![]()
A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider God-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, wrongly believing that he has the Gods on his side.
–Aristotle, Politica bk v (ca. 340 BCE)















Gold? Our Aristotle should have won that…
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Well, no wonder people like the classic Aristotle are… classics. Not sure they’ve always been appreciated though. Any classical scholars amongst the Pastafarians?
Like or Dislike:
0
0
I remember Niccolo Machiavelli saying something similar in The Prince. If I recall correctly, he wrote that leaders should act religious but not be religious, just to be liked by their subjects.
.
Sounds like he and Aristotle were thinking along the same lines.
-Avatar of Reason
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@Reasonable Avatar Nov 24th, 2007 at 3:18 am: “Sounds like he and Aristotle were thinking along the same lines.”
.
Sounds even more like copying the ideas coming from a highly reputed brain…
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Ramen, Aristotle. Somehow these tactics remind me of George Bush.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
So true, Aristotle. So true.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Darwinfish, you stole my thoughts! Thought-thief. But, yeah. BUSH!
RAmen to all!
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Right from this moment, I believe in God.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
[evil laugh]
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Bush……….. Yaarrrrrrrgh… Ye said the dreaded “B” word.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Couldn’t resist:
.
Immanuel Kant was a real pissant
who was very rarely stable.
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
who could think you under the table.
David Hume could out consume
Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel,
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
who was just as sloshed as Schlegel.
.
There’s nothing Nietzsche couldn’t teach ya
’bout the raisin’ of the wrist.
Socrates himself was permanently pissed.
.
John Stuart Mill, of his own free will,
after half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.
Plato, they say, could stick it away,
‘alf a crate of whiskey every day!
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle,
and Hobbes was fond of his Dram.
And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart:
“I drink, therefore I am.”
.
Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed;
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he’s pissed.
.
St John the Blasphemist
Saint of Monty Python Sketches
Like or Dislike:
0
0
History had shown the best way to rule a population is through their religion. Most of Europe has tried to get away from this with their desire for seperation of Church and State, something our founding fathers also wanted. It’s a shame we can’t seem to achieve that in the United States.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Reminds me of Hitler claiming to be a Christian. Probably the exact same thing.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Is that why bush says god speaks to him??
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Its the name: he thinks he’s the bush god spoke through. He’s just not on fire……
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@Jean Bart
“Sounds even more like copying the ideas coming from a highly reputed brain…”
.
You’re right. That does sound plausible especially because anyone who tells people not to be virtuous can’t be expected to be virtuous on their own. Shame on me for giving others the benefit of the doubt!
-Avatar of Reason
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Wow. That about sums it up don’t it. You ad in another qoute…
“The gods too are fond of a joke.”
Aristotle
And you have Bush.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
It appears that philosophy does strange things – at least around here in my machine. Yesterday, Friday, was the 23rd of November, out hyar in Injun Fightin’ Country – or so my calendar says anyway. Yet the article is listed as having been posted on November 24th, which is Saturday; and the responses are dated the 24th, even though they first appeared yesterday.
.
Is the website itself in a totally different time zone; one on the other side of the International Date Line?
.
@ St. John the Blasphemist – Is that an original? Anyway, I wish I had seen it back some 55+ years ago, when my Jesuit advisor was critiquing my Bachelor Thesis. (Or do I?) Come to think of it, he really didn’t have all that much of a sense of humor after all. But in any event, it would have been a lively session.
.
We might have debated the questions: Is it “IN VINO VERITAS”? Or is it, “EX OPERE VINO CONFABULATIO?”
.
Many thanks for posting it.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Just BTW, it’s 7:40 AM around here – on the clock anyway. Is there something about FSM time that is supposed to leave one feeling a bit like . . . maybe Alice coming back through the looking glass, one might say?
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Aristotle’s quote actually echos Lucretius who wrote, ” All religion is sublime to the peasant, useful to the politician and ridiculous to the philosopher.” Religion has always lent itself to the politically powerful. It tells the faithful to obey lawful authorities “render unto Caesar. . . ” and those same authorities protect religion and permit it free reign to line its own pockets at the expense of the flock. Diderot said it best, “Mankind will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.” LC
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@ Les
You said what it took Heinlien a whole book to say… The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, great read!
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@Les – “Aristotle’s quote actually echos Lucretius who wrote…”
.
Maybe I am making the wrong interpretation, since this is not my native language, but does that mean that Aristotle is an echo of Lucretius? I am asking because I want to know how that verb functions. Aristotle predates Lucretius by about 300 years.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Wench Cyka,
Really? I need to give Heinlein another go. The first time I started it I got bogged down in the economic discussions–it really is a dismal science. As for religion and tyrants, Christopher Hitchens makes the same point in his “god is not Great” book. (An excellent read BTW) Religion always seems to favor authority. Was it Thomas Jefferson who said “the priest is no friend to liberty”? Its no accident the most of the “thou shalt not”s are directed at protecting the vested interests e.g. “thou shalt not covet”, thou shalt not steal” Even “thou shalt not kill” has the happy effect of dampening resistance. Les
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@Old Grouch
No–Monty Python did it first. It’s called the Philosopher Song. The only release I know of that has it is Live at the Hollywood Bowl (video & album).
