Pray for Tim Johnson

I got a cryptic e-mail from my right-wing friend in New York, Howie, early this morning that started a bit of back and forth (all spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes are Howie's):

Howie: With todays news, perhaps it is Gods will that the Senate remain Republican........

Me: Howie, that is blasphemy.

Howie: OK, Fallon, you made me laugh today.....

Me: Why did that make you laugh? It was a serious comment.

Howie: I assumed you meant the sacred thing that I have gone against would be the Demoncratic Senate......Besides, I was being an optimist....I was looking at the brighter side of an unfortunate event.....

Howie had just lectured me the previous day on the political partisanship of the Democratic Party. It was a sort of "You started it when you hit me back" thing. There's no question that there's too much partisanship in Washington today. But I'll never be deluded into thinking either that: 1] the Democratic Party is solely responsible for it; 2] the Democratic Party created it; or 3] the Democratic Party fights as dirty as the GOP.

Which brings me to FOX "News." Like Howie, and Republicans everywhere, FOX was ready to "pull the plug" on Sen. Tim Johnson. Bill Frist had already declared him brain dead. And all they could think about was SOMEHOW regaining control of the Senate. Think Progress gives us the play-by-play:

"KILMEADE: Steve, remember we were down this road before? If something happens that Johnson can’t continue, 50-50 with Dick Cheney breaking the tie.

DOOCY: That’s right, and you know, in the state of South Dakota, I understand there is the issue of incapacitation. It’s not spelled out in the state law, at the state level. However, the secretary of state of South Dakota says there would be a precedent at the federal level. Is that how you understand it as well Megan?

FOX ANCHOR: Yeah, indeed, there’s a big laundry list that they would have to go through in order to determine that he is incapacitated. It’s something that, ironically enough, might be weighed in on by his advisers. In other words, Sen. Harry Reid, the incoming majority leader, and Chuck Schumer, may advise him on whether he should declare his incapacity, if in fact he’s in a position where he can declare it or not. And so, we’ll have to see what happens in terms of, you know, what exactly his condition is and who’s going to weigh in on whether it should be declared an incapacitation or whether that’s just clear from the facts."

Don't lecture me on partisanship, Howie. This is disgraceful.

Another E-mail to a Right-Wing Friend in NY

From: Howie
Sent: Tue 11/16/2004 6:58 AM
To: Peter Fallon
Subject: (no subject)

Hey, where you been? On vacation? Relaxing I hope. Or did you move to Canada? Howie

No, Howie, nothing like that at all.

I was merely giving you time to breathe.

I was also giving myself some quiet time, some time for discernment (an important dimension of every spiritual journey). I've been doing a lot of thinking, and reading a lot of handwriting on the wall, writing that's been there a long time, but which was invisible to me until just recently. And I've come to see some important things, and come to some conclusions about them. I've realized that, at least about a couple of things, George W. Bush has been right.

Discernment. Wow. What a trip.

I have realized that, like George W. Bush, I have been called by my Creator to serve Him at a critical time in our history. Like George W. Bush, I am an instrument of God's Will in an Apocalyptic BATTLE between GOOD and EVIL. Like George W. Bush, all the circumstances of my life up until now have led me to this place and time, and the calling that I hear is the calling of none other than the ALMIGHTY CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. This realization has been a liberating and a humbling thing, humbling to note how the Almighty chooses his least exalted, most humble servants to do His work on earth, while exalted elites do only evil and blasphemy; and liberating to note that, no matter what anyone says, no matter who disagrees with me, no matter how few people understand the logic of my words or my actions, whether my words and actions sting or cause pain, whether they bring tears to the eyes, whether they appear to have the hollowness of lies, I speak the truth. I follow THE LORD, and I am righteous.

Simply put, I can't screw up.

Wow. Discernment. Cool.

So, what is it that I have discerned to be God's calling for me at this critical time? What is it that my Saviour and the Saviour of the Universe asks of me? What small part can I play in a Cosmic BATTLE between GOOD and EVIL?

Howie, God has chosen me to be your GUARDIAN ANGEL. He has also asked that I serve as your surrogate conscience (apparently, the one He equipped you with has been malfunctioning).

Now, this should be an occasion for both great MERRIMENT and great LAMENTATION! Essentially, God has joined us, for eternity, at the soul. Hey, it's almost like a GAY MARRIAGE!!! Having been friends for the better part of a half century, we were the logical combination, and God, in his infinite wisdom, CHOSE ME (!) to bring you to HIS light. What happier event could you imagine, Howie!!! Yet, at the same time, God has shown me how difficult and serious a burden He has laid upon my back. There will be, undoubtedly, great WAILING and GNASHING of teeth as we travel this road together to GLORY! "it is easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle," than to get you to see the truth. God knows (He told me so), it's been like pulling teeth up until now. But--don't you see, Howie--I never realized before this point that GOD had CHOSEN me to bring you the TRUTH. God assures me it will be easier now. No matter how hard you fight, Howie, God has assured your salvation. So why not just give in now, okay? (Sorry, LORD, I was just kidding!!!)

Alright, Howie, your quiet time is over. It's time for me and GOD to get to work!

Peace,
me

Thank you, Howie

I'm just back from a weekend in NY to see two of my very-nearly-grown kids (25 and almost 21--the 23 year old is teaching English in China this year). I wanted to take a few moments and a few inches of space to thank my "right-wing friend in NY," Howie, for spending some time with me and putting me up.

Howie and I have been friends for over forty years and, frankly, I don't know how we put up with each other. It is a testament to true friendship that two people who seem to agree on very little and disagree vehemently on most everything else can stay friends as long as this. I tell you, when I know Howie is wrong I tell him so as forcefully as possible. Sometimes I can be overbearing, preachy, obnoxious. No. Always I can be overbearing, preachy, obnoxious. To Howie's credit, he never holds it against me.

Howie is, of course, continuously, egregiously, and almost uniformly wrong about every one of his political opinions. He objects that he doesn't understand why he is always wrong and I am always right. He is always wrong because he is convinced he knows the answers ("Hey, Rumsfeld knows where the WMDs are, and that's that. We'll find 'em"), and I am always right because I am convinced of nothing in this world (THIS world) without empirical proof of some sort. Sometimes you have to be careful and take the least risky paths before you make decisions set in stone. It's called "the precautionary principle," and it is something that this administration is very bad at.

But they and their friends at PNAC have their own agenda, beyond the welfare of the US and its citizens.

Anyway, thank you Howie, thank you Mrs. J., and thanks to all my friends at Molloy College in Roskville Centre, NY (all three of you--LOL) for sharing a few moments, some laughs, and a beer or two.

Democratic National Convention, Night Four

I am on record in this blog for the high regard in which I hold former Vice President Al Gore. Even so, I will not dwell on his address this afternoon at he DNC in Mile High Stadium, Denver. The fact is that, as brilliant and principled as this man is, he is not an inspiring speaker. Nor is his writing (if his speeches are self-written) particularly literary. He should have been President the last eight years. He wasn't. And I'm moving on, although I will give you the option of listening to his speech and making your own judgments.


