IP for 4.29.10: Celebrate Pantheism

The environmentalist in me likes to stretch out Earth Day celebrations for a whole week. So, in honor of Earth Week, here’s some great articles about the environmental movement, the coming (no, really!) environmental catastrophes, and why hunters are the true conservationists. Thanks for being so enduring, Earth!

This Earth Day, Thank a Hunter by Humberto Fontova

“To date, hunters and fishermen have shelled out over $20 billion ‘on behalf of the environment.’”

Apocalypse Soon by Mark Steyn

“The ‘markets first’ approach was notable by its absence in, say, Eastern Europe, where government regulation of every single aspect of life resulted in environmental devastation beyond the wildest fantasies of the sinister Bush-Cheney-Enron axis of excess.”

Earth Day Turns 40 by Roy Spencer

“In fact, almost all forms of life on Earth feed off of other forms of life. What we consider to be pristine nature is in reality a battleground between different forms of life that are all competing for the same natural resources — if not each others’ heads.”

Earth Day: 40 years of imminent catastrophe by Laura E. Huggins

“Four decades later, the world hasn't come to an end. Most measures of human welfare show the Earth's population is better off today than at any other time in human history. Life expectancy is increasing, per-capita income is rising, and the air we breathe and the water we drink are cleaner.”

Happy Pantheism Day!

Weather.com posted a list of “50 Green Tips for Earth Day and Beyond” on their site today in honor of Earth Day #40. It’s more like a list of penances enviro-pantheists can perform to cleanse their soul of carbon-footprint transgressions. If the contemporary environmental movement isn’t a religion, then I don’t know what is. Here are some highlights:

15. At holidays and birthdays, give your family and friends the gift of saving the earth. Donate to their favorite environmental group, foundation, or organization.

27. Teach kids about the environment.

39. Go zero! Log on to the Conservation Fund's Carbon Zero Calculator (www.conservationfund.org) and in less than five minutes, you can measure and then offset your carbon dioxide emissions by planting trees.

44. Build a greener home.

49. Plant a forest and feed a family while you're at it.

This, as you can see, is a works-based religion. There’s no saving grace here. You’re not only saving yourself – via carbon offsets or cloth diapers or eating your dog – you’re also saving the divine (the earth) from eternal damnation.

One has to wonder, as Roy Spencer does, if Earth Day is “being used to teach our children the way the natural world works, or is it being used to indoctrinate them into performing rituals that will help absolve them of their eco-sins?”

Oh, and these gods of earth, wind and water are hard to appease.

Allah is an Icelandic Volcano

I once heard Hendrik Hertzberg say with all seriousness that the God of the Bible/Judeo-Christian worldview is a “Saddam Hussein in the sky,” arbitrarily doling out oppression, pain and suffering on the earth below.

If this is the case, then Allah, god of Islam, is an Icelandic volcano blowing its top.

Said senior Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi yesterday, “Many women who do not dress modestly . . . lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes.”

This is only slightly-less insane than Danny Glover’s explanation for earthquakes: Gaia. See his analysis below. Personally, I think he’s just getting too old for this s***.

“What happened in Haiti could happen to anywhere in the Caribbean because all these island nations are in peril because of global warming. When we see what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happens, you know what I'm sayin'?”

Yes, I know what you are saying.

In other news, Pat Robertsons' dog has died from what appears to be a pact made with Kibbles 'N Bits. Official autopsy results have yet to be released or confirmed.

FoCo Tea Party

Sights from yesterday's Tea Party at Washington Park in Old Town.

There was some pretty good signage going on. I was particularly fond of mine, which read, "Independence Day: July 4, 1776. Declaration of Independence signed by 2nd Continental Congress" on one side, and, "Dependence Day: March 23, 2010. Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama" on the other. Pretty sweet.

There was a decent crowd, what I thought was around 700 or so. But the Coloradoan reported it was 1,500. It mighta just been me, but it seemed to lack the energy and urgency that last year's party had. The speakers were unimpressive and the whole thing just seemed a little flat. Dunno. Maybe a more detailed post coming.

Anyway, enjoy the pics.

Intertextual Paralogues for 4.14.10

New “series” here at Notes. Each week (theoretically), a list of similarly-themed “must read” articles will be posted with the goal of connecting the ideas/thoughts from the separate articles in such a way to increase understanding of the world, as well as generate conversations and dialogues about content of said articles. Hooray for big words.

Today: postmdoernism’s intersection with the American Presidency + postmodernism/social science’s influence on big-L liberalism. Happy reading.

A Postmodern Presidency by Victor Davis Hanson

“So what Obama has done is ‘contextualized’ the world, and ‘located,’ as it were, the seemingly hostile anti-American rhetoric of ‘enemies’ into a proper race/class/gender narrative.”

The Descent of Liberalism by Michael Knox Beran

“Liberalism today has lost this equipoise; the progress of the social imagination, with its faith in the power of social science to improve people’s lives, has forced liberals to relinquish the principles and even the language of the classical conception of liberty.”

And Now for Something Completely Different…

I’ve been away since mid January – adjusting to/figuring out new promotion and time commitments at work, paying taxes (let’s just say Linds and I won’t be getting a refund), paying off student loans (“WE’RE DEBT FREE!!!!” phone call coming to Dave Ramsey very soon), and watching way too much college basketball.

Going two-and-a-half months without a post is just not acceptable, so I’m here to say that the blog posting shall commence anew, like the buds and flowers of spring…or something like that. Anyway, enjoy the new posts. See you in the comments section.