Public Comment

SMITHEREENS: Reflections on Bits & Pieces: SmitherDigs&Diddles

Gar Smith

Monday January 02, 2023 - 02:01:00 PM

It's a new year, so let's get it going with a smattering of traditional irrelevance. Herewith: a salute to some personalized license plates spotted in the closing days of 2022.

Fashion Plates

Light Gray KIA: BALNCE

Gray BMW: SHUPNET (Shupnet is a Berkeley-based YouTube operation)

Dark Gray Audi: MR Q N A (Mister Question and Answer)

Dark Gray Chevy Volt: FIYRBLT (Fire Bolt?)

Black Toyota: BLKBRDX (Blackbird X)

A Small Truck: ACMEART (A company car from Acme Art)

Black Lincoln: DENIECE (If this is a tribute to "da niece," is there a plate for DENEPH and DEUNCL?)

The Pentagon's Grinchs Just Stole Another Christmas

From artist/activist Donald Smith—the host and resident visionary at progressivememes.org—comes a link to "Some AI-generated images about the military Grinch who stole Christmas and who is sitting on a huge pile of money." Here's a link to a line-up of grimacing Grinch imaging that may prove more than even Dr. Seuss could handle: https://progressivememes.org/ai-images/grinch/

Also from the Donald the Wordsmith, this reflection on Woke:
"Wokeness about racial, gender, and economic inequality needs to be extended to include wokeness about militarism. In fact, I think the emphasis of the media and many politicians on racial and gender wokeness is in part a distraction from the REAL issues confronting us, including militarism and economic inequality.

"Maybe someone should make a rap video about the need to be Woke about how the US Provoked [Putin's invasion-turned-proxy-war]: 'Yo! Be woke, don't be a dope. We provoked the bloke (show Putin). And now we're going broke. This ain't no joke.... '"

Ollie North on Biden Choosing Hegemony over Harmony

Investigative reporter Max Blumenthal tweets:

"Amazing candor from Iran-Contra felon Ollie North: Ukraine is just like Reagan's dirty wars in Central America, Africa and Afghanistan. Most of the aid is a kickback to US weapons makers and Beltway contractors. The proxy war is preparation for a larger war with China over Taiwan. https://twitter.com/i/status/1608560675835768833"

Truth Is an Inconvenience: Destroy It!

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." — William J. Casey, CIA Director (Note: This infamous quote now appears on a bumpersticker that you can purchase from Amazon for nine bucks.)

Microplastics Have Metastasized Globally

In it's year-end roundup, Steve Newman's Earthweek column noted that a plague of microplastics (the "biodegradable" pollution legacy of the Plastics Industry) has spread from the deepest ocean depths to the summits of the world's tallest mountains. Microplastics are now found in sea-life, in the rain that falls from the sky, and in the blood that flows through our veins.

So it was not comforting to discover a plastic bag from Crown Poly ('"The Green Leader in Sustainable Products") that advertized its produce sacks are "made of 30% Post-Industrial Recycled Resin." I'm not sure that qualifies as "Organic."

English Bibles Disagree on God's Word

How is this possible? I've just discovered that one of the most famous lines in the Holy Bible is not exactly "writ in stone." At issue is the translation of the New Testament's Book of Luke, chapter 2, verse 14.

I grew up reading the King James Version of the Bible, in which Luke 2:14 seems to make an offer of God's unconditional love. The King James translation reads: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."

But the translation in the New International Version reads:

“Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

And the translation in the English Standard Version reads:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

While the first version offers peace towards all men, the other two stipulate that God's grace has to be earned by actions that "please God" and win his "favor."

In other words: you have to work to earn God's nod.

A Reflection on Luke 2:14 from Ukraine

Yurii Sheliazhenko, a devoted peace activist in Ukraine, has shared some further discoveries about the differing versions of God's promise in the Gospel of Luke. Yurii is thelhead of Ukraine's Pacifist movement and is a colleague of mine at World Beyond War. Here are Yurii's comments, written from his cold apartment in Kyiv, a city under Russian bombardment:

"Original in Russian is close to King James Bible, saying about benevolence among people (below, Google translator got it a little wrong in underlined part), not about peace only among people with whom God is pleased.

