Fox News vs. Kathy Griffin

I spent so much time formulating my replying to this post on Kj's blog (which should probably be read first for context), that I figured I should post it here as well:



We live today in an increasingly post-Christendom culture. In times past, Christianity was really the only acceptable religion in the United States, and in many places it still is (You still pretty much have to claim to be a Christian to get elected president).

That may sound great to some people, and in some ways I think it is, but in many other ways it distorts the faith.

When Christianity is given power, we historically don't tend to handle it better than others in power for very long (See the Inquisition, the Crusades, the 30 years war, Native American Genocides and countless other acts of cultural and theological arrogance). A culture's favorite Bible verses are quoted out of context (or allegorized) in order to justify just about anything.

It is this Jesus that Kathy Griffin is protesting - an oppressive non-Jesus born of eisegesis, greed and hunger for power. He is a mythical figure who indeed founded democracy and capitalism, not to mention the modern day Republican party. He is the God of American superiority, and we are his chosen people who will take his gospel of freedom and free markets to the ends of the earth. He is a white male with blond hair and blue eyes, and he is worshiped everyday in strip malls and Wall-Marts nationwide.

I am not at all offended by Kathy Griffin's remarks, which seem intentionally comedic and appropriately satirical. But I am offended by Fox News's Lauren Green and her ill-conceived and ahistorical attempt to connect the annointed messiah of democracy, capitalism, and consumerism with the Jesus of the Bible and my faith.

Also, one final point. If Kathy Griffin had attacked Mohammad, she would have been attacking a religious figure whose followers are - in this country - marginalized. Attacking the primary religious figure of an oppressed group is very different than attacking the primary religious figure of a group who has used that person to justify their acts of oppression[1]. It is now socially acceptable to critique the majority (or perhaps now, plurality), which I think is great. Maybe we should focus less on the speck in Kathy Griffin's eye, and more on the log in our own.



[1] I'm also aware of the fact that many Muslims use Mohammad in similar ways, and I would extend the same critique to them where they are in power, though in a different way, since on the world's stage we are still the dominant power.

Rational Atheism

A new editorial by noted skeptic Michael Shermer in Scientific American, of interest (in my opinion), to atheists and theists alike.

El Chupacabra

I'm taking a brief break from paper writing to spread the word about this delicious Mexican Food establishment on the Greenwood side of the Greenwood/Phinney Ridge juke. In spite of the terrifying pictures that a Google Image Search brings up of the hypothetical goat sucking monster, El Chupacabra makes some amazing food. I think Rene may even like it: Corn tortillas, white cheese, and real Mexicans in the kitchen. Thanks go out to Georgia Bulldogs fan Smruti Desai for the tip.

Isaiah 25:6-9

And YHWH of Hosts will make for all the peoples on this mountain
A feast of fatty foods, a feast of aged wines
Fatty foods that are full of marrow, aged wines that have been refined.

And he will swallow on this mountain
The presence of mourning, the mournful covering over all the peoples
And the covering that was spread over all the nations.

He has swallowed death for forever
And the Lord YHWH will wipe away tears from upon all faces
And the shame of his people will be taken away from upon all the earth
Because YHWH has spoken.

And it will be said on that day,
“Behold! This is our God. We waited for him and he is saving us.
This is YHWH. We have waited for him.
Let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

(Is. 25:6-9, my translation)

Christ the Center

"Christ goes through the ages, questioned anew, misunderstood anew, and again and again put to death."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Christ the Center, p. 35

Dr. Flappy-cakes is Staying in Colorado!

Congratulations to Dr. Brandon Fain, M.D. (soon enough, anyways), for gaining acceptance to University of Colorado Medical School in Denver. Now you can stay close to home and continue to cheer for your Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche and Rockies. Congratulations, Bro.

A Tale of Three Burgers: Genre Triggers Eating Strategy

I've had three different cheeseburgers in the last week or so, and I wanted to share my thoughts about them with you all.

