Could It Happen Here?

Bob Poris is a good friend. Bob is a retired department store and shopping mall executive. Some years ago, Bob worked with Rabbi Sherwin Wine to establish the Society for Humanistic Judaism in Detroit. Bob served as president of that organization for five years.

We recently became involved in a discussion of the Holocaust. I expressed my opinion that we in the United States may be in danger of something similar happening here. It may or may not include Jews (anti-Semitism remains a huge problem), or it might involve other groups, such as just political dissidents.

Such an idea may seem incredible at first glance, but one must remember that the Germany that spawned the Holocaust was a highly civilized, cultured nation; a predominantly Christian nation; a nation teeming with brilliant scholars, artists, business men, theologians, musicians, educators, historians, and professional people.

Here's what Bob said:

"It (a Holocaust-type event) can happen here for any group! At the moment, Mexicans are a hated group in parts of the U.S. It could be any group that has some members that offend the majority and get media attention regarding their behavior.

"If hate is backed by authority and the public can act upon it without fear of arrest of condemnation, that group could find itself in deep trouble.

"In spite of the truth of the Holocaust, it is still doubted by many. Those that believe it happened somehow think it was not quite as bad as it was or it was the fault of the Jews; or they (the Jews) could have stopped it, could have fought back, etc.

"No one wants to believe that their parents or grandparents did nothing. I know what happened to the remnant that did survive. They were unwelcome anywhere in the world and kept from going to Palestine. They were put in Displaced Persons camps while another solution was sought. Cyprus became the new, but kinder, concentration camp when the British Navy caught ships carrying Jewish refugees to Palestine.

"Today, the Jews are back in the news as aggressors, not victims. Ask most people how many Jews there are in any given country, including the USA. You'd be surprised at the numbers and yet some people suppose the Jews can wield a sinister influence on the nation, or are thought to have too much influence.

"Ask about Israel and you will find many think Israel is a threat to peace and that Israel causes all sorts of problems, even in lands that have a zero Jewish population.

"Most people would prefer to forget the Holocaust because it symbolizes a massive failure on the part of the human race to protect a small, essentially powerless minority. We still hear people say that the Jews are 'obsessed' with the Holocaust and should forget about it.

"Thus anti-Semitism raises its ugly head, as it does in the widespread hostility to the Jewish state of Israel."


It could happen here! Or maybe the wheels are already in motion. Consider this: On January 25, 2006, KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, announced that it had been given a $385 million "contingency contract" by the Department of Homeland Security to build detention camps in the United States!

The purpose of these camps, according to Halliburton, is to provide "for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention and Removal Operations Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs."

Okay, so these camps are for immigrants. But read the last sentence again. What the hell is the meaning of "rapid development of new programs"? What kind of new programs? Who will these new programs be for?

We might also recall that in 2002, then Attorney General John Ashcroft "announced his desire to see camps for U.S. citizens deemed to be 'enemy combatants.'"

You can see where this is going.

And you can read much more about it here.

The Holocaust Journal (Lest we forget)

Germany 1933

Public humiliation was the first step in removing Jews from German society. SA members cut the beards off Jewish men and forced wealthy Jewish women to scrub the streets with their undergarments.

In 1919, Adolf Hitler had defined Jews as "a racial and not a religious group." He was dead wrong. Here's a more proper definition:

"Whether their outlooks are secular or religious, their homes in Israel, Europe, the United States or anywhere else in the world, Jews are not a race but a people unified by memory and history, culture, tradition, and religious observances that are widely, if not identically, shared." (The Holocaust Journal, p. 60)

Hitler may have been dead wrong, but before it was over, 6,000,000 Jews were just plain dead!

* March 5 - The Nazis win 288 or 647 seats in the Reichstag election. Individual German states are stripped of power.
* March 9-10 - The SA (Storm Troopers of the Nazi Party) riot against German Jews, along with Stahlhelm, a nationalist organization made up of veterans of WWI.
* March 21 - Special Nazi courts are established to deal with political enemies.
* March 22 - Dachau is established in southern Germany.
* March 23 - The Reichstag gives Hitler dictatorial powers.
* Apri 1 - The German government establishes the first official boycott of Jewish lawyers, doctors and merchants.
* April 7 - Hitler approves laws banning Jews from the practice of law and from civil service jobs. Jewish government workers in Germany are forced to retire.
* April 11 - The German government sets up employment and economic sanctions against Jews. The Lutheran Church registers its opposition.
* April 26 - Hermann Goring establishes the Gestapo. Hitler meets with Bishop Wilhelm Berning of Osnabruck and Monsignor Steinmann who represent the Roman Catholic Church in Germany. Hitler tells the prelates that he is only doing to the Jews what the Catholic Church has done to them for 1600 years. Hitler says his anti-Jewish actions are "doing Christianity a great service." The two clergyman later comment that their talk with Hitler was "cordial and to the point."
* April 27 - The German government bans the ritual Jewish slaughter of animals for meat.

1933 was the year that a group of Nazi Protestant theologians who called themselves "Storm Troopers for Jesus," and who believed Hitler to be an "instrument of God," started a drive "to align the Protestant churches of German with pagan Nordic ritual and the goals of the Nazis."

They wanted one Reich church under centralized leadership. Ludwig Muller, Hitler's advisor on church matters was "elected" to the new post of Reich bishop of the Protestant church.

Muller was an anti-semite, a military chaplain who believed that the "races" should not mix, that such mixing was immoral and should be outlawed.

Some Protestant pastors opposed Muller and set up their own organization, the Confessing Church.

Many of these "dissenting" pastors were arrested and persecuted under Muller's orders. That led to protests and Hitler was forced to temporarily tone down his assault of the Confessing Church.

More tomorrow.

Religious Shamans & Magic

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that during the Mass, the bread and wine that is used to represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ, actually becomes the real flesh and real blood of Jesus Christ.

The technical or techno-theologic name for this conversion is transubstantiation.

This is nonsense, of course, even though something like a billion people believe it. It can be easily proven that there is no change in the physical elements of bread and wine during the Mass.

But, the really interesting thing is that even if you could show that the bread and wine actually, truly, really became flesh and blood, how would you know it was Jesus' flesh and blood - without a DNA sample?

The Catholic Church is not the only group that believes in and practices magic. In our little town we have an Episcopal priest who many think can heal people by putting his hands on them. Well, he prays, too.

This is what happens. Let's say you have a knee that's out of whack and hurting bad. You go to church and make your way up to the altar. The Rev. Michael Messina, Jr., is standing there in his white robe, wearing a wooden-beaded crucifix. The Rev will put some oil on your forehead, and his hands on your tophead. He will close his eyes and his head will shake and he will say something like this: "We command that you just come and touch every part of that old knee. (the Rev might touch your knee here) We pray in the name of Jesus Christ all this will be healed."

