Irreligious

Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year to all my friends and family!!!

Airline Security: Protecting Lives or Money

2010-11-27T14:09:00.001-05:00

Has it ever occurred to anybody that increased airline security over the years is more to do about saving money for the airlines than about saving human lives?

Consider that the odds to die in a car crash are astronomically higher. Additionally, how much does a passenger plane cost? Or class action lawsuits?

Don't get me wrong I don't believe it's a conspiracy, just that I don't think it's in the government or airline industries best interest to increase security solely to save lives. And also something the media would loathe to address.

2010-10-26T19:34:00.001-04:00

PingDroid test.

If Homosexuality is a Choice...

2010-10-12T18:01:00.001-04:00

...shouldn't it still be a right?

Like the right to choose to bear arms? The right of an adult to choose to smoke or drink? The right of free speech? The right to choose to picket funerals to further a homophobic agenda? The right to choose your religion? Or non-religion? The right to choose between Samsung and Sony? The right to choose gasoline, hybrid or electric? The right to choose blue jeans or slacks? The right to choose Democrat, Republican or other? The right to send your kids to public or private schools?

Either way. It shouldn't matter whether homosexuality were a choice, environmental or genetic.

I suppose some of the above rights I've rattled off come with certain caveats. As pertaining to the right of free speech whereby it does not apply to the shouting of "fire" in a crowded theater. That the right to bear arms doesn't necessarily apply to concealed weapons.

Alas, homosexuality is not a choice. If it were, there shouldn't be any caveats like: you can be gay, but don't tell anybody; you can be with your partner but not in the same way that heterosexuals legally are; or as pertains to adoption, hospitalization or insurance benefits.

If we take religion out of the equation, what do we have? A non-issue! A big fat non-issue! Almost all the arguments against homosexuality and homosexual relationships hinge almost exclusively on religious scripture. Granted there are other reasons why someone may oppose homosexuality but I haven't explored that rationale and, besides, such opposition is probably so remote and minimal as to be a non-issue in itself.

This, I believe, is why many atheists have allied themselves with gay rights' causes and sentiment. It's discrimination based on a religious viewpoint.

Christain Prayer Center to me

2010-06-24T18:44:00.001-04:00

larro,
"FOR THE SON OF MAN SHALL COME IN THE GLORY OF HIS FATHER WITH HIS ANGELS; AND THEN SHALL HE REWARD EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS." Matt. 16:27
Prayers are designed for humans on Earth to ask for riches, fortunes, and rewards above. These riches can come in the form of money, better paying jobs, better health, and happier relationships.
According to a recent study, the main reason why some Christians have not achieved their financial goals is simply because they have never asked.

Anybody heard of such a "study"? I'd like to see it.

Christian Prayer Center to me

2010-06-18T18:15:00.001-04:00

larro,
Sometimes in our lives, it seems like the Devil is paying attention to us but God isn't. You must not blame God, but instead show your faith to Him, so that he may come to your rescue.
If you pray, pray more. If you haven't posted an urgent prayer request to the Christian Prayer Center yet, now is the time.
Ask for God's protection right now so that he may be the enemy to your enemies.

Okay, why in the hell would I want a neglectful god to rescue me? And sorry, it doesn't "seem like the Devil is paying attention" either. I don't believe in either.

I want God to be somebodies enemy? What if my enemy is under God's protection already? Besides, who's to say I have enemies anyway? If I did have enemies what is God going to do to them? Send a hurricane to devastate their city? Or an earthquake?

They only teach the "one-side" of science

2010-03-22T18:41:00.001-04:00

Primarily I'm thinking of the teaching of the Theory of Evolution. What other side is there? Sure there are evolutionary biologists that differ in their opinions about the exactitudes of the Theory and have formed their own hypotheses (that they most often believe would build upon Darwin's Theory).

Now, there is the "other side" which pawns itself off as Creation "science". The proponents of which would very much like to see taught in public school systems. Creation "science" hinges on the premise that there is a Creator deity. A designer. That's fine and dandy if people want to believe that, but this type of "science" can not be taught in a secular public school system. Why? Because of it's religious bent. So, what exactly is this Creator? Who is he/she/it that created everything? These are philosophical questions best left out of science classes because with the teaching of Creation "science" will invariably lead to these questions and whoever is pushing a particular Creation "science" agenda would be displeased to learn that the Creator itself is being questioned (as should be) in a science classroom setting.

Yet, Creationists opine the secular godless "agenda" in the public school system. That there is a war on religion in the science classroom. Guess what Creationists (and especially those "patriots") we live in a secular society. Our Constitution prohibit the powers of the public sphere from endorsing any one religion over another.

The "agenda" lies not with the secular ideals that the United States was founded upon but with those who would seek to impose a narrow interpretation of our origins and our history. Does anybody truly think that if we lived in a Christian theocracy there would be any other alternative?

When I've watched videos and read blog posts from prominent Creation proponents I can take away nothing less than the fact that these people really want a Christian theocracy.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Easy Rider

2010-03-13T13:29:00.001-05:00

Christian Prayer Center (new email)

2010-01-19T17:39:00.001-05:00

larro,
With the world how it is, it's often hard to be grateful for what you have. You must look beyond your current situation, and reach for God's loving hand.
I want to help you, and that's why I set up the Christian Prayer Center. Please feel free to submit a prayer, and we will all pray for it to be answered.
http://www.christianprayercenter.com

God Bless,
Pastor John Carlson
Senior Pastor
info@christianprayercenter.com

Okay, it really isn't all that hard to ascertain from this message that 1) it's pretty darn pessimistic to assume that everybody is on hard times, 2) everybody needs a helping hand and 3) that the answers/relief are found with a god.

How "is" the world anyway? It just IS!

And a "loving" God!? He must be one "tough loving" sonofabitch what with all the calamity and catastrophe in Haiti! Oh, but I forget, [one of] the very mouthpiece[s] of God (aka Pat Roberston) has revealed to us simpletons that the people of Haiti are devil-worshippers and must be deserving of their fate. Holy shit! God is one smiting motherfucker!

