Wednesday, July 26, 2006

"WHAT A HELL OF A HEAVEN"

" WHAT A HELL OF A HEAVEN"
by Daniel G
Edited by Brandon and Advocate1


"I wonder if God created man because he was disappointed in the monkey."
From Mark Twain Tonight by Mark Twain and Hal Holbrook

-----I know that a certain bent of "person" will read this and immediately assume that I hate all Christians, and to that knee jerk response I would offer the following responses.
-----First, I am not responsible for the fact that some people like to project their negative or even criminal thought processes onto others. The fact that some people go through life thinking (or are they hoping?) that they are being persecuted because of their distorted view of a given religion is their problem. Not mine. My advice to them is that they either learn to love it or adopt a more rational belief system.
-----Second I do not hate all Christians--only those who call themselves Christians but who speak and behave more like Apostates from Hell then genuine followers of Christ. Which, if you follow that logic, I'm really not hateful of Christians at all!
-----I was raised as a Southern Baptist, and some of my fondest memories stem from singing in my church choir and lending a hand with some fairly complicated musical arrangements. The sense of community, the sense of being loved by a just, loving Jesus was a great comfort during my teenage years, but, as the saying goes, "all good things must come to and end," and when I finally, finally read the King James Bible in its entirety, from start to finish, without having someone on hand to misinterpret what the text actually said, I realized that this supposedly "holy" book (the Old Testament and the Book of Revelations in particular) was nothing more than a tragic fiction filled with contradicting examples of love, hate, violence, and outright sadistic savagery--all in the name of a sanguinary God whose thirst for innocent human blood seemed and still seems insatiable.
-----I suppose that in some ways the Bible is a litmus test. Gentle, loving people, tend to believe in a gentle, loving God, while angry, hateful people believe in an angry, hateful God, and that brings me to the topic at hand.
-----In recent months I have come to the conclusion that mental illness is a prerequisite for membership in the Pseudo Christian Right. Has anyone here visited a website called Rapture Ready? For those of you who are unfamiliar with this on line insane asylum, it is nothing more than an over-glorified countdown to the Apocalypse.
-----I kid you not.
-----This is a site that was clearly created by delusional totalitarian fanatics for the "benefit" of delusional totalitarian fanatics. In many ways it reminds me of the old countdown to nuclear war, the old clock on which midnight represented an atomic holocaust, but with a major difference. While intelligent, rational human beings considered a global conflagration followed by a nuclear winter and the eventual extinction of human kind to be an undesirable chain of events, the sociopathic freaks and morons at Rapture Ready appear to experience something akin to sexual stimulation at the mere thought of Armageddon.
-----Is that an exaggeration? Not really. Within the last few weeks the folks over at Rapture Ready realized that they had pushed the envelope too far, because they published an apologetic piece of brain candy in which they explained that they and other Dominionists do not become gleeful when they think about death, destruction, and the eternal damnation of those who they so obviously love to hate--an interesting assertion when you consider the imbecilic image of happy sappy Christianists euphorically dancing in the light of their beloved, homicidal Jesus which appears in the upper right hand corner of the home page. Just look at the way these people have been acting since the situation inLebanon raised its ugly head. Good grief, these people are positively orgiastic. They really do believe that the deaths of innocent Lebanese civilians are less important that the deaths of holier than thou Christians. (Can you say racist?) At any moment I expect these dyed in the wool religion addicts to tilt their heads back, curl their toes, and moan a long, lustful "ohhhhhhhhh myyyyyyy GAAAAAHHHHHHHHD!" as they reach a psycho sexual climax over the deaths of innocent women and children. They are positively reveling in this conflict, openly celebrating the violence, death, and destruction because they truly believe it will bring them closer to the End Times and an eternity with Jesus. They quite literally seem to believe that the death of innocence is a good thing.
-----So tell me, Am I supposed to think of these twisted, demented monsters as genuine Christians?
