centre of the universe - the dreaming

I know. It's hard to believe that right-wingers could be involved in something as clearly steeped in socialism as conspiracy theories, but there is evidence that this is precisely what could be happening. While those on the right of the political/philosophical spectrum seem to take great glee in dismissing everything a left-wing-nut might say as "madness" and "fear-mongering", I noticed something today. I was driving to work, and there was a discussion on the radio about the climate change conferences taking place in Copenhagen. The discussion began with a guest on the program claiming that Canada is entering in to these conferences with a Black Spot on our reputation. We are considered to be, as it were, stodgy climate-change deniers with our heads fully planted in the [oil] sands. This guest indicated that there is at least one group of environmentalists at Copenhagen who are pushing for Canada to sign a treaty that would bind us to reducing our emissions to 40% below 1990 standards.

I'm not going to comment much on that, because I'm pretty sure it's not going to be taken seriously by anybody, either in the 'for' column or in the 'agin' column. But here is what I do want to say:

This is the running theory coming out of the right, near as I can tell:
There is no such thing as "Global Warming". Even though "scientists" have declared this decade the warmest on record since records began being ...erm... recorded in the 1850s, there is no such thing as Global Warming. It is natural for the earth's atmosphere to warm up and to cool down, and there is no solid evidence that supports the claim that anthropomorphic climate change is a real issue (climate change caused by people, what). There is, however, evidence that scientists colluded to keep certain information out of the hands of the drooling masses. This evidence is called "climategate" and it is proof that left-thinking scientists worked together to create of their scientific studies a kind of propaganda.

Not only that, but all these environmental groups are working together to undermine the GLOBAL ECONOMY and, in fact, Copenhagen isn't *actually* a series of conferences having to do with climate change at all, but is in fact a secret socialist agenda to DESTROY WESTERN CAPITALIST ECONOMIES and pull the fleece over the eyes of the common man when what they're really up to is GLOBAL REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. Environmentalists and scientists and socialists all working together are spreading the lie that humans have any effect whatsoever on the health of the planet and the atmosphere. In fact, if it weren't for one or two rational voices here and there from the right wing, all you idiots out there would just blindly believe whatever they tell you because you can't be bothered to think for yourselves. You want sound bites and science-*sounding* information, but you wouldn't be able to understand the REAL issues and evidence, so it's just being kept from you by a conspiracy of former communists who worked in Russia and East Germany.

When the Berlin Wall came down, those people - those Russians and communist Germans - were out of their jobs, which were to quietly but steadfastly destroy the capitalist economy of the west and to institute a socialist [note: this is the conspiracy, here - we all know that socialism and communism are not the same thing at all] agenda world-wide. When they lost their jobs, they attached themselves to environmentalist organisations because this was an easy stopping place for them to blend their anti-freedom ideas of wealth redistribution with well-distributed vocal protesters around the world.

So, in essence, climate change is a myth created by former cold-war communist anti-capitalist bureaucrats working with socialist dissenters who are using the environment as a front for their continued efforts to break the world's economy.

Sounds like a conspiracy theory to me.

Labels: conspiracy theories, Politics

I just got a call from the socialist political party I support. It turns out they're beating the bushes and digging in the couch cushions to try to find financial support for their upcoming election drive. The very nice young woman who called me warned me that the opposing party (which is doing a pretty okay job of running the province, if you ask me, which you haven't done, but I'm telling you anyway) starting to fundraise for their party already (DANGER! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER! UPCOMING ELECTION!). I would have been *far more frightened* had she been able to pronounce the leader of the provincial opposition's name.

I have been a philosophical supporter of the provincial socialist party (otherwise known as the New Democratic Party) for as long as I can remember. I'm talking five, six years old. My indoctrination took place early, often, and was fairly comprehensive. And it's the good kind of indoctrination, and I'm not going to debate politicial ideals in this post. It was only natural last year when I actually purchased a membership and became an actual card-carrying socialist (I've carried cards stating as much before, but they've been mostly handmade, laminated with mactac, and coloured in in highlighter and magic marker). I took out a membership during the NDP leadership race.

I did not cast my vote for the man who is now leading the party.

So this nice woman stumbled through his name, which was kind of cute because I don't like the guy, and then she asked me for my support for the provincial party in the upcoming election campaign. I told her, "you know, I have absolutely no problem providing financial support for my provincial party, and I have absolutely no problem providing support for candidates running in my riding. But I will not...I WILL not support Dwain Lingenfelter. I will not give you support to run him as the party leader. I do not support him as party leader. I'm actually considering not supporting the party at all while he is leader. I firmly believe he will drive this party into the ground. He is an ass, and a political opportunist. Worse yet, he is inconsistent and would most likely deny being a political opportunist. I feel that any money I give to this campaign, with him leading the party, will be throwing good money after bad, or bad money after good, or however that expression goes, I'll be wasting my money and my effort. Should Dwain Lingenfelter be hit by a meteorite, and I'm not saying I want him to be, but should he become a victim of the fell chance of circumstance, as William Ernest Henley would say, I would donate craploads of money, and my volunteer time, to the party. But I cannot support you with him in the lead. My apologies."

