Will The Ignorant Red State Governors Pay A Price for Their Lies & Incompetence?

Will the voters of DeSantis, Abbott, Kemp, et al hold them accountable for the deaths of their constituents?

In their rush to follow their “Dear Leader’s” request to reopen their states in order to try and save his election, it is abundantly clear that the science-denying Red State Governors Coalition unleashed the deadly virus in an even more devastating manner, greatly spiking both the rates of cases as well as deaths in their states. And all just to try and get their economies going in order to turn around Pseudo-President Trump’s disastrous campaign. Again; lives lost, deaths of men, women, and children, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters, all to prop up the campaign of the most incompetent and narcissistic – and dangerous – Pseudo-President Russia ever elected. Never mind the fact that Trump’s campaign is in the very state in which it finds itself solely as a result of his own, inept and incompetent management of the worst pandemic the U.S. has seen since the Spanish Flu of 1918, culminating in the deaths of upwards of 150,000 Americans.

The question is: will the voters of these mean-spirited and heartless sycophant remember to repay their incompetence at the polls? Anyone?

Is Donald Trump Really A Traitor?

*Is Donald J. Trump a Benedict Arnold?* Many question his obsequiousness to Vladimir Putin.

It’s been called treasonous by a U.S. Congressman and veteran of Iraq. A former Navy Seal and now a emergency room doctor lables Trump either a coward or Putin’s puppet in an ad by the Lincoln Project, a political action committee started by prominent Republicans including George Conway, the husband of Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway. Former Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul calls Trump’s anemic response to any of Putin’s emboldened moves against US interests “a sign of worsening things to come.” Former National Security Advisor for President Barack Obama Susan Rice is equally suspicious of and puzzled by Trump’s obsequious behavior towards Vladimir Putin. I’m sure the rest of the world is puzzled as well, especially our Nato allies. Puzzled and concerned.

The question puzzling all these people & entities is: why is it that the Pseudo-President, Donald J. Drumpf (I like to use his real name before his grandfather changed it; it seems so much more fitting somehow) always seems to defer to Vladimir Putin and Russian interests? Drumpf contradicted U.S. intelligence reports of Russian interference in the 2016 election in front of the world in Helsinki when he declared that Putin told him Russia did not interfere in the 2016 U.S. election and so, there it is, no interference. Everyone in the entire world already knew that the Russians did, in fact, interfere in the election and to Drumph’s advantage. In fact, I would go so far as to surmise that the blitzkrieg-style hacking campaign conducted by the GRU out of St. Petersburg was a total and complete success for Putin; he actually succeeded in getting Drumpf elected. Granted, this is speculation however I have no doubts that repeatedly putting 15,000 or so false or misleading messages in front of 150,000,000 Americans on FaceBook more than likely did actually have an effect on people’s voting. Keep in mind that Drumpf won the election on the smallest of margins with Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan going to Drumpf with a total of about 106,000 votes between the three states giving him all 46 Electoral College votes and putting him over the top. In fact, he actually won Michigan with a margin of just around 11,000 votes or 3/10 of one percent! And Drumpf actually lost the popular vote by margin of approximately 2,000,000 votes, not exactly a mandate from the people. Is it really so outlandish to conceive that the Russians could have changed or influenced the votes of just 106,000 people across three states out of a vote tally of 123,724,157 total votes? We’re talking an infinitesimal difference approaching one-millionth of one percentage point in a country where approximately 28% of the people – over a quarter of the population – believe the Bible as literal truth? I think not. In my opinion, Drumpf is in office entirely through the efforts of both Russia and FaceBook. We would do well to remember this as we approach the next election.

Now we learn that the Pseudo-President was told perhaps as long as a year ago that Russia was paying a bounty to Taliban forces to kill American and American Allied soldiers! Or perhaps, and I’m not sure which is worse, he doesn’t bother to read his Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) so he wouldn’t have known about it! Even worse, his advisors seem completely unwilling or unable to bring it up to him or make sure he is aware of this most egregious violation of international law. What do you call a president that doesn’t even bother to read the PDB, the single most important daily document in the country while he sits in the residence watching cable news and Tweeting to his followers? For me incompetent comes to mind fairly quickly, and dereliction of duty, sure, that passed through the grey matter as well. But why, many are asking, would the so-called President of the United States of America, the most powerful country ever to grace the Earth, fold like a cheap suit to a country that President Barack Obama labled a “regional power” and one that has the total gross domestic product of Texas? When asked these questions the administration chooses to kill the messenger and has started a vitriolic campaign against both the New York Times for reporting it and the unidentified leakers that gave the information to the Times. And what, you ask, was the Pseudo-President’s response? Do you really need to ask? Fake news. A hoax. All started by the “disgraced” NewYork Times, as Drumpf commonly characterizes the paper of record for the last 150 years. My reaction? Anytime Drumpf characterizes anything as a hoax or fake news I immediately know it’s probably true and this time is no exception. My “Spidey-senses” are off the charts on this one; I just know it’s true somehow just like I know in my heart that the Mueller Report didn’t exonerate him and found complicity between his campaign and Russia and that, somewhere, out in the ether, there’s a pee-pee tape. But it gets worse, much worse.

