The lunacy of our reality around us....

I started something new a week or so ago -- I started saving all of the articles I collected that I wanted to blog about.. I had no idea this folder would be getting so LARGE so QUICKLY...

What's the deal with YOGA?? I couldn't believe this little diddy from my favorite television pastor Pat Robertson who actually believes that when you're engaging your body in the ritual of stretching and other manipulations - "you are actually praying to Hindu gods Vishnu and Krishna and you're not even aware of it!"

Oh you've got to be kidding me!!! When I rub my belly after a full and satisfying meal, am I also praying to Budha?? It's things like this - and the reaction from the neo-cons in the far far Christian Right that scare me to death.. Because deep down, Pat believes this.. Never mind the fact that during our daily routines we may actually be engaging in several "praying stances" to one god or another!! It's folks like Pat that spread this non-sense so that we can all go running back to the cave..

And while we're running back into the cave.....

I think Sherri Shepherd from "The View" has a really good heart.. I know she means well.. I know she is desperate to try to do the right thing.. But when she recently disavowed the entire meaning behind "B.C." - the reference of time "Before Christ" or before the Christian Era.... No.. Sherri firmly believes in the whole 7 day thing - and that Jesus was the first person in the world.. Okay - I don't even think the Bible does that because of the whole Adam and Eve story -- but when you look at what Pat is doing - and when you listen to what Sherri is saying .... then it's no stretch of the imagination to rationalize why we have developed a very peculiar sense of reality.. It's the reality brought to us by the Bush administration to re-write history and to have the "equality" of religion vs. science -- when it's the reality of science that gives us the electrons for you to SEE this posting through your electron-based COMPUTER to begin with... I don't ever recall hearing how God created Microsoft on Day 8 -- but maybe that was included somewhere else..

And the idiot of the world award goes this week to Presidential hopeful, former Republican Governor Mike Huckabee who proudly declared in 1992 that "I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk." And this little gem as well: "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague." He recently went on Fox News to reiterate his stance and not recant his statement about homosexuality..

Amazing.. All we have to do is round up all the homosexuals in the United States so that the spread of AIDS stops.. I would imagine that all of the heterosexual infected would need to be included -- as well as the children of those who were born with HIV or received HIV through a blood transfusion.. Forgive me, but the best way to combat the disease is through education, through knowledge, and through societal changes.. Simply rounding up all the Huckabee defined "queers" will not get rid of AIDS -- because when you look at its origins in Africa .... they aren't gay down there.....

But the Sherri Shepards of the world -- it's gospel.. They link to it because Huckabee says so, therefore it must be right.. But our own present history teaches us that we shouldn't necessarily believe every single thing our anointed leaders tell us -- because more than not -- they are worse than wrong as their respective view points only serve to endanger our awareness of the world around us instead of properly educating people like Sherri so that she has a better understanding in her place in life..

Have we stooped down to a very despondent layer wherein our Yoga exercises are seen as praying to someone else's deity?? Have we stooped to the point of agreeing that the earth may have been created in just 7 days like it says in the bible when there's a great deal of scientific evidence to the contrary?? Where does that line start and end??

I've had it with the head in the sand mentality that our anointed few think is necessary for us to believe in.. Because if we all need to go back into the cave - then we're in absolute denial about the way the world works.. We believe that it's "faith" stored in those weapons that protect our borders and all we need to do is pray extra hard so that no one ever does anything bad to our schools, malls, and armed forces overseas..

Was it a simple matter of not praying enough?? Was it a matter that the Omaha mall shooter was just possessed by some demon or are we going to sit back and blame our video games again?? Maybe it would be much better to take a empirical and scientific approach to resolving such issues..

Maybe a Yoga class is responsible for un-doing the Christian spectrum of prayer by inadvertently praying to the praying mantis or some other orthopod out there....

No....

Maybe we can't bring world peace by prayer alone..
Maybe we need to have balance in our lives that can rationally look at science as a means - and have our faith in whatever deity we choose to guide our morality..
Maybe we need competent leadership-type folks who aren't afraid to say to the American populace that "balance is good.."

Balance is good..

Don't follow these folks into the cave.. It's really dark in there and I'm really sure there aren't any prayers out there that can provide you light inside the cave...

The Legacy

It would appear that in addition to making laws to make every situation fit for this administration - we're now vigorously re-writing the history to make it fit as well.. So imagine my "shock and awe" when I discovered this gem:

"Rove: Congress Pushed Bush to War in Iraq Prematurely" -- yet another insane performance by Bush's ex-top dog Karl Rove -- wherein he asserts that it was really CONGRESS who pushed Bush into war and how the President wanted to build a coalition, wait for weapons inspectors and let the process happen naturally..