...just the guy I'd like to reach out for in my time of need!

Christian Prayer Center

2010-01-10T10:40:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I clicked on an add out of complete curiosity (I think it was on Facebook). It was for a site called Christian Prayer Center. I wanted to see what people were praying for or, more accurately, what they were requesting prayer for. I think I had to join in order to view the "prayer requests" so I did. Needless to say, now I get email notifications about every other day now such as the one below. I thought it was pretty hilarious.

larro,
Have you ever thought about how you can bring your Christian faith to the next level and have your prayers answered more effectively?
If you have ultimate faith in God, but would like to be closer to Him, I urge you to consider becoming an Ordained Christian Minister.
If you are willing to pledge your ultimate faith to God, I invite you to register to become an Ordained Minister, by clicking the link below:
http://www.christianprayercenter.com/ministers.html
By being an Ordained Minister, you will be able to guide others on the path of God, perform weddings, help friends and family with faith healing, financial blessing requests, relationship healing, and more.

God Bless You,
Pastor John Carlson
Senior Pastor
info@christianprayercenter.com

What's funny too, is that I created a profile and specifically stated that I was an atheist. Wonder how long before a) my account gets deleted or b) I get a flood of prayers in my email. LOL

Gargantuan Endeavor

2010-01-04T18:51:00.001-05:00

I want to start a website that gathers under one roof as many atheist, skeptic, agnostic, secular humanist and freethought blogs that I can possibly find. To bring the atheosphere to a nexus point.

I envision that this site will connect bloggers and help them to discover and aggregate information that circulates through the atheosphere. But this is not the ultimate goal I have in mind. I would also like to create a massive database with statistics on all these blogs. Site traffic, post ranking, post frequency, comment frequency, etc.

I'd also have the site scour blog postings for external links to news articles for trending topics. The site would also have aggregation capability within specific (almost limitless) categories and topics. An "atheist blog search engine". Resources for bloggers on technical issues with their blogs; like notifying a blogger if their RSS/Atom feed is not parsing correctly.

Yes, I am aware of the multitude of other sites that do things similarly but not one I can think of that does them all. Sadly, I haven't the expertise in conducting such an endeavor. I've only just recently started reading up on PHP so I'm an absolute complete noob in this regard. But I want to build the site from scratch and I am completely lost except for conceptualization. Maybe it's time to go back to school.

Atheist Teacher Burns Effigy of Darwin Into Students Arm

2010-01-01T11:28:00.001-05:00

Sounds ridiculous right? Well, it is. It's a false headline.

However, this one isn't: Ohio Teacher In Hot Water For Burning Cross Into Skin of Students

Now, I've been aware of and been following this story for some time now. But it got me thinking...

I challenge, CHALLENGE anybody to dig up a story of a non-believing/atheist teacher doing something similar.

You see, it's stories like this that don't really help me to get away from beating up on straw men. People like this make it so easy to stereotype Christians as wackos and nutters. And then of course there's the True Scotsman argument that gets thrown around. The argument that I despise with my entire being..."Oh, but he's not a TRUE Christian!" Bullshit. This teacher reads the same bible as every other Christian on the planet.

More searching reveals that John Freshwater attends Trinity Assembly of God in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Which has "16 Fundamental Truths" of what they believe including speaking in tongues. Pentecostal. Why am I not surprised? *sigh*

I believe John Freshwater's teaching license should be revoked indefinitely.

And atheists are irrational!?

More...

Science teacher can't recall Lego lesson

Atheist, Humanist & Freethinker's Blogs

Gregarius

2009-12-27T21:14:00.001-05:00

This is sad actually. Gregarius, an opensource project that you can install on your own server, has been discontinued for some time now. However, there was/is so much potential for this application.

Gregarius is a feed reader much like Google Reader.

I've installed it here on my home server (this computer I'm typing at):

I wish I knew how to code in PHP because I would love to write some scripts for it; like being able to post a given article to Twitter or Facebook like you can do on Collected. Gawd, that would be awesome. I like Gregarius though because I can categorize feeds and tags articles. It's just so potentially customizable it ain't funny.

So what do my readers think?

Being Vegan

2009-12-23T20:30:00.001-05:00

Well, I guess this is my first post on Posterous about being vegan.

We as citizens are subject to the market influence of agri-business. Sure, I am too. I'm not saying I am immune to the clenched fist of this nefarious industry as it extends into every pore of our dietary lifestyles, yet I try to abstain from consuming any animal or animal by-product wherever I can. I even look at clothing labels to make sure nothing is leather or made from wool. Once in while I may flub something and assume that a product is "animal friendly" and continue on through the check-out and later find that I was an idiot and didn't read the label. In all actuality I am not a true vegan but I try my damnedest.

However, how can we really know something that we purchase is "animal friendly" unless we abstain from the whole consumer marketplace? By which we actually produce our own cotton and our own garden veggies? To be self-sustaining? I for one would, on one point, wholeheartedly endorse such endeavors. But we are inundated with an environment that espouses a lax consumerism by which people just don't care where their "stuff" comes from. I must emphasize "don't care", because we really don't care even on second thought. There really is a "third thought".

So, as a society, on the second point we can't possibly alienate agri-business. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that agri-business, as it stands now, is anywhere but ethical; but that market forces dictate that consumers "get what they want". Therefore we change things by voting with our wallets and pocketbooks.

