Words Like Locusts Flew From Her Fingers

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9/11 — Again

I’m not going to re-post my “What I Was Doing On 9/11″ essay yet again this year because, for me at least, it’s time to move on. It’s time to take a look at what’s happened since 9/11. It’s time to get real.

Many Americans have forgotten — if they ever even realized it to begin with — that there were no Iraqis among the nineteen hijackers on 9/11. Similarly, many have forgotten that President Bush’s original explanation for our attack on Iraq had something to do with the Iraqis supposedly stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found.

So here we are — six years after 9/11 — stuck in the middle of a civil war in Iraq and apparently no closer to catching the man who, from all indications, master-minded the 9/11 attack. Billions of dollars and tens of thousands of Iraqi and American lives lost (at least) — and for what???

I’m tired of all the lies.

“Rob Boen” vs “Joe Barton”

You all remember “Joe Barton” — “medical author and researcher” and seller of “reports” containing “cures” for everything from gallstones to ladybug infestations. Sure, you remember him. If not, you can read about his web-based empire in some past posts. Be sure to read the comments. “Joe” himself has quite a bit to say…

Gall Bladder Quacks
World’s Leading Sore Throat Expert Sends Me Threatening Email!
Joe Barton Continues to Astound

Fun stuff, eh?

It gets better. Apparently Joe Barton has now morphed into someone named “Rob Boen” who, amazingly enough, also uses a PO Box in Luvern, Minnesota and — shocking! — dresses up in a white lab coat and looks exactly like “Joe Barton”! Compare the web sites, if you will:

Simple IBS Cure and Get Rid Of Gallstones.

[Update 5/19/08: At some point since I first posted this, the "Boen" site has put up a different photo and has changed the name of the person offering the "cure" from Rob to Tor.]

Shocking! Simply shocking! Could it be Joe’s long-lost identical twin brother who — by incredible coincidence — has gone into the very same business as Joe?!? It’s amazing!!!!!!!

Okay, I’m kidding. You probably already knew that.

Obviously, the picture of Joe/Rob (and sometimes “Bob”) is a stock photo. It’s extremely likely the same person who was running the “Joe Barton” thing is now running the “Rob Boen” thing. None of these things necessarily mean that Joe/Rob/Bob (and sometimes “Mary Jo”) doesn’t actually send you a “report” of some sort when you send him/her/it your money. And it doesn’t necessarily even mean that there isn’t useful information in the “report”. But — you really have to wonder about the honesty of a person who uses so many different aliases in running their business.

And speaking of honesty, I’ve been to the site of the “web mistress” who claims to be the person who designed the sites for “Joe Barton” and “Rob Boen” — and she says it as though these were two separate and unrelated businesses. Honey, if you’re going to artificially pad your resume, you’ve got to be a bit sneakier about it than that. And, if you’re going to pretend these are two unrelated businesses, the least you could do is use different stock photos on them! Jeez…

Anyway, let’s update our list of “Joe Barton” web-based businesses, shall we? I’m not going to actually link to them because, honestly, why hike this guy’s Google ratings any higher?

simpleibscure.com
simpleulcercure.com
simplefibrocure.com
bartonpublishing.com
yeastinfectionrelief.com
bloodpressurenormalized.com
thejoyequation.com
naturallystiff.com < — heh, heh.. appears to be offline for some reason
getridofladybugs.com
sorethroatcure.com
scabiesrelief.com
www-boxelderbugs.com
www-thyroid.com
www-limedisease.com
refluxremedy.com
lyme-disease-symptom.info
apneacure.com
kidneystoneremedy.com
cureyourgout.com
depression-info2.blogspot.com
kidney-stone-resources.info
uti-report.com

I got bored before even getting halfway through the list of web pages connected to this guy. These are only a few of many — and appear to be ones he owns himself. There are dozens — maybe hundreds more “alternative medicine” and “free advertising” type sites where’s got his stuff mentioned.

According to his bio on “joebarton.net”, Joe (if that is his real name — which is certainly doubtful) sends money to “The Creation Museum” — which, as far as I’m concerned, conclusively proves that he’s an idiot who wouldn’t know a scientific fact if it bit him in his boxelder bug-infested ass. Actually, it’s entirely possible that that claim is also a lie. It might be that the person who runs this business assumes his target customer is going to be a fundamentalist nutbar — so he paints “himself” as being equally nuts to draw them in.

Who knows.

My advice to anyone tempted to buy one of these “reports” is to see a real doctor for treatment. Most of the conditions “Joe” claims to have “cures” for are very serious illnesses that could kill a person if left untreated. Don’t screw around with your health. See a real doctor.

The Political Brain

Homo politicus: brain function of liberals, conservatives differs – Yahoo! News
The match-up was unmistakable: respondents who had described themselves as liberals showed “significantly greater conflict-related neural activity” when the hypothetical situation called for an unscheduled break in routine.

