Apart from the Axis of Evil, there is a new Rogue state threatening The U.S. that no one seems to be worried about. This nation is led by fanatics, possesses weapons of mass destruction, has seen fit to use them on a number of occasions, controls the media so that only positive information gets into the mainstream press, is guilty of human rights violations, civil rights violations, war crimes and makes it a policy to attack other countries without provocation, represses opposition to their totalitarian rule, has a corrupt propaganda machine for discrediting dissidents, is rife with corruption and has singled out a group of people for direct overt persecution.
If I told you the year was 1939, what would your answer be?
But it's not 1939, it's 2005, so guess who your new enemy is...That right, The USA. We are our new enemy.
I started thinking about this as I saw Spain pass their gay marriage law and Canada about to do the same, joining The Netherlands and Belgium as the growing list of progressive states who recognize that they can't continue to call themselves a free democracy while they oppress an entire segment of their population.
So if Iraq and Iran and North Korea are such dangerous rogue states, why is it that we have a lot more in common with them than we do with the "old Europe" nations that were not supportive and lacked the resolve to go to war i.e. our allies.
Spain is one of the most religious countries on earth, but they now have nationally recognized gay marriage laws - including adoptions by gay couples. We don't, but not only that, we're actively trying to pass laws against it and are openly discriminating, hating and marginalizing gays every chance we get. That sounds an awful lot like oppression to me.
WE are not acting like a superpower, we are acting exactly like the same Communists in the U.S.S.R that we were so dead set against. What's the difference between Pravda and Fox News? If our government is paying to plant news stories, keeping all government workings secret, repressing news and calling anyone who disagrees or brings up opposing viewpoint a traitor or an obstructionist - is that a free democracy? We just voted to seize the property of our own citizens for no reason so we can build more malls.
We have just as many incidents of election violations and fraud as the most corrupt African dictatorship.
We have admitted to torturing our captives as well as violating their rights as captives.
We have most of our top politicians being investigated or connect to investigations of corruption, ethics violations and outright crime.
I promise you if there was another country out there acting like we do, they'd be on G.W.'s hit list as well.
We have become the Russians from the Cold War, The Nazis and The Taliban all rolled into one.
A true American would be trying to stop it, not encouraging more of it.
I remember watching a T.V. movie called The Wave, which was based on a high school teacher who conducted a live experiment to teach his students how a rational, compassionate nation could turn into a nation of globally despised monsters (The Nazis). I think they should be sending this DVD out to every person in America, not the Jesus DVD.|W|P|112016364345417124|W|P|Americans For Regime Change.|W|P|
Phoenix|W|P|I agree. I see our country becoming like that of George Orwell's 1984 everyday, and yet the masses are doing nothing to prevent our loss of freedoms. I see what is going on, and I am considered to be on the fringe of society. I am counter-culture. Why? Just because I see things for what they are. There are people who think I am trying to start panics when I tell them of real things happening in out government. They think that it cannot happen here.
We scorn countries run by religious rule, but puritan ideals still rule here. Let's look at our own society before we scorn others.
Unfortunately, I am preaching to the choir.
Rudicus|W|P|Well if nothing else, misery loves company, so i'm glad you're here.On one of the conservative blogs that I like to leave guerilla comments on - they were saying anyone who didn't like America should leave. I explained that some of us would love to, but that unfortunately it wasn't that easy, but I suggested that they put theiyr money where their mouth is - if they took the 82 Billion that was appropriated for the war and gave out $100,000 grants to anyone who wanted to leave America for another country, they would probably get millions of takers.
I still like that idea.
Phoenix|W|P|lol Jake Porter|W|P|I am glad some people see what is happening to America. The government refuses to answer questions about 9/11 but is quick to start two wars, uses the patriot act and eminent domain violating the spirit presented in the third and fourth amendments. Most people don't care or if they do just simply refuse to do anything about it because the government will take care of it they say. I don't believe these people in the adminstration are Christians they are members of secret socities and do not appear to be following Jesus. Phoenix|W|P|Jake I don't think it's secret societies, just the scent of money. Just always ask who benefits from these measures. You'll quickly see who's in charge. thordora|W|P|As a Canadian working for a US company in Canada, who has toyed with the thought of a transfer to the warm south, it's THIS stuff that keeps me FIRMLY planted in Canada.If anyone has read Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, you'll realize that suddenly, some sci-fi/fantasy is becoming WAY too true...(sorry for the typos!)
LOVE the site!
Kitchen Window Woman|W|P|What is happening in this country is very much like what Orwell described. We have become a nation ruled by corporations who have merged with religious groups whose goals are repression and control. Add to this mix, the Neocons, and you have a recipe for totalitarianism. Whats worse, the Neocon members of PNAC (Project for the New American Century) who dominate the White House and the Pentagon are desirous of World domination (as evidenced by the invasion of Iraq and small actions being taken against Iran and Syria). We've all got to keep fighting against the rise of American Fascism!
|W|P|Thanks KWW for the clue in on PNAC - I just visited their website and read the "Statement of Principles" and was absolutely terrified! It's just unbelievable that this can go on right in front of our faces and we don't even seem to notice or see it for what it is. I must say I do agree with them on one point: "The history of the 20th century should have taught us that it is important to shape circumstances before crises emerge, and to meet threats before they become dire." That first 4 years flew by in a blink. Last years election seemed to almost bum-rush us from behind. Some saw it coming but it was too late. Would W's third cousin and college buddy really have done something different? I felt sorry for all the millions out there who bought in to that false hope, and fear for those bumper-sticker advocates of "Hilary in 2004". Tom Naka|W|P|Cool blog you have going here, I will check in often! I have a similar site about health luxury spa. It pretty much covers health luxury spa
related stuff.
|W|P|I was searching for chicago cubs uniform and found your site. I'm a huge Cub fan and I have been looking for other sites about chicago cubs uniform
Dave
The Discovery Channel and AOl conducted a survey to determine "The Greatest American of All Time" and guess who won?
No it wasn't George W. Bush - he came in at number 6, but that right there ought to tell you where this is going.
In the course of our great nation, there have been many people who have had a profound influence on our nation from George Washington and the founding fathers like Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine to great reformers like Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King. Each of these folks made a remarkable contribution to America and each would deserve the distinction in their own right.
But none of them won either.
No the winner of the "Greatest American - OF ALL TIME" was none other than Ronald Reagan.
That's right all of the other folks couldn't measure up to a man best known for bad acting, jelly beans and getting shot. Not to take anything away from Reagan, I really liked some his movies and he did a couple of interesting things as president, but not really anything significant.
At first I was furious - how could the morons in this country even put this guy on the list. Then I saw the list. In addition to W. and Reagan, the top ten also included Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Elvis. I thought, if you're going to include them, why not put Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington Carver or Lewis and Clark - and then it hit me. Most Americans don't even know who those people are, let alone anything about what they did. They probably didn't know half the people from my previous list either - and these are just people I thought of off the top of my head.
And there it is. I forgot Americans are the stupidest people on the planet. Of course they can't remember anything from more than 10 years ago - they would have to read a book or actually pay attention in class to do that. And if they had done those things, they wouldn't be as stupid as they are, and thus would not have voted that way.
There's nothing like getting bitch slapped by the stupidity of your own country. I don't know whether to laugh and the sheer idiocy of a nation whose brains have gone down the drain or cry because it is inconceivable that a country of this many idiots is currently the dominant nation on the globe. But come to think of it, given the direction that this country has gone in I suppose Reagan is a pretty good choice since I don' t think an atheist, a woman, a black guy, a democrat or a queer would be fit to represent our nation's true Americans (rich white men and the Christian Conservatives they tricked into voting for them)
Fortunately I'm no longer American, I'm French-Mexican thanks to my adoptive nations.
Bon Jour, me llamo es Rudicus. Donde esta le toilette? Aqui? Merci!
So let's all have some Jelly beans and celebrate the greatest American of ALL TIME.|W|P|112007928214255318|W|P|Tragedy or Comedy?|W|P|
Phoenix|W|P|I see fundamental flaws with the survey itself. If that was truly the only question then it was skewed toward recent memory from the beginning. There is no structure to the survey if that is the question asked. I mean what about immigrant americans? Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. These were people who came here to escape europe in WWII but beacuse of their love for this country I consider them americans. I think of the manhattan project, and the conflicts that must have racked some of those scientists. To know that you are working on a weapon to end the war, by killing many innocents to save your soldiers lives. I mean what a thing to have to do. Or Harry truman who didn't even know about the bomb until roosevelt died. Yes many died because of these things, but many more were saved.
Unfortunately these people do not get the respect that they deserve. We all look back and remember the innocents who died, but we forget the lives saved by these actions.
Maybe I should ignore the bleats of the sheeple, but their ignorance is hard to ignore.
