In his 2004 inaugural address, President Bush spoke repeatedly about the need to bring freedom and liberty to the world. In fact, he was so focused on the concept that he referenced the word “freedom” a whopping 27 times during the 21-minute speech. I’m happy the president is embracing the concept of freedom. Now if we could only get him… return to article
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Reader Comments (114)Page 1 of 1 pagesFrankly i love porn. Girls Gone Wild! Awesome! The more explicit the better.
I hope our freedom to watch tv is not hampered. It is the best and cheapest opiate for many of us. . .
Posted by iLovePorn on May 10, 2005 at 8:01 AM I wish George Bush and his God fearing Christian conservatives would stop trying to shove God up our BUTTS and into everything we do.
There is no GOD dumb asses. Find another reason for pushing your opinins on us.
God pusher, dope pusher .. whats the difference.
Posted by chris cheltenham on May 10, 2005 at 9:49 AM Who let the 15 year old boy post? Dumb asses… wow…
Posted by Ryan Conover on May 10, 2005 at 10:46 AM “God pusher, dope pusher .. whats the difference”
Since you aaked, here is a brief reply. . .
God provides millions of people with comfort and hope. Dope takes away the same.
God is freely available - all you have to do is talk to Him (pray). Dope is expensive both in dollars and health.
God inspired Mother Teresa. Dope inspired Charlie Manson.
God is good. Dope is bad.
The contrast is actually quite stark. (I could even include such trivial differences such as: God’s existance is controversial. Dope is known by all to exist. But i won’t. :) )
Posted by Benedict on May 10, 2005 at 11:05 AM Congressman Sanders, that was a well written article. Good luck in your Senate race. If you win you will be the first socialist in the Senate, ever. In these times, when the proto-fascists rule the land, that would be cool.
Posted by Maximillian Al-Dakari on May 10, 2005 at 11:10 AM Censorship is bullshit. How bout we concentrate on feeding and sheltering the homeless, and getting the military better equipment. Lets concentrate on THOSE type of issues. Let me worry about what i want to see and hear. kkthx
Posted by slackerjack on May 10, 2005 at 12:22 PM Benedic:
Dope makes people want mellow and want peace.
Dog makes people extremist and warmongers.
Posted by TalibQavi on May 10, 2005 at 12:26 PM God is freely available? Sure as long as you don’t step foot into a church or other place of worship. Why is it that the poor and needy truly believe that if they give more to the church they will receive? Because all the church can deliver is HOPE. Hope is an abstract, unquantifiable commodity. Oh yes, its a commodity, that’s was all the televangelists are peddling, HOPE. Give to the cause and you will have HOPE. Enough of that crap, HOPE is free, God is expensive. Its not cheap to maintan these buildings, the artifacts and pay for God’s servants.
Just one more thing, more people have been killed in the name of or because of religion than anything else in the world.
Posted by Phil on May 10, 2005 at 2:06 PM Man can not rule over Man.
Well, we do have a monkey as a President.
Posted by enormo on May 10, 2005 at 4:39 PM So now then, and keeping on topic......Rep Sanders
is quite right to question the real intentions of
the neo-fascists now in power. When he mentioned the possibility of it becoming a serious crime to critize the sitting president, I was struck by how much I have been thinking along the same lines. These are indeed scarey times - for all our freedoms.
Posted by Ruffin Reddy on May 10, 2005 at 4:53 PM Howard Dean endorses Congressman Sanders’ run for U.S Senate.
Vermonters come out in droves for Bernie’s town hall meetings.
These are two headlines about the author’s run for the Senate I found online. A SOCIALIST might make it to the Senate. That thoroughly unrepresentative body of millionaires could have a SOCIALIST in its ranks.
This is big, way bigger than Obama. Something is happening in this country under the surface, and this I think is an indication of it.
Posted by Maximillian Al-Dakari on May 10, 2005 at 6:40 PM i’ve been watching t.v for over fifty years. always in anticipation of something really ‘hot’. enough, titillation, and teasing, let’s finally get to see it all! it’s our choice, not some suits with flag pins on their lapels. get the politicians out of controlling what we watch, they should be given a deep cut in their pay, and sent to bed without their supper
Posted by WILLY BERNHARD on May 11, 2005 at 12:43 AM Well Benedict, Claim what you want. More people have been hurt, persecuted, attacked, and killed in the name of ‘god’ than any amount of damage done in ‘dope’ related incidents by leaps and bounds. Nothing seems to start a war better then ‘gods word’ ;)
Posted by Rich on May 11, 2005 at 12:53 AM I feel this is an outrage. We are on the verge of being a communist run country if we let these polictal assholes decide our future fate. I hate to think we would live in this type of country. The question I really have is why is the public not outraged? I would think by this letter, people would wake up from whatever fucking coma they are in and realize this country is heading for disaster of epic poportions
Posted by John Pell Jr. on May 11, 2005 at 1:36 AM I feel this is an outrage. We are on the verge of being a communist run country if we let these polictal assholes decide our future fate. I hate to think we would live in this type of country. The question I really have is why is the public not outraged? I would think by this letter, people would wake up from whatever fucking coma they are in and realize this country is heading for disaster of epic poportions
Posted by John Pell Jr. on May 11, 2005 at 1:36 AM I guess these right-wing assholes have never heard of a remote control with “change channel” buttons. If I want someone else’s ideas of decency and “values” shoved down my throat, I’ll move to Saudi Arabia, Bush’s other bastion of citizens’ rights. The arrogance and hypocrisy of the neo-cons would be beyond belief if it wasn’t being displayed daily right in front of our eyes. Sinclair Lewis’ “It Can’t Happen Here” should be required reading for all literate citizens. Of course, this wouldn’t apply to most of Bush’s voter base. Wake up, people!
Posted by Gary on May 11, 2005 at 2:54 AM Throw in Shirer’s ‘The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich’, Orwell’s ‘1984’, and Brzezinski’s ‘Grand Chessboard’ on that required reading list.
“Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness; only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the other oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?” ---words of O’Brien from Orwell’s 1984
“The exercise of American global primacy must be sensitive to the fact that political geography remains a critical consideration in international affairs. Napoleon reportedly once said that to know a nation’s geography was to know its foreign policy. Our understanding of the importance of political geography, however, must adapt to the new realities of power.
...In that context, how America `manages’ Eurasia is critical. Eurasia is the globe’s largest continent and is geopolitically axial. A power that dominates Eurasia would control two of the world’s three most advanced and economically productive regions. A mere glance at the map also suggests that control over Eurasia would almost automatically entail Africa’s subordination, rendering the Western Hemisphere and Oceania geopolitically peripheral to the world’s central continent. About 75 per cent of the world’s people live in Eurasia, and most of the world’s physical wealth is there as well, both in its enterprises and underneath its soil. Eurasia accounts for 60 per cent of the world’s GNP and about three-fourths of the world’s known energy resources.” ---words of Zbigniew Brzezinski from The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic ImperativesPeace, where’s the profit in that?
Hempshackle
Posted by B Q Hempshackle on May 11, 2005 at 3:43 AM It’s a sad day when and if this is taken away from a person,who fought in Kuwait in Desert Shield. America’s light is glowing dimmer. I believe in my god,but i do NOT BELIEVE in religion! Who knows,i may be arrested in the future for not going to church! These christian zealots need to move to a more stricter country,if thats what they want…
Posted by ssgt ernest sanchez usmc on May 11, 2005 at 4:14 AM ssgt ernest sanchez usmc,
You might appreciate the thoughts of an earlier patriot:“The writer of this, is one of those few, who never dishonours religion by ridiculing, or cavilling at any denomination whatsoever. To God, and not to man, are all men accountable on the score of religion. Wherefore, this epistle is not so properly addressed to you as religious, but as a political body, dabbling in matters, which the professed Quietude of your Principles instruct you not to meddle.”
