tech Bubble. Want to contribute to Hillary's campaign? Cash in your Pets.com stock.
It is common knowledge that the Clintons and Wall Street are closer than stink on shit. Yeah, Hillary is going to stand up for ordinary people and piss off a billion dollars plus load of campaign contributors. Wall Street is Ready for Hillary. Pardon me if I'm not.
MINORITIES- Hillary has gone from laughing at Bernie Sanders to watching him creep up in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire to falling behind Bernie Sanders. in Iowa and New Hampshire. But not to worry, say the pundits. Those two states are all white. Hillary's support among blacks will eventually swamp Bernie and propel her to the nomination. God knows blacks have suffered enough and are free to support whomever they wish and for whatever reason. At the risk of being called a Privileged White Male, I would like to bring up some reasons blacks might reconsider.
Sister Souljah- Remember her? The Clintons turned her name into a verb. To "Sister Souljah" someone is for a white politician to pander to racist whites by mocking or humiliating a black person that white people find annoying or scary. Especially helpful to a "liberal' who wants to show she won't be pushed around by "those people".
Ricky Ray Rector - he was an Arkansas death row inmate who was about to be executed despite being so feeble minded that he literally did not know what was happening to him. But, unfortunately for Rector, he was black. During Bill Clinton's first campaign, he made a big show of rushing to Arkansas to oversee his execution. But of course Clinton's physical presence was not needed for the deathwork to take place. Actually what was needed was to have Rector's black face splayed on all the news shows. The Clinton's showed their approval for the death penalty, a barbarism that affects blacks much more than whites.
Welfare Reform- The Clinton's were in trouble. Again. What to do? Call in Dick Morrie to "triangulate". Reform federal welfare by ending it. The Clintons pander to whites and get a big bounce in the polls. The teeming masses of the poor (white and black) get more misery. but at least Bill and Hillary socked it to the welfare queens!
The Crime Bill- America's crime rate has been going down for a generation. But hysteria about (black) crime caused the Clinton Administration to pass a "Crime Bill". The effects of this bill has been the mass incarceration of thousands and thousands of African-Americans. First this bill made the penalty for crack cocaine 100 times by weight more than powder. Makes no sense, unless you consider that the users of crack were almost all perceived to be black, while much more expensive powder was the drug of choice for wealthy whites. The Clintons enthusiastically supported the privatization of government services including the privatization of prisons. These prisons are loaded with people incarcerated under laws like "3 strikes and you're out" which Clintonite liberals gleefully pushed to show whites they are "tough on crime". Clintonite liberals also pushed the "broken windows theory" in which many folks, almost all poor, are harassed and jailed for the tiniest of offenses. An incredible amount of African-Americans are now in the system either jailed or on probation. The Clintons and their useless liberal ilk did much to aggravate this problem.
Hillary's race-baiting of Obama in 2008- In her desperation to catch up in the late stages of the 2008 primaries, Hillary and Bill turned to making thinly-veiled racial appeals. It almost worked too, as Clinton won a string of primaries that had a lot of older white working class votes. Hillary openly bragged about her appeal to white voters. Hillary gleefully tried to tie Obama to now forgotten figures like Jerimiah Wright and Louis Farrakhan. Bill compared Obama's campaign to Jesse Jackson's. Google "Hillary race baiting Obama" to refresh your memory. When push comes to shove, the Clintons do not hesitate to use GOP code words to win a few more cheap white votes.
TRUST ISSUES- The most dangerous place in the universe is getting in between the Clintons and someone writing them a check. David Sirota reports on numerous times a foreign country has written a check to the Clinton Foundation and then seeing the Clinton State Department doing that country a favor. Yes, the current E-mail scandal is overblown, but what was Hillary thinking of when she put the State Department's server in her own private residence? What could possibly go wrong? You would expect the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Dogpatch County, Arkansas to know this is a bad idea. I could care less if there was any "wrongdoing" at the time. Leaving yourself vulnerable because of this ridiculous unforced error is just so stupid. Yes, many of the Clinton "scandals" are bogus. But the Clintons arrogance and stubbornness and just plain greed keeps getting them into trouble over and over again. This becomes a big problem for the world when you are the "inevitable" nominee of one party, when the other party is going gaga for the fascist demagoguery of Donald Trump. Hillary sometimes seems shockingly ignorant of the awesome responsibility thrust upon her.
COMPETENCE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT- What has Hillary accomplished in her career except the furtherance of her own ambitions? She has screwed up two very big things in her career that seemed to be sure things: health care reform in 1993, and her presidential campaign. Remember that in 1993, the stars were all in line for health care reform. It was a done deal. Bob Dole told the Republicans not to fight it, just try to get some sort of compromise. But Hillary had to do everything in secret and came up with a mishmash that was easy for the conservatives to demonize. Then in 2008 Hillary grabs defeat from the jaws of victory. The campaign was incompetent. Wasted money. Staff Infighting. Loyalty to the wrong people. In short, in two very visible instances, when Hillary actually had to Run Something, she cratered. Badly.
Again, what has Hillary actually accomplished? We are told as a Senator she "worked hard", she "studied all the issues", she "was well liked and made a special effort to get along". All fine and dandy. What is missing is any real accomplishment. What is missing is good judgment on the most important issues she had to vote on. Her tenure at State was much the same thing. Lots of compliments on her work habits and frequent flier mileage. No real accomplishment. Looks like Hillary is a solid assistant coach who is hopelessly over her head when she has to run things. Are things getting better in 2016? So far we have watched Bernie Sanders morph from a total unknown to a nuisance candidate to gaining in the polls to actually leading in Iowa and New Hampshire. And Hillary seems totally at a loss as what to do about it.
