A Big Day for Deniers? Not so much...

The climate denier community thought they scored big today with a hack-job of the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU). According to the conservative spin machine (see Climategate: the final nail in the coffin of 'Anthropogenic Global Warming'? for some typical hysteria) the great global warming hoax has been exposed. Has it? No.

A few cherry-picked, out of context emails make up the denier argument. These supposedly betray a super-evil conspiracy that is somehow meant to financially benefit Al Gore and scientists while completely exonerating the denialist community - and by extension, the real conspirators: big oil and coal.

For a good, unbiased report of the incident see the BBC piece, Hackers target leading climate research unit

But as usual, the spin bears little resemblance to the facts. The fix is in, ladies and gentlemen, but the fix comes from the deniers, not from the world of science. For the best examination of the CRU "scandal" please visit Kevin Grandi's blog at DeSmogBlog.com, here.

If you want to know more about the denialists own methods of propaganda, distortion, and outright dishonesty, please read James Hoggan's Climate Cover-Up (2005). I've read it. You won't be disappointed; you will, however, be disgusted.

Thor Protect You, Barack Obama

I have seen some pretty low and reprehensible things in my time. Christians, and Christianity as a whole, have been responsible for some of them. But this recent development is so disgusting that it makes you wonder why people aren't being hauled off to jail:

Christian Conservatives Pray for God to Kill President Obama

Psalm 109 is not a happy Psalm. The prayer is not one for Obama's health or for his continued long life. It is a prayer for his death:

"Let his days be few; and let another take his office."

The article encourages you to read on when you come to this Psalm, and for good reason:

6 Appoint [a] an evil man [b] to oppose him;
let an accuser [c] stand at his right hand.

7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayers condemn him.

8 May his days be few;
may another take his place of leadership.

9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.

10 May his children be wandering beggars;
may they be driven [d] from their ruined homes.

11 May a creditor seize all he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.

12 May no one extend kindness to him
or take pity on his fatherless children.

13 May his descendants be cut off,
their names blotted out from the next generation.

14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD;
may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.

Where is the Secret Service in all this? You have to wonder. Laugh as somebody might that their god could strike somebody down if asked to do so, the people who came up with this scheme, the people who buy the t-shirts, think that it will work. Worse, they want it to work.

I hope the consequences for their actions will not be happy ones.

Meanwhile, if you are on Facebook there is a Boycott Cafe Press group. Join this. And there are other things you can do. The following is taken from their FB page:

Cafe Press originally pulled their product but replaced all of it within 24 hours, stating that they believe it is typical political commentary - the likes of which they have sold for years.

We disagree. Given the current state of race relations and the growing number of hate groups in the U.S., we believe that allowing such merchandise to be hosted on Cafe Press' website amounts to tacit approval of the potential for violence against the POTUS.

It is not appropriate for us to remain silent on this. Should something actually happen to the president because of the hatred being fanned, wouldn't we all bear some responsibility?

PLEASE ACT NOW:
1. Boycott Cafe Press until they pull the products.
2. File a complaint with them letting them know that you will no longer be shopping with them.
3. Let them know you're going to pass the word.
4. Do it.

File your complaint with Cafe Press here:
http://help.cafepress.com/hc/s-74058960/cmd/kbresource/kb-3031644499937843668/escalate!PAGETYPE?VisitorProfile=cafepress

Call to lodge your complaint:
1-877-809-1659
Mon-Sat, 9:00a til 9:00p EST

And by the way, this hasn't been the first prayer for Obama's death:

Rev. Wiley Drake Prays for Obama's Death

And another,

The Baptist pastor who prayed for Obama's death has been interviewed by the Secret Service

For Rachel Maddow's condemnation, see here. Her comments on this subject come about four minutes into the broadcast, so don't give up.

