Einstein Thinks He's Better Than God

New 23/6 piece about Einstein's true feelings about religion. No, he was not religious. I know he said, "God doesn't roll dice with the universe." He didn't mean that literally.

These Walls are Paper Thin and Everyone Uses This Lyric as a Reference

There is a profile today on the New York Times' webpage of the infamous McKibbin lofts, which are just 2 blocks from my own loft. My first thought is: why doesn't the Times profile me and my friends? Lousy McKibbin lofts getting all the glory.

It's fun to read about a place that you are familiar with, and this piece is no exception. From the rooms with no doors, to the peeing in the hallway, to the bedbugs, McKibbin is there in all it's glory. The article strikes that important "this is disgusting but I'm kind of envious" tone that is so important for the Times' sophisticated, but also nostalgic, readership. The author, Cara Buckley, writes,

"After the honeymoon stage comes denial when, say, one gets woken up by someone’s band at 3 a.m. or mugged on one of the tough surrounding streets. Next comes anger, usually after someone hurls a 40-ounce beer bottle from the roof and then urinates outside your door. Then comes acceptance and, finally, departure."

This article also falls prey to unnecessary hyperbole. Saying that these lofts "could have been Greenwich Village 60 years ago, or SoHo 30 years ago, or the East Village 10 years ago" is fun to read, but it's a bit of a stretch. If Kings County [the bar in which I overheard the bartender concernedly ask a sobbing woman, "do you need another drink?"] or The Wreck Room become this generation's The Bitter End, I'll eat my shoe. That's not to say there's not a lot going on. There is, clearly, and a lot of it is great, but the changes in New York City and society as a whole over the past 40 years render any analogies to the 60s art scene useless.

One thing that I found interesting about this piece is that it failed to mention anything about the new upscale pizza shop or the 3 [I believe] new storefronts on Bogart St., which, when finished, will complete the transformation of Bogart between Seigel and Moore to a real live Main Street. The arrival of those storefronts cement what everyone knows: the area is gentrifying very quickly and with no end in sight.

This isn't the first profile of the neighborhood, nor will it be the last. There are fun to read, and this one gets a fair amount right, without too much condescension on the one hand, or romanticizing on the other. I'll leave on a quote that I think sums up the area nicely, if again, a bit hyperbolically, "It's insane. It's just insane."

When You're Right...

Today Slate's homepage features what must be one of the most drastically understated headlines in this primary cycle. It reads, "Black Voters Will Not Be Happy if Obama is Denied the Nomination." I should say not. The article, by Michael C. Dawson, which is well worth reading, is here.

The thesis of the piece is that if superdelegates decided the outcome of this race in the mystical "smoke filled room" and give it to Clinton, when the popular vote and pledged delegate count are in clear favor of Obama, African Americans will rightly feel marginalized, dispirited, and angry. Dawson's prediction is that the

"already worrying statistic of 79 percent of blacks who believe that racial equality for blacks will either not be achieved in their lifetime or at all in the U.S. will jump to an even larger percentage..."

It's difficult to imagine anything other than that result is superdelegates hand the nomination to Clinton.

Floor Drops Out, Country Lands in Cage Match

Yesterday, President Bush appeared on NBC's ode to low expectations, Deal or No Deal. Yes, he did. Yes. Seriously. He did. He did. Yes, yes, he...yes...yes, he did.



Coincidentally--or, if you are cynical, you believed this was only a matter of time--the 3 main presidential candidates appeared on Monday Night Raw last night. That's right, folks. In one night, you could be lucky enough to watch Bush appear via-satellite to joke about his low approval ratings, and then hear McCain utter the truly disheartening word "McCain-iac!" in reference to those simple/evil enough to vote for him.



It was a great night for American politics, nay, American History, nay, all of the Greater North American Landmass. Mexico, Canada, you're welcome.

"And who should walk in, but..."

Last night was really one of those great New York comedy nights. I started down in the LES and saw a show at Pianos, then hopped up to Karma in the East Village with John F. O'Donnell, and saw John Oliver do a set. John Oliver is absolutely fantastic to watch. He appears effortlessly charming, and when you hear his material, you can see why he's on The Daily Show. He is smart, challenging, and spot-on politically.

After that, me and JFOD went over to the Gene Frankel Theater(re?) for the Jerk Practice show. The lobby is lined with pictures of Gene Frankel, who looks a lot like God. Frankel is a somewhat famous stage director who, judging from the pictures, takes himself very seriously. I assume that he and James Lipton having coffee together would be a serious hoot.