Excuse me -- did he just say that it was Congress' fault??

The "Architect," The Man behind Bush's Brain -- came out swinging on the Charlie Rose show -- blaming a Republican-held Congress and Senate for PUSHING this administration into the war in Iraq.. Wow.. That's quite an assertion laid out by the Rover despite the mere fact that this is the FIRST time anyone has even attempted to suggest such an idiotic thing..

But what Rove doesn't really seem to understand: despite the ludicrous assertion that it was CONGRESS who pushed Bush into the war ... that either means:

a.) You just alienated your last best friend on earth by making such an unpopular suggestion like this, or....

b.) Bush has no spine to make decisions for himself and will cower in the corner until Congress tells him what to do....

Based on previous experience with this administration - I'd have to say that it's very highly unlikely that Bush is just going to "roll over" and be told by Congress what to do about Iraq.. Quite simply look at Bush's bravado and his "God save the Kingdom" speeches for further insight.. He's not a whupped Michael Vick puppy dog, okay??

But to get on a program like Charlie Rose - and continue to spout the company line when you have no further investment with this administration just seems completely insane.. I never thought I'd have to do another blog entry about the Rover - but when tries to re-write history in the way he wants this President to shine ... then something has got to be said.. Clearly the ploy of him working for Newsweek is to perhaps secure a press "beach head" for this administration when it finally leaves office.. At least that way - some plans have been laid out for Bush's legacy.....

.... and oh - how wondrous that legacy continues to look..

There it is....

The slogan for the 2008 Presidential election just emerged today:

"It takes a Clinton to clean up after a Bush...."

Not a fan of Hillary - but whoever thought of that gem should be given a salary increase..

"All we need is a little more faith..."

All we need to do is trust our President..

All we need to do is trust his judgment..

All we have to do ..... is have a little more faith..

*sighs*

We blindly followed this man as he and his administration wove the most elaborate P.R. message to further their respective causes.. Where did that leave us??

- I've already blogged about the fact that Bush's unilateral policies have set forth the way science is considered in our country.. Religion is now considered an equal to science -- even though there doesn't appear to be any schematics for the electron so that we could develop electronics.. And I didn't really notice if there were any step by step instructions on how to build a gas-powered motor -- nor do I see it written anywhere that we should be justified for choosing our wars so that we protect our national interests..

- So it's no mystery that Bush once again - chose to unilaterally dismiss the U.N. demand for climate change.. After all, it's not written in the Bible that we should be worried about it -- we're not in the middle of a locust storm or anything like that, so why worry??

- And the saber rattling continues against Iran.. Bush and Cheney continue to concoct a war plan to invade Iran.. And remember, all we need is a little more faith and trusting the blind leading us into yet - another precarious regional conflict in an area WE'RE ALREADY HATED......

- But thank God we have the likes of Admiral William Fallon who honestly believes that invading Iran is a really big mistake.. "It seems to me that we don't need more problems. It astounds me that so many pundits and others are spending so much time yakking about this topic [of war against Iran]."

So please forgive me if I continue to not ride on the coat tails of faith that so many people seem to have for this administration..

I'm glad we have people of REASON and RATIONALE that are willing to address the problems we continually face.. Regardless if it's about the environment, regardless if it's about Iraq, Iran or privacy..

Are we seriously meant to believe that Jesus sat down with Bush to give him his marching orders to go into Iraq?? Do we honestly think that Jesus would be so profoundly blind about the plight of the people of the Sudan in the Darfur?? Are we expected to believe that it's in God's plan for us to invade Iran now too??

Is it really rational to believe that it's God's will for America to reign supreme -- almost in complete defiance of the teachings of the Bible to begin with the basic principle of brotherhood and thy fellow neighbor??

No -- I really don't think that's the case either..

And that's I've started to have faith in an America that continues to wake up from its slumber ... so that we can correct the extreme errant course this administration has set out for our country..

That's the faith I choose to believe in.. I just hope others follow..

Americans need to "redefine" what privacy is...

Donald Kerr, a rather gutsy Intelligence Official states that Americans should redefine what privacy is -- or the interpretation I take from it: cope with the fact that we're going to be watching every single thing you do.. Now - if we have to redefine what privacy is, then maybe Mr. Kerr would rather that we do away with the term altogether -- at least that's his ultra-paranoid stance on gathering intelligence procedures and process..

The mere notion of having the government be intrusive enough to be able to monitor everything you and I do -- *should* be a valid concern of us.. If Mr. Kerr has his way -- he'll want to know what you're thinking, what you dream about and whether or not chose Jiff over Skippy peanut butter and why you did that.. I'm not jesting as much as I'm calling to question why the government needs to have such access to our lives as it is.. After all, we have enough intrusion as it is when we consider that they are already monitoring our bank transactions and our telephone conversations.. It's no mystery that they've even been spying online on us for a really long time..

