Virgil’s Apology

The last part of this post was done last week, but I’ve reposted it with this explanation. It seems that even Virgil can be a bit hypocritical. I went to a Buddhist gathering over the weekend and mouthed things that I do not believe to be literally, factually true, and it didn’t bother me a bit. It was ok for me to say them, because they helped me focus and they have been said by others for centuries. I tend to be harder on Christians, Muslims, and, sometimes, Jews than other religions, probably because of smoldering anger from the crap I was taught as a child.

At the Buddhist gathering, I met Christian Buddhists, some Protestant, some Catholic. I met a lesbian Catholic and a gay Free Will Baptist, who take parts of their own religions with huge grains of salt, but still draw comfort from their faith. My friend, Peter, (Yes, he is a Big Fisherman) differentiates between belief and faith and has no trouble mouthing the mantras.

I had forgotten the Bokononist precept that all religions are based on foma, but that doesn’t mean that they are not worthwhile. I apologize to those religions of The Book and to some extent myself since I’m a Buddhist, Bokononist, Christian. It’s ok to mouth stuff that you don’t believe as part of a religious ceremony. (This apology does not apply and the original post still applies to those who believe that their path is the only one. ) I still highly recommend The End of Faith, though I believe that The Big Fisherman is correct when he says Harris confuses belief with faith.

The Apostle's Creed

For Virgil, going to Church and mouthing mantras such as the Apostle's Creed is soul killing dishonesty. He doesn't believe that:
Jesus Christ, is God's only son, that he was born of a Virgin, descended into hell, arose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God, that he shall come to judge the living and the dead, or the resurrection of the body. To say that he does would be to condone and to help perpetuate the potentially deadly exclusivity that Sam Harris discusses in The End of Faith. Why are we so afraid to tell the truth? Why prop up an orthodoxy that suppresses the truth that will make us free? John 8:32. Why do we go through contortions to make our beliefs fit what someone believed a thousand or more years ago? Jesus had the courage to go to the cross for what he believed. Don't we deny him by cravenly telling the ignorant that they are correct because it is easy, safe, and doesn't make waves?

Jesus Christ! Why Start A Holy War In A Secular Nation?

“. . . the two soldiers were ‘slaughtered,’ suggesting they had been beheaded by Abu Hamza al-Muhajer. The Arabic word used in the statement, ‘nahr,’ is used for the slaughtering of sheep by cutting the throat and has been used in past statements to refer to beheadings.
. . .An Iraqi military official said the bodies showed signs of torture and were killed in a barbaric way.
The statement in the name of the Mujahedeen Shura Council, said: ‘We give the good news ... to the Islamic nation that we have carried God's verdict by slaughtering the two captured crusaders.’
‘With God Almighty's blessing, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer carried out the verdict of the Islamic court’ for the soldier's slaying, the statement said.”
"The news is going to be heartbreaking for my family," Ken MacKenzie, uncle of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, told NBC's "Today" show. "Because the U.S. government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid for it with his life," he said.
Sam Harris has something to say about this sort of thing in The End of Faith. I probably should have mentioned it earlier. Sacrifices like this may be inevitable. We should, however, elect leaders who select battles wisely and will not go on Crusades based on religion or because a secular leader wanted to kill his daddy years before. What's he going to do now-torture more prisoners?
“Thomas L. Tucker, 25—was one of the two U.S. soldiers kidnapped in Iraq last Friday, residents promptly tied yellow ribbons to trees and posted prayers along the one-way streets that cross through the town. Today, they learned that those prayers had not been answered. ...
U.S. officials have not yet formally confirmed the death . . . . Tucker's desire to serve his nation was made clear in a haunting telephone message that his parents released to the media on Monday: ‘Hey mama, um, I love you. I love you too dad,’ he said. ‘Just going to go on this little vacation ... Ill be back before I know it ... I'm going to be OK. Everything's going to be OK. I'm going to defend my country. Be proud of me... So I will call you as much as I can. You guys will never not know what I'm doing.’
Tucker was wrong about that. . . .
‘He was one of those quiet, polite, wonderful kids you enjoyed having around,’ said Stephen Hillis, Tucker's English teacher at Madras High School. ‘I never envisioned him being a military person. That wasn't his personality.’” From, “Devastated”A small Oregon town mourns the loss of a soldier By Winston Ross- Special to Newsweek

Armed Madhouse : Who's Afraid of Osama Wolf?, China Floats, Bush Sinks, The Scheme to Steal '08,No Child's Behind Left, and Other Dispatches . . .