Then we left to head up to UCB for Gut Bucket. On the way we walked past Comedy Village, and someone outside said that Dave Chappelle was onstage. We ducked in, and sure enough, Chappelle was up there, smoking a cigarette and reading the paper.

So me and Johnny are hanging out in back, and who should walk in the door but Chevy Chase. He and his family go sit in back, but as he's about to sit down, he yells out "I have herpes." The thing is, no one knows it's Chevy Chase, including Chappelle. So he's a little bit confused, and again Chase says, "I have herpes." So Chappelle doesn't know exactly what's going on. Then someone in the crowd yells "it's Chevy Chase," and Chappelle says, "yeah sure." Then he kind of squints, recognizes Chase, and loses his shit. "Oh my god! Chevy fucking Chase is here!" "I'm here for you Dave," Chase responds. Now, the audience goes nuts. Everyone is clapping and going crazy. After a minute or so, Chase goes up on stage and shakes Chappelle's hand, and they just hang out for a minute.

Chappelle does about 25 more minutes or so. When he's about to get off, the manager walks up and whispers something in his ear. Chappelle says, "ladies and gentlemen, Chevy Chase." So Chase went up and just talked for a few minutes. Me and Johnny had to leave to go up to UCB, so we couldn't see much of Chase's set.

Then Gut Bucket was a blast, and I went home and fell asleep.

Hedge Funds are Great!

Here's a new piece I wrote for 236.com. Read it, and bow before the awesome power of the hedge.

Jesus Patraeus to Congress: Why Stop Now?

Gen. David [Jesus] Patraeus addressed Congress today and said, in effect, "Look, you know nothing's gonna change here. What do you want me to say?" The whole event feels like a formality that no one is interested in, but no one feels comfortable canceling. It's like you broke up with your girlfriend but still took her to prom the next day.
"Look, we both know how we feel. Nothing's gonna change..."

Apparently there were some protesters in the back. Not sure if they were those lovable code pinkers or not. I'm all for disrupting this congressional nonsense, but I have to think that protesting right now has gotta feel even more like a lost cause than usual, which is really saying something.

Responsible Journalism?

"Suppose the Iranian government arrested and beat Katie Couric" -Nicholas Kristof

Taken out of context, it sounds like he's suggesting it.
"So, let's say somebody, I'm not sayin' who, made something happen, I'm just sayin suppose that. How would you feel about that?"

John McCain Unsure How John McCain Became Frontrunner

(AP) TEMPE, AZ- In what key staffers are calling a “serious mindfuck[ing]” turn of events, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has become the presumptive presidential front runner for the Republican party. “We were fucked. We were so fucked,” said Tom Gordon, an Assistant Campaign Manager, describing the campaign last summer. “Did you see how far we were up shit creek? Jesus Christ! I mean we were fucked!” Gordon continued.

Mr. McCain himself fared little better in attempting to explain his recent popularity. “I mean, I just don’t…I don’t…see, the thing is—it’s not—it’s not…well the thing is…politics…” McCain said before submerging his head in a bucket of cold water for his daily “make-sure-I’m-not-hallucinating” treatment.

When asked to comment, Cindy McCain, Mr. McCain’s wife, said, “I always believed. I always believed he would never be President. I still kind of believe that.”

This sounds like a....

The ever envelope-pushing FOX Network will be debuting a new show this Fall called, "If Women Ruled the World," that sounds simple enough. FOX sends a bunch of people to a remote island, puts the women in charge, then sets up cameras to, presumably, watch the men suffer. Or watch the women bicker. Or watch whatever gender stereotypes will no doubt be perpetuated in this train-wreck-waiting-to-happen. And we'll all watch, as the world gets turned "upside down."

And yet something seems off. A remote island. Dominant women. Subserviant men. Things being turned upside down. It kinda sounds like a porno movie. Right? Has FOX finally jumped the shark of bad taste? Will they actually air pornography and call it original programming? I, for one, think that is exactly what would happen...if only they could.

At the Pitch:
Producer- "Okay, so, it's a remote, primitive island, and the women rule the men, and then they all start fucking each other."
FOX Exec- "Woah, woah. I love it. Really. I do."
P- "Great, great."
FOX- "But--and here me out, here--take one step back."
P-"Uhhhh, I don't follow."
FOX- "Let's just cut it at: the women rule the men."
P- "So they never start fucking each other."
FOX- "No, no I don't think they do."
P- "But that's the heart of the show."
FOX- "Look. I love the everybody fucking each other. I think that's great. Not sure it'll get past the censors."
P- "Well, can they at least wear a bunch of torn clothing and be sweaty and oily and totally toned and hot and--"
FOX- "Yeah. Yeah, we can do that. That's totally different."

