Regular readers know I am no fan of Presidential candidate John McCain. I used to be, back when he made sense, and he didn’t pander to religious extremists, didn’t constantly flip-flop, didn’t have weird ideas about the economy and the war, and actually appeared to be telling the truth about some things. Those days are long past.
And while those other reasons are enough for me to not want him to be President, now comes the news that his grip on really is really really tenuous. I mean really.
He’s superstitious.
OK, sure, big deal, you think. Many people are superstitious, maybe even most. We talk about luck, we use body language to force the bowling ball to curve after we’ve bowled it, we wear lucky shirts to interviews. I understand those feelings, and they’re natural. I’ve had ‘em myself. But when they take over your life, and seriously affect your actions, then you have a problem.
McCain is really superstitious.
The Washington Times — one of the most conservative papers in the country — has a report detailing McCain’s supernatural beliefs. The report tries to make it sound playful, but to me it’s a little disturbing.
He won’t throw a hat on a bed — that’s a very old superstition that if you do that, someone in the household will die soon (too bad throwing your hat in the ring doesn’t mean your chances of winning will die). He won’t take a salt shaker from someone’s hand. He carries around lucky change, a lucky compass, a lucky feather. The report says he has dozens of lucky rituals.
Dozens.
Now again, you may be thinking, big deal. So what?
The Washington Post reported that this has effects on his staff and schedule (emphasis mine):
When McCain once misplaced his feather, there was momentary panic in the campaign, until his wife found it in one of his suits. When the compass went missing once, McCain assigned his political director to hunt it down.
"Momentary panic"? Good thing that didn’t happen during a high-level meeting with Medvedev or Wen Jiabao at a G8 summit (oops– if McCain gets his way, Russia and China won’t be members of the G8 anyway).
Is it too much to ask that a Presidential candidate feel like he can function without his lucky feather?
Years ago, during the Reagan Administration, it was widely chuckled over that Nancy Reagan consulted an astrologer. But I didn’t chuckle: she forced Ronald Reagan — the President of the United States — to schedule meetings according to astrology’s nonsensical rules. That’s where this type of fantasy thinking leads.
If you have what you think is a lucky number, or you don’t shave your beard during finals week, or any of a hundred other superstitions, that’s generally not a big deal. But we’re not talking investing a dollar in the lotto, or trying to psych yourself up for an exam. We’re talking about a man who will control a vast military force, trillions of dollars of our money, and could appoint judges to the Supreme Court.
Chances are, of course, this won’t amount to much. The odds of it interrupting a high-level meeting or causing him to push The Button are low, but still…
Do we really want him relying on his lucky dime to make decisions about those things? And honestly, if he is willing to believe in this stuff, what else is rattling around in his head?
Oh, speaking of bizarre beliefs, remember how McCain actively sought — for a year — the support of far-right wing hate-mongering preacher John Hagee? McCain hypocritically tried to distance himself from some of what Hagee was saying, but specifically embraced Hagee due to his "support for the state of Israel". The problem? Hagee supports a state of Israel because it’ll bring Armageddon and the end of days, as written in Revelation. Perfect.
Stevie Wonder said it best:
When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer; Superstition ain’t the way, no, no, no.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
If McCain wins the election, maybe he can tote that up to luck, and leave the feather behind.
But I’ve heard that many leaders internationally believe in all sorts of voodoo. Perhaps its time to elect a real scientist?
May 16th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Oh Noes!! You mentioned Politics!!!!!!11!!1!!
May 16th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Perhaps, before he schedules that next high-level meeting with a world leader, he’ll call 9-1-1 to find out the phase of the Moon, just to make sure it’s safe.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Some of these behaviors could be a form of obsesive compulsive disorder. Although I’m not sure if that makes the problem any less serious.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Oh, speaking of bizarre beliefs, remember how Obama sat for 20 years in the congregation of far-left wing hate-mongering preacher Jeremiah Wright? Obama hypocritically tried to distance himself from some of what Wright was saying, but specifically embraced Wright due to his being part of the black community. The problem? Wright believes that the government created AIDS to exterminate the black race.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
When someones number of lucky rituals is more than you can count on your hand I start thinking we are moving into OCD[1]territory. But really I think this exposes a weakness we can exploit. One of our readers needs to infiltrate McCain’s campaign to steal his lucky feather and destroy it! Preferably right before a major appearance or something, so we can watch him lose his bearings on national TV.
[1] Obsesive Compulsive Disorder. OCD works for me. OCD works for me. OCD works for me. You have to say it 3 times or something bad will happen. =)
May 16th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Do we know anything about superstitions of other political candidates? I wonder if these sort of superstitions might just be more common in politics than previously thought.
Mark:
Stop trolling on an astronomy blog. It’s unseemly.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Laugh while you can because this is going to be our next president. All he has to do is hang in there until election day and he’s golden.
Think about it. A woman president or a black muslim (even though he’s not muslim)? Not gonna happen. McCain doesn’t even have to campaign. He’s a white man and a war vet. Hail to the king, baby.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
McCain spent over 5 years being imprisoned and tortured by
the Viet Cong. Anyone who thinks that didn’t have a lasting
effect on him knows zip about psychology.
I would comment on how anyone who believes in a magical
being sitting on a throne in a cloud dispensing justice and
punishment to every action in the world all in the name of
love is also quite dillusional, but I have already seen what
happens here to free speech when a non-believer speaks
his mind.
You can claim to be gay in US politics, but claim that you
don’t believe in God and watch the peace-loving religious
types come after you with a noose.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Harvey Dent for president!
May 16th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Thanks Washington Times! Just the kind of information that will embolden our enemies. My mind is spinning at the plot possibilities to bring down the presidency by stealing his lucky feather. We may need Jack Ryan to solve it!
May 16th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
ARP1234,
The issue isn’t if being a POW should have lasting effects. Of course it can. The issue here is if McCain can be trusted to administer the office of the Presidency. If all this is true, then he doesn’t get my vote. It doesn’t matter if he has a good reason for being whacked.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I have Compulsive Obsessive Disorder. It’s like OCD, only properly alphabetical.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
That’s pretty much the description of a sick man there.
