Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1)
This verse is the “Christian” underpinnings of Evangelical Capitalism, the neo-evangelical movement sweeping the Teabaggers. When viewed from the vantage point of the poor and working class, it counsels against rebelling against authorities.
But, when viewed from the vantage point of the wealthy, it justifies everything. By being “converted to Christ” a rich man now has the faith to know that he was bestowed his riches and power directly from God. Ergo, his will is God’s will. If a dictator chooses to murder hundreds of thousands of his own citizens, it is made possible because God has given him the power to do so.
When the rich and powerful come to believe they are God’s Chosen on Earth, that they have been “saved” and that man’s law no longer applies to them, we have a defacto theocracy. The Family has been building this theocracy world-wide for the past 80 years or so, using “prayer groups” in the halls of power. Their organizational structure emulates that of the early Nazi party, before it came to power; small groups acting autonomously for a common goal. It is the same organizational structure that terrorist groups like Al Qaeda use.
The Family has had about 80 years to infiltrate the halls of power around the globe. Only now is their influence being seen openly by the masses. That can only mean their grip on power is now fait accompli, they have nothing to fear from the masses because the masses are no longer capable of deposing them. Indeed, this election is a test of their ability to use their power openly to manipulate the masses into giving them even more power, more control, more wealth.
This is our Open Thread. Please feel free to add your thoughts on this, or any other topic that comes to mind.
TheZoo 
Good post. We need to let Corporations know that they can’t buy our vote. I’m beginning to see some really disgusting ads. Not only are these ads filled with lies, the visuals are unpleasant. These ads are being paid for by pacs. The candidate ads are quite as bad. We are getting mailers, too, that are filled with lies. Today, I will be sending out our letter to the Democrats in our precinct encouraging them to vote on November 2.
What will happen if the Republicans and Tea Party don’t win big on November 2nd? There’s chatter already claiming voter fraud coming from Fox News. The Republicans always use these fringe groups to help themselves get elected. Once in power, they throw a few crumbs to these fringe groups just enough to keep them interested in Republicans. Abortion is a good example. Republicans could have made abortion illegal when they controlled both houses and the White House and they didn’t. They need to keep abortion on the table so that they can keep the support of the pro-lifers. If abortion was illegal, then the pro-lifers might vote differently or just stay home.
Ummm, Camels? Eyes of Needles? I remember something about the ticket to the pearly gates…
Which stocks and bonds would Jesus buy?
What campaign ads would he spend a couple of million dollars on?
Cats posted this on facebook — OMFG!!
I sent this video to Faiz, asking him to have someone look into the incident and do a post. He said he’ll put someone on it!
Oh jeebus, I’m running behind this morning.
See you late this afternoon, y’all! Fair warning! 😀
Jesus couldn’t afford to buy any stocks and bonds. He was an intinerant preacher who relied totally on handouts from other people for survival. He had no retirement plan, no Social Security, no health care, and was homeless from the day he left his parent’s house until the day he died.
You know, it just dawned on me, if Republicans have their way, more and more of us will be more like Jesus!
Zooey, what’s the backstory?
BnF, there’s a short blurb on the YouTube video, but I don’t have time to dig into it today. I thought Faiz would have someone who could do it.
“Zooey, what’s the backstory?”
I posted some ifo about this on the open thread yesterday. The incident occurred in Louisa Virginia, at one of the “Victory Tour” events promoted by Eric Cantor. While the invitation was circulated among those his campaign perceived to be supporters rather than widely announced in newspapers, etc., the event was open to anyone who RSVP’d. The event was held in a privately owned business. Three dems who attended were asked to leave by the business owner and refused as they had been invited. A friend tells me that they were then detained by private security, but I can’t verify that. You can read more here:
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/oct/26/cantgat26-ar-587561/
Thanks to Cats and Zooey for spreading this story! It’s hard to be a liberal here in rural VA.
