See But, Politically, He'd Have To Reconsider

"The bottom line is that, whatever good Oprah may have done with her money, when it comes to medicine and science, she is a force for evil. Her intentions may be the best in the world, but that is only why she is the living embodiment of the cliche that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. That's especially true when that same road is also paved with no mental filter of critical thinking to keep out nonsense, and Oprah clearly has no mental filter when it comes to pseudoscience and quackery."

-- Orac, who none-the-less voted for The Evil One's hand-picked candidate, which ain't exactly smart nor showing any kind of Respectful Insolence.

Dude

"Have you ever been offered a natural remedy that was so obviously without any merit that you refused to bottle it and sell it to your gullible customers, or does pretty much anything go?"

-- Saltycdogg, asking Britain's "homeopathic" Neal's Yard the kinds of questions they can't answer, which got him In The Pipeline.

Their Weapon

"Sharon Stone may argue that cutting caffeine is a cure for cancer, but day in day out the press reels out stories about how burnt toast is carcinogenic or how a red wine a day can delay your tumour. The star of Basic Instinct isn’t the problem here."

-- Emily Hill, gingerly telling us - whether we're discussing NewAge celebrities or NewAge journalists - we're surrounded by idiots, in Spiked!

Totally Cool

Hat Tip: Hot Air

Yea, Wicked, Baby!!! (Nice Choice Of Words)

"You know things are not all fairy dust and unicorn poots in Liberal World."

-- Stop The ACLU, on the wonderfully wicked cartoonist, Ted Rall, and his wicked realization of the liberal wickedness he's been a party to - as a wicked Obama supporter - never once thinking, wickedly, down the road he might decide to Stop The ACLU.

All Together Now

"Wikipedia, the giant online encyclopedia anyone can edit, has decided to block contributions from computers owned by the Church of Scientology, saying that it has changed copy to advance its own agenda."

-- ABC News.

"Norway is considering prosecuting some Scientology practices. The Ministry of Health and Care Services says that the use of the 'OCA' personality test in sales may constitute fraud as well as being part of a pattern of medical malpractice.

The statement came after three undercover journalists took the test. Scientology staff said they should buy a course to solve psychological issues. One was advised to avoid medical care; another was told she needed either a course or 'chemicals'.

A Scientology spokesman blamed individual staff and disclaimed responsibility. The test is notorious since a Norwegian suicided the same evening she received negative results and was subjected to 'hard sell' in a Scientology center in Nice, France."

-- Short News.

"The Church of Scientology in France went on trial on Monday on charges of organised fraud."

-- Reuters.

"The interior ministers of Germany's 16 states have launched an investigation into the activities of the Church of Scientology, hoping to assemble the evidence to support banning the U.S.-based organization from operating in Germany."

-- TIME Magazine.

Seen Your Country In That Sun Gone Shine?

"Barack Obama has long been known for his socialistic convictions and messianic tendencies. That he therefore wants to rule rather than represent and to dictate rather than debate is not hard to understand. And while he may not come right out and say it, he expects us to pledge allegiance to him. He said as much when he told Republican House members just three days after his inauguration that the quicker they quit listening to voices that run counter to his, the better for us all.

...Obama wants his judgments and convictions to be our guide in all spheres of life, even when his judgments run 180 degrees counter to the natural law that guided our Founders or the Bibles that guided the Puritans. Therefore, it was as easy for him to skip the National Day of Prayer on May 7, 2009, and open the door to the legalized killing of 'days-old unborn children for [stem cell] research' as it was for him to tell GM what type of cars they’ll be building in the future if they want to remain extant.

Obama has long been opposed to the traditional values that undergird this nation and has been wise enough to war against those values in the name of those values, thus disorienting those whom he can’t intellectually disarm. For example, when he discusses any of his personal positions that go against the Christian faith, such as his pro-abortion stance, he always makes certain to mention that he’s a Christian in the process. The implication being that Christianity’s chief characteristic is some vague acceptance of all positions as equally valid instead of the orthodox, historical Christian insistence on truth and justice, good and evil.

Ultimately, this allows him to dismiss Christianity’s ethical claims on the life of the believer altogether. This was clear when he spoke about the tensions between his pro-abortion stance and Christianity at the Call to Renewal Conference in 2006: 'Democracy demands that … religiously motivated [individuals] translate their concerns into universal rather than religion-specific values.'