And last but not least....
THAT STUPID LOGO.....Haven't you noticed that the arrow is pointing rightward....?
Well, despite these small issues, I think Hillary is doing just fine.
GAY RIGHTS- Hillary did not come out for gay marriage until late in the game. People like Hillary and Obama are getting credit for the gains that gays have won themselves through their brave and tireless actions. Without their activism, Hillary type liberals would have trapped gays in "civil unions" without the right to express their love like the rest of humanity. And do not forget, it was the the Clintons who cooked up the ludicrous "Don't ask, Don't tell" chains on gays in the military. Again, it was gays themselves who had to free themselves from this ridiculous "solution". Whenever it got too hot, the Clintons tried to distance themselves from their gay supporters.
THE PATRIOT ACT- Hillary voted for this civil rights crushing pile of paranoia. Bernie Sanders voted against it. In America's darkest hour, when she needed leaders to defend freedom from those who would use fear to take it away, Hillary was asleep at the switch.
EDWARD SNOWDEN- Hillary would toss in jail the man who exposed the fact that our government was illegally spying on us. Snowden's disclosures were simply exposing the evils of Washington and its armies of useless (but dangerous) bureaucrats. Snowden posed almost no threat to national security. What he exposed is how dangerous our out of control government can be. Never mind. Hillary will lock him up. (Sanders supports Snowden)
WAR & PEACE- Hillary supported the Iraq War, again going along with the crowd. She has halfheartedly admitted her mistake. 4,500 war dead probably do not want to forgive. Despite her crocodile tears about her Iraq vote, Hillary pushed an aggressive forging policy as Secretary of State and continues to do so.
FREE TRADE-It was the Clintons who cooked up the job killing NAFTA. Clinton is all for each and every one of these monstrosities. Americans have been waiting for 20 years for jobs that never come. These agreements have killed off tens of millions of American jobs, but the elites of both parties still pushed them. Hillary was all for TPP as Sec. of State, but has been dodging the issue now when it became obvious this might be a problem. Oh, yes, Donald Trump has promised to end free trade agreements, hereby attacking Hillary on the LEFT. How is she going to defend her record? How stupid to become so elitist that she would be vulnerable to demagogues like Trump.
BANKRUPTCY REFORM- People have forgotten this little Hillary gem. First, the credit card companies were allowed to charge interest rates that would had made Fat Tony Salerno blush. They justified this usury by claiming that we need to be able to do this because all of the people filing for bankruptcy. So what did the credit card companies do? Go to Congress and get cabal of big business stooges of both parties to pass bankruptcy "reform", making it harder to discharge credit card debt, much of it interest from the brutal interest rates charged. Bipartisanship at its finest. And Hillary went along with it, standing with the loan sharks instead of their victims. Much later, Hillary says she's going to "fight" for workers and the middle class. Really?
WALL STREET- During the New Deal days Roosevelt and the Democrats had a very radical idea. They decreed that banks should not be allowed to take your savings and but them into bad or risky investments. You know, stuff like chinchilla farms and ......subprime mortgages. They passed a law. Called it Glass-Steagall. Prevented regular banks from acting like investment banks. Worked great for 60 years. But the Clinton administration had a better idea. Repeal Glass-Steagall! Set the banks free! The Great Recession would NOT have occurred if Glass-Steagall were not repealed and the banks properly regulated. This alone disqualifies anyone involved in it from any consideration to be president, especially a Clinton. You say you remember the Clinton Years as prosperous ones? You can call it prosperity. History will call it the High-Tech Bubble. Want to contribute to Hillary's campaign? Cash in your Pets.com stock.
It is common knowledge that the Clintons and Wall Street are closer than stink on shit. Yeah, Hillary is going to stand up for ordinary people and piss off a billion dollars plus load of campaign contributors. Wall Street is Ready for Hillary. Pardon me if I'm not.
MINORITIES- Hillary has gone from laughing at Bernie Sanders to watching him creep up in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire to falling behind Bernie Sanders. in Iowa and New Hampshire. But not to worry, say the pundits. Those two states are all white. Hillary's support among blacks will eventually swamp Bernie and propel her to the nomination. God knows blacks have suffered enough and are free to support whomever they wish and for whatever reason. At the risk of being called a Privileged White Male, I would like to bring up some reasons blacks might reconsider.
Sister Souljah- Remember her? The Clintons turned her name into a verb. To "Sister Souljah" someone is for a white politician to pander to racist whites by mocking or humiliating a black person that white people find annoying or scary. Especially helpful to a "liberal' who wants to show she won't be pushed around by "those people".
Ricky Ray Rector - he was an Arkansas death row inmate who was about to be executed despite being so feeble minded that he literally did not know what was happening to him. But, unfortunately for Rector, he was black. During Bill Clinton's first campaign, he made a big show of rushing to Arkansas to oversee his execution. But of course Clinton's physical presence was not needed for the deathwork to take place. Actually what was needed was to have Rector's black face splayed on all the news shows. The Clinton's showed their approval for the death penalty, a barbarism that affects blacks much more than whites.