I never dug for Mccain. Never. He’s just another zealot.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I don’t want people this stupid to be cooking my dinner, let alone running the most powerful country in the world. How does this information becoming public not result in him becoming a complete laughing stock?
May 16th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
@Mark
Funny, but the people making a big fuss about Obama’s association with Wright aren’t saying anything about McCain’s (or Bush’s) association with white, hate-mongering, evangelical christian leaders – you know, the ones who say things like the 9-11 attacks or hurricanes being god’s retribution for tolerating gays and such.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I have to wonder how the media and public would respond if
it was reported that Obama or Clinton flipped out if they could
not find their lucky feather?
But of course there is NO bias in the media, noooo.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
To add – who am I kidding? I just read about some guy burying
a Red Sox shirt in the Yankees playing field to curse them – this
year!
Between this and every stain on a wall being interpreted as Jesus
or Mary, maybe a superstitious and clueless man is the perfect
choice to lead this country.
But don’t blame religion, oh no. Blame only the “godless” ones
for the state we are in. And evolution, of course.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
“How does this information becoming public not result in him becoming a complete laughing stock?”
I don’t know how it is in the US but here in the UK most newspapers still have astrology sections…
May 16th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
And people with martyr complexes, can’t forget them.
Seems to be bloody everyone these days…
May 16th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Yes, this is screwy, but I can tell you as a completely rational and objective person that spending a significant amount of time in a combat zone lead me to some irrational superstitions. I don’t know what it is, but you get in this weird mindset of not taking chances with your life, even when it’s something as stupid as avoiding walking under a ladder to assault a building. I had a lucky charm I took every time I went outside the wire, some weird habits about how I cleaned & loaded my rifle each day. It’s sort of a “doing that worked yesterday, so I’ll stick with it.” Again, COMPLETELY irrational…but I did it anyway.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Man, my grammar is sucking today…
May 16th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
@The Mutt – How is Compulsive Obsessive Disorder alphabetical? Or do I just not get the joke?
On NPR’s Fresh Air program today they played excerpts from Terry Gross’ 2006 interview with John Hagee. That guy is a complete nutbar. I find it sad that the media went on and on about Jeremiah Wright but the Hagee thing doesn’t get nearly the same exposure. You know why? Because Wright was screaming anti-America. Hagee was screaming anti-gay and people just don’t care.
Also a caller on the Diane Rehm show this morning commented that she didn’t like how Obama doesn’t wear a flag lapel pin so he’s unpatriotic. How the hell does someone’s choice of jewelry have anything to do with their patriotism?
May 16th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Brando,
I can understand where you’re coming from.
Then again, I won’t vote for you for president either.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Gatton, I knew a woman in the Reagan era who voted for him
simply because she thought he looked great for his age.
I am amazed we have any kind of a civilization at all.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
On a side note, has anyone heard Bush try to say “Medvedev?”
May 16th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Jeremiah Wright has never held the political sway and influence that a whole slew of right-wing demagogic pastors have, and have had for years. And he never will, even if Obama is elected.
On the other hand, John McCain’s right-hand man throughout this election campaign has been the willing, paid shill for some of the most despicable tyrants and murderers to have ever walked the face of the earth:
http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/05/judge-him-by-th.htm
And that’s not including the two lobbyists who resigned from McCain’s campaign after it was revealed they lobbied for the Burmese junta.
McCain prides himself for not being in the pocket of lobbyists (a claim very much in dispute, btw) and yet seems somehow to have staffed his campaign with some of the sleaziest ones around.
Something tells me his lucky feather isn’t working so well.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
As a side note: all the flap about Obama’s “association” with a nutjob preacher (playing selected quotes over and over and over and over…), while comparatively little is said about Pat Robertson, John Hagee, et al on the Republican side who are every bit as nutty.
It would be nice if this would dispel once and for all the myth of “liberal media” in this country. It won’t, of course, but it would be nice if it did.
Any sort of liberal media in this country disappeared when Reagan allowed the corporate take over of nearly every broadcast station and newspaper in the U.S.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Note: I should have said mainstream liberal media. I realize (thank goodness) Mother Jones and other small operations are still published.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
All these comments on a story about a guy and his magic feather, and not a single mention of Dumbo?
May 16th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I’ve watched complete 45-min sermons by Wright. The full sermons are actually *more* America-hating than the commonly quoted clips.
And sitting in the pew for 20 years is far different from seeking an endorsement.
My point in quoting BA back at him substituting Wright for Hagee was to expose his hypocrisy of criticizing one but not the other, especially when Wright is IMO far worse.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Well, at least he can add, unlike a certain Democratic presidential candidate.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
“The full sermons are actually *more* America-hating than the commonly quoted clips.”
Umm… so what? Honestly, I’ve never understood this. I have a lot of problems with my own country, and have no problems criticising it. Do I hate it? No. But I’ll be damned if I will keep my mouth shut if I believe my government is doing something wrong.
Meanwhile, folks like Hagee outwardly spout hate toward individual people and groups. How this can at all be considered acceptable while criticism of a country (groundless or not) is believed wrong, I honestly have no idea. It’s entirely akin to being angered by criticism of the Chinese government, while giving those who call for the extermination of the Chinese people a pass.
Frankly, I say good for Wright! Are there things that he says that I violently disagree with? Absolutely, no question. But at least I understand why he’s speaking out. Meanwhile, Hagee and his ilk are a cancer on society, promoting ignorance and hate, all the while claiming the support of their god. It is, without question, absolutely disgusting.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Mark: “And sitting in the pew for 20 years is far different from seeking an endorsement.”
Just quoting Mark for emphasis. This is the real issue.
As far as McCain’s superstitions, well, he’s nutty about them. But that’s not why I’m not voting for him.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Thank you, Brett.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
@Robbie
Yes, you’re absolutely right. In one case, we have Obama, who got to know his Pastor 20 years ago, learning the full breadth of his beliefs, both spiritual and political, and learned to love the man despite his shortcomings.
