Oh! Grandpa!

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"You're Sucking The Life Out Of Me"

Definition of Parasite: Biology An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host.

Have you ever had a dog who has become infested with fleas? Was it an old dog who found trouble taking care of the constant irritation of that infestation? An old dog who would gnaw and scratch to no avail; only pulling it's own coat out in the process; never really ridding it's body of the parasitic force?

That is what happened to the Republican Party.

The parasite in question is the Religious Right. They, like a flea, has latched on the back of the Republicans and sucked the blood of the massive beast. No longer does the Republicans have the energy to fight the take-over; they just lay in the corner of the room, in utter despair, waiting for the end to come.

What has happened to the Republican Party? They was not always like this. Remember the good ole days when being a Republican meant limited Government and low taxes?

Does being a believer in "limited Government" mean deciding who can get married? Does it mean deciding what a woman can do with their own body? Does it mean expanding the powers of the Executive Branch of Government? Does it mean putting expansive conditions that need to be met in order to vote? Does it mean starting wars against Islamic nations because they are "Evil"?

What has happened to the Republican Party?

The TRUE Republicans are still out there (I, for a while, even considered myself a Republican). The kind of person who wants the Government out of our lives, telling us what we can and cannot do. The kind of Government who lets the people live how they want to live, as long as they don't affect the lives of other citizens. Who wants the Government to spend less, cut programs, and use it's military for DEFENSE purposes only.

What has happend to the Republican Party?

The God People have infected them like the Black Plague. Before they find out what is causing the plague it will be too late. The disease will have spread too far. But what can you expect? When a great number of the "real" Republicans have already defected to the "Obama" Party (notice I didn't say Democrats; these Republicans just decided Obama is a better Republican than McCain).

Notable Elected Republicans who publicly endorse Obama (and not limited to):
*Former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson
*Former Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee
*Former Minnesota Senator David Durenberger
*Former Virginia Governor Linwood Holton
*Former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach
*Former Connecticut Governor and Senator Lowell Weicker
*Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld

Other Notable Republican figures who support Obama:
*Ken Adelman, former diplomat and member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board
*Former publisher of National Review, Wick Allison
*Jack Antaramian, Florida real estate developer and Bush fundraiser
*Julie Nixon Eisenhower, daughter of former President Richard Nixon, granddaughter-in law of Dwight D. Eisenhower
*Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of Dwight D. Eisenhower and president of the Eisenhower Institute
*Charles Fried, former U.S. Solicitor General and former McCain advisor
*CC Goldwater, granddaughter of former Arizona Senator and Republican Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater (endorsing Barack Obama on behalf of herself, her sibling, and some of her cousins)
*Lilibet Hagel, wife of Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
*Rita E. Hauser, Former White House intelligence advisor for George W. Bush
*Actor and former Bush supporter Dennis Hopper
*Larry Hunter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Policy Innovation and Chief Economist for the Free Enterprise Fund, former Reagan policy advisor
*Rear Admiral John Hutson, USN (ret.), former Judge Advocate General of the Navy and the current dean and president of Franklin Pierce Law Center
*Legal scholar Douglas Kmiec
*Scott McClellan, White House Press Secretary under George W. Bush from 2003-2006. Author of controversial book, What Happened
*Tricia Mosley, former staffer to Senator Strom Thurmond
*Paul O'Neill, United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2001-02 under George W. Bush
*Colin Powell, former Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
*David Ruder, Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission under President Ronald Reagan

So, again, what has happened to the Republican Party?

The Religious Right has overpowered and now the mainstream politicians have to pander to their STUPID views and pander to the STUPID Americans who still think Obama is a Muslim, Evolution is still not "accepted", Abortion cannot be done because a magical being deemed it wrong 2000 years ago in a book. To get elected in a Republican district, you have to bow down and "kiss the feet" of these STUPID people (and yes, if you think Evolution is just as sound as INTELLIGENT DESIGN, then you are one of them - no matter how much you try to tell yourself differently).

What can the Republican Party do to reverse the trend?

It's simple. Go back to the roots. Go back to the "Goldwater Conservatism" (ironic that Barry Goldwater's offspring now support Obama). Go back to the ideas of Eisenhower (whose granddaughter has now switched sides and now votes for Obama).

