Even Jesus Was Questioned More Than Barack

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe (John 20:24-25)

And it’s not like I’m comparing Barack Obama to Jesus Christ, but…

Here’s Dan Balz (hehe) of the Washington Post’s take

The focus will be on Hillary Clinton tonight when she and Barack Obama meet here for their last debate before next week's primaries in Ohio and Texas. But should it be Obama who comes under closer questioning?

The political community and the press are consumed, understandably, by the horse race. Obama is at worst tied with Clinton in Texas and, while he still trails in Ohio, he has narrowed Clinton's once-hefty margin.

Two new national polls out Tuesday morning show Obama now leading Clinton among Democrats by double digits for the first time in this long nomination battle (though some other national polls show Obama and Clinton running much closer).

Pollsters know that if those national numbers are moving rapidly away from Clinton, Ohio is not far behind. In past general elections, the Buckeye State has come close to mirroring the final outcome, and it's likely that Democrats here reflect overall national trends as well.

All this spells big trouble for Clinton, whose advisers know the consequences of losing both states next week. If that were to happen, there would be a rising chorus within the Democratic establishment for her to end her candidacy and embrace Obama for the good of the party. Even a split decision may not be enough to prevent a groundswell for shutting down the Democratic contest. Certainly Bill Clinton believes that.

Pre-debate talk has been consumed with the question of which Clinton will show up here in Cleveland -- the magnanimous candidate from last week's Texas debate or the angry Clinton who demanded on Saturday that Obama meet her to answer questions about his conduct during the primaries and caucuses.

Much, obviously, rides on her performance, but rarely has a debate truly changed the state of the race. The clear exception was the Philadelphia debate in late October, when Clinton stumbled over the issue of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants and opened herself up to attacks from her rivals that ultimately helped Obama. What Clinton needs may be less a stellar performance on her own part and more one by Obama that raises, in dramatic fashion, questions about his fitness to be president or his positions on important issues.

In what could be a decisive week in the Democratic campaign, the rising candidate is receiving accolades for big crowds, the enthusiasm of his supporters, his apparent ability to inspire a new generation to become active in politics and his facility to have captured the desire for change after eight years of the Bush presidency and more than a decade of polarized politics.

Those are not insignificant accomplishments, but more than that will be required to actually win the presidency in November and then to govern this still-divided country. Which is why Obama ought to face rigorous questioning in these final days before Ohio and Texas.

Can he truly be the candidate of MoveOn.org and red-state politicians alike? Have those at different ends of the Democratic political spectrum attributed to him positions -- on issues ranging from Iraq to health care to the economy -- that are compatible with their own views, but not with the other's?

Is there any major issue upon which he parts company with the big labor unions, or has he adopted their agenda in totality? More broadly, where has he shown a willingness to take on some of his own party's constituencies, and if he's not willing to do so, how can he suggest that he can bring Republicans and independents into a governing coalition?

Does his anti-NAFTA rhetoric of the past few weeks reflect his true feelings about trade, or has this been a mostly tactical exercise to attack Clinton? Is he turning his back on what has been a general consensus on trade issues and turning toward a significantly more protectionist stance for the United States?

What are his real priorities were he to become president? Ending the war, certainly, but exactly how? Health care for all Americans within his first term, though with how much compromise with the Republicans to get it done? Beyond that, where will he focus his attention in his first year in office?

When would he take on the entitlement challenges of Social Security and Medicare? What does he really think about budget deficits and fiscal discipline? What would he give up to lower the deficit, or does he not think that that matters? What taxes would he raise, other than rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, which would largely be eaten up paying for health care?

If President Bush failed to change the tone in Washington, in part because he sought to govern as a conservative, would a President Obama be prepared not to govern as the liberal he has been in the Illinois and U.S. senates in order to change politics in Washington, as he has promised?

Obama's success against Clinton to date speaks to his considerable gifts as a politician, but that success does not wash away hard questions that he, or anyone else who seeks to lead the country, should face at such a challenging time.

A really good article all around but I’m surprised the Obamacans haven’t denounced Balz yet. I mean this article is indicative of a pre-Barack political mindset- who needs to actually have the presidential frontrunner answer questions about, y'know issues when he speaks so pretty? it's that kind of dissent that should not be tolerated in this New America.
To question Barack is to question Hope and Progress and the Future itself.
Plus every time you do question Barack a kitten dies- you're not a kitten killer, are you?

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America Is A Really Christian Nation

I know the headline in this L.A. Times article about a recent Pew Survey "believed to be one of the most comprehensive snapshots of religious affiliation" was "More in U.S. jump to new faiths, poll finds" but it was the numbers that kind of shocked me.

• 51% of Americans are protestants
• 43% of people aged 18-29 are protestants
• 78.4% of Americans are Christians
• about 5% belong to other faith traditions
• 16.1% are unaffiliated with any religion.
• Secular unaffiliated Americans account for 6.3% of the population; religious unaffiliated, 5.8%; atheists, 1.6%; and agnostics, 2.4%.
• At 1.7% of the population, Jews make up the next-largest religious group. Buddhists are 0.7% of the population; Muslims 0.6%; and Hindus and New Age followers, both 0.4%.

78.4% seems like a HUGE number. I'm not sure how that compares to other "Western" countries, and I may look into that but out of 300 million people that's a hell of a lot of people

[UPDATe- even in Italy where it seemed everyone was Catholic and I saw more nuns and priest in like 6 months than I ever did in America, only 74% of people believe in God and if you care here is a list of Christians per country]

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Mike Huckabee is Livin' On a Prayer

concerning his hopes of winning the Republican nomination

Good thing there is a dedicated group who will do just that this sunday
Q. Why pray for Huckabee on 2-24-08?
A. Because we believe Mike Huckabee is the best option for America. We're calling on God to help elect the man we believe is the best option to be president in The United States Of America.

Q. Are you saying God has chosen Huckabee to be president?
A. That's not for us to say. All we're saying is that we think Huckabee is the best option for president and we're asking God to make that happen.

Q. So you're saying God wants Huckabee to be president and you'll follow what ever Huckabee says and does because he is God's man?
A. Oh don't be silly. We're not proclaiming he's God's man, we're just saying we like the guy and we want him to be our president. Of course we won't blindly follow him, we didn't check our brains at the door.

Q, Aren't you shoving your beliefs down our throats?
A. Unless someone has a gun to your head and is forcing you to this site, of course not. And if they have a gun to your head, duck! You're free to pray or not to pray for Huckabee. You're free to go post on a blog or message board about how dumb this all seems to you. This is America, you can do that. And we can decide to pray for the guy we like.

Q. Isn't this all kind of theocratic and cult like?
A. No because we're not forcing you at the butt of a gun to pray for Huckabee. We're not proclaiming eternal damnation unless you support our guy. We're all free thinking people who believe Huckabee is the best man for the job. We also realize there are free thinking people who think he's the worst man for the job. So be it! We still want to pray for him.

Q. What if we pray and God doesn't do something miraculous to help Huckabee get elected?
A, Well then I guess he won't be elected, huh? At least we can't say we didn't try.

And trying is all you can do.(huckabee's)Ggod knows that's what Mike is still doing in a rather interesting strategy to deadlock John McCain and snatch the nom at the Convention

In an interview with a San Antonio radio station this morning, Mike Huckabee essentially confirmed the suspicions of many analysts. He's hanging on in the Republican presidential nomination fight hoping to keep John McCain from winning enough delegates to get the nomination on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention in September.

Huckabee's thinking: With no clear nominee, the conservative wing will move to him, and he might be able to snatch the nomination in a floor fight, he told station WOAI-AM (1200). But it will take an upset win in Texas on March 4 to do that, he said.

"If we win Texas, I think it changes the dynamics of this race," Huckabee said. "It could well go all the way to the convention. If the convention delegates pick the president, chances are they would pick the most conservative. I would be the one they would end up picking, if that’s the criteria."

Sorry Mike but you don't have a prayer, unless on Sunday you prove your god is better than mine

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Cut Off Florida

Florida is totally America’s wang

From USA Today comes the latest chapter in ongoing embarrassment that is the state that brought us bush

Fla. educators to teach evolution as theory, not settled fact

Students in Florida must be taught that evolution is a theory and not a settled fact, according to standards that the State Board of Education just approved in Tallahasee.

