Dire warnings


Reading some of my favorite blogs today, I can’t help but feel the looming hand of fate preparing to destroy us all.

  • Jon Voisey is praising a director of the Oklahoma ACLU, Joanne Bell. You’re in Kansas, Jon. It’s not that far from Oklahoma. What happened to Bell could happen to you.
  • Ophelia Benson is saying harsh words about Mother Theresa. An uppity woman criticizing an icon of Christian charity? Someday, you could be in a hospital with a hatchet-faced nun looming over you, contemplating how best to chastise your body before your immortal soul meets the god who will fling you into the flames of Hell.
  • General JC Christian dares to mock those who would sic Jew-haters on the home of the Dobrich family. You’re anonymous, old boy—wouldn’t it be a fine coup for some winger somewhere to publish your home address and phone number? Let’s see how funny you are when a manly Christian fellow shows up at your door with a demand to give your inner Frenchman a workout.
  • Cream Pickle Pups? Oh, no—it’s fair time in the Midwest, when the most obscene foods appear in greasy carts on dirt paths in places that reek of farm animals. We’re all gonna die.

Despite the horrible possibilities, though, I can’t help but hope that everyone keeps it up. Well, except for Diablo Cody—no one really needs to OD on fried fats in grease, do they?

Comments

  1. says

    From Hitchens, by way of Ophelia:

    M[other] T[eresa] was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty.

    This distinction is very nicely drawn–it explains a lot of the reality in a very few words.

  2. says

    Speaking of blogs, those of you with web access to _Nature_ will be amused by the following article just out today: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7098/full/442009a.html

    Apparently, Pharyngula is the most popular science themed blog (and 179th overall) according to Technocrati (details not given in article, however).

    Most interesting to me is that Pharyngula beats Panda’s Thumb by a huge margin (PT is 2nd in science themed blogs, but 1,647th overall). Maybe it’s just because I discovered PT before Pharyngula, but I always was under the impression that Pharyngula was more obscure.

    And poor Sean! Cosmic Variance clocks in at 2,174th! (but 4th among science themed blogs).

  3. says

    IIRC, the General has already faced down local Nazis who targetted his home after they found out that some of his family members had the nerve to be Jewish.

    Waited for them with a shotgun and everything.
    .

  4. Kagehi says

    Hmm. I think I would prefer something that would really get the Religious Rights panties in a twist, like these:

    http://priceless420.com/Pr070406peniscones.jpg

    Those I suppose we really need to them also have a for of virgina cone for the guys, but that wouldn’t have as much icecream… Got to think about this… lol

  5. bernarda says

    I remember of party I was at about 10 years ago. It was a rather well educated and informed crowd. The discussion got around to do-gooders and I went on a criticism like Hitchen’s of Mama Teresa.

    At the time I had no knowledge of Hitchen’s book. There was a lively discussion, and afterwards some people came up to me and said to the effect, “that was something, dumping on Mother Teresa”. I had the feeling that they rather liked the non-political correctness.

    It was only years later that I discovered Hitchen’s excellent book. I just based my arguments on what I had read about her from a myriad of sources. I thought and still think that she was a fraud.

    As someone once said, “god so loved the poor that it made a lot of them”.

    There is an interesting comment at Amazon by a Timothy Scanlon who says he knew her.

  6. NatureSelectedMe says

    Ophelia Benson is saying harsh words about Mother Theresa

    Actually, she’s quoting Hitchens. What kind of literary deceit is this? You’re attributing something to Ophelia that she didn’t say. It’s like reverse plagiarism. :)

  7. says

    Of course you feel the hand of fate! As the Church of the Subgenius has prophesized the world will END on July 5!

    July 5, 1998, true, but we’re still working out the bugs.

  8. says

    “Actually, she’s quoting Hitchens. What kind of literary deceit is this? You’re attributing something to Ophelia that she didn’t say.”

    Nononono I threw in lots of my own abuse too. I got all my facts from Hitchens, yes, but I said lots of nasty things as well by way of emphasis and marginal comment and venting and general mudflinging. I said she was a nightmare and a horror and all sorts. In spite of my very real fear of the hatchet-faced nun.

  9. says

    Thanks for the concern PZ.

    I’m well aware of what could happen to me in Kansas. After all, I recall all too well what happened to Dr. Mirecki this past fall (inconveniently right before finals too…).

    Fortunately for me, I don’t have a house for the Christofacists to burn down. Nor do I have children to assault. I’m not prone to walking alone at night and even if I do, I’ve been involved in martial arts for nearly 6 years and can take care of myself.

    So while I’m not too terribly concerned for what could happen to me, I will temper that statement by noting that this is not an invitation to turn our collective backs on a group of people who have shown they’re more than happy to stab us in it.

    -Jon Voisey

  10. NatureSelectedMe says

    Nononono I threw in lots of my own abuse too
    I know. I know. It was just a snarky call back to the Coulter post on plagiarism.