During this same period of time, while either in full understanding that Russia was putting a bounty on the heads of American soldiers or in ignorance of it because he was derelict in his duties and didn’t bother to read the PDB – and his advisors were too incompetent or too afraid to point it out – Drumpf has repeatedly tried to get Russia back into the Group of 7 over the objections of the other members. Putin is desperately trying to get Russia back onto the world stage after losing miserably in Afghanistan and after the complete decaying of the Soviet Union, and Drumpf seems to be doing everything he can to assist him. Furthermore, he has pulled U.S. troops out of Syria against the advice of “his generals” as he refers to them, leaving a void that was, of course, filled by Russia. He has also recently announced his intention to draw down U.S. Troop levels in Germany as well, again much to the chagrin of his military advisors, Germany, much of Eastern Europe, and Nato. And who is simply delighted at this prospect? Survey says: Vladimir Putin!

We have never had a president that defers to Russia the way Drumpf does, never. And the most enigmatic question is: why? As as a former KGB agent, Putin is well aware of and certainly an absolute expert in the use compromat, the use of compromising information against an adversary. Knowing Drumpf’s less-than-stellar career in business (he bankrupted casino(s), for goodness sakes. I’ve coached Cub Scouts that can run a casino profitably), his credit record with the major banks (not too pretty good. Not a single U.S. bank will lend him money), and his record of womanizing and divorce is it really beyond the pale to conceive that Putin has information about him that Drumpf would definitely want to keep from the public that he has so completely and totally bamboozled? If he is the business Svengali that he professes to be why does he so desperately want to keep his financial records from the public? Why is he so averse to releasing his education records to the public? He says he went to Wharton but refuses to allow any disclosure of his records there. Even though he knows “all the good words” and has “a really good brain?” Doesn’t add up. Doesn’t seem to make sense.

One thing I can tell you this: if the Dumocrats think they’re going to bury this after Drumpf is out of office, they’d better think again. One of my greatest complaints about Obama is that he dropped any further investigations about the start of the Iraq war even though anyone with a brain knows that Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, et al., lied us into the war and it should have been investigated and, more than likely, prosecuted. Unfortunately, Obama had his “let’s look forward to the future and not backward” hands-off approach and so no investigation and there are a lot of progressives that were – and still are – incensed about it. Their frustration was made even worse – maddeningly so – by the way the Dems blew the entire impeachment hearings and the Mueller Report. There is a huge resurgence of progressiveness in the country right now and they are not in the mood for letting a potential political criminal walk, and I am at the top of that list. If the Dumos think we’re going to just move on, they are gravely mistaken. Drumpf must be investigated just as any other American would expect to be. If he is the first president to be incriminated and convicted, then let the chis fall where they may.

Use Your Power As A Consumer To Change Gun Laws

It’s all the power we have left to affect change

With “Moscow Mitch” at the helm in the United States Senate there is very little chance of any meaningful gun legislation getting passed of their own accord. Our representatives are going to need some motivation from “we the people” if anything is going to be done about the absurd level of gun violence in this country. For all his constant mumbling about “the American people” and making sure “our” voices are heard, as in the case of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland whom, you’ll remember, Moscow Mitch refused to take up a confirmation vote on until the “American people” had a chance to chime in – right after the election Comrade Trump. This, of course, resulted in the confirmation of ultra-conservative Neil Gorsuch to the court instead. Well I guess the people have spoken. Thanks, “Moscow”…..

However, “Moscow” hasn’t been waiting to hear from the American people regarding the issue of gun control or, if he has, he hasn’t been listening very well since we’ve been screaming it from the rafters for years. America wants gun control; America wants the gun laws tightened up; America wants meaningful, effective, background checks and gun licensing; America wants military-style assault weapons taken off the market, permanently. Seems like, suddenly Moscow Mitch is as deaf as a fence post. Go figure. An overwhelming majority of Americans – and by that I mean 89 – 91 % of Americans – are in agreement on this issue. Ninety-one percent of Americans couldn’t agree on the colors of the flag let alone meaningful gun reform but there it is. And still nothing from Moscow Mitch and the U.S Senate (queue the crickets, please.) So, help me refresh my memory; I’m having some difficulty: what do you call it when a majority of the people are demanding something and the government refuses to act? Oh, well. I’m sure it’ll come to me.

In my complete and utter frustration over the gall of one person (I wouldn’t describe him as a “man”) holding up the possibility of any progress being made on this heart wrenching issue and not a single member of his party raising their voice in any meaningful way, I thought it necessary to take another tack. We’re going to need to hit the GOP where it hurts and, in political circles, that means the pocketbook. And where does the money come from in their pocket books? From their wealthy donors and corporate masters, that’s where. (You’ll have to forgive the dangling adverbs, etc. Writing in the colloquial requires scrapping such grammatical rules.)