Here is the actual Press Release, for your reading pleasure.

What if it was "a woman's world"? What if women made ALL the decisions? If men were their obedient subjects?

These questions and more will be explored when a group of strong, educated, independent women, tired of living in a man's world and each with a personal axe to grind, rule over a group of unsuspecting men used to calling the shots on WHEN WOMEN RULE THE WORLD.

The unscripted series will reveal how women and men react in a world where women are in charge and men are subservient, and each gender's ability to adapt to a new social order will be put to the test.

The participants will be brought to a remote, primitive location where the women will have the opportunity to "rule" as they build a newly formed society – one where there is no glass ceiling and no dressing to impress. For the men, their worlds of power and prestige are turned inside-out and upside-down. And for these women, turnabout is fair play!

In order to win, the men must accede to the women's every demand, 24/7. Here, women command and men obey. Over the series' duration, the men will be eliminated by the women until one last man is standing.

How will the men react? How will the women treat the men? Can women effectively rule society? Will the men learn what life is like for some women in today's world? Will this new society be a Utopia or a hell on earth? And in the end, who will be man enough to succeed in the new social order?

Mariuana is everywhere, where was you brought up?

CNN today highlights a new study saying that...wait for it...college kids are abusing prescription medication! What?! No! Not college kids! Apparently students have set up "black markets" of drug sharing on campuses accross the country. How could this have happened? These kids have found a way to relax, dull pain, reduce anxiety, increase academic performance, and, if they're the lucky ones with a prescription, make a little money on the side. Which they will spend on beer. Which is not a drug.

How could we ever have seen this coming?

The study says how kids are abusing Vicodin, Vallium, Adderall, Ritalin, and Xanax, potentially even more than they are abusing mariuana. Then it goes on to say, and this is priceless, that college kids are abusing prescription pills because, according to CNN, they "percieve them as safer [than marijuana]."

Now, I don't know what kind of douchebag kids they surveyed, but I've never been in a dormroom and heard someone say, "No, I'm gonna pass on that joint. It's dangerous. Gimme a Vicoden-Adderall-Xanax cocktail. Man, you guys are crazy smoking weed like that. Ow, my heart really hurts all of a sudden."

Also, what kid is "abusing" prescription drugs, ostensibly because it makes them feel good, or provides escape, or whatever, but doesn't like to smoke weed. Just as it's absurd to claim that kids think that prescription drugs are safer than weed, it is equally ridiculous to claim that kids who are naturally drawn to one substanance won't naturally be drawn to another one. I'm willing to bet that 75-90% of college kids that buy pills from their friends for recreation/academic use also smoke a fuckton of weed.

But wait, there's more. This kills me too. The articles implicitly claims that pills are easier to get than pot, which is, at least on every campus I've ever been on, is like saying Pepsi is easier to get than Coke. Maybe...but the difference is statistically irrelevant. And I don't think it's even true.

Then, one doctor claims that pills are prefered over weed, because with pills, "[college students] don't have to go to the streets and deal with some guy they don't know and get marijuana where they don't know what's in it."

2 things about that. First, where is the token campus drug-dealer? Come on, colleges. What college kids are trolling skid row looking for a "marijuana fix?" The guy you buy weed from lives down the street from you, and he's probably in your Philosophy of the Mind class. Second, when can we as a nation just fucking accept that if you buy weed from someone you don't know, it's not gonna fucking kill you. There's this weird meme in our society that there are people spiking their stash with rat poison and they can't wait to sell it to you. Now, I'm sure that you can find stories where shit like that has happened, but 95% of the time, the worst case scenario is that it's just shitty weed. Not homicide weed.

Now, in writing this, I admit to engaging in no illegal activities, and these opinions come to me from going to high school and college and living in New York and having my eyes open to what is around me. This CNN bullshit is just so far off base you have to say something about it. But this is all just stuff I heard about.

"Good News" has gotten so relative lately

Douglas Macgregor, a former Army colonel, said today that under Donald Rumsfeld the Special Ops was turned into a "giant killing machine." Macgregor expects we'll see changes with Rummy's departure and a new head of Special Ops. One of the changes, Macgregor said, was that in the future, "The emphasis will be on, 'If you have to kill someone, then for God's sakes, kill the right people [emphasis added]."'