..."When men have departed from the right way, it is no wonder that they stumble and fall. And it is evident from the manner in which ye have managed your testimony, that politics, (as a religious body of men) is not your proper Walk; for however well adapted it might appear to you, it is, nevertheless, a jumble of good and bad put unwisely together, and the conclusion drawn there from, both unnatural and unjust.”
..."Ye appear to us, to have mistaken party for conscience, because the general tenor of your actions wants uniformity: And it is exceedingly difficult to us to give credit to many of your pretended scruples; because we see them made by the same men, who, in the very instant that they are exclaiming against the mammon of this world, are nevertheless, hunting after it with a step as steady as Time, and an appetite as keen as Death.”
Thomas Paine---COMMON SENSE
----Hempshackle
Posted by B Q Hempshackle on May 11, 2005 at 4:43 AM If you want to view “indecency” just turn to any FOX channel during prime time.
Posted by ann stone on May 11, 2005 at 5:41 AM I wonder what Constitutional basis Congress would have for regulating cable programming. The airwaves are public property, and so these “indecency” fines, though idiotic, can legitimately be imposed on broadcasters by the government. But cable TV is carried over privately owned wires, so how can Congress interfere? Would it fall under the interstate commerce clause, perhaps?
(I know it’s an academic question—these days, whether or not something is Constitutional generally isn’t of concern to the Republicans.)
Posted by Krotos on May 11, 2005 at 6:46 AM “selling skin selling God, the numbers look the same on the credit cards...” Queensryche
Posted by John on May 11, 2005 at 6:50 AM Look, if the liberals are gonna keep screwin’ each other and not workin’, then I’m just gonna have ta’ give more tax cuts to the rich.
And you liber-als need to keep believing in God more. Don’t you see God borned me into such prestige and power from my dadda’ that I can be so incredibly stupid (thrice-failing in oil biz) and still become president! Then I can have my wife talks about how she watches Desperate Housewives, and I can still say that that show is the devil and stuff! Look at me, Dad! Please love me! I invaded Iraq and killed thems Arabs, daddy! (uncontrolled sobbing) Daddy!
Posted by george w. on May 11, 2005 at 8:01 AM “God provides millions of people with comfort and hope. Dope takes away the same.”
Hmm.
God gives false hope to millions
Dope gives false hope to millionsGod makes undeserving men rich and powerful.
Dope maked undeserving men rich and powerful.Heck, you might be onto somthing..
God says no to casual sex
Dope makes you unable to have casual sexYou know what? At least when I suck on my bong, I know everything I say and think is distorted by the effects of the drug.
Why don’t you god humpers realise you talk an equal amount of pish?
God is dead. Long live death!
Posted by Farlington Dandy on May 11, 2005 at 8:34 AM Back to the subject of the article for a minute, before we return to this weird tangent about bongs and bibles.
If we have learned anything from Mr. Bush, it is that money does all the talking under this administration. America is ruled by capitalism, and as reprehensible or terrible an act or law may seem, Bush and co. will respond when they see dollar signs.
As annoying and somewhat scary these new ‘indecency’ laws seem, there is very little chance that they will go too far. Americans spend vast amounts on ‘softcore’ entertainment each year, for HBO and Showtime and so on, just to see R-rated movies and TV shows. Add to that the huge amounts for pay-per-view porn (Playboy, Spice, et al), and the dependance of our hotel industry on the money brought in by in-room viewing of movies both adult and Hollywood, and you will quickly see that there is too much money at stake for anyone to actually pass these ridiculous laws.
I’m not saying that porn is the answer, or even that it is a form of entertainment that we, as Americans, should be proud to support. But none of that matters: it’s all about how much money will be lost if it goes away. Imagine the crushing blows to credit card companies, the entertainment distribution industry (pay-per-view, etc) if all that revenue disappeared.
Posted by mn on May 11, 2005 at 9:26 AM Herbs for the service of man,
the original Faith based initiative?…“And God said, Let the earth bring forth vegetation, the herb yielding seed after its kind, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, wherein is their seed, upon the earth; and it was so.
And the earth brought forth vegetation, the herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree bearing fruit, wherein is its seed, after its kind; and God saw that it was good.”
---GENESIS 1:11-12“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree which bears fruit yielding seed; to you it shall be as food.” ---GENESIS 29
“He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth,
And wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart.”
---PSALM 104:13-15
Posted by trouble in the Heartland on May 11, 2005 at 9:28 AM The Covayor Belt of Conformity Keeps on Rollin’.
RISE UP!!! Make Choices for Yourselves
Posted by Clint on May 11, 2005 at 10:13 AM When did christians start going evil?...everything right wing christians are doing in the public square these days is a perversion of the teachings of Jesus, i beleive they should just stop calling themselves christians, because they don’t follow Jesus, they worship Power, they want to destroy individuality, control how people act, think and believe - where’s Jesus in that - somehow in christian “morality”, Jesus is missing in action
Posted by A Beginner on May 11, 2005 at 10:52 AM Maximillian Al-Dakari,
He’s toned it down to either “independant” or democratic socialist.”
But this effort to limit cable is not likely to pass. It’s like the Constitution Restoration Act that was reintroduced on March 3rd. It’s a play to the “moral values” base. They can make the claim that “We tried!”
Posted by John on May 11, 2005 at 11:43 AM John
I completely agree with you (see my post about $ above). What is disgusting, though, is that they will claim that it didn’t pass because the Liberal Left was too strong, and that those with ‘moral values’ were defeated by the secular enemy. They’ll turn a defeat based on the nature of capitalism, and on their own greedy policies, into a motivating force for their base.(Don’t even get me started on the fact that the $ for much of R- and X-rated entertainment comes from the same people who are so publicly disgusted by it.)
Posted by mn on May 11, 2005 at 11:48 AM “ I completely agree with you (see my post about $ above). What is disgusting, though, is that they will claim that it didn’t pass because the Liberal Left was too strong, and that those with ‘moral values’ were defeated by the secular enemy. They’ll turn a defeat based on the nature of capitalism, and on their own greedy policies, into a motivating force for their base.” - John.
You mean they’ll...gasp...play politics. The right knows no shame.
Posted by Larry Jones on May 11, 2005 at 12:36 PM Larry-
Of course it’s politics, it’s always politics. Once again the Right has framed the arguement to be a loser for the Left, no matter how it plays out. Either a chunk of our liberty is gutted from the Bill of Rights, or the Right claims the moral superiority of having succumbed to Lefties who want to force our kids to watch smut.
Lose-lose for the Left.
The only real alternative is to reframe the argument, to claim back the language of democracy and freedom for those actually defending the very liberties we proudly flaunt. It’s a very tricky thing to do, once the framework has already been established.And you are correct: the Right knows no shame at all. Their hipocracy is clear for all to see, masked in politics or not.
Last, if you want to have a conversation, let’s talk. Simply quoting me, followed by a snide retort, is little more than petty upmanship. Do you actually believe in anything, or have any views on this article? Or do you just want to oversimplify ideas so that it is easier to make fun of them?
