Source: usatoday.com via Frederick on Pinterest
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
A Chicago Area elementary school teacher was suspended for showing his students an assortment of home and garden tools such as a wrench, pliers, and a screwdriver. The educator of endangering his students and charged with possessing, carrying, storing, or using a weapon. But one has to wonder if the teacher is being punished for encouraging young minds towards useful occupations and careers that will liberate these pupils from lives of government dependence.
In an article titled “What If We Never Run Out Of Oil” published in the May 2013 issue of the Atlantic Monthly, science writer Charles C. Mann longs for a world where America is dependent upon authoritarian Third World regimes for its energy needs and where all but the elite (like himself, I suppose) endure lives of deprivation.
A fuss is being made that Tamerlan Tsarnaev listened to Alex Jones. Would as much fuss be raised if terrorists had regularly listened to CNN or especially MSNBC? More importantly, should concerns be raised to what extent Al Jazeera has infiltrated the Democratic Party through the purchase of Al Gore’s Current TV?
Why Shouldn't Parents Pay Children For Good Grades?
A discussion on 4/24/13 edition of WMAL's morning show considered whether or not it is proper for parents to pay children from good grades.
Fundamentally, shouldn't this be for each family to work out for themselves without the opinion of outsiders carrying much weight one way or the other?
What's so wrong for education to be incentivized quantifiably?
Those opposed to this economic exchange with the context of one of life’s closest relationships are often at their heart the most avowed adversaries of capitalism and the free market.
Often, those opposed to parents providing some kind of tangible motivation encouraging academic achievement insist knowledge ought to be its own reward.
But even if knowledge does nothing more than position you to see what frauds most people are and to be able to sneer down your nose at the duped condescendingly, what’s the point of acquiring knowledge if not for some kind of advantage?
Frederick Meekins
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Doctors are warning against the so-called "Cinnamon Challenge". This dare occurs when a child or a teen attempts to swallow a spoonful of sugar without water in under a minute. This foolhardy act can result in a medical emergency such as choking, vomiting, or even collapsing a lung. How long until consumers, as in the case of common decongestants, are required to show a photo ID in order to purchase this product and have their named added to yet an additional government database?
Eco-Fascists Demand Abstaining From Meat On Earth Day
All the more reason to eat a meal not only heavy in meat but also that cause you to produce flatulence. Click on the headline (rather than pull my finger).
Tolerancemongers Outraged Terrorists Not Apprehended With Neck Rubs & Toe Licks
Click On The Headline
Pat Robertson Condemns Dungeons & Dragons
Seems to me horny vampires and cannibalistic zombies would be the more pressing threat these days. Click on the headline.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
Leadership Institute & Heritage Foundation Urge Surrender To Hispanosupremacists
Click On The Headline
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Illegal Pulls The Legs Of Gullible Multiculturalists As To Why He Wants To Remain In America
Speaking in favor of immigration reform legislation, a medical student in the country illegally told WMAL that he hopes he will be granted amnesty so that he might be able to take board certification exams because he is eager to give back to the COMMUNITY.
But is that his sole motivation or are other more personal financial interests at stake?
After all, won’t his home country gladly welcome an American educated doctor even if such Third World medical systems aren’t able to compensate as richly?
But if we are to believe the propagandistic lies stammering from his heavily accented mouth, filthy lucre isn’t the primary issue anyway.
These comments raise a number of issues.
Why was this student even admitted to medical school to begin with?
After all, the regular American can’t even step into a medical facility these days without having to produce a photo ID just to have blood drawn.
Secondly, if we aren’t supposed to construe who is and is not an American based upon traditional legalities since these are just pieces of paper anyway, why should mere pieces of paper restrict who can and cannot practice medicine?
by Frederick Meekins
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Barney Frank Blames Boston Marathon Bombing On Tax Cuts & Fiscal Responsibility
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Monday, April 15, 2013
I Remember When The Joker Was The Most Mentally Screwed Up Thing In Gotham City
Click On The Headline
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Star Trek Money Making Scam
That is certainly a money-making scam where "digitally remastered" episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation are being shown in movie theaters.
Some are duped into thinking these are entirely new productions. My brother turned to me and asked if I was going to go see it.
I told him no, even though it was "The Best Of Both Worlds", usually considered the best of the series. I saw it nearly 25 years ago (and so many times since then I can probably quote of reasonable approximation of the dialogue when watching it).
I remember back when, from a worldview standpoint if the conflict depicted actually took place in real life, most would route for the victory of the Enterprise before these Transhumanists rose to prominence literally aspiring to become members of the Borg collective.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Are Jesuit Astronomers Consulting LUCIFER In Their Search For Extraterrestrials?
