Those damned college professors! They're always teaching the facts! And everyone knows that Truth has a liberal bias. Well, these students aren't taking it lying down:
What courage! Real conservatives, standing up to those liberal professors ... but wait ...
Alas, it turns out these students aren't really concerned about conservative politics. They're Christians, and they're angry that the professors don't respect their beliefs, which probably include creationism, suppression of homosexuality, and the subjugation of women. According to Editor-in-Chief Zachary Freeman:
"I think perhaps we (as a nation) have lost our faith and our understanding. The College Conservative works to indirectly promote the biblical truths."
"Normally, the country can count on conservatives to deal in facts. We base policies on science, not sentiment, we insist on people being accountable for their actions, and we maintain that markets, not mandates, are the path to prosperity.
When it comes to energy and climate, these are not normal times. ... Courage fails us when it comes to energy and climate. Fearing our economic circumstances, we've decided to channel the fear rather than to confront it."
These are strong and courageous words coming from a true conservative.
Inglis goes on to advocate one of the best free-market principles ever invented: charge the total cradle-to-grave cost of energy products. Don't just charge
Here's a "resource" for you if you want a little comedy every day. Unfortunately, these guys are serious. The WorldNetDaily web site is one of the craziest there is. Worse, they have the appearance of legitimacy, and are widely cited by other Christian news sites. Mainstream Christians should be embarrassed to be associated with such nuttery, but sadly they're not.
Today's sample is a good illustration. They tell the story of how Karl Marx was once a good Christian, but was corrupted by the evils of higher education.
"Why did Marx became a God hater who invented not only one of the worst tools of oppression to Christianity, but also to all of humanity? Why did Engels become his accomplice? The turning point in both of their lives occurred at the universities they attended when they learned of a new 'Christian doctrine'' called 'liberal theology.'
And they go on to imply that the entire Soviet Empire, China, Korea, Vietnam, Cuba and so on are all the fault of the liberal theology that was – and still is! – taught in universities.
That's pretty amazing, that a few professors could alter world history so dramatically. Never mind that there
A CNN story this morning caught my eye. Actually it was more than that; I was almost shocked by the implications.
Political Affiliation
Willing to Compromise
Stick to Beliefs
Independents
49%
24%
Democrats
59%
18%
Republicans
32%
41%
These numbers alone are pretty scary. According to CNN, "Forty one percent of Republicans questioned in the survey say it is more important for lawmakers to stick to their beliefs even if little gets done." Imagine if the Democrats adopted that same rigid unwillingness to compromise. Our government would come to a standstill.
Coincidentally I read a fantastic article yesterday called Neuroscience and Fundamentalism by Kenneth M. Heilman and Russell S. Donda (sent to me by reader cipher – thanks!).
According to Heilman and Donda, there may be genetic reasons for why some people have more flexible beliefs than others:
How is it that one person can find it utterly intolerable to believe anything other than a given interpretation of religious doctrine, while another appears comfortable with adding his or her own meaning to the same literature? It is conceivable that the mystery underlying these distinct approaches arises from a not often considered, yet key difference in brain function.
In other words, some of us may be biologically programmed to be inflexible! I encourage you to read the whole fascinating article; I can't do it justice with a few quotes.
But there's more. Heilman and Donda go on to say that the tendency towards fundamentalist thinking can be amplified
A lot of my research for these blogs takes me into "enemy territory" – web sites of the ultra right, Tea Baggers, evangelical Christians, creationists and some stuff that just makes me say, "Huh?" Such was my day on Monday when I dug up this blog. The story was on CNSNews, "The Right News, Right Now," which is to say, "Right wing news".
Check out the ad on the right. This is their main sponsor.
That's right. These people are equating Obama not to socialism, but to communism. Hammer and sickel. Red. And this is the most prominent advertisement supporting this "news" organization. And "GTFO"? I thought these conservatives supported family values! (For those of you not acquainted with the term, it means "Get the f--- out!" Nice.) Notice that it's a striking white girl wearing the shirt.