That really seems like it should go without saying.

Rummy: Men, go out there and get the job done.
Spec Op: Who is our target, sir?
Rummy: Just start shootin'. Bang bang.
Spec Op: Shouldn't we try to kill the right people?
Rummy: Say again?
Spec Op: The right people, sir. Isn't that who we should try to kill?
Rummy: Look, I created a "giant killing machine." What about that don't you understand?

In a related story, Joe Torre announced today that in the future, the NY Yankees will attempt to play only the team they are scheduled to play on that day. "No more playing baseball games were not even supposed to be involved in anymore," Torre said after a humiliating defeat by the Astros and the Cardinals. Torre went on to say, "under Steinbrenner, the Yankees have been turned into a giant killing machine. Too bad we can't play baseball very well."

Support "Support the Troops"

The Democrats recently sent a war funding bill to the White House with no Time Tables or mechanisms for withdrawl attached. Many liberal activists wanted Majority Leader Reid and the rest of the Senate Dems to vote down a bill that many saw as a blank check for the President. Joe Biden, however, voted for the bill, saying, "As long as there are troops who are in a position where, if we don't fund them they are going to be hurt, I'm not going to cut off funding" (via thinkprogress). Joe Biden is right. His clear mischaracterization of de-funding shows he understands the importance of building strawmen, and then knocking them down. Allow me to explain myself.

Whenever anyone, be them Dems or Repubs, politicians or pundits, talks about de-funding, they speak of it as though one day American soldier will run out of ammo, and that'll be that. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. If congress decides to stop funding a war, they speak with the military and set a date at which the troops can be brought home. After that date, there is no funding for the war, but by that time, we have no more soldiers in combat.

Sen. Russ Feingold articulates his position thusly,
"[Congress] must use its power of the purse to safely redeploy our troops from Iraq. Mr. President, let's not be intimidated by the intentionally misleading rhetoric of the White House and its allies when they try to prevent any discussion of any real action by Congress to end the war. This isn't about "cutting off funds for troops." It's about cutting off funds for the war...By setting a date after which funding for the war will be terminated -- as I have proposed -- Congress can safely bring our troops out of harm's way."

Feingold is virtually the only member of Congress to explain and de-mystify the argument for de-funding, while people like Joe Biden continually buy into the "Support our Troops, gotta fund the Troops, their funding is gonna run out and they'll be stuck in Iraq", paradigm. And I love Biden for that.

He gets it. He gets that it's not about "Support the Troops" the military strategy, it's about supporting "Support the Troops" the ad-campaign. And that's who America needs as its next President. Someone who understands the importance of slogans and images, not logic and empirical data.

Biden understands that slogans and marketing are responsible for America's prominence in the world today. McDonalds' "I'm lovin' it" and Nike's "Just Do It" have led to American Hegemony all over the world. His faith that "Support the Troops" could have the same outcome militarily that other slogans have had economically is historically grounded.

Sure, maybe it'll take some time, but why actually support the troops, when you can "Support the Troops." Biden gets it. And the Senate Democrats who voted for the no-exit funding bill, including Majority Leader Reid, get it to. The only people who don't seem to get it are 45% of Americans who support defunding. And 57% who support a funding bill with time tables, which Glenn Greenwald expertly explains are indistinguishable from de-funding.

So Feingold, Greenwald, nearly 60% of American taxpayers, shut up. If we turn our backs on our ad-campaign, we're admitting defeat. Yes, a Democratic Congress could bring the troops home at any time, by simply refusing to fund the war, but how would that look? It might maybe potentially be characterized as weak. For some reason. Much better to capitulate and continue funding a war you were elected to end. Support the banners. Support the bumper stickers. Support the lawn signs. But for the love of god, let it stop there.

Conflicted

I'll tell you one thing I love about America: High Fidelity. That is a great movie, set in a great American city, with great (mostly) American music.

I'll tell you one thing I hate about America: High Fidelity the Musical. That is a piece of trash, and also the most cripplingly ironic tragedy of all time. They took a movie about how important great music is in your life and they turned it into showtunes.

In the movie there's a great line that goes, "If you really wanted to fuck me up Laura, you should have gotten to me sooner!"

In the musical it goes,
"Top 5 break-ups of all time
Number 5 (big smile) Sally Jane..."
Next thing you know there's Jazz Hands making an appearance.

