The fall must be near, because look at all this pride

They're everywhere. These shallow people, full of hubris, lacking in all humility and busting at the seams with smug self-righteousness. The people of the lie.

Let's begin with Dick Cheney. We don't usually hear too much about him, but lately he's been quite visible. These must be his plans that are falling apart, and therefore he himself has been forced to come out of his lair and straighten it out. We all know that sense of utter frustration when you shove everyone out of the way to fix something yourself? I think that is what we are witnessing now. But it's not working. Which countries have decided to oppose Russia in anything more than words? (crickets) The more Bush, Cheney and Rice open their mouths, the more foolish they look. The more they display their impotence. But do they shut up? Oh no. They are too proud for that. They keep pushing that rock uphill.

Then we have Israel and the Zionists. The myth currently known as Jewish history has been debunked by Jewish historians. Jews are no more special than anyone else. They are not 'direct and exclusive descendants' of the people who received the Torah in Sinai. There's no justification for the Jews-only state of Israel. But no matter! We are all instructed to carry on as if this were fact, not myth, because a few people in Israel have a need to feel superior and justify their racism. And while many others surely know better, they don't speak up because the charming myth sort of benefits them a little, so why rock the boat?

And speaking of group pride, what about those Republicans? They're coming out of the woodwork like cockroaches now that Sarah Palin has come aboard. What is it about this woman? She's so shallow. YES. She's a racist. YES! She's a Dominionist. YES!! She's vindictive. YES!!! It's all those things and more, don't you see?? She embodies The Base. She is base. The Republicans held up a mirror to their base, and they see Sarah Palin reflected back at them: a whitewashed tomb, beautiful on the outside but full of everything unclean. They are proud of her because she is just like them. In their spite and vindictiveness, they want her in the White House just to prove a fucking point. What is the point? That they own this country and they'll drive it into the ground come hell or high water, and you can't stop it. That's it. The driving animus behind these people is bitter rage.

Does the world ever need a hero right now. The desire is tangible. I carry it with me every minute of every day and night. Because I don't know how we're going to survive these wicked people. I have hopes for Vlad Putin, but he is just a man, after all. It's not fair to expect him to solve a problem of this magnitude.

After seven days I dreamed a dream in the night. And lo, a wind arose from the sea and stirred up all its waves. As I kept looking the wind made something like the figure of a man come up out of the heart of the sea. And I saw that this man flew with the clouds of heaven; and wherever he turned his face to look, everything under his gaze trembled, and whenever his voice issued from his mouth, all who heard his voice melted as wax melts when it feels the fire.

After this I looked and saw that an innumerable multitude of people were gathered together from the four winds of heaven to make war against the man who came up out of the sea. And I looked and saw that he carved out for himself a great mountain, and flew up on to it. And I tried to see the region or place from which the mountain was carved, but I could not.

After this I looked and saw that all who had gathered together against him, to wage war with him, were filled with fear, and yet they dared to fight. When he saw the onrush of the approaching multitude, he neither lifted his hand nor held a spear or any weapon of war; but I saw only how he sent forth from his mouth something like a stream of fire, and from his lips a flaming breath, and from his tongue he shot forth a storm of sparks. All these were mingled together, the stream of fire and the flaming breath and the great storm, and fell on the onrushing multitude that was prepared to fight, and burned up all of them, so that suddenly nothing was seen of the innumerable multitude but only the dust of ashes and the smell of smoke. When I saw it, I was amazed.

After this I saw the same man come down from the mountain and call to himself another multitude that was peaceable. Then many people came to him, some of whom were joyful and some sorrowful; some of them were bound, and some were bringing others as offerings. 2 Esdras 13:1-13