If A Kristallnacht Event Occurred in the U.S. Would Anyone Recognize It?

Kurt Braun, former Hitler Youth,  showing scenes of 1930s Nazi rampages in 1978

Kurt Braun, a late good German friend of wifey and myself (originally of Janice, from a skiing trip to the Austrian alps in 1960 when she met Kurt and his gf Ute) had amassed an archive from footage of Nazi depredations by the time we saw him in Frankfurt-Am-Main in 1978. One night, he asked if we'd like to see some of his films and we said 'yes' then sat spellbound as we watched the horrors of the Reichstag Fire, then Kristallnacht and assorted scenes of Jews as well as Marxists being dragged from their homes and beaten mercilessly in the streets of assorted towns and cities.

Kristillnacht - which anniversary was marked yesterday, occurred in 1938 and saw Nazis, mainly their S.S. thugs, smashing Jewish Synagogues  (the shattered glass from the windows giving the event its name) then desecrating them and setting them on fire- as they beat the Jews that escaped nearly to death. Even the re-screening caused uneasiness in Kurt, who was forced to join the Hitler Youth under threat of rape to his mother, but he wanted us to see the events unedited as they unfolded. Not after they'd been sanitized in a media presentation.

The thing that stood out in the film was how the Jews were singled out and then persecuted for their beliefs as well as for erroneous beliefs cast upon them, i.e. that they were "vermin".Later, based on misshapen Nazi dogmas they were rounded up, bungled onto transports to concentration camps, and slaughtered in gas chambers.

Might the same happen in the U.S. at some future date?

In his alarming Wall Street Journal piece, 'From Kristallnacht to the Kindertrasnport to Finally, America', Kristallnacht survivor John H. Lang believes we should all be on our guard. He is clearly one of those who subscribes to George Santayana's warning: "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it".

But, interestingly, his worry is not for any victim subset in America but for Christians in the Middle East when he writes:

"In the shadow of the Kristallnacht anniversary I see that the Christian communities of the Middle East are being savaged by Islamic terrorists"

He then describes the beheadings, women "condemned to acts of depravity" and churches burned, all of which ought to raise alarms.  But what about closer to home? Might we not have a "subclass" right here in the U.S. earmarked for methodical extermination?

The idea was first brought out in an obscure 1992 Playboy magazine article when contributing writer Joe Bageant described an evangelical conference that approved of using gas chambers to kill all the anti-Christian "vermin" fouling the U.S. including atheists, pornographers, gays and others. The article received little attention because most believed Bageant was exaggerating. Christians, famous for professing love of God and fellow man, couldn't possibly attempt such vile acts!

Then, last night, Rachel Maddow revealed a conference held by extremist Christians featuring speeches and discussions with strategies to murder gays. The confab (National Religious Liberties Conference) included methods on the best way to do it, e.g. throwing off cliffs, stoning, shooting etc. The instigator was a bug-eyed religious freak from Colorado named Kevin Swanson who went on a minutes -long harangue of how it was justified - quoting the Bible, of course. I swear it was as painful to watch as Kurt's films of Nazis throttling and killing Jews.

Swanson invoked Leviticus 20:13 ("it says we can kill homosexuals, not my words but God's") as well as Romans 1, where we're told Paul gave Xtians special dispensation to stone them to death. However, the putz was generous enough to say "we don't need to kill the gays now" since "we will give them time to repent". Cheeze, that's damned gracious of you, asshole! How about atheists, will you give us time to repent too?

Note that this knuckledragging turkey isn't even aware that homosexuality is a result of epigenetic changes not a personal choice. Epigenetics constitute  heritable changes caused by factors other than DNA. Instead of traits getting passed down through the genes, epigenetic change happens because of the way genes are regulated, or turned on and off

Hence, according to a recent paper in the Quarterly Review of Biology  homosexuality arises from heritable changes and consequent epigenetic changes leading to the action of so-called "epi-marks". (If a gene is a blueprint, the epi-mark is the construction foreman who makes sure the product gets built.)

 Thus, if an epi-mark that keeps a mother from getting exposed to high testosterone in development gets passed on to her son — the opposite sex — it could desensitize him to testosterone, contributing to his sexual preference for men. These findings  explain why twin studies show that homosexuality runs in families, but no "gay gene" has been found.

In other words, this demented fucktard Swanson is demanding gays "repent" for some biological, epigenetic influence not under their control. It would almost be like demanding a short man "repent" and become tall. (I guess he could if he finds the right elevator shoes!)

The goofball then welcomed the three Presidential candidates in attendance to the stage: Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and Bobby Jindal.

He's then seen asking Cruz how a President ought to act each day and Cruz responds :"He ought to start each day on his knees".   Er, no, Cruz,we don't want any Christian Mullahs.

