Sign, sign everywhere a sign

We knew this was going to happen. This is what religious folks don’t understand why separation of church and state is important. In fairness to all religions, if Christians symbols are allowed on government and public property, all religions are going to want theirs’ placed there too. Christians symbols should not be allowed…then everyone else will not have a reason to cry that their oogie boogie beliefs are being discriminated against.

Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Controversy Over Religious Symbols On Public Property
Monday, March 31, 2008

Utah Religious Group Seeks To Place Its ‘Seven Aphorisms’ Beside The Ten Commandments

The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it will hear a Utah dispute that centers on the display of religious symbols on public property.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State said the case brings the high court back into a confusing and controversial area of constitutional law.

Pleasant Grove City v. Summum deals with a religious group called Summum, which sought to erect its “Seven Aphorisms” alongside a Ten Commandments monument in a public park in Pleasant Grove, Utah. The group said city officials cannot constitutionally approve the Commandment display while excluding other monuments.

A federal appeals court agreed, holding that it violates freedom of speech for government to allow one group’s message on public property and exclude another.

“If government creates an open forum, it can’t pick and choose among religions,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “Government officials could have avoided this controversy by refusing to put up the Ten Commandments in the first place.”

Yet another example of not-so-intelligent design

(I have a Bearded Dragon so think this is rather cute and bizarre at the same time.)

BBC News:

Lizard-breeder Jan Davis got a big surprise when a two-headed creature hatched from one of her eggs.

Jan and her husband run a reptile buisiness in the US state of North Carolina. They were shocked when the two-headed bearded dragon turned up.

The couple don't intend to sell the creature, but they're trying to figure out the best way to feed it.

It might be tiny now, but these type of lizards can grow up to 20in long. Their usual diet is bugs and vegetables.

Missing NY pastor found at Ohio strip club

What is it with these church pastors and sex? Religion doesn't seem to be helping them remain loyal to their wives. I have had close experience with this when it was discovered that the church pastor of the Lutheran school our kids were attending at the time (when we were still Christians), had an on-going affair with the second grade teacher, who was married to the sixth grade teacher...the pastor was married to the kindergarten teacher. Talk about Peyton Place! It was a very tiny school, with a very small student population. I was shocked when I found out. I thought I our kids would get a more "moral" education at a Christian school. Boy, was I wrong!

And I should add that the school and church lost their pastor and three teachers over that affair. Parents had to try to explain it to their chlidren after word got out in the news.

RIVERSIDE, Ohio - Police say a pastor who was reported missing from his home in western New York has been found at an Ohio strip club.

A police officer patrolling the K.C. Lounge parking lot Friday morning in the Dayton suburb of Riverside spotted out-of-state license plates on 46-year-old Craig Rhodenizer's car.

The FBI and New York authorities had been searching for Rhodenizer, who disappeared Wednesday after telling his wife he was getting his computer fixed at Best Buy. He is the pastor of a church in Lyndonville, N.Y.

Detective Matt Sturgeon said Rhodenizer was disoriented when confronted by police and said he felt "emotionally guilty."

Sunday funny

This cracks me up because of all the imaginings god believers have of heaven.

Click on image to enlarge

Is the distant universe really what it appears to be?

click on image to enlarge Weak Lensing Distorts the Universe

Credit: S. Colombi (IAP), CFHT Team Is the distant universe really what it appears to be? Astronomers hope not. Intervening dark matter, which is normally invisible, might show its presence by distorting images originating in the distant universe, much the way an old window distorts images originating on the other side. By noting the degree to which background galaxies appear unusually flat and unusually similar to neighbors, the dark matter distribution producing these weak gravitational lensing distortions can be estimated. Analysis of the shapes of 200,000 distant galaxies imaged with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) does indicate the presence of a massive network of distributed dark matter. Future results may even be able to discern details of the distribution. The above computer generated simulation image shows how dark matter, shown in red, distorts the light path from and apparent shape of distant galaxies, depicted in blue.

Bill Maher on religion

This is a good one, too. I love Bill Maher!

Earth Hour 2008 - Will It Matter?

Is turning off lights for one hour really going to get people to be more aware about conserving our resources? Is it really going to get people to sell their gas-guzzling SUVs?
Will people run out and buy energy-saving light bulbs? And even if we did all we could to conserve, is it going to be enough to stop climate changes? If these corporations were truly concerned about the Earth and its resources, wouldn't they turn off their lights all the time when buildings were not in use? Do away with the excessively large advertising signs? Start making cars that are more fuel efficient and start doing away with large vehicles? Turning off lights in a few cities for one hour is going to do what, exactly?

