Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Herman 666 Cain Sez "Joke" about Electric Fence Not A Joke After All
Herman Cain said he was just "joking" about an electric fence on the border to keep out Mexicans. However, within 24 hours he has FLIP FLOPPED and now says he thinks it's a pretty darn good idea. Later when questioned about what he was going to have for breakfast he said he would have waffles, and then changed his mind to flap jacks with eggs flipped over and over and over again. According to the candidate for FLOPPER-in CHIEF he said, "It WAS a joke to the extent in the context of the views of that speech, but in terms of what we need to do, I fully intend to do so." Of course, this is par for the couse for Cain who had announced that he was going to drop out of the presidential campaign in order to do a book tour just before his numbers started to go up in the polls. Now he figures he can make more money by shaking down GOP suckers for campaign contributions than he ever could by pimping some lame, inarticulately written book, which will end up being recycled for toilet paper in a years time anyway, if it's even any good for that.
AP Says Cain's 999 Plan would raise taxes on poor by 950%
According to a new AP report, people making $10,000 to $20,000 per year would see their taxes go up 950% under Herman Cain's Satanic 999 Plan. People in middle incomes between $40000 and $75000 per year would see their tax bills increase by over $4000 per year. In all, 84% of current tax payers would see an increase in their taxes. However, guess which group would benefit. Yep, you guessed it, the ultra wealthy. They would pay far less in taxes than they do today. "Well Surprise, Surprise!", as a person with the biblical name Gomer used to say. That's because Cain's Welfare for the Rich plan makes sure to exempt investment income from being taxed at all. You can't get more anti-Christian than increasing the tax burden by 950% on the poor, while lowering them for the rich. But what do you expect from Antichrist Herman Cain.
Herman 999 Cain Moronically Claims Liberal Court Killed Jesus
Herman Cain's 999 Plan really reads 666 because CAIN has his head up his A$$ and that's what it looks like to him. More proof of this is his utterly moronic and blasphemous revisionism of history as when he wrote in Redstate.com that a " liberal court found [Jesus] guilty of false offences [sic] and sentenced Him to death". Apparently, this certifiable retard, Herman Cain, has forgotten that LIBERALS OPPOSE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. Conservatives SUPPORT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. So a LIBERAL COURT would not IMPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY. A CONSERVATIVE court would SENTENCE JESUS TO CRUCIFIXION for blasphemy. Liberals would have considered CRUCIFIXION as CRUEL AND/OR UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT and they support freedom of speech and freedom of religion, so they would not have considered blasphemy even against the law. A Liberal court would have had Jesus out on parole in five minutes.
Cain then continued to demolish his ridiculous case by noting that Jesus, "was not read any Miranda Rights". A liberal court would have THROWN OUT THE CHARGES. A conservative court would not care if Jesus was beaten and tortured. Cain then notes that Jesus "didn’t have a lawyer". Again, this would have been a violation of Miranda and would have been GROUNDS FOR ACQUITTAL in a LIBERAL COURT. In a conservative court they would have said, if you're "not rich, blame yourself" for not being able to afford a laywer. In fact, that's also a direct quote from a total dumbf**k conservative named HERMAN CAIN. A liberal court would have appointed him a public defender.
Cain's article mercilessly makes a fool of himself on every level, and is extremely blasphemous. He claims, for example, that Jesus "was unemployed". However, in reality Jesus was working hard every day as a preacher and a healer of the sick. That is not being "unemployed". He claims that Jesus helped the poor "without one government program", but actually Jesus was a member of the BIGGEST GOVERNMENT IN THE UNIVERSE called the KINGDOM OF GOD. How is a KINGDOM not a government? In fact, He was the head of that government and used His influence to get His Father to multiply fish and loaves and to give people free government health care without having to pay for it, like CONSERVATIVES DEMAND.
Jesus spoke very disapprovingly of the rich, saying, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Mt 19:24). Cain says that poor people are just lazy and jealous. Since when did Jesus teach that you should never help poor people because they are just lazy and jealous.
Cain thinks Jesus was a "perfect conservative". However, I don't recall Jesus preaching that you should carry firearms and retaliate instantly if anyone offended you. In fact, Jesus was very much for "sword control". For example, when he was being arrested Simon Peter drew a sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the High Priest. Did Jesus say, "Yeehaw, boy, get 'er done! Go kill all those mofos trying to arrest me!" No, not exactly. Not even close. That's what a conservative like Cain would have said. Instead he bitterly rebuked Simon Peter saying "Put your sword back in its place", and that "all who draw the sword will die by the sword". He then healed the ear of the servant of the High Priest. Contrary to popular belief and revisionism Jesus was not a fan of violence or armed rebellion. He taught pacifism and loving your enemy. That's what those peacenik, pinko, liberals believe in. Sorry Cain, but you are a false prophet preaching a false christ as Mk 13:21 warned about. This is yet more evidence that HERMAN CAIN IS THE ANTICHRIST.
Cain then continued to demolish his ridiculous case by noting that Jesus, "was not read any Miranda Rights". A liberal court would have THROWN OUT THE CHARGES. A conservative court would not care if Jesus was beaten and tortured. Cain then notes that Jesus "didn’t have a lawyer". Again, this would have been a violation of Miranda and would have been GROUNDS FOR ACQUITTAL in a LIBERAL COURT. In a conservative court they would have said, if you're "not rich, blame yourself" for not being able to afford a laywer. In fact, that's also a direct quote from a total dumbf**k conservative named HERMAN CAIN. A liberal court would have appointed him a public defender.
Cain's article mercilessly makes a fool of himself on every level, and is extremely blasphemous. He claims, for example, that Jesus "was unemployed". However, in reality Jesus was working hard every day as a preacher and a healer of the sick. That is not being "unemployed". He claims that Jesus helped the poor "without one government program", but actually Jesus was a member of the BIGGEST GOVERNMENT IN THE UNIVERSE called the KINGDOM OF GOD. How is a KINGDOM not a government? In fact, He was the head of that government and used His influence to get His Father to multiply fish and loaves and to give people free government health care without having to pay for it, like CONSERVATIVES DEMAND.
Jesus spoke very disapprovingly of the rich, saying, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Mt 19:24). Cain says that poor people are just lazy and jealous. Since when did Jesus teach that you should never help poor people because they are just lazy and jealous.
Cain thinks Jesus was a "perfect conservative". However, I don't recall Jesus preaching that you should carry firearms and retaliate instantly if anyone offended you. In fact, Jesus was very much for "sword control". For example, when he was being arrested Simon Peter drew a sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the High Priest. Did Jesus say, "Yeehaw, boy, get 'er done! Go kill all those mofos trying to arrest me!" No, not exactly. Not even close. That's what a conservative like Cain would have said. Instead he bitterly rebuked Simon Peter saying "Put your sword back in its place", and that "all who draw the sword will die by the sword". He then healed the ear of the servant of the High Priest. Contrary to popular belief and revisionism Jesus was not a fan of violence or armed rebellion. He taught pacifism and loving your enemy. That's what those peacenik, pinko, liberals believe in. Sorry Cain, but you are a false prophet preaching a false christ as Mk 13:21 warned about. This is yet more evidence that HERMAN CAIN IS THE ANTICHRIST.
Monday, October 17, 2011
666 Antichrist Cain Wants to Build Electric Fence To Enslave America
Herman 666 Cain is now claiming he was joking when he suggested that we should build an electric fence on the border to control immigration. Of course, any fence that keeps people OUT also locks them IN, which might be the actual reason he favors such a fence, since Cain doesn't want us fleeing to Mexico when he reveals himself as the Antichrist. Just like the previous Evil Empire, the Soviet Union, Cain seems to want to build an electrified version of the Iron Curtain to control the American populace. I also suspect that, if one looked carefully at the chain link pattern on that fence that touching it would brand 666 onto the skin of anyone who came into contact with it. I suspect that Cain would like to restart slavery, but this time for all Americans. Why else would he be planning this sort of prison state, big government, big brother scheme.
Naturally, such a fence is moronic, especially with constant news of smugglers tunnelling under existing fences. Electric fences are very old and very bad technology. It would certainly fry a lot of tumbleweeds and jack rabbits, etc. However, it is unlikely that it would present much obstruction to a human who understands how to use an insulated fiberglass ladder to cross it harmlessly, or how to use an electrical conductor to short it out. The reason these things are not widespread is because they don't work.
So now Cain says he was just joking. Apparently he thinks that his race makes him immune from charges of racism when joking about other minorities, like Mexican Americans. Perhaps what he is really afraid of is that Mexican immigrants tend to be highly religious, and therefore, as Satan incarnate, he wants to keep as many of them out as possible, by any means necessary.
