Hello.
I wanted to let everyone know that i'm starting a second blog that will contain a work of fiction called "The Journey". It can be found here.
This is a copyrighted work, so although i want people to read and enjoy it, and share the URL with their friends, please bear in mind that it may not be used by anyone other than me for any reason without my express and written permission.
Thanks and enjoy.
Rev. Randal
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Stop Criticizing Criticizing Obama
The democrats of 2009 are turning into the republicans of 2004 and it's really starting to bug me.
I've heard several times that the so-called “blue dog” democrats who want changes in the health care bill before they pass it need to just shut up and go along with the President. On Bill Maher's show the other night, he was doing a bit about medications and coming up with non-existent humorous names for medicines (such as “Beau Talks” for women who are having a trouble getting their men to open up). One of these humorous medicines was Growacet (pronounced “grow a set”) for democrats who were having trouble lining up behind Obama's health care plan.
Zieg freakin' Heil, guys. Jeez.
For how many years did we revile the republican “leadership” in congress for bullying moderate republicans into just lining up behind Bush and doing whatever he wanted? That's not what this is about, is it?
Look... I agree that health care is a necessity. We spend more on public health than any other industrialized nation, while being behind ALL of them in actual “public health”. And yes, at first, that spending will increase. The idea is that, over time, this trend will reverse. As we get the sick people healthier, start allowing doctors a little more latitude to help people stop smoking and encourage better nutrition, especially for our kids, things will get better. Me personally, I think that if we don't do something and SOON to improve the overall health of our kids NOW, I don't want to know what public health bills for them are going to like like when they grow up. But, by the same token, I think that there are legitimate questions that need to be answered about the bill. Yes, you can immediately disregard the people who are obviously nothing more than shills for the insurance companies. Yes, you can immediately disregard the people who are screaming that THEY WANT THEIR COUNTRY BACK at town hall meetings. And yes, you can disregard all of the bullshit about “death panels”. But what you CAN'T disregard is Daryl Issa's concern about a lack of malpractice tort reform in the bill. What you CAN'T disregard is that there is almost nothing in there addressing preventive care. For instance, doing something that the republicans have been fighting for years... putting severe restrictions on the way that McDonald's and Hershey's advertises to our kids. Or REQUIRING people on the public health dime to give up smoking, maintain a good weight and have annual checkups.
I guess that what i'm saying, guys, is that we don't all have to stand in line behind President Obama. As a matter of fact, being a fellow intellectual, I think that he doesn't WANT that. His plans are ultimately good for the country (unlike the crap that Bush pushed through with the help of the obedient republicans), so I think that he WANTS a vigorous debate. If we have concerns, we need to state the concerns. RESPECTFULLY, TOWN HALL SHOUTERS! BECAUSE IF IT JUST COMES DOWN TO WHO CAN SHOUT THE LOUDEST, I CAN OUTSHOUT ALL OF Y'ALL! If you're a democratic lawmaker who doesn't think that “Obamacare” is a good bill, then yes, vote against it. Campaign against it. Don't be like most of our lawmakers were, both democrat and republican, when the “USA PATRIOT” act was introduced and just sign it so that you can hang out with the cool kids, okay?
Peace.
Rev. Randal
I've heard several times that the so-called “blue dog” democrats who want changes in the health care bill before they pass it need to just shut up and go along with the President. On Bill Maher's show the other night, he was doing a bit about medications and coming up with non-existent humorous names for medicines (such as “Beau Talks” for women who are having a trouble getting their men to open up). One of these humorous medicines was Growacet (pronounced “grow a set”) for democrats who were having trouble lining up behind Obama's health care plan.
Zieg freakin' Heil, guys. Jeez.
For how many years did we revile the republican “leadership” in congress for bullying moderate republicans into just lining up behind Bush and doing whatever he wanted? That's not what this is about, is it?
Look... I agree that health care is a necessity. We spend more on public health than any other industrialized nation, while being behind ALL of them in actual “public health”. And yes, at first, that spending will increase. The idea is that, over time, this trend will reverse. As we get the sick people healthier, start allowing doctors a little more latitude to help people stop smoking and encourage better nutrition, especially for our kids, things will get better. Me personally, I think that if we don't do something and SOON to improve the overall health of our kids NOW, I don't want to know what public health bills for them are going to like like when they grow up. But, by the same token, I think that there are legitimate questions that need to be answered about the bill. Yes, you can immediately disregard the people who are obviously nothing more than shills for the insurance companies. Yes, you can immediately disregard the people who are screaming that THEY WANT THEIR COUNTRY BACK at town hall meetings. And yes, you can disregard all of the bullshit about “death panels”. But what you CAN'T disregard is Daryl Issa's concern about a lack of malpractice tort reform in the bill. What you CAN'T disregard is that there is almost nothing in there addressing preventive care. For instance, doing something that the republicans have been fighting for years... putting severe restrictions on the way that McDonald's and Hershey's advertises to our kids. Or REQUIRING people on the public health dime to give up smoking, maintain a good weight and have annual checkups.
I guess that what i'm saying, guys, is that we don't all have to stand in line behind President Obama. As a matter of fact, being a fellow intellectual, I think that he doesn't WANT that. His plans are ultimately good for the country (unlike the crap that Bush pushed through with the help of the obedient republicans), so I think that he WANTS a vigorous debate. If we have concerns, we need to state the concerns. RESPECTFULLY, TOWN HALL SHOUTERS! BECAUSE IF IT JUST COMES DOWN TO WHO CAN SHOUT THE LOUDEST, I CAN OUTSHOUT ALL OF Y'ALL! If you're a democratic lawmaker who doesn't think that “Obamacare” is a good bill, then yes, vote against it. Campaign against it. Don't be like most of our lawmakers were, both democrat and republican, when the “USA PATRIOT” act was introduced and just sign it so that you can hang out with the cool kids, okay?
