Links Is Hard
ABOVE: Jim “Sexy Beast” Hoft
The Gateway Dumbshit is being a dumber shit than usual in his latest post: “In Horrible Hit Piece Washington Monthly Says Santorum Called Protestants ‘Satan’s Spawn.’ “ The butthurt this time aptly fits in the required shorter:
- Just because Santorum said that there is not a single Protestant alive who is really Christian anymore is no reason to assume that he was saying Protestants are under the influence of Satan. They might actually be worshiping Zoroaster or Ganesh instead.
Now, on the one hand, you have to admit that even this is, by Hoft’s standards, somewhat less batshit insane than his normal ravings. The Washington Monthly article that has Hoft spluttering cites a quote from a Santorum speech in which he says that “mainline Protestantism in this country … is in shambles … [and] is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it.” Nothing in the Santorum quote in the article says a word about Satan, or Beelzebub, or Lucifer, or the Beast, or the Antichrist (aka Obama), so I suppose it is perfectly reasonable suppose to say that Protestants, having abandoned Christianity entirely, have thrown their lot in with Zoraster or Ganesh or Mullah Omar or, for that matter, Wilma Flintstone.
This is all well and good until you actually click the link in the Washington Monthly article to the entire Santorum speech, a task that apparently eludes Hoft’s limited motor skills. If you do, you will see that, in fact, Santorum is indeed saying that Satan has taken control of the entirety of Protestantism, as part of Satan’s designs on the United States (which include, it appears, a plan to give the pill to all women before gay marrying them to flannel-clad lesbians):
This is not a political war at all. This is not a cultural war. This is a spiritual war. And the Father of Lies has his sights on what you would think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country – the United States of America. If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age?
…
And so what we saw this domino effect, once the colleges fell and those who were being education in our institutions, the next was the church. Now you’d say, ‘wait, the Catholic Church’? No. We all know that this country was founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic but the Judeo-Christian ethic was a Protestant Judeo-Christian ethic, sure the Catholics had some influence, but this was a Protestant country and the Protestant ethic, mainstream, mainline Protestantism, and of course we look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it.
There we go. We have Satan. We even have the Fricking Father of Fricking Lies if Satan were not enough. So if this wanker Hoft had stopped pulling his flaccid pud long enough to mouse over and click the relevant link, his manufactured outrage at Washington Monthly insulting Santorum by claiming he said something he hadn’t said would have vanished faster than the days when Hoft could maintain an erection without prescription medication.
I have to say that Santorum is actually partially correct. Satan has indeed taken control of the Talibangelical wing of Protestantism. Of course the same is true of the Catholic Church, aka the Boy Raping Woman Hating Drag Queens.
“Just because Santorum said that there is not a single Protestant alive who is really Christian anymore is no reason to assume that he was saying Protestants are under the influence of Satan. They might actually be worshiping Zoroaster or Ganesh instead.”
This… this is logically sound. Who are you and what have you done with Jim Hoft?
Only one of the commentatoes has worked out how to do that clicking thing too. But they’s a crazy, wacky bunch,eh? They are very knowledgeable about the left tho’.
Want to kill an hour and listen to some good music? Sure you do. Here’s some TV on the Radio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B5GP0AiQMc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
So the R’s get to decide between the completely insane Mormon cult and the utterly insane Catholic cult. Such delightful choices.
Also and too: two demerits for referring to Hoft’s tiny flaccid schlong. Eww.
Always preferred the PGA series myself. But forget them both. David Leadbetter’s – now there was a game.
Santa – Satan. coincidence? I think not. We must alert Santorum!
Also: “Romney concerned about rising Santorum” Please forward to CNN.
dr. dick
+1
links IS hard…i cannot get jim hoft linky to work…or is my computer just protecting itself from trauma inducing dumbassery?
[Tintin adds: typo in link fixed. It now works.]
Is this Santorum trying to broaden his appeal to prospective Mormon & Catholic voters? “Yes, I do regard your religion as blasphemous forms of idolatry masquerading as christianity, but I regard most Protestants as heathens too, so you needn’t feel that I loath you in particular.”
bonus comment mangoes:
are they fucking kidding? also, jim needs to get over ther afsap and a slap them dumb betches down…holy shit there is some rampant crazy over there…
they are also a) pissed off that ‘moochelle’ and the girls have gone on a ski vacation and that we have to pay for it? and b)still claiming there is literally zero documentation on obama until he went to harvard=not a citizen…
Bwwwaaahahahaaaa…. All your Christians belong to me.
They might actually be worshiping Zoroaster or Ganesh instead.
FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER LIBEL!
~
Is this Santorum trying to broaden his appeal to prospective Mormon & Catholic voters?
i know? this is my very favorite part of his speech:
Now you’d say, ‘wait, the Catholic Church’? No. We all know that this country was founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic but the Judeo-Christian ethic was a Protestant Judeo-Christian ethic, sure the Catholics had some influence, but this was a Protestant country and the Protestant ethic, mainstream, mainline Protestantism, and of course we look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it…
‘yeah…the catholics are a little bit to blame, but really! it’s the protestants who fucked it up! honest! it was like that when us catholics got here!’
Satan certainly has better bands.
Linky no worky
[Tintin adds: fixed]
Who does not worship Ganesh Bengal Cat?
more comment mangoes:
this is extra funnay because this ‘bg’ person usually signs their posts with ‘how stupid are we? *verily* and has been staunchly defending ‘santorium’ in the comments…indeed…how dumb are you, bg?
ooops…my bad, it’s actually ‘how stupid are we?’
Anybody who believes in a literal Satan has no business with the nuclear suitcase. *shiver* That scares me, and I’m Canadian…
Once again, the GOP proves they are not satisfied with merely repealing the 20th Century. They want a do-over on the whole Second millennium.
Now we know what Herman Cain was going on about: they wanna party like it’s 999!
well, much to my chagrin, i couldn’t wait for jim, patron saint of bitchlapping to give them what for over at hoft’s…
#46 February 18, 2012 at 3:23 pm
margaret commented:
indeed, bg…how stupid are you?
here’s santorum:
the next was the church. Now you’d say, ‘wait, the Catholic Church’? No. We all know that this country was founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic but the Judeo-Christian ethic was a Protestant Judeo-Christian ethic, sure the Catholics had some influence, but this was a Protestant country and the Protestant ethic, mainstream, mainline Protestantism, and of course we look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it.
from which i would think any reasonable person left or right could rightly construe as him saying, ‘hey, us catholics are a-okay! we are better than all those protestant *religions*!’ isn’t he just a smug son of a gun?
and then there’s this:
The place where he was, in my mind, the most successful and first successful was in academia. He understood pride of smart people. He attacked them at their weakest, that they were, in fact, smarter than everybody else and could come up with something new and different. Pursue new truths, deny the existence of truth, play with it because they’re smart. And so academia, a long time ago, fell.
although he’s speaking of academia, it sure smacks of his sanctimonious pride in being a catholic to me…in fact, when i substitute ‘academia’ with ‘catholic church’ it’s just as apropo…
and really gateway commentors? still with the obama’s not a citizen schtick? and the ‘lame stream media’ and ‘omg…obama mchitler mussolinipants woke up again today, damn it!’? all your fearmongering about socialism and the like really doesn’t make y’all sound like you are the smartest bunch…
and i would really like to know how we are paying for ‘moochelle’ (clever, that!) and the girls to go on a ski trip…
there i am…for better or for worse…
also, thanks tintin!
