Reap'sTruth

Home Of The Homophobic

2012-05-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

   North Carolina passed a constitutional amendment this May. It makes gay marriage illegal and same-sex civil unions illegal too. It was already illegal for gays to marry but some local laws allowed benefits for couples who were in same sex relationships. That is in danger of being put to a stop too.
I wonder how the people who live in the "land of the free" can possibly come to the conclusion this is a good thing. Will hetero marriages be threatened by gays who would get married? How? Is it because the word marriage has secret powers that will be lost if gays are allowed the same rights as everyone else? From what I've seen marriage has been treated like shit by hetero couples for a long long time. Are gays going to hurt the shiny image marriage has? Will it be less respected than it already is? 50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce. How is that demonstrating marriage is sacred? Any christian, make that any person who thinks marriage is considered sacred by the people who get married is an idiot. It simply is not true. The divorce rates alone show at least half of the people who get married don't consider it sacred, they toss away their vows as if they meant nothing. Now let's add in the number of people who cheat on their spouse. Yea sacred institution my ass.
Now lets consider the people who vote against gay marriage. They don't believe gays have the right to join in the benefits that come with marriage. That is called discrimination. What person in this country isn't aware of discrimination? We have been fighting different types of discrimination ever since be first became a country. How damn long does it take to learn that discrimination in any form is not fair? I suppose African Americans, Chinese, Native Americans, Jews, Christians, Mexicans, women, the disabled, the elderly, or dozens of other groups have no way of knowing what it is like to be discriminated against? And whites? Should white people be ashamed enough of all the unfair bullshit that has been pulled? Hasn't the white race screwed over enough different people to be aware that 'discriminatory' could be included in the definition of whites for most of the history of this country? That bothers me, in fact it not only bothers me but it embarrasses me. I'm not proud of what previous generations have done, but the best I can do is make sure I do the right thing and ensure the people who live in my country are all allowed the same freedoms as everyone else. For anyone in this country to feel like it is okay to vote against gays being allowed to marry is shameful. I want people who read this to think about it and understand that we are all human beings. It's that simple. A fucking 4 year old could figure it out and understand. No one in this country has any excuse to limit the rights of others to get married and live their life dedicated to the person they love. NO ONE. How dare anyone who does ever claim to be an American who believes in freedom and liberty. You people in North Carolina who voted against gay marriage are all self centered painfully ignorant hypocritical assholes, at best. You make me sick and the thought that you could spit in the face of all the people who have died to keep this country FREE for us to live in and enjoy our lives is a very sad reflection of the kind of people you are. There is not an asterisk next to the word freedom in the Constitution. There is no fine print that reads "except gays" well there wasn't until you came along and put it there. North Carolina didn't even offer another option for gays. Maybe North Carolina should change it's motto to "Gays? FUCK 'EM, WHO CARES?"
It would be interesting if we could take some of the people who voted against gay rights back in time to when their own group was being discriminated against in some way. As much as people like to think the gay marriage issue is unique, it isn't. The feelings of unfairness and lack of compassion take the same toll and feel just like any other example of ignorance.
I often hear people say that religious people aren't stupid. I disagree. In this instance for anyone to claim or actually feel like marriage needs to be defended against gays because they present some kind of threat to it is an example of plain and utter stupidity. There simply is no other way to describe it. We have enough history to teach us that it's wrong to deny others the same rights we have just because they have a different color skin or lifestyle. There is nothing showing that hetero married people have a weaker marriage because gays are doing it too.
I'll close by saying this is one subject where there should be no debate and it provides a perfect example of how religion is hurting us. Anyone who disagrees can take their warped sense of right and wrong and shove it. I would also suggest you take a long hard look at yourself cause you are having trouble understanding you are not any better than anyone else on the planet. You are human, so are the people you are treating as less deserving just because you don't understand how they think and refuse to accept them the way they were born.

   "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

   Is it really that hard to understand?

Ted Nugent STFU

2012-05-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

I'd like to take a moment and add Ted Nugent to the list of Republican loud-mouthed-irresponsible-dumb-as-a-stump-attention-whores.

In a speech at the 2012 NRA Convention in St. Louis, Nugent said, "If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year." He also compared the Obama administration to coyotes who needed to be shot, and encouraged voters to "chop [Democrats'] heads off in November."

In my opinion Ted Nugent's music sucks. For as long as I can remember every-time a Ted Nugent song came on the radio I instinctively would reach out to change the station. Someone who has such a big hard on for killing living things and weapons is clearly a few rides short of a carnival. He has a habit of demeaning women by calling them whores and sluts and he likes to mention guns whenever talking about a man he dislikes. He also often refers to himself as 'uncle ted', it is kinda creepy.
I don't give a fuck that he dislikes Obama, that's his right. I do give a fuck that he thinks it's okay to give the clear impression violence is the answer to any disagreements he has with others. That's irresponsible and stupid . Ted is well aware of the fact he is a public figure and people listen to him why would he support violence against the president or anyone else? Does Ted ever read the damn newspaper? There are enough people lashing out at things they don't like with guns and violence already. We don't need some no-talent gun sucking half-wit encouraging more of it.
If you don't agree with Ted then you must be a fucking dumb animal and Ted has a strange need and desire to kill animals. He thinks they were put on the earth for him to kill.
Ted claims to be a big-hearted man who does charity work with dying kids and the needy but if you are interviewing Ted and ask the wrong question or paint him in the wrong light then Ted will lash out at you and your female producer. I guess he has selective compassion.

A box of rocks could understand social interaction better than Ted Nugent. He says "political correctness" like it's some kind or venereal disease. Not because he likes to be direct, it's because he thinks he should be allowed to act like a dick to anyone he disagrees with and no one should question it.
Ted Nugent speaks out against drug and alcohol use, that's good. Then he turns around and tells people to start "cutting off heads" when it comes to Democrats. That's not so good.
Listening to Ted for 5 min is enough to provide a clear picture. He likes to hear himself speak and his way is the only way. Listening to him talk about himself I get the impression he values only one persons opinion, his own.
A draft dodger who says people in the military are his blood brothers while he did all he could to never be one of them in the past. Ted seems to say things about himself that are good in order to convince others, actually he has to do that because his actions don't make him look real good. He claims not to be homophobic but says he finds gay sex to be "against nature" which is untrue.Ted would know this if he would pick up a fucking book instead of a gun once and a while.
I don't disagree with everything Ted says but the things he says wrong make me stop and think maybe it's time to rethink those opinions. If this proves to be a good thing then I will have something positive to say about Ted Nugent. Ted should stick to what seems to be his calling in life, talking about how perfect he is and killing things, I'd rather he didn't pick up his guitar.

The Good News

2012-04-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

I was reading a post which can be found here. In it the author complains about never getting any good news from atheists. I almost felt bad for the author so I did my best to remedy the situation-

“But there is good news, because of science we understand the mysteries of the world we live in more and more each day. Some of these discoveries help people live more productive and happy lives. Countless lives have been and more will be saved due to the progress of science. We understand the forces of nature to the point where we can predict events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions saving lives and property. We have seen incredible progress in technology which ironically, helps technology progress. We can answer many questions man has wondered about ever since he was able to ask the question. Yes, the good news is we are solving all the mysteries that mankind used to attribute to things like gods riding chariots across the sky. As we have solved these mysteries, and there are a countless number of them, none of the answers so far has been magic did it, or god did it. I suppose it would depend on if you have some odd need to believe a deity who allows the innocent to suffer and die every second of every day yet claims to have a deep love for us. It is bad news if you think a god wants you to pray to him/her/it when those prayers are pointless due to the fact your god has already made a 'plan' which can not and will not be altered. And it is indeed bad news if you had hopes that a nice mansion and a brand new car were awaiting you just past the heavenly gates a few moments after your death. If any of those applies in your case then it is no wonder you never hear any good news from atheists. I have trouble being troubled about it, to be honest.”

Picture An Atheist

2012-03-31T03:51:00.000-07:00

    I met a gentleman named Daniel while at the American Atheist convention. He asked to take a picture of my shirt. I gave him permission to do so and we struck up a bit of conversation about his project. Daniel told me about the many interesting shirts people had been wearing and how he had been collecting pictures of them. i suggested he post them on-line so others could enjoy his efforts. It turns out Daniel has a real life and it keeps him pretty busy. I could relate to his situation, real life is always screwing up my internet endeavors too.
    Since Daniel didn't really have time or a place to post his work I made another suggestion. I could post them for him. He agreed and told me he didn't need to be given credit for his work.
    To give credit where it is due the following examples of expression recorded from the Reason Rally and the American Atheist convention were taken by Daniel and sent to me. If anyone is pictured here and wishes it be removed simply contact me. I doubt that will be an issue because, like I said, the photographer made a habit of asking permission to take these photographs.
Anyone who couldn't make it to either of the above mentioned events can now get an idea of what was in style.
   If a picture is worth a thousand words this is probably the longest blog you will ever see me post....
Thanks for your efforts Daniel and it was nice to meet you....

That's me

Atheist X

2012-03-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Something changed on March 24th 2012.

You probably didn't feel the earth move but the world changed much like the moving of a mountain. There was a rally in DC. 20,000+ people came together in the rain to validate disbelief. Please do not assume the lack of belief to be negative and English scholars please STFU about my use of the word disbelief.
Disbelief brought people together, lots of people. The importance of this event has not yet been recognized. In a sense I am playing prophet while I write this but my inspiration does not come from divine sources, it comes from observation and intelligence.
We sent a message to the government, to the news outlets, and to our fellow Americans. Atheist was a common word that day and no one suffered by hearing it unless they deserved it. David Silverman showed he is an able leader of the American Atheists and the numerous other groups who looked past the past to join in the rally showed free-thinkers truly can lead by example.
It rained on the crowd, they did not care. Americans who came for no other reason than to see the nations capitol suddenly found themselves surrounded by people who had no god...and nothing happened. If there was ever an example of how much nothing can change something, this was it.
As I walked among the crowd and talked to the people who had gathered a few things struck me. The event was like a rock concert without the drama and foolishness.Whole families sat in the rain listening to the speakers or talking amongst themselves oblivious to nature's effect.
The nonbelievers came in all ages, sizes, and ethnicity be damned there were no differences here to create imagined barriers and keep like-minded people apart.
    Even though we have seen a tremendous growth in people who call themselves atheist, it has only just begun.
While the Four Horseman of Atheism"-Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens should be given credit for what they have done to bring atheism into the light, the torch has now passed. With the torch passed it was the 'little people' who fanned the flame into a bonfire in Washington DC.
Bloggers, vloggers, podcasters and activists have become the atheist X factor, the force that has encouraged the nonbeliever to stand up and say so in public. The Four Horsemen slammed the word atheist on the table and atheist X, comprised of bloggers, vloggers, activists, and podcasters took it and ran into the streets. "You are not alone!" they have cried over and over. The atheist who felt isolated and alone was alone no longer.
   It is one thing to become an atheist, it is quite another to be able to talk about it freely amongst others.I don't think those who are trying to use religion to control others and implement laws based on belief in fictional people and stories counted on the X factor. They didn't count on those who had no fear to rally for atheism. Now the boulder has been pushed over the cliff, the genie has been let out of the bottle and the bottle has been broken, it can not be replaced even if someone dared to try. Atheism is the elephant in the room no one can walk around.
   The Reason Rally was an historic event. I believe as time passes it will be remembered as the beginning of serious change in our country.
I'd like to give credit to the X factor atheist, those who do not care about numbers, shirt sales, or profit for what they have done. A value can not be put upon their work, you can not buy change it is earned by those who want it.

   In closing Id like to say I believe there is an effect that will most likely help atheism more than any other. The effect is called the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon. The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon occurs when a person, after having learned some (usually obscure) fact, word, phrase, or other item for the first time, encounters that item again, perhaps several times, shortly after having learned it.
As a result of this effect the words atheist and atheism are going to be given more attention. This means the work has just begun we must keep encouraging people to come out and claim their (dis)beliefs and we must keep important terms in the public eye and ears. There is still much change to be earned.

