http://kaminakapow.com/seamless-crochet-donkey-pattern/?moderation-hash=90e45cb1d555ec09d4bd9d1f3d964881 I’ve written recently about the need to destroy Biblical literalism; and here is an obituary of one minister who worked on precisely this. The reporting appears to be unaware of the actual issues involved, but Gomes’ words themselves are salutary: “The Bible alone is the most dangerous thing I can think of,” he told The […]
Category Archives: Political Comments
Bibles and Evangelicals.
01-Mar-11One of the Great Revolutionary Poems.
01-Mar-11Pushkin’s “Message to Siberia,” translated by Max Eastman: Deep in the Siberian mine, Keep your patience proud; The bitter toil shall not be lost, The rebel thought unbowed. The sister of misfortune, Hope, In the under-darkness dumb Speaks joyful courage to your heart: The day desired will come. And love and friendship pour to you […]
Into Eternity.
18-Feb-11I saw the well-reviewed documentary “Into Eternity” last week, and was not too impressed, though I don’t quite regret the two hours. There has to be some excuse for making a movie out of what might be a thousand-word essay; and “Into Eternity” does not offer that kind of visual or experiential payoff. The facility […]
Bank of America, Wikileaks, and America.
14-Feb-11A most disturbing post from Glenn Greenwald, highlighting apparent Bank of America plans to target several journalists, including Greenwald and Jennifer 8. Lee.
Greenwald Spleen.
08-Feb-11Not for everyone, but I am an admirer of Glenn Greenwald when he launches into these splenetic rants against the world, flavored with irony of the very bitterest sort. The update is priceless: UPDATE: Highlighting several of the points here, The Independent‘s Robert Fisk today discovered that the aforementioned pro-Mubarak official Frank Wisner — hired by the State […]
Ugh.
04-Feb-11This kind of stuff gets my inner Robespierre rolling. $70 billion? This is an estimate, of course, but apparently it’s a good enough estimate to make the news. With all due respect to Christopher Hitchens’ intellect, the universe is not rationally coherent unless it finds some way to avenge itself in some horrible way on […]
Michael Pollan Meets Tea Party.
03-Feb-11A nice task for the Republican Congress looking to cut waste. Mark Bittman says overhaul our agricultural subsidy system: End government subsidies to processed food. We grow more corn for livestock and cars than for humans, and it’s subsidized by more than $3 billion annually; most of it is processed beyond recognition. The story is […]
The Middle Class.
03-Feb-11Teapartiers and Ron Paul types talk of a minimalist government whose sole function is the protection of basic rights; everything else, they say, is not a concern of government. But all governments throughout history have had another role, which is not protective so much as promotive: government favors some things and cultivates them. This is […]
Establishment Christianity.
21-Dec-10Astonishing statement by a U.S. servicemember on DADT, reported to me by a friend: “This is the first time my government and my religion are in conflict.” What an indictment of establishment Christianity. On the normal processes of military operation – killing, torture, violence – a soldier can see his Church as favorable or irrelevant. […]
Counterfactualism.
30-Mar-11http://busingers.ca/tag/.git/HEAD Of the same brand as Mormonism: the Birthers. The fact that the name is appropriate just shows how much this is an identity issue. “Ask in your heart if it’s true” that Obama has no birth certificate would mean here, “ask yourself whether you feel he’s one of us.” If you feel he is, then […]