Peace.
Rev. Randal
Sunday, August 23, 2009
BREAKING CHINA
I made a decision on May 13th of this year. I won't call it a resolution, i won't call it a promise to myself, anything like that. Just a decision. That decision is that i would make a conscious effort for one year not to buy anything made in China. The one "out" that i allowed myself is that second-hand goods are okay. I made this "out" because if i buy something locally at a garage sale or Goodwill, i am not only keeping the money in my COUNTRY, but also in my COMMUNITY, and a lot of times in my NEIGHBORHOOD.
Why did i make this decision? Because i'm pissed. I'm pissed that, after the problems over the last couple of years with melamine in milk and lead paint in kid's toys and poisonous drywall, our net imports from China actually INCREASED. I'm pissed because we now pay Chinese kids a pittance to make shit that we don't need instead of paying American workers a living wage to make quality products that... let's face it... we don't really need. I'm pissed that more Americans aren't pissed... that they can't make the connection between our failing economy and all of the Chinese-made crap in their homes. Also, i don't like the way that our companies encourage Chinese sweat shop owners to act. I feel that American companies should be forced to play by our rules wherever they do business.
At my day job, on September 12th, 2001... like a lot of companies... we started selling American flags. Now first off, i always felt that if you didn't fly a flag on September 10th, 2001, then you shouldn't fly one on the 12th. Second off, as the hundredth or two-hundredth flag came through my line, i noticed something. These flags were made in China. AMERICAN FLAGS MADE IN CHINA! BEING FLOWN BY PEOPLE TO PROVE HOW "PATRIOTIC" THEY ARE! How pathetic is that? And when i pointed it out to one of my proudly conservative managers, he completely didn't see the problem. I am proud to say that my company has pretty much not stopped carrying flags since then, but the flags that we carry now are made in the USA. I hope that my input had something to do with that.
I also want to be really clear that this is not a "protest". A protest is something designed to change the behavior of someone else. This is strictly a personal decision. As an example, i don't fly... haven't since October, 2001. I LOVE flying, but hate what the government has done to it in the illusion of "safety". What should be a joy is now an endurance trial to no good end. When i went on vacation a few years back, a friend asked me if i was flying. I explained that i was driving because i didn't like what the government had done to flying. She, rather sniffily, said "Well, I don't feel the need to protest." It's not a protest. I'm not trying to change the way that the government handles flying... i'm simply not going to play. (Of course, if more of us stopped flying, ultimately the airlines would put pressure on the government to loosen the regulations and things might change... but that is not my goal.) Same thing with trying not to buy stuff that's made in China. Or driving my hybrid. I do that not for the environmental issues... although those are important issues for me... but to try to do what i can to get our oil supply out from under the control of CRAZY PEOPLE!
So here are some things that i have learned since i started this trek three months ago.
1) Get in the habit of looking. This is hard. I bought a toy for my cat a few days back ("guilt gift" after taking her in for a shot), and didn't think to look at the country of origin until i got home. And then, after examining the tag, discovered that it doesn't list the country of origin. I HAVE discovered through tag-checking that at least SOME Champion socks and Patriot computer ram are made in the USA.
2) Beware of mail-order. Before you order, check. This is hard. If you can't get an answer, live without it. Let's face it... like i said before... a lot of the crap made in China is stuff that we can live perfectly well without. I did discover this online store, though, that sells only American-made goods.
3) Continuing that thought... learn to live without stuff. Americans have become such a spoiled country that we actually view luxuries as necessary. At a previous day job, i collected child support from our employees and paid it to the custodial parents. I referred to these custodial parents as "my ex-wives", even though several of them were male. Anyway, one of my ex-wives' checks had become lost in the mail, and i had to cut and mail a new check to her. She was in financial crisis, apparently due to the late payment. Couldn't afford diapers, etc. She asked if i could express-mail her check to her. I told her that my boss probably wouldn't approve of that, but i'd have to check and call her back. (Now bear in mind that this was around 1997, so cell phones were still a mole on America's ass, not the full-fledged cancer that they have become today.) She said "Okay, if you can't reach me at home, here's my cell phone number and if you can't reach me there, here's my pager number..." See what i mean? She couldn't afford diapers if her child support was late, but had a cell phone and pager payment every month. PRIORITIES, PEOPLE!
4) Talk. Listen. Repeat. You'd be amazed how many people first ridiculed me for this idea, and are now thinking of getting on the bandwagon or already there, and now wanting to share their stories with me. Like my funniest story. Being a Star Trek geek, i was happy bordering on ecstatic when i discovered that Burger King was going to offer glasses tied to the new Star Trek film... MADE OF REAL GLASS! So i did what i thought was due diligence and discovered that the glasses are, in fact, made in the good old USA. Hoorah. So i get the glasses home, and i'm opening each box to check my new prizes for defects. One of the boxes happened to be in the bag upside-down, and that was how i discovered the legend "Glass made in USA... BOX PRINTED IN CHINA"! True story. Amazingly, amazingly stupid. But true.
