I'm sure others are posting this, but for Miranda Zapor Cruz ... what you don't have the self-awareness to realize is that it is YOU who are on the side of the Devil. I know you think that being a "Pretendian" grants you some moral high ground. But even those of us who are only aware of God in a scholarly way ... which grants us more insight to the supposed tenets of your worship than you can claim ... understand that you have so lost your way that you are the "evil" that all good, moral, socially adapt citizens should and are fighting against.
Not only do they not understand it ... but even if you could take the time to explain it and make them understand, they'd still choose fascism in the hopes that they'll be swept up in a later wave and they'll have still had the satisfaction of gloating just once
Oh, Loooooorrrrd. (Won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?)
As usual, these self-righteous purveyors of violent prejudice know less about the context and meaning of the Bible passages they cite, than the unbelievers they condemn. Jesus is cited in Matthew 18 as saying that you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless you become like a child and have uncritical faith, and that whoever "offends" one of his believing followers would be better off getting the millstone treatment. "Offend" in that passage doesn't mean anything sexual, it means causing a believer to lose his faith. But reading what the Bible actually says, and thinking about it, is one of the biggest contemporary causes of ceasing to believe.
Jesus himself was sure, like John the Baptist before him, that the flawed corrupt world was about to end and the kingdom of God be established. He told his chief disciples just before his arrest that some people then living would see it happen, and Jesus himself return in power and glory. He never wavered in that belief. We all know where it got him.
As for Jezebel and her husband Ahab, they got the bad press in the Bible and David got the good press, because Ahab and Jezebel ruled in the northern kingdom, Israel, while David ruled in Jerusalem in Judea. The relevant books of the Bible were written in Jerusalen, by the temple priests there. David sinned just as foully as Jezebel, if not worse. Jezebel demanded Naboth sell her his vineyard, cheap, and when he refused she had him murdered. David, hot for another man's wife, had him sent to the front lines with a letter for the general that said, in effect, "See that this dude doesn't make it back." Also, while an outlaw fleeing the wrath of King Saul, he went and served one of the Philistine kings as a mercenary - the enemies of his people.
The killing of Jezebel and her children was part of a plain, straight-out power grab and dynastic purge by Jehu, who seems to have been a right bastard himself. Her real crime was being a foreign woman who worshipped different gods.
That reminds me, Trump has never called off his minions who do death threats to individuals online and by phone and by doxxing. We've just gotten so used to it all.
It barely qualified as code. I took it to be synonymous with "wait at the ready for now." Even without "stand by", "stand back" is not a denouncement of the situation so much as a pronouncement that someone else is taking care of it at the moment.
You must be a White person -- or a non-Black person -- whose ancestors have never been threatened with death, by arson or even more gruesome means, by white supremacists who didn't want them to vote.
It's fine to be that -- though I'd submit if you identify as a responsible American you may want to take some time soon to learn what life is like in these United States when you *are not* that -- but you're not exactly in a position in a situation like this to tell Other People Who Are Not You what they heard.
I was trying both to agree with you and to say, perhaps badly, what I personally heard. Typically, code is meant to obscure the message unless the listener is part of the in-group. I was trying to say that this message was obvious enough that the “code” was a shitty disguise.
Part of the problem is the very last line of the article: "God help us all if that should come to pass."
If that were "God help THEM if that should come to pass," they might begin having second thoughts. No first use of violence. But if it is used against us, the users will be rendered utterly powerless, if possible through ordinary means, but if not through "any means necessary."
Like I tell my stateside friends......."There's a REASON I moved to Thailand".........
This country is a Kingdom and has a tenuous grasp on democracy, but it ain't NEARLY as gobsmackingly ignorant as half the population of 'Murika is.....
They want to make Hair Fuhrer a King????? Let me know when you need some pointers on navigating the Lese Majeste' laws.......
On a side note, I give Trumpelforeskin about 2 years of a 2nd term, before he starts lobbying to get the 22nd amendment thrown out........
He'll die before he finishes his second term. And if it happens to be something that is symptomatic before he kicks the bucket, he won't bother with the 22nd Amendment, because he'll want to screw Vance over.
Yes, it doesn't make any sense, but he's that fucking petty.
As a third generation Passive-Aggressive, I know passive-aggression when I hear it, and the calls for President Biden to step down had more than a whiff of it.
