Category Archives: NADA – New American Dark Ages

New American Dark Ages

NADA - New American Dark Ages, The Atheist's Pulpit

All god’s children

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Atheists turn the other check as religionists continue their relentless attack on our very humanity. Last week, the Pope identified atheists as history’s greatest villains. Never mind the Inquisition and the first Crusades.

Now, Nit Romney explains that he is broad-minded enough to understand everyone who worships Jesus and that no one who worships Jesus should have any concern about him. Whew, that’s a relief — NOT! Perhaps someone will introduce Romney to an atheist. He’ll be astounded to discover that some atheists are decent people living without a god. It is possible, Nitty.

In fact, his calling secularism a religion reveals how much his own faith circumscribes his world view. This is a common tactic of people one must regard as either benighted or disingenuous — everything is a religion to them, science, secularism and humanism, included.

As for Romney having it both ways — ruled by god but not by religious superiors — I’m not so sure. I understand that the supreme Mormon leader can pronounce any Mormon as unworthy and to be shunned by the community. I believe in such cases, even family members stop acknowledging the ‘unclean.’ Pretty powerful. Is Romney strong enough to stand up to such authority? (Mind you, my understanding of Mormonism comes largely from one episode of South Park. However, that episode balanced its harsh light on the teachings with the observation that Mormons are super-nice people, which is the consensus, now that other religionists have mostly stopped beating them and burning their homes.)

Next time you laugh at a religion (say, Scientology or Christianity) or fear someone with faith (say, a muslim or Buddhist — ha!), remember we are all human beings, all prone to the same ignorance, mistakes and potential, though Romney doesn’t agree. We all need to grow together as one kind. Religion isn’t helping, though it tells you it is. mjh

RealClearPolitics – Articles – Faith In America – The Full Text of Romney’s speech

“It is important to recognize that while differences in theology exist between the churches in America, we share a common creed of moral convictions. And where the affairs of our nation are concerned, it’s usually a sound rule to focus on the latter – on the great moral principles that urge us all on a common course. Whether it was the cause of abolition, or civil rights, or the right to life itself, no movement of conscience can succeed in America that cannot speak to the convictions of religious people.

“We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong. …

“These American values, this great moral heritage, is shared and lived in my religion as it is in yours. …

“And you can be certain of this: Any believer in religious freedom, any person who has knelt in prayer to the Almighty, has a friend and ally in me.” [mjh: Romney just told the nation he isn’t my friend or ally.]

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/faith_in_america.html (entire speech)

NADA - New American Dark Ages

Double-plus Good News, Fellow Patriots!

The Associated Press: AP IMPACT: Firefighter Help on Terrorism, By EILEEN SULLIVAN

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Americans have given up some of their privacy rights in an effort to prevent future strikes. The government monitors phone calls and e-mails; people who fly have their belongings searched before boarding and are limited in what they can carry; and some people have trouble traveling because their names are similar to those on terrorist watch lists.

The American Civil Liberties Union says using firefighters to gather intelligence is another step in that direction. Mike German, a former FBI agent who is now national security policy counsel to the ACLU, said the concept is dangerously close to the Bush administration’s 2002 proposal to have workers with access to private homes — such as postal carriers and telephone repairmen — report suspicious behavior to the FBI.

“Americans universally abhorred that idea,” German said. …

“We’re there to help people, and by discovering these type of events, we’re helping people,” said New York City Fire Chief Salvatore Cassano. “There are many things that firefighters do that other law enforcement or other agents aren’t able to do.” …

Separately, the fire services in Washington, D.C., Phoenix and Atlanta have also been receiving terrorism-related intelligence training. Los Angeles County provides intelligence training so firefighters and inspectors can spot dangerous chemicals or other materials that could be used in bombs. And the fire service is also represented in at least 13 state and regional intelligence “fusion” centers across the country — where local, state and federal agencies share information about terrorism and other crimes.

In Washington, the fire service made its first foray into the intelligence world about two years ago, and now D.C. Fire/EMS has access to the same terrorism-related intelligence as the police, said Larry Schultz, an assistant fire chief in charge of operations.

D.C. firefighters and EMS providers are in 170,000 homes and businesses each year on routine calls, Schultz said.

“So we see things and observe things that may be useful to law enforcement,” he said. “We can walk into your house. We don’t need a search warrant.” If an ambulance team shows up at a house and sees detailed maps of the District’s public transit system on the wall, that’s something the EMS provider would pass along, he said.

“It’s the evolution of the fire service,” said Bob Khan, the fire chief in Phoenix, which has created an information-sharing arrangement between the fire service and law enforcement through terrorism liaison officers.

In a separate incident, firefighters burned the Constitution “to help people.” God Bless the Homeland! mjh

NADA - New American Dark Ages

The Thought-police

LAPD to build data on Muslim areas – Los Angeles Times By Richard Winton, Jean-Paul Renaud and Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers, November 9, 2007

Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing, who heads the bureau, defended the undertaking as a way to help Muslim communities avoid the influence of those who would radicalize Islamic residents and advocate “violent, ideologically-based extremism.”

