6.29.2010

Sharron Angle - God Planned Your Rape

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This woman is a horrible human being.


It's a good thing she's not in a position of influen - dammit! This is not even funny anymore.

VJack posted about her on his blog recently, which is why I decided to listen to this audio in the first place. She's running for political office in Nevada and she seems to have at least some chance of winning, which is about 'some' too much of a chance if you ask me.

Ask An Atheist Episode 4 - Why Do Atheists Have A Show?

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I have been keeping myself quite busy with reorganizing my craft stuff (there's a lot) so I haven't been writing much lately. I'll be back in the saddle soon. Until then, here is the latest episode of Ask an Atheist. I was so scared the sound was going to be totally messed up since I was the sound person on this episode, but it seems to have worked out. Yay! Enjoy -

6.21.2010

Ask An Atheist Episode 3

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6.18.2010

Jesus Loves Stuff

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Jesus is supposed to be love. So, it stands to reason, Jesus loves stuff. Which is exactly what this website strives to illustrate. Nothing more, nothing less. And I like that.

A few of my favorites:





And of course -



6.17.2010

Louis CK Calls The Pope A Pedophile

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I love me some Louis CK, and his comments about the pope are hilarious and pretty spot on. I love how he slips the comments in at the end of the interview, just got get a bit more exposure on the show.


Link to the clip.

Here's another hilarious video with Louis CK learning more about the Catholic church. Not safe for work.



Cue Bill Donohue's indignant outraged in 3...2...1...

6.16.2010

Teacher Fired For Getting Busy

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This story is pretty insane, and it sounds like the employer acted out of greed and annoyance with the fact that this woman was requesting maternity leave, but his use of archaic religious ethics as a means to not only justify firing her but humiliate her as well should be just as, if not more, insulting to religious people as it is to the rest of us.

The couple sat close together with her right hand clasped in his left hand and her left arm cradling the 8-month-old daughter whose conception cost the woman her job.

The couple’s sin, according to her former employer, Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, Fla., is fornication — having sex before they got married.

Jarretta Hamilton and her husband of 16 months, Samuel Treftz, told TODAY’s Ann Curry Monday that the termination violated federal anti-discrimination laws. In addition, they allege in a pending lawsuit, the school’s principal, Jon Ennis, invaded Hamilton’s privacy by telling other teachers and the parents of her students the exact reason she was fired.

OK, so it's a religious school, she had sex before marriage, she got fired for it. Hey, they probably wanted to protect the kids from this Jezebel's influence, right? She sounds like she's probably young, someone who might make a questionable roll model for the kids an- oh. Wait. She's not a kid herself at all, but a freaking widowed mother of five.

Hamilton said her problems are all the result of her being honest. A widow with five children from her first marriage, she had gotten work as a teacher at Southland Christian School in January 2008. Meanwhile, she also met Treftz, and they planned a Feb. 20, 2009, wedding.

In April 2009, Hamilton and Treftz went together to Ennis and told him she would be taking maternity leave in the fall. She says Ennis first complained that it was difficult for the school to cover women on maternity leave.

“I was only requesting a standard six weeks maternity leave, and as the conversation progressed, he said, ‘I’m just trying to do the math here. When did you get married?’ ” Hamilton told Curry.

“I said Feb. 20,” she continued. “He said, ‘Well, did you conceive prior to marriage?’ I answered and I told him, ‘Yes.’ ”


What the hell? She goes on to explain that the only reason she even answered his question was because she was so shocked, which is a response I can personally attest to. The jackass who fired her is, of course, standing his ground on the subject - presumably because the pompous ass thinks he has a god on his side. She's suing and I honestly can't see how she might possibly lose. However, given the increase of theocratic BS I've been hearing about lately from different parts of the country, I'm honestly a bit concerned that she won't win. And that, my friends, is effing crazy.

6.15.2010

Ask An Atheist Episode 2 Video

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Here is an embedded copy of Ask An Atheist episode 2 for your viewing pleasure. :D


We had some technical difficulties and lost the first 4 minutes of the program, but really all that did was slice off introductions.


Nature -1, Grotesque Displays of Worship - 0

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Oh man, this is good.


MONROE, OH (FOX19) - An iconic and massive statue of Jesus in Monroe, OH was destroyed after being struck by lightning Monday night.

The six-story statue was a well-known landmark on Interstate 75 since 2004, and was called "King of Kings" by members of Solid Rock Church, where it stood.

The lightning strike set the statue ablaze just after 11 p.m., Monroe police dispatchers said.