Needless to say, Cruz, Jindal and Huckabee ought to be disqualified for high government office just on the basis of attending this "religious liberties" confab. The irony of the name surely lost on the 1700 attending Jacobins hell bent to kill gays born with an epigenetic divergence.

Back to the point:  Given this Conference on killing gays convened in plain sight in Dubuque, will Americans pay any attention if the day comes when gays are dragged from their homes and sent off  to their deaths like the Jews?  Will any respond to help, or will they merely watch like impotent Germans did 78 years ago in Kristillnacht? When gays are dispatched to "Bible-based retribution camps" will Americans go after the self-righteous killers, or allow gays' bodies to be piled up like cord wood as we saw happen to Jews, e.g. at Mauthausen and Auschwitz?

That is the sixty four dollar question and let's hope we never reach the stage we have to provide an answer.

See also:

http://republic-of-gilead.blogspot.com/2015/11/freedom-2015-kevin-swanson-comes-unglued.html

That REEPO Debate: More Fun Than A Barrel Of Monkeys

Okay, I admit it'd be hard to surpass a barrel of yelping, cackling monkeys all going at each other  -in terms of hilarity. But the Republican (prime time) debate last night came pretty close. It also showed, probably better than anything else - how batshit crazy and out of touch the whole lot of them are. But were there some kernels of hope for a Lefty? Definitely, and I plan to pick those out from the general stream of deranged nuttiness..

Let's start from the beginning where the question was asked - unfairly I believe: Was there any candidate who was unwilling to pledge support to the eventual Republican nominee and swear off a third-party run?  Of course, Trump raised his hand to assorted catcalls from the peanut gallery - also provoking an outburst from Rand Paul explaining the Donald's "only hedging his bets because he's used to buying politicians".

Rand may have a point, but let's face it: this would be the best thing to happen for the Dem nominee, whoever it is. Even Bernie Sanders could be handed a landslide victory if the Donald is the opponent, or runs as an Independent - taking at least as many votes from the GOP as Perot did back in 1992.

Now, back to the other deranged aspects of which there were many, but I highlight the standouts:

Next, Foxie  News darling Megyn Kelly put Ben Carson in her sights, with the cameras catching him in 'deer in the head lights' mode.  Megyn recounted previous basic mistakes Carson made in various forums, including: suggesting the Baltic states are not part of NATO,  not knowing the main political parties in Israel and (no kidding!) believing Alan Greenspan had been Treasury Secretary instead of former Chairman of the Federal Reserve.  Any one of these bonehead errors would ordinarily disqualify a candidate as surely as Rick Perry (in 2012) failing to recall the DOE as one  of the main federal agencies.

Megyn correctly asked if all his drops weren't "basic mistakes"  and "raise legitimate questions on whether you're ready to be president?"

Ben asserted "I could take issue with all those but we don't have time" then changed the subject and lamely said "we will have an opportunity to explore all those issues". Uh no, Ben. See, you were supposed to have a ready answer for your incompetence and you blew it.

After watching Ben's inauspicious performance on stage it might be better if he instantly - and voluntarily  - changed places with Carly Fiorina at the "happy hour" debate.  At least Fiorina looked halfway presidential, Carson looked like he couldn't qualify for dogcatcher in Dogpatch, NC.

Carson's ridiculous answers - even with limited time - showed me the man needs to spend his time another way, perhaps helping out in soup kitchens in Baltimore- especially as penance after his outrageous putdowns of progressives.. In concert they raise serious questions about how well he understands the country not to mention the international scene.

Did he reassure anyone? Not at all, just made them wince even more - and as I told wifey: "How the hell did this bozo even make it onto the stage. How did he ever become a Hopkins neurosurgeon?"

 Marco Rubio's turn came next and 'Cisco Kid' was asked how he could claim to be presidential caliber given his limited experience. This had to be one of the softball questions and Rubio  delivered his usual canned nonsense about "being Senator from one of the most diverse states". Maybe, but that's not the same as governance. Realizing that perhaps, he added "this cannot be a resume competition". Uh, yes it can!

Jeb Bush didn't do much better, and was reminded of his previous gaffes. But the question also let this POS brag how he "balanced every budget"  and was nicknamed "Veto Corleone" but no word on the deplorable state his budget cuts left Florida's ecology sinking in literal slime and pollution.  Bush also showed he either didn't understand Common Core (which he supposedly backs) or was trying a last minute attempt to wiggle out of supporting it. He claimed he favored "state solutions" when the whole idea of Common Core is a centralized educational template that would ultimately be issued from the federal gov't. You can't have each state doing its own Common Core. That defeats the very definition.

Megyn Kelly then went for Trump's jugular - perhaps because she was irate after reading a blog post of mine on how 'the Donald' paddled Katy Tur in her interview with him. So Megyn was out for revenge.  Megyn, bless her agitated soul, eyed Trump like a female boa eyes a paralyzed mouse and said menacingly:

“You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals,” as if she was barely able to contain her revulsion.  Trump shot back "Only Rosie O'Donnell" but Megyn shot back 'No, it wasn't!"