Obama must be a pretty amazing guy. First he's a socialist. No, actually he's a communist! And obviously he's a Muslim. But wait, he's an atheist too. And a Jew sympathizer! A communist Muslim Jew sympathizer atheist. He's raising our taxes! Unemployment is his fault! The wars are his fault!
What's weird is that these ultra conservatives seem to be able to actually believe
It seems there's been an underground movement called "sovereign citizens" who reject the authority of our government. With the election of a Black man who is also a Democrat, these people are gaining adherents.
They don't believe in taxes, social security numbers, or even that our laws apply to them. They're "sovereign" in their own eyes. Scary stuff.
Beck shows the video of the Israeli commandos being attacked while boarding the blockade-busting ship from Turkey, and then tries to claim that Fox News is the only network "willing to show" Israel's side of the controversy. "Turn on any media out let, other than this one. They're not going to show you this!"
Stewart then goes on to show virtually EVERY other news network airing that video, including MSNBC, before Fox News!
What a hoot!
I guess in addition to being in the Liar's Club and the Hypocrites Club, Glenn Beck now gets to join an exclusive club of his own, the Dumb Reporters Who Don't Check Their Facts Club.
Of course, real reporters will object to Glenn Beck being included in their ranks. It reminds me of the old joke:
The Potato Princess came home one day and announced to the Potato King and Queen that she was engaged! To Dan Rather of 60 Minutes! She was very excited, but the King instantly put an end to her joy. "Why, you can't marry him! You're a royal potato, and he's just a commentator!"
Ok, dumb joke. But Beck is so annoying. Why can't conservative news networks get real, honest conservatives? Remember William F. Buckley? I admired him even though I disagreed with just about everything he ever said. Oh, for the good ol' days when there were conservatives worth arguing with.
I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to take me off of your mailing list. While I respect family, and enjoy a lively discussion, your recent emails are too much.
I put up with any number of times when you called my beliefs "unAmerican" or "unpatriotic." But this latest disrespectful video propaganda, which accuses the duly elected President of the United States of being a Muslim and traitor, goes beyond civilized discussion. It's hate speech, it's unpatriotic and disrespectful to both the President himself and the office of President, and it shows a remarkable ignorance of the plain facts.
It's sad that American conservatives have stooped to this low form of dialog. Rather than discussing policy, conservatives use character assassination. Rather than bipartisanship, conservatives have become obstructionists, even at the cost of hurting the American people. At every turn, conservatives are blocking progress, shouting "The sky is falling!", and throwing mud on everyone in sight.
Never forget, Jim, that every single problem that Obama is trying to fix was created by a Republican President. Two unfunded wars that will force huge increases in taxes, attacking Iraq while ignoring the nuclear programs in North Korea, Iran and Pakistan, letting the Talilban slip away from Afghanistan because Bush's oil friends needed Iraq ... the list goes on and on.
And since it was the "He's a Muslim" video that finally prompted me to write this letter, let's talk about that.
First, what if Obama is Muslim? All of those things he says in the video excerpts about the accomplishments of Islam and Muslims are true. Maybe you didn't read your history, but I did. The Muslims did, in fact, preserve much of civilization's knowledge through the Middle Ages, when the Christians were trying to snuff it out. The Dark Ages were a Christian creation. Algebra was invented by Muslims. Astronomy, philosophy, medicine ... Islamic scholars were way ahead of Christians during the Middle Ages. And all those other compliments Obama paid to Muslim history, they're actually true.
Why is that so hard for you to accept?
Second, where do you get the idea that the President can only be a Christian? Every American has the right to be part of our government, it's right there in the Constitution. If you were in the United States Navy, didn't you swear to defend that very same Constitution? Didn't you ever learn what's in the Constitution?
Third, I find it very ironic that while some conservatives accuse Obama of being Muslim, others accuse him of being an Atheist. Which is it? He can't be both, but I guess to a evangelical Christian, Muslims and Atheists are about the same. Still, it would be nice if you guys could coordinate your fabricated stories.