Naturally, such a fence is moronic, especially with constant news of smugglers tunnelling under existing fences. Electric fences are very old and very bad technology. It would certainly fry a lot of tumbleweeds and jack rabbits, etc. However, it is unlikely that it would present much obstruction to a human who understands how to use an insulated fiberglass ladder to cross it harmlessly, or how to use an electrical conductor to short it out. The reason these things are not widespread is because they don't work.
So now Cain says he was just joking. Apparently he thinks that his race makes him immune from charges of racism when joking about other minorities, like Mexican Americans. Perhaps what he is really afraid of is that Mexican immigrants tend to be highly religious, and therefore, as Satan incarnate, he wants to keep as many of them out as possible, by any means necessary.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
CNN asks Evangelical Mohler if Evangelicals are "dangerous"
R. Albert Mohler is famous for his ignorant statements, such as when he told Jewish Congressman Weiner that "atonement is found only in Jesus Christ", seemingly oblivious to Jewish observances such as the Day of Atonement, otherwise known as Yom Kippur. Now CNN is giving this sloppy thinker a preaching platform by asking him, as an evangelical Christian, to write an opinion piece called, "Are Evangelicals Dangerous?" Gee I wonder what he will say. He starts with the typical spoiled brat whining that almost all fanatic Christians indulge in because of an utter inability to tolerate the slightest criticism or admit the tiniest of errors.
His first target is to attack those who criticize the lunatic extremism of Michele Bachmann, whose "clinic" performs pseudoscientific "deGAYification" therapy, as but one example of her extremism. He complains that she is being criticized for having a "worldview", but, in his typically shallow fashion, he fails to understand that the problem is not simply that she has a "Christian worldview" but that it is an EXTREME and archaic worldview, cultivated at cultish "Bible Colleges", that even many mainstream Christians reject.
Fresh from that utterly inane and failed defense, he next springs to defending Rick Perry's ignorant rejection of Evolution, contrasting him with Cambridge Biology Professor Richard Dawkins who makes equally vehement assertions that evolution is a fact. Of course the false equivalence between an ignorant, pandering pol like Perry, with no expertise on the subject, and a world-renowned science writer and researcher like Dawkins, who had written many scholarly books examining the evidence for evolution, is laughably absurd. Mohler wants you to think that the two "opinions" should be given equal weight, when Dawkins is the biology expert and Perry has a kindergarten level of command of the science.
He finally tries to clench it by complaining that Penn Jillette was given a forum in the LA Times to write about his atheistic views. I suspect that was part of his sales pitch to get CNN to give him equal and opposite time. However, asking him to write an opinion piece about whether evangelicals are dangerous is about, as the metaphor goes, like asking two foxes and a chicken to vote on what's for dinner.
At that point he just starts a preaching tirade about how single-celled organisms, like a zygote, should be given the same rights as fully-grown human beings, because they are "made in the image of God", and other such stupidity. He ignores the real evidence about evangelicals, including Bachmann, Angle, Robertson, Eric Rudolph, Randall Terry, the Hutaree Militia, etc who have called for violence and the imposition of theocracy, and asks us to believe his unevidenced assertion that evangelicals don't want theocracy.
Sorry, but I don't buy it. Just because Mohler is too much of a puss to engage in a fist fight doesn't mean that the lunatic fringe in the churches, who murder abortion doctors, and try to intimidate all non-Christians into silence are not a threat. Your case was very poorly made, sir, just like your case for Christianity, in general.
His first target is to attack those who criticize the lunatic extremism of Michele Bachmann, whose "clinic" performs pseudoscientific "deGAYification" therapy, as but one example of her extremism. He complains that she is being criticized for having a "worldview", but, in his typically shallow fashion, he fails to understand that the problem is not simply that she has a "Christian worldview" but that it is an EXTREME and archaic worldview, cultivated at cultish "Bible Colleges", that even many mainstream Christians reject.
Fresh from that utterly inane and failed defense, he next springs to defending Rick Perry's ignorant rejection of Evolution, contrasting him with Cambridge Biology Professor Richard Dawkins who makes equally vehement assertions that evolution is a fact. Of course the false equivalence between an ignorant, pandering pol like Perry, with no expertise on the subject, and a world-renowned science writer and researcher like Dawkins, who had written many scholarly books examining the evidence for evolution, is laughably absurd. Mohler wants you to think that the two "opinions" should be given equal weight, when Dawkins is the biology expert and Perry has a kindergarten level of command of the science.
He finally tries to clench it by complaining that Penn Jillette was given a forum in the LA Times to write about his atheistic views. I suspect that was part of his sales pitch to get CNN to give him equal and opposite time. However, asking him to write an opinion piece about whether evangelicals are dangerous is about, as the metaphor goes, like asking two foxes and a chicken to vote on what's for dinner.
At that point he just starts a preaching tirade about how single-celled organisms, like a zygote, should be given the same rights as fully-grown human beings, because they are "made in the image of God", and other such stupidity. He ignores the real evidence about evangelicals, including Bachmann, Angle, Robertson, Eric Rudolph, Randall Terry, the Hutaree Militia, etc who have called for violence and the imposition of theocracy, and asks us to believe his unevidenced assertion that evangelicals don't want theocracy.
Sorry, but I don't buy it. Just because Mohler is too much of a puss to engage in a fist fight doesn't mean that the lunatic fringe in the churches, who murder abortion doctors, and try to intimidate all non-Christians into silence are not a threat. Your case was very poorly made, sir, just like your case for Christianity, in general.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
NostraDumbAss Harold Camping Sez World Still Ending Oct 21...yeah right.
Harold Camping, annointed the 2011 Nostradumbass False Prophet of the Year, for his failed prediction that the world was going to end on May 21st of this year, later did a Bible Backstoke and claimed that the world ended in a "spiritual sense". However, Nostradumbass also claimed that the ACTUAL "non-spiritual" end of the world would be October 21st. Of course this same prescient individual failed to predict his own stroke a month later. Yet, he is reportedly still sticking to his revised timeline, claiming, that, this time, the world will end quietly, with a whimper, rather than a bang. People lost their life savings believing Harold Camping last time. Some people reportedly even committed suicide in anticipation. My question is who wants to wager even 5 cents that this demented lunatic could possibly be right this time. The unfortunate answer is that there are a couple stupid bible-beaters who still listen to "Family Radio" who are too clueless to have figured out that this guy is a collosal fraud.
OMfG Herman 666 Cain Really IS the ANTICHRIST
Herman Cain has recently announced that he will be attempting to draw evangelical Christians away from the epically failing campaign of holier-than-thou, but dumber-than-a-stump Texan Rick Perry. Actually, that last comment wasn't particularly fair...to stumps. There are some stumps who are way smarter than Rick Perry, but I digress.
Anyway, why would this indicate that Herman Cain is the Antichrist, you may ask? Well Matthew 24:24, for starters says, "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible." Perhaps the greatest miracle that Cain has performed so far is to come from the bottom of the pack all the way to the top, and now he announces that he wants to seduce away Christians. But there's more.
Here's what Herman Antichrist Cain says of his faith. "You know, I don't wear my Christian faith, which has been my faith since I was 10 years old, on my forehead". I bet he doesn't. What a curious expression, when the normal expression is "on my sleeve". Gosh, where have I heard an expression like that before? Oh yeah, Revelation 18:16, which says the Beast forces, "all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands OR ON THEIR FOREHEAD". That's what Cain wears on his forehead, his 999 plan, and when he stands on his head to commune with his father, the Devil, it reads 666.
Gee, if Cain has been a sincere "Christian" since he was 10 years old then surely he would have recognized the numerological significance of his 999 Plan. Either he's not a very knowledgeable Christian, in which case he shouldn't be claiming to be one to lure Perry's voters away, or he knows exactly what he is doing, in which case people better beware.
Of course, a small, small, small group of people have started to figure out that Cain's plan to turn the economy upside down with his 999 plan, will result in 999 turning into 666. We've also already noted the fact that traditionally the Antichrist has been depicted in Christian artwork with a black face. That was used against Obama already by the paranoid. We should also already know that Cain was the first murderer in the Bible and that he was marked with the Mark of Cain, which we now know apparently is 999. By the way, do you know what the name "Cain" means in Hebrew? It means "HERE HE IS". Yep, he sure is.
Hopefully people have also figured out that this sales "TAX" would apply to anyone who buys or sells, just as it says in Rev 13:17, which says, "they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark". Only this "TAX" will cost you more than 9% of your income and 9% of your purchase price. It will cost you your soul.
Just to be on the safe side, I've got a recommendation for you all. Anybody but Cain. Aren't you sheep going to at least try to resist, or will you give up without a fight?
