The Credible Threat

There is a lot of talk about a current “credible threat” of terrorism on the anniversary of 9/11. I suspect I am thinking of a different man than “they” are.

If a man whom you met
Was a “credible threat”
There’s no way that you’d let
Him evade you
And if somehow you knew
Your suspicion was true
What could anyone do
To dissuade you?

You’re the patriot type
And you’re not one to gripe
But you see through the hype
That they feed you
And you’re always aware
And you think that it’s fair
For your country, you’re there
When they need you.

With the hour growing late
There is no more debate
There are people who hate
And detest us
And they’ll cheat and they’ll lie
(Which they’ll always deny)
Through their teeth, as they’re try-
ing to best us

A religious extrem-
ist whose ultimate dream
Is that faith will redeem
Us, is scary
There’s a face in that frame
And we learn, to our shame
That this lunatic’s name…

Is Rick Perry
[Read more…]

Headline Muse, 9/9

At the tail of the red distribution
Where they love to deny evolution
There’s a troglodyte sort
With a strange sense of sport,
Who will cheer and applaud execution

Headline: GOP Debate: Thou shalt kill, cheer the Republicans

MODERATOR BRIAN WILLIAMS: Governor Perry, a question about Texas. Your state has executed 234 death row inmates, more than any other governor in modern times. Have you…

(APPLAUSE)

Have you struggled to sleep at night with the idea that any one of those might have been innocent?

PERRY: No, sir. I’ve never struggled with that at all. The state of Texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place of which — when someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens, they get a fair hearing, they go through an appellate process, they go up to the Supreme Court of the United States, if that’s required.

But in the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you’re involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is, you will be executed.

WILLIAMS: What do you make of…

(APPLAUSE)

What do you make of that dynamic that just happened here, the mention of the execution of 234 people drew applause?

PERRY: I think Americans understand justice. I think Americans are clearly, in the vast majority of — of cases, supportive of capital punishment. When you have committed heinous crimes against our citizens — and it’s a state-by-state issue, but in the state of Texas, our citizens have made that decision, and they made it clear, and they don’t want you to commit those crimes against our citizens. And if you do, you will face the ultimate justice.

I once worked in a lab where we occasionally had to cull rats. It was not taken lightly; if you wanted that job, you could not have it. The idea was, killing is not trivial. This was with rats.

Perry has never struggled with killing his fellow human beings. Not even Cameron Todd Willingham, who (read the link) very likely did not commit the crime he was executed for. If Perry does not struggle with that, he is (not a professional diagnosis, but true nonetheless) a sociopath.

Edited to add…

I was so outraged by Perry’s comments that I completely forgot to be outraged by the fact that the fucking audience fucking applauded his fucking words. And the odds are that the vast preponderance of those clapping bastards are self-professed christians.

No Clergy At 9/11 Ceremony?

We’d like a moment of your time
At most, a single minute—
We’ve noticed, the memorial
Has got no clergy in it.

There are both friends and family,
And those who joined the search,
But missing from the program here?
The Southern Baptist Church!

New York is such a melting pot—
It always has been thus—
The program can’t fit everyone;
I’m sure there’s room for us

Some churches might not want a spot
Like Methodists, or Jews—
If you asked the local Muslims, why
I’m sure that they’d refuse

The Mormons probably want to,
But they’re really just a cult
And I really think they ought to be
Turned down, as a result.

When you look with cold-eyed reason
It is obvious to see
There’s no reason for inviting
Any clergymen but me

I’ve considered all the angles, and
I really think it’s best…

And it’s simply un-American,
Denying my request!

A bit more after the jump:
[Read more…]

Thought I Saw Another Atheist…

I’ve gotten a few comments and other sorts of feedback on yesterday’s verse from the old blog, and since today is such a busy day, I’m just going to throw two additional old “I thought I saw an atheist” posts up, with contexts and all, from the old place. The verse form lends itself to these things, and two incidents came up which needed commenting on.