Baby's rally sparks joy - Religion

2009-12-21T06:33:00.001-05:00

Kristie Hammonds of Raleigh brought her daughter forward to be prayed over by Pastor Sheryl Brady.
As captured on video and posted on YouTube, the girl, named Christiana, was lying in her mother's arms with her eyes shut as Brady began praying. Soon a packed house began speaking in tongues, waving hands, shouting and pleading with God for the girl's recovery.
Twenty minutes later, the mother returned with the baby. This time little Christiana opened her eyes, stuck out her tongue, and seemed able to respond to sight and sound.
"The healer is in the house!" shouted Brady, a Pentecostal preacher trained by Dallas megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes. "He can heal you, and you, and all of you."
Nearly half a million viewers have watched the YouTube segment, "A Christmas Miracle at The River." The clip has given the little-known church instant celebrity, and a tough act to follow.
At Sunday's service, Brady and her followers did their best. After a prelude of rousing music and sermons, Brady presented the mother - who returned this time without the baby - with the keys to a Raleigh apartment and a check for one year's rent, along with dining and bedroom sets, towels, pots and pans, and even a bucket with cleaning supplies.
By the time the three-hour service was over, a church member popped up and added the keys to a car.
"I want a complete, absolute, 100 percent miracle," Brady said.
Like other Pentecostals, Brady and her church believe the Holy Spirit bestows special gifts on Christians, such as the power to heal, prophesy and work miracles.
But whether it was prayer or a gradual physical recovery that animated the baby is hard to tell.
Meanwhile, Christiana is still fed through a gastric feeding tube. She cannot hold her head up, and for the time being, she resides at the Hilltop Home on New Bern Road in Raleigh, a residential center for children with profound developmental disabilities.
Raleigh police arrested Tammy Danielle Evans, 22, of Raleigh on July 21 and charged her with felony child abuse in connection with the shaking incident, police spokesman Jim Sughrue said.
'Power is in Jesus'
Brady did not claim the baby was healed.
As she explained to her followers Sunday, "Christiana was not in a coma per se that day."
Nor did Brady claim she was the agent of healing.
"There's no healing power in me," she said. "All the healing power is in Jesus Christ."
But she did hold out hope something was unfolding.
"It's obvious to me, to the mother and to all the world that something significant happened that day right before our eyes," she said. "It's not a complete miracle, but it's the beginning of one."
Hammonds said her daughter has never been more responsive. She's awake for longer periods of time, seems to show some movement in her paralyzed right side, and for the first time this week made some gurgling baby talk noise.
"I believe in prayer more than therapy," said Hammonds who grew up in Monroe, near Charlotte. "Belief is what will get her to the next level."
Hammonds, who was laid off from a Sonic Drive-In after the baby's trauma, has been renting a room in a boarding house on Avent Ferry Road. She has two other children who live with her mother in Monroe.
During Sunday's ecstatic service, members said they viewed the timing of the healing prayer - nearly two weeks before Christmas - as providential.
"This is the tip of the iceberg," said Reginald Arnold, a member. "We cannot go back to anything less. This is the beginning of something awesome."

via newsobserver.com

"I believe in prayer more than therapy," said Hammonds

Ugh.

How should we celebrate religious traditions? - Faceoff

2009-12-21T06:25:00.001-05:00

But by putting up inside Town Hall what everyone knows is a Christmas tree and calling it a "Community Tree," Cary invites disdain, ridicule and charges of political correctness while offending Christians, non-Christians and pagans alike.
Even more laughably, a large cedar tree outside Town Hall, lighted as part of Cary's annual "holiday celebration," is called simply "the tree."
A town statement emphasized that "Neither tree has been called the Christmas Tree." Think it's a Hanukkah tree? An Ashura tree?
This courageous exercise of government discretion has been brought to you by the Community Association of Religious Yo-yos.
Cary need not be so milquetoast to be fair.
Buddy Owens argues here that to be neutral, Cary shouldn't recognize any religions at all.
It's true that the government can't legally favor one religion over another. But the U.S. Constitution doesn't require obliviousness, and neither does common sense.
Cary mistakenly pursues inclusion through neutering. Instead, it should pursue inclusion through inclusion. Addition, not subtraction.
I don't see why the town can't decorate and display an evergreen tree - a pagan solstice symbol Christians adapted centuries ago - and call it a Christmas tree, by golly.
At the same time, the town can put up a Jewish menorah and Star of David, display an Islamic crescent, observe the Buddhist Bodhi Day, acknowledge the Wiccan Yule celebration, etc. Mazel tov!
Matthew Eisley is editor of The N&O's North Raleigh News and Midtown Raleigh News.
Government should stay neutral by staying out
BY BUDDY OWENS
I like Christmas. Bright lights, giving and pretty music always have a way of softening me up, especially since I have grandchildren. That's a big deal!
Lots of people enjoy Christmas, but it's exclusively Christian, and to say it isn't is absolutely out in left field. Do American Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and Muslims enjoy Christmas? Maybe some, but most likely not so much.
Governments can mess up Christmas. Surely a "Community Tree" like Cary's is offensive to Christianity. A government crèche with a "Community Person" in the manger also would offend.
It gets deeper when someone like Cary Councilman Don Frantz wants to "be all-inclusive while still honoring those who celebrate Christmas." That means what, exactly?
Oops! See what government support of religion does? What a mess. We are unwisely giving our religion "unto Caesar."
Cary, Wake County, North Carolina and the federal government don't need to honor any religion or religious activity.
Our country's founders knew how to do that. They gave us the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. And the first 16 words of that First Amendment give us our very first freedom, the freedom of religion.
Being neutral in religion by staying out of it is the only way all levels of government can honor the religions of all their citizens.
Majorities change. Political parties, religions, social classes and other groups can become different in a short time. Let us hope that we still have the First Amendment when Christmas becomes a minority celebration.
Buddy Owens of Raleigh is President of the N.C. Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

via newsobserver.com

This Country Is Full of Morons...At Least Our Legislature Is...

2009-12-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

...yet who elects these morons? The people of this country.

As I was perusing the news in my feed reader I stumbled onto this gem: Christian Scientists seek prayer provision. At first I was laughing at how ludicrous a notion this is until...

Such a provision was passed by committees in both the House and the Senate this year, but was stripped from the House bill as well as the current version being debated in the Senate.

What!?! This was actually being considered!? It was actually on it's way into becoming the wording in a Health Care Reform Bill.