Welfare Reform- The Clinton's were in trouble. Again. What to do? Call in Dick Morrie to "triangulate". Reform federal welfare by ending it. The Clintons pander to whites and get a big bounce in the polls. The teeming masses of the poor (white and black) get more misery. but at least Bill and Hillary socked it to the welfare queens!
The Crime Bill- America's crime rate has been going down for a generation. But hysteria about (black) crime caused the Clinton Administration to pass a "Crime Bill". The effects of this bill has been the mass incarceration of thousands and thousands of African-Americans. First this bill made the penalty for crack cocaine 100 times by weight more than powder. Makes no sense, unless you consider that the users of crack were almost all perceived to be black, while much more expensive powder was the drug of choice for wealthy whites. The Clintons enthusiastically supported the privatization of government services including the privatization of prisons. These prisons are loaded with people incarcerated under laws like "3 strikes and you're out" which Clintonite liberals gleefully pushed to show whites they are "tough on crime". Clintonite liberals also pushed the "broken windows theory" in which many folks, almost all poor, are harassed and jailed for the tiniest of offenses. An incredible amount of African-Americans are now in the system either jailed or on probation. The Clintons and their useless liberal ilk did much to aggravate this problem.
Hillary's race-baiting of Obama in 2008- In her desperation to catch up in the late stages of the 2008 primaries, Hillary and Bill turned to making thinly-veiled racial appeals. It almost worked too, as Clinton won a string of primaries that had a lot of older white working class votes. Hillary openly bragged about her appeal to white voters. Hillary gleefully tried to tie Obama to now forgotten figures like Jerimiah Wright and Louis Farrakhan. Bill compared Obama's campaign to Jesse Jackson's. Google "Hillary race baiting Obama" to refresh your memory. When push comes to shove, the Clintons do not hesitate to use GOP code words to win a few more cheap white votes.
TRUST ISSUES- The most dangerous place in the universe is getting in between the Clintons and someone writing them a check. David Sirota reports on numerous times a foreign country has written a check to the Clinton Foundation and then seeing the Clinton State Department doing that country a favor. Yes, the current E-mail scandal is overblown, but what was Hillary thinking of when she put the State Department's server in her own private residence? What could possibly go wrong? You would expect the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Dogpatch County, Arkansas to know this is a bad idea. I could care less if there was any "wrongdoing" at the time. Leaving yourself vulnerable because of this ridiculous unforced error is just so stupid. Yes, many of the Clinton "scandals" are bogus. But the Clintons arrogance and stubbornness and just plain greed keeps getting them into trouble over and over again. This becomes a big problem for the world when you are the "inevitable" nominee of one party, when the other party is going gaga for the fascist demagoguery of Donald Trump. Hillary sometimes seems shockingly ignorant of the awesome responsibility thrust upon her.
COMPETENCE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT- What has Hillary accomplished in her career except the furtherance of her own ambitions? She has screwed up two very big things in her career that seemed to be sure things: health care reform in 1993, and her presidential campaign. Remember that in 1993, the stars were all in line for health care reform. It was a done deal. Bob Dole told the Republicans not to fight it, just try to get some sort of compromise. But Hillary had to do everything in secret and came up with a mishmash that was easy for the conservatives to demonize. Then in 2008 Hillary grabs defeat from the jaws of victory. The campaign was incompetent. Wasted money. Staff Infighting. Loyalty to the wrong people. In short, in two very visible instances, when Hillary actually had to Run Something, she cratered. Badly.
Again, what has Hillary actually accomplished? We are told as a Senator she "worked hard", she "studied all the issues", she "was well liked and made a special effort to get along". All fine and dandy. What is missing is any real accomplishment. What is missing is good judgment on the most important issues she had to vote on. Her tenure at State was much the same thing. Lots of compliments on her work habits and frequent flier mileage. No real accomplishment. Looks like Hillary is a solid assistant coach who is hopelessly over her head when she has to run things. Are things getting better in 2016? So far we have watched Bernie Sanders morph from a total unknown to a nuisance candidate to gaining in the polls to actually leading in Iowa and New Hampshire. And Hillary seems totally at a loss as what to do about it.
And last but not least....
THAT STUPID LOGO.....Haven't you noticed that the arrow is pointing rightward....?
Well, despite these small issues, I think Hillary is doing just fine.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Liberals benefit from the Rise of Good Religion.
Their is no secret that the majority of liberals are skeptical of religion in America. How can they not be when the face of religion in America are Sarah Palin, the truly loathsome Kim Davis, and many, many others too numerous to mention? Or they may look to the Islamic hate of ISIS or the rise of Jewish intolerance in Israel. Atheists are prominent in liberal publications such as AlterNet. We have a rise of people calling themselves "nones", people who yearn for spirituality or a connection to a Higher Power, but don't want to deal with the haters or drones who are filling too many pews in America. Hell, if what is being taught in wingnut churches was the authentic teaching of Jesus, then I would be an atheist too. Fortunately, it is not.
Skeptics can complain all they want, but religion is not going away. You think the idea of God is crazy? Well I think this suffering, crying foolish world is crazy. Despite our Enlightenment, our science, our technology, our knowledge ad all our toys, humankind still sheds every bit as many tears as before. The crushing problems of poverty, hunger and disease have not been solved. Here in the west, we suffer fear, anxiety, and despair under our high cathedral ceilings that no Xanax can cure. When I was a kid, I used to think that 2015 would be something like the Jetsons and I thought that would be cool. Instead, I got pop up ads and 140 characters. Don't get me wrong, I love Twitter and the Internet and without it you would not be reading this. But it is a poor substitute for the Utopia that was promised, not to mention the grace of God. Do not begrudge us religious people our God, especially when all the alternatives have failed.
