Stoos Views

ObaManiacs and the Cult of Obama

(They Are Coming For Your Kool Aid)

Copyright © 2008 William Kevin Stoos

ObaManiacs are everywhere it seems. And ObaMania has taken many forms. The rise of the Cult of Obama would be funny if its implications for America were not so frightening. Democrats have indulged in a collective personality worship unprecedented in American politics. It is one thing to support a candidate; it is quite another to worship him. Or, to censor anyone who dares to criticize him.

It all started when women swooned at Obama’s rallies. It seemed that the mere presence of the Great Leader, is so overwhelming that women have a habit of passing out during his speeches. He is articulate (a “racist” word when Biden used it during the primaries, but okay now that he is on the ticket), suave, and good looking– so much so that Democrat women have a hard time remaining conscious in his presence.

Then came the crowds of chanting supporters, mesmerized by the mantra “Change!” which, when repeated over and over again, causes the eyes to glaze over, followers to sway from side to side, smile vacuous smiles, and bump into each other like zombies in a cheap horror movie. Undoubtedly the word “Change!” (which I will refer to as “C*****”,” ) lest I repeat it so often that I too slump into the trance commonly induced by its mystical powers), is the most oft- used word in the American vocabulary. Until this election year I had no idea that “C*****” was so powerful. This word alone has the power to cause millions to cast a vote for a man about whom they know nothing, who came from God knows where, who lacks the experience necessary to lead a squad of Cub Scouts on a camping trip—much less the most powerful military on earth—and has spent six of the last nine years not serving in office but running for it. Put simply, this single word is used by the Great Leader so effectively that makes people do things without knowing why.

Then came the Thought Police—cult followers who intimidate the opposition with such suggestions as: if you do not vote for the Great Leader you are a racist, or, if you dare criticize him, you are a racist. But it gets worse. Some pro-Obama law enforcement officials in Missouri have actually formed “truth squads” [sic] to monitor the content of TV ads, and publicly suggest that anyone who publishes “false” information about the Great Leader might be prosecuted under Missouri law. How’s that for chilling the old First Amendment right of free speech before the speech is even uttered? (There is at least one other place where the government prosecutes people who criticize their leaders—Putin’s Russian Federation.) Consider also the Obama-Cop in Denver who roughed up a reporter whose only crime was to dare to point a camera toward the entrance of a building where the Great Leader was meeting his biggest contributors during the Democrat Greek Column Coronation this past summer. Or the surrealistic propaganda film featuring beautiful young children singing the praises of the Great Obama (“Hope, Change, Change Hope, Hope for Change, Change our Hope, Hope for Hope”—I forget all the lyrics) in a staged production that was at once scary and reminiscent of Germany in the 1930s. Yes, the Obama cult worship is both pervasive and disturbing. Obama will not be elected so much as anointed, and the sad part is that he seems to relish the idea.

But , above all else, supporters of Obama simply have no sense of humor. The fact is, well, they just take themselves too seriously. Don’t dare suggest that the Great Leader is anything less than godlike—or poke fun of his disciples. A recent vignette in the larger theatre of this presidential election illustrates vividly just how sensitive, humorless, and intolerant the Disciples of the Great Obama really are.

Weeks ago, on the campus of a small Catholic university somewhere in the Midwest, the College Republicans and the College Democrats set up booths on campus. It is typical for such events to occur during elections. Each side tries to win converts, passes out signs and bumper stickers , and talks with passersby about politics. On this particular day, the College Democrats were serving hamburgers at their booth. The College Republicans—who had less money in the treasury—handed out bumper stickers, campaign literature, and, well, Kool-Aid. What was printed on the Kool Aid packages? “Kool Aid.” [sic] What was in the Kool Aid packages? Kool Aid. One might consider this an otherwise innocuous substance and a subtle political metaphor for blindly following a person or a doctrine (witness Bill O’Reilly and others) that can be heard any given night on several radio and TV talk shows (conservative and liberal alike). It is certainly well within the bounds of what we in America used to know as “free speech. “ However, it turns out that Kool Aid packets are horribly offensive to the Disciples of the Great Leader. First, a nun and Obama sympathizer (and I naively thought nuns were opposed to abortion) walked over to the Republican stand and confronted the boys working there. “This is not how we treat people!” she stated curtly. To which the boys replied: “What do you mean, Sister?” “What does that say on the package?” she demanded.“Kool Aid” they replied. “What is in it?” she demanded once again. “Kool Aid.” “Do you know who I am?” she asked, as if to pull rank. “Yes, and we have prior permission from the Administration to operate this booth.” Apparently, however, they had failed to obtain permission from the followers of the Great Leader to hand out Kool Aid. At this point, the nun walked away in a huff, having desperately sought ways to be offended and finding none. Later, the followers of the Great Leader mounted a second attack. A young black Obama supporter walked over to the Republican booth, and indignantly confronted the boys. “Are you saying all blacks like Kool Aid?” he demanded angrily, making a point that apparently made sense only to him. “No,” they replied, “it has nothing to do with blacks.” At this point the second Obama supporter also stormed off, whatever point he intended to make largely lost on everyone. The young Republicans were, of course, racist and mean spirited for handing out Kool Aid. I suppose they could have called PETA and made a scene about the fact that the Democrats were handing out hamburgers made from the carcasses of slaughtered innocent animals. However, they bit their tongues and decided not to respond in kind.

