'TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
The New Enlightenment
By Baron Dave Romm
In the name of his G_d, Osama bin Laden kills innocent people for an evil cause.
Invoking his religion, Saddam Hussein repressed and killed thousands of his own people.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others insist that G_d honors those who teach children to blow up other children and themselves.
Sen. Bill Frist leads a choir claiming that G_d told them to keep a brain dead woman chained to a machine.
Judge Roy Moore and others claim that the Ten Commandments should be inscribed in stone in US courthouses, though they seem to have chiseled in an asterisk to allow for the death penalty and pre-emptive wars.
The Taliban wanted to have their country ruled by a very narrow interpretation of their ultra-conservative religious code.
The Republicans want to have the US ruled by a very narrow interpretation of their ultra-religious code.
I'm pissed off. I'm tired of every two-bit scumbag screaming "Lord Lord!" and being given a pass on the most stupid, destructive, unreligious and downright evil things imaginable. I want G_d back on the side of the good guys. That means us.
I believe in G_d. I'm not an atheist or an agnostic. I believe that the lesson taught by the story of Adam and Eve is that all humans are in the same family: People are more alike than they are different. I despise those who use religion to separate people.
I keep asking right-wing Christians: Jesus was a liberal, why aren't you?
There is never an answer. It pisses me off that many of the followers of the most liberal religious figure in history have turned into the most anal-retentive right wing mindless idiots.
Last week, the Minneapolis Star Tribune ran a story trying to "balance" the views on Evolution and Intelligent Design; more than the one view linked here. They urged readers to write in with their views. This was the letter I sent in. The responses haven't run yet, but I figure a week is enough time for them to simmer and I can print my letter.
The Bible contains all knowledge in the same way that an acorn contains all of an oak tree. We are not realized until we have fed from streams of knowledge, drunk waters of wisdom and reached toward the light. We must grow to fulfill God's plan for us.
We live in God's World. The Creator can be seen in a microscope or through a telescope or in a baby's laugh. We are created in God's image but some want to create God in Man's image, imbuing The Creator with human passions such as jealousy and intelligence. That demeans both God and our quest for understanding.
If you don't believe in evolution, you don't believe in God.
(The Bible says there should be no representation of the Lord, so Jews and Muslims don't depict G_d and sometimes go so far as to not spell out the three letters. I don't usually do this, especially in otherwise contentious letters to the editor, but I sometimes do when writing on religious matters.)
I'm trying to spread a meme: It's time to reclaim G_d on the side of the good guys. The meme is not original with me. The Enlightenment of the 18th Century CE had a similar notion: The celebration of the human capacity. The brain is G_d's most potent creation, and we must use it. The Enlightenment for the 21st Century is trying for a new way of thinking that demands we change the world.
While the sad case of Terri Schiavo brought the issue into sharp relief, the bad guys have been claiming G_d for a long time now, and we can't let them get away with it.
I neither speak for G_d nor does G_d speak through me. My beliefs are informed by the wisdom of previous generations, the world as revealed by human investigations and my own spirituality.
I'll get off my soapbox now, but as long as I'm still in a ranting
mood here are some
Togo, Mongolia, Ukraine, etc have had major problems with their democracies of late; neocons are quick to take credit for hints of democracy when it breaks out in Lebanon or Egypt but don't have the guts to face problems with democracy in other countries. Including problems with democracy in the USA.
No one who flies a confederate flag can criticize Jane Fonda.
Republicans used to be the party of Abraham Lincoln but now they're the party of John Wilkes Booth.
Bush wants to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by relying more on... coal. Is Bush really that stupid or are his handlers really that stupid or are his handler's assuming that conservatives are that stupid?