Rudicus|W|P|The best part was the comments they posted from people from other countries around the world in response - and they were either toting the time bias, but most suggested alot of the same people you and I brought up.I think a funny survey would be to survey Americans about historically great people in other countries. That would be a real hoot.
Phoenix|W|P|That it would... but even more difficult. I have a hard time coming up with more than military men and musicians at first thought.And how far back would that question go? I mean alexander the great was greek, but is that history too far back?
Once again I think that to truly do a study of this kind the scope needs to be more focused.
Phoenix|W|P|Actually I should clarify... He was macedonian, but at that time macedonia was controlled by greece. Rudicus|W|P|Whenever they do those greatest people of all time, the guy who always wins is Jesus - so I guess it really isn't that surprising that they picked Reagan - an actor or a fictional character - same diff.They should have done multiple choice.
Phoenix|W|P|lol. Well you can take comfort in the fact that I wasn't asked anyway. Even if I had been I probably would have pissed of the pollster because of my little complaints about ploos that I've posted here.BTW I was readin an old reader's digest and one article was about polls. It listed one of the reasons why polls may be skewed is that the people who tend to respond are lonely anyway.
Glod|W|P|I suppose ours were a bit better (losers first):Oliver Cromwell
Horatio Nelson
John Lennon
Queen Elizabeth I
Issac Newton
William Shakespeare
Charles Darwin
Diana, Princess of Wales
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Winston Churchill
But looked what happened when the world voted for Americans. The programme you can watch looks interesting.
The Philosopher|W|P|You know I saw a commercial for that program and I swore to myself that I wouldn't watch it. I wanted nothing to do with it. I knew the results would be disgusting, and I was right. I'm indeed a little pissed off that I read your blog today and learned of the results of that poll. While Reagan is probably responsible for the end of the Cold War, he's also largely responsible for our national debt...I believe(?). With the intelligence level we've seen exhibited by the people of our nation in recent years, I'm surprised Walt Disney didn't get number two, narrowly beaten out by Baloo the Bear.It really is a wonder that we're still at the top, though we're falling and fading quite fast.
Jason|W|P|I take umbrage with your attacks on American intelligence. There are stupid people in this world, regardless of their nationality. Do you honestly think that Cambodians, Venezuelans, Estonians or Nigerians are smarter than Americans? Further, just because the majority disagree with your opinion, that does not mean they are stupid.I think there is a more obvious explanation of the Top Americans list. It is a result of the "Out of sight, out of mind" and "What have you don't for me lately?" syndromes. Our pop culture era has ushered in shorter attention spans. Bush and Oprah directly affect more current American lives by the sheer virtue that we hear about them weekly, if not daily. When was the last time you heard something about Edison or Lincoln? Yeah, we hear about MLK Jr., but only in January and February. The list was merely a popularity contest skewed by how much we see or hear about those Americans.
Rudicus, thank you for continuing to post on my Philosophical Question of the Day (PQD) Blog. Hopefully your readers will check it out. Respond to a question. Join the Alert.
http://pqd.negativespace.com
AVA|W|P|LOL!! This is hilarious. And although I'm delighted to have you as a "paisano", I have to tell you you shouldn't be too proud to be Mexican these days, in fact, be ashamed, be very ashamed...Actually I'm planning on becoming Irish, or Scottish, I haven't decided yet.
Rudicus|W|P|I appreciate your umbrage. I'm not reserving my intelligence attacks merely for people who disagree with me, nor am I talking about raw intellectual capability. I'm simply saying that on the whole Americans are dumb, regardless of their particular political or religious affiliations.There are plenty of smart people in this country, but they are in the vast minority. I'm sorry, but when I can have a more thoughtful, in depth, educated and introspective conversation with a random 9 year old from the U.K. on the Monorail at Walt Disney World than I can with most college graduates I know - that tells me something pretty scary.
Unfortunately all I have to go on is personal experience and anecdotal evidence, but that is truly what I think. I've only met a couple of people from any of the countries you mentioned, but they were either students or professors or other professionals so that's not a fair comparison.
Glod|W|P|Oh hell. Rudicus, do people ever complain when you lurk on the monorail waiting to talk to random 9 year olds form the U.K.?I have a 9 year old from the U.K. in the room with me right now, would you like to say anything?
My father or grandmother could become Irish easily because of her grandmother being Irish (I think) and if they did so could I, but there's no point no the passports aren't green. Besides, my mother would kill them, she went beserk when I was took to the opticians, never mind changing my nationality.
aBitWicked|W|P|Ronald R. hahaha cant stop laughing... but oh well.. God Bless America ha!Im so glad you are happy to be mexican adopted. Like ava said, its a shame some times... well i think "sad" would be a better word. Specially when elections are comming and the candidates are plain losers...
and other matters...
I would love to be irish. those are the best people ive known. and they have all the benefits of being part of the EU.
Glod can your grandparents adopt me? im a nice person, im not that wicked actually... only a bit
aBitWicked|W|P|If i were american, i would have voted Homer Simpson before voting Bush or Reagan. .. because id be american
ha
Rudicus|W|P|I also think Homer Simpson would be a better choice, since he is a typical american.Fat
Dumb (sorry Jason)
Lazy
non-critical thinking
bad parent
but somehow always manages to come out on top
Rudicus|W|P|If I had to pick a country to move to it would probably be Switzerland since it is a combo of france, germany and italy. Plus they supposedly have the best quality of life of anyone - I'll have to go check it out. |W|P|Alexander Graham Bell was Scottish/Canadian, not American. Rudicus|W|P|Well...in that case technically NO ONE is American except for The Native Americans.So I nominate Geronimo.
AVA|W|P|Yeah Rudi, what were you thinking? Martin Luther King wasn't American either, he was African-American. Duh!!
So yeah, let's all go for Geronimo.
Yes our old friends the agri-terrorists are back, but this time they're going after the white stuff, no not coke or heroin. That's right, their going after our milk.
From the folks that bring you far more actual terror than terrorists, scientists at Stamford University have published a paper about how terrorists could go after our milk and use it for bio-terror.
apparently the threat was credible enough that the government initially withheld the article for fear it would give the terrorists ideas.
You remember a few months ago we were following another agri-terrorist movement - you know the one where they were threatening our wheat and corn? I guess that didn't turn into the next 9/11 after all.
I'm not trying to downplay terrorism by any stretch, but do we honestly think these guys are sitting in some training camp in Iraq (where they all are now since the U.S. cleared out the area to stop terrorists - wait...hmmm I guess that didn't work then) saying to themselves "Samir, first you get the milk, then you get the power, then you get the women."?
Poisoning milk doesn't really send a very strong political message and it certainly isn't going to hurt the infrastructure of the country, just like attacking the wheat isn't going to do anything much either. What both of these things WILL DO is drive up the price of these goods as people get freaked out about the supply, just like it did for oil. Contrary to popular belief, the goal of these organizations is not to simply to up the body count - terrorism, no matter how misguided, crazy or fundamentalist is not about killing people for the hell of it, it's a political statement and a combat tactic that is now the hot method for small forces and movements who are fighting against large world powers. It's just really popular right now, just like the Phalanx was a few centuries ago.
Protect yourselves at all times and make sure we are a secure nation, but trust me, Osama bin Laden is not after your milk or your corn flakes.|W|P|112005171479216115|W|P|Vitamin D Terrorists.|W|P|
Phoenix|W|P|Yep. First we raise a panic, then we convince just enough people to be able to send our kids over so that the terrorists don't even have to travel. And what has all of this gotten us? Fewer freedoms.
Rudicus|W|P|But at least the milk will be safe, and that's what counts.I wonder if they'll be targeting the whole milk or the 2%? The good news is all the damn liberals drink soy milk so they'll be safe. (that was sarcasm BTW)
Glod|W|P|I'm starting to feel superior as not only did I spot a grammatical error in your second paragraph, I also knew something before reading it on your blog.I think I'm going to need a lie down.
Rudicus|W|P|Grammer is for the weak. Jason|W|P|The real question is: If Stanford has withheld the report due to governmental concerns, how did YOU find out about it? Rudicus|W|P|They just released it - it was held up for more than a year.One thing I noticed is that there are a suprisingly large number of blogs run by Christians - not just regular Christians, but my favorite type - rabid Christians. There are also a fair share of liberal blogs, but it was amazing to me how similar the blogs were to real life between Liberals and Conservatives. The liberal blogs were meandering and random - commenting about just about anything, offering up the writer's thoughts about everything. In contrast the Conservative/Christian blogs were all attack & propaganda sites - and they all used the same language and had the same comments and were loaded with organizational links to webrings, networks and all sorts of electronic machinery.