Posted by mn on May 11, 2005 at 12:50 PM “People talk to GOD, but Bush thinks GOD is talking to him!!!”
Not My fault I voted for Kerry/Edards
Posted by John on May 11, 2005 at 1:07 PM Why do I have the sense, mn, that if the left had framed an argument so that it was lose, lose for the right, you’d be okay with that. ‘Politics ain’t beanbag’, it’s a cliche now, but the first guy to say it was Speaker of the House Rayburn (D-Tx).
Posted by Larry Jones on May 11, 2005 at 1:13 PM You’re the one who pointed out that it is all politics, Larry, and politics is certainly about framing an argument so that your side looks better than the other side. So, in this case, I would love to see the Left frame the argument so that it was lose-lose for the right. It would be great if the Left could claim back the language of this debate, and make it about preserving our rights and keeping government out of capitalistic, consumer-demand-driven marketplace. As it stands right now, the debate is framed as ‘protecting children vs. smut peddlers’ when it is really about ‘control of speech vs. maintaining our freedom of speech’ as laid out in the Bill of Rights.
Once again, you have drastically oversimplified my previous statements. Politics ain’t beanbag, they aren’t armchair, they aren’t idle chat. But discussions about politics are, and they are necessary for the progression and evolution of this country. Discussion, of this armchair variety, is even provided for in the Constitution (ie the use of public spaces for protests, pamphleting, discourse and the engagement of all sorts of ideas.) Cass Sunstein has some great passages about public discourse in his book “Republic.com”
So we’re here, we’re talking. Do you have anything to say?
Posted by mn on May 11, 2005 at 1:31 PM I hope they do pass a law to attempt the regulation of cable. The reason: cable broadcasters don’t have to go to the FCC to aquire a broadcast license. Maybe for once someone will actually put up a damned fight against the government. Terrestial broadcasters have been the biggest crowd of pussies in the history of this country, they’ve refused to put up a fight which is why people like this blowhard from Alaska feels so damned empowered.
I’ve got a feeling the supreme court will put an end to this nonsense (if it gets to that point).
Posted by McFly on May 11, 2005 at 9:40 PM Let’s take all the money being wasted on salary’s for the FCC and I don’t know……… use it for something good, like scholarships, fixing the roads, etc….
P.S. the FCC is as useful as an a-hole on my elbow
Posted by Humberto on May 11, 2005 at 10:29 PM Americans spend vast amounts on ‘softcore’ entertainment each year…
Absolutely! Where there’s money to be had, “values” take a long second spot. But if the government can chip away at those manifestations of our rights that most folks find themselves uncomfortable about, there is a precedent set that makes it easier for the government to chip away at other areas.
It always amazes me that so many folks claim to worry about what their four year old might see on TV. Don’t those of us over the age of four have the right to see what interests us… even if it doesn’t, or shouldn’t, interest a four year old?
Posted by Carrie on May 12, 2005 at 5:54 AM I almost cried, because I thought I was all alone.
I almost cried, because I thought we were lost.
I almost cried, because I believed in hope but was losing mine.Now I cry with joy that others see through the %&*@ christian republican scam and want something different.
What are you willing to do about it?
Its about time to say “fuck” no even if I have to pay for it.Censor that Army of god, I choke on the bile of my anger at the mere thought of the “rite wing”.
Posted by MW on May 12, 2005 at 6:15 AM To compare President Bush’s vision of “freedom & democracy around the world”, to what is on TV demonstrates why the Socialist Party is such a dominate force in American politics.
What Mr. Sanders is doing with this article is throwing red meat to a group of blind followers that could find a conservative conspiracy theory in a jar of humus.
I remember when they could only film Elvis from the waist up. Married couples on sitcoms slept in separate beds and a deodorant commercial couldn’t show a persons underarm.
There have been opposing sides on moral decency issues for years and guess what? Our nation has survived and prospered. We are still free to walk the streets, pursue happiness and call our leaders any name we want. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy sex and violence on TV as much as the next guy. Just because a few in Congress are waging moral issue battles on behalf of their constituency does not make it a national crisis. I don’t recall it being a crisis when Elvis from the waist up evolved into a primetime ménage a trios.
This is another ploy by the radical left to substitute fear and panic for failed ideas. This is an effort by Sanders to fan the flames of hate by the left on religious people. I can see by the posts he’s succeeding quite nicely.
While part of us in this country wish to spread the same freedoms we enjoy to people around the world that live under tyranny and persecution you guys and Mr. Sanders can continue to fret over HBO programming.
Posted by U Scare Me on May 12, 2005 at 8:21 AM To the ssgt who posted the lines from “Common Sense”: Thank you!
To the person who said we liberals need to love God more: Hey, *I* love God, and I see God’s work. What I recognize is the difference between God and religion.
I don’t think any religious values should become the only value in the country, or on the airwaves. There are community standards we (the people) should live by. In many countries, a homogeneous society means law and religion are in a greater concordance than in a country which is heterogeneous. The United States is *NOT* a Christian country. Rather, it’s a country founded primarily by Christians who wanted separate bodies for government and religion. The whole point of the Revolutionary War was self-determinism. Many citizens were Anglican, but those who felt they should not be beholden to King George broke away from the Anglican Church and formed the Episcopal Church.
In this case, there are plenty of shows that are available. We can choose to watch them, or not. More and more I think I’m better off going to the library, borrowing a book, and reading. I don’t need anyone telling me what to watch or not; I’m quite capable of doing that myself, and when my child was much younger I could easily regulate what was on the TV. Now, if I watch something I find offensive, I just state my reasons, and the teenager can watch, or not.
Posted by MikeTheLiberal on May 12, 2005 at 10:40 AM “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither safety or liberty"-Benjamin Franklin
Posted by XJW on May 12, 2005 at 11:50 AM These right wingers are seriously threatening our rights. The PATRIOT ACT, The Rave Act, The war in Iraq, and now this. But think about it people what have fucking ‘beloved Democrats’ (haha thats funny) done about this. Not one fucking thing! You want to know how to stop this and regain this country for progressives stop being the bitch for the goddamn corporate Democrats. The Democrats are a corporate party too, yes they are and you know it and you can follow them but you wont fucking get no where.
Congrats to Mr. Sanders on the terrific article and on his career as a public servant, and I hope the Senate race goes his way.
We need more independently minded people running this country
Posted by Richard on May 12, 2005 at 3:27 PM The Democrats are a corporatist party and they will not help us fight the right wing, in fact they are hurting us, think about it. The moderate leftists have their own party, the Democrats, and the right wingers have their own party, the Republicans, but we the progressives who continually throw our card in with these Democrat fucks dont have our own party. The time is long past to give up on the Democrats and look for another voice. Please check out www.votenader.org I believe you will see your voice spoken eloquently through the writings of Ralph. Join Ralph Nader in bringing this country back to the people.
Posted by Richard on May 12, 2005 at 3:30 PM Dear Friend,
Have the Democrats learned anything from 2004?
Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, now wishes President Bush “success” for his war in Iraq.
“Now that we’re there, we’re there and we can’t get out,” Dean told an audience of nearly 1,000 at the Minneapolis Convention Center on April 20, 2005. “The president has created an enormous security problem for the United States where none existed before,” Dean said. “But I hope the president is incredibly successful with his policy now that he’s there.”
Two months earlier, Bush’s CIA Director, Porter J. Goss, told the Senate that the U.S. occupation has become a potent recruitment tool for more terrorists from Iraq and other countries.
