Infidels of Every Denomination

Things That Make Me Mad

Atrios has a "things that make you go HUH?" post that puts our culture's racism into stark relief. So, why is it "looting" when black people do it and "finding" when white people do it?

In light of that, I can't help but think that Amanda at Pandagon's predictions of the upcoming media spin are probably dead on. I note that one of the commenters has some snotty things to say about the people who were too darn poorstupid to evacuate...fortunately other commenters take her to task with some of the bitter realities of the difficulties of that kind of mass evacuation, especially if you are poor.

Because natural disasters are so very funny...drug-addled Rush Limbaugh and fellow waste of oxygen, 101st Fighting Keyboarder Jonah Goldberg thought it would be hilarious to expand Katrina's name to Katrina vanden Heuvel after the Nation editor.

I happened to catch some Faux News talking heads on Monday, and all they could talk about was how much money the hurricane damage was going to cost insurance companies, how stocks would be affected, how much money the casinos might lose, and how much oil prices would rise. I mean...could you guys even PRETEND to care that people were going to die and that others would lose everything they owned-- just in time for the crippling new bankruptcy legislation? Maybe just for a day or two could you act concerned?

Oh, and this didn't take long-- as usual, when there's a natural disaster, it's all the fault of teh gay.

And then there's the Preznit. Now...for how many days did we all have an idea what was coming? OK, even if you wanted to be generous and say that Bush was trying not to be alarmist in the time leading up to the storm-- would not a strong leader, one who wanted to demonstrate his concern for his people (or at least, jeez, give his limp approval ratings a boost!) and his competence in a crisis situation, have had Air Force One gassed up and ready to go the moment the storm was past and the relief efforts began, in order to work hard to coordinate efforts? Would he not have cut his vacation short prior to the storm, or at least the moment it began, in order to fly back to Washington and be proactive about dealing with the crisis?

Instead, he breezily sails on with a schedule of speeches and photo ops, smiling and laughing like nothing is amiss, sharing cake, plucking a guitar, chatting with old folks about Medicare, and barely mentioning the hurricane at all-- until at last he grudgingly decides that he'll give up the last two days of his five week vacation and go back to DC to do some presidentin' (and wait, didn't he tell everyone he could work just as well from Crawford as DC? So which was the bullshit?) Apparently, we're supposed to be impressed.

So the big tough cowboy, who never met brush he couldn't clear, President Action Hero with his fake flight suits and "I'm down with the common man" attitudes, rather than setting up a headquarters near the Gulf Coast and maybe doing some hands-on work in between leading the charge on rescue and relief, instead peers timidly out from the posh interior of his plane at the damage as he flies over it, like a child peeking under the bed to check for monsters.

And let's not forget that the National Guard in those areas is crippled because so many of them have been shipped to Iraq, that the Coast Guard is crippled because Bush won't provide funds to update their woefully insufficient equipment, and that Bush thought that fortifying New Orleans against this kind of disaster was so unimportant that he wants to slash emergency preparedness funds to New Orleans for 2006.

How much clearer does he have to make it that he doesn't give a flying crap about the people of the United States, only about his little action-figure fantasy world?

For crying out loud, you incompetent, STOP DRAGGING YOUR HEELS AND GET TO WORK. It's our tax dollars you're wasting with your lollygagging, and your people's lives that are in danger. I know you think that you have to have enough rest and a balanced day and that you must be able to "get on with your life." But for once, just once, be a leader.

For once, be a man.

(Apparently, I'm not alone in my sentiments:

The Arizona Republic

The Union Leader)

Our Fearless Leader, In Time Of Crisis

(AP photo from Yahoo) Playing guitar while RomeNew Orleans burnsdrowns

(Reuters) The peasants are drowning? Let them eat cake!

(AP photo via Yahoo) Looking down on the devastation from a very, very safe distance...

(AP photo via Yahoo) Heaven forfend he should skip a WWII commemoration speech to deal with a massive crisis! He already cut his vacation short TWO WHOLE DAYS! Presidentin' is such hard work...

I feel like America is safer with Bush in charge, don't you?

If These 10 Commandments Were Posted In Courtrooms, I Could Totally Deal

If Coyote had 10 Commandments

My favorite, I think:

V. Thou Shalt Not Eat Poisoned Bait. If You Do, Don't Come Whining To Me About It, Because I Am Very Unlikely To Care. Once It Is In Your Mouth, It Is Your Problem, Not Mine.

(ok, # 10 is really the best, but you should go read it for yourself.)

Air Force Says No To Proselytizers

Big thumbs up to the Air Force, which has issued new guidelines instructing commanders to avoid promoting or appearing to promote one religion over another, or even religiousness over non-religiousness.

A few months back, the Air Force Academy was embroiled in a battle over religious issues as complaints poured forth that evangelical Christianity was being aggressively promoted to cadets by other cadets and personnel.

While the new guidelines may not solve the problem completely or defuse the source of the conflict entirely, it is very encouraging to see that the brass is taking this issue seriously and making an effort to ensure that the rights of non-evangelicals are being protected. It's at least a big step in the right direction.

NYT On Coelho

Great little New York Times profile today on the author Paulo Coelho, whose new book The Zahir is selling increasingly rapidly.

I've only come to the marvel of Coelho's writing recently, having just read The Alchemist for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Frankly, I don't know how it took me this long to discover his work for myself. His philosophies-- of life as a continual spiritual quest towards one's unique purpose in being, of synchronicity, of the power of love, of the essential interdependence of the material and the spiritual-- are very much in line with some of my deepest beliefs.

He's a wonderful author to read especially if you are feeling purposeless or lost or trapped or have begun to wonder whose life you're living. Listening to yourself is not something that most of us are ever taught, so a book like his can be a real eye-opener.

