Words Like Locusts Flew From Her Fingers

My Email From Al

Dear Rebecca,

In the months following the release of An Inconvenient Truth, I began to focus on why our democracy has been so slow to deal with the climate crisis. The unwillingness to solve this problem is not only the result of a lack of political will, but it has also been caused by the emergence of a new political environment dangerously hostile to reason, knowledge, and facts. In the long-term, this poses a threat to the very basis of American democracy: the ability of a well-informed citizenry to use the rule of reason to hold government accountable.

This Assault on Reason is the focus of my new book that goes on sale today. You can purchase the book at your local bookstore or by visiting:

When George Bush launched his preemptive war in Iraq, more than 70% of Americans believed Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorists who caused 9-11. After the 2004 election, when asked what stuck in their minds about the campaign, voters in Ohio named two ads playing to the fears of terrorism paid for by the Bush Campaign. One pattern that has held true since 2001 is that this White House is less interested in openness and truth than any previous administration.

We are facing so many long-term challenges, from the climate crisis and the war in Iraq to health care and social welfare. To solve these problems and move forward we need to reverse the damage done to our democracy. We have little time to waste.

My goal in The Assault on Reason is to explore why our public forum now welcomes the enemies of reason. More importantly, the book focuses on what we can do together, individually and collectively, to restore the rule of reason to our democracy.

You can purchase The Assault on Reason by visiting:

My team will be emailing those of you who live in the cities that I will visit for book signings. I hope that I’ll have the chance to see you in person.

I’ll be back in touch soon.

Thank You,

Did you see that? He called me Dear Rebecca! Heh, heh… As it happens, I’ve already picked up a copy of “The Assault On Reason” at the local Barnes & Noble and I’m quite looking forward to reading it. (As soon as I finish American Vulgar: The Politics of Manipulation Versus the Culture of Awareness and P.J. O’Rourke’s On The Wealth of Nations. I figure if anyone can make Adam Smith interesting, it ought to be P.J. O’Rourke.)

What I really want to do — briefly this time — is to say a couple things about reason.

A lot of people don’t really understand what reason is. They think it means being without emotions, like Spock on Star Trek. Or that it’s the enemy of faith. That last one is especially popular these days. Let me just give you my own definition of what reason is, though:

Reason is a tool — the best tool we have — for understanding the world around us. Reason is what helps us differentiate between objective reality and wishful thinking.

Al Gore Was Right About Pretty Much Everything

E. J. Dionne Jr. – Free To Be Al Gore – washingtonpost.com
It’s entertaining to talk to Gore these days because he’s so clearly enjoying himself. (That’s probably why he won’t run for president.) During a 40-minute telephone interview yesterday, he did not speak as if there were focus-grouped sentences dancing around in his head. Nor did he worry about saying things that some consultant would fret about for weeks afterward.

I sure wish Al Gore would run for president. I’d certainly vote for him (again) and I think he could win (AGAIN).

Anyway. Al’s got a new book coming out today that looks REALLY interesting. I’m certainly going to pick up a copy. Click on the little book picture up above if you want a copy too.

Worldview Super Conference

Worldview Super Conference
Christianity in America was dealt a serious blow at the infamous Scopes Trial of 1925.

Good grief. Still whining about something that happened 82 years ago?? That’s fucking crazy. But, for what it’s worth, yes — loons like the people sponsoring this “Super Conference” were dealt a serious blow. Their fundamentalist Biblical literalism was revealed for the crazy nonsense it is. And, frankly, I thank God for that.

After our hollow victory, Christians retreated from American public life with their tails tucked between their legs.

Their long pointy tails tucked between their cloven-hoofed legs. Heh, heh… Anyway. Poor Billy Graham — I guess he didn’t count for anything, eh? I’m guessing he was just a bit too sane for these nutbars.

Over the next 50 years, we allowed Secular Humanism to replace Christianity as the official religion of America.

1. “Secular Humanism” isn’t a religion.
2. America has never had an “official religion” and that is, in fact, exactly as our founding fathers intended.

As a result, cherished freedoms to express our Christian faith were eroded before our eyes.

Bullshit. No one’s stopping you from expressing your Christian faith. You just don’t have the right to inflict your personal religious views upon others.

The killing of pre-born babies was legalized.

Yep. It sure was. And if you people were doing a better job of making sure everyone has access to cheap and effective contraception, there wouldn’t be much need for anyone to have an abortion. Get right on that now, won’t you?