-----Of course not. To quote Thomas Jefferson on the insane rantings of Calvin. "The being described in his five points is not the God whom you and I acknolege and adore, the Creator and benevolent governor of the world; but a daemon of malignant spirit. It would be more pardonable to believe in no god at all, than to blaspheme him by the atrocious attributes of Calvin." I can well imagine what Jefferson would say if he were to encounter the Fundamentalist maniacs who are currently trying to overthrow the American Republic: "The being described in right wing Christianity is not the God whom you and I adore, the creator and benevolent governor of the world, but a fascist dictator. It would be more pardonable to believe in no god at all than to blasphene him with the maniacal rantings of the fundamentalist right."
-----These accidents of evolution are only a fraction better than the right wing, fundamentalist Muslims who destroyed the twin towers on 9-11. The crazy right- wing Muslims look forward to their 72 virgins.* By the same token, the right-wing pseudo Christians want to hasten the time line for the end of the word, and go to Heaven, where they will serve at the right hand of God Almighty for all eternity. The crazy, fundamentalist Muslims hate gays and lesbians--ditto to right-wing pseudo Christians. The crazy right-wing Muslims believe women should be subservient to men--so does the right-wing pseudo Christians. The crazy right wing Muslims believe that they have the one and only interpretation of their sacred text--so do the right-wing pseudo Christians. The crazy right-wing Muslims are virulently anti-sex and hateful of those who do not share the same religious beliefs----so are the right-wing pseudo Christians and so on.
-----Do you get the idea that the term "American Taliban" is an accurately descriptive one?
-----That may sound harsh, but when you read the site, and others like it, you realize very quickly, that it is nothing ore than an on line celebration of religion-inspired violence coupled with Christo-fascist hate speech against gays and lesbians. Violence and homophobia wrapped in a cloak of "Christian" sociopathy: That's a real indicator of mental stability. "Dear Prince of Peace, Dear Loving Lord Jesus, please come back to earth and prove how loving and compassionate you really are by killing and condemning to eternal damnation everyone who either called you by the wrong name or who loved and slept with a religiously incorrect gender. To quote the site:
"The great, loving God doesn't want this for anyone. He has moved Heaven and Hell to bring all men, women and children to himself. He gave His only son, Jesus Christ. What greater thing could He give? But God created us with a free will. That is, we can choose to love and obey Him, or not. It is up to us."
Of course what the site fails to mention is that the Crucifixion, as presented in the Bible is little more than a very clever (and at times, not so clever) swindle. If we accept the idea that God (Christ) was/is a divine being, then it seems to me that we must also accept the premise that God (Christ) is both all powerful and all knowing. Never mind the fact that such a being, by its very nature, must either be a sadistic tyrant or a mindless bungler. If he has the power and the wisdom to cure mankind's ill but sits around and does nothing, then we are dealing with truly warped being which truly enjoys the torment of its flawed creation.
-----Think about it.
-----We're dealing with a God who supposedly posseses infinite ability and infinite knowledge, and yet, from the opening lines of Genesis, he clearly does not have an idea as to what will inevitably go astray in the Garden of Eden. And when things ultimately do go wrong, the Divine Author refuses to take responsibility for the innate flaw in his human creation. Does he demonstrate the so-called forgiveness that he supposedly shows in the New Testament?
-----No.
-----In a fit of rage, he expels Adam and Eve from Creation and then takes his own sweet time in establishing a code of ethics by which is creations can govern themselves. Translated into the common vernacular, he proves himself UNforgiving and does nothing for thousands of years while countless millions of human beings toil, suffer and die under his narrow minded regime. Only after thousands of years and millions of pointless deaths have passed does it occur to him that he can actually forgive his own creations. And then, if we take the Bible at face value, forgiveness is offered with so many strings attached under such strict, narrow terms that only 144,000 people out of countless billions will ever be saved. Some deluded minds consider this an act of love, which tells me that some people have a really sick idea as to what love and forgiveness are all about. Im sorry, my dear friends, but I cannot worship a psychopathic higher power with a serious personality disorder.
