11:17 pm CST
What Would Jesus Do?

April 19-20. We get a bit skittish this time of year—not only because the stalwart ADL/FBI warns us to be especially vigilant for “extremist” activity in mid-April, but because we have noticed that historically this time is a turning point when violent events propel us into another phase. It is, of course, true that the same could be said of other dates—November 22, December 7, September 11, to name a few—but none with the disturbing frequency of the middle of April. On the 19th: Concord, Warsaw, Waco, Oklahoma City. On the 20th: Columbine and Adolf Hitler’s birthday. Also, throughout April: Ruby Ridge.

It is 8:51 CDT, April 19, as I write this, and so far there has been no horrific event. But, given that we (in the US) are only a few hours away from Hitler’s birthday and that the major headline tonight is the election of the first bona-fide Nazi as Pope, I wonder: Dare we read some prescient significance into this turn of events (or, at the very least, dare we suppose that the New World Order is playing the numbers today, so to speak, and having some occult fun at the expense of us humans)?

As I am neither Catholic nor Masonic, but only human, I do not know.

But I do know that the new Pope Benedict XVI will not find it easy claiming sainthood one day. For, unlike Pope John Paul II (now up for sainthood), whose sale of Zyklon-B to the Nazis for use in the death camps can at least (!) be balanced against his performance in anti-Nazi theatre in Poland, Benedict (alias one Joseph Ratzinger) will be hard pressed to give a satisfactory answer to the simple question, “What would Jesus do?”

Benedict claims he was “forced” to join the Hitler Youth. While it is true that by 1941 membership was compulsory, it is also true that many of Ratzinger’s fellow countrymen resisted. A neighbor of Ratzinger’s, Elizabeth Lohner, stated: “It was possible to resist, and those people set an example for others. The Ratzingers were young and had made a different choice.” Lohner knows whereof she speaks; her brother-in-law resisted the Nazis as a conscientious objector and as a result was sent to Dachau. (LINK )

But Ratzinger made a “different choice.” Rather than go to Dachau, where he surely would have suffered, he did the prudent thing and joined the Nazis; in their service, he set up tank traps and saw Jews herded to their deaths.

Now, had Ratzinger been a normal youth, we would not hold him accountable for this youthful indiscretion. But as pope, Ratzinger has (we are told) been anointed and appointed by God to lead All Christendom (and everyone else, whether they like it or not), and he also has been watched by God since the day before he was born. Therefore, he must be held to a higher standard than the rest of us, meaning: he must pass The Test—the only test that counts—and answer the Question, “What would Jesus do?”

That is, would Jesus join a militaristic, murderous cult (the Third Reich) to save his mortal hide? Or would he instead declare himself a conscientious objector and go to a concentration camp (Dachau)?

We already know the answer. Jesus chose Golgotha; therefore, he would have certainly taken his chances in Dachau rather than support the Nazi regime.

A pox upon the papacy and white smoke be damned …

2:46 pm CST


2:44 pm CST
Police State USA

US Marshals, local police stage nationwide mass arrests

County studying drug tests in schools

2:42 pm CST
The Beast System

Implanted Microchips Common as Cellphones within a Decade

Government Workers to Get Biometric IDs

2:32 pm CST
The Latest on Hunter S. Thompson:

Total Information Analysis of a recent radio interview with Rusty Nelson:

Dr. Hunter S. Thompson and the Franklin Frame-Up

8:32 pm CST
A Fascinating Video

Brian Springer: "Spin"

Using the 1992 presidential election as his springboard, documentary filmmaker Brian Springer captures the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of politicians and newscasters in the early 1990s. Pat Robertson banters about "homos," Al Gore learns how to avoid abortion questions, George Bush talks to Larry King about halcyon--all presuming they're off camera. Composed of 100% unauthorized satellite footage, Spin is a surreal expose of media-constructed reality.

LINK

7:46 pm CST
A Planned Pandemic?

April 1, 2005: President Bush signs an amendment to Executive Order 13295 stating that persons with certain strains of the flu are subject to federal quarantine.

April 13: "Labs around the world tracked and destroyed samples of the deadly flu strain, which has been included in a kit designed to test a lab's ability to identify viruses. The CDC was trying to determine why the deadly H2N2 flu virus was included in the first place."

AP News LINK

8:07 pm CST
My good friend Adam Gorightly has started a blog: Blogorightly. Check it out HERE

6:22 pm CST


(Image found on Niftyfifty Scifi via One Man Safari)

GORGO: In 1961, it was my Favorite Film of the Year. I was nine years old, living in Arlington, Texas; my father took me and my friend Roger to a theatre in Grand Prairie to see it. Roger and I were amazed by the film and later had many discussions trying to figure out how the special effects were done. We decided that Gorgo was some kind of giant, remote-controlled robot.

Later, I bought a Gorgo comic book, drawn by Steve Ditko, and, using the comic as reference, became an expert at drawing Gorgo.

In the summer, my parents (noticing my talent for drawing) enrolled me in an art class. It was held in a dance studio in downtown Arlington (this being when Arlington still had a traditional downtown, long before the interesting old buildings were demolished to make way for drive-through banks and parking lots). The dance studio was upstairs from a real estate office; it was a long, narrow room walled with full-length mirrors; attached to the mirrors were ballet barres. On the first day of art class, we sat at long tables in front of the mirrors and drew self portraits; after seeing my drawing, the teacher decided to place me in the Advanced class.

I was the youngest in class, a 9-year-old among teenagers and a scattering of adults, therefore felt quite out of place. Also, the artwork we did was not the kind I was accustomed to (monsters and goofy things out of my head), but landscapes, still lifes, and the human figure. (The bee-hived, blonde female model, by the way, was not nude, but wore a swimsuit.) Drawing, then, was more work than fun--something new to me. But I was not bored, and did not have a bad time--in fact, I had a good time, and actually learned a few things, not least of which was a measure of discipline. It was the only formal art training I ever received.

Halfway through the three-hour class session we would get a twenty-minute break. This was my favorite part; I would hurry down the sun-baked sidewalk to the corner drug store, gulp down a soda-fountain Coke, and thumb through the Mad, Sick, and Cracked magazines on the newsstand, gazing with fascination at the work of cartoonists such as Jack Davis and John Severin--artwork more to my liking than landscapes, etc.

At the end of the summer, an art show featuring all the students' work was held. We could draw anything we wanted for the show--it didn't have to be a landscape or still life--so I drew GORGO in garish pastels, blood dripping from the monster's teeth as it held a screaming man in its claws, ready to be eaten. I no longer have this drawing, but recall it was well done. I had, as I say, learned a few things in the class.

The piece was in such contrast to the others in the show--pretty landscapes, still lifes of flowers, paintings of puppy dogs, and the like--that it caused considerable amusement among the people who attended the show. These days such a violent drawing by a kid might cause a panic--might even get him arrested. “We're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world” …