On the other, we have McCain, who sought the endorsement of a man known to spout hate about gays, Catholics, Jews, and who knows who else, and he sought that endorsement for purely political reasons.
I know which one is more morally acceptable. Do you?
May 16th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Brett: “Meanwhile, folks like Hagee outwardly spout hate toward individual people and groups. How this can at all be considered acceptable while criticism of a country (groundless or not) is believed wrong, I honestly have no idea.”
Who says it is?
And you are comparing apples and oranges. Jeremiah Wright isn’t just criticizing the USA, he hates it and calls it the USofKKKA, and expresses his hatred of white people and how they keep black people down. To say it’s merely criticism is just dishonest. (Side note: Look up where Wright lives currently to learn something about his hypocrisy.)
So to compare hatred and hatred makes sense, but to mis-characterize hateful statements as criticism then compare them to other hateful statements just doesn’t, and is dishonest at worst, ignorant at best.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I find this whole “america-hating” schmeer against Wright to be something of a red herring in the face of the media’s refusal to take similar stands on Hagee’s blatherings. I mean, some of these wingers who froth at the mouth and call for “death to feminists, gays, etc.” are all about “teh hate of America” too, when you consider that they’re calling for serious harm to their fellow citizens.
McCain… bleh. He jumped the shark so long ago it’s not funny. I respect him for his service to his country, but I cannot respect what he has become in his quixotic run for the presidency.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Brett: “Yes, you’re absolutely right. In one case, we have Obama, who got to know his Pastor 20 years ago, learning the full breadth of his beliefs, both spiritual and political, and learned to love the man despite his shortcomings.”
Wrong wrong wrong. Now you’re just lying, though you may not know you are.
Upon “learning the full breadth of his beliefs, both spiritual and political” he should have left the church of a racist bigot.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
@Robbie:
“Who says it is?”
Those who give McCain a pass while attacking Obama. People like Mark.
“and expresses his hatred of white people and how they keep black people down.”
Really? When? He’s expressed his disgust with the US, as a system, certainly. But I don’t recall hearing quotes where he claimed whites, as a race, were evil or immoral. Care to provide examples of such statements?
Now, you may choose to take that those comments as an attack on whites in general, but perhaps that’s your own biases coming through.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
@Robbie:
“he should have left the church of a racist bigot.”
Again, if you could provide evidence that Wright is racist, I’d be happy to see it.
Besides, are you saying Obama must be racist because he attended Wright’s sermons? Because this is the other part that I don’t understand… let’s presume, just for the moment, that Wright is a racist bigot, and that Obama knew this but went to his sermons, anyway. Are you saying that Obama must, therefore, be racist-by-proxy? Because I can see no other reason why we should *care* what Wright is or isn’t, unless you believe it is an indictment of Obama’s character.
Meanwhile, McCain has *actively* associated with people who are *proven* bigots, and has done so for purely *political* reasons. I think it’s obvious what that says about McCain’s character (specifically, that he’s willing to associate himself with such people purely for political gain).
May 16th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Okay, last time I saw something by Phil on politics I called it a rant.
Looks like more of the same to me…
I said once before that I think Phil has the potential to be another Carl Sagan…advancing the cause of astronomy to the entire country. I really believe that. But now I’m not so sure he can get there.
The reason is what I perceive (yes, it’s okay to disagree with me!) to be an excessive amount of political-leaning rhetoric that just seems to fit in with the rest of the din we are all hearing out there. Now, it’s possible that Carl would have been doing exactly the same thing had he had access to the Internet during his heyday, but who knows?
Phil, I truly hope your prediliction toward political commentary doesn’t hurt your stellar (pun!) reputation in astronomical circles. It may well be that you realize the possibility, but your principles allow you to ignore it. If so, great.
Regardless of your politics, keep up the good work! I read your political stuff and pretty much discount it. I’m not a Republican, but on the other hand I’m not a Democrat, either. I’m a proud Independent, but do admit I have conservative leanings. that could be a result of my age, ’cause I’m in my late 50’s.
Anyway, enough of MY rant.
All the best,
Mikel
May 16th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
The superstition of not accepting a saltshaker directly from someone’s hand is prevalent in Scandinavia. This leads us to believe that McCain is actually Odin, the allfather. Think about it; McCain is easily old enough to have battled giants before the creation of the universe, and his son, douglas, lost an arm in a battle with Fenrir.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Upon “learning the full breadth of his beliefs, both spiritual and political” he should have left the church of a racist bigot.
Robbie, I don’t think you understand the meaning of the words “racist” and “bigot.” Brett has it right.
Hagee expresses hatred of people based on their race and religion. And McCain sought him out and fought for his endorsement over a period of a year.
The Rev. Wright has experienced segregation and the murder of black men in medical experiments in his lifetime. He also isn’t far removed from actual slavery, which existed into the 1940s. I don’t begrudge him having some anger about that. We as a country deserve that. And I appreciate him reminding us of that.
I’d gladly host Rev. Wright in my home. I’d never let scum like Hagee in the door.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I have heard and read that military pilots develop lots of superstitions based on the fact that no matter how skilled a pilot may be, there are many bad things that can happen to him that are completely out of his control.
I would not be surprised to find that McCain developed his belief in woo woo in his military pilot days.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Remember nuclear winter? Carl Sagan was dead wrong about the Kuwait oil fires. He failed to remember that necessity is the mother of invention (a href=”http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/fire-extinguisher/jetpowered-fire-extinguisher-douses-fires-in-seconds-215604.php>mounting a jet turbine on a tank was brilliant).
May 16th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I wonder how much of this is the result of a coping mechanism developed while a POW.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I don’t see this as any different as having a lucky charm in your pocket, a Saint Christopher medal around your neck, or if you play baseball doing the same thing over and over again in the batter’s box because you believe it helps you hit the ball.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
“I would not be suprised to find that McCain developed his belief in woo woo in his military pilot days.”