I did this bit at a show once and someone came up to me and said, "You know, first of all it was a book, and it was by a Brit."
I said, "well, the fact that we took it and made it awesome and also totally shitty makes it even more American than before."

Look at what we did with beer.

Atheists and Polls

Atheists and Polls

"The Christian god can easily be pictured as virtually the same god as the many ancient gods of past civilizations. The Christian god is a three headed monster; cruel, vengeful and capricious. If one wishes to know more of this raging, three headed beast-like god, one only needs to look at the caliber of people who say they serve him. They are always of two classes: fools and hypocrites."

"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma."


Gallup recently conducted a poll asking voters whether or not certain characteristics would keep them from voting for a potential candidate. Here are the results. The format is a little screwy, but it should be clear.

Yes, would vote for	No, would not vote for
	%	%
Catholic	95	4
Black	94	5
Jewish	92	7
A woman	88	11
Hispanic	87	12
Mormon	72	24
Married for the third time	67	30
72 years of age	57	42
A homosexual	55	43
An atheist	45	53

What blows me away is that 53% of voters, according to this poll, would not vote for an atheist. Why are people so afraid of us? It's absurd! Atheists don't believe in the immortality of the human soul, which means that this life is all we get, which means in general we want to make this life as good as possible.

57% of people would vote for someone 72 years old. Doctors at Duke University conducted a study researching the link between a certain set of genes and the age at which Alzheimer's develops. In this study, the average age of patients who developed Alzheimer's was 72.8. I'm not trying to claim that John McCain or any other specific candidate has or will be diagnosed with this terrible disease, I'm just saying that 72 is old. Your body can start to shut down, especially if you're genetically predisposed to certain diseases, and especially if you have the most stressful job in the world.

But we can't vote for an atheist. Godforbid. They might start a War or something.

You know what the best reason to have an atheist in the Oval Office is? We don't have to worry that they're going to think they're talking to god. If they start hearing voices and crafting policy around them, we'll know that he or she has lost his or her mind, and we can remove him or her from office.

The first quote in this post is from Thomas Jefferson. The second is from Abraham Lincoln.

Compare and Contrast

In my last post I wrote about John Derbyshires's repulsive statements regarding the students at Virginia Tech.

ThinkProgress notes today that Iraqi students hung a banner in solidarity with the victims and survivors of the VT shooting. The banner read:

"We, the students of Technology University, denounce the attack at Virginia Tech. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims who faced a situation as bad as Iraq’s universities do. The sanctity of campuses must be protected around the world."

The reaction of students whose world is flooded by violence, is a call for restraint and peace. The reaction of a war monger is a call for more aggression, more violence, and more delusions of greatness on the battlefield, whether that battlefield is domestic or international, real or imagined. This tells us all we need to know about those who continue to support the war, and support American Imperialism in the world.

John Derbyshire: Hero

This has been making it's way around the lefty blogosphere, but here it is anyway. From The National Review Online

Spirit of Self-Defense [John Derbyshire]

"As NRO's designated chickenhawk, let me be the one to ask: Where was the spirit of self-defense here? Setting aside the ludicrous campus ban on licensed conceals, why didn't anyone rush the guy? It's not like this was Rambo, hosing the place down with automatic weapons. He had two handguns for goodness' sake—one of them reportedly a .22.

At the very least, count the shots and jump him reloading or changing hands. Better yet, just jump him. Handguns aren't very accurate, even at close range. I shoot mine all the time at the range, and I still can't hit squat. I doubt this guy was any better than I am. And even if hit, a .22 needs to find something important to do real damage—your chances aren't bad.

Yes, yes, I know it's easy to say these things: but didn't the heroes of Flight 93 teach us anything? As the cliche goes—and like most cliches. It's true—none of us knows what he'd do in a dire situation like that. I hope, however, that if I thought I was going to die anyway, I'd at least take a run at the guy. "

For a little more context, Derbyshire has also said the following.
"I am a homophobe, though a mild and tolerant one, and a racist, though an even more mild and tolerant one." The original article is here. The quote is about 3/4s of the way down. His explaination is here. My favorite part is this: "A lot of the people who howl "Homophobe!" at me whenever I write anything about this topic are people who have to swallow a bucket of pills eight times a day just to stay alive. Is it any wonder I have trouble taking them seriously?"

This man still has a job. Don Imus doesn't. In an earlier post I compared Imus to Limbaugh and Glen Beck, and argued that their language was more deliberately offensive. Whether calling victims of a massacre cowards qualifies as hate-speech or not, in the court of public opinion it seems that Derbyshire should be held as the pinnacle of dishonest egotism and hateful self-promotion.

