What's in the water in USA?

  • 284 replies
  • 41824 views
*

Raoul F. Duke

  • Lovable Rogue
  • *****
  • 9569
  • "Be specific if you order the mushrooms!"
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #105 on: January 12, 2012, 08:39:37 AM »
A lot of people just hate the Obamas. I think there's still a deep undercurrent of racism going on. Sometimes it's heavily veiled, sometimes it's pretty blatant. If you wade into many online political discussions (which I do not recommend aaaaaaaaaa ) you'll still find comments like "That nigger will NEVER be "my President!" Pretty sickening stuff.

I was really stoked about the Occupy movement at first, but I've cooled considerably on them. Their hearts are in the right place, but they're basically an amorphous mass with no shape or direction. Drum circles and park curfew violations are just not going to change anything. kkkkkkkkkk
We need some non-violent but much more direct civil disobedience. More people are going to have to be willing to brave pepper spray, beatings, and arrest...on a much larger scale than we've had so far. We should all know that large-scale social change and freedom generally don't tend to come from asking politely.

For me, I think we should get rakes and torches, form an unruly mob, and absolutely insist that our guys in the Senate and the House of Reprehensibles vote for legislation that will strike down the Supreme Court decision Citizens United v Federal Election Commission. This was the mess that made money a Constitutionally-protected form of speech, and gave corporations the same rights as individual citizens.
Getting rid of that horror wouldn't exorcise all the demons in our political situation, but it would sure be a great place to start.
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

*

Raoul F. Duke

  • Lovable Rogue
  • *****
  • 9569
  • "Be specific if you order the mushrooms!"
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #106 on: January 12, 2012, 08:59:17 AM »
By the way, I have a very small little Facebook page called "Why Modern Conservatives/Republicans SUCK So Much." (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Why-Modern-ConservativesRepublicans-SUCK-So-Much/268030176564159)

Not a lot happens there, but you're welcome to Like it if you want. If you're a Modern Conservative/Republican you should probably just stay away and go suck somewhere else. uuuuuuuuuu  This is NOT a political-debate page, it's a calling-it-like-it-is page, and the dissenting snipers rapidly get the ol' heave ho.

This is the rant that started it all:

Why Modern Conservatives/Republicans SUCK So Much

The Republican Party of Everett Dirksen is long dead. Even the Republican Party of Richard Nixon is long dead! Hell, even the "ketchup-is-a-vegetable" Republican Party of Ronald Reagan has been gone for years.

What we have now is a Jihad with basically only 2 planks left in their platform:

1) They want to keep taxes low for corporations and the obscenely wealthy, hoping instead to raise taxes on poor people already at or below the poverty line. If you're reading this, THAT POSITION IS NOT GOING TO HELP YOU! But that's not the worst thing they do...

2) They want to roll back government regulations on business...you know, the laws that keep children from working in factories, entire species from being wiped out, national parks from being turned into tire fires, and so on. Again, if you're reading this, THAT POSITION IS NOT GOING TO HELP YOU! But that's not the worst thing they do, either...

No, the WORST thing they do is wrap themselves up in The Flag and The Bible- both of which are wonderful things in themselves- and, somehow, convince average working-class Americans to actually support this huge naked theft of our country! They use evil blithering idiots like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, or Fox News (owned by Rupert Murdoch, an obscenely rich man who does not like being taxed or regulated in any way) to outright lie and overtly distort reality into a package that Joe Sixpack will swallow without question.

They've also openly announced that getting rid of President Obama is their #1 priority...and they're perfectly willing to damage the whole country in the process of doing so. They're simply ITCHING to get rid of our long-overdue Health Care reform- a position popular with those who already have health insurance- and they're standing firmly in the way of the meaningful Bank Reforms we desperately need. If President Obama were to find a cure for cancer, these boneheads would be screaming about all the oncologists and morticians he was putting out of work!

ENOUGH ALREADY!

- Try thinking for yourself! Check a few facts! Go use that festering pile of blatant socialism- your Public Library- or get on the internet, and check some things! Think through the things these paleo-Conservative vipers are telling you...are they true, and are they really going to be good for YOU?

- TURN OFF FOX NEWS, for Pete's sake. Get your news from sources that don't come with a pre-set bias, for once...there are still a few out there, you know. Or, watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert...they may be comedy shows, but you'll still FIND MORE TRUTH IN ONE HOUR WITH THEM THAN YOU WILL IN A WHOLE DAY OF FOX NEWS!

- Don't let alleged "people" like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck get stinking rich anymore off of your unwillingness to check facts and ask questions!

- Don't just take the lies and stupidity...speak out against it! It's just amazing how quiet Conservatives get when confronted by solid, indisputable facts. ;-{)

- On election days, get off yer duff and GO VOTE....for just about ANYTHING except one of this current breed of Republicans!

LONG LIVE THE TRUTH!
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

*

Raoul F. Duke

  • Lovable Rogue
  • *****
  • 9569
  • "Be specific if you order the mushrooms!"
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #107 on: January 12, 2012, 09:19:56 AM »
By the way,
I am a rare beast indeed; you're more likely to find a unicorn or a Sasquatch than another like me. Someday you can tell your grandkids you knew one!

