Former Attorney General John Ashcroft believes that America was founded as a Christian nation.  In May 1999, as a sitting US Senator, he spoke at Bob Jones University’s commencement ceremony.  Here is an excerpt from his speech:

“I want to thank each of you for investing yourselves in the mission of Christ, of redemption and forgiveness, and for preparing yourselves in the way that you have.

A slogan of the American Revolution, which was so distressing to the emissaries of the king that it was found in correspondence sent back to England, was the line ‘We have no king but Jesus.’ Tax collectors came, asking for that which belonged to the king, and colonists frequently said, ‘We have no king but Jesus.’

 

It found its way into the fundamental documents of this great country. You could quote the Declaration with me. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.’

Unique among the nations, America recognized the source of our character as being godly and eternal, not being civic and temporal. And because we have understood that our source is eternal, America has been different: We have no king but Jesus.”

It was the summer after Monica Lewinsky, the First Blow-Job and President Clinton’s impeachment.  Bob Jones University awarded Ashcroft and two other politicans honorary degrees for their role in impeaching the President.  

Assume for the sake of argument that Ashcroft is correct in his insinuation that American was founded as a Christian nation.  What does our King have to say to us?

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. …

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. …

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. …

Meek.  Merciful.  Peacemakers.  These are not words anyone would use to describe John Ashcroft, George Bush or anyone who had a part in the previous administration.  Many examples exist where these men – men who held themselves out as born-again Bible-believing Christians – violated Jesus’s commandments.  Whether by torture, kidnapping, illegally imprisoning innocent men or ripping apart families with senseless deportations, these men of God repeatedly gave Jesus the finger.

One example is the case of Jose Padilla.  José Padilla, a Brooklyn-born U.S. citizen, was arrested by civilian authorities on May 8, 2002, at Chicago’s O’Hare airport.  He was originally held as a material witness in New York in connection with the government’s ongoing investigation into threats of terrorism.  

Then on June 10, 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft interrupted a visit to Moscow to announce a sensational arrest: an American citizen named Jose Padilla had been detained at O’Hare Airport and charged with taking part in an Al Qaeda plot to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” within the United States.

The truth is, Ashcroft didn’t know what he was talking about.  Even the Bush administration backpedaled hours later, admitting there was no overt plot that was known.  The truth is often a casualty of war.

Padilla’s case has been discussed in the news although most Americans probably haven’t paid much attention to it.

Briefly, Padilla was kept in solitary confinement for years and was also subjected to sleep deprivation and sensory deprivation.  Seven years later, Padilla was found guilty, not of any of the original crimes, but was sentenced to 17 years and 4 months for what basically was a thought crime. 

“There is no evidence that these defendants personally killed, maimed or kidnapped” anyone, observed Judge Cooke.

Where is the mercy, meekness or peace in this case?  Does anyone care?  Ashcroft and Bush are long gone but our so-called Christian nation, complacent about what has happened, has become complicit in the un-Christ-like crimes our former leaders committed.  

The shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, is also the most applicable:

“Jesus Wept.”

How ironic that so many fundamentalists claim that it is Obama that is the Antichrist.

We learn more from dialogues between members of a group than the message that group puts out to the world. 

What In The World (The Devil Is Up To) is a newsletter put out by Bob Jones University, arguably the world’s leading fundamentalist Christian institution of higher learning.   The newsletter contains snippets telling readers about all the “bad” things taking place in America and elsewhere. 

Having spent all of my formative years (14 to be exact) at this campus, I can share that BJU and its people believe that America and the world are worsening by the day and this will continue until Jesus returns to rapture the saints to heaven.  This newsletter seeks to confirm this belief by disclosing evidence of all the things – abortion, homosexuality, encroachment of non-fundamentalist Christian religions into American life, secularism, humanism, atheism, etc. – that are on the rise.

Fundamentalists are never accountable for what they believe.  Their answer is that they are simply carrying out God’s commandments.  They don’t even add “as we understand them” after “God’s commandments” because there is no human understanding involved, there is God and there is Satan and you are on one side or the other. 

To the rational mind, nothing could seem more arrogant than a belief that one holds the exclusive on God but their warped vision obscures all human reason.  They are the enlightened ones; we are blind. 

Every so often, though, their arrogance shines like a beacon.  Like this tidbit from their newsletter.  The last paragraph on the last page is titled, “Sometimes Non-Christians Demonstrate More Wisdom Than Christians.”  Sometimes.  Thank you, fundamentalists for conceding that SOMETIMES you, people who believe in a talking snake, are not the wisest people on the planet. 

 http://www.bju.edu/resources/what-in-the-world/4611.pdf

…well maybe not SO soon…but someday.