"A panel of 68 experts, heavy with science teachers and scientists, drew up detailed, age-specific standards that described evolution as the basic 'concept underlying all of biology.' The standards said evolution was supported by 'multiple forms of scientific evidence,'" The News-Press, a fellow Gannett paper, says. "In a series of public hearings, several conservative religious leaders and parents objected to evolution being 'the' accepted standard. The compromise language approved today cites 'the scientific theory of evolution,' making it officially a theory rather than a settled fact."

The Palm Beach Post story

Science teachers in Florida public schools will be required to teach evolution for the first time after the state Board of Education agreed to adopt new curriculum standards this morning by a 4-3 vote.

The divided vote came as board members argued over an eleventh-hour amendment that requires the standards to refer to the "scientific theory of evolution" instead of "evolution.

The amendment, which supporters refer to as the "academic freedom proposal," was unveiled late Friday. Education Commissioner Eric Smith recommended the amendment, which won praise from religious groups and conservative lawmakers.

Board members Linda Taylor, T. Willard Fair, Kathleen Shanahan and Phoebe Raulerson approved the new standards with the amendment. Member Roberto Martinez, Akshay Desai and Donna Callaway opposed the change.

The state board spent a year deliberating the first changes at five public hearings around the state before the meeting this morning in the state Capitol.

The changes were hailed as a victory by parents, educators and lawmakers who insisted that evolution was far from an iron-clad fact and deserved critical analyses in the classroom.

"There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life," said state Rep. Marti Coley, a Marianna Republican who said last week she would push a bill that would require evolution be taught as a "theory."

A year debating and this is the compromise?
Like there are no questions about creationism? Here’s one- if G*d existed before all creation in the void where did G*d come from- who created her?
What questions are left about evolution? Doesn’t she watch the Simpsons?

Questions solved.

If Florida is America’s wang then it’s about time to
Give America a penectomy

Just snip snip chop and let it float away...

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Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too

Consider the fact that
Maybe you've been brainwashed too
Many will tell you otherwise
I bet you trust your bank
Just wait until it tanks
Your parents had it planned
We're almost like them?
Fun, racist professional sports
Management gets the real rewards
Multi-national owned evening news
If we believe we're fools
You watch 4.5 hours of t.v a day
And we should listen to what you say?
Opinions on life and the world
You eat at the Hard Rock abroad and disrespect your girl
Sexism is so ingrained
that women get the blame
Is it smug middle-class satisfaction you peddle?
Better hope your car don't break down in the Ghetto
Rich companies lobby best
Use their products, prepare to lose a breast
Why your sick mother's health insurance got
"Accidentally" cancelled is no mystery
Somebody's paying the government a lot
To have access to everybody's medical history
Greedy banks bought all the farms
Chemical food, aren't our lives charmed
Teenagers baited, their money spent
With credit cards at twenty percent
Too broke to worry about the loan
Their funkin turning off your phone
And politics, a f***ing joke
Right and left; they're both a hoax
Just hope the "international" markets don't crash!
Rock 'n' Roll! Some truth? Alas!
Careerist cowards sucking ass
Is real investigative reporting dead?
Of course, but keep watching your CNN
The glitz, the glamor, all jokes aside
If a sponsor pays enough, they'd turn a blind eye
On third world genocide
"Bro, don't get heavy, the bills are paid!"
Twice a week (missionary style) we all get laid
Middle management goes first, you're out on your ass
Most ignorance is bred at home
Good Christian families? then why condone
Petty hatred of anythng different or new
The fat girl hung herself in June
No love at home, they thought she was strong
Her classmates made her up her own song
"Piggy Peggy ate everyone's pie"
"The kids moved on," one teacher cried
The kids switched targets
The week after she died
Well? human nature won't change much
Unless we make a shameful bunch
Of those we see so glaringly
Who show hate, ignorance, and hypocracy
Don't be a coward - make a stand!
Get in their face - act like a ham
Let people know it's not PC
To be greedy and judgemental under the guise of religion and democracy
Get loud and stand up every time
If you even give a f*** about mankind
Cuz if human nature don't evolve soon
Don't kid yourself, you're f***ing doomed!
Don't run away from change and growth
Let's start right now, "I take the oath!"
But first accept one simple truth
That maybe you've been brainwashed too

3:40- 5:40


Maybe, just maybe you’ve been brainwashed too.
Charisma- a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which s/he is "set apart" from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These as such are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as divine in origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader

Generally, personality cults are most common in regimes with totalitarian systems of government, that seek to radically alter or transform society according to revolutionary new ideas. Often, a single leader becomes associated with this revolutionary transformation, and he becomes treated as a benevolent "guide" for the nation, without whom the transformation to a better future cannot occur.

The Charisma Mandate

“What is troubling about the campaign is that it’s gone beyond hope and change to redemption,” said Sean Wilentz
“It’s posing as a figure who is the one person who will redeem our politics. And what I fear is, that ends up promising more from politics than politics can deliver.”

From the day Mr. Obama announced his candidacy, he has billed it as a movement, and himself as the agent of generational change

Accounts of the campaign’s “Camp Obama” sessions, to train volunteers, have a revivalist flavor. Volunteers are urged to avoid talking about policy to potential voters, and instead tell of how they “came” to Mr. Obama.

“To confuse this with Teddy Roosevelt or J.F.K. or F.D.R. is to make a fundamental historical error,” he said. “It’s confusing the offer of leadership with the offer of redemption. One offers specific programs, the other is hope and change. Certainly F.D.R. gave hope, but he was going to do it through these various programs.

“If you don’t talk about issues in great detail, if you do it in a way that is not the centerpiece of your campaign, of your rhetoric, then you become a blank screen,” Mr. Wilentz said. “Everybody thinks you are the vehicle of their hopes.”

New Radicals- Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too [download]



Barack Obama lives for our sins and would die for them as well

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They Should Call These “The Jesuses”

Or if that’s too blasphemous “The Pauls” (I mean he did spread The Word far and wide just like movies do)
Anyway another interesting column by Joel Stein about his trip to The Movieguide Faith and Values Awards nicknamed the Christian Oscars
“The Peter Principle of award shows”

Christians never do pop culture right. Their rock songs are clogged with nature metaphors, their video games are too soft, their Orlando amusement park houses an attraction called "The Scriptorium: Center for Biblical Antiquities." So when I found out about the Christian Oscars -- the nickname for the Movieguide Faith and Values Awards -- I had to see how they'd ruin an awards show. Could their movie stars masterself-congratulations? Act happy for people they don't really like? Could this be the pop culture arena Christians do better than heathens?

Though I expected a small, pious event, I learned there are no small awards shows anymore. Not even on a Tuesday. The red carpet at the Beverly Hilton was so clogged -- "Extra," "Entertainment Tonight," the Christian version of "Extra," the Christian version of "Entertainment Tonight" -- that the fire marshal turned reporters away. There were also plenty of celebrities: Macy Gray, Louis Gossett Jr., Stephen Baldwin, Buzz Aldrin, Lee Meriwether, Jane Russell. This was such a big deal that even dead people came.
Inside the same ballroom where the Golden Globes are held, I was seated at a table full of Dutch and German Christians. To my right was Jutta Renz, who told me she introduced muffins to Germany and is known there as "Miss Muffin." She has written 12 muffin cookbooks, created muffin cartoon characters and, divinely inspired, dashed off an entire muffin-based musical in one night. She's in L.A. for a few weeks looking for an agent to handle her hyphenate talents (her card says "music-media-muffins"). But she doesn't like what she's learning: "An agent gets 10%? I'd rather give it to a good person."

Though the Christian Oscars looked just like any other awards show, there were some differences. The Oscars don't start with a prayer. And they don't have a letter in their program from President Bush wishing them a successful event. I stared at it for a long time, wondering if all his correspondence begins, "I send greetings." I got the feeling that Bush expected that, during his presidency, he'd get to meet aliens.

Also, there's no PowerPoint at the Oscars. Ted Baehr, who runs Movieguide, gives a great slide show, only one frame of which mentioned "cussing." One slide explained that, back in 1985, when he first started his organization, only one movie -- "Trip to Bountiful" -- had faith and values. Now 51.7% of movies do, including "Live Free or Die Hard." The definition might have expanded a little.

Typical award winners simply thank God for deciding that the People's Choice Award should go to them. But at the Christian Oscars, a simple thanks won't do. Bailey Madison, just 8 years old yet accepting one of several awards given to "Saving Sarah Cain," said, "Every morning I wake up and say a prayer to let God shine his light through me." When I was 8, I just wanted God to keep making more "Garfield" cartoons.