What a waste of tax dollars

This is ridiculous if this county in Iowa is calling Ghostbusters and paying them to see if spooks inhabit a one-time insane asylum. Does separation of church and state cover ghosts and goblins?

Throughout history mental illness has been associated with ghosts and spirits of the dead. Maybe it's because humans fear the mentally ill, fear of becoming mentally ill, combined with the fear of death and the influence of afterlife beliefs.

IOWA CITY, Iowa - County officials have given their informal OK for ghost hunters to check out a one-time insane asylum to see if any spirits are lurking about.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors took the initial action on the request from the Johnson County Historical Society, which gives tours of the 153-year-old building.

Brandon Cochran, museum operations assistant for the historical society, said there have never been reports of ghosts or bizarre happenings at the building and that bringing in a paranormal team is "kind of taking the pre-emptive approach.

He wants an Iowa-based paranormal investigative team to come in for one night. Cochran said he hopes they don't find any paranormal activity and the investigation can put to rest any speculation.

A four-person Carroll Area Paranormal Team will use thermal imaging equipment and voice recording systems, Cochran said.

A date for an investigation wasn't set and an agreement will have to be drafted releasing the county of any liability before the supervisors formally approve the request, Cochran said.

The remaining wing was built in 1855 and housed mentally ill patients who were deemed insane. It was a self-sufficient 160-acre site with residents growing corn, potatoes, wheat, hay and tobacco.

The building is now called Chatham Oaks, and houses people with physical and mental disabilities. Chatham Oaks officials said there wouldn't be a problem with the paranormal team coming in as long as it didn't disturb residents, said county facilities director Dave Kempf.

Narcissists and religion

Many Christians and followers of other religions consider themselves to be special to some kind of deity. They believe that this deity has an interest in their individual lives and answers their prayers and provides for their individual needs and desires like some kind of invisible cosmic servant. Many, if not most god believers have many narcissistic needs, such as:

• being admired
• aggrandizement
• being special
• being unique
• status
• superior image
• superiority
• special favors
• favorable treatment
• prestige
• dispensations
• privileges
• prerogatives
• acknowledgment of superiority by others
• being above the rules
• glory
• wealth
• position
• power
• success
• ambition
• competitiveness

On the other hand they have these fears and adversions:

• being scorned
• being criticized
• being seen as common
• being ordinary
• being seen as inferior
• failure
• others not according them admiration and respect

While many atheists may have these same needs and aversions, we do not believe that there is a magical being that exists just to serve us or consider us special. Most of us do not want to be scorned, we get defensive when criticized, and we do like respect and admiration. However, when we don't get that from our family and friends or fellow human beings in general, the atheist is not going to resort to believing that some invisible friend has a special interest in our lives.

God believers seem to have a grandiose sense of self-importance and expects his/her beliefs to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements. God believers are preoccupied with fantasies of having "power, power wonder working power, in the precious blood of the Lamb." They are also preoccupied with the concept of "ideal love" which they believe can only come from their god. Christians and Muslims in particular believe that they are "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (namely godly people, Jesus and God/Allah.) A narcissist requires excessive admiration. So does the evangelical Christian. They want to be looked at as special, above the average fellow human beings in the society in which they live. They believe themselves to be special in the way they believe and love their Jesus and God. And they believe that their Jesus and God will admire their faithfulness and devout way of life. I am not talking about all evangelicals. There are many who contribute much to society (however they still believe they will gain eternal rewards for the work they do). I am talking about the ones who think only of what's in it for themselves and their heavenly "rewards" that they feel they are so worthy of for merely existing and merely holding some magical beliefs.

This also includes a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations. The Christians and Muslim fundamentalists feel they are entitled to special attention, special treatment with unreasonable expectations of automatic compliance with their own personal set of religious beliefs. If we don't comply, they will shake their heads and tell us we are doomed to go to a terrible place of eternal torment and suffering for simply not believing the way they do.

The narcissist is interpersonally exploitive, for example the religious person takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends. First of all, they need to reinforce or validate their own beliefs. It makes it easier to believe something that is absurd if you get a lot of other people to believe it. Evangelicals and fundamentalists try to convince others to accept their beliefs for their own personal reasons. They think somehow it will gain them favor with their god. I haven't really figured out their entire reasons for evangelizing and see it as only self-serving because they think they are being better Christians by spreading the word, therefore better chance of going to heaven when they die.