5) Don't fixate on "made in USA" at first. It's nice, but just try to avoid "made in China". I have this funny/not funny joke that i tell people when they ask if a product is made in America... no, because the only things that we manufacture in the US anymore is Hondas and Toyotas. Not ENTIRELY true, but not miles off the mark, either. It's HARD to buy stuff made in the USA, but you can boy stuff that's NOT made in China.
And who knows. Maybe by not protesting in this way, we can all eventually turn America back into the economic powerhouse that we once were and desperately wish that we could be again.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
Why did i make this decision? Because i'm pissed. I'm pissed that, after the problems over the last couple of years with melamine in milk and lead paint in kid's toys and poisonous drywall, our net imports from China actually INCREASED. I'm pissed because we now pay Chinese kids a pittance to make shit that we don't need instead of paying American workers a living wage to make quality products that... let's face it... we don't really need. I'm pissed that more Americans aren't pissed... that they can't make the connection between our failing economy and all of the Chinese-made crap in their homes. Also, i don't like the way that our companies encourage Chinese sweat shop owners to act. I feel that American companies should be forced to play by our rules wherever they do business.
At my day job, on September 12th, 2001... like a lot of companies... we started selling American flags. Now first off, i always felt that if you didn't fly a flag on September 10th, 2001, then you shouldn't fly one on the 12th. Second off, as the hundredth or two-hundredth flag came through my line, i noticed something. These flags were made in China. AMERICAN FLAGS MADE IN CHINA! BEING FLOWN BY PEOPLE TO PROVE HOW "PATRIOTIC" THEY ARE! How pathetic is that? And when i pointed it out to one of my proudly conservative managers, he completely didn't see the problem. I am proud to say that my company has pretty much not stopped carrying flags since then, but the flags that we carry now are made in the USA. I hope that my input had something to do with that.
I also want to be really clear that this is not a "protest". A protest is something designed to change the behavior of someone else. This is strictly a personal decision. As an example, i don't fly... haven't since October, 2001. I LOVE flying, but hate what the government has done to it in the illusion of "safety". What should be a joy is now an endurance trial to no good end. When i went on vacation a few years back, a friend asked me if i was flying. I explained that i was driving because i didn't like what the government had done to flying. She, rather sniffily, said "Well, I don't feel the need to protest." It's not a protest. I'm not trying to change the way that the government handles flying... i'm simply not going to play. (Of course, if more of us stopped flying, ultimately the airlines would put pressure on the government to loosen the regulations and things might change... but that is not my goal.) Same thing with trying not to buy stuff that's made in China. Or driving my hybrid. I do that not for the environmental issues... although those are important issues for me... but to try to do what i can to get our oil supply out from under the control of CRAZY PEOPLE!
So here are some things that i have learned since i started this trek three months ago.
1) Get in the habit of looking. This is hard. I bought a toy for my cat a few days back ("guilt gift" after taking her in for a shot), and didn't think to look at the country of origin until i got home. And then, after examining the tag, discovered that it doesn't list the country of origin. I HAVE discovered through tag-checking that at least SOME Champion socks and Patriot computer ram are made in the USA.
2) Beware of mail-order. Before you order, check. This is hard. If you can't get an answer, live without it. Let's face it... like i said before... a lot of the crap made in China is stuff that we can live perfectly well without. I did discover this online store, though, that sells only American-made goods.
3) Continuing that thought... learn to live without stuff. Americans have become such a spoiled country that we actually view luxuries as necessary. At a previous day job, i collected child support from our employees and paid it to the custodial parents. I referred to these custodial parents as "my ex-wives", even though several of them were male. Anyway, one of my ex-wives' checks had become lost in the mail, and i had to cut and mail a new check to her. She was in financial crisis, apparently due to the late payment. Couldn't afford diapers, etc. She asked if i could express-mail her check to her. I told her that my boss probably wouldn't approve of that, but i'd have to check and call her back. (Now bear in mind that this was around 1997, so cell phones were still a mole on America's ass, not the full-fledged cancer that they have become today.) She said "Okay, if you can't reach me at home, here's my cell phone number and if you can't reach me there, here's my pager number..." See what i mean? She couldn't afford diapers if her child support was late, but had a cell phone and pager payment every month. PRIORITIES, PEOPLE!
4) Talk. Listen. Repeat. You'd be amazed how many people first ridiculed me for this idea, and are now thinking of getting on the bandwagon or already there, and now wanting to share their stories with me. Like my funniest story. Being a Star Trek geek, i was happy bordering on ecstatic when i discovered that Burger King was going to offer glasses tied to the new Star Trek film... MADE OF REAL GLASS! So i did what i thought was due diligence and discovered that the glasses are, in fact, made in the good old USA. Hoorah. So i get the glasses home, and i'm opening each box to check my new prizes for defects. One of the boxes happened to be in the bag upside-down, and that was how i discovered the legend "Glass made in USA... BOX PRINTED IN CHINA"! True story. Amazingly, amazingly stupid. But true.
5) Don't fixate on "made in USA" at first. It's nice, but just try to avoid "made in China". I have this funny/not funny joke that i tell people when they ask if a product is made in America... no, because the only things that we manufacture in the US anymore is Hondas and Toyotas. Not ENTIRELY true, but not miles off the mark, either. It's HARD to buy stuff made in the USA, but you can boy stuff that's NOT made in China.
And who knows. Maybe by not protesting in this way, we can all eventually turn America back into the economic powerhouse that we once were and desperately wish that we could be again.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
Friday, August 21, 2009
Taxation Without Representation
I've been thinking a lot lately about taxes.
