A Whiff of Revolution in the Making . . .

Today’s Republicans are nothing like most Republicans of the 50’s through the 70’s who were THE progressive party. Republicans have always been ‘the business party’, but most members were reasonable and moderate - and were the responsible for things like the EPA and the Clean Water Act under Nixon for example.

When business morphed into huge mega-corporations operating on global scales is when things changed. The corporations, some of whom were financially more powerful than many of the nations wherein they operated evidently concluded regulatory agencies were insufferable monsters insofar as business profits are concerned. Since the populist ‘Reagan Revolution’ there has been a concerted and sustained attack on them, and anything else potentially affecting profits like unions.

There is always a conservative resentment against most social programs, Republicans viewing those as rewards for being ‘lazy’ - regardless of the realities. During Reagan’s time we saw the beginnings of an unholy but also largely unrecognized amalgamation of big business and theocracy. I believe business first saw religion as a vehicle they could guide and use on their crusades against anything smacking of socialism - even social justice. They began with anti-science, global warming being their focus. Business saw efforts to combat climate change as a clear danger to profit.  But, theocrats also crusade against evolution, abortion, homosexuality - anything religionists viewed as going against the bible - as interpreted by some of the religious leaders whether or not actually true to messages in The Book. This also happens to coincide, not incidentally, with much of the archaic culture, politics and thought of the South and Southwest, mired in visions of days gone by. The Tea Party seems almost cloned from that, and reminds me very much of the rise of George Wallace and his “American Independence Party” in the late 1960’s.

However theocracy, being irrational to begin with, is notoriously hard to control, and business has now found they have created yet another beast they have no choice but to continue to try to ride if they have any hope of guiding. But, I believe they have collectively misjudged this monster, and it will end up counter-productive to their aims. I am almost certain the conservative fundamentalist wing will now consume the Republican Party, especially if any of the Tea Baggers end up with the nomination. With Perry, Bachmann, and Palin they are definitely in the top tier. But, I also think/hope clearer heads will prevail in the end and someone like Romney or Huntsman will end up the nominee - not that that will make a huge difference in the election. That will split the party with some going for Ron Paul or a second conservative candidate, and resulting in Obama winning.

The current drive for conservative ideological ‘purity’ where social programs are destroyed, unions attacked, and the poor and dispossessed are further disenfranchised and marginalized is an extremely dangerous tactic for business. I believe the ones behind this do not recognize the risks they are taking. The apparently are ignorant of or deny history. It is as Karl Marx classically predicts in Das Kapital!,  when more and more people are dispossessed and more and more wealth concentrated in fewer hands, an explosion becomes inevitable. He has been proven right.

And when that day comes here, it will likely be violent and bloody. Big business capitalists will struggle mightily and brutally, and mount imaginative campaigns against their enemies, but in the end will be overwhelmed. Their economic might simply will not stand up to the mass numbers of people in the streets who will be arrayed against them. We have a whiff of this already in the revolts of the people in the Middle East against their leaders of decades. The tide becomes inexorable and will drown the oppressors. And as Marx wrote, “the expropriators become expropriated!”

It will not be a pretty sight, and many people will suffer or die. It will take years to recover, restore infrastructure, and regain a semblance of balance and prosperity. We have, in fact, already suffered damage like this. I have now become convinced this will happen, primarily because I have now come to realize there is no real difference between the two major political parties when it comes to business having dominance over them.

You can already hear lots of hostile rumblings in the mass of centrist moderates who make up the huge center of political thought in this country. These are the folks who really decide elections in the USA, and whose numbers outweigh both major political parties put together. When the inertia of this mass begins moving strongly in a definite direction, those in the line of march better watch out - and 'keeping their powder dry' won't matter one bit. Maybe our coming revolution will be a peaceable one, but I will not put money on that today.

Does Religion Make You Stupid, Fat, Poor, and Sick?

Religion may be bad for your health, butt, mind and wallet!

Recently in MOBILE, Alabama Republican gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne  stated publicly:

    "I believe that the Bible is the word of God. That’s my faith. I believe the Bible is true. Every word of it,"

Byrne’s main competition, Republican candidate Tim James of Greenville, Alabama said, "I believe in the literal interpretation, that the holy Bible is the inspired word of God. Period," Even the Democratic contenders all claim personal belief in the Bible, if not in the literal words therein.

