It never ceases to amaze me at the number of absolutely absurd interpretations people who proclaim themselves to be religious to a fault make of passages that are in no way obtuse.

It is amazing how many of these people apparently believe that Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain wrote in the Bible, because I have heard on multiple occasions quotes from both gentlemen identified as coming from Proverbs.

I have come to the conclusion that most who claim to be “holier than thou,” tend to have brains that are holeyer than most.

Decades ago, I was an independent, but quickly found that in Texas, independent status is a ticket to political irrelevancy. Despite all conventional wisdom, the notion that we can (in the words of the slogan) “turn Texas blue” is not a complete fantasy. I may live to see it happen. Or not.

Children choose their parents, eh? I wonder if that fellow has noticed that such notions are not new, but are also not rightly… Christian? 😈

– Badtux the Snarky Penguin

I shrugged and said, “okay. But what about their children?”

He started out on a long spiel about how people should not have children unless they have plenty of money yada yada yada and I said, “okay, but they did have children. What do we do to make sure that the children are educated so they’ll be a net gain to the economy, rather than a net drag to the economy?”

“Well those children should have just made better choices.”

I stared at him. “What are you talking about? They didn’t ask to be born to poor parents.”

“Sure they did.”

“Excuse me? You say that these children chose their parents?”

“Of course.”

I just stared aghast. These people simply live in a different reality from what the rest of us live in, where the normal rules of human reproduction do not apply, and fetuses chose for themselves whose wombs to embed themselves in.

When I moved back to Louisiana in ’92, I re-registered as a Democrat. I’d been cured of Republicanism once and for all. They ought to be in a fuckin’ nuthouse, not running our nation. And the Harris County Republicans are the looniest of all. As far as I know that guy is still pretty much running the Harris County Republican Party, despite being loonier than Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd combined.

— Badtux the Former Republican Penguin

The two best ways to avoid being slimed are to incorporate or register with the GOP.

On a happier note, most of the feral kittens in my area are quite capable of having the people doing the sliming for lunch at about 8 weeks, although I not sure that the Cheeto dust would be good for them.

Here in Harris County, TX, the local GOP just went on record as opposing a state bond proposition funding cancer research… right in the middle of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and right in the middle of one of the nation’s most respected cancer research communities. Local Democrats are making political hay out of this one; the GOP may wish it had kept its mouth shut. Note this astonishing quote:

“By this stance, we in no way are implying or should it be construed that we are against solving cancer,” said Ron Brunner, precinct chairman for the Greenway Plaza area, who raised the motion.

Brunner says it’s “financial folly” for the state to borrow against taxpayer dollars to give out grants with no assurance of a return on investment.

“Loans get paid back, but grants are gone and lost forever,” he said.

Right… money spent on cancer research is lost forever. Sure. Except that cancer is a leading cause of death, and the progress made in Houston, TX alone in the past two decades enhancing the survivability of many kinds of cancer has repaid that money in increased longevity for many, many people, who probably don’t immediately think of their survival in political terms.

Sometimes, I wonder how these people get out of bed in the morning… and once they do, how they can bear to face themselves in the mirror.

—

Full disclosure: I’ve worked for at least three different cancer research institutions over the years. I’m not objective about this, and it’s not impossible I would benefit financially in the future from these bonds if I were to resume such work. Personally, I see such work as charity in the old sense of the term, not that I do it for free, but that it qualifies as good works, and is an expression of compassion. I suppose I’d feel differently if I were a Republican… it seems they can’t bear to see public moneys used for the public good, and they wouldn’t know their own political advantage if they met it walking out of the Petroleum Club.

It may be time to ask for proof of rabies vaccination.