Hate Speech

Leave a reply

I’ve read/heard mudslinging before, but I think this takes the cake. I’m kinda surprised to find this on an official government website.

Fear and Loathing in the Mother Ship

"Good afternoon, or, as John Kerry might say: ‘Bonjour! I’m sure you’ve already heard a good many speakers today and will hear a bunch more after I’m done. So you’ll probably judge my speech more on its brevity than its persuasiveness. But that’s okay, because as you may have heard, we Republicans from Texas aren’t known for our el-o-qua-city. But we are known for being clear. So in the interests of clarity, I have a simple message to pass along: the national Democrat party seems to have lost its marbles."

I just can’t resist responding so here goes….

"the national Democrat party seems to have lost its marbles"

Did the Good Ol’ Boys…er…GOP ever have any marbles?

"Though they remain a potent electoral machine, armed with battalions of trial lawyers and entertainers, and their Grand Coalition of the Perpetually Partisan, they are no longer a serious force in the national debate."

I guess these are offered in contrast to the Republican party’s cohorts of thugs in expensive suits, oil barons, and corporate executives.

"Their single organizing philosophy is an irrational, all-encompassing, broiling hatred of George W. Bush."

Hate him? I think it’s hardly fair to hate a man so utterly vacuous. On the other hand, if he’s not as dumb as he seems, he borders on the frightening evil of Orwell’s Big Brother.

"But most of all, Democrats hate the president because on every political issue of significance since he came into office, he has beaten them like rented mules."

No, I think it’s because his foreign policies are imperialistic and his domestic policies border on fascist.

"They want to tax like Mondale and spend like Carter."

And Republicans want to borrow like Reagan and deceive like Nixon.

"While everyone else got the memo that big-government, blame-America-first liberalism died with disco, the Howard Dean Democrats still want to party like it’s 1979!"

And the George Bush Republicans (and Democrats) want to make war like it’s 1079.

"It’s not a war of our choosing, nor of our instigation."

Ummm…If you’re speaking for the American people, you’re right. Many thousands protested war, but Bush went ahead. Did we instigates it? Well, our goverment backed Osama when we needed his muscle. We backed Afghanistan to fight Russia. We backed Saddam to fight Iran. Might we be just the tiniest bit responsible?

"They were a premeditated assault on the freedom of every human being on this planet"

Whereas the Patriot Act is just an assault on American freedom.

"To try to gauge just how out of touch the Democrat leadership is on the war on terror, just close your eyes and try to imagine Ted Kennedy landing that Navy jet on the deck of that aircraft carrier."

The Soviet Union put chimps in space suits. What’s your point?

"I don’t know about you, I certainly don’t want to see Teddy Kennedy in a Navy flight suit anytime soon."

Isn’t this the same kind of ad hominem crap you accused Democrats of espousing?

"Saddam Hussein – it is universally accepted by the international intelligence community – had weapons of mass destruction. "

I’d like to believe that, but where’s the proof?

"If you take their comments to their logical conclusion, they’re essentially calling our Commander in Chief, Benedict Arnold."

I’d prefer Bonzo.

"We’re in the middle of a global conflict between good and evil and they’re in the middle of a Michael Dukakis look-alike contest."

1) I think the lines are hardly that well drawn considering we made a lot of the monsters loose today. Furthermore, I’m very tempted to lump Sharon in with other dangerous extremists. How liberal is that?

2) You’re resorting to ad hominem attacks again.

"Bob Graham – a respected former governor and chairman of the intelligence committee – is calling for the president’s impeachment."

Is this any worse than the farcical attempt to impeach Clinton?

"John Edwards – a so-called moderate – compares the president to a dangerous socialist."

Mr. Edwards is wrong. Socialism is left-wing. He meant fascist.

"It makes you wonder if at their next presidential debate, the Democrats are all going to show up wearing aluminum-foil helmets to protect their brain waves from the mother ship!"

Ad hominem…

"STOMP – Strategic Task force for the Organization and Mobilization of People – is a powerful manpower organization I started a few years back."

I’m surprised it’s not called JACKBOOT.

"We have an agenda – a real agenda – to make America safe, strong, and prosperous."

Hitler had an agenda, too – and a scapegoat.

P.S. I apologize for any ad hominem remarks I may have made. I’m just a lowly college student who blogs in his spare time. Senator Delay* ought to have the time and resources to write something a little more intelligent.

[* I had originally written Daschle. How embarrassing would that have been if left unchanged?]

This entry was posted in essays, editorials, fisks, and rants, government, law, and politics and tagged , , , , , on by .

