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lederhosenIn recent news that feels like reruns from Afghanistan, our 'hearts and minds' campaign in Iraq continues:
A U.S. helicopter fired on a wedding party in the remote desert near the border with Syria, killing more than 40 people, most of them women and children, Iraqi officials said. The U.S. military said it was investigating.
(If anybody wants to boost my opinion of humanity at this point, they have but to show me where the 'protectors of traditional marriage' are speaking up to decry this one. Or is it beneath them to deal with tangible things?)
However, this Village Voice article may go some way to explaining things:
Most of all, apparently, we're not supposed to know the National Security Council's top Middle East aide consults with apocalyptic Christians eager to ensure American policy on Israel conforms with their sectarian doomsday scenarios...
Ronald Reagan bore theological affinities with such Christians because of his belief that the world would end in a fiery Armageddon. Reagan himself referenced this belief explicitly a half-dozen times during his presidency. While the language of apocalyptic Christianity is absent from George W. Bush's speeches, he has proven eager to work with apocalyptics—a point of pride for Upton. "We're in constant contact with the White House," he boasts. "I'm briefed at least once a week via telephone briefings. . . . I was there about two weeks ago . . . At that time we met with the president."
(Those with a copy of GURPS Villains may care to open it at this point and read my writeup of the 'Responsible Government Party'.)
Meanwhile, the State of Texas has declared that the Unitarian Universalists are not a religion - and hence don't qualify for tax-exempt status - because they lack a 'system of belief'. One wonders if this is a matter of "if they let gays marry, they obviously don't believe in anything."
(Partly ganked from Respectful of Otters.)
A U.S. helicopter fired on a wedding party in the remote desert near the border with Syria, killing more than 40 people, most of them women and children, Iraqi officials said. The U.S. military said it was investigating.
(If anybody wants to boost my opinion of humanity at this point, they have but to show me where the 'protectors of traditional marriage' are speaking up to decry this one. Or is it beneath them to deal with tangible things?)
However, this Village Voice article may go some way to explaining things:
Most of all, apparently, we're not supposed to know the National Security Council's top Middle East aide consults with apocalyptic Christians eager to ensure American policy on Israel conforms with their sectarian doomsday scenarios...
Ronald Reagan bore theological affinities with such Christians because of his belief that the world would end in a fiery Armageddon. Reagan himself referenced this belief explicitly a half-dozen times during his presidency. While the language of apocalyptic Christianity is absent from George W. Bush's speeches, he has proven eager to work with apocalyptics—a point of pride for Upton. "We're in constant contact with the White House," he boasts. "I'm briefed at least once a week via telephone briefings. . . . I was there about two weeks ago . . . At that time we met with the president."
(Those with a copy of GURPS Villains may care to open it at this point and read my writeup of the 'Responsible Government Party'.)
Meanwhile, the State of Texas has declared that the Unitarian Universalists are not a religion - and hence don't qualify for tax-exempt status - because they lack a 'system of belief'. One wonders if this is a matter of "if they let gays marry, they obviously don't believe in anything."
(Partly ganked from Respectful of Otters.)