I'll give you some of the highlights here: Rachel Maddow spoke to Patience With God author and Huffington Post blogger Frank Schaeffer and asked him if the citation of this Biblical text "means something less threatening to people hearing this in a Biblical context. Schaeffer responded that this is "trawling for assassins":

SCHAEFFER: No. Actually, it means something more threatening. I think that the situation that I find genuinely frightening right now is that you have a ramping up of Biblical language, language from the anti-abortion movement for instance, death panels and this sort of thing, and what it's coalescing into is branding Obama as Hitler, as they have already called him. And something foreign to our shores, we're reminded of that, he's born in Kenya. As brown, as black, above all, as not us. He is Sarah Palin's "not a real American." But now, it turns out, he joins the ranks of the unjust kings of ancient Israel, unjust rulers to which all these Biblical allusions are directed who should be slaughtered, if not by God, then by just men. So there's a parallel here with Timothy McVeigh's t-shirt on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing. He said the tree of liberty had to be watered by the blood of tyrants. That quote, we saw at a meeting where Obama was present carried on a placard by someone with a loaded weapon.

What we're looking at right now is two things going on. We see the evangelical groups I talked about in my new book, Patience With God, enthralled by an apocalyptic vision that I go into in some detail there. They represent the millions of people who have turned the Left Behind series into best sellers. Most of them are not crazy, they're just deluded. But there is a crazy fringe to whom all these little messages that have been pouring out of Fox News, now on a bumper sticker, talking about doing away with Obama, asking God to kill him. Really, this is trolling for assassins. This is serious business.

It's un-American. It's unpatriotic. And it goes to show that the religious right, the Republican far right have coalesced into a group who truly want American revolution. If it turns out to be blood in the streets and death, so be it. It's not funny stuff anymore. They cannot be dismissed as just crazies on the fringe. It only takes one. You know, look at the Boston Globe article from a few weeks ago that says the threat level faced by the Secret Service has gone up 400%, higher than any other time in 52 years, for any president, Democrat or Republican. These are no jokes.

Schaeffer added, "Look, this is the American version of the Taliban... this is the Old Testament Biblical equivalent of calling for holy war."

Take it seriously, my friends. The Religious Right is a terrorist organization, no less so than the Christian radicals in the Roman Empire. They have declared war on our system of government, on American democracy. They could not make their feelings or their intentions more plain.

As Schaeffer points out, the moderates do not speak out. Where is the outrage? Or as he says, "Where the hell are you?" I join him in this. We're always told most Christians are moderates, but let's see their outrage. As Schaeffer says, "this is serious stuff" and I'll add this: Time to decide which side you're on. You may not want to have sides, but sometimes they're forced upon you, and as Schaeffer warns, "There are not many steps left on this insane path."

I will add a prayer of my own: Thor protect you, Barack Obama.

(Cross-posted on A Heathen's Day www.aheathensday.com and Restitutor Orbis)

Intellectual Dishonesty

What we increasingly see from the Right is a complete lack of intellectual honesty. In place of carefully reasoned, structured, and supported arguments, we see instead a repetitious series of talking points, endlessly repeated and trotted out at every opportunity.

No sources are cited to back up the arguments made, no appeal to scholarship on the subject, or indeed to any source at all. What we get instead are bald-faced lies presented with the same vigor a missionary might witness the gospel. And this IS a gospel for these people.

And like the gospel it is a fabric of belief, not of documented facts.

If presented with a carefully researched and reasoned article, scrupulous in its citations, well-foot-noted and anchored in solid scholarship, the Right will respond with their usual blanket statement that you are stupid, silly, childish, etc, insults to answer Reason, a display of anti-intellectualism to rival anything we saw during the 2008 political campaigns.

The inability to argue rationally and to support these talking points with some scholarship makes that intellectual dishonesty breath-taking in scope. "You're wrong" is not an argument, not any more than is it's opposite, "it is." We have a right, I think, to know why something is, or something is not.

The Right will not give us this. In all honesty, they have nothing to give, but they can't be honest enough to admit it, to confess that their answer derives entirely from a dedication to ideological demands and not from anything found in an evidence-based world.

