Here's today's slice of life . . . . and it ain't pretty.
The FFR has been buying billboard time, and using the opportunity to state the obvious: Not believing in a make believe god is OK. Really. It is. Another DUer mentioned this earlier today:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7761561Take a look at that post. It should scare you. Who exactly hates us for our freedoms?
Those fun and cute atheist billboards are being attacked in the press, even disfigured and tagged by christian thugs. All that proves is that despite being in the majority in this country, christians are so scared of the truth getting out that they must attack anyone who questions their faith or their faith's integrity. The real problem for them is not that Pi does not equal 3, nor that whales really are not large fish, nor even that some biblical mythical character failed to make the sun stand still. The real problem is this (and they are painfully aware of it). If they fail to brainwash their spawn early and often, their children risk being afflicted with rational thinking. Once that happens, christianity is dead.
Then again, perhaps not. Take CPAC.
Please.
Bob Barr, a former candidate for president (2008), used to be a Republican. Say what you like about him, unlike many others on the right, Barr's word was good, and while he always stood by his convictions, he also had the reputation of being open to honest discussions, ideas and compromise. Barr was never the opportunist, but rather, he committed the unforgivable sin (for the GOP) of being a thinker. A current congressman from Illinois once told me that of all of today's GOPers, Barr was unique, in that his word was good, his heart was human, and his integrity was without question (even if his policies were wrong).
Barr sat before CPAC and committed yet another sin. He called for the rule of law, and worst of all, he stated what is so obvious to anyone (at least those who do not put their bible ahead of our constitution). According to Barr (and most legal and military scholars) waterboarding is torture.
For making this keen statement of fact, Barr was booed by CPAC participants.
http://rawstory.com/2010/02/bob-barr-shouted-down-cpac/I confess to having watched CSpin's coverage of CPAC as often as I could stand it. That translated to about 23 minutes in every 24 hour cycle, with the largest time block being about 4 straight minutes. Even that small amount of dipping a mental toe into those dangerous and dark waters got my blood close to the boiling point. My brief observations, together with news stories from Wall Street Urinal, NYT, and some liberal blogs brave enough to send potential POWs to the conference have led me to the following conclusion:
For the most part, the GOP is brain dead. The only segment of the party which has even a glimmer of energy or the slightest spark of activism is that segment we know as CPAC - the ultraconservatives, the christian, anti-tax, pro-war, pro-torture faction that seems to control the entire party.
If you are not a peculiar brand of christian, if you are not pro war, if you think that waterboarding is torture, then you are not welcome in the new and Improved CPAC, and as a result, you are probably not welcome in the GOP.
One time while traveling through Europe, I observed an angry group of people become a wild, out of control, violent mob. It is a scary thing, something you really want to avoid. I detected signs of similar behavior several times on this side of the Atlantic pond, first, during Sarah Palin rallies, when white racists came close to demanding the lynching of then Candidate Obama. If anything, her fans have become even more energized and convinced that we progressives are traitors and that Obama is America's enemy. I next noticed this lack of restraint last August, when members of the Congress were verbally attacked, sometimes by paid political activists sent by Big Insurance, but just as often, by some very angry, very misguided people whose knowledge base comes solely from conservative talk radio. More recently, this potential for violence exhibited itself in that pathetic Tea Bagger conference, a gathering of 600 misinformed, angry, and misguided angry christians. The last few days of CPAC confirmed that this conservative, christian collection of morans not only condones ever more energetic protests, but would not mind if these protests would take that final step, and turn into mob violence.
In that respect, I find it easy to lump these three groups together, at least on certain issues. CPAC, Tea Baggers, and Palin's most energetic supporters. They hate blacks. They hate liberals. They hate Obama. If you do not believe in their perverse view of christianity, you are anti-american. They have certain loves, too. They love tax cuts. War. Torture. Teaching the bible in publick sckules. Because ever since our nations four fathers were christian, it is their duty to force their religious rules on the rest of us, like it or not. They also seem to be attracted by power, violence, and control over others' lives.
Today's CPAC seems to control the GOP's current direction. It also seems that the Tea Baggers have a symbiotic relationship with CPAC.
In sheer numbers, both CPAC and the Tea Bagger movement add up to a very small, demented, but very energetic segment of America. While their numbers are small, their voices are extremely loud. For reasons I won't get into here, today's MSM does its best to promote both CPAC and the Tea Baggers. (on the other hand, Netroot conventions, with many more attendees, are studiously ignored, or mentioned with scorn and disdain)
One burning question that comes up. WHY? Why are CPAC and Tea Baggers so well funded? Why is the MSM fixated on covering them so politely and without criticism? Why is their message not being attacked by rational people? Why are these groups moving us ever closer to mob rule, violence and the potential destruction of society? As usual, the best way to find an answer is to follow the money.
OK. Let's follow the money trail. Dick Armey's billionaires and corporate sponsors invested millions to create and push forward the Tea Bagger concept. CPAC's biggest supporters tend to come from the same motley crew of conservative christians. Again, WHY? It should be obvious to everyone that the only logical result of CPAC conferences and Tea Baggers' meetings will eventually be a riot. One riot can easily lead to many across the country, as people fed up with the status quo grab a bat, a broom or even a gun and take to the streets. If you think a small private plane hitting an IRS office is bad, you haven't seen anything yet.
Throughout history, whenever a society is threatened with mobs, riots or internal violence, the most frequent response is martial law. Except, these days, our national guard and our military reserves are too busy acting as targets for unhappy Iraqis and Afghans, whose nations we still occupy. Who can they call on to enforce martial law, to stop riots, and to control unruly crowds?
I won't answer that directly. Instead, chew on this fact. According to the Wall Street Urinal, the fastest growing domestic businesses, those companies which are hiring people at an ever increasing rate are the same companies that provide civilian security in both Afghanistan and Iraq. We used to call one of those companies Blackwater. Heavily armed, with tanks, armor, helicopters, and the most powerful guns made, these private armies are now large enough to occupy a small country by themselves.
If riots break out, how long will it be until Xi and other mercenaries are hired to take control of our streets?
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