FREEDOM TO MOCK

No, I don't mean to say that people should run about using the democratic freedom to mock to insult people, telling mothers "Your baby is really ugly! or "Ha ha, that person is grossly obese."

What I am trying to do is to mock (rather ineptly) Polital Correctness. I strongly feel that Political Correctness, by politicizing what some feel is honoring the beliefs of others, and on and on, in a dangerous attempt to relieve Americans of one of the most precious of their - our - constitutional rights.

So a fool named Terry Jones announced he wants to burn the Koran. So what? To do so might be idiotic, and insulting to many, but it is not a crime. So what has our president and the media done, in their infinite wisdom? They have given the publicity-starved Pastor Jones all the attention he could dream of, as the world waits with bated breath -- will he or won't he?

Wouldn't it be more effective for the president and the media to ignore him and to let him burn, or not, as he pleases, as he tries to prolong his few minutes of fame (or infamy)?

This is just what America-haters and their frightened or brain-washed followers needed in order to cry, "Hatred of Islam is on the rise in America!" and call a conference to discuss this problem. By giving attention to the Jones incident we have given fodder to the terrorists.

By the way, have you noticed that many American Muslims are only too ready to portray themselves as victims of religious hatred? But how often have heard protests from them decrying Taliban and Al-Qaeda acts? Perhaps ordinary people are afraid to speak up for fear of reprisal by terrorists. But not even many of the organizations of Muslims in this country are on record for making public pronouncements that Jihad should not be the way of a holy people. Which one of them has publicly denounced the Taliban and Al-Qaeda? Instead, we learn that even the organizations* that deny that they have ever encouraged violence despite evidence to the contrary, have complained of harassment by security officials in this country.

I am not suggesting anything distasteful as a loyalty Oath, but I would like to read some convincing statements of repugnance toward Jihad from the Muslim community.


*Taibah International Aid Association, World Assembly of Muslim Youth International or WAMY, both directed by Anwar Hajjaj. See New York Post article 9/19/2010.conference to discuss this problem. By giving attention to the Jones incident we have given fodder to the terrorists.

By the way, have you noticed that many American Muslims are only too ready to portray themselves as victims of religious hatred? But how often have heard protests from them decrying Taliban and Al-Qaeda acts? Perhaps ordinary people are afraid to speak up for fear of reprisal by terrorists. But not even many of the organizations of Muslims in this country are on record for making public pronouncements that Jihad should not be the way of a holy people. Which one of them has publicly denounced the Taliban and Al-Qaeda? Instead, we learn that even the organizations* that deny that they have ever encouraged violence despite evidence to the contrary, have complained of harassment by security officials in this country.

I am not suggesting anything distasteful as a loyalty Oath, but I would like to read some convincing statements of repugnance toward Jihad from the Muslim community.


*Taibah International Aid Association, World Assembly of Muslim Youth International or WAMY, both directed by Anwar Hajjaj. See New York Post article 9/19/2010.

PLEASE KEEP GERMANY FROM MORE SUFFERING

ACHTUNG!
Germany Cries Out for Our Help!
Keep The Fatherland Fat!


Does anyone realize that Germany is suffering? Are you aware, sitting in your comfortable homes watching your plasma television sets, that people in Germany are starving?

But more importantly there are many Germans living below the poverty level set by the government. Unlike the time after World War I when inflation was killing them and they had to fill wheel barrows with useless deutsche marks just trying to buy enough to put food on the table, today many German families don't even have enough euros to fill a wheelbarrow, let alone own one.

Will someone please tell me why people in the Civilized World are sitting around bellyaching about starvation in Darfur, Namibia, or Eritrea. Naturally we feel bad about that. But when Germans are suffering we must sit up and take notice. Unlike people in the aforementioned unfortunate countries in Africa, the Germans will not just sit around complaining, or merely start exterminating those who annoy them. No, they will do something to alleviate their own distress. They will reopen the military-industrial arms complex -- they have the will and the know-how. They will soon be seen in Poland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and not just as slightly pushy tourists. No, they'll be wearing boots which definitely won't be Uggs.