While avaitors (any elite military community, really) have their brand of traditional superstitions, it is not like what was described in that article.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I’m an atheist but due to my parents I spend a good 20 years attending churches that I obviously did not agree with. That does not make me tied to anything that those church leaders said. I personally think actively seeking the endorsement of people that openly discriminate against certain groups of people is far worse. On the other hand, I am not in the least bit concerned about any person’s superstitious beliefs or the people with whom they associate. I’m more concerned about how they will handle my country and that will be what I base my vote on.
May 16th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Simple problem, simple solution: Put the friggin’ feather in the briefcase with the nuclear “football” that follows the President everywhere.
A better solution still would be voting for Obama, but as an anyone-but-Hillary guy, I can at least tolerate McCrazy….I think.
Good write-up.
May 16th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
If being superstitious is the worst of our worrys with Mccain, then im all for him.
May 16th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Rik: “I’m an atheist but due to my parents I spend a good 20 years attending churches that I obviously did not agree with.”
Obama’s parents did not make him go to that church. He sought it out. That’s the difference.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Plant on a waxing moon.
Or else, baby.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
“If being superstitious is the worst of our worrys with Mccain, then im all for him.”
–
In the same sense that the worst of your worries about being inside a rocket shop crashing into the sun is a heightened risk of melanoma.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
“Do we really want him relying on his lucky dime to make decisions about those things?”
In McCain’s defence, see Isaac Asimov’s ‘Machine that won the war’.
May 16th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
If I came from behind as he did to win the nomination, I might believe that it was my magic feather too. I’m a sworn skeptic, but superstitions also run in my blood a bit. Even in the most rational on minds an irrational undercurrent may well flow. To assume the human brain is a monolith is to underestimate the nature of the brain which has several primitive structures still mostly fully functioning, if not dominant they still assert a bit of influence. In conclusion placebos work, so why not take a placebo from time to time?
May 16th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
@Robbie:
“Obama’s parents did not make him go to that church. He sought it out. That’s the difference.”
Yeah, you’re right. I bet Obama was all like, “Man, I’m looking for a church, but none of the ones I’ve found are really racist enough. Oh, hey, this Reverend Wright guys sounds sufficiently looney. Yeah, I’m totally going to that church! Man… I love racism!”
May 16th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
>He won’t take a salt shaker from someone’s hand.
Someone should start a Hand McCain A Salt Shaker campaign while he’s out on the campaign trail.
I picture a website where people could post videos of his reaction.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Mikel: [i]“I said once before that I think Phil has the potential to be another Carl Sagan…advancing the cause of astronomy to the entire country. I really believe that. But now I’m not so sure he can get there.”[/i]
Actually, Phil would have to get more involved in political views, not less, to match Carl Sagan. Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan often expressed liberal political causes. You can read all about them in “Carl Sagan – A Life” a very fine biography by Keay Davidson. Sagan strongly endorsed the legalization of marijuana too – something I don’t recall Phil getting into. Sagan’s concerns about environmental changes in general are still important but most of all Sagan would have been as appalled as Phil is today about the ascendancy of superstition and its co-opting by conservative politics. Bravo Phil for expressing concerns about the creationist nonsense that encroaches and distorts science for political gain.
Those criticizing Barack Obama’s attendance in his local church are overlooking the vast and admittedly secular aspects of belonging to a church. (Something I personally don’t need but fully acknowledge many folks legitimately benefit from.) Many churches provide a strong sense of community and public outreach and Obama’s days as a neighborhood organizer were well-served by membership in Trinity United, one of Chicago’s prominent community churches.
Of course there are those who think they are sensible and totally believe all the vilification of “liberal” drivel fed to them and attempt to irrationally blast everything Phil has to say with unsupported anecdotes. [anti-rightwing humor]BTW, K, I think Mark wants you to return his copy of Mein Kampf.[/anti-rightwing humor]
May 16th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Brett:
How you can compare Hagee endorsing McCain, even if McCain sought it, with Obama sitting in Wright’s racist, America hating church for 20 years, giving him $50,000, putting him on his campaign, is beyond me, and very disturbing. The associations with Farrakhan, the Black Panthers, the AIDS-CIA conspiracy, the “black people have different brains then white people” comment. Come on!
Maybe you could explain that away, except there’s the association with Ayers and Dohrm. People who advocated, and still advocate, the violent overthrow of the democratic government of the United States, and its replacement with a Marxist government. People who acted on that, and whose activities killed innocent people. How could you even be in the same room with such scum, much less associate and interact with them as if they were regular people?
McCain is going to win. Obama is not a moderate like Bill Clinton, he stands no chance. Democrats are going to do the crap they always do – try to portray McCain as a right wing extremist. Which is laughable. He is moderate, bipartisan, and a leader – all the things Obama’s supporters falsely claim about their candidate.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Oh, and Chip, how is referring to a book written by the late leader of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party anti-right-wing-humor?
[crazy guy from Falling Down] Think about it.[/crazy guy from Falling Down]
May 16th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Mark -<blockquote.Wright believes that the government created AIDS to exterminate the black race.Where would Wright get such an idea? It’s not as though the government has ever used African-Americans as guinea pigs in disease studies, right?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Study_of_Untreated_Syphilis_in_the_Negro_Male
May 16th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Mark -
Where would Wright get such an idea? It’s not as though the government has ever used African-Americans as guinea pigs in disease studies, right?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Study_of_Untreated_Syphilis_in_the_Negro_Male
May 16th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Sorry about the double post. I screwed up the blockquote in the first one.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
JohnW – Wow, such respectful tones for the Nazis. Its the very epitome of a far right-wing book. Hence the reference to “humor” since my jibe about it is way beyond even the NeoCons – though they’re on the same tracks.
As for me, I couldn’t get through that book. Its too disgusting. However, corporatist Karl Rove likely has based some of his political vilification and labeling strategies on it. There’s a chance now that Rove might be arrested for contempt of Congress, if Congress has the guts to send their Sargent-at-Arms to nab him.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I thought you were a skeptic, Phil. Are you really that naive to belief every word printed in a liberal newspaper about the presumptive GOP nominee? Seriously, a true skeptic would look at the author, their biases, the bias of the publishing newspaper, and the believability of the report.
