Interesting Slate article on the evolution of the black metal ethos from misanthropic Satanism to a more romantic, melancholy pre-Christian paganism. This ends up having a certain affinity with deep ecology themes, and the article offers a profile of a black metal group in Sanat Cruz that is simultaneously trying to live off the grid and cultivate a kind of environmental spirituality.
Author: Lee M.
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See how these Christians love one another
A former religion correspondent for the Guardian recounts his loss of faith after seeing how church people treat each other. Sigh.
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A humane life
There’s a nice article in Newsweek by Wayne Pacelle, the current CEO of the Humane Society of the US about how he got into activism on behalf of animals.
The HSUS has recently ramped up its efforts on behalf of farm animals, such as promoting ballot measures that would mandate slightly more humane conditions for animals raised for food.
Some critics, awash in industry cash, accuse the HSUS of departing from its core mission of looking out for puppies and kittens. But, of course, if you’re concerned about animal well-being you can’t consistently ignore the plight of the literally billions of animals raised and killed for food every year. The dread specter of “giving animals the same rights of humans” seems less sinister when the right in question is the right not to be confined for the majority of your life to a crate that makes it impossible to turn around.
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Rev. Paul
Turns out Ron Paul’s older brother David is an ELCA pastor in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And the Paul family originally hails from Pittsburgh. Who knew?
David Paul is proud of Ron Paul, but he is enough of a realist to understand that his brother’s candidacy is a long shot. Some of his stands—for example, he favors repeal of most federal drug laws—put him on the political fringe. He barely registers in national polls.
But on the whole, David Paul thinks his brother is on the right side where it counts. “On Iraq, I am in total agreement with him. We shouldn’t have been there. We should get out of there.”
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The right profile
I heartily recomment the new documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten. I saw it yesterday afternoon and loved it. The live footage of the Clash is electrifying and worth the price of admission alone. But even if you’re not a big Clash fan (and if not, well, what’s wrong with you?), the movie is a fascinating portait of Strummer, who went from privileged child of an English civil servant, to hippie squatter, to punk icon, to disillusioned rock star and apparent has-been, but who was able to find a new lease on life toward the end with his new band the Mescaleros.
Here’s an interview with the filmmaker, Julian Temple, a longtime friend of Strummer’s (he also made the notorious Sex Pistols film the Great Rock And Roll Swindle).
“White Riot”:
“Tommy Gun”:
“English Civil War” (live):
“White Man in Hammersmith Palais” (live in Tokyo):
“Coma Girl” (with the Mescaleros):
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Go, NPR!
One of the annoying things about the recent debate over waterboarding has been the media’s tendency to refer to it as “simulated drowning.” This is inaccurate and gives a distorted view of what the process involves. Having water poured into your lungs is not a simulation.
So, I was gratified to hear Nina Totenberg on NPR this morning refer to waterboarding as “controlled drowning,” a much more accurate and descriptive term.
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Who owns Goldwater?
With all the buzz about the conservative movement being on the verge of breaking apart, it’s interesting to contrast the present with the career of Barry Goldwater, who managed to unite libertarians, traditionalists, and foreign policy hawks. Recently even liberals have been looking back fondly (if with rose-colored glasses) on the tolerant libertarain Goldwater who didn’t think much of Jerry Falwell and the Religious Right.
In the latest American Conservative Daniel McCarthy considers the latest wave of Goldwater revisionism and tries to uncover the essence of Goldwaterism.
A Thinking Reed 