Republicans,Reflublicans

2012-03-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

I have often wondered why we Americans are basically limited to a two-party system. Our country is so diverse, so unique, why do we limit our choices for who will represent or lead us? I never knew what I could do to help widen our choices. The Democrats and Republicans seem to have control over who we choose from.
Well it looks like one of the parties also wonders why the people are forced to pick from such a narrow pool of people. This party is doing everything it can to assure our children will have more choices in the future. We should all be saying "Thank You" to the Republican party for making change happen and sacrificing itself for that change. The numbers of independent voters has skyrocketed. And we owe it to people like Rick Santorum who is about as intelligent as a blade of grass. He even likes to pretend he is one sometimes (usually during a political debate) Rick considers how the world would seem to look if he was a blade of grass and then applies it to his human life because we know there is very little difference in Rick's case. What ingenious ideas have come from Rick's imaginary travels as a blade of grass? Things like this-

“The dangers of carbon dioxide? Tell that to a plant, how dangerous carbon dioxide is,”~ Rick Santorum Gulf Coast Energy Summit in Biloxi, Miss.

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of lawns that have an IQ above 4, that makes science a little tough for them to understand, Rick Santorum can be included in that group since The National Academy of Sciences has found that 97 percent to 98 percent of climate researchers “most actively publishing in the field” agree that climate change is occurring. Let's not forget plants absorb C02 for photosynthesis. People can absorb C02 but it can cause “headaches, dizziness, restlessness, a tingling or pins or needles feeling, difficulty breathing, sweating, tiredness, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure...and death. Even though Rick can relate better to the intellect of a nicely kept front lawn there just isn't much it has in common with most people.

*admittedly not a real study, but damn close

Rick has done an incredible job of making sure no one on the planet would admit to ever even hearing the word republican much less being one.
Don't let me give the impression Rick is the only one undermining the republican party in an effort to turn every living American into an independent voter. Good 'ol down to earth Mitt Romney, the man who can relate to the average guy ,cause he is one, right? Well Mitt sure sounds like he understands the average Joe. Like when he said
"I should tell my story. I'm also unemployed." —Mitt Romney, speaking in 2011 to unemployed people in Florida. Romney's net worth is over $200 million.
or
"There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip" –Mitt Romney, attempting to identify with the problems of average folk (January 2012)
or
   "I get speaker's fees from time to time, but not very much." —Mitt Romney, who earned $374,000 in speaking fees in one year according to according to his personal financial disclosure (January 2012)
In case that leaves you a little confused about Mitt and his ability to relate to the average American I'll provide another of his quotes. This should clear things up completely.
    "I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that's the America millions of Americans believe in. That's the America I love." –Mitt Romney (January 2012)

   Up next on the Reflublican clown parade? Rush "fat mouth" Limbaugh. He calls a woman who speaks out on behalf of birth control based on it's use besides contraception a whore because she is having so much sex she can't afford it and wants Rush to pay the tab. Not only does this moron have no idea what the woman was actually talking about but he stands behind his comment until his sponsors start abandoning him. As is often the case with Republicans , money equals morality. Here's the actual quote-

''A Georgetown coed told Nancy Pelosi's hearing that the women in her law school program are having so much sex they're going broke, so you and I should have to pay for their birth control. So what would you call that? I called it what it is. So, I'm offering a compromise today: I will buy all of the women at Georgetown University as much aspirin to put between their knees as they want. ... So Miss Fluke and the rest of you feminazis, here's the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch.''

—Rush Limbaugh, March 1, 2012

No one knows for sure how many times Limbaugh has ended up with all his toes in his mouth. It has been said Rush Limbaugh has some talent for doing talk radio. If talent equals the ability to trick stupid people into believing made up quotes and data or managing to stay on the air no matter what kind of racist, selfish, backwards ass shit you say then Rush has talent. I don't find myself impressed in the least. Anyone can make shit up to back up lies and intolerance.

The republicans seem obsessed with controlling people, especially women. This indicates the level of respect they have for others. Newt Gingrich provides some evidence of this.

“She isn’t young enough or pretty enough to be the President’s wife.”
~Newt Gingrich, talking about his first wife after divorcing her.

How Newt ever found a woman willing to marry him is another one of those mysteries we may never solve.

Republicans also tend to have a problem with gays. Newt gave us a good example of this last December. In Iowa a homosexual man asked Gingrich if he’s elected, how does he plan to engage gay Americans. Gingrich replied telling the man to "Support Obama" That's nice, a man who is ready to lead the American people.
In case you still have doubts about the Newt allow me to share his wonderful suggestion for the moon.
“By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American." ~Newt Gingrich
Nevermind that we can't even take care of the people who are living on earth, let's spend money making sure Americans are struggling to live on the moon too. I don't have anything against NASA or space exploration but building a moon base? Gingrich should be trying to colonize the wasteland he calls his head. There is no sign of intelligent life there thus far.
In my opinion the fact that Gingrich is even being considered as a possible candidate shows us the Reflublicans are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Eliminating funding for planned parenthood, disgust for the idea of separation between church and state, ignorance of widely accepted scientific theories (evolution, global warming), disapproval of providing contraception for women, an inability to show even one of the Reflublican choices can gain a majority of support from their own party members. All these things are causing people to turn into independent voters. It seems to be the one thing Reflublicans can get done. I, for one, wish them continued success.

Atheist Marketing

2012-03-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

I have long considered Jesus, his travels, and teachings to be one of the biggest marketing scams the world has ever known. The product after all has incredible worth to people and is one of those things that never go out of style. Eternal bliss. People are killing and deceiving each other as I type this all in support of their 'product'.
Much like Ronald McDonald helped to make McDonalds the leader in selling hamburgers Jesus is working as the Christian version of the McDonalds clown to sell product.

The Last McSupper

   Marketing is important and it doesn't always have to be used to victimize people. McDonalds actually gives you something for your money Jesus and Christianity gives you faith or maybe you give them faith and they give you hope...or maybe you... Oh never-mind you get my point. McDonalds food may not be great for your health but it isn't asking for you to make sure everyone else eats it. McDonalds hasn't asked customers to kill anyone who eats at Burger King or Taco Bell. They aren't demanding a statue of Ronald McDonald be erected at the entrance of the local courthouse. And there will be no Ronald McDonald 9/11 memorial as a tribute to the victims who ate at McDonalds. Considering those points the burger chain has actually done a better job of targeting a specific audience and keeping the focus on their specific product.
    Sure you will see a questionable commercial every so often but it is quickly dealt with by the company because they have planned ahead. Any critics are usually diffused by a intelligently worded press release. This doesn't always succeed because you never know which way an issue will run when you get the public involved. Thinking ahead does no harm and sometimes proves invaluable. It can make the difference between people relating a product with a good/positive feeling or a bad/negative one. Sometimes just the person who sends the statement makes all the difference. Human nature makes us more responsive to people who are like us. We will tend to believe someone who is a peer more than someone who is not.
It's all about marketing. Good marketing brings attention to your product in a positive light. Good marketing can also be stirring up controversy and gaining attention through the anger and outrage of the public. The second type is risky and can result in your products decline. Sometimes the controversy over bad marketing has been so bad it takes years for the brand to come back, if it manages to at all.
Atheism is also a product. It should be an easy sell, right? I mean, it is based on reality, we all live in a real world where we make choices based on things we can see or feelings that are supported by actual experience. There are a few problems we face when marketing atheism. One is our product doesn't promise eternal bliss. In fact it promises, nothing. Nothing happens when you die, no angel trumpets, no harps, you don't get to go up to heaven where a new car full of horny virgins awaits in front of your incredible mansion where you will reside in harmony and bliss for the rest of eternity. Sorry. All atheism offers is the real world, the one you've been living in all this time except without allowing your imagination to control some of your life. If you can admit imaginary figures are not best used to make laws, or make life choice choices then you have just bought yourself a nice new set of atheism. It comes with a free unlimited lifetime warranty. Congratulations!
Notice I said "a few" problems. Another one of those problems is our competition....religion. Religion (see jesus above) does make incredible promises to people. If you pray and god thinks you are worthy your prayer gets answered, if not then keep trying we never know when god may change his mind and decide it is important .You want that girl at the Quick Stop to give you her number, or you want to loose 10 lbs of fat off your ankles? Do you really need god to intervene and get your kid on the honor roll cause that dummy just isn't ever going to manage it on their own? Maybe you want to see your wife and the girl at the supermarket checkout , makeout... With god you never know it's like playing the lottery for free, all you have to do is believe. By the way if we don't believe, we are going to burn in hell forever! That's what the marketing people tell us anyway. But if you do buy into Jesus, miracles, self affirming books, and verses taken out of context, there is a grand reward when this life ends (see car full of virgins above)
Another competitor is often overlooked, it is the people who don't really believe but religion provides them power and wealth.The people who represent this segment of the market are probably our biggest challenge yet we often do not take their actions into consideration probably because we tend to assume the people opposed to us will do so in an obvious fashion.
This last group waits for atheists to give them an 'in' then they capitalize on it.Anything that can be used to make atheist look bad will be used just for that. It has been done through history, it will be continue to be done in this case.
Recently a billboard was put up that read "Slaves obey your masters" there was a picture of a black slave next to the text and below there was a reference to a biblical verse and the "year of the bible" being touted by the Pennsylvania government. It was a protest to the government supporting a book that condoned slavery and the fact it violated the separation of church and state. That was the message.
It was quickly declared racist and less than 24 hours after being put up it was removed by vandals.
At first this angered me. I though about the stupid people who couldn't understand the message, those morons. Then I heard some of the rational behind the racism argument.
Blacks were upset because they are sensitive to the subject of slavery, it still bothers a lot of people. The people telling blacks they shouldn't be bothered and that the truth is sometimes hurtful, were white. I think it's pretty safe to say African Americans are not going to appreciate white people telling them when they should or shouldn't be offended about racism or slavery. It also happens that the billboards were put up in a mostly black neighborhood because the rates were cheaper. So that means a billboard was put up that blacks considered racist, white people told the black people they shouldn't be offended because it wasn't about race yet the billboard ended up there because the, black neighborhood was the cheapest place? Is anyone else seeing the problem with this scenario? Yea blacks might be a little sensitive to the subject of slavery because they still feel the effects of it today. Poor neighborhoods, profiling, crime and various forms of racism. Despite the fact racism has been dealt a serious blow by education, common sense and compassion, it is still around.   I know that as a white male there are many injustices done to other groups I will never be able to fully understand. Slavery is one of those. But I realize that and that helps me to 'get it'... I think.
   So we have the billboard , the deed has been done. The message was never intended to be racist.Some people are pissed, what do you do next? Shouldn't you find someone to convey your thoughts on the issue? I would look for an African American who could see, understand, and explain my point. If people could hear a person who had just as much right as anyone else to be offended explain things they would be less likely to see it as just some white guy saying he never meant to send that message.
The bible is really repulsive in parts, the actions that were acceptable behavior in those days make people uncomfortable when they are forced to think about them. Believers can claim verses are "taken out of context" but there was a time when those verses were not taken out of context, they were the law of the land. At what point did parts of the bible suddenly become a matter of context instead of 'gods will'? Who made the decision that the parts about slavery were taken out of context? If you tried to say people were taking parts of the bible out of context 500 years ago you would have some serious explaining to do and I doubt you would be the next pope. There has been no directive from god informing us of the context guidelines. The reason for that is because we make religion what it is. Religion and god are man-made and continue to change according to what we accept as a society. You can see how every religion has evolved as time goes by. How would a typical christian today look to a typical christian 200 years ago? Did jesus come to earth and hand over a revision to the bible? Nope. The Christians evolved because attitudes changed. This shows me that religion is probably going to evolve itself into extinction eventually , the problem is, it is going to take a very long time.

