[MD] Why the return to literal anti-intellectual religion

[Platt Holden]

Hi DMB, Ian, All:

In case anyone is curious about who Mark Crispin Miller is -- the guy 
quoted at length by DMB -- you might want to check out the following as 
I did. Especially look under "Endorsements."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Crispin_Miller

You'll see Mr. Miller signed the public statement by an outfit called 
"The World Can't Wait." Who are they? Another website provides the 
answer -- a front for the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). Check it 
out at:

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20051203143218921

Finally, if you want to know about the RCP, here's their site:

http://rwor.org/rcp-e.htm
 
So, at least we know, thanks to the Internet, who Miller is and where 
his political sympathies lie. One can draw his own conclusions about 
DMB. :-)

Platt

DMB wrote in a post to Ian:

> More broadly, out there in the American culture, the kind of care you
> call for is not practiced by the other side. I heard a lecture by Mark
> Crispin Miller a few days ago. He was talking about one of his latest
> books (FOOLED AGAIN: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They'll
> Steal the Next One Too) and along the way explained the motivation of
> the fundamentalist Republican base. He was trying to describe the
> ferocity of their motivation as a way to explain why they're apparently
> so willing to lie, cheat, steal and bribe their way to political power,
> despite the fact that they are self-described Christian. He said they're
> willing to work hard and break the rules because they don't just
> disagree with secularists. They don't think liberal intellectuals and
> humanists are merely wrong or ignorant, they're convinced that such
> people are Satanic, of the devil, opposed to God. Seriously, he said.
> The audience laughed nervously at that. At which point he went out of
> his way to say he was not kidding. He went on to explain, much like Sam
> Harris, that these people are actually looking forward to the end of the
> world. These are the people who control the party that controls all
> three branches of government. Think about it Ian. They control the
> largest military power in the history of the world and they hate you.
> They fantasize about the day that God cleasnes the earth of people like
> you and me. These people bomb gay bars and shoot abortion providers in
> the head. And you're worried about hurting their feelings? Where is your
> sense of proportion, man? Tolerance is a great cause, but tolerating
> intolerance does NOT serve the cause. You know?