An Easter Miracle; a Resurrection of Sorts, Even....(Against Theocracy!)

Blog Against Theocracy; better late than never...

RIP Mrs. Coo (if you're looking for the miracle, read on:)






I just finished watching Religulous, Bill Maher's tour de force on the illogical, scary, and silly world of belief...and now on this first night of remembrance of the passing over of the angel of death, which, as I recall, has some lambs blood and baby killing in the story, Ive got to say that I'm happy to stick to the pagan bunny and the rites of spring that somehow got co opted by some story of Jesus rolling back a rock and rising to heaven.

So, in a Colbert-like over the top, what must have been fraternity hazing, that was passion play and sign of macho all rolled in one, some beefy football hunks from the local Sacred Heart University carried heavy wooden crosses some 25 miles from one church to another, complete with picture of the boys with the crosses outfitted with pillows duct taped onto them in the shoulder area so that they wouldn't actually hurt themselves, though they reported many blisters. All thats missing from that story are the whips!

I'm thinking that Religulous ought to be required viewing for this time of year. With the way things are, as Maher points out, most religious people in this country haven't actually read the bible all the way through anyway, and their belief sets are based on something other than striving for understanding of a spiritual path or where we fit in this world. There is certainly a lack of understanding of other religions and a lack of critical thought about the timing of all of this penance and miracle celebration.

Its at times like this that I wonder how we ever ended up here. Coming down from 8 years of fundamentalist leadership in this country might be, in hindsight, something like picking up the pieces after the inquisition, but we wont know in our lifetimes the full extent of how bad this really is; history will judge this time in a far larger context than we can see from inside this bubble. But its gonna look a little crazy, even if you keep the blinders on hoping that most of this can just move on by and end up under some rug somewhere. Historians are not that forgiving, it turns out; we can only hope.

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Me, I'm clutching my Peeps close to my chest and waiting for the bunny to come hopping down the path with my prayer bear, and pretending that Ive got a basket coming from that rabbit, full of all the fantastic confections that Cadbury, Dove, and the Peeps company can come up with...

So here is my Easter Miracle (tm)...a veritable ressurection of sorts...for this year:

Mrs. Coonie was a rare bantam barred Aracuana that came to live with me via eggbid some time ago. I got her because Coo, my Aracuana roo would like her, or so I supposed. She was cute and cheap and, it turned out, from a fancy line of chickens and pretty special. Well, some 20 days ago, the unfortunate Mrs. Coo passed away due to...well, lets just say that she died laying an egg. The life of a chicken is hard, but the egg thing is what they do, and all I can do is to try to make it more comfortable for them. In any case, after that tragedy, I decided to grab her last egg and the couple that I had in the fridge, along with a couple of others and put them in the incubator just to see what came out. I had expected a hatch tomorrow or the next day but, look what was waiting for me this morning:




if this is Coonie's child it is a fancy bird from which I could perhaps sell the eggs for hatching or lease it out at stud....if its the bastard son of Woostie, or worse, the accidental-frizzle-roo-who-must-go-as-soon-as-he-crows (see, he was originally a hen, then he was suddenly a roo,) then hes a mutt pet. If it is Coonie's kid and its barred, its apparently a roo. If its Coonie's kid and its a hen then it could be any color but barred would be better. If its a mutt then nothing matters except that it keep its mouth shut so the neighbors are not bothered.

In any case, Happy Easter and RIP Mrs. Coo. You did good in a chicken sense of purpose, in that you replaced yourself and provided alot of tiny breakfast eggs along the way. The rest is up to the forces of chicken sex and all that entails....you tell me:

Coonie Aracuana:



Woostie Woo:


Only time will tell....

And since Jill has gone all soft and fuzzy today: c/p Brilliant at Breakfast

Bits and Pieces from a Scattered Week....

Reasons to be Cheerful:

This week, Wednesday the 28th through Friday the 30th, Marc Maron once again takes the microphone at Air America Radio, in the American Afternoon slot from 3PM to 6PM. Stream it live from the Air America page, or get the podcast there...or spring for Replay A/V
and go crazy saving all kinds of stuff that you always miss and wish you could grab for your MP3! NO matter what you do, drop a note to pcollin@airamerica.com and let him know what you think about the programming and who should be on the station that was at one point arguably, the voice of the liberal movement in America.

