WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT

Several county clerks in Kentucky are refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples based on their "Christian" beliefs. Basically they're arguing nullification. An idea that rears its ugly head every couple of generations or so.

One clerk's argument is that the voters in Kentucky passed a ballot measure and how can the Supreme Court say that it's wrong? Well, like it or not the Supreme Court is the final arbiter on what is constitutional and what isn't going back to Marbury vs. Madison under chief justice John Marshall. Frankly, which of your civil rights would you want to leave to the tender mercies of your neighbors?

As an example. Back in the seventies Oregonians had a bumper sticker "Don't Californicate Oregon." I'm sure there were some of us would have liked to pass laws that kept "furriners" out. The Courts would have ruled such laws were unconstitutional, and rightly so.

The constitution has a mechanism to deal with his complaints. It's called an amendment.. You don't like what's happening? Try to amend the constitution. Good thing that it only takes thirteen states to block you.

You aren't being persecuted, far from it. Being required to respect the rights of others is not persecution it's just a fact of life. Live with it.

THE HIRED HELP CONTINUED

I totally forgot about the police, fire fighters and EMT's when I wrote yesterday's post. I'm a fan of Blue Bloods and a first season episode pegged rookie Jamie Reagans's pay at under $47.000. Subtract the standard deduction and I guess Jamie isn't "pulling his weight." Even though like most other cops he's basically on call 24/7.

Big brother is a detective and their average salary is in the upper eighty grand neighborhood. Which is probably why the wife went back to work as an ER nurse. Still I'm betting their combined salaries don't put them in the $42,000 tax bracket. With two kids I guess they "aren't pulling their weight" either. Even though one of them is periodically risking his life and the other is trying to save the lives of ungrateful asshats like OldMan. 

I suspect that firefighters and EMT's probably pull down similar wages to run towards events that the rest of us run AWAY from. And remember that seventy one cops and over three hundred fire fighters died when the towers collapsed on 9/11. 

So Mr or Ms I pay eighty grand in taxes just what does it take for the folks who risk their necks to save your life and property to "pull their weight," If you're telling the truth about you taxes you are a sorry excuse for a human being. If you're putting out talking points to echo Romney's forty seven percent you are still a sorry excuse for a human being, 

A WEEK OR TWO WITHOUT THE HIRED HELP

Some folks can't seem to think past the ends of their noses.

“If you don't pay at least $12,000 a year in Federal Taxes, you aren't even paying your own way! And less than $2,000 of that is for welfare. So if you have 2 children and a wife, you need to be paying $48,000 a year in Federal Taxes, just to be paying YOUR OWN WAY!

So for all you Party Of Stupid (POS) Whiners...You're welcome! I pay almost $80,000 a year, so I'm paying your way too! 

Unless you are in the 5%, you should stop whining, as it makes you look like an entitlement baby!”

Ran across this charming bit of philosophy on the net yesterday. Frankly I don't know if this person really pays $80.000 a year in taxes or if this is the opening salvo in this election cycles's version of Mitt Romney's “47 percent.” Anyway I decided to have a little fun. 

After spending some time with the IRS tax tables you'd have to be pulling down about sixty grand a year to owe about $12,000 in taxes. And then to have this sorry excuse for human being tell us that if you have a family you should be paying a hell of a lot more. How many average Joe's do you know who make close to two hundred thousand a year?

Anyway that got me thinking. In my scenario this person lives in a big city, say New York or Boston, has a nice apartment and their very own parking space.  Perhaps this is how a  couple of weeks might play out if the little folks who really keep the country going just don't show up.

You're getting ready for work, your housekeeper is due in today. She calls in sick, doesn't know when she'll be in. You usually stop at the local deli for breakfast. It's closed. The owner, the cook and the person who runs the register haven't shown up. Hungry, you head for the office. The doorman is missing. The guy/gal at the front desk is missing. You get to your office. No receptionist, no office assistant. Your computer is wonky. No techies available. The phone is ringing off the hook and you have to answer it yourself. Too bad.

Time to head home. The engine sounds a little rough so you swing by your favorite garage. Nobody there. Guess you'll have to take a cab tomorrow. You get home to your grubby apartment and fix dinner (I'm assuming this doofus is single) cupboards are starting to look a little scant. Better swing by the neighborhood bodega in the next couple of days,

The engine may be running rough but you still have to get to work. The streets are strangely quiet. No cabs, no buses and almost no subways. Nobody to drive them. Ignoring the chattering engine you discover that the situation at the office is the same as yesterday. Recalling the state of the larder you head out a little early via the bodega. It's closed. Not even the owner is in sight. Did you really think that guy made that much money a year?

Your favorite place for dinner is closed. No cooks, bartenders, wait staff or bussers. They sure as hell don't make that kind of money. Hell, tipped staff often don't even make federal minimum wage. The engine may still be missing but tomorrow is Saturday; a good time to head for a real grocery store. Unfortunately the shelves are looking bare. There haven't been any grocery deliveries for three days and most of the stockers, checkers and deli staff appear to have also disappeared into the unknown.