Not everyone at the Movieguide awards was part of the Christian right. Some were just looking for attention, even if that meant Christian attention. Asked about her Christian-ness, presenter Adrienne Janic, host of TLC's car show "Overhaulin'," would only say she was "a good person." When I pressed her on her favorite value, she chose "fun." Also, she might not have dressed appropriately. "Did you notice I've got two napkins on my lap? That's because the slit goes all the way up my dress," she said. When she was warned of the long-term implications of wearing that dress to this event, she said, "Oh, I've got a mansion in hell."

But most of the people there really did want to make films and shows with faith and values. Actress Ali Landry, who won an award for the film "Bella," may have once been the hot Doritos girl, but she has become an observant Catholic. "I had a big event in my personal life. Then I reevaluated and started going to theology class, and then I found my husband," she said. That big event was Mario Lopez cheating on her.

God really does work in mysterious ways.

As the show went on, I got a little overwhelmed by the Jesus stuff. And all the well-intentioned attempts to squeak clean the culture didn't convince me that sex and violence in art isn't truthful and cathartic. Shakespeare, after all, would never win a Faith and Values award. But "Alvin and the Chipmunks" did.

Everyone went home with a gift bag that consisted of a Bible. I don't think that book is an answer to the world's problems, but maybe it's better than praying at the altar of celebrity. Though they could have thrown in some face cream, sunglasses and a gym membership. Christians still have a lot to learn.

and here’s Laist’s take on last night's festivites (picture below is of Sr. Verastequi, or as he's now known in my heart "Papi")

Causing the most commotion on the red carpet was Eduardo Verastequi, the star of "Bella," who would shortly walk off with The Grace Award for Most Inspirational Movie Acting in 2007. A small group of women in front of me swooned and reached for their cameras, [Ed. Note- I can understand why!] grabbing him before he even made it on to the carpet and he graciously acquiesced. Hmm - this I had to follow. As I made my way into the swarm of photographers, one excited scribe whispered:

"He's the biggest star in Mexico - huge!"

Inside, Verastequi's film - in which he stars alongside Ali Landry, went on to sweep the Awards, aka "The Christian Oscars". The highlight of the press room was none other than Buzz Aldrin, there for "In the Shadow of the Moon." Elise jumped on her only chance to get up close and personal with an astronaut and quizzed Aldrin about the infamous "Was it a panel flying off or was it a UFO?" conspiracy theory and getting him to say "The Eagle has landed". Only a nonplussed Elise could ask Aldrin, "Didn't it freak you out? 'Cause I would be!" I guess our detour to Trader Vic's, although causing us to miss Macy Gray's "Amazing Grace," provided a little Polynesian liquid courage in the face of the notoriously easily-riled astronaut.

If you still can't get enough here are more pictures

And the winners were

The $50,000 Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie of 2007 sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation – “Amazing Grace” from Samuel Goldwyn Films

Other movie nominees: “Bella” from Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate, “I Am legend” from Warner Bros., “In the Shadow of the Moon” from ThinkFilm, “Spider-Man 3” from Sony, “The Ten Commandments” from Promenade Pictures, and “The Ultimate Gift” from Fox Faith/20th Century Fox.

The $50,000 movie prize is equally divided into five categories -- the director, the credited writer(s), the producer(s), the executive producer(s), and the senior motion picture studio executive responsible for production.

The $50,000 Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring TV Program of 2007 sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation – “The Valley of Light,” telecast by CBS-TV, a Hallmark Hall of Fame production

Other TV nominees: The “False Heroes” episode of “Friends & Heroes” from the BBC and “Lost Holiday” and “Saving Sarah Cain” from Lifetime TV

The $50,000 TV prize is equally divided into five categories -- the director, the credited writer, the executive producer(s) or producer(s) responsible for the program, the senior television network executive responsible for broadcasting the program, and the production studio executive responsible for production.

The $50,000 Kairos Prizes for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays by Beginning Screenwriters sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation:

1. "If By Chance" by Guy W. Forest of San Pedro, Calif., $25,000
2. "Stairways" by James G. Rogers of St. Davids, Penn., $15,000
3. "Angels on Earth" by Caroline Friday of Marietta, Ga., $10,000

The Grace Award for Most Inspirational Movie Acting in 2007 – Eduardo Verástegui of “Bella”

Other movie acting nominees: Alice Braga of “I Am Legend,” Albert Finney and Ioan Gruffudd of “Amazing Grace,” and Forest Whitaker of “The Great Debaters”

The Grace Award for Most Inspirational Television Acting in 2007 – Bailee Madison and Abigail Mason of “Saving Sarah Cain”

Other TV acting nominees: Judith Buchan of “Lost Holiday” and Chris Klein of “The Valley of Light”

Best Movie for Families – “Ratatouille” from Walt Disney Pictures

** The Ten Best 2007 Movies for Families **

1. Ratatouille
2. Enchanted
3. Alvin and the Chipmunks
4. Bella
5. The Game Plan
6. In the Shadow of the Moon
7. Shrek the Third
8. The Ultimate Gift
9. Nancy Drew
10. Bridge to Terabithia

Best Movie for Mature Audiences – “Amazing Grace” from Samuel Goldwyn Films

** The Ten Best 2007 Movies for Mature Audiences **

1. Amazing Grace
2. August Rush
3. Spider-Man 3
4. I Am Legend
5. Strike
6. The Great Debaters
7. The Astronaut Farmer
8. Pride
9. Transformers
10. Live Free or Die Hard

The Faith and Freedom Award for Promoting Positive American Values in 2007 – “Bella” from Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate

You think the Passion of the Christ totally swept these a few years ago? And I really don't think the seven second delay would ever be used

Here’s the official site for the 16th Annual "Pauls"

Wow after all that Christ, goodness and purity I'm really in the mood for some Cake & Sodomy


ah- I feel so much better back where I belong- in the gutter, destined for hell

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LOLBible- Famous Scriptures If Written By LOLCats

As if some divine feline, Celing Cat had imparted her infinite and absolute wisdom to her beloved cats to inscribe and share.
Oh wait, she did in what may be my new favorite thing and the absolute best thing ever
The LOLCat Bible Translation Project

In the Beginning (Genesis Chapter 1)
1 Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem.

2 Da Urfs no had shapez An haded dark face, An Ceiling Cat rode invisible bike over teh waterz.

3 At start, no has lyte. An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz.4 An Ceiling Cat sawed teh lite, to seez stuffs, An splitted teh lite from dark but taht wuz ok cuz kittehs can see in teh dark An not tripz over nethin.5 An Ceiling Cat sayed light Day An dark no Day. It were FURST!!!1

6 An Ceiling Cat sayed, im in ur waterz makin a ceiling. But he no yet make a ur. An he maded a hole in teh Ceiling.7 An Ceiling Cat doed teh skiez with waterz down An waterz up. It happen.8 An Ceiling Cat sayed, i can has teh firmmint wich iz funny bibel naim 4 ceiling, so wuz teh twoth day.

9 An Ceiling Cat gotted all teh waterz in ur base, An Ceiling Cat hadz dry placez cuz kittehs DO NOT WANT get wet.10 An Ceiling Cat called no waterz urth and waters oshun. Iz good.

11 An Ceiling Cat sayed, DO WANT grass! so tehr wuz seedz An stufs, An fruitzors An vegbatels. An a Corm. It happen.12 An Ceiling Cat sawed that weedz ish good, so, letz there be weedz.13 An so teh threeth day jazzhands.

14 An Ceiling Cat sayed, i can has lightz in the skiez for splittin day An no day.15 It happen, lights everwear, like christmass, srsly.16 An Ceiling Cat doeth two grate lightz, teh most big for day, teh other for no day.17 An Ceiling Cat screw tehm on skiez, with big nails An stuff, to lite teh Urfs.18 An tehy rulez day An night. Ceiling Cat sawed. Iz good.19 An so teh furth day w00t.

20 An Ceiling Cat sayed, waterz bring me phishes, An burds, so kittehs can eat dem. But Ceiling Cat no eated dem.21 An Ceiling Cat maed big fishies An see monstrs, which wuz like big cows, except they no mood, An other stuffs dat mooves, An Ceiling Cat sawed iz good.22 An Ceiling Cat sed O hai, make bebehs kthx. An dont worry i wont watch u secksy, i not that kynd uf kitteh.23 An so teh...fith day. Ceiling Cat taek a wile 2 cawnt.