So in the interest of knowing how the other 51% percent lives, I ventured over to these sites to see what they had to say. And of course it was all dogmatic spew, but something else was interesting to me. The blogosphere is loaded with bloggers from around the globe - on this site alone we have visitors from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Singapore, while others in our universe are from Italy, Brazil, India and several other countries. However ALL of these CC sites were all American. Interesting isn't it.
So I decided to participate. I went over to a site called Crosses aCross America and left a comment on their post about the religiousness of our founding fathers and how christianity was facing continual persecution etc.. So I felt compelled to post this:
What about Jefferson, Adams, Madison Paine and other "founders" who were all freethinkers and atheists?
What about the fact that "Under God" and "In God We Trust" were not added to the pledge or the currency until many decades later?
This country was "founded" to be a secular government free from the influence of religion of any kind.
Freedom of Religion means that you are free to practice whatever religion you choose - including the freedom to not practice any and not to be subjected to other peoples beliefs and dogma.
Unfortunately we are VERY far from that ideal today and the "founders" would not be in any way pleased with what "religion" has done to this country over the years and especially in the last few.
And of course the response was a typical party-line, non-answer brush-off:
There is a reason that so many now are becoming so desperately screeching about the separation of church and state. It is because they would have us believe untruths about the history of religion in our country and those untruths are now being proved to be fallacies.
So of course I called them on it and asked for some support for their position and the alleged "fallacies"
What was the response? They erased my question and banned me from the site.
Typical - any conflicting discusson must be eliminated. People are entitled to their opinions and if they ever bothered to come over to my site, they would find that any thoughtful question or comment would get a thoughtful answer or response. But this is why they fear the questions, which is why the CC always have to spin everything and "cast" the opposition in a bad light. It's not that the prez is refusing to release documents on John Bolton, it's the democrats who are being obstructionist by asking for them.
Visiting these sites filled me with fear, but since I'm a good Christian, I will forgive them for they know not what they do. But the thing that really bothered me is, that I bet you anything, I could go on any other site and do the exact same thing and the exact same result would occur. Furthermore, the very nature of being liberal is not conducive to standing up to this kind of machine becuase liberals by their nature tend to be independent minded and can't summon the collective mentality or the cash to compete. I posted this in a comment on Jay's site, and the more I think about it the more true it is (yay me!).
Liberals are Ewoks
Conservatives are The Borg
Ewoks can muster up enough "togetherness" to deal with individual threats, but can't stand up to the whole empire.|W|P|111989728223336661|W|P|Why Things Will Never Change.|W|P|
Glod|W|P|You're a Christian? I thought you had trouble starting a religion based on the whole non-belief thing. Rudicus|W|P|The Blade of Sarcasm cuts deeply, my son. Phoenix|W|P|The CC's are a scary crowd. and unfortunately the rest of us aren't organized enough right now to truly fend them off. OUr only chance right now is to bind together and let them know that we will not allow their perception of the bible to rule us. the guttersisters|W|P|I got the impression that Blog Explosion was only to promote blogs that were related to how to write blogs, give blogging advice, etc., and that they specifically don't want any that have sexy content.The latter could be why there are so many "Christian" bloggers there.
Also, unfortunately, why I had to opt not to sign up for their service. What do you recommend?
Come over and visit us @ guttersistersonline.
Rudicus|W|P|Not to my knowledge guttersisters - I think you have to have something to do with blogging - i.e. not a corporate or advertising operation - but basically anyone who has a blog is eligible - there are several sexy themed blogs on there - I think it works pretty well, but not as good as going to sites you like commenting alot and asking for links.I'll go check your site out shortly - thanks for visiting, both you and Phoenix - and come back, the fun never stops around here.
FreeThinker|W|P|You say:"since I'm a good Christian, I will forgive them"
Does this imply that non-Christians can't forgive?
Just wondering.
~ Freethoughtguy
Rudicus|W|P|Since there's new people here today, let me set this one straight - I am not in anyway a Christian and wil never be one - not that there is anything wrong with those who are, ok there is a little, but we can live with it.I put that line in there so the regular readers would get a good laugh - sorry to have misled anyone.
And in direct answer to you Free Thought - I think christianity or lack therof does not in anyway define morals forgiveness or anything else, and in fact, I would trust the forgiveness of a non-theist over that of a theist anyday since non-theists are not bound to love their fellow man or do anything other than that which they see fit to do.
Phoenix|W|P|thanks for visiting rudicus. and check back from time to time, I think that our thought runs on similar lines and I am considering an opinion essay on some of the things religion is trying to shove down the rest of our throats. Glod|W|P|That's why we need sarcasm meta tags. Gilbert Koh|W|P|You must read this book, Rudicus. What God Wants.
It is your best defence against the conservative Christians. I highly recommend it.
The short answer to the question is that God wants nothing from you and needs nothing from you, but formal religion is full of tricks to make you think otherwise.
Sounds like your kind of book, yah.
Oh, btw, stop by my other new blog sometime.
http://commentarysingapore.blogspot.com
Rudicus|W|P|Thanks for the book tip - I'll be right over to visit Indeterminacy|W|P|I like what you did here. Keep calling them on it. I would say what you describe applies not only to CC blogs, but neocon blogs in general. Blah Blah Blah|W|P|I have a "liberal" blog that pretty much talks about whatever crosses my mind...and couldn't do the focused razor rant that I see on so many sites. Either I have ADD (I don't think so) or I'm "free thinking" and/or broad-minded. Since I'm pretty sure I'm not ADD, I like to think it's the latter. jpe|W|P|One thing I noticed is that there are a suprisingly large number of blogs run by Christians - not just regular Christians, but my favorite type - rabid Christians.They're also my faves. Consider yourself bookmarked.
Today's adventure takes us to Romania where a 23 year old nun just died.
"Maricica Irina Cornici(The Nun) believed she heard the devil talking to her, telling her she was sinful."
Those darn sinful Nuns, why can't they be wholesome and holy like the priests.
The solution, not the psychiatric care she was getting for schizophrenia, but this...
"Cornici was bound to a cross, gagged with a towel and left in a dank room at the convent for three days without food - where she died of suffocation and dehydration."
You think?
You can read the entire story here.
The good news is the murdering priests won't do any time, because they were only trying to rid the girl of demons, not kill her.
My question is how come I never read any stories about how anyone at any church ever just helped people without any thought to themselves or advancing their dogma, but because it was theright thing to do. Everytime I hear about the "good" done by the church, it is always followed by dogma and pontificating to the point where it looks alot more like a publicity stunt than a genuine decent act. I live for the day when the church makes an anonymous donation to help anyone.
In this case they ought to sell the church arrest all those responsible and give the profits and the land to the family and town.
This just goes to show you that belief in a book full of stories can actually kill you.
I'm sure witch burning will be making a comeback, better dust off your dunking chairs.|W|P|111988153911690355|W|P|100% Demon Free...and Dead.|W|P|
aBitWicked|W|P|Cant believe stuff like this is still done nowadays. And allowed... Glod|W|P|I think America's sheer idiotity is summmed up by the fact that people are supposed to rate these articles. Big Dog|W|P|"We have met the enemy and they are us." Well, actually, "them." Those religous ones.
Rudicus|W|P|You know I was just thinking about all that furor a few years back because some kid died because he took the stuff in Dungeons and Dragons seriously. Then a bunch of "concerned parents" i.e. Christian Political Opportunists caused all this fuss.Let's hear all the uproar about banning the bible because of this...
(crickets chirp in the distance)
I didn't think so. Does that hypocrisy come in a size 14?
Ack|W|P|hrm.. perhaps we can coin a new phrase - Hypocritianity?
Using a medieval technique, scientists exactly duplicated the purported shroud. In contrast attempts to duplicate the shroud using methodology similar to what would have occurred had it been an actually "holy relic" failed to produce anything whatsoever. You can read the complete story here.
Try as they might to fake relics over the centuries, the actual physical evidence and/or archaeological-historical evidence for Jesus is still a big fat zero. This is just another one like the James Ossuary and other items which all turned out to be malarky.
Not that this will have any impact on anything whatsoever, it's nice to see that everything we encounter speaks to reason and nothing speaks to supernaturalism. You would think that the more science we have, the closer we would be to substantiating alot of historical/religious claims. So I find it especially interesting that we only seem to be getting more and more clear that our religious teachings are not actual. Parables and metaphors but not literal events.
So these guys can keep looking for Noah's Ark, The Garden of Eden and all of the other things from the Bible that never existed. And judging by the amount of money that people are willing to spend for these kinds of things there will be a never ending supply of "scientists" who claim to have found "something". But guess what, they didn't.
All throughout the middle ages, charlatans (including many priests and friars) pawned off fake religious relics for cash so I guess there's no reason for them to stop now.
