Political Crud

Are You a Human?

2010-11-05T04:19:00.000-07:00

Remember, before you were a Christian or whatever you were a human. So, when you think about being being a jerk like Christian you would, what would the human you do in this same instance?

Dogs

2010-07-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

It' a circle of back patting. "I like dogs, do you like dogs?" "Oh yes, I love dogs! Dogs are the best!" "That old guy has loved dogs his whole life, loving dogs must be the best thing to do!" "Dogs!"

I understand why it works. Finding an authority or majority that claims it can reassure a person or their belief.

What I'm saying is, I really don't care for dogs and would prefer you stopped letting your dog crap on my lawn.

The Nature of God, Part 1

2010-07-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

The common Christian god is impossible. God can't be all knowing, all powerful and good. For there to be evil in the world, God must be lacking at least one of those three traits.

Assuming the world is 6000 years old, god must be lacking the good. He purposely fills the world with lies that contradict his existence such as: 1) stars that are more than 6000 light year away, thus making their light having to be created in transit to Earth when he created the universe, 2) Dinosaur bones, 3) Large geological formation, 4) DNA which supports the theory of evolution. etc

Also, freewill and prayer can't exist in the same world. If prayer works, when a football team that prays to win, if god helps them to win he is limiting the freewill of the opposing team. The other team could win, but not if god influences the game in the favor of the first team.

Continuing along the path of freewill, a god who punishes you for using the freewill he gave you is illogical unless, like I earlier proposed, he isn't good. Purposely leaving scissors on the floor and than being surprised your 5 year old tried to cut their own hair is absurd.

Back to the fact that he isn't good, if he were the moral authority, it is illogical to think that his moral message would change at all. Yet, slavery which was once moral in god's eye is now immoral according to most religious people. Mormon's most common answer to it is that 'the world wasn't ready for it' such as when they started allowing blacks to hold positions in the church.

If this concept were true, the great flood would have never happened. The great flood was God forcing his morals on the world, even though "the world wasn't ready for it". In the same, why wouldn't god take action on creating equality between the races even if "the world wasn't ready for it"?

You can't have a moral authority that's always changing to, surprise, suit the morals of the world. Black people were suddenly allowed in the priesthood of the Mormon church because the rest of the United States had already gone through the Civil Rights and the crusty old white men in the hierarchy of the Mormon church were smart enough to know they had no choice but to stop waving around their racism.

"There is no doubt that the so-called Civil Rights movement as it exists today is used as a communist program for revolution in America." - Ezra Taft Benson, 1967 talking about Black Civil Rights.

Anyways, as the title implies, this is only part 1. I'm sure in the future I will have need and reason to return to this topic and I will.

Until another day.

Breasts are Offensive

2010-07-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

So, to combat this offensive item, the breasts of mannequins were hacked off in a shop window in Iran. See for yourself:

What an awkward world we live in which representations of women aren't allowed to look like women.

Until another day.

Arguing the Case

2010-06-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

I had a little foray into a Christian chat room this evening. It went surprisingly good. Argued the fact that humans are more moral than God, the improbable nature of the speciation of dogs after the flood, and Abiogenesis with references to the Miller-Urey experiment.

It was fun and, because he was trying to refute me, the guy actually listened. I'm not sure how much he actually took home with him but, you know, not much is to be expected. Really, I was just having some fun.

Until another day.

Torture Facts

2010-06-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

Anyone who's read my older posts knows I'm not a fan of torture.

On that thread, here's some facts about it:

Until another day.

Giant Jesus Destroyed by Lightning

2010-06-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, you've read that title right. A giant statue of Jesus, which used to look like this:

Now looks like this:

It was struck by lightning and burst into flames. Not horribly surprising being that this $250,000, 62-foot tall monster is made of styrofoam, wood and fiberglass resin.

Of course, from a religious standpoint, one could see the destruction of this statue by natural forces as a sign that God didn't care for this false idol being there.

These Christians don't see it that way. Of course not. They're going to rebuild!

PZ Myers' commenter, Jerthebarbarian, puts it best:

Look, it's really simple. When a mosque or a Hindu temple or a Jewish synagogue is destroyed by lightning, that's an angry God insisting that they convert to proper Christian worship.
When a Christian church is struck by lighting, that's just Satan testing the faithful. If they didn't rebuild the statue they'd be giving into Satan, and God doesn't like that. Haven't you read the Book of Job?

Ah, now it makes sense. God's such a tricky fellow.

As opposed to spending $250,000 to rebuild the stupid thing, I wonder how many meals they could buy with that much money? What charities could benefit from that sort of money? Which of the people of their congregation could be helped with it?

Nah, forget all that. That sort of money would be better spent on building another statue.

What Would Jesus Do? Build another statue.

Link to the News story.

For the Degradation of Life

2010-06-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

I value life. A person's life is worth more than anything else in this world. This life we have is all there is and, in this acceptance of a very finite existence, that makes life insanely precious.

I assert that many religious people degrade the value of life with a claim of an afterlife, one which is better than real life. This life is it and to waste your time on it, preparing for another is absurd. Some even claim this is just a test often saying their cause is 'worth dying for'. They trick young people to strap bombs to their chest to end their life early (as well as the lives of others).

If you're not enjoying this life, don't just bear it. Life isn't a test of perseverance as a lead up to the afterlife. I'll repeat, this is it. When life isn't working right, change it. This isn't something to suffer. Life is to be enjoyed.

Enjoy it.

As well, there isn't a God deciding what happens to you so he can't 'test you' with hard times. Hard times will happen but only you can change them. Don't wait for him to because he can't. Nonexistent beings have this sort of limitation.

Until another day.

Pump it, Pump it, Pump it

2010-06-04T20:05:00.001-07:00

Drive you're fancy, over-sized SUV. Make sure it's just you riding in that big 8-seated vehicle you own. That's that American way.

Drive that massive truck of your's. You know, the one with the empty, large bed and the cab with the back seat that you'll ride in alone. That's the American way.

Need to go to the convenience store two blocks away? Don't walk. The weather's too nice for that. Jump in your SUV with the A/C cranked. Leave your car running during the 10 minutes you'll be in the store. That's the American way.

For God's sake, use as much fuel as you can. Pump that stuff. Throw some on the ground, as a sacrifice to the American Gods, Haliburton, BP, Chevron and Shell. That's the American way.

Enjoy your lazy worthless life, no matter the consequences for other creatures on this planet. The less of them alive, the more resources for us, right?

This is human oil dependence at work. That's the American way.