You manage a loaf bread that's a little stale, some lunch meat that hasn't hit the expiration date, some wilted vegetables and some canned goods. To make life even more interesting your gas tank is below half full. The gas station is open but you can't get all you need because there haven't been any fuel deliveries for several days and the manager is trying to stretch supplies. Between explanations he/she is manning the cash register. Don't bother to go searching for another station. They're in the same straights.

You manage to get through the weekend. Comes Monday, oh did I mention it's July and there's a heatwave, and your neighborhood is beginning to smell a little “ripe.” The trash haulers are AWOL, too.

First of the week and no improvement. When you stagger into your apartment that evening the lights are flickering. Turns out your power comes from a coal fired plant and they haven't gotten any deliveries for more than a week. By midweek your apartment is a mess. You're being hit with rolling blackouts and “please don't use the AC” because we don't know when the coal is coming in. As the lights go out again you find yourself wondering if living near a nuclear power plant would be a good or a bad situation.

So Mr. or Ms. (I'm assuming it's a guy since the sign in was OldMan) I pay $80.000 in taxes you've just been brought to your knees because all the peons you dissed in your comment just disappeared a la A Day Without a Mexican. Without all those little people cleaning houses, manning the cash registers, stocking the shelves, waiting tables, delivering the food or gas and picking up the garbage your comfortable life grinds to a halt. It just might be a good idea to show a little respect now and then.

Think about it. 

MASTERS OF WAR

Senator Tom Cotton believes we can bomb Iran's nuclear capabilities back to zero  with no repercussions. Tommy this old Bob Dylan is just for you. 

Masters of War

Come you masters of war

You that build all the guns

You that build the death planes

You that build all the bombs

You that hide behind walls

You that hide behind desks

I just want you to know

I can see through your masks.

You that never done nothin'

But build to destroy

You play with my world

Like it's your little toy

You put a gun in my hand

And you hide from my eyes

And you turn and run further

When the fast bullets fly.

Like Judas of old

You lie and deceive

A world war can be won

You want me to believe

But I see through your eyes

And I see through your brain

Like I see through the water

The runs down my drain.

You fasten all the triggeers

For the others to fire

Then you sit back and watch

When the death count gets higher

You hide in your mansion

As young people's blood

Flows out of their bodies

And is buried in the mud.

You've thrown the worst fear

That can ever be hurled

Fear to bring children

Into the world.

For threatening my baby

Unborn and unnamed

You ain't worth the blood

That runs in your veins.

How much do I know

To talk out of turn

You might say that I'm young

I might say I'm unlearned

But there's one thing I know

Though I'm younger than you

That even Jesus would never

Forgive what you do,

Let me ask you one question

Is your money that good

Will it buy you forgiveness

Do you thing that it could

I think you will find

When your death takes its toll

All the money you made

Will never buy back your soul.

And I hope that you die

And your death'll come soon

I will follow your casket

In the pale afternoon

And I'll watch while you're lowered

Down to your deathbed

And I'll stand over your grave

'Til I'm sure that you're dead.

Bob Dylan

What else is there to say? 

BEWARE OF THE WAR DRUMS

Agnes Keith married a member of the British Foreign Service, Harry Keith, in the early '30's. She moved with him to Borneo. They had a son in 1940 just as the war started. They were scheduled for leave in Britain and Harry was ordered back to Borneo. Agnes went with him. When Japan entered the war, Borneo was occupied by the Japanese, civilians were interned. The Keith family spent the next three and a half years in what amounted to prison camps. The family survived, barely. She chronicled the story Three Came home. This is the intro to her book.

"I have written this book for three reasons"

For horror of war, I want others to shudder with at it.

For affection for my husband. When war nearly killed me, knowledge of our love kept me alive.

And for a reminder to my son, I fought one war for him in prison camp. He survives because of me. He belongs now to peace. I remind him that is better to give more and to have less - and to keep the peace - than to fight.

The Japanese in this book are as war made them, not as God did, and the same is true of the rest of us. We are not pleasant people here, for the story of war is always the story of hate; it makes no difference with whom one fights. The hate destroys you spiritualy as the fighting destroys you bodily.

If there are tearrs shed here, they are for the death of good feeing If there is horror, it for those who speak indifferently of 'the next war.' If there is hate, it is for hateful qualities, nor nations. If there is love, it is because this alone kept me alive and sane."

Agnes Newton Keith

Her words still ring true today as the war drums begin to beat again.

ONLY OFF BY EIGHT CENTURIES OR SO

Tuned into Burt Wolf''s Travels and Traditions this afternoon. It's a travelogue program on PBS, rather light weight and in this case somebody should have double checked the the script. To be honest, I doubt that one person in a hundred would have caught the error. He linked Attila the Hun with the Mongols. Since Attila went to join his ancestors around 450 CE and the Mongols started their rampages across Central Asia and Eastern Europe around 1200 CE there a bad case WTF are you talking about!!!