At that point the Rev. Messina will begin speaking in a language no one can understand - the Pentecostals call it "speaking in tongues."

There's a lot of hollering and jumping and falling down in this little Episcopal church. People say its the Holy Spirit.

Maybe it is. Or maybe its "that ol' black magic" that Sinatra sang about.

Golfing downhill

Fewer people are playing golf these days.

According to an article from the New York Times, "The total number of people who play has declined or remained flat each year since 2000, dropping to about 26 million from 30 million ... "

The number of people who play golf frequently has also declined. Why is this?

Some think it's a time problem. Golf takes too long and people don't want to be away from their families for 4-5 hours on a weekend.

Whatever, the lack of demand has led to a surfeit of courses in certain parts of the country, and hundreds have closed in the past few years, mostly in Arizona, Florida, Michigan and South Carolina.

I went from a 4-5 times a week player, to zero times a week. Why?

Two reasons: the game's just too damn hard and it costs too much.

But, I'll be back!

Threatening Obama

The following is from Mark Potok at Hate Watch.

"With the selection of Barack Obama as the first black Democratic nominee for president seeming more possible by the day, racists and white supremacists are posting increasingly ugly and even threatening remarks on the Internet."

Here's a representative one: "OBAMA WILL DIE, KKK FOREVER."

Potok tells of the site, JD Underground, which "has carried a particularly venomous thread, entitled "Nigger President" ... and cites the following from that site: "I'm hoping someone will do his public duty of putting a bullet through Obama's head," said a poster identified as "Kill Da Nigga." Another poster with the screen name of "amerikkkan" warns "The deep south is making plans."

Cause for concern?


Conspiracy?

Nah... But with the surprise finding of a document related to the Kennedy assassination in Dallas recently, conspiracy theories will probably find new life. There are those who remain certain that Kennedy was killed by people within our government who saw him as a threat to their continued well-being. Kennedy was hated, irrationally, by many people.

Obama is hated, irrationally, by many people. That's why this story is so scary. It has received a certain amount of media attention which may change the situation, but let's hope changes are put in place before it's too late.

The story originated with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. That paper reported that at the Obama rally in Dallas, security people "stopped screening ... for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena."

Dallas again!

The Deputy Police Chief in Dallas, T. W. Lawrence, (also head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations division), said the order to stop screening came from the U.S. Secret Service to "speed up" the long lines... When asked if he was concerned that some bad guys might have gotten into the building, Lawrence said, "Sure," but went on to remark that the 17,000 people seemed to be a "friendly crowd."

This guy heads up homeland security for Dallas?

The Secret Service has defended their actions, saying that they followed their plan and security was adequate.

Right.

Bill O'Reilly proves again what he really is

Bill O'Reilly has given us plenty of evidence down through the years that he is indeed a vicious dolt, but he has outdone himself this time.

As part of a rant against Michelle Obama he said this:

"And I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that's how she really feels -- that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever -- ... that's legit. We'll track it down."

"Lynching?" "Party?" There's no way he could not know exactly what he was saying or threatening. There's no way he could not know the history of "lynching parties" in the United States - that in the 80 years following the Civil War, over 4,000 blacks were lynched by white mobs.

Notice, too, he not only throws out those inflamatory terms, but goes on to say that a lynching party would be justified if she really felt the way she said she felt!

Perhaps it's time for O'Reilly to step down for he has most certainly overstepped the bounds of decency - big time!

The Future is the Past

What you need to believe to be a Republican:

#5 - The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veteran's benefits and combat pay.


The Holocaust Journal (Lest we forget)

Ten days after Hitler became chancellor of Germany, on May 10, 1933, over 20,000 books were burned in Berlin. Across Germany, in 30 university towns, "brown-shirted Nazi students along with many of their professors purged 'un-German' writings from libraries and shops and set them ablaze.

"Enthusiastic crowds witnessed the destruction, which was launched with torchlight parades and accented by speeches that proclaimed the death of 'Jewish intellectualism' and the purification of German culture."

Into the flames were consigned the works of Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, along with the poems of Heinrich Heine.

Germany - 1933

1. Concentration camps are built in Oranienburg, Esterwegen, Sachsenburg, and Dachau.
2. An anti-semitic, anti-communist organization is founded.
3. The anti-semitic Movement of German Christian Believers becomes the semiofficial religious organization in Germany.
4. Albert Einstein criticizes the new Nazi regime and leaves for the United States.
5. The Silver Shirts, a Nazi-type group, is formed in the United States.
6. In January, Austrian Bishop Ffollner of Linz writes in a pastoral letter that it is the duty of all Catholics to adopt a "moral form of anti-semitism."

More tomorrow.


What you see ain't what you get!

In the latest issue of Sierra magazine, Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, explains that "When corporate America tied its future to globalism, it made a deal with the devil."

Pope discusses the recalls of toxic products made in foreign factories. He can't imagine any firm that would "be so crass or so dumb as to save a fraction of a penny on a $30 toy by using lead paint."

What has happened, says Pope, is that many major companies no longer have any say in how their goods are made. They have lost their quality control. "They are powerless to prevent a recurrence of the toxic-toy tragedy--and they are terrified that their brands could be dragged through the mud when the next epidemic of dangerous products strikes."

The problem is a business model whereby companies outsource the manufacture of their products under short-term and low-cost contracts. They may design a product, but the product is made in a factory where they have no control. The companies don't "manage the working conditions, environmental standards, or safety practices."

The greed of these companies has brought them unparalleled profits, but when you sleep with the devil you're liable to wake up with a headache. When you are willing to cut costs by cutting corners, you are liable to be liable for toxic products and and that will bring on a migraine!

Pope concludes by noting that brand names no longer mean much. "Globalism has turned brand-name manufacturing into a fraud. Many of the knockoff handbags and other luxury goods you can buy on the street in Shanghai--or even New York City--are actually made in the same factories as the real thing.

Think about that the next time you're tempted to shell out several hundred dollars for a Coach purse!


Mentally molesting children in California's public schools

James Dobson called for a boycott of California's public schools some time ago. Christian parents, he said, should pull their children out of those dens of iniquity.

This is the same flap - different edition.

A Christian coalition has formed in California to boycott the California public school system. These godly folks are really pissed because Gov. Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation they feel will "indoctrinate children to favor sodomy as a healthy and normal lifestyle choice."

The coalition includes the Eagle Forum, the Campaign for Children and Families, and Exodus Mandate, plus ten more organizations of the far right.

Actually, the Gov signed four new laws back in October, 2007. While all four were backed by the homosexual community, only two dealt with the public schools.