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Thursday, April 11, 2013
Cartoon Network has cancelled Young Justice. It was probably the greatest superhero cartoon of all time. But I guess you aren't going to stay on the air very long when the final image you broadcast is of the head of the Illuminati (Vandal Savage) forging an alliance with the god of the Apocalypse (Darkseid).
Cartoon Network has cancelled Young Justice. It was probably the greatest superhero cartoon of all time. But I guess you aren't going to stay on the air very long when the final image you broadcast is of the head of the Illuminati (Vandal Savage) forging an alliance with the god of the Apocalypse (Darkseid).
Subversives agitating on the Mall in Washington categorize deportation as "family shattering". Then what prevents families from leaving America together? If Hispanic culture is so family oriented as a number of ministries across the spectrum of Christianity are attempting to brainwash their adherents into believing, shouldn't the nations the individuals are returning to openly embrace these returning families?
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
I guess so many fell for the Osteen hoax as it sounds like something that might fly out of his mouth anyway in light of how he dropped the ball about the gays and the Mormons in assorted interviews. And there isn't much doctrinal content to his sermons anyway. He is essentially a motivational speaker. Some of the blame for his pulpit being given over to that has to be shouldered in part by Christians insisting that, in the Christian world, there is little room for rhetorical endeavors other than those organized in the traditional sermonic format.
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Homeowner Charged For Refusing To Be Mutilated By Bear
A Massachusetts man is being charged for refusing to be mutilated by a marauding bear trespassing across his yard.
Specifically, he is being accused of bear baiting (because he had bird seed in his yard) and for improperly killing a bear.
Bears are also attracted to menstruating women.
Had the bear entered the yard for that reason, would the homeowner still face the same bear baiting charge?
If the charging bear had lunged towards Frau Obama, would Secret Service agents pursuing a similar firearms dependent strategy to rescue her face criminal prosecution?
But then again, that might be doing the bear a mercy than rather to allow it to endure the agony of unending indigestion from consuming such a flatulent wind bag.
Interesting. MSNBC fired Pat Buchanan on the grounds that the themes raised in his book Suicide Of A Superpower were not worthy of public consideration. However, the network apparently has no problem extending a platform to a professor that insists children do not belong to their parents in the context of the traditional family but rather belong to the COMMUNITY.
Are Online Charter Schools Brainwashing Homeschoolers Into Embracing Socialism?
Click On The Headline
Monday, April 08, 2013
Saturday, April 06, 2013
In fawning over himself as an enlightened despot for returning 5% of his salary to the U.S. Treasury as a show of solidarity with his common bureaucratic underlings, President Obama is failing to remind that many federal employees far more dependent upon their regular salaries than himself for necessities such as food, shelter, and transportation (not $1000 golf lessons with Tiger Woods or $900 Valentine dinner date nights) are being forced to surrender up to 20% of their respective salaries.
Along with Eric Boling, it seems Sean Hannity has little trouble with the collegiate basketball coach verbally and physically assaulting the players on his team. If so, what’s the big deal about Obama and the bureaucracy ruling over the American people with an intimidating fist? And if this kind of behavior is appropriate to motivate players towards athletic excellence, what’s so wrong with a slap or two to set an errant wife back down the path to appropriate domestic compliance?
Friday, April 05, 2013
Thursday, April 04, 2013
Quite fascinating that those that would deny the binding nature of divine revelation would grant such status to the edicts of the Associated Press stylebook. If fundamental moral precepts in Scripture such as those condemning the assorted varieties of adultery and fornication are dismissed by ultramodernists as mere suggestions, why shouldn't the linguistic preferences of this particular reference guide be categorized in a similar manner?
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
A leftwing website asserts that many White men worship guns in compensation for insufficient sexual endowment. So using this logic, ought we to conclude that minorities tend to use guns in acts of inner city violence because of mental capabilities insufficiently development to keep their desire to unholster their firearm under control?
As part of its gun control legislation, the State of Connecticut has authorized the investigation of students engaged in disturbing behavior. In such a liberal state, such phraseology is usually interpreted broadly enough as to include those opposed to gay marriage, those believing in Creationism over evolution, and those professing that believing in Jesus Christ as part of the Triune Godhead is the only way to avoid eternal Hellfire.
As part of its gun control legislation, the State of Connecticut has authorized the investigation of students engaged in disturbing behavior. In such a liberal state, such phraseology is usually interpreted broadly enough as to include those opposed to gay marriage, those believing in Creationism over evolution, and those professing that believing in Jesus Christ as part of the Triune Godhead is the only way to avoid eternal Hellfire.
