Inspired by something I caught over at ThinkProgress, I decided to revisit a huge “gripe” (to put it lightly) of mine. I’m still baffled by the constant uniting of any and all Arabian militants on the part of the Bush Clan. Now take a look at this passage:

Despite their differences, these groups from — form the outlines of a single movement, a worldwide network of radicals that use terror to kill those who stand in the way of their totalitarian ideology. And the unifying feature of this movement, the link that spans sectarian divisions and local grievances, is the rigid conviction that free societies are a threat to their twisted view of Islam.

This passage is absolutely riddled with problems. For one, they don’t use terror to kill. That’s just plain stupid. You use terror to keep people living in… terror. It’s psychological. You use bombs to kill people. Bush seems to think “terror” is a strategy of murder. Killing someone with terror would be jumping out from behind a tree and going “BOOGITY BOO!” to give them a heart attack. But anyway…

Next, the groups only have in common the fact that they kill people who stand in the way of their ideology. Now, call me crazy, but isn’t that a trait shared by everyone? Even if you zone in on the “Islam” bit, what Bush is saying is that, despite all of their differences, everyone is the same because they all kill everyone that disagrees with them.

Of course, the subtle nuance, the little subtlety that Bush is missing here, is that while technically accurate, it’s also what separates them. You see, being willing to die or kill for their ideologies doesn’t unite groups when they all have different ideologies. The Civil War was fought by two groups who were willing to die and kill for what they believed was right. Does that mean the confederacy and the union were really the same?

Now, maybe Bush is just trying to bullshit us all, maybe he actually believes it. Regardless, it’s this kind of thinking that’s the biggest problem with American foreign policy.

[tags]bush, terrorism, war, iraq[/tags]

Gimme your best shot.

So after finishing my book, I decide to hop on over to Media Matters and look around. The usual suspects are all there, but this little ditty where Pat “strongest leg presser on the planet” Robertson talks about bin Laden and how he may be the most loyal follower of Islam caught my eye.

So are these extremists something aberrational from the Quran? I’m not sure they are. I would think Osama bin Laden may be one of the true disciples of the teaching of the Quran but you know because he’s following through literally word-for-word what it says.

…

But Islam is not a religion of peace. No way.

Naturally, MediaMatters is taking this from the direction of “oh look how insensitive Robertson is”. But you know what? He’s right. He’s absolutely right.

Seriously. Go ahead, open up a Quran. Guess what you’ll find? Lots of talk about killing infidels and the promise of virgins in heaven if you sacrifice yourself. All of that good stuff. So when Pat Robertson says that Islam is not a religion of peace because those who follow it by the letter tend to be violent and crazy, he is 100% correct.

Now what of Christianity?

One of my favorite bits of would-be-funny-were-it-not-tragically-accurate humor is the Open Letter to Dr Laura. Whether or not this was ever actually written to Dr Laura or who the author is doesn’t really matter. I’m reproducing the list here, with links to the given verses so you can take a look at them for yourself.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors bitch to the zoning people. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. What do you think would be a fair price for her? She’s 18 and starting college. Will the slave buyer be required to continue to pay for her education by law ?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense and threaten to call Human Resources.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? ….Why can’t I own Canadians? Is there something wrong with tham due to the weather?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should this be a neighborhood improvement project ? What is a good day to start? Should we begin with small stones? Kind of lead up to it?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. I mean, a shrimp just isn’t the same as a you-know-what. Can you settle this?

g) Lev. 21:20 [note: I added some more to this one] states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here? Would contact lenses fall within some exception?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die? The Mafia once took out Albert Anastasia in a barbershop, but I’m not Catholic; is this ecumenical thing a sign that it’s ok?

I) I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.24:10-16) Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

So there we go. Would you say that Christianity is a religion of peace and loving? No way.

[tags]bin laden, terrorism, islam, christianity, religion, bible[/tags]