And, that’s exactly what the good people of Alabama want to hear.  Along with almost all of the other southern states, the people of Alabama are mostly good Bible-thumping citizens. In fact, any gubernatorial candidate who hopes to be elected to the top job in any state in the Old South doesn’t stand a chance unless he or she can prove they can thump the Bible with the best of them. And, that would be the Good Book - the Christian Bible, King James version preferably.

Some words in the Bible taken literally are pretty draconian.  For example:

Exodus 35:2 commands a person be put to death for working on the Sabbeth;

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 commands that a stubborn child be put to death;

Deuteronomy 22:13-21 commands a new wife to be stoned to death if not a virgin;

Leviticus 21:16-23 forbids handicapped people from church;

I Timothy 2:9 forbids women with braided hair, gold or pearls in church;

Jeremiah 10:2-8 forbids Christmas trees at Christmas;

Leviticus forbids eating pork, shellfish or rabbit - but allows us all the locusts we want!

If the Bible were actually taken and acted upon seriously and literally,  and considering some of the above, there would not be enough people left to vote a governor into office!  But that doesn't stop people from saying they believe every literal word in the Bible.  In reality, thankfully, they ignore many of the Bible's commands - and it's a good thing they do too or a whole lot of us would be in very serious trouble.  But even so, religion might not be all that wonderful.  Oh sure, it is a comfort and solace for many people, but is it good for society as a whole?  Statistics say maybe not.

Mississippi for example tops the charts in the US with 82% religiosity. Maybe no real correlation can be proven, but Mississippi also happens to be #1 in obesity  #1 in poverty levels, #2 in illiteracy, and #2 in overall bad health levels.

And Alabama,  #2 in religiosity, is #1 in obesity, #7  in poverty, #8  in illiteracy and #6 in bad health.

Then there's Louisiana at #4 in religiosity, is tied for #7 in obesity, is #1 in poverty, #7 in illiteracy and #1 in bad health.

On the other hand Vermont, which is #50 in religiosity, is tied for next to last in obesity, is 4th from last in poverty, is #50 in illiteracy and #50 in bad health.

And Massachusetts,  #46 in religiosity, is last in obesity, #46  in poverty,#49  in illiteracy and #47 in bad health.

Hmmmm - - is there something going on here?  Do these statistics mean anything?

These are merely statistics, but to me they represent a state of mind - a state of mind which seems to closely correlate with expense and detriment for our country and grief for our society.  You may check these statistics (and many others as well) for yourself by referring to this excellent web site:  THE STATEMASTER.

Often a graphical view can be very illustrative - so I have prepared a few charts and present them below.  I have always suspected this, but the actual statistics were a real eye-opener for me. These charts show  curves driven by data from all 50 states, with the highest in religiosity on the left.  Click on the charts to expand:

 

It is perhaps also noteworthy that surveys show the BEST states to live in by lifestyle are ALL outside the south.  In fact, the highest southern state by rank is Florida which comes in at a dismal 37th out of 50, even if it is the famous 'Sunshine State'.  ALL other southern states fall below that!  Not coincidentally, Mississippi comes in "DFL" ('Dead Freaking Last')!

Whoo Boy!

I'm now thinking about moving to Vermont or New Hampshire!

How, When and Why I Gave Up Religion

I am not a religious person. I want to clear that up right off the bat.  In fact, I think I can qualify these days as anti-religious - as in anti ALL religions. But, once I was religious, at least as much as an adolescent boy can be. At the age of twelve I had convinced myself I wanted to become a ‘Preacher’, and announced the fact at church before my proud grandmother. I grew up living with my grandparents for big chunks of my childhood, so my grandmother exerted a lot of influence over me.  My grandmother herself was the daughter of a Methodist preacher you see.

My grandmother told me stories of her father who died long before I was born.  He was a ‘Stump Preacher’ in the North Georgia mountains. That meant he had a small country church somewhere near Dahlonega, Georgia and ran a ‘circuit’, preaching around about. He took his sermons out into the hills several times each month to bring the ‘Word of the Lord’ to those who were too far away to attend his little church. Stump preachers sometimes stood on stumps in the wilderness to deliver sermons, hence the name. One story about my great-grandfather which sticks in mind was the time he preached in a logging camp somewhere in the Georgia hills. At the time the big lumber companies were busily cutting down all the hardwood forests all over the Allegheny Mountains, from Maine to Georgia.