Obama has announced a research project intended to map the human brain in action. By this, does the President mean that this will only include objective biological functions or will scientists attempt to decipher what a brain contemplating "terrorist", racist, or sexually harassing thoughts look like so as to develop scanners detecting when minds wander in unapproved directions?
Would Women Toss Panties At Tom Jones If They Knew What A Rotten Father He Is?
CLick On The Headline
Monday, April 01, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Some Observations Regarding Gay Marriage
Some observations regarding the gay marriage controversy.
This is how liberals and even a number of conservatives clamoring for the approval of secularist elites are farming the issue.
These factions oppose legislation and policies at the national level such as the Defense of Marriage Act claiming that the matter should be left up to states to decide.
However, when certain states decide not to authorize the practice, these activists then want the federal courts to nullify the decision arrived at constitutionally sovereign electorates.
If increasing numbers justify acceptance of the practice on the grounds of evolving cultural standards, should standards revert back, on what grounds does it remain legal?
NBC Propagandists Delude Masses "THEY" Are Having A Baby
The only one having a baby is the one that apparently got what only a man can give.
Jim Carrey Now Fancies Himself As Profound Philosopher
This story about a wave afraid to crash itself upon the beach sounds like it could be used to justify genocide or suicide bombings since it advocates that ultimately one is nothing more than part of the whole or COMMUNITY.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Obama Forced Catholic University To Remove Cross But Gladly Spoke Before Arafat Portrait
Click On The Above Headline
Sunday, March 24, 2013
The lecture on The Rise of Fascism in the Teaching Company course Interpreting The 20th Century: The Struggle For Democracy is quite instructive. In particular that ideology's call for an economic THIRD WAY between capitalism and communism and its insistence upon a singular figure exalted as the embodiment of a nation. (Remind you of anyone that slapped his own logo on his campaign plane?)
Friday, March 22, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
O’Reilly Attempts To Bribe Church Into Sending This Ex-Wife To Hell
That is certainly considerable trouble to go to for someone that has expressed a nearly universalist theology in his books and who nearly shouted down Roma Downey as to how the Bible contains only allegorical legends in regards to the miniseries produced for the History Channel.
In threatening the sequester, Obama sarcastically mused whose funds should be cut: the poor kid or the disabled child. Firstly, what is being defined as disabled or poor? For some of the ways these terms are being defined, no one but bureaucrats in the educational and social welfare establishments would consider such youngsters as characterized by either of these conditions.
If Rand Paul voted to confirm Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense on the grounds that a President should be granted considerable deference in getting to select who they want to fill key positions within their administration, then shouldn't the Senator have voted in the affirmative to confirm John Brennan as the head of the CIA? Isn't an American as likely to be blown to smithereens by a drone under the control of the Pentagon as the CIA?
Monday, March 18, 2013
Should Protestants Be Allowed To Have An Opinion Regarding The New Pope?
It has been suggested that it is a tragedy for Evangelicals to pray and fast regarding the new pope as called for by Rick Warren.
While it might not be an issue worthy of fasting over as it doesn't look like most of the top contenders to the papal throne have themselves missed too many meals and won't exactly be living in a state of self denial given their opulent surroundings should they get the job, offering up a quick prayer on the matter won't hurt.
After all, the individual selected will play a significant role in steering that interpretation of the Christian faith closer towards true Biblical religion or further away into the assorted errors tempting all that call upon the name of the Lord in one fashion or the other.
What is so wrong with a Protestant praying for the selection of at least a level-headed Pope that adheres to the shared commonalities of Christian doctrine and respects the rights of existence and expression of those he disagrees with?
I guess there are those thinking the atrocities committed during the Thirty Years War by both sides were a good thing.
Nothing wins souls to your vision regarding Christ and His message like a good pillaging and the ravishing of a few unwilling maidens.
Some might ask the question why should Protestants, especially those of the lowly Baptist variety, enunciate an opinion as to the selection of a new Pope or elaborate an explanation as to why those of that particular theological perspective find the power and authority that ecclesiastical institution has asserted for itself as extra-Biblical and questionably dangerous.
Catholics have every right to select whomever they desire as their head honcho.
However, because that institution has assumed for itself a role beyond administering its own internal affairs and undertaken efforts to exert an influence on the world beyond its ornately decorated walls, in a free society those not belonging to this religious tradition have just as much right to speak out regarding the direction as to how this powerful world body might influence the way in which individuals are able to live their own lives and practice their own beliefs.
For though the way in which the Roman Catholic Church gets the message across might be more subtle than the way in which some Protestants do so, relying more on ceremony and glitz rather than a blunt in your face letting you know what they feel and believe regarding the issue often in a gruff and tactless manner, the opposition of the leadership to Protestantism is just as ingrained.