The "Good News" Straight From Our Embassy

Sammy has asked that I “quit posting only negative news out of Iraq. According to our President, things are going well and there's really no reason to doubt him, is there?”
You asked for it, you got it Sammy. Here’s an article about and a direct link to a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Iraq hours before his visit. "This cable, marked 'sensitive' and obtained by The Washington Post, outlines in spare prose the daily-worsening conditions for those who live outside the heavily guarded international zone: harassment, threats and the employees' constant fears that their neighbors will discover they work for the U.S. government."

Harvesting Organs from the Dead Iraqis? No, But Without The International Goodwill We Have Lost, Some Believe It.

This idea apparently comes from a film "Valley of the Wolves, a movie depicting crazed U.S. troops in Iraq massacring a wedding party and a Jewish doctor removing organs from prisoners . . .by Turkish director Serdan AkarValley . . The movie, which began showings in Germany three weeks ago, has played to sold out audiences since. Over 130,000 people, mostly young Muslims, saw the film in its first five days. The London Telegraph reports Berlin audiences, made up mostly of Turkish young men, clapping furiously when the building housing the U.S. military commander in northern Iraq is blown up and a standing ovation - accompanied by shouts of "Allah is great!" - when the movie's American antagonist, played by Billy Zane, is stabbed in the chest.
‘The Americans always behave like this,' one 18-year-old viewer said. 'They slaughtered the Red Indians and killed thousands in Vietnam. I was not shocked by the film, I see this on the news every day.’
While the film could be dismissed as an action film in which Muslims turn the tables on Rambo, the anti-Semitic element (Jewish in this case) has drawn some of the most serious criticism. The villain of the movie is an American Jewish doctor, played by Gary Busey, who selects Iraqi prisoners, in a manner reminiscent of Nazi concentration camp doctor Joseph Mengele, and removes their organs to sell to rich buyers in the U.S. and Israel.”

Japan, Iceland, & Norway Act Like Bush Administration

Japan may leave whaling body
Greenland seeks to hunt humpback whales

“Japan has abided by the moratorium on commercial whaling but uses a loophole that allows scientific whaling.
Japan's fleets brought back 850 minke whales from Antarctic waters last season and 10 fin whales, and it plans to start hunting humpbacks.
Iceland also conducts scientific whaling. Norway, the only nation to defy the international ban, has set its hunters a quota this year of 1,052 minke whales, a small species whose meat is eaten as steaks.”
The Bush Administration addressed this threat to the diversity of life and the cruelty to mammals with intellects, emotions, and family bonds similar to our own, by saying that allowing this slaughter could do serious damage to United States beef, pork, and poultry exports.

Just When You Thought They Couldn't Go Any Lower-Slavery Condoned and Protected On American Soil

"Under the influence of disgraced super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former House Majority Whip Tom DeLay became an apologist for slave labor camps — on American soil." Slave Labor: Made in the U.S.A. by William Norman Grigg
See, CIA info.

What Course?

“The course to a never-ending war on terror, creating terrorists and then hunting the terrorists we're creating; . . . Are there any signs of intelligence from this Administration? This Administration’s brain is dedicated to it’s own political survival -- a mindless monster.” Patti

And the dopes just keep lining up, marching in parades and playing their fiddles. Lieutenant Scheisskopf would be proud.

We Should Be Feeling Terror

The Modern World By Tommy Durham Arkansas Times 6/15/06

Karl Rove-They Can’t Convict Him but He and His Puppet Are Still Slime.

"The decision not to charge Karl Rove shows there often are no consequences for misleading the public. In 2003, while Rove allowed the White House to tell the news media that he had no role in leaking Valerie Plame’s CIA identity, the presidential aide was secretly telling the FBI the truth. 'The ability of this White House to stiff the press is probably better than any previous administration,' said presidential scholar Stephen Hess, a former speechwriter for President Eisenhower and an adviser to Presidents Ford and Carter." Misleading public about leak role helped White House in 2004 campaign By Pete Yost

Are The Southern Baptists Going Sane?

“Pledging to create a ‘kinder and gentler’ denomination, the Rev. Frank Page of Taylors, S.C., scored a surprising victory Tuesday over two well-known conservative insiders . . . He edged out the Rev. Ronnie Floyd of Springdale, Ark., and the Rev. Jerry Sutton of Nashville, Tenn. . . .[Page] said ‘I tell people that I'm an inerrantist. I believe in the word of God. I'm just not mad about it.’"