Check out the Wikipedia entry on the author, Dana Millbank: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_Milbank
Apparently he’s a “progressive.” This becomes more evident if you check out his website: http://www.danamilbank.com/
Millbank is obvioiusly a left wing opinion writer, yet you treat the article like it was an objective report on the actual actions of McCain.
I would think that you, Phil, of all people, being a member of a prominent skeptical organization, would know rapid propoganda when you see it! Perhaps you should stick to Astronomy, where you are indeed in your element and demonstrate an undisputed expertise.
Robert
May 16th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
El Zilcho – bravo for the best humor in the comments section! Nicely done.
I do think these “superstitions” are signs of very serious OCD. [1] OCD can be crippling to people when it is not treated. OCD can CERTAINLY caused by (along with other things) exposure to extreme trauma. [2] OF COURSE the man is horribly traumatized from being a victim of torture. I will always respect, admire, and honor McCain, not just for his service to the country, but also for being a survivor. But I will never, ever, EVER in my whole lifetime vote for him for President.
If McCain were a layperson, I would think that having extreme OCD would be the very LEAST one could expect from having been tortured, and I would want to hug him, and then I would leave it alone.
However, as it has been pointed out repeatedly here, McCain is vying for the Top Seat of All Seats, and that changes everything.
Someone with severe PTSD (to which OCD is related [2], and McCain most certainly has) can act irrationally and incoherently, and while I understand those behaviours in McCain, I do not want my President to be suffering so acutely from such symptoms. If someone wants to be President of the United States, they need to be reasonable and rational. For the safety of everyone in the country.
Furthermore, McCain scares the ever living hell outta me, not because of his superstitions, but because of his political actions. Over the past few years he has systematically put himself in line with the most conservative elements of the right wing, and whether he has feathers in his pockets or a photo of Richard Dawkins, I don’t care. I won’t vote for the man.
And I think Bill Moyers has the best take on Wright. [3]
Cheers!
C
1 – http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/when-unwanted-thoughts-take-over-obsessive-compulsive-disorder/complete-publication.shtml
2 – http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TBV-4G7X9DD-2&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=757544f52346058d731b89b5a6d7058b
3 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvnMK1d9xE0
May 16th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Chip – I wasn’t trying to be respectful of the book, and I know you were tongue-in-cheek. But how is the National Socialist German Worker’s Party right wing? Seriously?
May 16th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
WAYYYYY too late on that item — and it’s no good pointing fingers at politicians!
Even astronomers do superstitions: http://tiny.cc/magicthinking
May 16th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I just gotta come back to this, “McCain’s Bizzare Beliefs.” The other guy goes to church for 20 years with a pastor who thinks the US government invented AIDS, supplies crack to blacks, and thinks black brains are different than white brains. And now, for the second time, McCain’s “bizzare beliefs” merit a post, but nothing on Obama?
Skeptologist, heal thyself!
May 16th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
JohnW — so what about Charlie Black, McCain’s right hand man in his campaign? Black willingly took on as clients of his firm, and him personally, some of the most despicable dictators of the 20th century:
Remember, Black wasn’t a lawyer seeking to give his clients a fair hearing in a court of law, he was employed as their lobbyist to spread sweet sounding lies that actively aided this murder’s row of characters essentially destroy large parts of their own countries, and the lives of millions of innocents along with it. Obama has repudiated Wright’s views, and has entirely disassociated himself from his former pastor (as he should have). But Charlie Black is still McCain’s right-hand man.
Wright has done little more than rail against real and imagined injustices for 20 years, but at the same time Black actively aided and abetted regimes that created injustices on a scale that America hasn’t seen since the Civil War.
So, if Obama’s former and repudiated association with Pastor Wright disqualifies Obama as presidential material, why the heck are you still supporting McCain, who is still best buddies with and obtains daily advice from a man who has made a career lobbying for some of the most evil people you could imagine.
“Bizarre beliefs” is the least of the problem with McCain.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Something tells me his lucky feather isn’t working so well.
Ah, but that’s when it is working the best- when you can’t tell.
It is a subtle feather.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:30 am
C,
That Moyers piece is great. You have no idea (or perhaps you do) how good it feels to hear those words spoken with a southern accent.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:33 am
JohnW asked: “I wasn’t trying to be respectful of the book, and I know you were tongue-in-cheek. But how is the National Socialist German Worker’s Party right wing? Seriously?”
JohnW – your comment sounds seriously like a troll but just in case you’re serious, the Nazi’s were a far right-wing political party. Just because “socialist” was in their title does not mean they were lefties. In fact, they hated the ordinary “Socialists” in Germany of the time – who were leftists and totally despised the German “communists” of the time who were even farther left. Ironically, the Nazi’s adapted some social programs for employment and public works projects in 1930s Germany. (As the US was doing also to overcome the worldwide great depression.) However, the Nazis themselves were a far right-wing conservative party that co-opted German traditions and some religious mysticism (sound familiar?) but differed from present day American Neo-Conservatives in being overtly anti-Semitic and racist. Hitler blamed all the economic problems in post-WW1 Germany on Jews whom he equated with leftists, liberals and communists.
Enough history lesson. Today there are a few outrageous books by NeoCons claiming that “liberals” are “fascists”, (one is by goofball commentator Sean Hannity,) but they don’t hold up when one looks at actual history. “Rise And Fall of the Third Reich” by William L. Shirer is the classic history text on all this.
And I am disrespectful of Hitler’s book. Its dull, insipid trash.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Oh, and @ JohnW,
The definition of socialism pretty much precludes nationalism, so one has to assume that there is the slightest possibility that the Nazis weren’t very accurate in naming themselves.
For more on this topic, please see:
Democratic Republic of Germany,
Peoples Republic of China,
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the soviets were disbanded, and the socialists were the first party to be eliminated after the Revoloution),
Whatever the heck North Korea calls itself.
May 17th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Ah, if only Mccain had an Irish brogue – “They’re after me Lucky Charms!”
May 17th, 2008 at 2:05 am
Quite frankly there is a huge problem – ethically as well as politically & financially with anyone supporting the racist militaristic, apartheid theocracy that is the modern nation of Israel for any reason!