The story of the day, of course, is Barack Obama's acceptance speech. Suffice it to say that it was one of the best examples -- probably THE best example -- of political oratory of my lifetime -- that's 54 years for anyone who is curious.

Before I go any further, let me say that I love my right-wing friend Howie. I love him with everything in me. He is my oldest friend, and my most steadfast friend. When a great deal of poop hit the fan in my life and other people who I had known for twenty or thirty or forty years walked away or simply disappeared, Howie was there. And there were no questions, there was no need for explanations. Howie was there.

I need to say this because I am about to beat up and bloody Howie (in a political, philosophical way) in much the same way that Barack Obama beat up and bloodied John McCain tonight.

First, some predictions: the following right-wing memes are now obsolete, totally politically useless, and will not be heard any further, from this day forward, from the official GOP or McCain campaigns (which is not to say that Howie and his ilk will not keep harping on these adolescent themes) -- Obama doesn't have the stomach to fight a Presidential campaign, Obama is nothing more than a "celebrity," Obama is "unpatriotic" or doesn't put his "country first," Obama is a lightweight, Obama doesn't have the experience (or "the stuff") to be President, Obama has no real plan (both this speech and the recent New York Times Magazine article on Obama's economic plans should put that one to rest), Obama is a "socialist," Obama will raise your taxes ("your" referring to the majority of Americans, the middle class), and that Democrats are "soft" on terrorism. After tonight, I honestly don't think any of these will fly anymore (as Bill Clinton would say, "that dog won't hunt") with the American people, or at least all but the most jaded, cynical, hard-core, neo-conservative, right wing Republicans like George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, and Howie.

Barack Obama stood up to all of this, and called it what it was -- BULLSHIT -- although he said it more gently than that. But the message was clear, as was its meaning.

Of the last eight years, he had a one word summary:

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough!

Of John McCain's public relations campaign to portray himself as a "maverick":

Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.

But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.

On the overall GOP ideology of personal responsibility and self-sufficiency:

For over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own.

Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.

On Obama's supposed "celebrity":

The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great - a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.

Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.

In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.

When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.

And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.

I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.

Obama went on to outline more than two dozen specific policies he will try to put into place when he becomes President. I will not post them here. There is literally not enough space, nor do I have the time (nor, with these new technologies, is it even necessary -- you can listen to his speech yourself) for me to go into that much detail.

But I just wanted to point out that there was literally not one single McCain campaign issue (McCain's campaign so far has been frighteningly short of serious issues) that Barack Obama did not both address and defuse. If I were a Republican, or their nominee for President, I'd be worried -- because all my ammunition is spent.

Oh, and I see this headline from FOX as I'm finishing up this post:

Gustav May Postpone Dates of Republican National Convention
Forecasters warn it's 'too soon to tell'

God does indeed sometimes move in mysterious ways...

An E-mail Exchange With a Right-Wing Friend in NY, Re: ABC's "Path to 9/11"

From Howie:

I am waiting here with anxiety to see your blog attacking the Demoncrats with their if not dangerous precedent, then definitely their groundbreaking attempt to use the power as members in OUR government, threatening, and I won't use the word NEWS, but our media with new rules for censorship. Their letter threatening a media outlet to pull their FCC licence because they didn't like the content of a program, besides smelling of partisanship, begins to set a path I don't believe this country should go. If you were outraged because you felt out rights were being violated with computer scans of phone conversations looking for key words to PROTECT our country. This should send you over the top. Yet, your silence is deafening.

My response:

I would love to be inside your head when you go off on these (completely inaccurate and totally biased) rants.

"Dangerous precedent?" "Groundbreaking?" Did you get this right from GOPUSA.com or something? You don't talk like that, Howie. I've been teaching long enough to know when a student didn't write a paper, or at least "cut and paste" someone else's words and ideas and presented them as his own. You need to start thinking for yourself. No, I'm not busting your balls now. I'm really serious. You desperately need to sit and examine your own heart and your own mind and your own conscience and admit to yourself that you're supporting an enormous lie, here. Everything you've argued to me over the past several years has been a lie, even if you won't admit it to me -- or to yourself. The facts are in the public domain, and they've been documented. If you care, you can look them up. But you will listen to what I have to say and then call ME closed-minded.

Where is the censorship, Howie? Disney has deliberately (further) blurred the boundaries between fact and opinion, between truth and propaganda, between news and entertainment. Howie, one thing you may not understand about the mass media, but I teach my students every day, is that they are MASS media. The messages they broadcast and transmit reach millions, tens of millions, and sometimes hundreds of millions on a daily basis. You say they are threatening "I won't use the word NEWS." Then why bring it up? The fact of the matter is that this is NOT news, but Americans might no longer be able to tell the difference. This is not a documentary. A documentary could conceivably be categorized as news. Many documentaries are unquestionably news. This is a "docudrama." A DRAMATIZATION of events. It is NOT news, though undoubtedly many will mistake it as being "true." But it is a work of fiction. And, from what I'm hearing and reading, it is more fiction than fact in many places. This is irresponsible, and dangerously so.

This whole topic is actually far more complicated than I am able to go into in an e-mail. I read, research, and teach about this stuff my entire life. But to boil it down to a few sentences, we have "news" programs that present stories to us which are utter crap, but we call them "news." Tom Cruise's rant on Oprah. The "scandal" of race-based teams on "Survivor." The advantages of liposuction. At the same time, we have "serious" reporting that is itself irresponsible. Just look at Judith Miller. We have "journalists" presenting as "facts" things that are complete fabrications. The Senate Intelligence Committee's report on prewar intelligence just released the first of its findings yesterday, and guess what they said? No link between Saddam and 9/11. No link between Saddam and al Qa'ida. No link between Saddam and Abu Moussad a' Zarqawi. All things that YOU (and most GOPers) insisted on. They were lying. You were duped. In all three of these cases, I saw the lie and was not duped. I read. But most Americans don't read, and most were duped. Some were duped so badly, that they STILL believe these three lies, even though history and official government reports say they were -- ummmm -- not true. The Senate Intelligence Committee has not yet made a report -- which it eventually will -- on whether the intelligence that was used was "cherry-picked" in the face of OTHER, more reliable, more verifiable (and verified) information that was also in the possession of the Bush administration. Would you like to make a wager now on what the results of that report will be?

The answer to all of this is NOT to let more lies go unchallenged. What ABC is doing is wrong, and so obviously political. We have a right to demand that they act responsibly, and if they insist on acting irresponsibly, we have a right to demand they pay consequences. And what the Democrats are doing now is no different than what GOPers have done in the past -- for less justifiable reasons. Republicans demanded that CBS pull its "Reagan" miniseries for completely subjective reasons, not -- unlike "Path to 9/11" -- because of outright fabrications. It was Disney itself who tried to kill Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" by blocking its distribution. And every word in that movie was true!!! Where were your cries of (so-called) moral outrage then, Howie?

Don't you feel a little bit hypocritical? Of course you don't; you're a REPUBLICAN.

Apparently, it is okay for corporations, whose sole allegiance these days seems to be to their bottom line and their shareholders, to practice censorship. But democratically elected representatives cannot demand, at their constituents' request, responsible behavior from mass media? Tell me again that "fascism" is a bad adjective for your ideological orientation, Howie.