Remember kids, whenever you are considering "historical evidence" or "proofs" about religious things and people, don't be a sucka, always bring your brain and your BS detector with you.|W|P|111963958974225564|W|P|Shrouded in B.S.|W|P|
Glod|W|P|I thought that there was lots of evidence that Jesus existed, was the son of some improtant person and was an all round nice guy. Just not evidence of some of the wilder claims. Ack|W|P|Hrm - the shroud is possibly fake. Not horribly surprising. As to why science cant prove the claims made by the Bible and other such books is that the sceientist are trying to keep the religious peeps down! its all about power, man, and they have all the media. how can you fight that. Just yesterday, I published a 3 paragraph entry proving that Noah's Ark was real on my Christian website. My proof? I had a dream about 2 donkeys on a raft and I know this was a message sent by god.. and that I had to spread the word. He is coming.. all ye sinners better pump yo' brakes and step the f* off from the world.. yalls going to hell.
Yes, I was channelling the words of the profit Mullah during that. I think I really need to start my own church and preach the word..
Wait, did any of this actually happen?
If you listen to Tom DeLay it did.
Apparently Tommy D. thinks Iraq and Houston are about the same in terms of crime and it's "The Media" that is distorting the truth and over reporting crime in Iraq.
"You know, if Houston, Texas, was held to the same standard as Iraq is held to, nobody'd go to Houston, because all this reporting coming out of the local press in Houston is violence, murders, robberies, deaths on the highways," DeLay said. "Go to Iraq. And see what's actually happening there."
Um...no thanks Tom.
Today alone 38 people were killed and 28 wounded in car bombs around Baghdad.
Well maybe we can't go to Iraq, but we can go to Houston - let's see what going on there.
Today's top story in the Houston Chronicle is:
Gov. Perry's Tax Relief Plan Helps The Rich at Renter's Expense.
Well that's about what I would expect coming out of Texas. Rich people raping poor people with the government helping the rich people - sounds like everyday news to me. Let's keep looking:
We've got a story about Bike Couriers, The NBA Finals and Baseball.
Well maybe it was a slow day in Houston, let's see what's goin on around the state:
We've got big stories about the Mega Millions Jackpot, Tiger cubs going to an animal sanctuary and a warning about Texans buying affordable prescription drugs from Canada.
Yep, another day of horror in Houston.
What's the body count in Iraq? 1700+? Let's see the murder capital of the U.S. is Chicago which logged just under 600 murders. Houston didn't even make the top 5.
I think this is just another case of a representative of the government wearing "bullshit" colored sunglasses. Unfortunately lying to the American people is also everyday news.
Well, Tom, I've heard some doozies in my day, but this one ranks right up there. Thanks for sharing your outlook on the war and life in Texas, now please sit quietly in the corner until someone grows enough balls to kick your sorry ass out of congress.
|W|P|111953838522413471|W|P|Houston We Have A Problem.|W|P|
Big Dog|W|P|A most excellent post!. Geez, I live in Houston and I didn't even grasp the absurdity of DeLay's statement until I read your blog. DeLay is a poster child for whats wrong with politics and government. He will face very strong opposition facing Nick Lampson (a former congressman, very popular) next election. jayne|W|P|I live in what will one day be a suburb of Houston (probably the next 5 years, at which point I'm moving). I quit listening to Delay ages ago, he just makes me ill.Just another case of a politician (R) trying to hoodwink us while covering up the real issues.
Why can't we swear in front of kids?
What is the harm that comes from it? I am not aware of any children who have been institutionalized, committed crimes or voted democrat because they heard the word "shit"
Judge: "Mr. Jurgensen, you are charged with 12 counts of rape, assault, murder and general unfriendliness, how do you plead?"
Mr. J. "Well your honor, everything was fine, I was an honor student, on the track team and went to church 5 days a week, but then I heard a man say "fuck" while I was in line at the movies and something inside me just snapped."
Whats with all the substitute swears - like that makes it ok. Is there a psychological difference between "Goddamnit and Goldurnit?" or "Fuck and Fudge?" or "Shit and Shoot?" you mean the same thing so how is it different?
What possible rammifications can there be from a child hearing "bad language" to the point that we have to get all incensed about it, as well as regulate it on TV and movies. I can see violence and sex givign kids ideas, but what can language do? I'm not talking racial crap, just good old fashioned cursing. Who hasn't gouged their leg on a table and let loose with "Jesus Motherfucking Christ!" Now, didn' t that feel good? We already know our best and brightest have potty mouths like Dick "Go Fuck Yourself" Cheney and even the Gov. of Texas who just got caught on tape here.
If anything, swearing leads to increased creativity in children. The kids who came up with gems like "Fuck Chop" "Ass Weasel" "Cock Monkey" "Dickasaurus" "Fart Mocassin" "Jism Chew" and "Queef Taster" have gone on to positions at NASA, IBM and The World Bank.
Instead of spelling bees we should have swearing bees - think of all the great swears kids could come up with. Frankly I think it would unite everyone toward a common purpose.
Let's start today. Let's hear your best swear(please refrain from anything racial, homorphobic or otherwise negative toward something that someone can't do anything about). Please use your swear in a sentence and creativity counts. Foreign language swears are also appreciated as long as they come with a description and usage. - the winner will get an award of some sort.|W|P|111930386504108348|W|P|What The &%$#@!!!!!!!!!|W|P|
Irma|W|P|I'm an Amercian who lives in Sweden. Here they show swearing, sex and nudity.. everything on TV. No censoring.Shockingly (sense th sarcasm) no one here is messed up because of it. In fact, I feel that everyone has a better, more realistic and healthier attitudes towards these things.
People in the US are just way too uptight and need to calm down.
AVA|W|P|Mi día está del carajo!!! What I said (sort of) is "my day sucks". There isn't an exact translation for "carajo", but I love the word.
It has multiple uses, just as "fuck", and here it can be used almost anywhere, anytime, as long as it's not in the presence of children (yeah, we have the same problem here).
Jason|W|P|Brilliant! Couldn't have said it better than myself. You might want to consider checking out the book "Not In Front of the Children: 'Indecency,' Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth" by Marjorie Heins.I am the host of the Philosophical Question of the Day (PQD) Blog where we pose questions that may appeal to you. Please consider visiting the blog at http://pqd.negativespace.com and subscribing to the PQD Blog Alert so that you can be notified when new PQDs are posted. Just e-mail me at pqd@negativespace.com with the e-mail address you would like the Alert sent to. Also, please encourage your friends and colleagues to join as we are seeking to boost membership to the PQD Blog, a free blog for free expression.
The Lone Rangers|W|P|Personal favorites (as you know since you've been on the receiving end a few times):Dick with ears.
Cock nosed bastard.
Ear handled quaff drill.
Fuck you, you fucking fuck.
|W|P|I am roaring with laughter. How about fucktarded?It's hard enough to come to terms with the fact that you are gay, let alone share it with your friends and family. So when this 16 year-old from Tennessee "came out" to his parents, you'd expect some challenges. But how would you like to go through all that trauma only to be sent to Christian Re-education Camp?
So this poor kid is stuck at this 8-week "refuge" where he will be brainwashed into thinking he's not gay anymore. Sound like communist China or a concentration camp to you? Yes thanks to Jesus and your $6,500 they can "cure" your kid of being a "dang queer"
This amazing "cure" is brought to you by Love in Action International and their site is filled with lots of fun information that we like to call "crap."
Look no further than their fabulous Homosexual Myth discussion to see how insane, hateful and completely fascist this whole idea is.
Here's their mission statement.
We already know that our lovely government has turned Guantanamo Bay into a gulag, now we have kids going to brainwashing camps. Yessirree, this country is sounding more and more like the very enemies we claim need to be removed from the earth. Where we get the balls to say Libya can't be on the United Nations human rights panel, but we can, is beyond me. I hate to break this to you people, but these Christian Conservative nutjobs are following the Main Kampf playbook step by step.
If you still don't think religion is Public Enemy #1 - stay tuned, I'm sure there will be more tomorrow.
Now all we need is the Pink Berets to bust this kid out of there.|W|P|111928871739551791|W|P|The Parent of The Year Award...|W|P|
Daldianus|W|P|Religion indeed often is just opium for the masses ...Which would be ok, if those addicted wouldn't try to impose their lifestlye on others!
zandperl|W|P|"There is no such creation as a "gay" or "homosexual" person. There is only homosexual attraction and behavior; accordingly, there can be no change from a sexual identity that never existed in the first place."(Homosexual Myth)
Then I guess there's no "straight" or "heterosexual" person either, because there's only heterosexual attraction and behavior. That's a relief, I was starting to worry that having a boyfriend might mean I'm straight!
