I'd Like To Say I'm Shocked, But...

Today, I just read a report that made me happy and furious at the same time. Tony Alamo (real name Bernie Hoffman) was arrested during a raid on his compound. Looking into this a little deeper, I found this interesting nugget of reading. This was really quite an interesting article, really delving into just how big of a scumbag this "man of god" truly is. However, for me, there's nothing better than watching some religious fundamental whack-job get caught in a scandal. Don't get me wrong, I feel horrible for the victims, and I wish they all get the proper help and resources that are available for them to get through their ordeals. But I'm just talking about these so-called "men of god" constantly getting caught in the worst possible positions (no pun intended) and scandals.

I'm still amazed that these people can have so many followers and such a long career of lying, abusing, and subjugating people to do their will. All this because they're a decent speaker? Claim that they're a prophet sent from god helps a lot too I guess. It's absolutely beyond comprehension to realize that this guy has been around since the mid-70s!!! And in quite a few recent cases, these are groups headed by just 1 man. I won't even mention the Catholic Church. But this man has had thousands upon thousands of followers during his tenure as "prophet" or whatever. Not to mention the fact that throughout his glorious career as a "prophet", he's had troubles dealing from polygamy, tax-evasion, etc. This guy even spent about 6 years in prison before for tax-evasion, and had his "wives" constantly visiting them. Well, the SPLC article sums it all up far better than I can, but I'm so pissed off that these people actually manage to become powerful. Fucking Bill Clinton even visited one of his so-called businesses.

But back to my original rant. I have a theory, that people who are constantly preaching, or protesting about certain social-ills, usually the so-called "reformers", "family-values", and other nut-jobs (usually on the far-right) are just as bad, and in many cases worse than those they're constantly pounding the pulpit about. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for reform and family values type things, but I don't preach about it, and I certainly don't base my life/career on it either. But still, it always seems for example, that the most vocal opponents of gay-rights are more often than not caught in some sort of gay-sex scandal. Remember Larry "I Have A Wide Stance" Craig? Or the other preacher man who admitted having sex with a male prostitute and smoking meth? That as well as the myriad of other people whom I don't have the time to mention about here. I'm sure it happens on the far-left side of the spectrum as well, but ironically, one doesn't (at least myself) hear about it too much. I've never heard of too many stories about some guy fighting for equal rights for women getting caught beating his spouse, or paying his secretary less than her male counterpart. I'm not naive enough to believe that it never happens, but at least in my experience I haven't heard about it all that often for it to really register.

Anyway, that's my theory about these people. Or maybe I just don't care about anything enough to truly take a stand on a subject. I always feel like I'm caught in the middle of many things. Not all things of course, as I obviously have my opinions. I typically just choose to share them for those who care or would like to see them, but I certainly don't enforce them upon other people. That being said, I truly hope this guy gets absolutely fucked. The article that I listed here made me hate him quite badly. I still can't believe some of the things that he's done and said. My favorite is when according to CNN, he compared himself to Christ, saying: "Why were they after Jesus?" he asked. "It's the same reason. Jesus is living within me." What a whack-job.

Religious fundamentalists are truly a blight upon the world. Sometimes I understand why L. Ron Hubbard created his own religion. You get tax exemption status from the government, and power to boot!!! I wonder if he ever thought about having multiple child-wives as well, or did that go against the aliens that created the world's view???

Religion truly bring out the worst in me, as it brings out the worst in everybody.

*sigh* Is It Over Yet?

I know I'm not the only one who is sick to death of this circus freak show otherwise known as the "Race For The White House" or any of the other cute titles that it's been given. The truth of the matter is that it should be called "The Great Sham of 2008". Having said this, I can't get enough of it. I watch it and read about it like it's the greatest soap-opera in history. It's got everything...humor, villains, heroes, intricately weaved plots and sub-plots, but no sex scandals. Yet. I'm eagerly awaiting some juicy sex scandal that will rock one of the parties to the ground. Oh wait, maybe we can use the Republican VPs daughter's dilemma for that aspect. Ok, so it's got everything. The sad thing about this, is that it's not going to change a damn thing. It doesn't matter who wins this election. Nothing is going to get better, and certainly nothing is going to change. Maybe change for the worse, but even that's a stretch. No matter who wins this election, things will remain the same. The economy is going to continue to slump, and the foreign affairs will stay the same.

I am NOT for Obama, nor am I for McCain. I will vote however, because I can, but I will vote with no enthusiasm, and my usual pessimistic outlook on politics. I like politics for its entertainment value, but I do not believe that anything is going to get better in the U.S. Of course I hope I'm proven wrong, but I sincerely doubt it. I'm still amazed at the Americans' list of priorities when it comes to the candidates however. As well as their complete and total ignorance to the news surrounding these candidates as well. Agree or disagree, they both have their outlooks on the economy and plans to deal with it. They both have their views and beliefs on where the country should be going with foreign affairs. Two pretty solid topics that people can follow right? WRONG!!! It seems we Americans are far more concerned with how many houses/cars John McCain owns. Who gives a shit about Obama's plan that would theoretically give tax breaks to families earning less than $250,000 a year? HE DOESN'T WEAR A FLAG PIN!!!!! He has a pastor who had some quotes taken out of context!!! On the other side of the spectrum we know (because he never shuts up about it) that John McCain was a POW for a couple of years. WOW!!! That's certainly something to respect, but seeing as that (according to John) seems to be his major qualification for president. Hell, by that rationale, I could be Director of the FBI because I had my car broken into a couple of years ago.

On a personal side however, it's really kind of an interesting experience watching and reading the coverage while living safely out of the country. It gives me a lot of detachment with my personal emotions towards both candidates. Of course, I'm constantly being asked who do I support, and who I think will win. I always tell whoever asks me who I support, followed by a long diatribe explaining how it doesn't matter anyway who wins this election. If Obama wins, he'll more than likely be another Jimmy Carter, who yes is a great diplomat, but probably won't get much done in his office. He certainly won't be able to change the hearts of politicians in Washington, or follow through with half of the rhetoric he's been spewing for the last year or so. The man can give a great speech and to quote the Daily Show, "whenever Obama speaks, an angel has an orgasm". But who in their right mind truly believes in their heart of hearts that Obama is the magical solution to all the problems gripping the U.S.?
If McCain wins, it'll be another 4 years of the Bush Doctrine, and maybe some other scary things could potentially happen, but again, will it change the face of the U.S.? I don't think so. Will either candidate make it easier for people to get cheaper, more affordable health care? Again, I don't think so. It's all a sham.

What I wish is that people would be as enthusiastic for the local City Council elections, or have huge rallies for a certain person who is running for the School Board. In my humble opinion the local offices and elections are far more important to an individuals day-to-day problems than the presidential election. But sadly, most people don't even know when their local elections, much less who's running. Some bitter people cling to their religion and guns, and others cling to their presidential elections.

Get out and vote people, but don't delude yourself into thinking anything's going to change.