Phoenix Mars Lander

Christian magicians

Travdawg pointed me to this site and I had to read it several times to make sure it was legit and not another satirical site. But it’s real! And the irony is marvelous! Christian Magicians Convention!

Some of the featured events at this international convention are:

Fulfilling God’s mission through your Gospel Magic;

[Gospel “magic”…the Bible is full of magic trickery…turning water into wine, rivers turning into blood, parting of the waters, raising people from dead…etc].

Following God’s command through your Chalk Drawings;

[Well, the bible says to come as little children.]

Rejoicing in God’s favor through your Ventriloquism & Storytelling;

[Like God taking through a burning bush, the devil talking through a snake…what talent! And we know the Bible is full of fantastic storytelling!]

Marveling at God’s Grace when children respond to His call through your Clowning

[God just can’t seem to get his message across without entertainment via goofy people and strange characters.]

Revealing God’s glory through your Puppetry

[That’s what most believers think their god is…a puppetmaster pulling strings of billions and billions of people alive and dead.]

Expressing God’s beauty through the art of Face Painting

[So God has a painted clown face??? ]

Declaring God’s word through Drama & Juggling

[Christians love to be dramatic…and juggling would probably wake up the boring services a bit.]

Delighting in God’s way through your Balloon Artistry; . . .

[Balloon “artistry?” WTF??]

Speaking of balloon artistry, check out this video. The very end is hilarious. (I thought so anyway.)

Yet another crazy-ass pastor spouting off divisiveness

Are these pastors so used to believing their god forgives everything that they think everyone will? Do they think they can say anything they want and then say...oh, I'm sorry and everyone will be like Jesus and forgive them? TOO LATE. Once the words are out there, no magic "I'm sorry" words can erase what has already been said. You can think your Jesus will forgive you, but many American voters may not. It sure seems as if the clergy at Obama's church doesn't want him to win in November. It seems to me that Obama needs to make a clean break from this church which seems to have become a real liability.

This has been the most fanatically-filled election ever.



Obama distances himself from another clergyman

Obama said he was "deeply disappointed" by Pfleger's comments.

"As I have traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that that unites us," he said in a statement. "That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause."

Pfleger, the white pastor of predominantly black Saint Sabina Roman Catholic Church on the city's Southwest side, said he regretted his choice of words.

"These words are inconsistent with Senator Obama's life and message and I am deeply sorry if they offended Senator Clinton or anyone else who saw them," Pfleger said.

Clinton's campaign denounced Pfleger's comments.

"Divisive and hateful language like that is totally counterproductive in our efforts to bring our party together and have no place at the pulpit or in our politics," the campaign said in a statement. "We are disappointed that Senator Obama didn't specifically reject Father's Pfleger's despicable comments about Senator Clinton, and assume he will do so."

My first secular wedding

Secular weddings are even more beautiful than religious weddings because nothing is in the way. It's just the bride, and groom...giving their hearts and love to one another.

My son, Jeff was married on Sunday to a really great girl...we love her to pieces. The ceremony was secular at a little non-denomination chapel in the woods. This is the first wedding I have been to where practically everyone was sniffling...because there were no quotes from mythology books, no boring Bible passages to make everyone glaze over with boredom, no meaningless and soon-forgotten words written by ancient men...these were words written from their hearts, spoken from the heart and all unnecessary ritual, words, etc were not in the way of a genuine expression of love and commitment.

As my new daughter-in-heart gazed into my son's eyes, and he gazed into hers, everyone in the chapel could feel the love of two people, who absolutely adore each other with their loving family surrounding them. That's what life is all about, that is what love is all about. And that is all we need.

I wish them a long and happy life together.

Mission Accomplished

The End is Near, Again

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Mark Fiore cartoon:
http://www.markfiore.com

Louisiana baloney

The Louisiana legislature is about to make a tremendous mistake:

Bogus On The Bayou: Louisiana Legislators Consider Dragging Science Education Back Into The Swamp

. . . Despite frantic objections from public school teachers, the scientific community and advocates of church-state separation, the House education committee yesterday approved unanimously a Religious Right bill designed to undercut the teaching of evolution.

As the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported today, Senate Bill 733 would allow Louisiana public school science teachers to use “supplemental materials” when discussing evolution, global warming and human cloning.

That may sound innocuous, but in fact, the measure is meant to swing open the door to bogus “scientific” materials undercutting the teaching of evolution. The bill is the handiwork of the Louisiana Family Forum, the Discovery Institute and others forces determined to damage science education and roll back constitutional safeguards. They’re using “academic freedom” as a wedge to break down the wall of separation between church and state.

