real journalism

Have you noticed how many certifiably insane statements are made these days by politicians, media types and even religious leaders?

Just this week we had Bill O'Reilly wishing for a terrorist attack on San Francisco. I guess that is the one city the Right feels comfortable about making such outrageous statements about. If he had said the same thing about New York...or Dallas...or Washington D.C., I wonder if he'd ever be able to visit that city again without a good horse-whipping.

But instead, gay, liberal and evil is the bottom line for the 3/4 million souls as far as the O'Reillys of the world are concerned. Therefore, who more than San Franciscans deserve to be target of terrorism more?

But let's be realistic here. Bill O'Reilly is a low-life slug and most reasonable people know it.

The same thing goes for the most despicable "representative" of Jesus Christ in the nation...and maybe the world: Marion "Pat" Robertson. Actually the title of "Most Despicable" has always been the special recognition given to the "God Hates Fags" pastor, Fred Phelps. But Marion is trying his utmost best to take over the title.

So this week, in his usual role as sole spokesman for the Almighty, he condemned the town of Dover, Pennsylvania to natural and eternal damnation because they "voted God out" of their town. Actually they voted out the 8 brain-dead morons who wanted to teach the other kind of science in their schools...you know: science fiction.

I'm wondering if all those Doverites who still believe in "Creationism" and it's stealthy brother, "Intelligent Design" will have advanced warning of the devasation to come...or will they just have to suffer for the mortal sins of their neighbors. Oh well, apparently that's the way Robertson's maliciously petty god plays it. Does anyone really want a bastard like that as their Supreme Deity? I sure as hell don't!

Okay, I know that Ann Coulter, Jerry Falwell, Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and scores of other wingnuts have gotten media attention for similar crazy rantings in the past, but there seems to be an real sense of desperation in these recent ones.

Could it be that even with Fox News' domination of the cable news channels, and the 700 Club's constant prayers for money (oh, and for our nation), Bush's overwhelming failures are finally sinking into the national consciousness? Hmmmm....could be.

It certainly appears more and more that the great and shining path the neocons and Radical Right set America on is looking as dangerous and untravelable as is the infamous highway from Baghdad Airport to the city's Green Zone.

In my dreams I see all our favorite preachers, corporate businessmen, authors, media spokesmen and politicians traveling down that highway together...one loathesome and highly-vulnerable pile of human garbage.

Then I wake up and realize that it's kids barely out of their teens who are taking that journey. And they're doing it because they believe in something the hypocrites and chickenhawks who sent them there don't.

They believe that the thing we've all grown up to believe about our "good and just" society might not seem all that possible or imminent at times like these, but it still seems like a worthy cause to live...and to die for.