Thomas Frank on the Bush administration: Sabotage by design

Salon.com — The author of "What's the Matter With Kansas?" discusses the corrosive relationship between conservatives and business, liberal bias and his new book about Republican misrule.

( Excerpt. Click headline for full story. )

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You need to read this article, and probably the book (excerpted here), if you ever hope to understand the way we got to the sad place we are now. I know I have a new book on the reading list: The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule

From The Wild Hunt by Jason Pitzl-Waters

Christian Military and Malicious Magic

( Excerpt. Click headline for full story. )

x-posted to dark_christian

How Fake American History Feeds Christian Nationalism

( Excerpt. Click Headline for full story. )

In case you aren't yet aware of House Resolution 888, you can read all about it here:

Think the "Christmas Resolution" was Bad? Check Out H. Res. 888.

In the "Texas Shame" category, 3 Texas Representatives have signed up as co-sponsors of this dangerous piece of drivel, including my own Representative, John Culberson.

And in a related vein, I would also recommend to you this piece by Elizabeth Moon (e_moon60 on LJ) where she says, in part:

[...] It does not matter what your religious beliefs are. What matters here is that you grasp the underlying problem: if someone sincerely and deeply believes that their deity trumps the Constitution, *and* believes that he/she has a duty to convert others and make others conform to his/her beliefs and practices, then he/she cannot be honest when taking the oath of office (or for that matter the commissioning oath of officers in our military.) ( Read more... ) [...]

ETA: Apparently, 888 is the number of Jesus in Greek, like 666 is supposedly the number of the beast, and this is common knowledge among certain segments of the Christian population. The fact that this resolution is number 888 cannot be a coincidence, and should be made more well known. It's clearly, to me at least, sending another of those famous coded messages to the theocratic right. Thanks to catvincent for pointing out this fact.

I'm seeing a good deal of concern about this action* that just went through the U.S. House of Representatives. I think it's time I said my piece on it.

Now, I am right there with everyone who has commented on what a waste of time this is, when so many more important things aren't getting done. Define those more important things by pretty much any criteria you want, and you'll see they aren't getting done. What I really can't get uptight about is the "apparent" church-state violation here.

House Resolutions are utterly meaningless. They don't have the force of law. They don't mean anything except that politicians do that. Mayors give the key to their city to visiting dignitaries. Congressmen pass resolutions.

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In short, chill out people.

*H. Res. 847: Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

Fantastic piece on the anti-intellectualism running rampant in this country. There are some serious "blink, blink" moments in here.

[...] And in Dover, Pennsylvania, during one of these many controversies, a pastor named Ray Mummert delivers the line that both ends our tour and, in every real sense, sums it up:

"We've been attacked," he says, "by the intelligent, educated segment of the culture."

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Esquire: Greetings From Idiot America
By Charles P. Pierce

Thanks to jblaque via catvincent.