Lets put aside the pro-Israel, anti-peace & anti-sanity neo-con rhetoric
for a sec and examine the stark reality folks :
Israel murders Semitic women, men and children left right & centre!
(Yes folks, the Palestineans, Lebanese & other Arabs are also Semites lets try not to forget that for a change shall we??)
Israel is a state for a certain ethnico-religious minority only – exclusively for people of the Jewish religion – as judged by fundamentalist Rabbis – and treats other groups as second class citizens incl. – or indeed far worse!
Only Jews are allowed a “right of return”, all Jews anywhere are welcome and flown into Israel but Plaestinean refugees are barred from re-entering their land, only Israeli settler Jewish extremists are provided roads, settlements, etc .. Plus there is the Berlin-wall style Apartheid wall built to keep the indigenous Palestineans from the conquored “Jewish” colonialist areas of what is rightfully the Palestineans land.
Israel has attacked invaded and occupied – & still occupies – large parts of other sovereign nations in violation of UN Resolutions and international law!
Israel has secret WMDs and has threatened to use them – moreover it refuses to allow UN inspection of its nuclear weapons facilities!
Research for yourselves folks on-line (or elsewhere) the name Mordechai Vanunu & the Dimona secret Nuclear plant.
Israel murders peace activists, journalists and political opponents – the latter are also frequently imprisoned unjustly and tortured!
Examples : Rachel Corrie – a US peace activist brutally crushed to death under an Israeli bulldozer-tank hybrid for protesting about Israel’s illegal use of collective punishment in destroying Palestinean homes. Tom Hurndell (spelling?) a journalist deliberately fatally shot in the head by an Israeli soldier. Mahmoud Barghoutti – Palestinean leader perhaps their equivalent to Nelson Mandela – falsely jailed, Hamas spokesperson Shanab politically assassinated by the Israeli military. Note : Shanab was a (relatively moderate) member of Hamas but he was NOT a “terrorist” or in its military wing just a political activist.
Israel spies on the USA and its super-powerful, obscenely wealthy politicial lobby excercises vastly disproportionate political clout which severely damages the USA’s reputation, credibility and interests abroad!
Both Muslims and Jews make up about 5 % of the total US population – but, of course, the Jews virtually run US Foriegn policy while the Muslim population in America are made scapegoats and demonised in a way, ironically, very reminiscent of past European anti-semitism against the Jewish branch of the Semitic peoples. (Recall what I said earlier, its true folks, Muslims are today’s “Jews”… )
What atrocities does Israel need to committ before reasonable, ethical and intelligent Americans finally come to their senses and say “enough???!!
McCain is dangerously, superstituous and that is but one of many good reasons to reject that incontinent old fools bid to be your next Retardican party Presiking.
Sadly, I predict here that before he leaves office Bush the Mad will launch yet another war – most probably against Iran – and use this as the McCain-Retardican party election strategy.
Unless somebody stops them first – I’m afraid that’s really going to happen.
__________________________
Oh & for the record I’m neither anti-Semitic nor a “self-hating Jew” as the Israeli Jewish extremist lobby invariably slanders anyone who dares criticise its “sacred cow” apartheid military theocracy. Yes, I really do have Jewish friends – & my heroes two great Jewish-descended individuals Isaac Asimov & Noam Chomsky.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:26 am
Here’s the plain facts about Israel & its war on the Palestineans – a people “far more sinned against than sinning” (to use Shakespeare’s line) if you examine things fairly :
Under Israeli rule the following practices are carried out :
- Religio-racial discrimination whereby only one group has certain rights
(Eg. Right of return, Jewish only roads etc..)
- Collective punishment eg. Curfews, humiliating “security” searches, deportations, home demolitions, etc…
- Legalised use of torture.
- Destruction of infrastructure to stall possible implementation of peace provisions. (“De-development”)
- Ethnic cleansing – both historical (1948) & suggested for the future.
- “Ghettoisation / Cantonisation” of certain ethnic populations – the Palestinian “Bantustans” & Sharon’s wall across the West Bank.
Since the creation of Israel in 1948 :
200,000 Palestinians have been killed.
5,000,000 refugees have been created.
21,000 square kilometres of land has been annexed.
385 towns and villages have been destroyed.
300 billion military dollars have been spent.
100 plus WMD’s have been manufactured.
65 UN resolutions have been ignored.
Source : ‘Row over “anti-Israel” art display’ in ‘The Age’ , 4-5-2004. (Yes, that’s dated – the stats are even worse now. As are these
Palestinian casualties = 3,049
Israeli casualties = 905
Source : ‘Middle East Policy Council website, 6-7-2004.( As of 5th July 2004.)
The 1947 UN partition plan granted 55 % of the Mandate to Israel. By 1970 they had occupied all of it. (& more.) Gaza & the West bank compose 22% of Mandate of Palestine.
(Gilbert, 1993 & Reinhart, 2002.)
One of far, far too many examples of the “collateral damage” or killing of innocent civilians by the Israeli military occupiers :
When Israel launched the aerial attack to assassinate a single Hamas leader , Salah Shehadeh, they also murdered 14 others mostly innocent bystanders incl. children.
When, when, when, will the world, esp. the Western world, say to Israel : ENOUGH!?
May 17th, 2008 at 2:36 am
Will we have to wait for McCain’s much awaited & insanely eagerly sought apocalypse say?
He and his “Christian” Zionists really are just outright evil.
Never mind his bizarre superstitions and his proud feat of having been shot down and captured – that guy (and his Israeli fundamentalist backers) are loons who in any sane nation woul;d be nowhere near being considered as candidates for highest offfice.
____________
PS. Oh, & news flash for the Christians out there – many Palestineans are Christian too!
PPS. Sorry about the stuff-up with the auto-emoticon
coming from : and ) being close together. Computers .. Sigh. 
May 17th, 2008 at 3:01 am
Yep, McCain is a madman alright – and why would you vote for two madmen in a row? Especially, seeing how well (NOT!) the last one worked out for you!