This petty incident is, nevertheless, eloquent evidence of the fact that ObaManiacs just can’t take a joke. I have concluded that Kool Aid is the most sinister and politically incorrect of all substances. It will not be tolerated during the Reign of Obama. It is a threat to the Great Obama because it suggests that he is leading his followers blindly into a new form of government and that they will drink the Kool Aid of socialism that he serves them. Kool Aid, it seems, is nothing short of heresy. I daresay that the kids handing out Kool Aid packets would have been in less trouble had they been handing out drugs.

Is this the way freedom ends? I shudder to think that this is a preview of what happens when Obama begins his reign and his Thought Police hold sway. Does it happen in baby steps—this loss of our national identity and the transformation from a capitalist democracy to a Gramcsi socialist state? I wonder. Will we one day look back and say: “First they took our guns, then they took our freedoms, and –when we had nothing left– they came for our Kool Aid? “

If Babies Had Feathers We Would Not Kill Them

(Federal Law Protects Unborn Eagles)

Copyright (c) 2008 William Kevin Stoos

“Don’t fail to rescue those who are doomed to die. Don’t say, “I didn’t know it!”  God can read your mind. He watches each of us and knows our thoughts. And God will pay us back for what we do.”  (Proverbs 24:11-12–Contemporary English Version)

Since 1973 when two women, prompted (some might say, used) by their activist radical women’s rights attorneys, challenged laws prohibiting abortions and [i]won, nearly 50 million unborn and nearly born babies have been killed. That is nearly 16% of the current population of the United States. Fifty million babies who had no choice were sacrificed on the Altar of Choice—proving that when activist attorneys with no moral grounding argue cases before activist judges with no moral grounding, bad things happen.  Ironically, the two women whose cases—and one might say bodies—were used by lawyers intent on advancing a pro-choice agenda ended up repudiating the very outcome of their cases and became pro-lifers. As a result of these rulings, millions of children died, countless women have suffered, and babies with all the potential of life were left with no legal right to live. Whether they are ripped from the womb is left entirely to the whim of the mother and The Law does not protect them. The culture of death prevails in the United States and the law will not aid the most defenseless among us.

Because of our abortion laws, millions of children will never grow up. Their families will never know them. They will never sit at the dinner table, be educated, grow up, marry, or work at a job. They will never become presidents, explorers, doctors, inventors, the person who discovers a cure for AIDS or a cure for human hunger. They will remain just a statistic—one more faceless, nameless potential life that never was. They could have been someone; they could have been a treasure to their parents, a father or mother or sibling or grandparent some day. They could have led exemplary lives. They could have soared like eagles. But the Justices of the Supreme Court—ruled by man’s law and not by God’s—disregarded the obvious religious prohibition against harming the little children, and declared that the mother and her doctor may decide which babies live or die. The baby, in short, has no vote and The Law will not protect it.

Which reminds me of eagles.  The bald eagle and the golden eagle have now been removed from the endangered or threatened species list by the federal government.  This is, of course, wonderful news. I am all in favor of saving the eagles and all other species (including our own) from extinction.  In fact, our [ii]laws are so intent on protecting the eagle that simply injuring, molesting or destroying an eagle egg could cost you a serious criminal penalty, civil fines, and a year in the slammer. All for disturbing an egg.  The law takes this seriously. Whatever else you do, don’t disturb an eagle egg. We go to great lengths to protect unborn baby eagles while they are vulnerable and in the first few weeks of their embryonic life.  In fact, the laws do more than that–they protect unborn eagles from conception to the end of life. That is how much we value eagle life.  So too, the plover.  Recently, I discussed the Missouri River with a United States Park Ranger who managed a stretch of the river near Yankton, South Dakota—my home state. I asked him why the government was holding back so much water at the Lewis and Clark Dam near Yankton.  “To protect the baby plover,” he replied. “If we let out too much water right now, the baby plover will drown and they won’t have a chance to fledge, because their parents build their nests next to the water.”  A noble goal I thought—protecting the baby plover. Imagine that…one of the largest rivers in America dammed up and held back for months because the federal government wants to protect baby birds. What lengths will we not go to in order to protect baby birds. We criminalize anyone who disturbs them and we hold back mighty waters so they do not drown.