"Dems are saying they want Biden to step down. I'm not saying it. They are."
These people, largely, sound just like the Taliban or Hamas. And they feel secure enough to do so out in the open. I'd make a point about irony, but that died on an escalator some years ago.
In fact, we don't know how much of "Jesus" was Jesus, and how much was the use of an unjustly executed Jewish hedge preacher as the vehicle for the ideas of others.
The jesus myth is a near-perfect mix of prior crucified savior memes rolled up with circular logic and authoritarianism that grabs credulous humans by the brain and doesn’t let go easily.
Fraser does a pretty good job of outlining the backstory in the Golden Bough.
I'm sure others are posting this, but for Miranda Zapor Cruz ... what you don't have the self-awareness to realize is that it is YOU who are on the side of the Devil. I know you think that being a "Pretendian" grants you some moral high ground. But even those of us who are only aware of God in a scholarly way ... which grants us more insight to the supposed tenets of your worship than you can claim ... understand that you have so lost your way that you are the "evil" that all good, moral, socially adapt citizens should and are fighting against.
Niemöller, and, also, too, Heinrich Heine,
"Dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man auch am Ende Menschen."
where they burn books, they will burn people in the end.
Willful idiots and willfully ignorant people don't give a fuck.
never have. never will.
Rachel is on MSNBC and she's wearing her nerd glasses and no makeup and that is my favorite Rachel.
These people really don't understand the history of how fascism works. Eventually everyone winds up on the wrong side at some point or another.
Not only do they not understand it ... but even if you could take the time to explain it and make them understand, they'd still choose fascism in the hopes that they'll be swept up in a later wave and they'll have still had the satisfaction of gloating just once
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219193849
Oh, Loooooorrrrd. (Won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?)
As usual, these self-righteous purveyors of violent prejudice know less about the context and meaning of the Bible passages they cite, than the unbelievers they condemn. Jesus is cited in Matthew 18 as saying that you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless you become like a child and have uncritical faith, and that whoever "offends" one of his believing followers would be better off getting the millstone treatment. "Offend" in that passage doesn't mean anything sexual, it means causing a believer to lose his faith. But reading what the Bible actually says, and thinking about it, is one of the biggest contemporary causes of ceasing to believe.
Jesus himself was sure, like John the Baptist before him, that the flawed corrupt world was about to end and the kingdom of God be established. He told his chief disciples just before his arrest that some people then living would see it happen, and Jesus himself return in power and glory. He never wavered in that belief. We all know where it got him.
As for Jezebel and her husband Ahab, they got the bad press in the Bible and David got the good press, because Ahab and Jezebel ruled in the northern kingdom, Israel, while David ruled in Jerusalem in Judea. The relevant books of the Bible were written in Jerusalen, by the temple priests there. David sinned just as foully as Jezebel, if not worse. Jezebel demanded Naboth sell her his vineyard, cheap, and when he refused she had him murdered. David, hot for another man's wife, had him sent to the front lines with a letter for the general that said, in effect, "See that this dude doesn't make it back." Also, while an outlaw fleeing the wrath of King Saul, he went and served one of the Philistine kings as a mercenary - the enemies of his people.
The killing of Jezebel and her children was part of a plain, straight-out power grab and dynastic purge by Jehu, who seems to have been a right bastard himself. Her real crime was being a foreign woman who worshipped different gods.
This is super informative, thank you.
Oh, Loooooorrrrd. (Won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?)
.... "My friends have Porches, I must make Amends."
In “Skinny Legs and All,” Tom Robbins tells this story quite well, and it’s horrifying.
That reminds me, Trump has never called off his minions who do death threats to individuals online and by phone and by doxxing. We've just gotten so used to it all.
The closest he came to issuing an order to stand down was "stand back and stand by."
That wasn't even any kind of issuance attempt.
That was code.
The way they say "law and order" to really mean "kill Black people"
It barely qualified as code. I took it to be synonymous with "wait at the ready for now." Even without "stand by", "stand back" is not a denouncement of the situation so much as a pronouncement that someone else is taking care of it at the moment.
"It barely qualified as code."
You must be a White person -- or a non-Black person -- whose ancestors have never been threatened with death, by arson or even more gruesome means, by white supremacists who didn't want them to vote.