Please, I implore you, warn your neighbors, teach your children, rent old war movies, buy Volkswagens, and above all refresh your memories -- when Germans suffer, it is the rest of the world must pay the piper!

Join me and thousands of others in contributing to the KEEP GERMANY CONTENTED FUND. It's worth your life to be alert now.





http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090525/wl_time/08599190064900

PARABLE OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS

The Unrighteous live in the village of Blinkham, part of a small principality nestled among snow-capped mountains. There is very little industry and manufacturing. The people engage mainly in herding goats and making exquisite cheeses so delicate that they cannot be exported and which they wrap in leaves of fragrant herbs and sell in the market square. There are abundant orchards of fruit of the pome variety which are suitable to the northern climate.

Artisans create whatever they need for practical, aesthetic, and spiritual purposes.

But a few generations ago these simple folk suffered a terrible tribulation. It rose from relations with several church employees gifted in ecclesiastical music. They were an organist, two zither players, a choirmaster, and a flautist (who was the principal trouble maker). The church musicians were always highly esteemed in the village and well-treated. Their wages were not high but almost as high as the schoolmaster’s. They also received living quarters (each was provided with a well-built chalet) and all the cheese they wanted, as well as quince jelly and a quantity of sharp cider made from pears.

But they were not content. The flautist persuaded them that their wages were not consistent with their talents or up to the prevailing rate in the principality. Under his influence they demanded collective bargaining , but the town council (which also oversaw the church) refused to come to the table. It was fruit harvesting time and they were too busy. They suggested the matter be postponed until the winter and perhaps they would agree to provide a goat or two every year to each musician.

The musicians were enraged at this treatment. They listened to the plan of the flautist which seemed worthwhile to them as it included both vengeance and profit. Details were worked out to the agreement of all. The group announced that they had made arrangements to give the children a treat. They would take them on a picnic on the nearby slopes. Parental consent was given and on the next Saturday morning the children lined up outside the church and gaily headed off for their treat.

Late that day as the parents were wondering why the children were so late returning, a small boy limped into town and told them the horrible news. As the children approached the pass leading into the next valley they were told to leave the trail and follow the musicians to the entrance of a cave. The young boy, in his difficulty in keeping up, tripped and fell, and to his horror watched as the singing children, following the flautist playing his instrument, were led into the cave, immediately after which the musicians emerged, and using levers, rolled a giant boulder into the entrance, completely blocking it. The young boy watched as the musicians disappeared over the mountain, unaware that he was lying on the ground nearby, bruised and sobbing.

Frightened and sore he made his way home alone. The parents, on hearing this tale, and knowing of the cave near the pass, immediately made their way there and tried to move the boulder. It would not budge, however, and seemed cemented in place. They decided to hold a meeting in the village hall to decide their next step. The schoolmaster had a suggestion. At that time a large overseas country had sent special forces to fight terrorists in the small principality. He suggested that they would have the equipment to move the boulder and set off to contact the military forces.

In a few weeks’ time he returned with a tactical attache and a squad of demolition experts with great experience in blasting into blocked caves and they set to work. The parents requested that they be careful not to hurt the children within and the experts said they would try not to, but they might be a bit stunned.

It was not long before the squad succeeded in unblocking the entrance. They entered with weapons drawn and in a short time returned leading the blinking, confused children into the daylight and into the arms of their joyful parents.

For a while the townspeople, overjoyed at being reunited with their children, did not notice anything amiss. But soon they began to feel uneasy. Their children had begun exhibiting behavior unlike anything their parents had seen. They were strangely quiet and docile. They never laughed or sang or played loud music which in the past had brought on migraine attacks in their elders, or gleefully danced the rhythmic, stomping steps which they had loved. Although strangely obedient in performing their chores they did not hesitate to rebuke their parents for what they called “unseemly” or “unholy” behavior. They were also strangely familiar with the Book of Truth, upon which their religion was based, quoting from it with great facility.