So my question to Mr. Kerr is simply: "to what end??"

To prevent another 9/11 from happening?? I can see that U.S. Intelligence has done so much to stop other "terrorist" entities -- insomuch that terrorists are not as dumb as Bush and Mr. Kerr would imply. That's why I've always been a strong opponent to a "carpet bombing" approach to US intelligence..

Think about it: we've existed as a country for over 200 years without the need of such intrusion-based methodology of obtaining intelligence.. The "carpet bombing" approach simply doesn't work.. Look at TSA's complete incompetence to DISCOVER bomb making material when it's PLACED DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THEM.......

Bottom line: Mr. Kerr and the Bush administration has done NOTHING to even confront the most simplistic question of "exactly how effective has this 'carpet bombing' approach to intelligence gathering been??" We get the political two-step response which ultimately needs to no where..

Americans generally offer: "we have nothing to hide, let them watch me" -- but deep down, I doubt any of us would volunteer to have cameras placed in our homes with microphones knowing that someone is watching us and listening to what we're doing.. The political structure in this country under Bush has fueled a sense of paranoia on the scale that none of us have seen before..

Take a closer look at the books and movies on this type of regime process - and let's all decide if this is a rabbit hole we really want to go down..

Sorry Mr. Kerr - your quarter is up...

"Leave my son alone!"

You'd think the above Title for this rant came from some middle America father who's son just got back from Iraq.. Or maybe it's some mother who is defending their son in the press from an unwarranted criminal charge..

Or in this case, it comes from an ex-President, speaking about his son - also a President who simply can't seem to grasp the idea that the war in Iraq was not the right answer.. It was never the right idea in the first place!! So when Bush 41 stands up to defend his son's foreign policy, it really makes Bush 43 look worse than he ever did before.. It makes him look week, incompetent and unable to defend himself..

The bad thing is: Bush 43 is weak.. Bush 43 is incompetent.. And given every possible opportunity to defend himself, he simply doesn't get the American mentality behind the war.. When the justifications for the continued war in Iraq, Bush floundered and squandered in so many ways -- it's a miracle things have been held together as long as they have already..

It's no wonder that he wants to hand this cluster over to "the next guy" so that he can dust off his jacket and continue writing the legacy he wants so that he gets painted in the most favorable light he can.. After all, when you fail so miserably in a war and by watching the country crumble with a heavily flawed economic policy the next "conflict" to be aware of is the one that's going to write about your Presidency..

So when Bush 41 stands before an audience and adamantly defends his son's myopic, distorted vision of Iraq -- I'm reminded that Saddam was not the only mad man of the world.. And if Bush 41 cared to learn the rest of the world's most atrocious leaders of the world -- he wouldn't have to play the Saddam card.. So as much as I'd like to back off and cut his son some slack -- I look at the photos of Bush's tour of a recovery unit and I shake my head..

Because there never was a viable acceptable mission that would placate the American thirst for finding those responsible for 9/11 -- only to find that Bush 43's acceptable parameters for securing Iraq had: a.) no WMD, b.) no sign of Al Qaeda, c.) no link to 9/11 (to the degree of any other middle eastern country), d.) a blow hard of a leader who liked to kill his own people -- a bad guy, true -- not unlike the slaughter happening in most of Africa or the continued purges that happen in other places like Haiti..

So - don't think that just because you can play the "Saddam is a bad guy" card when that simply doesn't apply in the grand scheme of things.. There's a lot of bad guys in the world -- and some of them a whole lot meaner and a whole lot more dangerous than Saddam could be..

Sorry - I won't leave your son alone, Mr. Bush Sr.. Not when there are over 76k Iraqi reported deaths and over 3,800 American lives -- I don't think I will ease up..

Imagine That: Americans want change....

It's a really bad indication for George Bush and his "legacy" when seventy-four percent (74%) of Americans think the nation needs a new direction.. Oh wow.. I thought the argument by every conservative out there is that America is just fine, we don't need any changes to the way things are ... those folks fall into the 24 percentile of those polled..

So the argument that things are just fine under Bush is gently floating away like a gentle feather on the wind.....

....a trend that I've been seeing for a very long time because Bush's incredibly thick-headed ambitions for his administration..

Now the conservatives are already rounding up the wagons (seeing that they have HUGE problems in 2008) and shaking out the same scare tactics that the Democrats want "bigger government" and "more tax money" -- which is very ironic considering we have a REPUBLICAN sitting President, supported by the very same conservatives who has expanded government, devalued the dollar while sustaining an endless overseas conflict while cutting taxes that continues to expand the national debt that continually out-paces the INTEREST on the money we've borrowed..

