The Guardian recently reported on a speech in which a senior Iranian cleric blamed “women who wear revealing clothing and behave promiscuously” for earthquakes.
If that sort of crazy were a feature only of theocratic or third-world countries, we might chuckle and ignore it. Unfortunately, however, the amount of lunacy right here at home suggests a wider problem.
A few examples:
A conspiracy theorist named Larry Klaymon insists that the fertilizer factory explosion in West, Texas, was an act of Islamic terrorism, and that the government under Obama (“the Other”) is engaged in a wide-ranging cover-up.
Speaking of Obama, in the wake of his re-election, Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel explained that that the election result was a “communist takeover” of the United States, and that the IRS will start throwing pastors in jail, invading churches and shooting parishioners.
Then there was the Republican candidate for the Arkansas legislature who wrote a book about the proper biblical approach to child-rearing. And I quote:
“The maintenance of civil order in society rests on the foundation of family discipline. Therefore, a child who disrespects his parents must be permanently removed from society in a way that gives an example to all other children of the importance of respect for parents. The death penalty for rebellioius children is not something to be taken lightly. The guidelines for administering the death penalty to rebellious children are given in Deut 21:18-21:
…
This passage does not give parents blanket authority to kill their children. They must follow the proper procedure in order to have the death penalty executed against their children.”
Well, yes, I think procedural safeguards before killing one’s children as God decreed are probably appropriate…
Just this month, in the year 2013, the Missouri legislature voted to ban a sustainability program because sustainability is part of the nefarious plot that is Agenda 21!
The Missouri House of Representatives on Monday passed a ban on the United Nations sustainability plan Agenda 21 after a spirited discussion of space aliens and how Walmart could avoid zoning laws to build more stores.
The Republican-controlled House voted 110-40 to ban local governments from adopting the Agenda 21, a broad outline of planning goals and sustainability targets. Agenda 21 was passed by the U.N. in 1992, but has not been ratified by the U.S. Senate and does not contain the force of law in the U.S.
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Agenda 21 opponents argue the U.N. document would seize private property and force people to live in walkable communities with a potential end to golf and scuba diving.
Your elected representatives at work, protecting your nine-iron….
I assume psychiatrists have theories to explain what seems to be a vastly increased prevalence of paranoia, hysteria and irrationality. Or perhaps there has always been a significant percentage of lunatics in our population, and the Internet has simply brought them to our attention–although I don’t recall a time when we have had so many elected officials who either inhabit an alternate reality or keep going off their meds.
How do you talk to someone who thinks short skirts cause earthquakes? How do you get lawmakers who actually believe that President Obama is a covert Muslim Communist and the Anti-Christ to focus on solving the nation’s problems? How do you get people who think Adam and Eve saddled up dinosaurs to understand climate change? How do you get lawmakers who think women’s bodies can “shut down” rapist sperm to respect women’s right to equality and autonomy?
More important: how do we get the sane folks who have thrown up their hands and withdrawn from the political process to wake up and reclaim the country?
Is this really an increase, though, in irrationality, or do we just know about stuff that people do in far-flung places because of the internet? I imagine this level of nuttiness has been around forever. We just were blissfully unaware because their fame wasn’t as widespread.
Funny part is that “Muslim-Communist” is an oxymoron, but that likely escapes those who label someone that way.
I must agree with my ex-husband who often said, “The more I see of people, the better I like rocks and trees.”
Conservative religious racism in your prisons.
ICAN, (Indiana Canine Association Network) Is a prison dog training program in Indiana prisons.
Melinda Loveless is an active dog trainer there. Melinda masterminded the 1992 kidnapping, 10 hr torture, and murder (burned alive) of 12-yr-old Shanda Sharer.
Fellow inmate and assisted murderer of Shanda, Hope Rippey was in the ICAN program and released early under suspicious circumstances.
Search: “Shanda Sharer”
Search: “ICAN”+”Melinda Loveless”
Search: “Hope Rippey”+”Early Release”
ICAN’s mission statement is;
“To qualify for the program, offenders must have a background clear of violent behavior.”
So why is Melinda, and Hope before her in this program? Indiana prisons are overflowing with non-violent offenders, so better choices are available.
http://goshennews.com/local/x1759190873/Low-level-offenders-filling-Indiana-prisons
No one knows who paid for Melinda’s attorney with her attempt at release in 2007 and Hope Rippey’s early release in 2006 is bogus and the funds are also suspicious.
ICAN appears to support only religious Caucasian inmates and the beneficiaries of the dogs they train appear to be only Caucasian as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jjBo93K8T0
Odds are, most of the recipients of the prison trained dogs ($900) are affluent enough to pay for the dogs on the open market ($16,000). It costs ICAN approximately $16,000 to fully train an assistance dog.
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~ican/facts
Is this another case of wealthy white people taking advantage of prison slave labor…. than setting them free ?
Sally Irvin is affiliated with an all white prison ministry called Kairos. Both Hope and Melinda are converted born again Christians while incarcerated and chances are they belonged to this religious prison org. Many board members have Indiana and NC connections.
http://kpmifoundation.org/index.php
Ask Sally where the rest of the ICAN money went and why she gives special privileges to white Christian inmates.
I blame FM Radio. When FM Radio took over the music, AM Radio was left with 168 hours per week with nothing to broadcast. What to do? They started with gas bags who could talk for hours about little. They got better and better at their craft. Spinning yarns for the bumpkins in radio land. Their King would be Rushbo. Fox news came on line doing the same kind of nonsense but on TV. Now we have a couple of generations of bumpkins are absolutely certain that this nonsense is fact. All because FM killed AM. Just a theory.
I’m rethinking my decision to not become a “prepper.”
I remember that horrible torture slaying of 12 year old Shandra. With so many violent criminals and sex offenders being turned loose, we might be safer “inside”. Two motels on East 21st Street and others throughout the county are filled with registered sex offenders, mostly child molesters. They number in the thousands in Marion County alone. The Sheriff Departhment will send you regular updates of sex offenders moving into your neighborhood; as for all other criminals being released, we are on our own. We have no way to know who around us we can trust.
You’ve always had these types, you always will. Preppers, Birthers, Truthers, people who think every President should be in prison, blah blah blah.
On the topic of coverups, in light of the blatantly JV attempt to excuse Benghazi, it’s difficult not to sympathize with the movement. I was hoping it would have been addressed here, among other things, but it seems like when it’s a bad news day for the President there’s usually a Fox rant. In my experience when somebody demonstrates a propensity to lie, the truth tends to become the outlier.
. . .and last but certainly not least, we have Stacey Campfield (R-TN). Just google him to read up on him and his dim-bulb ideas. Unbelievable stuff!
JoAnn Green said:
“With so many violent criminals and sex offenders being turned loose”
…Now you know who to blame, and boycott when possible. Or better yet, vote out of office. Sally Irvin of ICAN is a supporter of Mitch Danials.
One should question if the missing ICAN funds were/are used for political use. Against the charities 501(c) status.
She embezzles and donates, than gets her high profile favorite inmates released…to hell with the safety of the public.
I would not put this past her after dealing with the paid ICAN harassers.