I’m working on a novel, so not updating the blog, but check back periodically as I’ll update as things progress. 

You can reach me at richmerritt@richmerritt.com

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Like my divas Cher and Barbara BARBRA! (sorry!) (if you have to ask “Barbra who?” then please go to another blog; if you have to ask “Cher who?” please go back to Mars) I am going back into blogging retirement.  I’m sure I’ll come out of it before my next book comes out but for now I’m going to spend my time working on the next book(s), catching up with friends, playing with the dog, being a good husband, etc.  All that life stuff.  Oh yeah and working at the day job. 

Here’s a pic of my puppy Xander who is growing fast!

Here are some more pics I took a couple of weeks ago:

I’ve been working at a law firm near Battery Park in Manhattan in this building here.  (The job ends tomorrow sadly).  I took this on an unseasonably warm New York early fall day while lying on a park bench.  Not bad for a lazy man’s picture, huh?

The only bad part about my mid-day nap was staring at the bull’s ass.  As in the Wall Street bull’s ass. 

For some reason the touristas love this.  In fact, they’re crowding around so much I can’t show you what they’re looking at.  GIGANTIC BALLS!  As in Rocky Mountain Oysters.  They’re HUGE!  And so many people have fondled the poor bull’s balls (WTF is that about?) that they’ve rubbed the paint off. 

What we need right now is a Wall Street bear. 

Here’s a front view of the bull. 

Everyone’s got to be the center of attention!

Believe it or not I actually do work, I don’t just walk around Manhattan all day with my camera, although that’s fun to do too.  After my break I went back to my office, not a bad office for a lowly temp.

Here’s the view from the southeast window.  No that’s not the bridge to nowhere, its the Verrazano Narrows bridge connecting Staten Island to Brooklyn.  In just two weeks the trees have already changed. 


And for the best… the view from my southwest window. In the distance is the Statue of Liberty.  Yes, Ms. Liberty, when America gets it wrong, we REALLY get it wrong (aka BUSH) but when we get it right, the whole world marvels. 

GO OBAMA!

Uncommon valor was a common virtue. 

That was Admiral Chester Nimitz’ description of the Marines who fought on Iwo Jima in World War II. 

Other than the women and men fighting in Bush’s wars, neither valor nor virtue seem very common today, at least not in the news.  Our president is inept and has already checked out of the job.  CEO’s, board members and hedge fund managers are destroying the corporations they are entrusted to lead, governmental regulators are corrupt, consumers are in debt and our popular culture is obsessed with the antics of a few derelict superstars.  Everyone wants to be famous and hey, I’d be a hypocrite if I denied that I wouldn’t like a little more recognition for my work. 

Where are our heroes?

To find heroes, we have to look to the people around us.  I know lawyers who’ve given up lucrative careers to fight for the rights of the less fortunate and others who donate significant amounts of their resources to good causes.  Friends work for charities, people in my neighborhood help disadvantaged children and friends have gone overseas to build houses and set up hospitals.  How gratifying would it be, though, if self-sacrificing individuals received some national attention?  Young people especially should have role models, examples for their aspirations.  Well, recently one man has received a bit of attention for sticking to principle even though he knew it would cost him his career, his livelihood and his reputation. 

David Iglesias 

David Iglesias was one of nine US attorneys fired on December 7, 2006 by the Bush Justice Department.  Three weeks ago the Department of Justice Inspector General released a 392-page report.  The report’s conclusions, pages 356-358, are damning: 

The process used to remove the nine U. S. Attorneys in 2006 was fundamentally flawed.  While Presidential appointees can be removed for any reason or for no reason, as long as it is not an illegal or improper reason, Department officials publicly justified the removals as the result of an evaluation that sought to replace underperforming U. S. Attorneys.  In fact, we determined that the process implemented largely by Kyle Sampson, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, was unsystematic and arbitrary, with little oversight.

Although Iglesias and I have a common past – born to Baptist parents, attended Bible colleges, service as military officers and attorneys – my life experience caused me to change my political beliefs whereas he remained a republican and today still calls himself a true republican.  Until his courageous actions in 2006, I would not have identified him as a hero.  But his actions have clearly marked him as a man who put principle, service to country and integrity above his own interests.  If America had more public servants like David Iglesias, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in right now.