The rest of the planet (well, okay, a lot of it anyway – esp. the sane parts like say Australia, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, Belgium, etc ..) really does look at the poor political choices of the USA of A & wonder in appalled puzzlement :
What the heck were they thinking!?
Firts Bush Jr, now McCain …
The so-called “Republican” party really is the Retardican party – set on retarding or even reversing every bit of social, environmental and political progress – & run by retards isn’t it?
May 17th, 2008 at 5:01 am
Dear Deir, Dare I there suggest to you that the entire blame can be laid on Lawrence of Arabia.
If he hadn’t interfered, the Turks would still be in control and none of these things would have transpired. Of course they weren’t the most tolerant of people, either.
Come to think of it it’s really all the fault of Archduke Ferdinand- bad, bad form for getting assassinated, and leading ultimately to the horrors of both world wars and their aftermaths.
The world has gone to hell in a handbasket since the downfall of the old imperial empires. Everything was perfect back then. Order. Pogroms. Intolerance. Women in the kitchen and bedroom. Body taxes in the colonies.
And now we have terror, fanaticism, free sex, AIDS
See the pattern???
Come to think of it the blame can really be laid at the feet of australopithecines who climbed down from the trees and started eating bugs off the savannahs. Bad chimp! Bad!
Or those fishipods who refused to stay in the swamp.
Then there were the prokaryotes who thought they could make ‘a more perfect union’ leading to nucleated cells. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING????
If microorganisms really can recolonize the earth from space after a catastrophe, maybe we should just start over. You’ve all lost my vote.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:23 am
From the Washington Post article:
‘”A lot of guys are superstitious who are aviators,” the candidate says. “It’s either a pilot thing or a stupid thing.”‘
Having served in the same war, it’s not “a pilot thing.”
May 17th, 2008 at 6:22 am
I guess when you have crashed 4 planes in training, were shot down and made a POW might make you a bit superstitious. That’s his right to believe what he wants (I’m a bit superstitious myself). BIG DEAL…
I used to like McCain, thought was reasonably moderate until he SUCKED UP to GWB in ‘04 (after being trashed by Bush/Rove in ‘00). I respect / appreciate his service and extreme sacrifice he has made for his country, but it obvious he’s sold out to the neo-cons and dropped a few screws over the past few years.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Most “superstitions”, when carried to such extremes, are indicative of obsessive/compulsive disorder. I expect most kids have felt unease when “stepping on a line’ implied breaking moms spine, etc. I wonder how much of such behavior is a side effect of the continuing evolution of the human nervous system?
Maybe John is one of those unfortunate enough to be considered “collateral damage” in DNAs inexorable march of survival?
Unfortunate or not, I don’t want him for Pres.
GAry 7
May 17th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Did the man learn nothing from Dumbo?
Silly McCain. The magic has been inside you all along.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:26 am
JohnW — so what about Charlie Black, McCain’s right hand man in his campaign?
tactitus – Fair enough point. It’s a disturbing relationship, and I’m curious how McCain reacts to it.
Wright has done little more than rail against real and imagined injustices for 20 years
That’s quite a sugarcoating. Preaching “God damn America,” “US of KKKA,” Louis Farrakhan is an important voice so we’ll honor him with an award, Hamas is A-OK, and the CIA invented AIDS to people who, since they go to church, must obviously be impressionable simpletons, is irresponsible at best, destructive at worst.
Which is my point – Phil, self professed skeptic and rationalist, has devoted at least 2 posts to McCain’s oddball religious connections, but can’t spare a pixel for Obama’s far tighter relationship with his odious pastor.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:33 am
[...] Found at Bad Astronomy [...]
May 17th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Chip – No, I’m not trolling about it. I don’t know what Hannity wrote, but I’m reading Goldberg’s book right now and am interested in how well his arguments stand up, so please fire away.
Just because “socialist” was in their title does not mean they were lefties. In fact, they hated the ordinary “Socialists” in Germany of the time – who were leftists and totally despised the German “communists” of the time who were even farther left.
And they all fought each other in the streets. Weren’t they fighting over the same constituency – the German worker?
Ironically, the Nazi’s adapted some social programs for employment and public works projects in 1930s Germany. (As the US was doing also to overcome the worldwide great depression.)
I don’t think that argument works in your favor.
the Nazis themselves were a far right-wing conservative party that co-opted German traditions and some religious mysticism
A far right wing conservative party that overthrew the government and traditional German society through a radical revolution? How is that right wing or conservative in any sense of those words?
autumn: The definition of socialism pretty much precludes nationalism, so one has to assume that there is the slightest possibility that the Nazis weren’t very accurate in naming themselves.
Why? Isn’t socialism just state control of business? Aren’t there different flavors, with communism being international socialism, and fascism being national socialism?
May 17th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
O.K., here’s a thought: how is McCain (or anyone like him, for that matter), a “hero?” He dropped bombs on the enemy (and any “collateral damage” around the target – e.g., civilians) from miles above the ground. When he was captured, he spent five years in prison, where he was tortured. He escaped being shot by his captors, unlike some U.S. servicemen. Why do we glorify the military? Why are the fighters we send to kill “the enemy” worthy of such a title?
Some who directly participate in war don’t find it at all glorious or heroic; it is the basest action humans can take to settle a dispute.
War leaves far more civilian dead than it does soldiers. War is an enormous drain of resources, money and people on the countries which engage in it. Often the nation with the balance of money and resources is the “victor.”
And the winners are “heroes,” while the losers are ignominious in defeat. Yet we continue to glorify the act – especially if we’re on the “winning” side – and heap adulation on those we send to do our warring for us.
Are there “good” wars, or are there only “failed diplomacies?” And who decides: it is the winners who write the history and dispense the medals – but the Viet Cong and the NVA are heroes in the eyes of their countrymen. John McCain thinks that war could have been “won.” He also thinks we can “win” in Iraq and in Afghanistan. And the suicide bombers and “insurgents” of this latest conflict are loyal
soldiers and heroes in the eyes of their countrymen.
Why have so many of us, McCain’s countrymen, turned against the “war” in Iraq; a conflict unilaterally begun by the U.S. for what has become increasingly obvious: our interest in maintaining an influence over the oil fields of the Middle East. Does this make our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan “just?”