I am a Catholic Liberal. I'm NOT a "Liberal Catholic"; that label is used by a sort of a non-Roman Catholic cult group. But I AM a Catholic Liberal...almost an oxymoron like "military intelligence."

I'm pretty much in step with my Church.
An example: Personally I'm pro-Life and hate abortion...but socio-politically I'm pro-Choice; I don't feel entitled to nail my personal religious beliefs onto others. I strongly dislike the "Pro-Life Jihad" element in our Church...they're giving us a bad name in a time when we're, uh...sort of already having a little PR problem. I believe in combating abortion with prayer, not by shooting doctors or pushing baby carriages with bloody baby-dolls or getting in the faces of poor scared, conflicted women who may be heading into Planned Parenthood for very different reasons than an abortion.

Anyway. The Catholics are a pretty conservative lot. I run my local church's Facebook page, and I really have to hold my nose (not to mention my tongue) at some of the stuff people there have on their personal Facebook pages.

It's weird. Jesus was a pretty liberal guy.
A recent scientific study (this is true!) found that people tend to be more liberal, the more extensively they read the Bible.
And I read mine every day.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2012, 09:26:00 AM by Raoul F. Duke »
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

*

George

  • *
  • 6134
    • My view of China
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #108 on: January 12, 2012, 10:41:38 AM »
But do you believe in God?
The higher they fly, the fewer!    http://neilson.aminus3.com/

*

Raoul F. Duke

  • Lovable Rogue
  • *****
  • 9569
  • "Be specific if you order the mushrooms!"
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #109 on: January 12, 2012, 12:01:52 PM »
Of course I do. I've seen him on a number of occasions.
But that's probably a conversation best left for another thread, if not another venue entirely. oooooooooo
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

*

George

  • *
  • 6134
    • My view of China
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #110 on: January 12, 2012, 12:30:42 PM »
That's Ok. Just askin'.
The higher they fly, the fewer!    http://neilson.aminus3.com/

Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #111 on: January 12, 2012, 07:22:06 PM »
I grew up in a very conservative Lutheran church and definitely, due to their stance on abortion, it was suggested that voting for republicans would be the more "godly" way to vote. By the time I was old enough to vote in my first election this had left me with some sense that democrats seemed to have good policy but they didn't really care about my beliefs. Once I learned more about the actual policy behind the propaganda, I felt more or less used by the republican party- that they'd used me for my beliefs to enact whatever policies their donors wanted. I feel like the biggest issue is the politicizing of everything to make people pissed off and unable to discuss anything. If we actually discussed individual issues (save abortion and the like) I think people would realize we all pretty much want similar things. I don't feel like republican candidates actually say anything anymore- a bunch of statements about freedom, war on religion, American values- nothing with any practical application of what they want to do but lots of things to piss people off/make them afraid.

Raoul- you are definitely not the first Catholic Liberal I've run in to (one of them is currently praying for my conversion). Really refreshing to read any Christian-liberal perspective.


*

Raoul F. Duke

  • Lovable Rogue
  • *****
  • 9569
  • "Be specific if you order the mushrooms!"
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #112 on: January 12, 2012, 08:38:48 PM »
Quote
Raoul- you are definitely not the first Catholic Liberal I've run in to...

Really! Well, I'll pray for your conversion. uuuuuuuuuu
Have you encountered a website/Facebook page called "The Christian Left"? (http://www.thechristianleft.org) It's wonderful. I don't agree with everything I see there, but I'm cool with that. So much more is very comfortable for me. It's actually a demonstration of the Christian faith that allows you to keep your brain, contrary to what many think is possible. It appeals to the mind as well as the heart and soul. It's Christianity without snake-handlers, "prosperity gospel" and heavy duns for money, doctor-assassins, inbred yokels carrying signs reading "God Hates Fags", TV preachers with Jiffy-Pop hairdos, obscene excesses of sanctimonious hypocrisy, and all the other extreme non-mainstream crap that quite understandably turns many people away from Christianity. It really doesn't have to be like that.

Anyway.
I did want to clarify one thing in particular. When I stated that
Quote
I believe in combating abortion with prayer, not by shooting doctors or pushing baby carriages with bloody baby-dolls or getting in the faces of poor scared, conflicted women who may be heading into Planned Parenthood for very different reasons than an abortion.
let me make it clear that this is the MAINSTREAM Catholic view. I did not mean to imply that this was something unique to me.

And, sorry. We almost never talk religion around here- with good reason aoaoaoaoao -and I want to keep it that way.
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #113 on: January 13, 2012, 12:51:30 AM »
Having watched the GOP debates and finding them really funny, I must admit I am a little confused about this whole God-business. Maybe it's a European thing, but I can honestly say that when we vote for the schmucks in Parliament and the uber-schmuck, that would be the PM, no-one gives a rats behind about their religious views..weeeelll....if a candidate professes to believe in Anton Szandor Lavey and would like necromancy to be part of the elementary school curriculum, then there might be a problem....Now, I am not trying to cause trouble here but could anyone please explain to me this, as I see it, extremely ambiguous part of American society. Every Christmas and Easter I read news about some group being cheesed off because someone has put up a Christmas tree, a nativity scene, said Happy Easter or some such, since such acts are, apparently, perceived as being preachy...and yet, when it comes to the presidential election, the candidates can't utter one phrase without mentioning God, be it the Mormon, Catholic or Protestant one....Why does it matter which incarnation of God a candidate prays too? I am just being curious here, not out to villify religion or any such nonsense.
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde.

