Dude, Obama is the AntiChrist! I am calling it! Watch the video: (bad language alert!)

It has come to my attention that back in August while we were on vacation (see entry for Sep 2), right-wing talking heads like Glenn Beck (who I DON'T watch) and others were hyping the idea that "Obama is the Antichrist," and doing a Google web search shows there was a "controversy" over the McCain campaign's own commercial called "the One" because some people thought it implied Obama was the antichrist- although I don't agree!

In "The One" clip on YouTube, they show Charlton Heston as Moses parting the Red Sea- the famous scene with the cheesy special effects from the Ten Commandments. How you get from there to saying McCain thinks Obama is the A/C is a long shot. It does imply, by very indirect means, that SOME of Obama's supporters may see him as a quasi-messianic figure. Or you could call it enthusiasm. McCain's own acceptance speech which ended with him shouting over the crescendo of enthusiastic cheers might also be interpreted that way. Here is a playlist of videos from the campaign trail.

You may remember that back around the year 2000, I made a big deal about being part of the generation that turns 40 at the turn of the millennium. Much of what I wrote pre-Y2K was motivated by my reactions to the deaths of Princess Diana in 1998 and John Kennedy Jr in 1999. They were born in July 1961 and November 1960 respectively. I wrote that part of the reason we identified with Diana so much was because of this generational link- she was "one of us," a child of the 1960s, unlike Charles who was born in 1948 the first year of the so- called "baby boom." I was troubled by the death of members of my own "class" (iow high school graduation year, literally) and wondered why so many of the "good ones" were departing from this earth in the years leading up to the "true" bimillennium of the birth of Jesus in 2 B.C. In the "Left Behind" books and others, certain "elect" people would be taken from earth in the time immediately preceding "the Tribulation." There were also a number of high-profile disappearances in the news, some who were found alive (Elisabeth Smart), some found dead (Chaundra Levy), and some never found (Natalee Holloway).

In my opinion, we are nearing the "end times" mentioned in the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. Throughout history, people have believed that their time was THE time of the EOTW. They interpreted the signs and portents mentioned in the dream of John of Patmos in 60 A.D., and applied it to historical figures of their own age. The beast, the false prophet, the rapture, the tribulation... these were all seen to be evident in the times in which they lived. In all these cases, the end was not near after all, and each subsequent generation has to reinterpret those signs to fit the current situation. So let's say, just go with me here, if the present time, or the very near future, were in fact the "end times" then what puzzle pieces would need to be in place to make the scenario work?

As long as ten years ago, in discussion groups on AOL and elsewhere, many people, myself included, speculated that soon to emerge on the world stage would be new leaders, also arising from this generation, some of whom were already sitting at the head of governments of nations in the Middle East, who would be thrust by circumstances into postions of extreme power when they would rise from being known locally in their own countries to being major players on the world stage. I even speculated, along with others, that somewhere out there, living in obscurity, there was someone born in 1961 or 1962 who would literally come out of nowhere, to fulfill the role of the "Beast." We discussed how the "666" would come to power claiming to be a man of peace, but would lead the world into war. He would be a mesmerizing speaker, and would promise to solve the world's problems, like war in the Middle East, and the global environmental crisis.

What do we know about Obama that tends to support the assertion? In order to match him with one of the fantastic symbolic creatures in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, there are certain requirements that must be met. Signs and portents, unusual things in his background and upbringing (there are PLENTY!), the significance of his name (read on), he must suffer a mortal headwound, etc. You will have a harder time taking "Barack Hussein Obama" and turning it into the number "666" than you might with other names like "Ronald(6) Wilson(6) Reagan(6)" or WILLIAM PRINCE OF WALES or "Charles Arthur Philip Louis Windsor." This is because Islamic/Arabic names do not easily transliterate into English spelled words. For example, Osama Bin Laden's name can be translated Usama Ben Ladin and any combination of the variations is considered valid.

Many people have tried to do this numerology for years and applied it to whomever was in power, and in the case of Reagan he is already passed on to the next world, so in retrospect we can say he was NOT "The One." Charles and William have yet to take the throne, and it may turn out that the crown skips over Charles and goes directly to William. That is one of the things that I interpret his horoscope to indicate- William (21 June 1982) has one of the most "powerful" birth charts I have ever seen, on so many levels, while Charles is "wishy washy" and reflects his own desire NOT to serve as monarch. In fact a poll of Britons revealed that something like 70 percent wished the throne to pass to William instead of Charles, a fact which the Queen may be taking into consideration by not abdicating even though she is getting on in years. Let me say this.... in the next few months leading up to the election... if news comes out of England about the Queen or Charles being involved in a plane crash.... call me! More about Diana and the royals below.

If the guy in the video is right, then Obama will win the election! It can't be stopped! The first black president will be the target of an assasination attempt- he will be shot in the head, but he will live! Then all kinds of miraculous things will start to happen, and people will begin to worship him almost like he is a God. Far fetched? Maybe, but remember the mass hysteria after Diana's death eleven years ago last month, fueled by the media, in which we turned Diana into a quasi-divine figure (read more below). Remember that after Reagan was shot in March 1981, the ensuing wave of sympathy allowed him to push through the most sweeping changes to our government since the New Deal.

Will the election of 2008 turn out to be as controversial as the year 2000? All "signs" seem to indicate that it will only get more WEIRD.