He who controls the past, controls the future.

In 2006, a questionnaire was sent to all candidates for the gubernatorial race in Alaska. Although many of Sarah Palin's answers brand her a typical Republican, her answer to number 11:

Are you offended by the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

made me Laugh Out Loud. Sarah Palin answered:

"Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance."

While I'm sure the small-brained ones (Republic Party) will clasp their hands and offer praise (ignoring Palin's incorrect punctuation, and threat of violence), those of us who studied American History in a classroom (i.e. not home-schooled) know that "Under God" was added as a knee-jerk reaction to the Commie Witch Hunts of the early 1950s, and became law on Flag Day 1954. Shocking reality: that's long after the last Founding Father was Dead And Buried. Somehow America did just fine without the religious phrase for nearly 180 years.

Future home-schooled generations will never know this; their parents will shirley keep them ignert [sic, sic]. Palin's bio on Wikipedia ("the Unquestioned Fount of All Knowledge") doesn't mention anything prior to high school, so I don't know if she attended public schools or was edjicated by her parunts .. out behind the barn.

Conclusion: The novel [Nineteen Eighty-Four] (prophetically written in 1949) is rapidly becoming less Fiction every day. Edward R. Murrow - who surely read the book - must be rolling in his grave.

Unrelated: I read that 17 year-old Bristol Palin is pregnant. I'm left to wonder why "abstinence only" didn't work for the Palins? Sounds like parental failure to me. Then again, Bristol's repeating the mistake her own parents made (the Palin's oldest son was born 7 months after her parents "eloped").

guilt-free in Arkansas

One thing that will probably not come out in the story about Timothy Dale Johnson (the Arkansas man who assassinated* Democratic super delegate Bill Gwatney (Arkansas Democratic Chairman)) earlier today:

What radio station was he listening to (in his blue pickup)?

I'd bet dollars-to-doughnuts that it was Ann Coulter, commanding him (and anyone else who would listen) to murder as many "Libbberals" as possible. The fact that he didn't use Coulter's designated implement - the baseball bat - is mostly irrelevant. Why he chose not to murder a security guard at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention office (a few minutes after Gwatney's assassination) remains a mystery.

Oddly, had he not threatened that security guard, he might have gotten away with the crime. That worker provided the man's vehicle description, as documented on The Arkansas Times' blog.

This comes just over two weeks after another Coulter disciple, Jim David Adkisson, murdered two (and wounded seven) people at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, which was known for daring to be inclusive/tolerant - something that Coulter (and her millionaire accomplices - Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, etc) - find abhorrent.

As I understand it, Johnson was fired from his job after he wrote graffiti on a wall at the Target grocery in Conway, Arkansas. He went home, loaded his guns and proceeded to find the state's top Democrat and assassinate him. Ann Coulter must be very, very proud of her henchman.

* The fact that he asked for Gwatney by name makes this an assassination.

Friday update: looks like there are others advocating the killing of Democrats: The Right Shirts.com

queue the preachers!

News item:

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Dolly churned toward southern Texas on Monday, and forecasters said they expected it to grow into a hurricane before hitting land near the Mexican border later this week.

Once it makes landfall, America's White Christian Preachers should immediately POUNCE, and tell everyone that the hurricane struck Texas because of its wickedness, for electing George Walker "Dubya" Bush as POTUS; Rick "Pretty Hair" Perry as Governor; Kay Bailey "Bootlicker Sr" Hutchison and John "Bootlicker Jr" Cornyn as US Senators.

BANNED: The Christian Discount

Despite my NO SOLICITORS sign, somebody left a copy of a telephone directory (you remember, those quaint paper books of a bygone era -- before the Internet). This one - "The Shepherd's Guide" - is a bit different as it proclaims that the bulk (all?) of the advertisers are guaranteed to be Christian. Advertisers must affirm that they are "born again" and clients must be treated with respect and integrity. Translation: hold onto your wallet.

If you go to their website, you'll find the publisher has been at this since 1980, although the Dallas version is only vintage 1992. The local edition has a Roanoke, Texas return address - about 30 miles west of me.

Before I pitched it in the recycle container, I thumbed through it (for amusement sake). On page 11 of the Greater Dallas County edition, there's a full page which warns against asking for The Christian Discount:

The reason that The Shepherd's Guide has worked so well is because it has provided a means for honest and reputable business and professional Christians to advertise their services to other Christians. Please do not expect any of them to provide their service free or at a reduced rate unless they feel led by God to do so, and not because you have pressured them for the discount.