California law already protected public school students from harassment as a result of skin color, ethnicity or sexual orientation. SB 777, one of the laws signed by Gov Arnie, simply updates specific anti-discrimination provisions scattered throughout the state's Education Code.

Another law, AB 394, "requires schools to publicize antidiscrimination and harassment policies in all schools and offices."

The homosexual-hating Christian rightists believe that these bills mean that "children as young as five years old will be mentally molested in school classrooms," according to one Christian gentleman.

Actually, that isn't even close to true. The new bills changed nothing. These groups have simply hauled them into the spotlight in order to promote their message of discrimination and hate.

An outside observer might even conclude that their children are more likely to be "mentally molested" in their Sunday School class than in the public schools


The Dark Legacy of G.W. Bush

It ain't gonna be easy not being Bush.

Whoever gains the White House come November may find "the clammy fingers of the Bush administration ... still wrapped around vital national policies. ... in the past few weeks, the Administration began entrenching strategic policies that are core to its ideological commitments in national security."

For one, the Bushites are attempting "to extend the practice of coercive interrogation." [That means torture!] " ... the next President will inherit a situation of tremendous ambiguity, with the CIA's much-vaunted interrogation practices not a smooth-running program but a train wreck." In other words, no one is sure what is legal or what to do.

Secondly, a new president will have to deal with the fact that the Bushites have abrogated the Constitution as a matter of policy - that certain civil liberties have been dismissed as detrimental to the chase after terrorists, e. g. the Writ of Habeas Corpus.

A third major problem remains Iraq -- a whirlpool of angst. Iraq is such a mess that even someone with a plan and the best intentions is likely to get swept away in the maelstrom. Candidates who promise to pull troops out of Iraq will learn quickly that promises are easy. On January 9, Bush, speaking in Kuwait, talked about an Iraqi agreement that would "cement America's 'enduring relationship' with Iraq, ensuring 'active US engagement that outlasts my presidency.'"

Do you think a new prez is going to be able to bring the troops home when one of their main duties is to safeguard the Iraqi oil supply?

No doubt there are many other, not so obvious "conditions," planted by the current snake-oil salesmen, which will hamstring the new administration--Democratic or Republican.

It ain't gonna be easy being president! (Unless you're John McCain, of course, who has metamorphosed into a clone of G. W. Bush!)


The Truth about Iraq

From Leonardo Maugeri, ENI (Italian oil and gas company): " ...a large part of the country [Iraq]--the western desert area--is still mainly unexplored. Iraq has never implemented advanced technologies ... Of more than 80 oilfields discovered in Iraq, only about 21 have been at least partially developed ...[I]t is realistic to assume that Iraq has far more oil reserves than documented so far--probably about 200 million barrels more."

From Fadel Gheit, a NY oil analyst: "Think of Iraq as virgin territory ... This is bigger than anything Exxon is involved in currently ... It is the superstar of the future. That's why Iraq has become the most sought-after real estate on the face of the earth ... Think of Iraq as a military base with a very large oil reserve underneath ... You can't ask for better than that."

These comments were made before March 2003. They help us to better understand why our president, vice president and their cronies--oil men all--lied to lead our nation to war. They help us to better understand why Mr. Bush, just a few days ago, felt it necessary to sign an "Iraqi agreement" that would "cement" the relationship between Iraq and the U.S. for the foreseeable future.

The Iraqi war was always and only about oil! (Say that over and over again.)

It had absolutely nothing to do with fake WMD's, or with bringing democracy to the people of Iraq. It was about regime change to get our hands on Iraq's oil before Saddam did something stupid -- like sell it to another country.

All of this also means it will be a cold day in hell (or the Iraqi deserts) before our troops are gonna come home! Well, I guess we could hire the Blackwater nasties to guard the oil fields!


[The quotations above are from American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips.]

Minoring in Miniatures

What you need to believe to be a Republican:

#4 - A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting the entire world without regulation.


Dick Cheney the defense secretary (as opposed to vice president Dick Cheney)

On April 21, 1991, Dick Cheney gave a speech at the Washington Institute's Soref Symposium. At the time he was Secretary of Defense under the first Bushite president, George H.W. Bush.

Cheney was talking about Iraq and responding to the idea that U.S. forces in the first Bush Gulf War should take have taken out Saddam Hussein. Listen carefully to what cheating, cheesy Cheney has to say:

"I think that the proposition of going to Baghdad is also fallacious. I think if we were going to remove Saddam Hussein we would have had to go all the way to Baghdad, we would have to commit a lot of force because I do not believe he would wait in the Presidential Palace for us to arrive. I think we'd have had to hunt him down. And once we'd done that and we'd gotten rid of Saddam Hussein and his government, then we'd have had to put another government in its place. What kind of government? Should it be a Sunni government or Shi'i government or a Kurdish government of Ba'athist regime? Or maybe we want to bring in some of the Islamic fundamentalists? How long would we have had to stay in Baghdad to keep that government in place? What would happen to the government once U.S. forces withdrew? How many casualties should the United States accept in that effort to try to create clarity and stability in a situation that is inherently unstable? I think it is vitally important for a President to know when to use military force. I think it is also very important for him to know when not to commit U.S. military force. And it's my view that the President got it right both times, that it would have been a mistake for us to get bogged down in the quagmire inside Iraq."

He almost sounds sane. What changed between 1991 and 2003? The political situation (he was now working for the second Bushite president who was even dumber than the first), and the oil situation.

As an oil man, oil is and always has been Cheney's first priority. He and others thought they would be able to use the U.S. mililtary to cover up their takeover of the Iraqi oil fields. They had the whole thing planned out. The maps they used are available today.

They just forgot the reality that is Iraq.

That's the hell of it, for dying and wounded American soldiers and for dying and wounded Iraqis.


Hatred on the Right

The Traditional Values Coalition, run by Louis Sheldon and his daughter, Andrea Lafferty, is one of the most degenerate of all the right-wing Christian groups. It's most traditional "value" is hate and that is what they promote 100% of the time.

For example: the photo of Barack Obama appearing at the top of this post was borrowed from the TVC website. Notice how it has been doctored with some kind of fisheye distortion.

The TVC doesn't like the Obamas. The TVC wants you to know the "truth" about the Obamas.

The TVC begins by saying Obama is a "first-term Senator with no discernible accomplishments in the Senate."

According to an article by Cliff Kincaid, a hack for a Christian right "news" outlet, Senator Obama has been "mentored" by some pretty scary people. One of Obama's earliest mentors in Hawaii was a Communist by name of Frank Marshall Davis! In Chicago, he had a "black power" mentor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. (Quick note: There is some concern among some of us more genteel people about Obama's relationship with Wright. Obama has, however, publicly distanced himself from Wright's more radical statements).