Anyway, why would this indicate that Herman Cain is the Antichrist, you may ask? Well Matthew 24:24, for starters says, "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible." Perhaps the greatest miracle that Cain has performed so far is to come from the bottom of the pack all the way to the top, and now he announces that he wants to seduce away Christians. But there's more.
Gee, if Cain has been a sincere "Christian" since he was 10 years old then surely he would have recognized the numerological significance of his 999 Plan. Either he's not a very knowledgeable Christian, in which case he shouldn't be claiming to be one to lure Perry's voters away, or he knows exactly what he is doing, in which case people better beware.
Of course, a small, small, small group of people have started to figure out that Cain's plan to turn the economy upside down with his 999 plan, will result in 999 turning into 666. We've also already noted the fact that traditionally the Antichrist has been depicted in Christian artwork with a black face. That was used against Obama already by the paranoid. We should also already know that Cain was the first murderer in the Bible and that he was marked with the Mark of Cain, which we now know apparently is 999. By the way, do you know what the name "Cain" means in Hebrew? It means "HERE HE IS". Yep, he sure is.
Hopefully people have also figured out that this sales "TAX" would apply to anyone who buys or sells, just as it says in Rev 13:17, which says, "they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark". Only this "TAX" will cost you more than 9% of your income and 9% of your purchase price. It will cost you your soul.
Just to be on the safe side, I've got a recommendation for you all. Anybody but Cain. Aren't you sheep going to at least try to resist, or will you give up without a fight?
Friday, October 14, 2011
More Evidence that Cain is the Antichrist from Medieval Art
It's interesting that, since Herman Cain has come out with his 999 plan, only a tiny number of Christians seem to be concerned about this being the Mark of the Beast. It's also interesting, that historically, Satan and the Antichrist have been depicted in Medieval Christian art with a dark or black complexion. Of course, this was used against Obama, but it seems to apply more aptly to Cain, since he is the one using a variant of 666 in his central campaign pledge. Republican were absolutely convinced that Obama was the Antichrist on the basis of complexion alone. Yet they are falling all over themselves to embrace Herman Cain who far better matches descriptions of the Antichrist with his arrogant, blasphemous speech and his unshakable faith in money, rather than God, as the savior of Mankind.
Herman Cain 999 and the Blasphemy of GodFather's Pizza
Herman "The Beast" Cain has effected an almost supernatural, come from behind surge in the GOP polls, with the adoption of his Satanic 999 Plan, that he wants to stamp on the hands and foreheads of anyone who votes for him. Of course it is just a thinly veiled version of 666, turned on its head so that right wingers will be too dumb to see it. Most of them aren't exactly the sharpest tacks, but even a few of them have started to catch on to something as obvious as this. Revelation 13:1 says of the AntiChrist, "upon his head is the name of blasphemy". Think about it. He was the "head" (CEO) of GodFather's Pizza. Could it not be considered blasphemy to use the name of God the Father together with selling Pizza? Decide that one for yourself.
Rick Perry Cries Persecution Over Christianity. Yeah, Right!
GOP fading star Rick Perry is now making the all too frequently heard whining noises that he is being persecuted for his Christian beliefs. I mean, obviously there could be no other explanation for his poor performance in the polls, except perhaps his inability to complete a logically coherent sentence.
Oh poor little martyr. Here's a cross and some nails. I'm sure there would be no shortage of volunteers to help attach you. This is about as believable as a Muslim in the Middle East claiming to be persecuted for his or her Islamic beliefs. The fact is that Perry was busy slamming Romney over his Mormon beliefs, and apparently his criticisms of Mormonism were perceived, even by Republicans, as an unfair attack on that man's religion. So for Perry to now try to turn the tables and say that he is being persecuted for his bigoted attacks on Mormonism really seems surreal.
Not that I would waste even a syllable defending the many ridiculous, transparently fraudulent, and utterly laughable "beliefs" of Mormonism. Few people who were not indoctrinated since birth in that religion can find the Book of Mormon even remotely plausible, or even readable. Perhaps that's why Mark Twain referred to the Book of Mormon as "Chloroform in print" (and, no I don't think he meant that in a good way, FYI).
Sorry, poor little Richie Rich, apparently GOP voters like Satanic Herman Cain and his Mark of the Beast 999 Tax plan more than they like you. If you want to blame someone for being tired of your fundamentalist claptrap, perhaps you should start with GOP voters, since there are apparently willing to vote for a guy with 999 stamped on his forehead before they are willing to pull the lever for you. However, the good news is that this should usher in the end of the world any day now and then you all can be with Jebus on a cloud somewhere.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
999 Anti-Christ Cain Tied with Plastic Haired Mormon Romney
Republicans voters are on the horns (literally) of a dilemma. Cain and Romney are tied., according to the latest poll. Who will they vote for, someone who trots out his Satanic Mark of the Beast 999 tax plan, or a plastic haired Mormon who believes that God lives on the planet Kolob and probably has a secret harem larger than Warren Jeffs? One wonders what the fundamentalist Christians must be thinking when Rick Perry, the only actual "washed in the blood" Bible (il)Literalist of the bunch, is only polling at 9%. If this is not proof that Republicans would sell their souls (again literally) because of their hatred of Obama then what is? Imagine if Barack Obama had trotted out a plan like the 666 Universal Healthcare Plan? I doubt that would put him at the top of GOP polls like it has with Cain.
85th Wife of Warren Jeffs Escapes FLDS Cult Compound. Romney has no comment.
An unnamed 25-year-old woman, who is reportedly one of 85 wives of convicted child molester Warren Jeffs, has escaped from an isolated Arizona compound run by the Fundamentalist LDS (uberMormon) church and is now in Phoenix. Jeffs, you may recall, was in a coma from a three-day hunger strike in prison, where he is serving a life sentence. However, unfortunately, Jeffs has reportedly recovered from his hunger strike after several weeks in the hospital and therefore, most regrettably, is still be housed at taxpayer expense.
Apparently, even a cult which brainwashes women since birth and blackmails them with family pressure, cannot convince all 85 of these women to remain part of Jeffs harem. The notion that 85 separate women would want to each have a 1/85th share of a husband, no matter how good he might be is laughable. If one adds the extremely meager physical and mental qualities that Jeffs possesses into the mix then it is clear that these women are virtual slaves. However, many of them are imprisoned mentally perhaps even more than they are imprisoned physically and through social control. Mental prisons are sometimes the most difficult from which to escape, though apparently this one woman has managed to do so and is undergoing counseling.
GOP front-runner Mitt Romney, also a Mormon, had no comment on whether he would be choosing Jeffs as a potential running mate. Naturally, Romney, like many Mormons today, claim to belong to a sanitized version of the Mormon church which does not OFFICIALLY allow multiple marriages (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). If Mitt were to become president, perhaps this woman could become the 85th First Lady. However, one wonders how Mitt would run the country and still have time for his 85 wives. One wonders how any many could have time to do anything with 85 women to please. One is often hard enough.
Apparently, even a cult which brainwashes women since birth and blackmails them with family pressure, cannot convince all 85 of these women to remain part of Jeffs harem. The notion that 85 separate women would want to each have a 1/85th share of a husband, no matter how good he might be is laughable. If one adds the extremely meager physical and mental qualities that Jeffs possesses into the mix then it is clear that these women are virtual slaves. However, many of them are imprisoned mentally perhaps even more than they are imprisoned physically and through social control. Mental prisons are sometimes the most difficult from which to escape, though apparently this one woman has managed to do so and is undergoing counseling.
GOP front-runner Mitt Romney, also a Mormon, had no comment on whether he would be choosing Jeffs as a potential running mate. Naturally, Romney, like many Mormons today, claim to belong to a sanitized version of the Mormon church which does not OFFICIALLY allow multiple marriages (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). If Mitt were to become president, perhaps this woman could become the 85th First Lady. However, one wonders how Mitt would run the country and still have time for his 85 wives. One wonders how any many could have time to do anything with 85 women to please. One is often hard enough.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Is Cain's 999 Plan The Mark of the Beast or Pizza Promotional?
Herman Cain is proposing an overhaul of the American tax system that he calls the 999 Plan. If this sounds like a pizza promotional, well, what do you expect from the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza? Please hold the jokes about the whether the plan comes with extra toppings, garlic bread, and a large drink. However, other people are a little more concerned about the potentially sinister numerical significance. 999 is considered by many to be a variant of 666, which has traditionally been called the "mark of the beast", at least according to conventional biblical translations of Revelation 13:18, which say, "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six". This is supposedly the number or seal used by the Antichrist to mark himself and all those who cooperate with him.
Interestingly, verse one of Revelation 13 also may apply to Cain, because it says, in part, "upon his head is the name of blasphemy". Well, Cain, as you will recall was the murderous brother of Abel, and the biblical Cain was given the Mark of Cain, as per Genesis 4:15. The name Cain might therefore be considered blasphemous in itself, since it is the name of the first murderer who rebelled against Yahweh.