(not an actual cafe menu)

Another force to contend with is ourselves.
As atheists find themselves in the public eye, it is going to be harder not to appear as something we are not due to the subject matter.
People already make incorrect assumptions about us as it is. Atheists are baby-eaters, worship Satan, angry at god, lost those are just a few and they stem from what people have come up with on their own. Now that atheists are coming out there are going to be plenty of opportunities to mislabel us and accuse us of being some of the things most hated in society. We can not let this stop us. I know for a fact most atheists are tolerant, peace-loving people. We have differing points of view on many subjects, so what? Not having religion as part of your life is going to result in that because there are no constraints on our thinking. We can think out of the box without worry our ideas may get us thrown into a lake of fire. I hear constantly about people complaining because what some atheist is doing makes them look bad. There are times when this can be true such as in cases where a leader was speaking on behalf of a group. And then the actions and ideas can only be attributed to that group. Hopefully people who find themselves on the public stage or speaking on behalf of others will realize the strength and effect of their actions.
If you feel the actions of individuals are making you look bad then you have self esteem issues, it is that simple so please shut up about it. If a person who's favorite color is green goes on a killing spree and when caught says "I did it for the color green, it told me to kill!" Is that going to mean anyone can assume people who like green are at any moment going to start hacking people up? I don't think so, but I've been wrong before. I like blue by the way, people who like blue are cool. it's the only exception to the rule.
To wrap it up, I think it's time we started looking at the way atheism is presented. Mainly to limit the opportunities others have to make it into a monster they created with rhetoric and propaganda. We can't avoid some sensitive issues but we should act in ways that show an awareness of people's feelings.
There is hope for us yet, after all McDonalds removed Ronald from all their marketing (except the Ronald McDonald House) because the public had outgrown it. Why shouldn't jesus go for the same reason?

Pennsylvania- WTF?!

2012-03-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

This means YOU!

     I don't know what is going on in the state of Pennsylvania lately but I sure wish the people there would get with the times. Some of the shit that's happening there is what you would expect during the 50's. Boys being molested and no one saying anything about it cause you don't want to get a good'ol boy in trouble. Pennsylvania State University football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was caught in 2002 having sex with a 10 year old boy. In Pennsylvania, where the clocks don't run, it takes 9 years for something like that to be reported to someone who knows that behavior is wrong.

    When it is all said and done the grand jury finds 42 counts of child molestation dating from 1994 to 2009, though the alleged abuse may date as far back as the 1970s. All the victims may never be known. Countless lives destroyed because of the type of thinking that should have been done away with long ago. When you don't progress intellectually and socially the Penn State molestation tragedy is what can happen. You can't blame the Catholic Church directly for what happened at Penn State but it sure hasn't been a good example of how Catholics should react to children being molested. In fact the reactions of the Catholic Church and Penn State are eerily alike in many ways.


The Pope-What a great role model

Then in November of 2011 we have Pennsylvania PA Senator Anthony Williams caught on tape saying "This is our school system, not yours" to Atheists who oppose a school voucher system. I wonder what would happen if someone had said the same thing but replaced the word 'atheist' with 'African-Americans' or perhaps a more colorful slang word.Can you imagine what that would have been like? It would have felt like you were back in the days of separate water fountains wouldn't it? You know, like back in the 50's....
In 1998, Williams' father, Pennsylvania State Senator Hardy Williams, retired hours before the deadline to file nominating petitions, allowing Anthony the opportunity to run unopposed for his father's 8th senatorial district seat. The younger Williams had already filed his nominating petitions to run for his House seat, so he remained on both ballots. He declined to take his House seat when he won both elections simultaneously. Nothing like a bit of information from the good 'ol boy network to help win that senate seat huh? It doesn't hurt to have a daddy who is so sure you can win an election he has to play the system just to make sure. I'm thinking when you use such tactics to win a senate seat it should speak to your character and credibility. It's not like his behavior is something unrelated to his ability to serve in the senate. In Pennsylvania I guess it is looked upon favorably to cheat in order to win.

Senator Anthony Williams- Big Mouth, big head, short-sight.

In October of 2011 an atheist named Ernest Peirce walks in the Halloween parade dressed as a Zombie Mohammed. His costume is noticed by a Muslim and his family who are also attending the parade. The Muslim man, at the very least, confronts the Zombie Mohammed in an attempt to "protect' his prophet. A judge named Mark Martin can not see any reason to allow a video of the incident, the testimony of a witness, or the testimony of a police officer who took statements from the parties at the time of the incident as evidence related to the crime. He then proceeds to lecture the victim on Islam and also informs the victim it is not his right to "offend people" While never giving any clear examples of what "offending other people and cultures" is, it would be safe to assume a list of approved costumes is going to be needed at the next parade in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Never mind the fact it is Halloween and the possibility of being offended by a Halloween costume is very high depending on your sensitivity.
Judge Mark Martin has said that he finds the Zombie Mohammed costume equal to dressing up as a KKK member. Does that mean if someone dressed as a zombie KKK member it would be frowned upon by Judge martin because it could be considered offensive to a clansman? He can't use the comparison and then pick and choose based on what he personally finds offensive. Judge Mark Martin seems to think he makes the laws instead of applying them. He also does not come off as the most intelligent fellow I've ever come across. His statements and behavior after his ruling have shown his inability to demonstrate good judgement. Instead of admitting there could be a problem with his decision he continues to make up lame comparisons and tell people about his time served in the military as a smokescreen to mask his stupidity.
Mark Martin I thank you for your military service honestly I do. You have my respect for that, but military service does not equal ability to be a judge. Please stop tarnishing your own dignity by trying to justify injustice.
The whole thing stinks and reminds me of stories about blacks who were accused of crimes back in the 50's and the good 'ol boy bullshit comparison fits pretty closely again.

Not-too-bright Judge Mark Martin

The American Atheists and Justin Vacula from The NEPA Freethought Society had an idea for ads on buses. The ad was about as simple as one could get, it said 'Atheists.' in a normal white font on a deep blue background. The sponsors of the ad were also listed on the right side of the ad in a much smaller font, no different than any other you would expect from any group who had paid for a billboard.It would be hard for anyone to argue the bus billboard was anything more than basic. The Lackawanna County transit buses, called COLTS turned down the ad, saying it doesn't want the bus to be the subject of anything controversial. The spokesman for the COLTS gave ads for tobacco, and guns as examples of the types of advertising they will not allow. How atheism which is not used to kill other people and does not cause cancer fits in with these I don't know. Those are legal in this country and they may spark some debate but where do we draw the line when it has come to the point where anything is a potential point of debate with one person or another.

The ad that started the debate about the debate about ads on buses debate

   It seems that in Pennsylvania just the word 'atheists' is a point of debate.Wouldn't that also mean that reality is a debatable point to those who ride The COLT bus line according to the spokesman for the buses?
As if the stories I've already told you are not enough, there is another twist on this one. There was a message being displayed on the COLT bus scrolling public message boards it said "god bless America"
    Let me explain to some of you who may not get it. No one is upset about the message because they can't stand to even look at the word 'god' it doesn't cause us to melt. The message indicates that god is going to act on our behalf so to ensure we are in good fortune or "blessed". Not everyone believes this to be true and it is a public display of religious beliefs. It's not about anyone's personal beliefs because it is being displayed publicly on a government owned transit vehicle. If people are going to be allowed to display their personal beliefs and opinions in that fashion then I should be able to post "SLAYER IS GOD" on the display as a driver of the bus. I seriously doubt that would happen and if it did the problems which would arise as each driver started posting their own personal messages would not be pretty.
     One guy named Daniel Wittenbreder was so pissed that 'god bless america' could no longer be displayed on the bus he drives (it's not 'his bus') He went to Justin's facebook wall and started talking smack.

Daniel Wittenbreder- "Seeds of the Antichrist" aka Atheists are not welcome on his bus. Just you try it! For more on Daniel's driving ability follow this link http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/colts-bus-slams-into-supermarket-1.55545#axzz1oIUEwsj3

Daniel insinuated that Justin would be effected negatively if he dared to ride on Daniel Wittenbreder's bus. Justin routinely takes public transit in order to get around. Daniel also called atheists "seeds of the antichrist"

Can't you feel the christian love??

Now in this case Daniel is clearly not dealing with reality, seeds of Satan? Give me a break. The fact this nut is allowed to drive people around in a bus all day is scary. Maybe the transit people need to administer a "I'm not a lunatic" test before hiring it's drivers. I don't think that is an unreasonable request.
While reading the news stories about my topics in this blog post I came across some comments that made me say "What the hell?! Are these people crazy??" This one I think sums them up quite nicely....

Peaceman at 5:35 PM March 02, 2012 The mere existice of unbelievers is offensive. This sick advertisement should of course not have been allowed. Why should Christians put up with this? This is our country. If you don't like it, leave. Go to Iran or some place where you will be treated as you should. You will burn in hell for your sins of disbelief. Turn to God now before its to late.

*some restrictions apply

So all you atheists or anyone else who isn't happy with a country ruled by christians let's get packed up. We all have to move to Iran now, the christians have spoken, and after all, it is their country. They aren't interested in listening to anyone else, screw that, they own the place. I wonder if it wouldn't be easier to just stuff all the christians with this type of mindset into Pennsylvania and let them create the wonderful society they long for while the rest of us move forward.
It's been 2000 years, it's time to grow past this adult version of the santa claus story called religion.

I'm Feeling Gay About Gay Marriage In California

2012-03-01T06:30:00.000-08:00

In California tide has finally shifted. A recent poll shows that support of gay marriage has surged. The poll showed increases in support virtually across the board. We seem to finally get it.
After what I believe to be a trick election a few years ago on Prop 8 where no meant yes and yes meant no, Californians have regained their bearings. It's been three and a half years since voters approved Prop 8, which banned gay marriage, 52.3 percent to 47.7 percent. Looks like we won't be fooled again, at least most of us won't. Voters now favor same sex unions by 59 percent to 34 percent. Who are the 34 percent that just can't allow everyone to be treated equal? Republicans and Conservatives the constant foes of equal treatment fighting at almost every turn to keep some group from making their own choices or being treated the same as they are. To be fair even these groups have showed a rise in acceptance of civil unions. The day when everyone will be able to say their vows and be recognized as a couple by society is on the way. No one can stop it so anyone who reads this and still insists on fighting against it- You are a dick. Yep, if the description fits, you are a dick. I was curious how the non-believers looked on this issue so I checked out the results and found that support was 80 percent and 16 percent opposed. I'm pretty sure those 16 percent were lying about their religious preference just to try and make us atheists and agnostics look bad. If you belong in that group I would love to talk to you and find out why. The 80 percent number was up 3 percent from 2010. And the 16 percent against was unchanged from 2010, I guess those people are set in their ways. Still it shows non religious people are more tolerant of different lifestyles, probably because we know sexual preference is a result of nature. It's not a choice made by someone in order to make every other heterosexual uncomfortable or as an attempt to destroy religion to prepare the planet for Lord Satan's arrival. Intelligent people realize this, ignorant and stupid people do not.
We should still be ashamed we allowed New York to show itself as more progressive than the great state of California.Then Washington and Maryland came along and made us look like uptight morons too. We have the city of Berkley! There shouldn't be a place on the planet that can beat us at being an example of how to behave like crazy yet tolerant people.
Still, Prop 8 haunts us, and the state continues to waste money because some people feel the need to protect a word. Religious believers are convinced gay marriage will make heterosexual marriages less meaningful and sacred. If that is the case you have already made your marriage look weak as well as your ability to show respect towards people who are different from you.
I often wonder-Why do gays want to get married anyway? Marriage is a religious ritual, we know how most religions view gays who want to be a part of that group?I know I have no interest in marriage because it is a religious ritual. Religious rituals tend to have some type of ulterior motive.
I think civil unions should be the ONLY form of partnership recognized by the government. You want to get married? Do it in your church and have fun but don't expect anything to change as far as the government is concerned. Another example of how the separation of church and state would make life a little more easy and fair for all people and attack the religious act of marriage at the same time. The best of both worlds, Lord Satan would be pleased.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/29/4299164/support-for-gay-marriage-takes.html#storylink=cpy

If you would like to see the results for yourself click here

Mark Martin- The Judge Who Couldn't (keep his mouth shut)

2012-02-20T00:27:00.001-08:00

I had previously posted a blog about a guy who was attacked while marching dressed as a zombie Mohammed in a PA Halloween parade titled A Judge, A Muslim And An Atheist At that time there was no interest in releasing the audio because there was hope it would be resolved by the parties involved, that did not happen. Instead the victim of the crime is now being threatened with jail time by Mark Martin, the judge who gave him permission to record in the first place. Judge Martin refuses to admit that his words may have, at the least, been out of bounds and inappropriate for the situation. His actions in this case were not up to par with the wisdom you would expect to see displayed by a man responsible for making sure equal justice is served for every person who stands in front of him. This is the unedited recording of his decision. After you listen please share your thoughts on his wording. I'm not interested in debate whether or not it's okay to wear a certain type of Halloween costume, I've made my opinion on that clear previously.

