Devilstower's Religion Article

I'd bookmarked the religion article, or found it again. The author is devilstower and it's called Incompatible with Democracy

Does this mean that Christianity or Judaism are incompatible with democracy? Yes, to the same extent and for the same reasons that Islam is also incompatible. All three are intrinsically ill-suited to be the source of a democratic government. They're incompatible because theocracy is incompatible with democracy. Every step that any government takes in providing either recognition or authority to any religion, is a step away from democracy. That's unavoidable, no matter the religion involved. The moment you have a government that acknowledges any religion as the true religion, you have a government in which some animals are far more equal than others.

The Little People, Silly People argument would have it that Islam is particularly poorly-shaped for democracy. However, anyone who doubts that the principles of Christianity can drive just as much violence and intolerance as Islam is ignorant of both history and world events. The history of Christianity is replete with holy empires, holy kingdoms, and holy wars of conquest -- and many of them not comfortably ensconced in the distant past. Everyone who moans that the Ten Commandments should be posted in every school and courthouse, could benefit from contemplating the ultimate fruition of that philosophy in the God's Army militia in Burma. Under the banner of bringing a "government based on the Ten Commandments" to their country, God's Army has killed more than a million people -- far more than al-Qaeda.

Very nice.

Merry Xmas.

Fascism and coups and fundamentalists.

I really wasn't gonna blog - got some gaming to do - but here's three great things, in reverse order.

The Right Wing propaganda machine has been demonizing the Islam with 'they want to institute sharia law in the USA' line. I've heard it in three-five places; it's the Word of the Week.

I think it was on DailyKos where someone - their science guy? - says:

"Yeah, Sharia law sucks, because it's a theocracy. We're a democracy. Of course, you and your friends want one too."

So that's the comeback - that's a theocracy. We don't want one from anyone.

Coups - Amanda Marcotte at Pandagon (who had the good Edwards quote - the one of the lot with the greatest chance of showing some backbone against the Right if he gets elected.) and she wrote about the Clinton impeachment and the 2000 election. Good story.

And fascism - some great laffs on Jesus's General.

And besides this, Bush should resign. And impeaching Cheney would be nice.

Youtubes sure are funny.

The election, 2008 President.

I was chatting with someone in my World of Warcraft guild about the election.

She's theoretically Republican - pro-military (or at least more than me) and yet disgusted with the choices offered by party for President.

So I said that in my mind, both parties were controlled by the corporations, who had allied with the militarists, fundamentalist Christians, and 'the kind of spooks you shouldn't let out of the back rooms at Langley.'

She laughed, but I got to thinking about fascism.

Isn't this the basic constellation of power that you get for a fascist state? State military power, corporations, the secret police, and hate-based reactionaries?

Just sayin'.

Republican party, home of wingnuts

The best thing that America could see at the Republican National Convention would be the real face of the party. The evolution-denying, noose carrying kind.

Evil cop tricks foiled in Canada

This is hilarious. Three cops, agents provocateurs, at the SPP protests in Canada. They're there to start an incident, but this union guy gets on to them and tells them to blow it out their patooties.



In case you missed the whole thing, it goes like this - you get cops undercover to start an incident so the rest of their heavily-armed brethren have an excuse to beat the crap out of a bunch of protesters.

And besides this, Bush abdicandum est*.
(*Bush must resign)

No promises

Last updated in June??? WTF?

New job. Crazy life. Shifting patterns of computer use related to smoking cessation (and Warcraft addiction).

I am in Minnesota, and I have a Winona connection, and no-one I know died in either bridge collapse or flooding. But Pawlenty and his "no taxes no way for nothing" and his "veto spending on transport" can go take a hike.

Besides this, George Bush Must Resign.

Teh Booxxor of Joob

Teh Booxxor of Joob

I'll translate this one line alone - the book of Job.

Gh0d: Day-vid! u iz wikedz.

Day-vid: wikedz good?

Gh0d: wikedz bad! im in ur hous, killin ur kid.

Day-vid: oh noes! not mai kid! iz not hiz falt.

Mark Twain's War Prayer

Mr Twain wrote a story about how God is good - for us - and bad for our enemies. At least according to those who want war. Are they godly, those who want war? If they're honest, this is how they would sound...

"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen."

And besides this, Bush abdicandum est*.
(*Bush must resign)

Falwell gone...

After a breakfast with Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell died in his office.

Must've been something in the coffee! (if he drank it; or was demon caffeine on the off-list?)

This guy I know wrote a haiku for Jerry;

Timothy McVeigh
Just pulled his c**k out of a
Smouldering Falwell

Buy-bye.

"Two days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, during an appearance on Pat Robertson's television show, Falwell claimed that the attack was God's judgment on America's immorality.

"I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians, who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way — all of them who try to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say, 'You helped this happen.'" "

And besides this, Bush should resign.

Habeas Corpus

Is such an unsexy thing to organize around. The ACLU has this Find Habeas page that's pretty funny - ludicrous.

But what ain't funny is that the Democrats refuse to overturn the Bushite attacks on habeas.

This gets to the heart of the anarchist critique of the Democrats (well, one of many) that they will support state power against people. In other words, the Democrats tend to be soft on the creation of a police state.

Clinton's AntiTerror act was awful; it really was. Bush's was far worse and overtly fascist, but Clinton was bad.

So some Democrat who is the head of some judicial committee is being a pawn of the masters. Read this from Kos and get pissed off.

Friday Random Thoughts

I'm still pissed that the Democrats said they were saving the filibuster for something important, like a supreme court justice who would tip the balance on abortion rights.