The republicans want to present the question of taxation as a debate between the parties. They say the democrats are “tax and spend”.
The fact is that there is no real debate about taxation itself. Neither party likes to pay taxes. No American... I would say that no HUMAN BEING likes paying taxes. And as far as “tax and spend” goes, both parties spend. So if republicans don't tax, then how do they raise the revenue that they're spending? The billions of dollars that the Bush administration committed to pissing away in Iraq... where, exactly is that coming from?
So what is the debate? The debate is over who pays and how much.
The simple fact is that the middle class and the poor are bearing a much more disproportional part of the tax burden than the wealthy. What I mean by that is that if a person who earns a million dollars per year has to pay... say... a hundred thousand of that in taxes, it effects their way of life much less than if a person who earns... say.... thirty thousand per year has to pay three thousand of that in taxes.
For me, though, this entire debate misses a vital point, and that is that the tax code needs to be changed FUNDAMENTALLY. Not simply in who pays and how much, but in it's very NATURE.
For instance, one of my favorite miscarriages of justice is what happened to Al Capone. Thanks to “The Untouchables”, everyone knows about Capone's arch nemesis, Elliot Ness, the brave Federal Agent who brought him down. What's less well known is that Elliot Ness was not an FBI agent, or a secret service agent... he was an IRS agent! That's right, folks. They couldn't convict Capone for any of the hundreds or thousands of robberies and murders he had committed, couldn't bring him down for his numerous violations of prohibition, so they brought him down for not paying his taxes. Personally, that never seemed like a victory to me. It feels more like a failure on the part of our federal government.
And think about this... the federal government can and will incarcerate you for failing to pay your taxes. Personally, that seems like nothing short of extorting money from us to me.
So I think that the first thing that needs to happen with the tax code is that the IRS lose most of it's teeth. They are our employees, and they need to start treating us like their bosses instead of like miscreants.
The second thing is that the tax code needs to be simplified MASSIVELY. And like with gun laws, I think that instead of piling new laws on top of the old bad ones to try to simplify it, they simply need to set an expiration date on the existing tax laws and task congress with passing a new MASSIVELY SIMPLIFIED tax code before they expire.
The next thing is that the government has to stop trying to engineer society through tax law. A married homeowner with kids pays WAY less taxes than I do. We need to stop that. Why should the federal government care that I'm not married, don't own a house, and don't have any kids claimed on my W-2? This is nothing more or less than the government trying to force an outdated moral code on me.
Another thing that needs to happen... and bear in mind that I am, even as I write this, trying to establish my church... is that churches need to lose their tax exempt status. The founders made the church's tax exempt to try to prevent them from meddling in affairs of government. IT HASN'T WORKED. I've seen videos from 2000 and 2004 of ministers telling their flocks that God wanted them to vote for George W. Bush... and that brainwashing WORKED! Modern churches are NOT staying out of government affairs, so they need to pay their taxes like the rest of us. On a separate note, I also think that the confessional seal needs to be subject to subpoena, but that's another argument for another time.
So, idiotic “tax day tea parties” aside, I think that taxation is necessary for our government to operate. Taxes pay for our military. They pay for our schools, our libraries, our prisons, our police and fire departments. They pay for our public welfare system, which includes medicare, medicaid and care for our elderly. Sadly, when we DO succeed in getting the government to cut spending instead of raising taxes, it is schools, libraries and public welfare... the things that should be cut LAST... that are cut first. That needs to change, as well.
What we have in the twenty-first century, folks, is a classic case of taxation without representation. Reasonable tax laws will not be passed as long as the wealthy have access to our lawmakers while the poor do not. Reasonable gun laws will not be passed as long as our elected officials live in gated, guarded communities and work surrounded by guards and metal detectors. Reasonable public education will not exist while they send their kids to private schools. Reasonable public health care will not exist as long as they do not have to worry about it.
Just remember, brothers and sisters... WE are the government. The only way that they will be answerable to us on these issues is if we get involved and MAKE them answerable.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
The republicans want to present the question of taxation as a debate between the parties. They say the democrats are “tax and spend”.
The fact is that there is no real debate about taxation itself. Neither party likes to pay taxes. No American... I would say that no HUMAN BEING likes paying taxes. And as far as “tax and spend” goes, both parties spend. So if republicans don't tax, then how do they raise the revenue that they're spending? The billions of dollars that the Bush administration committed to pissing away in Iraq... where, exactly is that coming from?
So what is the debate? The debate is over who pays and how much.
The simple fact is that the middle class and the poor are bearing a much more disproportional part of the tax burden than the wealthy. What I mean by that is that if a person who earns a million dollars per year has to pay... say... a hundred thousand of that in taxes, it effects their way of life much less than if a person who earns... say.... thirty thousand per year has to pay three thousand of that in taxes.
For me, though, this entire debate misses a vital point, and that is that the tax code needs to be changed FUNDAMENTALLY. Not simply in who pays and how much, but in it's very NATURE.
For instance, one of my favorite miscarriages of justice is what happened to Al Capone. Thanks to “The Untouchables”, everyone knows about Capone's arch nemesis, Elliot Ness, the brave Federal Agent who brought him down. What's less well known is that Elliot Ness was not an FBI agent, or a secret service agent... he was an IRS agent! That's right, folks. They couldn't convict Capone for any of the hundreds or thousands of robberies and murders he had committed, couldn't bring him down for his numerous violations of prohibition, so they brought him down for not paying his taxes. Personally, that never seemed like a victory to me. It feels more like a failure on the part of our federal government.