The esteem in which we hold unborn baby eagles is remarkable. The protection which the law affords them is noble and inspiring.  If only unborn human babies had feathers…perhaps we would not kill them.

Unborn Baby Eagles

Copyright (c) 2008 William Kevin Stoos

“Don’t fail to rescue those who are doomed to die. Don’t say, “I didn’t know it!”  God can read your mind. He watches each of us and knows our thoughts. And God will pay us back for what we do.”  (Proverbs 24:11-12–Contemporary English Version)

Since 1973 when two women, prompted (some might say, used) by their activist radical women’s rights attorneys, challenged laws prohibiting abortions and [i]won, nearly 50 million unborn and nearly born babies have been killed. That is nearly 16% of the current population of the United States. Fifty million babies who had no choice were sacrificed on the Altar of Choice—proving that when activist attorneys with no moral grounding argue cases before activist judges with no moral grounding, bad things happen.  Ironically, the two women whose cases—and one might say bodies—were used by lawyers intent on advancing a pro-choice agenda ended up repudiating the very outcome of their cases and became pro-lifers. As a result of these rulings, millions of children died, countless women have suffered, and babies with all the potential of life were left with no legal right to live. Whether they are ripped from the womb is left entirely to the whim of the mother and The Law does not protect them. The culture of death prevails in the United States and the law will not aid the most defenseless among us.

Because of our abortion laws, millions of children will never grow up. Their families will never know them. They will never sit at the dinner table, be educated, grow up, marry, or work at a job. They will never become presidents, explorers, doctors, inventors, the person who discovers a cure for AIDS or a cure for human hunger. They will remain just a statistic—one more faceless, nameless potential life that never was. They could have been someone; they could have been a treasure to their parents, a father or mother or sibling or grandparent some day. They could have led exemplary lives. They could have soared like eagles. But the Justices of the Supreme Court—ruled by man’s law and not by God’s—disregarded the obvious religious prohibition against harming the little children, and declared that the mother and her doctor may decide which babies live or die. The baby, in short, has no vote and The Law will not protect it.

Which reminds me of eagles.  The bald eagle and the golden eagle have now been removed from the endangered or threatened species list by the federal government.  This is, of course, wonderful news. I am all in favor of saving the eagles and all other species (including our own) from extinction.  In fact, our [ii]laws are so intent on protecting the eagle that simply injuring, molesting or destroying an eagle egg could cost you a serious criminal penalty, civil fines, and a year in the slammer. All for disturbing an egg.  The law takes this seriously. Whatever else you do, don’t disturb an eagle egg. We go to great lengths to protect unborn baby eagles while they are vulnerable and in the first few weeks of their embryonic life.  In fact, the laws do more than that–they protect unborn eagles from conception to the end of life. That is how much we value eagle life.  So too, the plover.  Recently, I discussed the Missouri River with a United States Park Ranger who managed a stretch of the river near Yankton, South Dakota—my home state. I asked him why the government was holding back so much water at the Lewis and Clark Dam near Yankton.  “To protect the baby plover,” he replied. “If we let out too much water right now, the baby plover will drown and they won’t have a chance to fledge, because their parents build their nests next to the water.”  A noble goal I thought—protecting the baby plover. Imagine that…one of the largest rivers in America dammed up and held back for months because the federal government wants to protect baby birds. What lengths will we not go to in order to protect baby birds. We criminalize anyone who disturbs them and we hold back mighty waters so they do not drown.

The esteem in which we hold unborn baby eagles is remarkable. The protection which the law affords them is noble and inspiring.  If only unborn human babies had feathers…perhaps we would not kill them.

Flying Liberal Airlines

(Liberal or Conservative…You Are Just as Dead)

Copyright © 2008 William Kevin Stoos

            “Welcome aboard Liberal Airlines,” the captain announced on the loud speaker. “We will be departing for Minneapolis and continuing on to San Francisco. We hope you enjoy the flight and, once again, thanks for flying Liberal.”