And finally, the article claims that not only Obama, but also Hillary Clinton had a Socialist mentor, Saul Alinsky, where they learned all their nasty socialistic tactics!

Michelle Obama, is also suspect, says TVC, for she "developed a sense of racial resentment" at Princeton University, "that continues to this day." TVC says a speech she gave at UCLA on February 19 was "Hitler-like," because she said that Obama will want people to be engaged in democracy.

The TVC continues to give Christianity a bad name!


SMU fails the test

The George W. Bush presidential library will be built on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas.

Some of the faculty don't like the idea. A number of Methodist ministers don't like the idea. There might be a lawsuit to stop it.

There are only a couple of problems that I see. One is finding enough material to put in it. The Bush administration has hidden most of their files, emails, and phone calls. They've declared the rest so secret that not even Bush can read them or listen to them. The other problem is that to use the words "Bush" and "library" in the same sentence is an oxymoron.

They sure got the moron part right!


Those nasty queer penquins!

In Loudon County, Virginia, parents have successfully removed the book, "And Tango Makes Three" from the libraries of the elementary schools.

This book tells the story of two male penquins who agree to raise a penquin chick together.

My God, can't you see the rampant homosexuality? Can't you understand that if elementary school kids read this they will immediately conclude that homosexuality is OK, and think that maybe they should be homosexuals, too?

The book can still be read by the elementary school teachers and parents (evidently they're not afflicted by homosexual wannabeitis). Kids in the middle and high schools can read it, too. They don't even need permission from their parents. I don't get that!


Christianity is different

How is Christianity different? This is the question one Steven Halter tries to answer for the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Well, first of all says he, "a crucial distinctive (sic) is that God cared enough about humankind to reach down and compassionately provide a way for us to be in a right relationship with Him."

Whoa! That raises a couple of questions from me! What took God so long? From the Big Bang to the birth of Jesus is one hell of a lot of years! Didn't He care about all the people that lived before 4 B.C. E. or whenever Jesus was supposed to be born? And what is this "compassion" God exercised? Is Halter talking about Jesus being crucified on a cross? Would that be considered "compassionate?"

Mr. Halter says that "In other religions, people vainly attempt to reach God and earn their salvation by doing good deeds and by refraining from bad behavior."

That's not even true, which shows us that Mr. Halter knoweth not whereof he speaketh, but even if it were, it sounds pretty good to me. Someone once said that the Christian church was no more than a place where people go to get justification to keep on sinning.

According to Mr. Halter, God sent his Son "to live a holy and sinless life and suffer the payment for our sins." All we have to do is believe this stuff and we're home free! We get forgiven and we're given new life. Not only that, but we can be sure we're a-going to heaven!

I've always been kinda stumped about this "holy and sinless" life Jesus was supposed to have lived. I mean, he was pretty short to people at times, even his own mother. He called Peter "Satan." He stayed behind in the temple when he was only 12, letting his parents go frantic with worry about him. He sent a bunch of pigs to a demonly death which was totally unnecessary! He cursed the fig tree when the damn thing wasn't even supposed to have figs. That was pretty dumb!

And why couldn't God figure out a way to forgive people without putting his own son on a cross? From what I read in the Bible, he'd been doing just fine for thousands of years. And how come Christians get such an easy deal: all they have to do is believe. Other folks have to be good, and even then people like Mr. Halter would say, "You lose!"


Earthquakes result from homosexuality

So says Shlomo Benizri, a member of the Knesset in Israel.

Pam Spaulding at Pam's House Blend tells the story. The Knesset had called a special session to deal with Israel's preparedness for another earthquake. During the discussion, Shlomo said:

"But I no (sic) of another way to prevent earthquakes; the Gemara mentions a number of causes of earthquakes, one of which is homosexualtiy, which the Knesset legitimizes."

The chairman of the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association, Mike Hammel, had this to say:

" ... it is sad that a religious MK in Israel doesn't think earthquakes are God-made. On the other hand, I suppose we should be flattered he attributes us with such magical powers."


More Schmucks

A Republican Congressman, Rick Renzi, was indicted for extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and "other matters" today "in an Arizona land swap scam that allegedly helped him collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs."

Renzi is the Arizona chairman for John McCain's presidential campaign. McCain said "I'm sorry. I feel for the family; as you know, he has 12 children."


Up in Boston, there's trouble in GOP-land, too. Robert Somma, 63, a Republican, lawyered in Boston when Bush appointed him as a federal bankruptcy judge in December 2004.

Somma was arrested after ramming a pickup truck from behind in Manchester, New Hampshire. He had some trouble finding his drivers license in his purse. According to one close to the police, "When authorities removed him from the vehicle, they said he wore a black women's cocktail dress, fishnet stockings and high heels."

The judge had tipped a few at The Breezeway Pub which calls itself "New Hampshire's favorite gay and alternative bar."

The judge's wife was out of town.

The judge called in his resignation from a Caribbean vacation resort.

The judge was convicted of DWI last week.


But we're not biased. This next one's about a Democrat, a businessman who wanted to be a Congressman.

Gary Dodds, 43, wanted to be the Democratic congressman from the 1st Congressional District in Dover, New Hampshire. He was in financial hot water, so he faked disappearing after a car crash two years ago.

While it seems no one is sure of the reason for faking his disappearance other than to gain name-recognition with the voters, he was convicted on February 20 and faces up to seven years in prison.


Satellite Hit

From all reports, the U.S. Navy actually hit the malfunctioning satellite. Of course all the reports are not in yet and we're not sure where all the stuff is gonna land, but "authorities" keep saying that we're not in danger.

Doesn't that make you feel better?

And you will really feel better when you realize that FEMA was on top of things. FEMA even sent out a memo to various emergency "first responders" throughout the nation which provided them with encouragement to do their job and a link to a First Responder Guide.

I knew that if you knew FEMA was involved you'd sleep like a baby even if the Navy missed the damn thing!

The Holocaust, IBM and Israel

What you need to believe to be a Republican:

#3 - Trade with Cuba is wrong because Cuba is a communist country. Trade with China and Vietnam, however, is vital to a spirit of international harmony.


Edwin Black's book, IBM and the Holocaust, is one of the most important books published in the last 60 years. When it first fell into my hands, I had no idea what to expect. Like many Americans, I had always thought of IBM as "Big Blue" -- a blue-chip, first-rate company, and a model of American ingenuity and enterprise.

Oh, I had heard stories of IBM's rigidity in terms of dress; that male employees were required to wear white shirts with ties and blue suits. I had heard that the boss expected a 24/7 commitment, that employees were expected to go the extra mile, to be "rah-rah," and to never, ever disparage the firm.