What will happen to the Religious Wackos? Who believe in complete and utter BULLSHIT? Who takes that pile of BULLSHIT and dumps that BULLSHIT on Laws and Policies that are not Governed in any way, shape, or form, on religion? Who takes the BELIEFS of a overwhelming majority of the county and try to install it on the Federal and State levels that oversee all the people whether they may or may not have the same BELIEFS?

Why not get your OWN Party? A party where you can excite your base? A party for all the Joe the Plumbers. A party where you can put every STUPID thing your BOOK says into YOUR Party platform; so as not to infect any other Party.

Then we will have more than a Two Party System. And the votes of the Religious Wackos will be contained to the small percentage that will have no affect on the major elections anymore.

They will never garner the power they loved to leech off the Republicans anymore, and the Democrats and Republicans can devote their entire time to pander to those who really control this country: Corporations.


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My Review of "Religulous"

“Join me in the final battle between intelligence and stupidity that will decide the future of humanity. Coming soon to a house of false idols near you.” –Bill Maher

Need there be any more to say? "Religulous" may not be a real word (but neither is "strategery"). But both describe the current state of the world at this time. Our political and social systems are based on both, but, over time, the ideas of religion and strategy have morphed into a pastiche version of the original ideas. Just in name and look is religion still a part of our fabric, not the substance.

"Religulous" tackles the hypocrisy of the established religions with the certain wit that only Bill Maher can communicate. In a time in the United States where all we hear about is how Christians (and, in turn, Republicans) will save us all, Bill Maher shows how Western Religion (for you Christians out there, that is the one and only you) has done more to destroy our civilizations and planet than any other power or group on Earth. And before you say, "He just has a problem with Christians," pick up a history book and read.

Not that Christians are the only subject of ridicule in "Religulous": all are welcome to the absurdity of anything other than EVOLUTION, BILLIONS OF YEARS, ADAPTATION, and THERE IS NOT A MAGICAL MAN IN THE SKY WATCHING OVER US ALL AND WHEN WE DIE WE GO TO A HAPPY PLACE WHERE ALL OUR DEAD RELATIVES WILL BE WAITING TO GREET YOU WHERE YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY OR GO TO A FIRERY PIT WHERE YOU WILL BE TORTURED AND SUBJECTED TO HARSH INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES FOR EVER AND EVER.

Maher starts his movie off standing in the valley floor of Meggidol where God is supposedly going to return to Earth to start off "End Times". From there he goes to America to see how the Right's views work. He visits a "Christian" Theme Park, where he pisses off Jesus. From there, he's off to tractor trailer rest stop church, where Bill confronts a group of truckers who cannot listen to reason. These truckers demonstrate the stupidity of the Christians in America. These "religious" truckers show their ignorance about what is in the Bible, and this sets the tone for the rest of the film.

The other major religions he tackles is Islam. He doesn't go straight for the jugular by going after Muhammed, he does talk to several Islamic Leaders and grills them on their beliefs. I guess he didn't want a fatwa against him and will be treated like Salman Rushdie by Islam.

Maher doesn’t leave other religions out, as he finds time to explore and skewer Hasidic scholars, Mormons, Jews for Jesus, Satanists, and Scientologists. He lets the viewer see the "truth" beyond the religulous ideas of the people he interviews by Maher's concerns himself, but by displaying subtitles with things called "facts" that the subject of Maher's questioning fails to mention (a la The Colbert Report).

This documentary is a love letter to the 16% of Americans who consider themselves atheists, and a declaration of intellectual war with the other 84%. If you want unbiased reporting on religion, then you will not find it here (actually, you won't find it anywhere). What you will find is the conclusive argument that religion is a dangerous idea and which can no longer be tolerated in our enlightened time. You will also see the ignorance of the religious people, in Government positions sometimes, interviewed who reveal a poor understanding that many believers have in their own religion.

I enjoyed the film and the intellectual stimulation it provided and would recommend the documentary to both atheists and religious people. It offers an interesting way of looking at 2000 year-old religions, what we’ve done to change them over the years, and the dangers of ignorance.









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