This is also how Obama sidestepped the implications of his support for abortion when giving Notre Dame’s commencement address. He made it sound like the pro-abortion and anti-abortion positions are just two viable positions that Christians can hold. While he admitted that these two positions flow from 'views … [which] are complex and even contradictory … [and] irreconcilable,' he wisely avoided the use of smaller but more important words such as 'right' and 'wrong,' and asked that members of the 'irreconcilable' factions 'honor the consciences' of those with whom they disagree on the abortion issue. Never mind that this tactic allowed him to continue down the path of supporting abortion without having to explain why he supports it or to justify his use of taxpayer dollars to fund the practice."

-- AWR Hawkins, "a conservative writer who holds a Ph.D. in military history from Texas Tech University", noticing Obama's obvious tactic of using of the NewAge concept of duality in American politics - which a lot of "non-judgmental" types love but expect the rest of us to ignore - probably because they don't read Pajamas Media.

Trapped In The Bubble

"I’m all for new media, but new media will get nowhere so long as outfits like the Huffington Post make a mockery of the facts,..."

-- Pejman Yousefzadeh, on the lib's most popular cult site - we can't call it a news site - where he found lies, lies, and more lies, unlike at The New Ledger.

Why Is This Idiot Smiling? (He's Fooling You)

"I cannot recall an instance like this where the President's official spokesman has blasted the press of a key ally - in this case America's closest friend, Great Britain.

This kind of attack would normally be made against the likes of the North Korean or Iranian state media, but in the current climate of 'engagement' with America's enemies the White House is far more likely to attack its own allies. Gibbs' remarks have echoes of a senior State Department official's anti-British statements to The Sunday Telegraph after the appalling handling of the Prime Minister's visit in March.

The British press, especially the Telegraph, has been singled out because they frequently publish articles critical of the Obama administration and are not afraid to take on the status quo in Washington. Increasingly, millions of Americans are turning to online UK news websites for cutting edge reports on American politics and U.S. foreign policy that the mainstream media refuses to cover in the States, especially if it is unflattering to the Obama White House.

Robert Gibbs' completely unwarranted rant against the British press is an absolute disgrace, and the President should disown his views. An unreserved apology by Gibbs is also in order.

For all its talk of 'raising America's standing' in the world after the Bush years, the Obama administration is doing a spectacularly bad job of reaching out to its allies. Unfortunately this is the new face of America's public diplomacy, which will only serve to alienate public opinion across the Atlantic. Congratulations Gibbs - you've just made an enemy out of the entire British media, quite an achievement for the man in charge of selling the President's message."

-- Nile Gardiner, making the Obot's latest betrayal of Britain plain, in The Telegraph.UK.

Goddammit, You Assholes Gotta Hug Me!!!

"If somebody were to not hug someone, to never hug anybody, people might be just a little wary of them and think they are weird or peculiar."

-- Gabrielle Brown, a freshman at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in Manhattan, giving us a nice example of cultish thinking - and how it leads straight to unwarranted discrimination - while still getting a pat on the back from The New York Times.

Point Taken

"CHARLIE ROSE: How would you have lived your life differently based on what you know now?

ELIZABETH EDWARDS: Boy,...I certainly,..would not have voluntarily put myself in a position where,...I would feel so betrayed,...You know, I might have married somebody else,..."

-- Mickey Kaus, making a note that dealing with the whole "my spouse was dumb enough to fall for NewAge and commit adultery" thing still hasn't brought any of the much-promised joy, peace, and/or love to the "mind, body, and spirit" of the Edwards' household - imagine that! - and even after it's been posted on Slate.com.

Helmet Heads

"The advent of no-fault divorce, in which one party can abrogate the marriage contract without penalty or consideration of the other party, has completely destroyed the notion that the government plays a role in protecting 'integrity and well-being of the family.' In fact, I’d argue that serial marriers of the kind seen in Hollywood (or in Washington DC) do more to undermine marriage than single-gender unions would ever do."

-- Ed Morrissey, making us wonder why so few notice these things (Oh yea: NewAgers are happy to have re-branded being selfish - "without penalty or consideration of the other party" - as "self-empowerment") floating aloft, like Zeppelins before the crash, by so much Hot Air.

Expect Great Things

"Judge Sotomayor would be,...one for whom the law is a voyage of personal identity,...She is,...steeped in the legal school of identity politics,...The danger inherent in this judicial view is that the law isn't what the Constitution says but whatever the judge in the 'richness' of her experience comes to believe it should be."

-- The Editors, not as impressed with the power of belief as many would think, unless aware they write for The Wall Street Journal.

We're Stunned. We Can't Move: We're Stunned.