I always ask Christians if they would still believe in their god if there wasn't anything in it for the self. Some answer yes, but most just ignore the question and blow it off. The neurotic search for glory is the comprehensive drive to actualize the idealized self. Besides self-idealization it consists of the need for perfection, neurotic ambition, and the drive for vindictive triumph. An example of this would be how the Christian believes they are going to triumph over death while those who don't believe as they do are going to suffer in the pits of Hell.

Here is an excerpt from The Narcissist, God, and Social Institutions By Sam Vaknin

The narcissist is prone to magical thinking. He regards himself in terms of "being chosen" or of "being destined for greatness". He believes that he has a "direct line" to God, even, perversely, that God "serves" him in certain junctions and conjunctures of his life, through divine intervention. He believes that his life is of such momentous importance, that it is micro-managed by God. The narcissist likes to play God to his human environment. In short, narcissism and religion go well together, because religion allows the narcissist to feel unique.

This is a private case of a more general phenomenon. The narcissist likes to belong to groups or to frameworks of allegiance. He derives easy and constantly available Narcissistic Supply from them. Within them and from their members he is certain to garner attention, to gain adulation, to be castigated or praised. His False Self is bound to be reflected by his colleagues, co-members, or fellows.

This is no mean feat and it cannot be guaranteed in other circumstances. Hence the narcissist's fanatic and proud emphasis of his membership. If a military man, he shows off his impressive array of medals, his impeccably pressed uniform, the status symbols of his rank. If a clergyman or a religious man, he is overly devout.

This self-centered perception also caters to the narcissist's streak of grandiosity, proving that he is, indeed, worthy of such incessant and detailed attention, supervision and intervention.

Indirectly, God is perceived by the narcissist to be at his service. Moreover, in a process of holographic appropriation, the narcissist views himself as a microcosm of his affiliation, of his group, or his frame of reference. The narcissist is likely to say that he IS the army, the nation, the people, the struggle, history, or (a part of) God.

Every act of the narcissist is perceived by him to be significant, every utterance of momentous consequence, every thought of revolutionary calibre. He feels part of a grand design, a world plan and the frame of affiliation, the group, of which he is a member, must be commensurately grand. Its proportions and properties must resonate with his. Its characteristics must justify his and its ideology must conform to his pre-conceived opinions and prejudices.

Transgender man pregnant?

Some people think this is a hoax, other people think it is just appalling. A transgender man in Oregon claims to be five months pregnant. The "man" has a uterus so I don't know why people are saying it is impossible. The questions are , is this ethical and is society ready for men to become pregnant? Another question I am trying to sort out is, can this "man" really be considered a man if he has a uterus?

LINK TO FULL STORY: 'Pregnant' man stuns medical profession

The case of Thomas Beatie, who was born a woman and describes himself as a "transgender male", has triggered discussion among ethicists and family groups with one expert describing the development as "playing with fire".

*snip*

In a first person piece entitled Labour of Love and published in the most recent issue of The Advocate, a magazine with a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readership, Mr Beatie says his decision to have a child "has been met with discrimination and outright derision by health care professionals".

Even his own family members questioned him.

According to his article, Mr Beatie went through a sex change but decided to have only chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy, stopping short of making any changes to the reproductive organs he was born with.

Mr Beatie is legally male and lives with his wife, Nancy, in Bend, Oregon.

The couple, who have been together 10 years, wanted to have children.

What is your opinion about this?

When will people learn that prayer is ineffective?

Girl Dies After Family Prays Instead Of Seeking Medical Help

This story is so incredibly sad because the little girl's death was so unnecessary. And all because of religious superstition instead of seeking medical help. It is what I say all the time. Nothing happens without human intervention. Sit and wait for a god to come, and you will die, your children will die. Sometimes we die anyway because there are things medical science cannot cure. But there are many things that medicine can cure, and in this child's case, simply getting injections of insulin would have saved her and allowed her to lead a full and normal life.

WESTON - The mother of an 11-year-old girl who died of untreated diabetes said Wednesday that she did not know her daughter was terminally ill as she prayed for her to get better. Madeline Neumann died Sunday from a treatable form of diabetes. Her mother, Leilani Neumann, told The Associated Press that she never expected her daughter, whom she called Kara, to die. The family believes in the Bible, and it says healing comes from God, but they are not crazy, religious people, she said. The girl's father, Dale Neumann, a former police officer, said he has friends who are doctors. He started CPR "as soon as the breath of life left" his daughter's body, he said. Other family members called 911 to seek emergency help, Leilani Neumann said. "We are remaining strong for our children," she said. "Only our faith in God is giving us strength at this time."