Violent crime rose to staggering levels in our nation’s history.

So did the consumption of Big Macs. Is McDonald’s the fault of “secular humanism” too? OR…is the consumption of Big Macs responsible for the rise in violent crime?? Hmm…

The quality of education plummeted to new depths.

Prove it. I think they’re lying. I don’t think there’s even an objective way of measuring “quality of education”. Ohhhh…wait. I get it. They’re talking about the teaching of EVOLUTION.

It wasn’t until 1975, and the “born-again” era, that Christians began to re-emerge and re-engage the culture once again.

Oh wait… you don’t mean Christians. You mean “Christians”. You mean nutbar fundamentalist wackos who deny objective reality and dream of imposing their own bizarro-world fairy tale craziness on the rest of us.

I believe more and more Americans are waking up to the fact that craziness of the sort espoused by the people sponsoring this “Worldview Super Conference” is more than just amusing nuttiness. It’s potentially dangerous. (We all laughed at the people who were claiming there were dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden — until they got themselves elected to the school board and tried to impose their lunacy on our children.) And, of course, there’s the vivid example of how fundamentalist religious extremists in the Middle East have been managing things. The frightening lesson that comes from that example has, thankfully, not been completely lost. I believe — and I certainly hope — that fundamentalist religious bullshit of the sort promoted by these “Worldview” people is on its way out in the United States.

Willow Wind Farms Organic Mixed Vegetables

I’ve discovered a great product you deserve to know about. It’s Willow Wind Farms Organic Mixed Vegetables and you can buy a 5-pound bag at Costco for some absurdly cheap price. Besides being organic and very fresh tasting, what I really like about these mixed veggies is that they’ve cut the carrots and green beans into approximately the same size and the peas and corn kernels so the mix cooks evenly. The corn kernels, green beans, and peas are all young and tender. The carrots are crisp and a nice bright orange. The whole mix is really attractive-looking!

As soon as I spotted these at Costco, I knew there would be ALL SORTS of things I could do with them. I just finished nuking some and mixed them with a bottled Indian korma sauce for a quick and very good lunch. The veggies would also be great for a soup. Another idea I just had this morning is to make Jamaican style veggie patties with them. Or… how about mixing some cooked veggies with some mashed potatoes, add some spices (probably even just salt and pepper would be great), wrapping them in wonton wrappers and baking them for a very low fat appetizer sort of thing. Mmm… that would be very good!

What else? These wonderful vegetables could be used for so many things!

I only recently joined Costco and I’ve been really pleased by their good variety of organic foods at surprisingly nice prices. I think this is going to turn out to have been a worthwhile thing.

Saint Jimmy

Carter: Bush’s Impact ‘Worst in History’ – washingtonpost.com
“I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history,” Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper’s Saturday editions. “The overt reversal of America’s basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me.”

I love that man.

And, in case you think I’m just being dramatic, let me write it again. I love that man, Jimmy Carter. If there were saints in the realm of politics, Jimmy Carter would be a saint. Has there ever, in the entire history of the United States, been an ex-president as willing to completely put aside all the political bullshit and just say it like it is?

No. There’s only Jimmy Carter. With all his faults — and he’d be the first to admit to them — he remains decent and honest and good.

I’m Reminded of the Movie “Brazil”

Eugene Robinson – Gonzales’s Signature Moment – washingtonpost.com
The image I can’t get out of my head is of Alberto Gonzales carrying a document for Ashcroft’s signature into the man’s hospital room, attempting a sneaky end-run around the deputy whom Ashcroft left in charge of the department, knowing full well that Ashcroft was seriously ill and almost certainly medicated. What did he intend to do, guide the man’s hand?

Oh, sure. Of course he was medicated. What a lot of people don’t realize is that acute pancreatitis is unbelievably painful. It’s worse than kidney stones. And I know, because I’ve had both. When I had acute pancreatitis, I was on intravenous demerol. That, my friends, is a heavy painkilling regimen. There is absolutely no way a person on IV demerol can make a reasoned decision about anything.

This entire disgusting episode perfectly illustrates something I’ve believed about Alberto Gonzales for several years now. The man is without a conscience. From all indications, he has no ethical center at all. He’s a cold and amoral functionary who’s willing to do literally anything at the bidding of his master and, seeing as how his master is a foolish and arrogant man, that makes Alberto Gonzales an extraordinarily dangerous person.