The 62-foot tall and 40-foot wide statue weighing 16,000 pounds quickly became engulfed in flames after the lightning strike. Fire crews were on the scene for several hours to put out the fire, but no one was injured.

The statue, also nicknamed "Touchdown Jesus" because of the way its arms were outstretched, is made out of wood and Styrofoam. The statue also had a steel frame anchored in concrete and fiberglass. The steel frame was all that remained after the fire. According to 911 calls, the lightning struck the right hand of the statue.

The fire spread to the attic of an adjacent amphitheater, but no other buildings at the church were affected. Fire chief Mark Neu says the fire caused $700,000 in damage to the statue and amphitheater. Neu says he believes the church has insurance.

The statue was scheduled to undergo a new paint job this summer after suffering some wear and tear during the harsh winter.

The pastor of Solid Rock Church says the church does plan to rebuild the statue.


Well of course the pastor is going to rebuild, that statue probably brings in quite a few worshipers who like their church like they like their trucks - over-sized and obnoxious.

My suggestion to the church is to make the next statue a progression piece - have Jesus doing a sweet end zone dance.

Ask An Atheist Episode 2

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Here is the second episode of Ask An Atheist. I did the camera work on this show along with another guy, but that pretty much meant I stood around and waited in case something needed to be adjusted. :D

Blogger is having a hard time with the embedded video, so here is a link for now:

Ask An Atheist

Here are a few excerpts:







Again, I feel so lucky to be a part of this project. I'm just a volunteer, though, the real credit goes to the Ask An Atheist producers. Please show these guys some support by commenting on the videos and/or friending them on facebook.

Hope you like it!

6.14.2010

America - Turning Into A Theocracy?

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Come on, Iowa conservatives, WTF?

DES MOINES, Iowa —
An influential group of religious conservatives said Monday it would sit out the fall gubernatorial election as promised after candidates it favored lost in last week's Republican primary.

The Iowa Family Policy Center's decision was a blow to Republican Terry Branstad, who had banked on support from religious conservatives in his race against Democratic Gov. Chet Culver. The group said neither major party candidate met its standards.

Danny Carroll, chairman of the Iowa Family Policy Center, said in a statement that Republican officials were pushing conservatives to support Branstad. His group had said earlier it would not support the former governor if he won the primary.

"After nearly a week of calls for blind partisan unity from Republican loyalists, the Iowa Family PAC today reaffirmed their intention to withhold support from either major party candidate for governor in 2010 unless one or both of them illustrates a fundamental transformation," Carroll said in the statement.

Despite pressure from Republicans, Carroll said, "Our commitment to Biblical principles and the constitutional rule of law is not the result of any political affiliation, nor is it something that changes depending on the names on the ballot."

Religious conservatives are important to most Republicans seeking statewide office because they make up such a large percentage of Iowa's GOP voters.

Polling conducted during the last round of presidential caucuses in 2008 showed that six out of 10 who attended Republican caucuses described themselves as evangelical Christians.

Although the Iowa Family Policy Center is withholding its support, Steve Scheffler, who heads the influential Iowa Christian Alliance, has backed Branstad.

My question is, why the hell is this group so influential in the first place? Religion seems to be creeping into American politics more and more, and with each increased amount of influence, this country is being led further and further away from what it was created to be - a place where anyone can believe anything - or nothing - and still be treated as an equal citizen with equal rights. The more we allow theocracy to seep into our political culture, the more we are at risk of destroying the very foundation of this country and what makes it so great.

I think we're past the point of incredulously wondering is these people are seriously trying to make the USA a theocracy, they obviously are and their political influence is enough to make an actual difference in some areas of the country. Now we should be focused on making sure they fail in their efforts to do so.

6.13.2010

Your Relatives Aren't Watching Over You - Satan Is

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Oh those wacky Seventh Day Adventists.

We have a lot of those particular believers in this area, or at least they're the most active with their door to door proselytizing. Today a couple of upstanding youths came to the door and B-rad answered and was surprisingly polite. They kind of took him by surprise I think and they didn't stay to chat. I always delight in taking a look at the literature they without fail leave behind and once again, I am simply floored by the insanity that is being passed off as logical explanations of common phenomena.

The first hand out was pretty neutral - come to this nine day religious camp, Christian music, vegan cookie classes, blah blah blah. The smaller pamphlet that came with the hand out, however, was amazing.

The pamphlet is titled "Dead Men Don't Talk" which naturally excited me since I expected it to be largely concerning pirates. I was disappointed, however, to read that it was just about how if you think you hear your dead loved ones talking to you, it isn't really them.