Don't forget the Seder V. Maron VoD-cast, which happens live most Tuesdays at 11AM EST, and is available on demand here. It's an evolving, technologically glitchy, hilarious romp through the minds of two of the most brilliant political and comic minds out there.

Whats up with Seder and his jack-of-all trades tenuous perch at AAR? Who knows? Its hard to believe that pcollin at air america dot com would let slip such a multi talented and reliable guy, not to mention a great broadcaster, but I've seen them do worse...much worse, so....I just don't feel anything anymore except sadness for the end of something that was great at one time and the real inability of any number of new management characters to do even a couple of right things. I guess we'll see.

In interesting news:

Scott McClellan is the latest rat to jump ship, with a book that basically throws the Bush White House under the bus. So, when does the criminal investigation start? Is Rove even gonna answer his subpoena in that other matter? Its nice sometimes to see how predictable rats are when a ship is going down. It adds back a little of that lost universal order.

Meanwhile:

Our beloved hero, Brad, of Bradblog, posted a little funny here
from The Satirical Political Report, which claims that the Supreme Court has blocked reruns of HBO's Recount (which has Emmy buzz)...He really had me going for a second there as I was thanking God that I DVRed the thing because of the constant interruptions around here....But, honestly, the real reason to be cheerful is that Brad is out there traveling round and reporting back the most incredible information on what is happening on the ground across the country regarding our voting rights, our voting machines, and if our votes are really being counted. This is some of the most important work going on in the country right now, and this guy should have a mandatory viewing, prime time TV show, right in between Merv Griffin's Crosswords and Are you Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, just to make sure that Americans are getting this...it could be like one of those Most Wanted shows and maybe at one point the villagers would pick up their torches and it could become the best reality show ever!

In news of another of the most important jobs out there right now, the one person who has gotten a book on the shelves that dares to pull the curtain back on old man McCain, author, blogger, pundit, Cliff Schecter, is appearing Friday, may 30th, from 6-8PM, in Washington, DC at a book discussion of the fantastic and revealing, The Real McCain (available on the RIPCoco front page Amazon widget or the front page Brilliant Amazon Widget, meaning that we endorse it and suggest it!) The discussion is being held at the AFL-CIO headquarters, on 815 16th St., NW (RSVP: John Goltz at 202-508-6938.)
if I were able to get there, I would SO be ensconced at the George Hotel and eating one of those Chinese salads from the downstairs food court at the station, then wandering round the hollow mall on the hard mud field wondering what the fuck went wrong, before running over to the AFL-CIO for what promises to be a revealing look at a complex guy amongst the denizens of DC, where the air is permeated with politics in this most interesting political season ever...(and maybe somewhere out there someone might find that key for Maron.)
My suggestion meantime: Buy this book! Read this book! Give it as a gift! Many gifts! Your favorite republicans/independents/undecideds/Hillary Clinton supporters need this book! Check for it at your local bookstores and make sure its right up front on the current events table!

Look, just because McCain has the faded aura of hero doesn't mean that he doesn't have problems and skeletons...and it doesn't mean that he is qualified to run this country, considering what he's saying, what his record is, and the whitewash job on his health. Just because he lived through some of the worst tragedies that come from war, doesn't mean that we shouldn't do the necessary research before half the country considers handing him the football...right? You'd think that they would want to do this research themselves, but they don't seem to want to know.

Worried about things? Have trouble believing anything at all? Lost your religion? Here ya go:

Fuck it: The Ultimate Spiritual Way check it! and then sign up to receive a regular Fuck It thought in your email!

John C. Parkin argues that saying Fuck It is a spiritual act:
That it is the perfect western expression of the eastern ideas of letting go, giving up and finding real freedom by realizing that things don’t matter so much (if at all).

This is The Fuck It Way

...And finally, 19 days and counting till the launch of No Ignoring!, Mike Boettcher's ground-breaking Iraq/Afghanistan project that will span 15 months and show us, up close and on the ground, in our soldier's own words, and as a fly on the wall in the major war zones that we are responsible for, what is happening. Lets bring awareness and personal sacrifice back to the concept of war, and see if some sort of ownership doesn't give us some pause when it comes to escalation of any sort. Lets see how the soldiers really feel about what is going on over there. This is going to be an interesting unfolding project with many arms, and I will be following it closely as it kicks off and heads out to war for a tour of duty exactly the length of the actual soldiers. Be careful guys! Keep your heads down!