The military/industrialist Senator from New York, Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for her party’s 2008 Presidential nomination, continues to support the war in Iraq.
And now she is supporting International Paper’s plan to test burn used automobile tires at its Ticonderoga, New York facility – making the Republican Governor of Vermont – across the waters of Lake Champlain – look like an environmentalist for opposing the burn.
The test burn is the company’s first step in a plan to burn 72 tons of tires a day at the facility.
Vermont PIRG points out that the company’s boiler is not properly equipped to catch the highly toxic pollutants that are coming out of the plant right now, yet alone the witches brew of heavy metals and cancer causing chemicals released from burning tires.
Two years ago this week, President Bush, standing under a “Mission Accomplished” banner aboard the USS Lincoln, proclaimed the end of major combat operations in Iraq.
Since then, more than 1,400 Americans and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq.
And the Democrats can’t muster a single member of Congress to formally call for the impeachment of Bush for his ongoing illegal war.
Democrats as an opposition party?
The Democrats want you to believe that they are the only game in town.
They don’t need to lie to do this.
They can bullshit their way.
“On Bullshit” is the title of New York Times’ best selling book by retired Princeton University philosophy professor Harry G. Frankfurt.
“Since bullshit need not be false, it differs from lies in its mis-representational intent,” Professor Frankfurt writes. “The bullshitter may not deceive us, or even intend to do so, either about the facts or about what he takes the facts to be. What he does necessarily attempt to deceive us about is his enterprise. His only indispensably distinctive characteristic is that in a certain way he misrepresents what he is up to.”Perfect description of the Democrats.
No lies needed.
And what exactly is their enterprise?
To make us believe that they are a true opposition party.
Yet the Democrats in Congress can’t find the internal fortitude to stop Bush’s legislative agenda on bankruptcy, tort deform, repeal of the estate tax, and the energy bill, much less to vigorously propose a worthy agenda of their own.
The reality is that there is no opposition party in the United States.
The Democrats and Republicans are two heads of the same mega corporate machine.
And the only opposition is going to come from the people, steeped in the history of resistance to corporate power, and equipped with the tools to change from within.
We’ve recently returned from a two week anti-war tour of Arizona, California and upstate New York.
To all of you who came out to listen, learn, react and activate – it was great meeting with you and discussing with you the state of our political economy.
Thank you for your generous support and bright horizons.
Sincerely,
Ralph Nader
Posted by Richard on May 12, 2005 at 3:37 PM Ralph’s Index
Number of Americans living in poverty: 35.9 millionPercentage of the U.S. population living in poverty: 12.5%
Number of Americans without health insurance: 45 million
Number of children uninsured in the United States: 27 million
Percentage of all children in the United States who lack insurance: 36.7%
Number of Americans who die annually because they do not have health insurance: 18,000
The only industrialized country that does not provide universal health care: United States of America
U.S. ranking in overall quality of health care it provides: 37th
U.S. world ranking in national expenditures on health care: 1
Number of infants born poor in the United States: 1 in 3
Number of years Bush has presided over an increase in child poverty without sounding an alarm: 3 years in a row
Number of full-time workers earning less than $8.75 per hour before payroll taxes: 1 in every 4
Comparison of average CEO pay to average worker pay in America in 1965: 26 times more
Comparison of average CEO pay to average worker pay in America in 1982: 42 times more
Comparison of average CEO pay to average worker pay in America today: 300 to 500 times more
Median CEO pay at large companies in the U.S.: $6,600 per hour
Amount the minimum wage would be if it had increased in tandem with CEO pay since 1990: $15.71
Percentage of the federal budget going to the military: 50%
Number of U.S. soldiers who have died to date in the illegal war and occupation in Iraq: Over 1,000
Number of Iraqi civilians the U.S. has killed in the illegal war and occupation in Iraq: Over 15,000
Percentage of Americans an AP poll found would consider voting for Ralph Nader if they thought he had a chance to win: 33%
Number of presidential candidates standing up to corporate power: 1
Name of the presidential candidate standing up to corporate power: Ralph Nader
Your job on Nov. 2: Vote Nader!
Posted by Richard on May 12, 2005 at 3:42 PM How you guys all doing. Enough with putting down god. I’m here to do my part… George Bush speaks for himself.
Posted by Adam Abrams on May 12, 2005 at 5:43 PM Richard,
The only difference between Ralph Nader for president and Pat Paulson for president is Paulson knows he’s a joke.
Posted by Bill Martin on May 13, 2005 at 5:09 AM If Bush and his base are ideal X-tians, then I’d rather be in hell with the dope smokers. Organized religion is man’s worst creation.
Posted by Sarek on May 13, 2005 at 12:52 PM Can’t they change the channel? They have a remote, why can’t they use it? They don’t have the right to tell us what to watch, but they do have the right to change the channel.
And they say that we (the left wing, liberals, or anyone else who does not agree with them at any sporadic time) hate freedom. Yea…
Posted by Samantha on May 13, 2005 at 2:37 PM I FELL THAT PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO WATCH WHAT THEY WANT.IF I PAY FOR CABLE AND WANT TO SEE NUDE I SHOULD HAVE THAT RIGHT.PEOPLE NEED TO MIND THEIR OWN BUSINESS. LOOK IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD BEFORE YOU LOOK OVER THE FENCE.JIM BAKER,JIMMY SWAGGERED,SEX WITH YOUNG BOYS THE CHURCH TRIED TO COVER UP. NOT THE TYPE OF PEOPLE I WANT TO BE AROUND. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME
Posted by earl on May 13, 2005 at 5:27 PM Bush is NOT an ideal Christian. We all know him by his fruit, and it is rotten. Paying lip service to God while lying to the people in order to perpetrate an unjust war, retaining his millions while children suffer in poverty is not Christian. That man, the pope, who so many voiced their opinions of in an earlier article, was not fooled by Bush’s facade.
Posted by Ryan Conover on May 14, 2005 at 1:38 AM You say let the government know we dont want Uncle Sam to turn into Big Brother? How??? Besides voting which obviously doesnt work, they rig everything, what else??
Posted by Amy on May 14, 2005 at 9:32 AM Amy, Voting doesn’t work becasue it can’t work. It only selects a new group of servants of the ruling class. WHat else? REVOLUTION.
Posted by Maximillian Al-Dakari on May 14, 2005 at 9:50 AM SHIT, PISS, FUCK, C U N T, COCKSUCKER, MOTHER F U C K E R, and TITS. Congress is telling me what is indecent? I lost 2 relatives in Iraq. Their deaths aren’t helping a damn person in America. That’s indecent.
Posted by YUKFOO on May 14, 2005 at 2:28 PM Voting does work and everyone here can make a difference.
Complacency, despondency, and despair keep the masses away from the polls and as a consequence, the powerful get what they want.
Beyond hacked voting machines or rigged judges, the most effective weapon in destroying democracy is the inculcation of a perception of disfranchisement. The tactic is being employed again and seems to be working.
Fight back by resisting the urge to quit.Great strides were made in America during the first two thirds of the twentieth century. There was wide spread popular engagement. Positive change happened. Then came a generation that didn’t want to get involved. There was something better to do. The results are before us. We can reclaim our democracy once again, but, you have to become reengaged, involved, and participate. If the votes are there, the politicians listen. They have to. It doesn’t matter how much they are bought off if they can’t get elected. We have the numbers. We can reward service and we can punishes corruption. We can stop them any time we want to. We have the power to compel them to serve in our interests. We can do a lot to restore this nation.
