Calvinistic Darwinism

When I first began going to Christian Bible studies on a regular basis in May of 1976 I listened to all these fantastic stories of good fortune, both big and small- - - and things became apparent.  These people were really into Self Promotion.  They also seemed adept at generalizing their own experiance as though it was somehow "par for the course for any Christian who was flowing with the Spirit".   Somewhere early on I coined the term "Calvinistic Darwinism" - which alluded to the fact that all these "stories" I heard were like "being the millionth customer" in a department store and all the lights and bells went off.  Of winning the jackpot at the local casino.  The whole idea is to draw attention to whatever entity was the means by which these people cashed in big.  In the case of Calvary Christianity that supposedly was the Lord.  But you see these Publicity Hounds now in the guise of people like Joe the Plumber, who were so instrumental in the Republican 2008 Presidential Campaign.  It turns out that "Joe" was neither a plumber, nor did he ear $250,000 or anything close to it.  What we DO know is that "Joe", if that was his real name, was a very useful tool or more precisely a shill- in the 2008 campaign.  You see shades of this publicity hound stuff in this enormous hype to portray George Zimmerman as some sort of Hero and all around Good Guy.  I cannot think of another defendant in the murder case who was so built up by their bank of attorneys.  You saw nothing like this with OJ Simpson.  OJ just slinked away quietly.  Now you have this guy on the Randy Rhodes show claiming by sheer hard work and sacrifice he build himself up a major real estate renovation business including even things like demolition.  All of that equipment costs money and Randy had a lot of trouble believing that somehow he was able to do it all on his own.  So do I.  Especially when you sprinkle in a lot of barbs at other people who have tried and failed to do the same thing.  These people will never say that they were "Lucky".  I know from last Friday's "Bones" episode that "Luck" per se- does not exist, any more than "God" exists.  What we call luck is some sort of "net effect of cause and effects".  I won't dispute that.  But I' m just sort of wondering whether that "random caller" isn't calling a whole lot of talk shows with the same story.  And I also get the feeling that his success NOW in THIS economy is Not as important to him as his success as a Political Spokesman for a yet unidentified Cause is.  The funny thing from the way people speak disparagingly about minorities today you'd never guess it was George Bush himself who proposed the idea that laxed loan regulation would enable minorities (mainly Latinos I suspect) to buy better homes, and thus secure their votes for the 2004 Presidential election.  If I were Randy I might just have said something "You're speaking of the glories of your past.  What are things like right NOW or the past several years?  I think the caller had some as yet unseen "focus" or impitus for his call.  I guess a good nickname for this "X source" would be referred to in the generic sense as "The political echo chamber of the tea party right" as Thom Hartman says.  I guess the problem is that we are indeed turning into a "Third world country".  Judy has said that.  But she means it differently.  She means "because there are so many minorities living here now somehow contaminating our way of life and our Puritan work ethic".   But more realistically- - - the way we have become so is that the Rich are isolated from the rest of us.  You saw shades of this even fifteen years ago with people like John Kovel and Tammy Bruce complaining that if they built a subway that Blacks from the ghetto would inundate the San Fernando Valley.  It's no coincidence then that John and Ken were the first conservatives I STOPPED listening to on the radio and maybe that was around 2000.  We are told states like Ohio and Michigan and Wisconsin have republican state houses now- - but I can't help but thinking that if ordenary people stormed the capitols of these states- - and demanded to be witnesses at legislative hearings- that things would change.  I don't know who decides these things.  Often they have certain giveaway phrases to reveal some "speech boiler plate opperation".  For instance Rush Limbaugh was the first to use the term "Gitmo" for Guantanamo.  And now a witness before a subcomittee on closing the place down uses that term.  They too will say that America has lost its manufacturing base- - - but they won't change the tax laws to discourage companies from relocating off shore.  They will in fact almost praise this "stashing away of funds" from the prying eyes of the IRS.  Or they will point to the fact that "We can't offend China because we owe them so much money".  When given a chance to vote on a bill to bring back American jobs- - they will vote it down.  And worst of all they will blame this increase of the poor at the expense of the middle class- - is all President Obama's fault because of his "socialist policies".  They will say things like "The president hasn't increased our wealth in America.  He just wants to spread it around" as though that's a bad thing.  Give them time and like Judy they will go into this "violin music" about how the one percent is being taxed to death- - and this is the whole problem with America now.  This is of course a last gasp of the "trickle down" mentality begun under Ronald Reagan.  But just to return to my original point- - if some caller "out of nowhere" presumably- - begins mouthing all of these buzz phrases one after the other in almost mindless fashion- - you know you are talking to just another pawn of Grover Norquist and the Koch Brothers.

