Bush baiting
I've had a couple of fairly pointy questions from concerned citizens since I posted some equally pointy stuff about this whole Dubya situation to the Topica lists. Including this piece, which seems to have popped up in a few other places. (Caveat: I was pretty upset when I wrote this and my vocabulary got a little heated in places).
For the record #1 (in case it isn't immediately obvious): the guy scares me. He says scary things, has done scary stuff, and has publicly committed to do more of the same.
It's hard to remain calm when you read things like this: "...the greatest hope for the poor is not found in "reform" but in "redemption." In other words, religious belief"
For the record #2: FWIW, lest anyone get the wrong idea, and because I'm tired of answering the question - yes, I'm a Catholic. A badly lapsed one, but I still consider myself in general terms both a Catholic and, in general terms, a believer. I've no great beef with religious belief, per se. Even when those beliefs have boiled over into rabid God bothering. Yes, some of my best friends are avid Christians. They don't bug me about having fallen off the candle, and I don't bug them. Live and let live.
But I do have a HUGE problem when the President-by-default of the most powerful nation on the planet starts blurring the lines between Church and State. These are lines that just don't need blurring. Period. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and keep God the blinking flip out of it.
I mean, really, how can this statement be considered a reasonable (or even rational) position for a senior advisor to the President:
"Mr. Olasky and his followers believe that poverty is not caused by a lack of money, but by a lack of moral values on behalf of the poor."
Ah yes, of course, that must be the reason. Victorian missionary values are clearly the answer to the third world's economic troubles. I see it now, how could I have been so blind? Solid moral character can overcome drought, disease & crop failure every time. If only the people of Ethiopia truly believed in Mr. Olasky's God...
"...poverty is not caused by a lack of money"
No matter how hard I shake my head, I can't pry loose any sense in that statement.
I've had a couple of fairly pointy questions from concerned citizens since I posted some equally pointy stuff about this whole Dubya situation to the Topica lists. Including this piece, which seems to have popped up in a few other places. (Caveat: I was pretty upset when I wrote this and my vocabulary got a little heated in places).
For the record #1 (in case it isn't immediately obvious): the guy scares me. He says scary things, has done scary stuff, and has publicly committed to do more of the same.
It's hard to remain calm when you read things like this: "...the greatest hope for the poor is not found in "reform" but in "redemption." In other words, religious belief"
For the record #2: FWIW, lest anyone get the wrong idea, and because I'm tired of answering the question - yes, I'm a Catholic. A badly lapsed one, but I still consider myself in general terms both a Catholic and, in general terms, a believer. I've no great beef with religious belief, per se. Even when those beliefs have boiled over into rabid God bothering. Yes, some of my best friends are avid Christians. They don't bug me about having fallen off the candle, and I don't bug them. Live and let live.
But I do have a HUGE problem when the President-by-default of the most powerful nation on the planet starts blurring the lines between Church and State. These are lines that just don't need blurring. Period. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and keep God the blinking flip out of it.
I mean, really, how can this statement be considered a reasonable (or even rational) position for a senior advisor to the President:
"Mr. Olasky and his followers believe that poverty is not caused by a lack of money, but by a lack of moral values on behalf of the poor."
Ah yes, of course, that must be the reason. Victorian missionary values are clearly the answer to the third world's economic troubles. I see it now, how could I have been so blind? Solid moral character can overcome drought, disease & crop failure every time. If only the people of Ethiopia truly believed in Mr. Olasky's God...
"...poverty is not caused by a lack of money"
No matter how hard I shake my head, I can't pry loose any sense in that statement.