But, we can not do any of this if you do not participate in the process.---Hempshackle
Posted by B Q Hempshackle on May 15, 2005 at 4:22 AM the truth is that we were put here by the same entity that roaches were put here by. roaches don’t read the bible, where are they going when they die? the same f’ing place we are all going. get off your high horse, put away the fictional book(s) and let me watch what the hell i want to watch whenever the hell i want to. stop wasting your time trying to censor what people other than you and your kids can watch and hear, and start scouring your “churches” that are safe havens for child molestors. and they are gay child molesters on top of it all. double whammy. stick that and your bible up your ass, sideways.
Posted by the truth on May 15, 2005 at 12:14 PM What an immature, childish, stupid and ridiculous bunch of comments. I think drugs have rendered you close to braindead… or at least a foul-mouthed ill-mannered idiot. Stick that up your ass sideways.
Posted by Ryan Conover on May 15, 2005 at 3:11 PM It wouldn’t be heaven if roaches were allowed anyway. =P
Posted by Ryan Conover on May 15, 2005 at 3:12 PM hey ryan, that all you got? to call somebody childish? the truth hurts doesn’t it? until you can give a response that offers a different view (and that proves that a large number of priests have not been charged with molestation), i think we can all see that you are the ill-mannered idiot. somebody should censor you from being able to post on this page, you FCC ass kissing fool. rofl.
Posted by the truth on May 15, 2005 at 6:49 PM hey ryan, look at what i found. this was posted by you:
“Nah, he thought he kissed a woman once but it turned out just to be some 12 year old boy’s a$$hole.
ummmm.....i think you should turn around and go back where you came from now, idiot. the truth always prevails.
Posted by the truth on May 15, 2005 at 6:53 PM here’s more posted by ryan:
“don’t you have a sheep you should be molesting?”
“Reddog does have one thing going for him: he’s all about sefe sex. He always makes sure to tag the sheep that kick.”
“Maybe reddog was sodomized with a broom handle while passed out at a fraternity party. That might explain a few things.”
you are the typical douche bag who needs to check himself before he opens his mouth. you would be in good company with roaches you rightous wannabe.
Posted by the truth on May 15, 2005 at 7:02 PM WAYNESVILLE, North Carolina (AP)—A pastor who led a charge to kick out nine church members who refused to support President Bush was the talk of the town Saturday in this mountain hamlet, with ousted congregants considering hiring a lawyer.
I guess you can’t go to heavan if you don’t support bush. What a bunch of shit.
Posted by brian on May 15, 2005 at 8:44 PM Maybe they ought to read the fine print on their Cosmic get-out-of-jail-free card?
It is written, ‘But every man is tempted by his own lust; he covets and is enticed’:“Do nothing through strife or vainglory; but in humility let each regard his neighbour better than himself.
Let no one be mindful only of his own things, but let every one be mindful of the things of his neighbour also.”
---Philippians 2:3-4“Let the rich man rejoice in his humbleness, because the as flower of the grass, so shall he pass away.” ---James 1:11
“Though a man say he has faith, what profit is it, my brethren, if he does not have works? Can faith save him?
If a brother or sister be naked and lacking of daily food,
And one of you says to him, Depart in peace, be warmed and be filled; yet you do not give to him those things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
Even so, by itself, faith without works is dead.
For a man may say, You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” ---James 2:14-18
Posted by trouble in the Heartland on May 15, 2005 at 9:40 PM That’s what all the bible thumppers say when they can’t explain the bible, just have faith. The bible was written by man, a bunch of monks drinking wine and eating bread. They were writting down stories hundreds of years after the fact.
Right wing bible freaks get their news from O’rielly phone sex freak, rush lumboob drug addict, oly north convicted fellon for iran contra,and still call yourselfs christians?
Posted by brian on May 15, 2005 at 10:19 PM One thing that is very interesting is the fact that the indecency fines were raised to $500,000 which means saying the word shit once could cost you half a million dollars YET if you dump nuclear waste into the ocean the MAXIMUM fine is a mere $30,000.Which is more hurtfull and destructive?
Posted by Aaron Murray on May 16, 2005 at 12:47 AM Well put McFly!
But I do recall telling you to never come on this bulletin board : )
Posted by Biff on May 16, 2005 at 1:13 AM Crazy how emotion clouds reason, no?
Let me apologize first for the insanely long post that’s about to follow...after which I’ll gladly bend over and take whatever shitstorm may follow. But hell, you all have covered a lot of ground, and if i’m breaking some sort of internet etiquette by commenting on things throughout this whole conversation, well shucks.
Beliefs are crazy things to argue about in a sense that it’s just as hard to convince someone that there isn’t a god as it is to convince someone that stubbing their toe feels good.
If they feel like their toe is throbbing, then it feels like their toe is throbbing, no way around it. And lobbing insults, or pointing out that a good number of child molesters also stubbed their toes, does nothing to get your point across or advance your point of view.
It’s taken me years to (kinda) get over that hurdle of automatically jabbing at someone’s weakpoints, twisting the knife and putting them on the defensive just because I’m right. =P
And as much as I use to talk like only bible-thumping conservative priests were childmolesters, I know that there are most likely just as many liberal child molesters out there, ooh, and maybe “gay child molesters on top of it all. double whammy”. Well, then comes in the whole hypocracy aspect of the priests n shit, but whatever, another time…
As far as god being the reason for all this death and war, I think it’s been more of a rallying cry for war. The real reason being power; gaining it and whatever resources or devices aid it.
And it has been found by bastards in power that the best way to ‘motivate’ people is by playing their beliefs. Many many people have been historically led by those whom they respected and believed. Many times those ‘respected’ ones played the god card to a ‘t’, creating willing soldiers ready to lay down their lives. As well, with Iraq, beliefs were played, not necessarily god, though...more of “WMDs!” and “Osama!” and “Hussein’s the next Hitler” and “He’s such a threat to us, it might take us a whole week to shut his army down!”.
Anyways, it seems like the god argument has been used here more in a sense of popular support for any damned lunatic-appearing thing W decides to do, including sending young men and women to war.
How many soldiers do you think would tell you that they’re fighting in Iraq because it’s god’s will? Right…
Now, I’m no good at segues, so…
Assuming that you’re not talking about heroin...Having had lived, well, tax-free for a good number of years, I agree about dope making, well, the average joe mellow and wanting peace. And having met my fiance, who has mellowed my animosity plenty, I’ve seen that for average joe, the effect of god and faith is the same. As well, as you move up the chain of money and power in both arenas, you eventually get to the extremists and warmongers.
That quote from Queensryche earlier rings true in everything. It’s all about money and power, like it or not. There are power leaches everywhere, and they’ll use whatever tools they can to keep it going.
And it’s on all sides...through stuff as simple as making photos look like Kerry on stage with Jane Fonda, or making it look like W reading some kids book upside down...or even through plain old keeping stuff relatively unknown from the average citizen. Every little bit helps, you know?
(to be continued)
Posted by Harry P. Ness on May 16, 2005 at 2:04 AM I’m pretty much off the chart with politics, I turned left a loooong time ago, but have since taken off in my own little spaceship...but not blindly so...Not to the point of associating someone with ‘rush limboob’ =) just because they’re christian, or in the same sense, associating myself with W because we both may or may not have enjoyed a certain recreational substance, ya know?