Yesterday’s hearing was packed with home-schoolers wearing stickers in support of the bill. Home schoolers won’t be affected by the measure, of course, so it doesn’t take much analysis to see what’s going on here. (Kids, you may have learned something about politics, but you flunked science. Be sure to tell your momma when you get home so she can change your report cards.)

“Mr. President, the war isn’t about you — or golf”

Nice rant once again by Keith Olbermann who says it so well.
This is a must-see.

LINK: Olbermann: Bush’s claim he gave up game to honor dead GIs is ludicrous

Part one


Part two

It’s official, Lancaster, CA City Council cares nothing about Separation of Church and State

Trust in God is a religious concept and has no place in our secular government. Churches are for god slogans, private property or businesses owned by individuals are free to display their god slogans, but In God We Trust does not belong on federal or state, or town buildings and land. It does not belong on Federal currency, documents, etc.

However, blatant violation of the Constitution and Separation of Church and State is allowed to happen in many places across our secular nation. And now, members of the Lancaster, Calif., City Council recently approved unanimously a resolution ordering the display of “In God We Trust” on the back wall of the council chambers.

Divisive Display: When 'Trust in God' Becomes a Political Wedge

One of America’s greatest achievements is the separation of church and state — and the subsequent religious liberty it guarantees each of us. In the United States, you can believe in any religion you like and still be a patriotic American. You can join one of the hundreds of Christian denominations or you can be a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu or anything else your conscience tell you to. (Heck, you can even come up with your own religion; more than one American has.)

But just as importantly, you can reject all religious beliefs and follow no spiritual path at all. Millions of Americans do that today, and they’re just as patriotic as Councilwoman Marquez and her colleagues – maybe more so.

On the Origin of Gold

Illustration Credit : Dana Berry, NASA

Some fun facts I didn't know:

Where did the gold in your jewelry originate? No one is completely sure. The relative average abundance in our Solar System appears higher than can be made in the early universe, in stars, and even in typical supernova explosions. Some astronomers have recently suggested that neutron-rich heavy elements such as gold might be most easily made in rare neutron-rich explosions such as the collision of neutron stars. Pictured above is an artist's illustration depicting two neutron stars spiraling in toward each other, just before they collide. Since neutron star collisions are also suggested as the origin of short duration gamma-ray bursts, it is possible that you already own a souvenir from one of the most powerful explosions in the universe.

There's always an explanation, even if we don't know it yet

Human beings are so impatient. They want things explained immediately, and when those explanations are not readily available due to lack of information, most human beings are content to go along with made-up answers for things we don't have the answers to yet. Like the people of 1780 New England. Mysterious darkness enshrouded northeastern New England and many attributed it to supernatural phenomena from above, when in actuality it was a natural event...forest fire smoke drifting down from Algonquin Provincial Park in eastern Ontario.

May 19, 1780: Darkness at Noon Enshrouds New England

By Randy Alfred 05.19.08 | 12:00 AM

1780: In the midst of the Revolutionary War, darkness descends on New England at midday. Many people think Judgment Day is at hand. It will be remembered as New England's Dark Day.

Diaries of the preceding days mention smoky air and a red sun at morning and evening. Around noon this day, an early darkness fell: Birds sang their evening songs, farm animals returned to their roosts and barns, and humans were bewildered.

Some went to church, many sought the solace of the tavern, and more than a few nearer the edges of the darkened area commented on the strange beauty of the preternatural half-light. One person noted that clean silver had the color of brass.

It was darkest in northeastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine, but it got dusky through most of New England and as far away as New York. At Morristown, New Jersey, Gen. George Washington noted it in his diary.

In the darkest area, people had to take their midday meals by candlelight. A Massachusetts resident noted, "In some places, the darkness was so great that persons could not see to read common print in the open air." In New Hampshire, wrote one person, "A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet."

At Hartford, Col. Abraham Davenport opposed adjourning the Connecticut legislature, thus: "The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause of an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty."

When it was time for night to fall, the full moon failed to bring light. Even areas that had seen a pale sun in the day could see no moon at all. No moon, no stars: It was the darkest night anyone had seen. Some people could not sleep and waited through the long hours to see if the sun would ever rise again. They witnessed its return the morning of May 20. Many observed the anniversary a year later as a day of fasting and prayer.