But that's not what Black's book is about. I was not prepared for what this book is about - here's what it's about:

"It tells the story of IBM's conscious involvement--directly and through its subsidiaries--in the Holocaust, as well as its involvement in the Nazi war machine that murdered millions of others throughout Europe."

This was news to me, but evidently it is also "old" news. IBM's collusion with the Nazis has been known for years, but has received little media attention. (Why that is could be another story!)

This book rectifies that situation and here's how it came about.

Edwin Black, whose grandparents were murdered by the Nazis and whose parents are Holocaust survivors, tells of a visit to the United States Holocaust Museum in 1993. Accompanied by his parents, he was stunned to be suddenly confronted, right in the middle of the first exhibit, by an IBM Hollerith D-11 card sorting machine. An IBM nameplate was "clearly affixed" to the machine's front panel.

Black says he stared at that machine for an hour before coming to the decision to learn more about IBM and the Holocaust, a decision that resulted in the book, IBM and the Holocaust.


I read the book several months ago, but what brought it back to mind was an article that came my way recently that listed various "staunch supporters of Israel." A number of well-known American companies and their owners/executives were listed. On page four, I encountered the name, IBM.

IBM, I read, "invests heavily in Israel. IBM employs 1700 people in Israel. IBM was one of three companies that was lauded at the America-Israel Friendship League Partners for Democracy Awards dinner in 2001.

"In May of 2002, IBM received the 'Ambassador's Award' from the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce. This award was in recognition of IBM's 'outstanding contribution to the development of the Israeli high-tech industry ...'"

IBM first began operating in Israel in 1949 and "was the first large American company with a wholly owned subsidiary in Israel, introducing computers to the country."

Sheesh! You'd think IBM should get a medal. [IBM's boss did get a medal, as we shall see!]

These accolades, may, in context, be well-deserved. But there is a history to IBM, a history that casts a long, murderous shadow on that firm's reputation. To my knowledge, IBM has yet to be honest and forthcoming about its collusion with Adolf Hitler.


When Hitler came to power, one goal of the Nazis was to identify and destroy all 600,000 members of the German Jewish community. It would be a massive undertaking and what the Nazis needed in 1933 was a computer, which they didn't have.

Another goal of the Reich was to "mount a systematic campaign of economic disenfranchisement and later begin the massive movement of European Jews out of their homes and into ghettos." This was another gigantic task which cried for a computer.

The Final Solution also desperately needed a computer, as it involved moving thousands of Jews from ghettos to death camps along various railroad lines and along precise time lines. Here again a computer was needed.

Black says computers did not exist in 1933 -

But, the IBM punch card and card sorting system -- "a precursor to the computer" did!

IBM became Hitler's ally in achieving those three goals! "IBM, primarily through its German subsidiary, made Hitler's progam of Jewish destruction a technologic mission the company pursued with chilling success." [My emphasis]

Although much of the actual work was done by IBM Germany, known originally as Dehomag, IBM New York always understood--from the outset in 1933--that it was courting and doing business with the upper echelon of the Nazi Party.

And no one knew more or was more involved in the day to day operations of all of IBM's ventures than its head honcho, Thomas J. Watson.

In June 1937, the International Chamber of Commerce Congress (ICC), which Watson headed, met in Germany. On June 28 of that year, Watson met with Hitler in the Reich Chancellery. What the two discussed, no one knows, but later Watson told the New York Times, "There will be no war. No country wants war, no country can afford it."

Hitler was so taken with Watson (and vice versa) and so grateful for IBM's assistance in their anti-Jewish program, that der Fuhrer decorated Watson with a special medal. The event, staged by Goebbels, with a Venetian Nights theme, took place at Friedrich Wilhelm III's 18th century castle on Peacock Island.

As the 3,000 guests arrived they were met by Berlin schoolgirls wearing white blouses over white silk breeches and white leather slippers. They waved a white fairy's wand and bowed as the dignitaries approached.

It was a night for drinking and Nazi speeches and singing. The group sang the "Horst Wessel Song," and the German national anthem.

Black writes that the "crowning moment [was] the decoration of Watson." As the medal was bestowed upon him, newsreel cameras rolled. The medal itself had "The eight-pointed gold-framed cross of white enamel embedded with German eagles and Nazi emblems dangled about the neck from a broad red, black, and white ribbon in tandem with a second six-pointed star worn over the left breast ... When wearing it, he [Watson] was draped by two swastikas, one to the right and one to the left."

Watson loved it!

To be fair, we should note that a few years later as the Nazi atrocities became more widely publicized, and as the U.S. government clamped down on companies trading with the enemy, Watson did return the medal. Not surprisingly, Hitler was irate, and the German elite took this as a horrible slap in the face.

That did not, however, stop either side from continuing their perverse relationship dedicated to facilitating the killing of Jews by the Nazis and money-making by Watson and IBM.

At no time during the war did IBM and/or Watson give up control of IBM's collusion with the Third Reich. They just ran it through intermediaries.

IBM remained the major facilitator of the Final Solution, providing the means by which the Nazis identified the Jews, first in Germany, and then in the rest of Europe; the means by which the Nazis identified the wealth of the Jews in order to confiscate it; and the means by which the Nazis where able to effectively and efficiently move Jews from a particular point of origin to one of the death camps.

Watson's long gone, of course. But, as mentioned above, IBM and its executives have yet to acknowledge the depth of their duplicity, the vastness of their treason, the guilt of their involvement in genocide. IBM and its executives continue to claim they have little knowledge of the war years, or the files have disappeared, or ...


It appears that Watson did not personally "hate" Jews as Jews. But he had no love or feeling for them, either. He just didn't give a damn what happened to them so long as IBM made money!

When it involved IBM and profit-taking, Watson was amoral. For Watson, it was alway about money, all the time. Most of the time, he personally knew exactly how much money was involved, where it came from and how much was being spent; down to the dime!

The bottom line was his bottom line, and if 6 million Jews and millions of others were tortured and killed ... well, it was just business.


Back to Israel today. Perhaps IBM became involved in Israel in 1949, shortly after Israel gained independence, because of a guilty conscience. I doubt that, however. Corporations don't have consciences, and in the case of IBM, neither did its executives.

So there are questions: Why has IBM made such an investment in Israel? Why does IBM continue to operate in Israel.

From what I know about IBM, it isn't because they give a damn about Israel or its people. With IBM you can be sure the motivation is exactly the same as it was in 1933 when it went into business with Adolf Hitler: Money! That, for IBM, is still the bottom line.

You might say IBM would go into business with the Devil if it meant a profit. Actually, that's exactly what IBM did!

It's torture

To listen to

this president

and all his

scabrous friends

whine that they're

above the law

to save us

they must rend

the fabric

of our nation

with black and

bloody lies

war is peace

oil is love

and ev'rybody dies...

well, it's

torture!