"Only our faith in God is giving us strength at this time"??? How the hell can they say that when they heard only silence when their daughter died from prayers to their imaginary friend? People are so stubbornly and purposely stupid!

Ironically, these same monsters are most likely pro-lifers who protest the aborting of a zygote.

LINK TO FULL STORY AT MSNBC

Keeping kids ignorant for Jesus

Here is a video that has been circulating the internet about fundamentalist Christians who take their homeschooled children to museums and misinforming them that the museums' evolution and dinosaur exhibits have it wrong. It’s not just homeschoolers who are being taught this garbage, but also children in fundamentalist Christians schools. These tours are “from a strictly Biblical perspective” and no basis in proven facts. Science and evidence are ignored and replaced with what the parents choose to believe. I feel sorry for these children. They will have a hard time competing and succeeding in the real world.

Praying pup

Now this is amusing. A dog goes to a temple with his Zen Buddhist master, sits up, puts his little paws together and "prays."

NAHA, Japan - At a Zen Buddhist temple in southern Japan, even the dog prays. Mimicking his master, priest Joei Yoshikuni, a 1 1/2-year-old black-and-white Chihuahua named Conan joins in the daily prayers at Naha's Shuri Kannondo temple, sitting up on his hind legs and putting his front paws together before the altar.

MORE . . .

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Margaret Atwood discusses religion and the dangers of theocracy - Parts 1-3

Thanks once again to my friend Spirula for finding this. Margaret Atwood is one of my very favorite authors who wrote The Handmaid's Tale which is a very disturbing book set in the future about what would probably happen under theocratic rule. It would not only affect atheists and secularists, but also all religious denominations because the theocratic rule would discriminate against any other belief system that is not the official doctrine of the state government.

Here is a three-part program of Bill Moyer's interviewing Margaret Atwood. Though they are long, grab yourself a cup of coffee and take the time to watch them.

I don't agree with Margaret about atheism being a religion. She says that she is a "strict agnostic" because god cannot be proven or disproven. She says the atheist has a set belief that god does not exist. However, Margaret misunderstands that atheism says that there is no evidence for the existence of a god. Until someone proves to us otherwise, we have no reason to believe a god exists. Agnostics are just fence sitters, and I think Margaret though she won't commit one way or the other seems to like the idea of a god and the "soul".

Part one


Part two


Part three

Easter - Christian or Pagan?

Christians do not have a monopoly on "Easter" or whatever you want to call the Spring Equinox. "Age-old pagan motifs."

"Acharya S is a scholar classically educated in archaeology, history, mythology and languages. Acharya specializes in religion and mythology, critiquing and comparing them, and providing unique insights into their origins. Although born into a Christian (Congregationalist Protestant) family, Acharya does not subscribe to any particular religion, nor is she a hardcore "atheist." Acharya is the author of the controversial books The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold and Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled. She is also the author of the number 1 ranked article on the net on the ""Origins of Christianity." Among other less flattering things, Acharya S has been called "the ranking religious philosopher of our era" and "the voice of reason amidst global chaos." Her web site contains a wealth of information about: religion spirituality mythology archaeology history..."

Atheist Blogroll now has 600 members!

Congratulations and thanks to Mojoey at Deep Thoughts for doing this for all of us!

If you’re not on the Atheist Blogroll yet and want to be added, just let Mojoey know.

(Maybe someone can tell me how to put the rolling list in my sidebar since it's so dang long now! I've tried to no avail!)

FirstFreedomFirst.org presents “A Simulcast Event”

Activists Gather At Theaters In 25 Cities To Put Church-State Separation On National Agenda During 2008 Election

The March 26 simulcast is being produced by Progressive Media Agency, a Portland, Ore.-based firm led by Adam Klugman and Enrique Arias.

Actors, musicians and comedians will join church-state activists from across the country March 26 to put church-state separation on the national agenda during the 2008 election season.

In movie theatres in 25 cities across the nation, interested citizens will gather to learn about the threats to church-state separation and to demand that presidential hopefuls and candidates for other offices answer questions about key issues dealing with individual freedom. A list of 10 great questions to ask candidates will be featured.

Titled “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about the Separation of Church and State … but Were Afraid to Ask!,” the high-definition program is being hosted by First Freedom First (FFF), a joint project of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and The Interfaith Alliance Foundation.

Peter Coyote, a celebrated Hollywood actor and filmmaker, will emcee the program, which is to include a performance by special guests, The Bacon Brothers. Actor Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael formed the band more than 10 years ago and continue touring nationwide.