Bad religion runs rampant because not enough Good People are around to turn it into Good Religion. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are not religions of hate but fill their places of worship with haters and take out the lovers and hatred will flourish. Certainly Jesus is not a hater. You cite religious wars and violence? As if secular people are incapable of this. The Bible is loaded with violence? As if the secular alternative has been so peaceful. The churches are so loaded with hypocrites? Well, get involved, and don't be a hypocrite, and maybe things will change. If you don't believe, don't begrudge me for trying to change thing from the inside.
You see, there is only one reason to believe anything, and that is because it is true. It would be folly on my part to believe in a God that doesn't exist just because it makes me feel good. But it also would be folly to deny the possibility of God existing just because you don't like the worst examples of Christians like Sarah Palin. I cannot prove that God exists, but I can marshal evidence for that proposition and believe in it Likewise, the atheist cannot prove that God does not exist, but can only give evidence for their belief. So we cannot agree on matters of faith but CAN agree on what is loving, decent, fair and just in society. We have come to the same conclusion from different paths. So we can coexist. And fight the darkness together.
Skeptics can complain all they want, but religion is not going away. You think the idea of God is crazy? Well I think this suffering, crying foolish world is crazy. Despite our Enlightenment, our science, our technology, our knowledge ad all our toys, humankind still sheds every bit as many tears as before. The crushing problems of poverty, hunger and disease have not been solved. Here in the west, we suffer fear, anxiety, and despair under our high cathedral ceilings that no Xanax can cure. When I was a kid, I used to think that 2015 would be something like the Jetsons and I thought that would be cool. Instead, I got pop up ads and 140 characters. Don't get me wrong, I love Twitter and the Internet and without it you would not be reading this. But it is a poor substitute for the Utopia that was promised, not to mention the grace of God. Do not begrudge us religious people our God, especially when all the alternatives have failed.
Bad religion runs rampant because not enough Good People are around to turn it into Good Religion. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are not religions of hate but fill their places of worship with haters and take out the lovers and hatred will flourish. Certainly Jesus is not a hater. You cite religious wars and violence? As if secular people are incapable of this. The Bible is loaded with violence? As if the secular alternative has been so peaceful. The churches are so loaded with hypocrites? Well, get involved, and don't be a hypocrite, and maybe things will change. If you don't believe, don't begrudge me for trying to change thing from the inside.
You see, there is only one reason to believe anything, and that is because it is true. It would be folly on my part to believe in a God that doesn't exist just because it makes me feel good. But it also would be folly to deny the possibility of God existing just because you don't like the worst examples of Christians like Sarah Palin. I cannot prove that God exists, but I can marshal evidence for that proposition and believe in it Likewise, the atheist cannot prove that God does not exist, but can only give evidence for their belief. So we cannot agree on matters of faith but CAN agree on what is loving, decent, fair and just in society. We have come to the same conclusion from different paths. So we can coexist. And fight the darkness together.
Friday, August 28, 2015
It can't happen here? WELL, IT JUST DID
UPDATE: Trump followed his playbook to perfection. No, I do not have a crystal ball. Anyone who realized the pathetic quality of opposition of both parties could have seen this.
Donald Trump continues to soar in the polls and suck up all the air in American politics. The elites continue to console themselves by saying he is unelectable. The election of Donald Trump would violate all we know about politics, say the Wise Pundits. But maybe, just maybe, the Old Rules don't apply anymore. Maybe,just maybe, the poor and middle class have been pounded so hard by greedy, cruel and short-sighted elites that in their desperation, the powerless will turn to a strongman. Fascism might be an overused word, but that is exactly what is happening before our very eyes.
For Trump, getting elected is just a two step process. First, win the nomination of an insane Republican Party. Then defeat a squishy and effete Democratic Party. Both scenarios are disturbingly possible.
We are already seeing the Donald steamrolling over the midgets in the GOP Clown Car. Why not? As it has been explained many times now, Trump is just playing the same racist riffs that the GOP has been playing since Nixon's Southern Strategy and Ronald Reagan railing about "strapping young bucks" and "welfare queens". He just does it better, with a showman's flair. How many times have you heard conservative blowhards say, when you were stuck in that family gathering, that we should just build a big fence to keep the Mexicans out? America's most beloved billionaire reality TV star is saying the same things the racist yabos have always said. Trump is successful! He's a billionaire! And he is playing our tune! See, we always knew we were right!
Please tell be who in the GOP Clown Car is going to stop the Donald? Jeb Bush? That mean spirited personality challenged rich boy with a unquenchable sense of entitlement? We really need a third Bush term because the first 12 years of Bushism were so good for the country, right? . Scott Walker? Exposed as a cruel hothouse flower who cannot exist without exploiting the special race problems in Wisconsin. Marco Rubio? An empty suit, as I have explained in my blog before. Ted Cruz? All of the meanness of Trump without the superficial charm. John Kasich? Who? Ben Carson? Are you serious? The Donald has already cut Rand Paul another butthole and is now working on Jeb. This would be funny for liberals except for one little thing: The Democratic Party is in a weak position to stop this fascist menace.