Don't drink water out of plastic bottles. It's bad for you. Tap water is generally fine, unless you live in 3M'burbs.

I have a huge spiderman painting above my computer.

My World of Warcraft character is 44th level, and rides a huge metal ostrich.

My dawg grew the week I was on vacation.

And besides this, Bush should resign.

Weekly?

Maybe a once-a-week restart... hmm...

Edwards better not be backing out

Man - this sucks. Anyone who cares about the people gets the message - back off.

Wellstone, Finegold, Edwards. At least the latter two are still alive.

Sharpton and Thurmond

The thing that gets me about this one is how the Thurmond descendant said it was great how Sharpton had done so well, considering.

Considering what, you racist fuck? Considering how my grandpappy owned yo mamma? Considering how you was slave trash?

Shit.

And besides this, Bush should resign.

Peeking from the wreckage...

...wreckage of a hard drive, a news habit, posting regularly...

On the other hand, I'm still a non-smoker! So that's nice!


And besides this, George Bush should resign.

Nerdcore???

After this long, what you give me is - nerdcore???


Yep! World of Warcraft is great (lev 21 on my main) and I've not been fired and I'm still not smoking cigs, and this made me all teary-eyed!

Love the fan culture!



Nerdcore Rising



And besides this, Bush abdicandum est*.
(*Bush must resign)

Orwell, Lenin, and Louie the 16th

Are sitting talking - part 2 (part 1)

Orwell: I wrote 1984 about what happened to Russia, what was happening there, Vladimir.

Lenin: I know - but in today's context, your critique of the Soviet failure leaves the battlefield to this new breed of pirahna capitalists. Which, surely, you would never have endorsed.

Orwell: Christ no! While I was thinking about Party control in the 50s, this current crop of imperialists seems to have taken my views to heart. The Osama/Saddam Two Minute Hate. The Memory Hold. We are at war with Iran. We have always been at war with Iran.

Louis the 16th: I resent you putting these nouveau riche rabble-rousers into the realm of kings and emperors. Their hands are stained with blood and oil; their hearts are full of revenge and domination; their imaginations are as limited as the Puritan.

Lenin: As if the Sun King's wheaten crown wasn't grown from the pain of the French masses.

Orwell: Yeah - we should be listening to Mr. Let Them Eat Cake on being out of touch.

And besides this, Bush abdicandum est*.
(*Bush must resign)

This Sunday - January 21 2007...

Is the day that Vladimir Lenin, Louis the 16th (that's Marie Antoinette, French Revolution Louis), and George Orwell all died.

(Two of them more-or-less naturally, Louie kinda in an execution way.)

So I'm wondering - how would they look at what's going on right now, and what would they all say about it?

Orwell: Well, chaps, looks like you're both kind of 'dead ending' it. Communism and the aristocracy - where are they now?

King Louis: Oh, I dunno - looks to be one heck of an elite building at the top of those corporate structures.

V. I. Lenin: And calling the end of the USSR the failure of communism! As if!


And besides this, Bush abdicandum est*.
(*Bush must resign)

No, I'm not playing World of Warcraft.

Brainiac4 is over. He's playing. I'm just reading about it online.

And besides this, Bush abdicandum est*.
(*Bush must resign)

The Nguzo Saba - The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa

I used to think that Kwanzaa was lame, because it was made-up.

Then I thought better (and realized every holiday is made-up.)

Then I thought it was lame because it was pushed by the same people who insist you use the term "African-American", but think using the term is all you need to be racially aware and you can go on thinking all drug dealers are dangerous black people.

Then I heard that Kwanzaa was considered too radical by some.

So now I think it's kinda cool. Like the principles, and stuff. So here it is on my blog, so I'll know where to look for it if I want to read it again.

NGUZO SABA (The Seven Principles)

Umoja (Unity)
To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
To build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Nia (Purpose)
To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity)
To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Imani (Faith)
To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

­ Maulana Karenga

(The quitting smoking is continuing. It's gotten psychological and lame.)


And besides this, Bush abdicandum est*.
(*Bush must resign)

Day 4 of my quit....

Being a Minnesotan, and since not every last bit of tobacco-settlement money got sucked up in the general fund when we ran out of state cash (oooh, about three rants there), I get to participate in QuitNet for free.

It's an online quitting support community, and my sweetie used it extensively when she quit.

There's a whole vocabulary - being a Minnesotan and over the age of 10, I have experienced the 12 Steps in some way and they have a vocabulary too...

Anyway - the reason for this discursion is the use of the phrase 'my quit.'

I don't know if it's intended to avoid the 'quitter' label, but the word 'quit' becomes like a noun. It's not Day 4 of my quitting process, it's Day 4 of my quit. "How's the quit going, dude?" "It's a good quit. Yours?" "Shaky, dude, shaky." "Keep the quit, brother, deep breathing and chew on some cinnamon sticks." "Thanks, dude, you helped me rescue my quit."

Although most of the people using quitnet are working class women in their 30s, so the whole surfer dude stuff is atypical.

Anyway, back to my quit. I get my bracelet today!

Still not smoking...

But not much else to report. Some WoW characters have gotten somewhere. Some sanity returning.

And besides this, Bush abdicandum est*.
(*Bush must resign)

Last Cigarette

Ghawds, I hope so - it's 5:30, I drank coffee booze all night, and spent the last couple hours figuring out what was wrong with a computer so I could replace smoking with World of Warcraft.

That's all!