The GOP has figured out something the Democrats haven't: What people think of the president the months after the election mean nothing. The only thing that matters is the last week of the campaign.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E , and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
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Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Nat Hentoff: Whose Constitution Wins? (Village Voice)
As democrats wonder what their party stands for, here is a way to reach more Americans
Robert Parry: Mystery of the Democrats' New Spine (Consortiumnews.com)
Across the nation's capital, perplexed political pundits have been rubbing their chins wondering what has happened to the Democrats, who were supposed to quiver in fear of the victorious George W. Bush and his Republican congressional majority. Instead, the minority party has been picking - and even winning - some fights.
Matt Mernagh: Major Tom to Ground Control (NOW Magazine)
Activist Tom Hayden gives Canada's New Democratic Party a strategy to win refuge for U.S. soldiers fleeing service in Iraq.
WAYNE ROBERTS: This fish is a no-brainer (NOW Magazine)
If we were serious about living consciously, we'd stop eating it.
LETTERS: Radio's Air America Is Finding an Audience (LA Times)
Regardless of how much Anderson and his ilk whistle past the graveyard, there is a large and growing audience for liberal talk.
Oxford English Dictionary
Advice for 15-Year-Old Girls (Village Voice)
and
Advice for 15-Year-Old Girls (Village Voice)
Purple Gene Reviews
'Jeff Gannon'
Purple Genes' review Jeff Gannon on Real Time with Bill Maher aired last Friday April 29th on HBO:
I really look forward to watching Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday nights on HBO.
He has such a wide array of guests with such diverse political persuasions….Natalie from the Dixie Chicks, Bill O Reilly from FOX, Maureen Dowd, Alan Simpson, Jane Fonda on and on….and they can say FUCK on Cable……so it was with great anticipation that I tuned in to see the former White House news correspondent James Guckert - also known as Jeff Gannon - male homosexual website stud - now discredited Talon news writer and wanna-be celebrity……..Just what would Bill Maher have to ask "Jazzy" Jeff ???????? How did he get his credentialed press pass? Was he providing STUD service for anyone in the White House ? How did he get his credentialed press pass ? How long is his "Schlong" ?
Well Mahers' new name is "SOFT-BALL BILL"!!!!!! or "WIMPY WILLY" ! Talk about ass kissing…."how are things for you now Jeff ?" "What was it like being in the press corp ?" "What's your plans for the future Jeff ?" I think that Bad Boy Bill made a deal before hand not to ask Jeff Gannon any embarrassing questions, just to get him on as a guest. Bill Maher had a joke a few weeks ago that Presidents Bushs' new "MANDATE" was Jeff Gannon! So he gets the guy on the show and doesn't ask him even any funny questions…like…"Hey Jeff, did you suck dick like Monica in the oval office?" "Hey Jeff, what were you doing in the White House when you had almost unlimited access to everything from Rose Garden Parties, to Soirees with Statesmen and World Leaders ?" …
NOOOOOOOOOO…"SOFT BALL BILL" didn't ask him any hard questions…all he did was give Jeff Gannon more positive legitimizing exposure!
Bill did ask why Jeff wasn't invited to this years White House Correspondents Association Dinner. DUUUH !
Bills' other guests included Maryland Lt. Governor Michael "Uncle Tom" Steele, Satellite feed with Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, giggly semi-black novelist Farai Chideya and funny foolish face making Martin Short…….
I keep asking Bill to have Ann Coulter back on live…so that someone can through a pie in her face……
Purple Gene gives Bill Maher 0 points for his interview with Jeff "the STUD" Gannon…C'mon Bill, your not on NBC anymore…stop defending Bushs' maybe stumbling success in Iraq and start hitting these mother fuckers HARD!!!!
Thanks, Purple Gene!
I was struck by how pudgy Jimmy/Jeff Guckert/Gannon was - looked more like the Sta-Puff Marshmallow Man than a Bulldog.
Rather reminded me of the late, great
Donald Pleasence [Ernst Stavro Blofeld in
You Only Live Twice (1967)] - all that was missing was a large fluffy white cat, a
scar & a soul.
I wish Bill Maher would stop apologizing to the righty-tighties for his audience's reactions. It's not like there's any great shortage of wingnuts with large ego's & wacky opinions if he's worried about filling that quota. If he can't find 'em, I
suggest listening to AM radio - any station that isn't Air America has 'em in droves.
