Maddogging on 'Magog' and Michele Bachmann, Gagging on 'Gog'

fake man on dinosaur rock,
above and below

For those of you not familiar with the definition of the word 'maddog' (not mad dog) used above, from dictionary.com:

mad-dog

verb (used with object), mad·-dogged, mad·-dog·ging.

Slang. to glare at threateningly.

Origin:
1985–90,  Americanism

For those of you not familiar with Gog and Magog (not the city in Canada), Gog and Magog refer to Biblical texts fundamentalist evangelicals and other right wing extremists regard as prophecy from the old testament, that re-appears in the new testament associated with the "end times".  Gog and Magog are variously two giants, two kings, a prince and the country he comes from, all associated with an end-of-days battle.  THAT is what gets Michele Bachmann and her fellow right-wing-nut-job extremists fire up.

Ancient and just old (medieval through 18th century 'enlightenment' era) posit the place - literally - all over the map, but more often in the region that was the former Soviet Union and/or the northern part of China.

Geographicus.com notes:

"The Jewish historian Josephus associates Magog with the Scythians. In antiquity Scythia was an empire to the north of Parthia or Persia that included much of central Asia as far east as India and Tibet.

The Alexander Romance, a c. 300 CE compendium of stories and myths associated with Alexander the Great, brings Gog and Magog into a historical context. Apparently when Alexander marched his army into the Caucuses he discovered a people beset and harassed by the empires of Gog and Magog to the north."

from Geographicus.com:
Al-Idrisi's World Map with
Gog and Magog behind the wall
and circled in red. Note,
this map is oriented to the south
so here Gog and Magog are
in the proximity of China.

The irony here, is that the Koran also has passages about Gog and Magog, and they suggest being afraid as well during the end times -- presumably of the Michele Bachmann fanatics and their minions. It's not a stretch to see the fundie Islamists perceiving the various Christian fundies as Gog and Magog. Geographicus continues:

"The Qur’an next takes up this story and adds its own more mythical element. The great hero Dhul Qarnayan (literally “two-horned one”, a reference to the ram horns Alexander wears on coins minted during his rule to indicate his descent from the Egyptian god Amun) is said to have walled the infernal armies of Gog and Magog behind a great gate where they will remain – until doomsday. At this point,
when Gog and Magog are let loose and they rush headlong down every height (or advantage). Then will the True Promise draw near. (Qur’an 21:96-97)."

End times believers are paranoid religious fanatics. They represent the worst of the fundies, the worst of the ignorant, the worst of the anti-science nuts.  They are personified by the "I don't need to know nuthin' but Jesus", lying-is-ok-when-I-do-it, and you-must-conform-or-go-to-hell/jail/die crowd. 

They want to control both domestic and foreign policy as if the world were ending, as if they were organizing Armageddon, aka Harmagedon (in the greek) as if the book of Revelations was going to be the feature of CNN's headline news this week, or the week after, in a double feature with the Second Coming and the Rapture.  (I find this particularly poignant, having been to the site of 'Ur Megido' aka Armeggedon in the middle east.)

Some of them want to shoot you, their fellow Americans, if you don't join them in delusion, and they are gearing up to do so sooner than later.

They believe bizarre things, un-scientific things, like men road around on dinosaurs, or at least walked beside them, in the Bible. 

To the right is an example of one such dinosaur claim promoted by Bachmann mentor and 2012 candidate for Congress, Allen Quist, who wanted the unsubstantiated claim this was evidence of creationism MANDATED in all educational curricula, because he made the assumption it was a picture of a triceratops.  From an evangelical creationist site:

There is a lot of historical evidence that men and dinosaurs lived together. But, if men and dinosaurs lived together you'd think that the Bible would mention them as it does other animals. So, do we read about dinosaurs in the Bible? Yes.
Keep in mind that the word dinosaur was not invented until the 19th century. So if dinosaurs existed before the 19th century they must have been called something different. Let's read Job chapter 40 verses 15-18 and see if we can figure out what is being described.

"Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox. Behold now, his strength in his loins and his power in the muscles of his belly. He bends his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze; his limbs are like bars of iron."

It sounds like the largest dinosaur ever found, a brachiosaurus (Brak-key-0h-saurus). 20 meters long and weighted 74 tons as much as 20 elephants.
When the Bible talks about dinosaurs it uses the Hebrew word "Tannium" Keep in mind that the word "dinosaur" was not created until the 19th century. Early translators of the Bible ddn't have the word "dinosaur" available to them, but they accurately translated the word "Tannium" as dragon, because this was an animal they knew about. We've now come to think of dragons as mythological, and it has only been recently that the evidence is surfacing and we are learning that dinosaurs lived with man, and the term people used to describe them is dragon.

Cardiff Giant hoax,
Cardiff, New York

Among the crazy things believed by these fundies are - and were - that there were giants roaming the earth prior to the flood described in Genesis, AND that these giants were the offspring, known as the Nephilim, of fallen angels cross-breeding with human women.  Goliath of Gath, the one knocked out by David with a slingshot and a rock, was supposedly one of these giants, supposedly there were whole tribes of them roaming around, along with the unicorns and dinosaurs, from Genesis 6:4

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

This 19th century hoax provides an important context to understanding 21st century gullibility of those who desperately want to believe baloney.  They are funny, they are pathetic in their ignorance, but when you realize that they also stockpile guns and grenades and are looking for an opportunity to use them, it is harder to laugh.

When you deny science, and believe in giants, unicorns and dragons as real rather than mythological, AND believe they lived contemporaneously with humans in a world that is only 6,000 years old, and deny any scientific evidence to the contrary, it's easy to believe modern nonsense propaganda too.  Appeals to fact and reason are rejected.

These people are among the most gullible ever born.  In the words - NOT of P.T. Barnum, but rather his competitor, George Hull, "There's a sucker born every minute."  Hull created the fake 'Cardiff giant' (Cardiff, New York) back in the 19th century, which had a lot of believers from the "there are giants in the Bible" set along with the novelty gawkers.

This 19th century hoax provides an important context to understanding 21st century gullibility of those who desperately want to believe baloney.  They are funny, they are pathetic in their ignorance, but when you realize that they also stockpile guns and grenades and are looking to current events for an opportunity to use them, it is harder to laugh.  The 'doomsday preppers' and other fundie fanatics have, sadly, become the bread and butter of National Geographic's cable network (Doomsday preppers, Doomsday Castle, American Blackout, Outlaw Religion, etc.).


It's not only the religious extremist fundamentalists, like Michele Bachmann, but she is a part of it.  From Right Wing Watch, who caught up with the Congresswoman NOT doing her job in Congress:

In an interview with Understanding the Times host Jan Markell on Saturday, Rep. Michele Bachmann accused President Obama of giving aid to Al Qaeda, which she said is proof that we are living in the Last Days. Of course, on the same day Bachmann gave the interview, a Delta Force operation approved by Obama nabbed a key Al Qaeda figure in Libya.

But according to Bachmann, Obama is now championing the terrorist group.

The Minnesota congresswoman referred to a decision by the Obama administration to allow vetted Syrian rebels not affiliated with terrorist organizations to help them resist chemical weapons attacks, which was spurred by the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons on civilians.

While the administration’s move is only related to non-lethal, defensive and protective aid, Bachmann falsely claimed that “President Obama waived a ban on selling arms to terrorists.”

“President Obama waived a ban on arming terrorists in order to allow weapons to go to the Syrian opposition,” Bachmann said. “Your listeners, US taxpayers, are now paying to give arms to terrorists including Al Qaeda.”

That was on the same day that Obama directed the launching of TWO special ops strikes against terrorists, one in Libya that captured an al-Quaida leader we have been after for decades.  The other was an attack on terrorists in Somalia believed to have been part of the Kenya mall attack last month.

