Dispatches from the Creation Wars

You’re gonna love this. STACLU has a new mindless twit posting under the name bullldozetheaclu. Take a look at his first post (at least I assume it is, I’ve never seen the byline before):

I found a NEW way to

PROTEST THE LEFT!!

Number one… what do commies hate most of all? The Bible, God’s Word!
So join me in sending

NEW TESTAMENTS to Iran…

On top of that, in doing so you will be protesting against the Radical Left here in America, who embrace terrorists as freedom fighters, who refer to Islam as the “religion of peace”, and make a practice out of persecuting Christians here in America by attacking the very essence of our Christian faith and heritage.

Gotta love that overly simplistic 3rd grade-level thinking. Anyone who disagrees with you is a “commie” who hates God and loves terrorists. Like any of us could possibly care any less that he’s spending his money to send new testaments to Iran. I’m more than happy to see him waste his money on that or any other pointless project.

Comments

#1 Matthew
September 17, 2006

Hah, Here’s betting this idiot can’t figure out how to send bibles to Iran, or who to send them to. Luckily our fellow travellers in the postal business will intercept them and ritually sacrifice them to VI Lenin; that way no one in the Iran will learn The Truth™ and they’ll continue doing the good work freedom fighting.
#2 Roger
September 17, 2006

I’d hope that bulldozetheaclu would take some time to read a few sections of the New Testament, e.g. Jesus’ descriptions of the religious leaders as whitewashed burial places or hypocrites, of a reverence for the truth, and more. I’m a Christian, gay, raised by a feminist mother and a father who regretted not taking part in the Civil Rights movement because the congregation he served didn’t give him the leave of absence that he requested. But I suppose in the eyes of bulldozetheaclu my parents and I are godless. Never mind the congregations that grew in numbers when my parents were alive or the people who mention my parents as an inspiration to their faith, a feminist and a civil rights supporter have to be godless.
#3 mark
September 17, 2006

That should do almost as much for world peace as gathering together a bunch of yogis for a mass levitation. Has anybody from that site graduated high school yet?
#4 David Mazel
September 17, 2006

I found a NEW way to
PROTEST THE RIGHT!!

Join me in sending

COPIES OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION to Washington, D.C.!!

Sheesh. Last time I heard anyone in this country seriously describe a terrorist as a freedom fighter, it wasn’t a leftist–it was a Reagan supporter talking about the Taliban.
#5 swivel-chair
September 17, 2006

who refer to Islam as the “religion of peace”

Wasn’t that George W. Bush?
#6 College Progressive
September 17, 2006

Swivel-chair, yes, yes it was.

“Islam is Peace” Says President Bush
#7 Ed Brayton
September 17, 2006

There’s a great story in James Randi’s book Faith Healers about Peter Popoff, the evangelist who was disgraced because Randi exposed his fakery on national TV. Popoff is back on the air now and raking in the money of fools once again. Anyway, back in the 80s he had this brilliant idea of getting Bibles into the Soviet Union by attaching them to helium-filled balloons and letting the winds (and the Holy Spirit, of course) guide them into the right hands. He launched a big fundraising campaign, out of which he pocketed almost all the money of course. And it turns out the whole thing was a failure.
#8 Tracy P. Hamilton
September 17, 2006

Didn’t we already send Bilbes to Iran in the Iran-Contra scandal?
#9 Tracy P. Hamilton
September 17, 2006

Didn’t we already send Bibles to Iran in the Iran-Contra scandal?
#10 NonyNony
September 17, 2006

I hope he purchases Farsi editions of the Bible for his little project, since I doubt that the masses in Iran can read the New Testament in it’s original 17th Century English King James version the way that God intended it.

I applaud him on his attempt to do this, though. Might I suggest he look for some of the Christian Churches in Iran to send his Bibles to? Just because Christians are persecuted in Iran doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.
#11 Matthew
September 17, 2006

Tracy, I think you might be confusing bibles with anti-tank missiles. It’s an easy mistake to make, as both are used to blow stuff up.
#12 Steven
September 17, 2006

David,

The Cato Institute already sends copies of the U.S. Constitution to Washington, D.C. It doesn’t seem to be doing much good.
#13 MisterDNA
September 17, 2006

The ACLU could make a good fundraiser out of this – for every Bible that bulldozetheaclu sends to Iran, someone can pledge a $100 donation to the ACLU…
#14 MisterDNA
September 17, 2006

The ACLU could make a good fundraiser out of this – for every Bible that bulldozetheaclu sends to Iran, someone can pledge a $100 donation to the ACLU…
#15 kehrsam
September 17, 2006

Tracy, that was a cake decorated to look like a Bible. I don’t know if eating such a thing is kosher, however; in Ezekiel, when he eats the scroll of God it isn’t a pleasant experience.

