Letters to the Editor
-
BadReligion, there *are* other viewpoints
for instance, i thought that since terri schiavo couldn't tell the difference, her parents, who wanted to, should have been allowed to take care of her. sort of the utilitarian, "greatest good for greatest number". in this case, three, the husband, and the two parents. i've *known* of people being "mercy killed" - generally by "morphine drip" called "pain killers". the first inkling i had that this was done, was oddly in the vigil for an archbishop of new york. parishoners were told that he would die within twenty-four hours. i wondered, how could they know? whenever you hear of a vigil (like mrs onassis) the person's being killed. sometimes it's really mercy, but of the ones i knew about (not public, obviously), it was really that they were old and had no one who really wanted them alive. and when you consider it. if a certain amount of morphine will kill you, maybe a smaller amount will just take the pain away, and maybe not leave you so groggy that someone who loves you might still take some benefit from your just being alive. similarly with abortion. if there's an abortion merely because some people might count the days and decide she was pregnant a month before her wedding (yes, i knew of such a case), you might think there's not really enough mysery and love in that woman's heart. on homosexual marriage, i recently decided to be for it, as a matter of fact because of someone i met here, on this forum. i liked him. i don't know if *he* wanted to get married, but just because he *might* - sure, why not? since it doesn't really affect me. utililitarianism again. you see? there are other opinions that aren't just nonsense.
-
why the masochists hate bill maher
Loved this piece.
Believe it or not, I chose my online name BEFORE reading this column - been saying this stuff for years from my safe refuge in Good Old Elitist Europe!!
The rage directed against Maher would surprise me if I wasn't aware of the following:
sociopaths like Bush & Cheney (or Hitler or Stalin or Saddam Hussein) attract collaborators would yearn to serve a heartless, fearsome master, and who derive (an in many cases explicitly erotic) pleasure from erasing themselves in favor of blind obedience to their chosen idol.
Anyone who tries to wake them from their cultish torpors - to DEPRIVE THEM OF THE SOURCE OF THEIR GUILTY, DIRTY, NASTY LITTLE PLEASURES - is hated with astonishing ferocity.
We must ridicule the Bush zombies without mercy - and alas, endure their white-hot rages - until they wake up and become human again.
Then they will thank us from the bottom of their hearts.
By the way; did my grad work at an ivy league US university that was full of phonies & charlatans & incompetents: they are everywhere, its all a matter of degree.
-
The Emporer Has No Clothes! Long Live Bill Maher!!!
What a breath of fresh air to hear Bill call 'em like he sees 'em!
As we celebrate the clarity of Bill's colorful insights, it's tempting to lament that Democrats and those supposedly responsible players among the press never address these very relevant dynamics in whatever stodgy or handled fashion they deal.
Awww, phuq 'em all! I Celebrate Bill!
Bill Maher, who in pieces like this, and in conversation and New Rules on his show dares to not only parrot the buzz that things 'sure are turning out poorly' in Iraq, but is one of the rare voices in the mainstream enternewsia who hammers this Administration for having taken what was an openly and shockingly ill-advised path way back at the beginning of this debacle.
In this piece, Bill highlights a stark and perilous smorgasborg of incompetence that the Bush team merits an Xtreme moniker for. A journalist on Charlie Rose recently recounted that when Paul Bremmer's team arranged to bring him to an outlying Iraqi province in the fall of 2003, the point person he traveled with was a Bush political campaign operative who spent the helecopter ride not delving into the challenges of keeping a lid on the cauldron of Sunni and Shiah animosity, but proudly boasting about his role in the immoral tanking of John McCain's 2000 primary campaign in South Carolina. "Golly --- How did things get so out of hand in Iraq???"
The Emporer has no clothes!
Long Live Bill!!!
-
A little history
Regent University's "vision…is to provide Christian leadership in transforming society by affirming and teaching principles of truth, justice and love as described in the Holy Scriptures, embodied in the person of Jesus Christ." http://www.regent.edu/general/about_us/mission_statement.cfm
Candidate Bush claimed his favorite philosopher was Jesus Christ.
Jesus' philosophy was that one must pray for, forgive and love one's enemies and to remain nonviolent, even while being nailed to a cross. Jesus taught his followers not to judge others, that the truth will set one free and he was silent on the topic of gay and lesbian love.
Robertson though, suggested that the United States should "take out" Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and that a meteor could strike Florida as retribution for Disney World's "Gay Days" and that feminism caused women to kill their children, practice witchcraft and become lesbians.