And finally, Obama is, in fact, a Christian. If you'd taken the time to watch the original videos of Obama's speeches, as I did, you'd see that he never once claimed to be Muslim. That hack piece of video propaganda you sent cut him off in mid-sentence many times, a stupid propaganda trick that any fool can see through. It's just plain dishonest.
I know you're sincere in your love for America, and I want you to know that I am too. But I consider your emails to be unAmerican. To be a true American, you have to accept that this is the land of freedom, the land where we respect one another's beliefs, and the land where our President is everyone's President. I didn't like George W. Bush, but I never once accused him of being unpatriotic, nor did I ever disrespect the office of the President. Obama was elected in an honest and fair election. Your side lost. Have some respect for your fellow Americans and take the loss gracefully.
When you sent that video, you wrote, "If you do not like this, don't let me know because it will cause me to question your patriotism to the United States of America and as a US Navy Veteran, that offends me more than you will ever know." Well, too bad, Jim. It goes both ways. Your right-wing unAmerican propaganda offends me more than you will ever understand. Family harmony has kept me silent, but no more.
I enjoyed some of the stuff you sent, especially good, fun jokes and stories. But I just can't ignore your intolerance and hate mail any more. So I hope you'll remove me from your mailing list. Thanks.
Your cousin, Craig
P.S. By the way, you were wrong about this picture, too. You called our President a "PIECE OF ANIMAL EXCREMENT" because he was being disrespectful to the veterans by not saluting. In fact, the President is not supposed to salute. He's a civilian, and only those in the armed forces are supposed to salute. The man with his hand over his heart was the one making the mistake, that gesture is for the Pledge. In fact, Obama is showing his respect correctly, by standing and bowing his head, as all civilians should. The President may be the Commander in Chief, but he is not in the military. That's one of the most unique things about our country, that our armed forces are headed by a civilian. So please don't call your President "ANIMAL EXCREMENT" when you haven't even checked the facts. Something smells like excrement here, but it's not the President.
It's so absurd the entire blogosphere is laughing about it: The people behind conservapedia.com (the right-wing "encyclopedia") want to rewrite the Bible, because it's too liberal!
According to their ten-point list of goals:
God is emasculated. Gotta fix that. All that genocide and war was pretty wimpy. Frying Sodom and Gomorra was child's play. Gotta toughen Him up! Show what a mean dude He is!
It's dumbed down. Yeah, some translations are written for seventh grade readers! Gotta stop that, you can't have just any dummy reading this stuff.
Keep up with the latest conservative terms. 'Cause you sure don't want anyone to think the Bible is for just anyone. No liberals allowed!
Emphasize the existence of Hell. Goes along with that emasculation, something you must stop. If God's going to be the tough guy, He's gotta be willing torture us!
Show how God approves of the Republican Party's economic principles. 'Cause everyone knows that God is a free-market economist. (Forget about all that socialistic sharing stuff Jesus said.)
Remove recent insertions, like the adultress story. Maybe they should even take Jesus out, since that whole pesky New Testament was inserted later too.
... and a bunch more misguided and misinformed conservative drivel.
Even the mainstream media (the NY Daily News and US News & World Report) are writing tongue-in-cheek articles that can barely contain their laughter.
And it would be laughable except that these people are both serious, and ignorant about their own precious Bible's history. These guys should study that history more before they announce these lofty, misguided projects. It's sort of embarrassing that a guy like me seems to know more about the Bible's history than they do.
Here's something weird, and interesting: Jumpy people, those who are easily startled, are much more likely to be politically conservative! And since political conservatives tend to be religious conservatives, it's probably true that people who are easily startled are more religious, too.
Many have claimed there's a genetic factor to religion, maybe this is a symptom? Those who are easily frightened may be more inclined to look for supernatural explanations? I don't know, it's just interesting.
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