Rudicus|W|P|Well zandperl - your first mistake is in trying to employ reason and/or logic to this discussion.My understanding is that the prohibition about gays is also in the same section where it says the same thing about shrimp and also about not sitting in a chair that has been sat up by a menstruating woman for three days. I don't suppose they have special camps for shrimp eaters as well as one for women for one week out of the month.
but I digress.
AVA|W|P|I just went throught that website and it's outrageous. But you know what? these parents deserve to pay $6,500 worth of bulshit, just so that their kids can go to this stupid camp and meet other closet homosexuals who they can secretly see while they get married and have kids, and become miserable for the rest of their lives, or at least until they're get tired of pretending.
Vulture 6|W|P|If he is gay, what does it hurt to be exposed to a different way of thinking, if he IS gay he will still be gay at the end. I don’t' agree that they can "change his mind" that he is gay. I think it's a waste of his folk’s money, but you simply dismiss it out of hand, and in doing do you in effect becoming as narrow minded as you claim they are.
Do you honestly believe that making someone wet their pants, squirting water on them, or making them sit in an air conditioned room in the middle of the Caribbean is the same as THIS then you should re-examine your morals.
Glod|W|P|I like how that last link is under "False%20Religions". Rudicus|W|P|Well Vulture,Do you think it's no big deal to be forced to do something against your will to change something that is a part of your DNA.
I don't know what color your eyes are, but let's say they are brown. Do you think it would be appropriate to be sent to a camp that you cannot leave and for 6-8 weeks in the hope that your eyes will turn blue?
And during that time you are told how having brown eyes is wrong and will get you a one way ticket to an aweful place where no one will love you and you will be hated by everyone and everything.
Granted this is not as bad as other internment camps, but it's the same thing philosophically and based on the same misguided beliefs and lack of acceptace as those were. The only difference is THIS re-education camp has stayed under the radar because they are not killing bodies, only spirits.
Dave|W|P|When I first came out to my parents at the same age of 16, I was so afraid that my parents we're going to send me to a camp like this. I had heard horror stories and sure as hell was not going so I had a whole plan set up with my friend seth that in the event that they were going to send me to one, I would call him and runaway to live with him or some other arrangement was set up. Fortunately, it never came to that and my parents although they dont agree with homosexuality, still love me and I always know that. Its just something we dont discuss alot. If you ever get the chance, watch the movie "but Im a cheerleader". It is about these type of camps and is a parody. Rupaul(as a male) is one of the workers at the camp and the son of the woman who owns it is obviously gay. This girl whose a cheerleader is told by everyone that shes a lesbian and sent off to this type of camp and it shows how crazy the whole idea is. It will have you rolling on the floor! LOL! go to blockbuster, rent it, ENJOY! zandperl|W|P|Vulture 6: I agree with Rudicus. They may not be physically torturing him, but the courts have repeatedly found that emotional abuse is as bad as physical abuse.
By now you've heard that Terri Schaivo's autopsy revealed that she was not abused and that her brain was shriveled to half the size of a normal human brain which made her brain damage both severe and irreversible. And to top it all off, she was blind.
We'll now take a break to hear all of the apologies directed at Michael Shaivo who had to endure months of accusations ranging from abuse to plotting to kill her along with an entire legislature getting involved in his personal business only to be proven right.
No, the only one who said anything different after the autopsy was Bill Frist, who said that the case was now closed. I'm sure he didn't want to say it, but he had to, he's a doctor(then again, here's and interesting bit on Frist from Think Progress). And then the rest of the opposition did exactly what they did when they got caught lying about WMD's, they spun it. Now it wasn't about a woman who could be helped through therapy and was trying to stay alive while her evil husband wanted her dead, now it was about "protecting life"(Prez W) or "due process"(Mel Martinez) or questions of credibility(Dave Weldon).
Not one of them has said or will ever say "we made a mistake"
And special kudos goes out to Dr. William Cheshire the "doctor" who Jeb Bush sent in to "confirm" that Terri Schaivo was not in a persistive vegetative state.
He wrote: "As I looked at Terri and she looked back at me, I asked myself whether I could in good conscience withdraw her feeding and hydration."
Nice try Doc, she was blind.
and this gem: "seems at some level to be aware of some things around her."
Wrong again.
So how did this highly trained neurologist make such a seemingly glaring error? Easy, he's a Christian Conservative, which means God first and everything else second including science and reality - which is the same affliction that has put nonsense like creationism and intelligent design theories into our classrooms.
And what of the parents? Are they finally going to say goodbye to their daughter and move on? HELL NO!
They have decided in their infinite lack of wisdom to disbelieve the autopsy and are considering "legal action."
On what, I have no idea.
So in the end, science, reason and reality wins again, but as usual it is a pyrrhic victory because Christian Conservatives can never admit they are wrong, mistaken or just plain dumb.
So everything pretty much goes on the same as it was and the only person who ended up getting hurt in this who debacle is the guy who was actually telling the truth.
So on behalf of the 2% (that percentage of
ravingloon|W|P|Have you heard the latest twist in this sad case? Jeb Bush is pushing for a probe of whether or not Michael Shiavo called 911 fast enough on the day that Terry first collapsed. What a nightmare. Everyone should just leave the poor guy alone. Big Dog|W|P|Rudi -- yeah, ditto what you said. Rudicus|W|P|Ravingloon, I heard this - it is absolutely ridiculous and taking patheticness to a new level.So rather than admit they were wrong, they have to further go after this poor guy who was just trying to do what his wife wanted him to do.
WARNING - this is what happens when you think yours is the only right way to do things - you end up with this kind of self-rightious BS that defys logic, propriety and good taste.
Glod|W|P|These things you mention, like the Jesus dvd, and the creation story at the zoo, should be countered. A display about the big bang to make sure atheists (and those of a disposition to allow God to use science) have their views shown should be mandatory in a zoo.Just imagine what you can do on Dvd.
Rudicus|W|P|This is something I've been thinking about - there really isn't any kind united group for non-believers. The believers have legal defense funds, lobbying groups and big supporters, while the nons don't, but then if the nons only represent 2% of the population, then is there really much sense.That movement needs a new name though - since advocating reason or calling it freethinking tends to alienate others because it sets up an inherent disdain.
We'll have to see.
jayne|W|P|The really ridiculous part of the whole probe into when Shivo called is that it was years ago. Regardless of whatever else he's said/done/been accused of, it was a traumatic event in his life with his wife and minor details are, quite frankly, pointless at this time. The Complimenting Commenter|W|P|You bring up some very interesting and important points. I'm glad to see that at least some are putting this to rest and allowing it to have an end. I think that you are right to say that Michael should get credit for what he did. Nice post. Daldianus|W|P|Frist is a COMPLETE moron. Don't have to say more. blahblahfreakingblah|W|P|The parents do not believe the autopsy. They're just deep in denial that Terry left a long long time ago. Poor Michael Schiavo. Thanks for the post.Well, thankfully, the Christians never seem to run out of stupid things to say and do - and today is no exception.
Not willing to simply openly discriminate against gays, now the Christians seem to want to have them wear warning labels:
"We put warning labels on cigarette packs because we know that smoking takes one to two years off the average life span, yet we 'celebrate' a lifestyle that we know spreads every kind of sexually transmitted disease and takes at least 20 years off the average life span according to the 2005 issue of the revered scientific journal Psychological Reports," Rev. Bill Banuchi, executive director of the New York Christian Coalition told the Mid Hudson News.
That "revered" scientific journal is not revered by scientists, who have described its' articles as "misleading and faulty." And of course, the study that they are quoting was conducted by a conservative anti-gay group. (hide your shock and awe)
Banuchi claims he didn't intend to say that gays should be labeled.
I love how these guys always get caught saying something openly racist, homophobic, hateful or otherwise and then talk about how they were misunderstood. The fact is that the first words out of people's mouths is usually how the ACTUALLY feel and the rest is political spin control depending on how much negative reaction they get. Whether it's kicking democrats out of church, advocating flushing the Koran, saying "I miss segregation" or any other dumb-ass comment routinely attributed to these types - that's what they actually mean.
So in the interest of fairness, let's make our own warning label to put on Conservative Christians:
Warning: This individual contains faulty logic, overzealous evangelism and inflexible beliefs. Mixing with others of different races, creeds, sexual orientation or political beliefs may cause a violent reaction. In case of accidental overdose immediately administer reason and critical thinking. DO NOT induce dogmatic vomiting! Do not use if you have a low IQ or low self-esteem as this individual is a known intellectual carcinogen. If you are pregnant or accidentally become pregnant and wish to make your own choices about you life and body - DO NOT USE THIS INDIVIDUAL! Side effects reported from exposure to this individual include upset stomach, eye rolling, anger, frustration and exasperation.