24 An Ceiling Cat sayed, i can has MOAR living stuff, mooes, An creepie tings, An otehr aminals. It happen so tehre.25 An Ceiling Cat doed moar living stuff, mooes, An creepies, An otehr animuls, An did not eated tehm.

26 An Ceiling Cat sayed, letz us do peeps like uz, becuz we ish teh qte, An let min p0wnz0r becuz tehy has can openers.

27 So Ceiling Cat createded teh peeps taht waz like him, can has can openers he maed tehm, min An womin wuz maeded, but he did not eated tehm.

28 An Ceiling Cat sed them O hai maek bebehs kthx, An p0wn teh waterz, no waterz An teh firmmint, An evry stufs.

29 An Ceiling Cat sayed, Beholdt, the Urfs, I has it, An I has not eated it.30 For evry createded stufs tehre are the fuudz, to the burdies, teh creepiez, An teh mooes, so tehre. It happen. Iz good.

31 An Ceiling Cat sayed, Beholdt, teh good enouf for releaze as version 0.8a. kthxbai.


The Ten Commandments

1 Then Ceiling Cat spoked all them werds:

2 I iz Ceiling Cat An I iz Top Cat, An I broughted u out of hawt lend wit no cheezbrgrs for hard werk at all

3 No can has other ceiling cat!! U gotz other Ceiling Cat, I shoot yous wit mah lazer eyes.

4 If u try be Ceiling Cat of any of mai creayshunz up in floaty skai, down in erth or in watr or I shoot yous wit mah lazer eyes.5 If u think faek Ceiling Cat iz Ceiling Cat, I mek u ded An ur children ded An ur children-children ded, for being stupid.6 If not I wuv u An all ur childrenz-childrenz-childrenz!

7 U sez Ceiling Cat bad, I shoot yous wit mah lazer eyes, cuz I dun liek it. Srsly.

8 Remembur caturday An keep holy.9 U werk 6 dais An finish werk, K?10 Caturday, u no werk. U An all ur peepz go wrship me.11 I maded heavenz An erth An see An the stuff that does teh funney hoppey stuffz in An on it - so I make it holy cuz I no werk.

12 Bez u good to papa An mama so u has long lief.

13 U no maek peepz ded! Srsly!

14 U no maek sexxes wit other gurlz or menz than ur wief (so no awsum treesum alowed!).

15 U no taek stuffs for free if not getz for free.

16 U no tell bad stuff about ur neibor.

17 U no wantz neibor stuff! No wief, no gurlz, no menz, no animulz, NO BUKKITZ! DEY NOT UR BUKKITZ, K?


23rd Psalm
1 Ceiling Cat iz mai sheprd (which is funni if u knowz teh joek about herdin catz LOL.)
He givz me evrithin I need.

2 He letz me sleeps in teh sunni spot
an haz liek nice waterz r ovar thar.

3 He makez mai soul happi
an maeks sure I go teh riet wai for him. Liek thru teh cat flap insted of out teh opin windo LOL.

4 I iz in teh valli of dogz, fearin no pooch,
bcz Ceiling Cat iz besied me rubbin' mah ears, an it maek me so kumfy.

5 He letz me sit at teh taebl evn when peepl who duzint liek me iz watchn.
He givz me a flea baff an so much gooshy fud it runz out of mai bowl LOL.

6 Niec things an luck wil chase me evrydai
an I wil liv in teh Ceiling Cats houz forevr

Ecclesiastes 3 (the inspiration for The Byrds’ Turn! Turn! Turn! )
1 sup. there has is a sison 4 everthing, and a tiems 4every purpos under teh ceiling, lol.

2 a tiemz 2 get kittehs, an a tiems 2 get ded.

3 tiemz 2 mades cookies, an also tiems 2 cheezburgers.

4 teimz 2 hugs, and loltims 4 buttsecks. u gets teh pichur.

9 what gud is it the kitteh from all that trbl?10 i has sees what all teh mans did ther, from teh ceiling cat11 teh ceiling cat mades teh bestes cookies and cheezbuergrs. but he aslo mades us wantz the invisibl sandwhiches he keep up in teh ceiling, omg, nfw.12 i knows teh invisibil cheezcakes has are not filling, but better is to do gud, liek mading cookies, upgradin ram, ect., k, srsly.13 an also of cours teh surprize buttsecks wenever possibl, lol. ceiling cat sez so.14 teh buket of cookies meads by the ceiling catz, is ful 4ever. no wai. wai!

15 now iz alredez haz been eaten. ceiling catz wants moar but iz hungree lol.

16 in teh sun iz judgd teh cookeez, an teh wikid buttsecks, an thai dont compair to teh rightisnez of teh cheezbuergrs.

17 ceiling cat iz teh judge, jury, xecushioner 4 a purpiz. itz hiz job.

18 ceiling cat gits in the est8z of men's kidz an showz them hoos bestes, so they see they has buttsecks 2.19 4 kiddiez an bestes rofl; one dies, and then another; thez cant breeth from the lolz; men an bestes make a big buttsecks sandwhich to the ceiling. Thai likez it.20 evereeone cumz from teh littursbox an goez back when they takes a break.21 men and bestes upgradez and downgradez as ceiling cat watchus.

22 i knows what it looks liek, an we should be happy, 4 their iz plenty to share: who wants sum? wink wink. tis teh sison.

The Birth of Christ
18 Now, teh burth of teh Christ was liek dis: After Marry and Joseph waz all "We's gonna get marrieded, kthnx", but before dey could had hankiez pankiez Mary was all pr3ggerz from Teh Ceiling Cat.19 Joseph was liek "I has virjn - NOOOO dey be stealin my virjn! Must hied hur".20 But when he was tihnkin, zomg, a WallCat frm Ceiling Cat was liek, "Oh hai! I'm in ur dreemz, givin u messij. Don't be scairdy cat. Taek Mary as ur wife - is virjn. But teh Forse is strong in tihs wun, lol! HovrCat is on hur, givn hur feetus, srsly." So joseph was liek " Oh yey I'm gonna love him and squeez him and call him george."21 But Wallcat was liek "No, you gonna call him Jebus, cso George bad name, srsly. cuz he save kittehs frum bein bad kittehs. Kthxbai."22 So all dis was all did cuz Ceiling Cat had sed it wud be. His proffit was all liek:23 "Hay guise, look! teh virjn iz all pr3ggers, and dey gonna call him A-manual", dat be joospeek for "Ceiling Cat wit us"24 Then Joseph waked up, done wat teh anjel frm Ceiling Cat tolded him to, and was all liek "U wit me now lol" at Mary.25 And dey didnt has teh HARBL GOES WHERE!?!? til affer dey gets a son and calleded him Jebus. Kthnx.

The Beatitudes (or Teh Catitudes)
Wen he seez lotz kittehz, he climbz tree. His BFz climbz tree too.

2 He sez hai and he teaches teh kittehs, he sez:

3 U r doin good if U iz liek a n00b on teh inside; U can has teh Ceiling.

4 U r doin good if U iz sad kitteh; U can has petting.

5 U r doin good if U no want 2 pwn otehr kittehz; U can has urths when otehr kittehz is daid.

6 U r doin good if U iz liek "I can has justices, plz?"; U can has it.

7 U r doin good if U no pwn teh n00bz; Ceiling Cat will not pwn U.

8 U r doin good if U is cleen on teh inside; Ceiling Cat not invisble 4 U.

9 U r doin good if U iz makin teh peece; Ceiling Cat is liek "U mi kittehz."

10 U r doin good if U iz pwned by otehr kittehz just coz U iz fair n reeznable; U can has Ceiling (and share it wif n00b on teh inside kittehz).

11 U r doin good if U iz pwned by otehr kittehz coz of me and thei make up stupid lies abt U, k?

12 B happy and make teh celebrazns coz u can has cookiez n cakez in Ceiling, cos itz liek wen kittehz pwned Ceiling Catz kittehz.