"Let's talk about another part of the left Web: Huffington Post. HuffPo is certainly 'new media,' supports a wide range of progressive and liberal causes, is on the Daily Kos's selective blogroll, and is a pernicious source of medical misinformation. At HuffPo, that takes the form of anti-vaccination tropes and the occasional support for homeopathy. HuffPo staff have been demonstrably sympathetic to those causes, and the responses to pro-hard-science counterpostings are ... well, they aren't so pretty. Daily Kos must not follow that road. This community has embraced the banner of 'reality-based' with pride. So here's reality,...claims of a medical conspiracy, of insurance companies engaged in self-defeating suppression of cheap 'cures' to keep patients suffering ... is quackery.  It's the first step down the road that ruined science journalism at the Huffington Post."

-- Serpents Choice, standing with the skeptics - and exhibiting a level of rationality that's positively shocking - because (based on past performance) neither could be expected from The Daily Kos.

Yea, You, You Trendy Douchebag

In Other Words, It's Nutty As A Fruitcake

"While utopianism has a bright side – it is a way of imagining a better world – it also has a dark side characterized by escapism and a disengagement from reality,..."

-- Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, on "Why environmentalism keeps imploding", when they're trying to build The New Republic.

Just Ask Your Local NewAge Psychic

"Some say that the word 'cult' or 'sect' is a pejorative label used to discriminate against 'new religious movements.'

However, it seems disingenuous to ignore the historical significance and modern day applications of the word cult or sect.

Today many controversial groups that have been called cults or sects are seeking to either eliminate that description or ignore it.

Some academics with close ties to such groups have become little more than apologists, labeling the word 'cult' a 'four letter word.'

These apologists often prefer the supposedly politically correct title 'new religious movement' (NRM).

But historically cults have always been with us and they continue to be a part of the world today."

-- Rick Ross, still out there, fighting the good fight, and acting as The Guardian.

Cult apologists? Now we wonder who they could be,...

They Couldn't Call It "Spinach" Or Something

"Nine days prior to [Harvey] Milk’s death, more than 900 followers of Jim Jones—many of them campaign workers for Milk—perished in the most ghastly set of murder-suicides in modern history. Before the congregants of the Peoples Temple drank Jim Jones’s deadly Kool-Aid, Harvey Milk and much of San Francisco’s ruling class had already figuratively imbibed. Milk occasionally spoke at Jones’s San Francisco–based headquarters, promoted Jones through his newspaper columns, and defended the Peoples Temple from its growing legion of critics. Jones provided conscripted 'volunteers' for Milk’s campaigns to distribute leaflets by the tens of thousands. Milk returned the favor by abusing his position of public trust on behalf of Jones’s criminal endeavors.

'Rev. Jones is widely known in the minority communities here and elsewhere as a man of the highest character, who has undertaken constructive remedies for social problems which have been amazing in their scope and effectiveness,' Supervisor Milk wrote President Jimmy Carter seven months before the Jonestown carnage. The purpose of Milk’s letter was to aid and abet his powerful supporter’s abduction of a six-year-old boy. Milk’s missive to the president prophetically continued: 'Not only is the life of a child at stake, who currently has loving and protective parents in the Rev. and Mrs. Jones, but our official relations with Guyana could stand to be jeopardized, to the potentially great embarrassment of our State Department.' John Stoen, the boy whose actual parents Milk libeled to the president as purveyors of 'bold-faced lies' and blackmail attempts, perished at Jonestown. This, the only remarkable episode in Milk’s brief tenure on the San Francisco board of supervisors, is swept under the rug by his hagiographers."

-- Daniel J. Flynn, doing one of those "Is it live or is it Memorex?" comparisons on the movie Milk - and taking all this "cult" stuff pretty seriously - which would surprise us if it wasn't coming from the ever-ready City Journal.

Yessiree, it looks like another uncovered tale from the land of Jumbo de la Mumbo - AKA funny/sunny cult-loving San Francisco, California. Brought to you (in Hollywood's irresponsibly spiffed-up and re-packaged form) via every damn medium you can get your grubby little hands on: Uh huh, Ladies and Gentlemen, Milk's a falsehood for you and your loved ones to pass around while the rest of NewAge society's "spiritual" types enjoy sucking all the marrow out of reality.

Oh what fun you'll have, repeating what Harvey Milk never said or meant (all originally delivered by Sean Penn) and watching it dribble down front as it exits your mouth or nose - or you pee your pants - staining the body politic with that which never was and never should be. Go on, try it, you lustful liars:

Milk - it does a body (of lies) good.