Other actors and celebrities scheduled to participate include Michael J. Fox (“Family Ties” and “Spin City”), Jack Klugman (“The Odd Couple” and “Quincy, M.E.”), James Whitmore (“The Shawshank Redemption”), Wendie Malick (“Just Shoot Me!”), Dan Lauria (“The Wonder Years”), Catherine Dent (“The Shield”), stand-up comedian and Air America host Marc Maron, singer/songwriter Catie Curtis and singer/satirist Roy Zimmerman.

In addition, Americans who have fought for individual freedom will tell their stories. Invited guests include Bryan and Christy Rehm (who fought creationism in Dover, Pa. science classes), Matthew LaClair (a New Jersey high schooler who exposed religious indoctrination at his school), Roberta Stewart (an Afghanistan War widow who fought for equal rights for Wiccan veterans), Dr. Susan Wicklund (who wears a bullet-proof vest to provide reproductive services in underserved areas) the Rev. Madison Shockley (pastor and reproductive rights advocate) David and Ryan Altoon (who oppose fundamentalist proselytism at U.S. military academies) Melinda “Lindy” Maddox (who successfully sued Alabama “Commandments” Judge Roy Moore) and Susan Jacoby (author of The Age of American Unreason).

First Freedom First was launched in 2006 to mobilize Americans from all walks of life in defense of church-state separation. Recently FFF ran television ads in several presidential primary states urging citizens to ask the candidates to elaborate on their understanding of religious liberty.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, and the Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of The Interfaith Alliance Foundation, will also participate in the simulcast.

Said Lynn, “This is a unique event that brings together celebrity commitment, civic engagement and the latest technology. Presidential candidates have been asked what their favorite Bible verse is and what sins they have committed. I want to know where they stand on key issues of individual freedom. This simulcast will tell us how to find out that information — and give us an entertaining evening to boot.”

Said Gaddy, “We are thrilled that so many American icons we have welcomed into our living rooms over the years have graciously agreed to lend their star-power to focus attention on religious liberty and some of its heroes. This gathering should prove to be a lively and much-deserved celebration of the diversity of belief systems in this country and some of the citizens who have boldly taken public stands to protect the boundaries between religion and government.”

LINKS TO FIND LOCATIONS NEAR YOU

Blog Against Theocracy March 21-23, 2008

"THEOCRACY: Government by divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. In many theocracies, government leaders are members of the clergy, and the state's legal system is based on religious law. Theocratic rule was typical of early civilizations. The Enlightenment marked the end of theocracy in most Western countries. Contemporary examples of theocracies include Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Vatican."

I found this via our old friend Beepbeep on YouTube! Thanks for this Beep!

OSTARA: Spring Goddess of Fertility.

I love Godchecker.com and their "Deity of the Day. Today's featured deity is Ostara. It was studying mythologies of other societies in ancient times that brought me to understand that humans create their gods, their religions, legends and myths and many of them influenced the religions and myths that came after them.

From Godchecker.com

"She has her own festival on 21 March, the Spring Equinox, in which bouncing springy behavior is encouraged."

OSTARA was very popular with the Anglo-Saxon pagan brigade who worshipped her under the name EOSTRE — and kicked off the whole Easter business without a JESUS in sight. If you ever wondered what eggs and bunnies have to do with crucifixion and resurrection, the answer is: absolutely nothing.

OSTARA's sacred animal is a cute wittle wabbit — an obvious symbol of fertility — and the egg is her symbol of fertile purity. So Easter Egg hunts are actually packed with symbolic meanings of rebirth and renewal. And Elmer Fudd is obviously just a high priest of the Great Easter Bunny.

In case you think we're being flippant, recent research suggests that OSTARA herself was actually invented during a mischievous moment by the Venerable Bede. This well-known monk mentioned her in connection with the pagan festival Eosturmonath in a book written in 750 A.D. — but extensive research has failed to find a trace of her prior to that. Could he possibly have been fibbing?

Rabbits and hares are ubiquitous in mythology. Every culture seems to have a Rabbit God — and they're nearly always trickster spirits. This, we feel, explains a lot. We also have a terrific theory explaining why stage magicians love doing tricks with eggs and rabbits. Was OSTARA pulled out of a hat?

Ten Most Historically Inaccurate Movies

Too many people take what they see in Hollywood films as fact without investigating the true stories and histories themselves. I was guilty of that for awhile until I became a parent and started educating my own children and taught them to question everything that someone tells them. Verify it, and get the real facts. Hollywood embellishes and changes things to enhance the entertainment value. One of them that should be on the list is The Passion of the Christ which was so incredibly overdone with bloody violence because we all know how many fundamentalist Christians love their gore. I've only seen about three or four of these films listed below, and really don't have any desire to see the rest, especially the idiotic looking 10,000 B.C. which looks like an animated documentary about the dumbass Creation Museum.