From the YouTube site:
This video was taken by the son of the man being subdued. He took it with his cellphone. This man was asked to leave the Solid Grounds Coffeehouse in Louisa, Virginia, at a public event for Eric Cantor. The man was sitting at a table waiting for Cantor to arrive. Then police asked him to leave and, when they got him outside, they arrested him, after an excessive amount of force, as you can see in the video. They came back and arrested the person who videotaped the incident, even though he was on a public sidewalk. They did not arrest, but gave a citation to, a woman with a small child.
The video shows the officers subduing the man, cuffing him, and then another policeman racing in and knocking the man to the ground.
Apparently, the event was only for Republicans although it was advertised as open to the public and the man on the ground had an invitation. Democrats had “Waugh for Congress signs” outside. They, too, were cleared out of a public sidewalk and forced to go across the street with their signs.”
Morning all!
That incident at the Cantor event was disgusting. The cops were yelling at the guy to put his arms down, even as they had him in a lock with his arms shoved up behind his back. They also looked like your classic small town, donut-eating lawmen. Don’t they have to pass a fitness exam or anything?
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with this. Between this event and the head-stomping at the Rand Paul debate, the Teatards true colors are shining through.
Which ‘Family’ are we talking about?
Eric Cantor incident: ‘Achtung!’
More on the Cantor incident:
http://www.thecentralvirginian.com/news/view_sections.asp?idcategory=53&idarticle=3924
TtT, I believe this is “The Family” to whom it refers (this an excerpt from a book about)
Sorry, I thought Faiz would give the HT on the video story to the Zoo. Not me personally.
I found the video on Cats’ facebook page, and sent the email to Faiz from the Zoo email account. Sorry Cats, I thought it would be a more general HT.
The Secret Political Reach Of ‘The Family’ Terry Gross interview (Nov. ’09) with the author
If I were a criminal, which I am not, and saw three policemen subduing one man in this small town, I would consider this an opportune time to rob a liquor store or some other small business or commit some other serious crime. What happened at the Cantor event and the Paul event is what America will look like when the Tea Party and Republicans take control.
Nate Silver is now giving Meg Whitman a 6% chance of winning in California.Surveys show Brown’s lead as somewhere between 8 and 11 points.
Go Jerry!
gummitch, Meg’s advertising vendors thank her very much for her 140 million dollar injection of working capital.
Here’s a link to the coffee shop, Solid Grounds, that supports police brutality. A boycott is in order for this business. What happened at Solid Grounds is a Rodney King incident all over again.
Here’s more on the coffee shop police brutality.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/10/27/913992/-Democrat-Manhandled,-Arrested-at-Cantor-Public-Event-%28UPDATED-5x%29
The Solid Grounds Coffee House supports some strange causes, I doubt what occured there is much of an example of “Christ In Action”.
Sara Robinson on the fascist ‘tipping point’ in America and the 2010 mid-terms.
Gummitch: “Nate Silver is now giving Meg Whitman a 6% chance of winning in California.Surveys show Brown’s lead as somewhere between 8 and 11 points.”
Think of it: OBVIOUS voter fraud in action before the first vote is even cast or counted. I assume Fox News is already working on the means to explain how even a defunct Acorn still somehow managed to pull it off!
It’s hardly surprising that anybody who support Eric Cantor is a moron.
Zooey, TP has added the story and they give a shout out to you with (HT: TP reader Zooey) at the bottom of the post!
OIMF – how do you manage to remain so calm/sane in the sea of VA politics?
Thanks for bringing that story to the Zoo yesterday.
You knew it would be a stirring story!
Way to go, Zooey! Congrats on the TP H/T.
Why I love the French
I happen to think that a logical and one of the fairest partial approaches to social security solvency *is* raising the retirement age a few years. After all, we live a lot longer now than when these ages to retire were first put forward. It shouldn’t be a decision taken lightly though. But it’s miles better than turning over the money to those bastards in the banks which is what the corporate sock-puppets, coming soon to a Congress near you, will do.