I think I just had an epiphany about something, and that is the real reason why White people don’t like Blacks using the word “Nigger” in entertainment or rap music or whatever.  It’s because Whites take offense to using the word “Nigger” when it’s not ‘germain to the conversation”.  So the question then arises, when WOULD the word “Nigger” be “germain to the conversation”.  If the word is used by Ted Nugent or Paula Dean or George Zimmerman, than this is the “proper” use of the N word in its “proper” employment as a word of subjugation of a minority.  But Whites like this guy Randy Rhodes was discussing today- - resented the notion that Blacks are somehow “trying to take the power away from that word”.  Whites don’t WANT the word Nigger to lose its power.  It’s like if two working class women are kidding around and one calls the other “bitch” then this is straying from the “proper employment” of the term- like if a brutish husband is beating a woman to within an inch of her life.  Then there is this stuff about low hanging pants being “an identification with the prison culture” and the lower hanging pants indicate a willingness to be the “submissive” male in a sex act.  Now the third tip to overcoming poverty is “Don’t litter”.  Randy Rhodes was talking how 79% of the nation’s population risks living in poverty at some point in their live or another.  Bad news for White is that they too are now “partaking of their fair share” of the nation’s poverty figure as the rates between the races are evening out.  There are now faster rates of White single mothers now as opposed to Blacks.  Of course an absent male figure is deleterious to the family.  There’s no doubt about that.  But this is because Blacks are ten times more likely than Blacks to do prison time for the same crime.  Keep in mind these five points are this one guys “remedy for the economic problems of USA”.

 

This is Monday July 29, 2013 and the back panel has taken to ratteling but it only seems to do it when the computer is starting up.  That Monique lady was on earlier but I think she was going to get into more boring topics.  She talked about Pope Francis wrapping up his trip to Brazil yesterday.  She says the ghettos in Rio are really bad in terms of gang violence.  Is that from personal experience.  The Pope was on Copa Cavana beach over the weekend, and naturally they had to make a song out of it.  The Pope gave thumbs up to Atheists a few weeks ago and now says he welcomes gays into the church on kind of a “don’t ask; don’t tell” basic, but if you are discovered to be gay afterward, that’s OK.  They won’t kick you out like they did with the military.  Monique’s mother just told her to “do this one last thing and you never have to do another thing for the Church again”.  This was in reference to confirmation, where apparently they give you a new spiritual name.  They never gave me a new name.  Of course when parents were really whacked out on the whole mental illness issue Mom said ‘Just get on SSI and you’ll never have to worry about money again”, except for all the times you get a job and go over the two thousand dollar limit.  But Pope Francis is still steadfast against women Priests but is open to women serving in other leadership roles, which he wants to encourage.  Jim Ward or one of those people on Stephanie’s show says “all this era of good feeling is like some kind of calm before the storm”.  I’ve gotten an occasional thought like that myself but I pushed it out of my mind.  They showed one of the Kennedy family visits to Hyanisport exactly fifty years ago with six & a half year old Caroline, and John John being precotious.  I think since it’s the fifty year anniversary this year coming up weren’t they going to release a bunch of secret material on the assassination?  Or was that after seventy-five years - - in which case I’d be pushing 88, and might have such bad eyes by then I wouldn’t be able to read it anyhow.  But I have another reason for liking this Pope.  It’s called the “Up yours! Pat Buchannon” theory.  Pat always talks about “real Catholics” and now the “real Catholics are coming out three million strong in one place.  Actually I didn’t know that was physically possible.  We’re talking maybe a quarter of the people in the Los Angeles metropolitan area gathered on one spot.   Of course if they are going to quote from that heretic Jesus Christ, they’ll continue to get the tea baggers mad at them.