And, speaking of war...The old man just keeps talking:
"By the way, I will never surrender in Iraq, my friends....and we are winning!" That was John McCain today in a speech in Denver on nuclear non-proliferation, in which he tried to frame himself as the more JFK-like candidate, (he was interrupted by anti-war protesters 3 times!)
Speak for yourself Bozo! You can never surrender all you want, wandering round the 8 mansions talking to the portraits of dead beer scions and their patrician wives, you can rail on and on to your lobby buddies before nodding off in your own drool, or tell it to you oncologist, but don't include anymore of our American troops in your plans, you befuddled old man.

Joementum Lieberman is gonna HOST that Hagee Rapture ready Throw down, July 22nd!! What a sick fuck Joey is. First he moved back to Stamford (my town,) where all his own friends and supporters hate him for lying (I'm talking about a 180 on the war, just 2 weeks before the election, and then another 180 back right after!) and then he embraces a guy that is so putrid, so horrible, as to be unbearable...talk about self-hating! This is the pinnacle of craziness. Earth to Joe: they only want you to lure the coming rapture...then they will dump you! Are YOU ready for the rapture?
Christians United for Israel, indeed! Kish mir en toches!



Which leaves me speechless...what else could anyone say ever again?



c/p Brilliant at Breakfast

John Hagee Says that the Roman Catholic Church Will be Devoured by the Anti-Christ and John McCain Happily Accepts his Endorsement: Frank Rich

Today Frank Rich covers the mind bending Reverend John Hagee and his ongoing endorsement of John McCain. The fact that this man can even find followers is a testament to the level of desperation out there in the search for meaning and the wasteland of American life. How low does one have to go to find oneself adhering to a life plan set forth by the likes of this twisted man preaching hate from a television screen, and getting rich doing it?



Watching this video makes one wonder how its possible that Presidential contender John McCain could not only welcome his endorsement but continue to welcome it, with little notice of whatever inflammatory statements he has made along the way. Jon Stewart weighed in on McCain...and if you really couldn't make this stuff up, why does it take Jon Stewart to deliver it?:



Today Chris Matthews chuckled with his panel about the other pastor in the M$M's religious endorsement wars being the crazy uncle in the attic who pops out to say odd things. The panelists discussed Obama's every action and reaction to the mistake that was the handling of the Jeremiah Wright debacle and unbelievably, thats it.... Its all just a little hard to watch, and honestly, Ive been turning it off lately; all of it. This primary is basically over. If its not for some reason, then I don't know what thats going to mean, because the truth is that this country has a huge emotional problem, and it may take some sort of huge disaster to get us back to some semblance of what were were supposed to be about.

Meanwhile, over at the Old Grey Lady, Frank Rich managed to lay out something that is so urgent and damaging to our country as to make Obama's passive pew/fence sitting during Wright's inflammatory,(if largely correct content-wise,) sermons, seem mild. The truth of McCain and Hagee is that McCain pursued the twisted fuck for his endorsement and that, even in light of having the possibility of standing on a stage next to the next possible President, Hagee consistently repeats his insane claims. And no matter how it has been approached on the kid-gloves-Sunday-shows, McCain refuses to acknowledge how insane the guy really is. Included in the morass of ideas by Hagee , are such gems as his belief that Hurricane Katrina was sent by God because of homosexuality in New Orleans, that a war in Iran should be started immediately as a "Holy War," and that the Catholic church is "The Great Whore," that is drinking Jewish blood. This is only part of the venom that this man spews regularly, and McCain is still happy to have his endorsement.

McCain claims that he does not accept "anti-anything" statements by Hagee, and dismisses any implication that there is a problem with Hagee's outrageous statements. Its unclear if McCain even is aware of what Hagee is saying, but he clearly seems to think that he can disassociate himself from some things that Hagee says and embrace the fact that the guy is religious at all. There has been incredibly little media coverage of McCain and his relationship to Hagee, but for some reason the media has seen fit to cover Obama and Wright ad nauseum, until watching political programming has become nearly impossible. As Rich notes:

I wonder if Mr. McCain would have given the same answer had Mr. Stephanopoulos confronted him with the graphic video of the pastor in full “Great Whore” glory. But Mr. McCain didn’t have to fear so rude a transgression. Mr. Hagee’s videos have never had the same circulation on television as Mr. Wright’s. A sonorous white preacher spouting venom just doesn’t have the telegenic zing of a theatrical black man.