What I am looking at here is that the French, when they don’t agree, organize, get out on the streets and do something. There’s a lawless, destructive element in there which I deplore, but otherwise, “Allons y!’
Precisely. The French are a nation of people who are willing to ‘feel a cops truncheon on their backs’ when it matters.
Vive la France.
Oh, and a nice lead by Barbara Boxer. Carly’s odds down to 8%.
In all fairness, I found the story about the police brutality in VA at a DailyKos diary. TP is falling behind.
Thanks Zooey!!! I’m so glad our local story is reaching a national audience and sincerely appreciate your getting it out there.
I’m not all that calm or sane ebb, but pretty grateful that I decided against showing up at Eric’s later stop with my child and my chicken.
We aren’t resting until all votes are counted –
Barbara’s latest ad, featuring laid off HP employees, packs a punch to Carly (who keeps touting she’ll bring jobs to CA – after letting them go over seas).
http://online.wsj.com/video/attack-ad-barbara-boxer-h-p-workers/A7205B88-E5D0-44C6-B65F-5E6E3DBEBDD0.html
Grats Z on the HT.
Congrats on the H/T, Zooey.
Ebb, that’s a great ad. I’ve been seeing it constantly and it packs quite a punch. I’m so glad that both Meg and Carly are losing ground. I heard that business between Meg and Jerry on the radio yesterday (about the negative campaign ads), and couldn’t believe it. I think she must have gone down a few more points right there. 🙂
pawz, are you in the 51st Congressional district?
Ebb–no I’m in the 44th. My Rep is Ken Calvert, listed as one of the most corrupt members of congress. I can’t stand him. Last election, the Dem (Hedrick) nearly beat him. I’m hoping he can do it this time. Unfortunately, the 44th is an odd, gerrymandered district that includes some very rich, red areas of Orange County. My area of Riverside Co. is pretty red too, but there are quite a few of us progressives here too. I know Hedrick is hammering Calvert for all his corrupt ways. I’ve had quite a few mailers that highlight any number of things Calvert has done–many of them included quotes from Fux, so maybe he’ll win over a few republicans and independents.
2ebb – what a great ad by Boxer. If the Repubs get control, there will be more jobs sent to China and other countries. It amazes me that people will actually vote for someone that would fire them from their job. It sucks when someone has to train their replacement. That happened to people at GlaxoSmithKline. They sent employees to India to train their replacements.
Thanks Juan for fomenting the hate and scare tactic.
Geez, ‘flying while Muslim’ is the new ‘driving while brown/black’. Seriously, the toilet was ‘askew’ and people freak out?
Thanks, Juan, for taking us one step closer to mindless fear and idiocy.
Dedicated to George Soros
George Soros, the multibillionaire investor, will donate $1 million to help pass Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization measure, which he endorsed Monday as “a major step forward.”
TP
HT
Z
🙂
Good work finding that story about the fat fuck of a cop, Cats. (Yeah, when large people – who shouldn’t be large, like cops – behave like that, they’re not “people”, they’re “fat fucks”.) It would be great if we all knew of news sources like that, so that we can post stories here first and then get the bigger lefty sites to link to us “for more”.
as the crow flies, i live 70 miles from Mexico . i’ve been on border immersion trips and have been inside a safe house for illegals coming to find life in civilization. i’ve had conversations with illegal from all over the world, but mainly those from mexico.
the only answer to the border problem is the legalization and domestic production of marijuana. smuggling along with the “gun show loophole” in border state firearms laws, the US just propagates more violence and more misery on both sides.
it’s a problem of OUR creation.
please take a few minutes and read this transcript of a speech by Kim Erno:
Click to access KiimErno09.pdf
Wayne, OIMF posted the story, in yesterday’s Watering Hole.