Stop and think about it this way — Would you want to pay a business more because they felt that you, as a Christian customer, should feel compelled to help other Christians by paying them more for their services?

We feel that God wants us to treat each other in love and esteem. The advertiser's purpose in this guide is to do their best at a fair price. They deserve the opportunity to serve you and to be paid for their services.

Metrics:

• 115 pages
• Approximately 6x9 inches
• non-revenue pages: a LOT (including about 30 White pages for churches; ministries; Christian schools)
• most amusing concepts: Christian lawyers; Christian plumbers; Christian pest control

At least it didn't contain any toxic chemicals - my recycler will like that.

Deep thought: I wonder if there are directories for other religions: Jewish; Muslim; Catholic (as John Hagee reminds us: Catholics ain't Christian). Me, I'll probably stick to my favorite secular online directory: superpages.com.

weathering the blame game

Okay, I'm confused.

I haven't been following it that closely, but know that the "upper midwest" has been hammered in the past few days .. rain, floods, tornadoes. What perplexes me is that the televangelists haven't been on the air telling the rest of us that these folks are on the receiving end because they haven't been Christian enough.

Why is it that it's okay to blame predominantly black parts of the country for their sinnin' but predominantly white sections get a pass from the Christianists? I found it very unusual that yesterday's tornado took direct aim at a Boy Scout Camp (killing four), but not one of the ministers explained that it was their god's wrath because the Boy Scouts won't admit homosexuals.

How is it they're allowed to eat both ends of the cake?

I asked a friend for comment before posting; she replied:

Exactly. And at the opposite end of the scale, why aren't all the politicians being blamed for it happening?

Another question: why is it somehow worse that an individual lost all their possessions in Katrina than it is if they lost all their possessions in some other weather-caused event? On an a total size perspective, absolutely Katrina was worse. For any given person, whether they lost everything in Katrina or lost everything in the floods happening now elsewhere, they still lost it all ... poor person in New Orleans or poor person in Iowa/Indiana ... gone. Shouldn't matter what color they are. Politicization of race happens on both ends of our lovely political system.

So one one end, there's the far-right weirdos saying it's god's wrath in the New Orleans (but nowhere else). On the other end, it's the far left saying that a poor black person who lost everything in New Orleans needs our sympathy/help/resources more than a poor white person in Iowa. Neither instance is fair.

what do China, Burma and New Orleans have in common?

Recent news items:

1. 77,738+ dead in Myanmar (Cyclone Nargis, 3 May)
   ** see Irrawaddy for updates
2. 51,000+ dead in China (Sichuan earthquake, 12 May)
3. "only" 1,577 died in Louisiana (Hurricane Katrina)

Deep Thought: I wonder if both China and Myanmar were gonna have Really Big Gay Pride Parades?

The big question remains: How long will it be before (McCain's soulmate) John Hagee notices and rants accordingly? If only the Chinese shared Hagee's religion, this never would have happened, right?

Ref: 230,000+ died in Indonesia/Sri Lanka (26 Dec 2004 : "Boxing Day Tsunami"), triggered by a 9.3 earthquake

praying on the immigrants

The churches in this area have long been known to prey on society's weakest. There are occasional stories in the local newspaper about how the homeless (growing in Dallas at 15% last year) are subjected to religious ceremonies while they're getting a meal. Most of the homeless feel they have no alternative but to tolerate it, as the hidden cost to be paid.

Job seekers will find many gatherings during the week - almost always in churches - where they can discuss job leads, at the cost of not-so-subtle Bible stories (to illustrate a point, of course) or more blatant public prayers. Job seekers who wish to avoid the religious angle will be forced to fend for themselves, mostly.

Likewise, I found it interesting to see that the non-Catholic churches are reaching out to the Latino community to offer free ESL [English as a Second Language] classes, in addition to the more common "Church in Spanish". While on the first take, you make think it's because they're trying to serve the community, it's probably more self-preservation than anything else.

TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

The churches which promote these events want the immigrant's money, pure and simple. Each week, they'll make pleas (subtle at first) that the newcomer should join their church and then - like protection money extorted by gangsters - coax them into turning over 10% of what they earn to The Church, thus ensuring the church's continued domination over the membership, not to mention its very existence.

If the immigrants can't (or won't) make their voluntary contribution ("tithe"), what are the odds that a phone call to ICE [La Migra] will have them on a bus back to Guatemala by morning?