"Oh, um...ohhh..." I can tell she's looking at a sheet and checking if my option is on her list. "...uhhh....would you like me to arrange a time to call you back, or would you like me to give you a number for you to call at a later time?"

And I thought, this...**this** is one of the reasons I support the provincial socialist party. It's the unbridled and slightly mad optimism. I asked her for her callback number, and told her I would think about it. Had she been on the ball, she would have told me all the reasons I should support the *party* even if I don't support the *leader*. That would have been a good thing for her to say. Because then I would have said "Normally, I would agree with you. However, I believe that if I supported the party, that should the party win, it would mean Dwain Lingenfelter would be leader of the province, and that, Miss, that would make me personally at least partially responsible for the downfall of the provincial government. Because I believe Dwain Lingenfelter would run this province into the ground. Possibly even further. Possibly he would run this province **all the way to CHINA**."

But she didn't ask, and I didn't say that. If she'd asked, I'd have said it, though.

Yet another reason, SWCoyote, I would not do well in politics. I don't think I'd be good putting my support behind someone duly elected to lead if I thought they were bad for the people.

Labels: Bad Mojo, Politics

That was a bit of a joke, there, in the title. For church nerds.

The Roman Catholic church has made an overture and invitation to 'conservative' Anglicans (read: the more 'orthodox' Anglo-Catholics) to join the Roman Catholic church. Those people who have serious concerns about the Anglican Church's position to ordain women as priests and bishops, to ordain homosexuals as priests and bishops, and to accept (and in some cases, to bless) "same-sex unions".

The Anglican Church's official position on this is that the Anglican Church "approves" of the move. Individual Anglicans have always been "allowed" to convert to Roman Catholicism...but this is a welcoming of all kinds of stuff, except homosexuals, homosexual unions, and the ordination as priests and bishops of women. What I find interesting is that the RC Church is agreeing to ordain Anglican priests as RC priests, even if they're married. I find *that* interesting. Very interesting.

The Eastern Rite churches still in full communion with Rome have married priests...priestly celibacy is an ongoing discussion in the RC church (spurred on, I suspect, by the fact that fewer and fewer people want to be priests if it means they must be celibate and/or cannot get married). I guess I'm a little peevish because the RC church is offering to "ordain Anglican ministers". That pisses me off, actually. The Anglican church has Apostolic Succession, which means that Anglican priests and bishops are ordained by bishops and archbishops who have been ordained by a succession of bishops who can trace their apostolic lineage right back to the original apostles. So first of all, according to ME, there is no NEED to do so.

Of course, the RC church doesn't recognise the Anglican church as being in any sort of communion, since the splitting of the factions, first in the eleventh century, then in the seventeenth century when Old Hank got pissy with the Pope in Rome. Sure, Anglicans don't believe that the Archbishop of Canterbury (the canonical leader of the Anglican church) has a red phone line to God, but there are differences that run a lot deeper.

I think it's wonderful that the Roman Catholic church is making this overture, for those people who feel their very souls are in danger because of the Anglican Church's willingness (and eagerness, in some cases) to ordain women as priests and bishops, and to ordain gay folk as priests and bishops, and, in some cases, to bless "same-sex unions".

Ultimately, who benefits from this invitation? Well, the Roman Catholic church gets more priests. Disaffected Anglicans who demand less tolerance and more divisiveness, I guess.

Look, I have no problem with Anglicans wanting to move over to a more conservative form of worship. I'm firmly ensconced in the "High Church" on the more 'orthodox' side of the Anglican couch myself. What bothers me about this move is that it seems like the nasty old uncle with pockets full of pre-licked hard candies covered in cat hair and bits of fluff opening up the door to his musty old bachelor suite for his much younger nieces and nephews. Not in a kind of cool way like in The Magician's Nephew, either. This old codger gets his nieces and nephews in the house, tells them to sit nicely on the ancient settee, and then proceeds to get the nephews to fix up all the baseboards and wiring that's gone wonky, while the nieces prepare to remain in a perpetual state either of virginity or of pregnancy. There's a certain patronising patting of the head done on the part of the old Uncle that really picks my panties.

Regardless of what you think of religion in general, or of Christianity in general, this is an interesting move, politically speaking.

Labels: Bad Mojo, Politics, religion