And think about this... the federal government can and will incarcerate you for failing to pay your taxes. Personally, that seems like nothing short of extorting money from us to me.
So I think that the first thing that needs to happen with the tax code is that the IRS lose most of it's teeth. They are our employees, and they need to start treating us like their bosses instead of like miscreants.
The second thing is that the tax code needs to be simplified MASSIVELY. And like with gun laws, I think that instead of piling new laws on top of the old bad ones to try to simplify it, they simply need to set an expiration date on the existing tax laws and task congress with passing a new MASSIVELY SIMPLIFIED tax code before they expire.
The next thing is that the government has to stop trying to engineer society through tax law. A married homeowner with kids pays WAY less taxes than I do. We need to stop that. Why should the federal government care that I'm not married, don't own a house, and don't have any kids claimed on my W-2? This is nothing more or less than the government trying to force an outdated moral code on me.
Another thing that needs to happen... and bear in mind that I am, even as I write this, trying to establish my church... is that churches need to lose their tax exempt status. The founders made the church's tax exempt to try to prevent them from meddling in affairs of government. IT HASN'T WORKED. I've seen videos from 2000 and 2004 of ministers telling their flocks that God wanted them to vote for George W. Bush... and that brainwashing WORKED! Modern churches are NOT staying out of government affairs, so they need to pay their taxes like the rest of us. On a separate note, I also think that the confessional seal needs to be subject to subpoena, but that's another argument for another time.
So, idiotic “tax day tea parties” aside, I think that taxation is necessary for our government to operate. Taxes pay for our military. They pay for our schools, our libraries, our prisons, our police and fire departments. They pay for our public welfare system, which includes medicare, medicaid and care for our elderly. Sadly, when we DO succeed in getting the government to cut spending instead of raising taxes, it is schools, libraries and public welfare... the things that should be cut LAST... that are cut first. That needs to change, as well.
What we have in the twenty-first century, folks, is a classic case of taxation without representation. Reasonable tax laws will not be passed as long as the wealthy have access to our lawmakers while the poor do not. Reasonable gun laws will not be passed as long as our elected officials live in gated, guarded communities and work surrounded by guards and metal detectors. Reasonable public education will not exist while they send their kids to private schools. Reasonable public health care will not exist as long as they do not have to worry about it.
Just remember, brothers and sisters... WE are the government. The only way that they will be answerable to us on these issues is if we get involved and MAKE them answerable.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
I LOVE BARNEY FRANK!
Dear Massachusetts,
After watching the news today, I have an offer for you. I would like to offer any... or ALL... of our Washington state representatives in exchange for Barney Frank. I LOVE Barney Frank. Whereas our guys... well... I don't want to say that they lack BALLS or anything, but... you know. They're all democrats, like Mr. Frank, so you're not changing teams. And my thought is that you guys did such a great job producing Mr. Frank that you might actually be able to instill some guts into these guys.
Thank you.
I saw Barney Frank at a town hall meeting on the news today. One of these (I'm sure) insurance company shills stood up and... bear in mind that she's speaking to a GAY JEW, asked Barney Frank why he persists in pursuing a NAZI POLICY! I assume that she's talking about the public health care option, since Mr. Frank is, like me, a liberal. Mr. Frank responded “Let me go back into my heritage for a second and answer that question with a question... what planet do you spend most of your time on?” I love that. And then, when she asked if he was going to engage in conversation with her... after basically calling him a Nazi in her opening statement, he said “I get the feeling that it would be like conversing with a kitchen table.” GOD, I LOVE THIS MAN!
Incredibly offensive stupidity aside, I would like to know where exactly modern republicans... the people who put Herr Bush into office TWICE... get off referring to President Obama as a Nazi. I just don't understand it. Whenever a liberal compared Bush to Hitler I insisted that they defend that. If they couldn't, I told them to shut up. I did it, but I have a number of parallels that I can present in defense of the statement. If anyone would like them, I'd be happy to post them here. They are numerous. So to any of my republican brothers and sisters out there who want to compare Obama to Hitler, please let me know your rationale, because I honestly don't understand it.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
After watching the news today, I have an offer for you. I would like to offer any... or ALL... of our Washington state representatives in exchange for Barney Frank. I LOVE Barney Frank. Whereas our guys... well... I don't want to say that they lack BALLS or anything, but... you know. They're all democrats, like Mr. Frank, so you're not changing teams. And my thought is that you guys did such a great job producing Mr. Frank that you might actually be able to instill some guts into these guys.
Thank you.
I saw Barney Frank at a town hall meeting on the news today. One of these (I'm sure) insurance company shills stood up and... bear in mind that she's speaking to a GAY JEW, asked Barney Frank why he persists in pursuing a NAZI POLICY! I assume that she's talking about the public health care option, since Mr. Frank is, like me, a liberal. Mr. Frank responded “Let me go back into my heritage for a second and answer that question with a question... what planet do you spend most of your time on?” I love that. And then, when she asked if he was going to engage in conversation with her... after basically calling him a Nazi in her opening statement, he said “I get the feeling that it would be like conversing with a kitchen table.” GOD, I LOVE THIS MAN!
