Patrick’s Rants

It has taken me over a year to finish reading, George Carlin’s, “When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?“. This is the first book by Carlin that I have purchased and read.

As a boy, I had a collection of Carlin stand up tapes that I listened to and I couldn’t help but hear his voice in my head as I read the words on the page. This was part of the reason that it has taken me so long to finally get all the way through to the end. Reading Carlin is like watching a stand up routine, it jumps from one topic to the next, the disjointedness is a little jarring when it’s not performed - something that is nearly seemless in conversation is noticeably unattached in the written word.
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I wrote about Sam Harris’, Letter to a Christian Nation
before I read his earlier book, “The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason.“ Harris examines what he calls “faith-based religion” with a critical eye. And no religion is exempt. Muslim, Christian, Judaism all are reviewed with but a single requirement, show me the proof. All religions require a belief in the unproven - absolute faith in the books their religions are based upon without demanding proof. An example Harris uses is one where a man hears that his wife is having an affair. A reasonable man would search for proof of the allegation. The same man does not question a single word of the bible. Why is it reasonable and rational to question if one’s wife is having an affair, to look for evidence and proof while at the same time believing that Moses held up a stick and the entire Red Sea made way for him? These are the kinds of questions Harris asks.

Simply stated, Harris contends that we would all be better off if we slough off the dogma of religion and do right by others just to do right by others, not to be praised in an uproved afterlife. Such glory -seeking merely reeks of man made greed, not religous altruism.

A review of a book as in depth as Harris’ would take nearly as many pages as the book itself. Instead, I can only recommend you read this book with an open mind. Harris dedicates nearly a quarter of “Faith” to supporting documentation and research.

Ok, so I’m not going to be the first to review “Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life & Times” since it was published back in 1994, but give me a break, I only just now got around to reading it all. James Flinn Garner redoes the classics, making them politically correct, concise and funny. This book was actually a gift from my mom a few years ago who sent it to me when I mentioned that I hadn’t read much “for fun” in a while. At only 79 pages it can be read in an afternoon or pick it up to read the two to three page tales when you have a minute before bed.

The Decline And Fall of Truth

Frank Rich’s book, “The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina” looks at the man behind the curtain in the White House. In a scathing review of a public relations machine run amock Rich details just how poorly Bush has done and how nearly perfectly the PR machine covered up his ineptitude.

In absolute clarity Rich examines the Bush administration, tying George & Co. directly to the bald faced lying Swift Boat Veterans who perfectly unseated John Kerry without having to depend in any way on truth. He exposes the chasing of imaginary WMDs in Iraq. A feat that was accomplished not just by ignoring the intelligence that we had, but by falsifying and creating new evidence that suppported the agenda of the administration in “taking out” Saddam. The idea that Republicans were making us safer by capturing terrorists and foiling plots against the United States was much in play in the 2004 election year. Increased terror alerts were a constant, fear the great motivator. This while the administration artfully claimed that Democrats are somehow weaker.

While the White House brought out larger and larger banners to proclaim and enforce the Bush message of the day the peek behind the curtain tells a far more sinister tale. It is a tale of deceit, artfully played by a man whom Rich proclaims only purchased his ranch to give him the air of a blue collar man.

This book is a brilliant exposé, sure to anger even the mellowist of centrists. The press should take notice. While not as “sexy” as Clinton’s escapades, this should end in impeachment and jail time for the entire Administration. Deliberately misleading the public and the world to exact revenge is not what real leaders do.

As we come to the brink of another election cycle, you have to ask yourself, “Am I a Patriot?” But before you answer that question remember, “you’re either with us or against us”.

Glenn Greenwald, was a self-proclaimed political “indifferent”. He did not vote. As he puts it in his Preface:

“I never voted for George W. Bush–or for any of his political opponents.
I believed that voting was not particularly important. …I firmly believed that our democratic system of government was sufficiently insulated from any real abuse, by our Constitution and by the checks and balances afforded by having three separate but equal branches of government”

Enter George W. Bush. As a constitutional attorney, Greenwald is well versed in matters of law, specifically the cornerstone of our entire society. He details the eroding of our Constitutional rights under this president, from illegal wire-taps to holding suspects for years without letting their families know where they are, without charging them with crimes and without letting them talk to their attorneys, to outright physical torture. This isn’t the “land of the free and the home of the brave” anymore. It’s the land of Big Brother whose citizens are billy-clubbed constantly by this president and his ultimate power through intimidation, fear-mongering and outright lies. Fear is Bush’s ultimate weapon against our rights and Greenwald rips back the bandage to poke at our sensitivities with a sharp stick.

I’m sure that I’ve written it before, dissent is patriotic. Rebellion against a tyranical ruler is what this country was founded on. There is a quotation that I see on the community site, Slashdot:

“There are four boxes used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order.”

We have exhausted the soap box, the ballot box has been stolen, and the President declares that he is the supreme ruler not subject to the law or the courts. We may very well only be left with one option, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Just remember, “None of your civil liberties matter much after you’re dead” - Sen John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Read “How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok“. Then ask yourself, “Is this President doing his sworn duty?”