To toss in some more acid, she recalled that Trump's "made several disparaging comments on women's looks and once told a contestant on 'The Celebrity Apprentice'  that it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees.” She asked: "Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president and how will you answer the charge when Hillary Clinton is likely to be the Democratic nominee that you are part of the war on women.?”

Of course, the Donald was way too smart to take the bait, and instead launched into a minute's worth of fulsome bollocks on how he "doesn't have time for political correctness" and "this country doesn't have time either"

In fact, the only times  I thought Trump was truly on the ropes were when he was questioned on his Repub bona fides, namely his past published remarks in favor of single payer health care - which he now claimed to have rejected (unconvincingly). Then he was asked about his donations to the Clintons whereupon he delivered the lamo answer "I donate to everybody and always expect something in return". When asked what he got in return for a donation to Hillary,  he snapped: "I got her to come to my daughter's wedding!" 

  Could Trumpie be a liberal "Trojan horse" as some wild conservo conspiracy theories allege?  That might be in the minds of some voters and viewers after this exchange. But seriously? The real issue for voters ought to be Trump's decorum and political competence. To my mind while he survived the debate - and may even get a 'bump'- he aroused more questions than answers.

Ted Cruz came next and averred he knew "where $18 trillion in debt came from" - but really didn't.

Christie was  then given a chance to convince voters why he ought to be Prez given how New Jersey's balance sheet has basically ended up in a sea of red. If Christie couldn't handle his own state economically how could he manage the nation? Of course, 'Mr. Crisco'  the Doughnut Boy dumped it all on the previous D -administration.

Then there was Scott Walker, who stood at his podium with a half drunk, quizzical stare:  a visage that resembled Alfred E. Neumann with parts of Dean Martin grafted on. Asked a question (by Megyn Kelly)  on his recent decision to outlaw abortions even for women facing  critical complications the maggot didn't blink an eye. Nor would be do so for a young female who'd been raped. As far as the drunken stupor Scott - with the Alfred Neumann -Dino Martin stare- it was no biggie. "Most Americans" would agree with his position. Let's not forget this turd had originally not embraced such an extreme position on abortion rights and only changed his stripes after entering the race.

 Huckabee's turn was next and was as extremist and insane as one would expect him to be, bloviating about how he'd invoke the 5th and 14th amendments to defend the "personhood rights of the unborn child". Those who've read my earlier posts on the Huckster grasp that I view him as unhinged, and that response he delivered ought to now convince everyone else too.

The 5th amendment against bearing witness against oneself, for a fetus or zygote? Seriously? The entity isn't even conscious, you nitwit! And the 14th amendment, the same one used to liberate the slaves in the Confederacy?  Are you serious? Who is the fetus a slave to? Its mommy?

By far the most constructive interlude in this circus  arrived in a raw and revealing exchange (baited by the Foxites)  between Chris Christie and Rand Paul over national security, federal eavesdropping and the collection of personal data. Christie pounded his fat chest in self-righteous indignation - as most pro security tools do - bragging on his U.S. attorney bona fides after 9/11 and actually dealing with the pain and fallout. Fine as far as it goes but missing Paul's point that you don't need to scoop up every record to catch the bad guys.

When Christie shot back 'How else would you do it?" Paul responded, 'By getting a warrant!" which is exactly correct, and for once Paul and I agreed on the issue of the 4th amendment - which I wish more Reepos embraced as fiercely as they do the 2nd.

Christie was wrong when  - after Paul's 'get a warrant' response - he dismissed it as a “ridiculous answer,” because  "It’s impossible to know who’s who at the start". But, in fact, there are ways to separate good guys from bad and yes, from the start.

Former NSA code breaker Bill Binney commenting on Keith Alexander's NSA spying testimony and breaking up plots two years ago, put it bluntly:

"I  don’t understand this being bamboozled into thinking that you have to do this to find bad guys. That’s false. There’s very simple principles you can use to find out who is the bad guy and who isn’t and you can do this without violating anybody’s privacy”.-

So Rand Paul was quite justified in firing back to Christie's nonsense:

.

“You fundamentally misunderstand the Bill of Rights,”

That spontaneous back-and-forth was literally debate gold, because it was simultaneously fiery, spontaneous  and substantive, a perfect distillation of the two sides of an essential argument about the value of our civil liberties. (One that, too often, hasn't come up often enough since the insinuation of the "Patriot Act" into the national fabric.) It was, to my mind, what a real debate ought to feature much more of.

