More on religious pluralism, media figures...

Cartoons like this week's sometimes end up as writing disasters for me (although this one turned out OK). I start out with good intentions, with the goal of making an argument on a substantive subject like religious pluralism in our society, but inevitably I get into the realm of media figures who make it their objective to eliminate pluralism. It's all downhill from there, as I find myself slogging through various quotes and yammerings by the Glenn Becks and Bill O'Reillys and James Dobsons of the world, in an effort to make the language coincide with the particular caricature. Eventually, my original point gets lost. I think it's just the nature of certain formats that lead to this result sometimes...

On the other hand, I believe I have made a discovery: the "mental pressure point" to induce vomiting. The other day, I learned a pressure point on the lower forearm that prevents vomiting, sneezing, coughing, etc... now I've discovered its opposite! So, if you want to barf, either chug 10 shots of Jagermeister, or read these:

• Extensive coverage of the War on Christmas, including Simon Maloy blowing the cover off our collective, double-secret, secular-progressive agenda, and Media Matters on Bill O'Reilly's exposing of "the worst kind of fascism you could possibly have."


• Alexander Zaitchik on the "distressing" discovery by the leaders of the religious right that less than 10% of born-again Christians actually have a good understanding of what the Bible says. Yeah... shocking. Included are a number of classic quotes by James Dobson, aka "The Truth":
  

  "Only by understanding the immutable truth claims of Christ," says Dobson in The Truth Project's promotional video, can Christians successfully defend against the "postmodern worldview" in which "God does not exist," "the family is defined as any circle of love," and "homosexuality is the moral equivalent of heterosexuality."
  
  "If we capture and embrace more of God's worldview and trust it with unwavering faith," says Dobson, "then we begin to ... form the appropriate responses to questions on abortion, same-sex marriage, cloning, stem-cell research and even media choices." But the real prize is bigger than any one issue. By fully embracing Truth, religious conservatives can "recapture Western Civilization," which they "invented but have lost."

  Of course, in reality, Dobson could care less whether people read the Bible or not, as long as they buy into him being one of the ultimate authorities of what the Bible really says. It's a means of control... nothing else.


• An action alert from FAIR on Glenn Beck's comment to newly elected U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress: "Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies." We also learn that Beck really likes the scene in The Siege where Muslims are herded into stadiums and put behind razor-wire... maybe a little too much, if you get my drift.


• George Johnson, on the suggestion by some that "science needs to take on an evangelical role, vying with religion as teller of the greatest story ever told"... in effect creating a religion of science.
  
  I'm not sure that surrendering the moral high-ground is necessarily the right way to go here, guys.


• A CBS News report on the inside story of David Kuo, Bush's former head of Faith-Based Initiatives.


• Paul Krugman on John McCain's kowtow-ing to Jerry Falwell.
  
  The more I read about McCain, the more nervous he makes me...

Oh, yeah... and the article saying that scientists have determined Neanderthals were indeed cannibals.