This conflict has gone on for over five years; the Vietnam conflict lasted eight. What will be the tally of “heroes,” dead and alive, “enemy” and “good guy”, for this war?
May 17th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Will. M – “Some who directly participate in war don’t find it at all glorious or heroic…”
Paddy Chayefsky (who also wrote “Network”) sums it up in this incredible 6 minute scene from “The Americanization of Emily” (1964) directed by Arthur Hiller.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tHS-ibOpSY
May 17th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Robert: bzzzzt. Note that this same stuff is in the Washington Times, an extremely conservative paper. Dana Milbank is, by the way, an excellent reporter. I don’t care if he’s liberal or not. And since this is corroborated by the WT, your argument is without merit.
Deir Yaseen, your diatribe is totally off-topic here. This has nothing to do with Israel’s practices, whether real or imagined. It’s simply that Hagee supports Israel because he wants to bring about Armageddon, and that McCain doesn’t even understand that (or lied about it).
And jiminy cricket, this blog post is not about Obama. It’s about McCain. I can choose to write about Obama or not (and I have and I will). The point here is that Obama can clearly not share beliefs with his pastor and get lambasted in the media, yet with McCain there is silence when he seeks out the support of someone who wants to end all life on Earth.
And finally, Mikel, Sagan was far more outspoken than I have been. What he wrote about Reagan is pretty good stuff. And while Sagan is a hero of mine, it’s not my goal to replace him. I figure I can do pretty well on my own.
And I won’t stop talking about this, because if McCain is elected we’ll get four more years of Bush’s failed and disastrous policies. It’s really that simple.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
JohnW, may I humbly suggest that you put down Goldberg’s ridiculous book and get yourself a history text. My stars, don’t ever let any of your former history teachers/profs know that you think Hitler was an actual socialist… it’ll shatter their confidence in their teaching abilities.
For feck’s sake, if Adolf and Stalin had had the same ideology, we’d see swastikas and hammer and sickles on every street corner and every elementary school kid would be able to speak German and read Cyrillic.
Nazism and Soviet Communism were both major dangers and terrible, oppressive systems of government, but they were vastly different in ideology and neither is anything like the liberal side of U.S. politics.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Yes, and he admitted it in his book The Demon-Haunted World, where he used his mistake as an example of science correcting itself.
What, please, is your point?
May 17th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
“And jiminy cricket, this blog post is not about Obama. It’s about McCain. I can choose to write about Obama or not (and I have and I will). The point here is that Obama can clearly not share beliefs with his pastor and get lambasted in the media, yet with McCain there is silence when he seeks out the support of someone who wants to end all life on Earth.”
As I said before, the “liberal media” are an outdated myth.
May 19th, 2008 at 4:59 am
And there I was, thinking Damn it! With Georgey boy out of the picture, how boring it’s going to be with McCain in the White House…but this post has given me hope….bring on the black cats, ladders, broken paving stones, broken mirrors, odd socks, spilt salt, spiders and other assorted omens…. this could be the best fun we’ve had with a president in years!!!
May 19th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Everyone has their own bizarre beliefs. I know of one well known blogger that believes LOLCats and use of the word “embiggen” is funny. Go figure!
May 19th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
He’s right about one thing, don’t walk under ladders, unless you are wearing a hard-hat. DAMHIKT.
May 25th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Another respondent, Mark, wrote above:
“I’ve watched complete 45-min sermons by Wright. The full sermons are actually *more* America-hating than the commonly quoted clips.”
Perhaps Mark could clarify what he means by “America hating”.
I find compelling similarities behind how American patriots react to criticisms of policies of US politicians, and how some parents react to criticisms of their children’s misdemeanors.
Some parents initially dismiss or discount any reports their kids broke a window, stole a chocolate bar. Other parents, who love their kids at least as much, accept that kids have to learn a sense of morals, and that many kids commit transgressions on their way to doing so.
I’d rather have as a neighbor the parent who can consider the possibility their kid committed a transgression than the parent who practiced total denial. I would rather have the parent who makes the kid return the chocolate bar as a neighbor.
I know some of those parents who practice public denial tell themselves they will get to the bottom of the accusation — in private. I know some of those denying parents never get around to getting to the bottom — while others administer private cruel and unusual punishments.
Whose kid is more likely to grow up to have a realistic, dependable, moral sense?
And, so far as I concerned, the American patriots who are able to consider criticisms of American policies on their merits, are much more likely to actually help fix problems than those who practice total denial.
How many of Wright’s criticisms hold merit? I dunno. But I do know that the USA has a serious case of boosterism and complacency.
Regarding the similarities and differences between Obama’s relationship with Wright and McCain’s relationship with Hagee…
There are multiple reasons someone joins and stays in a LOCAL CHURCH. Trust in the judgement of one’s pastor is one reason. Appreciation for the church’s local charitable projects would play a part. One’s relationship with fellow parishioners has to play a part — as would the relationship of one’s spouse and children with fellow parishioners.
McCain did not seek out Hagee’s endorsement because of his parish’s charitable efforts, or because of the personal relationships he or his family had with Hagee’s parishioners.
Regarding McCain’s superstitiousness, and the Reagan’s faith in Astrology. It is scary when Life imitates Art. When I was a kid I read a Science Fiction story by Robert Heinlein, where the President’s wife let her astrologist’s advice guide her maneuvering of her husband the President. It was one point that strained my willing suspension of disbelief. As a young person I never thought a US President would let Astrology guide his decisions. I was shocked — remain shocked — that this actually happened in the Reagan White House.
June 12th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
[...] zu Hause vergessen hat? Bad Astronomy – Obama’s superstitious, too [↩]Bad Astronomy – McCain’s bizarre beliefs [↩] « Spiele töten… Dieser Eintrag wurde von Benjamin B. verfasst, in [...]
June 13th, 2008 at 8:00 am
[...] Julia reminded me about the extreme superstitions of US presidential candidate McCain and, to a much lesser extent or maybe not at all, [...]