Rich?

2012-01-26T01:13:00.000-08:00

I'm not rich.
I've thought about what it would be like to have lots of money. What would I do with it? What would I buy? Where would the cash go? I guess it would depend on how 'rich' I was.
Some people won't agree with what I have to say about this topic but they should keep in mind I'm not telling people what to do with their cash so much as taking some time to think about what kind of people they are and where they see themselves in the scope of things.
I have a daughter. She has always had a roof over her head, clothes to wear, glasses to see with, food to eat. We never have lived in a castle, and we didn't eat at a fancy restaurant every evening but we didn't suffer over those details.
When my daughter was born I didn't spend $15,662 on a high-chair, we struggled through with one that cost us about $80. It worked pretty well, it didn't clean itself and it didn't sing songs but the 15+ thousand chair doesn't do that either so......
I went to the babies r us website and found the most expensive high chair I could find. For $359.99 you can have the most expensive chair in the store. That would leave about $15,302 and all you would have to do is live with out crystals embedded in your high chair. I doubt the missing crystals would cause the kid to suffer much or the food to taste any different. With that $15,000 dollars you could help Hope For Creativity to provide 1000 homeless children in Massachusetts with an art pack before the end of 2012. Or maybe give to Atheist Helping The Homeless

A $600,000 rocking horse. All it does is rock......

What about a rocking horse? If I was to budget for a rocking horse the number I would settle on would not be $600,000.
Of course a solid gold rocking horse probably wouldn't be what would come to mind either. I know I 'm not the best father a little girl could have, but I have tried my best and my daughter has grown into a pretty, level-headed, confident woman. This happened without a gold rocking horse. Going back to the babies r us site I looked up rocking horses. I then found the most expensive one they had. For $179.99 you can take home a Little Tikes Giddyup N' Go Pony
While the $600,000 gold rocking horse may impress some kids I wonder, given the choice, maybe this would be enjoyed more by the kid.

And, if you were to buy the $179.00 horse that would leave you an extra $599,820. That money could provide wheelchairs for about 350 people with cerebral palsy. Sure wheelchairs don't rock but they do help some people get around.

If you think I'm making up this story you are wrong. Some parents have spent their cash in the ways I've described above. Beyoncé and Jay-Z had a baby recently. The baby is named Blue Ivy Carter. They have reportedly spent over 1.9 million dollars on magic windmill play-sets, golden rocking horses, crystal high-chairs and other items.
Like I said I won't tell people how they should spend their money, if they want to spend their cash that they made by working and being lucky on such things then that is their choice. What can I do about it? Nothin. I just know if I had that kind of money to throw around and had just become the father of a healthy baby girl I would have found a different way of celebrating. Every parent wants the best for their children but isn't the best sometimes showing them how they can be happy even when then own the least?
In these times we are living in there are people who are losing their homes. People can't afford to buy their kids clothes. Families are losing their homes. The funding for the disabled is being cut. The elderly can't afford their medication. I just don't think I could spend the money we are talking about here on such unneeded things while others were being pissed on by life. Sure there are always going to be people in need but does that mean you don't consider them?
Some people would say "You don't know how much they give to charity" when I discuss the rich wasting their money on frivolous items. Why does that matter? Wouldn't you want all your money to be used on worthwhile things, not just some of it? A golden rocking horse just doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe I'm just screwed up, but I just can't understand how anyone can spend money in this manner and then walk down the street with their head held high confident the world is a better place and your child is better off as a result of your actions. You couldn't pay me enough to feel that way

Men Are A-holes

2012-01-05T20:39:00.000-08:00

There seems to be a wave of realization making it through the atheist movement. A bit of knowledge has fallen from sky and landed right in front of a bunch of atheists. The sad part is many of us already were well aware of it. Another depressing thing about it is, it applies almost across the board. Sure I've seen people blogging about it claiming it is unique to the atheist movement. They say it never shows in other aspects of life.
It has an ability to become almost invisible. Be assured...it's almost always present, usually hiding just out of sight. You can even catch it peeking out between sentences, or as a dim shadow behind an innocent hand gesture. It can even disguise itself as a considerate comment or action.
While raising my daughter it was something I warned her to watch out for as she grew up. I warned her to keep an eye out because sooner or later she was going to come face to face with it, and she would need to know what to do because it would confront her throughout her life.
What is it I am talking about? What could be so common yet unknown to so many? Why hasn't it been stopped? It can't be stopped, not completely. The best we can do is confront it and make it hide as much as possible.

The thing I'm talking about can be summed up with one sentence.
Men are assholes.
I'm probably going to get in trouble for making this statement in public. It's one of those things that are against the unwritten law to say out loud. Some other examples are things like 'Everyone masturbates' and 'Your mother had sex with a man in order to give birth to you' things we know about but you just can't go around telling people because it sucks even more when you are forced to acknowledge it by someone else.
Sorry guys, it's true and we know it. It's about time we accepted it and dealt with the problem.
Now let's be clear, I'm not talking about the assholes who honk their horn if you take more than 2 seconds to move when the light turns green. I'm not talking about the assholes who think you are a pussy because you football jersey has the wrong colors or mascot on it, there is no hope for those people.
I'm talking about the assholes who think women are just on the planet as objects. The guys who think every woman was born so they could listen to men tell them what they wanted done for him, to him, or by him. They think women like it when a man screams across the street at her "Hey, nice ass!" or "Come over here, I got somethin' for you baby". These guys are convinced when she posts her picture on the internet it is for one reason...so guys can tell her whether or not they would have sex with her and how often.
I could give you a million examples of this type of behavior. I will limit myself to one more example that stands out from my experiences.
I had a future brother-in-law, he was a nice guy. He was quiet and intelligent, really laid back, seemed like a cool guy.I'll call him Ted. Before the wedding Ted was having a bachelor party. The party was being organized by Ted's best friend. Ted's best friend was not laid back, he was annoying. I'll call him Dickface. Dickface and I met a couple of days before the party because my sister had insisted I be involved. There were a couple other guys there, I got along well enough with them. Dickhead however was another story, the guy was, a dickhead. He was talking about how Ted didn't want a stripper but he was getting one anyways. "What kind of pussy doesn't want a stripper at his bachelor party?" Dickface asked. I suggested maybe we respect Ted's wishes. He obviously was a bit shy and I didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Needless to say Dickface now had the opinion I was a pussy too. Since Dickface was wrong I didn't remain a part of the planning committee because Dickface didn't like it when pussies hit him in the face. (see first description of asshole above)
I was however still invited to the bachelor party because I was the bride's brother and I guess there is an unwritten law somewhere addressing that too. I sat drinking beers at the party waiting for what I knew was coming. Sure enough Dickface had followed through with his plan. And I was correct, my future brother-in-law was not really pleased with the planning committee's decision, in fact he was extremely displeased. I could see he knew there was no choice for him, he was in front of all his guy friends at an event that has been one of the staples of manhood since before we realized everyone masturbates.
The stripper wasn't ugly, what was ugly was the turn the crowd took when she burst onto the scene. Maybe it was because I was sitting watching from a certain perspective, I don't know, but the behavior of the men at this party was pathetic. I watched as guys I had talked to earlier in the night, normal mature guys, acted like third grade boys who had found a copy of playboy in their school lunchbox and the centerfold had come to life. I have nothing against naked women, in fact I have a great respect for the female form. It has an appeal and a strength that men can never hope to equal. maybe that's why men tend to treat it the way they do, when something intimidates people they try to beat it down any way they can. They try to break it and keep it from realizing it's own abilities.
I think the claims of men 'objectifying' women have been used too often in circumstances where it doesn't really apply. This has caused the term to lose any credibility. This is unfortunate because men are assholes who treat women like objects.If a woman points it out she is an uptight bitch, all she does is complain and hate on men, she must be a lesbian.
If we could ask women without coming off as perverts how often they are just as pleased during sex as their partner I bet we would get a pretty good indication of how some men consider women.If a man is not treating the woman he is intimate with with some respect then how is he going to treat a woman he doesn't know? Like an object he doesn't care about.

I'm not going to get into the science of why men are assholes in this way because I don't need to. Men know they are assholes they count on other men being too afraid of looking like wimps to say it out loud and they depend on women putting up with it. If no one acts to stop them then why should they stop? There have been great changes in the workplace and in some media and social environments we have made it clear you can not act like an asshole without expecting to be held accountable. There still is work to be done and even in the places men are no longer allowed to be assholes they still are only now it's kept inside.
Like I said, I warned my daughter about all you idiot types out there, she knows how to deal with your attempts to make her feel cheap and good for nothing except as a target for your childish disrespectful comments or behavior. When you are an asshole around me I'll tell you so too. If you need to be an asshole so bad then do it to other guys not to their Mothers, sisters, daughters and wives.
Note: This was written by a guy who is well aware of his biases and limitations when addressing this subject. I did the best I could, what do you expect from an asshole?

2011 List With A Twist

2011-12-31T05:36:00.000-08:00

Time for the mandatory end of the year lists. I tried to make this list a little different than any other you may come across......

Religion Newswriters (RNA) journalists voted for the top religion stories of 2011. Let's take a look at their choices---Along with my guess at why they made the list

1) The death of Osama bin Laden, and the discussions it spurred among people of faith. The terrorist's death led to talk on forgiveness, peace, justice and retribution, according to the Religion Newswriters Association, which conducted the survey.
All discussions took place after the "Fuck you bin Laden" parties

2) The series of congressional hearings held on the civil rights of American Muslims.
Because those muslims are crafty devils, wanting equal rights and all that

3) The case of Catholic Bishop Robert Finn, of Kansas City, Mo., who was charged with failure to report the suspected abuse of a child.
Because it was the least surprising story of the year

4 ) The Catholic Church's new English translation of the Roman Missal was fourth.Because of the number of catholics that never read the old translation

5) The move by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to allow local option on ordination of partnered gay people. See civil rights above

6) Beatification of Pope John Paul II. Because he was so ugly on the inside

7) California evangelist Harold Camping's end-of-the-world predictions for 2011
Because if Harold's plan worked the Scientology people were going to to try it (Tom Cruse's idea)

8) Megachurch pastor Rob Bell's book, "Love Wins," presented a less harsh picture of hell and stirred discussion.
Example of discussion: I hear in this new hell they only jab you in the ass with a pitchfork if you get mouthy, or are an Atheist

9) Failure of the Personhood Initiative in Mississippi, designed to outlaw abortion by declaring a fetus a person.
Hey the church has to try somethin', the're getting their asses kicked out there.(trick sentence)

10) Bible translations -- the 400th anniversary of the King James Version, gender usage in the newest New International Version and completion of the Common English Bible --Because gods words were again made even easier to understand, for all the good it will do

Since we are on the internet now it seemed appropriate to list the top visited web sites.