One evening around 1910, Preacher MacDonald - that was his name - was standing on a stump delivering a fiery sermon to the men at the logging camp by lamplight. One  logger, apparently drunk, started heckling him. After pausing a few times to admonish the man and call for quiet, my great-grandfather finally lost his patience - obviously not possessing too large a stock to begin with. Stepping down from his stump my preacher ancestor carefully placed his worn bible there. Then he strode purposely up to the inebriated logger and knocked him flat with his fist, and completely unconscious. My grandmother told me this was not at all unusual - she had witnessed similar things several times.  Preacher MacDonald was of the opinion no one got to heckle the ‘Word of the Lord’ without suffering the consequences. And, he was a large man with the will and the punch to enforce his opinion. My grandmother said that little hillside congregation was extraordinarily quiet, respectful and attentive for the rest of her Dad’s sermon that  evening, and when the collection hat was passed around it was filled to overflowing.

I have one single picture of my great-grandfather. He is standing by my great-grandmother staring at the camera with his fierce hawk-like eyes, wearing a Stetson sort of hat and a carefully combed beard and sweeping mustache, looking a lot like pictures you see of Wild Bill Hickok.

When I lived with my grandparents, I went to church - whether I wanted to or not. My brothers and sisters did too - it was expected and part of our weekly routine.  But that didn’t mean I liked it. Besides messing around with the girls during Sunday School, there was not a whole lots to recommend it, in my opinion. The preaching bored the absolute bejesus out of me. To this day I can’t remember one single sermon I listened to, except the time the preacher was sick and one of the church members got up to tell about how he had once been an alcoholic until religion turned his life around. I remember vividly his telling about how he would steal absolutely anything to get enough money to buy more liquor.

He told a riveting tale about being so corrupted by stealing he got in the habit of stealing even when he didn’t need to. He said one time he was out in the woods and there was absolutely nothing to steal, so he took off his shoes and placed them at the base of a tree - then sneaked back up to steal them. I still believe him.

When I turned sixteen I got my driver’s license. As a farm kid I had been driving since the age of eight or so anyway, and could drive anything on the farm from a mule to a John Deere tractor to a two and a half-ton log truck. Any automobile was a piece of cake. And like most farm kids I loved to go fast - so whenever I had the car to myself I did.

One Saturday afternoon, my brother and I were out ‘scooter-pooting’ around in the car. When we got to the paved road I floored the old Chevy and got up to about 90 MPH or so. Things went fine until we rounded a curve in a sliding turn and met the biggest bootlegger in the county taking the air in his big, yellow Cadillac. I was pretty well out of control and couldn’t do much other than try to keep the Chevy on the pavement - so our bootlegger neighbor had to take to the ditch in his big, fine Cadillac. My brother and I did not stop. But, old Marcus the bootlegger knew who we were all right. When you live in a small community, that’s just the way it is. Ordinarily Marcus might have complained to my grandfather, who would have dealt with the situation. But Marcus and my grandfather were bitter enemies - and not on speaking terms. In fact, my grandfather was so ornery he was not on good speaking terms with a fairly large number of our neighbors - and due to that, my brother and I could, and often did get away with almost anything.

But Marcus was not one to let it go. It so happened he was also a senior deacon at our church. And, oh yes, everyone in church knew what he did for a living; made, hauled and sold bootleg moonshine liquor. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be a deacon in our church, at least in that day and time and place.

Next Sunday when my family sat there in church, my brother and I were perhaps smirking a little at old Marcus’ glowering looks. So, we were surprised when Marcus asked the preacher if he could say a few words. Being allowed, and without preamble he launched into a spittle flinging personal attack on two teenage boys - my brother and me, by name, right there in church, in front of God and everybody else.  We were called hooligans and worse. It was shocking and humiliating, as I’m sure Marcus fully intended. The rest of the congregation sat there transfixed, and nodding as in agreement with Marcus, with many a superior, snide glance over at my brother and me.

But it was also infuriating. Here was this sanctimonious criminal bastard venting his spleen on two rowdy boys in front of a congregation apparently in full agreement - and he was the biggest crook in the county! And, everyone knew it!

It was enough for me. I must have some of my great-grandfather’s short temper in me, because all I could see was red. I leapt to my feet and shouted, “That’s it! You God-damned bastards will never catch my randy red, rawboned ass in this God-damned church ever again! Or any God-damned church for that matter! You can all have your God-damned bootlegging deacon, and I’ll never set foot in any church ever again and you can all kiss my ass!”  (My grandfather was a great example to learn swearing from!)

