Gordon Howie's guest writer Brad Ford continues to make no sense. In his latest failed attempt at coherence, Ford quotes columnist Robert Scheer, who calls Iraq "George W. Bush's horrifying legacy" and says "the Republican attempt to shift the blame to the Obama presidency is obscene nonsense." Ford skips that part but seems (we must always use this word with Ford, because I have yet to read an essay by Ford that makes its thesis clear) to conclude that Muslim uprisings in the Middle East are healthy responses to evil Western democracy and secularism.
Iraq would be in much better shape, Ford seems to contend, if Christians ran the West:
Christianity in the West has been marginalized, fully separated from the managerial elite that runs the secular government. Perhaps the unstated plan is to turn church services into mere “fellowship” gatherings, a pacification that won’t challenge extreme libertarian and secular changes to society. Will, then, the Sunni and Shia be the only moral counterweight willing to fight against secular oppression? [Brad Ford, "Robert Scheer’s Iraq: Religion’s Last Stand against Secular Imperialism," The Right Side, 2014.06.22]
Ford's effort to shoehorn his craving for theocracy and his odium for liberal America into every issue leads him into absurdities like his suggestion that the Sunni extremists in Iraq represent a good and noble counterweight to bad old secular democracy. It also leads him to abuse the works of other authors which he co-opts for support but which make very different points. Scheer says Iraq, Syria, and Libya were better off under the full control of their secular leaders. Scheer says "radical discontent" in the Middle East arises not solely from religious tensions but also from "stagnant economies and frustrated nationalism" made worse not by secularism or democracy but by centuries of imperialists who fancied themselves "crusaders for enlightenment."
Crusaders... hey, Brad, you know where language like that comes from, don't you?
We can only hope that if Mike Rounds, Rick Weiland, and Larry Pressler all destroy each other and Gordon Howie somehow wins the Senate seat, he won't be appointing Brad Ford as his speechwriter or policy advisor.
http://www.alternet.org/world/iraqs-destruction-reminder-ugly-face-american-empire
Chris Hedges, from Larry's link above:
"The language of violence engenders violence. The language of hate engenders hate. 'I and the public know what all schoolchildren learn,' W.H. Auden wrote. 'Those to whom evil is done do evil in return.' It is as old as the Bible."
And more from Hedges, who equates Muslim jihadists with Bush, Cheney, and the rest of America's technophiliac militarists:
"The spread of our military through the region has inflamed jihadists across the Arab world. The resulting conflicts will continue until we end our occupation of the Middle East. The callous slaughter we deliver is no different from the callous slaughter we receive."
Democracy and secularism do not seem to be the problem... unless Bard Ford would like to contend that Bush and Cheney needed to read the Bible and take Jesus's exhortations to peace more seriously.
Former Raygun goon,Elliot Abrams,claims Obama is the one who broke Iraq.
Well, that didn't last long. Yesterday I friended Gordon on Facebook, made two comments and am now blocked. Actually he blocked from even pulling up his page. Sound familiar?
What Howie and Ford don't comprehend about the Middle East and their religion in government is that they advocating the same thing in this country.
If they were to reach their desired goal with God, religion, and Christianity dominating our politicians and laws, we would have the identical factional wars that Middle East have fighting for centuries.
https://madvilletimes.com/wp-content/themes/typographywp/images/trans.png
The wingnuts and tea party are very big on the Constitution, or so they say, yet they repeatedly and consistently demand a Christian America.
Roger, I'm sorry to hear Gordon let you in, then blocked you. So much for the Independent reaching across party lines.
Cory,
I think it was the "God Gordon, Guns?" comment the irritated him.
Oh well, I'll rely on Madville to keep me informed as to his feeble rants.
Roger, don't count on me. I can only take Brad Ford in small doses.
That's just what Christianity needs - more jihadists, mullah Ford, ad incredibly nauseum.
It doesn't matter if we're talking Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, or Any Other Religion! It didn't work in Ireland, it's not working in Iraq, it's not working in the Congo, it sure as hell didn't work in the Crusades, it's on very difficult footing in Israel.
LEARN FROM HISTORY, YOU CHRISTIAN SUPREMACISTS!
(Sorry. I get angry when something as good and true and beautiful as the faith we learned from Jesus Christ gets so distorted and deformed that it's completely unrecognizable. Breaks my heart.)
Is the only difference between jihadists and imperialists the size of their list of corporate sponsors?
Deb, I defer to you and my wife on defending the faith... but in a small way, I share your anger at such perversions of decent and useful philosophy.
Our story begins, and ends in heaven. We are at God's house and the view is spectacular. It isn't a large estate, but then God has always been more about quality then quantity, or so I have been told. Our line of sight is from a pool patio on a mountain side looking down into a lush valley. For as far as the eye can see in one direction there are thousands of people slowly making their way towards a massive pearl gate.
We are to far away from all those people to hear them say anything but we can hear some fool blowing a ram's horn, causing the people in line to become agitated. It was just like a south american soccer game when those people blow those horns for so long they piss everyone else off and the fight breaks out. God, was not amused.
After the third restart of Deep Purples, Strange Kind Of Woman on the Ipod only to be interupted by the damn rams horn, "enough is enough." God raised her beautifully manicured hand with peach fingernail polish across the horizon and "bam" the horn blowing heavens gate entertainer was replaced by Neil Young. The crowd was again happy.
When we start to look around the pool area we can see that God is not alone. Also seated at God's table are Oprah, and Little Richard. On the table is a never ending bucket of Buffalo Wings, and under it is a Hamms Tapper, after all God can drink whatever kind of beer God wants to drink.
We can also see that God has a new pool boy. He keeps cleaning around the pool omly to be told that he missed a spot. Then God raises her hand and a mess happens right where the pool boy has just been. Whenever this happens all three at the table laugh their asses of. The pool boy was not amused.
"Please God I really didnt know you were a woman. I'm from South Dakota and there were a a lot of us that have been misinformed."
"Speak no more Gordon. From now on just follow orders, never look directly at me or Oprah, and you missed a spot." More laughter." Now, if for some reason you feel the need to communicate with me for any reason this is the procedure for doing that.
First find Sodom Hussein, have him call Dick Cheney. Big Dick will get ahold of Billy Graham, and if I have my cell phone on and I have service, I'm with AT&T so you never know, I might answer my phone.
As the sun slowly sets in heaven there are still thousands of people waiting to get through the pearly gates, God, Oprah, and Little Richard are still at pools edge but have traded the bucket of wings for a vaperizer with a never ending pile of kind bud setting on their table.
God, "It's nice setting here with friends."
Little Richard, "turn the damn Ipod back on I feel like I have to move."
Oprah, "If Gordon came from South Dakota, is there any hope for a place like that?"
God, "No, I will leave it as an example of what life use to be like before everyone found out I had a vagina." NUFF SAID
The Blindman
Deb, your anger seems completely justified.
Blindman, you have a way with words and storytelling!
Somebody will want whatever drug you are using Blindman.
The last Foreign Affairs magazine has an article on Iran. The Islamicists and the US both push the myth that CIA and British M6 caused the collapse of a constitutional monarchy in Iran. Actually, the religious extremists were worried about the progressive platform of the government and actually supported the changes they are now blaming the US for. Religionists will use any lie to further their own power.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
I love that Blindman! Thank you.