Anybody who believes in a literal Satan has no business with the nuclear suitcase.
“Gentlemen, the missiles are flying – hallelujah!”
As an atheist, my faith in nothing grows every day.
Santorum 2012. He’s what God needs to come.
Santorum 2012. He’s what God needs to come.
needs to be a bumper sticker…
Smut Clyde, Santorum is a super-devout Catholic. So, no, he doesn’t regard Catholicism as blasphemous idolatry etc.
Anybody who believes in a literal Satan has no business with the nuclear suitcase.
If it’s any consolation, we somehow managed to live through a guy who thought he was part of the generation who would see Armageddon having control of the suitcase.
Unless we’re actually all dead and this is Hell.
I wouldn’t rule it out.
If you do, you will see that, in fact, Santorum is indeed saying that Satan has taken control of the entirety of Protestantism, as part of Satan’s designs on the United States (which include, it appears, a plan to give the pill to all women before gay marrying them to flannel-clad lesbians):
I’m pretty sure Santorum’s drawing a line separating mainline Protestantism from Fundagelical Protestantism, which he probably thinks is okay (even though they’re the ones less likely to trust his Popish posterior).
The Popish Posteriors second album, “Bums Rush” should be out soon.
Maybe the fundies are in favor of goobal warming because the innermost circle of hell is a lake of ice.
Santorum’s probably trolling for the Evangelical/Pentecostal vote, but this obsession with Satan as God’s countervailing force on earth is kind of…heretical.
I wonder if the US bishops will try to stamp out this affront to the Church’s teachings?
Maybe the fundies are in favor of goobal warming because the innermost circle of hell is a lake of ice.
Sheer Papist folderol.
I wonder if the US bishops will try to stamp out this affront to the Church’s teachings?
I’m sure they’ll be as zealous pursuing this as they are pursuing sexual abusers.
Actually, I too am in favor of warm goobs. It’s global warming that’s a problem.
Santorum’s probably trolling for the Evangelical/Pentecostal vote, but this obsession with Satan as God’s countervailing force on earth is kind of…heretical. This is pretty handy to have around now.
Sheer Papist folderol.
Eyetalian too!
I wonder if the US bishops will try to stamp out this affront to the Church’s teachings?
Well, you’ve seen how they go after politicians who favor the death penalty.
I just wonder if The Frothy One is talking in code about the Hawaiian Devil Child Usurper. Hoft’s knuckle draggers would seem to think he is.
“All board for the Dark Ages.”
“What happens when we get to the edge of the world?”
“You fall off”
Modern non-mainline Murkin Protestants have been largely laying off the whole ‘Is the Pope the Antichrist or just the seven-headed beast?’ schtick since they realised that the Catholic hierarchy could help them in the War on Enlightenment; the latter have been fighting it since 1750….
i cannot get jim hoft linky to work
Count your blessings. I would count that as divine intervention.
You do have to understand that when a Republican mentions “The Father Of Lies”, it’s not necessarily a pejorative.
The bumpersticker I’m really looking forward to is:
Santorum for Cockblocker-in-Chief
Vote Santorum: saltpeter in every pot!
It’s the Joe Ratzinger Pope Explosion!
How delightfully awkward. The Ho has eight minutes to fill, having met their $870,000 goal 15 minutes before scheduled end of drive. Before you mention how stupid they are, they made it a countdown thing so they couldn’t really just keep pitching. The strategy worked in that this is the first pledge drive in two years that hasn’t had an extra day or two added because they hadn’t met goal. This being where, according to Peter Sagal, NPR fans hope to go when they die, How delightfully awkward. The Ho has eight minutes to fill, having met their $870,000 goal 15 minutes before scheduled end of drive. Before you mention how stupid they are, they made it a countdown thing so they couldn’t really just keep pitching. The strategy worked in that this is the first pledge drive in two years that hasn’t had an extra day or two added because they hadn’t met goal. This being Portland where, according to Peter Sagal NPR junkies hope to go when they die, the phones are still ringing.
That was a run-on paragraph.
Sticker for the bumper?
.
It’s the one that says, “Dumb Motherfucker.”
fy a million times wp
it had teh strikethrough in preview
Jim Hoft’s
foreheadwalletmuthafuckin unicode to the rescue
The Santorum Santorum warned of.
It’s the one that says, “Dumb Motherfucker.”
Hey, that’s my joke! (I always tag Hoft photos with “might as well have “dumb motherfucker” stamped on his forehead.”)
Then again, his haircut pretty much says the same thing.
but this was a Protestant country and the Protestant ethic, mainstream, mainline Protestantism, and of course we look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it…
Well, there goes the Protestant vote!
I’m hoping a reporter will ask Sanitorium if he was ever, ah, fondled by a priest?
Didn’t all this religious bickering start with the universal birth control mandate? I’m trying to think of another reason the national conversation has suddenly turned out to be a who’s-god-really-listening-to-contest and I can’t come up with anything. If they keep this up, the three catholics will be ganging up on the lone mormon soon. That’ll be ugly.
…and of course we look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it.
Badoodle boo!
Actually you should check the scoreboard again you misguided bead-worshipper. It’s:
Tebow & Lin 1066
Godless, decadent libs 0
The Culture War is over & righteousness has prevailed! Our Hartland Values reign supreme!
Oh geez, I forgot about the g0ys.
Say, here’s an interesting book:
Also buttfucking doesn’t manufacture germs.
If they keep this up, the three catholics will be ganging up on the lone mormon soon. That’ll be ugly.
If by ugly you mean hilarious. Nothing like a GOP circular firing squad, or in this case, mutual heretic burning.
Also buttfucking doesn’t manufacture germs.
But it does create santorum!
There seems to be a substantial minority in this country that feels well rewarded having a complete mess of a person as head of state and commander-in-chief. There is little that is more stupid as wanting someone as stupid as yourself to have power and to wield it on behalf of the stupid.
It’s a well-known fact that most of the founding fathers were Protestant Jews.
Maybe I’m just ignorant about the history of the term “judeo-christian” but to me it seems to make no sense at all. In this context it somehow manages to imply that a group that agrees that Christ is the messiah but disagrees about his earthly representatives is somehow more theologically troubling than a group that refuses to acknowledge Christ as the messiah in the first place.