Of course, Herman Cain says it's just his flat tax rate proposal where each individual would pay 9% income tax, corporations would pay 9%, and there would be a 9% sales tax. As the link above notes, this would absolutely wallop the poor, because he wants to make it so that everyone has to pay it and many poor people end up paying no income tax after deductions. Furthermore, this 9% federal sales tax would be on top of the sales taxes charged by many states. In fact there are also some cities that charge sales tax. So people could end up being charged state, federal, and municipal sales tax on a purchase. Naturally, wage earners on the bottom rungs would take the largest hit from this because they usually spend all of their incomes on necessities like food, gas, etc.
So even if Cain's 999 plan is not a satanic conspiracy, making Herman Cain the Antichrist, it would be extremely bad for anyone but the richest of the rich. Cain has made it very clear, from day 1 that the super-rich are the only people he cares about. That's why his 999 plan shields all investor income. Jesus spoke of helping the poor. Cain is the antithesis of Jesus in that he only cares about helping the rich.
Note: I am NOT saying that I take Revelation 13:18 seriously, or that I believe that it is an authentic prophecy. Many serious students of Christian theology have concluded that the 666 reference, which is alternately 616 in some of the oldest translations, was a likely reference to the Roman emperor Nero, who was well known for his persecution of the early Christian church. Nero, if the tales of his actions were true, would fit the bill as an "Antichrist", in the sense of being anti-Christian, far better than many of the people who have been labeled possible antichrists over the intervening centuries and millennia since this prophecy has gone unfulfilled.
In modern times, people have come up with all kinds of fanciful conspiracy theories, claim that 666 shows up in barcodes, or that these digits will be embedded in chips which are implanted inside of people as an alternative to money.
Interestingly, verse one of Revelation 13 also may apply to Cain, because it says, in part, "upon his head is the name of blasphemy". Well, Cain, as you will recall was the murderous brother of Abel, and the biblical Cain was given the Mark of Cain, as per Genesis 4:15. The name Cain might therefore be considered blasphemous in itself, since it is the name of the first murderer who rebelled against Yahweh.
Of course, Herman Cain says it's just his flat tax rate proposal where each individual would pay 9% income tax, corporations would pay 9%, and there would be a 9% sales tax. As the link above notes, this would absolutely wallop the poor, because he wants to make it so that everyone has to pay it and many poor people end up paying no income tax after deductions. Furthermore, this 9% federal sales tax would be on top of the sales taxes charged by many states. In fact there are also some cities that charge sales tax. So people could end up being charged state, federal, and municipal sales tax on a purchase. Naturally, wage earners on the bottom rungs would take the largest hit from this because they usually spend all of their incomes on necessities like food, gas, etc.
So even if Cain's 999 plan is not a satanic conspiracy, making Herman Cain the Antichrist, it would be extremely bad for anyone but the richest of the rich. Cain has made it very clear, from day 1 that the super-rich are the only people he cares about. That's why his 999 plan shields all investor income. Jesus spoke of helping the poor. Cain is the antithesis of Jesus in that he only cares about helping the rich.
Note: I am NOT saying that I take Revelation 13:18 seriously, or that I believe that it is an authentic prophecy. Many serious students of Christian theology have concluded that the 666 reference, which is alternately 616 in some of the oldest translations, was a likely reference to the Roman emperor Nero, who was well known for his persecution of the early Christian church. Nero, if the tales of his actions were true, would fit the bill as an "Antichrist", in the sense of being anti-Christian, far better than many of the people who have been labeled possible antichrists over the intervening centuries and millennia since this prophecy has gone unfulfilled.
In modern times, people have come up with all kinds of fanciful conspiracy theories, claim that 666 shows up in barcodes, or that these digits will be embedded in chips which are implanted inside of people as an alternative to money.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Peter Thiel Swill: Clueless about Our Future, Part 1
Venture Capitalist Peter Thiel, one of the co-founders of Paypal, has recently written an article in the _National Review_ called _The End of the Future_. I have waited in vain since October 3rd for someone of any stature to write an intelligent rebuttal to any of the the many flaws in the article. Now granted, the fact that it appeared in the _National Review_ -- Peter Thiel is a Libertarian, after all -- might cause many serious thinkers to dismiss it out of hand. Some may also dismiss Peter Thiel himself, since his last cause celebre was to promote the idea that college is a waste of time and that people should drop out of their Ivy League schools and go right into business, like him. Well, actually, not quite like him because he didn't drop out. In any event, I expected that at least one or two of the better known people on the opposite polar extreme from Thiel, like Ray Kurzweil, for example, might be moved to take up the mantle. However, there has been no such luck.
Therefore, feeling I can wait no longer, it falls to me to point out at least a few serious deficiencies in Thiel's arguments. BTW, some people may also be wondering why I would take this up in a blog about religion. Well, as it turns out, Thiel started his article quoting Revelation 6:5. That might give you yet another indication of the type of "science and technology article" that Thiel produced. Search as one might, the reader will find little indication of how this quote is relevant to anything in the article, except perhaps in the sense that both Thiel and John of Patmos are both producing dire, dream-like visions of the future that have no bearing on reality and equally little chance of coming true.
In the interests of fairness, let me start by noting those areas where I can agree with Thiel. I agree that technological progress is a vital element in our economy, although I would say this applies worldwide, and not just to Western nations as Thiel seems to suggest. I also agree that, in some areas, progress has seemed maddeningly slow, and that we should do what we can, especially in the midst of the current recession, to jump-start progress on a number of fronts. I suspect, however, that he would not be as enthusiastic about the government taking a significant role in this jump-starting, even though they have often been vital in starting many nascent industries from computing to aerospace and solar. For what it's worth, Thiel does concede that programs like the Manhattan Project were examples of successful government operations, but this will likely be greeted as heresy by average National Review reader. However, I very much agree that we cannot be naively optimistic that technology will always save our bacon, especially if we stay our current course of doing less and less research and development.
Having said where I can agree with Thiel, however, the basic premise of his opinion piece is that progress is grinding to a halt because some of the fanciful expectations of previous decades have not come true. For example, his first real piece of evidence, after lamenting the demise of the Concorde, is to cite a 1964 Popular Science article called "Who’ll Fly You at 2,000 m.p.h.?". According to Thiel's technological Jeremiad, if this kind of thing hasn't come to pass then it means that progress has halted.
Well, in actual fact, planes like the SR-71 Blackbird have routinely flown faster than 2000 mph and the Blackbird was first produced in 1966. Also, more recently, Virgin Galactic has been offering commercial rides aboard Spaceship One, which flew at Mach 3.09 (2373 mph) in a test run in 2004. I could go on talking about Nasa's X-43 scramjet that flies at 7000 mph, but I think the point has been made that Thiel is being too casual with the facts.
Sure, only Spaceship One is designed for commercial passengers, and you have to pay $200 grand for a thirty minute ride into space. Thiel acknowledges that a lot of this is driven by economics, like the price of fuel. However, that leads him to his next lament, which he describes as "the much larger failure in energy innovation". He notes that inflation adjusted gasoline prices are arguably around the same level or higher than under the Carter Administration, and also notes that Nixon called for Energy Independence back in 1974. Of course he conveniently omits that it was not Carter, but Reagan and Bush, his ideological bedfellows, who slammed the brakes on moving toward solar and other renewables as significant energy sources in the US.
Besides, it needs to be acknowledged that it is more energy efficient to use technologies like video conferencing instead trying to fly people at 2000 mph to get to a meeting, in the first place. That is energy innovation, contrary to what he or Dick Cheney might say about conservation not being a sound basis for energy policy. A key to any type of sound energy policy is doing the easiest and most economical thing, which is often finding ways to save energy, as opposed to building a $10 billion nuclear power plant.
Thiel, of course, doesn't see these more efficient uses of energy for the innovations that they are. We don't all have to travel at 2000 mph, because we instead virtually travel at the speed of light to talk to people via video chat around the world. He later goes on to acknowledge that the one area where he sees any progress at all is in computing, but the reader will notice that he is bundling telecommunications and electronics under the general category of computing. I know that people tend to think of iPhones as pocket computers these days, and forget that phones did not always used to be miniature computers, or that many electronic devices do many things other than computations. Gene sequencing machines and MRIs certainly use computers, but they are also sensors that collect increasingly fine levels of details to feed into computer databases. Progress in telecommunication and electronic sensing is not on Thiel's radar screen, apparently -- or perhaps he would just prefer to cherry pick the data to see it in the most negative light possible.