It's fine to be that -- though I'd submit if you identify as a responsible American you may want to take some time soon to learn what life is like in these United States when you *are not* that -- but you're not exactly in a position in a situation like this to tell Other People Who Are Not You what they heard.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IRrJAoixKcU
I was trying both to agree with you and to say, perhaps badly, what I personally heard. Typically, code is meant to obscure the message unless the listener is part of the in-group. I was trying to say that this message was obvious enough that the “code” was a shitty disguise.
Christ on a bike. I have to say I never noticed these Millstone Acts and the implied threat behind the name before.
"Mommy, daddy what does Millstone Act mean?"
"Shut up and finish painting your Let's Go Brandon placard."
Btw. I prefer the quote from the official Wonkette translation of the bible (the one with more dick jokes).
"A favorite biblical quote of Trumpists, Christian nationalists, and their fellow travellers is Matthew 18:6:
Wonkette is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber."
Part of the problem is the very last line of the article: "God help us all if that should come to pass."
If that were "God help THEM if that should come to pass," they might begin having second thoughts. No first use of violence. But if it is used against us, the users will be rendered utterly powerless, if possible through ordinary means, but if not through "any means necessary."
Wapo coming to the obvious conclusion everyone who was paying a nanosecond of attention came to most of a decade ago.
Like I tell my stateside friends......."There's a REASON I moved to Thailand".........
This country is a Kingdom and has a tenuous grasp on democracy, but it ain't NEARLY as gobsmackingly ignorant as half the population of 'Murika is.....
They want to make Hair Fuhrer a King????? Let me know when you need some pointers on navigating the Lese Majeste' laws.......
On a side note, I give Trumpelforeskin about 2 years of a 2nd term, before he starts lobbying to get the 22nd amendment thrown out........
He'll die before he finishes his second term. And if it happens to be something that is symptomatic before he kicks the bucket, he won't bother with the 22nd Amendment, because he'll want to screw Vance over.
Yes, it doesn't make any sense, but he's that fucking petty.
“I never threatened Biden. I referenced what God says about those who hurt little ones.”
`
First of all, the expression "little ones" gets up my nose.
Second of all:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/2/2/2221200/-Republican-Sexual-Predators-Abusers-and-Enablers-Pt-50
These scumbags do nothing but project.
Joe Biden is the most progressive president in my life time. Bernie said it . AOC said it. The oligarchs want him gone.
As a third generation Passive-Aggressive, I know passive-aggression when I hear it, and the calls for President Biden to step down had more than a whiff of it.
"Dems are saying they want Biden to step down. I'm not saying it. They are."
It's Trump's story about "big strong men" all over again. The 4th Estate has abandoned all principals.
These people, largely, sound just like the Taliban or Hamas. And they feel secure enough to do so out in the open. I'd make a point about irony, but that died on an escalator some years ago.
Ever read the bibble? God is a vindictive hateful bastard.
He wasn't bad for a sixth century BCE tribal chieftain. But we have moved on since then.
What Christians don't get is that Yahweh was never supposed to be a role model.
That's for sure.
Jesus was cool.
An apocryphal, radical, apocalyptic, authoritarian, paranoid death-cult leader?
No, REALLY not….the exact opposite, in fact, and entirely unworthy of emulation.
In fact, we don't know how much of "Jesus" was Jesus, and how much was the use of an unjustly executed Jewish hedge preacher as the vehicle for the ideas of others.
This.
70 years from now, they will be writing the same myths about Beyonce or Taylor or Serena ... I can't decide which of the 3 is more likely.
The jesus myth is a near-perfect mix of prior crucified savior memes rolled up with circular logic and authoritarianism that grabs credulous humans by the brain and doesn’t let go easily.
Fraser does a pretty good job of outlining the backstory in the Golden Bough.
The bible is a tool.
As are the people who pay it slavish devotion
yes
“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡,” 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙈𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖 𝙕𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙧 𝘾𝙧𝙪𝙯, 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙒𝙚𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙮𝙖𝙣 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘. “𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙪𝙩, 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 ‘𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜’ 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.”
I submit to you, Miranda Zapor Cruz, that unless you publicly claim to be on the side of Odin, you're obviously on the side of Hela.
Take your fucking mythology and shove it up your ass.
She’s an academic trying to explain the crazies, not a crazy herself. It’s a don’t shoot the messenger situation.
Well, that's definitely Poe country.
I believe she is characterizing what these guys think. She’s not saying she thinks that way.
Yes, that's how I had it as well.