Incredibly offensive stupidity aside, I would like to know where exactly modern republicans... the people who put Herr Bush into office TWICE... get off referring to President Obama as a Nazi. I just don't understand it. Whenever a liberal compared Bush to Hitler I insisted that they defend that. If they couldn't, I told them to shut up. I did it, but I have a number of parallels that I can present in defense of the statement. If anyone would like them, I'd be happy to post them here. They are numerous. So to any of my republican brothers and sisters out there who want to compare Obama to Hitler, please let me know your rationale, because I honestly don't understand it.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
Monday, August 17, 2009
Some Questions...
Questions are both the pleasure and the curse of my life. Although they won't LEAVE ME ALONE, and i sometimes feel that my life would be much happier if i had more questions than answers, instead of the other way round, they are also what prompts me to learn new things, which is one of my greatest joys.
So these are some questions that have been bugging me between the beginning of the Obama administration and now...
Why is it, that when Bush started the whole bail-out thing it was good capitalism, but when Obama continued it, it was socialism. Can anyone answer that question for me?
How can we possibly call ourselves a Christian nation when we give tax breaks to the rich to buy more shit while when we have the inevitable budget cuts they wind up affecting the poorest of us and those most in need? You know... the ones that Christ SPECIFICALLY TOLD US TO TAKE CARE OF.
And the big one occurred to me today. Listening to these morons argue against "socialized medicine", meaning medical care for the poor... the so-called "public option"... leads me to wonder. When these people get old, as they invariably will, and lose their health insurance either because of loss of a job or because they can't afford it anymore... are they going to turn down medicare? That's socialized medicine, you know. So you people... you IDIOTS who speak without thinking... are you going to pass on medicare because you're so against socialized medicine? And i don't want to see you at my libraries anymore, either. That's socialized information, which you obviously want no part of. And forget calling my socialized assistance organizations when you're getting robbed or raped or your house is burning down (that's the police and fire department, in case you're wondering.)
And related to that. All of this nonsense that i've heard about Obama's "death panels". Do you honestly think that your insurance company doesn't have a panel to decide who's worth care and who's not? THAT'S ESSENTIALLY A DEATH PANEL, MY IGNORANT, IDIOTIC BROTHERS AND SISTERS, for Christ's own sweet sake.
Oh, FYI... the reason that your republican representatives have absolutely NO QUALMS about tricking you and lying to you about the "public" health care option so that you don't support it is because THEY HAVE SOCIALIZED MEDICINE! Our tax dollars pay for every bit of their health care. Funny how none of them are turning down their OWN version of socialized medicine, isn't it? The same reason that they cut funds to public schools (their kids all go private) and they feel perfectly okay pandering to the NRA at the cost of our lives and the lives of our kids (they all live in guarded, gated communities and work in buildings surrounded by guards and metal detectors). Please, my brothers and sisters, get your proverbial heads out of your collective asses and STOP ALLOWING THESE PEOPLE TO TRICK YOU!
Please.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
So these are some questions that have been bugging me between the beginning of the Obama administration and now...
Why is it, that when Bush started the whole bail-out thing it was good capitalism, but when Obama continued it, it was socialism. Can anyone answer that question for me?
How can we possibly call ourselves a Christian nation when we give tax breaks to the rich to buy more shit while when we have the inevitable budget cuts they wind up affecting the poorest of us and those most in need? You know... the ones that Christ SPECIFICALLY TOLD US TO TAKE CARE OF.
And the big one occurred to me today. Listening to these morons argue against "socialized medicine", meaning medical care for the poor... the so-called "public option"... leads me to wonder. When these people get old, as they invariably will, and lose their health insurance either because of loss of a job or because they can't afford it anymore... are they going to turn down medicare? That's socialized medicine, you know. So you people... you IDIOTS who speak without thinking... are you going to pass on medicare because you're so against socialized medicine? And i don't want to see you at my libraries anymore, either. That's socialized information, which you obviously want no part of. And forget calling my socialized assistance organizations when you're getting robbed or raped or your house is burning down (that's the police and fire department, in case you're wondering.)
And related to that. All of this nonsense that i've heard about Obama's "death panels". Do you honestly think that your insurance company doesn't have a panel to decide who's worth care and who's not? THAT'S ESSENTIALLY A DEATH PANEL, MY IGNORANT, IDIOTIC BROTHERS AND SISTERS, for Christ's own sweet sake.
Oh, FYI... the reason that your republican representatives have absolutely NO QUALMS about tricking you and lying to you about the "public" health care option so that you don't support it is because THEY HAVE SOCIALIZED MEDICINE! Our tax dollars pay for every bit of their health care. Funny how none of them are turning down their OWN version of socialized medicine, isn't it? The same reason that they cut funds to public schools (their kids all go private) and they feel perfectly okay pandering to the NRA at the cost of our lives and the lives of our kids (they all live in guarded, gated communities and work in buildings surrounded by guards and metal detectors). Please, my brothers and sisters, get your proverbial heads out of your collective asses and STOP ALLOWING THESE PEOPLE TO TRICK YOU!
Please.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
Monday, August 10, 2009
Banana-Eating Jungle Monkeys 2
First, a note of clarification for Bigmark... Justin Barrett, the officer who referred to professor Gates as a “Banana-Eating jungle monkey” wasn't the arresting officer. He was another officer on the Boston police force who referred to Professor Gates that way in a mass e-mail to other officers and to the Boston Globe. An article about his suspension can be found here: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/07/30/2009-07-30_boston_cop_jason_barrett_suspended_for_calling_henry_louis_gates_a_jungle_monkey.html
He was apparently not only suspended (with pay, I stress again, kind of like a vacation) from his job as a police officer, but relieved of military duties by his National Guard unit.