Also, as DailyKos notes, he's wrong.

A Mirror

From ThinkProgress

As ThinkProgress has reported, there is good reason to believe fired U.S. attorney Carol Lam was targeting the White House’s connections to MZM contractor Mitchell Wade, who pled guilty to paying more than $1 million in bribes to former Rep. Duke Cunningham. Despite no record of having ever received a federal contract, Wade’s firm received a $140,000 contract in 2002 to provide a system to screen the President’s mail.

Here is picture of Wade.

And here is a picture of Oliver Platt, who played Warren Beatty's assistant in Bullworth.


Of the two, I prefer Platt.

Imus' Kindred Spirits

Everyone is up in arms about Don Imus' inflamatory remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team, made last week. CNN is reporting that Imus is losing sponsers, and he's already been suspended from his show for 2 weeks. There is talk that he'll lose his show altogether. I'm not that familar with his work, but he does have a history of making racially insensitive remarks, and if he does get taken off the air for this, it may show that there are material consequences for shooting your mouth off like this. Much like Rush Limbaugh resigned from ESPN after ridiculously claiming Donavon McNab didn't deserve all the media attention he was recieving, it may be time for Imus to step down.

I think the outrage surrounding Imus right now is appropriate, but he doesn't have the political clout that many other talking heads do, many of whom have said equally or more offensive things in the recent past. Here are some examples.

On his Feb 12th 2007 radio show, Glenn Beck (who also has a regular show on CNN) said that Obama, "is colorless...he might as well be white." The transcript is chock full of ignorance and is so violently anti-historical it is truely astounding. It's as though Beck is oblivious to America's complicated racial past. He talks about how "whites" don't see Obama as "black," and therefore, in Beck's eyes, Obama is "colorless." Seriously? And Beck repeatedly asks "can I even say that?" as though he knows someone will take offense, but he has no idea why.

Another Beck gem.

An elected official being asked to prove he's not working with our enemies. This story didn't get the attention it deserved. And it's on CNN. It's a major show.

And of course, "comedian" Rush Limbaugh again.

Good ol' Rush mocking Michael J. Fox and his advocating stem cell research. This story got a little bit of play, but no where near as much as the Imus stuff. Also, yes, Rush resigned from ESPN, because he said something stupid that got a lot of attention. But he also says a lot of stupid stuff that doesn't get a lot of attention, but should, because like it or not, he exists more or less in mainstream society.

These are three recent examples of amazing insensitivity and ignorance regarding Black and racially Mixed people, Muslims, and the disabled. It's a good thing that Imus' remarks stirred the kind of controversy that they did, but Limbaugh and Beck speak, either officially or unofficially, for an entire movement. They pull mainstream discourse to the right, and are far more damaging and relevant than Don Imus. If we saw the concentrated anger directed at Imus now directed at the bigotry of the right-wing machine, then we might be able to truely reshape the national discourse. Until that happens, we'll see things like this for some time in the future.

2 devastating videos

Here's a video that sums up the evangelical mindset pretty well.



And here's a video that sums up the tragedy of the Iraq war pretty well. I could do without the reedit at the end, but this was the best version I could find.



Why the juxtaposition? Well, besides the obvious connection between the Bush's admissions of speaking directly with God and our country's adventurism in the Middle East, I think there are a few other points to be made.

When viewing the first video, if I am alone, is to my first instict is to rub my temples and sigh quietly. If I am with friends, my instict is to mock loudly and attack the speaker with rationality. Either way, though, I am, and I think a lot of people are also, ultimately dismissive. As with the Left Behind series and James Dobson speeches, I often try to see these viewpoints as the marginal and extreme voices that they are.

When I saw the second video I was stunned. You can see what this occupation is doing to members of American families who return home in the best of possible circumstances. Finally, more than four years into this disaster, we are seeing this kind of footage in Mainsteam Media outlets.

I think history will show that Bush and Co took us into Iraq primarily for Economic and Strategic Military reasons, not because of any imminent threat and certainly not with the decievingly benevolent goal of "spreading democracy." Yet the support he recieves from Evangelicals and Born-Agains, such as those shown in the first video, who believe in a Manichean concept of Good vs. Evil, allow Bush to employ the rhetoric he does. That extreme, by many accounts insane, position gives Bush a constant base from which to work, and from which to pull American discourse further to the "right." That's why watching these videos of crazies spewing anti-rational nonsense must be taken seriously.