 Some FOX lubbers will hurl brickbats at the network for - as one commentator called it  - presiding over an "inquisition" rather than a debate. But come on. They were basically foxed...uh boxed into a corner, given they've always been tagged as the REPUBLICAN network. Hence, in order to show more objectivity and not be accused  of pro-Democratic partisanship, the question panel had to be provocative.  As Frank Bruni put it:

 "They took each of the 10 Republicans onstage to task. They held each of them to account. They made each address the most prominent blemishes on his record, the most profound apprehensions that voters feel about him, the greatest vulnerability that he has."

Which was terrific because it meant you were hearing from the candidates themselves, not merely regurgitated slop from their handlers and focus group gurus. This ensured the debate was lively, and also made it possible to pick out the genuine morons and crazies - which alas, was all of them excepting Ohio gov John Kasich - who actually sounded rational in his response about using state Medicaid.

Bruni again:

"On this night, the network that pampers Republicans provoked them instead. It was great television, and even better politics."

Indeed. And in using this technique FOX did us all a solid favor by showing just how unhinged all of these clowns really are. The frightening thing, as Janice noted, is that one could actually become President if the Dems don't pay close enough attention and play their cards right - as opposed to assuming it'll be a cakewalk.

See also:

http://www.salon.com/2015/08/07/fear_loathing_at_the_gop_debates_behold_the_the_autocratic_xenophobic_war_hungry_spectacle_of_the_modern_republican_party/

And:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/richard-eskow/63349/the-gop-debate-its-what-oligarchy-looks-like

A Portrait of 3 Reprobates: Walter Palmer, Tom Brady & Mike Huckabee

A trio of unrepentant slimeballs: Walter Palmer (top left) with a lion he killed in 2008, cell phone evidence destroyer Tom Brady and hate inciter Mike Huckabee.

I decided that rather than deal separately with the reprobates Tom Brady and Walter Palmer (now wanted in Zimbabwe for murdering Cecil the Lion) I'd treat them alongside the rat's ass fool and Über reprobate Mike Huckabee, to show the singular moral blindness that applies to all three. 

I already ripped into Huckabee in an earlier post, e.g.
http://brane-space.blogspot.com/2015/07/mike-huckabee-exposes-himself-as.html

So will not overly dwell on his moral dysfunction seen through the lens of his vicious conflation of the Iran nuke deal with  the Auschwitz ovens.  In the end each of these characters exhibits a separate "lens", for lack of a better term, by which their lack of principled ethics can be seen.

Suffice it to say, all truly principled people (whether conservative or other)  have come out to thrash Huckabee's rhetorical misfire, including the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. and Richard Haas, President of the Council of Foreign Relations - who observed how it "demeaned" the whole  level of the Iran debate. All three sources emphasized how such calculated, incendiary rhetoric undermined the credibility of those who invoked it - or supported it.  As Haas pointed out, the Holocaust was "a one of a kind historical atrocity" (in terms of magnitude)  and so to invoke any measure of similar outrage at common diplomacy - to conflate it with this singular atrocity-  was to automatically lose the argument.  This Huckabee has done as well as those yapping in his clueless echo chamber.

Even Joe Scarborough, long time conservative mouthpiece on 'Morning Joe' - and vociferous opponent of the Iran nuclear deal -  bemoaned (yesterday morning)  how Huckabee had "cheapened the debate" to below the lowest common denominator. As Scarborough said, "the difference between marching Jews into ovens and negotiating a bad deal is so enormous it's obvious the comments were crass and political".

Mike Barnacle also asserted how the comments "cheapened the debate and also cheapened history in regard to the  purpose for which they were used." That is, for the purpose of political self-promotion. In effect, Huckabee's outrageous "oven" remarks amounted to an insult to all those who perished in Auschwtiz' gas chambers. They'd literally be turning over in their graves with the realization they were being used as rhetorical pawns in a political campaign.

Meanwhile, one of Joe's guests (Sam Stein)  exposed Huckabee as a bald faced hypocrite given he had called for the same balanced measures back in 2008, to bring Iran's nuke aspirations under control. The best ending sound bite from Joe Scarborough?

"Republicans need to be aware that these comments will stay with them"

True, and let's hope that Huck's stupidity sinks them all, especially given 'the Donald' has also chimed in now to support him - disclosing he really is as nutso as many of his earlier comments make him out to be - especially the ones on the Mexicans being "rapists and murderers".


Then there is Bloomington, Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer, currently with less value than the Donald's lickspittle after this jackal (as Jimmy Kimmel called him) lured a majestic and beloved Lion named "Cecil" outside of his game preserve to shoot him on a nearby farm with bow and arrow. Cecil suffered for 40 hours before the vermin pseudo-hunter tracked him down and finished him off - cutting off the beast's head, skinning him and allowing the carcass to rot in the sun.

 The turd is now paying for his crime and being slimed across the internet, as on YELP, where the hate is hot and deep, as well as death threats  e.g.