And why not talk about the Abrahamic religions and throw Islam in there? I mean, the Islamic world has contributed a lot of important things to western culture, and while the Muslims and Christians might not have gotten along very well in the past, it’s not like either of those groups were super keen on the Jews.
Maybe I’m just ignorant about the history of the term “judeo-christian” but to me it seems to make no sense at all.
What about the SAMARITANS?!?
You know, I’m kind of starting to miss it. Back in the day, I could say “Bush started an illegal war and supports indefinite detention. Fuck that guy so hard. He should be in jail” and all my lefty friends would say “Hell yeah!”
Nowadays when I say “Obama started an illegal war and supports the assassination of American citizens. Fuck that guy so hard. He should be in jail” I get a bunch of hemming and hawing about how he’s constrained by congress, and the Presidency is hard and makes people do bad things, and isn’t saying he should be in jail kind of harsh?
At least when the President is a Republican fuck-up my friends don’t hesitate to condemn him.
What war did President Obama start?
What about the SAMARITANS?!?
Fuck them – what about the Rosacrucians?
Yup. I was just expanding, a la my comment at your joint with the modified Pulp Fiction bit.
That substance guy gets around. Splodin’ Popez wise, that is.
fuck you, you fucking fuckbag wp with a red hot poker.
You need some mikezilla for funny characters.
http://mikezilla.com/exp0012.html
Eventually the entire world will be covered by the Santorum surge…
Depends.
Go ‘way. batin’!
Dude, Libya. His assertion that Libya isn’t covered under the war powers act because what we did there isn’t “hostilities” was as laughably stupid as any of the Bush administration’s rationales for… anything.
Congress at least gave Bush an “authorization for the use of military force” in Iraq, while Obama just went ahead and cut congress entirely out of the decision to wage war.
Also, hey, remember his assertions that we weren’t going to Libya to impose regime change?
Legally speaking, I don’t think there’s a case to be made that Libya is more kosher than Iraq. And frankly, I don’t think the ends there have been so stellar as to justify the means.
I should also add that when Bush was President, I missed having an evil bastard in charge who was at least classy and thoughtful. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.
Wha?!
You’d think.
He’s just courting the nutters anyhow, though. Alienating the “mainstream” is his stock in trade.
The fundies don’t think of themselves as “mainline”, and anyway, what else are they going to do? Vote for a Mormon?
Bouffant had the “Cover Your World” logo in neon a little while ago…gotta do something with that.
Sorry. “Idiocracy” reference.
Hmmm. According to the latest at Al Jazeera:
I find this quite different from the ten year destruction of Iraq that started with the destruction of communications grids, the energy grids, and water treatment plants that were still not operational many years later while the U.S. was still an occupying force.
Well, it’s also a bit disingenious to claim that Libya was a war that Obama “started.” I’m not in full accord with his decision to provide air support to the rebels, but he didn’t “start” things in Libya.
Everyone wants to be part of the surge of Santorum…
Maybe I’m just ignorant about the history of the term “judeo-christian” but to me it seems to make no sense at all.
They drag the poor Jews into it so they can pretend they are not advocating for an established religion.
And why not talk about the Abrahamic religions and throw Islam in there?
Good one! It’s weird, they really seem to think that “Allah” is not the God of Abraham. They just don’t want to admit that “Allah” is basically the Arabic language equivalent of “Dios” or “Gott”, and that Arabic Christians use the name “Allah” to denote God.
They’re not very bright people.
I told Mother Journal of the Plague Year–a woman straight of Lake Woebegon, it needs be said–that Frothy Mixture believes she worships Satan.
“Well,” she said pleasantly, “I never knew I was so mysterious.”
Next up: Who will tell Grandma JotPY that she follows the Father of Lies?
Everyone wants to be part of the surge of Santorum…
Not me. I’m on Sandbagging Team Alpha!
.
I told Mother Journal of the Plague Year–a woman straight of Lake Woebegon, it needs be said–that Frothy Mixture believes she worships Satan.
Mayonnaise, the Devil’s Condiment!
This. Fraternal Solidarity, friend Christopher !!!
much to my chagrin, i couldn’t wait for jim, patron saint of bitchlapping to give them what for over at hoft’s
Fear not – I’m sure the mysterious & verbose Saint is delighted to the core of his jet-black heart whenever anyone else picks up the sacred nail-studded Bitchslapping Cudgel in order to apply some much-needed truth to the purveyors of bullshit. Say twenty Hail Carlins & one Our Jester & you should be fully shriven.
Dude, Libya.
Dude, you have one hell of an interesting definition of “war” there. Perhaps you could find a reputable historian who concurs with this fascinating insight & get back to us.
I should also add that when Bush was President, I missed having an evil bastard in charge who was at least classy and thoughtful.
Yes, surely “classy” & “thoughtful” are the two first words that come to mind when considering the man who governed America for eight years using the Spoonerism Doctrine.
Dubya leaving global environmental conference: Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter, LOL!
I award you no points, & may God have mercy on your soul.
I find this whole argument that the fundies won’t vote for a Mormon deeply unconvincing. If you or I subscribed to their religious beliefs, hopefully we would know enough to know what a strange nut cult Mormonism is; but as B^4 said, these are the same people who don’t know that the “God” of Abraham is the same asshole in all three of the main religions.
The preachers that the GOP apparat depends on for advice may know the difference and hate the Mormons with a seething rage, but not as much as they hate Obama, and liberals, and gays, and the 20th century…etc., etc. What are they going to do? Tell their sheep to vote Democratic? Or through inaction allow them to vote Democratic? Nah. Gah. Happen. If Multiple Choice Mitt is the nominee, they’ll vote for him, fear not!
Haven’t seen a president yet that didn’t disappoint me on foreign affairs:
I must say, however, that Obama supporting the rebels in Libya didn’t disagree with me. I should probably go to the White House website to see what the Prez is saying about Syria.
Sirrah, I am a connoisseur of mayonnaise. I make my own mayonnaise (and aiolli), of a variety of types and flavors. Mayonnaise is the ambrosia of the Gods! Pistols at 10 paces!
Sirrah, I am a connoisseur of mayonnaise. I make my own mayonnaise (and aiolli), of a variety of types and flavors. Mayonnaise is the ambrosia of the Gods! Pistols at 10 paces!
The devil’s white bland, the devil’s white bland,
Mama says that mayo is the devil’s white bland.
I should also add that when Bush was President, I missed having an evil bastard in charge who was at least classy and thoughtful.
Jim: We believe you misunderstood the sentence. Christopher was not sayting Obama isn’t classy and thoughtful; Christopher was saying he missed having such a person in charge (even though he is/was a bastard).
