First there was the War on Christmas, and now, just when you thought we all were safe, The War on Christians rears its ugly head. Fear not, however, for Vision America, those brave martyrs and heroes, have vowed to fight until every last drop of atheist, Muslim and Pagan blood has seeped into our God-given American soil. Ok, maybe I exaggerate a bit.

These good people are committed to “Restoring the Original American Vision,” and have gathered together such intellectual luminaries as Gary Bauer, Phyllis Schlafly and Alan Keyes, as well as that bastion of Christian Ethics, Tom Delay to save us from the heretical scourge composed of the ACLU, Gays, and of course, Hollywood. Well, Hollywood with the exception of Mel Gibson and Kirk Cameron, of course.

Vision America was founded by Dr. Rick Scarborough, who Tom Delay claims as “one of [his] closest friends.” Well, gosh-darn and call the deacon Mildred, if that ain’t just a peachy recommendation, then I don’t know what is. Dr. Scarborough has a new book out, Liberalism Kills Kids which purports to expose a “cultural coup d’etat that has left our families gasping for air.

My favorite quote so far about this whole fiasco comes from Jeff Teidrich at The Smirking Chimp:

“Frankly, the Rapture can’t come soon enough for me. What a quieter place this world will be after The Big Jesus Hoover Vacuum sucks these people up into the sky.”

I want to think that humanity has some merits, but the evidence is fading fast. Not that history shows us any differently, but it’s still depressing. Brian Cloughley’s recent article on Counterpunch got me thinking about the way we give ourselves the ability to kill. The following quote exemplifies the attitude that disturbs me. “Battle Damage Assessment - nothing. Building’s gone. I got my kills, I’m coming down. I just love my job.” That’s Sgt. James Anyett of the 1st Infantry Division, U.S. Army, after blowing up a building with 5 Iraqi insurgents in it. This account is from…

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So, Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam was refused entry to the US today. Read about it here. Life in the greatest country on earth just keeps getting better and better. Apparently it is “hard to get by with just a smile.”

Read this article about Jessica Lynch.

The following is an excerpt from the 2003 State of the Union Address:

“Tonight I propose the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — a work of mercy
beyond all current international efforts to help the people of Africa. This
comprehensive plan will prevent 7 million new AIDS infections, treat at least 2
million people with life-extending drugs, and provide humane care for millions
of people suffering from AIDS, and for children orphaned by AIDS.

This nation can lead the world in sparing innocent people from a plague of
nature.”

And this is from Governor Bush’s response to questions from the AIDS Foundation of Chicago during his 2000 campaign:

“Conquering the HIV/AIDS epidemic will be a priority of a Bush White House.
Finding a cure, however, is not a goal that one person or even one country
can achieve alone. It is a monumental goal for the global community. With an
enemy as merciless as this disease, it will take all of our hearts, minds, and
strength to find a cure.”

Bush has used the AIDS epidemic buttress his claim to compassionate conservatism. The actions of his administration, however, seem more like conservative compassion, by which I mean:

Conservative, adj, a : tending or disposed to maintain existing views,
conditions, or institutions : TRADITIONAL b : marked by moderation or
caution.

Compassion, n, sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with
a desire to alleviate it

When it comes to the 30,000,000 people in sub-saharan Africa living with AIDS, including the 3,500,000 who contracted it last year (www.unaids.com), moderation, caution, and a tendency to keep the status quo are incompatible with compassion. Canada may be doing something about this, read this article from Alternatives to find out about the proposed legislation in Canada that would allow the production of generic AIDS medication for export to countries that need them.