Copyright 2008 by Jacob Anson

Schmucks Redux

The second thing you need to believe to be a Republican:

"Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a 'we can't find Bin Laden' diversion."


Just wondering:

Why, during the winter, do I feel comfortable when the house temperature is 68 degrees? Why, during the summer, do I feel comfortable when the house temperature is 78 degrees?


German professors in a tizzy

The Jerusalem Post reported on Feb. 18, that 25 German professors, for some unknown reason, decided it was the right time to sign a "manifesto" that urges Germany to stop giving Israel "preferential treatment."

What the hell is this about? I'll tell you what I think...keep reading.

Four of these professors came to Israel to debate their claims with "Israeli academics." So why this manifesto and why now?

The professors said that Germany "helped" establish Israel by expelling Jews from Germany during the Third Reich. About 160,000 of the expelled Jews made it to the British mandate of Palestine "and strengthened the Jewish presence here at the expense of the Arab population."

Good grief! But, seriously, that's what they said.

Furthermore, according to the academics, Germany has "paid off" whatever it owed to the Jewish people by all the money it has given to Holocaust survivors and the Israeli government.

Ah, let's see. Is this about money? Nah. Is it about hatred of Jews? Ja! Is it more slimey anti-Semites parading as academics? Ja! Is it scary? Ja! Ja! Ja!


Living and real or Proving the Bible

I don't know from Nathan Sanders, but he wrote a long essay on "Why I Believe" that appeared on the CBN Website.

He believes, it appears, because Biblical "truth" can be proven. He believes "the faith tradition of the Bible is living and real." [Why can't these people talk in language that makes sense?] What does "faith tradition of the Bible" mean? There are several major "faith" traditions that derive from the Bible: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, plus all their various offshoots.

He also says that other supernatural mythologies are not real 'cause they "center on disconnected beings and events that in no way relate to everyday living." But he never specifies either the other supernatural mythologies or the "disconnected beings and events," so we again don't know what he's talking about.

Furthermore, according to Nathan, "The Bible ... in its entire supernatural splendor and history, deals almost exclusively with real people, real kings and real nations that are historically proven to have existed."

There are two problems with that statement. First of all, even if "real people, real kings and real nations" mentioned in the Bible are "historically proven to have existed" it does not follow that what the Bible says about them is true.

Secondly, he fails to mention that there is absolutely no corraborating evidence anywhere for the existence of Abraham or any of the patriarchs, nor is there any evidence the Israelites were in Egypt, nor is there any evidence whatsoever for Moses, or the plagues or the Exodus, or anything else before about the time of King David, c. 1000 BCE. In fact, many biblical scholars today think the great heroes of the Bible are wholly fictitious.

Well, Mr. Sanders continues in this vein, presenting falsehoods and half-truths and his own personal opinions as fact. For example, he thinks because we have thousands of manuscripts of the "Old" and "New" Testaments, that somehow counts for accuracy and truth. We have no manuscripts whatsoever of the Old Testament before the first century, and the earliest of the New Testament manuscripts come in fragmented form over 100 years after the supposed life of Jesus.

There was no New Testament as we know it today for almost 200 years are the death of Jesus! And the validity of the current 27 books of the New Testament was debated up until the bishops voted to accept them in the 4th century and even then there was great disagreement and Christians around the world kept their own gospels, in some cases, for hundreds of years, until the "orthodox" church ultimately forced them to destroy them.

Mr. Sanders also believes that these manuscripts have been copied rigorously and there are no serious issues concerning their reliability or integrity. That is simply not true. In many cases, we do not have a clue as to the original text or the meaning of the text. We do not even know what the text was!

And even if Sanders should be right about this, that still does not make the writing historically correct. He further neglects to mention there were numerous other New Testament writings and gospels that were used and believed to be authoritative for several hundred years. These must, it seems to me, to be taken into account if one is to have a full picture as to how the "early church" understood the Jesus figure.

In summary, we have very little outside evidence for most of the characters and events depicted in the Bible. There is no valid evidence whatsoever that the Jesus figure existed except for the New Testament. And that cannot be used as "proof." One cannot "prove" the Bible. Nor can one say the Bible is true because the Bible says so.

Sanders is stuck. Eventually, he tries to "prove" the Bible from his own personal experience. Good things have happened to him when he's "trusted" something in the Bible. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine if those good things are the result of his biblical fidelity or a happy pill or the pull of the moon.

I think DovBear has a better approach. He rejects all similar arguments to those submitted by Mr. Sanders. But he believes!

He refers to the philosopher, David Hume, who noted that many of our beliefs are irrational. For example, we believe the sun will rise in the east in the morning. But this is irrational. We have no way of knowing the sun will rise. We think it will because we've seen it happen before and we've made an induction but we have no way of proving that induction.

So if our belief in the sun rising is irrational, why do we continue to believe it? Hume says "that when we are exposed to a regular pattern we have no choice but to believe the pattern will continue. It's how we're wired.

This explanation of the belief gives us no reason to think the belief is actually true, but it explains why we can't shake it."

DovBear goes on to say that his belief in the Torah is similar to the above "in that I can't escape it. My upbringing and education have conspired to produce a human being who believes that a nation of people -- my ancestors -- saw the great fire and heard the admonishing from from Sinai. It's how I am wired.

"There are no grounds for my belief in the revelation: No evidence or argument exists to support it. In fact, I have no ration reason whatsoever to think that this belief is true; nonetheless I can't free myself of it. "Nor do I want to."

Personally, this kind of irrational acceptance of religious faith seems like a bitter fruit. But it is one hell of a lot more honest that people like Nathan Sanders who twist facts and history to justify their need for certainty.

I think it's much more honest to say, "I believe and have no other choice than to believe, even if there is no good reason for my belief," than to claim "I believe because I can prove that the Bible is true."

That explains, perhaps, why so many fundamentalist Christians and Jews are so hyper about their faith. If any part of the Bible can be disproved, their faith is disproved, too.


Who can be saved?

There's a prior question: What does "saved" mean?

Avery Cardinal Dulles wrote an article titled "Who Can Be Saved?" for the February issue of First Things. It begins like this: "Nothing is more striking in the New Testament than the confidence with which it proclaims the saving power of belief in Christ."

Cardinal Dulles then quotes a number of New Testament passages to back up that statement. He also answers (sort of) the prior question above: It is "in Jesus" that we encounter "the Lord of Life" and he brings us "into the way that leads to everlasting blessedness." Saved evidently means "everlasting blessedness."

The cardinal also mentions that "Paul is the outstanding herald of salvation through faith." That's important because the cardinal here buttresses my contention that Jesus said nothing about salvation coming through "faith" in him. That's Paul's message and the Christian church is derivative, not from the Jesus of the Gospels, but from Paul, the creator of a new faith.