When one father, in a state of high spirits, burst out in the lusty yodeling for which their land was world-renowned, his daughter stopped him, saying, “Sing not in the voice of braying asses, for the Lord of All despiseth falsettos. Hepsipah, 6:8”. And when a wife criticized her husband for not wiping his shoes after returning home from milking the goats, their son cried, “Speak not, woman, in tones of displeasure to your husband and master, for a woman is born to serve and obey, smile and be silent. Chronicles of Abjah, 8:11-12”. And once, when engaged couples, enjoying some fine weather, spontaneously began whirling and capering in their distinctive native dance, some youths cried out, “Dance not in this valley of tears or thou shalt dance for eternity in the fires of Beldoroath, Hezekinad, 12:4”.

Amazed, the parents, who had never seen their children voluntarily reading the Book, asked them how they now seemed to have read it from cover to cover. Oh, no, the ever truthful children told them, they had never done so, but had been provided with pages of quotations extracted from the Book of Truth which they had to memorize and quote when appropriate. When asked who had so instructed them they answered, "Our shepherds,” and more than that they would not say.

Even worse, the children, who dutifully attended school, would now disrupt classes throughout the day with demands to pray. When the schoolmaster ordered them not to interrupt their studies as they had plenty of time to pray in church or at home after finishing their chores, they became irate, pointed their fingers at him, and shouted, "Tool of the Evil One.”

Outraged and worried, the people again sent the schoolmaster to the Special Forces to inform him that the children who had emerged from the cave were not the ones who had so merrily left home that fateful morning. They demanded that their own children be returned to them. The schoolmaster returned to the village with a message from the Tactical Attache. In it he told them that when they had rescued the children his men had secured a large cache of documents from the cave. From them their experts had learned that the church musicians had been in the employ of a group of terrorists known as “The Righteous.” These people who were trying to pass off their irrational and dangerous beliefs as being grounded in The Book of Truth were attempting to take over the principality by various legal and illegal means, including the control of the minds of children.

The children were taught that the Book was totally without error or contradictions and every word must be believed at peril of losing their immortal souls. No questioning or suggestion that anything in it could be interpreted symbolically, as poetry, or in the context of the time of its writing was tolerated and other groups holding even slightly different beliefs were cursed and told they were apostates headed for eternal damnation. The Lord of All was vengeful and imposed dreadful punishments on his beloved children if they strayed. Complete obedience to their pastors or “shepherds” was demanded at all times. No real friendship or close relationships were possible among the believers because they were instructed to listen for heretical ideas and inform on their friends and relations.

The Tactical Attache further informed them that the Special Forces were well on their way to completely rooting out cells of the Righteous throughout the land but there still remained the battle to cleanse the children and others of their strange teachings and keep them from spreading. He did not, however, explain to the parents how they were to do that.


The desperate parents, however, held a meeting and arrived at some ideas for turning their children back into the carefree, playful youths they had been. For example, when a child rebuked others with quotations from the Book, the parents would shout, “Don’t take it literally!”

Fathers played concertinas constantly in desperate efforts to induce their children to regain their childhood. Sometimes the children’s limbs would begin twitching and feet would begin rhythmically stomping, until at times, distraught at such unholy behavior, the children would fall on the floor and roll about pitifully.

Then the schoolmaster was sent again as an envoy to the Special Forces to request help in this dire situation. The Tactical Attache assigned a staff sergeant to help out. She told the schoolmaster, “Tell your people that I will design an after-school program that will have those kids acting like their normal, boisterous selves in no time.”

In a few days the staff sergeant arrived with a truckload of equipment. She began teaching the children athletic activities and at first met with resistance. However they were soon awed by her military bearing and kindhearted but firm pursuasiveness. Soon they were playing soccer, badminton, jogging around a track, and running races. When the parents heard their boisterous shouting from the playing fields they joyously raised their voices in thanks to the Lord of All.

And the people from then on lived contentedly in their beautiful valley.

U N S T A B L E K A R M A

What a strange, stressful and wonderful year I have had. I am not sure whether the good and bad balanced each other out. I only know that the bad was painful and in some cases I am still dealing with it, and the good was often completely unexpected and surprising.

As to the good things that have happened, finding a nice apartment in a great neighborhood, thanks to someone in town who knows this area well. I am glad I've kept in touch with him. He is also very funny and makes me laugh.