Now there's at least one sword and sandal epic centered on Attila and his supposed efforts to marry the sister of one of the last Roman emperors, Valentinian III ruler of the Western Empire until he was assassinated in 455. The USA network also also did a miniseries about ten years ago. Not bad. I wonder if Valentinian was really THAT much of an idiot. Attila was  Hun. His armies included members of his own tribes, soldiers from other tribes, but I'm pretty damn sure there weren't any Mongols. 

The Mongols began their conquests under Genghis Khan in the early 1200's,reaching it's greatest extent by the end of the century, then fracturing into four separate khanates. The Mongols were known for their brutally ruthless battle tactics. If your city surrendered you lived. If your rulers insisted on resisting and the Mongols laid siege to the city, when the city fell you died. Brutal, Incredibly brutal. They ravaged Poland and Hungary. Destroyed the Russian cities of Kiev, Vladimir and Moscow. 

It took me less than five minutes of strenuous research on Google to double check my facts. If I could do it so could who ever wrote the script. And I'll just leave it at that. 

THE TRUE ORIGINS

of tribbles.

Who would have thought that Trump's toupees were really tribbles  LOL

A DAILY KOS RANT

I hope they don't mind me posting this verbatim. Lafeministas says is so much better than I could. When nasty spiteful hate-mongers like Huckabee and Santorum start to appear to be normal.

"When blood-soaked warmongers such as Graham and McCain appear to be reasonable.

When ignorant jerks like Walker, Perry and Jindal represent your intellectual elite.

When you embrace the crazy like Carson.

When racism and white privilege drove both your base and yourselves when an uppity n****r dared not only run but even won, you couldn't even bring yourselves to admit he was an American.

When your shifty good for nothing leader of Senate declared that his sole aim in government was to destroy the President, from day one.

When your Speaker of the House cries over an America that never existed.

When your justices on the supreme court are so out of touch, that they declare racism over and that corporations have religious rights.

You deserve Donald Trump.

You deserve every slight against service, every racist utterance and every look at me I'm fucking rich, you're all little people.

That your base laps up this unadulterated vileness is your own damn fault. When it served your nefarious purposes, it was all well and good.

Now that it is thrown back in your face, you whine.

You deserve him and I hope that he wins your bloody primary.

He is the conscience of the conservative

Deal with it.

You own it."

And I might add that when it looks like the shrub was really the smarter brother, the 'pubs are really in deep shit. 

SCHOOLING A LAWYER

It's kind of scary when a journalist with a public affairs degree is the one to school the presidential candidate with the law degree on the ins and outs of the supreme court and who decides what is constitutional or not.

I always suspected Rick Santorum fell asleep during any classes on constitutional law the article in Salon confirms it. Problem is, he isn't the only one. Congress can't just "pass a law." That's not how it works. You don't like the results, try to amend the constitution. The constitution has a process for that. Thing is it only takes thirteen states to block his dreams of undoing the latest SCOTUS decision.

I believe that what Santorum is looking for  is another trip to the Supremes giving them a chance to admit that their original decision was a "mistake." Good luck on that Rick.

And now he's attacking Scott Walker because he doesn't have his wife and children under control.  It seems that they are supporters of same sex marriage even though Governor Walker isn't. The patriarchy is alive and well. The This is beyond weird and getting weirder all the time. It's going to be a long, long campaign season.

A LONG DRY SPELL

This may just about be the longest I've gone without posting SOMETHING in a long time. We all hit these dry spells. I'm not sure if it's writer's block or total amazement with the political//religious scene in this country right now.

The president (and several other countries) negotiate a nuclear agreement with Iran. The likes of Scott Walker and Jeb Bush vie to announce not if they'll bomb Iran; it's just a question of when. Guy's, if you convince the Iranians that your are going to bomb them, assuming that the threat will be enough to lead them to salute to salute when your name is mentioned, what makes you think they're just going to sit there and wait for it. They may not be able to bomb us, but I'm sure they have enough anti air craft and defensive fighters to make the price prohibitively high.

Donald Trump is ahead in the GOP polls and no one outside of the GOP base is sure why. I'm not going to bother to list the "assets" of the owner of the world's worst comb over. Except to say that IMHO the man is batshit crazy and has spent too much time surrounded by people who said yes all the time.

And most of these candidates in waiting just don't look, I don't know, presidential. And I don't believe it's a physical attribute. We've had them all shapes and sizes from imposing Washington or Jefferson to short and dumpy little John Adams. It isn't the physical attributes it's the presence. Although try to imagine Trump getting off his helicopter, hair flying every which way, I can imagine Putin's smirk already. Take Jeb Bush or Scott Walker. I don't know about you, but their eyes remind me of a dead fish. There's nobody home. And I don't want to imagine any of these dweebs, especially Trump or Cruz within forty miles of the codes for the nukes. That is definitely a disaster waiting to happen.

TRUE COURAGE

I've always loved this movie. And I've also felt that courage was also being scared or desperate and doing what you had to do in spite of the fear or the risks.

