Editor, Manteca Bulletin,
When this latest exchange between me and Mr. Aquila began, I warned that his followers would go Supernova as soon as my letter hit the press. Drilling for a nerve is what I do. Just a glance at Tuesday’s Opinion section verifies my prediction. No fewer than four letters were directed to my transgression, including one from General Half-Track himself.
In fact the entire page was devoted to Frank’s little army, with the exception of today’s cartoon and Mr. Wyatt’s editorial which was, by the way, well done. I especially liked his comments on immigrants, skin tone and how immigrants have served and died in American wars. Note: Do you know who was the first American Soldier to die in Iraq? It was Marine Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez, an immigrant from Guatemala, but that’s another story with a sad ending.
Back to Mr. Aquila’s little Bible thumping army of the extreme religious right. First Mr. Aquila (Religion was in 1st Amendment for a Reason). Mr. Aquila claims I have labeled him as a passer of misinformation when all he is passing is opinion. Sorry, Mr. Aquila, when you knowingly use misquotes and attempt to pass them on as fact, it ceases to become simple opinion. I must admit Mr. Aquila finally stepped away from his Madison misquote and has joined what I and most reasonable people interpreted from Madison’s real quote in the first place and that was American freedoms, including the freedom of Religion, as the basis of America. Did you notice Mr. Aquila did not mention Christianity, even once? Only freedom of Religion, which no one has debated. I would hope Mr. Aquila really meant all Religions, not just Christianity. I also hope he meant the freedom to not have any Religion at all, if one chooses.
Which wasn’t the gist of another writer, Mr. Johnson (It’s either put faith on God or government). Mr. Johnson was more of a “Christian Nation” fanatic, going so far as to imply President Obama was not a real Christian, which he is, regardless of what the extreme right has to say about that. In fact Mr. Johnson displayed for all to see, the real agenda of the Religious right and that is to somehow paint all Democrats as non-Christian and therefore evil socialists.
In another letter from Ms. Sullivan (free speech goes both ways), Ms. Sullivan goes pretty much Supernova, asking me to get a life and quit spending so much time on Mr. Aquila. Apparently, Ms. Sullivan doesn’t think Mr. Aquila deserves so much attention. Ms. Sullivan can see nothing wrong with calling the President an Idiot, citing free speech and all. I agree, SNL did a whole lot more than that with Bush & Co., and it was all so amusingly true. That’s probably why SNL’s ratings were never so high. Then Palin came along and the rest is SNL history.
Ms. Sullivan then attempts to give me a religious lesson, I am not sure which flavor of Christianity she subscribes to but I had plenty of lessons going to a Catholic school and serving as an altar boy. In fact I still remember the Latin replies an altar boy had to memorize during the Sunday service. (Back then all services were recited in Latin, another change I didn’t like). Ms. Sullivan attempts to explain the answer to my question about the Virgin Mary being the mother of God and all. She explains that God is really in a threesome, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (I’ve heard the last partner as the Holy Spirit as well, in my day it was called the Holy Ghost. Guess that changed because it sounded too much like a Halloween thing). Oddly enough, that was another question I got in trouble for back in Catholic School, when I first heard the threesome thing with the Holy Ghost and the Son, I asked what was God before the Son came along? That’s about the time the wooden ruler came out.
In yet another letter from Mr. Blanch (“Christian nation or not? Check the quotes”), the writer stubbornly hangs on to the Madison misquote from Mr. Aquila as fact. Mr. Blanch claims the full Madison quote I supplied was just my opinion and just because I had a source, that didn’t make it fact. Amazing logic.
Mr. Blanch then goes on with more Biblical quotes as his source for proving America is a Christian Nation. So using his own logic, I can then say that just because his source is the Bible, that doesn’t make it fact, right? Which it really doesn’t. Mr. Blanch even goes as far as suggesting the Bible should be studied in all public schools because Benjamin Rush said so. Note: Mr. Rush also proposed that all diseases are fevers caused by overstimulation of blood vessels, and can be cured with a simple remedy — bloodletting and purges. So much for sources of fact.