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/river-bluff-dental-bloomington?start=0

Of course, while a bit of net hate can have its therapeutic value, I don't approve of death threats, any more than I did when they were launched against my then pastor brother ('Pastor Mike') after he proposed a "National Atheist Registry".  But there is simply no excuse  for threats,  no matter how enraged one might be at a person's actions and/or proposals.

Anyway, Palmer the big, bad Bwana hunter soon became the hunted,  when  the UK Telegraph identified him as the poacher who  killed Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe in early July. The Internet, as is typical when its collective ire has been aroused,  responded with such ferocity you'd have thought Cecil was a personal pet of millions. Brutal reviews of Palmer's dental practice and a cavalcade of online threats followed - many of which can be seen at the highlighted links.  (Eventually forcing Palmer to shutter his dental office and go into hiding as protesters post 'Coward!' and 'Killer!' signs on his doors.)

Within an hour of the Telegraph’s report Tuesday, death threats appeared on Twitter and, soon after, on a new Facebook page called "Shame Lion Killer Dr. Walter Palmer and River Bluff Dental," which had more than 1,000 likes as of early Tuesday afternoon. Palmer's name trended worldwide on Twitter, and many of the posts on Facebook are calling for him to be held accountable and imprisoned.

Shamed at being exposed, Palmer took to social media in an attempt to placate the  Internet haters and scribbled:

"In early July, I was in Zimbabwe on a bow hunting trip for big game. I hired several professional guides and they secured all proper permits. To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted.

"I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt. 

"I have not been contacted by authorities in Zimbabwe or in the U.S. about this situation, but will assist them in any inquiries they may have.
"Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion."

 The problem is that the account given here simply isn't credible. As one animal sanctuary keeper and conservationist explained on a CBS News segment, everyone within 1,000 miles of Zimbabwe knew of Cecil's iconic heritage and reputation, and no "guides" could possibly have existed who could claim they were ignorant. It didn't add up.  Worse for Palmer, he'd  already been caught using a similar modus operandi in Wisconsin in luring a black bear to his lair and slaughtering him.

So yeah, Walter can piss and moan all he wants but he's guilty as hell.

Then there is that rascal Brady, who had to face a ten hour appeal with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, at which time it finally came out he destroyed his cell phone on the same day he was to face investigator Ted Wells. Goodell, no fool, saw this as yet another piece of evidence pointing to Brady's guilt.

As CBS commentator James Brown pointed out:

"Even though he knew investigators wanted emails and texts from his cell phone, Tom Brady ordered his assistant to destroy it. Something he says he does whenever he gets a new one. Brady had the phone for just four months at that point and Roger Goodell pointedly noted that Brady previous cell phone was still around.

The Commissioner concluded Brady 'made a deliberate effort to ensure the investigators would never have access to information that he had been asked to produce."

As one legal commentator (Nancy Armor) put it, after noting Brady had 10,000 text messages on the phone:

"If you're not guilty, if you had no knowledge and had no role in this then why would you destroy your cell phone? "

Goodell himself added that scientific tests showed the balls did not deflate from natural causes. He added Brady's 4 game suspension was justified because "he was an active participant to tamper with the game balls."

Of course, Brady's lapdog agent Don Yee called the Goodell appeal process a "sham" and asserted Brady was "completely transparent" - which is total bollocks that only a Patsie homer could believe. (Or to quote Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy, "It’s time for local loyalists to parachute down from Planet Patriot and get in touch with reality.".) The biggest joke is Yee calling it "junk science" - based on an "alternative study" by economists at the American Enterprise Institute - when no less a REAL science stalwart than Bill Nye already demonstrated how Bellichick's original theory was full of hot air. No pun intended!  I think Yee needs a crash course in physics.

But as Armor pointed out: "It's not the crime itself, it's the cover up".  Brady could have gotten off with just a slap on the wrist, if he'd just 'fessed up, but he, Robert Kraft and the other Patsy assholes were too damned arrogant and believed they were above the law. Bad mistake.

NY Times sports columnist Bill Rhoden appearing on CBS yesterday morning was even more blunt noting how this "completely changes his legacy". As he put it:

"Once you destroy evidence, in any investigation, I don't care where you are, you cannot do this. This is not about football any more, this is almost borderline criminality. Frankly, it even surprises me this guy's still playing.

If I found out this guy destroyed evidence, I'd cut him. I mean he's disrespecting attorneys, disrespecting the league, he's disrespecting the game. He's basically saying 'I'm larger than the game'. It's one thing to tamper with a football, it's another to tamper with evidence."

Rhoden's take, while vehement, is the ethically correct one - as opposed to bloviators (i.e. on ESPN) who mocked the seriousness based on the original ball deflations. After all, the Patriots did blow out the Colts so what's the big deal? The "big deal" is it doesn't matter if the score was 44-7, 10-7, or 250-3, it was the attempted gaming of the system by breaking the rules.  And as I noted in a post earlier this year, if you endorse cheating of any magnitude you will endorse its use in many others.