And I would go further than that, in that what gets wall to wall coverage is transparently aimed at shaping the dialog in this country, and in fact to shape the race itself. Rich's point is that black transgressions get more air time and press than similar white transgressions. In support of this he notes Falwell and Robertson and their wacky take on the reasons for 9-11, and the Giuliani priest, among others. But is this merely a matter of racist coverage rather than pure favoritism towards a party, a candidate, or the status quo? Could it be just this simple, or maybe should we try to look at the fact that the outlets are all owned by large corporations that stand to benefit from the preservation of the status quo, represented by a Clinton or a McCain Presidency.

The press certainly loves McCain, and regularly accepts barbecue from him, which could be considered to be a bit of a conflict. There is a dearth of real reporting going on anymore, and the specter of Tim Russert or Matthews hosting another McCain lovefest is sickening. When does Rich call his colleagues in reporting on their behavior? Why is this as simple as a racial issue?

Obama sat for years in church and, if you believe his claims, he didn't much pay close attention to what was being said. That is not what anyone would call unusual in churchgoing Americans, though I would expect more of Obama, considering that he is a pretty deep and spiritual guy with a long term plan. John McCain was tickled to have Hagee endorse him over Huckabee, and continued to seek him out and welcome his endorsement even as the incredible sound bytes came out. ...and Obama is the one deserving of scrutiny? Perhaps that is racial, but there is also a programming angle to it that I see as having a much stronger influence on this thing than any white fear of the coming race war.

So, as much as I was happy to see Frank Rich cover this story, I wish he had gone deeper with it. Perhaps one can speculate about the racial thing easier than one can about actual entities making decisions. But this thing being driven by race would indicate that there are ratings being considered, just like when a blond girl goes missing in the Caribbean, and so doesn't that also indicate a decision by management? The question is, who is willing to take responsibility for what is going on? In the long run its easier to blame the ratings, the shareholders, and ultimately capitalism, than to own up to being part of the problem.

So, why is Obama still being questioned about Jeremiah Wright? Oh, its because crazy black preachers are much more Jerry Springer Show than white ones....right? In other words, its our fault.

c/p Brilliant at Breakfast

Person John Hagee

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Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Separation of Church and State but Were Afraid to Ask.

The blogswarm continues, folks....go here to read about it.

It’s just about cherry blossom time….

Last night, after miles of DC monuments, I found myself in a small television studio at Atlantic video on Massachusetts Avenue NW, invited to view the taping of a show/event that reaches to the very heart of what’s wrong in this country. Presented by First Freedom First, an organization dedicated to the separation of church and state, this pre-taped event will be simulcast tonight at theaters across America. Log on here to find one near you and pick up some free tickets.

The show is hosted by actor Peter Coyote, along with Welton Gaddy, Air America Radio Host and President of the Interfaith Alliance, and Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United. Their combined specialties run the gamut from theology to law, spirituality to broadcasting, and back again. The event presents facts, fallacies, and heart crushing stories that exemplify the huge amount of work that this country will have to do in the wake of eight years of fundamentalist rule. Featured guests are Comedian and AAR host, Marc Maron, Musical group the Bacon Brothers, actors Dan Luria, Wendie Mallick, and Catherine Dent, one man show, Roy Zimmerman, singer/songwriter Catie Curtis, and living legend, dear to my own heart, Jack Klugman.

The tide of a particular brand of Christianity that has swept our nation is a troubling one, in that there is this my-way-or-the-highway mentality about it; a framing of this story as one in which the good are raptured up to heaven and the bad are damned. Even our foundational institutions that are supposed to be, by law immune to this blurred line have succumbed slowly and insidiously thought the years. Schools and the military have moved in a direction that is not only against what this country stands for, but damaging to our strength as a guiding force and to our diplomatic standing in the world. This movement has become a forced migration towards a purely Christian country with the rest being systematically viewed as a dark side, damned to hell, and it has gained strength mainly due to an administration that boldly defies the law, and logic in how to maintain an inclusive society.

Welton Gaddy describes the concept of spirituality or religion as one made up of the journey of understanding, and acknowledging the many ways that the spirit, or some part of it, might make itself known; a search for what each of our personal truths may be made up of, that should not be lessened by any one person’s journey. He embraces a God who encourages that journey, believing that faith is a growing organism, and the inclusion of all forms of spirituality and religion is imperative to the survival of our species. We cannot begin to aspire to attain any goal of understanding on any path, religious or otherwise, without the acceptance of the many differences that make up the human spirit. It is only through this kind of love and acceptance and educational foundation that we fulfill what might be human possibility.

