That cosmic hunger for human souls struck mercilessly yesterday in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, killing more than 20,000 and rising. It's been an unspeakably efficient 12-months for natural disaster in South Asia.
Standouts this time include several schools collapsing on hundreds of schoolchildren preparing for lives now pulverized by concrete and debris, their parents shattered with grief. Whole groups of soldiers, large and small, Pakistani and Indian, patrolling the mountains or guarding the border were wiped out. Favorite dishes, taken in big bites.
It's easy to get numb with international news being 24/7, and our being as pathetically helpless as we are against these forces. But when that beast bursts through the thin illusions that permit us to live our daily lives and grabs so many of us in its teeth, shredding and grinding us before we have time to cry out, the survivors must still look up and shake our fists. Go not gently, be angry, protest, never give in to the slaughter and injustice, whatever its source. It will be all too soon that we put this behind us and go back to our lives until the next time.
Bon appetit, Mr. Death.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Saturday, October 08, 2005
The Times: Catholic Church no longer swears by the truth of Bible
At a time when some U.S. politicians and communities want to teach public school children that the Bible's explanation for Creation holds as much water as mainstream science, no less than the Roman Catholic Church is telling its members that not everything in the Bible is historically true .
The fresh air is staggering. Just breathe it in for a few blank lines.
The tales defrocked in a teaching guide issued by the Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland, include the vandalism of Adam to build Eve, descriptions of both the beginning and end of the world, and the particularly vicious claim of Jewish responsibility in the execution of Jesus.
Those who don't care much for, or about, the Catholic Church should take notice. While many liberals and progressives have long viewed the institutional Catholic Church in this country as backward, reactionary, and irrelevant at the top, the Vatican is deeply concerned about the inroads that the Evangelicals have been making among Catholics.
To its credit, the Big V has not chosen to outrun the Evangelicals on fundamentalism -- a good decision because the sex scandals have seriously discredited the priesthood among non-Catholics in this country, and at least embarassed a significant number of Catholic regulars. Going the "hotline to God" claim for Papal authority would not be a credible strategy.
The Vatican has a longer view of its business, and has noticed that the Evangelicals have trotted past them on the weakest limb of Christianity. Catholics have spent a lot of time on that limb and learned a thing or two. Faith is critical to religion, and people are willing to believe many things in its name, but DO NOT expect educated people to believe things that can be proven false.
The man who was charged with steering the Church through the sex scandals is displaying the "Candor" card. Priests are people, and the Bible is not all true. Mindless fundamentalism is wrong.
That said, of course, the document goes on to affirm the Virgin Birth and the proof of the bodily resurrection of Christ. Not to worry though, they may be betting that science just hasn't caught up to proving Mary was a functional hermaphrodite.
Implied concessions can include:
The fresh air is staggering. Just breathe it in for a few blank lines.
The tales defrocked in a teaching guide issued by the Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland, include the vandalism of Adam to build Eve, descriptions of both the beginning and end of the world, and the particularly vicious claim of Jewish responsibility in the execution of Jesus.
Those who don't care much for, or about, the Catholic Church should take notice. While many liberals and progressives have long viewed the institutional Catholic Church in this country as backward, reactionary, and irrelevant at the top, the Vatican is deeply concerned about the inroads that the Evangelicals have been making among Catholics.
To its credit, the Big V has not chosen to outrun the Evangelicals on fundamentalism -- a good decision because the sex scandals have seriously discredited the priesthood among non-Catholics in this country, and at least embarassed a significant number of Catholic regulars. Going the "hotline to God" claim for Papal authority would not be a credible strategy.
The Vatican has a longer view of its business, and has noticed that the Evangelicals have trotted past them on the weakest limb of Christianity. Catholics have spent a lot of time on that limb and learned a thing or two. Faith is critical to religion, and people are willing to believe many things in its name, but DO NOT expect educated people to believe things that can be proven false.
The man who was charged with steering the Church through the sex scandals is displaying the "Candor" card. Priests are people, and the Bible is not all true. Mindless fundamentalism is wrong.