The Crucifixion (from Luke)

26 Whiel dey wuz draggin him awai dey seed Simon from Cyrene an maed him carri teh cross.27 Lotz of peepl wuz dere, includin sum ladiez who wuz cryin.28 Jesus wuz liek "U shudnt crai for me. U shud crai for urselvz an ur childrin.29 Bcz teh tiem wil com when u wil wish u nevr hadded eni childrin at all.30 Den
" 'u will be liek Mountinz, fall on us!"
an hillz, covr us!" '
31 If peepl do dis when there is cheezeburger, what thei do when thei can no has cheezeburger?"

32 Two othr d00dz wuz dere to be eksekutid. Dey wuz criminalz k.33 Dey caem to dis plaec called teh Skull (rock!) an crucified Jesus betwin teh criminalz.34 Jesus sed, "Ceiling Cat, forgiv dem, dey duzint know what dey iz doin." An teh guardz playd diec to desied who got Jesus's yarnz.

35 Evribodi maed fun of Jesus. Dey wuz liek "If he is Ceiling Cat's son he shud saev hizself."

36 Teh soljrz wuz liek "LOL" an gaev him vinigar to drink.37 Dey wuz liek "If u iz teh king of teh Jews, saev urself."

38 An dey putted a sien on him dat sed KING OF TEH J00Z LOL.

39 Wun of teh criminalz wuz bein all rude.

40 But teh othr wun wuz liek "Izint u afraid of Ceiling Cat? U gotted teh deth penalti too, remembr.41 We dizrv it, but Jesus didint do ennithin rong."

42 Den he wuz liem, "Jesus, remembr me when u getz bak to ur kingdm."

43 Jesus wuz liek "Todai u wil be wif me in hevn."

44 It wuz around six an it gotted dark for three hourz,45 bcz teh sun stoppted shinin. An teh curten in teh templ wuz torn in half. Dat wuz a mirakl, no wun wuz sharpnin dere clawz on it or nothin, srsly.46 Jesus wuz all "Ceiling Cat, I sendz mai spirit to u." An den he died :(

47 Roman kitteh see whut happin, say 2 Ceiling Cat "Jesus good kitteh, not should die D:"48 Teh ppl that saw gotted sad. Dey rode away wif invisible bike.49 Peeple taht knew Jesus (teh wummenz too, lol) from Galilee, dey staid 'n' wached.

50 Honurable man is honorrble, he name Joseph.51 When Cross happn he say "Do not want." Josph from Arimthtehea, he wantid Ceiling Cat 2 come.52 He say to Pilate, "I taik Jesus' body, kk?"53 He take down & wrap it in soft yarn and placed it in cave, whut was emptyt.54 Yay, verily, it was Caturday.

55 Teh wummenz what came wif Jesus from Galilee followeded Joseph saw tomb & yarn & body of Jesus.56 Dey go home and make nice Cheezburger. But dey rested on teh Sabbath 'cuz Ceiling Cat liek dat.


The Resurrection (Mark Version)
1 K so tehn on Mondy Mary Magdaln an Mary hoo wuz Jamses mom taekd sum spisez to rub on teh Jesus husk soes it dont stank. 2 An dey getz to teh cavez rly erly in teh mornan, liek sunries. 3 An dey wuz wundrin hoo wuz gunna maekded teh srsly big rokk door opind. 4 An dey lookded an seen teh door alredy opind. 5 And wen dey goed in teh caev dey seen a d00d thar in wite robes, an dey got skeert. 6 Teh d00d sez 'O HAI THAR, don be skeert. U comed heer lookin fer teh Jesus u lef heer, rite? He camed bak frum teh deds an aint heer no moar. 7 Now GTFO an txt Hiz d00dz an Pete an tell em dat dey can haz meetz wit teh Jesus in Galalee liek He sed befoer He wuz ded. kthxbi' 8 An teh chikz GTFO rly kwik cuz dey was srsly skeert, an dey dint tawk teh hole way homed. 9 An teh frst persn teh Jesus shode up fer wuz Mary Magdaln. He wonse pwnd sevn demans taht wuz livin in her hoo-haa. 10 An she teld Hiz d00dz abowt her meetz an dey maed a cry. :*( 11 Wen dey thunkd abowt teh Jesus seein Mary an not dem, dey stard thunkin 'No wai. He stil dedz' 12 Den teh Jesus apeerd to 2 moar uv His d00dz wile dey out taekn a walk. 13 Dey told teh udder d00dz bowt it but dey sez 'No wai.'
14 So den Jesus shode up to all his d00dz wile dey was NOM NOM teh cheezbergrs an yelt an pwnd dem fer not baleevin He wuznt ded no moar. 15 An He sez, 'GTFO an GBTW tellin all teh cats an kittehs on Urfs abowt meh. 16 Tell dem teh cats dat baleev r full of WIN, an teh wons dat dont r on teh FAILBOAT an gonna get pwnd in teh hell. 17 An teh peepz full of WIN getz mah lvl ups an gonna b abl to pwn demans an 5P3@I< l33t w0RdZ, 18 an jugl snayks, an drank poysin witowt gittin hert, an respawnd ppl. k, bai.' 19 An wen he wuz doen talkin wit dem he taekd a INVISIBLE EVEVATER to teh skai an sat at da rite paw of Ceiling Cat. 20 An dey went an telded all teh catz and kittehz wat happn, and Ceiling Cat halpded dem do amazn shit to proev it. Kthxbai.

Finally a translation of the Bible I can get behind...yeah I think my god may be Ceiling Cat
Kthxbai

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There Will Be Blood

spilled in the Democratic Party no matter who wins the nomination. Paul Krugman’s column from earlier this week (that I fully agree with, btw)

Hate Springs Eternal

In 1956 Adlai Stevenson, running against Dwight Eisenhower, tried to make the political style of his opponent’s vice president, a man by the name of Richard Nixon, an issue. The nation, he warned, was in danger of becoming “a land of slander and scare; the land of sly innuendo, the poison pen, the anonymous phone call and hustling, pushing, shoving; the land of smash and grab and anything to win. This is Nixonland.”

The quote comes from “Nixonland,” a soon-to-be-published political history of the years from 1964 to 1972 written by Rick Perlstein, the author of “Before the Storm.” As Mr. Perlstein shows, Stevenson warned in vain: during those years America did indeed become the land of slander and scare, of the politics of hatred.

And it still is. In fact, these days even the Democratic Party seems to be turning into Nixonland.

The bitterness of the fight for the Democratic nomination is, on the face of it, bizarre. Both candidates still standing are smart and appealing. Both have progressive agendas (although I believe that Hillary Clinton is more serious about achieving universal health care, and that Barack Obama has staked out positions that will undermine his own efforts). Both have broad support among the party’s grass roots and are favorably viewed by Democratic voters.

Supporters of each candidate should have no trouble rallying behind the other if he or she gets the nod.

Why, then, is there so much venom out there?

I won’t try for fake evenhandedness here: most of the venom I see is coming from supporters of Mr. Obama, who want their hero or nobody. I’m not the first to point out that the Obama campaign seems dangerously close to becoming a cult of personality. We’ve already had that from the Bush administration — remember Operation Flight Suit? We really don’t want to go there again.

What’s particularly saddening is the way many Obama supporters seem happy with the application of “Clinton rules” — the term a number of observers use for the way pundits and some news organizations treat any action or statement by the Clintons, no matter how innocuous, as proof of evil intent.

The prime example of Clinton rules in the 1990s was the way the press covered Whitewater. A small, failed land deal became the basis of a multiyear, multimillion-dollar investigation, which never found any evidence of wrongdoing on the Clintons’ part, yet the “scandal” became a symbol of the Clinton administration’s alleged corruption.

During the current campaign, Mrs. Clinton’s entirely reasonable remark that it took L.B.J.’s political courage and skills to bring Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to fruition was cast as some kind of outrageous denigration of Dr. King.

And the latest prominent example came when David Shuster of MSNBC, after pointing out that Chelsea Clinton was working for her mother’s campaign — as adult children of presidential aspirants often do — asked, “doesn’t it seem like Chelsea’s sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?” Mr. Shuster has been suspended, but as the Clinton campaign rightly points out, his remark was part of a broader pattern at the network.

I call it Clinton rules, but it’s a pattern that goes well beyond the Clintons. For example, Al Gore was subjected to Clinton rules during the 2000 campaign: anything he said, and some things he didn’t say (no, he never claimed to have invented the Internet), was held up as proof of his alleged character flaws.

For now, Clinton rules are working in Mr. Obama’s favor. But his supporters should not take comfort in that fact.