Virgil can remember when Baptists were likely to be Democrats with a social conscience. Could it happen again?

Is the Party Over?

[Dennis Hastert] “the large, shambling galoot who is House speaker now, Tom DeLay's enabler for years, . . . is about as smart as most high school wrestling coaches. [Hastert] has been two heartbeats from the presidency. . . He has succeeded in turning Congress into a branch of the executive branch.. . . .

The iPod was not developed by Baptists in Waco, Texas. There may be a reason for this. Creative People thrive in a climate of openness and tolerance, since some great ideas start out sounding ridiculous. Creativity is a key to economic progress.
Authoritarianism is stifling.. . .When the cultural Sturmbannfuhrers try to marshal everyone into straight lines, it has consequences for the economic future of this country.

Meanwhile, the Current Occupant goes on impersonating a president. . . . Five years in office and he doesn't have a grip on it yet. . . .one of the basic assumptions of American culture is falling apart: the competence of Republicans.You might not have always liked Republicans, but you could count on them to manage the bank. They might be lousy tippers, act snooty, talk through their noses, wear spats and splash mud on you as they race their Pierce-Arrows through the village, but you knew they could do the math.”
Note to Republicans: The party's over Ineptness has ruined the GOP by Garrison Keillor in the Chicago Tribune

Proposed Federal Marriage Amendment

Let’s face it. Preventing gays from getting married does not really protect marriage. Virgil, recognizing the importance of the sanctity and protection of marriage to the future of our country, proposes the following constitutional amendment:

Article
SECTION 1.
Marriage in the United States is the backbone of our nation and culture and shall not be violated. There shall be no divorce or infidelity. Neither this Constitution or the constitution of any State, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to allow divorce or infidelity.
SECTION 2.
Infidelity shall be punished as follows:
First offence: 50 lashes with a rattan cane.
Second Offence: Castration
Third Offence: Death by stoning.

Newts, Even Gingrich Ones, Are Better Than Allen and Frist

"Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) expects to run for president in 2008 if the contest for the Republican nomination still seems wide open late next year . . ." If we must have a Newt, Virgil prefers the spotted one, but either would be better than George Allen or Bill Frist. (Thanks for the heads up Jennifer)

Melungeons-The Lost people of Appalachia

Appalachia may have been settled by Ottoman Turks and other colored folk. Were there hillbilly Muslims in 16th Century Tennessee?
For more information, see the Melungeon Heritige Association site.

Tom Delay-Sick Puppy, Pure Evil, or Both?

“The common lament over the recent rise in political partisanship is often nothing more than a veiled complaint about the recent rise of political conservatism," Tom DeLay

Does he just not get it or is he just a lying evil asshole? I'm not sure, but there does seem to be a pattern here.

Godless: A Book From One Who Knows

"Ann Coulter is either a very devious, liberal performance artist or mentally ill.

There is no middle ground."

-- Mrs. Betty Bowers

"Jesus Wept." John 11:35- Neo-Con "Christians" Have Him Weeping Again

Orval, by Tommy Durham, Arkansas Times, 6/1/2006

9/11 Widows are Enjoying Husbands Death. Max Cleland is a Coward. John Kerry wasn’t a hero. Committed Gay Relationships Destroy Traditional Marriages

Happy Birthday Vernon Oxford

"Born on the 8th of June 1941, Benton County Arkansas, USA."

With The Mark of The Beast Upon Us, Can President Bush & Fred Phelps Save Us?

“the same-sex union issue outweighs the war in Iraq, the federal budget deficit, the U.S. trade imbalance or any other issue.” Ronnie Floyd
“whether or not to allow same-sex civil unions will matter more to voters than U.S. job losses.”Arkansas First Lady Janet Huckabee
(Both Quotes from Northwest Morning News March 5, 2004)
President Bush has joined with Pastor Fred Phelps in taking up the fight to save this nation from queers before spending energy on less important issues such as the war in Iraq and those issues mentioned by Pastor Floyd and First Lady Huckabee. Jesus never mentioned homosexuality of any kind even once. Neither did the Ten Commandments. These are the only two flaws in the Scriptures. George W., Phelps, Floyd, & Huckabee have set the record straight. It is fitting that W. chose the day before 6/6/06 to join in.
For more "truth" see, Pat Robertson: Weather Forecaster, Strongest Man Alive, and Pillar of Christian Love & Tolerance & Followers and Gay Marriage - Not on the People's Priority List.