That said, of course, the document goes on to affirm the Virgin Birth and the proof of the bodily resurrection of Christ. Not to worry though, they may be betting that science just hasn't caught up to proving Mary was a functional hermaphrodite.
Implied concessions can include:
- God didn't write the Bible, or at least all of it.
- The author, authors, or whoever, did not want or expect the Bible to be used for purposes for it was not intended.
- There were human editors with not-so-benign intentions.
Maybe some religious info in schools won't hurt
Also in The Times, Christian charity is sending a film about the Christmas story to every primary school in Britain. Steve Legg, head of the The Breakout Trust, said: “There are over 12 million children in the UK and only 756,000 of them go to church regularly.
That may be the problem. It's hard not to sympathize, though: The effort was prompted by hearing that a young boy had asked his primary school teacher why Mary and Joseph had named their baby after a swear word.
Pope wants proof of celibacy from new gay priests
It's not a pretty picture.
Later this month, instructions are issuing from the Vatican aimed at the heads of Catholic semenaries around the world requiring thatgay candidates demonstrate that they have been celibate for three years. Jesus Christ!
The Vatican knows better than anyone that it's nearly impossible to prove a negative, so there must be an electronic chastity belt available similar to the electronic shackles that Martha Stewart learned to remove.
No fools, the Vatican, the tighter strictures state that would-be priests will also be excluded if they declare homosexuality publicly, take part in gay rallies, frequent gay associations, show an interest in homosexuality through the use of the internet, books and films, or maintain a music collection that includes Ricky Martin or Barbra Streisand. Cable television may not be explicitly banned -- stay tuned!
Later this month, instructions are issuing from the Vatican aimed at the heads of Catholic semenaries around the world requiring that
The Vatican knows better than anyone that it's nearly impossible to prove a negative, so there must be an electronic chastity belt available similar to the electronic shackles that Martha Stewart learned to remove.
No fools, the Vatican, the tighter strictures state that would-be priests will also be excluded if they declare homosexuality publicly, take part in gay rallies, frequent gay associations, show an interest in homosexuality through the use of the internet, books and films, or maintain a music collection that includes Ricky Martin or Barbra Streisand. Cable television may not be explicitly banned -- stay tuned!
Friday, October 07, 2005
Cuckoo's Nest, Pt.2: No Fetus Left Behind
George W. Bush may be in trouble with his employer again, so it might be worthwhile to extend my last entry's analysis of his potential avian flu response.
President Bush’s first term was defined by 9/11 and his bold response to it, his vow to track down the terrorists wherever they were and do them in, to make sure the America (and he) would never again be caught unaware by anti-freedom America-hating killers sneaking in our back door. The pre-emptive strike against Saddam Hussein and Iraq was a no-brainer for him, 9/11 being a warning to him (and message from Him) that all was not well and that he had to go well beyond rooting out the thugs who actually carried out the attacks. Even if Saddam Hussein hadn’t been involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, it wasn’t for lack of desire.
Right now, there is a significant and vocal group of anti-abortion Republican politicians suggesting that his nomination of Harriet E. Miers is a betrayal of 30 to 40 years of hard work by the very people who elected him as an opponent of Roe v. Wade. An opportunity to put a bullet behind the ear of the baby-killing judicial decision was handed to him, and he shied away. An extraordinary failure to fulfill his mission as God’s President would weigh very heavily on him if the criticism became more vocal at the grass-roots level and he came face-to-face with angry Christians carrying placards calling his faith into question.
If Ms. Miers passes the confirmation process but dissatisfies the Right-to-Lifers to the degree that they start pulling their support, be prepared for Bush’s characteristic overcorrection. He does not want his legacy to be that he failed to protect Americans from terrorists, incompetent bureaucrats, and murderers of the unborn.
That whole "the Education President" image he had initially wanted wasn't working out anyhow. Educating the underclasses in math and reading could just deliver them into the hands of Empirical Science and Satan, and he certainly doesn't want to be remembered for THAT.