Recently Walmart decided to stop selling certain firearms and ammunition in their stores which reach into every nook and cranny of America. In an open letter to their employees, CEO Doug McMillon announced that the nation’s largest retailer would stop selling ammunition used for handguns and military-style weapons, and end the sale of handguns in their stores completely. They would also take the seemingly bizarre step of discouraging their customers from carrying weapons in their stores, even in the “open carry” states. (Yes, dear readers, there really are places where you can carry your Glock down the frozen foods aisle. I guess you just never know when a slightly-grazed antelope is going to spring out of the meat department!)

Now, there can only be one real reason for this abrupt but well-overdue announcement: business. The management – or possibly (most likely?) the shareholders – of Walmart have made a calculated decision: that it is in the best interests of the company to make this bold reversal of policy. After all, McMillon’s raison d’être is improving the financial prospects of the shareholders of the company. That means that this change in policy was seen as such a move and the executive management – including Walmart’s board of directors – agreed. The management of Walmart is betting that this new policy would be offset by any additional goodwill they would realize from their massive customer base. If this is truly the case, then what other companies are out there that might be convinced of this as well? Or more importantly, how many other companies are there that might put the necessary added pressure upon the “Moscow Mitch’s” of the United States Senate to act in kind before they, too, are targeted by their customer base to make a move like Walmart’s? It would seem better (to me at least) to make such changes in policy before the company would be “forced” to against their will.

Remembering 1918

I had a little birdie, his name was Enza; I opened up my bedroom window, and in flew Enza

Children’s play song from the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic

One of the great mysteries of history is why we continue to wipe it from our memories, both individual and collective. In no instance is this more apparent than during the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic which killed more Americans than all the wars of the 20th century combined and upwards of 100 million people world wide. And, almost as quickly as it sprang itself onto the world’s population, the world – and America in particular – seems to have forgotten all about it. I don’t recall much if any publicity during 2018, the 100th anniversary of the event though I was diligent in keeping an eye out for it. It never came. I wondered, why?

Consider the implications of a military transport ship bringing troops to the European theater in 1918. If even one man is carrying the influenza virus, then upwards of 30-40% will have it by the time they arrive in France.

The actual or exact source of the virus is not really known to researchers or epidemiologists, although it is widely thought to have had its synthesis among Kansas military personnel. On the morning of March 11th, after an initial soldier reported to sick bay with a temperature, aches, and respiratory symptoms, within minutes another reported to sick bay with the same symptoms. By that same evening there were over 100 patients in the ward and within one week the entire ward was filled with over 500 patients all having the same symptoms. Sending soldiers over to Europe – on a military transport barge no less, literally packed with soldiers (see photo above) – only served to accelerate the rate of infection further and spread it out geographically. It is estimated that some 650-675,000 Americas alone died during the pandemic and to make matters worse, this strain of flu was killing young men in the prime of their lives, aged 21 – 29. Unlike many other strains of influenza, this one was killing the most fit and seemingly strongest among us.

The pandemic made a its deadly run from March of 1918 to December of that same year and it was around that time that it began to run its course. After a dip in diagnoses in late spring, early summer, it came back with a terrible vengeance in September and October; especially October. While people all over the country began to mill about again, Philadelphia a standout at this time, they weren’t prepared for what was about to hit them.

The virus had mutated over the summer and became much more successful at penetrating the respiratory membranes; the trachea, lungs, and alveoli, and turning them into blue masses of mush, as one doctor described it. Their bodies were so oxygen deficient their lungs literally scrub the entire body for O2. Their skin turned blue, cyanotic actually, as the system tries to extrude some oxygen, any oxygen, from the facial skin while their lungs are incapacitated, completely incapable of respiring, literally drowning in their own body fluids. And, even more frightening, it might all happen in just one day, 12 hours or even less in some cases. Before a doctor even began to think about what was ailing his patient, they would be dead. It had become a much more competent killer.

The virus began its resurgence in September, the first wave of the newly mutated Spanish Influenza, when 12,000 Americans died that month alone. But it would get even more deadly the following month, October. October would prove to be more deadly than any singular month with 195-200,000 Americans dying in that month alone. The country would literally run out of caskets; funeral homes had to hire armed guards to provide security for their casket inventory. Pine boxes were provided to households with sick relatives in their homes. They were to put the boxes out on their porches after the person finally gave up the ghost and, reminiscent of the “bring out yer dead” episodes of the Black Death of the 1340’s and 50’s, a flatbed truck would come and pick them up each day. Young boys would call on their friends to find out they “weren’t home” and they should go home and ask their parents where Johnny or Frankie were.