It's also amusing to see that some churches are more savvy than others, translating their signs into Spanish:

to placate the locals, they printed the top line en Inglés	the wrong way - although the 3 stars are a cute touch

It's also interesting to note that they get away with not asking about the immigration status - since that's far secondary to the money.

I recently read an article that money being shipped back home has mostly stayed flat, even though there are more illegals here now than ever. The inference is that each immigrant is sending less money back than before. It's only logical to assume that part of that money is going to The Gringo Churches, sí?

focus shift

Noteworthy: if the recent poll taken in St. Petersburg is any indication, the true center of American Stupidity has shifted from Kansas to Florida. Ref: Faith trumps science

Christmas musings

Why is the Christian religion the only one that gets a US Postal holiday all year? Can't they staff enough Heathens on the 25th of December to make deliveries, or is this like the periodic addition of "In God We Trust" to our currency, that would've left Our Founding Fathers spinning in their graves? And .. if today's holiday is that important, why is there a newspaper delivery?

Alas, it's now past noon and time to investigate which retailers have reopened after yesterday's partial holiday, when most closed early. Hmmm. To be fair, I must take the same route as last night, right?

4:30pm update

Okay, here's what was different: some (not all) of the groceries reopened; El Rancho and Tom Thumb were doing a brisk business. The church parking lots that were overflowing for Christmas Eve (during the daylight I can see the signs advertising their multiple services) are empty, as are the Finer Steak Houses (Rick Stein's; III Forks; Ruth's Chris; Del Frisco's). A few restaurants that were open last night (Blackfinn; Burger Street) are closed, while others (Humperdink's; Sonic Drive-In; Furr's) have opened - mostly the Asian ones - Thai, Chinese. Some Starbucks locations are open while others remain closed. The movie theatres are open. Blockbuster and Hollywood Video are open - presumably to put something inside all the Shiny New DVD players that were under "the tree" this morning. It was warmer (14-15C). Gas prices $2.75 unleaded, $3.28 diesel.

Nothing says Christmas Eve like a thick, juicy steak

Between 10 and 11pm tonight, I drove around to see what businesses were open, now that the bulk of Texas is shut down for Christmas Eve - a Christian holiday.

What was open: every gas station; 7-11 stores; drugstores (CVS and Walgreens); liquor stores and at least three of the finer steak houses (although they appeared to be closing around 10pm .. the valets were handling the last cars). One local bar was doing a brisk business at 11pm. Not surprisingly, a few churches were holding late-night services and had full parking lots. I spotted a couple "24x7" restaurants -- IHOP and Denny's -- open, but the only fast-food drive-thru doing business was Burger Street. The hotel lobbies were open (of course) - probably for people who were banned from their relatives' homes for the holiday.

It'll be interesting to see how many of these businesses will be open by noon tomorrow. Yesterday - Christmas Adam (a/k/a Festivus) - everything retail was open.

During tonight's trip, my car thermometer registered between 1-7C (colder as I neared the various creeks), and I noticed regular gasoline averaged $2.80, $3.10 for premium (and diesel selling for about $3.50).

changing another shopping habit

Wow. Very cool .. I may never shop at Home Depot, ever again. Thanks for giving me a good reason to pull the plug on them, Lowes.

Lowe's pulls advertising from O'Reilly show.

Everybody Knows™ that the last time Bill Orally at Faux Noise (kudos to Keith Olbermann) told the truth was when Adam & Eve were riding their dinosaurs to church.

Meanwhile, Texas lawyers are apparently Licking Their Chops after the 2007 Texas Legislative Session. Why? Concerns Abound Over New Religious Laws Passed By Legislature

Texas 34, Kansas 2

Entertaining spot today on the Red State Rabble blog: Somewhere in Texas. Indeed, it's been my experience that Kansas is waaaay behind Texas when it comes to religious zealots making educational policy.

Don McLeroy's appointment is just another example of Governor PrettyHair's pandering to His base. Kansas is starting to look saner and saner all the time.

Mission Accomplished, The Sequel

According to Associated Press:

(ARTICLE DELETED)

Okay, let me get this straight: in the past two months, 3571 people were killed in Baghdad, and we're supposed to accept this as a SUCCESS?

Compare this to the number of Americans executed by al-Qaeda on 9/11: 2819. Also note that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks (unless you're one of those IDiots who thinks the Earth is 6,099 years old, in which case you're already a lost cause).

Lately (to amuse myself) I've been telling people that it's obvious (!) that Dinosaurs Never Did Roam The Earth - those (often large) bones were placed there by A Creator as a way to test the faithful! Most seem to accept that. Oy.