Cheers.

(More hideous images here.)

Religion Does Contradict Science

2010-06-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

Ever heard someone say "Religion doesn't contradict science"? Yeah, me too.

Here's a few examples of how it does, all directed toward Christianity (since it is the one I experienced as a child and because it is by far the most common one in the United States):

1. Without sperm from a male, conception is basically impossible. I did read once (but now can't find it) that supposedly, in very rare cases, a woman can have a 'clone' like child without a male's input but it can only been a female baby since there is no male input for the y-chromosome.

In other words, Jesus being born of the virgin Mary is contrary to science.

2. The whole Earth's surface can't be covered by water, including the mountains, with the current water on the Earth. The water then couldn't have disappeared in a similarly mysterious way.

3. Water can't be 'magically' split to allow people to walk across the floor of a sea. That isn't how water works.

4. The 'soul' (I interpret that to be your personality, or your mind) is a product of the brain. When the electrical function of the brain ends, the mind ceases to exist. It doesn't 'leave the body' to continue existing as a mind elsewhere.

5. Donkey's can't speak.

6. Water can't turn into wine without the addition of fermented fruit nor can it turn into blood.

7. The Earth and Sun have been moving in the same way for billions of years. In other words, as Joshua 10:13 says: "And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day." is an idiot's concept. These massive rocks in the sky can't just stop and then go again. That's absurd.

I could go on, but I've made my point. If you're thinking "You must have 'faith'" or some crap like that, you're missing my point. In this context, 'faith' means believing things that contradict science.

Water vs Coke

2010-05-15T07:40:00.001-07:00

Found this interesting article, today.

It includes:

#8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of
colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast
cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop
bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water
you should drink every day?

And,

#1. the active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid.
It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric
acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major
contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

Not to get on a high horse, but I limit my soda intake. I have been doing so for about 5 years now. Sadly, I am addicted to the taste of Pepsi. During my weak moments, I've been known to drink 4 or 5 a month. I hope to some day not drink any.

It isn't worth it. The article I linked to didn't mention it, but, basically put, I've never heard of a good reason to attack your body like that with a sugar rush. That seems like a bad idea to me.

Just so I don't seem to be on too high of a horse, I enjoy drinking alcohol. I usually have 2 or so beers (or similar drinks) a week. I'm reaching rambling levels here but, I don't get drunk. Not a fan of that.

The Death of All Borders

2010-05-05T05:35:00.000-07:00

I'm sure few will agree with this concept but, I believe the healthiest future for the Earth doesn't include countries and nations. Yeah, you guessed it, I'm a big supporter or the United Nations.

The death of all countries and the combined world society and economy wouldn't solve all of our problems, I know this.

National pride, also known as ignorance about anything outside your own country, would be less prominent. Cultural pockets would continue to exist, I know, but if the all out reason to work hard was for Earth instead of America or some other pathetic country, I think there would be less breeding of idiots.

This isn't a soon to be seen existence. The European Union is one of the starting points. Countries working together for mutual success.

Darwinist and Faith

2010-04-16T07:48:00.001-07:00

Darwinist is a term that needs to die. Darwin died 70 years before we even began to understand DNA which, understandably, is a very important part of our understanding of evolution. To call someone a 'Darwinist' for accepting evolution would be similar to calling someone who studies present day physics a 'Newtonist'. Absurd, at the simplest level.

Whenever anyone, most commonly Christians, mention the term 'Darwinist' in reference to me I usually reply with a snide comment such as, "I know your belief system hasn't productively changed in 2000 years and that is why you call yourself a 'Christian' but, for science progress is natural. Darwin died 130 years ago. We know much more about who we are and where we came from."

While we're on the subject of misused terms, don't let them tell you you have as much faith as they do. You have acceptance, not faith. For instance, I don't need faith that the sun will come up tomorrow. I accept that all evidence points to it coming up. It's silly to assert that faith is needed to believe that the world will work as the world works.

That really is the main difference between theism and atheism. Atheism follows that the world works as the world works. Theism asserts that the world doesn't currently, or didn't in the past, work as it does.

As an example, people die. They don't revive three days after dying. Christian teachings oppose this reality. Another, enough water to flood the whole Earth doesn't rain from the sky and later vanish away.

Until another day.

Circular reasoning works because...

2010-04-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

I met a robot named Robotron 3000. He came from the future.

The above quote, as you can see, was written by someone who met Robotron 3000. Of course it was. See, if Robotron 3000 didn't exist, those two sentences above wouldn't have been written. No one would write anything that wasn't true, right?

This is the basic premise I was recently offered as proof that the Bible is more than a book. God exists and inspired Moses and many others to write the Bible. As you know, right there in the Bible it shows that God exists. Obviously, in that logic, the Bible proves God exists.

Welcome to circular reasoning. In case you don't know what circular reasoning is, let me demonstrate it below:

As you can see, it makes perfect sense. It's a controlled system of logic that proves itself true.

I like chocolate thus chocolate must exist and, since chocolate exists, I like it. Sure, chocolate does exist, but the fact that I like it isn't the reason it exists and just because it exists doesn't mean I like it either. Throw in 'unicorn' or, for instance, 'god' in the place of chocolate and you will see the silly line of thought.

Until another day.

My Post have been sparse

2010-04-05T11:58:00.001-07:00

And now they're short:

Only a self-righteous idealist think justice and revenge aren't the same thing.

The Broken Texas Education

2010-03-18T23:50:00.000-07:00

Thomas Jefferson is one of the greatest Americans to ever live. Only an idiot would think he wasn't important.

Nuclear weapons

2010-03-18T17:54:00.001-07:00

Seeing things such as this website remind me of how scary and amazing atomic weapons are.

The above image is a shadow made by someone who was sitting on the step there when the bomb exploded.

This is an image of a man dying of radiation poisoning.

As Albert Einstein said, "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

What has man wrought?

Baby killed for not saying 'Amen'

2010-02-25T15:50:00.001-08:00

I'm surprised I haven't yet made a post on the cult who starved a one year old boy to death for not saying 'Amen'.

The leader of a US religious cult was "outraged" when a one-year-old boy did not say "Amen" before a meal and ordered her followers to deprive him of food and water until he died, a prosecutor told jurors on Monday.

Three members of the now-defunct cult known as 1 Mind Ministries are on trial for murder in the death of Javon Thompson, who was around 16-months-old when he died of starvation and dehydration in either December 2006 or January 2007, according to authorities.

After the boy died, the cult members prayed for his resurrection, then destroyed all evidence of his death and stuffed his body in a suitcase, which they hid in a shed behind a home in Philadelphia, Assistant State's Attorney Julie Drake told jurors.

I'll keep this short. The cult leaders deserve to go to a dog pound, not prison. We don't send brainless monsters to prison and humans don't kill babies for...I don't have to put a limit on this. Humans don't kill babies. That's not something you do.

Death

2010-02-10T14:06:00.000-08:00

One of the most offensive things a theist can say about us atheists come with death. When people die, it hits much more than it did back when I was still a Christian. As a Christian, I believed the dead person was going to a better place. Without that comfort of heaven, it's horrible.

I will never see them again. They are gone. There is no heaven you'll meet up with them at, where you can say all the things you should of said. You can't apologize for the stupid things you did wrong. You have to suffer with your regrets. There is no redemption.

It makes 'Should have' much more painful. I wish I could believe in heaven and god. It would make death much less horrible.

If you wonder where this all came from: O at Commissionedcomic.com made a comic for his cat who died. If you don't mind crying like crazy like I did, go read it here.

To everyone I've ever wronged: I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. We're all stupid sometimes. I love you all.

2010-01-29T07:04:00.000-08:00

Solar-powered bibles sent to Haiti

As international aid agencies rush food, water and medicine to Haiti's earthquake victims, a United States group is sending Bibles.

But these aren't just any Bibles; they're solar-powered audible Bibles that can broadcast the holy scriptures in Haitian Creole to 300 people at a time.

The Faith Comes By Hearing organisation says its Bible, called the Proclaimer, delivers "digital quality" and is designed for "poor and illiterate people".

It says 600 of the devices are already on their way to Haiti.

The Albuquerque-based organisation says it is responding to the Haitian crisis by "providing faith, hope and love through God's word in audio".

The audio Bible can bring the "hope and comfort that comes from knowing God has not forgotten them through this tragedy," a statement on its website says.

"The Proclaimer is self-powered and can play the Bible in the jungle, desert or ... even on the moon!"

Tens of thousands of Port-au-Prince residents are living outdoors because their homes have collapsed or they fear aftershocks following Wednesday's quake.

While people suffer and die, they still push their hate-filled lies, their religion, over fool, water, or shelter. No real human would do such a thing. The people in 'Faith Comes By Hearing' aren't humans. They're soulless monsters. If they had any hearts they'd send food, not electronic bibles. Fucking barbarians.

Destroy Religion.

2010-01-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

I do want to destroy religion. All belief systems that have no basis in reality, I would like to see fall. Of course, like someone, living in the 1700s, fighting against slavery, it isn't a possible goal. Not in my life time.

The more obvious and possible goal is to protect those that don't need or want religion, from religion. There are victims of religion, such as those that threw away $2.4 million to the douche, Rick Warren.

I just don't understand how people can be so stupid. This asshole shouldn't need your money. If God can't help him earn money through sales of his books or other crap he's doing, God is stealing from everyone who donated. God shouldn't need money, but for him to make Rick need money is to steal.

Or Rick is a total fraud and God doesn't exist. It's funny how many stories and events leave that sort of Dichotomy. Either God is an asshole or he doesn't exist. Abraham nearly killed his son, Isaac, because God told him to but God stops him at the last moment. Either God's an asshole and totally Punk'd them or he doesn't exist and either the story is complete fiction or Abraham was fucking nuts.

Anywho, it's 2010. Happy New Year, folks.

The assumption

2009-12-28T07:58:00.001-08:00

The assumption that people, who don't live like you do, are wrong is the most dangerous enemy to peace, progress, equality, hope and the future of mankind. Only an ignorant fool would believe that they are unquestionably right in any thought. Always look for something more correct and loving for others than your current thinking. To stagnate in thought is to become the enemy of the human race.

Christmas

2009-12-20T09:47:00.000-08:00

It's is nearly Christmas, and I want to say Merry Christmas to you all.

Now, I know, many atheists are quite anti-Christmas. I am not one of them. I accept Christmas, even with it's Christian based name, for its Pagan origins. Christians actually shouldn't even be doing the whole Christmas tree thing. At least, according to their magic book, they shouldn't.

Jeremiah 10:2-4:

2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3 For the custom of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

Of course, there's explanations of why that isn't talking about Christmas trees, but remember, there's an explanation for every stupid thing to be found in the Bible. It keeps people like Ray Comfort busy.

Anyways, seriously, Merry Christmas. Enjoy your holidays. I will.

Terrorists

2009-12-01T11:54:00.001-08:00

It worries me the glorification of terrorists by politicians. Terrorists are humans just like us. They may be confused and wrong, but they are nothing mystical, powerful, or special. I say this because I find it nothing short of absurd that the fools, Giuliani in particular, is afraid to have them brought to New York to be tried for their crimes.

It's stupid. They have no power when they're prisoners. They're only men.

Assuming

2009-11-23T14:15:00.001-08:00

What if there is a god as you believe but he isn't a Christian god but instead a Muslim god? Or, more closely a Baptist god instead of a Catholic god? How close to worshiping what god actually is do you have to be to get credit?

Proof of God.

2009-11-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

I have heard plenty of arguments for the existence of God and not a single one works. Let's see if I can avoid ranting or drag on in explaining them.

The most recent one to be brought in front of me was the argument of the egotistical or faith-filled atheist. It claims that being an atheist requires just as much faith as being religious. This is silly. We don't claim to know everything. We, in actuality, claim to know much less then religious people do. We don't know how the world began. We don't know where humans came from. We don't know what happens after we die.

We have ideas of how these things work. Ideas based off of reality and I'd rather take ideas over the rantings in a 2000 year old book any day.

It's the relation between facts, theories and hypotheses that most people who make this argument don't understand. Evolution happening is fact. How evolution works is a theory. The thought that the Earth hasn't always been here is fact. The big bang theory is a theory.

As for hypotheses...A hypothesis is an idea that has nothing to back it up. It can become a theory after that and, in some cases, even become a fact.

Christianity is a hypothesis. It has nothing to support it and many proofs against in. In science, if you find proof against a hypothesis, you abandon it and find another one. In religion, you call it faith and ignore all the reality that proves your beliefs wrong.

Another silly argument I hear often says 'Love/Morality/Life/Happiness/Etc. comes from God. Without God there is no (your above choice).' Also, in my opinion, without the existence of Poseidon the ocean doesn't exist.

Attaching your baseless deity to an emotion or behavior doesn't make it exist. Popsicles can't exist without God. Well, since popsicles exist, God must as well. There is no logical application of this argument.

The above behaviors exist within humans simply because, as humans we are social creatures, we can feel pain and like to avoid it, and we have the cognitive ability to notice the emotions and reactions of other humans. Since we don't enjoy pain we assume, quite correctly, that others people don't enjoy pain either. Empathy is natural for a social creature who thrives off of emotional bonds.

Evolutionarily it's simple to realize that a human who works against other humans is less likely to survive than one who does work with others. Fending off predators, gathering food, raising one's young, and improving technology and culture are all things that easily work better with help from others. In common day it is obvious why most people live in cities and towns instead of alone in the wilderness. It is easier to trade labor for money and the money for shelter and food than to build your own shelter and gather your own food.

Assuming you are going to live in these societies, not killing and stealing from others works best. You would prefer no one else would perform these actions on you so, with fingers crossed, you don't do it to them hoping they do the same for you. In fact, though there is always deviants, most people conform to the standards.

This is where laws come from, really. People prefer to not be attacked by others in society. Society flows better when you follow the laws of the society. To be part of the society you follow these rules.

Maybe I'm a rare case, but I have no interest in stealing or killing. It isn't from fear of retaliation from society via fines or imprisonment. It isn't fear of going to hell after I die. It is simply because I don't want to be stolen from. I don't want to be killed. I respect other people's right to life and property. I don't think they deserve to be hurt if they aren't hurting anyone else.

An interesting thing, in relation to this post is the Surrogate Mother Experiment by Harry Harlow. In this experiment baby monkeys were put in a cage with two fake mothers one made of terrycloth and the other made of wire. Even if the wire mother was the source of food, it was shown that the baby monkeys went to the terrycloth mother if a threat was introduced. Food source didn't matter. All that mattered was the source of comfort. Other humans are a source of comfort. Even without a god existing, we would still seek the comfort of other humans.

Any arguments for God I missed you would like me to disprove? Any ultimate proof of God I missed? Feel free to post it. I will believe in a god if you can provide proof for one. Of course, I mean relevant proof that can't point to anything besides a god.

A 2000 year old book could be proof of a god, or it could be proof that people wrote their beliefs down 2000 years ago. The platypus could be proof of god, or it could be proof of the common ancestry of mammals and birds. The 'finely tuned for life' universe we live in could be proof of god, or it could be proof of chance and the fact that if the laws of the universe weren't as they are, we wouldn't be here.

Parallels

2009-10-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

Former Mormon President Ezra Taft Benson in 1967 talking about the attempt by African Americans for equality:

There is no doubt that the so-called Civil Rights movement as it exists today is used as a communist program for revolution in America

Current Member of the Mormon Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Dallin H. Oaks talking about the attempt by homosexuals for marriage equality:

Among the most threatening collisions in the United States today are (1) the rising strength of those who seek to silence religious voices in public debates, and (2) perceived conflicts between religious freedom and the popular appeal of newly alleged civil rights.

'So-called civil rights' and 'alleged civil rights'. I find this hilarious. You know what they say, Wrong once, wrong twice, wrong a thousand times, those mormons are never going to fucking learn.

This is even more ironic when you consider that they're trying to compare themselves to the blacks when, just like they're fighting against the gays now, they fought against the blacks then. Can you say, irony?

The Mormons do it again

2009-10-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

You know who's an asshole? Dallin Oaks, of the Mormon church. I'll even call him by his cult title 'Elder' only because he's so old and ignorant.

So, Oaks proclaimed quite a few stupid things this week. First, he compared the ridicule of Mormons after Prop 8 is the same as the oppression of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. Yes, being ridiculed for oppressing others is the same as being oppressed. I don't think Oaks even knows the definition of 'logic'.

Even as we seek to speak with love, we must not be surprised when our positions are ridiculed and we are persecuted and reviled. As the Savior said, “so persecuted they the prophets which were before you”

Yes, if everyone around you is saying you're wrong you...are right? Wait, what? You lost me, Oaks. If reality says one thing and you say another, which is right?

Third, we must insist on our freedom to preach the doctrines of our faith. Why do I make this obvious point? Religious people who share our moral convictions feel some intimidation. Fortunately, our leaders do not refrain from stating and explaining our position that homosexual behavior is sinful.

Yes, you do have that freedom and the rest of the world has the freedom to tell you how much of an ignorant, bigoted, self-righteous asshole you're being.

Fourth, as advocates of the obvious truth that persons with religious positions or motivations have the right to express their religious views in public, we must nevertheless be wise in our political participation.

No one is saying you don't have the right to say what you want, they're just making fun of you for it. Oaks needs, very desperately, to learn the difference between ridicule and oppression. The Mormons are being ridiculed, not oppressed.

Also, he's right, they do need to be 'wise in our political participation'. That's a brilliant idea. When are you going to start? I'd like to know because, so far, you've been as dumb as a brick.

Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms.

Yes, because your Sky Daddy makes morals so if his fingers aren't up the rectum of America, then America is going to become evil or some shit, right? No, you're wrong again, Oaks.

There's so many other lies in that speech, I could go on all day. I'll just say this: Dallin K. Oaks is a dick.

The whole speech can be found here.

Marriage equality in the real world.

2009-10-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

"One of the reasons that many Parents find themselves torn over the issue of slavery is the fear that their parental rights to teach their children right from wrong will be stripped away. They fear that they will be put in a position where they must either pull their children out of public school, or put-up with the potential conflict when Schools teach that black people are equal to white people, and that those that teach otherwise (like their parents) are bigots."

I pulled this from http://www.maine4marriage.org/ with a few little changes.

How about:

"One of the reasons that many Parents find themselves torn over the issue of gender equality is the fear that their parental rights to teach their children right from wrong will be stripped away. They fear that they will be put in a position where they must either pull their children out of public school, or put-up with the potential conflict when Schools teach that women are equal to men, and that those that teach otherwise (like their parents) are bigots."

History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man.

I just don't understand why religious people are so proud to be so ignorant and controlling. Gay marriage is an issue of equality. You're either for everyone being equal when it comes to marriage or some people being treated better than others. I'm sorry equality is such a harsh concept you don't want your children to learn of.

Keep them ignorant for all I care. Our children, those of us that aren't assholes, will live in a better and brighter future whether you like it or not. The fight for equal marriage is far from over but, just like racial equality, just like gender equality, marriage equality will finish with our side the victors.

International Blasphemy Day

2009-09-30T16:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Internation Blasphemy Day, everyone. I bring you this poem from Cuttlefish. Check out his blog as well, it's a good one. The links at the end of this post.

The first amendment means, to me,
The right to play at blasphemy;
The right to say “There is no God”
Without the threat of firing squad.
To speak, or sing, or draw, or write
And not be paralyzed with fright.
To mock Jehovah if I wish;
To point and laugh at Jesus fish;
And though the image strikes me weird,
To pluck Mohammed’s silly beard.
To say such things as I may choose
Regardless of opposing views.

About the pow’r of Holy Writ
I proudly do not give a shit.

Cuttlefish's Blog

Aren't You Lucky

2009-09-19T18:22:00.001-07:00

Fox News is, surprise, a source of lies.

2009-09-19T07:45:00.001-07:00

I've been saying this for years, if you get your news from Fox, you're an ignorant fool. Fox doesn't report of reality for, as Stephen Colbert said, "reality has a well-known liberal bias." They report what their audience wants them to.

What I'm trying to say is this: Fuck Fox News.

Nationalism vs. Patriotism

2009-09-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

I'm going to go over this quick. Nationalism is the belief that the country is always right. Many religious people, who believe America is God's chosen land are nationalists. They have no reason to disagree with God's whims. If America commits torture, that's okay because God wants America too.

Patriotism, on the other hand, are, in many cases, defenders of the ideals of a country. This word has been dragged down in America by that worthless piece of shit called the Patriot Act. That's always a problem. Make an evil agenda and give it a pretty name.

"How dare you oppose the Patriot Act? That's so unamerican!"

Ignorance, you know.

I saw a picture recently that basically said that Democrats oppose spending tax dollars on killed, via useless wars, and Republicans oppose spending tax dollars on healing, via universal health care.

Anyways, peace out.

Gay Marriage

2009-08-30T15:09:00.001-07:00

So, again I've been reading comments. This time, it's on this post.

I suppose someone has to write this and it might as well be me. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter what I think or say or do....so I might as well just go for it.

I do not agree with gay marriage. Call me close minded, or a bigot, or whatever vile term you can come up with. It doesn't change the fact that I have a right to my opinion.

Let me start by saying that my closest friend and most loved sister is gay. I love her more than I love anyone else on the planet. I also love her partner. I don't think they should marry.

Marriage really should be between a man and a woman, as God ordained.

I do believe that they should immediately be able to have a legal relationship if that is what they choose to do. I think they should be able to be each other's legal spouses.

But the church (at least any church I have every been to) follows the bible or the Koran or the teachings of Budda. There is no reference to a man marrying a man or a woman marrying a woman.

Call me crazy (or whatever else you like).

This is the saddest case of ignorance I know of. The person knows what is right and yet, because their Sky Daddy says otherwise (or, more accurately, a book, which vaguely alludes to the subject, which was written by people who say they spoke to said sky daddy), they refuse to accept what they know is true.

It's nothing short of sad. I want to go up to people like this and give them a hug then calmly explain to them that it's okay, they'll die and become worm food. There is no life after this life and that's what makes this life so important. You have to live every day to the fullest because there is no reward after it. Our morals are better then that of a fictional creator who a bunch of ancient people created. You don't have to ignore your morals to please him. There is no him. Instead, please yourself, your friends, and your family. Be good because it's good to be good. You don't need any reason besides that.

It's so frustrating that there is so many people like this person out there. People that you know are good and caring who, to avoid fear of their own mortality, act evil and controlling in an attempt to appease a guy they have never met.

I wish there was a way to help them open their eyes and, instead of working for their invisible sky daddy, would work to make both current and future humans lives better.

Who said an atheist doesn't have hope? I have hope for religion to die.

Stupid comments

2009-08-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

So, I ran across this little article. It's a bit long, so you'll have to click it to read it. Summarized, it equates the belief in a god to the belief that one owns a dog. Basically, an atheist sees no proof that he owns a dog and thus believes he doesn't. A theist on the other hand sees no proof that he owns a dog but assures you he does, stating it is a faith based thing.

Most theists, who don't outright declare the facts science have uncovered are false, believe in the god of the gaps. The god who exists in places science hasn't yet been filled in.

Anyways, why I'm talking about this article is because of the comments on this article. I will reply to each in turn.

Eventually humans might accumulate enough brainpower to comprehend the vast universe. In the meantime anybody stating ANYTHING conclusive about the issue is just being true to his ignorant nature. The doubters still stand a chance, the athiests are as lost as the dogmatics.

Actually, most atheists don't conclusively claim that there is no god. Most just simply stand on the fact that since there is no proof of a god, it doesn't make sense to believe in one and it is safe to assume there isn't one. I'm sure most theists follow this thought process when it comes to things such as unicorns, bigfoot, fairies, and Santa.

That's cute, but just like most current atheist writings today, you are narrowly defining the beliefs of others for your own purposes. The fact that humans exist and can have a dialog about that existence is sufficient for theories of creation. Now whether you call that process of creation a god and give it a name and personality or just refer to it as physics and biology makes little difference; you still understand that we are creations.

Ah, the good old 'God could be anything' argument. In realization that reality contradicts a sky daddy who created everything, theists sometimes try to blur on observer's understanding of what they actually believe. If you're going to argue for what you believe, don't try to hide what you believe. That's nothing short of silly.

'Process of creation' is a cute term which can be applied to nearly everything. Even evolution could be called a 'process of creation' since it is the way we reached our current existence. This commenter is attempting to sidestep the argument of whether or not there is a creator or not but I've caught his little game.

If you believe there is a deity who created us, you are a creationist. If you don't, you're not. Muddling terms like that is just trying to confuse the issue instead of facing the facts.

Why does the folks at wordpress.com assume there is no dog? The only way there is no evidence whatsoever is if there really is no dog. But no atheist has ever proven the non existence of God (and to be fair, no deist has proven his existence either). But both sides have strong arguments. This article does not explain different terms. Is states that atheism is true if we assume there is no God. So what is the point?

Al: "I have a dog in this house, you just can't see him."
Ben: "Have you ever seen him?"
Al: "No"
Ben: "Have you ever seen proof of him?"
Al: "No, but I have faith he exists."
Ben: "I think I'll conclude that it is highly unlikely that you own a dog."

So, who has a better argument, Al or Ben?

It's called the burden of proof. He who states the claim is the one who has to prove it. In the same way that Al has to prove he has a dog and Ben doesn't have to prove Al doesn't have a dog, a theist has to prove there is a god and an atheist doesn't have to prove there isn't one.

So because you search all of your house and don't see a dog there, you don't own a dog. Fair enough, find me an atheist who has searched all of existence and hasn't found a god and I'll accept that. A better way to say this is to show someone a picture of a random person's mailbox and then ask them if they own a dog. If you have an opinion it has no grounding whatsoever.

Again, an issue of burden of proof. An atheist doesn't have to search all of existence in search of a god. An atheist doesn't have to prove nonexistence of something a theist asserts. The theist is the one who has to prove there is a god.

If someone came up to you stating they're the reincarnated form of Hitler which of the follow would you do:

1. Give him rigorous psychiatric tests to prove he isn't Hitler
2. Ask for proof that he is Hitler and when he doesn't have proof, tell him you don't believe his claim.

As for the other part, if I was shown a mailbox, and told the person who owns that mailbox also owns a dog, I'd shrug and say okay. If you said I should live my life worshiping that dog, I'd request if I could see a picture of the dog. If you said you didn't have a picture of the dog nor any proof the dog exists, I'd laugh at you and walk away.

That's all I have to present to you. As you can see, I hate stupid commenters. I made this post not to call them out, since that wouldn't make a difference, but instead to make an example of them. That's just how I roll.

Glenn Beck

2009-08-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

The pulling of advertisers from Glenn Beck is fucking awesome. Wal-mart, Best Buy, Travelocity, Geico, Men's Wearhouse, P&G, Progressive Insurance, Radioshack, State Farm Insurance, and a couple others have all pulled advertising.

Why? Good old Glenny thought it was acceptable to call Obama a racist who hates white people. Surprisingly, slandering our president with baseless lies can piss people off.

Read more on it here

Changes

2009-08-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. Simply put, I broke up with my girlfriend of two years and have been busy moving into my new place.

Anyways, this healthcare thing is getting crazy. I did find a good post about it though.

You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.

You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.

You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war.

You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.

You didn't get mad when you saw the Abu Grahib photos.

You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.

You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.

You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.

You didn't get mad when we let a major US city drown.

You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.

You finally got mad when.. when... wait for it... when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all ok with you but helping other Americans... well fuck that. That about right? You know it is.

You people have all lost your fucking minds. You are selfish, greedy, obnoxious, narcissistic, and frankly... stupid. Your pathetic little misspelled protest signs are embarrassing. Maybe you ought to find the smart person in your midst and let them make up all the signs, cause man, you look like a bunch of idiots. Also you're ugly and your mother dresses you funny.

It's okay to choose to help people instead of a god

2009-07-18T07:12:00.000-07:00

I submitted the following text to my local paper to try to get it published in the editorial. Truthfully, I'll be surprised if it gets in the paper since I'm in a very conservative place. Anyways, enjoy:

In Richard Carlson's article titled "Hold onto the kite of freedom, our mooring to the Word of God" he referenced a young girl who had be on drugs. Because of her drug use, she'd found herself unable to tell what was real and not.

Ironically I had nearly the exact opposite thought when I first read of this girl. Where Richard thought it could be a metaphor to being confused by a voice besides God's, I found it could be drawn as comparable to choosing religion over reality. Daily people choose creationism over evolution and prayer over medicine.

It is mind numbing to believe that, according to a Gallup poll, only 39% of Americans believe in evolution. It's almost as if people aren't willing to accept the reality they can see with their own eyes when it contradicts their belief in a god. The facts that back up the relationship between reality and science are hard to deny. The only way to really prove them wrong is to ignore them.

The fact is that slavery was always wrong. Even if in the Bible it says it is okay and it was legal in the United States until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, it was never okay.

For the Mormons, polygamy was a fine for bolstering their numbers until they decided, or should I say their god decided, it was a good idea to stop so Utah could become a state.

More often then not religion has changed the "unchanging Word of God."

In reality, the truths of morality that have always been correct and will always be correct are as follow: If it hurts someone else, it is evil. If it aids someone else, it is good.

The world isn't getting any worse. When Richard said, "When we were children, who would have though of sending powder, poison powder in an envelope with the hopes of ending the lives of others?" did he consider the evils we once did that are unacceptable now?

If today, two nuclear bombs were dropped on a foreign nation, would we not be mortified? Are we not now above treating people as second class citizens because of their race or sex? When Richard was a kid, that wasn't a crazy idea. Luckily, today, we are no longer in a society that supports sexism and racism.

In reality some evils fade and new ones appear to replace them but, even without a god to worship, we will fight for good. Don't waste your time reading a book from 2000 years ago to try to find the truths for today. Slavery, racism, degradation of women, genocide, and infanticide are all in the Bible and they're all completely utterly evil.

2009-07-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

This is absurd.

WAUSAU, Wis. – An American flag flown upside down as a protest in a northern Wisconsin village was seized by police before a Fourth of July parade and the businessman who flew it — an Iraq war veteran — claims the officers trespassed and stole his property.

A day after the parade, police returned the flag and the man's protest — over a liquor license — continued.

Nationalism (not to be confused with patriotism) is a sad and pathetic thing.

There's a few hilarious quotes to be found in the news article. From Marinette County Sheriff, Jim Kanikula:

"It is illegal to cause a disruption," he said.

No, it isn't. At least, not in the way that Congine did it. What is illegal, on the other hand, is what they did. A legal protest can't be controlled like that. Even if Congine was breaking the law, Breaking the law to stop others from breaking the law isn't logical.

Village President John Deschane:

"If he wants to protest, let him protest but find a different way to do it," Deschane said.

In what way? A less effective one? Congine obviously pressed some buttons, which is the point of a protest.

The article finishes off with a great quote from Congine in reference to his serving in Iraq:

"It is pretty bad when I go and fight a tyrannical government somewhere else," Congine said, "and then I come home to find it right here at my front door."

We do have quite limited rights when it comes to some things but, luckily, in the instance of protest, we're quite free.

Time

2009-07-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

So, recently, I've gotten to arguing about time with a few people.

As my opinion stands, time is the term we use to say that events are occurring. It is, simply, what happens between two events.

So the argument appears when you argue whether time has always existed. I say it has. Even without matter or energy to create events to be measured, time can still pass. You just don't have any way to measure it.

I find this theory to be more logical then saying that there needed to be a first cause for time since, technically, without time passing you could never reach that first cause.

A first cause for matter and energy is logical. Time, on the other hand, I don't see as logical.

Jesus stole my wagon

2009-07-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

One of the worst arguments I've ever had leveled at me is the 'You're just mad at God' one. So stupid.

It reminds me of the wonderful bumper sticker:

Most religious doctrine is either evil or a 'no duh' sort of thing, but it doesn't cause people to do evils, it allows them to. Never-the-less, it is the people who choose to do the evil.

Atheist Blogroll

2009-07-11T10:54:00.001-07:00

In an have attempt to get more readers, I've joined the The Atheist Blogroll. As you can see, there's a small listing for it on the side bar. Hopefully this will help me expand my amount of readers.

In the beginning...

2009-07-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

In the beginning...who cares? Where we came from, where we're going. It doesn't matter. What matters is the here and now. Right this second. How it all began, that ultimate question of the beginning of time, it doesn't matter.

It could have been a god, it could have been the big bang, or it could have been something we haven't even imagined yet. It really doesn't matter. Whether or was 6,000 years ago or 13.5 billion years ago, it was before any of us were born. Being so, it doesn't matter a cent. It's okay not to know.

Come on, just let that rush over you. It is okay not to know. This works for the afterlife too. Whether there is one or not, it's okay not to know. You don't have to say heaven exists. You don't have to assert anything. Just accept that you don't know.

So then, what's the point of life? Have fun. Be excellent to each other.

That's it. Those two sentences encompass life. There isn't anything more to it. Love those around you while they're here. Miss them when they leave.

I know it's a cliché to say this, but life's too short. Most of us have less then a century on this earth, so make the best of it. Don't waste it on uncertainties. God may exist, god may not. It doesn't matter.

Your family and friends do exist. Your life with them is short. Don't waste a second.

Ray Comfort is Amazingly Stupid

2009-06-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

In a recent blog post on Ray Comfort's Atheist blog, a found this tidbit:

An insightful scientist once said that evolution has done nothing for humanity. Time has proven him wrong. Evolution has become a massive money-making business. The faithful flock to buy books, bones (do a search on the massive fake fossil industry), DVD’s, magazines, made-for TV documentaries, and it all evolved from nothing but the molehill of one man’s imagination. The whole-hearted embracing of the Theory of Evolution without empirical proof, is a sad testimony to the gullibility of the human mind.

Now let me replace a few words in that...

An insightful scientist once said that religion has done nothing for humanity. Time has proven him wrong. Religion has become a massive money-making business. The faithful flock to buy books, paraphernalia (do a search on the year sales of crosses), DVD’s, magazines, made-for TV documentaries, and it all evolved from nothing but the molehill of ancient people's imagination. The whole-hearted embracing of Christianity without empirical proof, is a sad testimony to the gullibility of the human mind.

Seriously, did he realize he's leveling the same claim against science that is leveled against religion? Can he really be that dense?

Besides, evolution is purely based off of empirical proof of experimentation and observation of the natural world, so I can't figure out how he defines people as "embracing of the Theory of Evolution without empirical proof."

If Ray Comfort revealed tomorrow that his Christian demeanor was just a big hoax used to point out the stupidity of religion and believing things without any substantial evidence, I would slap my forehead and laugh at myself for falling for his deception. I just don't understand how people can believe an ancient book instead of reality.

Cover Yourself in Gold for god

2009-06-29T07:41:00.001-07:00

Raised as a Mormon, there was often LDS paraphernalia on the walls.

One I remember was a map of the world showing the location of all the Mormon temples in the world.

According to their own page there is 129 operating temples. Then there's also thousands of churches, over 50,000 missionaries across the world, and over 300,000 high school students enrolled in seminary (the special Mormon way of sneaking church into school).

Now, I do know that, as is with most churches, they do donate money toward good things but...imagine if they had not spent all that money on 129 of these:
And instead spent that money on helping the world. Why do we need 129 of these across the world for them to do their archaic rituals of magical marriages and post-death baptisms. That's a lot of money for such useless actions.

Of course, I'm not saying they're the only church that spends money wrong (and they're not even the worst), but they're the one I'm familiar with. Being that they're newer then most of the other big ones, they're perfect proof that we won't be seeing a religion that works toward helping people. They will always work toward helping themselves.

god is Evil

2009-06-28T02:34:00.000-07:00

My aunt, who's a facebook friend of mine just posted in relation to her daughter, Shiloh:

"Shiloh and Orlan just got hit by a 4 wheeler in Orlan's car. Glass shattered all over the kids. Everyone is ok. So blessed to watched over by angels."

It took all my strength to stop from posting a reply such as "If angels were watching over them, why did the accident happen at all?".

Whether religious people like it or not, god is either evil or not omnipotent. If he can stop something from happening, such as an accident, 9/11, slavery, or the Holocaust, but doesn't, he is evil. It doesn't matter his reason for letting those things happen, letting them happen is evil.

Edit: She just posted today that "Orlan ended up with a broken rib from the accident yesterday." I guess those angels didn't try hard enough.

Is god a Believer?

2009-06-27T21:36:00.001-07:00

Does he believe someone created him? If he is an atheist, wouldn't that be foolish to believe in him? I mean, he probably isn't religious, right?

Why would Christians believe an atheist created them?

Pathetic creationist comics

2009-06-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

Remember, with Jesus, modern day wonders are evil. Well, unless you can make profit from it.

That comic is from http://www.Answersingenesis.org

If you've never visited the site, do. It's a website for young earth creationists who think dinosaurs were alive just 5000 years ago.

Here's another good one:

Of course, the irony they miss is that they pick and choose which sciences to agree with. It gets even funnier when you consider they're biblical literalists who mock people who don't take the bible as complete truth. Oddly, at the same time, they only take the science they want.

Here's one of their comics making fun of people that don't follow the bible completely:

Anywho, one last comic:

Don't forget, you're a worthless evil being who needs the power of the great sky daddy and his son to be worth anything.

Waterboarding is torture

2009-05-25T07:33:00.001-07:00

Now we just need to get Sean Hannity to go through with his claim that he will do it. Then, after that, get Dick Cheney. That evil ignorant fool is probably too big of a coward to do it.

Torture can't be hidden

2009-05-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

Whether you believe torture is acceptable or not (it's not), you must agree that the government has no right to hide it from us. If we're a democracy, where people have the power, why would the government be allowed to make such decisions without our consent or without even letting us know. A dictator like Saddam Hussein would be cheering on the American government for lying to its people.

Dick Cheney, the spineless asshole he always has been, is throwing attacks at Obama for his plan to release photos of the major misconduct of American soldiers on May 28th. That coward knows he's fucked when people find out the evil that occurred under that bible thumping idiot, Bush. He was an ignorant monster. The bad taste left behind by the Bush administration will be worse then that left by Nixon. The good news is we don't have a worthless shit like Ford in to let Bush and Cheney off like Nixon was let free.

It doesn't matter if you're the president or not, there is no living person who should be allowed to commit crimes without being punished for them. If we're lucky, Bush and Cheney will be condemned by history so that children 500 years from now learn of those wretched liars we had to deal with.

I must only hope that this was a learning experience for you, America. America has been wounded, by its own stupidity.

What's ironic is that, even as he tries to heal the wounds, the stupid conservatives fight against Obama. They refuse to unite with the rest of America. They're so egotystical that they can't admit they were wrong for the last 8 years. They're stupid. If they can't rule, they're not willing to let America prosper at all.

If there's anyone stupider then the current Republican leaders, I've never met them.

Torture

2009-04-27T10:32:00.001-07:00

As you surely know, torture has been a big topic for a while now. It's a sad world we live in when this is even questioned as an available choice.

Unless you're enemy is stupid, those that know the information will never give it up, and those that would give up information don't know it. The more important point is that, most simply, torturing used as a weapon against terrorism is an oxymoron. Torturing is, without question, terrorism.

Sadly, America, at least during the Bush administration, was the biggest terrorist nations in the world. Don't worry, my explanation follows:

From Wikipedia's entry on terrorism, with my own links afterwards to display where America as performed each of these actions: Terrorism is, most simply, policy intended to intimidate or cause terror. It is more commonly understood as an act which (1) is intended to create fear (terror), (2) is perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a materialistic goal or a lone attack), and (3) deliberately targets (or disregards the safety of) non-combatants. Some definitions also include acts of unlawful violence or unconventional warfare, but at present, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism.

(1) Just search Google images for Iraq torture.

(2) A quote from George W Bush, before entering office: "Tomorrow, I will take an oath and deliver an inaugural address. You'll be pleased to hear I'm not going to deliver it twice. But I will speak about freedom. This is the cause that unites our country and gives hope to the world and will lead us to a future of peace. We have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom, and America will always be faithful to that cause."

Now I'm not saying Bush is the only one to subscribe to dogma and narrow world views, but this quote is a compact display of one.

American ideology of freedom is that of freedom of democracy (not from it. I'm not arguing whether or not democracy is right or wrong, just that it shouldn't be forced on anyone), Freedom of religion (many will argue that doesn't mean freedom from religion, though. Just ask them if 'under god' should be taken out of the pledge of allegiance), freedom of speech (that's why the ' Free speech zones' are setup where no one can hear you), and plenty of others I don't care to list.

One of the main problems America has in it's ideology is that, at least for most Americans, ego is a major deal. America is an insanely egotistical nation. "We have a calling from beyond the stars". Yes, someone's god has chosen us to lead the rest of the world.

Really, I don't want to waste my time arguing this. Basically, America's ideology isn't perfect and, until it is, there's no reason to force it on anyone. Share it? Yes. Force it? Never.

(3) Use of white phosphorus is chemical warfare which is used to intimidate and cause fear, so this one also works for the first point but, in this article it speaks of a corporal Nicholas Bogert. It says: "Bogert is a mortar team leader who directed his men to fire round after round of high explosives and white phosphorus charges into the city Friday and Saturday, never knowing what the targets were or what damage the resulting explosions caused."

If you don't know much about white phosphorus, here's an image of what a wound from it looks like: (DON'T CLICK THIS LINK IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED) A very minor wound.

Okay, I know I really strayed from topic to topic on this one, but my whole point is that, most assuredly, America is nothing close to perfect. We need to admit our flaws and, if we want to help the rest of the world, stop doing the evil we're trying to stop. Torture is barbaric. I don't care if, in limited cases, it gets the job done. I know there's plenty of hypothetical cases people can make up where it is useful but it still don't contradict the fact that torture is inhumane.

As a last note, I don't care about 'under god' being taken out of the 'pledge of allegiance'. We just need to skip that step and take the 'pledge of allegiance' out of America. I will never pledge my allegiance to an imperfect nation. I will pledge my allegiance to freedom of speech, equality, or any other good, unchanging value. I will never pledge my allegiance to something like a country. Besides the pledge of allegiance is only useful for brainwashing small children.

The Catholic church is stupid.

2009-04-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

I have given up on the Catholic church. Completely given up. They are idiocy and evil combined.

Why do I believe this? This is why.

To summarize the story: A 9-year old, Brazilian girl was raped by her stepfather. She got pregnant with twins. When her mother took her to the hospital the doctors told her they doubt the girls body could bear the pregnancy.

Under Brazil's laws abortion is legal in cases of rape or where the mother's life is in danger. In the case of the 9-year old, both were true, so they aborted the twins.

Now then, who's in the wrong? Who did evil? Logic, at least in my opinion, says the stepfather.

The Vatican disagrees with me. They swooped in and assured us it was the mother for allowing the abortion and the doctors for performing it. They were all excommunicated from the Catholic church for it.

Here's a quote from Archbishop José Cardoso Sobrinho in reference to the father: "He committed a serious crime, but . . . there are many other serious sins. Abortion is more serious."

Yes, you read that right. Raping a 9-year old is not as bad as that same 9-year old getting an abortion so she won't die during the pregnancy.

Maybe I understand sex better then catholics but, as I see it, if the girl hadn't been raped she wouldn't have gotten pregnant. I know, I'm fucking crazy to draw that conclusion. It's as if the stepfather caused the whole problem in the first place, but is he excommunicated? Fuck no, he's not as evil as those doctors that chose to rectify his action and save a little girls life.

But wait, the catholic church thinks differently. Another piece from the article: "doctors concluded that the girl’s immature hips made childbirth exceedingly dangerous, prompting church officials to argue that she be forced to carry the baby to term and then have a cesarean."

If the doctors didn't want to be chastised by the Catholic church they should have done nothing for the girl. The mother should have watched as the twins grew within her little girls body until she was bedridden and, eventually, dead.

When chastised for they complete stupidity in the matter the Archbishop said: “We know that people have other ideas, but if they do, then they are not Catholics. We want people who adhere to God’s laws.”

All I can say is, I'm fucking glad I'm not a Catholic. I could never be that evil.

2008-11-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

Keith Olbermann rocks.

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Schools aren't very good at education.

2008-11-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

Reporters with 16 WAPT News received several calls from upset parents that said a school bus driver told the children on a Pearl school bus that if they said Obama’s name, they would be written up and taken to the principal’s office for disciplinary reasons.

Wow, people are really stupid.

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