President Bush’s first term was defined by 9/11 and his bold response to it, his vow to track down the terrorists wherever they were and do them in, to make sure the America (and he) would never again be caught unaware by anti-freedom America-hating killers sneaking in our back door. The pre-emptive strike against Saddam Hussein and Iraq was a no-brainer for him, 9/11 being a warning to him (and message from Him) that all was not well and that he had to go well beyond rooting out the thugs who actually carried out the attacks. Even if Saddam Hussein hadn’t been involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, it wasn’t for lack of desire.
Right now, there is a significant and vocal group of anti-abortion Republican politicians suggesting that his nomination of Harriet E. Miers is a betrayal of 30 to 40 years of hard work by the very people who elected him as an opponent of Roe v. Wade. An opportunity to put a bullet behind the ear of the baby-killing judicial decision was handed to him, and he shied away. An extraordinary failure to fulfill his mission as God’s President would weigh very heavily on him if the criticism became more vocal at the grass-roots level and he came face-to-face with angry Christians carrying placards calling his faith into question.
If Ms. Miers passes the confirmation process but dissatisfies the Right-to-Lifers to the degree that they start pulling their support, be prepared for Bush’s characteristic overcorrection. He does not want his legacy to be that he failed to protect Americans from terrorists, incompetent bureaucrats, and murderers of the unborn.
That whole "the Education President" image he had initially wanted wasn't working out anyhow. Educating the underclasses in math and reading could just deliver them into the hands of Empirical Science and Satan, and he certainly doesn't want to be remembered for THAT.
One Flu Over The Cuckoo's Nest
It is not Bush-bashing to consider the ramifications of President Bush’s remarks earlier this week that he is considering using the military to enforce quarantines in the event an avian flu breaks out in the United States. All of those escaped-virus/bacteria-from-space flicks could play out as news on CNN: the Army ringing a metropolitan area, tanks firing shells into speeding SUV’s, a rocket vaporizing a traffic helicopter that strays out of the quarantined airspace, families caught in razor wire or cut down by automatic weapons fire while trying to slip through the cordon to safety even though they are already doomed by exposure to the deadly virus. Meanwhile, chemical-dusting aircraft crisscross the skies to kill every insect and bird within the quarantine and beyond.
Perhaps this is an alarmist vision, silly and naïve, an overreaction to the kind of media hysteria that tabloids have turned mundane. Maybe not. What makes the President’s remarks so interesting, however, is the swiftness with which he has absorbed the public lashing from his Katrina leadership failure and transformed it into his “We will do better” policy.
Say what you will about the men who surround him, but Bush is frighteningly sincere about his duty to the American people when it comes to life and death. Regardless the wisdom of his objectives and strategies, when caught flat-footed he treats the event as if he'd dozed off on his God-given guard duty. God has shined his flashlight into his eyes and all around him is disarray. He's stunned at first, not quite free of the fog of sleep, but he realizes he has fucked up big time. As his wits return, and the burn of guilt sears his heart [yes, I mean that], he vows “never again” and applies himself, or perhaps overcompensates, with a vengeance.
Perhaps he really did need to visit New Orleans several times a week after all of the bad press to micromanage efforts in order to convince everyone there that his Administration was really there finally and that he’d make sure they were taken care of, and could they now please shut up. He was all over Hurricane Rita after it passed over the Keys, so he was able to show right away that it was Michael Brown’s fault that New Orleans turned out so badly.
By now it is well-documented that after 9/11 and quick fall of the Taliban government, GWB jumped the gun on invading Iraq on the grounds that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction. Saddam had bragged that he had the weapons, even if he denied having them now, and waiting any longer for additional intelligence was just playing into the hands of a known liar. The rubble at Ground Zero was proof enough that waiting was a fool’s game.
“The best way to deal with a pandemic is to isolate it and keep it isolated in the region in which it begins,” President Bush explained during the news conference.
I’m much less prone toward praying than I used to be, but I’m praying for a mild flu season this year. These days one never knows the weight of an ounce of prevention.
Perhaps this is an alarmist vision, silly and naïve, an overreaction to the kind of media hysteria that tabloids have turned mundane. Maybe not. What makes the President’s remarks so interesting, however, is the swiftness with which he has absorbed the public lashing from his Katrina leadership failure and transformed it into his “We will do better” policy.