Iglesias’ heroic actions 

Iglesias has been on the talk show and interview circuit since his firing and the subsequent release of his book, In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration, but his case still has not received the level of attention it deserves.  That’s probably because it’s a little complicated for most people to grasp.  It requires an understanding of Constitutional separation of powers, role of political appointees, the nature of a federal prosecutorial role and the issue of voter fraud vs. voter suppression. 

Simply stated, the Bush administration improperly pressured Iglesias to prosecute cases of voter fraud in New Mexico that he’d already found to be non-existent.  When he refused to cave in to the Department of Justice’s harassment, they fired him. 

Now, voter fraud, where it exists, is a serious crime.  The problem is that besides voter fraud, federal prosecutors have over 4000 serious crimes on the books to enforce, including voter suppression.   Their dilemma is determining priorities of those 4000 + crimes.  Attorneys are bound by rules of professionalism and ethics to use their best judgment to pursue the cases that are in the public’s best interest.  That’s what Iglesias did; after a bipartisan investigation, he concluded that insufficient evidence existed to proceed. 

Why was the Bush White house so concerned with voter fraud in New Mexico? 

New Mexico is always a swing state in presidential elections.  Even though it has only five electoral votes, considering the close outcomes of recent elections, every electoral vote is crucial.  Conventional wisdom is that clamping down on so-called voter fraud is a euphemism for keeping democrats from voting. 

An example:  In California a republican state representative had armed guards posted at polling stations.  The unstated purpose was to scare away Mexican-American voters who, while legal citizens, might be too intimidated to demand their right to vote if pressed.  White middle-class Americans glibly claim that anyone here legally has nothing to worry about, but people with names like Lopez, Rodriguez and Gonzales know better.  Any dispute with someone holding a loaded gun is a loss. 

Iglesias understood this and, although it suited his political party, he refused to subvert his professionalism to bow to their partisan demands.   Here is his description of what happened in a recent interview:

How would you characterize the act of enlisting a U.S. attorney in activities that will benefit a political party at the polls?

It’s reprehensible. It’s unethical. It’s unlawful. It very well may be criminal … I know it’s a marked departure from prior administrations, both Republican and Democrat, who understood that U.S. attorneys, as chief federal law enforcement officials, have to stay out of politics. And that’s consistent with what Former Attorney General John Ashcroft told me in the summer of 2001. When he said, “Politics cannot enter into your decision making as a US attorney.”

A republican who puts country first!  He definitely is a hero.  I haven’t read his book yet, but I hope to soon.  Buy it and support this courageous man. 

Today we launch the Hypocrites Hall of Infamy™. The first inductee into this auspicious realm of immortality is: William J. Bennett.

WHO IS WILLIAM “BILL” J. BENNETT?

Bill Bennett is currently the host of his own morning radio talk show.  His website features a photograph of Gary Bauer, leader of a Washington DC lobbying organization known as “American Values.”  Bauer’s group is most famous for its persecution of lesbians and gay men and opposing women’s right to bodily autonomy.  Bennett’s website also features a photograph of Bill Kristol, a neo-conservative responsible for the fiasco in Iraq.  Bennett might not pal around with terrorists, depending on one’s definition of the word, but with friends like Bauer, Kristol and a host of others, he’s associated himself with purveyors of hatred, stupidity, arrogance and discrimination. 

For some mystifying reason, Bennett also appears on CNN.  A lot.  His interview this past Wednesday prompted his induction into the Hypocrites Hall of Infamy™.  More details on that at the bottom.

HOW HAS BENNETT ENTERED THE POLITICAL ARENA?

In Republican administrations, Bennett has been chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Secretary of Education and ”drug czar.  Considering the state of America’s educational system and the success of the “war on drugs,” Bennett’s record of accomplishments speaks for itself.  Given his views on cultural issues you can imagine that his tenure as chair of the NEH was not warmly received by the arts community. 

Bennett has authored several books.  When I was in the Marines, Bennett’s Book of Virtueswas on the Commandant’s reading list, one I never got around to reading.  Sun Tzu’sThe Art of Warand Clausewitz’ On War seemed more germane to my mission.  (If you feel the need to buy Bennett’s book please click the link above as I’ll receive a small referral fee from Amazon at no additional cost to you!)

In his book, Bennett has collected previous writings in an attempt to impart to people his ”catalog of virtues–self-discipline, compassion, work, responsibility, friendship, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty, faith” that he believes are foundational to strong moral character. 

WHAT MAKES BENNETT WORTHY OF NOMINATION INTO THE HYPOCRITES HALL OF INFAMY™?

As a devout Catholic, Bennett should be aware of the words of Jesus Christ:

“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”  (Matthew 7:5)

Jesus casting money-changers out of the temple

 
Jesus spent far more of his life condemning the sin of hypocrisy than he did any other vice, a fact that seems lost on most of the Christianist sectarians, including Bennett. 