Blogwhoring alert (ahem) if you go to this link
http://wileywitch.com/2012/uncategorized/al-jazeera-nir-rosen-syrias-protest-movement-q-a/
you’ll find neat pictures and two links to a Q&A about the protest movement and armed resistance in Syria. It appears to be less monolithic and more local than the rebels in Libya. Soldiers and police are defecting here and there and President Bashar al-Assad appears not to have many friends and the friends they do have could probably easily be pressured not to give that much of a damn about him.
Though, I must say, that in those Al Jazeera interviews I did see a bit of a desire for the U.S. and the West to help out.
No mango-fishing for me, so just going off of what’s here:
Just because Santorum said that there is not a single Protestant alive who is really Christian anymore is no reason to assume that he was saying Protestants are under the influence of Satan. They might actually be worshiping Zoroaster or Ganesh instead.
Last I checked, as far as most fundiegelicals are concerned, worshiping Zoroaster or Ganesh is the definition of “being under the influence of Satan.”
This is not a political war at all. This is not a cultural war. This is a spiritual war. And the Father of Lies has his sights on what you would think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country – the United States of America. If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age?
Well, first of all, I’d like to point out that that question is ludicrously hypothetical in a “what mutant superpower would you like to have in this day and age?” kind of way (it’s telekinesis, by the way). But fine, I’ll play…
If I were Satan and I was going after Christianity, it’s simple: corrupt the shit out of it. Who would I be gunning for? The people who preach Christianity’s message of love, charity and universality. How would I gun for it? Encourage people to preach hate, greed and prejudice in the name of Christianity, and destroy the religion from the inside so that even if people join Christianity, they’re rejecting everything it stands for. And, well, don’t look now, but, oh, shit…
(“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people he was God.”)
I can’t say I love Obama on foreign policy, but between him and Rick “I want to bomb Iran back to the stone age, preferably starting this afternoon” Santorum it’s pretty much a no-brainer.
I thought the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people he didn’t exist, so a person who insists that the devil does exist can be considered to be pious. We’re still under the Cold War spell in which we are “good” in an actual battle between “good and evil”. It makes for some pretty unremarkable warriors, I’ll tell ya’ that much. Pasty white guys saying stuff is what it amounts to.
Yeah, that’s why A Case of Conscience put me off Blish for…well, ever. If there’s anything worse than Catholic Orthodoxy, it’s Catholic Heterodoxy.
“Orthodoxy is my doxy, Heterodoxy is another man’s doxy.”
—William Warburton
PS: Obama’s illegal war?
Dude, PAKISTAN.
Never declared, source of a gruesome litany of “collateral damage” that’s ongoing to this day – & potentially dangerous as hell to keep waging in a Muslim nation that just happens to have nukes.
As for “he should be in jail” – Carter’s the only POTUS in my (looooong) lifetime that could stay out of the hoosegow, & even Carter would basically get off on a technicality.
Haven’t seen a president yet that didn’t disappoint me on foreign affairs
Same here.
Obama supporting the rebels in Libya didn’t disagree with me.
Same here. I got in much hot water in Sadlyville because I advocated imposition of the no-fly zone early (in March) when the rebels completely held Misrata, and Zuwiya, and contested Brega and Ras Lanuf…the four main oil-handling facilities. Misrata–3rd largest city after Tripoli and Benghazi (HQ of rebellion)–and Zumiya flanked Tripoli. Could have been over by end of April; instead, the war dragged on for five more months.
Oh shit, why rip those scabs open again? Now I spend time on Al Jazeera tracking Syria, but I ain’t gonna risk anymore bad blood in Sadly City.
even Carter would basically get off on a technicality.
It was just lust in his heart, after all.
.
Now I spend time on Al Jazeera tracking Syria, but I ain’t gonna risk anymore bad blood in Sadly City.
I thought you and Chris had some good, substantive analyses of the events as they were unfolding. I tend to be dovish (even though a high school friend of mine was killed over Lockerbie), but I welcome debate. The desire for you to have a forum where you could write without a “filter” was one reason I was badgering you to get the “Duchy” up and running.
BBBB: I still intend to try it … probably after I get relocated to NM. I have missed the freedom and flexibility of such a platform for my political views … and strange, autobiographical Fenwick Stories. Also I think the Collaborative Short Story Month would be fun for Sadlies.
Btw: My latest Netflix disc arrived today. The Mouse That Roared
Mayonnaise, the Devil’s Condiment!
I thought that was ranch dressing.
Al Jazeera in English rocks. Their writing in their second (or third, or fourth…) language is superior to ours.
The desire for you to have a forum where you could write without a “filter”…
I’ve found that not allowing comments helps with that. It may mean less traffic, but I hope that it makes my place a nice place to visit where you don’t have to worry about what to say about any particular topic, and there’s pictures if you don’t feel like reading.
I like going to some sadlynaughts’ sites, then linking to blogs on their blogrolls, then the blogrolls of them and it lands me in some pretty cool places that I can rob digitally while, hopefully, sending a little traffic their way. I have no idea what kind of traffic I get— apparently that would require a widget to be installed and activated. I get pingbacks on occasion but they confuse me. I don’t have to answer the pinback for them to post stuff from my website, and most of the stuff I post on my website I got from another website that I didn’t ping. This ping thing? Wha?! Should I be pinging? Am I rude, or what?
But anyway Fenwick did you see my invitation in the last thread (or the one before that) to talk to a man who is writing a book on the Cold War about your experience in Germany?
Clouds is busy editing and simplifying my responses to my records from lock-down right now, later he’ll get back to work on the social network. All in good time. Right now I’m pretending that my fatigue is just laziness so I can feel normal for a little while.
Just don’t fumble the Q-bomb.
Mayonnaise, the Devil’s Condiment!
I thought that was ranch dressing.
Nah, it’s Miracle Whip.
People generally seem to assume that Satan has enough juice to corrupt the mighty and the humble, all at the same time. But it’s an odd premise, given that he’s not on par with God. (I don’t believe, but I’ll continue.)
So maybe he really does have to conserve his attentions and energies, to direct them efficiently. If that’s the case, he should obviously target powerful people, exclusively. But this isn’t what we’re told he does.
Powerful humans have an incentive, I guess, to argue that Satan is extremely powerful — omniscient and omnipresent. This is the Satan that would plausibly create the distribution of evil influence that’s most rhetorically convenient for powerful humans. This is the Satan that both drives me to drink (pointless though that might be) and abets Hitlers. It is not a Satan that’d be targeting George Bush more heavily than Saddam Hussein.
You can’t argue divine right, or prosperity gospels, or any number of things if Satan has to conserve his energy. Only our humblest fellows could be trusted?
Speaking of devilish condiments. I whipped up a little chipotle-lime crema to go with my sweet potato fries (along with oven BBQ chicken and Asian slaw).
The Devil’s Condiment?
MSG.