Yes, I AM outraged by the Bush administration's infringements on constitutional rights. I'm not the only one, and FINALLY, that message is getting through to this administration. And I am outraged by "The Path to 9/11." Contrary to your suggestion that "my silence is deafening," I have already sent an e-mail to Disney and to ABC asking them not to air this work of fiction (written and directed by a close friend of Rush Limbaugh's) masquerading as fact.

But you're right, Howie, that's not enough. I ought to post something on IN THE DARK. I will right now.

"I Can't Believe It's Not a Dictatorship!!!"

More Right-Wing Rant^TM from Howie:

Glad to see the people of Venezuela smartened up, and realized that Chavez is loco..........until Chavez declares that the voting machines were vandalized, and he really won, and declares his dictatorship for life............Seig Heil.......

Yes, Howie, that's exactly what happened. Anyway...

Venezuelans did narrowly reject the referendum that would have eliminated term limits (by the way, that's all the referendum called for, the elimination of term limits -- he would not have been put in power indefinitely, he would still have had to run for re-election at the end of each term, like in the United States for the first 180-plus years of its existence). And that's the end of the story.

"From this moment on, let's be calm," Chavez declared. "There is no dictatorship here."

There is no dictatorship that disrupted the elections, and there would have been no dictatorship had the vote gone the other way. It's a thing right-wingers like Howie don't understand: it's called democracy.

Of course, spinmeisters in the US State Department make the result of this referendum look like the hope of all future democracy in Venezuela:

"Clearly this is a message from the Venezuelan people that they do not want any further erosion in their democracy and their democratic institutions," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington.

...conveniently forgetting that Chavez has been twice elected, once returned by popular support after surviving a (US supported) coup, and won a recall election. In other words, it has been the triumph of democracy, like it or not, that got Chavez to the place where he could lose even lose a referendum to eliminate term limits and be re-elected as many times as Franklin D. Roosevelt (who we could use right now).

In the meantime, Chavez still enjoys broad powers that the voters gave him in previous referenda (unlike the broad powers that the Bush administration have assumed unconstitutionally and without so much as a "MayI?").

So, Howie, and all your right-wing friends:

STOP WHINING!!!

UPDATE: Renegade Eye has an excellent analysis of the referendum and its outcome. Even if I were not still working on my book, I couldn't have been more thorough. Check it out.

Democrats Must Become the Party of Old Ideas, Part II

In a previous post, I made the following observation:

The Democratic party has been gulled into believing--because the American people seem to believe--that the "old ways" of the New Deal, New Frontier, and Great Society are somehow no longer germane in an era of globalisation. But if an idea is good, it is good no matter what era it occurs in. And this is where our short-sightedness has hurt us.

Howie (my right-wing friend in NY) objected:

You know that (the assertion that if an idea is good, it is always good) is not always true. The idea of communicating using a telegraph was great 100 (give or take) years ago. Now, its not even a thought.

No, Howie, that is always true. Being a right-winger, you can't recognize the obvious difference between an idea and a thing. We need new technologies or methods all the time. Good ideas are always good, no matter how old they are.

You really believe that over 75 years, society can't come up with better ideas than the old social programs, old retirement programs, etc.

After 200 years, you can't come up with a better economic system than capitalism? I don't see you looking to trade THAT in, Howie. And unlike social security, capitalism is actually BROKEN!!!

Or is it the need of the democrats to keep these old ideas, because they were great ideas of great democrats.

No. The Democrats need to become the party of old ideas, and we shouldn't be concerned where the ideas came from, as long as they are good ideas.
Civil rights was (WAS) a Republican idea. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the slow movement to full enfranchisement of African Americans, achieved by Republican legislation and the passing of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, were all Republican ideas. The Democrats have used that idea effectively for the last 75 years.

Now we have a Justice Department that is no longer interested in civil rights. In the first Bush administration, John Ashcroft's Justice Department was more interested in fighting pornography, fighting physician-assisted suicide, fighting the legalization of medical marijuana, and defending the use of torture than in prosecuting US civil rights violations. And Justice under Alberto Gonzales has seen racial and gender discrimination cases decrease by 40%.

It's time to give the idea of civil rights another chance, and the Democratic Party must be the party to stand for this old idea.

Trust-busting was a Republican idea, and a good one. President Theodore Roosevelt considered himself a "steward of the people."

While in office, Roosevelt became a "trust buster" by forcing the great railroad combination in the Northwest to break apart. As President, Roosevelt saw himself a representative of all the people, including farmers, laborers, white collar workers, and businessmen. Roosevelt therefore was focused on bringing big business under stronger regulation so that he could effectively serve all the people he represented. He sought to regulate, rather than dissolve, most trusts. Efforts continued over the next several years, to reduce the control of "big business" over the U.S. economy and workers.

What would TR make of today's Republican Party? Government responsibility for fundamental fairness in business, for protecting the people from predatory business practices, and for protecting the overall integrity of the American economy is a good idea. The Democratic Party must be the one to stand for this old idea.

Mistrust of power concentrated in a military-industrial complex was a Republican idea. That's an incredibly important idea that your party of "new ideas" has destroyed. The incestuous relationship between government, the military, and the defense industries (illustrated by the rise to political prominence of a group few Americans have still ever heard of--the Project for a New American Century) is responsible for our exploding federal deficits, as well as for our involvement in a war based entirely on lies.

The best ideas are rarely new, Howie. Like government of the people, by the people, for the people. That's an old idea I pray we come back to.

White House Wants Permission for CIA Abuse

Reuters AlertNet - WHouse seeks to shield CIA from detainee rules-Post

Howie says it was a "a few bad apples," and that there could never be approval from above for prisoner abuse (torture). But in the aftermath of the McCain amendment to a Pentagon spending bill that would explicitly outlaw "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" of prisoners in U.S. custody, the White House is looking for an exemption for the CIA.

Translation: It wants the CIA to legally be able to torture prisoners.

The White House proposal

states that the legislation approved by the U.S. Senate shall not apply to counterterrorism operations abroad or to operations conducted by "an element of the United States government" other than the Defense Department, the [Washington Post] reported, citing two unidentified sources.

This on the same day we see this story:

Autopsy reports on 44 prisoners who died in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan indicate that 21 were the victims of homicide, including eight who appear to have been fatally abused by their captors, the American Civil Liberties Union reported Monday.

Howie will be upset with me because I am "picking on America" and not showing pictures of mercenaries being beheaded or hung from lampposts. Howie says I have "balls" for looking at US misdeeds and ignoring terrorists (as if). I am not picking on America, Howie, because America is not behind these things. America is not in favor of torture. This is the work of the Bush administration, and the neo-con overlords of the Project for a New American Century.

I want my country back from the Project for a New American Century. These anti-American thugs have perverted everything good about America.

A Christmas E-mail Exchange With Howie (My Right-Wing Friend From NY)

Peter, may you and Mary Pat have a Merry Christmas, Love you both. Howie

Howie, thanks for your Christmas wishes, and right back atcha. I love ya, bro. And MP sends her love. So when are you coming out to Chi-town?

Of course, I can't let the little piece of fiction that you sent me with your wishes go by without comment (did you think you were going to send this and hear nothing from me?).