Where's It Gotten You So Far? (We're Out There)

"When Cheney first began pushing back against Barack Obama’s repeated and scornful assessments of the Bush administration, most analysts figured that Cheney was tilting at windmills — and that the GOP needed to distance themselves from Cheney.  The rapid re-evaluation appears to have made hash of that advice. If Cheney — a politician as unpopular as Richard Nixon — could strengthen his standing by demanding an honest debate from the President, then perhaps other Republicans should be following suit."

-- Ed Morrissey, having one of those "D'oh!" moments, which can sure use up a lot of Hot Air.

"An honest debate"? What is "an honest debate" in this environment? Dick Cheney can take on the president only because he's Dick Cheney and he has the position and resources to do so. The CIA can take on Nancy Pelosi, sure, but the farther we are from power - out here in "TV Land" - we can be shouted down, right or wrong, by anyone, at any time, for any reason. Sabotaged even, in any number of appropriately cowardly fashions.

Republican or Democrat, we know the first reaction of cowards, as Ed Morrissey points out above, is to "distance themselves" from anyone determined to have "an honest debate". How far away they stand, or whether they possibly take action, is determined by how angry the mark becomes - which is usually determined by how big and stupid a lie (or lies) a mark was being asked to swallow - our only point being you can count on it that, unless it's meant ironically, cowards will always come up with something other than "Let's have 'an honest debate.'" They couldn't be called cowards otherwise.

Why, you start that "honest debate" stuff and who knows where it could lead?

"Green" Goes Down With The Goode Family!!!

Outside Of Politics, It's All Good,...

"One of the most important talents for success in politics is the ability to make utter nonsense sound not only plausible but inspiring. Barack Obama has that talent."

-- Thomas Sowell, without mentioning what failing "in politics" Obama's supporters are revealed to possess, though such graciousness should and will be limited to The National Review.

So Clean You Can See Yourself (As We See You)

Hat Tip: Mystic Bourgeoisie

Sticks And Stones, Kids, Sticks And Stones,...

"I can’t believe they intended to call Pelosi a 'pussy' knowing how offensive it is,..."

-- Allah Pundit, on the RNC's new James Bond/Nancy Pelosi video, unintentionally suggesting that American politics (and society) has entered some kind of politically correct kindergarden phase - where no adult can dare be offended by anything someone says, regardless of what awful things are done to warrant such disapproving comments - and, thus, joining the Democrats in their NewAge sandbox, spewing Hot Air.

What Is Up With The Lotuses? Get Your Own Fucking Lotuses! You People Have Gone Lotus Fucking Crazy! Lotus! Lotus! Lotus! Lotus!

"Three days after being elected Gaya MP, Hari Manjhi finds himself in the middle of a controversy that may soon snowball into a criminal case against him.

A photograph in a vernacular daily today shows Hari Manjhi injecting medicine to a patient as a part of a 'thanksgiving' exercise in his Bodh Gaya village.

Manjhi, a self-proclaimed school dropout, is also a 'doctor' and learnt the 'trade' from a 'master', a quack who has been in the trade for the past 15 years.

Quacks, most of them illiterate, are revered in rural India and in the local language are called jhola chhap dactars.

Quackery, according to senior lawyer Ashok Kumar, is a non-bailable criminal offence punishable under Section 420 of the IPC and the offence carries seven years of rigorous imprisonment.

However the Gaya district magistrate, Sanjay Kumar, is reluctant to take action against the MP on the basis of a newspaper photograph. But, he conceded that if the charge of practising quackery is proven, it would be a serious charge against the politician.

Sanjay Kumar added that an inquiry has been ordered and a follow up would be taken on the basis of the inquiry report.

On his part, Hari Manjhi clarified today that he has been treating poor patients for chhoti moti bimaris (simple ailments) with sui aur goli (injections and tablets) for the past 15 years. Then he proudly went on to add that he was a 'non Matric'.

Further probed, Manjhi admitted that that he had dropped out of school — in fact the politician 'does not remember till which class he studied'. 'Khali garib log hamare pas ata hai (only the poor come to me),' said Manjhi, as an explanation.

On being quizzed, district BJP chief Lalita Singh admitted that she knew Manjhi practised homeopathy. When reminded that non-Matriculates cannot study homeopathy, she said that she did not have 'an idea' of the MP’s personal details.

The person who seemed sympathetic was writer Ahmed Qadri who believes that Hari Manjhi may not be aware of the crime he was committing by that practising medicine without proper authority of Medical Council of India. However, ignorance of law is no excuse, believes legal experts.

The issue has brought embarrassment to the state BJP that adopted Hari as the 'lotus bearer' in the Gaya parliamentary constituency."

-- An Unknown Correspondent - probably also too embarrassed to show himself - even from The Telegraph of India.