THE BLATHERING CONTINUES

 I know I haven't been posting much lately. I mean, how many times can you write about some of these blithering idiots before you find yourself, repeating yourself. However, the hissy fits over the Supreme Court rulings continue. Rick Santorum's unsolicited advice is just one of them. 

Honestly, I think half these twits get law degrees so they can go into politics. Apparently they don't  really plan on using them any longer than they have to.  There appears to be zero comprehension on how this government was meant to work. And in my not so humble opinion any potential candidate who puts his or her religious book above the constitution should be automatically and permanently disqualified from holding any elective or appointive office.

And memo to Sarah Palin. Disagreeing with your point of view is neither a high crime or misdemeanor so impeaching the justices that handed down an opinion you don't agree with is a non starter.

In case no one ever explained this to any of you (you'd think this would have been covered in law school at least) the judiciary is the third branch of our government. And just as independent, in theory, as the other two. Federal judges were meant to be appointed, not elected, to insulate them from nitwits like you. And me, I'm not too fond of either the appointment of G W Bush as president or of Citizens United, but there it is. If you don't like the results you try to use the remedy provided for in the constitution. You try to amend it. However, LOL, it only takes thirteen states to block you and I'm pretty sure we have them . 

WE WEREN'T TOO COOL WITH CITIZENS UNITED

But I don't remember temper tantrums on the scale I'm seeing over marriage equality this morning. And yes, the accurate term is temper tantrums. Temper tantrums of epic proportions.

Is little Jackie reading the hissy fits and conniption fits this morning and feeling a trifle cranky? Hell yes, and it's more than a trifle.

Like it or not. Agree with it or not. The Supreme Court was established by the constitution. Yes, that constitution. The judiciary is the third branch of government you twits. You can't shut it down because you don't like the results and are throwing temper tantrums of epic proportions. And there's a reason federal judges are appointed not elected. The same reason the house is reelected every two years and the senate one third at a time. Insulation you blithering idiots, insulation. Insulation from the temper tantrums, hissy fits and conniption fits littering the air waves today.

However it's really scary when a sitting justice doesn't seem to understand why his highly educated derriere can't be kicked off the the court by anything less than death or impeachment. Yes, I mean you Tony and Tommy.

The court has been the final arbiter of what is and is not constitutional since John Marshall was chief justice. And this daughter of long time immigrants is getting sick and tired of first generation immigrant offspring from countries with little or no history of representative government telling the rest of us (earliest settlers in my family 1630's) how we got it wrong. Hell the English have been working on the concept for nearly a thousand years. we've rebelled over it. We killed a king for it.

You don't like the results? Work to amend the constitution. News flash it only takes thirteen states to sink you so good luck.

I'M NUMB

Jack Kennedy. Four little girls in a church in Birmingham. Medgar Evers. Three civil rights workers found in an earthen dam. A housewife named Viola Liuzzo who only wanted to help. She brought in supplies and gave rides to students who needed one. Martin. Bobby. The unknowns from our war on subversion in the last decades of the last century. The dead civilians in the Middle East from this century. The victims of police violence. Last night.

Pray they say. I can't. Not right now. I'm prayed out. I'm numb. And I'm angry. In fact I passed "angry" about ten squares back and I'm passing totally pissed off. This morning Faux Noise is framing the Charleston shooting at an attack on Christians, which it is in a way and not the result of racism which it is. More guns. More guns. That'll solve the problem.

For years the mantra has been "we protect the rights of others to protect our own." But, what do you do when you realize that those whose rights we're protecting don't give a damn about your rights and my rights. In fact they've proven over and over in the last decade that given the chance our rights will never be respected.

Memo to the fools as Faux. There is no one more dangerous than someone who believes they have nothing to lose.

I LOVE IT

when a plan comes together. Especially when it involves getting the yard watered. This year (and I didn't even know these existed) we put a four way splitter on the front faucet. North side and south side and a section of the front will be handled by four green soakers. Two on each side connected by what the packaging called a manifold. You can hook up a hose or soaker on either end and up to four other connections on the side with the main hose connected on the other side. South side in and working. Looks like we have enough slack to bring the east bound soaker through the middle of the yard. What's left can be handled with the other hoses and sprinklers. The trick now is to get some good water into the soil while the weather is fairly mild. With luck we can go to once a week or so schedule once the blueberries are picked.

I freakin' love it. Position the sprinkler. Turn the switch for that hose and awaaaaaay we gooooo! eah have to move the sprinklers but no more hauling heavy hoses around the yard every time we want to do another section. We were even able to run two of the hoses UNDER the ramp on the front and can cut down the risk of tripping and landing on our butts.

Must remember to take some pictures. It isn't exactly pretty but it works, and that's what counts.

MAGIC MOMENT

Spent time outside this morning watering etc. Ran a sprinkler close to one of the Andromedas so it was nice and drippy.I don't know what kind of bird it was. Hummer, bushtit, a finch or the like but that feather ball was having a fine old time fluttering around in the inside of that bush. Taking a shower, grabbing a little drink. Then it popped into the dogwood on the farside for a good fluffing and then off it went across the street.