Dick's

If you are the kind of person who likes solidified American cheese that is stuck to burger wrapping paper, I've got a recommendation. A buck-thirty or so will buy you a cheeseburger at my local Lower Queen Anne Dick's, and fries are the same price. They are approximately comparable to McDonald's cheeseburgers, though they are a bit more expensive, and maybe a three quarters of a step better in the class category (though class admittedly counts precious little in the realm of delicious cheap eats). What counts for more is the quality of french fries, which are of the hand cut variety and, glistening with glorious grease, are practically begging for you to let them make the nearest piece of paper on your desk translucent.

Of course it'll take a few Dick's cheeseburgers, plus the fries, to put a dent in your hunger, but I'm okay with that, because after tax I still find myself in the four dollar neighborhood. Not a bad neighborhood to be in when you are hungry and in a hurry.

In the genre of cheap fast food burgers, Dick's gets a solid "A."

Burgermaster

This drive-in is located up on Aurora, somewhere between 85th St and the Canadian border. Closer to 85th, I think. It's like a Sonic, only with a much more mom-and-pop feel, less annoying uniforms, and a cooler, less technologically advanced way to order (turn on your headlights for service). It's not in the same class as Sonic though, because a cheeseburger combo ("Burgermaster w/ Cheese") is something like $6.34 plus tax. With me giving them more of my money, standards must be raised. The cheeseburger was delicious (Austinites - think Player's), and the fries were comparable to McDonald's, in a good way. One problem I had was the drink that came with this combo. It was only 10 oz. You can easily upgrade it for a bit more money, which I didn't do because I wasn't thirsty at all, but in a world where a small at Jack in the Box or Taco Bell is the size of an average pitcher, I think you can afford to give be a bit more to drink. Even though I didn't want it. This is America, dammit; waste some carbonated beverage on me.

If the benchmark is Players in Austin, I'll give them only a B because they are a bit overpriced and they have Mr. Pibb instead of Dr. Pepper. At Players on MLK I can get a jalapeño cheeseburger, thick fries and a bottomless Dr. Pepper for about $5.25. But be kind, this is Seattle, and the burger options are far less diverse.

A note from the bad pun department: Anyone who thinks this burger is master needs to get out more.

Mcmenamin's Queen Anne

A northwestern chain of brewpub/restaurants, I'm partial to the one a few blocks from my apartment in Uptown Seattle at the bottom of Queen Anne Hill. I don't really have anything bad to say about this place. The beer is delicious (try the Terminator Stout) and is brewed a few feet from where you sit, and the cheeseburger is priced reasonably enough at $7.10 to justify not ordering from the Happy Hour menu. This is a sit down restaurant, so clearly a class or two higher than Burgermaster, but surprisingly less than a dollar more expensive (before tax and tip), a notable feat in a city where the industry standard restaurant burger price is an over-confident ten bucks. And this burger is better than most ten dollar Seattle burgers, and might be the best burger I've had in the Seattle area (see also Red Hook brewery in Woodinville - evidently the ability to make good beer also comes with the ability to make good burgers). Of course the fries are delicious and hand-cut, and I can get Tabasco and beer, two things that were lacking at the other two establishments.

All told, in the Seattle restaurant burger scene, Mcmenamin's gets an "A".

A word from Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Those who remain alone with their evil are left utterly alone. It is possible that Christians may remain lonely in spite of daily worship together, prayer together, and all their community through service - that the final breakthrough to community does not occur precisely because they enjoy community with one another as pious believers, but not with one another as those lacking piety, as sinners...However, the grace of the gospel, which is so hard for the pious to comprehend, confronts us with the truth. It says to us, you are a sinner, a great, unholy sinner. Now come, as the sinner that you are, to your God who loves you. For God wants you as you are, not desiring anything from you - a sacrifice, a good deed - but rather desiring you alone."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

New Camera, cont.

Here is a place to sample some pictures that I took with my new camera.

Overrated Item of the Day: Pretzels

I could live without them. They are completely useless to me except as a conduit for salt. So why don't I just eat salt? At least salt won't make me quite as unnecessarily thirsty as pretzels do.
Some people really like pretzels, and I think that's great for them. But as far as I'm concerned, pretzels are nothing more than the stuff that gets in the way of the good stuff when I'm trying to eat Chex Mix.