I know: I've been away. So sue me - what have I missed?
Is it just me, or has our politicin' taken a spiritual turn lately?
What with the Ground Zero mosque and whether Barack Obama is a Muslim or whatnot.
I shoulda been here with a catcher's mitt.
"President Obama is assuredly not a Muslim. For many of his countrymen, though, he remains a question mark."
--Rich Lowry, giving us what we pay him for, in The National Review
It tickles me, how others can't seem to piece NewAge together, like it's difficult or something, when they appear capable of seeing right through everything else.
"Justice Sotomayor did not really mean that wise Latinas make better judges than white males. Van Jones did not really mean that George W. Bush was in on 9/11, or that white youths are more likely to be mass murderers, or that whites are chronic polluters of the ghetto. Eric Holder no more meant that Americans are cowards than one of Anita Dunn’s heroes really is the mass-murdering Mao. We should not believe that the top priority of the head of NASA is to advance Islamic outreach, or that the president himself thinks that police routinely act stupidly, stereotype, or arrest innocent people on their way to get their kids some ice cream. Imam Rauf did not really say that we created bin Laden, or that we kill more innocent Muslims than al-Qaeda kills innocent non-Muslims."
-- Victor Davis Hanson, noticing the truth is pretty malleable around the White House, in National Review Online
While Barack Obama assures us (through a spokesperson) he's a Christian.
"'They cling to . . . religion' is a very odd thing for a Christian to say about fellow Christians. To our ear, it sounds more like the statement of a nonbeliever, and one who is not only detached from but somewhat disdainful of the faith in question. So our honest answer to the question 'What religion is Obama?' is 'We don't know.'"
Yea, that's a toughie - especially since Obama hasn't been to church in a while, and he's still spending time with Oprah. Have you noticed, over the years, he's always got time for Oprah?
Maybe they do Bible study. All good Christians know what Oprah stands for, right?
Bring a gang of that Hen Some D.S.O.P. Ooh wee and light that sticky icky And we gone do the damn thing now what I'm talking 'bout We gon' disturb the peace, right now Yeah, we ain't doing nuttin' but chillin' We chillin' and nuttin'
"Holiday Inn" by Chingy (featuring Snoop Dogg & Ludacris)
"? (Modern Industry)" by Fishbone (from the album Fishbone 101: Nuttasaurusmeg Fossil Fuelin' The Fonkay)
"Hey, Papi" by Jay-Z & Memphis Bleek (from the movie Nutty Professor II: The Klumps)
"Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth (from the movie Sweet Sweetback's Baadassssss Song)
Here's a NewAge event you may have missed while I was away:
The sequel to The Secret is out. It's called The Power - as in the power to get NewAgers to shell out another $30.00 to read the same crap all over again.
Really, if a NewAger bought The Secret - and attained the knowledge of how to get everything they wanted by just thinking about it - why do they need another book? Maybe because the first one was bullshit?
Think about it: right after Rhonda Byrne came out with The Secret, we find ourselves in an economic depression - brought to you by Oprah's candidate for president right after she endorsed the first book- is that what NewAgers were hoping for all along? Was that really their dream? If so, I think the rest of us should kick their asses. Granted - I think that anyway - but now we've got another reason!
When it comes to accommodating an environmentalist's green nightmares, we thought Prince Charles was full of it for telling people what to do - but he ain't got nothin' on Sheryl Crow! Check out the "environmental portion" of her show's rider - which is to be "strictly followed and policed" - from The Smoking Gun:
"Seeking to "minimize the overall environmental impact of our tour," Crow demands that only biodegradable cups and dinnerware be used by the caterer. Produce should be "organic and purchased from local suppliers as much as possible." And for the five backstage "watering stations," water "must be sourced from a local spring water vendor."
According to Crow’s rider, her tour party travels between gigs in two 45-foot buses, while her equipment is packed into two tractor-trailers.
Crow, 48, also offers promoters "venue greening suggestions.” She wants “traditional light bulbs” swapped out for compact fluorescent bulbs in “all offices, dressing rooms and common areas.” “Eco-friendly cleaning and bathroom products” and “post-consumer recycled toilet paper and paper towel” should also be used. Crow’s rider also notes that, “We strongly encourage you to use renewable sources and/or to buy sustainable energy credits where possible. Many local utilities offer ‘green power’ as an option--please check with yours and opt in.”
The document also details how Crow’s backstage hospitality room is to be stocked. The singer needs an assortment of “biodegradable non-petroleum cups” and 24 “disposable napkins made of 100% recycled fiber.” Crow’s rider also lists a wide variety of drinks and snacks that she needs, including organic coconut water and two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon (“Sheryl’s Favorite” is Stag’s Leap Artemis). Two “good quality, dark, organic chocolate bars” are described as “***VERY IMPORTANT***”
[Our copy of Crow’s 2010 rider has a number of items crossed out. It is unclear whether this indicates that the individual items had been obtained, or whether the promoter declined to supply them.]
As in a prior Crow rider, the current version includes her specific liquor schedule. On Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, she needs a small bottle of Ketel One vodka that will be mixed with a half-gallon of organic cranberry juice. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, Crow requires a bottle of Patron tequila that will be mixed with a half-gallon of organic grapefruit juice."