What has not gotten much ink is that the Donald is outflanking the flabby and corrupt Democratic party on the LEFT on two very important issues. The first is Social Security. The Donald has pledged to protect Social Security in contrast to elitist Washington "liberals" who have mostly accepted that SS must be cut. We have liberal columnists like Tom Friedman pushing the Simpson-Bowles budget "reforms" with its cuts to Social Security. We have President Obama, desperate to cut a "Grand Bargain" with the Republicans which are all but certain to include drastic SS cuts. Contrast this with the 99 percent, which hates the idea of any SS cuts. And the Donald seems to be taking their side! The Democrats are so out of touch that they are getting outflanked by Donald Trump on the Third Rail of American Politics. Amazing.
The second issue is jobs, the issue that Barack Obama promised to "pivot" to but never quite got around to. As tens of millions of jobs have been shipped overseas and as Obama desperately pushes yet another job killing free trade agreement, the Donald promises to protect jobs by ending free trade agreements. This is extremely appealing to the 99 percent and I must admit, to me also . The middle class has been battered for 30 years now by these "free trade" agreements and the Hillary-Obama wing of the Democratic Party has actively encouraged them. After all, NAFTA was pushed by the Clinton Administration and passed with majority Republican support. Do you believe the Donald that he is going to protect American jobs? Does it matter? The Democrats have done almost nothing to address income inequality. The 99 percent does not believe that the economy has recovered. Certainly they have not benefited from it . The fact that the Democrats would be vulnerable to Donald Freaking Trump on economic fairness and Social Security is nothing more than a total disgrace.
Again we have to ask, who is going to beat the Donald in a general election? Hillary? A walking scandal machine who has shamelessly pimped for free trade agreements and winked at efforts of Social Security "reform" that are really cuts? Who has not proved that she can run a decent campaign? Bernie Sanders? As readers of this blog know, I love Bernie. But the plutocrats will spend billions to tattoo the word "Socialist" on his forehead. Americans don't know the difference between socialism and Communism but they know the Donald is a Genuine American Hero who Gets Things Done and will Make America Great Again. At least that's what his adoring press says. Joe Biden? His last two campaigns have been disasters. The Democratic Party has a very weak bench. Why? They lose a lot of elections because they do not stand up for the middle class. One shudders. at the Donald getting a chance to cut into their mamby-pamby centrist pap. Oh where have you gone Elisabeth Warren...?
Wait a minute. The Blue Wall will save the Democrats! Maybe. Trump's racism is repulsive to minorities, indeed to all decent people. But I worry that the 75 percent of the population that is still white is extremely vulnerable to Trump's snake oil, especially if they continue to be economically stressed. I am terrified of the Donald squeaking by in a racially polarizing election where he stokes white people fears. The Donald cant take Florida, Ohio and Virginia? Will minorities come out for a weak Democratic candidate? Will they come out for Bernie Sanders should Hillary crash and burn? We might have to depend n minority voters to stave off a fascist takeover of America. Women? Married white women vote just like their white male counterparts. Besides, isn't there something dangerous about having to rely on demographics instead of nominating a strong candidate who speaks to legitimate middle class concerns?
In short. as Matt Taibbi says, Donald Trump has stopped being a joke. He has started to become a threat. Are you sure it can't happen here?
Donald Trump continues to soar in the polls and suck up all the air in American politics. The elites continue to console themselves by saying he is unelectable. The election of Donald Trump would violate all we know about politics, say the Wise Pundits. But maybe, just maybe, the Old Rules don't apply anymore. Maybe,just maybe, the poor and middle class have been pounded so hard by greedy, cruel and short-sighted elites that in their desperation, the powerless will turn to a strongman. Fascism might be an overused word, but that is exactly what is happening before our very eyes.
For Trump, getting elected is just a two step process. First, win the nomination of an insane Republican Party. Then defeat a squishy and effete Democratic Party. Both scenarios are disturbingly possible.
We are already seeing the Donald steamrolling over the midgets in the GOP Clown Car. Why not? As it has been explained many times now, Trump is just playing the same racist riffs that the GOP has been playing since Nixon's Southern Strategy and Ronald Reagan railing about "strapping young bucks" and "welfare queens". He just does it better, with a showman's flair. How many times have you heard conservative blowhards say, when you were stuck in that family gathering, that we should just build a big fence to keep the Mexicans out? America's most beloved billionaire reality TV star is saying the same things the racist yabos have always said. Trump is successful! He's a billionaire! And he is playing our tune! See, we always knew we were right!
Please tell be who in the GOP Clown Car is going to stop the Donald? Jeb Bush? That mean spirited personality challenged rich boy with a unquenchable sense of entitlement? We really need a third Bush term because the first 12 years of Bushism were so good for the country, right? . Scott Walker? Exposed as a cruel hothouse flower who cannot exist without exploiting the special race problems in Wisconsin. Marco Rubio? An empty suit, as I have explained in my blog before. Ted Cruz? All of the meanness of Trump without the superficial charm. John Kasich? Who? Ben Carson? Are you serious? The Donald has already cut Rand Paul another butthole and is now working on Jeb. This would be funny for liberals except for one little thing: The Democratic Party is in a weak position to stop this fascist menace.
