Pat Roberston is a jackass

Pat Robertson made quite the spectacle of himself recently when he spoke about how the Haitian people brought the earthquake on themselves. He said that it was punishment from God because they "made a pact with the Devil" to get the French out of Haiti back in the 1800s.

Then he has the gall to follow that insensitive drivel with "True Story."

Well, the great Rev. Pat is always telling us "what the Lord tells him." And it never fails that "what the Lord tells him" never, ever comes to pass.

So it's either one of two things:

1. Option One is that God is whispering lies to Robertson just to jerk his chain.

Now personally, I can see that. I think God has a splendid sense of humor--just look at where he put all the oil.

And I believe it would heartily amuse God to deceive such a self-righteous hypocrite just so that he might someday learn a lesson or two about humility, forgiveness, and compassion.

Sadly, there are still lots and lots of people who actually believe the drivel the Rev. Pat spews out there, so I have my doubts about option 1.

2. Option Two is that it's not God whispering in your ear, Pat.

In fact, it seems quite possible that contrary to being a wise man of a just and noble God, Pat tends to see his own weaknesses and fears and then projects them onto God.

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Now, let's consider some evidence that supports assertion Number Two:

(Citations from Wikipedia)

* Rev. Pat's businesses were heavily invested in the blood diamond trade from war-torn Africa under the guise of a Christian charity mission.

* Rev. Pat also has explicitly supported African despots like Sese Seko and Charles Taylor...but called for the assassination of Hugo Chavez, a democratically elected leader.

(Not that I'm a big fan of Hugo...I'm just not a big fan of assassination and government destabilization as a means of conducting foreign policy. It really hasn't been all that effective for us. Just ask the Iranians, the Iraqis or the Afghan people.)

* Hurrican Katrina was God's wrath on America, Pat said. He also said that Orlando would be destroyed because Disneyworld hosted gay-friendly events.

* Rev. Pat never met a prophesy he didn't flub.

* At one time, the Rev. Pat owned a stable of race horses and then admitted to being surprised that, gasp, gambling is a central part of horse racing.

Now, personally I don't consider gambling much of a sin as long as you can afford to lose the money and no one suffers. Not wise, certainly, and not a lot of fun either, but not much of a sin.

However, consider how many horses are horribly injured in racing and how many have to be put down as a result of on-track injuries. These poor animals did not choose to be forced to race.

Horse racing is a fairly despicable sport in my opinion, right alongside dog and camel racing. One merely needs to look at how much suffering is really inflicted on helpless animals to be appalled. And while not as barbaric or evil as bullfighting and dog fighting, it's certainly immoral.

You want to risk your own neck in a competitive sport? Fine, that's your choice. But to force animals to endure pain and suffering for your amusement is despicable.

* Robertson is a wealthy man who incessantly begs for money for his ministry. He preaching the gospel of a man who said that it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than it was for a wealthy man to get into heaven.

* Robertson is always going on and on about the evils of homosexuality, gay marriage, non-Christian religions, big government liberals and all the other hot-buttons of the conservative evangelical movement.

Look dude, it's America and you're allowed to believe in any damn fool thing you want to. But I don't have to just stand by silently and humbly tolerate your ideas because you say your beliefs are based on Biblical scripture.

First off, if you're going to be a Biblical literalist and cite Leviticus as the reason for hating homosexuality, don't be such a coward. Go whole hog. Embrace the full wisdom of Leviticus and the rest of the Old Testament: Hate shrimp, sell your daughters, enslave those pesky Canadians, stone people who work on the Sabbath. (Insert "sarcasm" tag here.)

But while you're being all literal, you might want to get rid of some of those zeroes in your bank account 'cause otherwise you can't get into heaven. Being "born again" doesn't get you a Wonka Golden Ticket into heaven either.

Christ was clear: Rich = Eternal Damnation.

Sorry Pat: I didn't make the Law of God, I'm just reporting it.

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So I would suggest that there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the Rev. Pat is not the God-fearing, humble servant of the Lord he professes to be.

And considering how much hatred and anger he spews at people he disagrees with...how he sits and passes judgment on folks who dare to be different from him...and then how he hides behind the Bible as a justification for his foolishness...

Well, all things considered, I suspect it could very well be option Number Two.

Next time somebody whispers in your ear and says he's The Lord, ask for ID.

True story.

Mediocrity, thy Name is IPad

Well, today was the big day: The day when Apple was going to revolutionize computing and digital media. The day when Steve Jobs was going to unveil the new "most important thing" he's ever worked on. The day when Apple was going to show the world its revolutionary tablet...And ta-da, the IPad is here!!!

You're kidding, right? I mean, that's it? That's the big deal?

Really?

Meh.

I mean the IPad is cute and all. I'm sure it will be a dandy portable media player...just like your netbook or laptop is now.

But that's the problem: It can only do a fraction of what your current netbook or laptop does but it's more expensive.

On top of that, Apple has made some terrible design decisions (according to early reports):

* No Flash video, so surfing the web is going to suck.
* No USB or smart card ports, so you can't attach your own external memory--the only way to transfer files will be through the proprietary Apple software on your PC.
* No multi-tasking, no running more than one application at a time. Gone are the heady days of surfing the web AND writing Email or IMing people at the same time. Boy, I sure do miss 1996.
* You can't download any applications except those approved by Apple and sold through the Apple store. So Apple has a stranglehold on what you will be allowed to do with "your" computer. They'll also have a decent stranglehold on the media you're allowed to consume to, since your only choice will be downloading through them or loading from your PC.
* Imagine if Apple decides to block applications or competitors they don't like, not unlike the current Google Voice dust-up.

Now, compare that to the fact that current netbooks and Linux tablets do more, cost less and are free to use as you like. The upcoming crop of tablets will offer more at a better price.

I don't think the IPad is a disaster in the making or anything like that...but even the name IPad reeks of mediocrity. It's uninspired. And the competition will be vastly superior in short order.

IMeh. IFail. IBrick.

IDon'tCare.