They have no actual data to back up their claims, but data is an alien concept in a world not founded in reality, where facts are mere inconveniences to be dismissed with talking points. The Right does not respond to facts; it talks PAST them. And disdainfully at that.

If it cannot be proven that 2+2 do not equal “5” then the answer will be an insult. The answer is "5" they will insist, but they will not demonstrate how this can be so. Apparently, they believe that if they repeat themselves often enough that lies will become truth.

The problem for the intellectually dishonest is that 2+2 will never equal "5." The answer will always equal "4", and the blind insistence, without evidence of any kind, that it equals "5," will never convince anyone other than other intellectually dishonest ideologues lost in a fantasy land of “should-have-beens.”

The world will move on by and leave them to their childish fantasies. And good riddance.

The Tyranny of State Legislatures

In 38 States Being Gay is a Terminable Offense I was horrified by this example of how allowing the States to "protect our rights" is a meaningless statement.

James Madison, author of the Constitution, wrote that the federal government's purpose is to protect the people from the tyranny of state legislatures. Here we have a perfect example of why a strong federal government is essential.

If it were left up to the states, we'd still have slavery - at the very least segregation. Women would not have been given the franchise and, well...yes, you see it here. Gays and Lesbians don't have the full rights guranteed them - indeed, promised them, by the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I don't see any exclusionary clauses there, "Except...." Please, do show me where they are, if you are going to argue that some of our citizens should have fewer rights than others.

It is hardly a coincidence that the people supporting the withholding of these rights are now the ones attacking the Obama Administration as taking away rights, of imposing a totalitarian form of government on our Nation. Sadly, the rights these people most want to protect are the rights they claim to withhold rights from others.

Remember that Nazi Germany made gays and lesbians - yes, and Jews and Pagans - second class citizens. Given it is the Republicans who now argue that gays and lesbians are second class citizens, who do you really think are today's Nazis?

It isn't the liberals. They got thrown in concentration camps too.

The same arguments were used to keep African Americans as second class citizens. The same arguments were used to keep women "in their place" as are now being used to diminish the rights of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. And what argument is that?

God. He just doesn't want it. Do this and you violate his will. Do this, and 9/11 happens. He smacks you down with righteous fury and makes you his bitch.

The constructed other. The politics of fear. Epic fail.

Time to say "Whatever," folks.

Let's do the right thing.

Let's fix this, America. Is the Declaration of Independence, are the words of Thomas Jefferson, a lie?

Note: Cross-posted at A Heathen's Day (www.aheathensday.com)

Liberals: The Children of Liberty

Here is my new article, published in ProgressiveNation today: Liberals: The Children of Liberty.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

It is a lovely day. The sun is shining, the sky is almost without clouds, and it's a balmy 54 degrees. Can't ask for much more than that in mid-November. We haven't seen snow yet, and barely even frost. Growing up in Minnesota, I've been snowed in by this point in the year before, even if it did not typically last.

I was invited to pen a piece for ProgressiveNation and I've spent the morning writing about liberalism and today's conservatism. As usual, my ideas have run away with me and it's ended up a bit on the long side. Hopefully not too long. Anyone who knows me knows I like to cite my sources and provide examples (in context) in order to support my arguments. I did not want to simply write a flat-out opinion piece. I like how it turned out. If it's too long I'll find a use for it elsewhere or see what I can do to put together an abridged version as well.

It always feels good to write. Fighting with the flu has given me some time to do that since I haven't been up and around much and a laptop offers so much flexibility. I'm getting used to Microsoft Office 2007. WORD is a little different than the old version I was using and nothing is where I expect it to be but that hasn't slowed me down terribly, and I'm gradually getting the hang of it and of the new keyboard.

I've been doing a lot of reading as well, including some very interesting Neoplatonism by Edward Butler. I've always said it doesn't get any better than Plato, but this is not strictly true as it leaves out Plotinus and Proclus. I've never seen a better cosmology than that supported by Neoplatonic thought. Polytheism lives very comfortably in its bosom, which is why you will not find the ancient philosophers calling for an end to the traditional cults. On the contrary, the traditional cults were supported.