What has not gotten much ink is that the Donald is outflanking the flabby and corrupt Democratic party on the LEFT on two very important issues. The first is Social Security. The Donald has pledged to protect Social Security in contrast to elitist Washington "liberals" who have mostly accepted that SS must be cut. We have liberal columnists like Tom Friedman pushing the Simpson-Bowles budget "reforms" with its cuts to Social Security. We have President Obama, desperate to cut a "Grand Bargain" with the Republicans which are all but certain to include drastic SS cuts. Contrast this with the 99 percent, which hates the idea of any SS cuts. And the Donald seems to be taking their side! The Democrats are so out of touch that they are getting outflanked by Donald Trump on the Third Rail of American Politics. Amazing.
The second issue is jobs, the issue that Barack Obama promised to "pivot" to but never quite got around to. As tens of millions of jobs have been shipped overseas and as Obama desperately pushes yet another job killing free trade agreement, the Donald promises to protect jobs by ending free trade agreements. This is extremely appealing to the 99 percent and I must admit, to me also . The middle class has been battered for 30 years now by these "free trade" agreements and the Hillary-Obama wing of the Democratic Party has actively encouraged them. After all, NAFTA was pushed by the Clinton Administration and passed with majority Republican support. Do you believe the Donald that he is going to protect American jobs? Does it matter? The Democrats have done almost nothing to address income inequality. The 99 percent does not believe that the economy has recovered. Certainly they have not benefited from it . The fact that the Democrats would be vulnerable to Donald Freaking Trump on economic fairness and Social Security is nothing more than a total disgrace.
Again we have to ask, who is going to beat the Donald in a general election? Hillary? A walking scandal machine who has shamelessly pimped for free trade agreements and winked at efforts of Social Security "reform" that are really cuts? Who has not proved that she can run a decent campaign? Bernie Sanders? As readers of this blog know, I love Bernie. But the plutocrats will spend billions to tattoo the word "Socialist" on his forehead. Americans don't know the difference between socialism and Communism but they know the Donald is a Genuine American Hero who Gets Things Done and will Make America Great Again. At least that's what his adoring press says. Joe Biden? His last two campaigns have been disasters. The Democratic Party has a very weak bench. Why? They lose a lot of elections because they do not stand up for the middle class. One shudders. at the Donald getting a chance to cut into their mamby-pamby centrist pap. Oh where have you gone Elisabeth Warren...?
Wait a minute. The Blue Wall will save the Democrats! Maybe. Trump's racism is repulsive to minorities, indeed to all decent people. But I worry that the 75 percent of the population that is still white is extremely vulnerable to Trump's snake oil, especially if they continue to be economically stressed. I am terrified of the Donald squeaking by in a racially polarizing election where he stokes white people fears. The Donald cant take Florida, Ohio and Virginia? Will minorities come out for a weak Democratic candidate? Will they come out for Bernie Sanders should Hillary crash and burn? We might have to depend n minority voters to stave off a fascist takeover of America. Women? Married white women vote just like their white male counterparts. Besides, isn't there something dangerous about having to rely on demographics instead of nominating a strong candidate who speaks to legitimate middle class concerns?
In short. as Matt Taibbi says, Donald Trump has stopped being a joke. He has started to become a threat. Are you sure it can't happen here?
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
The Corporate Media Is Destroying America
Guess what Americans? While our back was turned, the First Amendment was stolen from us. The Koch Brothers right to bury the airwaves with unlimited attack political ads? Protected by the First Amendment. Their right to do it secretly, hiding behind a phony":advocacy group" ? Protected by the First Amendment. Your right to protest a politician where Mr. Big Shot can actually see you? NOT protected by the 1st. Stand in an Orwellian-named First Amendment Zone waaaaay over there, far away from Mr. Big. Get any closer and that gang of stormtroopers over there will kick the living crap out of you, constitutional rights be dammed. You want to talk about your constitutional rights? Well, you have the right to get the fuck out of here before the cops Taser your ass. Let freedom ring!!
Guess who else the First Amendment protects? Fox News. The Supreme Court in the case of N.Y. Times v. Sullivan essentially says you can say anything you want about a "public figure" as long as you do not engage in "malice". What do these words mean? Anything the courts say they do. If the courts say its not malice, its not malice. This is why a malice machine like Fox News that does nothing but lie and libel and spray venom on its perceived enemies is allowed to operate with impunity. If you are an honest decent public figure who wants to serve the public good, its easy to stop Fox from smearing you. First, spend millions to hire lawyers to sue Fox and fight their army of lawyers. Then after years of litigation delay, get a court to say Fox acted with "malice". Good luck. The fact that nobody has pulled this off despite the fact that Fox is a 24/7 malice machine goes to show you how the modern day First Amendment protects the big boys and not ordinary citizens.
Don't worry, you say, we will always have the Internet, right? Maybe not. If the big boys get their way and destroy net neutrality, the big corporate giants will be able to spread their propaganda for free while suppressing dissenting voices, like this one. Think the courts will use the First Amendment to defend your right to blog for free? Think again.
You see, the corporate media does not give a damm about the public interest anymore. Once upon a time they did care. Yes, the media's first objective was to always make money and media mavens like Paley, Luce, Chandler and others were ruthlessly obsessed with the bottom line. But the idea that they were running a public trust was very real. Sure, they always didn't live up to their ideals, but during the Cronkite era, the ideals were there. Now that is all out the window. To hell with the public interest, profits are everything. If it bleeds it leads and if it thinks it stinks. If you think this hasn't had a negative effect on America, think again.