What are we going to do? Pay priests, preachers, pastors, imams and gurus for medical care? This would legitimize all kinds of unsavory and fraudulent practices. I mean: are we going to license prayer? How will we know they are accredited? I got it!!! The prayer practitioner will have to show a success rate. There we go!

"Well, Mrs. Smith. I think I'm going to have to refer you to a specialist. I know a very good one."

Woo Hoo!

2009-12-15T19:55:00.002-05:00

I've just finished adding EVERY available feed from EVERY blog on Mojoey's Atheist Blogroll to atheistblogroll.collected.info. This has taken me approximately one week to accomplish. There are 924 feeds aggregated in this "collection". There are 1014 blogs on the Atheist Blogroll so that leaves quite a bit of blogs that do not have a feed activated or authors that have deleted their blog or set their blog to private.

My master list is on my OperaUnite server.

Red and pink colors cells on the right reflect status that needs to be addressed. Green of course means everything is a-okay. Blue is for my own personal use (usually regarding something to do with RSS or Atom feed availability or something else regarding a technical issue).

Well, if this is in anyway up anyone's alley, please enjoy. :)

Also! Please check out Atheist Resources in my sidebar. There is a section there specifically dedicated to the blogs on the Atheist Blogroll along with a host of other resources. And please, if you feel up to it we would appreciate contributors and suggestions.

Pack Your Bags

2009-12-13T20:09:00.001-05:00

A woman was having a really bad day at work so she stopped at the nearest convenience store on the way home and picked up a fifth of Jack Daniels. While at the counter she checks her lotto tickets to see if she's won and lo and behold she's won the jackpot; a million dollars! She's jumping up and down for joy right out the door with her JD in hand. With all inhibition in the back seat she decides to crack open that fifth and is slugging away going down the road on her way home. Hey, she's had a bad day at work! She screeches into the driveway; bursts through the front door and yells with glee at her husband.

"We've won a million dollars!" as she waves the ticket in the air, "Pack your bags!"

"Should we pack for the Mediterranean? Or better yet, how about skiing in the Swiss alps?" her husband inquires.

"I don't care what you pack for. Just get the hell outta here!"

What exactly is the Separation of Powers?

2009-12-05T17:30:00.001-05:00

Everybody it seems, keeps referring to the entire health care reform debate as belonging to Obama. What's wrong with this assertion?

What's wrong is that Obama had stated from the outset that he would let Congress craft a health care reform bill that he would/could sign. So, essentially the fucking bill belongs to Congress. And by belong, I mean Congress will own the responsibility for all that the bill will entail. And until Obama has a bill on his desk he is willing to sign he has jack to do with it but campaign on what he would like to see in that bill.

Therefore I wish people get off referring to this as OBAMA's health care reform bill.

"Atheists in Action / Les athées en action"

2009-12-04T18:24:00.001-05:00

Got an interesting email today that I'd like to share:

Hello,
My name is Salvatore Pertutti.
I am an active atheist and I fight religions through, among other things, humour and parody.
My videos bring to light the sectarian, sexist, homophobic, criminogenic nature of all religions. My website:
http://www.le-monde-pluriel.eu/
Since September, my action has become collective and international.
We have just launched the association "Atheists in Action / Les athées en action", with a competition that we also see as a philosophical reflection: and if Abraham, Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, Buddha... had been women?
http://www.atheists-in-action.com/184/English.html
Membership is free.
The goal of this association is to count and group together the non-believers throughout the world so that we can make ourselves heard in the media and in society at large (10 % of our members live in muslim countries... which means atheism is on the rise everywhere).
Apolitical, humanist, determined...: a few words that define our association.
Numerous atheists in every country are also getting organized in order to fight for a fairer world.
You are one of them.
That's why, in a few weeks from now, we will suggest a partnership to you all.
In the meantime, feel free to let us know about your actions and ideas.

Atheistically yours,
Atheists in Action

NPR: All Things Considered - On Social Issues, Bishops Flex Political Muscle

2009-12-03T18:56:00.001-05:00

I was on my way home from work today and caught this segment on All Things Considered. Of course, this is "old news" to many atheists however I about blew my top when John Meyers, bishop of New Jersey, said, "I don't think it was improper because what we talked about were moral issues and if anyone has the responsibility and the right to speak out on moral issues it's religious leaders"

Hello!!! The Catholic Church leaders? The same leaders that shuffled around pedophiles in order to cover up their crimes?

Listen to the piece here: All Things Considered

Supertheory of Supereverything...

Gogol Bordello - Super Theory Of Super Everything

2009-12-02T21:14:00.001-05:00

Gogol Bordello
Song: Super Theory Of Super Everything
First time I had read the Bible
It had stroke me as unwitty
I think it may started rumor
That the Lord ain't got no humor

Put me inside SSC
Let's test superstring theory
Oh yoi yoi accelerate the protons
stir it twice and then just add me, 'cause

I don't read the Bible
I don't trust disciple
Even if they're made of marble
Or Canal Street bling

From the maelstrom of the knowledge
Into the labyrinth of doubt
Frozed underground ocean
melting - nuking on my mind

Yes give me Everything Theory
Without Nazi uniformity
My brothers are protons
My sisters are neurons
Stir it twice, it's instant family!

I don't read the Bible
I don't trust disciple
Even if they're made of marble
Or Canal Street bling

My brothers are protons
My sisters are neurons
Stir it twice dlja prekrastnih dam...

Do you have sex maniacs
Or schizophrenics
Or astrophysicists in your family
Was my grandma anti anti
Was my grandpa bounty bounty
Hek-o-hek-o-hej-o
They ask me in embassy!

'Cause I don't read the Bible
I don't trust disciple
Even if they're made of marble
Or Canal Street bling

And my grandma she was anti!
And my grandpa he was bounty!
And stir it twice
And then just add me!
Partypartypartypartypartyparty
now afterparty...