First freedom first is a charitable organization concerned with empowering people to ask questions of their religious leadership, communities, and government, because each of us shapes our own culture and one person really can evoke change. The journey of spirituality is an interactive one, and unfortunately what has happened through our educational system has served to stilt the ongoing dialogue that faith and education should be.

Our places of worship and our society are so steeped in the information age that we have abdicated our responsibility to get up off the couch and ask the questions that shape this conversation. When an issue of importance arises the best answer is usually to ask a question; what does that mean to you? But a culture of proselytizing has taken hold, and the urgency of the concept of “saving” the masses seems to have trumped the law as well as common sense…and in so doing, has served to silence whole portions of our society. The threat of being considered un-American or anti-religion or just not politically correct has been a huge and powerful weapon that has been used against us more and more in the past years. We need to find our courage once again to be the brave Americans who have fought at just about every critical juncture in history for what is right; not what is convenient.

First freedom first encourages everyone to sign on to their webpage, learn about the issues, watch the videos of some of your favorite stars talking about their own concerns, sign the petition, and take a copy of the set of questions to ask your family, your community members, and most importantly, the politicians who shape the agenda regarding so many issues that are run solely from the point of view of religious dogma. These are also critical questions to ask yourself from time to time, when you get swept up in the nonsense that masquerades as real life.

The stories told during this show will break your heart, give you hope, and make you laugh. Questions will be asked, singers will sing, a minister will preach a differing view of the scriptures, and the minister of the funny, Marc Maron will remind us all of the common bond of humanity, that goes past religious or partisan lines and cuts directly to the empathetic thinking spirit of a fellow traveler on the road to wherever this leads. The big shame is that we can’t have a regular dose of this voice on the radio, as we did for what were brilliant years of not just politics, but a life in some sort of motion. This is what we need to hear; interactive moving dialogue that moves us forward rather than pushing us down where I hear that the right wing hate-jocks are repeating the same old thing, as if it becomes truer as you wish it to be.

Facing an end is not anything that we can project ourselves into, or fathom the depth of. I sometimes think that Mother Nature makes the vision dull and softens the edges on the concept of nothingness to make it a little easier for us to parse that divide. For those who embrace a heaven with loved ones and pets; a place of beauty and comfort, and for those who feel that the circle of life leads to rebirth or maybe just nothingness, we must always remember to respect each individual ‘s needs and wants and beliefs in order to be the free country that the framers envisioned. We have the right to the pursuit of happiness, but forcing our beliefs on someone else is not anyone’s right, much less the right of the state. It is, in fact, denying them their rights.

Voyagers across oceans gave their lives to escape a society that lacked the freedom of religion and the ability to strive for happiness. America was founded by people who wanted that freedom so badly that they bravely risked their lives and died in order to be free of that oppression. Somehow over many years, sometimes cyclically, but seemingly moving towards the right, we have forgotten what we are , how we came to be here, and somehow it has become okay to close the doors and turn this into an exclusive club feeding on itself in its intolerance.

After the show, an audience member came up to Marc and I overheard him asking “So, Mark, how would you classify yourself?” To which Maron replied, “Well, I guess I’m just a stand up.” The man then said “Well, I'm a humanist.” And as I walked away I heard Marc sorting it out, like, “oh, you meant…”... I didn't stay for the end of the sentence, because I know the answer and that answer is as individual as each of us…and it is as apt to believe in rock and roll as the humanistic way we treat each other as it is to be a Jew or Christian or to worship at the knee of Don Rickles…and, what about God’s Comedian….? There is no saving or teaching or helping without basic understanding, and it’s sad that so many of us speak totally different languages but really intending somewhat the same outcome.

I hope that First Freedom First will be making the show available on DVD or even better, general television. (update: I hear that there will be an internet release soon.) There should be some way that many more people can see this show. It was long, probably too long and in need of an intermission, but it was engaging and important and the kind of programming that would go a long way towards helping Americans try to sort out the morass of dogma that has become the stock in trade of every walk of life in America today.

Visit First Freedom First here

c/p Brilliant at Breakfast