Say what you will about the men who surround him, but Bush is frighteningly sincere about his duty to the American people when it comes to life and death. Regardless the wisdom of his objectives and strategies, when caught flat-footed he treats the event as if he'd dozed off on his God-given guard duty. God has shined his flashlight into his eyes and all around him is disarray. He's stunned at first, not quite free of the fog of sleep, but he realizes he has fucked up big time. As his wits return, and the burn of guilt sears his heart [yes, I mean that], he vows “never again” and applies himself, or perhaps overcompensates, with a vengeance.
Perhaps he really did need to visit New Orleans several times a week after all of the bad press to micromanage efforts in order to convince everyone there that his Administration was really there finally and that he’d make sure they were taken care of, and could they now please shut up. He was all over Hurricane Rita after it passed over the Keys, so he was able to show right away that it was Michael Brown’s fault that New Orleans turned out so badly.
By now it is well-documented that after 9/11 and quick fall of the Taliban government, GWB jumped the gun on invading Iraq on the grounds that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction. Saddam had bragged that he had the weapons, even if he denied having them now, and waiting any longer for additional intelligence was just playing into the hands of a known liar. The rubble at Ground Zero was proof enough that waiting was a fool’s game.
“The best way to deal with a pandemic is to isolate it and keep it isolated in the region in which it begins,” President Bush explained during the news conference.
I’m much less prone toward praying than I used to be, but I’m praying for a mild flu season this year. These days one never knows the weight of an ounce of prevention.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Science and Fire, Religion and Hell-Fire
It struck me last week when I caught the tail-end of the brouhaha surrounding the hiring of the New York City Fire Department's new Islamic chaplain, or rather, the remarks he made to Newsday about the 9/11 WTC collapse, that it was a perfect illustration of why we teach science in public schools but not religion.
In case you were out of town or have simply learned to ignore sheer stupidity, Imam Intikab Habib told Newsday in a phone interview that he doubted the U.S. government's official story blaming 19 hijackers associated with al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden for the 9/11 terror attacks , and suggested a broader conspiracy may have been responsible for destroying the World Trade Center and killing more than 2,700 people.
Such opinions are apparently common in the Muslim community, as the imam cited widely disseminated video and news reports. "I've heard professionals say that nowhere ever in history did a steel building come down with fire alone," he said. "It takes two or three weeks to demolish a building like that. But it was pulled down in a couple of hours. Was it 19 hijackers who brought it down, or was it a conspiracy?"
Did I say something about "sheer stupidity"? This kind of thinking is as American as apple pie.
Habib's remarks are perfectly consistent with a somewhat rational belief system in that community that Westerners are at least suspicious if not downright hostile to the Muslim world and that Western news reports are likely to be slanted against them before there is a fair presentation of facts, if ever. Such a belief system has undoubtedly been built from some previous cultural experience and reinforced by the instinct for self-preservation -- as is the West's suspicion and hostility toward the Muslim world. Let's face it, there's some pretty serious history between the two.
When not being used to construct evermore devastating weapons for annihilating Humanity, Science has extraordinary opportunity to promote understanding and peace. This is because "belief" is not a component of Science. It is based on measurable, repeatable observation. You don't believe someone's explanation, you do the experiment yourself and observe the outcome. It works in all languages regardless of religion. People ignore it at their peril, and employ it to put their enemies at THEIR peril. Superstition always yields to demonstrated science.
We teach science so that our children learn to look to the verifiable facts of the physical world before turning to an unprovable, non-objective world of religion for explanations. We should encourage other cultures to do the same. There is plenty of room for God outside of the lesson plan. "Intelligent Design" is not new, just its promotion as "alternative science." Promoting the practice of supporting beliefs over empirical evidence feeds into the cultural groupthink caused by the repetition of unobjective media reports flashed around the world.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said once he heard about Habib's remarks he couldn't see how the imam could become a chaplain in a department that lost 343 firefighters on 9/11. I don't see how he could let that guy back out on the street without showing him at least some of the information and video we've got on different kinds of fire, of accelerants and arson. I even recall that maybe ten years ago there were arson fires being reported nationwide that were suspected of using rocket propellant because they were so hot that metal actually burned -- and with it all evidence of arson.