This, of course, as you know, never happened. This is some e-mailer's fictional account of what s/he wished would happen. Something very much like this has probably happened many times in the last fifty years--years that have seen a blasphemous commercialization of Christmas.

Here's a critical reading, a "textual anaysis" of the story (bear with me--I don't do this for everyone):

A woman was Christmas shopping with her two children.

Already you feel sympathy for her.

After many hours of walking down row after row of toys and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the store elevator with her two children in hand. She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list

Here's the real message of this first paragraph. It is a willful ackowledgment of the pressures Americans feel at Christmas time. Please note that the author does NOT deny this pressure, and does not deny the artificiality of it. The author presents it, though, as a GIVEN; a normal piece of American life, and a normal piece of Christmas.

overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats

The author slipped this one in to create (or recreate) what today is an artificial atmosphere of community. The fact is that, beyond the "holiday party" at work, most people don't throw parties, housewarmings, etc., nor do they have time to home-cook feasts. Grandmothers/mothers-in-law still do this, of course. But young mothers? Working...

making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

This, of course, goes hand-in-hand with the commercialization.

Finally the elevator doors opened revealing a crowd in the car. She pushed her way in and dragged her two kids and all her bags of stuff in with her. As the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and blurted out, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot."

Here, the author shows his/her (clumsy) hand. Do you honestly believe ANYONE--no matter how stressed--could make a public announcement as stupid as this? (Well, you're a repuglycan, so you naturally think people are stupid) First of all, these days NO ONE makes remarks in public about shooting, bombing, violence of any sort (except for the GOP). But the author is just trying to get the reader in a position of sympathy with this character, who, faced with all this shopping, planning, buying, and kid-tending, is stretched to the end of her rope. Who has NOT felt that way? The character has lost it, and, as the author is about to tell us, has lost sight of the "real meaning" of Christmas.

From the back of the car, a quiet calm voice responded, "Don't worry, we've already crucified Him." The rest of the trip down was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

OF COURSE it was a "quiet, calm voice." I'm surprised it was not also a "strong and wise" voice too, but I guess the author didn't want to push his/her luck. The "christian" is quiet and calm, not like Jerry Falwell, who thinks that 9/11 and Katrina are God's revenge on gays; not like Pat Robertson, who calls for the assassination of a foreign leader. The person who SUPPOSEDLY is a "christian" is quiet and calm. I'll talk more about this in a second.

The author is a making another point in this sentence. It is a response to the woman's plaintive and desperate cry that "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot." The answer, coming from a "quiet. calm voice," is that Jesus started "this whole Christmas thing."

Nonsense. Jesus is no more responsible for the commercialization of Christmas than Martin Luther King Jr. is rersponsible for the (paradoxical) "white sale." Commerce is responsible for the commercialization of Christmas. NOT Jesus. Commerce is responsible for all the pressure we feel, the cards we have to write, the list of presents we have to buy (or worse--the person on the list for whom we can think of nothing to buy!!!).

We have one small piece of the Gospels that shows how Jesus felt about the commercialization of religion (His religion, by the way, was Judaism, NOT Christianity). At a time of great prosperity in Jerusalem, the "leaders" (that is to say, the most prominent and vocal) of Judaism preached conformity to the letter of Jewish law. At the same time, they ignored much of the Torah that had nothing to do with "the law." The prophets, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekial, had all denounced conspicuous "religiosity" (animal sacrifices, public prayer, etc.) at the expense of caring for the poor. They prophesied that this conspicuous religiosity would blind them to the coming of the Messiah. But this was not "law." So these warnings went largely unheeded by the Jews of the time, who looked on the books of the prophets as little more than literature,

Jesus agreed with the prophets, and he quoted Ezekial when he came into the temple and found a market and money-changers.

"When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords and drove all from the Temple, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said: 'Get out of here.' (John 2:13-16)

"Jesus entered the Temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 'It is written,' he said to them, 'My house will be called a house of prayer but you are making it a den of robbers.'" (Matthew 21:12-13)

To say that Jesus would approve of how Christmas is "celebrated" today is absurd. I think it kills Him over and over again.

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in
your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all would, just think how
much better this world would be.

This literally puts my stomach in knots. Can't you see how evil a work of propaganda this is, Howie? Keep Jesus in your every purchase? In the same breath as "keep Jesus in your every thought, deed, and word," the author chooses (CHOOSES!!!) to advise us to keep Jesus in our every purchase!!! Do you think Jesus really wants us to be consumers? Do you REALLY think Jesus is a Republican? Do you NOT think that, if Jesus were to return today, there would not be revolution in the world? Do you NOT think that Jesus would lower the mighty and raise the weak? (It's in the bible, look it up) Do you NOT think that Jesus would rather have us take ALL the money we spend on plastic Wal-mart CRAP every year and give it to the poor? Do you NOT think (while I'm at it), that Jesus would NOT shake the USA out of its paranoid fantasies, and take all the money we spend as a nation every year on things that go "BOOM" and redirect that to the poor?

Exactly which Bible are YOU reading, Howie?

Jesus is the reason for the season.

This is true. Don't blaspheme against Him. Don't remake Him into your image. Don't try to fantsize Him as a Republican, or as a pro-war hawk. Or as a "Christian."

Wise men still seek Him.

Yes. And Christians follow Him. And if you see someone who calls himself a "christian," but ignores the true Christ, he is probably neither a wise man nor a Christian.

May you have a blessed and holy Christmas season, not a "happy holidays season".

May you have, Howard Raymond, whatever you want. May you always want what is right in God's eyes, in Jesus's name.

Ex - CIA Agent Says WMD Intelligence Ignored

Howie still doesn't believe it. He still thinks that we haven't yet found WMDs, or that they were spirited away in the middle of the night -- to Syria.

Poor Howie. And his type.

The CIA had evidence Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction six months before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion but was ignored by a White House intent on ousting Saddam Hussein, a former senior CIA official said according to CBS.

...The source "told us that there were no active weapons of mass destruction programs,'' (former CIA operative Tyler) Drumheller said in a CBS interview to be aired on Sunday on the network's news magazine, "60 Minutes.''

"The (White House) group that was dealing with preparation for the Iraq war came back and said they were no longer interested,'' he was quoted as saying in interview excerpts released by CBS on Friday.

"We said: 'Well, what about the intel?' And they said: 'Well, this isn't about intel anymore. This is about regime change','' added Drumheller, whose CIA operation was assigned the task of debriefing the Iraqi official.

Unbelievable what the Right has allowed this country to become. Howie,
WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA???

Not Just the NSA : Pentagon Spying on Anti-War Activists

Howie has sworn to me that if the Bush administration is doing more than monitoring legitimate terrorist targets, and is deliberately spying on innocent US citizens, that he would (FINALLY) be outraged. "Hang the Basta--!" is what I believe he said (correct me if I'm wrong, Howie).

Well, Howie, like the rest of the right, has more ways of wriggling out of tight corners than Houdini, so I'm not sure that this will impress him, but Michael Isikoff reports in this week's Newsweek that the Pentagon has its own program of domestic spying that is looking at people who could be characterized as nothing more than opponents of the Bush administration.

