In discussing those I have been describing as members of the Cult of Offendedness and addicts of a counterfeit moral superiority, I do not want to presume that they are acting in bad faith. They are acting in bad faith, but that's not my presumption, it's my conclusion. I am not attributing malice to them, but rather, having observed and studied their attributes, I am noting that those attributes include a vast reservoir of transparent, naked malice. Pretending not to... Read more
Tribulation Force, pp. 74-79 Like Bruce Barnes, the other members of the Tribulation Force seem to view this early stage of the End of the World as a kind of down time. They might be getting a head start preparing for the next 6 years and 49 weeks of tumult ahead, but I guess they figure, according to the Tim LaHaye Timeline, that nothing really kicks in until after the Antichrist breaks his peace treaty with Israel, and since he... Read more
The same thing happens to me every day "Bad," Luka Bloom"Bad," U2 "Bad Diary Days," Pedro the Lion"Bad Fruit," Randy Stonehill"Bad Is Bad," Huey Lewis & The News"Bad Karma," Warren Zevon"Bad Liver and a Broken Heart," Tom Waits"Bad Luck and Blue Eyes Goodbye," The Black Crowes"Bad Moon Rising," Creedence Clearwater Revivial"Bad Moon Rising," Thea Gilmore"Bad Moon Rising," Rasputina"Bad Rap (Who You Tryin' to Kid Kid?)," Steve Taylor"Bad Reputation," Freedy Johnston"Bad Reputation," Joan Jett"The Bad Thing," Arctic Monkeys"Bad Things to Such... Read more
Here are two paragraphs from today's paper, from an article on an appointment to Delaware's Chancery Court — a unique legal body tailored to resolving corporate disputes: The court is considered one of the key reasons companies incorporate in the state. Delaware's incorporation franchise is a major moneymaker for the state, generating as much as one-third of the state's annual revenues. About 63 percent of Fortune 500 companies and more than half of the companies on the New York Stock... Read more
Crazy lady accuses Barney Frank of supporting Nazism. Frank responds. In the words of Montell Jordan, this is how we do it. How one responds to hateful, lying, self-righteous, self-deceiving, belligerent fools depends on one's role and one's relationship to particular fool in question. If this woman were your sister, mother, daughter, student, teacher, doctor, patient, cab driver, neighbor or village idiot then your particular responsibility based on that particular relationship would vary accordingly. But the first step, when confronted... Read more
In comments to the previous post, I'm reminded that there can also be a fourth, and much worse category explaining the promotion of falsehoods: "cynical manipulation." Which reminds me of a really stupid brilliant scheme I came up with. I speak fluent religious right with an authentic native accent. Using that fluency, I could set up the Christian Defense Fund — a nonprofit avowedly set up for the legal defense of the religious freedoms of persecuted American Christians. I'd print... Read more
The exposés of Good Fight Ministries seem like a useful example because they are a-political and nonpartisan. They're crazy in a way that is neither Democratic nor Republican and so we can use them as a source of light without quite so much heat. What we find in those exposés are a host of untrue statements. The videos on Good Fight Theater — all narrated by Breathless Stoner Dude — present a barrage of falsehoods and bogus claims. Some of... Read more
I haven't yet read Jeff Sharlet's book, The Family, but I've been reading every interview with him that I can find. You may be familiar with Sharlet from his blog, The Revealer, and from an earlier project he's long been associated with, Killing the Buddha. Now that his book is finally out in paperback, I'll be reading it soon. (Hardcover? What am I — made of money?) In the meantime, there are those interviews. In this one, with Chuck Warnock... Read more
In an op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post, Rick Perlstein cuts to the chase. His piece is titled, "In America, Crazy Is a Pre-existing Condition." After surveying "birthers, health care hecklers" and other contemporary manifestations of "right-wing rage," Perlstein reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun and takes us on a survey of the angry, delusional right-wing groups of earlier decades. In the early 1950s, Republicans referred to the presidencies of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman as "20... Read more
Tribulation Force, pp. 73-74 Usually the organist began playing near the end of Bruce's prayer and Bruce immediately headed to the back of the church where he shook hands with people as they left. But today Bruce didn't get as far as the aisle before he was stopped by people who embraced him, thanked him and began asking questions. My best friend's dad was our church organist when I was a kid. He called this background accompaniment to the pastor's... Read more
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