——–
One of my co-workers handles the Limited English Proficiency program here at work, and is a Mexican-American from south Texas. We were celebrating his birthday, and our admin person, who is the sweetest person ever, asked one of our bilingual staffers to craft the message in the birthday card, which she then wrote in. Unfortunately, Mr Bilingual is a prankster, so the message read:
Thanks to Outstanding for first publishing the link to the story. I found it this morning on DailyKos and then shared it on my Facebook page. Zooey took it from there.
Outstanding – sorry for missing your original post. It has gone viral. It’s everywhere.
gummitch… I hope your co-worker has a good sense of humor. That was funny.
Everyone thought it was hysterical, Cats, except poor Pennie (the admin). She’s “flustered”, which in her case is probably closer to mortified.
Cats, I don’t care who found it where, I love you folks for propagating it. I will admit it’s kind of cool that The Zoo had it first. You’ve got humint in the VA 7th.
Yesterday’s Midwest land-hurricane in context:
http://climateprogress.org/2010/10/27/strongest-storm-ever-recorded-in-the-midwest/
Well that explains it Gary, the only time we get tornadoes in VA in the fall is when they’re spun off hurricanes. Normally they come from the Gulf.
Back in the late seventies, my dad, a native Minnesotan, like to say “It’s a good thing there’s no such thing as inflation. I mean, look at the way the price of everything is going up and imagine how bad it’d be if there was inflation too.” (He was years ahead of his time in the snark department).
Today, he’d probably say something like “We’re sure lucky there’s no such thing as global warming.” Then he’d laugh at all the Republicans who missed the snark and agreed with him.
Thanks for the link Gary. Paul Douglas used to be on one of the local channels for years and years. He’s good, because he’s a true meteorologist (and quite the geek about it – but in a good way).
Take the credit Zooey, think like Christine O’Donnell and add it to your resume.
I hear its chilly out your way, would you like a cup of hot chocolate? 🙂
Thanks, Pachy. I love hot chocolate. 🙂
I guess we can’t run off to Canada…
Pachy, you may want to pass this along to Auggie
it’s on the Arkansas thread at TP:
gummitch, that storm link is just unbelievable! And bizarre!
Off to my meeting.
Goodnight, all y’all. 🙂
Zooey, that was posted by Gary.
Darn, I missed the butterfly.
ebb
I really don’t give a rats ass about pokey, but you might pass along some story… maybe the Saint got arrested in South Carolina or was bitten by a snake and is in hospital. Maybe he ran out of money and took a job at South of the Border (a rather crass commercial complex on the N.C. / S.C. border.
He might have drown in the Pee Dee river or he’s shacked up at the Steven Kent motel in Petersburg, Va.
Damn, where’s that butterfly?
Sorry for the long rant over on the TP Rand Paul thread, but “Doc Shabbitt Bartlebee” pisses me off sometimes. Especially when he accuses me of doing everything he hates about the TP community. So I told him off.
Then he wanted to know the difference between me and a Tea Bagger. I told him I have an IQ in the three-digit range, and I’m funnier and better-looking. And I know my Constitution.
What is it about the “right of free speech” that people don’t get? There are times and places where you simply cannot say what you want. You may not go to jail for it, but you can definitely be punished socially.
Wayne, don’t apologize or I will smack you.
This is to remind everyone that Obama will be on the Daily Show tonight.
The storm passed quickly yesterday but today the wind is even worse. It didn’t even die down when the sun set and it usually does. Weird.
I actually went back and added a few comments of my own.
Among other things, the meaning of “ostrasize” is not what Shabbit claims; it is, in fact, to eject from the community.
(It comes from the Greek “ostrakon” which means a pottery shard. These shards were used as ballots. Every year the Athenians would vote, using these shards, on one person who should be forced to leave the city for 10 years. Anyone who became so powerful &/or unpopular as to gain a majority of the votes had to leave for a decade. After ten years, they could return w/o prejudice; their property (whatever they did not take with them) would still be intact.)
“He might have drown in the Pee Dee river or he’s shacked up at the Steven Kent motel in Petersburg, Va.”