For one thing, Mrs. Clinton may yet be the nominee — and if Obama supporters care about anything beyond hero worship, they should want to see her win in November.

For another, if history is any guide, if Mr. Obama wins the nomination, he will quickly find himself being subjected to Clinton rules. Democrats always do.

But most of all, progressives should realize that Nixonland is not the country we want to be. Racism, misogyny and character assassination are all ways of distracting voters from the issues, and people who care about the issues have a shared interest in making the politics of hatred unacceptable.

One of the most hopeful moments of this presidential campaign came last month, when a number of Jewish leaders signed a letter condemning the smear campaign claiming that Mr. Obama was a secret Muslim. It’s a good guess that some of those leaders would prefer that Mr. Obama not become president; nonetheless, they understood that there are principles that matter more than short-term political advantage.

I’d like to see more moments like that, perhaps starting with strong assurances from both Democratic candidates that they respect their opponents and would support them in the general election.

Well that article sparked quite a response as the Times printed Letters to the Editor either in supporting and understanding of Paul Krugman’s column, or whatever Barack supporters think.
I’ve separated them into two sections (because nuance doesn't have a place in our society anymore

Obamans

Re “Hate Springs Eternal,” by Paul Krugman (column, Feb. 11):

Mr. Krugman, a consistent critic of Barack Obama, did not produce a shred of evidence for his categorical statement that the “venom” being displayed in the Democratic campaign comes from Obama supporters, “who want their hero or nobody.” And it seems to perpetuate the same bizarre bitterness that he derides in his column.

Even worse is his assertion that “the Obama campaign seems dangerously close to becoming a cult of personality.” I am surprised and saddened that a thoughtful public intellectual like Mr. Krugman would write such a careless and unfair statement at a moment of critical potential in national politics.

Barack Obama is changing the way we think about race in America. His inclusive message is so refreshing that, in addition to strong backing from blacks, he is drawing unprecedented nationwide support from white voters. It is so upsetting that this remarkable and historic feat is belittled as a “cult of personality.”

William Julius Wilson
Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 11, 2008

The writer is a professor of sociology and social policy at Harvard University.

To the Editor:

Paul Krugman decries the “bitterness of the fight for the Democratic nomination” and then proceeds to contribute to the name-calling by comparing Obama supporters to members of a “cult.” I find that offensive.

I am passionately in favor of a change from the current administration. Does that make me a member of a cult? I am passionately opposed to a Clinton presidency. Does that make me a member of a cult?

Like thousands of other voters who lean Democratic, I don’t pledge allegiance to the Democratic Party. I will vote for the candidate I think will best serve the nation.

I don’t have to give Mr. Krugman or anyone else my strong assurances that I will support the Democratic nominee, and I don’t have to apologize to Mr. Krugman or any Democratic Party apparatchik for passionately opposing Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Robert Bonello
Edina, Minn., Feb. 11, 2008

To the Editor:

As a self-identified progressive, I often find useful insights and information in Paul Krugman’s columns. Not so in “Hate Springs Eternal.”

Mr. Krugman paints supporters of Barack Obama with too broad a brush when he alleges that they “want their hero or nobody,” and therefore engage in venomous attacks on Mr. Obama’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I am an Obama supporter, as are many people I know. Every Obama supporter I know wants to see a Democrat next in the White House first, and Mr. Obama as that Democrat only second. The “examples” Mr. Krugman cites demonstrate that Clinton-bashing is popular sport, not that Obama supporters (rather than the media or isolated individuals) engage in it.

To top it all off, Mr. Krugman compares Mr. Obama’s ability to inspire and organize to George W. Bush’s demonstrated penchant for conceit and self-indulgence in Operation Flight Suit. Who’s perpetuating “Nixonland” now?

Brian W. Stull
Durham, N.C., Feb. 11, 2008

To the Editor:

I believe this is the first time I’ve ever disagreed with Paul Krugman. The source of vitriol is not to be found in the putative “cult of personality” among supporters of Barack Obama. The source is not to be found among supporters at all. One needs to look at the leaderships of the campaigns.

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign keeps careening between sweetness and scorched-earth policies. Mrs. Clinton has created an impression that she will do anything and say anything to win, from sponsoring flag-preservation legislation to the bizarre racial innuendo by her campaign in South Carolina. (Does South Carolina bring out the worst in every campaign?)

The vitriol is not the result of a cult of personality in the Obama camp. The vitriol is a reaction to very real deficiencies in Mrs. Clinton’s personality.

Bill Morris
San Diego, Feb. 11, 2008

To the Editor:

Can’t Paul Krugman see that there is a growing number of Americans who do not want to relive the days of Clintonian testiness and right-wing vitriol? Former President Bill Clinton alerted many of us to the dangers of a Hillary Rodham Clinton victory by his arrogant behavior in the week before the South Carolina primary.

The fact that many Democratic voters would simply stay home in November rather than vote for Hillary Clinton is not a sign of “hate” or “venom.”

Mr. Krugman brings up his preference for Mrs. Clinton’s health care agenda, but why should we think she could achieve it after a bitter campaign, without enough Democratic senators to break a Republican filibuster and with the same old team back in charge?

Bill Dawers
Savannah, Ga., Feb. 11, 2008

To the Editor:

Paul Krugman, in his account of the strong emotions that the Clinton-Obama race has raised among progressives, doesn’t mention one notable fact.

Many antiwar Democrats continue to view with suspicion Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s attitude toward the Iraq war. Her clarifications for her support of the various pro-war bills proposed by President Bush revolve around her criticisms of the execution of the war, not around the thinking that led us into the war in the first place.

Progressives have found Senator Barack Obama’s more specific denunciation of the whole mind-set that created the war much more helpful. I believe that it continues to be a leading explanation for why he is doing so much better against Mrs. Clinton than anyone originally predicted.

Jon Landau
Purchase, N.Y., Feb. 11, 2008

I agree with Paul Krugman’s assertion that the attitude “their hero or nobody” is divisive and silly. But just because both Democratic candidates are strong doesn’t mean I find them to be equal.
I resent the implication that “hero worship” is inherently dogmatic or without substance. I long for a day when I can name a sitting American president as my hero. [Ed. Note: How old are you that you would ever look up to a politician as a hero? Become someone else’s hero don’t look for someone to elevate as yours. Call me a cynic but I've never "found a hero" in far off places]

For me, one of Barack Obama’s biggest strengths, both as a leader and as a candidate, is that he inspires people to participate in politics who otherwise wouldn’t get involved.

If voters fail to respond to Hillary Rodham Clinton in that way, I think it’s much more a legitimate flaw on her part than it is an example of Americans falling prey to “Clinton rules.”

Though Mr. Obama is my preference, if Mrs. Clinton is the nominee, I will campaign for her 100 percent because I want to see a Democrat in the White House. For the moment, however, this is still a contest, and I feel no obligation to come to the defense of someone who is my second choice.

If Mrs. Clinton can’t stand against me, who sees her merely as the lesser of an embarrassment of riches, how will she ever last when the opponent gets much tougher?

Suzanne Joskow
Los Angeles, Feb. 11, 2008

To the Editor:

The Barack Obama supporters I know would ultimately be happy to see any Democrat become president. “It’s an embarrassment of riches,” I’ve heard from my fellow Democrats countless times. Both candidates are smart, experienced and capable.

I voted for Mr. Obama, but I will support his opponent with unmitigated enthusiasm should she win the nomination. Where Paul Krugman sees a “cult of personality” forming around Mr. Obama, I see involved citizens who are deeply excited about their candidate.

Mr. Obama is not L. Ron Hubbard. If there’s an Obama cult, then there’s also a Hillary Rodham Clinton cult, a John McCain cult, a Mike Huckabee cult and so on. [Ed. Note- Scientologists don’t believe their in a cult started by a crock either. And I don't see anyone getting tattoos for any other politician especially before he's even nominated.]

Mr. Krugman, usually so dead-on, is way off in this case.

Laura Cummins
New York, Feb. 11, 2008

The Leader is good, the Leader is great, we surrender our will as of
       this date!