Dulles then arrives at the main question as to who can be saved. His answer is fascinating because it seems to directly contradict Vatican pronouncements. We have seen just recently the Vatican and the Pope clearly say that the Jews can be saved only by coming to faith in Christ through the RC Church.

Dulles says something else. Catholics are saved "if they believe the Word of God as taught by the Church and if they obey the commandments. Other Christians can be saved if they submit their lives to Christ and join the community where they think he wills to be found." Jews, ah, they can be saved too. They just have to look "forward in hope to the Messiah and try to ascertain whether God's promise has been fulfilled." Even all the other pagans can be saved. Atheists can be saved "if they worship God under some other name and place their lives at the service of truth and justice."

I don't get it. On the one hand the cardinal quotes Paul who insists "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

On the other hand, everyone can be saved if they somehow end up worshipping God in some form, which could include the seeking of justice and truth.

No wonder Catholics are always so confused. And why bother with the Church at all?

Evolution Revolution in Florida

Update on the evolving evolution revolution in Florida.

Florida's State Board of Education voted 4-3 to change the state's science standards. For the first time, Florida's public schools will actually use the "E" word in science classes.

For the first time, Florida schools will have to teach evolution in depth, stressing that it is "the fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence."

Ho, hum.

Unfortunately, there are many really stupid people in Florida. Many of these really stupid people protested against the teaching of evolution, and they put pressure on the Board of Education (which had a couple of really stupid people on it) to call evolution a "theory." The board bowed to the pressure and ultimately agreed that evolution would be labeled a "scientific theory."

Good grief!

These really stupid people do not understand science, nor scientific theory. They are so stupid they think a scientific theory is unproven and therefore false, and by labeling evolution a theory they have won a great battle and their little children's minds will not be totally polluted by the godless scientists. But any scientist or non-scientist with a nominal education, knows that "a scientific theory is a well-supported and accepted explanation of nature, not simply a claim." One could say a scientific theory is the truth until it is disproved.

I suppose this vote should be considered a "victory" for Florida's schools and Florida's school children, but it is very sad that we have so many people in this state that are not only ignorant themselves, but want to pass their ignorance on to all the state's children.

These morons are also liars and perhaps that's their biggest sin. They denied their opposition to the new standards was based on religion, but rather insisted that evolution is "flawed" and students should be able to explore those flaws.

They also claimed they were adherents of "academic freedom," and that was the "real issue" involved. The schools, they said, should have "academic freedom" to teach creationism.

Sheesh, what a bunch of crap.

This is what happens when people live by a moribund theology created out of ancient mythologies. Truth, for them, is revealed and unchanging! And they will lie with impunity to push their religious agenda--this "truth"--on the rest of us.

The schools have all the "academic freedom" they need to deal with the theory of evolution. It's built in. The scientific method operates upon the observation changes occur over time, that we do not have all the answers for all time. The theory of evolution is simply the best explanation at present as to how the earth has evolved from its inception. If, tomorrow, scientific research shows that evolution is "flawed," as these phony Christians argue, then scientists themselves would be first to modify the theory.

Again, the "academic freedom" ploy is just another plot by fundamentalist Christians to gain entree into the public schools in the state of Florida so they can attempt to shove their religious nonsense down the throats of unsuspecting students.

P.S. God herself text-messaged me after she heard about the Board's vote. "Thank God," she wrote, "I am so sick of these idiots taking literally the beautiful poetry of the book of Genesis!"

Well, that's the truth!

God is a committee

It has been said that a camel is a horse put together by a committee.

It is also said that God has created everything that exists now or that ever has existed or that will ever exist in the future.

That assumption creates many problems for many folks.

Maybe God is a committee.

That would help explain the following.

Consider: On the one hand, God hath created an incredibly beautiful world, with gorgeous mountains and foaming seas, sun-tanned deserts and blue-green lakes. God hath further created all the animals and plants of the earth - and humans have marvelled for years how marvelous they are and all creation is.

On the other hand, God hath created hurricanes and tornadoes, and sink holes and comets crashing. God hath created mountains that blow up and mountains that come crashing down. God hath created disease and pain that escapes not even innocent children. God hath created the pestilence of evil that reigns upon the earth.

How can this be?

God is a committee.

That's why God can be god and be responsible for all of the above. It also explains why God created human beings with free will, and then became angry when they exercised that free will and killed them all, except for one crazy old coot by name of Noah, who immediately after his salvation fell again into horrible sins.

That's why the god of the Bible can command his people not to kill and in the next breath tell them they must kill their children if the latter fail to observe the Sabbath. That's why the Biblical god can tell his people to kill all their enemies except for the women; they can save the women to rape them.

That's why Jesus' can say his god is so full of love that not even a sparrow escapes his attention, but turn right around and promise that sinners will burn forever in a hell of fire.

Obviously, the god in which most people believe is contradictory, moody, morose, spiteful, angry, schizophrenic, paranoid, bi-polar, occasionally loving (if people obey his commands or believe the right theology), and more.

There's only one explanation. God is a committee.

Most Biblical scholars recognize that fact already even though they don't use that terminology. We get our understanding of god from the Biblical writings, and the Bible was put together by a large committee of various writers over a period of a thousand years. These writers present widely-varying pictures of god. That's why thousands of books have been written to try to explain which exactly is the "right" picture.

Their is no "right" picture as they are all right.

God is a committee.

So the next time you pray, start this way: "Whereas, I have tried my best..."

Hairballs and More Stuff to Chew On

What you need ... to be a Republican

A friend sent me a paper that describes "What you need to believe to be a Republican." This has been floating around the Internet for awhile, but we're going to offer up one of "what you need to believe" per day until they're all used up. They're funny, but sadly, also true!

Here's No. 1: That Jesus loves you and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.


Get on Board - or not

"Ever since 'we' invaded Iraq, most of us have gotten nothing to show for it other than an enormously increased national debt that we will be paying off for decades to come and an economy that is sputtering into recession."

So says Robert Scheer of Truthdig. I would add that we've also gotten 4,000 dead American soldiers, thousands of wounded, thousands of shredded lives, and hundreds of thousands of other dead. But Scheer, in this instance, is talking economics, and in that sense, the only people who made out in this mess are the "royals" who control our government, almost all of which are joined at the hip to the oil bizness.

"It's easy," says Scheer, "for the Bush big shots to equate the fortunes of big oil with that of the nation. After all, George W. got to be president only because his failed career in the Texas oil industry exposed his charms to the big energy guys, who then bankrolled his political career. Dick Cheney was an out-of-work defense secretary when picked to be CEO of Halliburton, which has profited mightily from its dealings with Exxon, not to mention running the Iraq franchise."