Sounds good to me.
AVA|W|P|Do you mind if I copy your warning and print it on stickers? It's hilarious, I love it... and it would suit perfectly on so many people I know (on their backs without them noticing, I mean). Phoenix|W|P|oh yeah!The project which has already distributed over 20,000,000 DVD's(I still haven't gotten one) is part of a nationwide interdenominational bid for global domination is on a crusade to bring everyone over to Christ.
Think of the money needed to produce and send out 20 million DVD's. This is a mass propaganda campaign of epic proportions. Now assuming this is probably not going to do much good, you'd probably wonder if this was going to add even more challenges to our landfill problems, but then I wonder if people would hold on to them out of fear of throwing away something about Jesus.
It would be worth it to go to www.jesusdvd.com and check out some of their highlights like the "How you can be sure you're a Christian" video. I also enjoyed the quote from Morpheus (of the Matrix) talking about the Matrix. I find this especially amusing because these guys obviously didn't get that the Matrix was a humanist manifesto.
I also enjoyed the part where all of the "historical" and "factual" information about Jesus was all taken from the bible.
Well if this doesn't outline the belief that they and ONLY they can be right about anything and you will conform one way or another, I don't know what does.
EVERYONE MUST BE CHRISTIAN, EVERYONE MUST BE AMERICAN, EVERYONE MUST BE REPUBLICAN.
Resistance is futile.|W|P|111826546418223664|W|P|You WILL be Assimilated.|W|P|
Glod|W|P|Have you microwaved your money yet? Ailyn|W|P|give me the 10 Commandments on DVD any day*Thanks to a news tip from our buddy Ack.
Apparently the folks in Tulsa, OK didn't want to limit the teaching of fake science and history to the classroom, they took it to the Zoo.
That's right the poor oppressed Christians cried descrimination at the presence of a Hindu elephant statue representing Ganesh (the display showed the elephants use in art and culture and also includes the Republican Party elephant as well) and a marble globe with a Native American inscription. So as a result, the town voted (against the wishes of the Zoo itself) to add a display to the Zoo picturing God's creation of the world in 6 days and resting on the 7th as told in the book of Genesis - since this would balance everything out. I'm also quite sure that the Christian display will be the biggest and most expensive to show how holy they are.
I have so many problems with this that I don't even know where to begin, but I guess you have to start somewhere so here goes.
1. The Zoo is an living exhibit of science - creationism isn't science.
2. The Zoo is taxpayer-funded therefore, paying for the new exhibit violates separation of church and state.
3. If the Christian's are ever REALLY oppressed or descriminated against for REAL - I promise to actually go and help them, but since I have a better chance of being elected governor of Texas, I'm not sweating that one too much.
4. This now opens the door for every sect of every faith to complain and will they get THEIR own displays? I bet you a Gazillion dollars they won't. And what about the freethinking non-believers? Can we complain and have all of this shit removed? (see previous comment about becoming governor of Texas).
I have nothing but seething disdain for the no-balls bastards at the Zoo who put up exactly no fight in this case.
This is exactly the kind of thing that makes we want to become an activist, but since I would probably get fired from my job and given the fact that less than 2% of the entire country thinks for themselves and would agree with me, I not only would have an incredibly hard time raising any money, but I wouldn't really get much help. Plus I'd probably be immediately picked up by Bush's Praetorian Guard and shipped off to Gitmo.
I am now officially boycotting the entire state of Oklahoma.|W|P|111834978275097291|W|P|Away In A Manger.|W|P|
AVA|W|P|Good for you. I've been boycotting them for 27 years. Sixlegged|W|P|Not only do the "boys from Oklahoma roll their joints all wrong," Oklahoma is more like a runt siamese twin still clinging to Texas. I haven't actually done the research, but I bet half the Oklahoma population keeps places like Las Vegas and border towns running- they leave their home town, go take a dump on somebody else's hometown, and do something stupid when they come back to tell the world "I'm no sinner- this here creationism statue is proof!"If you want your free 1500 shares of Culture Zap, send me a blank e-mail to sixlegged@excite.com. And thanks for stopping by!
That's right folks in a comprehensive 28 Nation study of mental illness conducted by the University of Michigan, the United States ranks #1.
One-quarter of all Americans met the criteria for having a mental illness within the past year, and fully a quarter of those had a "serious" disorder that significantly disrupted their ability to function day to day, according to the largest and most detailed survey of the nation's mental health.
25% - it sure makes those religious numbers and Bush voters make a bit more sense now doesn't it?
It turns out that a good number of the folks who are in need of treatment for mental health disorders are mostly going to their priests and other spiritual advisors instead of mental health professionals.
Wow, I guess "pray about it" isn't quite as effective as cognitive-behavioral therapy - who'd have thunk it?
So we're a nation of monolingual, fascist, stupid, warmongering, mentally challenged, inflexible, evangelical religious zealots. Sounds like a great resume for a global superpower to me.
And you thought it couldn't get any worse... HA!
From a nuthouse deep inside the occupied territory, this has been The Rudicus Report.|W|P|111826711562770400|W|P|We're #1 AGAIN!!|W|P|
Glod|W|P|If I was you I'd go microwave all my money now. Just in case. aBitWicked|W|P|good thing you are mexican by adoption... (ava and i have adopted you) Rudicus|W|P|Gracias mis hermanas! Busty Wilde|W|P|I bet a lot of that has to do with those damned pharmaceutical commercials which make money on convincing people they have serious health issues. Crazy Americans are good for our economy, that's the bottom line. God, I hate this place more and more every day. Rudicus|W|P|Busty,That's a very true comment. I know doctors who say they routinely have people coming in and asking if they need medications that they saw on TV - even if they have nothing to do with them. Especially when most of these commercials don't say anything about what the drugs do.
We're a nation of easily manipulated sheep. Just say baaaaa!
The Lone Rangers|W|P|moooo....er baaaaWell along with the Downing Street Memo, we have yet another smoking gun for Bush and his pals. It turns out that Exxon/Mobil basically got the U.S. to pull out of the Kyoto Treaty on global warming. not only that, but White house officials were editing out and changing information regarding greenhouse gases and climate change AFTER the report was approved by scientists.
That's the Bush Administration for you. If you don't like the facts, make up your own. I guess intelligence was being "fixed around" the energy policy as well.
So what's it going to take? What's it going to take before people realize that these people are one of the most dangerous cabals ever to darken a governments doorstep. Already they are covered in the blood of every soldier they sent to die for a lie (that's all of them by the way) and now they are covered in oil in addition to being completely full of shit.
Now that the charges and evidence of corruption, manipulation and bald-faced lying are coming up just about everywhere - I think I know what's going to happen next. They'll repeal the amendment limiting a president to two terms and will re-elect Bush for life. That makes the most sense to me. Americans are like submissive masochists - the more they get hit, pissed on and abused, the more they like it.
Well at least his press conferences will be alot easier:
"President Bush, what do you think of ______________?"
"I don't know, let me go ask __________________(fill in name of corporation) what I think."
Hey Ava, do you have the number for the editorial department at La Monde?|W|P|111824888804839638|W|P|What's It Going To Take?|W|P|
Glod|W|P|I thought they were going to change stuff so that terminator bloke can be president. Don't people realise that he's an evil robot? AVA|W|P|I don't Rudi, but I can get it for you, I have a good friend whose husband is a journalist in Paris, and my sister also lives there, so send me an e-mail and I'll be more than glad to get you the info. It's the least I can do after all the questions you've taken the time to answer at Ask Rudicus.
Here is an excerpt on student dress/conduct from Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC - you should definitely check out their site at www.bju.edu:
Student Expectations
Dress Code for Men
General Dress
- Hair must be cut in a traditional, conservative style–not shaved, spiked, tangled, or shelved. It may not be colored or highlighted.
- Sideburns should not extend past the middle of the ear. Men are expected to remain clean-shaven.
- Necklaces, earrings, and bracelets are not permitted.
- Hats may not be worn indoors except in the gym.
- Men are not permitted to get tattoos or wear body piercings.
Abercrombie & Fitch and its subsidiary Hollister have shown an unusual degree of antagonism to the name of Christ and an unusual display of wickedness in their promotions. In protest, we will not allow articles displaying their logos to be worn, carried, or displayed (even if covered or masked in some way).
Morning Dress–dress shirt (no denim/chambray) with tie, dress or neat casual pants (no jeans, cargo, carpenter, or sloppy pants), dress or leather casual shoes; sweaters should show shirt collar and tie knot (no sweatshirts).
Afternoon Dress–collared shirt (no crew necks), neat casual pants, dress or casual shoes (no slides or sandals), socks above the ankle, sweatshirts or sweaters.
Sunday Dress–coat, tie, and dress shirt; dress shoes; dress or dressier casual pants.