What makes Bennett such a hypocrite is his lifelong record of condemning America’s so-called decline in moral values.  He’s a vocal opponent of marriage equality for lesbians and gay men.  To paraphrase Jesus, he should get his head out of his ass and take stock of his own decline in moral values first.  If he did, he’d be so busy taking personal inventory he wouldn’t have time to disseminate his self-righteousness across the airwaves. 



THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

Because Bennett is Catholic, a good barometer of his hypocrisy is Pope Gregory I’s “Seven Deadly Sins“:

1. Lust - all men are guilty of this sin.  Bill Bennett is a man.  Bill Bennett is guilty of lust.

2. Gluttony - self-evident (see first photograph above).  When it comes to food, Bill Bennett is a man who obviously never said no to a meal.  

• FOOD:  This sin is my favorite when it comes to hypocrisy.  Growing up in South Carolina, I was taught that sin is sin and that God views all sins as equally bad.   But when it comes to Baptists in the South, gluttons seem to get a pass.  Almost every sermon against homosexuality or promiscuity or against any of the six other deadly sins was given by a man obviously exceedingly guilty of this sin. 

You can bet Bennett glosses over this verse when he gets to Proverbs 23:2:

“And put a knife to your throat if you are a man of great appetite.”

CIGARETTE SMOKING:  Maybe it’s a stretch, but addictions seem like a form of gluttony.  Even if smoking couldn’t be counted as gluttony, Bennett is still a hypocrite on this issue.  Even though it’s legal, nicotine is still a drug.  As drug czar, Bennett made a big deal about pot, calling marijuana immoral and opposing any effort to legalize it WHEN HE HAD A 2-PACK-A-DAY SMOKING HABIT.  HYPOCRITE!

3. Greed -this sin merits some discussion.  Bennett is a high-roller who’s lost millions of dollars in Las Vegas.  He justifies this behavior by claiming that he doesn’t have a problem and that his bills are paid.  In addiction treatment, many in recovery claim that they were functioning alcoholics or addicts but their lives still became unmanageable.  They lived in denial, just like Bennett does today. Although he said he no longer gambled, later he qualified this statement, saying he refrained from excessive gambling, a fine distinction. 

Some might assert that gambling and greed are not the same thing.  Bullshit.  The only reason someone gambles is to make a fast buck, a definite form of greed.

• HYPOCRISY ALERT:  As co-founder and former head of Empower America, Bennett opposed the extension of casino gambling.  Apart from gambling, Bennett manifests his greed by turning haughtiness, condescension and judgmentalism into a self-enrichment scheme

4. Sloth - In all fairness, I’ll cut Bennett some slack on this one.  While I’m tempted to say that someone this fat has to sit on his lard ass all day, I can’t. Knowing how hard it is to write, publish and promote a book, this guy is not slothful.  Also he does a show at 6:00 every morning, so he’s disciplined enough to get up early.  I’m not saying that a lack of slothfulness is a virtue – many tyrants and evildoers have been industrious – but I can’t in good conscience assert that Bill Bennett sins this way.  So far he’s 3 for 4. 

5. Wrath – Only an angry man would make the following statement:

I do know that it’s true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could — if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. 

Bennett, apparently realizing the reprehensiveness of what he’d just postulated on air, immediately equivocates: 

That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do.

Stupidly, he returns to the reprehensible notion he just put forward:

But your crime rate would go down.

Even if these statements aren’t evidence of the deadly sin of wrath, they are repugnant and should be included somewhere, so this spot will be sufficient. 

6. Envy – This sin is difficult to prove by direct evidence, at least in Bennett’s case.  But Bennett is a man of ambitions.  You can bet (assuming that, like Bennett, you’re a gambler) your sweet ass that Bennett is enraged that Barack Obama is about to become President of the United States and he never will.  You know he is.  But because I can’t get into the mind of Bennett (nor would I want to) I’ll give him a pass on envy…for now.  The tally so far?  Bennett is 4-1-1 on the deadly sins.

7. Pride – The best for last, and by far the easiest to prove.  In his biography Bennett describes himself as:

• “One of America’s most important, influential and respected voices on cultural, political, and education issues.” 
• “One of the nation’s most prominent political figures.” 
• “Perceived — even by his adversaries — as a man of strong, reasoned convictions who spoke candidly, eloquently, and honestly about some of the most important issues of our time.” 
• “Thanks to his writings and speeches, William Bennett has extraordinary influence on America’s political and social landscape.”