Two more points that i'd like to add here that I realize that I forgot last night.
The first is an open note to all police officers that I may encounter. If you ever arrest me... IN MY HOME... after I have proven that it's MY HOME... the behavior of a banana-eating jungle monkey is just about the BEST behavior that you'll be able to expect from me. I think that we give police officers WAY too much power and leeway to use it in our culture. It's almost like cop worship. Of course, since I am largely white, I think that no matter how unruly I got, I would just get an apology from the officer for the misunderstanding. It sucks, but that's the way that it is. I think that if professor Gates had been white, he probably would have gotten an apology instead of cuffed and fingerprinted.
I also want to say that I think that President Obama behaved stupidly... er... I mean... I think that he could have handled that situation differently.
First off, Mr. Obama, I can't speak for the arresting officer, but in my lexicon of “bad” words, “stupid” is about the worst of them. You call me stupid and you're just asking for a fight. You want to say that I acted inappropriately, okay. It's been known to happen. You want to say that I behaved without thinking, okay. That, too. But “stupidly”? Come on, now.
Also, I am more than a little frustrated that he allowed himself to be sidelined by this incident and question when he SHOULD have been concentrating on pushing health care through. The republicans, on behalf of their rich friends in the Insurance business, managed to sideline the Clintons in the nineties, health care never got done, and look how much worse the situation is now than it was then. Mr. Obama, you CANNOT allow yourself to be distracted here. FOCUS. You are working out to be much more moderate than I thought that you were going to be when I voted for you, but this could be your LEGACY. No more beer for you until you finish your homework!
And, on a quick side-note, let me just explain to anyone out there who's been watching F-word news... Obama's health care plan does NOT mean that he's going to let your granny die. Rationing of health care does NOT mean that people will be told that they are too ill to care for. As a matter of fact, that's what your buddies in the insurance business are doing NOW. What it DOES mean that, if you're on the public plan, and you go running into the ER with a hangnail screaming “EMERGENCY!” that you've gotta WAIT. Okay? Just to clarify.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
He was apparently not only suspended (with pay, I stress again, kind of like a vacation) from his job as a police officer, but relieved of military duties by his National Guard unit.
Two more points that i'd like to add here that I realize that I forgot last night.
The first is an open note to all police officers that I may encounter. If you ever arrest me... IN MY HOME... after I have proven that it's MY HOME... the behavior of a banana-eating jungle monkey is just about the BEST behavior that you'll be able to expect from me. I think that we give police officers WAY too much power and leeway to use it in our culture. It's almost like cop worship. Of course, since I am largely white, I think that no matter how unruly I got, I would just get an apology from the officer for the misunderstanding. It sucks, but that's the way that it is. I think that if professor Gates had been white, he probably would have gotten an apology instead of cuffed and fingerprinted.
I also want to say that I think that President Obama behaved stupidly... er... I mean... I think that he could have handled that situation differently.
First off, Mr. Obama, I can't speak for the arresting officer, but in my lexicon of “bad” words, “stupid” is about the worst of them. You call me stupid and you're just asking for a fight. You want to say that I acted inappropriately, okay. It's been known to happen. You want to say that I behaved without thinking, okay. That, too. But “stupidly”? Come on, now.
Also, I am more than a little frustrated that he allowed himself to be sidelined by this incident and question when he SHOULD have been concentrating on pushing health care through. The republicans, on behalf of their rich friends in the Insurance business, managed to sideline the Clintons in the nineties, health care never got done, and look how much worse the situation is now than it was then. Mr. Obama, you CANNOT allow yourself to be distracted here. FOCUS. You are working out to be much more moderate than I thought that you were going to be when I voted for you, but this could be your LEGACY. No more beer for you until you finish your homework!
And, on a quick side-note, let me just explain to anyone out there who's been watching F-word news... Obama's health care plan does NOT mean that he's going to let your granny die. Rationing of health care does NOT mean that people will be told that they are too ill to care for. As a matter of fact, that's what your buddies in the insurance business are doing NOW. What it DOES mean that, if you're on the public plan, and you go running into the ER with a hangnail screaming “EMERGENCY!” that you've gotta WAIT. Okay? Just to clarify.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Banana-eating Jungle Monkeys
I wanted to talk a little tonight about Justin Barrett, the Boston cop who referred to Henry Lewis Gates in an e-mail as a "banana-eating jungle monkey".
After making this odd and racially-charged statement, he then said "but i'm not a racist".
First off, let's say that the ONLY way that this statement is NOT racist, is if he would apply the same term to a white suspect, which i doubt. I mean, the term in and of itself is a combination of two racist terms - jungle bunny and porch monkey. Officer Barrett... YOU'RE A RACIST!
And now... get this... he's actually SUING over his PAID suspension from the police department over this. His attorney said that he didn't mean to characterize professor Gates as a banana-eating jungle money with this statement. Oh, really? Then why the hell did he say it?
Look, if i'm in an argument with someone of another race, the LAST thing that would occur to me would be to spout some racial epithet. I may question whether the person's parents were brother and sister. I may imply that he has sexual relations with his mother. I will DEFINITELY question his intelligence. But i will not call him a racist name.
After all, there are so many BETTER reasons not to like someone than their race.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
After making this odd and racially-charged statement, he then said "but i'm not a racist".
First off, let's say that the ONLY way that this statement is NOT racist, is if he would apply the same term to a white suspect, which i doubt. I mean, the term in and of itself is a combination of two racist terms - jungle bunny and porch monkey. Officer Barrett... YOU'RE A RACIST!