Big Time the Source Who Outed Plame?

Cheney Told Aide of C.I.A. Officer, Notes Show - New York Times

Okay, Howie, are you ready?

Cheney outed Valerie Plame to Libby. Libby outed Plame to Judy Miller. Libby lied about the source of the info to a grand jury, saying he got Plame's identity from "a journalist" (this whopper was still circulating among the desperate right-wing media pundits this weekend). It is uncertain that either man knew of Plame's covert status with the CIA. But no matter, as it is the deliberate attempt to lure US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury investigation away from the Vice President that has Libby--and Presidential Aide Karl Rove--in hot water.

Howie is, of course, wringing his hands at the "criminalization of politics" going on in this case, indicting people for a crime that the grand jury was not originally charged to investigate.

Howie says I have a set of balls.

Religious Right Want a Theocracy NOW : NC Baptist Church "Excommunicates" its Democratic Members

CITIZEN-TIMES.com: Members say church ousts Kerry supporters

Howie, you're responsible for this, you know?

This is really unbelievable, and it is tempting to underplay the importance of this. Many (like Howie) will either support this move, or say "hey--it's no big deal." But this cuts just exactly to the heart of the Constitution's separation clause.

If you want to throw people out of your "church" on the basis of their politics, fine. Some "church," if you ask me. But you'd better not have Federal Tax Exemption. You're not getting MY tax dollars to be a private club, friends.

By the way, Howie--they're trying to change the very definition of science back in Kansas. Thanks again.

Video here.

Heightened Levels of Inactivity

One of the problems of blogging by one's self is that when life intrudes--as it frequently does--it appears that one has fallen off the face of the earth.

I have not fallen off the face of the earth (much to chagrin of several people I know who shall remain nameless--hear that, Howie?). Life--REAL life--is intervening big time right now, and IN THE DARK has remained for the last week or so, well, in the dark.

One of life's interventions about which I am fairly pleased, but which has kept me away from this blog, is my final submission of a manuscript which I've been working on, off and on, for the last twenty years. It is called (at this moment, anyway) Empowerment and Impotence: The Clash of Cultures and Media of Communication in Eighteenth Century Ireland and it will be published by the Edwin Mellen Press at a date to be announced. It's a book that investigates and tries to answer three questions: 1] Why did printing come so late to Ireland? 2] Why, once it appeared, did it spread so slowly? 3] Why, once it did spread and become a cultural phenomenon, did it serve to spread the English, rather than the Irish, language? There's a lot more to this story than is suggested by these three brief questions, but that's the nickel explanation.

This weekend, I am off to beautiful Nassau County, Long Island, New York to visit two of my three grown children there (my middle kid, Brigid, is currently spending a year teaching English in Tongliao, China). I will be visiting, sharing a beer with, and perhaps staying at least one night with my "right-wing friend from NY," Howie (you know I love ya, Howie). So it is very unlikely I will even think about blogging for the next several days, even if I have the physical opportunity to do so.

My apologies to the dozens (yes, there are dozens, and no, we're NOT the dailyKos) of readers who come by once, twice, or several times a week to read IN THE DARK. I promise to continue picking through the news and highlighting stories and bits of information that are important, but largely ignored in the mainstream.

See ya later.

Gonzales Nomination Draws Military Criticism

Retired Officers Cite His Role in Shaping Policies on Torture

Several weeks ago in an e-mail exchange with a right-wing friend of mine (!) in NY, I voiced the hope that in a second Bush term, John Ashcroft would disappear. He challenged me, charging that I would find something to dislike about anyone that Bush nominated for the Attorney General's office. I challenged him right back, charging that he would support Bush's nominee, simply because he or she (but probably he) was Bush's nominee.

There's a certain logic to Howie's argument. I do not like anything about almost anyone who has ever had anything to do with this (mal)administration; and as they've left, one by one, I've liked their replacements even less. But Howie's logic implies that I am in a knee-jerk situation, "not liking" someone because they're on the "other side" or the "other team." And (as I've tried to explain to Howie, with patience and sensitivity) this is just a stupid argument.

There are plenty of really good reasons not to support Alberto Gonzales for AG, and not the least of those reasons is his role in defining the prerogatives of the executive branch (vis a vis human rights) within the context of the so-called "war on terror." And Gen. John Shalikashvili and several other retired generals provide us with further reasons.

Andrew Rosenthal recently described the role of the US military in acting as protectors of the constitution against a civilian government that was--and IS--attempting to make a mockery of it. It is time, I think, to start listening to some of these folks.

An e-mail to a right-wing Republican friend in NY

"...Now, Bush better read the pole numbers, realize it was again close, and he better reach across the isle, and get working on the economy, healthcare and the deficit." --Howie

Howie,

It is America who had better start reading.

It is a colossal act of arrogance to ignore reality and act on wishes, illusions, and myths. George W. Bush has made the world a far more dangerous place to live, and Americans don't see it. George W. Bush has recruited thousands and thousands of new martyrs for Jihad, and Americans don't see it. George W. Bush has weakened American civil liberties in the name of security and has given us neither, and Americans don't see it. But the rest of the world sees it. Someone is right here, and someone is wrong. Both points of view cannot be true.

The Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in Sweden reports that on average 9 minor armed conflicts (where the number of deaths does not exceed 1000 during the course of the conflict), 12 intermediate armed conflicts (where the number of deaths exceeds 1000, but is fewer than 1000 in any given year), and 13 wars (with more than 1000 deaths a year) go on at all times somewhere in the world. In the year 2000, war took the lives of 168,000 Africans, 65,000 Asians, 39,000 "middle-easterners," 37,000 Europeans, and 2,000 Central and South Americans. At the same time, American arms manufacturers profit from this death and destruction. Forty of the top one hundred arms-producing companies in the world are American companies with profits totaling $664 billion dollars in 1999. Over $93 billion of that profit comes from the manufacture and sale of weapons, more than the profit of the other 60 companies combined (US$64 billion).

Meanwhile, those in the less technologically developed world who are not dying in warfare are likely to be dying of disease or starvation. While the life expectancy of the average American was about 75 years in 2001, it was 65 for the Indonesian, 64 for the Russian, 45 for the Afghan, 39 for the Zambian, and 38 for the Rwandan and the Mozambiquan. While an American baby has 99.4% of survival after birth, the infant mortality rate is 2% for the Russian, 10% for the Ethiopian, almost 15% for the Afghan, and nearly 20% for the Angolan.

And while much of the "third world" believes that we care little for their welfare, many more question our motivations even less kindly. They believe we are more interested in exploiting their natural resources for our benefit, and exploiting them for their cheap labor.