Instead, we've got another Muslim community leader who's going back with a story about being forced out of his job because of his beliefs. "He was recommended to us by our Islamic Society," said Scoppetta. "He was interviewed by one of our senior chaplains. He has quite an education, and that seemed to qualify him."
Sanctioning "belief" or "faith" over science is anti-education, perhaps even anti-social. Science doesn't run roughshod over religion where religion and faith have exclusive domain, so Religion is hardly inferior to Science. Teachers should make a point of expressing that, and if a child finds it confusing, that's okay and a good sign. Creation is not a quick study.
In case you were out of town or have simply learned to ignore sheer stupidity, Imam Intikab Habib told Newsday in a phone interview that he doubted the U.S. government's official story blaming 19 hijackers associated with al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden for the 9/11 terror attacks , and suggested a broader conspiracy may have been responsible for destroying the World Trade Center and killing more than 2,700 people.
Such opinions are apparently common in the Muslim community, as the imam cited widely disseminated video and news reports. "I've heard professionals say that nowhere ever in history did a steel building come down with fire alone," he said. "It takes two or three weeks to demolish a building like that. But it was pulled down in a couple of hours. Was it 19 hijackers who brought it down, or was it a conspiracy?"
Did I say something about "sheer stupidity"? This kind of thinking is as American as apple pie.
Habib's remarks are perfectly consistent with a somewhat rational belief system in that community that Westerners are at least suspicious if not downright hostile to the Muslim world and that Western news reports are likely to be slanted against them before there is a fair presentation of facts, if ever. Such a belief system has undoubtedly been built from some previous cultural experience and reinforced by the instinct for self-preservation -- as is the West's suspicion and hostility toward the Muslim world. Let's face it, there's some pretty serious history between the two.
When not being used to construct evermore devastating weapons for annihilating Humanity, Science has extraordinary opportunity to promote understanding and peace. This is because "belief" is not a component of Science. It is based on measurable, repeatable observation. You don't believe someone's explanation, you do the experiment yourself and observe the outcome. It works in all languages regardless of religion. People ignore it at their peril, and employ it to put their enemies at THEIR peril. Superstition always yields to demonstrated science.
We teach science so that our children learn to look to the verifiable facts of the physical world before turning to an unprovable, non-objective world of religion for explanations. We should encourage other cultures to do the same. There is plenty of room for God outside of the lesson plan. "Intelligent Design" is not new, just its promotion as "alternative science." Promoting the practice of supporting beliefs over empirical evidence feeds into the cultural groupthink caused by the repetition of unobjective media reports flashed around the world.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said once he heard about Habib's remarks he couldn't see how the imam could become a chaplain in a department that lost 343 firefighters on 9/11. I don't see how he could let that guy back out on the street without showing him at least some of the information and video we've got on different kinds of fire, of accelerants and arson. I even recall that maybe ten years ago there were arson fires being reported nationwide that were suspected of using rocket propellant because they were so hot that metal actually burned -- and with it all evidence of arson.
Instead, we've got another Muslim community leader who's going back with a story about being forced out of his job because of his beliefs. "He was recommended to us by our Islamic Society," said Scoppetta. "He was interviewed by one of our senior chaplains. He has quite an education, and that seemed to qualify him."
Sanctioning "belief" or "faith" over science is anti-education, perhaps even anti-social. Science doesn't run roughshod over religion where religion and faith have exclusive domain, so Religion is hardly inferior to Science. Teachers should make a point of expressing that, and if a child finds it confusing, that's okay and a good sign. Creation is not a quick study.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
The Lessons of Katrina
I have to confess that I was far too appalled by the mismanagement of the Katrina relief efforts, and the conditions under which her victims had to struggle to survive, to comment on the thrill of tracking a Class 5 hurricane bearing down on unprotected low-land populations with nowhere to flee, hearing the mayor call it the one they've always feared and run-for-your-lives, and oh God won't you please spare these poor people's lives without weakening the media value of yet another natural catastrophe, unless you have no other choice that is, and the TV reporters gleefully relating the breakthrough story that will surely help them get the big network or anchor job.