And now... get this... he's actually SUING over his PAID suspension from the police department over this. His attorney said that he didn't mean to characterize professor Gates as a banana-eating jungle money with this statement. Oh, really? Then why the hell did he say it?
Look, if i'm in an argument with someone of another race, the LAST thing that would occur to me would be to spout some racial epithet. I may question whether the person's parents were brother and sister. I may imply that he has sexual relations with his mother. I will DEFINITELY question his intelligence. But i will not call him a racist name.
After all, there are so many BETTER reasons not to like someone than their race.
Peace.
Rev. Randal
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
And Another Thing...
I don't believe in gravity anymore, and I think that it should stop being taught in our schools. I mean it. The so-called “laws” of gravity are really nothing more than an attempt to steer our children away from God and into a random universe where things happen according to some arbitrary “law”, and not because God made them happen.
What brought on this change of heart? In reading the Old Testament, you discover that Joshua “stopped the moon and the sun” for one full day, dead in the sky. Now we know, of course, from observable phenomenon that the sun does not ACTUALLY move through the sky, but instead the Earth revolves on it's axis and rotates around the sun. So what this is ACTUALLY saying is that, in answer to a prayer from Joshua, God stopped the Earth from both revolving and rotating for a full day. Now, the so-called “laws” of gravity tell us that if this were to happen, everything, including our atmosphere, would go flying off of the Earth if this were to happen, and what would be left would be a lifeless rock floating through space. And that OBVIOUSLY didn't happen. Therefore, since the Bible is literal and unchallengable, it must be the so-called “laws” of gravity that are wrong. So there.
…
See how stupid that sounds, anti-evolutionists?
Peace.
Rev. Randal
Universal Life Church
What brought on this change of heart? In reading the Old Testament, you discover that Joshua “stopped the moon and the sun” for one full day, dead in the sky. Now we know, of course, from observable phenomenon that the sun does not ACTUALLY move through the sky, but instead the Earth revolves on it's axis and rotates around the sun. So what this is ACTUALLY saying is that, in answer to a prayer from Joshua, God stopped the Earth from both revolving and rotating for a full day. Now, the so-called “laws” of gravity tell us that if this were to happen, everything, including our atmosphere, would go flying off of the Earth if this were to happen, and what would be left would be a lifeless rock floating through space. And that OBVIOUSLY didn't happen. Therefore, since the Bible is literal and unchallengable, it must be the so-called “laws” of gravity that are wrong. So there.
…
See how stupid that sounds, anti-evolutionists?
Peace.
Rev. Randal
Universal Life Church
Monday, August 3, 2009
Furthermore...
Furthering the theme that I touched on yesterday...
I was just listening to a song by Woody Guthrie called “Jesus Christ”. The first verse of the song is “Jesus Christ was a man who traveled through the land, a hard-working man and brave. He said to the rich, "Give your money to the poor," so they laid Jesus Christ in His grave.” The song ends with the line “If Jesus was to preach what He preached in Galilee, they would lay poor Jesus in His grave.”
I would like to ask all of my Christian friends who love money, and who would deny shelter, food and health care to poor people to do a little serious self-examination. If a man were to arise today who said the same things that Jesus said 2000 years ago, what would you do? Would you accept what the man said, sell all that you have and give them money to the poor and follow him, or would you be the first in line calling for his blood? If you answer the former, then I have to ask... what's stopping you? He told us to do this all those years ago, so what's stopping you? You know what he demanded of his followers (Christians), so why aren't you doing it?
Another song by another artist who is vilified by the modern “Christian” right, Jim Croce, called “Which Way Are You Going?” includes the lines “One hand on the Bible and the other on a gun” and “You say you love the baby, then you crucify the man.” Jesus himself spoke poorly of people who pay honor to God with their mouths while not doing good works with their hands.
So I have to wonder... what the hell is wrong with you people?
Peace.
Randal
I was just listening to a song by Woody Guthrie called “Jesus Christ”. The first verse of the song is “Jesus Christ was a man who traveled through the land, a hard-working man and brave. He said to the rich, "Give your money to the poor," so they laid Jesus Christ in His grave.” The song ends with the line “If Jesus was to preach what He preached in Galilee, they would lay poor Jesus in His grave.”
I would like to ask all of my Christian friends who love money, and who would deny shelter, food and health care to poor people to do a little serious self-examination. If a man were to arise today who said the same things that Jesus said 2000 years ago, what would you do? Would you accept what the man said, sell all that you have and give them money to the poor and follow him, or would you be the first in line calling for his blood? If you answer the former, then I have to ask... what's stopping you? He told us to do this all those years ago, so what's stopping you? You know what he demanded of his followers (Christians), so why aren't you doing it?
Another song by another artist who is vilified by the modern “Christian” right, Jim Croce, called “Which Way Are You Going?” includes the lines “One hand on the Bible and the other on a gun” and “You say you love the baby, then you crucify the man.” Jesus himself spoke poorly of people who pay honor to God with their mouths while not doing good works with their hands.
So I have to wonder... what the hell is wrong with you people?
Peace.
Randal
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Bleeding Heart
A conservative Catholic friend of mine the other day referred to me as a "bleeding heart" for saying that ALL Americans should be guaranteed health care. For any of you so-called "Christians" out there who think that it takes a bleeding heart to want that, i wanted to offer you a quick reminder of who the original "bleeding heart" was.
Peace.
Randal
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