Going on, Thiel assigns to environmentalists much of the blame for the stagnation of nuclear power, but fails to acknowledge that the technology itself is far more expensive and unreliable than the industry optimistically predicted when it foresaw "energy too cheap to meter". The fact that industry got their cost estimates wrong by a factor of 10 or 20 back in the 1950's does not mean that technology has slowed down. It means that they over-estimated where technology actually was in the first place.
Just to recap more generally, the fact that someone made a bogus prediction in the past and this prediction fails to materialize does not show that technology has somehow failed to keep pace. Thousands of products are hyped every year in the popular press and many of them turn out to be "vaporware", or products that were too-good-to-be-true and simply cannot be delivered as advertised. This might be a failure of over-ambitious marketers, but it not really the fault of technology developers when others promise things that can't really be done yet. Comic books promised us our Dick Tracy TV-phone wristwatches more than half a century before it actually became practical to build them. It's easy to imagine things that are very hard to do technologically.
So sure, we desperately need new technologies, and, to return to the previous topic, there have been a number of innovative designs for reactors since commercial nuclear power reached its apex in the early 1970s, in the US. However, there are still fundamental reasons that we do not have nuclear powered planes or rockets that have nothing to do with "hippies" or other assorted environmental protester bogeymen. For example, even if we could miniaturize a nuclear power plant to be light enough to power a 747, fundamental properties of physics say that it would still emit a huge amount of radiation and it's not as simple as some might think to shield the passengers from this. Even if you put a thick lead wall directly between the reactor and the passengers, the radiation would bounce out through the sides of the plane and hit atoms in the air which would deflect it back around the lead wall and into the passenger cabin, cooking your customers. The phenomenon is know as "backscatter radiation" and it is the basis of some of our airport screening devices today.
The last thing I would like to note in Part 1 of this commentary on the Thiel article is the way that sloppy thinking and off-hand references pervade and detract from the general reliability of the article. Right at the very beginning, he makes an almost obligatory sop to the "the soft totalitarianism of political correctness" , and yet, being that Thiel is a gay man, one wonders if he would prefer the much harder totalitarianism of his right-wing fellow travellers who think that "God hates f*gs" and that people like him should be stoned to death. How would thinking like that be conducive to innovation? In fact quite the opposite is true. In his well known book, _The Rise of the Creative Class_, Richard Florida argues that those cities and states which are more tolerant and politically progressive are also the places where you see the most technological progress, such as Silicon Valley or the Bay Area.
As yet one more example of sloppy thinking, Thiel inquires into what might be wrong with "The state of true science" that might be responsible for progress running a bit less quickly than he and others may prefer. However, he gives up almost immediately, noting that no person can comprehend all the complexities of the numerous scientific disciplines today, and lamenting, in an almost Jobian fashion, "who can compare and contrast and properly weight the rate of progress in nanotechnology and cryptography and superstring theory and 610 other disciplines".
Who indeed? I thought he was talking about science, but he has included cryptography, which is not generally regarded as an empirical science, and nanoTECHNOLOGY which, as the name implies, is a technology, as opposed to nano-science. Furthermore, why should we assume that one person needs to have superhuman mastery of all of these fields in detail? Instead, professionals in fields like Management of Technology try to use general principles, like diffusion of innovation, or product development cycles, rather than an encyclopedic knowledge of facts and figures to get a handle on the complexities of technology.
Thiel clearly didn't consult anyone in Management of Technology before writing the article, and one marvels that he calls himself a venture capitalist with this level of ignorance about how one might evaluate technological progress. At the same time, it does nicely demonstrate why venture capitalists are responsible for so few of the innovations that come to market. Perhaps Thiel could grasp the potential of Paypal and Facebook earlier than some, but there are many other areas of technological potential that are apparently quite opaque to him.
Therefore, feeling I can wait no longer, it falls to me to point out at least a few serious deficiencies in Thiel's arguments. BTW, some people may also be wondering why I would take this up in a blog about religion. Well, as it turns out, Thiel started his article quoting Revelation 6:5. That might give you yet another indication of the type of "science and technology article" that Thiel produced. Search as one might, the reader will find little indication of how this quote is relevant to anything in the article, except perhaps in the sense that both Thiel and John of Patmos are both producing dire, dream-like visions of the future that have no bearing on reality and equally little chance of coming true.
In the interests of fairness, let me start by noting those areas where I can agree with Thiel. I agree that technological progress is a vital element in our economy, although I would say this applies worldwide, and not just to Western nations as Thiel seems to suggest. I also agree that, in some areas, progress has seemed maddeningly slow, and that we should do what we can, especially in the midst of the current recession, to jump-start progress on a number of fronts. I suspect, however, that he would not be as enthusiastic about the government taking a significant role in this jump-starting, even though they have often been vital in starting many nascent industries from computing to aerospace and solar. For what it's worth, Thiel does concede that programs like the Manhattan Project were examples of successful government operations, but this will likely be greeted as heresy by average National Review reader. However, I very much agree that we cannot be naively optimistic that technology will always save our bacon, especially if we stay our current course of doing less and less research and development.
Having said where I can agree with Thiel, however, the basic premise of his opinion piece is that progress is grinding to a halt because some of the fanciful expectations of previous decades have not come true. For example, his first real piece of evidence, after lamenting the demise of the Concorde, is to cite a 1964 Popular Science article called "Who’ll Fly You at 2,000 m.p.h.?". According to Thiel's technological Jeremiad, if this kind of thing hasn't come to pass then it means that progress has halted.
Well, in actual fact, planes like the SR-71 Blackbird have routinely flown faster than 2000 mph and the Blackbird was first produced in 1966. Also, more recently, Virgin Galactic has been offering commercial rides aboard Spaceship One, which flew at Mach 3.09 (2373 mph) in a test run in 2004. I could go on talking about Nasa's X-43 scramjet that flies at 7000 mph, but I think the point has been made that Thiel is being too casual with the facts.
Sure, only Spaceship One is designed for commercial passengers, and you have to pay $200 grand for a thirty minute ride into space. Thiel acknowledges that a lot of this is driven by economics, like the price of fuel. However, that leads him to his next lament, which he describes as "the much larger failure in energy innovation". He notes that inflation adjusted gasoline prices are arguably around the same level or higher than under the Carter Administration, and also notes that Nixon called for Energy Independence back in 1974. Of course he conveniently omits that it was not Carter, but Reagan and Bush, his ideological bedfellows, who slammed the brakes on moving toward solar and other renewables as significant energy sources in the US.
Besides, it needs to be acknowledged that it is more energy efficient to use technologies like video conferencing instead trying to fly people at 2000 mph to get to a meeting, in the first place. That is energy innovation, contrary to what he or Dick Cheney might say about conservation not being a sound basis for energy policy. A key to any type of sound energy policy is doing the easiest and most economical thing, which is often finding ways to save energy, as opposed to building a $10 billion nuclear power plant.
Thiel, of course, doesn't see these more efficient uses of energy for the innovations that they are. We don't all have to travel at 2000 mph, because we instead virtually travel at the speed of light to talk to people via video chat around the world. He later goes on to acknowledge that the one area where he sees any progress at all is in computing, but the reader will notice that he is bundling telecommunications and electronics under the general category of computing. I know that people tend to think of iPhones as pocket computers these days, and forget that phones did not always used to be miniature computers, or that many electronic devices do many things other than computations. Gene sequencing machines and MRIs certainly use computers, but they are also sensors that collect increasingly fine levels of details to feed into computer databases. Progress in telecommunication and electronic sensing is not on Thiel's radar screen, apparently -- or perhaps he would just prefer to cherry pick the data to see it in the most negative light possible.
Going on, Thiel assigns to environmentalists much of the blame for the stagnation of nuclear power, but fails to acknowledge that the technology itself is far more expensive and unreliable than the industry optimistically predicted when it foresaw "energy too cheap to meter". The fact that industry got their cost estimates wrong by a factor of 10 or 20 back in the 1950's does not mean that technology has slowed down. It means that they over-estimated where technology actually was in the first place.
Just to recap more generally, the fact that someone made a bogus prediction in the past and this prediction fails to materialize does not show that technology has somehow failed to keep pace. Thousands of products are hyped every year in the popular press and many of them turn out to be "vaporware", or products that were too-good-to-be-true and simply cannot be delivered as advertised. This might be a failure of over-ambitious marketers, but it not really the fault of technology developers when others promise things that can't really be done yet. Comic books promised us our Dick Tracy TV-phone wristwatches more than half a century before it actually became practical to build them. It's easy to imagine things that are very hard to do technologically.
