Religious freedom in America

It appears that the Republican party believes that religious worship should be controlled by the government. For some reason, certain people don't have the right to build a place of worship on their own private property, and the government gets to decide who those people are. What an odd platform for the Republicans to be supporting.

When was Social Security invented?

How many people know that Social Security was invented by that oft-quoted founding father Thomas Paine? Yep, the very same Thomas Paine who is used by the Teapartiers to justify their conservative small government rhetoric. In fact Thomas Paine strongly supported socialistic ideals. Specifically in his pamphlet Agrarian Justice he advocated giving every citizen a significant sum of money as soon as they reach the age of 21. This is to compensate them for the loss of their natural heritage, taken by capitalist society. He also advocated that every person reaching the age of 50 should receive an annual pension. How is this to be paid? Guess who also invented the estate tax?

The biggest danger to democracy

It's the rapidly increasing disparity between the wealthy and the rest of us. The problem comes about when one class of people have so much disposable money they can afford to use it to purchase government. When they do this, they create  policies that allow them to  keep getting richer and richer, while neglecting policy that promotes the general welfare. It's a positive feedback death spiral.  The best government that money can buy is crap. We have seen this process really get rolling ever since Ronald Reagan  acted as president. By now, we may have passed the tipping point.  Money controls Washington with such a fierce grip, that we may be doomed to devolve into  a corrupt unstable state. Eventually the leaders will, using the excuse of security, overthrow all pretense of democratic ideals. We have certainly seen the first steps toward this in the Patriot Act.

The love of money is the root of all evil. (Timothy 6:10)

It's way too easy to get discouraged by the way things are headed, but I am going to make more of an effort to keep up these posts. It's a way of doing something, better than nothing. 


So it's impossible to escape the current Republican meme that money is good, keeping money is the only thing that matters, and "sharing the wealth" is such a terrible idea. I am fascinated that the same tribe propagating this message purports to believe in the teachings of Jesus, who was a socialist if ever there was one. The sermon on the mount specifically exhorts us to avoid storing up treasures on Earth, and to give our coats to anyone who needs them. Jesus told his followers that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven. The only record of Jesus speaking about taxes is when he said one should render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. In other words, pay your taxes! After Jesus' death his followers lived a purely socialist lifestyle where "No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." (Acts 4:32)


So how can the Republicans reconcile the pure greed espoused by their platform with the teachings of the man they claim to follow? 


This same tribe also loves to point to the founding fathers to justify their militant libertarianism and conservatism. I'll post more on that absurdity in the next day or so.

Now what are we going to do about it?

OK, so it's important to verify information that appears incredibly obvious. Science can take nothing at face value, which is what makes science a unique discipline. So it's important to verify that the Gulf oil spill is creating vast underwater plumes of toxic waste that are destroying the Gulf ecosystem.
The really important thing to focus on is how can we make sure this never happens again? Obama's response to halt all deepwater drilling was the responsible thing to do. It's hard to imagine that ANYONE can justify the clear and present risk of a second disaster of this magnitude occurring. We humans need to realize how much civilization is teetering on the brink of extinction here. We are monkeying with the base of the food chain in the oceans. Our reliance on fossil fuels has so many negatives that only bull-headed denialists can continue to justify it.

Shades of 1984

Endless war means we will never get out of this vicious cycle of debt and hatred. It's just as General Butler told us all those years ago, but we have forgotten. Truly the plutocrats are in control for the forseeable future. We are so screwed.

Unforgivable

Michael Steele was supposed to be the token Negro in the Republican party. He was the "proof" that Republicans can include people who aren't old and white. He was the window dressing, the cover model who smiles for the camera but doesn't make waves. The party didn't get what it bargained for. He has the disconcerting habit of saying what he really thinks too often. Sure, he's a clown. But then again, so are all the various wing-nuts who seem to be representing what was once the party of Lincoln. There is Boehner, who wears his orange face in a perpetual scowl, and evidently spends most of his time in bars. Michelle Bachmann who generates lists of insane quotes that provide endless amusement but also real fear at the thought that this person was actually chosen to be a leader.  Of course Sarah Palin needs no further introduction. And we all know the true leader of the party is Mr. Limbaugh, the much married and divorced draft-dodger, the addict, the sybarite who has been compared to Saddam Hussein in his love of luxury.
Michael Steele comes off as positively sane compared to the other prominent right-wingers. But he just doesn't toe the party line enough. He insists on having independent thoughts, and that is what makes him unforgivable.