Another Rant
Avery Ant
TOO BIG TO FIT IN YOUR HEAD
http://www.averyant.com/video_male_ego.htm
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Beautiful sunny day.
My tomato plants seem to be snail magnets, and this year there's a bumper crop of snails.
More snails than plates of beer can handle.
So many snails that walking in the garden makes me think of Savion Glover.
AIDS Charity Concert In Norway
Nelson Mandela
South Africa's first black president and hero of the anti-apartheid struggle Nelson Mandela will travel to Norway in June to lead the star lineup at an AIDS charity concert, his foundation said.
The June 11 concert in Tromsoe dubbed "46664 Arctic" is to highlight Mandela's message that "AIDS is a global issue," said the foundation in a statement.
Mandela's '46664 ambassadors' Bill Clinton, Bono and Will Smith are to be on hand to issue calls for more to be done to address infant mortality and the impact of HIV/AIDS on children.
Nelson Mandela
Argues Right To Abortion
L.G.
"Why can't I make my own decision?" That was the blunt question to a judge from a pregnant 13-year-old girl ensnared in a Palm Beach County court fight over whether she can have an abortion.
"I don't know," Circuit Judge Ronald Alvarez replied, according to a recording of the closed hearing obtained Friday.
"You don't know?" replied the girl, who is a ward of the state. "Aren't you the judge?"
L.G., who told Alvarez she had run away at least five times from her youth shelter, maintained, "It would make no sense to have the baby."
"I don't think I should have the baby because I'm 13, I'm in a shelter and I can't get a job," the girl said as Alvarez and her guardian ad litem, assigned to shepherd her in the legal system, questioned her.
"DCF would take the baby anyway," she said, but later added: "If I do have it, I'm not going to let them take it."
"Since you guys are supposedly here for the best interest of me, then wouldn't you all look at that fact that it'd be more dangerous for me to have the baby than to have an abortion?" she asked. Alvarez called that "a good point."
L.G.
Bill U.S. for Treating Iraqi Girl
Belgian Doctors
Belgian doctors sent an Iraqi girl home Thursday after treating her for leg wounds caused by a bomb during the U.S. invasion -- and sent the 51,570 euro ($66,650) bill to the U.S. embassy.
"We haven't heard from them yet," said Bert De Belder, coordinator of the humanitarian agency Medical Aid for Third World which brought the girl to Belgium.
Doctors brought 15-year-old Hiba Kassim to Belgium last year to try to save her left ankle, seriously injured by a cluster bomb that also killed her brother in Baghdad in 2003.
De Belder said he sent the bill to the U.S. embassy because international law dictated that an occupying force was responsible for the well-being of the country's people. U.S. embassy officials were not immediately available for comment.
Belgian Doctors
Auctioned for More Than $150K
Titanic Items
Dozens of Titanic relics auctioned for more than $150,000 Sunday, including a gold pocket watch owned by an Irish immigrant that stopped ticking the day of the sinking when she was rescued in a lifeboat.
The watch, once owned by Nora Keane of County Limerick, Ireland, was sold for $24,675, more than three times its estimated value, said Jon Baddeley, Bonhams & Butterfields auction house's marine collectibles expert.
Keane, who had emigrated to Harrisburg, Pa., was returning to the United States on the luxury liner's maiden voyage after a four-month visit to see her mother. It was damaged by water as she was rescued in lifeboat No. 10.
The top sale price at the auction was $44,650 for the only known example of a 3rd class menu postcard, dated April 14, 1912. The card has a picture of the Titanic at the top, with the entire day's menu printed on it.
Titanic Items
Iowa Tenor Wins Tucker Award
Eric Cutler
Never mind hitting a high C: A 29-year-old tenor from Iowa delivered multiple high Ds to win the Richard Tucker Award. Eric Cutler's vocal fireworks - which some have compared to the young Luciano Pavarotti's high notes - won him the premier prize that also paved the way to fame for other American singers like Renee Fleming, Deborah Voigt, Dolora Zajick and David Daniels.