Don O'Treply speaks!

Since today was the day that The Morons chose as "boycott gas stations day" I made sure to fill up my tank. It was $3.15 for premium and my credit card deducts 5% for gasoline purchases, so I paid $3/gallon.

Sometime around noon, I heard that Jerry Falwell died. He's the disgusting creature who, along with Ronald Reagan, elevated bigotry and hatred to new levels in American politics.

Bet #1: President Quagmire and his minions are hoping for a good photo op at Jerry's funeral.

Bet #2: James Dobson is already sniffing Falwell's corpse, wanting to know how he can get his hands on Jerry's Followers' money.

Bet #3: Jerry didn't leave a dime in his will to AIDS research.

What would make me happy? To see Fred Phelps picket Falwell's funeral .. that would be poetic justice. Maybe the KKK will fund their bus tickets? (Wednesday update: they're actually going to do this .. woo hoo!)

Finally, I'm thinking of changing my name to Don O'Treply. That would be so kewl to use in email. Hmmm.

historical rewrite

It's not often that I blog about one blogger blogging about another blogger, but .. today I'm making an exception.

A spot on read may be found on Geoff Arnold's blog:
Pharyngula on the impossibility of honest pandering

I wonder what kind of a world we'd live in today if President Morass Debacle Quagmire and His ilk were correct about this being a [White] Christian [Republican] nation? Since their world is only 6100 years old, the museums would first have to be purged of anything suggesting an older age. We could start with most anthropology including ancient Chinese relics; anything inferring the age of The Grand Canyon; various dinosaur exhibits, and work from there.

Rewriting history reminds me of the premise behind George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).

Aside: I have added Swastika Night (1937) to my wish list, for the next (inevitable) purchase-o-books. It's said this was the basis for Orwell's epic.

We'd also presumably be living in an Amish Paradise, sans 98.6% of the stuff surrounding me at this moment, including these pieces of shaped plastic that my fingers are touching.

Deep thought: I wonder how Karl Rove would do without his "surgically attached Blackberry"?

The Mathematics of Revelation

Well, isn't that special?

Not only are Texas legislators considering gutting the public school system, so that Rich White Christians can channel their money to School Vouchers (and private, White Christian Schools) but now they want to mandate an elective course in the Christian Bible in Texas schools.

House Bill 1287 would mandate that every high school in the state offer an elective Bible course. Unbelievable. I guess they must think that their own White Christian education every Sunday isn't enough, so they now must encroach on the public school system (or whatever is left after James Leininger and his School Voucher Nazis take every last dime).

When was the last time you heard a realtor say "your property values will increase because this neighborhood has a great private school system? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Wouldn't it be easier to mandate a law where English and Trigonometry are taught by the White Christian schools? Certainly Real Texans don't want Liberal Readin' Rightin' and Rithmetic (the Texas 3 Rs) to be tot in non-Christian schools? Oy, vey.

I'm guessing that these new White Christian classes will not teach how to add 666 and 666 together?

POTUS 2008

Yet another Texas Idiot has surfaced: US Congressman Joe Barton (Republican from Ennis, TX). This putz (whose pockets are surely lined with bribes from the oil & energy companies) claims that Global Warming is a fraud. He's probably an IDiot (Intelligent Design) too.

I guess that means he'll soon be the Next Precedent of the United Staits! Rudy and John and Mitt had better watch their backs.

.. and now, Float #6 in The Jerry Jones Parade

Anyone who's lived in Dallas more than about 20 minutes knows that the Real Power in this town does not rest with The Mayor. Or the City Council. Or the Head Southern Baptist. Or even the County Commissioner. No, the Real (Ceremonial) Power in this town rests with the Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

Thus, a new Pseudo-King will be anointed later today: Wade Phillips will become the 7th coach in franchise history. It's all over the TV, radio, newspaper .. even Wikipedia has already been updated - and the official announcement is still hours away. It's all anyone will be talking about for the next week or so. All office work will come to a grinding halt. Productivity will approach zero.

Such is the case when you live in Dallas - the town that worships Big Haired Cheerleaders and High School Football - but couldn't give a flip about academia. This is evidenced by SMU's decision to host the President Quagmire Liberry, completing their transition from a nondescript pseudo-academic institution into a purely Right Wing Political Vomitorium - where future Buffys and Brads will get their non-educations. Yet, I digress ...