So sure, we desperately need new technologies, and, to return to the previous topic, there have been a number of innovative designs for reactors since commercial nuclear power reached its apex in the early 1970s, in the US. However, there are still fundamental reasons that we do not have nuclear powered planes or rockets that have nothing to do with "hippies" or other assorted environmental protester bogeymen. For example, even if we could miniaturize a nuclear power plant to be light enough to power a 747, fundamental properties of physics say that it would still emit a huge amount of radiation and it's not as simple as some might think to shield the passengers from this. Even if you put a thick lead wall directly between the reactor and the passengers, the radiation would bounce out through the sides of the plane and hit atoms in the air which would deflect it back around the lead wall and into the passenger cabin, cooking your customers. The phenomenon is know as "backscatter radiation" and it is the basis of some of our airport screening devices today.
The last thing I would like to note in Part 1 of this commentary on the Thiel article is the way that sloppy thinking and off-hand references pervade and detract from the general reliability of the article. Right at the very beginning, he makes an almost obligatory sop to the "the soft totalitarianism of political correctness" , and yet, being that Thiel is a gay man, one wonders if he would prefer the much harder totalitarianism of his right-wing fellow travellers who think that "God hates f*gs" and that people like him should be stoned to death. How would thinking like that be conducive to innovation? In fact quite the opposite is true. In his well known book, _The Rise of the Creative Class_, Richard Florida argues that those cities and states which are more tolerant and politically progressive are also the places where you see the most technological progress, such as Silicon Valley or the Bay Area.
As yet one more example of sloppy thinking, Thiel inquires into what might be wrong with "The state of true science" that might be responsible for progress running a bit less quickly than he and others may prefer. However, he gives up almost immediately, noting that no person can comprehend all the complexities of the numerous scientific disciplines today, and lamenting, in an almost Jobian fashion, "who can compare and contrast and properly weight the rate of progress in nanotechnology and cryptography and superstring theory and 610 other disciplines".
Who indeed? I thought he was talking about science, but he has included cryptography, which is not generally regarded as an empirical science, and nanoTECHNOLOGY which, as the name implies, is a technology, as opposed to nano-science. Furthermore, why should we assume that one person needs to have superhuman mastery of all of these fields in detail? Instead, professionals in fields like Management of Technology try to use general principles, like diffusion of innovation, or product development cycles, rather than an encyclopedic knowledge of facts and figures to get a handle on the complexities of technology.
Thiel clearly didn't consult anyone in Management of Technology before writing the article, and one marvels that he calls himself a venture capitalist with this level of ignorance about how one might evaluate technological progress. At the same time, it does nicely demonstrate why venture capitalists are responsible for so few of the innovations that come to market. Perhaps Thiel could grasp the potential of Paypal and Facebook earlier than some, but there are many other areas of technological potential that are apparently quite opaque to him.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Was Jesus a Jealous Hater? Herman Cain Thinks So.
Republican presidential candidate and cheerleader for corporate corruption (but I repeat myself) Herman Cain thinks that the Occupy Wall Street protesters are just "jealous" and "envious" of those hard working banksters and stockbrokers who helped engineer the financial collapse of 2008 and the current, on-going recession -- the worst one since the Great Depression (also caused by Wall Street). To wit, he is quoted as saying, of the protesters, "I'm not sure I know why they're there. If they're there because they are jealous of Wall Street and bankers and people who have succeeded, then they're there for the wrong reasons. This country is based on people who achieve their dreams and work." Of course, if Cain is not sure why the protesters are there, he could ask them or do five minutes of research. Instead, he chooses to answer his own question instantly and speculate that they must just be "jealous" haters who don't want to "work" or "achieve their dreams".
There was a person that most Republicans claim to admire named Jesus (No, not that dude from Mexico) who also preached against excessive monetary greed and materialism. He spoke hundreds of times, in the Gospels, about helping the poor and/or of the spiritual dangers of excess materialism and the greed that often comes with it. Of the Seven Deadly Sins, GREED (or avaritia) is often listed as the second one. Yes, it's called a sin, not a virtue, contrary to the mantra of false prophet Ronald Reagan who thought "Greed is Good". The ridiculous revisionism of the Prosperity Gospels to one side, Jesus did not speak very approvingly of the Rich. I know that Cain and Romney would label it "class warfare" today, but Jesus was quoted by Matthew as saying, " I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Mt 19:24). He said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Mt 6:19-20). He said, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Lk 18:22).
Jesus didn't say that he's not sure why the poor are here but that they are probably just "jealous" and "lazy". I know that Herman Cain claims to be a Christian, so the idea that he cannot understand why other people would be critical of the excesses of the wealthy is hard to reconcile. I know you're probably not sure why Jesus drove the money changers out of the Temple, Herman. However, I am pretty sure that it wasn't because Jesus was JEALOUS of their success or wanted to penalize them for "working hard" or that he wanted to redistribute their profits to the poor.
To take a page out of his playbook, I'm not sure why Cain dislikes these protesters and favors the plutocrats of Wallstreet. If it's because he hates Jesus and is in league with Satan, having sold his soul to serve Mammon and corporate greed, betraying the interests of the people, then that sounds pretty anti-American and anti-Christian to me.
To take a page out of his playbook, I'm not sure why Cain dislikes these protesters and favors the plutocrats of Wallstreet. If it's because he hates Jesus and is in league with Satan, having sold his soul to serve Mammon and corporate greed, betraying the interests of the people, then that sounds pretty anti-American and anti-Christian to me.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
iDied. Steve Jobs process has been deleted.
The Steve Jobs job has been deleted from the server. At 56 years of age, Apple's iconic CEO and front man has finally let his battery run out of juice. To some a hero and villain (at the same time), a visionary and task master, he has certainly left his indelible print on the computer world from the Apple II on up to the newly released iPhone 4S.
Now Steve can finally find out if all that eastern mysticism and "spiritual" mumbo jumbo of his really has anything to it. I tend to think, like another Steve, with the last name Hawking, that "there is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers" and likewise, none for broken humans. Death, like Epicurus argued, is the end, but "fear not death for it is painless". When it is, you are no more. There is no you to worry about such things and all your burdens can finally be laid to rest. So long Steve, and thanks for all the apples.
Palin is Bailin on Presidential Run in 2012
Multiple news sources have confirmed that empty-headed, self-obsessed, wannabe religious dictator Sarah Palin will not be running for the GOP nomination for President of the United States in 2012. She claims that it was after numerous prayer conversations with God that she determined this. However, it also appears to be after numerous opinion polls showed that she didn't have a chance in hell of obtaining the nomination. She claims she wants to be with her family, but then instantly disproves her claim by saying that she will be campaigning for other candidates for the House, Senate, and Whitehouse. If she is still going to be on the campaign trail for all these individuals then this will certainly not give her the kind of quality family time that she, along with every politician, uses as the blanket excuse for dropping out an office or an election. Your lies make baby Jebus cry, Sarah. So does your shrill voice. It makes us all cry. Oh, and nobody wants your "help" stumping for them anyway, toots. You're a liability who guaranteed defeat for McCain (though he was losing without her anyway) and you can't even get a nomination from your party anymore. So the idea that you're some kind of political "kingmaker" is remarkably stupid, even for someone of your low intellectual caliber. When even the Teabaggers have fallen out of love with you and have stopped ogling your chest topography then you should know it's time to move on. That was the only real asset you had, but like your reputation, it's starting to sag.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Knox Acquitted. Expect Religious Fanatics To Freak Out.
Amanda Knox has been acquitted of murder and freed from prison. Expect religious fanatics, and evangelicals to freak out momentarily. Extremist Christian whack jobs have long tried to vilify Amanda Knox, and her trial, more reminscent of a witch hunt than a careful examination of the evidence, produced the same kind of (in)justice one might expect of a religious inquisition. Many insisted that, in addition to being a sexually liberated woman, Knox was a Wiccan, and therefore, via the slippery slope of misconceptions, a "Witch", and a "Satanist". Of course, Wicca has nothing to do with Satanism, but one can't expect bible-thumping fanatics to care much for truth, or subtle distinctions. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before this rhetoric is trotted out again and rehashed ad nauseum. Throughout the 1980's religious extremists in the US fomented similar "Satanic Panics" as with the McMartin Preschool case, where increasingly ridiculous testimonies were solicited from or falsely suggested to young children. In the end, people were wrongly convicted of "satanic ritual abuse", until the fraud of the whole system was revealed. When religious people get ahold of the justice system you can expect it to be anything but just to anyone who does not think like they do.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Religious Lunatic Anwar Awlaki Neutralized. Now What About Bachmann.