-----On the other hand if God cannot do something about the world situation, then it tells me that he is either not all knowing (in which case I cannot worship an ignorant God) or he is not all powerful (in which case I cannot worship an impotent, chest-thumping bully).
-----So what does this have to do with the crucifixion? Plenty, because when you read the New Testament it seems as if the proverbial apple has not fallen too far from the proverbial tree. I said that the crucifixion was an empty gesture devoid of meaning, and that is exactly what I intended to say.
-----What exactly did Jesus sacrifice? Granted, he a spent several agonizing hours on the cross, but if we accept the King James Bible at face value-or more accurately the Fundamentalist bastardization of the King James Bible--Jesus was the son of God. Certainly he must have had some idea as to what would happen after he arrived in Jerusalem. He must have known that he was destined to be crucified. Indeed, he predicts his own "death" and resurrection. And that raises an interesting question? How can the crucifixion be seen as a meaningful act of sacrifice when Christ knew in advance that he would be crucified and also knew that he would be raised from the dead? Had he actually died and NOT been resurrected we would have seen a meaningful sacrifice, but if you take the New Testament seriously Jesus not only ascends physically to Heaven, he will supposedly return in a cloud of glory to judge the living and the dead, How can we call this a meaningful sacrifice when Christ suffers no real consequences as the result of that sacrifice. In this regard Christ is less relative to our every day existance than the tireless doctors, nurses, and emergency response teams who put their lives on the line every day when the save their fellow human beings from fires, natural acts, or criminal actions.
-----You could argue that the pain and humiliation were a part of Christ's sacrifice, but how many innocent people have been whipped, dunked, stretched, poked, and prodded, and either hung or burned at the stake in His name? How many people have suffered for years on end from horrific terminal diseases? Could you not argue that thef suffering of Jesus was but a drop in the ocean compared to the suffering of millions upon millions of human beings? When you compare century after century of human agony against the torment that was suffered by Christ on the Cross, and when you consider the fact that Jesus quite literally ends up with more power and more prestige than he had to begin with, a logical mind must again conclude that the crucifixion was an empty gesture from a snake oil salesman of a God who is long on rhetoric but short on results.
And people wonder why I have drooped Christianity and moved on to a more rational view of the world.
-----On the one hand, these megalomaniacal followers of Jesus will tell you that their precious God is a loving, compassionate Savior who died for the sins of mankind. But then, and often in the same breath, they will tell you that the Prince of Peace is a jealous, right wing hatemonger who will severely punish anyone and everyone for the most minor of violations. That's a real hoot when you consider the fact that many of these congenital zealots engage in what many refer to as "cheap grace."
-----First, they accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior, then they supposedly receive forgiveness, and then they feel free to commit new sins and abuses because they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. (If I were poor Jesus I would be getting awfully confused by this kind of contradictory misbehavior!) They never really experience guilt because they know they have been forgiven--and that only makes them more prone to commit new and even "greater" offenses because they know in their heart of blackest hearts that they have been given carte blanche to hate and persecute. They seldom bother with guilt for any real length of time because they have so cheapened the art of forgiveness into an irrelevent, ten second ritual in which any wrong doing is simply overlooked--especially if it is done to benefit their vengeful, incarnadine Big Daddy in the Sky.
-----And that's odd behavior when you consider the fact that this all too often these are the same people who accuse others of moral relativism. But then again, when you a malevolent sociopath in Christian clothing you really don't have to expect anything in the way of logic--nor for that matter, in the way of benevolence either.
-----In fact, I would even go so far as to suggest that if the so called Christian Right--which is neither Christian nor right about anything--wanted to engage in some long overdue truth in advertising, it would refer to itself as the Dysfunctional Satanic Right, and leave poor Jesus Christ alone for a change.