Recreation and Work Dress–jeans, t-shirts, shorts at athletic facilities (not as spectators at sports events), sleeveless athletic shirts (indoor activities only), socks required (including at work).
Dress Code for Women
Classroom/general dress consists of a dress or top and skirt; however, pants may be worn for some recreational activities. Shorts may never be worn outside the residence halls and fitness center.
Tops
- Tops must be long enough that the midriff is never exposed.
- Sleeves are required. (Sleeveless tops and dresses may be worn with a blouse, jacket, or sweater.)
- Necklines may come no lower than four fingers below the collarbone.
Skirts
- Hemlines and slits or other openings should never come higher than the bottom of the knee.
- Denim skirts may be worn for casual dress (not to class or other professional-type events).
Pants
- Loose-fitting pants may be worn between women's residence halls, for athletic events, and to homes in the area.
- Loose-fitting jeans may be worn between women's residence halls and when participating in activities where the durability of the fabric is important, such as skiing and ice-skating.
Ease
- All dresses, skirts, pants, and shirts must be loose-fitting, having a minimum of three inches of ease at bust and hips.
- An informal way to measure ease is to stand up straight and pinch the loose fabric on both sides of the hips or at the bust line. Without stretching the fabric, there should be at least a 3/4-inch fold of fabric on both sides.
Other
- Sheer clothing may be worn only when the garment underneath conforms to normal dress regulations.
- Hose must be worn for all professional-type activities including class, church, and recitals.
- Combat boots, hiking boots, or shoes that give this appearance are not permitted.
- Hairstyles should be neat, orderly, and feminine. Avoid cutting-edge fads and cuts so short that they take on a masculine look.
- Students are not permitted to get tattoos. Excessive makeup is not permitted. Earrings may be worn only in the lobe of the ear (maximum of two matched sets). All other types of body piercings are prohibited.
I guess it warms my heart to know that I could never attend this university even if I tried - seeing as how I have tatoos, piercings, messy hair, use bad language, committ many sins and have a brain.
I find it especially ironic that a school is known as BJU is probably a haven for glossed over abstinent blond preppies - who am I kidding, these kids are probably boffing each other silly in between lines of coke - as long as they are cleaned and pressed in time for church. I wonder if the school folks and abstinence nazis realize that their policy of virginity has caused their little cupcake daughters to take up anal sex sex so they can stay virgins.
Onward Christian Robots!|W|P|111817553305591764|W|P|Education = Indoctrination.|W|P|
AVA|W|P|I wonder how Abercrombie manages to show "an unusual display of wickedness" in their campaigns. This is unbelivable. Where do you find this stuff??
The Lone Rangers|W|P|I just want a BJ University sweatshirt, that's all I'm sayin.A recent poll taken on religion and life in the following countries United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea and Spain ranked the U.S. as the #1 nation for religion (of the countries polled).
Here's the big highlight: 40% of Americans thinks that religious leaders should try to influence government decisions.
WOW! Now a word from a member of that 40%
"Our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian policies and religious leaders have an obligation to speak out on public policy, otherwise they're wimps," said David Black, a retiree from Osborne, Pa.
I hate to break this one to you Dave, but this country was founded by athiests and agnostics who specifically kept religion and judeo-christian policies out of the mix until your freak friends started putting back in. Try a history book pardner - reading is fundemental.
Other fun tidbits include the percentage of people who believe relgion is an integral part of their life - 85%
And as expected the percentage of people who don't beleive in God - less than 2%
So as usual I'm in the 98th percentile again!
Well at least we're in good company:
"The United States is a much more religious country than other similar countries, looks a lot like what you call developing countries, like Mexico, Iran and Indonesia," said John Green, an expert on religion and politics at the University of Akron.
Of course we must give a shout out to Ava and Wicked, their country came in #2 (represent!). But basically we are on par with the same religious nuts that run the very countries we claim need to have regime change (I couln't agree more).
So when I said that this country was turning into the Taliban - guess I was right - AGAIN!
It's a shame when the mirror of hypocrisy is shined upon you, but I doubt they will notice since it is clearly overpowered by the blinding gaze of the allmighty.
All was not lost, some countries actually looked like they were rational-friendly. So where can a rationally minded freethinker like myself find a home free from religious intrusion?
You guessed it - my France!
Bon Jour Mis Amis!
*reporting courtesy of WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer|W|P|111807567856393085|W|P|Tell Us Somethig We Don't Know.|W|P|
Glod|W|P|Yay, gotta love France and their lack of safety. Nowhere else have I been electrocuted by a washing machine whilst on holiday.Au revoir Rudicus.
Rudicus|W|P|It's ok I can't afford to move there anyway. AVA|W|P|It's always interesting to read you. I never would have thought that the US could rank as #1 nation for religion. Very interesting. Now I understand why you're so angry :) In Mexico, mixing religion and politics is a given, we don't even notice anymore.
You could probably move to France if you write an anti-american daily column at Le Monde or any other newspaper. You wouldn't get rich, but you'd be able to support yourself. Although you'd probably become soft and lose your inspiration.
Qu' est que tu penses, mon cheri?
Rudicus|W|P|le non, là est trop de matériel pour celaBut I see what you mean.
Oddly enough, while mexico ranked almost as high as the U.S. in terms of religion - even they didn't think it was a good idea to have the church actively trying to get involved in politics.
The study mentioned that most of the countries surveyed had gone through some sort of religious based conflict or war within the country so they may have been more sensitive to the effects of having the church too involved in the goverment.
The Lone Rangers|W|P|Glod LMAO!Ava actually I do think he's thought about it.
Rudi if you left who would gripe for the huddled masses? It sure as hell won't be me and Glods not about to move to the US.
Psst Rudi: "Qu' est que tu penses, mon cheri?" means What do you think?
I agree with Ava your a cherry.
Rudicus|W|P|TLR what are you talking about?That's why I answered her question about losing inspiration and going soft.
I said I had too much material.
votre Italien est bon, mais votre Français est terrible, singe-garçon.
The Lone Rangers|W|P|My French is awful (can read it but thats about it), and thank you on my Italian though. I also was writing that at the same time as you, you just posted first. So nyea...
AVA|W|P|Hahaha. This is hilarious.It seems to me that the Republicans are actually turning into the Democrats these days. Instead of Tax and Spend Liberals, they've become Spend and Spend Conservatives. The only difference is that the money is not going to help citizens now, instead it's going to help businesses. And didn;t we just leave a time where we had a surplus (run by a Democrat) vs. the greatest defecit in history (run by a Republican). The World's Topsy Turvy!
So today, the Supreme Court ruled that people who smoke medically prescribed marijuana in their own state where it is legal to do so, can still be prosecuted for drug possession by the federal goverment. Not only is this about the dumbest thing ever, but it caps an unprecedented invasion into the lives of people by the government.
So in addition to this, we have the goverment deciding personal family decisions about life and death ranging from birth control to rights to die. In addition we are also seeing them getting involved in the private lives from obscenity to laws to trying to say who we can love and get married to.
Did I miss that somewhere? I liked the Republicans alot better when they stayed out of everything and just made money.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is a complete joke. I have no sympathy for any of these losers. While I agree with many of the ideals they claim to support, their party has become a drunken circle jerk. Not only can these morons not string together a cohesive policy statement no matter how hard they try, but they've got their own people criticizing their own leader, while the other half pretend to be Conservatives so they can get elected - maybe! On top of all that, they can't raise any money - and with good reason, they suck! I wouldn't give my money to them either because they can't get their shit together for long enough to do anything useful with it.
If the day comes that someone with money(George Soros this means you) gets enough balls to say enough is enough and forms a party that actually works, then I'll be the first one there to pin buttons on people. But that's not going to happen until people are more concerned about their country and planet than they are about getting elected and spewwing dogma. We'll call it the Common Sense Party. We need good domestic people (like some of the democrats) along with good foreign policy people (like some republicans - the ones who are not frothed over with crusading religous zeal). The party's motto is "We're here to run the country." If you want dogma go to church or school.
The purpose of the government is to make sure your country is doing well - that means people have jobs, quality of life, you have good trading partners, noone is oppressing you and your citizens can walk freely around their country without getting invaded, terrorized, robbed, irradiated, poisoned or otherwise f'd with. Now if your citizens routinely don't have any of those things and the primary cause of them not having them is their own government - then that's about as big a red flag as you can get.
What do you think?|W|P|111807285790517091|W|P|Did I Miss Something?|W|P|
How many shady things have to happen in this administration before someone other than the 1% of the country that has an IQ over 80 who ISN'T wearing a Jesus Christ decoder ring decides to say something?