.
St John the Blasphemist
Saint of Making Love In A Canoe
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@Old Grouch–I think it’s just a time zone thing. No worries about the whole Alice-through-the-looking-glass feeling.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@St. John–I just your signature. How the hell does one make love in a canoe without falling in the water?
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@ rmw, the minutes tend to disagree as well though, the FSM runs on its own time.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@storm petrel–thanks for pointing that out. No doubt the FSM just likes fucking with us. Or maybe somebody has a time machine. I remember a discussion about a time machine on another thread.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@rmw
Making love in a canoe is a line from the same sketch as the Philosopher Song. It’s a reference to American Beer. You’ll find the whole sketch here:
http://newscoma.wordpress.com/category/monty-python/
.
St John the Blasphemist
Saint of Non-Australians Who Can Actually Do The Australian Accent Convincingly
Like or Dislike:
0
0
I see a lot of reference to Bush. True, he became a born again at the same time re-election came round. Now correct me if I’m wrong; but usually when someone talks to god, aren’t they locked up in an asylum? So why isn’t Bush in one?
And what the fuck would they talk about anyway! Other then getting Bush to commit the atrocities that religious based leaders have often committed (notice it’s always the ones who say they talk to the almighty that do the most damage) in the past, it must be pretty fucking boring!
.
Hitler? Interesting, anther arse whole who claimed to be doing gods will. What gets me is that Christians claim he was an atheist. Weird that they would try to paint us with the same brush but ignore the hundreds of religious based tyrants. True he remarked about how easy religion makes controlling people, but he was setting himself up to be worshiped as an Idol! A messenger of god fulfilling his will! These sound more like a biblical figure then an atheist. His practice of uniting people by hate and some feeling of national pride is the same as the Evangelist, screaming his/gods hatred of gays and non-believers at huddled masses who are to week to seek guidance else where and are trying to secure their entrance to a mystical fairy land of mike and honey. They take up the hatred of there preachers to get to the almighty. This warps their view of the world. They would see to guys fucking as a danger to the nation? And would see a nation of founded on secular ideals as “gods’ nation”. We’ve seen this with Mosses and his followers; the atrocities they committed are well documented, and even praised in the bible making a genocidel mania a role model! No wonder they have such fucked up ideas.
.
Now some quotes to nail the point? Ok (yes some of these I’ve used before, but that makes them no less valid):
.
“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.” – Seneca the Younger 4 b.c.- 65 a.d.
.
“Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet” – Napoleon Bonaparte
.
“Those who believe absurdities will commit atrocities” – Voltaire
.
“Religion does three things quite effectively: Divides people, Controls people, Deludes people.” – Mary Alice McKinney
.
And as the bastard has been mentioned several time already, Lets remind ourselves why he is a cunt!
.
“I fully understand those who say you can’t win this thing militarily. That’s exactly what the United States military says, that you can’t win this military.” –George W. Bush, on the need for political progress in Iraq, Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2007
.
“My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions.” –George W. Bush, Oct. 3, 2007
.
“I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn’t here.” -at the President’s Economic Forum in Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002
.
“Tribal sovereignty means that; it’s sovereign. I mean, you’re a — you’ve been given sovereignty, and you’re viewed as a sovereign entity.
And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities.” –Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004
.
“You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.” –interview with CBS News’ Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006
.
“The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th.” –Washington, D.C., July 12, 2007
Err… so that would be Americas then George?
.
“Oh, no, we’re not going to have any casualties.” –discussing the Iraq war with Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson in 2003, as quoted by Robertson
.
I will not withdraw, even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me.” –talking to key Republicans about Iraq, as quoted by Bob Woodward
.
“I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.” –Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000
Bull shit! I put food on people all the time, no matter how many times they ask me not to!
.
Do you have blacks, too?” –to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001
.
“I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” –on “Good Morning America,” Sept. 1, 2005, six days after repeated warnings from experts about the scope of damage expected from Hurricane Katrina
.
“I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” –Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000
?
.
“I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass in my lake.” –on his best moment in office, interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, May 7, 2006
Oh! That’s what he ment by coexist!
.
“For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings.
And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It’s just unacceptable. And we’re going to do something about it.” –Philadelphia, Penn., May 14, 2001
.
“Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.” –LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000
.
“I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe — I believe what I believe is right.” –Rome, Italy, July 22, 2001
Spoken like a true Christian
.
“People say, how can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil? You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in’s house and say I love you.” –Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002
.
“I wish you’d have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it…I’m sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn’t yet…I don’t want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I’m confident I have. I just haven’t — you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I’m not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one.” –after being asked to name the biggest mistake he had made, Washington, D.C., April 3, 2004
.