In this profile, I think he also has the final word on bad reviews:

"But the one thing I cannot stand," Mr. Coelho went on, "is criticism of the reader, that the reader is dumb. You can speak badly of me, of my books, but you cannot speak badly of the reader. It's like saying, 'Everyone is dumb; the only one who isn't is the critic.' That's not fair."

You tell 'em.

After Katrina

The full effects of Hurricane Katrina are still being tallied, but it's clear already that the devastation is severe. The death toll is currently around 80 (as of my last news scan) and still being assessed; there is flooding, destruction of property, water contamination, and loss of electricity. The hardest-hit areas may not be functional (or in some cases habitable) for weeks at least.

I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and the destruction of people's homes and workplaces. I can only imagine how nightmarish it must be. As something of a NOLAphile I am grieved to hear of the suffering of a city and its people, for whom I have great personal fondness.

Please take a moment today to remember the victims and hope for the safety of the survivors and the rescue workers. If you are inclined towards prayer or energy work, please offer it.

For a more tangible course of action, make a donation to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. They've been out there, sheltering people and doing hard work, since the evacuation started.

This article has some more names and phone numbers of charitable organizations working in the Katrina relief effort.

Noah's Wish will be helping to deal with the pets rescued from the affected areas.

As much as these agencies need your financial support now, I would like to add that I think it's important to make disaster relief part of your planned annual charitable giving. Lots of people are only spurred into giving money during times of crisis, and while that's better than not helping at all, remember that contributions made regularly, whether or not there's a media blitz going on, are what enable these agencies to operate and remain prepared and ready when disaster does strike. It's not as glamorous or noticeable as being able to say that you gave during a crisis, but "ordinary" support is no less vital.

Edit: Network for Good has this page dedicated to hurricane relief efforts and how you can help.

Pyrrhic Victory

It is looking increasingly likely that any constitution that emerges from Iraq is going to be little more than a blueprint for a radical Islamic theocracy, suppressing the rights of women and minorities, and without any effective secular oversight to defend human rights against extremist laws.

Apologists for the Bush administration continue to claim that it's too early to tell what the final constitution will look like, that constitutionalizin' is HARD, and that ultimately the whole nation will be bought a Coke and taught to sing in perfect harmony, and there will be puppies and rainbows and that all those extremists, having spent 22 minutes plus commercial breaks trapped together in a stuck elevator while tender bonding, real understanding, and wacky hijinks ensue, will emerge slapping each other on the back, holding hands, and calling each other "turdblossom" with much fond laughter and noogies for all. (Presumably that's when our troops will be showered with flowers and hailed as liberators, like we were promised so long ago.)

But, see, when the draft of the constitution (and wasn't the final report already supposed to be turned in at the teacher's desk by now?) includes language like "No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed principles of Islam" and speaks with the collective voice of "the sons of Mesopotamia"-- well, that just doesn't bode well for a final version that suddenly goes, "Sike! Just shittin' ya with the whole theocratic-official-state-religion thing, ha ha, made you look!"

I do, however, feel that I am in a Mirror Mirror universe when Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and I are of similar opinions:

In an Aug. 18 statement, Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, wrote on that group's Web site: "I have sent a letter to President Bush encouraging the Administration to redouble its efforts to ensure that the Iraq Constitution provides genuine religious freedom for all Iraqi citizens. An Iraqi Constitution that does not protect religious liberty will seriously undermine U.S. efforts in Iraq and the larger Middle East. The sons and daughters of Americans are not risking their lives to establish a theocratic government that denies its citizens the fundamental right of religious freedom."

Which, you know, is really freakin' ironic coming from a guy who spoke at his organization's "Washington Briefing" locked-door meeting, that convened for some of the group's nobler purposes:

But most of all, they seek to overturn church-state separation, making America an officially “Christian nation.” To do so, they hope to repeal the federal ban of church electioneering and create a church-based political machine that controls politics throughout the country.

Hmmm...you know, if I were really cynical, I'd say that the neocons were shooting for this level of fiasco in Iraq so that they could help engineer an Islamic version of the Christian theocracy they want at home, you know, just to sort of iron out the wrinkles and make sure they get it right when they do it over here.

Or, the war was a lie and a tragic mistake, and Shrub's little fantasy of creating a new body politic in Iraq will turn out to be a Frankenstein's monster ultimately turning on its creator.

Well, that's a cheerful thought.

Katrina's Wrath

Keeping an eye on the movement and effects of Hurricane Katrina...very thankful that New Orleans was spared the devastation that was earlier anticipated, but still anxious about the damage that is being done.

My thoughts and hopes are with the people who have not been able to evacuate the high-risk areas...

New Links!

I've been updating our links categories, and have added a new one-- Champions of Pronoia.

"Pronoia" is loosely defined as the sneaking suspicion that the world is a benevolent place full of beings that are eager to help you. It's the opposite of paranoia. I learned about it through the incomparable Rob Brezsny of Free Will Astrology, and I think it's an awesome concept.

With all the bad news and infuriating people and general snarkiness in the world that we post about here, it's important to us to balance that with regular infusions of good news, optimism, and hope. It helps us keep perspective and keep from getting eaten up by bitterness or frustration or rage. Sometimes it's just nice to remember that there are many, many wonderful things about the world and that even an "ordinary" life can be exciting and beautiful.

Future updates in the works include links to books, music, and movies that we particularly recommend; a new and unique look for the site; and an easier-to-remember URL.

The Great Race

Another possibility for your donor dollars: Amazon.com's Nonprofit Innovation Award

Nonprofit charitable organizations are entered in this competition; the winner is determined by who gets the most donations from Amazon's customers, and the prize is that Amazon will match the contributions that enabled the winner to win, up to $1 million.