Fox!

Very cool! As I write this there’s a red fox in the back yard trying to catch one of the birds or squirrels at the feeder. He (she?) just zoomed up the hill after a squirrel, but… no luck. Now he’s back under the feeder. He could be eating dropped seed. I’ve seen foxes do that before.

But now, just a few minutes later, the squirrels have returned to the deck. The fox must have moved on.

And… a few minutes after that, the fox is back! This time, he actually came right up on the deck to try to catch a squirrel. Wow! It’s a healthy looking fox, too. That’s a nice change. Many of them I’ve seen over the past year or so have been pretty mangy-looking.

Immigration Deal

Immigration Compromise Reached by Senate Negotiators – washingtonpost.com
… each Z Visa itself would be renewable indefinitely, as long as the holder passes a criminal background check, remains fully employed and pays a $5,000 fine, plus a paperwork-processing fee.

Uh… yeah. I’m seeing a little problem here. How many of these folks are going to be able to come up with five grand for this fine? How many are going to avoid the whole process because they don’t have the money for the fine? I’m guessing a lot.

Don’t get me wrong, all things considered this seems to be a pretty reasonable compromise, but I don’t envision a whole lot of people who’ve been avoiding detection for years suddenly deciding to step forward, five thousand dollars in hand, to sign up for one of these new visas. Maybe I’m wrong. I hope I’m wrong.

Cheap Grub

Lawmakers Find $21 a Week Doesn’t Buy a Lot of Groceries – washingtonpost.com
McGovern and his wife, Lisa, did their food shopping for the week with help from Toinette Wilson, a D.C. resident and mother of three who relies on food stamps. Wilson gave him some tips, but it was still a struggle, he said.

“No organic foods, no fresh vegetables, we were looking for the cheapest of everything,” McGovern said. “We got spaghetti and hamburger meat that was high in fat — the fattiest meat on the shelf. I have high cholesterol and always try to get the leanest, but it’s expensive. It’s almost impossible to make healthy choices on a food stamp diet.”

Bullshit.

With a caveat which I’ll explain at the end.

McGovern spent his money foolishly. Dollar for dollar, buying meat as food is a very stupid way to spend one’s money. You get much better quality food for significantly less money if you go vegetarian. (Not only that… this guy’s got high cholesterol and he’s still eating meat? What a dope.) I’m not just saying that because I’m a vegetarian, either. Anyone who does any amount of grocery shopping can’t help but have noticed how much more expensive meat is than almost any other kind of food.

Okay, so we get $21 for a week’s worth of food for one person, right? Here’s what I’d get. I’m basing these prices on what Giant’s Peapod service charges for the groceries they deliver. You could very likely get them for less at another store.

1 bag pinto beans $0.79
1 can chick peas $0.79
18 oz quick cooking oats $1.99
1 bag brown rice $1.49
2 large yellow onion $1.79
3 lbs apples $3.99
1 lb carrots $0.99
10 oz spinach $2.49
1 bulb garlic $0.59
8 tortillas $1.99
canned diced tomatoes with jalapeno $1.39
1 qt vanilla soy milk $1.50

My total = $19.79

Granted, my list takes for granted that the person doing the shopping has at least some salt and pepper and maybe a little sugar on hand, but this list would easily provide enough food for one person for an entire week with there very likely being some leftovers. For breakfast, the person would have oatmeal with some chopped apple in it and some vanilla soy milk on top. For lunch, they could have a burrito or some rice and veggies. Same with dinner — rice, veggies, beans. Mmm! With an apple for dessert. I could have made this even more economical if I’d gone with canned veggies but fresh ones taste so much better. Also. dried chickpeas would have been cheaper but those suckers take forever to cook so I thought the person might like to just be able to open the can, rinse them off, and dig in. Another big money saver would be for the person to buy their rice and dried beans in large quantities. It’s much much cheaper that way. Store this stuff in big plastic buckets with tight lids so the bugs don’t get in. Likewise, a lot of money could be saved by buying a 25 pound bag of flour and making your own tortillas and bread. This sort of thing would save enough money that a person could afford to buy fresh veggies and fruits pretty much whenever they wanted them. And coffee too. They could buy coffee.