Realists

To the Editor:

Cult of personality, indeed. Barack Obama has style, but no substance. He has been in national politics only a couple of years. And the media have given him a virtually free ride.
But we did “likability” and inexperience eight years ago with George W. Bush and look where that’s gotten us. It is frightening how easily some of us are persuaded by hype, especially when we are confronting such serious problems as a nation and in the world.
Hillary Rodham Clinton does have substance: knowledge, experience, intelligence, sensitivity, stamina. She has withstood attacks from all sides and come out whole. She is the only candidate in this race in whom I have complete faith and confidence to do the right thing. With all that is at stake, I can only hope that the media will start doing their job and that the American people will see the light this time around.

D. Murphy
Merrick, N.Y., Feb. 12, 2008

To the Editor:

I see nothing illogical that a close competition for the most important leadership role in the world would be extremely competitive. But venomous? We’re not even close. Just this year, the Republicans (John McCain versus Mitt Romney) have been much more combative than Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Perhaps Paul Krugman is closer to the point in recognizing that we are a nation focused on personality; much of what passes for public discourse is driven by celebrity, hyped-up conflict, and the trend for news and sports coverage to resemble each other.

Barack Obama’s supporters certainly did not create this trend, nor can they be faulted for recognizing that character and inspiration are as important as ideas in picking a leader. This is not a result of some irrational spell, and implying that we’re joining a cult of personality really misses the point about our recognizing the qualities our nation needs to effectively move forward to collectively meet our challenges.

Richard C. Hubbard
Evanston, Ill., Feb. 11, 2008

To the Editor:

Senator Barack Obama’s campaign reminds me of a series of revival meetings. There’s the charismatic speaker who uses emotional words to raise the audience to a fever pitch, followed by conversion to his ideas and the passing of the hat.

Supporters who wrap themselves in these emotional promises find that it works for a while. But then it grows quiet, and looking around, the converts see that the revival tent has moved on and everyday life intervenes.

Where is the critical thinking here about how to achieve getting out of Iraq? To help the economy? To solve the health care crisis? There’s just the emptiness of the emotional words, ringing hollow in the air.

Sue Roupp
Evanston, Ill., Feb. 11, 2008

My stance has long been clear on this but they're both b.s. though one is more so than the other but maybe it’s things like this, where Michelle Obama who should be a leader in her husband’s movement says “she’d have to think about supporting Hillary if she were the nominee”
while everything from the Clintons has been of course I’ll support the Democratic nominee, it’s about taking back the white house
And maybe Krugman’s ideas about the cult of personality and the Messianic fervor that Barack is cultivating stems from stuff like this in the media as documented in Slate's Obama Messiah Watch

Is Barack Obama the Nazarene? To answer this question, Slate has periodically gathered gratuitously adoring biographical details from newspaper, television, and magazine profiles of the U.S. senator from Illinois, best-selling author, Harvard Law Review president, Men's Vogue cover model, two-time Grammy winner, efficient note-taker, physics wunderkind, descendent of George Washington's great-great-great-great-great grandfather, teenage jazz enthusiast, possible telepathic communicator with space aliens from distant galaxies, improvement on all civil rights gains since 1957, calmer of turbulent Iownas, and front-running candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

I merely suggested that a few excitable souls in the media bear the apparant conviction that Obama is the Redeemer. To this growing list we must now add the Reuters photographer who snapped this

Hail Michelle,
full of grace,
the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women
and blessed is [he that made holy your] womb
Holy Michelle, consort of God,
pray for us sinners
now and at the hour of our death
Amen.

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In Solidarity with Kurt Westergaard

and the staff of Jyllands-Posten who reprinted the 12 newspaper cartoons of Mohammed today to show support for the cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard. Yesterday three men who were plotting his death were arrested.
Said one newpaper standing in solidarity
"We are doing this to document what is at stake in this case, and to unambiguously back and support the freedom of speech that we as a newspaper will always defend," said the Copenhagen-based Berlingske Tidende.
And because I believe in free speech and also like to stir up controversy here are the 12 images of the prophet Muhammed












God may be great but the free flow of information is greater

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I wonder if this is a sign

If there is a God and
If Jesus was his son and
If God is now striking an icon of his son Jesus and
If omens are real and there is knowledge to be taken from them then

I assume we’re all fucked.

Good to know.

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Sebastian: The Queer[ed] Saint

Y’know I have seen the image of St. Sebastian being martyred hundreds of times but I never thought about it like this

The earliest gay icon was Saint Sebastian. The combination of his strong, shirtless physique, the symbolism of the arrows penetrating his body, and the look on his face of rapturous pain have intrigued artists both gay and straight for centuries; and began the first explicitly gay cult in the 19th century.

From the Independent

The only saint who really cuts it as a cover-boy is St Sebastian, that curly-haired Roman youth shot with arrows on the orders of the emperor Diocletian. Sebastian's appeal to gay men seems obvious. He was young, male, apparently unmarried and martyred by the establishment.
What's going on? Well, Sebastian is living proof of the fact that if saints didn't exist, we would have to invent them. Thanks to the arrows, he's the one martyr in art everyone can spot. (Iconography is so unfair. Who now recognises St Stephen's stones or St Lawrence's griddle?) A twinky torso also helps.
(Ed. Note: okay maybe this picture is really gay)
Yet, according to his hagiographer, Ambrose of Milan, Sebastian was a red-blooded captain in the Praetorian Guard, a centurion of middling years: he is the patron saint of soldiers and athletes, not hairdressers. Far from riling Diocletian by proselytising for same-sex love, he was killed for converting Romans to Christianity. And we all know where that led.

But there is worse. Not only was St Sebastian middle-aged and butch, he wasn't killed with arrows. Punctured, yes, but not killed. The perforated martyr was rescued from the stake and nursed back to health by St Irene of Rome – a woman, boys – before unwisely haranguing Diocletian for his paganism as he passed by on a litter. Unmoved by his tenacity, the emperor had Sebastian clubbed to death; his body was then dumped in Rome's sewers.

Piero della Francesca's Misericordia polyptych, painted two centuries earlier, already shows Sebastian as young, willowy and lightly rouged. But why?

In 1348, Europe had been ravaged by the Black Death: up to half of the entire population of the continent died in a torment of bloody flux. In their terror, Romans prayed to Sebastian – he'd survived those arrows, after all – and the epidemic lifted. Willy-nilly, he became the hottest plague saint in Christ-endom. It is incumbent upon plague saints to look as though they haven't got one foot in the grave (or, come to that, in the sewer). So by the end of the 14th century, the middle-aged Sebastian had had a makeover, his beard, wrinkles and actual cause of death neatly airbrushed from the picture.

But even if all that is true what are the Saints really for besides to give us comfort and peace and so...

All of which is to say that the secret of Sebastian's success may lie in his ability to be all things to all men. Along with the famous arrows, the symbol of his martyrdom is the rope that binds his hands; yet the shape-shifting Sebastian just won't be tied down. The novelist and political activist Susan Sontag pointed out that his face never registers the agonies of his body, that his beauty and his pain are eternally divorced from each other. This made him proof against plague in 1348, and, in these ungodly times, it still does.

From the LGBTQ encyclopedia

[Sebastian] was a featured subject of a host of Renaissance and baroque artists (including Tintoretto, Mantegna, Titian, Guido Reni, Giorgione, Botticelli, and "Il Sodoma") whose works inspired an explicitly homosexual cult of Saint Sebastian in the nineteenth century.

Sebastian's broad and long-standing presence in queer artistic production suggests that there is more to his appeal than the good looks with which he is most often rendered. Rather, several coexisting elements of his narrative make him an enduring trope of modern gay fascination.

Renaissance representations of Saint Sebastian--mostly paintings of a tender, loin-clothed youth writhing in the ecstasy of the arrows that pierce him--are perhaps ground zero for his appointment as the patron saint of gay sensuality.

And for seemingly obvious reasons. Sebastian's supple, near-naked body; the wink-wink symbolism of the penetrating arrows; his thrown-back head expressing a mixture of pleasure and pain; and his inviting gaze all readily contribute to his homoerotic appeal. But Sebastian's entry into gay cultures in the first place most certainly involves his origins as an emblem of Christian godliness and martyrdom.

Same-sex desire is often, on many levels, about the crossing of lines, the overturning of sacred norms, the pleasure of the forbidden. Both the story of Sebastian and his subsequent role in modern gay cultures epitomize this subversive impulse: Sebastian revels in the pleasure of his own martyrdom as gay men revel in gazing upon an off-limits emblem of Christian holiness. By all accounts, Sebastian is a very good "bad object choice."