Reminded me that while drip irrigation is a great tool, the nearest water is the river and that's six blocks away. We create deserts in our neighborhoods and then we wonder where the wild life went. This isn't the first time I've seen birds take advantage of the  sprinkler. The little ones do love to play in the water.

THE ONLY THING I'LL SAY

at the moment about the brouhaha over the person now known as Caitlyn Jenner. The fundies are having a fit. There's been a petition to strip the Olympic gold medal for the decathlon It's nearly driven the Duggar debacle off the front pages.

I'll borrow a phrase from Thomas Jefferson on his neighbor's faith or lack there of. "It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."

THE WORTH OF A SINGLE HUMAN BEING

No, I didn't fall off the face of the planet. Yes, my computer is still working just fine. It's just between the politics and all the other BS it's enough to depress a hyena.

Hauled out my copy of Judgement at Nuremberg last night. This quote has always stuck with me.
Ernst Janning was one of the defendants. This is one of the few movies I remember watching on the tube as a kid. 

"Janning, to be sure, is a tragic figure. We believe he *loathed* the evil he did. But compassion for the present torture of his soul must not beget forgetfulness of the torture and death of millions by the government of which he was a part. Janning's record and his fate illuminate the most shattering truth that has emerged from this trial. If he and the other defendants were all depraved perverts - if the leaders of the Third Reich were sadistic monsters and maniacs - these events would have no more moral significance than an earthquake or other natural catastrophes. But this trial has shown that under the stress of a national crisis, men - even able and extraordinary men - can delude themselves into the commission of crimes and atrocities so vast and heinous as to stagger the imagination. No one who has sat through this trial can ever forget. The sterilization of men because of their political beliefs... The murder of children... How *easily* that can happen! There are those in our country today, too, who speak of the "protection" of the country. Of "survival". The answer to that is: *survival as what*? A country isn't a rock. And it isn't an extension of one's self. *It's what it stands for, when standing for something is the most difficult!* Before the people of the world - let it now be noted in our decision here that this is what *we* stand for: *justice, truth... and the value of a single human being!*

JUST IMAGINE

what the right wing and fundie reaction would be if an African American or Latino family or even atheists were living in these conditions and "unschooling" their kids. 

But no, these are good, white Christians with a following that apparently doesn't have a problem rains small children under conditions that would embarrass a villager in Bangladesh. That folks is what they describe as a cabin. Tent fabric roof, "Walls on three sides. I hope to hell there's at least an outhouse on the property but I doubt it.

At last update their ten kids were in the care of Kentucky CPS and their "fans" were crying persecution. The kids are not only being raised in an unsafe environment, they aren't even getting education a crappy (and not all homeschooling is crappy) home school with ACE workbooks woud provide there are questions of whether they even have birth certificate.

You what to live in fourth world conditions fine. But your kids are too young to defend themselves and deserve better.

LUNACY PART 2

Parsing rape from the Republican party Now we have a state legislator from Texas who would force a woman whose pregnancy is non viable to carry that pregnancy to full term, even at the risk of her life. The rational of the twit who sponsored the amendment "suffering is part of the human condition, since sin entered the world.”

That statement or one similar should automatically disqualify any office holder in this country from holding office. The constitution is the law of the land, not the Bible. If someone doesn't understand this they don't deserve to hold office. 

THE LUNACY CONTINUES

This is one for the books folks. The Arizona legislature and the House committee that oversees Washington DC are both considering bills that would allow an employer who doesn't believe in birth control to fire an employee who buys her own prescription. Not through her work insurance, but privately.

I don't see this happening very often, but that any legislative body would consider such a bill is totally mind boggling. Too make matters worse the above quote makes no sense to me at all. Even when I reread the article it didn't make any sense.

For the bazillionith time. The Bible is not the law of the land. The constitution is. That quote belongss in his church. Not on the floor of the house or in the committee room. If you want to preach go find a street corner and have at it. Don't forget to duck. Otherwise STFU and do your job.

AFTER HUBRIS COMES NEMESIS

Bachman and company strike again.  There is something seriously twisted about someone who can contemplate the destruction of this world and everything in it and believe its a good thing.

"ormer Rep. Michele Bachmann is very excited that the world may be coming to an end. Iran may be getting the bomb, and gay people are getting married these days, and all of this is wonderful news because it means Israel is going to be destroyed and there will be wars and plagues and famines and that means Jesus is going to come back to fly all the bestest Bachmann-approving-of Christians into heaven while her enemies get left to rot in whatever post-nuclear wasteland comes next. You think we are making this up. We are not making this up."

Leaving out Iran possibly getting the bomb and nuking Israel. Followed five minutes later by Iran's future as a slag heap and a sea of glass. Her other reasons Obama and gay marriage. 

Let me get this straight. Wars, intolerance, bigotry. Slavery, wreaking the environment on a global scale. Our so called wars against subversion that left thousands of civilians dead, tortured and displace All of this and Jesus hasn't returned, But He is going to return, destroy the world as we know it because Americans elected an African American president and a few gays want to marry the people they love God is going to destroy world, The sinners along with the fish, the birds, the whales the wolves, the redwoods. One, there is absolutely nothing in scripture that supports this belief,but that never stopped the fundies before. 