   Google, Facebook and Yahoo! were the three most visited web brands in 2011, according to Nielsen. The favored search engine saw more than 153.4 million unique visitors per month this year, while Facebook had 137.6 million and Yahoo had 130.1 million. Bing and YouTube rounded out the top five.

Just because it includes such a big number..

The top government contractor in 2011 was LockheedMartin Corp. with $17,344,113,000 worth of government contracts.

The top careers for all you people wondering what line of work to go into after losing your job this year.

1. Career: Massage Therapist
Median Salary: $39,780

According to the U.S. Labor Dept., this field is projected to grow in demand as baby boomers age and people of all generations recognize the physical and mental health benefits associated with massage therapy.

Note:Avoid training schools that have 'happy ending' in their name

2. Career: Athletic trainer

Median Salary: $44,020

Athletic trainer jobs are expected to grow in 2011, as employers such as universities, corporations, and pro and amateur sports teams add to their training staff, according to the Labor Dept. With all those muti-million dollar pros you are bound to get huge tips

3. Career: Interpreter/Translator

Median Salary: $45,700

It's a global economy, and vital connections and business deals can't happen without sophisticated interpretation and translation.And because the world would be a better place if less people felt the need to say "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

4. Career: Computer Support Specialist

Median Salary: $47,360

As teams go virtual and technology continues to morph, computer support specialists are already in short supply in many organizations.

Keep in mind sooner or later you will have to transfer out of the country if you want to keep your job

5. Career: Meeting Planner

Median Salary: $48,060

If you're already the social air-traffic controller for your friends and find yourself saying, "Let's make a plan and a time line," you'll likely fit into the meeting-planning arena. Hey, it got Obama that president gig


6. Career: Court Reporter

Median Salary: $52,460

Surprisingly, more than 70 percent of those in the profession work outside the courtroom, according to the National Court Reporters Assn.

It's like having jury duty as a job....only you get paid for it

7. Career: Public Relations Specialist

Median Salary: $59,370

Wanted to work in media? With print publications struggling, journalism isn't the hot job field it once was, but public relations is booming, according to U.S. Labor Dept. figures. A great way for ladies to find Mr. Right and for you fellas to get laid

8. Career: Mediator

Median Salary: $63,250
Mediators are specialists in Alternative Dispute Resolution. They listen to both sides and help parties in business disputes, real estate wrangles, and other battles find common ground—and avoid court costs.

And what could beat being able to tell both sides of an argument "YOU BOTH ARE WRONG. Now shut up and do what I say"

9. Career: Film & Video Editor

Median Salary: $63,680

With YouTube now hosting more searches per day than any site save Google, the need for film and video editors is clear.

Now instead of just watching porn you can help make the magic happen.

10. Career: Financial Analyst

Median Salary: $85,240

All organizations—government agencies, for-profit businesses, and nonprofits alike—need smart financial analysis to guide their leadership decision-making.

Did you want to be the 99% forever?

And for all you criminals, here are the top 10 pirated movies for 2011 along with the number of times it was downloaded.

1     Fast Five     9,260,000

2     The Hangover Part II     8,840,000

3     Thor     8,330,000

4     Source Code     7,910,000

5     I am Number Four     7,670,000

6     Sucker Punch     7,200,000

7     127 Hours     6,910,000

8     Rango     6,480,000

9     The King's Speech     6,250,000

10     Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2     6,030,000

Here are the top baby names for 2011

Rank    Male    Female

1     Mason     Emma

2     Liam     Olivia

3     Noah     Sophia

4     Ethan     Isabella

5     Jacob     Ava

6     Aiden     Madison

7     Jackson Emily

8     Logan     Ella

9     Jack     Abigail

10     Lucas     Chloe

And to wrap up the list of lists...the top disaster for 2011

1) 2012

Have a great 2012. Thanks to everyone who reads and supports the blog (even those of you who don't admit it)

I'll Pass On That

2011-12-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

I'd like to post a public service announcement for all of you people out there who think you are safe, secure or smart when in reality you are none of the above.
The FBI has come out with it's list of the most common passwords. Before I list it I'd like to tell you a couple of things.
Anonymous has posted public information about police departments and posted credit card data from several sites including SpecialForces.com & Stratfor Global Intelligence. A local chain of 'LUCKY' supermarkets found out recently they has 'skimmers' attached to the self-checkout lanes. Lucky says at least 24 Bay area stores have been affected. I have had my ATM card 'canceled' by my bank twice in the last 6 months because of unknown reasons. All the bank would tell me is my card was 'at risk'. I'm glad they saved my card from certain harm but it still left me with an uneasy feeling.
Times are changing and we are only going to see more of these types of behavior so please try not to make it easier for them to happen.
I can tell you for a fact this list is pretty good. I hope my posting it will be used by the reader for good and not evil. In the meantime CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS often and don't make em obvious, like these...

password
123456
12345678
qwerty
abc123
monkey
1234567
letmein
trustno1
dragon
baseball
111111
iloveyou
master
sunshine
ashley
bailey
passw0rd
shadow
123123
654321
superman
qazwsx
michael
football

Violent Islam/Peacful Muslim

2011-12-27T01:27:00.000-08:00

I have been looking into Islam an Sharia Law. As I learned about both I realized there was a deep divide among not only Atheists but among the general population about how to consider the two subjects. I asked Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman, a writer and historian who formerly taught World History and Islamic Civilization at Golden Gate University in San Francisco "Do You think in this country we should be worried about Sharia Law creeping into our existing legal system?"

he told me "The only danger to our legal system would be banning free speech (that is not incitement). Muslims have a legal arm (CAIR) that tries hard, but has not succeeded in overturning free speech. The Europeans, however, particularly the British and French, mistakenly thought they were fighting religious oppression when they began taking people to court for maligning religion. It was intended to fight the holocaust deniers, but is now being used to stifle criticism against Muslims. European courts are now revisiting this issue."

This is not to say we shouldn't pay attention. Our legal system may fall victim to isolated attempts at implementing Sharia Law into our existing system. Just as we deal with creationist who try to sneak their learning plan into our school system. It's just one of those battles we must keep fighting over and over in order to keep our constitution free of unneeded and/or unfair changes. When we see an example of Sharia Law being inserted into our system as an alternative to our own legal system it must be stopped.

When we see a judge making decisions based on their own belief system instead of applying the existing law, we must speak out against it. The biggest problem I have with Sharia Law is it combines two of the things I wholeheartedly believe should be kept separate for everyone's good. It combines religion and law into one and uses it to govern the people. As we all know this practice tends to result in unfair punishment and it often ignores the truth just as religion ignores the truth about itself. I have often wondered how believers would like it if we had a court system that was based on the same logic they use when considering religion. Sharia Law is that system and I don't want the lesson to be learned by example in the USA.

Part 2

Islam often called the peaceful religion. The problem is not everyone who follows this religion is peaceful. Someone tried to convince me that I was mistaken by questioning the peacefulness of Muslims. "Look at the Westboro Baptist Church. How do you think they look to people in the middle east?"

I would hope they look like radicals, and I would hope that they would also look like a dozen radicals, because that is what they are. A dozen people who follow the word of the bible closer than most any others. The example made me laugh out loud. It shows there are extremists in any religion, that's about it. When the number of extremists reaches the number we see in Islam I think it is fair to make certain assumptions. A friend of mine recently made a statement against Islam. He was then bombarded by Atheists who condemned him for labeling all Muslims. (the word 'muslim' was not in the statement) Then as the comments went on he was criticized for calling all Muslims 'terrorists'.

I've seen this happen too many times. The intelligent Atheist turned into a blabbering moron because they make assumptions or just plain outright put words in another person's mouth. Then they proceed to rip into that person for what they claim was said. Why this happens I do not know but it is pathetic, annoying, and a complete waste of time. Instead of any discussion the author has to waste time explaining what should be obvious if people would only read the original post without twisting it like a pretzel and then bitching because they don't like the shape of it.

The point I am making is Islam can be described as a violent religion, that is not incorrect. I think it needs to be realized that there are far more active violent Muslims than Christians and the level of their violence is alarming to me. I would think for anyone to say Islam is a peaceful religion without at the same time pointing out the violence which also stems from it is irresponsible. Just calling it peaceful and ignoring the reality is not going to change anything, it must be realized that almost daily people are blowing themselves up in order to kill others.

Even if the fundamentalist Christians were to get into power I doubt we would see anything like Sharia Law (at first anyways) Christians aren't saying rape and slavery are okay because the bible condones it. Radical Muslims say their violent laws are orders from their holy book and should not be questioned. Sharia law is only supposed to be applied to Muslims but how many times have we seen that not to be the case? Should we refrain from calling Cancer a deadly disease because not everyone dies from it?

Yes Muslims in the United States tend towards peaceful practice of their religion it would be irresponsible of me not to concede that point but we must understand there is another side to Islam and it is not peaceful, it is dangerous. It also has, by it's own admission, a desire to eliminate those who oppose them. That is a fact, we can not, and should not get angry just because someone points out the ugly side of truth.

I don't see any reasonable person claiming anything that applies to an entire group except those people who want to dumb themselves down and make assumptions. Do we need to point out nothing is absolute after everything we say?

Before I end I would like to address Atheists who dislike outspoken Atheists because they are "are no better than fundamentalist Christians" getting into people's faces and demanding they are correct. There is a huge difference between the two. As long as outspoken Atheists base their arguments on things which are PROVEN TO BE TRUE they are NOTHING like the fundamentalist expecting you to just "have faith". So please stop trying to equate the two it's a lame attempt to insult people just because they don't do things the way you would. It doesn't make them wrong, it makes them different.

If an Atheist wants people to believe there is no possibility of any type of god,claims to know this for a fact, and expects everyone to think the same way, then they are arrogant and stupid. It still doesn't make them like a fundamentalist Christian. Our intelligence and our argument comes from realizing and admitting what we do not know and then working towards answers without any magical explanations.I hope that explains things.

What Did You Say?

2011-12-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

Too much seriousness lately. I thought I'd provide you with some wit and or sarcasm. A few of these are mine and the rest I just came across at various places. I gave no credit to anyone for any of them to keep it fair.

Fiction writing is great, you can make up almost anything.
I couldn't repair your brakes, so I just made your horn louder.
The following statement is true. The previous statement is false.
If you’re one in a million, there are seven thousand people exactly like you.
I see you are playing stupid.! Looks like you’re winning.
Don’t be humble. You’re not that great.
I feel so miserable without you, it’s almost like having you here.
I don’t hate you… I just don’t appreciate your existence.
My lack of attention seems to be your fault.
He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.
I still miss my ex – But my aim is getting better
If you’re too open-minded, your brains will fall out.
Beware the fury of a patient man.
Intelligence is key and you are locked out.
Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.
You’re unique just like everyone else!
Someone who thinks logically, provides a nice contrast to the real world.
You’re so ugly that when you cry, the tears roll down the back of your head….just to avoid your face.
People like you make me want to learn boxing
Tact is for people not witty enough to be sarcastic.
Nothing is more discouraging than unappreciated sarcasm.
I’m sorry I was talking, while you were interrupting me.
Sarcasm (n.) – the ability to insult idiots without them realizing it
Sometimes I need what only you can provide: your absence.
You have a very strong grasp of the obvious.
There is a strong need for a sarcasm font.
No, you don’t have to repeat yourself, … I was ignoring you the first time.
Your silence echos your thoughts.
Sarcasm helps keep you from telling people what you really think of them.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
I don’t know what makes you so dumb but it really works.
Anybody who told you to be yourself simply couldn't have given you worse advice…
I’m sorry, I’m a little busy. Can I ignore you later?
I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.
Do you want me to accept you as you are or do you want me to like you?
Are you always this stupid or are you making a special effort today?
You can’t fix stupid.
Sure, I've seen people like you before – but I had to pay an admission.
If you took an IQ test, the results would be negative.
The most effective comeback to an insult is silence.
Brains aren't everything. In fact in your case they’re nothing.
Everyone has a photographic memory… some just don’t have film.
I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.
Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go
I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.
Even rabbits insult an dead lion.
You aren't a complete idiot, some pieces are missing
An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.
There are two insults no human being will endure: that he has no sense of humor, and that he has never known trouble.
When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.
An injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult.
A drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts.
A graceful taunt is worth a thousand insults.
Instead of being born again why don't you just grow up?
You're the reason we have a middle finger
All the sex you've had made you an expert, now all you need is a partner
The overwhelming power of the sex drive was demonstrated by the fact that someone was willing to father you.
When you talk, other people get hoarse just listening.
If ignorance is bliss you must be multi-orgasmic
Are you always an idiot, or just when I'm around?
You make me believe in reincarnation. Nobody can be as stupid as you in one lifetime.
I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.
A closed mouth gathers no foot