-----"Oh what a hell of a Heaven it's going to be whan all those hypocrites assemble up there!"
From Mark Twain Tonight by Mark Twain and Hal Holbrook


* I really have to wonder... When male, Muslim martyrs kill themselves and go to Heaven to meet their 72 virgins, will the same 72 virgins be serving every male Muslim who makes it to the great beyond, and if so, are they still considered virgins after they have been "deflowered?" Or, will each martyr be provided with his own, personal harem of obedient young maidens? At the same time I also wonder about female, martyrs and right wing Muslims who die and go to Heaven. Will they receive 72, drop dead pieces of beef cake for their devout time spent here on earth or will they still be required to wear those goddmaned veils and serve males with a sense of pride and obedience? Just curious.

Daniel G




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Sunday, July 23, 2006

CHRISTIAN TERRORISM


Mention the word "terrorism", and one begins to conjure up images of jumbo Boeings flying into buildings, buses being blown to smithereens, and other acts of terror being masterminded by turban-wearing, AK-47 - wielding Muslims and their mullahs, in his or her brain.

Which is hardly surprisingly, really. Western media, it seems has a knack of being too pro-Christian: Events being reported by American-based news agencies (CNN) tend to be biased towards Christian rights groups.

Any attacks by Palestinian terrorists will inevitably hit the headlines, but hardly do you ever receive news of the odd Christian terrorist, which actually does provide an excuse for Christians to trumpet and sell their wares, that Christianity is a religion of love.

The unbridled truth is, Christian terrorists do exist, and they don't come bigger and bolder than the irrepressible, enigmatic character in the shape of Eric Rudolph, which, coincidentally, is one of the most under-reported criminal in secular news coverage.

Considering the crimes he has confessed to, it is quite a flabbergasting cover-up, a travesty that no doubt characterizes the unreserved biaseness towards Christianity.

EARLY LIFE
FBI PHOTO OF ROBERT RUDOLPH

Eric Robert Rudolph was born in Sep 19, 1966 in Florida.

His early years indicate that he wasn't one of the brightest kids of the block: He attended 9th grade but subsequently dropped out within a year, after which, he attended university for two semesters at Western Carolina University in 1985 and 1986 before joining the military in 1987.

The military wasn't exactly his cup of tea either: Posted into the 101 Airborne Division for a year, he was allegedly given the boot for smoking pot, and was discharged with the rank of Private E-1.

Like most terrorist wannabes and their evil cohorts, Eric Rudolph perhaps developed a strong hatred for the secular world in his early years, due to his profound failure to make his mark early in life (Note: This may or may not be the case).

ACTS OF TERROR

Between the years of 1996 and 1998, Eric Rudolph inflicted widespread damage to American lives and property. Some of the crimes he has confessed include:

1. July 27, 1996: The notorious bombing at the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta:

The blast killed spectator Alice Hawthorne, and was responsible for triggering a heart attack and subsequent death of a Turkish cameraman. In addition, 111 people were wounded. According to his April 13, 2005 statement, the reasons behind this mass terror was politically motivated:

"In the summer of 1996, the world converged upon Atlanta for the Olympic Games. Under the protection and auspices of the regime in Washington millions of people came to celebrate the ideals of global socialism. Multinational corporations spent billions of dollars, and Washington organized an army of security to protect these best of all games. Even though the conception and purpose of the so-called Olympic movement is to promote the values of global socialism, as perfectly expressed in the song "Imagine" by John Lennon, which was the theme of the 1996 Games even though the purpose of the Olympics is to promote these despicable ideals, the purpose of the attack on July 27 was to confound, anger and embarrass the Washington government in the eyes of the world for its abominable sanctioning of abortion on demand.

The plan was to force the cancellation of the Games, or at least create a state of insecurity to empty the streets around the venues and thereby eat into the vast amounts of money invested."

Regardless how you decipher his statements, it is quite clear that there is a religious element towards his motives, which should have granted his status as nothing more nor less than a Muslim terrorist.

He talks about his hatred for "social globalism", which was embellished by John Lennon's song, "Imagine".

JOHN LENNON, BEATLES MEMBER: GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

Fans of the Beatles will no doubt be familiar to the 1960s band, which was actually alluding to a utopian world, free from religious tyranny and filled with the usual hippies-rhethoric:

Lyrics by John Lennon
Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

What Eric was most pissed off about the song may perhaps be the world Lennon alludes to: a secular world, ruled beyond the frigid world of religious doctrines.

The fact that Eric abhors abortion lends credence to this claim. He may have transferred this hatred towards secular America into a political statement, but it does not lend credence to his claim that his motives are of a political nature, since the reasons behind them are far too religious attuned to be political in nature.

2. Jan 16, 1997: Bombing of gay and lesbian pub

A gay and lesbian pub, "the Otherside Lounge", was bombed, injuring 11.