You could probably just click on the site and read these from the Yahoo page, but I thought I would make it easier for you all by just reposting them here.

From Yahoo Movies: "We all accept that movies stretch the truth in the interest of building drama. The following ten flicks, however, treat the truth like it was Silly Putty -- pulling and twisting it until it's unrecognizable."

10,000 B.C.
"Woolly mammoths were not used to build pyramids. Woolly mammoths weren't even found in the desert. And there weren't any pyramids in Egypt until 2,500 B.C or so."

Gladiator
"Emperor Commodus was not the sniveling sister-obsessed creep portrayed in the movie. A violent alcoholic, sure, but not so whiny. He ruled ably for over a decade rather than ineptly for a couple months. He also didn't kill his father, Marcus Aurelius, who actually died of chickenpox. And instead of being killed in the gladatorial arena, he was murdered in his bathtub."

300
Though this paean to ancient moral codes and modern physical training is based on the real Battle of Thermopylae, the film takes many stylistic liberties. The most obvious one being Persian king Xerxes was not an 8-foot-tall Cirque du Soleil reject. The Spartan council was made up of men over the age of 60, with no one as young as Theron (played by 37-year-old Dominic West). And the warriors of Sparta went into battle wearing bronze armor, not just leather Speedos.

The Last Samurai
The Japanese in the late 19th century did hire foreign advisers to modernize their army, but they were mostly French, not American. Ken Watanabe's character was based on the real Saigo Takamori who committed ritual suicide, or "seppuku," in defeat rather than in a volley of Gatling gun fire. Also, it's doubtful that a 40-something alcoholic Civil War vet, even one with great hair, would master the chopsticks much less the samurai sword.

Apocalypto
This one movie has given entire Anthropology departments migranes. Sure the Maya did have the odd human sacrifice but not to Kulkulkan, the Sun God, and only high-ranking captives taken in battle were killed. The conquistadors arriving at the end of the film made for unlikely saviors: an estimated 90% of indigenous American population was killed by smallpox from the infected Spanish pigs.

Memoirs of a Geisha
The geisha coming-of-age, called "mizuage," was really more of a makeover, where she changed her hairstyle and clothes. It didn't involve her getting... intimate with a client. In the climatic scene where Sayuri wows Gion patrons with her dancing prowess, her routine - which involves some platforms shoes, fake snow, and a strobe light - seems more like a Studio 54 drag show that anything in pre-war Kyoto.

Braveheart
Let's forget the fact that kilts weren't worn in Scotland until about 300 years after William Wallace's day and just do some simple math. According to the movie, Wallace's blue-eyed charm at the Battle of Falkirk was so overpowering, he seduced King Edward II's wife, Isabella of France, and the result of their affair was Edward III. But according to the history books, Isabella was three years old at the time of Falkirk, and Edward III was born seven years after Wallace died.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
In 1585, when the movie takes place, Queen Elizabeth was 52 years old - Cate Blanchett was 36 when she shot the film - and was not being courted by suitors like Ivan the Terrible (who was dead by then). And though the movie has her rallying the troops at Tilburyastride a white steed in full armor with a sword, in fact she rode side saddle, carrying a baton. She was more of a regal majorette than Joan of Arc.

The Patriot
Revolutionary War figure Francis "The Swamp Fox" Marion was the basis for Mel Gibson's character, but he wasn't the forward-thinking family man they show in the flick. He was a slave owner who didn't get married (to his cousin) until after the war was over. Historians also say that he actively persecuted and murdered native Cherokees. Plus, the climatic Battle of Guilford Court House where he vanquishes his British nemesis? In reality, the Americans lost that one.

2001: A Space Odyssey
[This one I can forgive because it was written looking forward in time instead of back, so don't think I would have included it in this list.]
According to this film, in year 2001 we would have had manned voyages to Jupiter, a battle of wits with a sentient computer, and a quantum leap in human evolution. Instead we got the Mir Space Station falling from the sky, Windows XP, and Freddy Got Fingered. Apparently the lesson here is that sometimes it's better when the movies get the facts all wrong.

Battle of the bat-shit crazies!

Thanks to spirula for pointing me to this over at Zairus Nation. Great site! Check it out.

Following in Dubya's footsteps

Looks like they are draining McCain's brain and getting him primed to continue the legacy.