What is the unifying moral deficit underlying all of these cases? I believe it is flouting the basic cornerstone principle that "the ends never justifies the means".

In Huckabee's case, he became convinced that in order for him to compete in the presidential polls he had to make an outrageous, slanderous statement comparing Obama to Hitler, and Obama's peace plan to marching Jews to ovens.  In so doing, he may have garnered attention and an added point in the latest Marist poll-  but lost whatever 'soul' he had.

Worse, he revealed himself as the most reviled form of politician:  one who will spew any venomous, inflammatory vitriol in order to incite the hotheads who perpetually feed on indignation and anger. Knowing he'd draw them in just as moths to a flame, but not so much light emitted here as incendiary rhetoric that demeans and distorts political debate - with potential poll numbers purchased by cynical manipulation.

In Palmer's case, he became convinced from decades ago the only way to become the big game hunter he fancied was to lure majestic animals to a place outside their protected environments  and then kill them in a canned "turkey shoot" setup.   Whereas a real man would go toe to toe with a predator and not try to bag or kill endangered species, and certainly not take out iconic members of a species like Cecil.

But Palmer, who fancied himself a macho hunter because he could lure big cats or other predators into a trap - was really a coward. In many ways his tactics reminded me of former NFL safety Darren Sharper's who had to resort to putting pills in women's drinks to induce them to have sexual relations with him. He didn't have the manly courage to enter into a conscious relationship to fulfil the sexual ends and face the possible consequence of rejection.

And before we get too carried away by Palmer's transgressions, let's bear in mind there are dozens of rich guy pseudo-hunters just like him still out there, who - according to stats released last night on the news- bag 600-800 lions a year. They pay $50,000 each for a lion, for example, which basically entails setting the lion up for a kill that is near 100 percent assured.  They call this "hunting" but it's a mockery of actual hunting. We need to ferret out these other degenerates and shame them like millions have Walter Palmer.

Then there is Tom Brady, who became fully convinced he was bigger than the game itself, so could justify the ends of trying to spare his reputation and that of his team by using the means of destroying his cell phone - and all the evidence on it.  An act of bankrupt morality which only ensured his rep is tarnished in perpetuity.

As I said, a trio of slime balls.

See also:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/07/28/shaughnessy/T32IKjU6IVYjEWml2YfrMI/story.html

And:

http://www.salon.com/2015/07/30/fox_news_and_the_batsht_bump_trump_huckabee_and_the_real_reason_why_the_gop_is_a_national_punch_line/

And:

http://www.salon.com/2015/07/30/the_world_of_trophy_hunting_cecil_the_lions_killing_shines_a_light_on_a_business_rife_with_unscrupulous_conduct/

Mike Huckabee's "Israel to the Ovens" BS Exposes Him As Another Certifiable Fruitcake

Mike Huckabee the latest Reep huckster to prove he's a certified looneytune and moron.

The Reepo-conservative clown circus never seems to end. Just when the sane person thinks he's seen it all (Lindsey Graham putting his cell phone in a blender, Rand Paul taking a chainsaw to the tax code) or heard it all - as from Trump, Scott Walker and Jebbie Bush - someone even more batshit nuts comes along and makes them look tame. Such is the case with bottom feeding Reeptard candidate  Mike Huckabee who takes (so far) this week's Top Moron Prize.

For what you may ask? Well, for comparing Obama's Iran nuclear deal to - get this -  “taking the Israelis and march[ing] them to the door of the ovens,”  Are you shitting me? Seriously? Marching the Israelis (who, btw, possess over 200 nukes - more than any nation in the region) to the "ovens"? Well, I imagine that would be fuckin' hard given the Israelis could - at any time-  launch a first nuclear strike on Iran that would reduce it to cinders and radioactive ash - and most of the Middle East. So WHO would be sending WHOM to the proverbial "ovens" you stupid, cracker dickhead?

Does Huckabee even know what the Holocaust was? Oh, I know he's claimed to have "gone to Auschwitz three times" and "stood outside the ovens", but come on, any moron could do that! What I am asking is if he really grasps what happened there, in a way that would allow him to remotely compare it to the Iran nuclear deal. I doubt it.

Given this cracker- ass Arkansas fool probably can't read anything deeper than a comic, I wouldn't expect him to read a book as demanding (but revealing) as The  The History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War, by Martin Gilbert. (Though he might be able to learn a bit from the photos).  But I suspect what he really needs is to watch the video 'The Liberation of Auschwitz' part of the 'The Holocaust Testaments' series, e.g.

Therein Huckabee will see what Auschwitz was really about in detailed film as the Russians exposed the horrors of that camp, including not only ovens but the experiments of Josef Mengele. Those include an experiment on a 9-year old boy whose arms had been amputated and replaced with the arms of a 9 month old infant.