3. Bombing of Abortion Clinic

Jan 29, 1998: An abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama became one of Eric Rudolph's deadly targets. Rudolph fashioned dynamite bombs, which were spited with sharp, deadly nails to enhance the bombs' deadly effects. Police officer Robert Sanderson was killed, and nurse Emily Lyons was critically injured.

In his written statement, Eric Rudolph attempts to justify the death of the police officer, on the grounds that law enforcement agencies are in cahoots with those who are "guilty of the holocaust":

-Because I believe that abortion is murder, I also believe that force is justified and in an attempt to stop it. Because this government is committed to the policy of maintaining the policy of abortion and protecting it, the agents of this government are the agents of mass murder, whether knowingly or unknowingly. And whether these agents of the government are armed or otherwise they are legitimate targets in the war to end this holocaust, especially those agents who carry arms in defense of this regime and the enforcement of its laws. This is the reason and the only reason for the targeting of so-called law enforcement personnel. -April 14, 2005.

For a man who classifies abortion as a "holocaust", his actions would no doubt have been amply justified.

Like most religious militants, Eric sees the world as a battlefield; deaths to their purported enemies, or anyone who are even remotely connected with the supposed enemy, inevitably becomes a convenient target, and really isn't a matter of dispute at all.


BIZZARE CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO RUDOLPH'S ARREST

Quite bizzarely, though, Eric Rudolph eluded law enforcement agencies for years: He became so notorious that he made it to FBI's ten most wanted list, becoming the 454 fugitive to make it to the notorious list.

How did he manage to elude capture is something that was to become something of a mystery, till the day he was captured.

On May 31, 2003, Rudolph was finally arrested in North Carolina by chance by a rookie cop. He was found scavenging for food in a garbage can behind a Sav-A-Lot store.

When arrested, he was clean shaven, with a trimmed mustache, and wearing new sneakers, a strong indication that he was probably harboured by supporters.

Now, you would ask, who in the right mind would actually albeited and harbored a terrorist for such a long duration of time? Remember, this is not the average run-in-the-mill petty thief. This looney has killed, and maimed others, all in the name of some religious ideals that belonged to another age and another time.

But harbour him people did, and it is likely that the likes of conservative freaks, white supremacists and skinheads may have given him refuge while he was on the run.

Unlike the supposed "terrorists" held indefinitely in Guantanamo Bay without trial, Mr Eric had it easier.....a hell lot easier. Federal authorities charged him on October 14, 2003. A reputed anti-Semitist and white supremacist, Rudolph was defended by a Jewish attorney, Richard S. Jaffe, who said he knew about his client's supposed beliefs but that Rudolph didn't have a problem with his Jewish faith.

Talk about bias and double-talk. It seems to me that in America, you'd probably get a decent trial for being a Christian terrorist, but if you happen to be a Muslim and a suspected terrorist, then woe to you.

VENERATING THE DEVIL INCARNATE: THE ARMY OF GOD HAILS RUDOLPH AS A MATYR FOR GOD

In spite of the horrendous damage inflicted by Eric on numerous lives and property, this freak does have supporters, and one of them, in particular, is suspected to be linked, or at least influenced Eric Rudolph's murderous rampage.

CHRISTIAN LOONEY, PAUL HILL: SENTENCED FOR BOMBING ABORTION CLINICS

In the group's official website, ARMY OF GOD, not only is Eric hailed as some kind of archetypical hero, murderers who have committed acts of murder and arson against abortion clinics and their practitioners, such as Paul Hill and John Brockhoeft, are venerated as matyrs of the "saving the unborn" cause.

Pro-lifers they may claim to be, this crazy gang has no qualms about killing abortion doctors in a bid to stop abortion altogether.

Despite the alleged links, no law enforcement agency in the states have carried out investigations on this firebrand group, nor others the likes of them. It is as if America continues to believe in this myth that there somehow isn't such a thing called "a Christian terrorist".

TERRORISM: A STRICTLY FAITH-BASED AFFAIR

Try as religious moderates and other scholars might to repudiate the connection between faith and terrorism, but the truth remains: Terrorists armed with the faith of their respective religions are more likely to carry out such acts of destruction against the secular world. No atheist has ever flown a plane into some building, nor planted bombs spiked with nails in a crowded subway train, for the matter.