Among the violations of the fair labor conventions of the International Labor Organization between 1996 and 2000, were many committed on behalf of American companies. Some examples:

· Factories in the Northern Mariana Islands (a US Commonwealth) that produce clothing for Abercrombie & Fitch, Cutter & Buck, Donna Karan, The GAP, J. Crew, Levi Strauss, Liz Claiborne, Nordstrom, Ralph Lauren Polo, Target, Dress Barn, and Tommy Hilfiger demand contracts of their workers which: waive basic human rights including the right to join a union; demand 12-hour workdays seven days-a-week; subject workers to "lockdowns" in the factory;
· Factories in China producing clothing and shoes for Adidas, Disney, Fila, Nike, Ralph Lauren, and Reebok employ forced labor in prison camps; demand of their employees 12-16 hour workdays, seven days-a-week; employ child labor; demand forced overtime; and Chinese workers for Nestle have been subjected to electric shock to maintain productivity.
· Factories in Indonesia manufacturing clothing and shoes for Adidas, the GAP, and Nike subject workers to forced overtime at a poverty wage.
· Factories in El Salvador producing clothing and shoes for Adidas, Ann Taylor, the GAP, Liz Claiborne and Nike pay their female employees about US$30/week for a 60-80 hour week; subject their female workers to forced pregnancy tests; fire their female workers if they become pregnant; and force some employees to work overtime without pay, up to 11 hours a day.
· Factories in Haiti producing clothing and toys for the Walt Disney Company pay their workers an average of US$2.40 per day, and charge them for transportation ($.66/day), breakfast (cornmeal and fruit juice--$.53/day), and lunch (rice and beans--$.66/day).
· Factories in Russia producing clothing for the GAP pay their employees US$.11/hour.
If terrorism is evil-and it is-this is terror's recruiting station.
But, we're told, what they really hate about America is "our freedom."

Americans know nothing of these things, all in the public record, because our "liberal" media are giving us not what we need to know, but what we want to know. This is the "free-market" approach to journalism.

Americans know nothing about the Project for a New American Century, even though they have their own website, and all their position papers are public record. Have YOU read any of their stuff?

Howie, I realize and appreciate why you're saying this. You're trying (very sincerely, I'm sure) to be conciliatory and reassuring. You're very comfortable with the results of this election, and you'd like me to be too. But that's not going to happen.

You think I'm a pain in the ass (I am), you think I'm a crank (I am), you think I'm "holier-than-thou" (you're wrong about that--again, what I'm looking for in a politician is the exact opposite of certainty, the exact opposite of this GOP, the exact opposite of PNAC), but you seem to think, I think, that I lack conviction, or that--like other Americans--I look at all of this as a game or a sporting event where, well, this time my team wins, and that time your team wins. Or you think that I think "winning" is important at all. I don't.

You talked about the "global society." Yet this administration flouts international opinion. It flouts human standards of decency in its economic policies, in its energy policies, in its environmental policies, and--worst of all--in its foreign policies. And in flouting these things, we turn our backs on the very values that defines America, at least in the past. F**k the rest of the world? Yeah, we can do that. But not for long. Because it IS a global society that is evolving. But it's not a "global society" the PNAC is interested in, it's a global economy.

The global society is becoming a reality. How we approach that reality will determine whether democracy survives, not just in the United States, but in the world.

Thanksgiving Eve, 2005: An E-mail Exchange With a Right-Wing Friend in NY

May you and your family have an enjoyable Thanksgiving, and remember to keep the troops in your prayers. -- Howie

Howie--I am sincerely thankful that we have a strong military, and that there are thousands and thousands of Americans, young and not-so-young, who are willing to give their lives for what they believe in. I am sincerely thankful that we are a nation founded on Enlightenment values of liberty, equality, sovereignty vested in the PEOPLE, and religious freedom. I am sincerely thankful that we have a tradition--a very Christian tradition, by the way--of sacrifice for the sake of the "tired, poor, and huddled masses" who yearn to be free. I am thankful for so many things, not just at this time of year, but always, and these things are constantly in my prayers of thanks to God.

I hold in utter contempt, however, "leaders" who abuse the sacred trust given them by the PEOPLE to use military force only when it is necessary to protect American values. I hold in utter contempt "leaders" who distort and in some cases ignore those very values in the name of "security." I hold in utter contempt leaders who put the needs--in reality, in most cases, the wants--of corporations and the wealthy over the overwhelming needs of the PEOPLE. I hold in utter contempt leaders who lie, manipulate, and break laws--yes, even international laws--to further the goals of global capitalism.

I am thankful, though, that I see evidence that my faith in America and my hope for its future is not "mere" naive idealism. I am thankful that my belief that the PEOPLE, fully informed about what is going on in the world, will choose the right course, that they may be persuaded, in contempt of their sacred trust, by lies, but that once in possession of truth, they will not maintain a rigid orthodoxy. I am thankful not so much for being an American (although I am indeed thankful for that), but for being a member of the human race, blessed by God, for no good reason, with human intelligence and critical reasoning abilities, and thankful that more and more human beings are ackowledging and using these gifts.

I am thankful, too, to God for the awesome gift of your friendship, and you and Maria and your family will be in my prayers of thanksgiving this year, as always.

But my prayers of thanksgiving this year, as always, will be tempered not by false patriotism, but by a clear view of reality. There is no free lunch--EVER. If we have inordinate gifts in America--and we do--it cannot be without the sacrificies of others, voluntary or involuntary. If Americans hold and control a disproportionate share of the world's wealth--and we do--this is an injustice that we should not be thankful for, and for which, if we leave the situation untouched, we will have to answer for to that same God we will thank tomorrow. It is sacrilegious, I think, to thank God for gifts won unjustly. Read John Paul II's 1987 encyclical Solicitudo Rei Socialis. Please read it. I also urge you to buy and read Jacques Ellul's The Presence of the Kingdom. I have used this text in classes many times. The students, after four weeks of reading, discussing, and arguing over this book, are always exhausted and down-hearted. They enter a state of utter denial. They are threatened, and feel the effects of disrupted and subverted cultural assumptions. This is the first step to real learning.

And I will say once again this Thanksgiving a prayer I say every day--many times every day--which comes from the Gospel of Luke (chapter 18, verses 9-14). Here is the passage. See if you can find the prayer:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men -- robbers, evildoers, adulterers -- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

I pray that you will be as good as your word (for you believe that America is a "Christian" nation) and take Jesus's words to heart. Read it. Think about it. Really think about it. We have a long way to go before we can ever legitimately call ourselves a "Christian nation."

I love you, Howie. Happy Thanksgiving.

Peace,
Peter

A Thanksgiving E-mail to a Right-Wing Friend in NY

May you and your family have an enjoyable Thanksgiving, and remember to keep the troops in your prayers.

--Howie

Howie--

I am sincerely thankful that we have a strong military, and that there are thousands and thousands of Americans, young and not-so-young, who are willing to give their lives for what they believe in. I am sincerely thankful that we are a nation founded on Enlightenment values of liberty, equality, sovereignty vested in the PEOPLE, and religious freedom. I am sincerely thankful that we have a tradition--a very Christian tradition, by the way--of sacrifice for the sake of the "tired, poor, and huddled masses" who yearn to be free. I am thankful for so many things, not just at this time of year, but always, and these things are constantly in my prayers of thanks to God.

I hold in utter contempt, however, "leaders" who abuse the sacred trust given them by the PEOPLE to use military force only when it is necessary to protect American values. I hold in utter contempt "leaders" who distort and in some cases ignore those very values in the name of "security." I hold in utter contempt leaders who put the needs--in reality, in most cases, the wants--of corporations and the wealthy over the overwhelming needs of the PEOPLE. I hold in utter contempt leaders who lie, manipulate, and break laws--yes, even international laws--to further the goals of global capitalism.