I know some people with deeply personal beliefs in god and the bible, who are liberal as hell and want to puke every time they hear W invoke his ‘faith’...want to puke any time that hypocracy raises it’s ugly head, which is all the motherlovin time, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.
Just like with this censorship crapola; less smut would free up more time for violence, yay, right? Because a country would be better off with less people kissing and more people shooting, eh? Censoring, especially this selective censoring, is bullshit when put on other people, it’s something that people should know how to do for themselves and their children...like someone said, with their remote control.
Take a look around, look at your neighbors, check out joe shmo slugging to work, or that other joe shmo slingin sacks out of his apartment...none of these people want what’s worst for the country. I would even go so far as to say that those in power don’t want the worst, BUT the thing is, is that they want what’s in it for them, and as much as they can get, and that’s where their focus is...and their decisions and actions affect all of us, and everyone everywhere else. They’re the ones who deseerve the animosity. They’re the ones who should have whatever shoved up their asses sideways. Not joe shmo. All the joe shmo’s of the world need to be reasoned towards reason, not assho1e-torn; going off the handle, in their eyes, writes off anything else that comes out of your mouth...it could be 100% true, but chances are, it’ll sound like a bunch of bullshit to them, something to attribute to the rest of the liberals, or whatever point of view about whatever you’re espousing.
The joe shmo’s of the world are the ones you want to bring over to your side, and have vote like you want to vote, ya know?
Hempshackle’s right, voting works, some activism works, BUT doing nothing but bitch and moan accomplishes a whole lot of nothing.
Power to the people is a damn good idea. In this country, politics and money is power. As far as presidential elections, who the hell knows what’s up with that, but local elections, senate elections and the like are prime targets if you want to try to effect any sort of eventual change. As far as any other ways? Go ahead and see how far you get...the in’s to power here are already set, the only course for change is using those in’s...Unless of course, you can think of some way to overthrow the US government, in which case I’m sure there are plenty of world leaders who would like to hear from you.
My point is that as unbelievable as it may seem, some people can actually seperate church and state in their own hearts and minds as well...so in a roundabout way, I’m saying to stick to the subject when you’re making a point, any assho1e can call someone names.
And if I didn’t stick to the subject, whatever...so I’m a hypocrite.
Posted by Harry P. Ness on May 16, 2005 at 2:05 AM Harry,
If the thumpers are going to evoke religion, why not hold them to the standards and ideals actually demanded of them by their belief?
“Faith without works is dead”. As James, the brother of Christ, informs us, claiming to be of faith without realising that faith through one’s actions is meaningless.
What actions are expected of the faithful? Having mercy and compassion, helping the least among us, feeding and comforting the poor, refraining from judgement of others, and most importantly of all, to be people of Peace. If the fundament right wants to demand a return to religious values, then let them! Let’s hold them to the priorities expected of a good Christians. Become champions of Peace Stop the wars. Elevate the poor. That $84 billion just approved for continued slaughter in Iraq could go a long way feeding and sheltering the dispossessed in Darfir and places like it, not to mention the starving and homeless living on our own streets.
The left is so afraid of the notion of religion that they miss using one of the most effective means of combating the excesses of this emerging false theocracy.---Hempshackle
Posted by B Q Hempshackle on May 16, 2005 at 8:13 AM Damn right I made those comments. In context you might find that so did other people and that reddog guy was about as ignorant as you ‘the truth’. I don’t come ridiculing people’s faith and telling them to shove their holy books “up their ass sideways”. I’m not above telling an idiot like you to F-uck yourself, since that kind of language is about all you understand. Don’t think you’re too clever in ‘exposing’ me, I have nothing to hide. By the way, do go F-uck yourself.
Posted by Ryan Conover on May 16, 2005 at 10:28 AM The Bush Administration’s attempt to censor paid TV and Internet may actually be a good thing. I feel this way not because we need or should ever have anything censored, but because it will bring awareness to clueless, couch potato-idiots about how the Bush Administration stepped on other American rights that are considered a part of our freedom too. The Bush Administration and the Christian Right are aggressively taking steps to strip Americans of the few choices they can actually make. The right to use birth control, get an abortion, or the right to die in order to minimize pain and suffering. How about the right NOT to have a Republican Jesus shoved up our ass? These people are also ruining our right to breathe clean air and drink water not contaminated by raw sewage. How about the Patriot Act? The Patriot Act is not used for what it was intended. Rather, it is being used to identify and stifle the voices of dissent.
Censoring our TV and Internet may inspire a much-needed revolution. It is the one thing that will bring the uninterested to the table. And perhaps once they are at the table complaining about how they can’t watch South Park or the cock suckers in Deadwood, they may realize that TV isn’t the only freedom America has had to do without under the Bush Administration.
Posted by Kelly Green on May 16, 2005 at 11:15 AM We already have censorship of the worst kind. It’s called the corporate news media and the target of it’s censorship is truth. This concerns me a great deal more than whether Jon Stewart can say “fuck” or not. It is most likely true that if the Daily Show were to be toned down few people throughout the world would die, but it is also clear that there are hundreds of thousands dead (and more on the way) due to our obsequious media’s self-censorship. If I am going to get my hypothetical panties in a knot about media, it’s going to be about this, not Dave Chapelle. Sure, I oppose all censorship and hope my comedy can remain unchanged, but if we don’t address the real issue here, we’re not going to feel like laughing anyway.
Posted by opeluboy on May 16, 2005 at 4:16 PM ryan, you have been owned. and just like the self rightous idiot you are, you think your comments are OK but other aren’t, because you didn’t agree with someone. so, i would say go fuck yourself as well but you already have.
Posted by the truth on May 16, 2005 at 6:07 PM I can’t believe what I am reading! Did I wake up attending a Socialist Party meeting? Some of you ought to go back and research what that is, dope and God are the same thing? The liberals will do anything to get their points out to the public, just like the right will do they both have no shame or take no blame for anything that they cause to happen. And the attorneys charge both of them and all of us. Doesn’t anyone want to take any responcibility for themselves anymore. Stop whining and get a life
Posted by gro on May 17, 2005 at 5:40 AM The real difference between dope and god, is that dope is real. All those morons, those weak minded idiots that believe there is a higher power are jokes. They need a crutch, they need to think there is another place to goto. Bush is stupid, dumb, and before he was all jumpin jesus, he was an alcoholic, a cocain user and a man who forced his girlfriend to have an abortion. He skirted his military service and allowed the US to be attacked on 9/11. Grow up, open your eyes, he sucks, the religious right is a joke. Evolution, read about it, learn it… wake up..
Posted by Dan Moore on May 17, 2005 at 6:10 AM God doesn’t inspire Bush, The devil does and Bush uses God’s name to get what he wants! Never has there been a more evil man in the white house!
Posted by jethro finney on May 17, 2005 at 7:22 AM My name is Ben, I just got out of prison, my ass is sore! I was this big black man’s bitch for 3 years, and he didn’t use any lube! When I ned to defecate, I can’t wait, it runs down my leg! They now call me Benpends! I costantly smell like a fudge store! Someone help me get my dignity back!
Call me at 295-7034 and donate any amount you can to my anus fund!