After the jump:
[Read more…]

Eyes In The Voting Booth

When I walk behind the curtain with my ballot in my hand
There is no one standing looking over me
Why a ballot must be secret, I am sure you understand,
And agree that it’s the way it ought to be
If a stranger or a neighbor could be standing right beside me
Or my union or employer could take notes
Or my pastor, priest, or rabbi could decide they need to guide me
One might wonder who was really casting votes
But in all too many places, while you’re voting in seclusion
Jesus watches you, and helps your soul to search;
The first amendment builds a wall preventing such collusion
So it’s time to get our voting out of church!

Over at our new friend Blue Collar Atheist, Hank Fox writes about the all-too-common phenomenon of voting in churches. It really isn’t a stretch at all to think that the presence of religious symbols would have an effect on voting; something as simple as a photograph of eyes on a wall has effects on people’s behavior. And there is not a lifetime (for some) of experience with those eyes, like there is for the religious symbols, to move behavior in a particular direction.

As Hank Fox notes, it is not unusual for churches to have explicitly held positions on ballot issues. Given the possibility (at least!) of conflict of interest, there is every reason to eliminate the practice of voting in churches.

Re: “Ungodly Discipline”

The church that runs the boarding house where little girls are beaten
Finds the media attention rather odd
It exemplifies the problem with America today—
We put little children’s safety over God.

The republicans out courting votes, to energize their base
Call the global warming scientist a fraud
“We are taking back the country from the liberals, because
They trust scientific findings over God.”

A polygamist in prison, on a hunger strike for days
Thinks his trial was a ludicrous façade
And the problem with humanity is obvious to all
We’ve been following the law instead of God.

As I look through all the stories I see daily in the papers
I see we use our language rather oddly
To describe the sick behavior that religions may engender
We too often use the adjective “ungodly”

thoughts, after the jump:
[Read more…]

The Truth (As He Sees It)

So today or yesterday, I saw a letter to the editor in a local paper, chastising the editor for something mean said about Rick Perry. The writer was planning on voting for Perry, because “He tells us the truth as he sees it.”

The following is written in the West Texas song tradition, and may be sung with guitar, small band, or just a harmonica by the fireside. Yodeling, however, is a must. It’s a sweet 3/4 time, just a little bit faster than “Waltz Across Texas With You”.

“He tells us the truth as he sees it”
That surely deserves our respect
His view is not sullied by knowledge, or facts,
Or intelligence we can detect.
He’s a church-going, god-fearing Christian
And he’s honest as Sunday is long
There’s nothing that tempts him to change his beliefs
Like the fact that they’re utterly wrong

(yodeling part)

He’s suspicious of climate-change science
Evolution, and the age of the earth
But he’s steadfast and true in his ignorant stance
His resistance to change shows his worth
In hundreds of life-and-death matters
His was always the right choice to make
Though it’s better to execute innocent men
Than admit he could make a mistake

(more yodeling)

See, it just doesn’t pay to be truthful
When consistency makes you look right
If correcting mistakes made you rise in the polls
Then he would. Or he should. Or he might.
But it’s me, and the rest of us voters;
If we checked, then we likely could tell
Still we vote for the one with the prettiest lies
And together, we waltz off to Hell.

(A bit more yodeling)

And together, we waltz off to Hell.

I Really Like The Candidate!

I really like the candidate
I really like his views
His positions on the issues are the ones that I would choose!
I really like the candidate
I’m thinking it’s a sign
Her slogans at the rally were identical to mine!
I really like the candidate
I’m following the bus!
We’re going to take the nation back for those who think like us!
I really like the candidate
I can’t believe my luck
What a miracle I came across another stupid fuck.

So… when Irene dumped rain on ground that had already been saturated, the result was calamity. I’m thinking that A) the primary states have already been saturated with political bullshit, and B) it’s just the beginning of political shitstorm season.

Expect calamity.