Professor Samuel Williams of Harvard gathered reports from throughout the affected areas to seek an explanation. A town farther north had reported "a black scum like ashes" on rainwater collected in tubs. A Boston observer noted the air smelled like a "malt-house or coal-kiln." Williams noted that rain in Cambridge fell "thick and dark and sooty" and tasted and smelled like the "black ash of burnt leaves."

As if from a forest fire to the north? Without railroad or telegraph, people would not know: No news could come sooner than delivered on horseback, assuming the wildfire was even near any European settlements in the vast wilderness.

But we know today that the darkness had moved southwest at about 25 mph. And we know that forest fires in Canada in 1881, 1950 and 2002 each cast a pall of smoke over the northeastern United States.

A definitive answer came in 2007. In the International Journal of Wildland Fire, Erin R. McMurry of the University of Missouri forestry department and co-authors combined written accounts with fire-scar evidence from Algonquin Provincial Park in eastern Ontario to document a massive wildfire in the spring of 1780 as the "likely source of the infamous Dark Day of 1780."

Source: The Weather Doctor

Another pervert pastor

God just can't seem to protect his congregations from this sort of thing...or THIS sort of thing. When will people wake up and realize that no god protects them, there is no god genie in a magic lamp, prayer is pointless, worship is pointless ritual, what happens depends on the actions and choices of human beings, then other human being must stop them and bring them to justice. I suppose these people are singing praises to their invisible god who does nothing instead of waking up and realizing that HUMAN BEINGS are responsible for both good, and bad. No magical entity intervenes to protect the innocent...ever.

Pastor: minister arrested in sex sting resigned

PLANO, Texas - A minister arrested in an Internet sex sting has resigned his position at a Dallas-area megachurch, its pastor said Saturday.

*snip*

[Pastor] Joe Barron was charged Friday with online solicitation of a minor. Undercover officers posing as a 13-year-old girl communicated with the 52-year-old minister for about two weeks. The online conversations were sexual in nature, police said.

On May 6, Barron suggested meeting the girl in person. He drove nearly 200 miles on Thursday to meet her in Bryan, where he was arrested. Police said they found a web-cam and condoms in the minister's car.

Barron was released from the Brazos County Jail on Friday night on $7,000 bail. Police were unsure if he had an attorney. Think his god will help him out in his defense? Nah...probably not. He is at the mercy of Human Justice.

We can only hope these two go extinct

http://www.internetweekly.org/

OT... are any of you getting fed up with the Word Verification on Blogger? When posting I must have to type in the letters have a dozen stinkin' times before it "takes" because the letters are so damned distorted.

Calif. Supreme Court Decision on Gay Marriage Riles Religious Right

Don’t these people have better things to do like feed the poor, help the homeless or some earthquake survivors or something? Or maybe go take a few U.S Government courses at the local community college for a refresher on what separation of church and state actually means.

Religious Right activists want to see their religious perspective on marriage imposed on everyone.

From Joseph L. Conn at Americans United:

LINK: Marriage Spat: Calif. Supreme Court Decision Sparks Church-State Discussion

The California Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex marriage has opened an important discussion about the relationship between religion and government. The justices in the court majority made it clear that they were ruling in favor of civil-marriage equality and not religion. Religious communities will remain free to perform same-sex marriages or not, as their theology dictates.

A lot of people rightly see that as an important expression of judicial respect for the separation of church and state.

*snip*

According to Baptist Press, the Rev. Barrett Duke, vice president for governmental affairs for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said he was “saddened for the people of California.”

“The California Supreme Court ruling not only overruled the very clear will of the people, it also proposes to overrule God’s design,” Duke said. “These judges may think they know more about marriage than the rest of us, but I am confident they don’t know more about marriage than God. Marriage is the union of one man and one woman….That’s not only my opinion and the opinion of most of the people in this country, it’s God’s opinion, and His opinion overrules the opinion of any judges.”

The Rev. Clyde Grubbs, pastor of the Pasadena’s Throop Unitarian Universalist Church says:

“Our religion is in favor of (gay) people getting married, and they are saying that under someone else’s religion, that is wrong,” said Grubbs. “There is no secular reason for that position, so it must be a religious test and a violation of the First Amendment.”

The Religious Right needs to give this up and just let people live their lives.

The Religious Right are boo-hooing again

With all the problems in the world, do the Religious Right get out there and actually roll up their sleeves and do something constructive? No, they are stomping their feet because they can’t have their way with trying to mix religion and government again, as always.

LINK:

Lost Weekend: Religious Right Seeks Two-Day
Ten Commandments CONFAB

Rob Boston writes:

Bill Murray, chairman, founder and possibly the only member of something called the Religious Freedom Coalition, is carping because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid won’t schedule a vote on a resolution authorizing a Ten Commandments Weekend that lauds the Decalogue as the source of our country’s laws.