Conservatives, however, were less flexible, refusing to deviate from old habits “despite signals that this … should be changed.”

Told ‘ya so.

Karl Rove Knows His History

Karl Rove on George W. Bush on National Review Online
If the outcome there is like what happened in Vietnam after America abandoned our allies and the region descended into chaos, violence, and danger, history’s judgment will be harsh.

Oh, yes. Many people don’t realize that, until the Americans left Vietnam, it was a regular vacationer’s paradise! Happy-go-lucky natives, dressed in their quaint pajama-like garb, would frolic in the country’s many lush forests. Americans would spend relaxing days and nights at the country’s many tourist-friendly bars and restaurants. And the beaches! Don’t even get me started!

It was only after the west withdrew its tourists and their expendable incomes that Vietnam “descended into chaos, violence, and danger”. Before then? The people of the northern and southern parts of the country adored one another and got along famously! (Much like the Sunnis and the Shiites in the Middle East, in fact!)

Yes, children, believe what Karl Rove has to say here. Vietnam was an oasis of peace and happiness before the United States left. There was no civil war there. Everyone was happy. That’s why it was so surprising when the French pulled out of Vietnam in 1954. I mean — why leave such an Eden? Those French! What a bunch of silly-heads!

—

Tip o’ the hat to Eugene Robinson’s editorial in the Washington Post for the link to this article.

blogActive

The Most Feared Man on the Hill? – washingtonpost.com
In Rogers’s mind, if you’re against gay rights in your public life and you live a secret homosexual life, all bets are off.

That’s reasonable to me. If anything, Mike Rogers might not be going far enough!

“Gay rights” are “Human rights”. Our constitution guarantees certain rights to all adult humans and, if the right to marry the person you love isn’t all about “the pursuit of happiness”, then I don’t know what is.

I don’t care whether you’re a DAR-member who has never had sexual thoughts about anyone but her husband or a supposedly-straight congressman who (apparently) likes getting blow jobs from strange men in public bathrooms. If you’re against equal rights for gay people, you’re a bigot. Plain and simple.

Anyway… the Washington Post can be so stupid sometimes. I don’t see that they’ve even included a link to Mike Rogers’ blog. Here it is, if you’re interested: blogActive

Anti-Zionism != Anti-Semitism

Denis MacShane – The New Anti-Semitism – washingtonpost.com
More worrisome was what we described as anti-Jewish discourse, a mood and tone whenever Jews are discussed, whether in the media, at universities, among the liberal media elite or at dinner parties of modish London. To express any support for Israel or any feeling for the right of a Jewish state to exist produces denunciation, even contempt.

Well… yes.

A lot of people have come to understand that the politics of Israel –including its mistreatment of the Palestinian people — are a huge part of the problem in the Middle East. Many of those who believe are like me in having no particular issues with the religion of Judaism. We simply believe that the mere fact of being Jewish doesn’t give people any particular rights as far as land ownership or government.

Some will exclaim, “But Judaism and ‘the right of Israel to exist’ are inextricably linked!” And, of course, that’s the biggest part of the problem. They’re only linked if you insist on making them linked. These are the same people who apparently, like this editorial’s author, conflate a dislike of Israel’s politics — and a genuine question about the wisdom of forcibly creating a Jewish state smack in the middle of lands that have for centuries been dominated by Muslims — with “anti-semitism”. They don’t understand that many of us believe Zionism is pretty much the same sort of animal as Islamicism.

Any time people put their religion into the center of their politics, they’re looking for trouble.

Atheists On Parade

Well… not really on parade — that just sounded funny, so that’s why I wrote it. Rather, what we’ve got is atheists thinking they need to “come out” and announce themselves as such. Read Richard Dawkins introductory remarks about it here: The OUT Campaign.

I think this is a little bit ridiculous. It’s always been my contention that Dawkins paints with far too broad a stroke. Most people who identify themselves as “religious” in the United States are not the kind of people who let their religion rule their entire lives. In fact, most of the “religious” people I know — like most Americans — are far more influenced by secular factors when it comes to deciding what’s moral and what’s the best way of thinking about the natural world. Only a fairly small (but surprisingly loud) minority are of the reason-denying ilk that so disturb Richard Dawkins and his band of followers.

While there may be more atheists around than many of us think (though I seriously doubt the representativeness of informal surveys on the internet!), the majority of “religious” people are really nothing to worry about. That small group who would deny all scientific advancement are the people you need to put on a leash — and they’re only likely to see this silly “OUT Campaign” as further proof that the End Times have arrived!

Finally, what’s with the “Battle of Britain” analogy that Dawkins opens with in this essay? Is this some new form of Godwin’s Law in action? Maybe, “As a famous British atheist talks about religious people, the probability of him making an oblique comparison between said religious people and Hitler or Nazis approaches one“.