"It's all oojah cum spiffy". Bertie Wooster.
"The stars are God's daisy chain" Madeleine Bassett.

*

Raoul F. Duke

  • Lovable Rogue
  • *****
  • 9569
  • "Be specific if you order the mushrooms!"
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #114 on: January 13, 2012, 02:42:58 AM »
What I was talking about, Eric, was nothing to do with a candidate's beliefs. It doesn't matter much to me.

But it does to a lot of Americans, apparently.
These would be our simple people...our people of the land. You know...morons. ahahahahah
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

*

A-Train

  • *
  • 1281
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #115 on: January 13, 2012, 03:21:10 AM »
I think you've broached two topics.  1) "Why is America and its politicians so 'religious'?" and, 2)" Why do religious people think they are being persecuted for their beliefs?"; especially when they they are in the majority and have so much religious freedom.

You Europeans had your chance to be the religious epicenter of the world and through classism, wars, monarchies and general sinfulness, you blew it. America is the world's fresh start, savior and restorer of religious virginity...you just don't know it.  Europe "strayed from the path" like the Biblical Lost Sheep and God created the New World to right the situation.  To continue America's destiny, (at this point you should read up on "American Exceptionalism), she needs leaders that share this vision of herself. Thus, all political contenders must be firmly rooted in religion, (preferably Protestant), and since a burden of this size cannot be borne in silence, they must make their beliefs public.

Trust me when I say that the above is embraced by most Americans.  I'd like to say that this is restricted to conservative voters, but it would be a vast understatement. 

As to why the extremist portion of the above people believe they are being persecuted by government and atheists?  Well, you can't be truly Christian without a Savior Complex. If you asked 100 Americans if prayer in school is legal, I think well over 90 would say "no", when the reverse is actually true.

"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore attempt the impossible and achieve it, generation after generation.

Pearl S. Buck

*

Raoul F. Duke

  • Lovable Rogue
  • *****
  • 9569
  • "Be specific if you order the mushrooms!"
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #116 on: January 13, 2012, 01:27:48 PM »
Trust me when I say that the above is embraced by most Americans.

I might go for "many", A-Train, but not "most".
It might be accurate to say "most" Americans subscribe to the misconception that our country was founded to be intrinsically a Christian nation; it wasn't...but people here still tend to expect their political leaders to express acceptance of Christianity (or, at least, Judaism). A non-Christian or atheist/agnostic would have a very hard time being elected as President.

Much of the current uproar centers on the fact that candidate Mitt Romney (as well as largely irrelevant candidate Jon Huntsman) is a Mormon. In a big blast of very un-Christian judgment and arrogance, the status of Mormonism as a Christian sect is very much contested by some of the more fundamentalist/evangelical groups. The same thing happened when Catholic John F. Kennedy ran for President back in 1960.

Mormonism, by the way, is of purely American origin and formation...not a holdover from Europe.
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

*

Escaped Lunatic

  • *****
  • 10847
  • Finding new ways to conquer the world
    • EscapedLunatic.com
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #117 on: January 13, 2012, 03:41:25 PM »
As the extremists of the right try to outdo the extremists of the left in the utter stupidity department, the time has come to finally realize that insane times call for insane leadership.

Your choice is simple.  Keep selecting the lesser of two weasels in ever election, or else give your total loyalty to the one person crazy enough to take the reigns of power and drive the world out of this darkness.

ESCAPED LUNATIC FOR EMPEROR!
I'm pro-cloning and we vote!               Why isn't this card colored green?
EscapedLunatic.com

*

A-Train

  • *
  • 1281
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #118 on: January 13, 2012, 05:37:59 PM »
Trust me when I say that the above is embraced by most Americans.

I might go for "many", A-Train, but not "most".  It might be accurate to say "most" Americans subscribe to the misconception that our country was founded to be intrinsically a Christian nation; it wasn't...but people here still tend to expect their political leaders to express acceptance of Christianity...

I'll bet that most American VOTERS believe, basically, what I tried to state.  And there is no doubt that the vast majority of Americans believe in "American Exceptionalism" which is rooted in Christianity.  America is the new "Promised Land" and "The Chosen People".
http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2010/12/poll-americans-believe-american-exceptionalism-not-sure-about-oba
"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore attempt the impossible and achieve it, generation after generation.

Pearl S. Buck

*

George

  • *
  • 6134
    • My view of China
Re: What's in the water in USA?
« Reply #119 on: January 13, 2012, 06:03:09 PM »
Quote
the lesser of two weasels
That's "the lesser of two weevils" EL. ahahahahah
The higher they fly, the fewer!    http://neilson.aminus3.com/