Exhorder - Slaughter in the Vatican

2009-12-02T19:54:00.001-05:00

Slaughter In The Vatican by Exhorder

Praised by all of thee
His hands are raised in order to bring salvation
Monarchy to hierarchy
Imminent excision
Propaganda for the "one true god"
Leaving your eternity feared
Denouncing dictation remove his lead
Exercise his lethal decision

The pontiff is gone, you are the one
To carry out and learn from your beliefs
Follow no more, the pope's been destroyed
An individual church of the will shall succeed

Papal supremacy...
Intertwining with infallibility

A dawning of a new faith arising now
The sheep without the shepherd evermore
Consumed by overconfident assumptions
The puritanic elders couldn't score
A holiday in Rome, people will not forget
The tires on the popemobile are slashed
A switch of a blade and a thrust through his stole
Steal his rings and pawn them in for cash

Some will let you be yourself
Others try to rule your soul
Imperials and rebels all trying to regain control
Roll out the red carpet, here comes our prince
The day He died, we've been crusaders since
Catholicism breaks in two
Time is running out for you

If the father of the church is to lead and teach you
Then why doesn't he follow the rules?
Imitate the son of man and live with the poor
Instead of fearing him while he's on tour

Avoid, abstain
Keep clean your life, your heart and soul
Don't miss the mass, you'll go to hell
You must repent and tell your sins

Pope, die!
You lied to me, my wife and child
Storm the Vatican, tear it down
The church is gone, we have won!

Listen

Atheist Resources

2009-12-01T21:03:00.001-05:00

Okay, it's been far too long that I have not been promoting this site. On the home page here you will see a banner for "Atheist Resources". It's not there by accident...er...duh...I put it there!

No, seriously though; here's what it looks like (huffs on fingernails and buffs them on shirt):

What the hell is it? Right down to it: it's a wiki. Many of you undoubtedly are familiar with Wikipedia, right. Well, it's a wiki resource for atheist and atheist related information. Additionally, it also has a limited catalog of blogs on Mojoey's Atheist Blogroll (which really needs to be completed and updated).

I and my fellow administrator who goes by db0 and maintains a blog here are looking for contributors to Atheist Resources. If you are familiar with wiki syntax please dive in. If you don't know what the hell wiki syntax is; in a nutshell it's basically html but simpler and tidier (you can read up on it here). Keep in mind that DokuWiki has slightly different syntax than that which Wikipedia uses.

Essentially, we'd like to welcome aboard anybody who'd like to contribute and/or make suggestions as to the layout of the site. Is it "user friendly"? Is the navigation confusing? Etc.

Additionally, and foremost, we are creating this resource not just for editors/contributors but for users in mind.

I guess that's all I have to say on it for now. Thank you for any interest.

An Idea I'm Toying With

2009-11-30T19:18:00.001-05:00

I'm actually kinda excited about this.

Of late I've been analyzing Mojoey's Atheist Blogroll (the list). As some of you may know it's quite large nearing 1,000 blogs. What I do basically is I periodically go through the list and see what blogs have been deleted by the authors (or have been otherwise expired from their domains) and help Mojoey (via email) update the blogroll. Sometimes an author has shut down their blog and moved to a different address without notifying Mojoey.

Yes, you could say I'm a bit of a fanatic in this regard but I do see the brilliant idea that the Atheist Blogroll is.

Without the Atheist Blogroll I would not have connected to almost every blog/blogger that is pertinent to my own world view.

Lately, I've been keeping a personal wiki (on my own PC) to catalog the blogs on the Atheist Blogroll and their status. I've come up with a simple formula to calculate the "Post Frequency Rank" of blogs on the Athiest Blogroll. The purpose of this ranking system is for mine alone (just to see how active the blog author is in posting to their blog that is on the Atheist Blogroll). However, I've thought of a way to calculate (in the same way) a "Comment Frequency Rank".

How many "lonely" blogs are out there that just don't get the traffic? By virtue of joining Mojoey's Atheist Blogroll these bloggers are joining a community of bloggers and wish to reach out for readership.

To be honest, this is a fresh idea and I have no idea how to implement it or even to get participation from other bloggers. Initially, I'm thinking on a "blog meme". Yet, how would I publicize the least trafficked blogs?

Any ideas?

What could be...

2009-11-25T21:00:00.001-05:00

The year is 2109 and the earth is crumbling under many factors not least of which is the burden called humanity. Or rather, is it that humanity is crumbliing? We were led to believe that we could save our precious planet from ourselves when in fact we forfeited our lives and our home to those chosen few who held the reigns of power. There is a new world order but nothing like that which had been pettily bandied about through conspiracy theories a century ago. Or is it the same? It matters not. Free information has been cut off. Twenty years ago the internet has become a myth. The internet has become pure entertainment and nothing more. It is watched and indeed controlled by those that choose to limit it's impact on the free-flow of ideas. Long gone are the days when dissidence was overlooked.

Before, there is what was known as "spam" but now there is only "the Revolt". I am part of this and that is why you are reading this message. How I wish things were different. How I wish the power had been shifted to a more productive avenue. One in which we as human beings could have lived that Utopian dream. Co-operative. But, this was not to be. The earth has been brought under one umbrella on the promise of security and salvation. I wonder why I stand here in the rain. As many of us do.

The Family. That is what they call themselves. The power-elite that has sought to vanquish and diminish those that oppose their ideology. However, you are exempt so long as you capitulate to Christ. If not, you have no rights. Many of us pretend and do our best to go on unnoticed. I am not such a one. Though I hide among them, I know my way around, and long will be the day when I am sent to "The Camps" to get "educated" and "re-educated".

The Family. I know; is a co-operative. Yet, it is not inclusive. I'm talking about freedom and rights. If one chooses to differ should this not be accepted? Sadly, this is not so in the Family's ideological agenda.

Many Christians in the Western world were duped into believing that The Family was in their best interest. That Christ intended for the rich and powerful to be bestowed with power over their fellow man. That this doctrine was what Christ intended. What ensued were wars that should not even be spoken of. With the might of Christian faith most other religions were summarily destroyed or brought to subjugation.

Even non-believers of all stripes were weeded out of the system of this Christian world. Even now I fear...