And second, and worst. The absolute arrogance that whatever happens in the US is going to take down the rest of the world. The ancient Greeks had a word for that. Hubris. And after hubris comes the take down.. Nemesis 

STICK TO THE SPIRITUAL AND LEAVE THE SCIENCE TO US

Pope France must be intensely frustrating for the Koch Brothers and their allies. He can't be bought. (presumably) He isn't beholden to them for his election. Near as I can tell he's still living in the same hostelry since his election. He's in office for life unless he pulls a Benedict. And he didn't ask their advice before he came out on the side of climate change.

In what has to be a prime example of American "exceptionalism" the Heartland Institute, a conservative/libertarian think tank is seeking an audience so some of their scientists can explain the facts of climate change and convince the Pope to shut up.

After all his realm is the spiritual. What does he know about science? I mean it's not like the Vatican doesn't have a scientist or two stashed in the store rooms. Heck, the church even has it's very own astronomer, A Jesuit with degrees up the pipe who probably spends more time in Arizona than Italy. Better telescopes and less pollution these days.

For me this is the kicker. If you believe that Creation is sacred, no matter how you arrived at that belief then protecting the only home we have is very much a spiritual calling.

If all else fails the bought and paid for shills for the fossil fuel industry are ready to play the poverty card. Cutting down on fossil fuel production with raise energy costs and the poor will suffer. I've noticed that the one percent only worry about the "suffering" of the poor when it's going to cost them money. II haven't noticed any worry about suffering of the poor when the IMF and World Monetary Fund insist that countries needing to refinance their debts are forced to shred their social safety nets and privatize everything in sight.

The former CEO of Nestle certainly didn't show any sympathy for the poor when he claimed that human beings have no right to access to clean water. That one made me so mad I could spit. If he and those like him had their way every drop of water that falls from the sky would belong to a corporation and we'd have to pay through the nose for access.

As usual I started out heading in one direction and the blog high jacked the process and here I am.

It will be fascinating to watch this play out. Fox News has already released the attack dogs earlier this year.  How dare the Pope have opinions that conflict with the desires of the US one percent.

RESPECT

This little excerpt comes from a much longer entry from 2007 over at Stone Kettle Station. It's the story of one Warrant officer on one ship on December 7, 1941. The ship was the battleship Nevada. The only ship to get underway that blazing morning. And they had to beach her rather than risk her being sunk and blocking the channel into the harbor.

"Those men went when ordered - and this is the point of the whole story. Those men were not stupid, they were Sailors, trained fighting men, and they knew what Hill was ordering them to do. They knew that they would most likely not survive it. And they went anyway.

When that moment comes, men will not follow you because you're a big, mean, tough son of a bitch. They will not follow you because they fear you. They will not follow you because you're better educated, or older, or more experienced. They will not follow you because you out rank them. They will not follow you because you're their friend or father figure or because they love you. And they damned sure won't follow you for freedom and democracy or other high ideals. No, Sailors, Marines, Soldiers, Airmen will follow your orders in that moment, they will give up their lives on your command, for one reason, and one reason only - respect.

Respect cannot be bought, it cannot be forced, it cannot be bargained for - it must be earned. It must be earned each and every day, by every action, by every word, because when that moment comes it is far, far too late. You'll have seconds at most, and either you are that person men will follow into battle, or you're not. It's that simple."

Thank you Jim. you've said better than I ever could what I believe about leadership. Maybe because you've been there and I haven't. The whole crew supposedly running for the Republican nomination just don't get it. They haven't earned the respect they are asking for and they never will. They shift with circumstance and the audience in front of them. Most of them could talk for half and hour and say absolutely nothing. And frankly it scares the hell out me to think that any of them could get withing a thousand miles of the oval office. 

PLEASE GET OUT OF MY FACE

Right subject, but wrong stories

I was surprised not to find a single article or reference to Easter or the resurrection of Jesus on the front page of Easter Sunday’s Register Guard.

While I don’t expect the newspaper to be a Sunday School newsletter, I do expect major news topics to be addressed.

Easter acknowledges a historically factual event that 80 percent of American adults celebrate, with nearly 51 percent of those attending church.

What was ironic and amazing was that the two articles dominating the front page that morning, about resurrecting Civic Stadium, spoke of the key concepts of Easter.

The title of the lead article, “Civic lesson: How volunteers breathed life into saving Civic Stadium,” had the same concept celebrated on Easter. The headline would instead have read: “Spiritual lesson: How Jesus breathed life into saving spiritually dead people.”

The second article, “Restoration efforts start at the top” was a truth to which Christians shout “Amen.” Without God sending Jesus to die on the cross and be resurrected three days later there’s no restoration possible in our relationship with God.

Perhaps next Easter the same topics can be addressed — restoration and breathing new life into that which was in ruin.