            The passengers shuffled around in their seats and stowed their carry-ons as the stewardess gave the obligatory instructions on fitting your oxygen mask, fastening your belt, placing your head between your legs in case you have to kiss you posterior goodbye and everything else that seasoned passengers ignore before take off. But this was no ordinary flight. The passengers were distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the liberal persuasion, representing the upper echelon of the Political Left in America. The manifest read like the guest list at a George Soros fund raiser.

            Up front sat Ted Kennedy—bombastic blow guts leader of the Senatorial contingent– drinking Scotch and holding forth on issues of great importance to a young Middle Eastern man who feigned interest in the Senator’s sodden monologue. Behind them sat Jesse Jackson, leader of the Rainbow Coalition, paradigm of morality and master of shaking down corporations for semi-voluntary donations to all of the correct causes– including his own. Across the aisle sat Cindy Sheehan and John Murtha, discussing how to retreat from Iraq and her exciting plans for the next sit in at Crawford, Texas.  Behind them sat the President of ANSWER, the most vocal of all Hate America First organizations, and a representative of Human Rights Watch. They were engaged in an animated discussion about the plight of the detainees at Gitmo—who endured three religiously-correct meals per day, free proctology exams after the age of fifty and other such unspeakable treatment.  There was San Fran Nan Pelosi, who prided herself on opposing every security measure that President Bush introduced and whose liberal west coast values were shared by at least five percent of the American public. She nodded attentively as Rosie O’Donnell warned her of the dangers of American Christianity and the evil of traditional marriage between a man and a woman. There was Barbara Streisand, whose famous speech on hanging laundry from clothes lines in order to save energy, inspired millions of women during Earth Day a few years back. Beside her sat Harry Belafonte, pop star, whose inspiring “Banana Boat Song” was considered by many to be one of the finest pieces of music ever written. Of late he had become a leader of the anti-Bush movement–a powerful voice of the Gray Left–whose speeches were every bit as important to American political discourse as his moving, “Daylight come and he wan’ go home” was to music.  The Ditzy Twits—an all-girl band from East Overshoe, Alabama–sat in the tail section of the plane, tuning their banjos and working on the lyrics to their new CD—Country Songs My Imam Taught Me.  Owing to a recent lack of bookings in the States, their “Embarrassed to be American” tour was scheduled to begin in Iran the following week. They laughed and joked with Tim Robbins and his significant other, Susan Sarandon, the power couple of the Acting Left who never missed the opportunity to stand in front of a camera. Coming from Hollywood, of course, they understood better than anyone how naïve and stupid Mid-dull America was—especially those Red Staters who voted for Bush.  Finally, there was the leader of  Immigration Without Borders, whose rallying cry was: “Come for the benefits! Send Home the Dough!”  No seminar would be complete without the Chief Legal Counsel for the ACLU—who was polishing up his lecture on “Taxpayer-Funded Lawyers For Those Who Would Kill Us—An Idea Whose Time Has Come.”

            It was a flight unlike any other. Containing the cream of the crop, the upper echelon of the American Left—the most intelligent, gifted, informed, and above all, politically correct, this flight was one of a kind. They boarded this plane for one sole purpose—to attend the most important gathering of intelligent and informed, correct- thinking individuals ever assembled in one place in our time. They were flying to San Francisco to attend a symposium, “The War on Terror—Killing Them With Kindness.” The mood aboard the plane was exuberant.  

           Barbara and Harry crooned “Ebony and Ivory” to the applause of their fellow passengers as the plane left La Guardia.  Later, Cindy led the group in “Give Peace a Chance.”  The Most Reverend Jackson moved the audience to tears with his touching rendition of “Kum Bay Yah.” Now and then the group would break out in spontaneous rounds of “We Are the World.”  Bound together by the moral correctness of their position, the innate goodness of heart that all progressive liberals everywhere shared, and their undying hatred of everything Bush, a warm, fuzzy atmosphere pervaded the cabin as they flew toward the seminar. The guests drank French sparkling water with lemon, munched on soy chips and organic cookies, and sipped lattes. All, of course, except the Senator, who toasted the group numerous times with Scotch—until his words became, like his campaign speeches, unintelligible. Darn it, it was good to be liberal…and if the rest of the world were liberal, what a wonderful world it would be!

            The plane touched down in Minneapolis to pick up some freight and more dignitaries After a short time on the ground, the flight continued. No one noticed as Ted Kennedy’s seat mate got up to use the restroom.  No one knew who he was or why he was there. Some sort of Muslim-American friendship group, they thought. And, of course, no one asked. They did not want to offend anyone who might look Middle Eastern. Politically correct people do not profile, stereotype, or ask embarrassing questions. That would be worse than death; it would be, well, impolite.  It was good to fly Liberal Airlines. And it was good to feel good.