God- version a.123abc

2011-12-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

   Atheists and believers have a habit of equating religion with god, and that is not accurate. If you are going to consider god then you need to be specific in defining the term. People often tell me I hate god. I can't hate what isn't there. What I hate is the idea of god created by religion. When people say you can't know god they are correct. No one can know god because we have no evidence god even exists. What religion does is present an artist's rendering of god.
   It would be like me asking you to draw me a picture of the 3rd planet from the star I was pointing at in the night sky. You would know only the very basics. It is a planet,so it is probably round. What else would you know? Nothing. You wouldn't even know for sure if there is a third planet orbiting that star. So it would be impossible to go any further and know you were correct.
You could go into detail and claim it has one large ocean. It also has creatures that can live both on land and breath underwater. The trees grow to the height of skyscrapers. you could say the days last a month and the sun is the color green in the sky. You could claim anything you want, the most important things to remember are all the attributes you give this planet would come from what you know about living on earth and they are all made up, you couldn't even call them educated guesses.
The bible stories are the science fiction stories of that time. These days we have Star Wars. Back then they had angels, beasts with multiple heads, turning water into wine and knocking women up with out having intercourse. The authors of the bible were The Steven Speilburgs and George Lucas' of their time.When they imagined the end of times they thought of famine, disease, hordes of locus covering the land, and earthquakes. Those were the things that were scary to them. Those were the things that they had night mares about. If you were to write about what was going to happen during the rapture would you say a horde of locus is going to swarm across America and eat us? Probably not. It would be more like the earth is going to have climate change and turn into an uninhabitable sphere of floating ice, if you were the scientific type. The younger generation might say the internet will become sentient and enslave humanity. The bible is science fiction before science had had a chance to catch up. Now science has passed up religion and is well on its way to destroying it all together accept for the sentimental few who just can't give up the old ways. (see people who still use record players, or commodore 64 enthusiasts)
   I think Atheists have been going about it the wrong way for the most part (from what I've seen) We shouldn't be debating if a god (or gods) exist, we should be discussing it. There is no way for us to know one way or the other. If people want to believe in god they should realize they must believe in something created from no actual knowledge except that it is the he/she/it/them that created the universe. That's all, you can not give any other characteristics because they are unknown.
This is where religion comes in and this is where we need to concentrate our efforts. We need to make sure believers know we do not consider god and religion as the same thing, they are not interchangeable. They define god according to their bible,book or imagination . We don't define god the same way. I think many if not most Atheists do not consider this when speaking to or debating believers. I'm sure most know what I'm talking about though, they just dont use the argument against believers. It would give people a far different impression if Atheists were to say "You know I'm not sure, there could be a god." which any reasonable person would have to admit simply because we don't know everything. You can claim to know there is no possibility of a god no matter what. If you do believe this then please stay away from me because I can't stand stupid people who think they know everything and feel the need to show it off, they annoy the hell out of me. you can't even explain to them why you think they suck cause there is no way for the concept to break through the stupid.

     A believer will be more open to discussion if you find some common ground. Tell the you can not completely dismiss the possibility of some type of creator.Then you can make them own their god who in most cases is a bi-polar dick. The reason he is a dick is because mankind as a whole is a bi-polar dick too. Maybe you should refrain from calling their god bi-polar or a dick (use your judgment) but most religious people who are intelligent will admit there are aspects of their religions god they are not quite sure of. Bring up the way their god allows so many people to starve to death. Do those people deserve that terrible suffering? Why would a god as described in their bible do that? To say god's it's god's plan doesn't make any sense couldn't god have found another more humane way to kill people if he must kill them? The bible itself is a contradiction why would god allow it to be so vague? If we go after the man made version of god and cause people to question it using common sense it may work better than simply walking up and saying "I'm an Atheist, there is no god" that tends to shut down any further constructive discussion. This isn't a show of uncertainty or a weakening of position, it is a way of smarter interaction with believers. Not everyone is going to be able to pull it off and it isn't a silver bullet but it may work better than what we are doing now.
The last piece of advice- Never get into a debate with anyone as to whether god exists or not. You can't win because, like I said it is unknowable at this point. Make sure you know what god you are debating about. Once you lock the person on the religious side into a certain man made version of god you can easily come out on top using common sense.

I'd like to thank Frank Apisa for the inspiration and assistance in forming these thoughts without laying any of the blame for them upon him

You Atheist Dimwits....

2011-12-13T20:25:00.000-08:00

Here's an article that I stumbled upon from catholiclane.com-

You Whiny Sniveling Little Atheists Are Pathetic!

by Mary Kochan on Dec 13, 2011

Okay, so here is the story:

In Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Brewer, (D AZ, Dec. 12, 2011), an Arizona federal district court dismissed an Establishment Clause challenge to the Arizona governor’s proclaiming a “Day of Prayer.” The court held that plaintiffs lacked standing because they were not injured by the governor’s proclamation, saying:

Plaintiffs provide affidavits to establish they turned off the television and altered conversational habits to avoid the topic of religion or the day of prayer…. Plaintiffs, however, do not explain why their alleged injury is different than injuries in other Establishment Clause cases in which the plaintiffs did not have standing, such as the President’s day of prayer proclamation. Essentially, Plaintiffs seek a ruling obliquely holding that injury sufficient to confer standing exists under the Establishment Clause where government action is covered in the news or the subject of a social conversation. The Court declines to depart from Establishment Clause case law on this ground. Plaintiffs have not shown injury beyond “stigmatic injury” or feeling like an “outsider.”

The East Valley Tribune reports a few more details on the decision and reactions to it:

“Gov. Brewer’s proclamations proclaim a day of prayer, and one proclamation encourages all citizens to pray for God’s blessings on our state and nation,” the judge acknowledged.
“Though ‘encouraged,’ no one, including plaintiffs, is obligated to pray,” Silver wrote. “Nor are plaintiffs forced to alter their physical routine or bear a monetary expense to avoid a religious symbol.”
At best, the judge said, those challenging the governor’s actions have incurred a “stigmatic injury” or “feeling like an outsider.” None of that, said Silver, gives them the right to sue.
Attorney Marc Victor said his clients are weighing whether to seek review from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals or file a new lawsuit in state court. He said there are similar requirements to separate church and state in the Arizona Constitution.
In a prepared statement Brewer praised the court, calling the lawsuit “a futile attempt to stifle an American right and tradition.”
“Citizens of every race, background and creed have been coming together in voluntary prayer since our nation’s founding, and will continue to do so against this organization’s best efforts,” the governor said.
Press aide Matthew Benson acknowledged that not everyone believes in prayer. But he said that does not mean his boss is doing anything unconstitutional.

Let’s get this straight. The atheists are suing because they had to turn off the television to avoid the topic of religion or news announcements about the Day of Prayer. They had to alter their conversation to avoid the topic of religion. This made them feel like “outsiders”.

Oh, boo hoo.

You whiny, sniveling, little, pusillanimous cowards. You have the audacity to tell us Christians that we are “weak” and that our religion is a “crutch.” You are supposed to be so “courageous”, venturing forth boldly into the existential mystery of being alone, facing with stoicism the nothingness that awaits you at death, priding yourself on your realism and self-reliance. You are a bunch of feeble fakers.

This picture obviously proves the United States was founded a christian nation...see the flag with the bible? duh!

Yes, you are outsiders. Go start your own damn country. This one was started by Christians, you puerile dimwits. It is Christians who established and largely Christians who fought and died to maintain the freedoms you enjoy. And Christians are still the majority. Apparently your vaulted belief system doesn’t equip you to handle being in the minority. That’s interesting, isn’t it? After all, this was and is a societal situation valiantly handled by millions and millions of Christians who suffered — and currently suffer — real oppression, violence, torture, economic deprivation, and cruel deaths. But you have to go through turning off the TV once in a while and so your precious puny feelings are hurt. How delicate and frail your mental architecture is!

You are a pitiful joke. Trembling over the mere mention of God. Running like babies to court because of your brittle feelings. “Oh, but judge, but judge, I saw a cross and I just can’t stand it.” “I heard someone say ‘Merry Christmas’ and it hurt my feelings.” “I just can’t sleep knowing there is a manger scene at the courthouse.” “The sight of the Ten Commandments makes me wet my pants.” Now we see how inadequate and feeble you really are. Rage, therapists say, is the flip side of helplessness. And so we see your rage against religion in the public square for what it is: a product of your own insubstantial internal resources. Go look at yourself in the mirror if you can bear the pathetic, contemptible sight of yourself. Our merest martyr shows you to be a wimp – fourteen-year-old Kizito of Uganda singing hymns while being burned alive. But you, you anemic, lily-livered worms – you quail at pushing the off button on the remote! Hah!

First I'd like to address the last portion of the article. The burning of Kizito is a perfect example of why Atheists don't want to see or read anything about religion. If you think about it just a little maybe you would realize that whole scene was caused by one factor, religion. So Mary is giving an example of the atrocities committed in the name of religion as a defense against attacks from Atheists? Seems an odd way to make your point.....unless your a Catholic I guess since Mary seems quite okay with it.
I'm glad we Atheists don't have a martyr like Kizito the reason we don't is because we don't do any killing in the name of Atheism.
Atheists aren't interested in a violent movement to eradicate Christians or anybody else. People like Mary Kochan think in those terms though, that's how she thinks things should be. Mary doesn't decry the violence that resulted in Kizitos death in the name of religion, she basks in the glory of having someone of her faith sing songs about a god who wouldn't spare his young life. Instead of saving the life of Kizito from being taken in the name of religion his god allowed him to be burned alive. I wonder if Mary Kochan can even begin to grasp the way it feels to be burned to death.
To make a couple more points about Mary's little temper tantrum. (see: hello pot, this is kettle...you are black)She places a blanket around all Atheists. We all are whiny, sniveling, pusillanimous, cowardly, dimwitted , wimpy, anemic, lily-livered worms, and a bunch of feeble fakers. I won't judge all Catholics as childish and feeble minded because of Mary's ability to regress back to the maturity level of a 7 year old, or maybe she never matured past that point there is no way for me to know for sure.
What I can say for sure is Mary Kochan knows very little about the founding fathers. I almost feel sorry for her because it's always kind of sad to see an ignorant person who thinks they are smart mock others by using incorrect information. Reading Mary's claim about the United States being founded as a Christian nation is like watching a child prove he has super-human strength by bending a wire coat hanger. The child doesn't gasp the concept yet, neither does Mary.
Mary Kochan also manages to give us a clear look at how she thinks and what she would say to Atheists if she is ever elected to be Jesus-
Get out of the country. Yep, that's right, you ain't Christian you ain't shit. You all can stay as long as you STFU and allow us Christians to do as we damn well please. You have a problem with us mixing religion with government? Get the hell out! We all know there is nothing in the constitution keeping Christianity out of government! Now shut up and quit whining about your place in this country, your place is in HELL sinner! you should be thanking us Christians you are even free to let us do what we want. WE FOUGHT AND DIED FOR YOUR FREEDOM TO LET US HAVE OUR WAY, you ingrates.