Hmmm. Why when someone talks about being “tough on crime” is the image that talk conjures of a minority committing street crime and not white collar crime which leaves street crime in the dust where monetary losses are concerned? Or police corruption?
Why is it that when the scare of the day is “biological or chemical warfare,” the image it conjures is a tyrant in an under-developed nation or a terrorist instead of a chemical manufacturer or any lab that is developing an antidote for a disease that has been eradicated— like small pox, for instance? The only difference between making a culture for a vaccine and making a culture to use in a vaccine is intent.
The devil IS in the details, so it’s best to cast a wide net across the general public so that those who live exclusive lives in a world with wealth and power the average person cannot even imagine continue to live in unrivaled obscurity.
or making a culture to use as a weapon…
Brain fog.
I hate it.
Obama supporting the rebels in Libya didn’t disagree with me.
Same here.
Same again. I did and do think there’s a difference between starting a war and intervening when one’s already started, and what we were doing was clearly the latter.
Reasons behind it: I suspect that in addition to score-settling with Qaddafi (and seriously, fuck that guy), the administration was trying to get us on the right side of history (e.g. the Arab Spring) and, in more concrete terms, on the right side of the next Libyan government. Knowing that if the next Libyan government had broader popular support (maybe even the proto-democracy everyone was hoping for), well, forming a good relationship with a democratic government’s always better for long term relationships than forming them with dictators. And thirdly, I’m guessing he was trying to, well, essentially hijack the rebellion’s narrative before al-Qaeda had a chance to. Wanting the West, not al-Qaeda, to be seen as the nice foreigners who stepped in to help the people of Libya (and by extension the Arab world) fight for their freedom.
In a nutshell, he gambled. We still have no frakking idea how that’s going to turn out, but I’ve got to say it was nice to see the U.S. actually supporting a popular uprising in the Middle East (hell, anywhere on Earth!) instead of backing the local paid-off thugocracy.
And since I’m indulging my hawk side:
PS: Obama’s illegal war?
Dude, PAKISTAN.
To be perfectly candid, if there’s an undeclared war, it’s at least as much on their side as ours, given how neck-deep their intelligence agencies seem to be involved with al-Qaeda and other assorted Salafists. Yeah, I understand why they’re doing it: the biggest thing on their strategic horizon will always be India, and Salafi terrorists are useful to them as rabid dogs they can toss into India’s back yard whenever they feel like making a mess. But since in the process they’re giving some serious aid and shelter to enemies of the U.S, I don’t have any moral or legal qualms about carrying out military operations in violation of their sovereignty.
(Strategic qualms, that’s something else. Especially given their nuclear arsenal, which makes a convincing argument to tread carefully and possibly even close up shop in Pakistan altogether).
It’s a civil war. Part of the Pakistani government wants one thing, part wants another. The non-maniacal side (which is not to say the “good guys”) is plenty happy to have the US on their side but also to blame if a rocket goes astray. For the first year or two of drone strikes they were pretending to have nothing to do with them although the drones were being launched from Pakistani air-strips.
I don’t think the credit is unwarranted when I give President Obama the benefit of a doubt on drone use. The Bush administration was clearly killing journalists and other perceived enemies in Iraq (like the wedding party in a tribe that lived on a border and was rumored to be helping U.S. troops leave the country in order to go completely AWOL.) The Bush administration was reckless and war-mongering. It was the wars and the press’ “shouldn’t change horses midstream” mantra that helped Bush get a second term, even though Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld launched a preventive attack against a nation that did not threaten us based on lies.
President Obama can be credited with the killing of Osama bin Laden, the ending of the Iraq war, and the beginning of the end of the War in Afghanistan; yet these things don’t appear to be making him more electable or acceptable to anyone on the right or a good deal of the vocal left. Because he is judged more harshly than any white man would be, he has to use more discretion and gamble much more carefully. I do believe, that it’s his nature anyway to be more deliberative than the average bear. I don’t see how a black man could gain the Presidency without being a person in the habit of watching his step and moving forward in a very well-considered manner.
Dude, Libya.
Gotta go with Chris (well, I usually go with Chris) and, to a lesser degree, Fenwick on this. Obama handled the whole thing with a definite finesse which was nice to see. OTOH, there’s Mrs. Revolta, who tends to believe that the whole thing (and indeed pretty much the whole Arab Spring thingie) was set in motion by spooks from the CIA and etc.
I don’t really believe that, but knowing a bit of history, I can’t really say it’s totally impossible either.
Dude, Pakistan.
I could really do without that whole bunch. Pakistan is out for Pakistan, period, and while you could say that’s true of most of our “allies” around the globe, at least most of them have SOMEkinda quid pro quo to offer us. If not starting shit with India is their big favor to us, then how is that any different than say, North Korea? (Mind you, Mrs. R has that explained as well…………..something about vast undeveloped mineral wealth or something.)
when Bush was President, I missed having an evil bastard in charge who was at least classy and thoughtful.
I read this as referring to Clinton. No yes??
It’s a bad idea to let a Republican in, but it’s awfully hard for me to get down on people who don’t want to support a guy who’d let this program continue. Shooting a rocket at a guy and then shooting a rocket at his funeral just does not seem different enough from Al Qaeda blowing up a bomb and then a second bomb to get the people who came to help. It’s tough to blame people who can’t bring themselves to vote for that. There are, of course, other ways to think about votes.
There are, of course, other ways to think about votes
Meh. The old chestnut about evil triumphing comes to mind.
How do 27% of the people get to be so bloody powerful? Simple- they show up.
Well, some people argue that there is no difference between sending a drone and sending a piloted aircraft to hit a target. Aside from the fact that the pilot manning an aircraft is at least risking his/her life, I don’t see how it makes much of a difference to the people who died from the bombing. I wouldn’t say that the pilots who sat above targets in Iraq are more noble than the pilots who fly drones in Pakistan.
On the one hand, it is more chicken-shit, in a way, to fly drones than it is to fly a manned aircraft. On the other hand, the object is TO KILL THE TARGETS. Whether or not the targets are accurate is more about properly gained intelligence than it is about the pilots, anyway.Perhaps drone pilots have more time and more information to assess a target. I don’t really know who makes those calls and how.
I don’t think the U.S. is alone in the terrorist-targeting business. Spain and Britain also suffered attacks and all of NATO has been in Afghanistan all this time.
At least, I think Presidents are in many ways more accountable now. Gone are the days when a POTUS could secretly bomb a nation for a couple of years before anyone dropped a dime to the press about it.
The way I understand it, which could of course be way outa line, the Prez should only intervene when US interests/people are involved.
So, Iraq bad. Oil and Israel are not direct reasons for US intervention.But we all agree on that one.
Libya, NATO as a whole called it – US allies – no decision really.
Syria – meh. The people getting offed are Syrians – not your problem.