Oh. OK, well, that's not as rad as pirates, but I agree - I don't think dead people can chat it up with the living. I mean, it's impossible to prove for sure an- what? Say again? So, it's not your dead relatives talking to you from beyond the grave - it's "deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)

Silly me, and I thought we were taking the fucking logical position for a minute.

That shit is crazy. Isn't that seriously crazy? That people think that when you feel lost or afraid or tired or lonely or whatever and you hear a loved one who passed on talking to you in your head, maybe making you feel a little better, that you ought to assume it's Satan trying to invade your brain with his deceptive fallen angel army of evil.

Well of course. I mean really, why not? Once you've dedicated yourself to believing that there is for sure some god that not only created us but wants us to worship it, you might as well believe that the imagined consolation of your dead loved ones is actually Satan trying to deceive you.

And the pamphlet continues, yadda yadda yadda, give us money - the end.

Typical.

6.09.2010

Once Again, Gay Jesus Stirs Up Trouble

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Personally, I like the idea that Jesus was gay. I don't know why, but make no mistake - this is not supposed to be insulting or baiting toward Christians. As a non-Christian, I think of Jesus in the same grand scope as I think of Paul Bunyan or Captain America. I might not think of Jesus as being real, but I do think of him as a kind of superhero and his compassion is a superhuman trait that he has, in the same way Spidey has his Spidey sense and Green Lantern can use his ring to make shit.

So, I kind of like the idea of Jesus and the Apostles being a band of gay Texans. I get that, you know? Well, evidently a trustee of a Michigan community college doesn't share my artistic appreciation regarding the son of the Christian god. :/

Trustee opposes funds for theater over gay Jesus

A Michigan community college trustee says he opposes funding "evil things," citing school support for a theater group that once performed play depicting Jesus and his apostles as gay Texans.

Grand Rapids Community College is working to close a $3.5 million budget deficit.

At a meeting Monday, Trustee Richard Ryskamp objected to $60,000 budgeted for three groups, including $19,000 for the Actors' Theatre.

In 2003, the troupe presented Terrence McNally's play "Corpus Christi."

Ryskamp says the school should consider if groups it funds "are meeting a standard of decency."

President Steven Ender says the college doesn't censor the theater. A trustees vote on the budget is expected in June.

Expression shouldn't have to be decent. Art shouldn't be constrained by one group of people's opinion regarding the tastefulness of the content. If the trustee doesn't like the performance, he or she ought to use their own equally proportioned freedom of speech to speak out against it instead of trying to use their position of authority to force people to curb their own expression.

Also, fucking chill out on the homosexual hatred. We get it, you don't approve. Obviously you're obsessive about this shit, you're throwing a fit about a play that was put on seven years ago. Now stop throwing a fit because fewer and fewer people care what you think. You can't force society to stagnate just because you refuse to evolve.

6.08.2010

Gay Angels Disturb Priest

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Yeah, I'm serious.

Priest wants church painting removed because ‘angels look gay’

A Catholic priest at a Dominican Republic resort town wants to destroy artwork in his parish because the painting shows angels with “a homosexual expression”. This confuses the faithful, he argues.The painting named "Allegory of the Virgin of Carmen," was concluded 12 years ago by Dominican artist Roberto Flores. The artwork adorns the interior of the church of “Our Lady of Carmen” in the mountain community of Jarabacoa, an agricultural and tourist center located in the Dominican Republic.
The priest Johnny Duran sparked the controversy surrounding the painting, after promoting the adoption by the Jarabacoa City Council of a resolution that revokes an earlier statement by the same council that designated the mural as municipal heritage.
Explaining his reason to revoke the previous decision and destroy the mural, the priest argues that the church congregation feels uncomfortable by the painting and that the mural does not inspire religious sentiments because the angels there depicted have a “diabolical, homosexual look” in their faces. Further, he contends that it is not clear whether the angels are male or female.

Obviously the picture I posted is not the painting from the church, unfortunately I couldn't find a picture of that painting. So I did a google image search for the term 'gay angel' and found quite a few that looked similar to the one above. To me, that's not a gay angel, that's a stereotypical hunky male angel. I guess I understand how someone might 'look gay' if they're inundated with homosexual stereotypes, but somehow I don't think that a classical painting in a church has angels with rainbow accessories who are snappy dressers with great taste in art or whatever homosexual stereotype you want to imagine.

Look, you can't look at someone and know for a fact that they're gay. A painting is even more ambiguous because art is 100% subjective. What someone sees in art says far more about them than it says about the art itself. So, if the priest looks at a painting and sees a gay angel staring at him, I don't think the real issue will be dealt with by removing the art.

In Case You Missed It - Ask An Atheist Debut Show!

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In case you missed it live, here is the very first of hopefully many Ask An Atheist programs.


Let me know what you think and make sure to spread the word! This is a public access show on local TV in Seattle and we need people watching, calling, and talking about it. Thanks for your support!

6.06.2010

Ask An Atheist Debut Show!

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An exciting new atheist talk show is starting up in Seattle on Comcast channel 77 (public access) and streaming live from scantv.org!

It will be airing every Sunday, live at 3pm PST.

This is a project that I am personally involved in as a volunteer, and I am grateful to Mike Gillis, Casey Doran, Sam Mulvey and Jeremy Whitman for their hard work which afforded me an opportunity to be involved in something as special and exciting as this. :D

The show tomorrow will be focused on portrayals of atheists in media and fiction with hosts Mike Gillis and Libbie Mistretta. Make sure to set a reminder to watch, and maybe give the show a call if you feel like contributing to the dialog!

6.05.2010

Tattoo - Inspired By Junko Mizuno Art and Cephalopods!

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I got a sweet new tattoo started today. The lines are all pretty much done. :D

Thanks a ton to my super buddy Casey for his hard work and my pal MG for giving me a ride!



*edit*

Here are some low quality cell phone pics of the full piece from multiple viewpoints. I am extremely happy with it. :D





6.04.2010

THIS Is Why I Supported Everybody Draw Mohammad Day

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I knew this was going to happen. It was inevitable. As soon as I heard that ridiculous 'we should all play nice' response to Everybody Draw Mohammad Day, I knew the Christians, Jews and other religious groups were going to jump onto the offended bandwagon. Why? Because religious people react to sympathy the way sharks react to blood in the water.

Not long ago, Comedy Central censored the depiction of the Islamic prophet Mohammad from their hit show South Park because a few Muslim extremists were so offended that they “warned” the South Park created could be killed. Now several Christian groups are feeling left out.

Comedy Central recently announced their plans to develop a thirty minute comedy cartoon called “JC” which depicts Jesus as an everyman trying to escape from his father’s shadow. This depiction, which seems to have more to do with parenting than religion, has offended several Christian groups. Now, the Family Research Council, the Catholic League, Parents Television Council, The American Alliance of Jews and Christians, and Radio host and Glenn Beck wannabe Michael Medved have come together to form a group called “Citizens Against Religious Bigotry.

On Thursday June 3rd, the group released a statement calling for advertisers to boycott Comedy Central over depictions of Jesus. Their website specifically mentions the recent controversy over the depiction of Mohammad as a catalyst for this push to censor the depiction of Jesus.

So, all you jackasses who were trying to take some imaginary high road in regard to theists and their ridiculous beliefs being imposed on others, you better not respond to this group as if you don't agree with them. You better stand proud with your 'C.A.R.B.' brotherin in protest of free speech and the ability to ridicule ideas.

Because that's all a belief is - it's an idea that people have decided is something they hold true, for whatever reason. It should be enough for the people who have a belief that they believe it, no one else should be forced to agree or even forced to stay silent about that belief, especially in instances where it is being imposed on others via threats of violence. This group is suggesting forced silence which is a form of prohibited speech and it's not even a response to a real issue, it's a response to a bigotry that doesn't exist. No one is telling these people they can't believe what they want, they're just telling these people that they can't dictate the behavior of others based on a belief they personally decide is relevant.

I don't think it's relevant. I have the right to say so just like you have the right to disagree with me. Trying to force me to respect theistic concepts and rules will only succeed in me losing what little respect I still have for religions and the religious in general.

6.03.2010

Daniel Dennett on De-constructing Religion

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This lecture by Daniel Dennett is a must see. The more I hear from this lovely man, the more I find him to be, well, lovely! I know, I know, it's an hour long and the internetz hates anything longer than a minute, but he makes lots of good points about atheism, belief, and the issues that arise from the argument of the universe being designed.



6.02.2010

I Ain't Afraid of No Possible Energy Trace

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VJack over at Atheist Revolution wrote a post the other day about atheists who believe in ghosts. A similar argument to one I've at times posed myself came up, namely that the phenomenon people recognize as 'ghosts' might have a natural and explainable cause, we just haven't realized it yet.

From the comments, CroWrath wrote:

Man, I just posed this question on think atheist dot com. (Fireborn over there) I am an Atheist and I do 'believe' in and I have seen a 'ghost'. Long story short, met a chick at a bar, went back to her place, saw a 'ghost' dog, a few mins later she comes in and mentions 'the dogs'. Two dogs were killed on the property about A year (? +/-) previous.