Huckabee will also see the removed skin (treated with chemicals) from prisoners waiting to made into for chairs, and for use as art 'canvas' by S.S. wannabe artists. If he fast forwards a bit his eyes will focus on a table  laden with the bodies of fetuses expelled by their mothers in the gas chambers designated for autopsies.

If this moron has the patience (and fortitude) to watch this film-video I believe he will see what Auschwitz was really about and why his remarks and rhetoric were those of a certifiable asshole, not a serious candidate for President. Hence, Obama was quite right to call into question the seriousness of any possible Repuke successors to the Oval office. If any of these jokers do get in, I for one am considering a move back to Bim.

Huckabee, compounding his historical ignorance and stupidity, also argued that this “is Neville Chamberlain all over again,” warning “God help us all” if the U.S. Congress does not reject the Iranian nuclear deal. SO which is it Huck? Is Obama like Hitler, sending the Israelis to the "ovens" or is he Neville Chamberlain, who sold out Czechoslovakia  to Hitler at Munich? Make up your mind if you have one! I mean, the two analogies are mutually exclusive!

The worst aspect is this ignorant analogizing of Iran to Nazi Germany has been picked up as a narrative by many in the GOP field, including Lindsey Graham - as well as by conservative commentators like Charles Krauthammer. When comparisons are made to Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler you know you're seeing the worst form of historical misrepresentation. The other aspect noted by Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer is that it distorts the nature of diplomacy and paints it as "appeasement" as if the only alternative is war. But...war with Iran will be a lot different from war with Iraq, which is what these GOOPr morons don't understand.

Also, as Amb. Daniel Kurtzer put it last night on Chris Hayes' 'All In' it amounts to "an incitement to violence" especially the inflammatory horse shit spouted by Huckabee.  Kurtzer referenced similar inflammatory rhetoric 20 years ago leading to the assassination of Yitzak Rabin. Is this what this moron wants? Or, is he trying to out-Trump Trump in a desperate effort to get on center stage in the media? People can diss Trump for his remarks all they want but at least his last one against McCain had some basis in historical legitimacy. In that most of us - when we think of war heroes- think of Audie Murphy - the great WWII hero who as Wikipedia references:

"At the age of 19, Murphy received the Medal of Honor after single-handedly holding off an entire company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, then leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition"

This is probably the "war hero" model Trump - and many others - were thinking of at the time of the McCain comment which was more anti-PC than disgraceful and egregious. But the point is Trump's remark isn't even in the same nutso ball park as Huckabee's who should now be made to formally apologize for his excess, and also be made to leave the GOP field in disgrace.

But then given the whole gaggle of 16 clowns in that field are unworthy of presidential aspirations,  far less the actual office, it may not make much difference!

See also:

http://brane-space.blogspot.com/2015/07/iran-deal-is-best-world-could-get-so.html


and:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/thom-hartmann/63054/dont-count-out-the-gop-from-trying-to-sink-obamas-historic-iran-deal-theyve-done-it-before

And:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/robert-parry/63036/the-world-rebukes-Netanyahu

God-Mongers Blame "Godlessness" for Newtown: Are You Kidding Me?

By now, after seeing the depths to which so-called Christians will go, I am neither surprised nor stunned by anything the Right Wing God mongers and Bible thumpers say after any atrocity. We saw it, for example, in the wake of 9/11 when rampant "godlessness" in the country was cited as the reason for the attacks. So we ought not be surprised now that the Newtown massacre is blamed on the same. So who else are you going to hang the scapegoat sign on other than your next door Atheist?

Two of the most abhorrent, vile observations about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut came from Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas Governor, and Fox Television Channel "news" hack, and Joel Rosenberg, the best-selling author of apocalyptic novels. (Well if it's an apocalyptic novel, you know the guy doesn't have his head screwed on straight!).

The very day of the Newtown massacre, ol' Affable Uncle Mike responded to the mass killings by saying that the incident was "no surprise because we have systematically removed God" from public schools. WTF does that have to do with anything you pea-brained, knuckle-dragging asshole? Here's the better question you ought to have addressed: How come an omnipotent "God" - present "everywhere", couldn't stop one lone nut killer from murdering 20 innocent kids?  Why not at least cause his automatic rife to lock up, or at least prevent him from getting through the security windows?  Oh wait, let's remind ourselves here, God plays his favorites and chooses who he wants to spare or not....as on 9/11.

But these are the fierce questions that the Christianoid creeps avoid. They will make constant excuses and always drag in the "godless" but we aren't the ones who ever claimed there was an all powerful force protecting everyone all the time.

In more detail, Huckabee's remarks are as follows:

"We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools," Huckabee said on Fox News.

The fool went on to say:

"Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage? Because we've made it a place where we don't want to talk about eternity, life, what responsibility means, accountability -- that we're not just going to have be accountable to the police if they catch us, but one day we stand before, you know, a holy God in judgment. If we don't believe that, then we don't fear that."