Ben
Posted by Benji Compton on May 17, 2005 at 7:25 AM “Evolution, read about it, learn it… wake up.. “
Much as with the Bible, the Constitution, and our founding fathers, too many people choose to express opinions without much knowledge of the subject. Distortion and convolution are often the product. Yet another example, much more is attributed to Darwin and his theory than what he proposed. The absolute positions of both sides of this debate are not supported by Darwin’s own words:
“Although much remains obscure, and will long remain obscure, I can entertain no doubt, after the most deliberate study and dispassionate judgement of which I am capable, that the view which most naturalist entertain, and which I entertained---namely, that each species has been independently created---is erroneous. I am fully convinced that species are not immutable; but that those belonging to what are called the same genera are lineal descendants of some other and generally extinct species, in the same manner as the acknowledged varieties of any species are the descendants of that species. Furthermore, I am convinced that Natural Selection has been the main but not exclusive means of modification.”
“To my mind it accords better with what we know of the laws impressed on matter by the Creator, that the production and extinction of the past and present inhabitants of the world should have been due to secondary causes, like those determining the birth and death of an individual. When I view all beings not as special descendants of some few beings which lived long before the first bed of the Silurian system was deposited, they seem to me to become ennobled.”
------Charles Darwin THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
Posted by seeking balance on May 17, 2005 at 7:36 AM Thanks for fucking up the whole Country and world you fucking overzealous mind rotting fucks.
I can say these words becuase its the land of the FREE! but now it’s all over...the Evil people are winning, those in power will keep fucking everyone in the ass and we will take it…
But in the end all those who fucked the people will stand before the real deal…
Posted by Thanks on May 17, 2005 at 8:21 AM Selling sex, selling God; it all looks the same on your credit card.
Posted by Bruce on May 17, 2005 at 8:59 AM This is response to the “Here’s the difference between God and a Pusher nonsense.”
You forgot a whole bunch of stuff there ‘God’ boy.
God has been the cause for more murders, more suffering, more exclusion, more hate than any pusher ever could.
I don’t blame God for that...on the contrary I blame the zealots who do all this evil in God’s name.
The lynchings down South (that still go on by the way) happen because the Bible tells us that African Americans are “Mud People” and therefore aren’t entitled to the same rights as Europeans.
Heck, the Bible tells us that slavery is okay...that women are inferior...that disobedient children can be stoned to death.
God is great, of that I have no doubt, but those who speak LOUDLY on his behalf usually have some bigoted axe to grind...and that’s about the time people start dying.
God is Great!
The monkeys who SCREAM his greatness should be given a wide birth…
Posted by Bob on May 17, 2005 at 9:26 AM I just read the post with the “Origin of Species” quote and it made me think.
It is the year 2005 and Kansas is desperately trying to remove Charles Darwin from their Science text books.
The more I ponder this unreal scenario, the more I lean towards letting them.
We, the open minded, modern thinking Liberal base should embrace these primitives and their movement.
Why?
Hey when our modern, advanced children apply for a science related job and they’re competing against one of these Intelligent Design nincompoops…who do you think will get the job?
Interviewer - “Please explain, Zacharius, the Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Mechanics.”
Zacharius - “There is nothing uncertain in the eyes of the Almighty.”
Interviewer – “Well thank you for taking the time to come in today Zacharius, and have a nice day.”Got one question for the Intelligent Design Guys out there:
“Why do men have nipples?”
Posted by Bob on May 17, 2005 at 9:44 AM Dear U Scare Me,
Dude, you’re supporting a President who puts on FAKE Town Hall meetings which exclude ½ the Americans whose taxes pay for them.
President Bush’s lack of guts doesn’t surprise anyone on the Left, all we have to do is look at President Bush’s behavior during Vietnam for us to know he’s a coward, but when he doesn’t even have the stones for a fair fight in one of his FAKE ‘Town Hall Meetings’ and principled people such as yourself don’t say BOO it makes me think that its us the disgusting, morally bankrupt, porn loving Liberals who know what it means to be American.
Being an American means that even though everything the Repressives stand for make me want to vomit, I will never try to silence them.
Let’s see President Bush champion that …the cause of America…or, sadly, the America that was.
Posted by Bob on May 17, 2005 at 10:02 AM I bet the Repressives in this would change their minds about censorship if Wrestling were taken off the air for glorifying violence and for corrupting the fragile minds of our youth.
The Repressives would be flinging their feces if that ever happened.
Posted by Bob on May 17, 2005 at 10:18 AM Hey GRO,
Many people thorughout history have viewed Religion as an Opiate.
Posted by Bob on May 17, 2005 at 10:47 AM Darwin was on the right track. SCIENCE shows how man has evolved. If your bullshit god had made us, he wouldnt have given us an appendix, we wouldnt have traces of tails.. we have evolved over millions of years… couple thousand years ago, a few pussies decided to make up a higher being, and scare everyone.. Bush did coke, got arrested for OUI, had an abortion.. no god, no justice.. i am gonna be so happy when you morons die, and nothing happens… wake up… your no better than the muslims…
Posted by Dan Moore on May 17, 2005 at 11:11 AM Wow, what hate-filled speech on this subject. You think yourselves superior to christians because you believe in evolution and then espouse the same type of hate speech that you accuse the far christian right of? Better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt. Let myself be clear in stating that I have never and would never support Bush, that’s why I am here. However, Bush had an abortion? I was unaware that men could become pregnant. I’m sure that isn’t what you were thinking when you typed your idiotic lecture, but I don’t care. It does help to solidify in my own mind the level of intellect I’m dealing with here. Where’s your no-god now Dan? ;)
Posted by Ryan Conover on May 17, 2005 at 11:29 AM Nowhere in the Bible is the word mud or mud people used. Let’s get the facts right or risk sounding worse than that bloated gas-bag, Limbaugh.
If one chooses to look however, they might discover that Jesus was a lefty and his ministry was an extension of a long established tradition.
Faith has been high jacked by the right wing and our emerging theocracy seems woefully negligent in its study of the prerequisite material:“When you reap the harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not return to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the works of your hands.
When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and the widow.
And you shall remember that you were bondsman in Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing.”
Deuteronomy 24:19-22“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to the very corners, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
And you shall not glean your vineyards, neither gather from your olive trees, but you shall leave them for the poor and the proselytes; for I am the Lord your God.You shall not steal,; you shall not deal falsely; neither shall you lie to one another.
You shall not swear by my name falsely and so profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.
You shall not oppress your neighbor, neither carry him away by force; the wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until the morning.”
Leviticus 19:9-13“No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and like the other; or he will honor the one and despise the other.
You can not serve God and mammon (wealth).
The sermon on the mount---Matthew 6:24Even if you do not accept the existence of a God, where is your disagreement with the essence of the above message?
Posted by seeking balance on May 17, 2005 at 11:34 AM Seeking Balance,
You’re treading a slippery slope slick when you quote from the Bible.You’re obvioulsy a Bush supporter so resolve the PREMPTIVE WAR in Iraq with some of Jesus’ most famous actions namely “Turing the Other Cheek”, “Loving Thy Enemy”, “He Who Is Without Sin Casting The First Stone.”
I mean after all, he is a Christian is he not?That’s the thing with religious zealots they pick and choose the passages from the Bible that fits their view and disgard the rest.
Posted by Bob on May 17, 2005 at 1:07 PM Seeking Balance,
I’m sorry, I totally missed the end of your post.
The essence of God’s message is pure and good I agree.
Why is then that those who label themselves as True Christians seem to be the ones who are Casting the First Stone, Not Turning the Other Cheek, Bearing False Witness against anyone who disagrees with their Repressive views?Day after day I see and read religious zealots who claim to be faithful to Jesus’ word and am amazed that they are almost all angry, sullen, miserbale SOBs.
Wasn’t Jesus all about |Love?