Wow - all that and her music really sucks! I mean, if I was a booking agent, I can think of a million less-demanding bands that I'd rather see have an opportunity to perform than this dork.
Tell me, is there some hidden correlation between how mediocre an artist is (and this is definitely the NewAge of Mediocre Music) how passionately they feel about some form of nonsense or another, and how high others are willing to jump for them? There has to be, because doing anything for Miss One-Square-Of-Toilet-Paper-For-Everybody-Else makes no sense at all.
Except, of course, making sure how many squares of toilet paper she uses is "strictly followed and policed".
The Big Con appears to always be in play these days:
"A confidence trick or confidence game (also known as a bunko, con, flim flam, gaffle, grift, hustle, scam, scheme, swindle or bamboozle) is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. The victim is known as the mark, the trickster is called a confidence man, con man, confidence trickster, or con artist, and any accomplices are known as shills. Confidence men or women exploit human characteristics such as greed and dishonesty, and have victimized individuals from all walks of life.
The first known usage of the term 'confidence man' in English was in 1849; it was used by American press during the United States trial of William Thompson. Thompson chatted with strangers until he asked if they had the confidence to lend him their watches, whereupon he would walk off with the watch; he was captured when a victim recognized him on the street.
Confidence tricks exploit typical human qualities such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, honesty, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility and naïveté. The common factor is that the mark relies on the good faith of the con artist.
Just as there is no typical profile for swindlers, neither is there one for their victims. Virtually anyone can fall prey to fraudulent crimes. ... Certainly victims of high-yield investment frauds may possess a level of greed which exceeds their caution as well as a willingness to believe what they want to believe. However, not all fraud victims are greedy, risk-taking, self-deceptive individuals looking to make a quick dollar. Nor are all fraud victims naïve, uneducated, or elderly.
A greedy or dishonest mark may attempt to out-cheat the con artist, only to discover that he or she has been manipulated into losing from the very beginning. This is such a general principle in confidence tricks that there is a saying among con men that 'you can't cheat an honest man.'
Shills, also known as accomplices, help manipulate the mark into accepting the con man's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past."
Whether in politics or religion, our society runs on scams - especially NewAge or "spiritual" cons - I hear it all the time, in large and small ways:
Classic BS. "A fairly open person"? Try more like Madonna in heat. With an equal amount of brains:
"The term ‘pseudoscience’ refers to statements, beliefs or practices that are presented as being based in science when in reality they are not. Plainly stated, the word pseudoscience means ‘fake science.’ Magic healing crystals, spirit channeling, and homeopathy are all types of pseudoscience - they are all fake science."
As that "aromatherapy" quote shows, the shills (who are usually not too bright) are the worst, since they give themselves credit for being wrong. Once they realize they, too, have been taken, they are usually so embarrassed (about the magnitude of what they've done - my money! - and what's been revealed about themselves - I'm an idiot!) you can forget about a confession, to having been used, ever emerging - which leaves the door open for the con to continue elsewhere, to take in some other poor sap who doesn't know the difference between "knowing" and "believing" or "watching and seeing".
"I don't care what they say: that's the way I feel about it." (Jenny McCarthy's breasts have trained this one well. The power they held over Jim Carrey was amazing - though, admittedly, he was in closer proximity). Oh, if only they could harness their feelings for good.
Yea, yea, I know - but now you're thinking and not believing - NewAgers need something they can feel that can also work against them:
"The Secret is filled [with] the same sort of ignorant, harmful and racist teachings that Esther-Hicks promotes and it is supported by media personalities and spiritual teachers."
Using one kind of NewAge con to fight another is good but the race thing is played out, and I think to focus on more specific, easily definable, and familiar forms of fraud would work better.
"To this day, many people on Wall Street make their living as 'technical analysts,' even though their methods have no more merit than homeopathy or astrology."
O.K., for instance: I think if we eliminated everything with a relationship - in any way - to homeopathy and astrology, we'd probably put an end to most of the flim flam artists and also a massive amount of related fraud-based crime. I suspect even the collapse of the Left, as a whole, once they're rooted out. At the very least, it would set the Left on the run (even more) which would be doing our nation a great service.
This mixture of NewAge fraud and politics has gone much too far already - and I haven't seen much that says I'm wrong about that, PTSD or no.
I know: I've been away. So sue me - what have I missed? 
Is it just me, or has our politicin' taken a spiritual turn lately? 
What with the Ground Zero mosque and whether Barack Obama is a Muslim or whatnot. 
I shoulda been here with a catcher's mitt.
It tickles me, how others can't seem to piece NewAge together, like it's difficult or something, when they appear capable of seeing right through everything else. 
While Barack Obama assures us (through a spokesperson) he's a Christian.
Yea, that's a toughie - especially since Obama hasn't been to church in a while, and he's still spending time with Oprah. Have you noticed, over the years, he's always got time for Oprah?
Maybe they do Bible study. All good Christians know what Oprah stands for, right?
You should've been down with us 