So with all this tragedy and calamity happening all over the country and the world, why are we as a society so quick to drive it from our memories? Listening to the news and hearing the actions being taken by mayors, governors, businesses, etc. and listening to the reports of new cases and new deaths caused by this new Covid-19 virus is very reminiscent of the 1918 Pandemic. One would think that we would know at least some of the steps society should be taking in order to stave off the worst of the epidemic. Moreover, one might think that we should have been much better prepared for such an event; adequate emergency medical supplies, medicines, equipment, doctors, nurses, etc. Instead we seem to much less prepared for even a “routine” epidemic of seasonal influenza. It is said that Trump disbanded the Infectious Disease & Global Health personnel from his National Security Team, writing it off as unnecessary. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told House lawmakers, “It would be nice if the office was still there.” In fact, Trump was not even aware that the flu kills people in the US at all; he commented on this during his visit to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA last week. “Who would believe it? Trump was quoted as saying. Still even more puzzling was the fact that his own paternal grandfather died from the influenza in Nov 1918 and Trump seemed completely unaware of it. This is not a suitable characteristic of a successful society.

With scientists, biologists, epidemiologists, and many other professions focused on a “not if, but when” scenario in search of a cure for viral infections for decades now we should be able to expect our leaders to be much better prepared for an outbreak. The recent scrambling and hand-wringing in Washington was a tragic example of the limited vision and reactive nature of our government and their inability to foresee and prepare for such a national and global crisis. In fact, they knew months ago that there was a great possibility of a new strain of virus coming from China and they completely failed to act, at least in the interest of the nation. Some US senators such as Sen Richard Burr did find the time to sell off their stocks and investment instruments that might be negatively affected by such a crises. However, there were no systems in place to bring to bear against a new healthcare crises; no military-style deployment of emergency health services, equipment or medicine anywhere in the country. This can only be seen as a complete failure of leadership, from the top down.

If we couldn’t remember to learn from similar pandemics of the past, we should at least try and learn something from this one. America needs new leaders with new ideas about her needs and logical, rational plans to meet those needs. No where is that more evident than this new Covid-19 crisis.

Let’s Now Add Iowa To The Flat Earth Society Membership

So, now that Iowa is experiencing some of the calamity that climate change brings – whether or not they chose to “believe” in it – and Iowans are getting “trumped” by the downturn in demand for their crops as a result of Comrade Chubsky’s trade wars with China, it seems like they may be realizing they may have made a mistake. My position, as I made clear in one of my prior posts is the same: tough. Now you can suck it up on your own. I am against providing even one dollar to support people that decide to remain ignorant and continue to vote people into office that don’t “believe” in climate change as if it’s some kind of faith-based issue. With the evidence literally falling all around them, they’ll, instead and at the behest of the petrochemical, oil, natural gas, and coal industries, “choose” to ignore mountains of scientific data and follow their “gut” though it’s leading them straight over the cliff. Prices are sinking and are projected to continue to do so on a wide range of Iowan crops including soy beans (China was their largest customer) corn, and other crops while experiencing price increases in many of the their costs. Even worse, many continue to be supporters of the Orange Walrus currently dining nightly in the presidential bedroom. How they fell for the Comrade’s rhetoric about how “easy” and “fast” it would be to “win” a trade war (it’s all right there in his many tweets) and voted for him anyway defies logic. And now my message to them is simply this: You made this bed, now you sleep in it.

You decided to vote for a man you knew nothing about; a man that had – and has – an incredibly well-documented history of fraudulent behavior, driving businesses into the ground (even a casino! Churches can run casinos and make money, somehow the Comrade was unable to generate a profit,) running a phony university, running a phony charity recently shut down by the State of New York, screwing his contractors, his vendors, his wives, and everyone else he’s ever done business with, and you’re just now realizing you may have made a mistake? I guess the proverbial safe didn’t have to fall on your heads!

I realize that you may be suffering, I do. And I am a huge advocate for our farmers, they have been getting the short end of the stick for many, many years but I will not tolerate willful ignorance, especially when it affects the rest of us as. I am so sick and tired of people that seem to feel like they’re doing something patriotic by voting for a party that does nothing for them ever….yes, ever. When was the last time the Repugnant-cans did anything for working class, middle class, or lower-income Americans? Gun laws and trickle-down economics have done nothing for the average American and yet that is all that is offered and still they vote them in. Now you’re paying for it and, guess what? You’ll probably still vote for the Comrade in 2020! And that is just fine with me but don’t expect me to feel bad for you or volunteer to spend my tax dollars bailing you out; that is out of the question. You are clearly not part off the solution but part of the problem, so have at it.

Solve your own problems with your own money.

Why Should We Give A Hoot About Arkansas Oklahoma Flooding?

For days now we’ve been hearing all the heartstring-pulling stories about the flooding in Arkansas and Oklahoma, 2 states that continuously vote for garnet-red state legislatures and governors. Both governors are, even as they cry about record flooding, climate deniers and have some of the worst environmental records in the country. So I ask you dear reader, neither pejoratively or rhetorically, why should we care? Furthermore, do you really want your tax dollars going to help out a state that not only denies the existence of climate change, but continues to disregard the hazards of their polluting ways and in a very real way, continues to contribute to the problem of climate change?