So - the scare tactic doesn't work anymore.. The Republicans can't even use the infamous "terrorism" monikers anymore because Americans are slow to learn -- but they are learning..

We're learning that Bush's "head in the sand" approach to the environment is much more detrimental than the "it's debatable" approach conservatives want us to believe.. I make mention of this - because NBC is starting a "Green Is Universal" awareness project that highlights the major environmental problems.. Fmr. Vice President and current Nobel laureate Al Gore will be starring on the Today show this week while the anchors report from the Arctic, the Equator and Antarctica this week..

Awareness.. Wow.. I would imagine that the Bush administration is leading the charge on this, right??

Um... No...

Because it's SCIENCE and SCIENCE needs to be thought about... Let's dismiss the fact that most scientists say: "it's a problem.." Let's dismiss the facts outlined in An Inconvenient Truth.. Let's dismiss science because it happens to disagree with your personally held belief of how the earth was created...

“In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “It is disconcerting that the official position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is ‘no comment.’”

I kid you not...

So while it's convenient not to "offend religious fundamentalists" by opining the approximate age of the Grand Canyon we should remain scientifically illiterate because it's better to explain the forces of the universe by way of the Bible -- while completely dismissing the complete compilation of science in general.. Consider what we'd be missing out on:

- The light bulb
- The electric motor
- Computers
- TV
- Telephones
- Medical Centers
- Preventive medicine
- The automobile

....just to name a few inventions that began with a single scientific principle.. To dismiss the science of our existence is an extreme hypocritical stance given the historical reference of such inventions to begin with..

Change is *definitely* good when one does not self-identify as being in the 21st century.. I'm just glad Americans are slowly realizing that we're better off than the days of the pony and cart.. Bush was a mistake in the making, but he was electable because Americans wanted change following Clinton's mishaps in the White House.. Blame the Democrats for being unable to effectively challenge Bush in 2004 and for continuing to lead us down this very weary path...

And to the 24% that believe we're on the right road -- I urge you to relocate to some third-world country to understand what it means to "go back in time.." Maybe then you can truly appreciate the "path" of the "right road" from your experiences..

The Hiatus is over....

I took a rather long break from Spoons Rant -- for a multitude of reasons, but for the most part, I needed a different venue to vent my political frustrations.. I participated in an online forums group -- and for what it's worth, very rarely did I find anyone who could challenge the facts and supposition of the arguments I presented..

In fact, one of my most favorite replies were from the folks that continued to "elevate" the debate by saying: "your logic defies intelligence, therefore no response is necessary.." This is your typical diabolical response when the said person doesn't have a viable argument on the contrary of what you've just posted.. But I continued to play with the unfortunate on a variety of issues ranging from the death penalty to the economy to the debacle in Iraq.. I've concluded that there is a very dangerous myopic condition with a selected few in the country that continues to protect its conservative base to absolutely no end..

In their eyes, the administration and the GOP can do no wrong when in reality - much of what this administration and the GOP have done absolutely wrong.. Iraq is but one example.. Our FEMA protection is all but impotent in comparison to the Clinton tenure when it was at its most effective.. Conservatives simply cannot understand and/or realize that there is a necessary investment in the society around them -- or you get what's happening in San Diego: a rather chaotic assessment of a department's recommendation for at least 150 firetrucks since the 2003 autumnal blazes -- and only 19 have been ordered .... ....to be delivered sometime next year..

So it's no surprise when I left the forum group several weeks ago that I felt a tremendous sense of relief.. I had made substantial investments of time and effort to help turn the tide for those to see exactly what it's like being on a sinking ship.. Unfortunately for those few who remain adamant that the Titanic is not sinking -- they remain destined to cling onto whatever life saving tactic to preserve the party..

...nevermind the fact that the "party" of the GOP is ultimately responsible for the events of the last 6+ years...

But a glimmer of hope remains for the Democratic party - to awaken from its slumber and begin to take charge of the parts of government it currently controls.. I'm very disappointed in the Democrats this year - as I had honestly felt that the elections of 2006 finally woke their collective rear-ends so as to finally do something about terrorism, about the environment, about education, about our failing infrastructure and the ability to protect our borders..

Unfortunately our elected populace continues to squander its opportunities and we are now faced with an equally impotent government who is unwilling and unable to make a meaningful impact for all of us..

Bush sealed off the steering room a long time ago -- and our ship continues to drift towards the iceberg which has already ripped open several lower compartments like a hot knife slicing through butter.. Bush is unwilling to admit his failures or see that the design of a new course is essential to the livelihood of America.. It's this stamp which will plague his legacy and something that will follow him through the history books..

....and that's very unfortunate for all of us....