Same as Zimbabwe and all the other bad governments around the world – not USA’s problem.
I’m OK with that.
did you see my invitation in the last thread (or the one before that) to talk to a man who is writing a book on the Cold War about your experience in Germany?
I missed it somehow, wiley. I would be delighted to write to and/or speak to him. Do you have a contact e-mail for him? Can I pass an initial-contact message via ‘wiley witch’?
((I really do need to set up a second e-mail account, btw. My current–and only–address somewhat reveals my identity. I’m a lazy Luddite, but I need to do this anyway. I’ll see if I can figure it out. I’m thick as a brick when it comes to all this computer-y stuff.))
Totes agree on AJ !! I get my international news from AJ and BBC. AJ also has some excellent documentaries (Did you see the one about the Kinsasha Symphony? Blew me away.)
—————-
Chris: As you know, I’ve especially enjoyed yer analyses on international affairs and history. I find myself in agreement with you on so many topics.
Plus Provence ! How often do you return? Provence and the Paris region were the only parts of France I saw extensively. ((My motto during the journey: See one thing well, rather than two things poorly.))
As I mentioned in the convo with the Major, I missed many things during my travel because I was more-or-less restricted to rail lines. In Provence, I based myself in Avignon and used day rail excursions to see Nimes, Arles, Orange, Tarascon. (My main regrets: Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Aigues Mortes.)
Provence made logistical sense, as I was transiting from Spain to Italy. (Saw two other sites along that route: Carcassonne on the way into Provence; Nice on the way out. I loved Provencal cooking ! My first meal was vol-au-vent (sp?) and I was totally hooked.
————–
This has been an excellent thread so far! The nature of evil … Middle East and the subcontinent … voting in America … the morality / utility of drones. Super commentary and links, peeples.
Wiley, good blog you have. I just added you to my blogroll.
Suezboo: You live a mile from Ginger Baker?!?!? A god in my pantheon of Great Rock Drummers. I never would have figured him for a polo player.
the Prez should only intervene when US interests/people are involved.
That’s part of problem: What constitutes US interest? I strongly favor dismantling the American Empire, including drastic reductions of overseas bases, and major cuts in ‘defense’ spending…. but I’m not entirely comfortable with a ‘not our problem’ disengagement.
gocart is back in town! Huzzah and hooray!
The U.S should only intervene to help “The people” in other countries when they are being oppressed and/or killed but only when its feasible like for example Libya. Should have in Rwanda also.
U.S. “interests” often mean oil or strategic power the people be damned. Fenwick Johnson is right.
Should have in Rwanda also.
This. I’ve missed yer comments, you zippy composer. Don’t be a stranger, okay? Watcha been up to?
At the risk of being called an Obot, and using all my mind reading powers, I will say that Obama has no intention of going to war with Iran. He is keeping his true thoughts close to his vest and saying things like “all options are on the table” because a) leverage with Iran, and b) he doesn’t want to give the warmongers any ammunition in an election year. Obama knows that war with Iran would be a disaster and destroy the democracy movement but wont say it out load because of the certaint shouts of “Muslim Appeaser!” from the neo-conmen that would result. Muslim anti-colonialist that he is, he must be circumspect.
Internet porn mostly.
Yup, Fenwick, right here. Married to young Zimbabwean girl. He used to import polo players from SAmerica for the season. Caused quite a stir in our small rural community.
Secondly, and please Americans, don’t jump on my head, but why are some of youse guys so set on war with Iran? I mean, I know they say mean things about USA and so forth but this whole nuclear thing – how can it be an Act of War on their part to make nuclear weapons? I mean India and Pakistan in the same neighbourhood have The Bomb, so it makes sense for Iran to do the same .Also, too Israel. Makes sense to me, if I were an Iranian.
I am just a tad tired of USA wanting to be the Boss of everybody.
“Shooting a rocket at a guy and then shooting a rocket at his funeral just does not seem different enough from Al Qaeda blowing up a bomb ”
Do you really believe that the funeral strikes or other civilian strikes were intentional Substance, and not just accidents in the fog of war?
U.S. “interests” often mean oil or strategic power the people be damned.
If you grant us basing rights or let us run a pipeline through your country you can pretty much boil your political opponents alive for all we care.
Stop going with the program and we’re “Shocked! Shocked I tell you!” to discover that you’re an evil dictator.
“I am just a tad tired of USA wanting to be the Boss of everybody.”
Not this blog Suezboo, perhaps you have us confused with Redstate or NRO or a hundred other blogs or the MSM or the entirety of the Republican party.
And some Democrat pols.
why are some of youse guys so set on war with Iran?
I’ve been against it from day 1.
As to why the “Average American” is for it.
1. Steady media drumbeat for it.
2. Hawkish politicians pushing for it.
3. Defense contractors pushing for it.
4. Israeli lobby pushing for it.
5. “End Times” fantasies of evangelical Christians.
6. Average American thinks Iranian history began with the 1979 hostage crisis.
7. Woo hoo! America kicks ass!
or what Major Kong said.
I have had a lot of coffee, hence I can’t shut up.
Well, gocart and Major, I (and the rest of Teh World) hope you keep the sane guy in power for a while longer.
Pleez.
The fog of war???
We’re not going to drone-strike our way to security. This is a method to perpetuate the so-called “War on Terror” in perpetuity, not end it.
~
you can pretty much boil your political opponents alive for all we care.
Uzbekistan wasn’t it?
As to why the “Average American” is for it.
1. Steady media drumbeat for it.
2. Hawkish politicians pushing for it.
3. Defense contractors pushing for it.
4. Israeli lobby pushing for it.
5. “End Times” fantasies of evangelical Christians.
6. Average American thinks Iranian history began with the 1979 hostage crisis.
7. Woo hoo! America kicks ass!
8 or 6b, depending on mood: They disrespected us/our flag/the Marines.
Uzbekistan wasn’t it?
Yeah. I think the guy’s name was Karimov.
My sense is that it’s a desperation measure: primary voter turnout is down from 2010, voters are vocally dissatisfied with all the potential nominees, and Romney’s ridiculously low effective tax rate was dominating the discussion. They’ve made the cynical calculation that women voters are a write-off anyway and they’ll come out ahead by slut-shaming and feeding their base’s Christian persecution fantasies for as long as they can hold the media’s attention, after which they can shout down further discussion of economic inequality with “Old news! Move on!”
devil’s condiment
N__B said,
February 19, 2012 at 16:37
As to why the “Average American” is for it.
please add, 9. We’ll get to see a movie about it.
Thundra has the link and the logic is obvious: get the guy, get his confederates.
Pakistan being the place Pakistan is, I’d be surprised if some – not saying all – of the drone strikes didn’t serve the interests of very bad people in the very bad organizations the drone strikes are designed to eliminate.