Even now we suffer REAL oppression, violence, torture, economic deprivation, and cruel deaths. Why can't you give us Christians a break? We only make up a majority of the country and everyone knows the majority has almost no chance of being treated fairly. You Atheists dare complain about our tendency to believe in things that can in no way be tested as to their validity? HOW DARE YOU MOCK OUR RIGHT TO BUILD A COUNTRY BASED ON RELIGIOUS BELIEFS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO INDIVIDUAL INTERPRETATION WHICH CAN DIFFER DRAMATICALLY DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ASK....HOW ...DARE..... YOU!

You heard Mary you bunch of sniveling worms the Christians aren't going to take it anymore. They are going to take it to the next level....dodge ball on the playground at high noon or are ya a bunch a lily-livered poo-poo heads?

A Judge, a Muslim, and an Atheist

2011-12-11T08:18:00.001-08:00

Mechanicsburg PA

Here's what we have- A guy named Ernest who dressed as the prophet mohammed on Halloween, a zombie mohammed to be specific with a sign around his neck that read 'Mohammed of Islam' . Along with him you have other characters like the pope. It's a parody of religion being performed by an Atheist group in PA. Some of you uptight people out there can save your criticism of the costumes. It's Halloween and if you are gonna get upset about the types of costumes people are wearing there are far worse than these, go complain about them somewhere.If you watch the video below you can see there was an altercation. As the video states a report was taken and as a result charges were filed.

The case came to trial. There are a couple of questionable tactics used by the defense but what would you expect, the guy is trying to get out of going to jail. There really is no question that there was an altercation. the man who had approached Ernest told an officer the evening he had put his hands on Ernest. At trial the officer testified to that fact and Ernest told the same version of events the defendant however testified at trial he did not put his hands on anyone. When the defendant was asked whether he was lying then or telling the truth at trial he responded that he was telling the truth at trial and the testimony of the officer and Ernest were falsehoods. The defendant is an immigrant and had come to the parade with his family. When he saw the costume it shocked him because he had never seen mohammed represented in such a way.

The defendant also testifies that his 9 year old son was looking at him and he felt he needed to do something in order to show his son he would fight for his prophet. The defendant also says "he is not allowed to do that" referring to Earnest wearing the Mohammed costume. He said he approached Earnest and told him to "stop it, you can't do that" and then called police because he thought making fun of Mohammed was a crime. Earnest had no way of knowing what the attackers intent was when he was approached. It would not be unreasonable to assume the man was intent on harming Ernest.at the time.

It seems after the testimony the man was simply trying to stop Ernest from making fun of Mohammed, he was trying to defend his god much like a Christian would try to rip away a sign that had a picture of jesus dressed as a nazi. It is also clear the attacker was ignorant of the law in this country. Ignorance of the law is no excuse but you can see how the guy would act out the way he did, he thought a crime was being committed. The Judge Mark Martin, who also happens to be a Muslim (a fact which was unknown until Judge Martin states it in his decision) finds for the defendant.

Here is the judges ruling-

   Having had the benefit of having spent over 2 and a half years in predominantly Muslim countries I think I know a little bit about the faith of Islam. In fact I have a copy of the Koran here and I challenge you sir to show me where it says in the Koran that Mohammad arose and walked among the dead. I think you misinterpreted things. Before you start mocking someone else's religion you may want to find out a little bit more about it it makes you look like a dufus and Mr ---- is correct. In many Arabic speaking countries something like this is definitely against the law there. In their society in fact it can be punishable by death and it frequently is in their society.
   Here in our society we have the constitution that gives us many rights specifically first amendment rights. It's unfortunate that some people use the first amendment to deliberately provoke others. I don't think that's what the forefathers really intended I think our forefathers intended that we use the first amendment so that we speak with our mind not to piss off other people and other cultures which is what you did. I don't think you are aware sir there's a big difference between how Americans practice Christianity. I understand you are an Atheist, but see, Islam is not just a religion, it's their culture, their culture. It's their very essence their very being. They pray five times a day towards Mecca to be a good Muslim, before you die you have to make a pilgrimage to Mecca unless you are otherwise told you can not because you are too ill too elderly, whatever but you must make the attempt. Their greetings wa-laikum as-Salâm (is answered by voice) may god be with you.Whenever, it's very common when speaking to each other it's very common for them to say uh this will happen it's it they are so immersed in it.
     Then what you have done is you have completely trashed their essence, their being. They find it very very very offensive. I'm a Muslim, I find it offensive. But you have that right, but you're way outside your boundaries or first amendment rights. This is what, and I said I spent about 7 and a half years living in other countries. when we go to other countries it's not uncommon for people to refer to us as ugly Americans this is why we are referred to as ugly Americans, because we are so concerned about our own rights we don't care about other people's rights as long as we get our say but we don't care about the other people's say....
      All that aside I've got here basically.. I don't want to say he said she said but I've got two sides of the story that are...in conflict with each other. I understand and I've been in the Halloween parade I understand how noise can be how difficult it can be to get a pulpit I can't believe that if there was this kind of conflict goin on in the middle of the street that somebody didn't step forward sooner to try and intervene or that the police officer on the bicycle didn't stop and say "Hey let's break this up" Put your hand down sir you are not a witness (it was in fact a witness) (long pause) The preponderance of, excuse me, the burden of proof. It must be proven that the defendant did with the intent to harass annoy or alarm another person whether there's conflict or not and yes he shouldn't be putting his hands on you. I don't know, I have your story that he did and I have his story that he did not but another part of the element is as Mr __ said was was the defendants intent to harass annoy or alarm or was his intent to try and have the offensive situation negated? If his intent was to harass annoy or alarm I think there would have been a little bit more of an altercation and something more substantial as far as testimony goin on if there was a conflict. Because there is not he has not proven to me beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant is guilty of harassment therefore I am going to dismiss the charge

     Now this is where the case troubles me. The defendant is teaching his children it is okay to confront a person who is mocking their prophet in some way, the defendant feels it is his duty as a Muslim. The judge only mentions in passing that the defendant should not put his hands on anyone and that isn't even directed to the defendant. It seems it would be a bit more responsible of the judge to at least inform the defendant that he needs to become familiar with this country's laws and it is not acceptable to put your hands on another person in such a manner in order to prevent any other such incidents in the future.The judge does nothing, not a word about that, instead his decision is more like a sermon on the Muslim faith.
   I don't know why Judge Martin felt he needed to preach about Islam and inform everyone how much time he has spent in other countries, it's almost as if he felt a need to impress someone as to how strongly he embraces Islam even pointing out that he keeps a copy of the Koran at the bench.
Judge Mark Martin goes on droning about Islam and how no one is allowed to poke fun at Mohammed because it offends a Muslim's "very being". I guess Judge Martin thinks any speech that offends people should not be protected. He says the first amendment does not allow anyone " to piss off other people and other cultures" When you hold a sign that says abortion should be legal you are offending Catholics I guess that isn't allowed either.And Islam gets a special pass because it is part of a culture? I have news for the judge, just about every religion is considered by the people who practice it as part of their culture. He also indicates he believes that Muslims are more devout in their beliefs than Christians when he says " there's a big difference between how Americans practice Christianity" and how Islam is practiced.
I wonder how this would go over with some of the Christians who have Judge Martin presiding over their case.
Judge Mark Martin also feels the need to inform everyone that he too is insulted by Ernest's portrayal of Mohammed and the sign he carries. I don't know why a judge would feel the need to do such a thing. Did he feel it had some importance to the case? The only effect I could see it having is to indicate that Judge Martin is biased. He should have allowed another judge to take the case and is too stupid to keep his mouth shut.
I would think that as soon as the judge knew it was a case involving a religious issue on Islam he would excuse himself from it just to make sure it was a fair trial. Not only did he not do that but he went out of his way to do just the opposite. All judge Martin needed to do was keep his big mouth shut and rule based on the law and a little common sense.
Judge Martin even has the nerve to say that people like Ernest are the reason other countries refer to us as "ugly Americans" That's right, we are called ugly because we don't consider the rights of other people when exercising our own rights. People in other countries are pissed off about this fact and they are calling us names over it. The reason people in other countries call us ugly is not because we value our rights more than we value those of others. There are various reasons for this such as our tendency to become familiar with people too quickly and being too straightforward. Again more commentary that was needless and also incorrect. I can only assume that Judge Martin was blaming Ernest for making us all look ugly because of his bias.
The judge then goes on to say he can't be sure who is telling the truth. An officer testified that the defendant said he had contact with Ernest the night of the conflict. When is the last time any of you heard a judge go against the testimony of an officer who was at the scene? I'll bet it is not very often if ever. Yet here judge Martin basically says the officer didn't give an accurate account or doesn't give it any weight.

   There is not any indication the judge even looked at the video footage. I can't believe that he watched it and still worded the decision as he did, saying it was "his word against your word" It's not a real complicated case. What possible reason could there be for the judge not to at least watch the video footage? The defense did go to Ernest's YouTube account to try and show he was biased against the defendant. Even pointing out comments that had been made on the video of the attack.
   At one point the judge tells someone to put his hand down because he "is not a witness". The person is Carl from the video. Carl was obviously standing right there. Of course the judge wouldn't know this if he didn't watch the video, but why wouldn't he at least consider any testimony and then decide if it was relevant?
   Once again considering the judge is a Muslim, there could be a question of his neutrality. There is definitely a question as to his intelligence when considering how to present his ruling.
Do I think the defendant should be put in jail? No. But I do think he should have been instructed to learn about the laws in this country because that is the way it works for everyone else. Try claiming ignorance of the law in court sometime. About the only time this will work is in Mark Martin's courtroom if you are Muslim Do I think this case was fair? No. I don't think Ernest deserved to be made the the bad guy for expressing his freedom by wearing a zombie costume of Mohammed on Halloween. Like I said there are far more tasteless costumes worn on that holiday that could be considered offensive. I don't think anyone should be putting any laws into place dictating what you can wear on Halloween. I think Ernest was subject to a meaningless lecture about Judge Martin's travels, his religion, and what he sees when he imagines he is Benjamin Franklin. I doubt Judge Martin's rambling had any effect on Ernest's opinion of Islam accept to prove it also causes people to be biased in some cases. I think this case is a perfect example of how religion has an effect on how justice is served. Judge Mark Martin himself gives us the perfect example. It's fine if people want to have a 'personal religious belief' but as soon as you start talking (in this case almost bragging) about it in a public forum it is no longer a personal belief. I think maybe Mark Martin needs to learn a little about how justice should be blind before he tries to provide it to people wrapped in Islam

Peter Popoff-The Prophet of Profit

2011-12-06T04:25:00.001-08:00

Peter Popoff was proven to be a fraud years ago by James Randi. Peter went into hiding after the truth came out about him. He's been back for a while with a new scam. He can be seen on infomercials on BET and several other stations that value money over credibility and dignity. There are many people who have been telling the true story about Peter Popoff and his scams, I thought another example may help spread the word of Peter Popoff as the con-man he is. I have also written to any network I see Peter appear on and let them know exactly what kind of person they are supporting by allowing him to use their airwaves and to let them know people are paying attention. If this stops even one person from falling into Peter Popoff's trap then it was time well spent. Screw you Peter Popoff, you are a dickhead

In Atheists We Miss Trust

2011-12-01T00:04:00.001-08:00

Here's an article discussing a study on Atheists and the amount of trust people have in them

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/30/study-explores-distrust-o_n_1120869.html

Bigotry, in my opinion is caused by several preconceived notions, or to put it simply, ignorance.
The article states " While reasons behind antagonism toward atheists have not been fully explored the study is among the first explorations of the social psychological processes underlying anti-atheist sentiments." and then grasps on to this issue of trust and rockets it to the top of the list of things Atheists need to worry about. Lack trust is a result of bigotry ad the bigotry is caused by ignorance.