At a news conference in Amman, McCain said Iran supported the Sunni group al Qaeda in Iraq, until he was corrected by a colleague. U.S. officials believe predominantly Shi’ite Iran has been backing Shi’ite extremists in Iraq, not al Qaeda in Iraq, a Sunni group. LINK

If he is this confused already, what kind of mental condition is he going to be in if he gets that 3 a.m. call?

Good question

It’s that S & M time of year again . . .

Yes, it’s that time of year again to make fun of the self-flagellators and masochists for Jesus. Every year on Good Friday, Christian believers in the Philippines undergo crucifixion as a sign of their faith (stupidity) and desire for penitence (desire to perpetuate their stupidity). These acts of insanity don’t only occur in the Philippines, but also Mexico, Italy, parts of the Middle East and other places around the globe. Crazy that people are still doing this in the year 2008!

And now we don’t have to settle for just reading about it, but we can also watch the stupid people in action on You Tube!

My friend Jimmer saw this article at Pharyngula that was the idea for this post, titled “Department of Duh!” Apparently from THIS NEWS STORY, health officials in the Philippines have issued a warning to people taking part in Easter crucifixion rituals.

"They have urged them to get tetanus vaccinations before they flagellate themselves and are nailed to crosses, and to practise good hygiene."

As PZ Myers points out, “People are flagellating themselves and nailing themselves to sticks in a public spectacle of stupidity, and health officials are warning them to get a tetanus shot? How about “Stop doing that,” instead, or alternatively, “Please use rusty nails and whips clotted with rotting gore so that you’ll die sooner and we won’t have to worry about you idiots anymore”?

And now for a little self-flagellation entertainment from a Sick Friday procession in Taxco, Mexico! Aye Carumba!!

Indonesian "hobbit" debate continues

A team of scientists have discovered fossils of an extinct hobbit-like people on a Pacific Ocean island where they lived up to 3,000 years ago, a South African university has reported. I wonder what stories the creationists are making up to explain this one.

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - A team of scientists have discovered fossils of an extinct hobbit-like people on a Pacific Ocean island where they lived up to 3,000 years ago, a South African university has reported.

The former island cave inhabitants, some "as small as just over a metre", shared features with the controversial Homo floresiensis specimens discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2004, said a statement from Johannesburg's Witwatersrand University (Wits) on Tuesday.

The discovery, initially made by South African palaeoanthropologist Lee Berger while holidaying on the Micronesian island of Palau in 2006, features in this week's edition of the scientific journal PLoS ONE.

The subjects of the 2004 discovery, dubbed "hobbits" after author J.R.R Tolkien's pint-sized and hairy-footed fiction heroes, have been at the centre of a scientific argument over their classification.

Some have argued they were a formerly unknown human species, while others maintain the tiny humans had merely suffered from stunting.

"The Palauen fossils exhibit a surprising number of traits that were originally used to describe the hobbit as a unique species," said Berger.

These included a small body size with large teeth, small faces and reduced chins.

After Berger discovered the fossils on holiday, he and a team of scientists from the United States' Duke and Rutgers universities, as well as a group of Wits students, returned for further examinations on a grant from the National Geographic Society.

"What we found astounded our most experienced explorers, even the Palauen officials who accompanied us," said Berger.

LINK TO FULL STORY

Traveling Hellfire preacher

I found this little piece on Yahoo News about a preacher man who goes traveling around university campuses around the eastern United States, shouting warnings of fire and brimstone to students despite a steady stream of mockery from bystanders.

You're going to hell if you drink beer, he says. You're going to hell if you curse. You're going to hell if you smoke dope, masturbate, fornicate, watch a Hollywood movie, listen to rap, read Harry Potter books or attend most Protestant churches, Armstrong says.

Homosexuals are hellbound, too, he says. So are women with low-cut tops, short hair, pants or jobs.

"Women have two places: In front of the sink and behind the vacuum," Armstrong proclaims.

"Ooooh," moans the crowd, now swelled to at least 250 people.

Um...I guess that means everyone is going to hell.

I don't think even most Christian women would want to go that far back in time. We've come to far. But if you look at the Bible in a literal sense, women are no better than slaves. Homosexuals are a weary target for Christian fundamentalists, and so is Harry Potter. This guy must be related to the Jesus Camp bitch.

Responses from crowd members were quite amusing:

"Brother Micah, can God microwave a burrito so hot he can't eat it?" a student with dreadlocks called from the crowd.

"Chuck Norris can!" someone screeched, prompting a roar.

Micah just kept preaching.

"You say sorority girls are whores," another guy called from the throng. "Is there one in particular I could go to?"

Armstrong paused, rubbed his face and kept preaching.