For example, Pope Benedict repeatedly emphasized throughout his pontificate that Protestant churches especially were not real churches and at best could only be thought of as errant theological associations.
No big deal, many not practiced in the art of discernment and worldview implication might conclude.
After all, everyone from the Pope down to the raving village atheist thinks the spiritual path they are journeying down is superior to all others.
However, one may need to stop to reflect for a moment what is being said here.
To the Protestant, the ideal that those of this persuasion endeavor to strive for can be found in Romans 10:13: “For whoseover shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
By this, it is believed that there is no mediator between God and man other than Christ Himself for those that believe Jesus as the only Begotten Son of God died in our place for our sins and rose from the dead so that those placing their faith solely in Him might have eternal life in Heaven.
However, official institutionalized Catholicism pretty much holds that their’s is the only game in town determining who it is that will be rewarded with the prize or gift of salvation.
This the organization does in part through its system of sacraments.
So what the Church is really saying when it denies communion to all but those on its own membership roles is not so much that we think it’s best if you participate in this solemn event with those that can better attest to the validity of your faith experience or worthiness of character but rather that you aren’t even a fellow Christian at all.
If the new pope has called for a new evangelization effort in areas where Protestantism has made inroads, unless the campaign is confined to targeting those that were previously Catholic with those born into Protestantism or who became Protestant from a non-Catholic orientation off limits, on what grounds do Catholics have to get jacked out of shape when Protestants sweep up disgruntled and easily persuaded Catholics?
One would hope that no one in their right mind would find the violent acrimony of the past where individuals on either side of the divide were often deprived of property, opportunity, and even their very lives all in Christ’s name a worthy situation to return to.
However, neither are Christians obligated to go out of their way refusing to admit that profound religious differences still exist that are better off left in place for the sake of the entire world at least until Christ Himself returns to set hearts and minds straight and to sort out the mess we as fallen human beings have made of this world.
by Frederick Meekins
A highly entertaining what I assume was the season finale of Young Justice. After abetting and finally leading the effort to repel the alien invasion, Lex Luthor is on the verge of being made Secretary General of the United Nations (with this grassroots movement spearheaded by the show's Glenn Beck type character). Got to admire Luthor's ability to manipulate nearly any situation to his own advantage. The symbolism one finds in this show is nearly akin to that of the paintings in the Denver Airport. In the final scene, Vandal Savage (the founder of the Illuminati) is shown forging a pact with "the god of the Apocalypse" (Darkseid). Lastly, for those that keep track of such things, it seems after nearly 40 plus years we are finally given a definitive answer as to what's the deal between Wendy and Marvin.
On the season finale of Young Justice, wonder if having Kid Flash fade out of existence with Impulse becoming the new Kid Flash was intended to be an homage to where, in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Barry Allan version of the Flash faded from existence with Kid Flash Wally West assuming the Flash identity of his own mentor.
If WorldNetDaily is going to make a fuss over Jesus celebrating Passover rather than Easter, if they are going to go out of their way to make Christians feel that guilty about things, they could at least have the decency to update their 2011 solicitation regarding the video they are hawking on the subject with the correct 2013 dates.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
If the new pope has called for a new evangelization effort in areas where Protestantism has made inroads, unless the campaign is confined to targeting those that were previously Catholic with those born into Protestantism or who became Protestant from a non-Catholic orientation off limits, on what grounds do Catholics have to get jacked out of shape when Protestants sweep up disgruntled and easily persuaded Catholics?
Thursday, March 14, 2013
What is so wrong with a Protestant praying for the selection of at least a level-headed Pope that adheres to the shared commonalities of Christian doctrine and respects the rights of existence and expression of those he disagrees with? I guess there are those thinking the atrocities committed during the Thirty Years War by both sides were a good thing. Nothing wins souls to your vision regarding Christ and His message like a good pillaging and the ravishing of a few unwilling maidens.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
It has been suggested that it is a tragedy for Evangelicals to pray and fast regarding the new pope. While it might not be an issue worthy of fasting over as it doesn't look like most of the top contenders to the papal throne have themselves missed too many meals and won't exactly be living in a state of self denial given their oppulent suroundings should they get the job, offering up a quick prayer on the matter won't hurt. After all, the individual selected will play a significant role in stearing that interpretation of the Christian faith closer towards true Biblical religion or further away into the assorted errors tempting all that call upon the name iof the Lord in one fashion or the other.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
President Of Iran Condemned As Whoremonger For Consoling Chavez's Mother
This story creates a conflicted feeling in me. On the one hand, this SOB is getting what he deserves. On the other, it exposes what a gutter religion he belongs to when someone is accused of immorality for attempting to comfort someone in a time of sorrow.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Saturday, March 09, 2013
Friday, March 08, 2013
Educators Threatened With Legal Prosecution For Exposing Attempt To Brainwash Students
Click The Above Headline
Thursday, March 07, 2013
Rand Paul should be commended for sticking to his gun regarding drone strikes. But isn't he the same Senator that within the past month enunciated a belief that considerable deference should be given to a President in terms of allowing the President to select whomever the President wants to high position within a respective administration? Then perhaps Senator Paul shouldn't be so shocked when these officials implement policies at odds with his own brand of libertarian conservatism.