Oklahoma had quite possibly the most fanatical climate denier in the country in Scott Pruitt, known for his dozens of lawsuits filed against the EPA at the behest of his corporate donors. On the other hand, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is presently extolling the virtues of Comrade Donald Trump’s environmental deregulations while simultaneously agonizing over his state’s flooding, currently running at maximum levels and expected to get worse very soon.

So for days I’ve been listening to interviews on NPR, blocks on CNN and MSNBC, and I am starting to feel a strong sense of resentment. Furthermore I can not help but place the blame squarely where it belongs: on the voters in these red states. Voters that choose to listen to and vote for these know-nothings (or more accurately, liars, since they probably do understand the science behind climate change but instead declare “not to believe” it.) Voters that deliberately choose not to educate themselves at all, not a book or newspaper article or, goodness forbid, an actual science paper! This is willful ignorance, nothing less. And, now that they’re feeling the “burn” of their ways so to speak, the rest of the nation will have to bail them out and I can’t help asking myself why? Why is this our problem? I understand that we can not work around climate deniers and expect to make an impact; it has to be an all-or-nothing effort but I refuse to help anyone that will not acknowledge that they are part of the problem anymore. I have decided that I no longer want my tax dollars being used to bail out a state that will not acknowledge reality and take action to interdict the problem.

Comrade Trump stated recently of his own government’s report on the dangers of ignoring climate change, “I don’t believe it.” Our “very stable genius” rejected it summarily, out-of-hand, without any word of an opposing opinion or anything else. He just doesn’t believe it. This as if climate change cares whether or not the Comrade believes it or not. It just keeps rolling along, record-breaking floods, over 400 tornadoes this month alone, and much, much more to come. All while the voters of Arkansas and Oklahoma decide they too don’t believe in climate change. Well here’s my new response: you made your bed, you voted for people over and over again that continue to ignore the problem, now you sleep in it.

You know what else? I don’t believe there are floods in these states. I think they’re making it up to try and grab some federal disaster flood money. That’s what this is all about; they’re looking to try and abscond with some federal disaster funds. That’s my new conclusion. I just don’t believe it, period.

Now you can solve your own problems Arkansas & Oklahoma, with your own tax dollars and then come back to us and tell us your thoughts on climate change. Or better yet (but highly unlikely, I grant you) pick up a book somewhere and educate yourself on the topic. Make up your own mind instead of having it made up for you by some corrupt politician making money on their opinions. Yeah, probably not.

The Specious Persecution of Modern Christians

Driving home last night I listened to what I assume was a rebroadcast of WMUR’s show On Point about the supposed present-day persecution of “Christians” or what are really White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. I don’t think I’ve ever heard such dribble in all my life. Unfortunately, I could not call in as I was literally salivating to respond to the nonsense I was hearing from the Christian pastor asserting this inane claim.

Anyone following my blog, RaPaR knows, I been researching the the origins of Judaism & Christianity for many years. I was born Roman Catholic into an Italian-American family in Brooklyn, NY in 1955. I am now an Atheist since delving into the Bible to find alternative answers to Catholic doctrine that I believed to be man made. This lead me to some very unexpected skeins of inquiry, not the least of which is the history of Christianity. And, unsurprisingly, you will find that no one group of people in history have done more persecuting than Christians. Even a cursory review of history bears this out.
While the pastor (forgive, I can not remember his name) was crying about why people are so intolerable of Christians today, let me make just two relevant points:

1) Christians have been persecuting people in America well before it was even a nation. They came to America, slaughtered most the inhabitants, enslaved others, and then encumbered them with Christianity as if this would help them in some way. The persecution of Africans (and African-Americans, as they were forced to become) was almost exclusively perpetrated by White Anglo Saxon Protestants or White Evangelicals. The result was to lull them into the false hope that there was some “Jesus” that would come from the sky and save them. So far it hasn’t happened and they’re still awaiting some kind of social justice to this day and continue to be discriminated against and persecuted by, white Christian society. A society that could lynch a black child on Saturday, sing hymns in the pews of their churches on Sunday.