Critics say Brother Micah claims to be sinless and is so focused on scaring hell out of people that he has forgotten the things they see in God — love, forgiveness, charity.

Many Christians may only want to see their God as love, forgiveness and charity, but anyone who has read the Bible who doesn't slough off the bad parts knows that what Brother Micah spews out of his mouth comes right from his awful mythology book.

Here's the full story:

Hellfire preacher stirs up campuses

Origins of Easter

This was originally posted by me on April 4, 2006

Modern-day Easter is a blending of two traditions: one Judeo-Christian and the other Pagan. Both Christians and Pagans have death and resurrection themes on or after the Spring Equinox. Both Neopagans and Christians continue to celebrate religious rituals in the present day. Wiccans and other Neopagans hold their celebrations on the day or eve of the equinox. Christians wait until after the next full moon.

The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly the Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility was known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre."

Many, perhaps most, Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at or following the Spring Equinox. Around 200 B.C.E., mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult, centered on Vatican hill. Cybele was the Phrygian fertility goddess. Associated with the Cybele cult was worship of her lover, Attis (similar to the older demigods Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, and Orpheus). Attis was the god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The spring festival March 22 to 25, began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection.

Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians "used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation." Many religious historians believe that the death and resurrection legends were first associated with Attis, many centuries before the birth of Jesus. They were simply grafted onto stories of Jesus' life in order to make Christian theology more acceptable to Pagans. Ancient Christians had an alternate explanation: they claimed that Satan had created counterfeit deities in advance of the coming of Christ in order to confuse humanity.

For more information see: www.religioustolerance.org/easter.htm

Previously posted by me April 14, 2006








The sacred day of Easter comes,
When every Christian household hums.
Baskets with eggs and bunnies too,
and kiddies get some clothes, all new.

Just everyone is seen in church.
The preacher sits upon his perch.
Tells of your son whose blood dripped down
to save the sinners of the town.

I squirm each time I have to hear
that torture tale of death and fear.
They put your son then in a tomb,
a big one with a lot of room.

He wouldn't stay; three days went by,
and he was as alive as I.
I find that yarn real hard to take.
God, didn't you make a big mistake?

If you're powerful like they say,
couldn't you find a better way?
All sungods seem to be connected,
`Cause all were killed and resurrected.

reprinted from The Willamette Freethinker,
newsletter for the Corvallis Secular Society, 1999

Borg similarities to Fundamentalists

I have often, in jest, compared fundamentalist religions with Star Trek's "Borg". But actually, they are very much alike. The Borg travels along to other places in the universe, forcing their "Borgness" on every species they encounter in very much the same way Christian missionaries spread themselves all over the planet, attempting to assimilate everyone they meet. Fundamentalist Muslims and Christians are the most interested in assimilating every human on the planet to their own belief system. We don't see it as obviously with other religions.

Nothing is allowed to stand in the way of their "mission" and they are determined to "convert" all who they come in contact with. Sound familiar? Seeing as Gene Roddenberry was an atheist, I have to think that the creation of the Borg was intentionally based on religious fundamentalists. Once a being becomes a Borg, it is very difficult to break away, just as it is difficult for members of fundamentalist Christianity (or even moderate Christianity for that matter) to leave the "flock."

Here is an excerpt I found at Borg Xenobiology Database:

The immense knowledge of all the assimilated Borg minds function as one, and each Borg is part of a giant subspace communications network called the Borg Collective. All critical information is relayed to each Borg through this network, allowing the instantaneous adaptation and reaction to any outside factors. The hive society of the Borg is extremely specialized: the decisions are not made by the Borg themselves, rather, the needs of the Collective determines their actions.

To the Borg, individual thought and action are considered imperfect and weak. They travel through the universe in their cubicles or spheres seeking new civilizations to assimilate into their own consciousness, or in their words, "add the biological and technological distinctiveness of to our own". They don't simply assimilate individuals, they strip cultures, races, entire worlds of their identity. New species encountered are classified with numbers and referred to as such, further eliminating the distinctiveness of the species. The emptied shells of assimilated individuals are integrated into the hive while their understanding and technology are added into the Collective. If a Borg drone dies or is beyond repair, his memory will still be retained by the Collective. So in a sense all Borg are immortal.

Negotiation is irrelevant. You will be assimilated. ~Collective 67kb

Freedom is irrelevant. Self-determination is irrelevant. You must comply. ~Collective 117kb

We are the Borg. Resistance as you know it is over. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. ~Collective 162kb

You will become one with the Borg. You will all become one with the borg. ~Locutus 120kb