And then falling for the mayor's and media's assessment that they'd escaped the worst and that only one or two levees may have breached, not realizing that breaching a single levee is like slashing an artery, feeling assured that loss of life was minimal and half-secretly disappointed that it was not more. Although I did recall that the Mississippi coastline was not some unpopulated wasteland and that plenty of retirees moved there.
Katrina turned out to be far worse within hours, and while cannibilistic gangs did not rape, pillage and gorge, my media lust was clearly a factor in the following chaos and the subsequent inducement for Rita to pile on. For this, there is only one course of action I can take to mitigate the damage to my karma.
Yes, I take full responsibility for the destructiveness of the hurricanes and for the incompetence and ineffectiveness of the rescue and relief efforts at all levels of government. The suck stops here.
Some people may say, "Too little, too late." To those unwilling to put aside the partisan Blame Game and focus on getting it right despite my previous lapses, I can only add that there is peril to their souls and hell to pay for the economy in the upcoming corporate bankruptcies, federal deficits and insurance bailouts/copouts, and that boy-did-this-come-at-an-inconvenient-time war. The shit is hitting the fan and it's too late to duck.
The least I can do is help identify the lessons to be learned from the Katrina experience. Which reminds me:
1. Michael Brown: If you're going to exaggerate your experience and credentials, at least stay at a Holiday Inn Express.
2. The results of Bush's "No Guardsmen Left Behind" policy are in, and like his education initiative it has been grossly underfunded.
3. A rising tide lifts all boats. Cardboard is right out.
4. The poor will always be with us. I mean on Earth, not literally "with" us -- unless you have relatives visiting from New Orleans.
5. Take a Chevy to the levee, at the levee you'll drown.
6. Make sure your attic is at least 20 feet above sea level. Make sure it stays that way in the next decade.
7. God will provide. You just never know what.
8. Shotguns and ammo, potable water, shotguns and ammo, canned goods, shotguns and ammo, and bodybag-sized ziplock bags. It's a hard rain.
And then falling for the mayor's and media's assessment that they'd escaped the worst and that only one or two levees may have breached, not realizing that breaching a single levee is like slashing an artery, feeling assured that loss of life was minimal and half-secretly disappointed that it was not more. Although I did recall that the Mississippi coastline was not some unpopulated wasteland and that plenty of retirees moved there.
Katrina turned out to be far worse within hours, and while cannibilistic gangs did not rape, pillage and gorge, my media lust was clearly a factor in the following chaos and the subsequent inducement for Rita to pile on. For this, there is only one course of action I can take to mitigate the damage to my karma.
Yes, I take full responsibility for the destructiveness of the hurricanes and for the incompetence and ineffectiveness of the rescue and relief efforts at all levels of government. The suck stops here.
Some people may say, "Too little, too late." To those unwilling to put aside the partisan Blame Game and focus on getting it right despite my previous lapses, I can only add that there is peril to their souls and hell to pay for the economy in the upcoming corporate bankruptcies, federal deficits and insurance bailouts/copouts, and that boy-did-this-come-at-an-inconvenient-time war. The shit is hitting the fan and it's too late to duck.
The least I can do is help identify the lessons to be learned from the Katrina experience. Which reminds me:
1. Michael Brown: If you're going to exaggerate your experience and credentials, at least stay at a Holiday Inn Express.
2. The results of Bush's "No Guardsmen Left Behind" policy are in, and like his education initiative it has been grossly underfunded.
3. A rising tide lifts all boats. Cardboard is right out.
4. The poor will always be with us. I mean on Earth, not literally "with" us -- unless you have relatives visiting from New Orleans.
5. Take a Chevy to the levee, at the levee you'll drown.
6. Make sure your attic is at least 20 feet above sea level. Make sure it stays that way in the next decade.
7. God will provide. You just never know what.
8. Shotguns and ammo, potable water, shotguns and ammo, canned goods, shotguns and ammo, and bodybag-sized ziplock bags. It's a hard rain.
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