«Слава в вышних Богу и на земле мир, в людях благоволение!»
(Евангелие от Луки 2:14)

"Google translates this from Russian to English:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards people!”
"Interestingly, I found that differences in translations of Luke 2:14 are very old. Take traditional Latin Bible, Vulgate: it says "gloria in altissimis Deo et in terra pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis" (Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will) https://vulgate.org/nt/gospel/luke_2.htm

"In Vulgate, I like the notion of peace as a result of choice, of good will.

"Here at the pages 226-228 there is text in Greek, and New Testament was written in Koine Greek, so I hope someone will help to understand what Greek original says. https://archive.org/details/novumtestamentum00unse/page/226/mode/2up

"Anyway, it could explain why some Christians still don't know how to live in peace if even some translators of Bible had no idea that peace is a state of the universe when people don't wish harm to each other, and wish all the best to each other instead.

"Perhaps authors of the English Standard Version or New International Version even thought that peace is when God's own angry mob of sinner worshippers (e.g. NATO) will crush all other angry mobs of sinner worshippers and in that way achieve 'peace by victory.' They probably confused religion with cock-fights. It seems a very pagan idea to believe that fate and gods like victors. How do you think, do the English Standard Version and New International Version indicate that the world is shifting to paganism?"

Anagrams from Ukraine

In a separate email, Yurii offered some thoughts in response to an article published by The Atlantic Council titled Preparing for victory: A long-haul strategy to help Ukraine win the war against Russia—and secure the peace. Yurii writes:

"So familiar and self-contradictory title. 'Long-haul' emphasis, along with no-negotiations and 'Israelization' policies, hardly looks like a 'win' for Ukraine suffering every day.

"But war profiteers 'win' a lot from a process more important than result. Meanwhile, our TV continues to promise quick victory—this spring or at least in 2023, and people still believe...

"By pure coincidence, NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY is anagram for CIA LED DOOMY CNN NATO WAR FOMENTER.

"And, similarly, SUPPORTING FREEDOM AROUND THE WORLD is anagram for WE ODD HORDING FOR PURE MENTAL STUPOR."

The GOP's Dishonor Role

Talking Points Memo notes that 34 Congressional Republicans exchanged text messages with Donald Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows regarding plots to reverse the 2020 election results. At least 459 messages were exchanged between Meadows and potential coupsters in on the Hill — including prominent Republicans like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.

Here is the Dishonor Role of the GOP mob that conspired with Meadows and Trump in hopes of usurping results of a presidential election:
Rep. Rick Allen (Georgia)
Rep. Brian Babin (Texas)
Rep. Andy Biggs (Arizona)
Rep. Dan Bishop (North Carolina)
Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas)
Rep. Mo Brooks (Alabama)
Rep. Ted Budd (North Carolina)
Rep. Andrew Clyde (Georgia)
Sen. Kevin Cramer (North Dakota)
Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas)
Rep. Warren Davidson (Ohio)
Rep. Tom Emmer (Minnesota)
Rep. Bob Gibbs (Ohio)
Rep. Louie Gohmert (Texas)
Rep. Paul Gosar (Arizona)
Rep. Mark Green (Tennessee)
Rep. Jody Hice (Georgia)
Rep. Richard Hudson (North Carolina)
Rep. Mike Johnson (Louisiana)
Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisconsin)
Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio)
Rep. Fred Keller (Pennsylvania)
Rep. Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania)
Sen. Mike Lee (Utah)
Rep. Billy Long (Missouri)
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (Georgia)
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming)
Rep. Barry Moore (Alabama)
Rep. Greg Murphy (North Carolina)
Rep. Ralph Norman (South Carolina)
Sen. David Perdue (Georgia)
Rep. Scott Perry (Pennsylvania)
Rep. Chip Roy (Texas)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (Georgia)

Let's Hear from the Clickocracy

Does that criminal list of political ne're-do-wells get your dander up? If so, here's a dandy activist prescription—a to-do list from the feisty political agitators at the Oakland-based Daily Kos.