“The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” –State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003, making a claim that administration officials knew at the time to be false
.
These two are pricless!
“The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him.” –Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2001
But next year…
“I don’t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don’t care. It’s not that important. It’s not our priority.” –Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002
Right!
.
“We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories … And we’ll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven’t found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they’re wrong, we found them.” –Washington, D.C., May 30, 2003
Next year
“Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere!” –joking about his administration’s failure to find WMDs in Iraq as he narrated a comic slideshow during the Radio & TV Correspondents’ Association dinner, Washington, D.C., March 24, 2004
.
“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on –shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” –Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002
.
And lastly (sorry it was soooo long. I realy do think he is an abomination!)
“I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job.” –to a group of Amish he met with privately, July 9, 2004.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Ever think he’s going to be remembered more for Bushisms than anything else he did? Although, the stupidity of the ‘war on terror’ (read as ‘protect our oil supplies’) will stand out.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
hahahahahaha
It’s Holidays folks…did you see our Supreme Deity with his costume?
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Sorry Pluto, I know it’s a bit cruel to pick out the non-fundie typos, but I just couldn’t resist – “a mystical fairy land of mike and honey” made me giggle. Just picturing from your message some poor bewildered guy thrown, slightly stickily, to the evangelists. Oh, and on the Bushisms – can anyone clarify who he means by Barney supporting him, because at the moment I have an image of the president of America taking advice from a guy in a dinosaur suit. Quite apart from the contradiction of a creationist paying attention to dinosaurs, just think of the potential for sabotage if someone else got hold of a costume and started wispering in his ear…
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Barney is their dog.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Shame. That’s not quite so funny to visualise. But still rather a worrying concept.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@Jennyanydots–Barney is Bush’s dog. I think I’d rather have the dog running things.
.
@Pluto–I loved your reference to the “fairy land of mike and honey.” Makes me think of male strippers and heaven. :-)
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Bush is the most stupid person in the world. =9
Like or Dislike:
0
0
After him…my neighbor.
.
@rmw – Male strippers and heaven! Oh yeeees…
.
@Pluto – I promise I won’t touch…=)
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@Pluto – Wonderful collection of Bushisms, Thanks for posting them.
.
I always got a kick out of the Tonight Show – at least when it wasn’t all re-runs from before the writers’ strike – where Jay Leno used to show us how he actually speaks better Spanish than he does English most of the time. He really should have run for El Supremisimo down in one of the Banana Republics United Fruit Company used to more or less own and operate. He surely couldn’t have done worse there than here.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@Jennyanydots
“Just picturing from your message some poor bewildered guy thrown, slightly stickily, to the evangelists.”
Well if it was Ted Haggard, I’m sure he would smoke some meth in a crack pipe and tuck in!
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@Pluto–oh come now, the good reverend has been cured. God has seen to it. James Dobson will testify to that.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Since the other thread is way too full..I have to post it here…
.
A dear friend sent me this one =)
.
A woman sitting in an Adelaide restaurant suddenly began to cough.
After a few seconds it became apparent that she was in real distress, and two
locals, Kenzie and Bruce sitting at the next table turned to look at her.
“Kin ya swaller?” asked Kenzie.
The woman signalled ‘No!’ desperately shaking her head.
“Kin ya breathe?” asked Brian.
The woman shook her head ‘No!!!’
With that, Kenzie walked behind her, lifted up the back of her dress,
yanked down her knickers and ran his tongue up and down her bum.
This shocked the woman into such a violent spasm that the obstruction
flew out of her mouth and she began to breathe again.
Kenzie swaggered back to his table and took a deep swig of his beer.
Bruce said in admiration, “Ya know Kenzie, I’d heard of that bloody Hind
Lick Manoeuvre, but that’s the first time I ever seen somebody do it
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Pam was that from who I think?
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@PacificPam–that’s a good one! *lol* We need another joke thread.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@rmw- I wasn’t aware there was a cure for being gay? What is it? Did one of his colleagues put his hand on his head and scream “out devil out!”
And how did Dobson know he was cured? Haggard might have just not found him attractive and that’s why he didn’t suck him off?
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@Pluto – yes it is!
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@rmw – I have more hahahahahahahha
Like or Dislike:
0
0
@ Jennyanydots – “can anyone clarify who he means by Barney supporting him, because at the moment I have an image of the president of America taking advice from a guy in a dinosaur suit.”
Well actual there is, that’s who he thinks god is. Why do you think US foreign policy is such a mess?
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Today has been a busy day…I actually had some work to do…weird.
Like or Dislike:
0
0
“For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings.
And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It’s just unacceptable. And we’re going to do something about it.” –Philadelphia, Penn., May 14, 2001
*
Pluto, this is where I had to clear the drinks out of the keyboard!
*
What did he do? Give Cheney some lessons on how to aim better? (In this film Ratatouille, an old lady gets some bullets to shoot at the rats, brandname: Cheney!)
Like or Dislike:
0
0