I don't think I have ever seen a video that so adequately sums up the reasons for my disdain of organized religions.

With so much that unites these people, they honor their religions by creating fake boundaries guaranteed to be breached, and then engage in a violent conflict for no real discernible reason other than that they wish to fight and do harm to one another.

In many ways is that NOT the very definition for why religion can still cause so much harm in the world today?

Palin camp responds to quick turn around at Israeli checkpoint. Essentially saying "We meant to do that!"

From Politco:

An aide to Sarah Palin says she was not turned away at a checkpoint crossing into Bethlehem this week, as has been widely reported. SarahPAC Treasurer Tim Crawford told POLITICO on Tuesday that “Gov. Palin was never scheduled to go to Bethlehem.”

“They had always planned on viewing Bethlehem from the Separation Wall,” Crawford said of Palin’s visit to Israel with her husband, Todd. “They did that, then drove past the checkpoint on the way out.”

Yeah, and you believe that I have a bridge to nowhere I would like to sell you.

By the way NOBODY said she was turned away at the checkpoint.  We said that she did not cross over for some reason when it appeared that was her intent.  My best guess is that she did not realize Bethlehem was in Palestinian territory until the very last minute.

Sarah Palin gets a case of the nerves and balks at Israel checkpoint, deciding to turn around and skip visiting Bethlehem. WTF?

Courtesy fo the Guardian:

Sarah Palin apparently had second thoughts about crossing an Israeli checkpoint on Monday to visit Bethlehem during a three-day visit to Jerusalem.

The former governor of Alaska pulled up to the checkpoint run by the Israeli border police to the south of Jerusalem in a white people carrier, with her husband, Todd, her assistant and Israeli guides.

None of the occupants left the car nor did they speak to the police officers at the checkpoint, according to photographers at the scene. They then turned around and drove away. A spokesman for the Israeli police said there was no incident at the checkpoint and a spokesman for the Israeli army said that Palin's group had not co-ordinated a visit to the occupied Palestinian territory.

Palin's group then stopped at a nearby Greek Orthodox monastery before returning to her hotel in the centre of west Jerusalem from where they later continued their tour of the city.

Tourists need to carry passports to cross checkpoints into the occupied Palestinian territory and Israelis are not normally permitted to enter areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, such as Bethlehem.

Okay color me confused.  Why in the hell would a woman who claims to be this super Christian, NOT visit Bethlehem after she flew all the way to Israel?  That makes no sense to me.

Why wouldn't a woman who called it "overwhelming" to touch cornerstone of her faith, NOT continue on to the place where Christianity was literally born. (You know if you believe all of the information in the Bible of course.)

She must have had her passport so that cannot be the reason. Unless it was left behind in their hotel, but why wouldn't they go back and then try again?

Was she afraid to enter the West Bank due to her anti-Iranian rhetoric? That would seem unnecessarily paranoid.

You know at this point I just have to throw my hands into the air and say, "Beats the hell out of me."

Any ideas?

Update: Here is Hardball's take on Klondike Kardashian's worldwind tour, and her odd avoidance of Bethlehem.

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