McCain Insists True Patriots Don't Question Drone Attacks On American Soil
Click On The Above Headline
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
Bill Cosby Shows His True Colors
Click On The Headline.
The next time the liberal revolution turns on him, we should simply allow it to consume one of its own.
Monday, March 04, 2013
Eagerness For Martyrdom More A Sign Of Instability Rather Than Spiritual Maturity
In a sermon, a pastor said that, if he dies in bed from something such as cancer rather than being murdered for the cause of Christ, he would be disappointed.
While one should be willing to die for the name of Christ should such circumstances ever arise, isn’t it a symptom of an unbalanced fanaticism to eagerly desire such a thing?
Did not Christ also decree that He came so that we might have life and to have it more abundantly?
It is not the place of mere mortals to fully know why we are taken from this world in the ways that each of us ultimately are.
Since very few partings transpire free of some manner of pain or suffering, who are we to say that the passing after what in human terms seems like a long life trodding this earth is not also a gift from above and who are we to sneer down our noses at such a providence extended by the Almighty?
Isn't the dignity or acceptance one displays in the face of what will be life’s most terrifying existential challenge as much a mark of Christian character irrespective of whether the Reaper awaits us below the hangman’s platform or outside a hospital room?
by Frederick Meekins
If Catholics would speak out against prominent Evangelicals that would have no problem being seen at public forums with Jack Chick or Ian Paisley, shouldn't Protestant speak out against Catholics at the highest levels not blinking twice about sharing speakers' platforms with known Communist sympathizers?
As an advocate of global wealth redistribution, if elected to the Papacy, will Cardinal Peter Turkson divest the Vatican of its ostentatious riches or merely compel you to abandon your average middle class lifestyle on behalf of Third Worlders that either refuse to lift a finger on behalf of their own betterment or can’t keep their legs together in terms of the number of children they continue to produce despite living in squalor where they can’t possibly provide for such progeny properly?
Saturday, March 02, 2013
Woodsy On The Rampage: The Ecology Of Radical Environmentalism
In this era of hyperterrorism where every Tom, Dick, and Abdul with a grudge against society because of a rotten childhood blows up a bus or shoots up a post office, many are not too concerned about the activities of other outcasts striving to save the spotted owl or kangaroo rat with methods outside accepted political procedure since the most violent terrorists create the more pressing security concerns. However, simply because radical environmentalists aren’t known for eliminating their opposition with explosives, that does not mean that this movement challenging many of the presuppositions of modern technocratic society is not worthy of our attention.
The radical environmental movement began in opposition to the growing establishmentarian attitude of mainstream environmental groups such as the Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Wildlife Federation, the Izaak Walton League, the Defenders of Wildlife, the Environmental Defense Fund, the National Parks & Conservation Association, and the Environmental Policy Institute who are collectively referred to as “the Group of Ten (Scarce, 16). These organizations take a relatively pragmatic stand towards the preservation of the nation’s environmental treasures. For example, some of these mainstream groups agreed to let the government construct Glenn Canyon Dam in Arizona, and in other instances, these groups have been modest in the amount they demand be set aside for preservation.
This sense of compromise with government authorities in order to preserve at least a modicum of the nation’s natural resources has created a rift of ambiguity between the mainstream and the more radical environmentalist groups. On the one hand, radical environmentalists oppose compromise in the name of the environment on philosophical grounds. However, their own unreasonable demands are also part of an orchestrated strategy designed to make public officials more cooperative with the demands made by groups like the Sierra Club whose demands look reasonable in comparison to the ultimatums made by the radicals.
However, the radical environmental movement is more than a marketing ploy designed to win demands from government officials. It is also a school of thought drawing inspiration from various philosophical sources. One of the main philosophical schools that radical environmentalists draw upon is known as "Deep Ecology". According to this set of ideas, the conservation policies pursued by more mainstream environmental groups are incorrect because man is still used as the primary measure of all things, at least when it comes to environmental protection (Manes, 56). To the Deep Ecologist, every natural thing is on equal footing. Human beings are no better than moss or a pine cone.