Whatever the religions, secular societies and its inherent values have become a thorn in the eyes of religious freaks, and there seems to be a concerted effort to instill religious values and doctrines through the use of force.

It is quite surprising that, despite the strenous efforts by American forces to rid Afghanistan and Iraq of "terrorist elements", little has been done to address to issues in their own backyards.

QUOTABLE QUOTES FROM ARMY OF GOD, SECOND DEFENSIVE STATEMENT:

-We the undersigned, declare the justice of taking all godly action necessary, including the use of force, to defend innocent human life (born and unborn). We proclaim that whatever force is legitimate to defend the life of a born child is legitimate to defend the life of an unborn child.

-We declare and affirm that if in fact Paul Hill did kill or wound abortionist John Britton, and accomplices James Barrett and Mrs. Barrett, his actions are morally justified if they were necessary for the purpose of defending innocent human life. Under these conditions, Paul Hill should be acquitted of all charges against him.




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Saturday, July 15, 2006

The Sociopath at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Will someone please explain how George W. Bush can call himself a Christian and still endorse torture as a legitimate tool of American foreign policy? Will someone please tell us how a purported believer in the teachings of Jesus Christ can behave so brutally and unethically, and still claim that he he is a man of virtue. a compassionate conservative? The last we knew Jesus didn't advocate the twin perversions of torture and sadism, and yet, for reasons which defy imagination, Bush and his merry band of sexual sadists are perfectly willing to crawl into the gutter with societies such as Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Peoples Republic of China as they make a mockery out of both, decency and Western civilization. Ironically, American torture techniques are derived from methods used by the KGB. They include sensory deprivation and self-inflicted torture; black bags over the victims head to maintain disorientation; forcing the victim to stand on his or feet for days on hand with his or her arms stretched out at his or her sides. That may not sound disturbing, but the end results are horrific. Fluid builds into the legs, sores break out, the kidneys begin to fail. Then add fear, threats, cultural humiliation, personal intimidation, and....well, you get the idea.

Of course, he ultimate irony in all of this is that torture really doesn't work. The weak will offer false information to end the pain and the strong will be ale to resist, offering either silence or false information in defiance of their persecutors. Cases in point.

*In 1944, after the failed plot to kill Adolf Hitler, one of the conspirators, Fabian von Schlabrendorff, was brutally interrogated by the Gestapo--so much so that he suffered a series of significant heart attacks; and yet he refused to give his torturers the information they were demanding.

*In the 1960s, when John McCain was being tortured by the North Vietnamese, instead of revealing the names of the pilots in his Squadron, McCain gave them the offensive line up of the Green Bay Packers.

So why, you might be asking, would the administration want the right to inflict pain, humiliation, and suffering when such measures clearly don't work?

Some might be inclined to suggest stupidity, others might be inclined to suggest fear or perhaps even over-enthusiasim, but we have another suggestion.

They might actually enjoy it.

In many ways the members of this administration and its lemming like followers are no different than the proverbial serial killer who not only gets a thrill out of the actual killing, but who also gets a sexual rush from the expression of horror on the victim's face. And who, having committed his heinous deed, then collects a memento to revive the feelings of excitement and satisfaction that he experienced during the act itself. Indeed, we wouldn't be surprised to learn that members of this administration were keeping trophies or keep sakes from some of their victims so that they can recreate the sexual high at a later date.

I think it's time to admit that we're dealing with a truly creepy clique of sexual sadists who clearly enjoy the suffering of others, and who would probably do anything, both legal and illegal, to satisfy their perverted psycho-sexual desires. So perhaps, just perhaps, the time has come to pose the question that our corporate, mainstream press refuses to ask.

Can a country, or rather a political party, have a sociopathic breakdown?

That is a question that has been gnawing at us ever since George W. Bush and his merry band of empire builders decided to wage a war of aggression against a sovereign nation which, while brutal and repressive, had been militarily contained and represented no serious threat to the United States.

During the course of the next few years we came to the conclusion that the modern Republican Party is the first political movement in the history of the United States to be based on a collective personality disorder.