‘Nuff said. 

Final score:  Bill Bennett is guilty of five of the seven deadly sins (and probably a sixth). 

(Notice what is not one of the seven deadly sins.  Got the answer?  That’s right!  Homosexuality!)

There’s one more sin that’s not listed here, but it’s something we all learned as soon as we were old enough to deny sticking our hands in the cookie jar. 

THOU SHALT NOT LIE! 

I referenced Bennett’s CNN interview above, the interview that prompted me to initiate the Hypocrites Hall of Infamy™.  Here’s an exceprt:

KIRAN CHETRY:  Do you believe that Sarah Palin is ready to be president?

BENNETT:  Yes. 

Bennett can’t possibly believe that Palin is ready to sit in the oval office. If she submitted her paltry resume to him he wouldn’t select her to be an intern at his radio show, despite her degree in sports journalism (from the University of Idaho after five colleges).  Sarah Palin’s lack of readiness to be president is a matter of fact, not opinion.  Her nomination is a fraud and prank perpetrated against the American people. 

As Andrew Sullivan puts it: 

Palin is a proudly ignorant, cowardly, secretive, unethical, know-nothing populist.

She won’t give a press conference or even allow her supporters to talk to the press at her rallies, she won’t release records and she’s been found guilty of an ethics violation in Alaska.  

In the same interview, Bennett also said, “I am much happier with the prospect of Sarah Palin as president than I am Barack Obama as president.”  If that’s true, Bill Bennett is guilty of another sin:  treason.

Sarah Palin’s slams against Obama aren’t known for their subtlety.  One slam, however, is buried deep within the subtext of a common but misused expression.  It’s gone unnoticed but today I’m exposing its insidiousness. 

What words could so subversive? 

The Lower Forty-eight.

Most of us have heard this unfortunate phrase so many times we don’t think about its sinister meaning.  But not Sarah Palin.  She may revel in her willful ignorance of newspaper names and Supreme Court decisions but she’s not stupid.  She’s crafty.  She knows exactly what she’s saying. And it’s not funny. 

48 + 1 = ???

Even a high school dropout like Levi Johnston, Bristol Palin’s baby daddy could probably figure this one out: 

49

Okay, Levi, how many states are there?  That’s right…

50

And what could possibly be meant by fifty?  Ah ha!  Hawai’i!  So when an Alaskan says “The Lower Forty-eight” not only are they putting the rest of us down, they’re denying the existence of poor little Hawai’i! How about that for dismissive? 

So, my friends, you let Sarah Cruella know that we’re mad as hell and we’re not taking it from her anymore.  From now on, demand that she correct herself.  The new politically correct way of saying it is “The Warmer Forty-nine” Missy. 

Don’t you forget it!

PS – this is meant to be facetious… I’m sure Alaskans don’t REALLY think they’re better than the rest of us.  (Or do they? Come to think of it, I don’t know any Alaskans – my loss, I’m sure!)

The United States of America has enjoyed the greatest luck of any nation since the Roman Empire.  We’ve earned our precious liberties through the blood, sweat and tears of previous generations but we’ve also been fortunate to have the best leaders come forward when we needed them.

In 2000, our luck ran out.

LUCKY PAST

In an undergraduate political science course, I argued that our success wasn’t due to mere luck.  When a classmate took the opposite position, I asserted that dangerous circumstances had roused an innate excellence in the men who happened to be our leaders at the time of the crisis.  I meant that had it not been for our new nation’s post-Revolutionary War floundering, the Civil War or the Great Depression and World War II, Washington, Lincoln and FDR would be as forgettable as President Rutherford B. Hayes. Because the three giants happened to preside over the most precarious moments in our history, they rose to the occasion and saved us from our enemies…and from ourselves.

I was wrong. (In my defense, so was the professor.) 

America was lucky.

9/11 ranks with Fort Sumter and Pearl Harbor as a history-altering tragedy.  9/11’s aftermath called for a leader who possessed a lifetime’s understanding of world affairs, deliberated the merits of all possible responses and fostered open discussion among his lieutenants, welcoming dissent.  Instead, we had George W. Bush.  Rather than rise to meet an incredible challenge, Bush sank to the bottom.  (Amazingly, Bush simultaneously disproved my college argument while proving its inverse.)  Barring events, GWB, like Hayes, would have been remembered as a mediocre president. but 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the financial meltdown happened on his watch. This trio of tragedy showed the world what this man is: an incompetent, incurious and deficient leader incapable of proper reason-based responses to any situation.  For someone who calls himself “The Decider,” his decisions have been uniformly bad.