When this latest exchange between me and Mr. Aquila began, I warned that his followers would go Supernova as soon as my letter hit the press. Drilling for a nerve is what I do. Just a glance at Tuesday’s Opinion section verifies my prediction. No fewer than four letters were directed to my transgression, including one from General Half-Track himself.
In fact the entire page was devoted to Frank’s little army, with the exception of today’s cartoon and Mr. Wyatt’s editorial which was, by the way, well done. I especially liked his comments on immigrants, skin tone and how immigrants have served and died in American wars. Note: Do you know who was the first American Soldier to die in Iraq? It was Marine Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez, an immigrant from Guatemala, but that’s another story with a sad ending.
Back to Mr. Aquila’s little Bible thumping army of the extreme religious right. First Mr. Aquila (Religion was in 1st Amendment for a Reason). Mr. Aquila claims I have labeled him as a passer of misinformation when all he is passing is opinion. Sorry, Mr. Aquila, when you knowingly use misquotes and attempt to pass them on as fact, it ceases to become simple opinion. I must admit Mr. Aquila finally stepped away from his Madison misquote and has joined what I and most reasonable people interpreted from Madison’s real quote in the first place and that was American freedoms, including the freedom of Religion, as the basis of America. Did you notice Mr. Aquila did not mention Christianity, even once? Only freedom of Religion, which no one has debated. I would hope Mr. Aquila really meant all Religions, not just Christianity. I also hope he meant the freedom to not have any Religion at all, if one chooses.
Which wasn’t the gist of another writer, Mr. Johnson (It’s either put faith on God or government). Mr. Johnson was more of a “Christian Nation” fanatic, going so far as to imply President Obama was not a real Christian, which he is, regardless of what the extreme right has to say about that. In fact Mr. Johnson displayed for all to see, the real agenda of the Religious right and that is to somehow paint all Democrats as non-Christian and therefore evil socialists.
In another letter from Ms. Sullivan (free speech goes both ways), Ms. Sullivan goes pretty much Supernova, asking me to get a life and quit spending so much time on Mr. Aquila. Apparently, Ms. Sullivan doesn’t think Mr. Aquila deserves so much attention. Ms. Sullivan can see nothing wrong with calling the President an Idiot, citing free speech and all. I agree, SNL did a whole lot more than that with Bush & Co., and it was all so amusingly true. That’s probably why SNL’s ratings were never so high. Then Palin came along and the rest is SNL history.
Ms. Sullivan then attempts to give me a religious lesson, I am not sure which flavor of Christianity she subscribes to but I had plenty of lessons going to a Catholic school and serving as an altar boy. In fact I still remember the Latin replies an altar boy had to memorize during the Sunday service. (Back then all services were recited in Latin, another change I didn’t like). Ms. Sullivan attempts to explain the answer to my question about the Virgin Mary being the mother of God and all. She explains that God is really in a threesome, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (I’ve heard the last partner as the Holy Spirit as well, in my day it was called the Holy Ghost. Guess that changed because it sounded too much like a Halloween thing). Oddly enough, that was another question I got in trouble for back in Catholic School, when I first heard the threesome thing with the Holy Ghost and the Son, I asked what was God before the Son came along? That’s about the time the wooden ruler came out.
In yet another letter from Mr. Blanch (“Christian nation or not? Check the quotes”), the writer stubbornly hangs on to the Madison misquote from Mr. Aquila as fact. Mr. Blanch claims the full Madison quote I supplied was just my opinion and just because I had a source, that didn’t make it fact. Amazing logic.
Mr. Blanch then goes on with more Biblical quotes as his source for proving America is a Christian Nation. So using his own logic, I can then say that just because his source is the Bible, that doesn’t make it fact, right? Which it really doesn’t. Mr. Blanch even goes as far as suggesting the Bible should be studied in all public schools because Benjamin Rush said so. Note: Mr. Rush also proposed that all diseases are fevers caused by overstimulation of blood vessels, and can be cured with a simple remedy — bloodletting and purges. So much for sources of fact.
Larry Baca
Manteca
Dec. 15, 2009
Manteca
Dec. 15, 2009