However, instead of the story being about a building, make it a report about people’s spiritual restoration as they share their conversion from being spiritually blind to seeing, from being spiritually lost to being found, and from being spiritually dead to being alive.

That’s not just news, it’s the good news of Easter.

This letter was in the local paper this morning. I left out the author's name,, but I will not that the writer hales from Junction City about twenty miles to the north of Eugene.

This is a prime example of the in your face tactics currently being used by the fundies. It isn't enough that they're free to practice their version of Christianity. Oh, no. They insist that everyone else take notice too.

The author's statistics seem to assume that all Christians follow the same path and also seems to ignore that while fifty one percent of Americans claim to attend church regularly that means that forty nine percent DON”T. Including little ol' me. One, because these days it's hard to get around. Two. I've never felt inside four walls what I feel outside. Just doesn't work for me.

And, to top it off, we don't all follow the same calendar. Two weeks ago was Easter in the Western church. Last Sunday was Easter in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. To be honest I'm not sure how it works, but I believe it has something to do with which version of the calendar used.

Over the weeks leading up to Easter the paper offered several two page spreads highlighting where services would be held. Whether it was public service or paid I don't know and frankly I don't really care.

And to be honest I don't remember the guard ever doing a front page story on Easter. There might have been a time or two when sunrise services were called on account of snow or something. The Guard is an independent newspaper. Believe it or not it's still owned by the Bates family, not some conglomerate. They do try to be fair and cover regional news. They're a tad conservative for my taste but that's just me.

Bottom line to the author of the letter. This is a regional paper trying to serve the majority of local citizens. Easter is important to you? Fine. It means something to me too. Probably not the same thing, but I don't expect the local news to cater to me. And you shouldn't either. 

BLIND OBEDIENCE

Thelatest in the long line of nutcase pastors. And there's a reason I included the shot of smiley the potential torturer on my page. Anyway below is the comment I put on the link on FB.

Why stop with gays? What about adulterers, lobster and pork eaters, people who wear poly cotton blends. The list is endless and all you've got is fear, hatred and the apparent desire to torture people to death. They do the stoning thing in Iran and some African countries, They're careful to pick out stones that won't cause immediate death. So it's a slow death by battering. What are these people? Closet sadists? In serious need of an empathy transplant? Or a prime example of what Hannah Arendt called the banality of evil when she wrote about Adolph Eichmann and the dangers of blind obedience?

Too bad we don't have time machine so we can send these folks back to Middle Ages. That seems to be when they want to live,

There was more and I almost put the whole thing in the FB status but pulled back because here is where I got seriously weirded out. The Universe insists on doing this every so often.

I'm looking at the above picture and suddenly, superimposed over their faces, were grinning skulls. OooooKaaay. Folks, unless clam chowder with tea and crackers is an hallucinogen the universe was definitely in a kick ass mood.  And a definite warning. These folks are as much into blind obedience as any fascist camp guard or party apparatchik. 

FINDING A CANDIDATE WHITE ENOUGH

Well the NRA is holding their convention this weekend. NRA wingnut spokeman Wayne LePierre is of the opinion that it's past time to take the White House back for the white man. Trouble is, Wayne ol' buddy ol' pal, who is white enough for you?

Cruz and Rubio are Latino. Santorum is Italian American, Jindal is Indian American. Carly Fiorina has that fatal second X chromosome, besides she ran the Bell Labs and HP into the ground Don't think her business experience is going to get her anywhere. At the moment that leaves Rand Paul who has been doing his best to shoot himself in both feet and ANOTHER Bush.

 And the last person we need anywhere near the go codes is another Bush.

To top it off Rubio, Jindal and Santorum are Catholics. You don't have to dig very deep on the net to be reminded that many evangelicals don't even believe that Catholics are Christians.

And I have never seen a bunch of idiots more willing to go to war. And less likely to volunteer to fight in one. What a disastrous group of wanna be's. So Wayne? Who is white enough for you?

WHICH SINFUL LIFESTYLE?

Found this on a blog over on the Patheos website. Makes you stop and think.

Problem is that folks can pretty much tell that they're dealing with a same sex couple. It's a bit harder to discover if someone is divorced, a liar etc. just by looking at them. You'd have to ask questions and that just might get you punched in the nose on top of being told to mind your own damn business. LOL

IT'S NOT QUITE THE SAME

Frankly I don't know how this so called Christian found out which bakeries were owned by gays and which ones weren't. The story does say that at least one was in Ireland, which isn't exactly the US, now is it?

For the me the big difference is this. Couples wanting a cake for their wedding just wanted a cake not an editorial page. This individual deliberately wanted to order a cake with a written message that presumably didn't gibe with the beliefs of the shop owners.

To be honest I'm not quite sure how this works. We're guaranteed free speech in the public arena but is it the same for a private business? Usually if you're too obnoxious in somebodies store or shop they'll ask you to leave. That said, there's no need for the folks running the bakeries to be insulting, threatening or anything like that. It's not only rude it doesn't help your cause.

It's a mystery and I wish I had an answer.