Two of the worst presidents in history are Franklin Pierce (right) and Warren G. Harding, Pierce because of his apathy and absenteeism and Harding because of his corruption.  Richard Nixon’s record is mixed, but his moral depravity is unmatched, at least before 2001.  George W. Bush combines the worst of Pierce, Harding and Nixon.  While he was president, New Orleans disappeared under water, drowning over a thousand souls. He took the nation to war under false pretenses and illegally detained people who turned out to be simple farmers and laborers, not enemy combatants as he told us.  His vice president outed a covert CIA agent out of spite and his attorney general fired US attorneys for political reasons.

The United States of America did the unthinkable. 

We tortured.   

JINXED ELECTION

It’s pointless to ask ourselves what might have happened if the surreal 2000 election had turned out differently…but I can’t resist. 

Florida :

• A confusing butterfly ballot in Palm Beach county caused elderly voters to vote for “Buchanan” instead of “Gore.”
• Candidate Bush’s brother, Jeb, was governor of the state where the problems occurred.
• Inexplicably, Candidate Gore was slow to respond to the Florida debacle.
• The Supreme Court decided to go against its federalist bent and intervened in a state matter.
• One of the 5 Supreme Court justices who put Bush in the White House had been appointed by Bush’s father.  
• A quixotic third-party Candidate Nader diverted enough votes from Gore to throw the election to Bush. 
• A delusional Florida secretary of state arbitrarily stopped counting votes, imagining herself in the position of the Biblical Queen Esther, saving her people from destruction. 

This combination of random simultaneous occurrences was a one-in-a-million chance, sufficiently random to prove the existence of some form of metaphysical intervening force. 

It also proves that God must really hate Al Gore. 

But had Gore become president, would 9/11 have happened?  Or would a Gore administration have continued Clinton’s anti-terrorism project, possibly exposing the hijackers and thwarting their plans.  Regardless, Gore would’ve read the August 2001 briefing that stated, “Bin Laden determined to strike in US.”  But hypothesizing what could’ve been leads to a black hole of despair. 

As some Christianist republicans declared, obviously God wanted George W. Bush to be president. I agree, but not for the reasons they proclaimed. The goddess, our divine mother, wanted to teach us a lesson, to humble us as she did Old Testament Israel.  True, we haven’t been carted off into captivity in Babylon …or have we? Come to think of it, with 130,000 troops toiling away under gunfire in Mesopotamian sandstorms, maybe we are being held in bondage after all. What’s next? Persia ? Assyria ? The Hittites? Eerie.

The list of Bush’s malfeasance and crimes is long and the years ahead will reveal even more egregious scandals and cover-ups. I hope that before I die I’ll see the USA return to its position as a beacon on the hill, an example of morality and a land that gives hope to the hopeless.

Actually, all of that could happen sooner than anyone could have expected.  Dare we hope?

Rush Limbaugh republicans mock Barack Obama as “The One.” Hyperbole aside, FDR and Lincoln were mocked just as mercilessly by their critics, or even moreso. Lincoln ’s enemies hated him so much they started a war immediately after his inauguration and assassinated him afterward.  Yet, with lesser people in leadership positions America would have ceased to be a great nation and our experiment in democracy would have failed.

When John McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his VP running mate, conservative bloggers dared democrats to say she isn’t qualified. In their minds, how could we claim that Palin, a potential VP, is inexperienced when our guy at the top of the ticket is also inexperienced? As Ms. Bette Davis said:

You have a point.  An idiotic one, but a point. 

Looking at Obama and Palin’s records as individuals, there’s no comparison.  What Obama might lack in political experience, he makes up for in judgment, temperament, world knowledge, life experience and people skills. He deliberates, avoiding reckless impulsivity, standing in stark contrast to John McCain. He was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Law Review, marking him as one of the smartest individuals in the country.

Sarah Palin went to substandard colleges, graduating from the University of Idaho with a degree in sports journalism. Obama forsook a lucrative career at a law firm to work as a community organizer helping keep kids off the streets, snidely derided by Palin.

Obama’s not running against Palin.  He’s running against a self-referential “Maverick.” Rather than transcribe McCain’s real life story here, read “Make-believe Maverick” by Tim Dickinson in Rolling Stone. It’s brutal, but well-sourced.  For those of us who once voted for McCain (in the California primary against Bush in 2000), it’s sad to realize how misinformed we were about McCain’s past.   Andrew Sullivan nails it by pointing out this quote by another former POW who’s known McCain for years:

McCain says his life changed while he was in Vietnam , and he is now a different man. But he’s still the undisciplined, spoiled brat that he was when he went in.