            As the plane flew over Arizona, the swarthy-looking young man who had endured hours of thick-tongued, slobbery Kennedy speeches, on everything from life-guarding to the loss of America’s moral compass, stood up and removed something from the pocket of his sport coat.  No one had questioned him much, of course, as he boarded the plane in New York. Nor was he searched closely. The good Senator waved dismissively to the security guard at the gate, as if to say: “He’s with me,  you don’t need to search this guy.” That was good enough for the security guard—after all, a friend of Senator Kennedy’s must be okay. No Senator would endanger his fellow passengers would he? The guard felt good, the Senator felt good for being nice to this Middle Eastern man, and the Middle Eastern man—whom no one seemed to know—entered the gate, and boarded the plane without incident. They did not bother to check him against the terrorist watch list. Why bother? Terrorists would never harm liberals.

            The stranger was calm and collected. He had trained years for this moment, before sneaking across our porous southern border. His partner, a Somali-born freight handler from Minneapolis, was equally well-trained. He too had practiced his part for years before he came to the United States. Although both were well trained, devout Wahhabists, eager to go to Paradise and meet the 72 brides who awaited them, neither knew the other. They were trained in different countries, and came here in different ways, which, of course, was the whole idea. They knew what to do. Their operation had been planned from above—orchestrated from a cave in the Hindu Kush, years ago. All they needed to know was when and where.

            As he stood up, the stranger raised his hand, and yelled something about “Allah.” The exuberant mood of the crowd turned into one of stunned silence.  Theoretically, it looked like a potential terrorist attack, they thought. But that really could not be. After all, they were liberals flying Liberal Airlines and no one could have a quarrel with them. The crowd stared in disbelief as the man chanted furiously some phrases from the Koran which no one understood.  The situation grew more tense, and crowd more jittery. This sort of thing only happens in movies, Tim thought to himself. This could not be real life.  No one lifted a finger to stop the man, of course. True Liberals do not confront evil. They reason with it, try to understand it and relate to it.    They decided to disarm him using the rightness of their cause. They would reason him into submission.

“What is this about? We are on your side!” yelled Cindy.  “We hate our country and what it is doing to your people.”  “I oppose the war,” yelled Congressman Murtha, “give us time and we will get out.”  “We are your brothers and sisters,” assured Reverend Jackson, “we understand you.”   “We are glad you came,” yelled Jose Jimenez from Open Borders. “We welcome all people like yourself to this country-whether you have the right to be here or not.”  “Piracy is simply a form of free speech. We’ll get you a lawyer as soon as we touch down!” yelled the President of the ACLU.  “I opposed every piece of national security legislation Bush ever proposed!” said Nancy, desperate to appease.  “Mor’lly…opposhed…shterotype…dishcrim’nation….,” mumbled Kennedy incoherently as he raised his fifth glass of Scotch to toast the hijacker–oblivious to the entire situation.  “I have more to fear from married heterosexuals who attend church!” smiled Rosie O’Donnell. “I know you won’t hurt us!”

            The stranger mumbled some sort of prayer as he raised the remote control device which had removed from the keyboard of his personal computer. Soon he would vaporize the plane by igniting the plastique smuggled aboard the cargo hold during the short layover. Desperate to know, Belafonte looked at his oppressed Muslim brother and whispered plaintively, “Why?” And, moments before the explosion that would send the cream of the Leftist Intelligentsia to the desert floor miles below, Ibrahim bin Bomben replied softly, “Because you are Americans.”  

           In a fiery flash, chunks of the plane that were not vaporized hurtled five miles to the ground. The passengers who did not die instantly, barely had time to grasp the irony, before they fell to their deaths. They might as well have been a plane load of right-wing, Bible-thumping, evangelical Republicans headed to a Bush hog roast. In their smug self-righteousness, their belief that Evil may simply be reasoned with, and their blind hatred for all things Bush, they failed to appreciate a central truth. Rich or poor, white, black, or brown, liberal nut case or right wing extremist, farmer or factory worker, Democrat, Republican, Christian, Muslim, Druid or Jew, young or old, we are all, in the end, Americans. In this war, ultimately, that is all that matters.

            Too many Americans are flying Liberal Airlines. The sooner they stop, the sooner America may unite. The sooner we unite, the better our chances of defeating the enemy—those who get up each morning and plan ways to kill your family and mine. It does not matter to the terrorists how you think or who you are. When Americans are blown out of the sky, they are just as happy either way. And, liberal or conservative, you are just as dead.