“We are seeking to identify at-risk communities,” Downing said in an interview Thursday evening. “We are looking for communities and enclaves based on risk factors that are likely to become isolated. . . . We want to know where the Pakistanis, Iranians and Chechens are so we can reach out to those communities.”

It was quite distressing to hear Downing on NPR calmly explain how important it is to turn in anyone you think might be inclined — inclined — towards persuasion to violence. Thought-policing is good for the Homeland! mjh

PS: Please, comrade, tell the neighborhood Thought Enforcer that this writer is as peaceful as a lamb. Praise be to The Decider!

NADA - New American Dark Ages

Right is Wrong

I read yet another conservative columnist griping about how the left is “invested” in failure in Iraq. Funny, how conservative veiw the world solely in financial terms. Conservatives claim liberals want failure in Iraq. Wrong.

Conservatives — staunch advocates for personal responsibility — refuse to own up to their own responsibility for liberal mistrust and disbelief. Conservatives are unwilling to recognize that there is good reason for liberals to doubt the “good news” (gospel) out of Iraq.

First, we all know this adminstration has mislead the world on Iraq. Take “mislead” in both the sense of incompetence and lying. If conservatives want to chalk it all up to incompetence, that’s their choice. Having been repeatedly and thoroughly mislead by an administration that is full of marketers, spinners and ideologues, why would anyone believe anything this administration ever says?

Second, this administration and its supporters include many who angrily deny global warming and evolution. They deny science and their own experience and, in the process, heap scorn on others. Why would anyone trust anything they say?

If there is good news out of Iraq, that is truly good news. But that does not offset the lies and mistakes that precede and follow that news. mjh

PS: As the Right repeats this claim, they villainize the Left. (“See how awful liberals really are?”) They also provide a scapegoat for failure. (“We might have won if not for the liberals, the media, etc.”) Personal responsibility? Yeah, Right.

Dump Duhbya

Does Anybody Like Duhbya?

As you read this, keep in mind that Viguerie is an arch-conservative who despises Duhbya for betraying true conservatives. Here, he finds something to praise in Duhbya’s actions.

Having been out of touch with the majority of America all my life, I won’t gloat over Viguerie and his cohort’s absolute disconnect with reality — one of the things that joins them to Duhbya. Too bad conservatives worked so hard to get Duhbya elected twice.

Richard Viguerie Praises President Bush, Criticizes Congressional Republicans, on Water Resources Bill Veto Override

(Manassas, Virginia) Richard A. Viguerie issued the following statement regarding the override of President Bush’s veto of the $23 Billion Water Resources Development Act:

“President Bush deserves great credit for vetoing an outrageous bill filled with irresponsible pork barrel projects. But the Republicans in the Senate and House who voted for override his veto have shown their continual addiction to Big Government and wasteful spending.

“Only 54 Republicans in the House and 12 Republicans in the Senate voted to sustain the President’s veto. That is pathetic!

“What is really unbelievable is that the vote came so close on the heels of this year’s Republican election defeats in Virginia and Kentucky. And this, after the 2006 election disasters for the GOP, shows that either they don’t understand the anger of the voters or they deeply believe in Big Government.

“The Republican brand has been destroyed by the kind of Big Government legislators who voted to override the President’s veto of the Water Resources Development Act. The American people no longer identify the GOP as the party of fiscal responsibility. Republicans who act like Democrats are destroying the Republican Party.

“Most grassroots conservatives are unhappy with the top-tier Republican presidential candidates, and they have closed their checkbooks to Republican national committees. Many big-spending Republican politicians will be shocked to find themselves under attack in the 2008 primary and general elections, as conservatives begin the process of once again (as they did starting in the 1960s) of driving the Big Government Republicans out of office.

“Conservatives hope President Bush will keep his veto pen in action throughout the remainder of his term in office.”
– – – – –
Richard A. Viguerie pioneered ideological and political direct mail and has been called “the funding father of the conservative movement” for his role in helping build dozens of conservative organizations. He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed—How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books, 2006).

So, Viguerie is prepared to lead the most conservative back to the wilderness. Buh-bye! mjh

Dump Duhbya

More Light and More Heat

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Bush Says Congress Is Wasting Time – New York Times By BRIAN KNOWLTON

Referring to the current congressional session, Mr. Bush said: “We’re near the end of the year, and there really isn’t much to show for it. The House of Representatives has wasted valuable time on a constant stream of investigations, and the Senate has wasted valuable time on an endless series of failed votes to pull our troops out of Iraq.”

Tricky Dick Nixon thought Congress was wasting its time investigating Watergate. For the past 6+ years, Republicans stopped any and all investigations — there was NO oversight of the almighty executive and no accountability. During that time, America lashed out at the world, spied on its own citizens and ran up expenses and casualties that would have an honorable man gutting himself with a sword. Now, we’re just starting to shine a bright light on things and Duhbya and his cronies want that stopped ASAP. mjh