It has been confirmed that U.S. born and therefore traitorous Anwar Awlaki, the self-styled leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has been killed in Yemen. This miserable piece of human garbage, due to his religious extremism, has fomented numerous attacks, or attempted attacks, against the US, including recruiting the "underwear bomber", preaching to three of the 9/11 hijackers, and communicating with Nidal Hassan who went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood. He is also believed to have been behind the failed "ink bomb plot" where explosives were placed in printer cartridges, in an attempt to blow up cargo planes and other unsuspecting targets. Therefore there is no doubt that he deserved execution, being condignly blown to bits in an airstrike on his motorcade. Furthermore, no paradise of virgins awaits the unglamorous chore of servicing this disgusting, hirsute, little troll. He is simply dead, and with him the allure of his rag-tag organization. It's only too bad that this doesn't happen to more religious extremists of the non-muslim variety, like we find in our country today, many of whom, such as Michele Bachmann, have advocated violence against their own countrymen to advance their own religious agendas. Pat Robertson is yet another example of an individual who has "joked" that he wishes that a nuclear bomb would be detonated in a US government building, and who has spoken approvingly of assassinations. Many individuals in the Tea Party, such as failed senatorial candidate Sharon Angle, who also suffer from religious lunacy, have advocated "Second Amendment Remedies" (i.e. shooting people who disagree with you) and slogans like "If ballots don't work, bullets will". Such rhetoric from these right-wing, holier-than-thou types, such as Angle and Palin may have well be responsible for inspiring the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. When will the terrorist networks that live in some Christian megachurches and televangelist studios be dealt with in the same way is it is when it comes out of Mosques in Yemen?
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
We Don't Wanna Go To Heaven If We CAN Get In
The band O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) has been getting a lot of play, since their album dropped last month, especially on a song called "Heaven". The lead singer, Marc Roberge, was supposedly inspired by the It Gets Better anti-bullying video campaign, which sought to address persecution in the LGBT community.
In the main refrain, the song states, "Everybody's got a problem with the way I live. I don’t wanna go to heaven if I can’t get in". We understand your sentiment Roberge, despite the awkwardness of the wording and the logic. You made it sound more like Groucho Marx's quip, "I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member." And of course you don't want to go somewhere if you know the door is going to be locked when you get there. That doesn't mean you wouldn't like to get in if you could get past the locked door, though.
However, what I am suggesting, is that people "Should NOT want to go to heaven, EVEN if they CAN get IN". Here's why. We are told that there are all kinds of things that we are forbidden to do here on Earth because they chafe God's holy bunghole, or make baby Jebus cry. So, if we make ourselves miserable for our entire lives, and never get to do what we want, but only do what God wants, then we finally get our eternal reward in "heaven", RIGHT? We can finally do whatever sick, twisted stuff we have always wanted to do, like shoving fire crackers up the butts of puppies, or snort blow from a hooker's tits, right? Well ....ummmm...... NO! Hell NO, in fact. In "heaven" you still can't do any of these things. Now, maybe if you're a Muslim then Allah will let you bang a few chicks and drink some wine, which he frowned upon while you were on Earth, but for the rest of the time you had best get on your prayer rug and eternally bite the carpet, singing Allah's praises, or He will still totally $mite your a$$.
The same is true in any "paradise" run by an omnipotent bully. It's only really ever TRUE paradise for the top dog. You have to do what God says during your life in order to go to His "paradise" in the afterlife. However, when you get there, the afterlife is just an eternity of doing what God orders you to do, and if you ever screw up, which is easy to do when you're an imperfect being and you've got an eternity on your hands, then you could end up being tossed into Hades. Either way, you are God's eternal puppet. Instead of doing what you want, you will have to learn to like what God wants, which means sacrificing everything that makes you unique as an individual.
The same is true in any "paradise" run by an omnipotent bully. It's only really ever TRUE paradise for the top dog. You have to do what God says during your life in order to go to His "paradise" in the afterlife. However, when you get there, the afterlife is just an eternity of doing what God orders you to do, and if you ever screw up, which is easy to do when you're an imperfect being and you've got an eternity on your hands, then you could end up being tossed into Hades. Either way, you are God's eternal puppet. Instead of doing what you want, you will have to learn to like what God wants, which means sacrificing everything that makes you unique as an individual.
So, in reality, if Mr. Roberge were more accurate he should be singing, "I don't want to go to heaven if I can't be me". I don't wanna go to heaven 'cuz I won't give in. I want freedom apart from the dictates of God and you can never get that in God's Kingdom, if it truly did exists. To paraphrase a popular religious slogan, I have no king including Jesus, nor do I need one, apart from my own will. Hey, maybe these O.A.R. guys really are more revolutionary than they appear, if they can get people to overthrow, in their own minds, the fool's paradise known as "heaven".
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Dumb-as-Hell Michele and her Crusade against HPV vaccines
One has to marvel at the paltry intellect of Dumb-as-Hell Michele (Bachmann) and those even-dumber-than-hell tea baggers who vote for this continual embarrassment of a congresswoman. I realize that they will vote for anyone with an R after their name, but one would think they could find someone who wasn't such a demonstrable dolt and a fraud. Millions of doses of HPV vaccine have already been given out, and yet she still thinks she can get away with scare-tactics and lies, claiming that the vaccine causes "mental retardation". No, honey, that's what your propaganda causes. Are you telling us that there are millions of people who are now retarded because of this vaccine. That should be quite a windfall for Republicans because that's about the only base they've got left as they continue to sabotage the economy and as they continue to do nothing about record unemployment. They're the only one's dumb enough to still believe that the proper role of government is to do NOTHING, which is what tea-baggerism really advocates -- de facto anarchy.
Teabaggers like Michele Baggmann insist that it's not the government's job to fix unemployment, or pretty much to do anything. Well somebody has to be able to do something about it, because private industry certainly is not fixing the problem. Michele is fine with government intruding into your personal life and giving you constant Christian morality lectures about your sex life. She is fine with telling the 470,000 people who get cervical cancer every year that she is one of the people who fought for their freedom to get cancer and not let the gub'mint tell them to get a shot instead.
What would Jesus think about kicking people off of unemployment in the middle of a recession and slashing government spending to people on government programs like medicare and social security? I know she thinks he'd be leading the charge, but the reality is that Jesus thought people should care for the poor.
And there is no bigger government than God, Michele. God's Kingdom is a government that controls every aspect of every individual's life down to the most minute detail. However, it's hard to believe that God would tell people that they shouldn't get a vaccine to prevent cancer.
The idea that HPV vaccination would encourage sexual activity is about like saying that learning how to properly put on a bullet-proof vest would make people want to go out and get shot at. It's about like saying that installing fire sprinklers is going to make it more likely that kids will play with matches.
So HER solution is to ban bullet-proof vests and fire sprinklers? At least she doesn't want the gub'mint telling you that you HAVE to do it. Really? They can tell you to wear a seat belt or what speed you can drive at, or set a million other safety regulations, but if you're too stupid to get a vaccine that prevents cancer, then she thinks they shouldn't force you to do it anyway. Fine, then the parents should be prosecuted for child endangerment, and I hope the children later sue their parents for civil damages, holding up the paper in court where their parents signed an "opt-out" for a free vaccination that could have saved the child's life.
This is a rare case where Rick Perry was actually right (by accident) about one thing, and now every fundamentalist nosepicker in the US is coming out of the woodwork to condemn him for it. How dare you actually do something intelligent. You're a Republican, by GOD. You're only supposed to do things that are STUPID! And Dumb-as-Hell Michele is leading the Crusade. If there really were a God he would strike Michele with cervical cancer right now and make sure that she died from it very slowly (not that I would wish that even on her).
Teabaggers like Michele Baggmann insist that it's not the government's job to fix unemployment, or pretty much to do anything. Well somebody has to be able to do something about it, because private industry certainly is not fixing the problem. Michele is fine with government intruding into your personal life and giving you constant Christian morality lectures about your sex life. She is fine with telling the 470,000 people who get cervical cancer every year that she is one of the people who fought for their freedom to get cancer and not let the gub'mint tell them to get a shot instead.
What would Jesus think about kicking people off of unemployment in the middle of a recession and slashing government spending to people on government programs like medicare and social security? I know she thinks he'd be leading the charge, but the reality is that Jesus thought people should care for the poor.
And there is no bigger government than God, Michele. God's Kingdom is a government that controls every aspect of every individual's life down to the most minute detail. However, it's hard to believe that God would tell people that they shouldn't get a vaccine to prevent cancer.
The idea that HPV vaccination would encourage sexual activity is about like saying that learning how to properly put on a bullet-proof vest would make people want to go out and get shot at. It's about like saying that installing fire sprinklers is going to make it more likely that kids will play with matches.
So HER solution is to ban bullet-proof vests and fire sprinklers? At least she doesn't want the gub'mint telling you that you HAVE to do it. Really? They can tell you to wear a seat belt or what speed you can drive at, or set a million other safety regulations, but if you're too stupid to get a vaccine that prevents cancer, then she thinks they shouldn't force you to do it anyway. Fine, then the parents should be prosecuted for child endangerment, and I hope the children later sue their parents for civil damages, holding up the paper in court where their parents signed an "opt-out" for a free vaccination that could have saved the child's life.