Any assertion to the contrary is labeled anthropocentrism, which is an offense as allegedly as vile as racism. While this philosophy may make one feel neighborly towards the chipmunks down at the park, this way of thinking is fraught with a number of dangers. For example, it was asserted in one media account of a couple attacked by a rabid cougar, it was commented that no one had the right to kill the beast even though one of the mauled individuals lost several fingers in the attack. Needless to say, the person making the comment had never faced similar circumstances.
Coupled with this bio or eco-centrism is a disdain for technological development. Following in the footsteps of Herbert Marcuse's One Dimensional Man, radical environmentalists believe that technology allows man to dominate nature (Manes, 26). As such, he is dehumanized by his own inventions as existence is reduced to production and consumption. Never mind the fact that it is modern technology that allows individuals feeling this way to have the leisure time to devise and disseminates these thoughts. If dependence on technology can be reversed, it is thought, man will be able to reestablish his proper place in the natural world.
However, there is more to this worldview than abstract thinking and philosophical posturing. Being a physically active lot as many of the movement's adherents are avid outdoorsmen, much of the movement's theoretical underpinnings are based upon action and deed.
The primary action oriented text inspiring radical environmentalism is The Monkeywrench Gang by Edward Abbey who considered himself a "literary bum" destined to stand against the technological and industrial forces simultaneously arrayed against human freedom and environmental preservation (Scarce, 240). The Monkeywrench Gang is a novel about a group of live-hard outdoorsmen who roam the countryside in an old van performing various acts of ecological sabotage such a burning billboards, driving bulldozers over cliffs, pulling up survey stakes, and yanking out railroad tracks. The sequel to The Monkeywrench Gang, written shortly before Abbey's death, is Hayduke Lives! in which the gang reunites for one more spate of neo-Luddite shenanigans.
While these works help define the action-oriented aspects of radical environmentalism in a highly entertaining format, they also expose the inconsistencies at the heart of the movement. For example, throughout The Monkeywrench Gang, the characters rail against highways while tossing empty beer cans on to the side of the road; and while claiming to be at one with nature, the characters long for the showers and coffee at the Holiday Inn (Scarce, 240).
Another book with widespread popularity among radical environmentalists is Ecodefense: A Handbook For The Militant Defense Of Earth. Ecodefense is a how to on radical environmentalist tactics. In a sense, it is comparable to The Anarchist's Cookbook as it elaborates how to perpetrate mayhem by decommissioning bulldozers, pulling up survey stakes, and spiking trees as well as other tactics designed to stop the hordes of civilization seeking to pillage the wilderness (Scarce, 74).
Written by Earth First! founder Dave Foreman, Ecodefense was an immediate success with it being read by young environmental radicals from around the world. The book became so influential that the supervisor of the Williamette National Forest in Oregon testified in a Congressional hearing that he would consider closing the area under his jurisdiction if the tactics described in the book were carried out within the forest's boundaries (Manes, 83). And on a lighter note, "Ecodefense" was published by a firm called "Nedd Ludd Books" named in honor of the 19th century worker who participated in a campaign to destroy various forms of factory machinery.
The group that probably first and foremost put the principles embodied by this ideology into practice was Earth First!. The exclamation point is part of the groups name and not a grammatical construct symbolizing this author’s enthusiasm for the organization
Earth First! was founded by an assortment of individuals coming from a variety of backgrounds. Dave Foreman, who would later go on to write the aforementioned “Ecodefense”, started off surprisingly as a Republican and member of the Young Americans For Freedom as a supporter of Barry Goldwater. Foreman joined the Marines, but eventually went AWOL. He worked for a time for the Wilderness Society, only to leave the group disenchanted with what he perceived as the organization's moderation. Howe Wolke, who was considered by some as somewhat more of a libertarian, was a forestry student, bouncer, and oilfield hand, came to Earth First! from Friends of the Earth where he worked as a field representative attending public meetings and handling press relations. He quit that organization because that organization cut his $75 per month salary (Manes, 66). Mike Roselle was a radical involved with Abbie Hoffman's and Jerry Rubin's Yippy counterculture organization who himself later left that group because of its perceived political opportunism in order to establish the "Zippies". Other founding members of Earth First! included Bart Kochler, a former Wyoming Wilderness Society staff member with a knack for political organization as well as song writing, and Ron Kezar, a former seasonal U.S. Park Service employee who was trained as a librarian and an expert on the history of American military strategy (Manes, 68).
Groups such as Earth First! believe that the earth will be saved via anarchy which will topple modern industrialized technocratic civilization. In such a context, anarchy is defined as, "...the maximum possible dispersal of power; political, economic...and military power. An anarchist society would consist of a voluntary association of self-reliant self-sustaining autonomous communities (Scarce, 88)."