Yes, damn. THis mesage is being intercepted. Please, any moment now..

No,m ihave to go they are here

Fresh Air with Terry Gross

The Secret Political Reach Of 'The Family'

2009-11-24T18:32:00.001-05:00

You may recognize these names from recent headlines: Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Joe Pitts. Stupak and Pitts have become familiar names through the media's health care overhaul coverage; their abortion funding amendment introduced an 11th-hour twist as the House of Representatives approached a vote on a landmark health care bill. Ensign was the focus of media attention over his affair with a campaign staffer. Just last night, a Nevada man disclosed that he found out about his wife's affair with the state's junior senator — his best friend — via a text message. The common factor among these political players is their involvement with the Family, a secretive fellowship of powerful Christian politicians that centers on a Washington, D.C., townhouse. Investigative journalist Jeff Sharlet has written extensively about the influential group in his book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. Sharlet returns to Fresh Air to talk to host Terry Gross about Ensign, Stupak and Pitts, and about new developments concerning the Family. Since 2003, Sharlet has been an associate research scholar at New York University's Center for Religion and Media, where he has taught graduate seminars in journalism and the history of American religion. He has also spoken on religion, politics and media at colleges and universities across the country. At NYU, Sharlet created TheRevealer.org, a review of religion and the media.

Quotable - Neece

2009-11-22T17:42:00.001-05:00

"Some people seem to love the idea of predicting cataclysmic events and the destruction of the world. Of course, since we’re still here, so far they have been wrong every time. That’s something in itself to consider.”

- Neece

Google Reader :(

2009-11-22T09:35:00.001-05:00

I'm becoming increasingly disenchanted with Google Reader. If you want to know what the hell Google reader is to begin with you can read up on it at Wikipedia. Google Reader is getting exceedingly slow and I haven't added all that many feeds of late. I honestly don't believe it's my computer as I'm running one of the fastest linux distros out there (Puppy Linux), if not the fastest, on a Pentium 4 processor with 1.5 giga-bytes of RAM.

As it stands I've been testing out rss/atom feed aggregator sites and have settled on one I think I am going to start using as my primary one. It's called .Collected and I'm very impressed with it's simplicity. I really don't need all that much functionality and "bells and whistles". And because I'm a Twitter addict it works out perfectly that I can share articles on Collected with Twitter and Facebook as well. I also like the fact that your "collection" is public as a visible web-page (though you can make it private). The downside is that you have to "check for availability" when creating a collection.

Otherwise, like I said, I'm pretty impressed with Collected.

Absolutely Brilliant!!!

2009-11-19T21:10:00.001-05:00

David Deutsch: A new way to explain explanation

Dichotomy

2009-11-18T20:37:00.001-05:00

Asking or positing that atheism is a religion is like asking a vegetarian if they eat fish!

Test post for Wordpress

2009-11-16T18:37:00.001-05:00

I just enabled posting to Wordpress via Posterous. This is a test post.

Political Correctness My Ass

2009-11-12T18:27:00.001-05:00

With the recent shootings at fort hood I've been hearing some complaints (from callers to various shows airing on NPR; which I listen to throughout the day as I drive for a living) about the "political correctness" of not calling the shooter "what he is"; namely an Islamic terrorist. In my opinion he was most likely a guy really fucked in the head who happened to be Muslim. Sure, the guy was not happy with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (but who isn't?)

We always want to slap a label on somebody.

Do we want to go down that road? I'm sure it's already too late as far as the media is concerned. If in fact the media does indeed propogate the notion that this troubled man was an Islamic Terrorist and in the end he is summarily executed many Islamic fundamentalists across the globe will hold him up as a martyr for Islam. Granted, there are broader and greater issues to address this horrible circumstance but giving religious fundamentalism the green flag to uphold Nidal Hasan as a martyr (if indeed he get's the death penalty).

By jumping to conclusions about Nidal Hasan's motives the media and most of the public have pretty much set the stage for his tribunal. Nidal Hasan's attorney has expressed deep concern that his client will not likely get a fair trial because of the publicity. And in my opinion I don't think he will get such a fair shake because of the Islamophobia that is rampant in this country. Essentially, we do have to wittle this Islamophobia down to it's core; to it's roots. Islamophobia is essentially religious bigotry and I don't think that there is much "fear" as there is hatred involved in the discussions concerning the Muslim faith and the Christian faith. We don't describe Christian "fears" of atheists as "atheistophobia"!

Until we are clear on Nidal Hasan's motives I think we should stay away from labeling him as an Islamic terrorist.

WOW!

2009-11-09T20:18:00.001-05:00

Orangutan from Borneo photographed using a spear tool to fish

2009-11-05T17:20:00.001-05:00

Source: Primatology.net

I tell myself I really don't care...

2009-11-02T20:57:00.001-05:00

...about some of my family on my mom's side of late but I feel I have to get some thing's off my chest. It's quite likely some of them will be reading this post (and that's the part I really don't care about).

My grandmother recently passed away at a ripe, long-lived age of 85. She was a pillar of our family and had experienced many a trial and tribulation along the way. She was a victim of domestic abuse and buried one of her sons. In her later years one of my aunts moved in with her. Initially my grandmother was in fair health at that time and one could describe their ongoing relationship as doting from my grandmother and needy from my aunt (you'd think it would be the other way around). But as my grandmother's health waned one would think that these roles would have shifted...fat chance. I'll describe an incident that happened at the hospital as my grandmother was in critical care. My aunt, while in the waiting room, was relating that my grandmother had left some tidbits of food lying at her computer desk in small bowls and was getting disgusted at the smell emanating from my grandmother's room in the few days my grandmother had been in hospital. Guess what? Clean the fucking shit up!

To add to this story; my grandmother signed off her house to my aunt at some point after her moving in. And my grandmother was paying $100 in rent IN HER OWN HOUSE! I can't blame her for wanting to help with living expenses and not wanting to be a free-loader but if I were in that position (as my aunt) that money would have gone to pay for her funeral arrangements (which none were made). Maybe I could fault my grandmother for leaving the family with the responsibility of taking care of everything after her dying but I wasn't the one charged with taking care of her wishes after her death. Who was? I haven't a clue.

