The plague of televangelism: only in America (and where the American disease goes).

WARNING: John Oliver, a comic firmly entrenched in the imperialist/liberal Democrat stable is not one of our favorites by a long shot. He and his ilk, which certainly includes folks like the treacherous Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher, often use their enormous platforms to distort reality and advance the agendas of the American plutocracy, whom they naturally serve at every turn despite frequent proclamations of independence and populism. That said, not even evil can be absolute when enacted by humans, and so is the case with this guy who in this episode tackles a subject of import to society, a topic that most mainstream tv networks remain afraid to touch: the historical role of religion and religiosity in the US and the lurid abuses of trust by the Christian fundamentalists (although of late, with the Catholic pedophelia scandals, we can categorically say that few denominations are exempt from criticism). So, keeping that in mind, watch and take what you can from this presentation. —PG

Televangelists: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Published on Aug 16, 2015

U.S. tax law allows television preachers to get away with almost anything. We know this from personal experience. Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption will not be able to accept donations from Church supporters from the states of Mississippi, Nevada, Pennsylvania, or South Carolina. We apologize for any inconvenience.

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Things to ponder

While our media prostitutes, many Hollywood celebs, and politicians and opinion shapers make so much noise about the still to be demonstrated damage done by the Russkies to our nonexistent democracy, this is what the sanctimonious US government has done overseas just since the close of World War 2. And this is what we know about. Many other misdeeds are yet to be revealed or documented.

Parting shot—a word from the editors
The Best Definition of Donald Trump We Have Found

In his zeal to prove to his antagonists in the War Party that he is as bloodthirsty as their champion, Hillary Clinton, and more manly than Barack Obama, Trump seems to have gone “play-crazy” — acting like an unpredictable maniac in order to terrorize the Russians into forcing some kind of dramatic concessions from their Syrian allies, or risk Armageddon.However, the “play-crazy” gambit can only work when the leader is, in real life, a disciplined and intelligent actor, who knows precisely what actual boundaries must not be crossed. That ain’t Donald Trump — a pitifully shallow and ill-disciplined man, emotionally handicapped by obscene privilege and cognitively crippled by white American chauvinism. By pushing Trump into a corner and demanding that he display his most bellicose self, or be ceaselessly mocked as a “puppet” and minion of Russia, a lesser power, the War Party and its media and clandestine services have created a perfect storm of mayhem that may consume us all.— Glen Ford, Editor in Chief, Black Agenda Report

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