2) The so-called Christian values and morality that the Pastor asserted can be found in the pages of the New Testament, in today’s society, is a non-starter. For instance, the Bible – Christian & Hebrew, collectively and individually – doesn’t say anything about abortion yet they hold their narrow-minded belief as something to which all of society must adhere. Therefore their belief is going to be crammed down the throats of others against their will. Why? Why can’t the supposed children of god keep their own moralities to themselves? Why must they insist upon changing the laws of our society-at-large even against the wills of a majority of Americans that believe that this should be a woman’s or a couple’s personal choice? Remarkably they would claim that a twelve year old girl, raped by her father, should be forced to bear a child even against her will because this is a creation of their god. I can’t think of anything as cruel as this and yet they would have it encoded into our law whether society agrees or not. This kind of Christian hegemony has gone on since time immemorial and is just one example.
Remember that the Ku Klux Klan was entirely populated by Christians, from Nathan Bedford Forest to David Duke, from beginning to end. They persecuted most “others” – although primarily African Americans but others as well; Jews, Catholics, Italians, etc. not to mention homosexuals – even into the 20th and 21st centuries. Furthermore, they continue to assert their ignorant beliefs which they selectively extract from their Christian dogma in order to alter society against the will of the majority. And now they want to decry some self-perceived persecution perpetrated by the “rest” of the American people.

The Pastor also decried the injustice at the exclusive teaching of Darwinism or Evolution in public schools at the exclusion of “creationism,” as if the two are somehow equivalent. They are not. Creationism is mythology, pure and simple, and a ridiculous one at that. Argued against a massive corpus of scientific data is their myth that god created the entire universe in six days, created light four days before creating the sun and stars, and most puzzlingly, creating man in full, mature form day one. All without an iota of supporting data; in fact in the absence of such empirical data. If they would like to have a flat Earth curriculum, they are welcome to at a Christian or Catholic school. They can help themselves. I just will not have my taxes used to pay for it.

What the Pastor perceives as persecution I consider to be the process of standing up against an oppressive and reprehensible minority. They need to keep their narrow-minded and offensive beliefs to themselves. If they can not then they should expect a vigorous and raucous fight.

“Let Us Make Man In Our Image…”

In the last few years I’m finding out how much I really do enjoy the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible, that’s what Christians call the “Old Testament.” Testament is a Latin word meaning covenant, so the Hebrew Bible is the “old” covenant Yahweh made with the Jews. That covenant, of course, being abrogated by the “new” covenant; i.e., the one that Jesus brought to humanity with his life, message and ultimately his death, called by Christians the New Testament. Of course, an open-minded, scrupulously conducted, reading of the New Testament (NT) clearly reveals quite the opposite: Jesus brought no such message. There are, as I like to call them, some very unfortunate quotes from Jesus’ very lips that refute this claim in the NT. “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here today who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:27) seems fairly straightforward to me. Of course, with religion we can always come up with an alternative explanation that supports whatever position it is you’re looking to advance.

However, that being what it is, I’d like to review some of my favorite passages and events from the Hebrew Bible, some quite tantalizing. For instance, there are some very interesting events that occur during the Creation story in Genesis which I believe warrant further scrutiny. One of my very favorites concerns the creation of man. In a most peculiar verse, Yahweh (actually “EL” in this case since the passage is from the “E” author of the Torah) announces, seemingly to no one since there shouldn’t have been anyone else with him:

Genesis 26 “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Excerpt From NIV, Holy Bible, Red Letter Edition Zondervan) So the obvious question is “To whom is Yahweh speaking?” Are we to believe that, after billions of years (or, more to keeping with the myth, thousands of years,) of life alone, Yahweh (YHWH) is simply talking to himself? And even more curiously, in the first person plural? Who is “us?” Seems very unlikely that the god of Israel spent his time wandering around the universe talking to himself in such a way.

However, delving into the archeological record of the ancient “Holy Land” (way before it was known as such) a little further – say 500 to 1000 years or so – and new, lesser-known events present themselves as possible answers to YHWH’s enigmatic words. YHWH, as it turns out, was the god of Canaan long before he ever heard of Abram/Abraham. And he wasn’t alone; there were many lesser gods and goddesses not the least of which was his consort, Asherah. Could these be the entities to whom YHWH was speaking while he created man? It seems likely since, according to Genesis, there simply wasn’t anyone else there to witness creation. One may assert that YHWH was speaking to the animals “Dr. Doolittle-style” however that doesn’ explain the “let us make them in our own image” phrasing. What other explanation can there be for this seemingly cryptic phraseology? But let’s delve further into this most mysterious chapter.

For now we’ll overlook the “doublets,” or the secondary story of the creation of man and woman however I highly recommend their study and further inquiry. My favorite on this topic is Richard Elliott Friedman’s “Who Wrote the Bible?” Published by Summit Books, New York. Friedman’s translation of the Hebrew Bible is nothing short of groundbreaking and I am thankful to have had it to reference. Furthermore you will learn that the real story of the writing of the Hebrew Bible is even more incredible than one could ever imagine, even if Moses had somehow written it himself! It is simply too much to take on at this moment however I will turn our attention to it at sometime in the near future as it is, I believe, something everyone should understand as it puts much of the mystery of the Bible into a more human dimension.

For now, I’d like to go back to the story of creation and where we left off. YHWH was talking to “something” (“someone?”) and, as it turns out, this dialogue continues in the creation story. However, something even more curious happens: Adam and Eve meet the serpent.