However, within the ranks of Earth First! there was a rift just how much anti-Americanism that the notion entailed. One faction led by group founder Dave Foreman held that anarchy was merely a means to an end which was the preservation of the biosphere. As such, flag burnings, an act of defiance preferred by some in the group, was seen as uncalled for (Scarce, 88). The other side of the dispute was led by ecofeminists, who combined the struggle against environmental degradation with the struggle against the patriarchy, and a splinter group originally called "Stumps Suck" but which ultimately settled on the name "Live Wild Or Die". Both of these submovements used their Earth First! activism as a broader platform to attack the wider consumer culture (Manes, 103).
Though often classified as "soft-core terrorist groups" by the FBI, many of the deeds committed by these kinds of organizations often border more on the juvenile than on the outright dangerous though still unquestionably criminal. Since many of these groups claim to ascribe to a code of nonviolent ethics based upon their own interpretation of Gandhian principles, many of these groups have turned to alternative forms of political behavior.
For example, one group calling itself the Revolutionary Ecoterrorist Pie Brigade tossed pies at timber industry spokesman at a convention. Another group put cow patties atop a Forest Service office building’s air conditioners in Washington State’s Okanogan National Forest (Manes, 104). And yet a another Earth First! splinter group called the Gross Action Group staged an event referred to as a “puke in” at a Seattle shopping center in 1988 when the activists ingested a vomit-inducing drug in order to shock holiday shoppers into realizing the disgusting nature of American consumerism, no doubt prompting sales to temporarily dip at the food court (Scarce, 89).
Despite these shenanigans, not all forms of radical environmental activism can be dismissed as good natured frolicking in the North Woods. Some of the tactics are downright life threatening.
One of the most common and dangerous activities engaged in by radical environmentalist groups is tree spiking where nails are driven into trees often slated for sale from national forests into private hands. The point of such an exercise is to discourage timber companies from extracting the wood because of the damage the nails could do to expensive equipment and not the mention the employees who would most likely be injured by flying nails, shattered equipment, or both.
To justify these actions in light of their “nonviolent” ethics, tree spikers often inform forestry authorities of their activities prior to harvest in order to avoid human injury. A prominent tree spiking incident occurred in May 1987 when a mill worker was injured by a band saw shattered by a tampered tree. Timber authorities roundly condemned Earth First! who denied involvement. Surprisingly, the injured mill worker publicly stated his support for Earth’s First!’s goals, and in an even bigger twist of events, it was learned that Earth First! had not carried out this particular tree spiking as has been concluded earlier. The perpetrator was actually an irate libertarian worried that timber companies logging near his property would want his land next (Manes, 11).
Despite this record, fears on the part of law enforcement are not without justification. Dave Foreman, one of Earth First!’s founders, did say, “It’s time for a warrior society to rise out of the Earth and throw itself in front of the juggernaut of destruction, to be antibodies against the human pox that is ravaging this precious beautiful planet (Manes, 86)." Pretty strong words, especially considering the fact than many in the group, while pro-environment, aren’t necessarily vegetarian or against hunting, with human beings being just another string in nature’s web no more important or distinct from any other animal.
Radical environmentalists have proven that they themselves are not above the use of violence. For example, one group calling itself Direct Action blew up a British Columbia electrical substation in 1982. A radical Greenpeace splinter group calling itself the Sea Shepherds has no qualms about ramming what the organization considers pirate whaling ships on the high seas (Manes, 86). Other groups get a kick from setting bulldozers and related construction equipment on fire.
The future of radical environmentalism and its accompanying deeds of quasi-violence and para-terrorism are the subjects of intense debate. Analysts are divided over the issue.
One perspective concludes that the violence will only get worse. A 1990 report released by the Heritage Foundation titled "Eco-Terrorism: The Dangerous Fringes Of The Environmental Movement" argues that eventually innocent people will likely be hurt by the fanaticism of this ideology that prefers moss over man (Scarce, 265).
The other side of this debate contends that, if such violent actions were taken, they would be counter productive as many law abiding citizens view environmental issues as quality of life issues. For example, residents of both Pennsylvania and Virginia have at times thumbed their noses at assorted development projects that would impact the historical and cultural distinctiveness of geographical treasures such as Lancaster Dutch Country and George Washington's boyhood home. Only time will tell if the true goals of radical environmentalism are simply about raising public awareness or about tossing a wrench into the gears of the technological society they claim to loathe for the purposes of tearing it down.
by Frederick Meekins
Bibliography
Manes, Christopher. "Green Rage: Environmentalism & The Unmaking Of Civilization." Boston: Little, Brown & Company. 1990.
Scarce, Rik. "Eco-Warriors: Understanding The Radical Environmental Movement." Chicago: The Noble Press, Inc. 1990.