With that I got up and stomped out - and my entire family did too, including my grandmother - my grandfather seldom went to church - I think maybe he had already figured things out. I was never so proud of my family as on that Sunday morning. And, you know what’s a fact? I've stuck to that vow too, my whole life. The only times I’ve ever been near a church since was to a funeral or a wedding. I do make concessions for those. But, I still don’t have to like ‘em, do I? And, I certainly don’t.

Looking back on it now after all these years, I realized that old man Marcus actually did me a huge favor. Besides saving all those hours I might have otherwise wasted by attending church simply because I was expected to, that single event opened my eyes to the realities of religion. Next to my divorce from my first wife, and my final discharge from the US Marines,  that was about the most freeing event in my entire life. By forcing me to take a good long hard, reality based look at religion and churches I came to realize what shams and huge Ponzi schemes all of it is. And, in time I have realized this is true of all religions, be whatever they are. And, one of the worst parts is how they all incessantly fight one another.

The amounts of wasted money, treasure, lives and destruction due to religions are staggeringly immeasurable and uncountable. The grief caused by religions over the milleniums is incalculable. All religions I know are dangerous, irrational fantasies based on fear and punishment. Any belief in a mystical metaphysical boogeyman, residing in an imagined 'Heaven', rewarding those who believe and never-ending punishment to those who do not, is, in and of itself,  an irrational fantasy;

I’ve decided to enjoy my Heaven right here on earth, right now.  So, please tell the ‘faithful’ not to waste time praying for my poor, rotten, disbelieving, sinful soul,  I’m gonna put my bets on the Tooth Fairy!

The Reality Challenged, Doctrinally Blinded and Aggressively Obtuse, Republican Right

There are commonalities between the so-called religious right and the neoconservatives. Often the two have overlapped of course, especially after the far right cynically and successfully managed to co-opt so many Christian groups to their banner over the past decade or so.

There is their steadfast ability to ignore realities. Followers in both groups demonstrate an amazing ability to ignore facts in favor of what they wish to believe. They are guided in this by the sustained drumbeat of massive propaganda directed their way, and which they seemingly eagerly lap up without question. It's sort of a 'believe what we tell you, and ignore anything different, even if it's right there before your very eyes'. A great example of this was the insistence that Iraq was somehow responsible for the 9/11 attacks, even though there was nary an Iraqi involved in the event, and fifteen Saudis ('Our friends and allies') who were. Simply amazing.

Then there is the relentless clamor insisting only Sarah Palin (or Republicans) can restore 'sanity' and balance to the government not if, but when she (or a Republican) is elected to the US presidency in 2012. Leaving aside the facts Palin is only Dubya in skirts - only perhaps more so - and that GW Bush and his administrations were the architects of our current national economic and social train wreck, Palin's chief support is mainly, almost exclusively, only among far right Republicans. And, only about half of those, the others still cognizant enough to recognize Palin is a 'lightweight, and too light in the ass' to ever have a chance. Doing the math, about 50% of 35% is roughly 18%.

The reality is, Sarah Palin is the biggest gift by far that Republicans can ever give their political enemies. It is pathetic really, that neither the religious right, nor the neoconservative Republicans perceive this fact.

But to me, perhaps the most discouraging of all is the dogmatic and vocal demonizing by the far right of 'anything democratic'. The religionists chime in with their Christian angles. Sure, I understand political opposition, but I am having trouble with such counter-productive, reflexive intransigence and aggressive partisan and religion based obtuseness. 'The' Party of No indeed!

It is sad to witness the meltdown of what is left of the Republican party and their various heroes and heroines, and 'family values' champions. The party is in free fall - and in spite of all the disfavor with which Republicans in general are currently being viewed, we need a strong two party (at least) system for political balance. But the meltdown is unavoidable I believe, so long as the party stays captured by the far right and the religionists, and remains so reality challenged, so doctrinally blinded, and so aggressively obtuse.

Wherever did the thoughtful and intelligent 'Party of Lincoln' go?

The Word of God and the Flat Earthers

'God works in mysterious ways' is a phrase used to show God's 'works', though seemingly onerous at one particular time, might, or could turn out well in the long run . And indeed, on the 'mysterious' point at least, I must agree, for if there really is a god, he (or she, or it) certainly does work mysteriously, and most convincingly for some people. So convincingly in fact, there is no arguing with them. Facts and realities are simply ignored or 'explained' away.

