Wayward Landlubber

   I grew up in a Protestant tradition, though not fervently pursued. So, in a time of personal crisis even a secular humorist can be tempted to seek divine comfort. It was at just such a time that I found myself in the receiving line after a Unitarian service. I am an unapologetic liberal, and have been most of my adult life. While quick to see the yawning chasm between the Jimmy Carter Christian's and the Pat Robertson Christians, I have kept both at arms length. However an existential crisis drove me to seek desperate measures.    The Unitarian Church has long been a haven for progressive thinkers. Speakers on issues such as the environment, economic diversity, or the consequences of corporate personhood could often be found renting out a Unitarian Church to deliver their speeches. I sometimes found myself in attendance. The cars in the parking lot of the Unitarian Church have bumper stickers that read: Earth love it or leave it!, or well-behaved women never make history, or su

Many of us were mislead by the Bond films and the assorted criminal masterminds to emerge from the dark places where villains assemble to take control of the world from the "globalist hierarchy", fictional groups like SMERSH, SMEGMA,  or whatever sinister groups are out rhere. It is not hard to find a real-world corallary to Bond villainy. The problem is James Bond, 007,  was in a linear universe, where the battle was between battle MI-6 and whatever evil profiteer he, Bond, is assigned to eliminate with "extreme sanction".  Sometimes the CIA rides in the passenger seat. In the real world MI-6 must fight several villains at once and there are more than seven double O's needed. And that's only one spy agency battling the dark knights. We are not sure where the CIA fits into that picture.  Our fascination with spy fiction has been entertaining, but like all of our battles with the real villains, we are fighting their passionate quest for world domination. We h