Maybe St.Augustine would like to spend tomorrow night on an antebellum farm just 45 minutes southwest of the Vienna metro station. He’d be welcome.
Gary, my hat is off to you. In several years of watching Bartlebee run into high arrogant toad-sucker mode, I’ve never seen anyone do such a thorough smackdown — and I include my own futile attempts.
It’s futile, of course, if you thought he might back down. At times in the past he would post scores of comments essentially responding to himself, cranked up on whatever he takes and unable to wait for a response he would create his own and then respond to that.
I see he’s claimed that TP never banned him. True enough, but he banned himself and swore to never return and demanded that TP remove all his comments. He may actually have lasted as much as six months before he showed up again under a different login. I suspect he was thoroughly banned everywhere else and took advantage of TP’s weak security to return to a blog where he could get lots of attention.
Well, speaking of slow, it took me a while to really catch on that Shabbit has a substantial “learning disability” … I think that’s the polite phrase. I’m done for the evening. But if I’m in a sadistic mood, I might go back tomorrow to offer pity rather than contempt. (Make no mistake, the former is far more enraging and disempowering.)
By the way, I don’t have the dates in my head, but the Dewey story is true (and it is one of the reasons why I like him). At some point you have to throw the fuckers out of the room. “Tolerance” is a virtue, but not when it becomes so craven and spineless that it “tolerates” its own suppression to annihilation.
Reason is a voluntary engagement, which is why you will always need an army and a police force. (This, of course, creates its own sets of problems … )
OutstandingInMyField
I’ve been feeding Auggie’s cat while he’s away and he checks in daily. I’ll extend your offer to him. He told me earlier tonight that he spent the first night of his honeymoon at the Steven Kent on the way to Myrtle Beach back in ’72.
“He told me earlier tonight that he spent the first night of his honeymoon at the Steven Kent on the way to Myrtle Beach back in ’72.”
Good Lord, did his marriage survive the consummation in that rather uninspiring locale?
OutstandingInMyField
Both he and his wife were tipsy when they left the reception in Baltimore. Auggie was also high on pain medications. Four day before he got married he had a silver dollar sized plantar wart removed from his left foot.
He was on medical leave when he got married and didn’t need to use vacation time. Its sickening how cheap he was back then. he couldn’t go in the ocean either, the salt water on an open sore was painful. He ended up spending most of his time in bed. But what the heck, that part was a plus.
Okay, gummitch, I won’t do that again.
Gary, thank you for jumping in and helping out. I won’t engage him directly (or indirectly, if I can help it) ever again. I didn’t appreciate being compared to Nazis. His charges against me were so off-the-wall that it would have taken a week to refute every one of them. Clearly he wanted to blame me for everything he hates about TP. I never claimed to own the place. I never claimed to be responsible for voting things out of view. I explained the few circumstances under which I flag people, but he refused to believe me, or believe that the limited flagging I did was justified. (I flag racists, especially ones about Obama, and I flag people who show up introducing the same, tired arguments we’ve refuted before.)
Still, I do appreciate the support. And you did an awesome job smacking him down. It’s not your problem he’s too stupid to stay down when he’s smacked there.
Maybe, should we decide to reply directly to him, we should come up with a new name for him based on his previous names. Some combination of Worfeus/Bartlebee/Doc Shabbit. I don’t know, “Doc Worflebee”?
Wayne,
Once Bart goes off, he’s gone. There is no reasoning with him, and he will assign every perceived wrong done to him on TP to whomever responds to him. At that point, you can’t even say he’s right (even if he is), he will just keep going at it.
These cycles are fairly regular, and I think he’s cycling on some sort of medication. He and I have had our go ’rounds, and now we just give each other a wide berth.
Now, what thread contains this epic smackdown? 😀
The fun starts when Doc Worflebee starts complaining at 7:28 PM about comments getting flagged out of view.
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/27/paul-donation-headstomper/#comment-90990748