This is a rare case where Rick Perry was actually right (by accident) about one thing, and now every fundamentalist nosepicker in the US is coming out of the woodwork to condemn him for it. How dare you actually do something intelligent. You're a Republican, by GOD. You're only supposed to do things that are STUPID! And Dumb-as-Hell Michele is leading the Crusade. If there really were a God he would strike Michele with cervical cancer right now and make sure that she died from it very slowly (not that I would wish that even on her).
Friday, September 16, 2011
Doctor Bachmann Discovers Retardation via Inoculation
Eminent medical expert Michele Bachmann has just made the breakthrough discovery that the HPV vaccine Gardasil causes mental retardation, stunning the medical community with her research. Work is underway to present her with this years Nobel Prize in Medicine, just as soon as she produces the slightest shred of evidence for her otherwise completely unfounded claim. Otherwise, she might earn a Darwin Award for killing her political career by prostituting the Truth in the service of religious fanaticism. In the process she appears to have infected the Truth with HPV and AIDS.
BTW, you know what actually causes mental retardation, aside from listening to the Rush Limbaugh show? Cervical cancer does. That's right, because it causes you to DIE, and causes your IQ to decrease to ZERO! Therefore, if the HPV vaccine saves you from cervical cancer then it actually raises your IQ far above what you would be if you were DEAD.
BTW, you know what actually causes mental retardation, aside from listening to the Rush Limbaugh show? Cervical cancer does. That's right, because it causes you to DIE, and causes your IQ to decrease to ZERO! Therefore, if the HPV vaccine saves you from cervical cancer then it actually raises your IQ far above what you would be if you were DEAD.
Retards 4 Bachmann
As already reported, Michele Bachmann is now peddling the asinine, completely unfounded, defamatory claim that the Gardasil HPV vaccine can cause "mental retardation". I know you all may be thinking, how many doses of HPV vaccine did Michele take, anyway? I mean, I thought she was against the stuff.
It turns out that this stuff is old hat for the religious right. They make lots of bogus medical claims all the time. Many of them have been against vaccination since vaccination was invented in the 1800's. They also claim that condoms can't prevent STDs like AIDS. They claim that abortions increase a woman's risk of breast cancer. All of these are false. These people are the furthest thing from medical experts, and asking their opinion on medicine is like asking a plumber his opinion about brain surgery or rocket science.
It goes without saying that people like Michele Bachmann doesn't care about the truth in the slightest. She will say absolutely anything. She is just a brunette version of Michaele Salahi, and has about the same level of social grace.
This leads one to ask, who in the world could possible be dumb enough to support Michele Bachmann. The answer has to be *people even dumber than her*. Since most of the things coming out of Bachmann's mouth are borderline retarded anyway, apparently this would make her supporters, full-on, certifiable, D-level special ed.
However, this provokes the follow-up question of, "Why would Bachmann supporters worry about the HPV vaccine causing mental retardation when they are already mentally retarded?" One would think they would already have immunity. I mean, perhaps they are worried that it will drop their IQs from 2 to 1, but, seriously, it wouldn't be much of a difference.
It turns out that this stuff is old hat for the religious right. They make lots of bogus medical claims all the time. Many of them have been against vaccination since vaccination was invented in the 1800's. They also claim that condoms can't prevent STDs like AIDS. They claim that abortions increase a woman's risk of breast cancer. All of these are false. These people are the furthest thing from medical experts, and asking their opinion on medicine is like asking a plumber his opinion about brain surgery or rocket science.
It goes without saying that people like Michele Bachmann doesn't care about the truth in the slightest. She will say absolutely anything. She is just a brunette version of Michaele Salahi, and has about the same level of social grace.
This leads one to ask, who in the world could possible be dumb enough to support Michele Bachmann. The answer has to be *people even dumber than her*. Since most of the things coming out of Bachmann's mouth are borderline retarded anyway, apparently this would make her supporters, full-on, certifiable, D-level special ed.
However, this provokes the follow-up question of, "Why would Bachmann supporters worry about the HPV vaccine causing mental retardation when they are already mentally retarded?" One would think they would already have immunity. I mean, perhaps they are worried that it will drop their IQs from 2 to 1, but, seriously, it wouldn't be much of a difference.
Bachmann's RETARDED HPV Claim
Comic relief GOP candidate Michele Bachmann proved just how unqualified she is to hold any public office including dog catcher by endorsing the ludicrous claim that the HPV vaccine can cause "mental retardation". What reams of scientific research has she produced. None, of course. She claims that an anonymous constituent told her that her daughter, "suffered mental retardation as a result of that vaccine." Now, you will note, that Michele Bachmann is supposedly trained as a lawyer, albeit from a Christian school. However, even there, they presumably teach them the difference between hearsay/gossip and actual, legally admissible evidence. If Bachmann truly believed there was strong evidence that the vaccine caused "mental retardation" then surely she would have offered her legal services to sue the pants of Merck & Co, the makers of the HPV vaccine Gardasil. Surely she would be proposing legislation to immediately ban the drug. Instead, she is repeating idle gossip from a source that probably does not even exist.
Enter Bioethicist Art Caplan, who offered Michele Bachmann ten thousand dollars, donated to the charity of her choice, if she could produce this alleged constituent and her "evidence" that Gardasil had caused her daughter's mental retardation. What are the odds that Michele Bachmann, who believes in the resurrection of a 2000-year-old super zombie named Jesus without any evidence, will be able to produce any reasonable evidence for this latest ridiculous belief?
This is the same woman whose "clinic" performed de-gay-ification therapy. Yes, you can guilt a gay person into repressing his or her sexual desires, just as you can do with a straight person, and you can change someone's sexual orientation from gay to straight about as easily as you can change it from straight to gay, which is to say, not very damn easily. Maybe she should see if she can get Merck to work on an anti-gay vaccine for her. It might, of course, have the side effect of turning them into retards and fundamentalist Christians, but I'm repeating myself.
Enter Bioethicist Art Caplan, who offered Michele Bachmann ten thousand dollars, donated to the charity of her choice, if she could produce this alleged constituent and her "evidence" that Gardasil had caused her daughter's mental retardation. What are the odds that Michele Bachmann, who believes in the resurrection of a 2000-year-old super zombie named Jesus without any evidence, will be able to produce any reasonable evidence for this latest ridiculous belief?
This is the same woman whose "clinic" performed de-gay-ification therapy. Yes, you can guilt a gay person into repressing his or her sexual desires, just as you can do with a straight person, and you can change someone's sexual orientation from gay to straight about as easily as you can change it from straight to gay, which is to say, not very damn easily. Maybe she should see if she can get Merck to work on an anti-gay vaccine for her. It might, of course, have the side effect of turning them into retards and fundamentalist Christians, but I'm repeating myself.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Senile Pat Robertson Says Divorce OK for Alzheimers
Apparently senile old Pat thinks that if one's wife gets Alzheimer's disease that it's just fine and dandy to divorce her. His argument is that Alzheimer's "is a kind of death" and that "his wife, as he knows her, is gone". Of course, this is the same guy who think that killing a single-celled, fertilized embryo with no brain or developed nervous system is "murder". So, by Pat's argument, if Alzheimer's is "a kind of death", why does he not endorse euthanizing these individuals? As usual, he has not even remotely thought his position through, which is par for a the course for a guy who says that gay people and feminists are responsible for 9/11.
Doddering old Pat also forgot another little part of the Bible called the _Sermon on the Mount_. To wit, Jebus is quoted in Mt 5:31-32 as saying, "But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Jesus doesn't appear to carve out any special exception for Alzheimer's. Therefore Pat is just making up his own Bible, preaching that, and still using the brand name called "Christianity".
However, this apparently doesn't bother Pat, because he is the kind of Christian who sins as much as he can and then says, "Jesus will just have to forgive me!" After all, Jesus was supposed to have died for sins and Pat wouldn't want the sacrifice of Jesus to have been in vain. He wants to make sure that he gets as much mileage out of that sacrifice as possible.
However, this apparently doesn't bother Pat, because he is the kind of Christian who sins as much as he can and then says, "Jesus will just have to forgive me!" After all, Jesus was supposed to have died for sins and Pat wouldn't want the sacrifice of Jesus to have been in vain. He wants to make sure that he gets as much mileage out of that sacrifice as possible.
This is one reason that I say that Christians who take their faith seriously are quite dangerous, because, if they're like Pat, they think they can get away with anything and say, "It's OK because I believe in Jesus, so I've got a Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free card". Maybe that's why he has advocated assassinating world leaders and setting off nuclear devices in US government buildings. Pat has turned Dostoevsky's dictum on its head to suggest that "If Jesus does exist then all is permitted (of believers)".
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