inside the museums, infinity goes up on trial


1966

* Top ten conservative idiots. excerpt:

"6. Karen Hughes

"I don't know what Karen Hughes did to piss Bush off. Maybe she was too slow fetching his milk and cookies. Or perhaps she accidentally threw out his favorite Mad Magazine. Whatever it was, she surely couldn't have deserved the position she's in now: her new job as undersecretary of state is to try to repair American's tarnished image in the Middle East. Hmm. Good luck with that one.

"Hughes has certainly gotten off to a rocky start. Last week she was lambasted twice in two days - first in Saudi Arabia, then in Turkey - by women's groups who were opposed to America's Middle East policies. 'Angry,' 'ashamed,' 'wounded,' and 'insulted' were just a few of the choice words the women used to express their feelings. Hughes did her best to cheer them up, but I don't think saying that her 'friend President Bush' did all he could to avoid a war in Iraq was particularly succesful, as lines of bullshit go.

"Hughes also demonstrated her extensive knowledge of American history by informing an Egyptian opposition leader that 'our constitution cites 'one nation under God.'' Um, I'm not sure which constitution she's referring to because it certainly doesn't say that in the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps the Bushies have written a new one without telling us. What's that? They have? Oh.

"Of course it's possible that Karen Hughes was just following the Cavuto Doctrine. After all, I'm sure it's not possible to be a good American and a good undersecretary of state."

* Things found in books: ms. bookish finds a postcard written by hanif kureishi in a collection of his short stories she was reading. [via]

* does religion cause damage to societies? excerpt:

"Religious belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.

"According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems.

"The study counters the view of believers that religion is necessary to provide the moral and ethical foundations of a healthy society.

"It compares the social peformance of relatively secular countries, such as Britain, with the US, where the majority believes in a creator rather than the theory of evolution. Many conservative evangelicals in the US consider Darwinism to be a social evil, believing that it inspires atheism and amorality.

"Many liberal Christians and believers of other faiths hold that religious belief is socially beneficial, believing that it helps to lower rates of violent crime, murder, suicide, sexual promiscuity and abortion. The benefits of religious belief to a society have been described as its “spiritual capital”. But the study claims that the devotion of many in the US may actually contribute to its ills."

-- related

"Religion can never reform mankind because religion is slavery." --Robert Ingersoll

* two mountain goats songs were featured in last night's episode of weeds.