ACTION, NOT LUCK

This time we can’t rely on luck. We have to act. We have to put Barack Obama in the White House next January. Maybe Barack Obama is the one to lead us out of this wilderness, maybe he isn’t and we’re just doomed to suffer our fate.

For the sake of our future and generations to follow, let’s hope he is indeed “The One.” 

According to a popular email forwarded around the right-wing world:

“The Anti-Christ (sic) will be a man in his 40s who is of Muslim descent and has a massive Christ-like appeal, but will destroy everything when he is in power.  Do we recognize this description?  Post this message as many times as you can, including to media outlets.  I refuse to take a chance on this unknown candidate who came out of nowhere.”

Actually, no, I don’t recognize this description.  I was taught that the Antichrist would be a European Jew.  Besides, the Bible was completed hundreds of years before Islam and Muslims existed. 

The email is obviously intended to convey that Barack Obama is the Antichrist.  But I know the Antichrist, the Antichrist is a friend of mine, and Barack Obama is no Antichrist. 

I grew up on the campus of the notorious “fortress of fundamentalism,” Bob Jones University, in Greenville, South Carolina.  Google it, and you’ll learn that I have a valid basis for my insanity.  Like all fundamentalists I was obsessed with the Antichrist, the evil dictator who would suddenly appear and bring about the end of the world.  

Of course, I and all other born-again Christians would be raptured (ie, taken to heaven) before the Antichrist’s reign, so why should we care?  Come to think of it, what isthe fundamentalists’ obsession with the Antichrist’s identity?  They’re the only ones on earth who aren’t going to be here to endure his tyranny.   Why should they give a rat’s ass about the Antichrist? Because it’s EXCITING, that’s why!  And it allows them to feel superior to all the sinners. 

In 1980, for my thirteenth Christmas, I asked for and received a popular book in fundamentalist circles.  Countdown to Armageddon, by the “prophet” Hal Lindsey, decreed that Jesus Christ would return and rapture us born-agains to heaven by 1988.  Lindsey also predicted the ten-member European ”Common Market” represented in the Bible by the ten-horned beast, would be a revival of the Roman Empire, a prerequisite for Christ’s return.   

Twenty years later and amazingly there has been no rapture.  The Common Market, now known as the European Union, has twenty-seven nations as members, not ten.  There’s no 27-horned beast mentioned in the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible (a book that almost didn’t make the cut into the “canon of Scripture”).   27 horns is a lot to carry around, even for a nasty beast.  I assumed Mr. Lindsey would’ve faded into oblivion, having made a fool of himself with his failed predictions.  However, when I googled him, imagine my surprise to learn I discovered he’s got a website.  Go figure.  The tab for online giving must mean a sufficient quantity of dupes give money to this charlatan to keep him prognosticating his fictional tales of mindless superstition.  Not surprisingly, a search of his site for Countdown to Armageddon yields no results. 

It’s understandable that a 13-year old boy brainwashed in fundamentalist dogma would be enthralled with a fantasy like the apocalypse just  as he would any other wild sci-fi tale.  But as the Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13:11:  

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Part of growing into adulthood is realizing that we don’t and can’t know what happens next, yet we go about our lives anyway. Unfortunately some adults retain a childlike fixation on the future, the great unknown.  Their minds, fearful of uncertainty, demand an explanation for what’s going to happen next.  The Hal Lindseys of the world prey on those fears by offering convenient answers. 

Another predator is Tim LaHaye, author of the Left Behind series of books.  Although written as fiction, no doubt LaHaye expects his readers to believe that his novels are based on the “factual” account of the future contained in Revelation.  This poorly-written and illogical series has sold tens of millions of books. 

The fundamentalists’ preoccupation with a literal account of the end-of-days and the rise of the Antichrist is fascinating, especially when you consider that the Antichrist is mentioned only five times in four verses throughout the entire Bible.  All four references are in the relatively obscure New Testament books of First and Second John.  Of the five references, only one refers to the Antichrist.  Ironically, despite what many self-proclaimed Bible-believers claim, the word “Antichrist” never appears in the book of Revelation. *

Most importantly, Jesus Christ never spoke about an Antichrist.  In several cases, Jesus warned against “False Prophets” and many preachers I heard stated one of these was the Antichrist.  Bullshit.  Who are the”false prophets” Jesus spoke about?  Hal Lindsey, for one.  And no one has made more false predictions than Pat Robertson.  More broadly, any minister who tells people they will go to hell when they die is a false prophet. 