Posted by Bob on May 17, 2005 at 1:23 PM Seeking Balance,
Sorry there slick but the foul words “Mud People” does to appear in the Bible.
I don’t know if you know it but there are many many versions of the Bible out there.
Some that contradict other versions or passges that contradict similar passages in other versions.So please save those smarmy insults for when you know what you’re talking about.
Posted by Bob on May 17, 2005 at 1:31 PM I’ll cite Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible as my reference.
Many of the modern revisions of the King James as well as the Eastern Peshitta have been convoluted to further the agenda of the crank right wing heretics. The text contained in many of these abominations bears little resemblance to what has managed to survive through the millennia.Why would an ‘obvious Bush’ supporter claim Jesus was a Lefty? The hypocrisies you recognize are precisely my point. As stated earlier on these boards:
“If the thumpers are going to evoke religion, why not hold them to the standards and ideals actually demanded of them by their belief?
“Faith without works is dead”. As James, the brother of Christ, informs us, claiming to be of faith without realising that faith through one’s actions is meaningless.
What actions are expected of the faithful? Having mercy and compassion, helping the least among us, feeding and comforting the poor, refraining from judgement of others, and most importantly of all, to be people of Peace. If the fundament right wants to demand a return to religious values, then let them! Let’s hold them to the priorities expected of good Christians. Become champions of Peace. Stop the wars. Elevate the poor. That $84 billion just approved for continued slaughter in Iraq could go a long way feeding and sheltering the dispossessed in Darfir and places like it, not to mention the starving and homeless living on our own streets.
The left is so afraid of the notion of religion that they miss using one of the most effective means of combating the excesses of this emerging false theocracy.”My purpose is not to proselytize. I do not require that you hold any belief. Why then do you condemn me for mine? It doesn’t hurt to point out the existence of the tyranny from the secular left, one equally unaccommodating to ideas outside the prevailing regimented paradigm as the right.
We have more in common than you choose to acknowledge. Peace, brother. Only through cooperation and solidarity are we ever going to fend off this attack on our republic from the Rove/Bush cabal.
Posted by seeking balance on May 17, 2005 at 6:19 PM Hey dip$hit, does it matter what translation of the bible you’ve read from if it’s incorrect? Also, the correct word would be “too”, not “to”. But really, people can make as many translations as they wish, we still have the original languages that these texts were written in as well as copies of those texts. If you’re suc a linguist then please, please check it out for all out benefit. “...the foul words “Mud People” does to appear in the Bible..” Maybe the word “do” might be appropriate since we’re talking aboutthe plural form of ‘word’, which is ‘words’. Fucking idiot… I’m sure everyone is liningup to hear your opinions, right?
Posted by Ryan Conover on May 18, 2005 at 12:20 AM As for regulating entertainments and censoring what’s offensive, maybe it could be agreed that I own this body. The mind that lives in this organism (or is a result of its functions), as far as I’m concerned, should be assumed to be in charge of it. What I eat, drink, smoke, or watch on TV is up to my own discretion or lack thereof. And if I don’t “own myself”, for lack of a better phrasing, what on Earth do I own at all? Nothing. Then I’m simply a pawn of social and legal forces beyond my control.
This would also apply to those who choose to make entertainments that others find objectionable. I know some will object to this statement, but not all actors who make adult-oriented works are enslaved, exploited, etc. Believe it or not, some really do like what they’re doing. So, continuing from the premise that this body is governed by the mind within it, it is up to me to choose whether I’ll buy, rent, or perform in an adult video or film (not that any of you would want to watch it, but that’s another issue). If I do choose to get involved in such things, the risks are mine. And if some other sovereign consciousness wants to rent or buy my video (no accounting for taste), no one can legitimately gainsay them short of legal bullying, which seems to be part and parcel of the crusader faction’s tactics and in fact a large share of their main agenda. That agenda is to gain control. Of what? Of all the features of American culture they’re seeking to dominate through legal and propagandistic means.
If you don’t like the show, switch off. If I wish to watch titillating shows, it’s none of your business. There’s plenty out there for you and your kids (as well as me and my kids) to enjoy. There are 500 channels, must the restrictors and puritans control them all?
That should be understandable whether we’re ghosts in meaty machines or temporary manifestations of consciousness based upon biological processes.
Posted by Kuya on May 18, 2005 at 12:41 AM HEY RYAN,
WE HAVE SIMILAR WORDS TO “ABOUTTHE” IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
THEY ARE “ABOUT” AND “THE.”
PROOF READ YOUR OWN RANTS BEFORE YOU START CRITIQUING OTHERS OKAY?
Posted by BOB on May 18, 2005 at 5:30 AM My typing mistakes seem slightly less important than the fact that you obviously have no idea how to speak your first language.
Posted by Ryan Conover on May 18, 2005 at 8:53 AM Dear Ryan,
Let me see if I have this straight:
Your typos are simply a mistake but mine show some lack of familiarity with my Mother tongue?No wonder you support Bush…he’s a hypocrite TOO.
Posted by Bob on May 18, 2005 at 9:23 AM Hey Ryan,
I didn’t want to bring it up but in your response to one of my posts, you failed to capitalize the word “Bible.”
You did capitalize it later on in your rant, excuse me, in your post, which begs the question:
Are you just dumb or are you lazy TOO?I hesitated to bring it up knowing how unbalanced you are but I figured hey, when in Rome...;o)
Posted by Bob on May 18, 2005 at 10:36 AM Dearest Ryan A.K.A. “The Grammar Gestapo”;
Here is a sentence from your “correction” filled rant:
“If you’re suc a linguist then please, please check it out for all out benefit.”
When you get a chance please decipher that sentence.
I must be stupid because “suc” appears nowhere in my dictionary.
Please help me Ryan…
Posted by Bob on May 18, 2005 at 10:44 AM I don’t support Bush you f-ucking moron. Never could have guessed that I meant “such” in the context of that sentence, huh? I speak well, if not type well. However, your problems weren’t with your typing, they were with your own stupidity. Come on Bob-schmoe, make another hateful, ill-informed comment about someone’s beliefs!
Posted by Ryan Conover on May 18, 2005 at 12:00 PM Please don’t cry Ryan.
I am sorry that I responded to your attacks on my spelling errors by attacking your spelling errors.
I don’t know what came over me.Hey, is there any way you could include more profanity in your next response?
I get such a kick out of them.
Posted by Bob on May 18, 2005 at 12:38 PM Ryan,
Don’t freak out or anything but here is another sentences of yours from a previous post:
“Let MYSELF be clear in stating that I have never and would never support Bush, that’s why I am here.”
I think what you were going for was:
”Let ME be clear in stating that I have never and would never support Bush, that’s why I am here.”Dude, it’s right there in the Bible:
“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Maybe you should stop lecturing people on spelling and grammatical errors...just a suggestion.
Posted by Bob on May 19, 2005 at 12:44 PM If Bush gets his way, none of us will be able to hate each other on the internet like this ever again.
Posted by mooby on Jun 2, 2005 at 3:46 AM No kidding...I’m waiting for the day when Bush’s owners tell him to start dismantling the Bill of Rights.
Oh its coming…
Posted by Bob on Jun 2, 2005 at 10:01 AM We have a former cocaine and alcohol addict sittin’ in the White House who chickened out in his country’s time of war but ran as the ‘War President’ and unbelievably he won...twice!!!
Sorry Dude, but THERE IS NO GOD!!!
Posted by Bob on Jun 3, 2005 at 1:13 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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