Okay, so pretty clearly it’s not REALLY all that hard to buy enough food to live on for a week if you’ve only got 21 bucks to spend. BUT… here’s that caveat I talked about earlier. There are two big things that make this difficult for people:

1. People haven’t been educated about what kinds of foods are really good for them and also economical. They don’t understand what they should eat or how to prepare it.
2. People have a whole bunch of emotional attachments to different kinds of foods and these attachments rarely have anything to do with what’s healthy or cheap. You don’t need meat to eat well. In fact, you’re less likely to be healthy if you include a lot of meat in your diet. But people have these cravings and socially conditioned desires for certain kinds of foods.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Well…. why shouldn’t poor people be able to eat the foods that give them comfort?” How about because those foods are often unhealthy and overly expensive? How about because spending money on those kinds of foods contributes to making these folks permanent members of an underclass?

I honestly don’t know a lot about the food stamp program. Are people who get food stamps educated about how to spend their stipends wisely? Are they taught about eating vegetarian??? If not, why not??

An Amusing Letter From Nigeria

This is the first one I’ve paid any attention to that includes a URL for background information. You know… in case you were asking yourself, “Who the fuck is Mrs. Amieye M. Alamieyeseigha?”

It’s really beautifully written for the most part. If only more of our American high school graduates could write so well.

Poor, poor Mrs. Alamieyeseigha! Read her testimonial and just see if you’re not moved to shed a tear on her behalf. Just don’t agree to go into business with her.

Sir/Madam,

PERSONAL LETTER FROM HER EXCELLENCY, MRS AMIEYE M.
ALAMIEYESEIGHA.

It is quite obvious that you may not be familiar with
above name; however this very important message is for
your perusal. I request you to please navigate through
below website for firm grasp of information passed in
this letter

http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/headline/f109112005.html.

I do not wish to flatter myself here but for clarity,
I am former first lady of Bayelsa State in Nigeria or
better still wife of former Governor of said state.
What informed my decision to contact you is anchored
on my resolve to deal with a total stranger in this
regard. You can’t imagine opening up to someone I just
came across his profile on the internet but I don’t
mind. It is my belief that trust abused by a total
stranger is more bearable than that of a close
relation or friend. On this premise I wish to
introduce to you what I consider my family’s top
business secret. I think there’s the need to still
confide in someone since I must look for a way
forward. Well, be that as it may, my husband now bears
Ex-Governor having been pulled down by political
opponents. He did not complete his second tenure in
office as Governor. Our ordeal started in London
airport where my husband was arrested by the
metropolitan police on his arrival from Germany where
he had traveled for his medical check up. The said
police forced him to our house in London where they
turned everything upside down and took away cash of
above one million British pounds which my husband had
kept at home to attend to representatives of Bayelsans
resident in Europe, who had a date with him in the
same week. This development led to his detention in
London. He was later charged to court in London for
money laundry. Having spent well over two months in
prison custody he managed to escape to Nigeria through
the assistance of Israeli Security Operatives who
disguised him and smuggled him out of London through
boat to Paris.
On arrival in Bayelsa he returned to office as the
Governor but was outsmarted by political opponents who
saw the situation as an opportunity to deal with him
and this led to his impeachment by the state house of
assembly. My husband is now under probe and currently
in prison custody, and the Federal Government has
refused him bail. He is facing charges of gross
misconduct and corruption.
Our choice properties and bank accounts have been held
on the orders of the Federal Government and the worst
of it all is that close friends of my husband whom he
entrusted money in their care have refused to return
such money to me claiming that they had no transaction
with him. You can see the moral justification behind
my refusal to have anything to do with any close
relatives or friends. I am contacting you because I am
in a confused state at the moment. I do not know who
to trust anymore and how best to save-keep the little
amount which I and very close relatives could recover
from few honest people. I am scared of everybody
around me here now because of the surprises I received
from my husband’s assumed close friends I think I
should deal with a total stranger whereupon I commit
my success to God. I have made arrangement with an
agent to register a company here in your chosen name
and thereafter open a corporate bank account in that
company name where the recovered amount will be paid
in, as contract fund for you to draw to your overseas
bank account for save-keep for my husband to fall back
on when he comes out of prison. I have sold the idea
to him in prison and he agreed to it and has requested
me to find out what your fee for the requested favour
stand for. I will be waiting for your urgent reply.

Yours Sincerely,
A. M. Alamieyeseigha.