I am thankful, though, that I see evidence that my faith in America and my hope for its future is not "mere" naive idealism. I am thankful that my belief that the PEOPLE, fully informed about what is going on in the world, will choose the right course, that they may be persuaded, in contempt of their sacred trust, by lies, but that once in possession of truth, they will not maintain a rigid orthodoxy. I am thankful not so much for being an American (although I am indeed thankful for that), but for being a member of the human race, blessed by God, for no good reason, with human intelligence and critical reasoning abilities, and thankful that more and more human beings are ackowledging and using these gifts.

I am thankful, too, to God for the awesome gift of your friendship, and you and Maria and your family will be in my prayers of thanksgiving this year, as always.

But my prayers of thanksgiving this year, as always, will be tempered not by false patriotism, but by a clear view of reality. There is no free lunch--EVER. If we have inordinate gifts in America--and we do--it cannot be without the sacrificies of others, voluntary or involuntary. If Americans hold and control a disproportionate share of the world's wealth--and we do--this is an injustice that we should not be thankful for, and for which, if we leave the situation untouched, we will have to answer for to that same God we will thank tomorrow. It is sacrilegious, I think, to thank God for gifts won unjustly. Read John Paul II's 1987 encyclical Solicitudo Rei Socialis. Please read it. I also urge you to buy and read Jacques Ellul's The Presence of the Kingdom. I have used this text in classes many times. The students, after four weeks of reading, discussing, and arguing over this book, are always exhausted and down-hearted. They enter a state of utter denial. They are threatened, and feel the effects of disrupted and subverted cultural assumptions. This is the first step to real learning.

And I will say once again this Thanksgiving a prayer I say every day--many times every day--which comes from the Gospel of Luke (chapter 18, verses 9-14). Here is the passage. See if you can find the prayer.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

I pray that you will be as good as your word (for you believe that America is a "Christian" nation) and take Jesus's words to heart. Read it. Think about it. Really think about it. We have a long way to go before we can ever legitimately call ourselves a "Christian nation."

I love you, Howie. Happy Thanksgiving.

Peace,
Peter

An E-mail Exchange With a Right-Wing Friend From NY

This all flowed from a previous posting. Howie is RED. I am BLUE.


You know I don't (hate America).

But you hate American values. If you support torture, you hold American values in contempt. Torture is un-American. Supporting torture is un-American. End of discussion.

You hate Christian values. If you support torture, you hold Christianity in contempt. Torture is un-Christian. Supporting torture is un-Christian. End of discussion.

America has only done GOOD for the world.

America has done much great good for the world in the past. I pray it will do so in the future. Right now, we're NOT doing good, by holding our own values in contempt, by acting unlike America has acted ever before.

Through out our history, we've sacrificed millions of American lives so that the world is a safer and better place to live. NO OTHER COUNTRY HAS SACRIFICED SO MUCH AND HAS PAID SO MUCH AS WE HAVE.

In WW I, the US lost 126,000 soldiers. Russia lost 1, 700,000--about 15 for every American. Britain (and its colonies) lost 908,000. France lost 1,300,000--about 10 for every American. Italy (an ally at that point) lost 650,000.

In WW II, the US lost 292,000 soldiers. The French underground lost 292,000. Britain lost 264,000. The Soviet Union lost 8,668,000 (!).
See also here.

I don't point this out to denigrate the sacrifices that the "greatest generation" made. But it's important to put your right-wing propaganda in perspective. Many other countries have paid a far greater toll than we have in fighting for freedom.

As you know, I hate it when lazy people blame our government for their shortcomings.

I hate intellectual laziness, half-truths, and propaganda that tries to justify the greatest country in the world acting like the worst. I hate intellectual laziness that reveals utter contempt for American values.

People are always quick to criticize us when we don't rush to their aid, yet always seem to criticize us when we go to aid someone else.

Like your criticism of our NATO coalition in Bosnia?

This resentment of the Muslims to us infidels didn't start with Bush.

Of course it didn't. But he has done more in the last five years to exascerbate and propagate it than anyone in our lifetime.

I asked you the other day about The Patriot Act and peoples rights violated. You were able to name 4 cases. well, even if its only 100. If Americans lives are being saved, I accept it.

A] That's a shame for you. Why do you want to curtail American freedoms? Why do you hate America? B] American lives are NOT being saved. What makes you think they are? Because the Bush administration says so? It is rather dangerous to take their word for it.

We still have far more rights than most people in the world.

Unless we have exactly what the Constitution gives us, I am not satisfied. Why do you hate the Constitution? Why do you hate America?

And remember, the rights that you say we have lost, is not a result of Americans actions, its a result of the terrorists and radical Muslims that you give the benefit of the doubt.

I give no one the benefit of the doubt beyond what our Constitution and International law that we have agreed to and ratified demands.

That you feel sorry for

I feel sorry for NO terrorist. I want to see ALL terrorist brought to justice. If we abandon the rule of law, however, in our pursuit of terrorists, if we deny essential, universal rights of due process, we have become a lawless society. We are answerable only to our emotions. And that's how terrorists think.

because you feel that the big bad America stepped on with its bad capitalistic society.

You can play the Laura Ingraham game all you want, Howie, and just make fun of legitimate criticism. But the undeveloped world is being exploited for cheap labor and cheap resources. And an enormous portion of this world is Islamic. Terrorist leaders like Osama may be insane, but the footsoldiers of terrorism are desperate people. Injustice spawns injustice. It doesn't justify terrorism--EVER. But if you are aware of an injustice, and do nothing to make it right, you own a piece of responsibility for whatever evil comes out of it. That's Catholic theology, by the way.

I'm proud to be an American.

No you're not. You are embarrassed by views that dissent from the administration's. You'd love to silence that dissent. You are supportive of torture. You don't believe in due process of law. You don't believe in the equality of people. These are not American values. So you are NOT proud to be an American. You are proud, perhaps, to be a Bush republican. And you label this being an "American." But it is not.

I am embarrassed when people like Kennedy, Durbin and Leheay try to make a point, by putting this Great country down.

They are not "putting this great country down." They are criticizing policies that are un-American.

And I have even more resentment for them when I see Muslim news stations quoting them.

The truth hurts, Howie. Deal with it.

Yet Another E-mail to a Right-Wing Friend in NY (AKA Howie)

From Howie:

A little history lesson you may enjoy

I thought that you and others may like to see this. One detail that is not mentioned, in DC, there can never be a building of greater height than the Washington Monument.

With all the uproar about removing the Ten Commandments, etc. This is worth a moment or two of your time. I was not aware of this historical information.

On the aluminum cap, atop the Washington Monument in Washington DC, are displayed two words: Laus Deo. No one can see these words. In fact, most visitors to the monument are totally unaware they are even there and for that matter, probably couldn't care less.

Once you know Laus Deo's history, you will want to share this with everyone you know. But these words have been there for many years; they are 555 feet, 5.125 inches high, perched atop the monument, facing skyward to the Father of our nation, overlooking the 69 square miles which comprise the District of Columbia, capital of the United States of America.