About Funky Dung

Who is Funky Dung? 29-year-old grad student in Intelligent Systems (A.I.) at the University of Pittsburgh. I consider myself to be politically moderate and independent and somewhere between a traditional and neo-traditional Catholic. I was raised Lutheran, spent a number of years as an agnostic, and joined the Catholic Church at the 2000 Easter Vigil. Why Funky Dung? I haven't been asked this question nearly as many times as you or I might expect. Funky Dung is a reference to an obscure Pink Floyd song. On the album Atom Heart Mother, there is a track called Atom Heart Mother Suite. It's broken up into movements, like a symphony, and one of the movements is called Funky Dung. I picked that nickname a long time ago (while I was still in high school I think), shortly after getting an internet connection for the first time. To me it means "cool/neat/groovy/spiffy stuff/crap/shiznit", as in "That's some cool stuff, dude!" Whence Ales Rarus? I used to enjoy making people guess what this means, but I've decided to relent and make it known to all. Ales Rarus is a Latin play on words. "Avis rarus" means "a rare bird" and carries similar meaning to "an odd fellow". "Ales" is another Latin word for bird that carries connotations of omens, signs of the times, and/or augery. If you want to get technical, both "avis" and "ales" are feminine (requiring "rara", but they can be made masculine in poetry (which tends to breaks lots of rules). I decided I'd rather have a masculine name in Latin. ;) Yeah, I'm a nerd. So what? :-P Wherefore blog? It is my intention to "teach in order to lead others to faith" by being always "on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful" through the "use of the communications media". I also act knowing that I "have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons." (adapted from CCC 904-907) Statement of Faith I have been baptized and confirmed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I, therefore, renounce Satan; I renounce all his works; I renounce all his allurements. I hold and profess all that is contained in the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Having been buried with Christ unto death and raised up with him unto a new life, I promise to live no longer for myself or for that world which is the enemy of God but for him who died for me and rose again, serving God, my heavenly Father, faithfully and unto death in the holy Catholic Church. I am obedient to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. That is, I promote and defend authentic Catholic Teaching and Faith in union with Christ and His Church and in union with the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter. Thanks be unto Thee, O my God, for all Thy infinite goodness, and, especially, for the love Thou hast shown unto me at my Confirmation. I Give Thee thanks that Thou didst then send down Thy Holy Spirit unto my soul with all His gifts and graces. May He take full possession of me for ever. May His divine unction cause my face to shine. May His heavenly wisdom reign in my heart. May His understanding enlighten my darkness. May His counsel guide me. May His knowledge instruct me. May His piety make me fervent. May His divine fear keep me from all evil. Drive from my soul, O Lord, all that may defile it. Give me grace to be Thy faithful soldier, that having fought the good fight of faith, I may be brought to the crown of everlasting life, through the merits of Thy dearly beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Behind the Curtain: an Interview With Funky Dung (Thursday, March 03, 2005) I try to avoid most memes that make their way 'round the blogosphere (We really do need a better name, don't we?), but some are worth participating in. Take for instance the "interview game" that's the talk o' the 'sphere. I think it's a great way to get to know the people in neighborhood. Who are the people in your neighborhood? In your neighborhod? In your neigh-bor-hoo-ood...*smack* Sorry, Sesame Street flashback. Anyhow, I saw Jeff "Curt Jester" Miller's answers and figured since he's a regular reader of mine he'd be a good interviewer. Without further ado, here are my answers to his questions. 1. Being that your pseudonym Funky Dung was chosen from a Pink Floyd track on Atom Heart Mother, what is you favorite Pink Floyd song and why? Wow. That's a tuffy. It's hard to pick out a single favorite. Pink Floyd isn't really a band known for singles. They mostly did album rock and my appreciation of them is mostly of a gestalt nature. If I had to pick one, though, it'd be "Comfortably Numb". I get chills up my spine every time I hear it and if it's been long enough since the last time, I get midty-eyed. I really don't know why. That's a rather unsatisfying answer for an interview, so here are the lyrics to a Rush song. It's not their best piece of music, but the lyrics describe me pretty well.

New World Man He's a rebel and a runner He's a signal turning green He's a restless young romantic Wants to run the big machine He's got a problem with his poisons But you know he'll find a cure He's cleaning up his systems To keep his nature pure Learning to match the beat of the old world man Learning to catch the heat of the third world man He's got to make his own mistakes And learn to mend the mess he makes He's old enough to know what's right But young enough not to choose it He's noble enough to win the world But weak enough to lose it --- He's a new world man... He's a radio receiver Tuned to factories and farms He's a writer and arranger And a young boy bearing arms He's got a problem with his power With weapons on patrol He's got to walk a fine line And keep his self-control Trying to save the day for the old world man Trying to pave the way for the third world man He's not concerned with yesterday He knows constant change is here today He's noble enough to know what's right But weak enough not to choose it He's wise enough to win the world But fool enough to lose it --- He's a new world man...
2. What do you consider your most important turning point from agnosticism to the Catholic Church. At some point in '99, I started attending RCIA at the Pittsburgh Oratory. I mostly went to ask a lot of obnoxious Protestant questions. Or at least that's what I told myself. I think deep down I wanted desperately to have faith again. At that point I think I'd decided that if any variety of Christianity had the Truth, the Catholic Church did. Protestantism's wholesale rejection of 1500 years of tradition didn't sit well with me, even as a former Lutheran. During class one week, Sister Bernadette Young (who runs the program) passed out thin booklet called "Handbook for Today's Catholic". One paragraph in that book spoke to me and I nearly cried as I read it.
"A person who is seeking deeper insight into reality may sometimes have doubts, even about God himself. Such doubts do not necessarily indicate lack of faith. They may be just the opposite - a sign of growing faith. Faith is alive and dynamic. It seeks, through grace, to penetrate into the very mystery of God. If a particular doctrine of faith no longer 'makes sense' to a person, the person should go right on seeking. To know what a doctrine says is one thing. To gain insight into its meaning through the gift of understanding is something else. When in doubt, 'Seek and you will find.' The person who seeks y reading, discussing, thinking, or praying eventually sees the light. The person who talks to God even when God is 'not there' is alive with faith."
At the end of class I told Sr. Bernadette that I wanted to enter the Church at the next Easter vigil. 3. If you were a tree what kind of, oh sorry about that .. what is the PODest thing you have ever done? I set up WikiIndex, a clearinghouse for reviews of theological books, good, bad, and ugly. It has a long way to go, but it'll be cool when it's finished. :) 4. What is your favorite quote from Venerable John Henry Newman? "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt." 5. If you could ban one hymn from existence, what would it be? That's a tough one. As a member of the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas, there are obviously a lot of songs that grate on my nerves. If I had to pick one, though, I'd probably pick "Sing of the Lord's Goodness" by Ernie Sands.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *