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R.I.P., Evel Knievel

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It's really sort of impossible to overstate how cool EK was to a generation of men and boys in the '60s and '70s. So you kids who grew up watching "Jackass" on MTV should mosey on over to Youtube and check out the man who makes those guys look like Little Lord Fauntleroy playing in the sandbox.

Though he had mostly faded from view over the years, Knievel had been in the news this week because he and rapper Kanye West had settled a lawsuit over the use of the daredevil's image in a music video. In 2002, Knievel started Evel Knievel Days in his hometown of Butte, a celebration that drew over 50,000 visitors a year to watch stunts and celebrate the man.

Though he was a hero to many, Knievel didn't like that word at all: "It's the most overused, undeserving word. Too many people think the wrong people are heroes. A soldier…a scientist…an astronaut…those are heroes….I was good at riding a motorcycle and a pretty good businessman. Not a hero."

We're going to have to respectably disagree on that one, EK. And I've got the scar on my wrist to prove it. R.I.P

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Posted By: absalom @ 12/22/2007 10:07:32 PM

And 2 tours in Iraq is irrelevent. If you've been there twice and still haven't gotten it figured out, that in itself shows your level of self deception. Do your homework, friend! The founding fathers were anything BUT Christians. Secular humanists would be a more relevant term. Wow, it blows my mind to see the warped version of reality some people see the world through.
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Posted By: absalom @ 12/22/2007 10:03:15 PM

Ya, so the "storybooks" say. (I'm referring to the bible and all other religious texts) Unfortunately for the world, people take them as truth and start wars, racial cleansing, and all other sorts of repression due to their "storybook". A thousand years from now, people will look back on Christianity, Islam, etc the way we look at Thor, Zues, and Venus. Its a shame so many people here and now don't have the foresight to recognize that. Oh, btw, statistically, Christianity is on the rise, not fall, so you can attribute the problems of today to that, not common sense and rational rejection of the magical being/God theory. Look at secular countries like Sweden versus religious states like Iran and tell me religious control is good? And don't bring up China as a secular state, because their form of communism IS their religion.
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Posted By: rmw06 @ 12/09/2007 10:06:35 PM

Dear angry, liberal, atheist

I'm so sorry you have so much anger and hate in your heart. I hope one day you'll see that the very freedom you're using to air your opinion came from a government and country that was founded on the Bible and faith in Jesus Christ. Our founding fathers had the wisdom to acknowledge God in their decisions and endeavors. As a result, we have prospered more in the last 230 years than any country in history. This age of free thinking and new ageism will be our nation's downfall if we don't, as a nation, turn back to the faith of our forefathers. Jesus IS the ONLY source of peace. I'm just so glad God made a way by sending Him, for us undeserving, rebellious sinners to not have to go to Hell forever. Warmongering president? Yes, he's made mistakes but going into Iraq wasn't. Evil has to be dealt with, and Saddam Hussein was a PROVEN terrorist, a PROVEN genocidist, and a PROVEN hater of freedom and democracy. Religion is not the cause of all wars, friend, SIN and EVIL (greed, lust for power, racial hatred, etc.) are. I have a little room to have an opinion on this one because I spent two tours (2 years) in Iraq as a soldier and would go back again. Freedom costs.