Something has gone very wrong.

The parts, the qualities which might allow these people to act or function like normal human beings, are either stunted or missing. Under normal circumstances you would think that the same people who so fervently claim to love Jesus and his moral example would be the same people who would want to condemn brutality and sadism in anyone on both religious and legal grounds. But these are not normal times and our leaders are clearly have a few problems that go beyond your typical run of the mill political difficulties.

Ever since we learned about incidents of sexual assault and sexual sadism (there just isn't another way to describe it) in Iraqi prisons and at Guantanamo Bay, we have been increasingly concerned about the flippant manner in which this administration dismisses or denies allegations of human rights violations. Never mind the rhetoric from Mister Gonzalez about the Geneva Convention being quaint , or foolish rhetoric about how the Nuremberg accords don't apply to America (a suggestion which in and of itself might be illegal under international law in that it promotes torture); we have a real problem on our hands and it seems to be stemming not from the immorality within the Republican Party but from the amorality within the Republican Party.

Assistant Propaganda Minister Scott McClellan routinely brushed off allegations of prisoner abuse as fabrications by Islamic terrorists, and our enabling media never press him on the issue. Worse, the reporters never said something to the effect of, "well Scott, if that's the case, then why don't you prove your denials and give the media more access to Guantanamo Bay?" In the mean time Karl Rove tells is that "liberals saw the savagery of the 911 attacks and want to offer therapy and understanding to our attackers," completely oblivious to the fact that it is he and his partners in crime who need the therapy. And it hasn't improved under Assistant Propaganda Minister Tony Snow. Indeed, the Snowman has regressed back to the days of Ari Fleishcer, smugly suggesting that the press had better be careful about uncovering and reporting about the manner in which this administration has often (illegally) undermined our civil liberties.

In the mean time, Bush supporters on AM hate radio, look at incidents of rape and murder my American Marines, look at civilian deaths, and tell their extremely dysfunctional listeners that "things like this happen in war," or that "we're not as bad as Saddam." And we find ourselves thinking:

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING?!"

Wow! We're not as bad as Saddam Hussein—a leader which the right wing hate-mongers and their delusional listeners have compared to Adolf Hitler. Which means what? That we're not as bad as Hitler? Are we supposed to be impressed or puzzled by this? A handful of American soldiers, guards, and interrogators have been caught, indeed photographed, performing acts of sexual abuse and sadism, but the radical, sociopathic right feels comforted by the fact that Americans aren't as bad as Hitler or Saddam. Five Marines have been accused of rape and murder, and the far right issuies a collective "oops."

Is that supposed to make us feel better?

In many ways this rapacious regime reminds us of an old joke: A wealthy man approaches a woman at a cocktail party and asks her if she would sleep with him in exchange for a million dollars. After a brief hesitation the woman says, "of course I will." Clearly satisfied, the man then asks her if she would sleep with him for $1.50, prompting the woman to snap: "Well of course I won't. What do you think I am?" To which the man says, "We have already established that, we are now arguing over price."

In other words, it's all a matter of degree. Sexual assault is wrong under any set of circumstances. It either existed or it didn't; and as we have seen in the infamous photos, it clearly existed. Perhaps we wouldn't feel so offended if so much of the casual, ho-hum approval weren't coming from the moralistic, "Christian" Right, which routinely condemns those of us on the left for alleged moral relativism. But when we look at their attitude on this matter we can only see another glaring moment of right wing duplicity. This is another, painful time when the radial right needs to cast the beam from its own eye before it condemns others for its own sins. Not only is their tacit approval of sexual abuse under military circumstances an example of right wing hypocrisy—it also takes moral relativism to an absurd extreme.

You really have to wonder: Why do our leaders flaunt sexual morality when they're condemning legal, consenting acts between gays and lesbians (who they love to hate and persecute here at home), but then turn around and promote rape, murder, and sadism as viable tools of America's foreign policy? And we are not talking about the soldiers in the battlefield, who this Administration has overextended to the point of physical and emotional collapse. We are talking about the leaders at the top of this criminal regime.