Although Revelation doesn’t mention the Antichrist, it refers to “the beast” in many places.  Some believe that “the beast” and “the Antichrist” are the same, forming an “unholy trinity” with Satan.   Considering Revelation 13’s description of “the beast,” though, the beast and the Antichrist are two distinct beings.  Read this description of “the beast” and decide for yourself if it sounds like Barack Obama:

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

I’ve heard many fundamentalist ministers claim that this characterization must be read symbolically, a strange assertion coming from men who also taught me that the passages declaring homosexuals must be stoned to deathshould be read literally. Regardless, maybe I need glasses but Obama doesn’t look like a leopard.  A lion maybe, perhaps King Mufasa from the musical version of the Lion King, but definitely not a leopard.

Although Antichrist is mentioned only five times, funnily enough, the phrase “Love thy [your] neighbor” appears at least twelve times.  Jesus said that to “love your neighbor as yourself” is the second greatest commandment, exceeded only by loving God.  Where is the fundamentalists’ obsession with that commandment?

On Semptember 29, Dutchess County, New York Republican Committee Chairwoman Corinne Weber (thankfully) was forced to resign after she forwarded the “Obama as Antichrist” to party members, some of whom were offended by its content.  If Ms. Weber knew the Bible, she’d know it never gives an age for “the Antichrist” nor does it say the Antichrist is a Muslim. 

This is what is most sinister:  These people who call themselves Bible believing Christians have never read the Bible, have never studied its history or the history of Christianity and don’t know what it says.  Yet, they’ll do something as serious as slander a Presidential candidate by calling him the Antichrist.  And they vote.  They should at least get the god-damned facts straight. Google it, for Christ’s sake, Ms. Weber.  Better yet, brush the dust off your Bible and read it.  If you don’t, then YOU are the false prophet.

*Biblical references are to the King James Version, the only truly inspired translation.  Apparently God likes Elizabethan English.

What do these events have in common:

- President Johnson ceased bombing runs into North Vietnam

- Henry Kissenger declared “Peace is at hand” in Vietnam.  (And he’s STILL in the news!)

- Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger was implicated by Special Counsel Lawrence Walsh in the Iran-Contra scandal

Oliver North - Iran-Contra - mug shot

- A news station in Maine revealed George W. Bush had been arrested for drunk driving in 1976

-Al Jazeera released a tape of Osama Bin Laden declaring “Your security is in your own hands.”

Answer:  They all happened in October, in 1968, 1972, 1992, 2000 and 2004.  What do those years have in common?  They’re all presidential election years.

- President Johnson halted bombing of North Vietnam to help Humphrey against Nixon in 1968 (unsuccessfully);

- Kissenger’s announcement increased Nixon’s 1972 landslide against McGovern (successful);

 - Walsh contributed to George H. W.’s defeat in 1992;

- News of George W. Bush’s arrest cost him 4,000,000 evangelical votes in 2000, and;

- Osama Bin Laden damaged John Kerry’s chances in the 2004 election.

Ironically the most famous “October Surprise” event occurred in 1980.  I turned 13 in Septmber and recall the events that year – the ongoing Iranian hostage crisis and the election of Ronald Reagan – as two of the four most transformative political events of my life.  The other two were Watergate / resignation of Nixon and the fall of Saigan / aftermath of our defeat in Vietnam.  I also remember my dad bitterly complaining when gas reached 63 cents per gallon so I suppose the gas lines would be fifth on the list.  In the case of the hostages, the entire country rallied to the cause, tying yellow ribbons around trees everywhere showing support for their families and demanding their release.  Only the Gulf War and 9/11 would unite the country the same way. 

The story goes that the Reagan campaign feared that President Jimmy Carter was waiting until October to release the American hostages who had been in captivity in Iran for almost a year.   The hostage’s release would almost certainly ensure Carter’s reelection in November. 

But the hostages weren’t released in October and in a bitter slap at President Carter, Iran waited until the minute Reagan was sworn in as President to free the 52 Americans.  The timing of the release fed Democrats’ suspicions that the Reagan campaign had secretly negotiated with the Iranian regime to delay the release until after the election.  Twelve years later a Senate subcommitte found that a conspiracy of this sort was not likely.    Columbia Professor Gary Sick details this theory in his book, October Surprise.

What if they’ve already captured Bin Laden and they’re just waiting until the opportune moment to disclose this information.  Perhaps a successful bailout?  Probably wouldn’t work.  Obviously the best event for McCain would be another terrorist attack in the next five weeks, something unthinkable.  Do you think they’re capable of this?