I loved my grandmother and the only thing that kept me from visiting her on a regular basis was the presence of my aunt at that house. Harsh? Selfish? Maybe. Maybe I could have just totally overlooked that living arrangement with my grandmother confined largely to her own bedroom and my aunt a permanent fixture in her easy-chair. Do I feel derision? Sure. Was I concerned and unhappy with that arrangement? You bet. Yet, I am one among many of my grandmothers grandchildren (thirty plus).

What place have I to intervene? My grandmother was not senile nor having dementia. She was in her right mind right up until the end of her life and in everyway leading up to it. So I can't help but assume that her living arrangement with my aunt (and her husband; I forgot to mention that part) was acceptable.

Mentioning my aunt's husband...

To be honest I initially didn't want to go to her funeral but my respects were due. Why didn't I want to go? It was largely to do with any number of circumstances but the primary reason was her particular church that the ENTIRETY of the service was being held (with no remains present). I know this is not unusual in the least; to have your funeral service held at the church you attended but as I came to realize I probably should have just stayed home or better yet celebrated my grandmother's life with my own mother and immediate family. The service turned out largely to do with sermonizing and least to do about my grandmother. To be honest I didn't expect anything less. Sure, there were tidbits thrown in here and there mentioning my grandmother and her life experiences and some quips about certain comical circumstances that occurred in her life (that everybody there had a heartfelt chuckle at) but it seemed to me that the vast majority of the service was spent extolling the church. It's quite likely that she may have (or did) envision her funeral service in this way (which is very likely). Can I fault that? No.

Back to mentioning my aunt's husband...at the end of the service there was a luncheon arranged there at the church but my immediate family didn't want to stick around for that (I didn't). We had decided that we might go out for our own lunch at a restaurant. After we'd left, my aunt's husband, apparently, walked up to my other aunt and stated: "'They' are gone...laughed through the whole service". Uh...who are "they"? Those "black sheep"? Quite likely "they" are them atheists (which we are with some agnostics). Maybe he just meant "they" as being my mom and her family. But I have a hard time agreeing with that.

Laughing? Laughing at my own grandmothers funeral!?!? What!?!? As if my own grandmothers death was a complete joke?

...

Beyond the pale! Beyond any kind of respect I want to show to that kind of person.

Lying. Bald-face lies. We did NOT show any sort of disrespect that that lie connotated. Would any deserving Christian bring themselves to lie in this way? Apparently HE did. And would any deserving Christian BELIEVE it? If they do then I can not call them family nor friend.

The vast majority of my family know that "we" are atheist (and agnostic) largely knowing that my mother is a semi-out atheist. I may be looking too deeply into the motivations behind this lie but I must say that there were certain instances that got me wondering. During one particular segment of the service the pastor asked that everybody bow their head in prayer and that once the prayer was finished had asked that everybody (without raising their head) raise their hand if this was the first time they had uttered this prayer; to which he could look around and see who had raised their hand. Guess who hadn't had their head bowed? Atheists don't pray (that's a given). So what! If this was indeed a way to see who wasn't praying (and I'm not saying that it was) then who cares? "We" were there at that church service honoring my grandmother's funeral like every other family member.

But I must get back to this lie. Under any other circumstance I could really care less. But this was my grandmother's funeral and I was accused of laughing throughout as if the whole thing was a joke. I'm taking this quite personal and philosophical. During the service there was quite a bit about "evangelizing" and getting a new member to join the church in my grandmother's stead...to take her place in the church. Yet, how on earth did my aunt's husband (and by extension my extended family and their church) seem inviting by lying (and possibly accepting this lie) about such an occurence? What a way to win over converts!?!

It is absolutely, ABSOLUTELY, no wonder I am an atheist.

Indukti

2009-11-02T18:58:00.001-05:00

Back in February of this year I stumbled upon Indukti's S.U.S.A.R. and was floored. I have been a fan from day one with tracks like Freder and No. 11811 making a lasting impression on me. Indukti's style can best be described as progressive metal lending themselves to musical composition akin to Tool. Additionally, one can hear influences of Pink Floyd and Rush but what seems to set Indukti apart is their use of violin to highlight and accentuate melody amidst the wall of sound that Indukti is. Conversely, many aspects of their songwriting and musical composition weave in and out of the soft and beautiful into heavy, hard-hitting riffs that seem to defy the preconcieved ideas of what metal is often building into a climactic cresendo of sound that is not a cacophony of instruments jangling errantly.

With their recent release of Idmen I must say I'm not as impressed yet as I was with S.U.S.A.R. Though I haven't had sufficient time to appreciate this new album, what I have heard is still formidable.

Dara O'Brian...brilliant

2009-11-02T18:16:00.001-05:00

Sunny Autumn Day in Michigan

2009-10-28T18:48:00.001-04:00

I wished I'd had our good camera with me for this pic but I had to use my measly 1.3 megapixel phone. And I really mean I had to use because it was such a beautiful shot I couldn't resist. I drive all over the county (it's part of my job-not-a-job) and see so many picturesque scenes at all times of the year but I must admit that some of the best images and scenes in Michigan are firstly (and I dread to say this because it's my least favorite season) in winter, secondly it would be autumn, thirdly spring and lastly summer (though summer is my favorite time of year; hands down).

Often I will be enroute and have just a little time to spare and see a road I've never traversed before and decide: "Hell, let's see where this road goes." Many people I know probably wouldn't dare do such a thing for fear of getting lost but for me, driving full-time for one month shy of nine years I've learned a very good sense of direction.

Needless to say I've discovered some very useful shortcuts and some very interesting scenery as well. This particular one I discovered sometime in the middle of this past summer. About a quarter mile down the road the trees literally create a canopy over the road in summer. It's like driving through a tunnel. A couple hundred feet after that there is a cross-road which leads to a single lane iron bridge with creaky wooden planks. I've found some old stone school houses (the single room kind); log cabins; etc.

