If they say white, you know it’s black. That was the story when the administration claimed WMD, and increased funding appropriate to a “compassionate conservative” agenda. They want to “save” Social Security by reducing diverting funds into high risk markets, reducing benefits, and rejecting actuarially justified expansion of withholding limits.

We hear claims that the United states has “excellent” health care – but we have higher infant mortality rates than Cuba. Our life-expectancy is lower that of all other industrialized nations – all of whom can claim to spend half as much (per-capita) as we do, while also providing universal cradle to grave care.

They lie to start wars, and argue that international conventions and courts should not apply to torture which this administration has approved. They refuse to support proven defenses against the spread of AIDS – condoms – yet proclaim to support a “culture of life”.

If you’re dead, but they can keep your body functioning, they’re there for you; but if you suffer from an illness that can be cured – using a replacement therapy derived from stem cells – they’re against it, and call it immoral destruction of “life’. Love it! Humans aren’t life, but stuff the size of the period in the exclamation point at the end of this sentence is!

This administration is so fiscally conservative that they took a budgetary surplus and converted it into a sustained record deficit. This administration is so fiscally competent – they have declared they will turn our federal bonds into worthless IOU’s, that a 150 year history of 3.5% economic growth will be, withing the next few years, reduced to 1.9%. That’s less economic growth than Communist China!

But, in all fairness, 1.9% in Chian can fund their economy, and underwrite our deficits; whereas 3.4% growth here isn’t enough care for, or properly educate, our own citizens. No wonder, in Russia – where they have adopted our economic model – people are now revering Stalin and claiming Lenin may have had it right.

More important, Conservatives have declared they will structure our economic policies so as to ensure such historically low growth rates persist for the next 75 years – an assertion which justifies crippling the Social Security system.

Here in Maine, bigotry, and the promotion of stupidity through a destruction of our schools, is high on the Conservative agenda. The destruction of successful small community schools, makes it easier to create “Charter” schools.

If we look to the Florida model, these will be fundamentalist institutions in which students learn that the universe is constantly being “adjusted” – because, as implicit in the Creationist/ “intelligent design“ concept, our creator was either too incompetent, or too stupid, to get it right, or create with intent. That is, an “all knowing” and “perfect” creator invented, and set in motion, forces, the effect of which were unknown.

Face it, stupid people will insist their deity be in their own image – that is, insist their deity be at least as incompetent and deceitful as they are. Readers of this column already know that I hold that the deity gave us free-will – but with an absolute knowledge that only so many will emerge successfully.

I see this when I review various scriptures, and scriptural doctrines, of different cultures. At their core, they all have the same doctrine of faith, ethical conduct, and health. We see them as “Commandments” – but, unfortunately, some get stuck on the ten “pliable” basics and ignore the “permanent” ones; ones that are fixed, immutable, and not subject to “extenuating circumstances.”

On one level, I must acknowledge the fundamentalists almost get it right. That level is prophecy – that ability to view-thru-the-window of future events. As you know, this column acknowledges prophecy – as an example, the current pope had to be Benedictine by creed or name (see April 13th “Gloria Olivae” analysis in which publication of the pope’s selected name preceded the election). With open eyes and ears, we are being shown the way – myths, fantasy, lies are for the deaf and blind.