Last night things looked pretty grim in the cigarette department.  I got that one from James at five thirty- - bringing my tab with James 75 cents - -  (gosh- I’ll have to take out a second Mortgage to cover that bill) and it was the ABC network news and then “On the Red Carpet”.  Then it was America’s Funniest Home Videos till they ran about five minutes solid commercials in a row and I finally turned the thing off, disgusted, and went outside.  There that Gwen hermaphidite person gave me a whole white cigarette.   Just to do an update on that Ronald Reagan jelly bean skit we could say this.  “Everybody knows Whites are better than the browns.  They just look better and are cleaner and more pleasant- - - and those Browns are so cheap after all, and sometimes the browns die on you”.    Anyhow I was smoking that and John Metz offers me fifty cents if I would just give him the remainder of it.  You know how John is with money.  I was desperate enough to take his money.  I went right down to Glen’s room and secured instant coffee for a good strong cup and I heated up the water back here.  Then I went to Janet with the other quarter and paid on a cash and carry basis.  Later on in the evening I turned it on to “Robo Cop” just after eight (or before?)  Interesting movie.  I did see the last few minute segment of a “Family Guy” thing I’d seen before.  I went to bed and slept better than I did the night before.  I haven’t been plagued with any more strange dreams.

I got up at six and went down for medication from the guy (and I forget his name) but came back to the window and asked if he had a cigarette and fortunately for me he did.  But still in the last 36 hours I’ve smoked only six cigarettes- - five of them were from yesterday - - and the last two were strictly the grace of God.  Most all of them were the grace of God.  There was talk about the Saddleback reverend and the loss of his son.  I can think of a number of religious figures that have suffered a major loss.  Well, starting with you know who at Calvary of Anaheim.  I think it’s a little strange to say “I’d rather stick with God and not have all my questions answered- then have all my questions answered and forsake God”.  The way I look at it is if you get all your questions answered- - you’d understand why you worship an imaginary god-  and continue to prop up a while system of irrelivent theology.  The only difference between the Saddleback preacher and Brady Black- - are two- - at least Christine Di Mira has little flashes of conscience even if fleeting ones.  The other is- - Kristin Di Mira is a real person (to to speak) whereas God isn’t.  I also find it curious he said that “Satan picked on the wrong family when he took my son”.  Well I’m naturally wondering- who is the RIGHT person for Satan to pick on.  Me?  Because I too attempted suicide and had “150% of a lethal dose” in my system and survived.  So was it I who got the second chance- - or perhaps the second chance was for my family as some sort of test- - one which they failed.  I have my own “emotional baggage” when it comes to “mental illness” issues, or accusations thereof.  So I don’t really feel I’m the best one to comment on that aspect of the thing.  I’m not going to be like Judy - - coming in like gang-busters and making pronounce about matters that I know nothing about.

Typed last Saturday July 27th

Last night it was “Bones” at the eight o clock hour and “The Following” I believe at nine, which we watched till ten.  Just after nine Janet knocked on the door and offered me first two dollars and they raised it to three- for a package of Swiss Miss too.  I took her up on the deal and went right to the store, which was still open.  Of course they used to close at nine.  I don’t wake “late” but I don’t wake early any more- - or feel like getting up before six these days.  KNX radio came to bore me today so I turned on the Today show, only turning back to KNX to hear words of President Obama that I’ve already heard before.  At the eight o clock hour,  Eric Cantor - - a guy with gay relatives so I’ve heard - - stated that there were a number of house bills to give us citizen’s rights against the government beaurocrats, or at least that’s what he claims.  Then it was that pignalian - - pigmagenol or something vitamine and palmagranate juice, that does all sorts of things for your skin and blood vessles, and causes you to score eight points higher on complicated mental tests.  Then I played Disk three of “The London Years” to celebrate Mick Jagger’s birthday a day late.  I skipped over a few songs.  I came back in during the fish and krill oil combo package with the B 12.  Oh yes, they’ve got quite a band.   I went down for coffee and did have two cups this day.  Then it was Melinda Lee where she warns that hard water makes your pickles come out soft and not crispy.  She said her 500 degree method was for prime rib and not poultry, because obviously beef can be rare but poultry carries too many bacteria.