Robertson also connected the September 11 terrorism attacks as retribution for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences choice of MC's in 2005. "This is the second time in a row that God has invoked a disaster shortly before lesbian Ellen Degeneres hosted the Emmy Awards… In order to make clear His anger is directed at her, God will create an earthquake whose epicenter is directly below the stage where Ms. Degenerate is hosting her show at that moment. The guests, crew, and audience at such an event will likely perish, but since many of those people are likely sexual deviants and the rest choose to associate themselves with homosexuals, they are hardly innocents." http://www.datelinehollywood.com/archives/2005/09/18/pat-roberston-corrects-dateline-hollywood-article/
There are no words in the Bible quoting Jesus' views on gays and lesbians, but many words regarding him confronting the hypocrisy of the teachers of the law.
Robertson concluded that Hurricane Katrina "occurred because New Orleans is the epicenter of sinful jazz music in America… As every Christian knows, jazz music is sinful and lures people into eternal damnation. The connection is obvious. " http://www.datelinehollywood.com/archives/2005/09/18/pat-roberston-corrects-dateline-hollywood-article/
The connections maybe clear to Robertson and his minions, but not to this rock, blues, jazz, truth and justice loving Christian who was in Israel Palestine when Sharon suffered a stroke.
On January 6, 2006, Pat Robertson suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, "He was dividing God's land, and I would say, 'Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the [European Union], the United Nations or the United States of America…God says, 'This land belongs to me, and you'd better leave it alone" and that God would "bring judgment" against Israel for its withdrawal from Gaza, which it has occupied since 1967. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/05/robertson.sharon/
The current administration is not the first to be influenced by fundamentalist Christians.
Many fundamentalist evangelicals interpreted the establishment of Israel in 1948, to be the fulfillment of -how they understood and interpreted- certain prophetic scriptures. They interpreted the Israeli victory in the 1967 War and the capture of Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza , Sinai and the Golan Heights to be an act of God and not because of Israeli superior military might.
The American Bi-Centennial in 1976 was a watershed year for the religious right. While mainline churches declined evangelical fundamentalist churches became the fastest growing sector of American Christianity. TIME magazine named 1976 as The Year of The Evangelical and suddenly they became a legitimate political and religious force.
"Following the War of 1967, Israel gained an increased portion of USA foreign aid and military budgets, becoming the 'western pillar' of the USA strategic alliance against Soviet incursion into the Middle East...During this period AIPAC and other pro-Israeli lobby agencies began their ascent to power in shaping USA foreign policy. The Roman Catholic Church and mainline Protestant denominations began to develop a more balanced approach to the Middle East, bringing them closer to the international consensus on the Palestinian question. Pro-Israel organizations interpreted this shift as being Anti-Israel and in turn began to court the conservative Christians."-pg. 35 Challenging Christian Zionism www.sabeel.org
In 1977, President Carter announced, "The Palestinians deserve a right to their homeland."
The Christian fundamentalists and Israeli lobby responded with full page ads stating: "The time has come for evangelical Christians to affirm their belief in biblical prophecy and Israel's divine right to the land...and affirm our belief in the Promised Land to the Jewish people." [Ibid]
The Reagan White House hosted a series of seminars from the Israeli lobby and Christian right. This was when Hal Lindsay, Pat Robertson, Jerry Fawell and the Moral majority infiltrated the West Wing.
"Fawell received a Lear Jet from the Israeli government for his personal travel...When Israel bombed the Iraqi nuclear plant in 1981, Prime Minister Begin called Jerry Fawell [ before he called Reagan] to ask him 'to explain to the Christian public the reasons for the bombings.'" [Ibid pg. 37]
In 1996, Netanyahu and Likud ideology dominated Israeli policy and 17 evangelical USA pastors pledged their support of illegal colonies in the West Bank , Gaza , the Golan Heights and full support for a Jerusalem under sovereignty of Israel .
The Christian Zionists launched a PR campaign under the banner: "Christians Call for a United Jerusalem."
They ignored the fact that they were in conflict with American policy and the Oslo process as well as a direct attack on Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant unity with the Churches for Middle East Peace that called for a shared Jerusalem.
Jesus promised: "The Peacemakers shall be called the children of God." Matthew 5:9
Christ modeled that one must work for peaceful resolutions, even to the point of returning violence with compassion and forgiveness. As he was dying on the cross, George W. Bush's favorite philosopher prayed: "Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing." -Luke 23:34
Not much has changed in 2,000 years.