But what Scheer says next is most interesting and something I had missed along the way:

"... the image we should all recall is of the Chevron tanker named Condoleezza Rice. Only in America would we think it not a conflict of interest that Rice was paid handsomely for being on the board of Chevron from 1991 until she resigned to go to work in the Bush White House. How worried can she be about the deteriorating position of the United States in the world when her oil company buddies are doing so well?"

Scheer suggests that the reason the oil companies, (and he names Exxon specifically) do so well is not that they have incredible oil-drilling skills, but because they are backed up by the power of the U.S. military! The U.S. military "can be marshaled to intimidate those nations that would dare challenge Exxon's right to profit exorbitantly." The oil companies, says Scheer dare strut across the oil-stained sands because they have "the full confidence that Uncle Sam will back them up."

What we need to understand is that the interests of the oil companies are not the national interest; that the interests of the oil companies are not in your best interest or mine. Too many of our young men and women have died and too many of our country's resources have been plundered to protect these behemoth corporations.

So, Scheer concludes: "The next time you fork it over at the pump remember the $40.6 billion Exxon got, and you will get the point that 'they' and 'we' are hardly in the same boat."

P.S. Oil has now reached $100 a barrel!


One Republican a day

If a Republican legislator or other form of politician begins clamoring about homosexuality, or child abuse or other such, I immediately find that person suspect. Over and over again, the people who have been most vocal about these things are revealed to be closet homosexuals or child predators.

Pam Spaulding at Pam's House Blend tells about Robert A. McKee. McKee "is a Republican delegate from Western Maryland as well as a former chaplain for the Hagerstown Jaycees and trustee and community services chairman at First Christian Church. Hagerstown authorities looking into child pornography confiscated two computers, videotapes and printed materials from McKee's home a few days ago.

McKee has sponsored legislation designed to protect children from sexual predators. McKee, for 29 years has worked for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Washington County. Due to this recent flap, however, he resigned his post as Executive Director.

Now it comes: "For me, this is deeply embarrassing. It reflects poorly on my service to the community," said McKee. You think?

He went on to say that "My primary focus is to get well and stay well. I know this can only happen with the support and prayers of my family and friends and the help of professionals."

At least, contrary to our friend, Senator Craig, he owns up to what he is. And I truly hope he can get well. But I sure do get tired of all this hypocritical b.s. these guys put out over the years!


Houston killer a youth pastor

He's been working at Elim Church in Pasadena, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He's 29 years old and his name is Calvin Wayne Inman. He resigned his position as youth pastor in December.

On Feb. 5, Inman told police he stabbed a 64-year old convenience store clerk to death in 1994 when the clerk asked Inman and a 13-year old friend for ID before selling them tobacco. He told police he could no longer keep this secret.

Some members of Elim Church have forgiven Inman, and say they admire his courage. One man said "He's a hero, really. I don't know how many people would do what he did. The Bible says you just need to confess to God. Calvin took an extra step."

Nah. He's not a hero. A hero goes out of his way against incredible odds to save someone else, not his own ass. And it should be emphasized that the Bible does not say you just need to confess to God. It says you must definitely confess to those you harmed and make restitution.

No doubt Inman, recently ordained and born-again, was feeling a bad case of the guilts. To confess under that kind of emotional duress doth not a hero make!

Frankly, I don't know what I'd do with this guy. It's a conundrum. Thank god I'm not god!


Human machines

Ray Kurzell, "a leading US inventor," says that by 2029, "Machines will achieve human-level artificial intelligence."

[This is humor: I'm not sure that's so good. There's too many dumb humans now. We certainly don't need dumb machines, too.]

Back to the story. Kurzwell claims that it won't be long before we'll be able to put little bitty robots in our brains to make us smarter. He thinks that we will also see a merging of humans and machines through devices planted in the body which will better our health as well as our intelligence.

It seems to me that some of this is going on now. e.g. pacemakers, insulin pumps?

Kurzwell acknowledges that's true but says that his predictions are simply an extension of what is currently happening.

He told BBC News that "We'll have intelligent nanobots go into our brains through the capillaries and interact directly with our biological neurons."

I wonder if this means we can change emotional behavior; if we can create law-abiding citizens out of criminals; if we can modify destructive behavior and habits?

And if so, and we become humanistic machines or vice versa, what does this do to a concept of a deity and how does it impact ethics?

Maybe we are god!


What Islam says about sex and marriage

This from Joanna Sugden in Times Online. Sharia, or Islamic law, says a number of interesting things about sex and marriage.

1. A man can have four wives if he can take care of them "equally." [This is not the case in Tunisia where polygamy was outlawed as it was felt that only Mohammed could satisfy four women. And in other Islamic countries, a man has to prove he has the necessary financial resources before he can marry more than one woman.]

2. A man must go to each wife an equal number of nights. If he marries a virgin, he can stay with her for 7 consecutive nights. A non-virgin bride only gets three consecutive nights.

3. A man cannot marry two women who are sisters.

4. Muslims must pay a dower or the marriage is not valid.

5. Virgins, younger women, educated women and pretty women get higher dowers. A wife can refuse sex is her dower hasn't been paid.

6. There is no alimony in Islamic law. Thus a woman can delay receiving a dower until divorce, and a man can increase the amount during the marriage.

7. A man must provide his wife with a house removed from her in-laws and his other wives, or she can leave him.

8. A man in Saudi Arabia can divorce a wife by saying "talaq, talaq, talaq." This can be done in person, over the phone, by text message, fax, or telegram. In other Islamic countries a man must say "talaq" over three consecutive months.

9. A man can revoke the divorce up to three months after he said "talaq." But during that three months he must provide for his wife financially.

10. A man can revoke his divorce by smiling at his wife within three months from his "talaq."

11. A couple whose divorce has become final cannot remarry until the woman has married another person and had sex with him and then divorced him.

12. A woman can obtain a divorce is she can prove her husband has a sexually-transmitted disease that could prove fatal, or elephantiasis, or is insane, or if he mistreats her or fails to fulfill his sexual duties. Women now have the right to divorce by mutual consent and the wife must return her dower.

Sounds a lot like the good old Biblical days!


Selling Perfumes and Jesus

Looking Good for Jesus is an American company. It put together an advertising campaign with Jesus at the center to sell its products but quit after Roman Catholics protested.

This all happened in Singapore. LG for J was selling perfumes and other smelly stuff with "cruciforms and images of Christ flanked by women." Catholics got mad.

Some of the slogans were creative if nothing else: Believe in God breath spray, for example, used the following: "Get tight with Christ," "Get His Attention," and "Redeem Your Reputation and More."

The company also sells items such as Virtue Perfume, Pope's Cologne, and handcreme made by Norwegian nuns...

This company stinks!