Why does this Administration have so much trouble living up to the tenants of the religion that it so hypocritically loves to flaunt? Don't ask the Radical Christian Right or our Republican leaders in Washington DC, because it appears as if they don't even know. Or worse yet, it appears as if they don't even care. So here we are, still wondering what has gone wrong. And the answer that comes to mind is both probable and chilling. The answer did not come from the Bible and it did not come from an mean-spirited sermon by Jerry Falwell or James Dobson. Rather, it came from a book, from the pages of the Fourth Edition of DSM-IV-TR, The Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders as published in the year 2004 by the American Psychiatric Association.

This is the answer--or should I say these are the answers?

*Sociopaths are frequently deceitful and manipulative for personal gain or pleasure.

*Sociopaths lie and malinger

*Sociopaths are irritable and aggressive and may repeatedly get into physical fights or commit acts of physical assault

*Sociopaths have a reckless disregard for their own safety and the safety of others. Not only are they reckless but they can be neglectful and irresponsible. Their work habits and work histories reveal irregular habits and tend to be unpredictable.

*Sociopaths show little remorse for their acts and are indifferent to the pain and suffering of others. They may blame their victims for being foolish or helpless. Sociopaths fail to compensate. They do not make amends.

*Sociopaths can be charming, charismatic, exploitative, and manipulative.

*Sociopaths may have trouble controlling their finances.

*Sociopaths have problems with self control and may suffer from addictive disorders.

Now do you see why some of us are worried? We have a president and a cabinet of advisers (or, if you will, cronies) who wanted to wage a war of aggression for years but who were so disorganized and unprepared when they actually got around to actually waging it that they gave a new meaning to the word irresponsible. The same president, who advocated this debacle, has a history of reckless, alcoholic behavior, and seems irritable and even aggressive when questioned about his past or questioned about his policies. The way in which he went to war revealed a basic dishonesty and a disregard for the lives of American soldiers that bordered on the delusional--or should we say the cold-blooded? Neither Bush nor his appointed goons have shown a scintilla of regret for what they have done; the Demander and Thief has yet to attend a funeral, but Bush himself has been caught on camera joking about the weapons of mass destruction about which he had lied.

Moreover, Bush and his cabinet of unfeeling killers refuse to take responsibility for anything, but continuously blame Democrats and the supposedly liberal press for their many blood soaked failures. And if you want to see how well they can handle their finances, we would only use the term "sky rocketing deficits" to point out how inept this crowd is when it comes to spending and wasting our hard earned tax dollars. These people are sociopathic to their corrupt, authoritarian cores.

Indeed, if you want to see sociopathy at its very worst, just stay tuned for the 2006 elections. Is there anyone out there who seriously doubts that these mentally defective thugs will attempt to project their many dysfunctions onto the rational individuals who see them for what they are and who have dared to speak truth to power? Do we really believe that they won't wrap themselves in the flag and try to paste Osama Bin Laden's beard on Saddam Hussein? Do we really believe that they won't promote fear and terror by reciting the phrase "nine-one-one" as if it were a Republican Satanic chant? Does anyone really believe that this power hungry administration won't try again and again and again to feed its megalomaniacal impulses through additional unconstitutional policies and practices? Is it any wonder that we have seen Vietnam-dodging Republicans using the word "unpatriotic" against Democratic Veterans? Are we really surprised by the fact that cowardly NEOCONS who ran away from military service in the 1960s and 1970s are now accusing Democrats of cutting and running? You just have to give these right wing psychopaths credit. When it comes to propaganda and outright deceit, they make Adolf Hitler and Paul Josef Goebbels look like rank amateurs.

We would suggest that the 2006 election will--at least in terms of strategy--be a repeat of 2004. Two years ago they offered a platform of "Run on the war in 2004." Now it seems as if they will offer a platform of "Dirty Tricks in 2006." Can you say "classic projection?" There is no point in expecting the Bush Administration and its many dysfunctional followers to show a modicum of concern about human rights violations. Nor is there any point in expecting these warped individuals to behave honorably or to tell the truth. Those would be humane responses, and humanity is something that this president and his arrogant cronies have never been able to muster.

See also: Bush isn't a Moron: He's a Cunning Socipath by Ben Conover.
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