The $30,000 award, named after the late Brooklyn-raised tenor who proved that Americans can sing a great European repertoire as well as any foreigner, is given each year to an American singer on the edge of an important international career.
The 6-foot-3 native of Adel, Iowa, who Opera News says possesses "a distinctive, red-blooded voice," has been heard at the Metropolitan Opera in Wagner's "Meistersinger" and is returning next season in Alban Berg's "Wozzeck" and Mozart's "The Magic Flute," which he also will perform at England's Glyndebourne Festival this summer.
Eric Cutler
Focus On Hate In Colorado
Protest
About 500 people braved cold temperatures and light snow Sunday to protest a conservative Christian group's campaign against gay rights and same-sex marriage.
The protesters gathered in front of the Focus on the Family campus, holding rainbow flags, multicolored balloons and signs reading "God Loves Justice" and "Love Thy Neighbor." An American Indian group played drums and some protesters sang "We Shall Overcome."
Focus on the Family, founded and led by James Dobson, has vigorously opposed gay rights and same-sex marriages, urging voters during last year's election to vote for resident Bush and in favor of same-sex marriage bans that passed in 11 states.
Dobson was not at the headquarters Sunday, Minnery said. He is traveling on the East Coast this week and was expected to be in Washington, D.C., for the National Day of Prayer events on Thursday.
Protest
Denies Lobbying India Over Park
Disney
Disney on Sunday declined to say whether it wants to build a theme park in India, but denied a newspaper report in Hong Kong that it lobbied the Indian government on the matter. The South China Morning Post reported Sunday that The Walt Disney Co. has asked Indian authorities for land for a park site.
Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner and Chief Operating Officer Robert Iger, who has been picked to replace Eisner, visited India last week and met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the report said.
Disney's latest theme park in Asia, Hong Kong Disneyland, is due to open Sept. 12. Critics have questioned if the government was too accommodating to Disney. Hong Kong taxpayers are paying for most of the park's $3.5 billion cost. Officials say the park will boost employment and tourism.
Disney
Honored By Bollywood
David Hasselhoff
India's movie industry handed out its version of the Oscars on Saturday at the Bollywood Movie Awards, which saw a veteran director take top honors and a U.S. actor best known for "Baywatch" named international star of the year.
The Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that is. The event was held in the U.S. East Coast gambling resort as part of Bollywood's bid to be a global force in cinema.
An audience composed largely of Americans of Indian origin cheered as veteran Yash Chopra was named best director for his film "Veer-Zaara," which also picked up the award for best film and best actor for its star Shahrukh Khan.
David Hasselhoff
Shareholders Meet
Warren Buffett
Shareholders at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s annual meeting this weekend got an eyeful as they watched the world's second richest person, Warren Buffett, share the screen with the richest, Bill Gates, and one of the strongest, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The forum was the traditional hour-long film produced by Buffett's daughter Susie, featuring a compendium of old and new clips, ads for Berkshire businesses, an appearance by "Margaritaville" singer Jimmy Buffett (he is a shareholder), and lampoons of the images of Buffett and his slower-speaking, sharper-tongued, second-in-command, Charlie Munger.
Schwarzenegger retained Buffett as an economic adviser in his successful 2003 campaign to become California's governor. He joked during that campaign that he told Buffett he would have to do 500 sit-ups if the billionaire ever again questioned a popular proposal to cap property taxes.
Gates and Schwarzenegger also co-starred with Buffett in a cartoon spoof of "The Wizard of Oz" titled "The Wizard of Omaha."
Buffett, clad in overalls, sang "Over the Rainbow," somewhat in tune, before a tornado spun him to a colorful land where Gates played the Scarecrow, Munger the Tin Man, Schwarzenegger the Cowardly Lion, and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan a wizard who couldn't fix Social Security.
Warren Buffett