It seems YHWH took “the human,” (singular) into the Garden of Eden to “work it and watch over it” and, at some point, decides that adam, which, in this case refers to “human,” not to gender, since there was no other gender at this time, (the word man was not used until after the creation of Eve thus, according to Friedman, it may have some connection to this monotheistic “male” aspect of the Hebrew god. Much more on this to come in later posts.) At this point, YHWH instructs the human not to eat of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad” under any circumstances or “you’ll die!” Here we enter one of the most mysterious and enigmatic chapters of the creation story: the introduction of the most humanistic of all features of the god of Israel.

As with most people (who’ve read the Bible that is,) I’ve read this story a hundred times and it never occurred to me to be one of the most incredible passages of the book had just passed before my eyes without my recognizing it. But I diverge…..

At this point something quite inconceivable occurs; the snake engages the new couple in the garden. “Has God indeed said you may not eat from any tree of the garden?” To which Eve responds “We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden. But from the fruit of the tree that is within the garden God has said, “You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, or else you will die.” As a parent, this seems pretty clear to me: we can eat from the trees of the garden however from the tree (singular) that is within the garden, we can’t even touch it, or we’re goners. Got it.

But that isn’t how this story turns out, is it? No. It isn’t. As it turns out, it’s the snake that informs both newly formed humans (who, apparently, were formulated in adult form, amazingly, but we’ll let that go for now) the “real” story. The snake says to Eve “You won’t die! Because God knows that in the day that you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you’ll be like God – knowing good and bad!” No, in fact, as it turns out, after they inevitably eat of the tree of knowledge of good and bad, something quite different happens. First, of course, Eve shares it with “her man with her as well and he ate.” So the entire time Adam was right there with Eve listening to the snake and hearing his explanation and going right along with her but somehow Eve takes the brunt of the fall for their joint actions and Adam walks. Gee, go figure.

Here it starts to get really weird, especially for an omnipotent, omniscient, all-powerful god. The newlyweds hear YHWH “walking in the garden in the winds of the day” and what do they do? They hide. One might think this most unusual; hiding from the all-knowing god of the universe however Adam and Eve decide to give it a go and they almost pull it off. Believe it or not, YHWH calls out or them (or, more accurately, to “him,” since, for some reason, YHWH doesn’t even think to call out to both of them or to Eve, but only Adam. Again, go figure.) Most curiously YHWH calls out to him: “Where are you?” Hmm. Interesting. YHWH calls out to him “Where are you?” It seems that YHWH, the all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipresent deity can’t figure out where his newest creation is. I can’t tell you how many times I read this as a young adult before I recognized the unusual nature of this passage. And it goes on as Adam admits that he heard YHWH’s sound in the garden and “was afraid because he was naked, and I hid.” (Gen 3:10) To which YHWH inexplicably replies “Who told you that you were naked?” Again, YHWH seemingly does not know from whom or how his newest creations found out they were naked. He continues to query them and ultimately discovers that Eve offered the fruit to Adam after being told by the snake that they will not die, as YHWH had claimed after eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and bad.

So, interestingly, it is YHWH that is actually lying to Adam and Eve and it is the snake that tells them the truth: they will not die from eating the fruit, they will actually become “like us,” as YHWH states earlier to the unknown audience he apparently has with him in the garden and again, YHWH returns to his soliloquy thus: “Here, the human has become like one of us, to know good and bad. And now, in case he’ll put out his hand and take from the tree of life as well, and eat and live forever;” And YHWH God put him out of the garden of Eden, to work the ground from which he was taken.” (Gen 3:22-23) Oddly, YHWH seems only to direct his anger at Adam, he never really includes Eve (she/her) in his dialogue or punishment, though she is eventually punished with painful childbirth and domination be her man, Adam. But the point remains that YHWH seems to be talking to some other witness or witnesses to these events in real time. Who are these witnesses?

[More to come….stay tuned!]

How Can Evangelicals Support Trump?

I saw something today that, while I have been aware that it has been going on since the disastrous 2016 election, it still irks me and I have to share it.

Craig Melvin of MSNBC was interviewing evangelical leader Franklin Graham, son of the late Billy Graham about their support for the 2020 presidential election. Melvin eventually asked Graham if he has been following or keeping track of all the lies that Comrade Trump (I never refer to him as “president.”) has told since being elected, some 8,000 whoppers. Graham replied no, he wasn’t keeping track but he was wondering if anyone was keeping track of the media’s lies! Graham said he didn’t believe that Trump lies and that a lot of the “controversy” is because the media hates him so much. A completely incredulous Melvin stopped him to say, “Mr. Graham, surely you are aware that this president lies; he says a lot of things that are just not true.” And, once again, Graham reiterated his response that, no, he doesn’t believe that Trump lies.

