I have decided to blog about religion and politics separately from my Destined for Banality blog. I'd like to give my readers a choice on whether they want to take the chance of being offended by my sometimes vitriolic rants on these taboo topics.
Here is the heroic Rachel Maddow taking on the slimy Tim Phillips of Americans for Prosperity, a supposedly grass roots organization. This is why the ratings of Meet the Press have been so high the two times Rachel appeared on the panel.
It's refreshing to see a smart person on TV; especially a smart woman, who has the facts on her side, and is not afraid to take down the corporate shills. These are the same con men, who used to be run out of town on a rail. They have been running this country into the ground for years now, and yet they claim to be the true patriots. The real Americans. There is a lot of raping and pillaging in America's history and the Republicans are your poster boys for carrying on that tradition.
At last Hollywood is standing up for a real American value: profit. Why should rich CEOs give up their weekend retreat in the Cayman islands, or hire actual Americans to clean their houses, rather than a slew of illegal immigrants? It's just not fair!
Sometimes it's hard to comment on the insanity of the lunatic fringe. What is even more maddening is the coverage this psychotic minority gets from our mainstream media. Their exposure gives the impression that a.) there are more of them than than us. And b.) that they have legitimate complaints. Is there anyone beside the frothing few that believe that somehow President Obama was intending to indoctrinate schoolchildren by urging them to pay attention and stay in school? And yet the "news" media give the vocal few -- who have an unusual fear of black people, and liberals -- equal time to spew their demented views. Actually, these folks on the lunatic fringe seem to get a larger share of the "news" time. I cannot recall the critics of the Bush regime getting as much airtime. Anti-war protests were consistently ignored by the corporate media, and the attempt to prosecute war crimes (that were without a doubt committed by the previous administration) are labeled as efforts by radical leftists.
And now a post-rant music video. Please enjoy, and remember to tip your waitresses.
I'm excited to announce that I am registered to attend this year's Freedom From Religion convention, which is taking place in Seattle. I started attending two years ago, and vowed that I would make it a yearly ritual. The first convention was in Madison, Wisconsin, where FFRF has their headquarters. Last year it was held in Chicago. Thankfully, due to economics and my personal transitions of late, I'm glad it's being held in my hometown this year. A few of this year's featured speakers include Ron Reagan, a self-described "unabashed atheist" and resident of Seattle; Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of Doubt: A History; and former Los Angeles Times religion reporter William Lobdell, whose new memoir is entitled Losing My Religion. Lobdell will be receiving this year's “Emperor Has No Clothes” Award. Also appearing will be the science fiction and fantasy legend Ursula Le Guin, who will also receive an “Emperor Has No Clothes” Award. I have hardcover copies of the books by Hecht and Lobdell that I plan on getting signed, and I'm hoping that I can get my copy of Le Guin's translation of the Tao te Ching signed.
Religious folks claim to be inspired by the fantasies they are told while in church, but I can state that I have been greatly inspired by being in a crowd of people, who are able to think for themselves and place reason above superstition. We're not a bunch of haters either, because FFRF has honored people of faith who have worked to keep church and state separate. The biggest haters I have witness are those who claim to be children of God (their capitalization), when they urge the stoning of heretics, gays, adulterers, and many others. It's their way or the highway to hell.
All of these loud ignorant buffoons that are out there protesting government takeover of health care are not the majority. They are just the proverbial squeaky wheel. I have a revision to that old saying though: The squeaky wheel should be immediately removed and thrown into the nearest ditch. I saw a group of these pseudo-patriots over the weekend, standing on a corner with their flags waving. I'm assuming that the flags indicate that they believe that they are the real and true Americans. If you believe in a corporate controlled America, and want to do all you can to protect those capitalist pigs, who have been destroying our country, then maybe you can call yourself a true American®. I prefer to think of myself as an individual and a freethinker. Let the masses follow their corporate leaders right into the sea like the lemmings they are. (Of course, this is an insult to actual lemmings.)
Anyone who checks in on this blog may notice that I've been absent for a while. This blog was much busier during the presidential election, but once the smoke had cleared from that event I was a little burnt-out on politics. I still have a lot to say about politics and religion, but since my time is somewhat limited these days (no...I'm not one of those pyjama-clad bloggers, who still lives in his mother's basement.) when I do have a free half-hour or so I tend to update my destined for banality blog. That was my original blog that kind of grew out of my old web site with the same name. I always have good intentions, including posting movie and book reviews, but most of the time I just blog about mundane everyday aspects of my life. If I was blessed with a 48-hour day I would certainly post my rant-like thoughts on subjects like Sarah Palin, John Ensign and his connection with "The Family" Christian fellowship in D.C., Governor Sanford's "hiking the Appalachian Trail" story, and so forth. There is always a abundance of material when it comes to the wacky world of politics and religion, but I have found myself quite busy with my own summer of transitions. I'm not ready to give up on this blog yet though. I'll be back with my venomous rantings at some point in the future.
