In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
One of my beliefs is that all religions can lead to the fundamentalist extremism we see in the middle east given the right environment. The violence from bin laden, et al isn't an Islamic issue as much as it is the landscape that allowed his brand of fundamentalism to take seed and flurish. Basically the difference between a Sadir and a Pat Robertson is location location location.
Not that right wing Christian fundamentalist can't be entertaining:
Trustee seeks apology for spoof photo
A school board trustee is demanding an apology from a parents' group that used a fake photo from a satirical newspaper on its pamphlets opposing the expansion of a safe schools policy. Simply Truths Our Priority, or STOP, handed out pamphlets and computer discs with a 300-page book of Internet research outside a public meeting last week.
The session was a chance for the Thames Valley District school board to get input on its plan to expand the safe schools program -- a move to protect gay and lesbian students.
But STOP argues the board is changing the curriculum and will promote a homosexual lifestyle in schools.
"Satire is apparently lost on rigid individuals," said London trustee Peter Jaffe. "Taking something from a spoof newspaper and presenting it as reality crosses the line. (The photo) plays on people's worst fears. I would hope this group will make a full and public apology."
The photo shows a teacher at the front of a class with explicit sexual images and terms drawn on the board and is supposed to represent one of the "countless" classrooms where homosexuality is promoted.
The picture was copied from the Onion, a satirical newspaper from the United States. The headline of the 1998 story says, " '98 homosexual drive nearing goal."
...
Marilyn Ashworth of STOP said it's concerned the photo represents what will end up in this region's schools if the board goes ahead with its plan.
"We knew it was a gay paper and we hold that even as a joke, the gay community is proud of their advancements into the safe schools program in the U.S.," she said. "We don't think homosexuality in schools is a joke."
Asked whether she believed it was a real photo, Ashworth said the caption included the teacher's name, city, state and grade.
"We researched in depth and that was one of the things we found," she said, noting the group spent seven weeks accumulating research."
...
Sean Mills, president of the Onion, laughed when he heard the news.
"The motto the writers have is we're not going after the right or the left, we're just going after people who are dumb," Mills said.
"We're anti-dumb, we're not anti-anything else . . . They're proving our point. It's a ridiculous notion there'd be recruitment going on. That was the whole point."
Mills said the photo is fake, the Onion has nothing to do with STOP and isn't a gay paper.
"In some ways, if you're going to a satirical news source to prove a serious point . . . you're getting what you deserve."
7 weeks of research, 300 pages, and their definition of "in depth" is taking an Onion article as real.
Here's the excellent Onion article: '98 homosexual drive nearing goal
Meanwhile back here in the US: Easter Bunny Whipping In Church Upsets People
GLASSPORT, Pa. -- A church that put on an Easter show said it was trying to teach about Jesus Christ.
But the people who saw the show say they were upset by performers who broke eggs and pretended to whip the Easter bunny.
People who attended Saturday's performance of an Easter celebration at a memorial stadium in Glassport, Allegheny County, quoted performers as saying "There is no Easter bunny."
Melissa Salzmann said the program was inappropriate for young children. She said her son cried and asked why the bunny was whipped.
- rob 1:58 PM - [PermaLink] -
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