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Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Bonfire of the Stupidities

The pastor of a very, very small fundamentalist evangelical Christian church in Florida is going to hold a Koran burning Saturday.  He's also hinting that he might not, but he's praying on it and Oh, isn't it such fun to keep the media on the hook as long as possible, oooooh, yes-no, well, maybe, we'll see, call me back in an hour and can you get me on ABC World News Tonight?  Pastor Terry Jones claims his actions will send a message to Muslim Americans that America won't stand for Sharia Law being imposed here, even though Sharia Law is NOT being imposed here and there is no danger that it will ever be imposed here.  But no need to muddle the good pastor with facts. 

And Pastor Jones also claims he wants to "send a very clear warning that they [muslims throughout the world] are not to retaliate in any form," thereby displaying the kind of magical thinking that demand A on my part will stop Reaction B out there in the world, a delusion that likely caused him to become a pastor of a very, very small fundamentalist evangelical Christian church in the first place. 

General Petraeus has weighed in, stating that the good pastor's pathetic auto-de-fe burn-in will endanger American troops.  But, reveling in his 15 minutes of fame, and operating on the Wife-Batterers' Moral Code -- if I hit you and you hit me back, it's all YOUR fault --it's clear the good pastor doesn't care about consequences, especiallyif they happen to somebody else.  And while Secretary of State HIllary Clinton has spoken out against this profoundly ignorant event, so far, no word from anybody important on the Republican right.  And, oddly, zero tweets from Mamma Grizzly Sarah, who likes to inform the world that she's a mother of a soldier.  Whose buddies will be put in danger by this action.

Meanwhile, City officials in Gainesville have declared that the Dove World Outreach Center is "an embarassment to our community" and has refused to issue Pastor Jones a burn permit.  Unknown is whether city officials will have a fire truck standing by to do what fire trucks do when matches are lit without the proper permits. If they are quick first responders, we may end up with a Rain Day rather than a Burn Day, followed by a You're Under Arrest Day.

And it remains to be seen if a whole lot of un-stupid people of all faiths will also show up at the book burning/media circus to protest this event. Let's see if we can end up with some world-class photographs of a very wet fool in front of a soggy pile of books surrounded by thousands of people of all faiths standing arm in arm holding crosses, Bibles, Korans, Books of Mormon, volumes of Torah, and all carrying signs bearing photos of  Pastor Jones wearing a Hitler moustache and a dunce cap.

On the other hand, I think maybe the pastor's thinking is way too small.  What we really need is a national auto-de-fe, a HUGE central bonfire, maybe located in Kansas, upon which we will throw ALL our holy books that use God to justify what are really just our own pathetic human fears and hatreds. Burn 'em all!  And then each and every one of us will forswear to never believe any fundamentalist religion that creates The Dreaded Damned/Infidel/"Other" and then uses God as an excuse to indulge in our own dangerous monkey-brained ugliness.

Maybe then we can create the kind of societies we actually want to live in.

Say Amen.  Amen. 
Now, gimme that match.

29 comments:

Anne R. Allen said...

Very good point here Ann. As I heard about this raving narcissist on NPR this AM, it occurred to me that all organized religions are exercises in narcissism. A culture creates a god in its own image and then worships it.

Fundamentalism reduces this concept to its "fundamentals" in that the worship concentrates only on the worshiper's penis. It's all about "what my penis wants is what God wants, because they're one and the same." (Which is why I have to have 18 12-year-olds for my wives, and/or beat women to death for arousing me.)

This guy just wants the whole world to look at his dick.

Watershed Mark said...

Speaking of Hillary:

CLINTON: Well, Richard, first, you know, as I said, I think that our rising debt levels -- (off mike) -- poses a national security threat, and it poses a national security threat in two ways. It undermines our capacity to act in our own interest, and it does constrain us where constraint may be undesirable. And it also sends a message of weakness internationally. I mean, it is very troubling to me that we are losing the ability not only to chart our own destiny but to, you know, have the leverage that comes from this enormously effective economic engine that has powered American values and interests over so many years.
So I don't think we have a choice. It's a question of how we -- how we decide to deal with this debt and deficit. I mean, you know, it is -- we don't need to go back and sort of re-litigate how we got to where we are, but it is fair to say that, you know, we fought two wars without paying for them, and we had tax cuts that were not paid for either. And that has been a very deadly combination to fiscal sanity and responsibility.

http://www.cfr.org/publication/22896/conversation_with_us_secretary_of_state_hillary_rodham_clinton.html

Watershed Mark said...

Eventually, it will become clear that government must tax and spend less, in order to stimulate the economy.

Realistic1 said...

Mark - what do your posts have to do with the subject of Ann's piece?

Watershed Mark said...

Posted by Churadogs at 8:01 AM 4 comments Labels: General Petraeus, HILLARY CLINTON, Islam, Koran burning, Muslim, Pastor Terry Jones

Watershed Mark said...

Ann Because you are interested in what Sarah is saying, here ya go:

by Sarah Palin on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 2:13pm
Book burning is antithetical to American ideals. People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation – much like building a mosque at Ground Zero.

I would hope that Pastor Terry Jones and his supporters will consider the ramifications of their planned book-burning event. It will feed the fire of caustic rhetoric and appear as nothing more than mean-spirited religious intolerance. Don’t feed that fire. If your ultimate point is to prove that the Christian teachings of mercy, justice, freedom, and equality provide the foundation on which our country stands, then your tactic to prove this point is totally counter-productive.

Our nation was founded in part by those fleeing religious persecution. Freedom of religion is integral to our charters of liberty. We don’t need to agree with each other on theological matters, but tolerating each other without unnecessarily provoking strife is how we ensure a civil society. In this as in all things, we should remember the Golden Rule. Isn’t that what the Ground Zero mosque debate has been about?

- Sarah Palin

Watershed Mark said...

Ann, In order to better keep up with Sarah you might consider keeping up with on Facebook.
You just need to log in, locate her and choose "like."

Alon Perlman said...

Anne R.
Anne roares.
They should be concerned.
Societies where even the poorest man can still have a slave.

"wants to "send a very clear warning that they [_________] are not to retaliate in any form," thereby displaying the kind of magical thinking that demand A on my part will stop Reaction B out there" There is a painfull Los Osos Corrolary.

Gainsville?

let's get angry at the angry people?
Good- Respond with the multi-holding of sacred books, but without the pictures of what's his name.
Wicker-Man, A small isolated community, chosing to remain traditional and xenophobic; or a simple exchange of life for agricultural fertility- the first religion.

I think the national Auto-de fa is called "Burning Man", but everybody there is too hung-over to remember.

Back to Bonfire of the vanities.
The flames burn so brightly.
But, they shed no light.

Solve the problems in our own back yard-
In Los Osos "God" and "Sewer" are interchangable.

Not a spear lightly thrust between the lower ribs, not a crown of burning thorns.
The word verification for the day is simply- thorn

Watershed Mark said...

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-19-2010/extremist-makeover---team-mohammed-vs--team-jesus

Alon Perlman said...

Thanks WMark.
In a subsequent show Team Evil VS Team Stupid. Fox reporting on the Mosque Funding from the Sheik Who just happens to own much of Fox.
I could not find it on the Site.
Either-or.
Oil and water? Fire and Ice? Oil and media?
The consensus was that they could not be both.

Churadogs said...

What's also so amazing about all this is how childish so many people have become. Mark forwarded an email to NYT, sugggesting that if the NY mosque is built, somebody should show up to cook and sell PORK sausages right at the front door so the smell of cooking PORK will offend the mosque-goers. That'll show 'em! Neener neener.(forgetting that muslims in New York have to walk by hot dog vendors all day long. Hardly a shock to the system.)But no matter, neener-neener's the operant message.

Which is what happens when our lizard/monkey brains kick in. Batshit crazy children. Armed and dangerous batshit crazy children who think GOD wants them to cook pork sausages outside a mosque door, heee-heee.

Watershed Mark said...

Actually I wrote:

The slaughter of citizens at Ground Zero would seem to make the beheading of a pig and spilling its blood at the proposed Mosque site, quid pro quo. If that doesn't prevent the developer from proceeding and the XXXXXX gets built anyway, I will trust that some enterprising patriotic red blooded American will figure out a way to get 24 hour "Kielbasa" food service operation of any size in service, making certain the aroma of that wonderful pork based treat fills the nostrils of everyone who wants to use that location. I "hope" that the people's elected government will not attempt to terminate the rights and traditions of the New York, New York citizens in favor of a man that is attempting to purposefully inflict his will over the will of the people in very bad taste, indeed.
http://www.examiner.com/statehouse-in-santa-ana/islam-and-sharia-law-are-coming-to-america

Please notify me if you decide to use my letter.
Regards

Watershed Mark said...
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Watershed Mark said...

Capitalism strikes again-

Trump May Rescue Ground Zero From Mosque

http://www.thefoxnation.com/culture/2010/09/09/trump-may-rescue-ground-zero-mosque

Churadogs said...

Mark, as usual, your email didn't make the CONTEXT clear (was it your letter? somebody else's letter? etc.)abut the jist of it was clear and your posting it here (again, no context) just makes my point even more strongly. How childish this is all become:You build a mosque and I'll behead a pig and spill its blood all over your doorstep, neener, neener. (No doubt while loudly declaring allegience to the Constitution, the part about freedom of religion?)

an update on the Fool in Florida, as it stands now, he thinks he heard a quid pro quo "deal" that if he didn't burn Korans the NY mosque would be moved. But that was clarified by the other party to this "deal," that this wasn't correct. What the deal was, the go-between would set up the meeting and would lobby personally for moving the mosque, but that decision wasn't his to make, and spokespeople for the mosque have indicated they have no intention of moving it. But, at this moment the burning has been postponed. But it's interesting what a formerly unknown looneytune who was kicked out of Germany for formenting hate, a guy with pots of money and a tiny handful of blindly devoted followers, can hijack the media, make everyone dance to his tune and blackmail people into doing what he wants. Hmmmm, does that sound like someone whose name is bin Laden?

Watershed Mark said...

As November nears you are ratcheting up the display of your fears.

May I suggest a little more context for your elitist edification:

http://www.thefoxnation.com/gov-chris-christie/2010/09/09/watch-another-classic-christie-confrontation

The comments section for all the news stories posted on http://www.thefoxnation.com/ should help you better understand what is actually afoot.

M said...

So at the suggestion somebody is going to do something, in other countries there is rioting, hanging in effigy, burning the American flag as though whatever had already happened. How can we possibly think their religion is extreme? I guess it's just to bad we're not all as enlightened as you are Ann.
Sincerely, M

Unknown said...

Damn... I think I am agreeing with M... and worse, agreeing with Mark... Batshit crazy...???

Ann seems as politically extremist as those she vehemently disagrees with...!!!! It's obviously her way or no-way... never has to compromise because she is always right...

M said...

Makes you wanna slit your throat doesn't it Mike? Ha Ha. I'm sure there are some things I agree with you on.
Sincerely, M

Unknown said...

LOL... maybe not the throat, but have trimmed the typo finger... This whole blog has only become a once in awhile look see...really, and nothing has changed... nothing said on this blog does anything to help the community... just a comedy stop... It's too bad a few extremists have moved here with big city chips on their shoulders or just burnt out old age hippies... But...in spite of al their efforts, we will have a sewer...and a needlessly large monthly bill... guess Gail, Al, Ann, Julie and Lisa are happy now...

Have a great weekend... I'm going to go bandage the finger...

Aaron Ochs - Managing Editor of The ROCK said...

Fundamentalist extremists (like this one from Los Osos) will despise us for anything.

They don't need many reasons to despise America, but there are some things that are simply over the top, such as burning sacred doctrine. Whether a Bible is burned or a Koran, it's still deeply offensive and it will likely incite violence.

Watershed Mark said...

Razor, You have captured the essence LT perfectly.

Mimi K., tell us you don't agree.

Churadogs said...

Mike sez:"Ann seems as politically extremist as those she vehemently disagrees with...!!!! It's obviously her way or no-way... never has to compromise because she is always right"

Mike, you're projecting again.

M sez:So at the suggestion somebody is going to do something, in other countries there is rioting, hanging in effigy, burning the American flag as though whatever had already happened. How can we possibly think their religion is extreme? I guess it's just to bad we're not all as enlightened as you are Ann.
Sincerely, M"

M, in a country of, say 50 million, if 5,000 people showed up for a rally and burned a flag, would you say that that country is anti-flag, or would you say, a small minority are anti-flag? If 50,000 people show up to a Glen Back rally, do you say, America loves and supports Glen Beck? Or do you say, a small minority of people out of the millions of Americans love and support Glen Beck? When Timothy McVeigh -- a Christian -- blew up the federal building, would you say, Christians are terrorists! The Christian religion is violent and evil!?

Plus, what a lot of people keep overlooking is not all furious "mobs" are fueled by theology. It's just as likely their fury is fueld by American POLITICL/MILITARY policy as well. And/or fury at their own government, displaced as a kind of kick-the-wrong-dog activity.

We conflate "religion" with "politics" at our peril. I will say again, if bin Laden had had a theological quarrel with Christianity, he would have flown planes into the Vatican and the National Cathedral. He didn't. World TRADE Center and PENTAGON, with flight 93 presumed heading for the White House. Not a Christian house of worship in the bunch.

M said...

Ann, we are a Christian nation. Didn't President Obama even say so? Why do all these suicide bombers yell "allah akbar" before they pull the pin? It most certainly is about religion. Aren't there instances where Sharia law is trying to be used in this country? Doesn't Sharia law have a lot of religious overtones to it? While they are cutting peoples heads off, aren't they reading passages from the Koran?
Speaking of Timothy McVeigh, it sure didn't take us long to get rid of him.
Sincerely, M

Alon Perlman said...
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Alon Perlman said...
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Alon Perlman said...
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Alon Perlman said...
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Churadogs said...

M: No, this is not a Christian nation. Even George Washington made that clear. Our government was founded on the principles of the Enlightenment, not Christianaity. And conflating a handful of suicide bombers with billions of peace loving muslims is akin to equating McVeigh with people like you. If you're a Christian, is it fair to claim McVeigh as one of your own, a symbol of your religion? No. McVeign was a criminal murderer.Terrorists are criminal murderers. Both Christianity and Islam forbids murder (and both wink-nudge give absolution for murder done in times of war -- call some political struggle, "war" and you can get away with . . . . murder, even murder in the name of your religion. Old, old story.

And sharia law is NOT the law of the land. In domestic courts, certain accomodations are being made, the same way we make minor civil accomodations to the Amish or Jehovah Witnesses or orthodox Jews & etc. but sharia law is NOT taking over America. (Have you been listening to Glen Beck?)And sharia law is akin to the "laws" found in the old testament -- guides to civil life which, in many cases nowadays, are as out of date as are the lists in Leviticus & etc. (But, in America, becasue we are a secular/civil/legal society -- not a "christian" one -- if you wish to live your life according to Leviticus, the civil courts will allow you to do what, within reason (no stoning of witches, no selling your daughter) but that hardly means that Leviticus is now the law of the land.)