If nothing else, Mr. Graham certainly has the most elastic morals and ethics of anyone I’ve ever heard of. I believe this of all religious people – especially Catholics who can seemingly tolerate just about anything. This is nothing more than selective, purposeful denial. This is the battle we are engaged in with the evangelicals: they are so enamored of a man who is stacking the courts with right wing conservative judges that they wouldn’t call him on a single thing. Not his “pussy-grabbing” comments, not his numerous marriages, his innumerable infidelities during those marriages, his payoffs to strippers, porn stars, and Playboy models. Not his history of cheating his contractors and employees, his lies about Barack Obama’s birth certificate, not even his phony religiosity! His quote of “Two Corinthians” has to stand out as one of the most transparent efforts to feign faith! This so-called “man of God” doesn’t have a single criticism of Comrade Trump, an almost impossible feat unless one is intentionally covering his ears, eyes, and mouth (think three monkeys) and discounting the media coverage completely – virtually all media coverage. Absolute willful ignorance in a nut shell.

Why would this be? Why would a Christian minister, a man of the cloth, the proverbial Bible-thumping televangelist, debase himself by standing behind a man of such low morality as Trump? Is the appointment of conservative judges that important in the world of evangelical Christianity? Overturning Roe V Wade, allowing prayer in public school, expanding tax benefits to Christian schools and universities, etc., is so important that they can overlook even Comrade Trump’s egregious record? I can not think of any other reason but then again, one thing Comrade Trump and Graham have in common is that they are both snake oil salesmen. Graham and his father have been selling their ridiculous mythology and bogus salvation to anyone that would pitch them a buck for a couple of generations and it has made them quite wealthy; WikiPedia has his net wealth at $10,000,000. Apparently Jesus pays and how!

The evangelicals want a Christian America more than almost anything else. They believe and preach – falsely – that our founding fathers all wanted a Christian nation and it has been highjacked by left-leaning liberals and non-Christians. They rewrite history, preach and teach to in their schools, and spew it out to whomever will listen but it doesn’t change the fact that it is also a lie, pure and simple. We know from the history of Christianity that there have been an awful lot of lies, false claims, subterfuge, and just plain nonsense sold to the masses over the last two thousand years. So, in the end, I see what the two have in common; lie to achieve your goals, no problem. Tell anyone/everyone anything you have to say, deny, deflect, or do in order to achieve your goal. Same ideals for both men. Bravo.

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” Mark 7: 6-7.

And So It Begins…..

For most of the last 20 or 25 years, I have been “studying” up on religion. It began long ago – when I was around 18 or so – that I decided to read the Bible and see exactly what was in these mysterious pages. Being born and raised the first years of my life in an Italian-American household in Brooklyn, N.Y., there was never any question as to how I would practice my faith: it would be as a Roman Catholic. Of course, as a Catholic your religion is pretty much spoon-fed to you; here’s how it is, here’s God, here’s what He wants for you, here’s what you have to do to avoid burning forever in a lake of hell fire, and don’t forget He loves you, and so on. Good stuff.

Yes, good stuff, but confusing. In Catholicism all – and I do mean all – salvation comes from the Church, and only the Church. There is no salvation without the Church, right? Which makes sense because, as a religion, “we” have to have the monopoly on “the truth,” right? The Church must be infallible otherwise someone else has the monopoly on the truth and we simply can’t have that. However, if you are the least bit curious, which I am, then you have questions, and they’re not always answered by the Big Two. The Big Two are my characterizations of the two most sited responses to questions about the Catholic God and Catholicism in general: 1) God has a plan and, when that doesn’t answer your question, 2) He works in mysterious ways. There it is; now go play in traffic, kid, you’re bothering me.

At some point, at least for me, it became necessary to find my own answers. I heard from some Protestants that a lot of the Catholic tradition isn’t supported in scripture. Wait, what?! That’s right, there are no saints, no sacraments, no salvation only through the Church, no restrictions against eating meat on Fridays, (son of a…!) etc.

Thus began my modest trek to find a or the “true religion,” and I began to read the Bible to find out for myself. Of course, at least initially, I thought perhaps Protestantism was the answer; Catholicism without the big hats but, alas, that wasn’t to be either. The simple fact and basic defect of religion is that is just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Fast forward 20 years or so and I find myself an atheist – or, at least, an agnostic – researching scripture, Hebrew & Christian; how and when it was written, and by whom. And I discover an entire universe of research dating back to the 18th century and beyond. To call it an epiphany would be both humorous as well as ironic.

However now we’re in the province of history with which I am very much more comfortable. “History” removes the faith aspect completely, it requires substance, evidence, testing the arguments and prevailing. I have been a so-called history buff so many, many years, even as a grammar school kid it was my favorite subject and has remained so ever since. This is the venue in which I found the answers for which I had been searching for so long; that and much, much more.

These will be the topics of this blog; unwinding the mythology behind religion, exposing the emptiness of belief upon faith alone, assigning culpability for the history of unspeakable horrors perpetrated upon the world by religion. Religion as what it truly is: mythology.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I will.