Category Archives: Humor and Satire

In God We Strut

Humor and Satire, Iraq War

One of the major casualties of war is the opportunistic rise of God-talk. Before the American Civil War preachers north and south saw their political differences along religious lines. Slaveholding advocates below the Mason-Dixon line viewed blacks as the cursed children of Ham, forever branded to be servants to the Japhethetic spiritual (and plantation-owning) heirs of Noah and Abraham. Liberal abolitionists up north proposed the novel idea that Uncle Tom was the kind of man Jesus died for and who a nation should go to war over. World War I America road the crest of a revivalist movement leading to the current evangelical wing of conservative Protestantism and “death to Darwinism” bannerism. After World War II the pulpit not only was bullied to save wayward sinners but warned of the immanent takeover of America by godless Commies. Now we have the debacle in Iraq in which President Bush entered the fray on the apparent advice from a heavenly father (certainly not the logical assessment of Pentagon planners). Look out God, here come the self-righteous mantra bearers once again. Continue reading In God We Strut →

Football and Mouth Disease

Arab-Israeli Conflict, Humor and Satire

Is the fan base for the World Cup half full of it or half witted? Not unlike the competitive spirit of the Olympic Games, nationalistic fervor tends to run rampant every four years in pursuit of the top position in world football. This is not to be confused with the helmet and padding show that Americans tolerate between beer commercials, although some of us may be forgiven for comparing the two when American Budweiser reigns as the official beer of the World Cup.

In the games so far Middle Eastern countries have not fared well. None are expected to move along to the next stage. Ironically, this puts Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Iran on an equal footing with the United States, whose chances of moving on hinge upon an unlikely scenario with Team USA having to beat Ghana. Continue reading Football and Mouth Disease →

Addicted to Oil: President Tells it Like it Is

Humor and Satire, Iraq War, Taliban

President Bush delivered a highly scripted and hyperbolically enriched “State of the Union” address last night. The time has long since passed when Presidents actually had the writing skills to prepare their own speeches so in a sense the speech is no more copywritable to George W. Bush than the White House is his White castle. The reaction flooding the airwaves and bloggy-eyed net this morning is, if I may go out on a limb here, partisan as usual. Historians of American history might wince at the opening salvo that “Yet the state of our Union has never been stronger,” but this line probably netted a few amens from executives of Exxon, whose 32 billion dollar profit last year was the most in history. Continue reading Addicted to Oil: President Tells it Like it Is →