Sam Harris responds to his critics in “Letter to a Christian Nation“. The book is written as a letter to a Christian, but could apply to any religion. At at little over 90 pages, it is readable in a single day. From the keeping of slaves to stoning a woman to death on her father’s doorstep on her wedding night if she isn’t a virgin, Harris looks deep into the “morality” of religion with a skeptical mind. He finds that the bible (and other religious works) is full of self contradiction and questions whether an omniscient, omnipotent being could have contributed to the writing in any manner.

Harris turns 90 pages into a religious smackdown of biblical proportions. Anyone who has questions of their own religiousness should read this. Anyone who has complete faith in their own religiousness should too, but they won’t. There are just too many questions raised that cannot be answered properly by a zealot no matter the level of zealotry.

www.samharris.org

When I picked up the The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury, I expected that it would follow a path first walked by Dan Brown in Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code. In that I wasn’t disappointed. Novels that take their own imagined glimpse of the man behind the curtain of the Catholic church of late have followed the rumors and conspiracies regarding the teachings and writings that the entire church is based upon. Tales of the Knights Templar and the Masons as both protectors and victims of the church intrigue the mind and invite historical research to find the threads of truth that make up the story woven through the pages.

Khoury’s storytelling jump us backward and forward through time in an attempt to explain the novel to the reader. Likewise, there are matter-of-fact conversations that border on history lessons rather than fast paced prose, which I had hoped to find. Khoury is unable to maintain the sprint like speed that is set by Dan Brown, instead allowing the reader to breath and even consider putting the book aside for a while.

Templar is set primarily in post-9/11 New York where, allowed by artistic license, the intelligence agencies actually share information and work together. In chapter one a fantastic robbery takes place at the Met drawing in our protaganist archealogist Tess who ends up working with the FBI all the while attempting to make the find that puts her in the history books. The Vatican is victim of the robbery and less than innocent in the subsequent cover up - a cover up that has gone on for thousands of years. Templar does not attempt to find the holy grail as Da Vinci does, instead we are hurtled down a path of intrigue and frames religion more as what was excluded from the bible rather what was included.

What do you get when you take four comedians, an RV, and only book the smallest of clubs? “The Comedians Of Comedy“ - a road trip like no other. Since I really like comedy and humor, this deemed to be a perfect movie. Except for my own dislike of the screechy voice of Maria Bamford, this was a great film. It takes place over a week with travel to out of the way nightclubs and indie¹ joints. There is a little bit of onstage performance in this film, but what really is fun is the behind the scenes. How do comics behave around other comics? Once you see who they behave offstage you find that not only are the comics holding back onstage, they are even funnier than they appear.

I was surprised to find Patton Oswalt so funny. He plays such a mild part on King of Queens, but put him onstage and off the set and he is downright hilarious. His railings against Bush - and voting Republican for that matter - had me and my wife in stitches.

If you are Republican, conservative, or even just lean to the “right” save yourself some trouble (unless you are planning on buying this for my collection) go watch something else. Otherwise it’s worth a watch for comedy fans.

1. Indie refers to Independent bands - those that produce their own music. For whatever reason they are not signed by the labels of the RIAA (whom I lovingly refer to as “Teabagging Bastards”

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Rating: WTF?
Despite what the review on imdb.com happens to be for “New Guy” I can’t help but want my money back from the theater on this one. Unfortunately, as an avid Netflix user there isn’t anything to refund There is also the time that this movie took away from my life - never gonna get that back.

The genre is listed as: Comedy / Fantasy / Horror / Thriller. It’s more like funky, weird, and how about a new one: WTF? There was only a little bit of comedy in the film. It’s certainly not the same caliber as Office Space - which I thoroughly enjoyed - but it has been compared to it. Again, WTF?

Sometimes I like when a movie leaves me wondering at the end. This one left me wondering “why?” So if you want something funky, pick this one up. If, on the other hand you have been guided - and guided well - by my recommendations, stay away.

Yesterday it was the Communists, today it’s the terrorists. The government keeps control over its citizens by exploiting fear. Joseph McCarthy was allowed tremendous leeway and destroyed lives in the process. “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” We have heard these words many times, but do we understand them? Do we understand that now our rights are eroded secretly under the guise of protecting our country from outside threats, that our government listens to our phone calls, watches our money flow from account to account under the Bank Secrecy Act which - like “Fight Club” - the first rule is we don’t talk about the Bank Secrecy Act? Probably not. Do we forget there was a plan to make us all watch our neighbors and to report “suspicious activity” to the “authoritites”? Probably.

Clooney’s 2005 film portraying Edward R. Murrow’s exposé of Joseph McCarthy as the rabid fear mongerer that he was, reminds us that we must always be vigilent against those would make us fear one another. Many a critic has projected Clooney’s dislike of the Bush administration onto his recent choices in films. Like Fred Friendly, the character Clooney plays in Good Night and Good Luck, Clooney the man tries to bring light to what the American public is all too willing to ignore.

I applaud Clooney for a well made movie that frankly scared me, not just for those accused of being communists during the “pink scare” and for those now accused of being terrorists. And while Clooney may attempt to make light of the subject matter - probably in an attempt to continue getting accusatory movies made - I say that it only takes one little boy to point out that the Emporer has no clothes.

We must not confuse dissent from disloyalty. We must remember always, that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another, we will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason. If we dig deep into our history and our doctrine, we will remember we are not descendant from fearful men. Not from men who dared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular. This is no time for men who oppose Sen. McCarthy’s methods to keep silent or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history but we cannot escape responsibility for the result.

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