“President Obama waived a ban on arming terrorists in order to allow weapons to go to the Syrian opposition,” Bachmann said. “Your listeners, US taxpayers, are now paying to give arms to terrorists including Al Qaeda.”
- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bachmann-obama-supporting-al-qaeda-proving-we-are-end-times#sthash.T7CwBY8n.dpuf

In an interview with Understanding the Times host Jan Markell on Saturday, Rep. Michele Bachmann accused President Obama of giving aid to Al Qaeda, which she said is proof that we are living in the Last Days. Of course, on the same day Bachmann gave the interview, a Delta Force operation approved by Obama nabbed a key Al Qaeda figure in Libya.
But according to Bachmann, Obama is now championing the terrorist group.
The Minnesota congresswoman referred to a decision by the Obama administration to allow vetted Syrian rebels not affiliated with terrorist organizations to help them resist chemical weapons attacks, which was spurred by the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons on civilians.
While the administration’s move is only related to non-lethal, defensive and protective aid, Bachmann falsely claimed that “President Obama waived a ban on selling arms to terrorists.”
“President Obama waived a ban on arming terrorists in order to allow weapons to go to the Syrian opposition,” Bachmann said. “Your listeners, US taxpayers, are now paying to give arms to terrorists including Al Qaeda.”
- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bachmann-obama-supporting-al-qaeda-proving-we-are-end-times#sthash.T7CwBY8n.dpuf

In an interview with Understanding the Times host Jan Markell on Saturday, Rep. Michele Bachmann accused President Obama of giving aid to Al Qaeda, which she said is proof that we are living in the Last Days. Of course, on the same day Bachmann gave the interview, a Delta Force operation approved by Obama nabbed a key Al Qaeda figure in Libya.
But according to Bachmann, Obama is now championing the terrorist group.
The Minnesota congresswoman referred to a decision by the Obama administration to allow vetted Syrian rebels not affiliated with terrorist organizations to help them resist chemical weapons attacks, which was spurred by the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons on civilians.
While the administration’s move is only related to non-lethal, defensive and protective aid, Bachmann falsely claimed that “President Obama waived a ban on selling arms to terrorists.”
“President Obama waived a ban on arming terrorists in order to allow weapons to go to the Syrian opposition,” Bachmann said. “Your listeners, US taxpayers, are now paying to give arms to terrorists including Al Qaeda.”
- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bachmann-obama-supporting-al-qaeda-proving-we-are-end-times#sthash.T7CwBY8n.dpuf

In an interview with Understanding the Times host Jan Markell on Saturday, Rep. Michele Bachmann accused President Obama of giving aid to Al Qaeda, which she said is proof that we are living in the Last Days. Of course, on the same day Bachmann gave the interview, a Delta Force operation approved by Obama nabbed a key Al Qaeda figure in Libya.
But according to Bachmann, Obama is now championing the terrorist group.
The Minnesota congresswoman referred to a decision by the Obama administration to allow vetted Syrian rebels not affiliated with terrorist organizations to help them resist chemical weapons attacks, which was spurred by the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons on civilians.
While the administration’s move is only related to non-lethal, defensive and protective aid, Bachmann falsely claimed that “President Obama waived a ban on selling arms to terrorists.”
“President Obama waived a ban on arming terrorists in order to allow weapons to go to the Syrian opposition,” Bachmann said. “Your listeners, US taxpayers, are now paying to give arms to terrorists including Al Qaeda.”
- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/bachmann-obama-supporting-al-qaeda-proving-we-are-end-times#sthash.T7CwBY8n.dpuf

Some of the less religious-oriented right wing media also engages in this fear mongering; it's what multi-billionaires like Rupert Murdoch started his media empire to achieve - disinformation and propaganda. For example, the National Report is a satire site which fooled Fox News - in spite or clear identification they ARE a satire site.




It's time to stop the lunatic right wing fringe from driving the national bus.  It's time to get them out of the Halls of Congress and into the nice, quiet rooms in the Insane Asylum, decorated with the 'mattress wallpaper', and the happy straight jacket suits, where they belong.