Anyway, they a picture says a thousand words but in nature I must say that there really is nothing like being there.

Problems with Yahoo Messenger service

2009-10-08T21:06:00.001-04:00

Anybody reading this who is connected to me via Yahoo Messenger should know that something is screwed up here. I can not connect through the Yahoo Messenger service at all. This ain't the first time this has happened and I don't know if it is confined to a third party application like pidgin (which I use) or if it is "network-wide".

I just called my mom and she was having similar problems with Yahoo. Though she uses Pidgin as well, I can't help but think that something is not running very smoothly over at Yahoo HQ.

What this means is that I am seriously considering ditching my Yahoo Messenger service as my main means of instant messenging. So, those of you who wish to IM me may do so through my gmail account. If you don't know my gmail account then I'll assume you are not that well connected to me. If you do not know my gmail then you are welcome to send a direct message via the Twitter link off to the left here and request access therein.

The FSM Prayer

2009-09-21T19:48:00.001-04:00

Our Pasta, who art in the Pot, Flying Spaghetti Monster be thy Name. Thy dinner's come, whenThy will be done, On stove as it is in the oven..Give us this day our garlic bread, And give us our bottle's o'rum, As we give to those who dine with us. And feed us into oblivion, And deliver us from hunger. For thine is the tastiest, and the spiciest, and the best, for ever and ever. RAmen

(written by my mom; TinaFCD at Mister Jebs Blog)

Quotable - Frank Shaeffer

2009-09-17T06:56:00.001-04:00

"A village cannot reorganize village life... to suit the village idiot. and we have a village idiot in this country... it's called fundamentalist Christianity." - Frank Shaeffer

Why Racial Profiling is Not Only Wrong But Ineffective and Misguided

2009-08-31T18:42:00.001-04:00

The vast majority of racial profiling incidents in the U.S. by police involve an officer believing they have a situation in which drugs may be involved; possibly resulting in a drug bust.

I want to disprove a myth that black people are inherently criminal by virtue of the statistical number of black people in prison. This piece will attempt to focus on drug related crimes and specifically the discrepancies between white and black drug related crimes and drug use.

For reasons of the time I wish to spend on this subject, statistical data year by year will be correlated out-of-hand. Though I believe the time span in the data is close enough to be pertinent.

"A survey by the Department of Justice in 1999 revealed that while officers disproportionately focused on African American and Latino drivers, they found drugs more often when they searched whites (17%) than when they searched African Americans (8%)."

Source: Amnesty International

A nine percent difference! You would expect a nine percent increase in the number of whites in prison on drug related offenses. But this is not the case because, as stated in the below source, a little more than twice as many blacks and Hispanics were searched as were white drivers. If this percentage were equal we would indeed quite probably find a nine percent increase of whites in prison for drug related offenses.

"The Department of Justice released its own survey, this week, on police contacts with the public. Its findings: More black than white drivers were stopped in 1999 - 12 percent to 10 percent. But more than twice as many blacks and Hispanics were searched when they were pulled over, 11 percent, as opposed to 5 percent for white drivers. 90 percent of those searches uncovered no evidence of criminal wrongdoing."

Source: PBS

We can assume that 90% of the white drivers searched would equally uncover no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Unless you believe that blacks are inherently apt to be criminal; which is what I am attempting to disprove here.

"At midyear 2008, there were 4,777 black male inmates per 100,000 black males held in state and federal prisons and local jails, compared to 1,760 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 Hispanic males and 727 white male inmates per 100,000 white males."

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics

Let's assume/correlate that these numbers are relatively consistent year by year. And that the numbers reflected in the 1999 report may have even risen by 2008 (I don't have any statistics as yet for that; if anybody would care to look I'd be appreciative) on account of our "War on Terror" and increasing anti-immigrant policies on the Federal, State and local levels.

4.77% of the US black population were in prison.

1.76% of the US hispanic population were in prison.

0.72% of the US white population were in prison.

These percentiles above do not constitute drug offenses.

However:

Among the State prison inmates in 2000:

-- nearly half were sentenced for a violent crime (49%)
-- a fifth were sentenced for a property crime (20%)
-- about a fifth were sentenced for a drug crime (21%)

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics

On drug use in general:

The 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that the highest rate of current (past month) illicit drug use was among American Indian/Alaska Natives (13.7%), followed by blacks/African Americans (9.8%), persons reporting two or more races (8.9%), whites (8.5%), Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islanders (7.5%), and Hispanics (6.9%). The lowest rate of current illicit drug use was among Asians (3.6%).

Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy

The above quote shows that there is a mere 1.3% difference in drug use between blacks and whites. One would think that this percentile would reflect this in the prison population but it doesn't.

Some final thoughts; as I'm tiring of trying to crunch these numbers, is that blacks and whites would invariably share a relatively equal amount of prison population numbers (as outlined in the above survey; though this statistic doesn't outline actual trafficking) if it weren't for racial profiling. When ninety percent of stops by police officers result in absolutely no results in a search for drugs we can assume that ten percent of the stops of whites (that did not result in a search) were potentially drug related.

I would equally like to explore the realtionship between crime, poverty and education in this post but I think I'll save that for another day.

Link: Religion has a tendency to raise its ugly mug in the unlikeliest of places

Religion has a tendency to raise its ugly mug in the unlikeliest of places - The Freethinker

2009-08-31T07:04:00.001-04:00

Place: Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia, Missouri

Issue: The Theory of Evolution as religion

Evidence: Marching band t-shirt

Quote: "I was disappointed with the image on the shirt. I don’t think evolution should be associated with our school." Sherry Melby, a teacher in the district

Posterous

2009-08-29T12:35:00.001-04:00

I found a new web posting integration site. Somewhat like Ping.fm (which I found a bit lacking). I've yet to thoroughly explore Posterous so I can't as yet give an honest opinion of it.

So far, I'm liking it.