I was returning the irony. Look again at the original post. It's replete with religious connotation.

Though I may have made a mistake in assuming "you" personally were in agreement with the original post as a statement "against" Vegas and what it stands for...

You could simply have been pointing it out for others to see (in irony) without intending to imply that "you" agree with the post. (In which case I assumed poorly and hereby duly apologize.)

The article is making a claim. I interpreted your comment accompanying the claim to be an agreement.

If that's the case, (and I apologize if I'm wrong), I was pointing out that the Religion of Unearned Riches -- Vegas -- is the same a...

I was returning the irony. Look again at the original post. It's replete with religious connotation.

Though I may have made a mistake in assuming "you" personally were in agreement with the original post as a statement "against" Vegas and what it stands for...

You could simply have been pointing it out for others to see (in irony) without intending to imply that "you" agree with the post. (In which case I assumed poorly and hereby duly apologize.)

The article is making a claim. I interpreted your comment accompanying the claim to be an agreement.

If that's the case, (and I apologize if I'm wrong), I was pointing out that the Religion of Unearned Riches -- Vegas -- is the same as the Christian religion of everlasting heaven (riches) through the virtues of someone else (Jesus). Both are unearned.

It is therefore ironic that the author of the article could not see the obvious parallel. They are no different!

(Though I admit my approach was extremely sarcastic. Sorry.)

Ah! Thanks for clarifying. Irony, she do not travel so well across the intertubes.

Actually, I'm pretty sure Jim Kunstler, the original author, is a big, honkin' atheist. This photo is from a series called "Eyesore of the Month", and much in keeping with his regular lambasting of sh*t architecture, crappy consumerist values and the pigheaded insistence of city planners to put cars and corporations ahead of people.

For the record, I do agree w/ Kunstler. I'm not at all religious, I'm ridiculously liberal and I believe in an educated, involved, evolved citizenry and a government that exists to support those particular values.

I love my vices; I drink, carouse, etc. with the best of them. B...

Ah! Thanks for clarifying. Irony, she do not travel so well across the intertubes.

Actually, I'm pretty sure Jim Kunstler, the original author, is a big, honkin' atheist. This photo is from a series called "Eyesore of the Month", and much in keeping with his regular lambasting of sh*t architecture, crappy consumerist values and the pigheaded insistence of city planners to put cars and corporations ahead of people.

For the record, I do agree w/ Kunstler. I'm not at all religious, I'm ridiculously liberal and I believe in an educated, involved, evolved citizenry and a government that exists to support those particular values.

I love my vices; I drink, carouse, etc. with the best of them. But that picture--an example of the proliferation of crap culture and lottery mentality in the U.S. over the past 50-60 years--breaks my heart. While I never saw it then, I believe Vegas hit its apex in the Rat Pack era--yes, it was excessive, but not on a theme park scale. It was where you went for adult pleasures, everyone knew it and it had its place.

Just as--while I'm no fan--religion can have its place. I'm agin' it, b/c in general, it discourages free thinking and is used as an excuse for a multitude of sins, but there are good people of faith just as there are really excellent libertines.

So I see your point. I don't think Kunstler was stumping for religion, though.