IT'S HARD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN ALL THE BS

I didn't fall off the face of the earth. It's just hard to choose between all the outright BS, lies and basic crap that's flying around.

The latest from Huffington Post. It really is too bad that liars pants don't literally catch on fire or that noses don't get longer every time a lie is told. Mike Huckabee would really be a sight to behold. Gays don't "hate" America. They just want to be treated like everyone else. 

Although Ted Crazy, sorry Cruz is winning hands down this week. I'm not sure which is worse. That he lies out of both sides of his mouth, At the same time. Or that he seems to believe that we won' t notice. And his dad is even crazier.

Although Tom Cotton is in the running. What are you guys complaining about they kill gays in ______ fill in the name of the current country du jour. Iran, Uganda, take your pick. 

Honestly I'm getting pretty fed up with with immigrants and their first generation offspring telling the rest of us how we've gotten it all wrong. I'm sure I'm not the only one who needs both hands and an occasional toe to add up the generations various members of the family have been here. Depending on when the original immigrant arrived and how young folks got married the highest is eleven generations including me. The lowest is five thanks to great, great, great grandma Margaret Clinton getting off the boat from Ireland in 1850. Haven't been able to go back further. Her dad was listed as Mack or Mick Clinton on the passenger list. I'm not sure if that was his name or a nickname because he was Irish. So  naturally his name was Mick. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.  

IT'S RIGHT THERE IF YOU DARE TO LOOK

Warning rant ahead. And it probably won't be the only one this week. So, if you don't want to be offended it's probably better if you leave now. 

Having actually managed to read the book of Joshua without either throwing up or having to take too many showers I realized that Phil Robertson is on solid Biblical ground. At least if  you're a sadist, a psychopath or a sociopath. Just change the names of the attackers and the victims in his little anti atheist rant and fill in the names of the ethnic groups that were destroyed (or partially) destroyed in the Hebrew quest to claim the "promised" land.

A Canaanite family, Midianite, Amelakite. Whatever. They were Other. They were standing in the way of Hebrew destiny. Anyone who has read a description of what happens when a city or fortress is sacked will know that no mercy is shown. And if you believe it's God's will then showing mercy would actually be a sin. 

I forget (mercifully) the name and the link to a blog by an author who supported Hebrew genocide. And made the following disclaimer along the lines of "they knew the Hebrews were coming and would have gotten out of the way so the death toll probably wasn't that bad." 

The contortions believers go through to excuse the absolute worst their sacred books have to offer is beyond belief. 

You are already living in the so called promised land. You may not own the land. The kings own the land. The priests own the land. But, your family had farmed, grazed worked this land for years, generations even. Your people are buried there or their ashes were scattered there. Your gods and goddesses have, in your eyes, blessed the land. You here of a group of invaders who claim that their God, who you're never heard of, has promised your land to them!. Are you going to run or are you going to fight? And fight like hell. 

Sorry folks this tree has some bad roots and no amount of yes buts, or we don't believe that anymore or any other excuse that we can come up with is going to change that. Especially when a vocal and hate filled minority can use those stories as an excuse to continue their hating. 

PLUCK THE DUCK 2

This is a blog entry from a Patheos site, Slacktivist.  Anyone who has read the history of the Crusades or the Inquisition knows the horrors that so called Christians can inflict on those they consider to be infidels, heretics, Other. So it would appear that being a believer is no protection for those considered to be the enemy, the Other.

In fact when this interesting set of facts is publicized the contortions the fundies put themselves through to hang on their denial would be moderately amusing if the outcome wasn't so damn terrifying.

TIME TO PLUCK THE DUCK

Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty is at it again. Normally I wouldn't pollute my site with the rantings of the this sorry excuse for human being who claims to be a Christian. "By their fruits you shall know them." Well these apples are rotten. 

I will not put a shot on this page, everybody knows what this fake looks like. What bearing do the beliefs of potential victims have to do with what a couple of sick bastards choose to do? And the fundies wonder why Christianity as we know it is probably dying and should, frankly. Let it crash and burn. Maybe we can build something new from the ashes. To be honest I'm tired of apologizing, excusing, ignoring the fact that main stream Christianity is flawed, has been flawed from the beginning. The seeds of this poison were planted centuries ago and damned if I know how to pull the weeds as long as so called human beings like this keep spreading this poison. 

JUST CHANGE A FEW WORDS

here and there and the song still works more than forty years later. The Viet Nam Song from the group Country Joe & Fish. We're still in a jam, Iran almost rhymes with Viet Nam and we've got a whole host of neo cons and cons who never met a war they didn't like, as long as they don't have to fight, who are beating the war drums again.

Remember how Iraqi oil was going to pay for the last one and our troops were going to be met by cheering Iraqis throwing rose petals? Must have happened in another reality.

The Viet Nam Song from the album I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag.

Well, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Come on Wall Street, don't be slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of its trade,
But just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Now you can go out and get those reds
'Cause the only good commie is the one that's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, and don't hesitate
To send your sons off before it's too late.
And you can be the first ones in your block
To have your boy come home in a box.

And it's one, two, three
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.