In Some Dark Corners,The Enlightment Did Not Take

God Hates Lightning Rods

Christians used to believe that thunder storms and lightning bolts were directed by God to "discipline his servants and teach us important lessons," or they were directed by Satan ("the Prince of the Power of the Air") and his demons, or they were called forth by "witches" to "try and destroy God's holy sanctuaries and ministers. . . "

God Hates Vaccines:

In the US, for instance, religious groups are gearing up to oppose vaccination, despite a survey showing 80 per cent of parents favour vaccinating their daughters. "Abstinence is the best way to prevent HPV," says Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council. . .

Reverse Robin Hoods Redux

More steal from the poor and soon-to-be poor, give to the rich from the fascist Bush Administration:

From today's Talking Points Memo:

Is anyone listening to this?

In remarks yesterday before the Bond Market Association -- one of the hardest partying groups on the street -- Treasury Secretary John Snow explicitly linked the administration's efforts to cut the deficit to the push to partially phase-out Social Security. The logic of that statement points to only one conclusion: the deficits the administration has run up with upper-income tax cuts will be reduced by benefit cuts in Social Security.

It's not about strengthening Social Security; it's about cleaning up the mess created by the president's tax cuts.
-- Josh Marshall
(April 21, 2005 -- 12:11 PM EDT // link // print)

I Want Out

I want to move to Vermont and get out of the United States of Amalgamation. I want to live in the country I grew up in, where the libraries were open every day in every town, where no name-brand food was sold in any school cafeteria, where any good student in any school could plan on going to a good college. Where the ground was solid and the leaders tried to hide their marginal corruption. Where the unions were powerful and Republicans were weak.

Where a beast like Ann Coulter would not in a million years be considered for the cover of Time Magazine.