Take the issue of crime. Violent crime in America has gone down across the board the last 20 years, in some places dramatically so. yet the media's coverage of crime has gone up SIX TIMES during the same period! what happened? O.J. Simpson happened. The media made tons of cash from its obsessive coverage of the Simpson trial. Kato! Furman! Dancing Itos! Kaching! The lesson that the networks got from this is that crime is money. Thanks to the media, we now have millions of Fox and local news addled people holed up in their homes in front of their TV sets terrified of armies of black thugs and cheering on Donald Trump's promise to keep all the Mexskins out. Never mind that the truth is that crime has gone down. There are corporate profits to be made my scaring the living shit out of people. And don't get me started about TERRORISM. Nine-Eleven did many things but nobody talks about how media corporate profits soared because of obsessive terrorist coverage. Who can forget the fake terror alerts? Watch out, there's a Muslim in your closet! The rise of ISIS is a horrible thing for its victims, but it's great for the American bottom line.
Our spastic, childish media is like a bunch of monkeys gathering around a Bright Shiny Thing. Right now, that shiny thing is Donald Trump. Every Trump utterance is obsessively covered. Hell, Trump is insulting the media at every turn and still they keep coming, like some sadomasochistic performance art. Its because their bosses want TRUMP! TRUMP! TRUMP! The Donald has been money in the bank for 35 years. Bernie Sanders is drawing huge crowds addressing real issues people care about. He has been as visible in the mainstream media as Casper The Friendly Ghost. I guess coverage of serious, dumpy looking, candidates don't make any money. Is this good for the country? Who gives a fuck.
Our mainstream media does not understand that with rights come responsibilities. The courts are shooting holes in the First Amendment and it will get worse if the media does not grow up. The sad fact is, if the Mainstream Media got suppressed as it is, decent people would not give a damm. So much for the First Amendment.
Guess who else the First Amendment protects? Fox News. The Supreme Court in the case of N.Y. Times v. Sullivan essentially says you can say anything you want about a "public figure" as long as you do not engage in "malice". What do these words mean? Anything the courts say they do. If the courts say its not malice, its not malice. This is why a malice machine like Fox News that does nothing but lie and libel and spray venom on its perceived enemies is allowed to operate with impunity. If you are an honest decent public figure who wants to serve the public good, its easy to stop Fox from smearing you. First, spend millions to hire lawyers to sue Fox and fight their army of lawyers. Then after years of litigation delay, get a court to say Fox acted with "malice". Good luck. The fact that nobody has pulled this off despite the fact that Fox is a 24/7 malice machine goes to show you how the modern day First Amendment protects the big boys and not ordinary citizens.
Don't worry, you say, we will always have the Internet, right? Maybe not. If the big boys get their way and destroy net neutrality, the big corporate giants will be able to spread their propaganda for free while suppressing dissenting voices, like this one. Think the courts will use the First Amendment to defend your right to blog for free? Think again.
You see, the corporate media does not give a damm about the public interest anymore. Once upon a time they did care. Yes, the media's first objective was to always make money and media mavens like Paley, Luce, Chandler and others were ruthlessly obsessed with the bottom line. But the idea that they were running a public trust was very real. Sure, they always didn't live up to their ideals, but during the Cronkite era, the ideals were there. Now that is all out the window. To hell with the public interest, profits are everything. If it bleeds it leads and if it thinks it stinks. If you think this hasn't had a negative effect on America, think again.
Take the issue of crime. Violent crime in America has gone down across the board the last 20 years, in some places dramatically so. yet the media's coverage of crime has gone up SIX TIMES during the same period! what happened? O.J. Simpson happened. The media made tons of cash from its obsessive coverage of the Simpson trial. Kato! Furman! Dancing Itos! Kaching! The lesson that the networks got from this is that crime is money. Thanks to the media, we now have millions of Fox and local news addled people holed up in their homes in front of their TV sets terrified of armies of black thugs and cheering on Donald Trump's promise to keep all the Mexskins out. Never mind that the truth is that crime has gone down. There are corporate profits to be made my scaring the living shit out of people. And don't get me started about TERRORISM. Nine-Eleven did many things but nobody talks about how media corporate profits soared because of obsessive terrorist coverage. Who can forget the fake terror alerts? Watch out, there's a Muslim in your closet! The rise of ISIS is a horrible thing for its victims, but it's great for the American bottom line.
Our spastic, childish media is like a bunch of monkeys gathering around a Bright Shiny Thing. Right now, that shiny thing is Donald Trump. Every Trump utterance is obsessively covered. Hell, Trump is insulting the media at every turn and still they keep coming, like some sadomasochistic performance art. Its because their bosses want TRUMP! TRUMP! TRUMP! The Donald has been money in the bank for 35 years. Bernie Sanders is drawing huge crowds addressing real issues people care about. He has been as visible in the mainstream media as Casper The Friendly Ghost. I guess coverage of serious, dumpy looking, candidates don't make any money. Is this good for the country? Who gives a fuck.
Our mainstream media does not understand that with rights come responsibilities. The courts are shooting holes in the First Amendment and it will get worse if the media does not grow up. The sad fact is, if the Mainstream Media got suppressed as it is, decent people would not give a damm. So much for the First Amendment.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Donald Trump: Americans say the Hell with Jesus
The rise of Donald Trump should not surprise anyone who has watched this bloated, arrogant country that thinks it can live without God. We liberals have largely left the spiritual playing field, allowing the conservatives to turn Christianity into a mirror for America's hatred' greed and fear. And who has stepped into the breach? Why Donald Trump, of course.