The question of whether Sebastian himself was gay is largely moot. While some historical records suggest a notable affection between the saint and his male superiors, after almost two thousand years Sebastian's sexuality is not only greatly speculative, but also rather inconsequential.

However, while it is doubtful that a buried homosexual existence could justify his current camp popularity, it seems equally doubtful that his homoerotic associations can be explained away as the superficial afterthoughts, revisions, or cross-readings of a willful contemporary gay purview.

Like many personages who are continually reiterated, Sebastian has essentially grown up alongside modern notions of sexuality and the formation of gay consciousness, becoming an accessible touchstone of both gay desire and gay experience in the process.

As Richard A. Kaye aptly notes, "contemporary gay men have seen in Sebastian at once a stunning advertisement for homosexual desire (indeed, a homoerotic ideal), and a prototypical portrait of tortured closet case."

The melancholy tone of Sebastian imagery--to say nothing of Sebastian's accompanying torment--is a ready parallel to the feelings of shame, rejection, inverted desire, and loneliness endured by queer people in a homophobic society.

The coding of these maladies is perhaps all the more effective because it is not easily separable from--indeed, it is rendered by the same means as--Sebastian's come-hither beauty and sexual availability.

In all, Sebastian's narrative complexity, vernacular resonance, and theological origins speak volumes of the queer representational strategies through which he is deployed.

And gay or straight, butch or twink, thrown into the colaca or not Sebastian is what we will make of him.
BTW, if you’re interested, or not here are some of Guido Reni’s St.Sebastians





Inspired by Arrows of desire: How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon? from The Independent

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Or As Belinda Carlisle Might Sing "Ooh Heaven is a Place on Earth"

(horrible title I know, but a great song)

An esteemed British theologian NT Wright believes that Christians are Wrong about Heaven and blames Maria Shriver.
I do too, on both counts. Here is his interview with Time magazine and just on an intellectual basis I'm more inclined to believe this guy than Maria Shriver or some illiterate i a store front church

It therefore comes as a something of a shock that Wright [Ed Note: The N.T. just has to stand for New Testament], one of the most formidable figures in the world of Christian thought. As Bishop of Durham, he is the fourth most senior cleric in the Church of England and a major player in the strife-riven global Anglican Communion; as a much-read theologian and Biblical scholar he has taught at Cambridge and is a hero to conservative Christians worldwide, doesn't believe in heaven — at least, not in the way that millions of Christians understand the term. In his new book, Surprised by Hope (HarperOne), Wright quotes a children's book by California first lady Maria Shriver called What's Heaven, which describes it as "a beautiful place where you can sit on soft clouds and talk... If you're good throughout your life, then you get to go [there]... When your life is finished here on earth, God sends angels down to take you heaven to be with him." That, says Wright is a good example of "what not to say." The Biblical truth, he continues, "is very, very different."

TIME: At one point you call the common view of heaven a "distortion and serious diminution of Christian hope."

Wright: It really is. I've often heard people say, "I'm going to heaven soon, and I won't need this stupid body there, thank goodness.' That's a very damaging distortion, all the more so for being unintentional.

TIME: How so? It seems like a typical sentiment.

Wright: There are several important respects in which it's unsupported by the New Testament. First, the timing. In the Bible we are told that you die, and enter an intermediate state. St. Paul is very clear that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead already, but that nobody else has yet. Secondly, our physical state. The New Testament says that when Christ does return, the dead will experience a whole new life: not just our soul, but our bodies. And finally, the location. At no point do the resurrection narratives in the four Gospels say, "Jesus has been raised, therefore we are all going to heaven." It says that Christ is coming here, to join together the heavens and the Earth in an act of new creation.

TIME: Is there anything more in the Bible about the period between death and the resurrection of the dead?

Wright: We know that we will be with God and with Christ, resting and being refreshed. Paul writes that it will be conscious, but compared with being bodily alive, it will be like being asleep. The Wisdom of Solomon, a Jewish text from about the same time as Jesus, says "the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God," and that seems like a poetic way to put the Christian understanding, as well.

TIME: But it's not where the real action is, so to speak?

Wright: No. Our culture is very interested in life after death, but the New Testament is much more interested in what I've called the life after life after death — in the ultimate resurrection into the new heavens and the new Earth. Jesus' resurrection marks the beginning of a restoration that he will complete upon his return. Part of this will be the resurrection of all the dead, who will "awake," be embodied and participate in the renewal. John Polkinghorne, a physicist and a priest, has put it this way: "God will download our software onto his hardware until the time he gives us new hardware to run the software again for ourselves." That gets to two things nicely: that the period after death is a period when we are in God's presence but not active in our own bodies, and also that the more important transformation will be when we are again embodied and administering Christ's kingdom.

TIME: That is rather different from the common understanding. Did some Biblical verse contribute to our confusion?

Wright: There is Luke 23, where Jesus says to the good thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." But in Luke, we know first of all that Christ himself will not be resurrected for three days, so "paradise" cannot be a resurrection. It has to be an intermediate state. And chapters 4 and 5 of Revelation, where there is a vision of worship in heaven that people imagine describes our worship at the end of time. In fact it's describing the worship that's going on right now. If you read the book through, you see that at the end we don't have a description of heaven, but, as I said, of the new heavens and the new earth joined together.

TIME: Why, then, have we misread those verses?

Wright: It has, originally, to do with the translation of Jewish ideas into Greek. The New Testament is deeply, deeply Jewish, and the Jews had for some time been intuiting a final, physical resurrection. They believed that the world of space and time and matter is messed up, but remains basically good, and God will eventually sort it out and put it right again. Belief in that goodness is absolutely essential to Christianity, both theologically and morally. But Greek-speaking Christians influenced by Plato saw our cosmos as shabby and misshapen and full of lies, and the idea was not to make it right, but to escape it and leave behind our material bodies. The church at its best has always come back toward the Hebrew view, but there have been times when the Greek view was very influential.

TIME: Can you give some historical examples?

Wright: Two obvious ones are Dante's great poetry, which sets up a Heaven, Purgatory and Hell immediately after death, and Michelangelo's Last Judgment in the Sistine chapel, which portrays heaven and hell as equal and opposite last destinations. Both had enormous influence on Western culture, so much so that many Christians think that is Christianity.

TIME: But it's not.

Wright: Never at any point do the Gospels or Paul say Jesus has been raised, therefore we are we are all going to heaven. They all say, Jesus is raised, therefore the new creation has begun, and we have a job to do.

TIME: That sounds a lot like... work.

Wright: It's more exciting than hanging around listening to nice music*. In Revelation and Paul's letters we are told that God's people will actually be running the new world on God's behalf. The idea of our participation in the new creation goes back to Genesis, when humans are supposed to be running the Garden and looking after the animals. If you transpose that all the way through, it's a picture like the one that you get at the end of Revelation.

TIME: And it ties in to what you've written about this all having a moral dimension.

Wright: Both that, and the idea of bodily resurrection that people deny when they talk about their "souls going to Heaven." If people think "my physical body doesn't matter very much," then who cares what I do with it? And if people think that our world, our cosmos, doesn't matter much, who cares what we do with that? Much of "traditional" Christianity gives the impression that God has these rather arbitrary rules about how you have to behave, and if you disobey them you go to hell, rather than to heaven. What the New Testament really says is God wants you to be a renewed human being helping him to renew his creation, and his resurrection was the opening bell. And when he returns to fulfil the plan, you won't be going up there to him, he'll be coming down here**.

TIME: That's very different from, say, the vision put out in the Left Behind books.

Wright: Yes. If there's going to be an Armageddon, and we'll all be in heaven already or raptured up just in time, it really doesn't matter if you have acid rain or greenhouse gases prior to that. Or, for that matter, whether you bombed civilians in Iraq. All that really matters is saving souls for that disembodied heaven.

TIME: Has anyone you've talked to expressed disappointment at the loss of the old view?

Wright: Yes, you might get disappointment in the case where somebody has recently gone through the death of somebody they love and they are wanting simply to be with them. And I'd say that's understandable. But the end of Revelation describes a marvelous human participation in God's plan. And in almost all cases, when I've explained this to people, there's a sense of excitement and a sense of, "Why haven't we been told this before?"

*so very true. If I were to go to heaven (snickering from the gallery) I'm sure I'd get bored of it in a few days.
**which means that there should be a, y'know actual Earth not ravaged by global warming or nuclear war for "him" to come back to. Someone needs to write Bush a memo.

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