Now yes, I had had a few at the bar. I was not 'drunk'. This was the FIRST incident of many, not just with witnessing the dogs, with that house. With THAT house ONLY. I have not claimed to have seen anything else before or since that house. But there were alot of things that went on in that house that could not be just explained away.

We both moved out of that house and my occurrences stopped. I can not say about her.

In my opinion, 'ghosts' are energy (in the electrical sense), with the new theory of quantum energy, there is obviously things we do not understand about energy
.

My response was this:

Sometimes I wax on about energy and the like, because you're right - we are learning more and more about energy and it seems almost natural that living creatures might have some kind of 'energy signal' or something that we currently attribute to ghosts, simply because we don't understand it fully yet. It's fun to think about, but it's not enough, even with personal anecdotal evidence, for me to actually assert that ghosts are real.

I work at a drive-in theater and everyone in the area, plus the majority of the people who work there, contend that the place is haunted. Personally, I've heard what sounded like kids laughing up in the booth at night and I've also been looking at a wall when a paper towel dispenser seemed to violently fall off and away from the wall I was looking at. My experiences added to all of the other experiences people have claimed to have seem like a mountain of evidence. In fact, it might seem like I'm almost willfully rejecting the possibility of ghosts, given that there are accounts, at times corroborated, that date back decades.

The problem, of course, is that there is already a predetermined expectation of paranormal activity that people have about the place, so when wind blows through the 60 year old, poorly maintained building and it makes a sound, people are already listening for kids giggling. When a paper towel dispenser falls off a wall that it's fallen off of several times because it keeps getting improperly mounted, people already have that idea of it being flung off the wall by some attention seeking apparition.

Anyway, I'm not trying to say my situation is the same as yours, I guess I mostly just wanted to respond because I can see the logic behind your speculations about ghosts and energy, I just don't think it makes sense to positively say that ghosts exist because we are learning more about energy and may possibly discover something about energy in the future that could scientifically explain ghost stories.

I think one of the hardest things you have to deal with if you are not a skeptic is the fact that anecdotal evidence is not logically acceptable for anyone but the person or people who were directly involved in the event/incident/whatever. Removing anecdotal evidence, the concept of ghosts seems to be reduced significantly to the position of a possibility.

Also, it should be kept in mind that regarding ghosts as some kind of energy or other natural phenomena is not an argument in favor of the supernatural. Rather it's a possible natural explanation for something which has been generally accepted to be supernatural. If at some point there is a way to prove the existence of what would be commonly considered ghosts, the very fact that it is able to be verified makes it no longer SUPERnatural.

But, when push comes to shove, all atheism means is a lack of belief in god. A lot of atheists feel that way because, like me, they've never felt that 'presence of the lord' people often talk about when they're explaining their own religious beliefs. I can understand if someone really believes they've seen ghosts that they believe in ghosts. As long as there isn't any ghost-based initiatives passed in my government, I don't really care what people believe in.

6.01.2010

Atheist Parenting - Science and Music

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Parenting while being an atheist raises some interesting issues. I avoid religiously focused activities and organizations as a general rule, and that rule is just as important in regard to my son as it is to me. Still, the fact is that I live in a somewhat religious culture and so my son sometimes comes up with the most interesting ideas about belief, god, and what he believes.

The other day he told me, "Mom, my god can fly."

"Wow, Tristan, that's cool. Is this your personal god, or is it everyone's god?"

"Anyone who wants to believe in him can I guess."

"Do you think this god is real, or is he someone you made up, like a pretend friend?"

"He's kind of a pretend friend. I don't know. I don't think he's real, but I thought him up so I could believe in god like James at school."

"Do a lot of kids talk about god at school?"

"Some people do. People at my school. James asked me and I said I don't know and he made a face like I was crazy."

"Do you think James knows for sure that there is a god?"

"No, I think he pretends like I do. I think pretend friends help you not feel lonely sometimes."

So, I feel like he's doing fine in his development in regard to god and religion in general. He's kind of interested, but at the same time he realizes that just because someone else believes something, that doesn't mean it is actually real or that he has to believe it.

One of the things I do make sure my son is exposed to is lots and lots of science. My son responds to anything in song form, so I've taken up watching They Might Be Giant podcasts and videos from their Here Comes Science CD/DVD. I can't recommend these guys enough. They're even scientifically responsible enough to have made a song which corrected an older song they released regarding why the sun shines. Now that's pretty awesome!