IGNORANCE

: the state or fact of being ignorant : lack of knowledge, education, or awareness

Most people don't know any Atheists or at least they don't think they do. If someone is a bigot against gays, it's usually because they don't know any gay people. As homosexuals have become more open, the acceptance of them has grown. When your kids teacher is doing a great job motivating the children and half way into the school year you find out he is gay it's going to be more difficult to say gays can't teach. Of course there are going to be some who would say that still but you can't fix stupid.
THAT is the reason we need to be vocal and we need others to at least be open about their lack of beliefs in god or more importantly, in the failure of religion to stand up to reasonable questions about it's validity. While I do not believe in a god or gods I feel it is more important that we focus on how silly religion is. It's a much more simple argument to prove. Once you get people to question the beliefs they hold just because their mother and father said so or because it makes them feel good by putting it to a very basic examination then they will look to other belief systems. Since all belief systems are basically built from the same type of shaky foundation and stem from fantastic stories you end up with an Agnostic which eventually (from my experience) will lead a person to Atheism. This depends on the person caring enough to go that far, many people simply don't care enough about religion and I don't think those people are ones we need to worry about forcing religion into our personal lives or government.
When we proclaim "There is no god!" we take something that people feel gives their lives meaning and try to crush it. We need them to think about the meaning being a different one than they currently believe in. Once you get people thinking they won't stop....I think.

Evolution Occupy

2011-11-14T08:59:00.001-08:00

"If a congressman learns that his committee is about to do something that would affect a company, he can go trade on that because he is not obligated to keep that information confidential.... He is not breaching a duty of confidentiality to anybody and therefore would not be liable for insider trading." ~March 3, 2006 - STOCK Act Fact Check

The occupy protest has come to and end in Oakland. just this morning I watched as the protesters were removed from Frank Ogawa Plaza. There was no teargas, no graffiti, no rubber bullets, and no rocks thrown.
Watching you couldn't help but see even the protesters knew it was time to move on. There were several factors that came into play when the choice was made to shut down the protest. A group of anarchists had spawned from the occupy group and were calling for violence against not only police but against reporters too. There was a shooting and a man was killed this week during an altercation (it's not clear whether those involved were part of occupy)
I know some people have a vision of tent cities popping up across the land as the people gather in a peaceful protest against the evil corporations and as the tent cities grow we watch the corporate monsters crumble and fall around our feet. That's not going to happen. I would hope that other cities do have occupy protests and they send their opening message to the companies that do not have our best interests in mind as they use our own money against us. I also hope the people involved are intelligent enough to know when that leg of the protest has run its course. What turned out to be a good beginning now needs to evolve into something that takes action from as many people as possible. Many people supported the issues represented by occupy protests but they could not just drop everything and go to live in tents outside city hall.

   People have been critical about my opinion that the tent cities were not effective. They seem to think just because people are living in tents it will force companies and politicians to change their behavior. I don't see that happening. I do see them paying attention, waiting to see if maybe the occupy protests have something in mind that would effect them. Now we are in a few months the only thing that has happened is more protests have popped up in more cities. That's a good thing, it shows the sentiment is widespread. but even if protests were to occur in every single city across the country what else is that going to achieve?

I don't have all the answers to solve our problems but I have some ideas. I also believe that sooner or later some of these ideas will have to become a reality or our nation will no longer be around for us to demand to be changed.
We need to start voting. The highest percentage of voter turnout in 2010 was 56% in Minnesota and the lowest was in the District of Columbia at about 29%. Pathetic to say the least. How can we complain about the way our country is being run when at least half of us don't care enough to do anything that would have an effect on it? http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2010G.html
Move your bank account to a credit union
   I consider this the first real productive action coming from the occupy protests. People are moving their accounts from big banks like bank of America to smaller banks or credit unions. The way banks make their money these days is on bullshit fees like the $5 fee they put on us when legislation was enacted to limit the fees that could be charged for using your card at the time of purchase. Take the time to move away from that big bank, if losing a charge of a few cents worried them enough to blatantly try and screw us in public then losing customers all together will have some effect. http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/11/bank-transfer-day-rally-targets-bank-america

   Stop buying from the big chains. Start shopping at that independently owned store and support small businesses whenever possible. If you drive across the country you may notice that every city is starting to look exactly alike. There are shopping centers which contain stores like Home Depot or Lowes (sometimes both) Walmart, Taco Bell, KFC, Barnes & Noble, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond. In many of these same cities you will also find what used to be a busy downtown that looks like a ghost town. All the businesses run by the people who lived in town are closed due to people helping the corporations grow bigger and bigger. As a business get larger it tends to lose any personal relationship with it's employees, instead treating them as a number. How easy is it to be concerned for the number 34617? If I were to tell you number 34617 was late to work because their child had a cold how much care could you muster up?

The last thing I am going to address this time around is the way our elected representatives are cashing in on inside information about companies. This information is being used to effect stock purchases.There is legislation written to help stop this practice but there is very little support for it by congress....I wonder why.http://www.louise.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=433&Itemid=106
CBS did a story on this and you all need to read it and act accordingly. Congress: Trading stock on inside information?
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57323527/congress-trading-stock-on-inside-information/
Send an email to your representative and make it clear how you feel. Here's a link to help you do that https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Ask them if they support the Stock Act and tell them to co-sponsor it. If they don't, go camp on their lawn

"In ___ I Trust"

2011-11-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

Congress passed a law making "in god we trust" the national motto. This resulted in the following comment from President Obama “You’ve been debating a commemorative coin for baseball. You’ve had legislation reaffirming that ‘In God We Trust’ is our motto. That’s not putting people back to work,” Obama said. “I trust in God, “but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work.”

I'm sick to death of republicans (and in this case democrats too) wasting time on bullshit. I'm sick of republicans voting down anything that could create jobs. The republicans claim that what we need to create jobs is 'new leadership'. Couldn't they try and find out what the 'new leadership' would do to create jobs and propose those ideas now? I don't think they can for one simple reason THEY ARE FULL OF SHIT. What have the republicans offered so far? Relaxing regulations and boosting offshore oil exploration and drilling.That's right, those ideas are what the republicans think we need to create jobs. Do the republicans think the population of this country is retarded? It seem s that way to me. Trouble is, we aren't.
The whole 'in god we trust' thing was the brainchild of Congressman Randy Forbes. Forbes represents a handful of people in VA.
I wanted to give the congressman my thoughts on his lame ideas so I went to his website. He tried to make it a little harder to relay my thoughts to him but where there is a will there is a way. If you would like to inform Congressman Forbes of what you think I'd like to make it as easy as possible for you to do so.

The congressman is not interested in hearing from anyone who does not live in his district even though he wants to make law that effects all of us. It seems a bit unreasonable and irresponsible for Randy Forbes to be unavailable to the people his actions have an effect on. I sent Randy Forbes a reply anyway, you can too.

Here is how.
Send email to Congressman Randy Forbes

When Randy asks you for a zip code so you can prove yourself worthy of his time type in this
23083-2172

Here is what I sent to Congressman Forbes-

Sir with all due respect I believe it is ignorant to make the claim that all Americans are equally represented by the phrase 'in god we trust'
For you to assume 'in go we trust' does in fact represent everyone in the country shows you are out of touch with much of the population and it's belief system(s)
Why not embrace a phrase that encourages all Americans to join in unity instead of one that alienates over 15% of the population?
Please refrain from proposing anything that effects the nation as a whole until you gain the ability to understand its diversity. You do not represent much of the country, from your actions I would assume there is a valid reason for that.
How does using "E pluribus unum" as a national saying harm or alienate anyone? It doesn't. Your worry about the president using it reeks of racism and fundamentalism. Those two traits have no place in society. Can't you think of something more productive to do?

Per Second

2011-11-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

With the planet reaching 7 billion people I heard a news report that informed me there are 5 births per second. 5 per second! Amazing. It kinda gives you an idea of how we tend to live in a bubble. Most of us behave as though the only things that really happen occur within our scope of vision. Even people who include the information they see on the internet still fail to grasp the enormity of human events.
    I figured it would be fun and easy to take the entire year, compress it into one day and see what numbers I would come up with.
If you took one year and lived it as a day, here's what would be happening ....

1562.5 births per second

Number of days of heavy fog (defined as an observation with 1/4 mile visibility or less sometime during
the day.) in Oakland California - .0002 per second

Number of Earthquakes in the United States .1 per second

People that die from rabies .8 per second

Firefighters die on duty   .001 per second

Arrested for drunkenness 560,718 6.5 per second

Arrested for prostitution and commercialized vice offenses in us   .73 per second

Number of aggravated assaults in US 4.7 per second

Busted for vandalism in US 2.93 per second

Accused of a drug abuse violation in US 18.2 per second

Murder or non-negligent manslaughter in US .13 per second

Number of forcible rapes .23 per second

Number of tornadoes in Oklahoma .0012 per second

Number of tweets sent on twitter worldwide 289351.9 per second

Heart transplants .02 per second

Number of deaths 28.1 per second

People who die from Alzheimer's disease .86 per second

Marriages per second 24

Unintentional poisoning deaths .34 per second

Visitors to disneyland 184.1 per second

Have a nice day...

Eric Cantor of the Republican Rhetoric Party

2011-10-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

Allow me to start out by sending out a message directly to and for Eric Cantor....

Eric Cantor with all due respect would you please shut your fucking big stupid mouth and go the fuck away. Your ego is far too inflated with your own hot air for you to ever be helpful, insightful, or mindful enough so that you can qualify as any type of leader. I suggest you move on to a crew leader position at a Mc Donalds since your style reminds me of a teenager who just got his first chance to boss other people around. The United States is not comprised of kids who are working their first job and haven't had enough life experience to see you are a dick. Wait ,I did say "with all due respect" so let me rephrase that.... Fuck off idiot.

Let's watch this video so everyone can get an idea why I think Eric Cantor is an inept little weasel.

Besides the fact Eric has the look and demeanor of a punk ass preppy who spends the first 30 minutes of each day popping zits on his face and treating his acne, he is stuck-up. Eric Cantor thinks the possibility of his being wrong is less than zero. If you watch the way he holds his head and the mannerisms he uses Eric clearly thinks he shits gumdrops, and if he allows you to have one of those gumdrops you should be thankful, very thankful. Eric first referred to the protesters by saying they were 'mobs'. Isn't the word 'mob' a historically negative term when used by politicians? If a politician says 'mob' then don't you have a vision of money laundering, illegal gambling and corruption or other criminal activities?

It plain that Eric didn't see the protests as positive. He didn't even see them as people exercising their freedoms, they were 'mobs' , out of control and dangerous. Then when he is called on it does he back off the term? NOPE. Instead he says there are other things more important than his use of the word. Eric is in a huff because the Democrats are supporting the protesters position that big business is also to blame for the problems we are currently having. His position is not enough blame is being put on Washington. We can safely assume Eric does not plan on taking his plate of blame and trying to force it down. No, Eric seems to think he has a nice clean plate with some golden etching on it spelling out "COOL CANTOR" in a graceful arch. Well Eric Cantor I hope very soon someone or something comes along plops a nice big helping of 'you re not helping' on that pretty little plate.

All Eric does is support something that becomes more and more clear each day. The Republicans are not out to see this country come back and support the people who live in it. The Republicans want to see America come back riding on the backs of the American people.They should give as much and work as hard as possible, not for a better life for themselves but for a bigger America. A bigger America represented by corporations and bottom lines instead of the voices of honest hard working happy people.

If you are a Republican or a Democrat I want you too look at what is happening. This bullshit need to stop. The two parties can not get anything done and while the Republicans are acting like the biggest racist, greedy, male chauvinist, two-faced idiot dick-heads on the planet the fact remains they are just the worser of two evils. The Democrats are just smart enough to know when to shut the fuck up and do what is needed to keep the people happy enough so marching through the street seems a silly thing to do when there is football, internet, and i pads to be attended to and shopping to be done.

I don't know where this is all going to end up when it's done but I would like to see Eric Cantor at a fast food counter asking me what size fries I want when it's through. I don't know if he realizes the possibility these protests could go very wrong he doesn't seem to see that but then you wouldn't be able to spell Cantor without C-A-N-T.