Laus Deo! Two seemingly insignificant, un-noticed words. Out of sight and, one might think, out of mind, but very meaningfully placed at the highest point over what is the most powerful city in the most successful nation in the world.

So, what do those two words, in Latin, composed of just four syllables and only seven letters, possibly mean? Very simply, they say "Praise be to God!"

(--sigh--)

Oh, man, I just love it when right-wingers start to lecture about (what they call) "history." Here's a little note: there's a difference between "history" and "myth." George Washington was a historical figure. Zeus (for instance) was a mythological figure.

Now, there's nothing wrong with myth. Myths are essential to human understanding of life. But they're not history. It's important to think clearly about that. Now, I believe in God (here's another piece of irony for you, Howie, because I think I believe in God probably more strongly than the gobshite who sent you this piece of crap). "God," however, is a myth. Don't be a right-winger now and jump on the surface of my words and proclaim, "Aha!!! You don't believe God exists! You are an atheist!" I just got finished saying that I believe very strongly in God. God has given me everything in my life. Sometimes the things She has given me were out-and-out gifts, and sometimes they were challenges--tests of strength? Tests of faith? Or mere challenges? Wake up calls? I can't be sure, because (unlike the President) I don't suffer under the delusion that God talks directly to me (there is a term for such a phenomenon, by the way, and it is "psychosis").

God exists. But She has left no record of her existence (unless you're going to tell me that the Bible is the literal "word of God"). God implies Her existence, and it is up to us to discern it and recognize it and appreciate it--or not.

The people who created the old testament stories, passed them down orally for centuries, and then finally wrote them down (by the way, they wrote them in a highly ambiguous orthographic system that had no vowels, but represented only syllables whose meanings changed dependent on the spoken vowel sound used, so at some point, once these stories were written, someone had to decide what each word meant as they read them, as it wasn't clear from the text--this is centuries before the alphabet was invented, and this is also where the Jewish tradition of Talmudic scholarship comes from), could have been, may have been, and I believe were inspired by God. But it is also important to note that they could have been wrong. These stories began to be told about 6,000 years ago, and weren't written down until between 3,000 and 2,500 years ago. Things get mixed up. There are two divergent creation stories, for instance, in the book of Genesis itself. It came from two seperate sources. But the ancient Hebrews who told these stories, and eventually read and interpreted these stories, knew it was part of the process to try to figure out their meaning. They didn't believe that it was the "literal word of God."

The New Testament, of course, is another story, and Christians especially should approach it in a different way. If you believe the Christian "myth" (and I do) Christ was both God and man. Christ was both outside of history and historical. The stories about Christ contained in the New Testament have at least the patina of history attached to them. Some were possibly written by people who actually knew Christ. There are certainly texts (although rejected by the early church fathers for inclusion in the official canon of writings we call the New Testament) that were written by contemporaries of Christ.

And so Christ did exist, and was a historical figure. We know that because we have evidence of his life. But the idea that Christ was also God is a myth (i.e., we have and can have no empirical evidence that God even exists, so how can we have evidence that Christ "is" God?). Here is where faith comes in.

Faith is belief where there is no evidence. I'll go further: faith is belief where there is evidence to the contrary. And I'll add a corollary: If you have evidence, and you believe because you have evidence, there is no faith. And if the evidence you have is bogus, then you are a gobshite. Let me make this clear: You can have two people who say they believe in Christ. One believes he has evidence (the "literal word of God") that explains everything to him. God said this, so it must be so--factually so, historically so, empirically so. When the evidence proves to be "nicht sehr gutt," this person turns his back on the facts that undermine the evidence, and demands that his evidence is "true" and unassailable. The battle over creationism is an example of this. This is the mindset of fundamentalism, and by the way, this is the mindset of all fundamentalism, whether it is Christian, Jewish, or Islamic. The other person has no evidence. The other person sees corruption all around him. He sees death and war and hatred and greed and everything that God (if She's out there, somewhere) despises. Everything that Jesus taught about seems to be undermined in the world. The meek inheriting the earth? Yeah, show me. The peacemakers entering the Kingdom of God? Where do you see that happening? But this person believes anyway, and tries to live his life according to Christ's example. That is real faith.

Why do you need to believe so badly in the myth of the Christian nation? Would that somehow make you feel justified for all the evil the US is doing in the world right now? Would that allow you to say, "Well, we're really doing God's work here, so even though it looks bad now, good will come of it because God obviously wills it." Howie: Christian is as Christian does. That's the bottom line. And you know, even if those tablets in the Supreme Court building were the ten commandments (historical documents indicate they represent the first ten amendments to the Constitution--the Bill of Rights), and even if the top of the Washington monument does say "praise God" (and, by the way, laus deo does not mean "praise be to God" which is a triumphalist slogan, like "look at how great God made us," it means "praise God" which is an admonition, an imperative, a warning), and even if the founding fathers did intend America to be a Christian nation (and historical evidence indicated that they didn't, but you don't care about history except to make it up and spread lies that pose as "history"), doesn't mean that today we're being a Christian nation. Because we're not. I'd love it if this nation, and this President, who call themselves "Christian" would actually be Christian. No one would be happier than I. But they're not, and consequently, we're not. On the contrary, we are a nation of idolators, worshipping a false God, a God who apparently believes that we are responsible to one another only to the extent that free-market forces demand we be. Christ, Howard Raymond, was not a Republican, no matter how hard you want to make him one. That is idolatry, and it is blasphemy.

Howie, do you go to church? Do you read the bible? There's no judgment here on my part. I don't believe for a second that going to church or reading the bible makes you a "good" person, and not doing so makes you "bad." That's more bullshit. But I'm trying to understand how and why this (incorrect and really quite harmful) myth of the Christian nation has become so important to you. I do read the bible, nearly on a daily basis (for some years now), and I know I've sent you these very passage before. But I'm sending them again, and I wish you would read them and really think about them. They may tell you something about certain people in oour public life right now who claim to have "the truth" and lead others down a road to destruction. They may also tell you something about love and forgiveness, and what Christ really wants us to do during our brief time on earth.

Matthew 5:1-12

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 19:16-26

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 23:1-33
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind ones! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and selfindulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

Luke 18:9-14

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

John 8:1-11

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

There's plenty more where that came from, Howie, and if I sometimes (always?) seem obnoxious and preachy, I apologize. But the "blind guides" who are leading this country right now are leading us not to Christ, but to lies, and to damnation. The "christ" that they refer to, and the "christian nation" they believe they are a part of, has nothing to do with Christ, and nothing to do with the Kingdom of God (unless, like them, money is your god).

I ask you, very humbly, and without judgment, to read these, read further in the New Testament, and look deeply into your heart. Christ is a Christ of love and forgiveness. He is not the "kick-ass" Christ of the last 30 seconds of Mel Gibson's "Passion." He is the Good Shepherd, and he wants us to be Good Shepherds, too.

If you can't see this loving Christ after deep contemplation, it doesn't matter. I love you and I will always love you as my oldest friend. But please don't try to convince me any more that we are a "Christian nation," or that Bush is doing "good" (i.e., God's work), unless he actually does have a conversion of spirit and actually does begin to do good. On that day, we'll both rejoice, I promise you.