Secondly, and please Americans, don’t jump on my head, but why are some of youse guys so set on war with Iran?
Some of us are insane toddlers, and some of the not-insane not-toddlers think it’s uncivil not to pretend to take seriously the ravings of insane toddlers.
Suezboo, fewer than half of us believe* in evolution. Forty percent of us believe that Jesus will certainly or probably have returned by 2050. 70% percent of us were sure that Saddam Hussein was on the verge of wiping out millions of Americans. The Rethuglican party candidates are trying to win votes by most loudly crying for even more rigorous application of Austrian economics, in spite of that being considered by anyone with a brain to be the exact wrong thing for the country. Fox is the top “news” channel.
Shorter: Because we’re stupid and incredibly gullible.
*I hate to use that word as it’s not a matter of belief.
When the US government sez so-and-so was a really, really bad man and needed some killing my default position is disbelief. Whether it’s drones or poisoned cigars is immaterial, I don’t trust those clowns with who lives or dies decisions. There is, after all, a lot of form in that race.
Fenwick, I’ll be glad to see The Duchey up and running too. When you first mentioned it (a year ago now?), I traveled from Uvita in C.R. north to a little hotel in Ocotal where I had left behind a couple of small notebooks filled with short conversations. Unfortunately a maid had thrown them out. No great loss I guess. Just some stuff I wrote down when I was alone, or pretty much all the time until I scooped up my lovely Iris and persuaded her to travel with me (she would really laugh if she heard that!). Still, I scribble a bit. A lot of it is truly awful, I mean the subjects were awful, but probably the writing too. You see, conversation doesn’t have to be grammatically perfect, misspellings are ok, the language and the time can be sloppy. In fact these faults can make for good conversation it seems to me. Some people are really smart at writing out narratives (like Jennifer and Chris). I remember the long ago better through conversations and have to build my narratives from them. Your Duchey seemed like it would be the perfect place to hide some of these worries and prevent them from winding up in the trash can. No one else is going to read them anyway.
O for fuck sake. Suez, the frothy mix is saying that 10% of deaths in The Netherlands are euthanasia and that HALF of those are “involuntary.” a large part of this nation is inFUCKINGsane.
I mean, people believe that shit. That obviously absurd, wrong, untrue, ridiculous, phantastical shit. [something about people lapping up the Santorum goes here]
Huh, autocorrect capitalizes Santorum but also underlines it in red as not a word.
For the theocratic Right, which really means the entire Right these days, there is only one God and one Satan. Zoraster, Ganesh, etc. are false gods and therefore Satanic. One and the same, period. Hoft = fail. Big surprise.
As for those who say Santorum is a “devout Catholic”, please stop. Santorum REJECTS the church’s policy on capital punishment and state-run aid for the poor, including universal healthcare. Santorum is a theocratic dimwit but he isn’t any more devout than Catholic politicians whose pro-choice stance somehow taints their image as people of faith. Just another “heads I win, tails you lose” rightwing meme.
It wasn’t me! RWW broke it.
Pakistan is out for Pakistan, period, and while you could say that’s true of most of our “allies” around the globe, at least most of them have SOMEkinda quid pro quo to offer us.
Quoted 4 trooth. Yon Yanks make some bad-scary pals sometimes. Potentially every bit as scary as Pakistan? Turkey: you’ve sold them a half-dozen cubic fucktons of primo heavy weapons & they’ve spent years quietly waxing nostalgic for those jolly smashing olde Ottoman days.
At the risk of being called an Obot, and using all my mind reading powers, I will say that Obama has no intention of going to war with Iran.
Perhaps he wants to show that a President can serve a term – or even two – without interventionism in the form of launching major wars abroad*, hoping that this could start a wholesome trend.
Or maybe he just doesn’t want his legacy to be a vast putrid roiling FIRY OCEAN OF POO like that amazing bundle of joy that the last guy passed along to him.
_____________________________________
*Or a giant Slor!
Pups, I hang out in the left blogosphere and am daily stunned and flabbergasted by the literally incredible ignorance and superstitious twaddle clung to by rightwingers so, yes, I agree.
My big But is : How then do you still have that massive war machine and the second biggest economy and all those people in the not-1% but still alive ? what I think I’m saying is How does the USA survive with those levels of stupidity?
Has the level become (maybe) a majority only since Nixon/Goldwater?Is it all the rise of evangelical Xtianity? I read Whats the Matter with Kansas where he showed how popular resentment was turned from anti-business to anti-elite, defined as liberal.He seemed to think it was down to wedge/social issues like abortion being a glue between the rich and the populists.
Do you see any way to reverse this trend?
The Idiocracy link was already posted.
Without orbs, life itself would be impossible.
~
Do you see any way to reverse this trend?
Nuking the pope and the entire catholic church, firebombing most of everything south of the Mason Dixon line, knockig Faux Noise and all the rest of the lying demagogues off the air… Well, that would be a start, anyway. Oh yes, and adhering to the first amendment where it says “Congref shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.”
As for those who say Santorum is a “devout Catholic”, please stop. Santorum REJECTS the church’s policy on capital punishment and state-run aid for the poor, including universal healthcare. Santorum is a theocratic dimwit but he isn’t any more devout than Catholic politicians whose pro-choice stance somehow taints their image as people of faith. Just another “heads I win, tails you lose” rightwing meme.
I’m not sure this distinguishes him from any other “devout jew, protestant, mormon, buddhist, hindu, sikh, muslim….” Step 1 on the road to becoming a fundamentalist zealot worthy of extermination is denying reality when it doesn’t fit your own personal weirdness. Step two, invent your own logic to rationalize your own personal weirdness. Step 3, scare the holy living shit out of yourself with the demons you made in your own mind during steps one and two. Step four, strap on that bomb vest, kill that abortion doctor, lynch somebody, start wars in the Middle East and claim you were “just obeying orders” from a “higher power”.
Religion is a terrible cancer for stupid minds.
FYWP–that first paragraph is a quote from RWW’s earlier comment.
Oh my, what happened???
What tsam said.
Someone’s dicking with the stylesheet, again!
.
A Whole New World just opened
Yeah, but we can see avatars–yay!
Yeah, but we can see avatars–yay!
You can’t win if you don’t play.
.
Update from TPM added (and thank to B^4 for the comment).
.
OTOH, there’s Mrs. Revolta, who tends to believe that the whole thing (and indeed pretty much the whole Arab Spring thingie) was set in motion by spooks from the CIA and etc. I don’t really believe that, but knowing a bit of history, I can’t really say it’s totally impossible either.
Not totally impossible, just really, really improbable. I’ve heard of the CIA setting off coups, which just involve buying off or propping up one group of elites within a country – I’ve never heard of them starting a popular revolution like this. The spark for the whole Arab Spring was a Tunisian merchant who set himself on fire in protest: doesn’t smell like a CIA thing to me at all.