Then there are several separate instances of money coming in to grace my bank account. The most unexpected, and smallest example is that involving changing the address on my cable tv account and being told that the former tenant left a balance in his account when he moved and this tidy little sum was transferred to my account. The only other tenants here are a very friendly young couple who have been very helpful to me.

There is also a lawsuit with a titan of American finance and a communication from my attorney that they have finally agreed to settle. I'll let you know if the attorney and some other creditors leave anything for me.

On the down side moving was very stressful and exhausting, especially with recent appearance of annoying weakness, exhaustion and other discomfort which various MDs are in the process of trying to diagnose by various tests and procedures (in some cases uncomfortably for me). It seems clear the symptoms were not just caused by stress of moving. At least in all other respects I feel fine!

Some of the good recent happenings, great neighbors, apartment, money unexpectedly coming in, remind me of things they talk about in systems like the well-known "The Secret" which has never done a thing for me, along with other positive-thinking schemes that I have tried at times. After analyzing this "failure" I am wondering if that is because I am not strongly enough motivated. This may be because I am already comfortable and not discontented enough. That is, on some level I don't want so much more than I have. I strongly desire enlightenment, for example, although not enough to work hard at achieving it. But maybe in a crazy way I am already enlightened (just a little).

Wait - a nice coincidence just occurred. After writing just a few minutes ago about money coming in, the doorbell rang, and there on my doorstep was someone waving a check at me! A hand delivery of money that was promised me in connection with a business agreement but which I could not be certain of receiving. Now I'm off to the bank....


********
Life is a dream
And dreams are real;
Let's change our dreams
and live them...

Soccer Mom Plays Softball

I have just one question for John McCain and his advisers. What was the basis for the choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate?

Did anyone actually sit down with her and ask some hard questions -- the kind she might be asked as a Vice Presidential candidate? Or did you check out photos of her in a swimsuit and think that she made a better impression that Hillary Clinton would in the same attire?

When she announced during the debate with Joe Biden that she might not answer questions as her opponent or the moderator expected, did you think that the voting public might wonder if she ever would or could answer hard questions? Did you feel at all disappointed that she gave irrelevant and ungrammatical replies from a scripted list most of the time?

In my opinion Sarah Palin does not disappoint in her public statements; not if you expect that she will fall far short of inspiring confidence that if McCain dies in office she will ably replace him.

President Palin? God forbid.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/opinion/04herbert.html?em

T H E G O O D F A T H E R

"What in human history has been more overrated — and caused more pain, sorrow and death -- than female virginity?" -- from a comment on Judith Warner's blog:
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/pure-tyranny
/index.html?th&emc=th


I highly recommend this blog post which I have just read this morning as it is valuable for inspiring so much controversy and discussion on the subject of female chastity. Both religious and secular sexism, misguided parental concern for daughters, lack of parental concern, a hook-up society, women owning their bodies, men owning everything -- these issues and many others regarding sexuality are seldom resolved to everyone's satisfaction in any culture.

The 6/12 blog post, "Pure Tyranny," begins with a discussion of hymen reconstruction surgery among French Muslim women, then proceeds to a discussion of an annual Father-Daughter Purity Ball in Colorado, and ends with a statement about how much behavior that passes for "protection" of women is "sick".

I find it hard to disagree with her arguments. As for the situation among French Muslims (and not only in France) cultural diversity laws may go too far in allowing too much familial interference with women's chastity. No woman should have to submit to an examination by a doctor of the groom's family's choice. If the couple are both okay with each other's state of chastity or lack thereof, then that should settle the matter.

I also, of course, agree that parents should teach all their children to make informed choices, not only girls. However, sometimes I wonder how they do it (I mean convince young people to preserve chastity) -- it's hard to fight such a powerful biological imperative, even with draconic penalties. But there should be a fair playing field -- girls should perhaps shun extreme provocative behavior and dress; boys need to stop bullying girls into having sex and stop putting notches on their belts for every out-of-wedlock kid they've sired...and don't support.

The Usual Suspects: Pt. 2 -- Masonry

Why have the Masons been in the public eye so much more than most other "secret" societies? Over the centuries they have incurred the resentment, envy, rage, disapproval and curiosity of the public, monarchs, and the Church. Today they are still the whipping boy of the Vatican and frequently blamed for everything that points to worldly wheeling and dealing (usually done with papal knowledge.)