I've also pretty much organized my new desk. It's slightly larger than the old, still fits snugly in the corner but has a couple of handy (if not too-strong) shelves for little things that no longer clutter the area where my mouse roams. I'm very comfortably ensconced and it's not too much of a burden to unhook and move to another room. Targus makes a very nice folding lap-desk for laptops which when deployed on a desk-top can position the computer at an angle suitable for typing. It was only about $20. I highly recommend it. It has holes in it and keeps the laptop breathing, which is essential - while keeping your lap relatively cool. I haven't had to use my old fan yet.

Now that I'm fully locked onto the 21st century, I'm going to get back to writing in order to offer some resistance to the 13th century the Republican Party is so eager to impose upon us.

Thor protect you all.

Some Rambling Thor's Day Thoughts

A nice, balmy, 30 degrees this morning. Frost on the car. On the leaves, which are still on the grass and un-raked. The H1N1 hit this week and I'm probably going to have to fight frost (hopefully not snow) to get the lawn raked before the city comes to collect the leaves. They were tardy about it last year, which may work to my advantage this year. I'm a bit chilled, sitting in front of my laptop. Usually this is the warmest room in the house, but I can tell when it's colder than normal outside.

I've been working on some art-work for the Helhest Captain's Log, a portrait of Najet Boulemi, Moroccan captain of the ship. I sketched her with my mechanical pencil, scanned her into a jpg and then tried working with her on my Wacom. I did not prove adept at this so I resorted to my mouse (strange that a mouse would be easier to draw with than a stylus). I think she turned out decently. I'm not 100% satisfied but as a first effort I'm quite happy. I may fiddle with the image some more before all is said and done. Here is an "artistic" rendering of her. I've put another up at the Helhest blog (http://helhest.blogspot.com).

It's an interesting way to "do" art. I used to draw a lot as a child. My mother went to art school and painted in oils and acrylics. I tried my hand at oils and at acrylics and the results were not promising. I was more comfortable being able to erase. I think that helps me with drawing pictures on the computer. I can save as often as I want, use the "undo" feature real life so sadly lacks, and have another go at it until I get it right. And of course, adding a layer...oh, need another layer! is nice too. You can fiddle endlessly, blend, blur and anything else you want. The mosaic version of Najet Boulemi was interesting.

I want to try to do a ship image too. I'm already working on a sort of sun-wheel symbol to use as the signet of the imperial house (and on the imperial flag). I will probably create a background for her that utilizes the sun-wheel over one shoulder and the ship's own symbol (a stylized helhest) over the other, maybe with a motto and the hull number. It's a nice creative process and it helps generate ideas for background material in my head as I work. One thing leads to another, as they say....

I've been slowed by the flu and going to bed early so I haven't gotten much actual writing done. I find inspiration dries up when I feel like death warmed over. I'm fortunate I'm old enough that I haven't gotten as sick as my son, but then he got Tamiflu, which seems to be some sort of miracle drug, it acts so quickly. I hope now that he's been exposed (at least once, possibly twice) he develops some immunity and that he won't have to deal with it again, because there is a long school year ahead and he's already missed two weeks, not to mention every Tuesday for his Gaucher treatments.

Finally, there is Thursday night football. I love NFL Network. Watch it more than any other and I don't have to worry about my favorite shows being canceled. I've got my fantasy rosters set (I think). My bye-weeks were mostly weeks 5 and 6 and I've had far fewer gaps to fill since then. I have three teams among my 10 bound for the playoffs barring a late-season collapse, a couple so far behind they can never catch up, and several that are middle-of-the-pack. We'll see how it all turns out. I'm not cut-throat about it. I want to win, certainly, but it's just for fun and I have fun either way. I know what I'll be doing tonight as I recline beneath my Baltimore Ravens blanket with my feet up, laptop in my lap, and a mug of hot apple cider in my hand.