When I moved to Dallas in 1993, The Original Coach [TOC] -- Tom Landry -- had been out of a job for 5 years. Jerry Jones bought the team in February 1989 and the first thing he did - before saying hello - was to fire TOC and replace him with Jimmy Johnson, who stayed about 5 years (winning Super Bowls in 1993 and 1994).

I moved to Dallas in August 1993 and watched them win Super Bowl 28 (under Johnson) and Super Bowl 30 (under Switzer). There's been a Super Bowl drought ever since - partly because The Real King (Jerry Jones) cannot keep from meddling. Heck, during the most recent change, he did (in sequence):

1- accept the head coach's resignation
2- hired new assistant coaches
3- hired new head coach

Naturally, this tells the new head coach who's really in control - The Owner - since the decision of who will be assistant coaches does not rest with The Head Coach (well, it did - contractually - under Bill Parcells, but Those Days Are Over).

1st - Tom Landry (270-178-6) - 2 Super Bowl wins - 1972 and 1978
And then here's the Jerry Jones Parade:
2nd - Jimmy Johnson (51-37) - 2 Super Bowl wins - 1993 and 1994
3rd - Barry Switzer (45-26) - 1 Super Bowl win - in 1996
4th - Chan Gailey (18-14)
5th - Dave Campo (15-33) - only Cowboys coach with a losing record
6th - Bill Parcells (34-32)
7th - Wade Phillips (record TBD)

I wonder when Jerry will begin interviewing for the next Head Coach in The Parade?

Three Days of the William

I've seen William-Bob 3 times in 3 days, which is a new record. First, it was lunch with he and John-Bob at Snookie's (they still have ostrich burgers on the menu, although I went for The Wednesday Special which was a turkey and guacamole wrap). I was surprised to find No Waiting, which was certainly due to the cold (2C) which turns Texas Natives into cowering wimps. I've surmised that if you dangle about 20 snowflakes in front of a native, they'll go running home to mommy; it's amazing. I watched as drivers clutched their steering wheels with a Death Grip, just in case they encountered an icy spot on the mostly dry roads.

At lunch, the three of us Solved World Hunger, after which W.B. thoughtfully pointed me to the Mister Deity website, which provided a few moments of frolic (the guy's trying to stoke an audience for a half-hour TV show -- uh, Good Luck With That, except maybe on FOX which provides Wholesome Family Entertainment™ - like The Family Guy; American Dad; etc.)

My second Brush With Greatness was at Thursday night's Unix User Group meeting, in their temporary space at BNI in Plano. Their meeting room holds about 40 people, cozily. The speaker was a local Red Hat "Guru" (I use the term loosely) who wasn't prepared for this crowd, which is known to eat presenters alive and toss their carcasses in the dumpster amidst the pizza box remnants. Why some people feel they can face a technical audience with a sales-marketing pitch is beyond me. I'm not sure I learned much about the upcoming (15 March 2007) RHEL5 release that I didn't already know, but did score a 3-pack of Red Hat Golf Balls, to be used at some future time.

I first attended the DFW UUG's meeting at SGI (Silicon Graphics) near Preston/LBJ. When that location closed, the group moved to a nice space in the "JC Penney basement" (near Coit/LBJ) and were there for many years until being forced to relocate to Nerd Books in Richardson. The owner there decided he didn't want to stay late, so the group is meeting in Plano, but seeking a new location. User groups traditionally get the short end of the meeting space stick, fer sher.

Finally (well, the week's not over yet) I got an IM from William-Bob alerting me to the presence of 00E (a/k/a Bryan) who is visiting - one of his monthly trips from Maryland. Bryan was a -Bob until a few years ago. Yesterday, he bought a couple T-shirts from Poor Richard's after we fed there (me: veggie omelet Mit Grits). Only a few times in my life have I felt amused enough to buy a restaurant's T-shirt. Thinking about my current closet, the only ones promoting such places are in support of Dairy Queen (the institution).

Now, it's time to mosey over to Hollywood Video (across the street from Blockbuster) and rent a copy of Three Days of the Condor to see if William-Bob bears (bares) any similarities.

Aside: I finally Bit The Bullet and switched to the New! Improved! Blogger interface; if you spot anything peculiar, let me know. So far, I'm seeing minimal differences in the editor; it appears to post much faster, but that could be a Saturday morning aberration. I do like the improved Spell Check interface. And (oh yes) the Labels. I must make good use of The Labels.

an observation

just when I start to think there may be some hope for the world, I stop to read the Dallas Managed News' Letters To The Editor, or even Fundies Say The Darndest Things.

I then reallize that, indeed, There Is No Hope, put my headphones back on, and continue along my way.