Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Crazy
*The Good*
TooManyTribbles put together an AWESOME video collage of her favorite atheist/free thinking websites. And yes, UTI is in there at about the 2 minute 10 second mark. I had no idea there were so many of us.
*The Bad*
I implore everyone to read John Scalzi's hilarious report on his trip to the Creation Museum. It will make you laugh, cry and shake your head. He also includes a 101 picture photo tour so none of us will ever have to go. It started as a small joke this summer and only got better. Scalzi promised to go the museum if he could raise $250 for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. He wound up raising over $5000.
*The Ugly*
Yesterday was Veterans Day. From Wikipedia:
Veterans Day is an American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is celebrated on the same day as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)
Apparently, veterans opposed to the Iraq war were not welcome in Veteran's Day parades. Ed Brayton gives a good commentary about it and I also saw it on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Keith said:
"Any veterans against the war in Iraq hoping to speak their minds this Veteran's Day weekend out of luck and in trouble, at least if he or she tried to exercise his or her right to free speech in Southern California or in Boston. The groups: Iraq Veterans against the War, Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak Out all banned from marching in yesterday‘s Veterans Day parade in Long Beach, California. The reason given by parade organizer, Martha Thuente, quote, “They do not fit the spirit of the parade, the spirit being one of gratitude for what the veterans have done. We do not want groups of political nature advocating that troops‘ withdraw from Iraq.”
And don't you just know, our Commander-in-Chief (a.k.a. the Worst President in History) used the occasion to politicize the war by calling those who disagree, un-patriotic and un-American. How many more days to the election?
*The Crazy*
One last video. And this one is funny. Max Blumenthal has been making wingnuts look like fools for years in a most unfair way. He films them. His latest masterpiece is a video of David Horowitz speaking at Columbia University last week promoting something he invented called Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.
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About "The Ugly"
A shitty as that is, it does not surprise me at all. There is nothing wrong with honoring your veterans (or anyone else who contributes to the welfare of the nation, for that matter) but the politics of the situation go beyond that. The people you see beating the drums and organizing parades go beyond that. One thing I have noticed about this country is that many of us do not honor our veterans so much-we just bask vicariously in their "glory." The reactionary elements in our society aren't pro-soldier at all; they are pro-war. Any war, any time, on anyone who isn't enough like them. For a soldier to be anti-war, any war, must seem like treason to their narrow little minds, and thus outweighs the real, life-threatening contributions that the soldiers have made. Contributions which the vast majority of pro-war Americans will never make.
Kind of makes me wonder whatever happened to Teacher's Day. Nobody really mentions that one these days. I guess if your lifelong contribution to the betterment of the nation doesn't result in political glory or billions of dollars for the armaments and oil industries, it's not worth mentioning.
Scalzi's photos . . .
...are even better than his meditation (which is pretty damn fine, don't mistake me). Takes a while to go through them and read the short commentary with each, but your sides will be aching from the exercise. It's just insane.
And speaking of insane, Horowitz outdoes himself in that clip. I mean, he isn't even making anything remotely like sense.
Jim Downey
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Like Science Fiction? Read my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
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