And even though it makes sense to me that the U.S. government would try to get on the right side of a popular revolution (once it actually started), I don’t think it would ever have actually started one, not when so many of the regimes the Arab Spring is targeting fall under our “friendly dictator” category (especially Mubarak).
Chris: As you know, I’ve especially enjoyed yer analyses on international affairs and history. I find myself in agreement with you on so many topics.
Plus Provence ! How often do you return? Provence and the Paris region were the only parts of France I saw extensively.
That’s more or less me too, actually! Lived in Paris for three years during middle school, and return to Provence… uh, used to be fairly often, now it’s more like every few years. Parents are living on that side of the Atlantic and wish I went over more often, but the airlines have this irritating habit of asking for lots and lots of money before they let you use one of their planes, so… yeah.
But I love the place, glad you got to see those parts of France. From an American POV, I’d recommend Normandy too just for the beaches and the history nerd factor.
And yes, the food is great… actually, all Mediterranean food is great (and the stuff they make on the other side of the Med’s even better, for my money).
That’s part of problem: What constitutes US interest? I strongly favor dismantling the American Empire, including drastic reductions of overseas bases, and major cuts in ‘defense’ spending…. but I’m not entirely comfortable with a ‘not our problem’ disengagement.
What are we calling the “American Empire,” as well? I object to ludicrously unnecessary wars like Iraq, I object to all the ugly regimes we prop up on behalf of multinational corporations and all that. But I don’t have a problem with commitments in Eastern Europe to deter Russia, or in South Korea to deter the North, or in Taiwan (or the rest of the Pacific) to deter China.
At the risk of being called an Obot, and using all my mind reading powers, I will say that Obama has no intention of going to war with Iran.
I don’t think he wants to go to war with Iran.
But I wouldn’t put it past him to order “limited airstrikes” on nuclear installations in Iran, hoping that it’ll stop there and that they won’t retaliate (or that if they do, the Navy and Air Force in the Persian Gulf will be able to stop them). Or to look the other way while the Israelis do the same, possibly supplying them with intel and other support.
And I wouldn’t be a fan of any of these things: for my money, the threat of Iran becoming a nuclear power isn’t worth the setback we’d endure if we went through with that (especially in terms of how much it would strengthen the regime and unify the country around it).
Secondly, and please Americans, don’t jump on my head, but why are some of youse guys so set on war with Iran?
American conservatives need an enemy. I don’t know what it is about us, but we do. In the Middle East, Saddam’s gone, the Taliban are gone, heck, even Qaddafi’s gone now – Iran’s the last one standing. And if it gets a nuclear weapon, not only does it keep standing but it becomes invulnerable and beyond our reach, which is the real thing that drives them mad, IMO.
My point was that the media describe Santorum as “devout” more often than “fundamentalist”. The two are viewed quite differently. Fundamentalists often hew to an even more “purist” version of the faith than the nominal leaders of the faith do. I agree Santorum is a fundamentalist and deserves all the baggage that comes with the word. However, he is not a devout Catholic and doesn’t deserve the favorable aura that term gives a candidate among some voters.
My big But is : How then do you still have that massive war machine and the second biggest economy and all those people in the not-1% but still alive ? what I think I’m saying is How does the USA survive with those levels of stupidity?
In the case of science specifically, essentially through political segregation. Something like 80%+ of American scientists are liberals, and for very good reason. So it’s not like the retarded people are the ones in charge of firing rockets at the moon, developing cures and all the rest of the stuff scientists do. Liberals, apolitical folk and other non-stupid people develop the science: after that, the general public uses them and, in the case of the conservatives, gives all glory and praise to Free Market Jesus.
In other areas, like foreign policy, the answer to “how do we survive?” is “not very well, but being a superpower has its advantages, and occasionally [I’m thinking of the Cuban missile crisis here] we get lucky.” The Soviets were at least as deluded as we were (though usually in different areas), but they managed to stay on top of things for seventy years just the same.
But I agree that having so many delusional people who insist that policy be based on their delusions isn’t going to be good in the long run. It’s already cost us and it’s going to keep costing us more and more if it keeps up.
Thank you, Chris and the rest of you Sadlies.
It is reassuring to know there are still some sane, smart (though snarky) Yanks in a position to make a difference.
Hey, don’t forget to vote when it’s time.
How does the USA survive with those levels of stupidity?
Well, we’re big. So even though 27% are flat out insane and another 20% or so are either not paying attention or think “both sides do it so what’s the point?” we still have a bunch of smart, ethical, caring, not-insane people.
Secondly, we’re still coasting on the momentum of the postwar boom (I’m thinking of WWII here) that really ended in 1980 or so. We had built up such an advantage that it takes a long time to bleed off the excess but, like a speedboat that’s coming off plane, we’re about to get swamped by our own backwash.
Third, as Chris mentioned, we’ve been damned lucky and until recently (even with the Cold War and MAD) the stupid people weren’t capable of totally ruining it for us. Seems like now the stupid has risen to the top (think floater) and is running things. I can’t see how this is a good thing.
We had built up such an advantage that it takes a long time to bleed off the excess but, like a speedboat that’s coming off plane, we’re about to get swamped by our own backwash.
I hate this cliche but – This. Great metaphor and it applies to our whole civilization not just the US. We have been living high on the hog on fossilized dinosaurs for so long that most of us can’t see any alternative.
What would you “think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country – the United States of America. If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age?”
So thta’s where KKKarl Rove’s got his much-revered strategy to attack the strengths of one’s opponents.
Even though it’s probably a dead thread –
We had built up such an advantage that it takes a long time to bleed off the excess but, like a speedboat that’s coming off plane, we’re about to get swamped by our own backwash.
I hate this cliche but – This. Great metaphor and it applies to our whole civilization not just the US. We have been living high on the hog on fossilized dinosaurs for so long that most of us can’t see any alternative.
That and more importantly, we have no idea what made it possible to live high on the hog for so long – that is to say, the Welfare State/Strong Unions/Strong Regulations tripod that sustained a large middle class and kept the economy from flying off the rails. Even back when it was happening, the narrative was “yay Capitalism!” without any deeper digging to recognize the Keynesian nature of it or the fact that what the right calls “capitalism” would’ve had horrific results.
At least two of the tripod’s feet (regulations and unions) are mostly gone now and the third one’s under attack: and I don’t see much awareness in the general public that we need to bring them back if we ever want to see that kind of prosperity again.
Is Wilma Flintstone the consort of the Flying Spaghetti Monster? All hail Wilma, Queen of the Universe!
Thanks for the thoughtful replies, Chris and guys.I’m relieved you didn’t start running around with that big foam finger, chanting.
Shudder. Mental image.
Wow that was painful to read….
obviously like your website but you need to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts.
Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I to find it very troublesome to inform the reality
on the other hand I will surely come back again.