Holy God in judgment? Of WHAT? Surely not the NRA and its minions! Surely not those like El Rushbo who actually said to his 20 million listeners three days ago - get this - "There is NO such thing as an automatic weapon, friends! It still fires ONE bullet at one time, just a shorter time!"  The swine then went on to say the term "automatic weapon" was "invented" buy anti-gun liberals and freedom haters merely as a ruse to take away guns!

Give me an effin' break already! And, btw, does Limbaugh not know that the rifles he dismisses as "automatic"  fire bullets with 3 times the velocity of hunting rifles, like the Remington 30.06?  Does he not know that such velocities are designed to shatter targets even if hollow point bullets aren't used? (But more on this in a future blog on a way to remove automatic rifles from the gun inventories).

Huckabee, please note, was regugitating his stance following the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shootings in July. At that time, Huckabee said that "We don't have a crime problem, a gun problem or even a violence problem. What we have is a sin problem. And since we've ordered god out of our schools, and communities, the military and public conversations, you know we really shouldn't act so surprised... when all hell breaks loose."

Again, logic escapes the nitwit. For if God is indeed truly OMNI-present, then he's everywhere - ALL the time, so no one can "order him out" from anyplace: schools, military, school auditoriums, or even High school fototball games. Seems to me ol' former Pastor Mike doesn't know his own god, like another pastor I know.

Meanwhile, moron Rosenberg maintained that:  "The demons of violence and lawlessness are on the loose all across America ... . [and] the further we turn away from God in our nation -- the further we drive Him out of our society, our of our schools and courts, and out of our media and out of our homes, or the more we give mere lip service to religion, the more men are "holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power" (2 Timothy 3:5) -- the worse things are getting."

What these knotheads really should have done, before their god-mongering and senseless accusations, is to check out and investigate the automatic rifle culture already present in Newtown, that homesy little Connecticut town, long before Adam Lanza exposed all the hypocrisy. As The New York Times reported on Monday:

"The place that witnessed one of the worst mass killings in United States history on Friday, leaving 20 schoolchildren and 8 adults dead, is a bucolic New England town comfortable with its firearms, and not an obvious arena for the nation’s debate over gun control. But the legislative battle right here shows how even the slightest attempts to impose restrictions on guns can run into withering resistance, made all the more pointed by the escalation in firepower."

The Times reported a number of dustups in town, especially after sane neighbors in the area reported assorted whackos using automatic rifles to fire at fully-laden propane gas tanks to cause explosions. As The Times piece puts it:

"Much of the gunfire and the explosions reported by residents to the police in recent months came from a spot less than three miles from their (Lanza's)  house. Police logs identified the spot as one of the town’s many unlicensed gun ranges, where the familiar noise of hunting rifles has grown to include automatic gunfire and explosions that have shaken houses."

Defending these ranges, and of course automatic weapons possession, "the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which has made Newtown its home".  Joel T. Faxon, a hunter and a member of the town’s police commission, who championed an ordinance for shooting restrictions bemoaned that the ordinance was voted down, saying:

“These are not normal guns, that people need. These are guns for an arsenal, and you get lunatics like this guy who goes into a school fully armed and protected to take return fire. We live in a town, not in a war.”

Hmmmmmmm.......we live in a TOWN, not a "war".....Funny how neither Huckabee, Rosenberg or the other god-thumping yahoos have processed that! But hey, maybe they are employing the "godless" meme as a neat strawman to hide those they seek to protect: the automatic weapons manufacturers and their investor lackeys!

Other interesting takeaways from The Times article that might be of interest before assorted pastors, God-humpers, bible thumpers and others lay the blame on the "godless":

-The town had a 20-year-old ordinance aimed at hunters that included a ban on shooting within 500 feet of occupied dwellings, but the chief complained that the way the law was written had left him powerless to enforce the rules or otherwise crack down on the riskiest shooting

- The Newtown police department logged more than 50 gunfire complaints this year through July, double the number for all of 2011, records show.

-Gun enthusiasts here, as elsewhere in the country, have taken to loading their targets with an explosive called Tannerite, which detonates when bullets strike it, sending shock waves afield. A mixture of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder, Tannerite is legal in Connecticut, but safety concerns led Maryland this year to ban it.

- This was no "liberal putsch", in trying to get the Newtown ordinance passed; three of the five commission members are Republicans, and two members are police officers. The vote was 3-2 against the law, now figure out yourselves who voted which way.

- Newtown residents conceded that many of the ranges in the area have long waiting lists of people eager to join, which has led to the profusion of informal ranges.

Methinks that Huckabee, Rosenberg and other god-mongering meatheads need to look at the gun culture in assorted burgs like Newtown, before they start blaming atheists, secularists and other "godlessness" for the nation's massacres!