Friday, March 01, 2013
Wonder how long Zero Hour will be on the air. It steps on too many toes regarding secret societies and the Apocalypse. Wonder if the young lad with the pet locusts is suppose to be the Anti-Christ as a child and is he a younger version of the main character that doesn't seem to yet realize he is the result of Nazi cloning experiments.
Will Frau Obama Dictate The Menu Of Your Next Church Picnic?
She's certainly enough to make you lose your appetite.
Click on the headline.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Bill O'Reilly was certainly combative with Roma Downy regarding the miniseries on the Bible she has produced for the History Channel. O'Reilly kept badgering her about Adam, Eve, and the Flood as being nothing more than allegorical. If these are merely stories, on what grounds does O'Reilly have that the accounts of Christ, the Resurrection, and future reward in the After Life aren't allegorical as well or is perhaps that is what he is banking on?
Human Events has decided to cease print operations. My grandmother use to have a saying: "As modern as tomorrow morning's newspaper." Sadly, it seems that witty bit of rhetoric is no longer sufficiently modern. Will likely come a day when a generation won't even know what a newspaper is. At least in consolation, those of us that the traditional journalistic establishments wouldn't give the time of day to in terms of providing content can now ourselves cultivate our own media outposts in terms of blogs and other forms of social media. Those of us that do so now from a Conservative perspective take a moment to recall respectfully the inspiration each of us were provided by this stalwart publication.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Two female California state legislators are outraged over Seth MacFarlane’s Oscar performance. It is claimed his comments regarding nude scenes were degrading to women. Do these public officials intend to raise such criticism against nude scenes in general as well as MacFarlane’s other bawdy material. Did they say anything about “Family Guy” mocking Sarah Palin’s disabled child?
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Multiculturalism Deludes Christian Intellectual
On Facebook, a prominent Christian intellectual announced they were going to give a lecture contrasting the economic and cultural vitality of Asia with the economic and cultural degeneration of America.
Doesn't Christianity teach not to measure the spiritual health of an individual or society in the abundance of things?
That's at least what we are constantly reminded when the missionaries speak not so much as a way to encourage aide to the less fortunate but rather under the guise of bashing the American way of life.
Isn't this claim of a vital Asia made more so because this is the way assorted elites are conditioning us to think?
Asian culture is such a wondrous thing.
Recently, a Lebanese Muslim raped his sister and, when she got pregnant, he murdered her for disgracing the family.
Things are little better in other nations across the continent now being upheld as the ideal.
Female children are literally tossed aside unwanted in India and China.
And in other nation’s such as Thailand, others are sold into forced prostitution.
But I guess that’s also the fault of the average American that‘s never even set foot outside the United States.
Arguing that the good Christian does not celebrate birthdays because John The Baptist was beheaded as a result of shenanigans that went on at Herod’s birthday party is akin to suggesting that the ideal way for a guy to get a girl that won’t otherwise give him the time of day is to go ahead and rape her because of the statute set forth in Deuteronomy 22:28-29.
Some of these pastors thinking more should be taken away from many Old Testament narratives other than the history of Israel and Christ’s earthly lineage often exegete proscriptively more than what can be justified by the passage. For example, in a sermon, one pastor blamed the mess Jacob got into by marrying both Leah and Rachel on Rebecca because she did not defer to Isaac’s choice of a spouse for his son. Instead, the preacher suggests Esau should have been married off to Leah so Jacob could have Rachel, the one he wanted. Just because Jacob was more the son of promise, in this preacher’s idealized world, is Esau that obligated to ruin his life just so Jacob is satisfied?
The January 2013 issue of the Magazine of History criticizes Evangelical historiography in an article titled “Using The Past To Save Our Nation: The Debate Over Christian America”. Is the publication as eager to denounce politically correct approaches to the discipline not so much concerned about constructing an understanding of the past as it actually transpired but rather about coddling disruptive minorities that literally become destructive over a misconstrued glance or inflected pronoun?
Monday, February 25, 2013
The concept of "extreme discipleship" as advocated in the March 2013 issue of Christianity Today is just the latest euphemism concocted to brainwash the gullible into believing church authorities and deadbeats have a greater right to your property than you do. Why else does the illustration accompanying the article positively depict two pastors looking like filthy hippies hoisting aloft a red flag with a black “R” in a circle. Such blatantly anarchist and even Communistic symbolizing depicted in a positive manner should be as offensive as a swastika or Klan hoods.
In a radio news story about a prominent American Cardinal traveling to the conclave to select a new pope, experts speculated that an American pope would not be likely because of the status of the United States as a superpower. In other words, there is a strong anti-American element within the Vatican.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
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