Letters to the Editor
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Branded
In the beginning, there was the Billy Graham brand. I can see why the Bush family was in such awe of Graham. He had established his brand and developed it into a worldwide phenomenon.
The Bush family was dying to develop its own brand, but lacking any imagination, intelligence or spirituality, they had no idea how to launch it themselves. So they just became a parasite of Billy Graham, Inc. until they'd sucked enough blood out of him to stand on their own--or to at least appear to be standing on their own.
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Bush's sincerity about his conversion is a big part of his problem
I think Bush believes that he is a great Christian, but this is a crutch he uses to make himself feel superior. Believing that you have been saved means that you are one of God's chosen and that you will go to heaven NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. This is a powerful and dangerous belief for someone like Bush with a serious problem with narcissism.
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I knew your writers were good
But, man, to be able to peer into the soul of another person and know when they were saved...that's talent.
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devil be gone
This sort of religious "awakening" always fulfills a human need, a yearning for meaning in an otherwise meaningless existence which Bush obviously lived for most of his early adult life. And as often as not, societal or in his case family pressure is an admix to the cauldron of what is really mental weakness and therefore need. If Bush truly absorbed the central message of the humble, selfless man written about, who if he existed, which is suspect, was tolerant of all people, solicitous of the poor, the helpless and downtrodden, and least sympathetic to power and money, perhaps a complete change would have been wrought. As it stands, such feelings are alien to the core of George Bush, and his religion is most useful as a political tool or a expiating crutch.
One's milieu usually determines one's religion. Had George been the rich son of say a Saudi construction magnate, captivated by the Wahabi at an early age, would the result really have been much different. They both possess an overwhelming sense of righteousness, rely on a supernatural deity, and are able to ignore all reality and contrary opinion in a single-minded pursuit of an end. They admit of no error, and possess a callous indifference to the fallout of their actions, the death, destruction, and horror inflicted on others.
George would of course never live in a cave, and is admired only by those who are either as mindlessly naive as he, or prosper by his ineptitude. Ossama is apparently universally admired in the Muslim world. Both illustrate why religion is the bane of the species.
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what leads Bush
I do believe Bush is led by something that starts with "G" and ends with "D" and the word is greed.
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This article deligitemizes the whole spiritual experience
I've had a very spiritual orientation to my life in the past. I've had experiences like Bush and his buddies, not with Jesus, but with other types of spiritual epiphany. The characteristics sound the same, like when Bush's buddy gets down on the kitchen floor with the Mazola oil, and feels lightning bolts coming out of his shoulders and as if he were floating off the ground. I've had experiences that were very similar.
In reading about Bush and his buddies' experience, and understanding that I've had the same or similar experience, and taking into consideration that these are the world's worst villains who are more separated from the all-is-one reality than most everyone else on earth, I truly despair. If these hideous wastes of space and air can feel like they are God's chosen ones while they rape, pillage and steal, and given the fact that they clearly are not but are simply deluded (either that, or we need to accept that God is one nasty character), does this mean that all spiritual thought is merely delusion?
Put more simply: If the world's most corrupt people can legitimately feel that they have been chosen by their god, that is a huge strike to the credibility of spirituality and religion. No?
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Bush's religion is ideology!
He claims to be a Christian but displays none of the best values of that religion - like care and concern for those who are not as well off as he is.
W's real religion is his ideology which has been shaped by Dick Cheney, his mentor and manipulator.
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Where's The Beef?
OK - I admit it. I'm a cynic. In almost thirty years in law enforcement, I've long since stopped counting the number of people who've experienced epiphanies. Because of the recidivism rate, I've been around to see their "new birth" only last through their latest plea bargain.
They'll say, "I've seen the light!", only because it serves their purpose at the moment. Con men and women alike say what they think you want to hear.
If Bush were truly reborn in Jesus Christ, AKA Christianity, some things would be evident in his actions and demeanor without his even opening his mouth.
He first ran claiming "compassionate conservatism"; hollow words that never jived with his actions, just sounded good.
He would show empathy for other's misfortunes; instead he seems to get some king of satisfaction in kicking those already down by reducing or stopping whatever aid is left for them.
His inability to exhibit one iota of humbleness, which true Christians have in abundance because they know THEY are not the center of the universe. Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera...
Bush fools no one but himself and maybe not even that. He's an empty shell, a whirling Dervish leaving destruction in his wake without so much as a glance back.
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to garry owen and aka smith
"Shug, don't let the bastards grind ya down, man. Getting your posts removed sometimes is a sign you are getting them where they live. Other times, like Bebop-o says about me, you just need to learn when to let it go."
i discovered if i don't use "the J-word", GG lets them pass - though that is just my latest hypothesis. bebop-o and i are "en feud" at present for the horribly antisemitic things he allowed himself to say. but, to be fair, since then i learned more about waterboarding and it is really a horrible thing to do. i just was defending shooter242 and that was insufferable to him. hell! he's just a blow hard. whatever you say, he says "NOT!" like a monte python script. to me, the president can do whatever he wants because he has the power to do it. whether above board or below. that's reality. we used to assassinate. after JFK *got* assassinated and some folks thought, hey! we tried to kill castro, we stopped more or less (we have others do it for us now). i said that if bush hated saddam so much why didn't he have him assassinated. it would have then been more like a "mafia killing" something we read about but don't care too much about, one way or the other. it would have spared many. and i also said that the israelis should have kidnapped one of nazrullah (of lebanon)'s children to get the soldiers back. it would be better than bombing lebanon indescriminately. fortunately or unfortunately, i don't rule the world so this won't happen. it's just air.
"And bebop, I have a throw away web address where you can contact me. You need to ask Joan for it. And you'll need to respond in the affirmative when I pop smoke, because if you can't confirm your identity by your unit description, I'll call in a Pink Team and put some A.R.A. on your 20." - i thought about asking but i think it's better that whatever i have to say to you i say with the world looking over my shoulder. cleaner that way. now, you know i don't know milspeak, but you seem to be saying bebop-o's a FAKER! someone who PRETENDS to be military. SUCH would be very interesting. (but would require a private conversation - and you wouldn't tell either. so, i choose to believe him even though i don't like him. if you haven't been in the club you don't have to tolerate the members.)
AKA, "My own favorite candidate for the sociopath of the 2008 presidential field: Rudy. He has the necessary ruthlessness. Just looking at his eyes gives me a chill." - yes, me too. he was called "il Duce" here in NYC. the best evidence i have was at his inauguration. his son, then 8 or so kept on making faces behind his back. i thought ALL parents have that genetically programmed LOOK that stops kids in their tracks in public. he doesn't have it. he pretended nothing was happening. he can't control his kids, even to the extent of making them behave in public - even to not make fun of him on his big day. then he goes for macho copistry complete with his lisp? that's a shake your head moment. that the son wouldn't even campaign for him tells you something. he would be HORRID. can you imagine Kerik chief of homeland security? (he was GOING to be!) now what? secretary of defense? a new post? secretary of the prisons? (easy to imagine, Secretary of Corrections)