What a track record of smoking gun events that were covered up by the GOP:
1. Bush AWOL during his National Guard term - covered up
2. 2000 Election "fixed" in Florida - covered up
3. Swift boat Veterans secretly funded and controlled by GOP - covered up
4. 2004 Election "fixed" in Ohio - covered up
5. Energy department insiders dictating energy policy in secret meetings - covered up
6. Abu Grahib prison scandal involving anyone other than the lowest enlisted personnel - covered up
7. John Bolton's files that would probably show he is even further unfit for UN Ambassador - covered up
8. Manufactured intelligence and no WMD's in Iraq - covered up
9. Conflicting reports from Iraqi Weapons inspectors - covered up
10. Italian journalists shot by U.S. troops - covered up
11. Secret deals for Haliburton - covered up
12. U.S. troops killing unarmed civilians in Iraq - covered up
13. Gitmo interrogators "flushing" the Koran - covered up
14. Bush admin "outing" a covert operative in retaliation for opposing GW - covered up
15. U.S. Government involvement in 9/11 - covered up?
This is just what I could think of off the top of my head.
By now I hope you all know about the Downing Street Memo - you know the one that basically proves that Bush fabricated the whole pretext for war in Iraq and lied to the country and got all of our soldiers killed for nothing. You'd think a bombshell like this would be front page news - but it isn't. Why? For the same reason as all of the above. The GOP and the Bush Administration control all three branches of the government, the media, the military and corporate america. Also thanks to their unholy alliance with the Christian conservatives - they also control 51% of the population.
If all this wasn't bad enough, now it has just come out that two FAA managers - seemingly for no reason destroyed all of the audio taped conversations between the 9/11 hijackers and planes and the air traffic controllers shortly after the attacks. Why did they do this? Nobody knows. But something must have been on those tapes and now we'll never know. Once again some low level folks decided to act on their own in a completely extreme and seeming insensical way and noone above them knew anything about it. Yeah right.
So once again secrecy abounds and the cover up keeps going on.
Am I saying that the U.S. Government was somehow involved in 9/11 - of course not - I have no evidence of that, and thanks to the powers that be, nobody else does either. But where there's smoke there's fire and when Christians are involved, I smell a burning bush.
You make the call.|W|P|111782549968690363|W|P|I Smell a Whole Pack of Rats!|W|P|
Nowhere in our society is stupidity more concentrated than in the snipets found on the bumpers.
Today is no exception.
Sitting at a light on my way back from lunch today, I glanced down to the bumper of the car in front of me and noticed this little gem:
"PRAY or become PREY"
The sticker was in big bold letters and had an American Flag in the background.
Given the flag background and the sweet scent of Theocon bullshit in the air, I can only imagine they mean you should pray to God for protection from terrorists or you will end up dead.
Well let's take a look at that. So if I pray, then somehow that will protect me from becoming prey for America's enemies. Sounds good, lets see how this works.
Well it sure as shit didn't help didn't help the 3000 people that died in the 9/11 attacks. (and I'm pretty damn sure most if not all of them were praying their asses off)
Hmmm... didn't seem to do a bit of good for the 1700+ American GI's who bought it in Iraq & Afganistan.
Yup, didn't at all help the folks who got kidnapped and beheaded.
Now I know they weren't Americans and most weren't Christians, but it's the same God, so aparently prayers weren't much help for all the dead Iraqi's and Afgani's on the other side of the war.
And praying in no way helped the 130,000+ people including cute little children and puppies who got flushed in the Tsunami.
Hell, praying didn't even help Terri Schaivo who probably had more people praying than ever.
Seems to me that praying is about as useful as the thing they were praying to. On the other hand, maybe there is a direct connection on the opposite end.
"PRAY and become PREY"
That seems to be 100% correct.
No thanks, I'll keep my prayers to myself and take my chances.|W|P|111773829183812698|W|P|Adventures in Stupid Propaganda Part Deux.|W|P|
steph|W|P|thought-provoking post.i used to live in georgia - athens.
i know one thing that used to piss me off while living there: the "god" billboards. "'don't make me come down there.' -god" there were way more annoying ones, though.
Rudicus|W|P|Yeah the new big billboard down here is for some talk radio station and the tagline that takes up half the billboard is "Liberals Hate It!"Like that's a selling point. Maybe they should post a counter one that says "Dumb Rednecks Love It!"
|W|P|Heathens shall burn in hell while those enlightened by the word of God shall be set free. Tara|W|P|Steph - I saw a 'God' one the other day and almost ran off the road - I believe it said, "Will the road you're on get you to my place? - God" I don't know about getting to God but I was heading to Jack In The Box.
P.S - also saw "Stop taking my name in vain, or I'll make rush hour longer - God" Now I am even more pissed at - vengeful deity!
Rudicus|W|P|What do you think would happen if you put up some kind of billboard about another religion - or worse non-religion.I bet the company probably wouldn't even allow it and if they did you'd get all sorts of mad turnout talking about religious persecution. Hypocrites of the world unite.
Big Dog|W|P|This just came via email today:-----------
Oh Lord, let us prey.
Let us prey on the weak, the old, and the needy.
Let us prey on the children who lack health insurance.
Let us prey on the teachers who lack decent wages and pensions. Let us prey on the citizen who needs a helping hand. Let us prey on the homeowners who lack affordable insurance. Let us prey on the veterans who lack necessary services. Let us prey on the water, air, and land that we have polluted.
And Lord let the Republican Party of Texas, the GOP, Gods Own Party, prey on those who are different.
In your name we prey.
Rudicus|W|P|that's great! The Lone Rangers|W|P|beauty bigdog Phoenix|W|P|wish you had a pic Paul Logasa Bogen II|W|P|I saw the same damn bumper sticker today!The Village of Staphorst in The Netherlands (that's Holland) has just outlawed swearing.
Staphorst sits in what is referred to as the Dutch Bible Belt. The ban on swearing was a result of their belief that swearing was banned by the bible and offered this quote.
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain,"
It is unlikely to do much good, since the ban cannot be used to prevent anyone from expressing themselves in the context of freedom of speech and expression and such ban were overruled in the past in other communities. But onward Christian soldier, I guess.
I'm not going to do the cliche thing and make some closing statement filled with swear words - instead, I'd like to post a suggestion to the producers of reality television. How about a new show called "Holier Than Thou" where a community of religious morons from around the U.S. and Europe gather together to try and run a society based on their beliefs and values with cameras placed everywhere to record any and all activities and then we follow the town for a generation to see how they do. My guess is there will be just as much drugs, porn, weird sex, bad language, teenage preganancy as anywhere else and within a short period of time they would start fighting with each other.
I'd watch it every week.
aBitWicked|W|P|haha its impressing how stupid some people can be... ok... follow me around so i wont swear and i wont drink and smoke.. as IF!!! where the heck is my freedom then? morons... those are the worst, in disguise... yiakOur old pal Tom "M.C. Hammer" Delay took a break from committing ethics violations and threating TV Networks to unleash this tidbit:
NASA's new administrator and Texas Republican Rep. Tom DeLay said Tuesday the space agency will have the necessary funding to implement Presdient Bush's vision to send astronauts back to the moon and to Mars.
GREAT!
So in addition to the war in Iraq, an economy in the tank, and the largest defecit in the history of large defecits, we need to increase funding for basically an ego driven useless enterprise.
It would be different if we were embarking on some kind of mission to investigate possible colonization or mining as well as furthering scientific knowledge. But that's not the reason.
"If you ask anyone in this country, 'Do you believe that the United States should cede the moon to say the Chinese, Europeans, Russians, whoever?' I bet you the answer would be, 'No,'" he said.
So we need to blow more money we don't have so that the COMMIES don't beat us. You've got to be kidding me. I hate to break this to you, but the moon doesn't belong to the U.S. - although I'm sure they claim it and all of space. And you wonder why everyone thinks we're arrogant.
I'm all for funding science, and if you cut some money out of the billions earmarked for defense, backroom deals and sweetheart contracts for business cronies, then you've got my vote. But if the reason is so that the Chinese don't land there and get their own moon rocks - I could care less.
I can say one thing for these guys, they are consistent...consistently wrong.
AVA|W|P|I hate to break it too you Rudi, but the world doesn't think americans are arrogant as much as they think they're stupid. No offense though. I don't really agree, I just think your leaders have some twisted priorities.
Rudicus|W|P|I guess I assumed everyone knew that Americans were stupid too. But thanks. Gilbert Koh|W|P|I think that the Chinese would be quite happy to let the Americans have the moon and its rocks.The Chinese would be more interested in things like earning money & dominating world trade.
Tara|W|P|But just think of the cool pictures they can take from space - you know, of the rubble in Baghdad, the cleared rainforests and Bush's great big ranch in TX. Ask again why the rest of the world thinks we're stupid.