And yet the actual Masonic implication in conspiratorial activities is usually not clear-cut, while it is impossible to be dismissed entirely. This attraction of negative attention may be caused in part by the secrecy of their inner dealings, perhaps carried on in part from medieval masons and builders who strove to keep the secrets of their trade from outsiders. The secret handshakes, recognition signals, and initiation rites were necessary in a feudal age to prevent serfs from escaping from their class into the wider world of masons.

In the past secrecy gave the the Freemasons freedom to discuss knowledge of their time that was not accepted and even forbidden by the Catholic Church. But the intellectual interests of the various lodges varied, some attracting religious freethinkers, while others followed mysticism, the occult, or natural science. All these subjects were anathema to the Church and the equally repressive despotic governments of the time, large and small. It was not surprising that people who had a vested interest in ignorance and blind obedience would oppose secret societies, reading and discussion groups, and masonic lodges. These attitudes carried down to the public at large which had a distrust of masonry.

In the early 19th century in the U.S., for example, many people were up in arms about secret manoeuvering of freemasons to help and favor brother masons, especially in the law courts. Many judges were known to be masons and the popular opinion was that they gave unfair advantage to their brothers. Resentment of masons was strong and possibly reasonable enough. Then, in the 1820's a mason named Morgan disappeared. Rumors about what had happened soon convinced people that he had been murdered because he had threatened to disclose masonic secrets. Public outrage grew and soon the Anti-Masonic Party was born. The official investigation was botched and there were varying stories about whether Morgan's body was found or even identified as his. People knew what they believed.

This was a prominent but short-lived phenomenon. It lasted from the late 1820's to 1833-34. The new party was notable for organizing the country's first nominating convention. William Wirt, a mason from Massachusetts ran for President on the Anti-Masonic Ticket.

The party lost the election and lasted only for a few more years. Historians did not treat it kindly. They dismissed the public outrage against Masonry as paranoia. But historiography often comes to the rescue of time's rejects and gives them a bit of credit. Sometimes new facts emerge to warrant another look. In fact something personally interesting re anti-masonry occurred over twenty years ago when I was in grad school. On the eve of turning in a term paper to my American History professor on the Anti-Masonic Party, I was watching the news on TV and learned about a Vatican scandal. It was referred to as Propaganda Due or P2.

This was exciting. It provided me with a footnote which I added to my paper before handing it in -- a footnote to history which may remove some of the stigma of paranoia attached to the Anti-Masonic Party. This financial scandal is still being debated today and recently returned to a London law court. It involved the murder of an Italian banker close to the Vatican, the Banco Ambrosiano, of which the Vatican was a major shareholder, the Mafia, which may have been using the bank for money laundering and may have ordered the murder of the banker for embezzling and losing Mafia money. And much more.

The point is that the Vatican blamed this on a masonic plot, but the Lodge, called P2, was an illegal "black" lodge which had been cast off by Freemasonry. It was still secretly active however and had a membership of some of the most prominent men in Italian business and politics. I knew that this was a "renegade" lodge but most of the details were unknown to me until yesterday and find it even more interesting than I thought twenty years ago.

This is why the whole subject of conspiracies is so convoluted and hard to disentangle. Those of us who have known fathers, uncles, or husbands who went off to lodge meetings, wore odd regalia, were active in philanthropic activities, and proudly wore Masonic rings and other jewelry, may swear that today Masonry has devolved into a harmless beneficent social organization. Others may argue that the lower orders of masonry have always been a cover for the higher orders whose secrets may be unknown to their own rank and file. There are higher grades within higher grades, secrets within secrets, with an inner invisible core guarding a political agenda which may affect all of us if ever realized.

What's on my mind now is the secret history of the Knights Templar. There are certain little-known theories about them which should be discussed openly, so why not here?


http://itwasjohnson.impiousdigest.com/proceedings.htm
http://itwasjohnson.impiousdigest.com/pope-leo.htm
http://www.masonicinfo.com/convention.htm
http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=201204
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-AntiMaso.html