Judeo-Christian Values

We used to call
them demagogues.
Now we call them
religious fundamentalists.

Mr. Ryan confidently warns that a Barack Obama "win" threatens "religious freedom" (that's code for evangelical Christianity) and Judeo-Christian values. If it's really Judeo-Christian values Mr. Ryan is worried about, which ones are they? Telling the truth? Loving your enemies? Serving the poor? Paying taxes (the coin with Caesar's image on it)? Or does Mr. Ryan refer to the uniquely Judeo-Christian value that those who do not conform to our belief system don't count in the eyes of God?

Why doesn't Mr. Ryan simply accuse Mr. Obama of being the Antichrist?

Why can't people simply disagree on policies instead of calling each other names? Why do we have to assume that the other side is made up of evil people who do not share our values?

Why can't the media report the news instead of hiring talking heads to predict what will happen, and pontificating on what witticism or gaffe may or may not have an affect on the predicted outcome?  Does anybody out there watch BBC news on public television? That's how I remember news broadcasts before the days of CNN, FOX-noise, and MSNBC. One can actually learn something new watching BBC.

But we do not want to learn anything. We want politicians and the media to reassure us of our own prejudices. We want entertainment.

Democracy itself is not a Judeo-Christian value. Being told what to think is a Judeo-Christian (and their similarly scripture-based, sister-religion, Moslem) value. The idea that everyone gets a vote developed from our "pagan" heritage, the ancient Greeks.

Maybe that's why we are suppressing the vote, because democracy isn't Christian. States like Florida and Ohio are incapable of organizing an election where people do not have to stand in line for hours to vote, some even being turned away. What, did the election come as a surprise to these states' governments? "Gosh, we didn't think so many people would come out and vote." Hello? The only possible excuse for such incompetence is intent.

Thank God the election will be over after tomorrow. I can at least hope for some decrease in the vicious, arrogant nonsense being shoveled out. Maybe a one-half decrease. When attitudes and language become so polarized, and only one side can "win", the other half will not be reconciled to the result.

I put "win" in quotes because nobody really wins. It's a guaranteed loose-loose scenario.

Etch a Sketch Romney in the Sky

Someone thought it would be a good idea to sky-write the letters "ROMNEY" over Tucson. The pilot started by creating a smiley face, then "R", then "O" -- you get the idea.

One problem was that it was ten in the morning and, from where we live, he was writing towards the east and the sun, which is why I couldn't take a photo of the entire work.

The pilot was an expert, cutting the shapes amazingly precisely. Symbolically, I thought to myself, by the time "ROMNEY" was spelled out, the smiley face had disappeared.

I thought to myself, this is the sum and substance of the Mitt Romney campaign: upside-down smoke without substance.