Seriously, how can every single poster on the site have skipped taking an Intro to Logic course? They recycle the same non sequiturs, the same assumptions, the same… everything. Actually why bother with new posts at all? I don’t get it. Is it THAT important to keep Ed entertained?
#16 SkookumPlanet
September 17, 2006

Steven
I thought the Cato Institute is in Washington, D.C. Must be an autodidactic project.
#17 David Mazel
September 17, 2006

Steven, maybe the Cato Institute should send the “books on tape” version.
#18 Steven
September 17, 2006

OK – The Cato Institute sends their pocket version of the U.S. Constitution from their office in Washington, D.C. to each member of congress in Washington, D.C.

They could send a tutor with each “book on tape” version and it probably wouldn’t do any good.
#19 Tyler DiPietro
September 17, 2006

Sheesh. Last time I heard anyone in this country seriously describe a terrorist as a freedom fighter, it wasn’t a leftist–it was a Reagan supporter talking about the Taliban.

Close. Clinton and his supporters referred to the KLA during the Kosovo air-campaign as such.

Still, I wouldn’t call Clinton a “leftist”. He was actually quite right-leaning for a Democrat.
#20 Diddy
September 17, 2006

This has got to be a parody. Its to ridiculous.
#21 Diddy
September 17, 2006

damn…”too ridiculous”
#22 MikeQ
September 17, 2006

“Gotta love that overly simplistic 3rd grade-level thinking.”

That’s unfair to third graders.
#23 SkookumPlanet
September 18, 2006

Steven
Didn’t mean to target you, but the vapid political theater by Cato. Perhaps they should send copies of the U.S. Constitution to the citizens of the U.S. as that’s where the root problem is.

A year or so ago I was in the local fed building and in the large entry foyer [it's about a 15-story building] was a full-size replica of the hand-written Constitution. Pretty impressive.
#24 Steven
September 18, 2006

SkookumPlanet,

No offense taken. But I have to ask: How would you suggest that Cato change its approach?
#25 TikiHead
September 18, 2006

I wish he was convinced that the Left would be really pissed if he bought me a new car.
#26 SkookumPlanet
September 18, 2006

Just that it’s a cliche to rag on Congress. We can be fairly certain most of them are familiar with the Constitution. It would be interesting to see some stats on the American public’s knowledge of the Constitution. They wouldn’t be pretty.

Sending a copy of it to every adult American would not only make more sense [afterall, they are the electors], but would make a bigger splash as political theatre and mass communication. And it might actually educate a significant number of people.

Another, less kind way to put it, is sending them to Congress is a cheap shot. I only meant to say the creativity quotient of the move is low.
#27 Steven
September 18, 2006

SkookumPlanet,

I agree that stats on the American public’s knowledge of the Constitution would not be pretty. It appears to me that most Americans see the purpose of our government not as a protector of our freedom, but as a way to get others to pay for things they want. And the politicians lap it up.

Sending a copy of the Constitution to every adult American would be an extremely expensive proposition. What organization could afford that? And I have serious doubts that just sending it out would actually educate a significant number of people. I bet most copies would eventually end up in the garbage.
#28 Steven
September 18, 2006

SkookumPlanet,

I agree that stats on the American public’s knowledge of the Constitution would not be pretty. It appears to me that most Americans see the purpose of our government not as a protector of our freedom, but as a way to get others to pay for things they want. And the politicians lap it up.

Sending a copy of the Constitution to every adult American would be an extremely expensive proposition. What organization could afford that? And I have serious doubts that just sending it out would actually educate a significant number of people. I bet most copies would eventually end up in the garbage.
#29 kehrsam
September 18, 2006

As it happens, during the bicentennial celebration of the Constitution there was an organization set up to publicize things, chaired by former Chief Justice Warren Burger. As I recall, it was sponsored by tobacco companies.

The goal was to send a “pocket Constitution” to every US schoolchild that year. I went to several of the promotional events, and still have my copy around somewhere. I imagine students paid no attention whatsoever.
#30 SkookumPlanet
September 19, 2006

Steven
My original post was mostly an attempt at humor. I thought about the cost, which would be humongous. But Cato could get the same, probably more, mileage by organizing and leading a coalition of groups joined to raise the money. Played right, it could be raised and it could be managed into very high exposure for Cato.

Would such a project do any good. Not much. I’m with you on that. My original impulse was simply that this seemed a facile and cynical gesture on Cato’s part — we live in a democracy and ultimately the American people bear the responsibility for the people they either actively or passively elect to office.

We’ve gone through a couple decades of voters putting all sorts of “fixes” into the system, like term limits, to make politicians behave and surprise, surprise. This approach is, at the very least, a vote of no-confidence in the founding fathers. And, at least in California, some large percentage of these initiatives are primarily used as vehicles for gaining political market share or votes for candidates. Defense of Marriage Act. Inexcusable. Unsupportable. The think tanks, of all persuasions, should be howling bloody murder. But it’s all power, power, power.

I don’t know of any statewide or larger grassroots push to actually get more voters paying attention to their civic responsibilities. Seems like there’s always someone or something else that’s the problem.
#31 SkookumPlanet
September 19, 2006

I mean the proposed Consitutional amendment about gay marriage, whatever it’s called.