Much has been written about the surprising rise of The Donald. Americans are angry, we are told. Or Americans want a "straight shooter". Or Americans are "tired of getting pushed around". All of this is soft-pedaling the real problem: Americans, especially white Americans' are sick and tired of being told they have to be GOOD. They want to indulge their hatreds, their greed, their lust, and their fear. In short they want to indulge in sin. And since we are "exceptional" we don't want any do-gooding Christian to tell us how bad we are.
So, along comes America's Favorite Billionaire Reality TV Star to tell us that it is OK to hate your neighbor. Never mind Jesus, who tells us that we must love our neighbor like ourselves. What does He know? How many casinos does Jesus own? How many starlets has He screwed? So the Donald dehumanizes the Other. Build a Big Fence to keep the Mexicans out! Round 'em up and deport them! Their women are running wild, dropping "anchor babies" like a dog drops a turd on your freshly mowed lawn. Some of the Donald supporters are running with this, saying that we should just shoot them. Why should you be shocked? Once you have ignored Jesus and accepted the fact that I am better than Those People, anything goes. The next step is to believe that these "Illegal Aliens" are subhuman. The concentration camps will soon follow. Think it Can't Happen Here Mr. White Patriotic American? Wake up, it already has. Cops are blowing away people for the crime of having above average levels of melanin in their skin, and white Trump supporters are cheering them on. Trump Bless America because Jesus certainly wont bless this garbage.
You might be angry at me for the self-righteous tone of the above paragraph. Well , I am angry for having to write it. Believe me Angry White American, I understand better than you know. Read my previous blog post about the Tea Party. I share your anger. I am a white male too and this crushing corporate capitalism has hurt me as much as anyone. But I disagree violently with your solution. The solution to what ails our once great country is not the Donald or the latest charlatan to come down the pike. The solution is Jesus. Love, not hatred. A recognition that we are all God children. A recognition that united we stand, divided we fall. When we are under pressure, we can choose the Darkness or we can choose the Light. and too many of us are choosing the Darkness. To Hell with the people who say I have to love those Others! To Hell with the people who say I shouldn't be greedy! Who are you too tell me what to do? Donald Trump is saying what I believe and I am going to support him AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU AND YOUR JESUS THINK!!
Well OK. Jesus is certainly not going to stop you. He loves us so much he gives us free will. He says with his soft but loving voice, "I love you. I died for you. I would have died for ONLY you. I am your Consolation in this life and your Delight for all eternity. But if you want to dance with the Devil, I will not stop you. If you love his cheap empty promises more than Me, go ahead. I will be here when you come to your senses. Because I love you."
Dance with your Donald Angry White American. I will dance with the Lord.
Much has been written about the surprising rise of The Donald. Americans are angry, we are told. Or Americans want a "straight shooter". Or Americans are "tired of getting pushed around". All of this is soft-pedaling the real problem: Americans, especially white Americans' are sick and tired of being told they have to be GOOD. They want to indulge their hatreds, their greed, their lust, and their fear. In short they want to indulge in sin. And since we are "exceptional" we don't want any do-gooding Christian to tell us how bad we are.
So, along comes America's Favorite Billionaire Reality TV Star to tell us that it is OK to hate your neighbor. Never mind Jesus, who tells us that we must love our neighbor like ourselves. What does He know? How many casinos does Jesus own? How many starlets has He screwed? So the Donald dehumanizes the Other. Build a Big Fence to keep the Mexicans out! Round 'em up and deport them! Their women are running wild, dropping "anchor babies" like a dog drops a turd on your freshly mowed lawn. Some of the Donald supporters are running with this, saying that we should just shoot them. Why should you be shocked? Once you have ignored Jesus and accepted the fact that I am better than Those People, anything goes. The next step is to believe that these "Illegal Aliens" are subhuman. The concentration camps will soon follow. Think it Can't Happen Here Mr. White Patriotic American? Wake up, it already has. Cops are blowing away people for the crime of having above average levels of melanin in their skin, and white Trump supporters are cheering them on. Trump Bless America because Jesus certainly wont bless this garbage.
You might be angry at me for the self-righteous tone of the above paragraph. Well , I am angry for having to write it. Believe me Angry White American, I understand better than you know. Read my previous blog post about the Tea Party. I share your anger. I am a white male too and this crushing corporate capitalism has hurt me as much as anyone. But I disagree violently with your solution. The solution to what ails our once great country is not the Donald or the latest charlatan to come down the pike. The solution is Jesus. Love, not hatred. A recognition that we are all God children. A recognition that united we stand, divided we fall. When we are under pressure, we can choose the Darkness or we can choose the Light. and too many of us are choosing the Darkness. To Hell with the people who say I have to love those Others! To Hell with the people who say I shouldn't be greedy! Who are you too tell me what to do? Donald Trump is saying what I believe and I am going to support him AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU AND YOUR JESUS THINK!!
Well OK. Jesus is certainly not going to stop you. He loves us so much he gives us free will. He says with his soft but loving voice, "I love you. I died for you. I would have died for ONLY you. I am your Consolation in this life and your Delight for all eternity. But if you want to dance with the Devil, I will not stop you. If you love his cheap empty promises more than Me, go ahead. I will be here when you come to your senses. Because I love you."
Dance with your Donald Angry White American. I will dance with the Lord.
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