Many fundamental Christians, who interpret the Bible literally, and as fact, sincerely believe for example:

• The Earth is a mere 6012 years old, and will turn 6013 at 9:00 AM, October 26, 2009 - as calculated & determined by Archbishop Usher in Ireland in 1654;

• There is no such thing as evolution, but that everything on Earth today, was created in it's present form, by God, (By God!) 'in the beginning';

• And, perhaps most incredibly, there are even some today who still seriously argue the Earth is flat! Members of the 'International Flat Earth Research Society' state a part of their mission is to 'Replace the science religion . . . with SANITY'.

These folks also believe the Moon is 32 miles in diameter, the Sun only a bit larger, and both circle the Earth less than 3,000 miles away. They believe there is no heliocentric universe and say, 'Just look up! It's obvious the Sun, Moon and stars are all circling us while we remain in one place!'

They go to great lengths to 'prove' the earth is flat, and that space travel is a hoax, that the notion of a spherical Earth is a huge plot by governments and the media. But, the premier proof is, hold on, wait for it, wait for it . . . . Surprise! The Holy Bible! First Chronicles, 16:30 is cited: "He has fixed the earth firm, immovable," Also, Psalms 93:1" "Thou [God] hast fixed the earth immovable and firm."

There are other scriptures quoted too, but you get the drift. When the Holy Bible is quoted, that's all the proof anyone needs! Ipso, facto, done deal! (Flat Earthers even refer to themselves as 'FE's'. Honest. You just can't make this kind of stuff up!)

On the other hand, many, perhaps more rational Christians, faced with, and obviously disturbed by FACTS, go to great lengths to 'prove' the Flat Earthers CAN NOT base their proofs on the Bible. Go figure!

And, inevitably, there are those who poke some seriously fun ridicule at the FE's too!

What is even more surprising, at least to me, is to find that the Flat Earthers have been around only about 200 years or so, and prior to that, the ancients had believed the Earth to be spherical since the fifth century BC. The Flat Earth 'Theory' turns out to be a notion spread by more recent Biblical literalists.

Biblical literalists simply cannot be bothered by facts. A great example of this occured in 1897, when a man by the name of Joshua Slocum - a self-described Christian himself - sailed a small boat, the 'Spray', around the world. He published a book ('Sailing Alone Around The World') in 1900, which is now a classic in nautical literature. In chapter XVII Slocum describes his experience in meeting three representatives sent by Paulus Krüger, then president of the South African Republic (Transvaal), and for whom the present day gold 'Krügerand' is named. Krüger was a strong believer in a flat earth, and went to great lengths to prove it.

Here is Slocum's account:

"It sounds odd to hear scholars and statesmen say the world is flat; but it is a fact that three Boers favored by the opinion of President Krüger prepared a work to support that contention. While I was at Durban they came from Pretoria to obtain data from me, and they seemed annoyed when I told them that they could not prove it by my experience."

"I went ashore and left these three wise men poring over the Spray's track on a chart of the world, which, however, proved nothing to them, for it was on Mercator's projection, and behold, it was "flat. The next morning I met one of the party in a clergyman's garb, carrying a large Bible, not different from the one I had read. He tackled me, saying, 'If you respect the Word of God, you must admit that the world is flat.' "

"'If the Word of God stands on a flat world - ' I began." '

"What!' cried he, losing himself in a passion, and making as if he would run me through with a assagai. 'What!' he shouted in astonishment and rage, while I jumped aside to dodge the imaginary weapon. had this good but, misguided fanatic been armed with a real weapon, the crew of the Spray would have died a martyr there and then." "A pamphlet by these Transvaal geographers, made up of arguments from sources high and low to prove their theory, was mailed to me before I sailed from Africa . . ."

Here were three, probably well-paid people, sent to dispute the empirical FACT that someone had actually sailed AROUND a spherical world! And, that only because that FACT was in conflict with the words of their Bible. Such is the danger presented by those who sincerely believe, and act upon the following canon I've seen on bumper stickers:

'THE BIBLE SAID IT, I BELIEVE IT, AND THAT SETTLES IT!'

Always remember: 'Ignorance may sometimes be cured by education, but Stupidity is now and forevermore!'