“But [boo hoooo] with Nancy Pelosi in charge of the House and Harry Reid in charge of the Senate, we can’t have a voice, [booo hoooo (my emphasis)]” Murray groused to One News Now. “We can’t get these out and open and celebrate the Ten Commandments.”

Why not? If members of Murray’s church want to celebrate the Commandments and erect them for all to see, no one’s going to stop them. He could even stick them up in his back yard or make tiny versions into paperweights. Be creative. Knock yourself out, Bill.

But like Rob says, it’s never enough with the Religious Right.

Bill O'Reilly meltdown!

Keith Olbermann featured this little blast from the past to amuse us.

Gas prices rise as you fill your tank

This cartoon is not far-fetched. As my husband was filling up the tank yesterday, it was as if the machine got "stuck" and stopped. Gas was about $3.79 when he started. After it got stuck he had to reinsert his credit card and in that amount of time the gas went up to $3.89! Two seconds!

I wonder how people will afford to get to work if gas prices get to be $6 a gallon by the end of summer like some are predicting. Our bills are going up, house prices are slipping, people can't give their homes away, our jobs are being sent overseas, food prices are soaring. What a fine mess we are in, and it would be oh, so convenient to blame the Bush administration. But is he totally to blame? He did run two companies into the ground and there were those of us who said he would run the country into the ground before his term was over, also. It appears he will leave us in one fine mess.

Einstein letter - Belief in God ‘childish’

Einstein’s views on religion have been the subject of much debate, and several of his quotes have been used to back up arguments in favor of faith. However, a letter to be sold in London this week clarifies (once again) the scientist’s views on god belief -- right from the scientist's own pen.

Belief in God ‘childish,’ Jews not chosen people: Einstein letter

LONDON (AFP) - Albert Einstein described belief in God as “childish superstition” and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday.

The father of relativity, whose previously known views on religion have been more ambivalent and fueled much discussion, made the comments in response to a philosopher in 1954.

As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they “have no different quality for me than all other people”.

“The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.

“No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this,” he wrote in the letter written on January 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.

The German-language letter is being sold Thursday by Bloomsbury Auctions in Mayfair after being in a private collection for more than 50 years, said the auction house’s managing director Rupert Powell.

In it, the renowned scientist, who declined an invitation to become Israel’s second president, rejected the idea that the Jews are God’s chosen people.

“For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions,” he said.

“And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people.”

And he added: “As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything ‘chosen’ about them.”

Previously the great scientist’s comments on religion — such as “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind” — have been the subject of much debate, used notably to back up arguments in favour of faith.

Powell said the letter being sold this week gave a clear reflection of Einstein’s real thoughts on the subject. “He’s fairly unequivocal as to what he’s saying. There’s no beating about the bush,” he told AFP.

Einstein was an atheist.

This is pretty cool:
Albert Einstein
Adobe Photoshop time lapsed art speed painting Speedpainting
Martin Missfeldt

Not a way to treat your mother

People shouldn't have to wait for a special day once a year to be nice and show respect to those we love. While setting aside a special day to honor our mothers, fathers, spouses, sweethearts, is nice and all that, we should be equally good to them all year-round.

I read this news item in the link below and it just made me think about how many people think they can make up for a year of taking people for granted with a card, or flowers, or some other thing on one designated Hallmark holiday. I did get a wonderful gift this year from my middle son and his fiancee...a beautiful sapphire and diamond necklace! (Thanks again guys!) And a beautiful card, and phone calls from my other two kids...BUT I talk to them every day, they visit me all the time, and they tell me they love me every single time I talk to them. And they don't treat me like this inconsiderate brat in the story below:

LeBron yells at mom to sit down after hard foul

LeBron’s mother came to his defense after a hard foul, (he was embarrassed to be mommied in front of a whole sports arena, I am sure and he has a right to be a little pissed off about it…BUT…he admitted the language he used to his own mother was pretty bad.) But his mother takes time to go to his games and cheer him on. He probably wouldn't even be playing basketball if it wasn't for the encouragement and support of his mother. He may have snapped in the heat of the moment, but even so...he needs a mouth-washing. Hope he doesn't swear at her like that all the time when he gets "irate". (And hopefully she has learned to just sit in the stands and let him fight his own battles...he's big enough!)

To the reporters he had this to say:

“I told her to sit down with some language I shouldn’t have used. Thank God today wasn’t Mother’s Day, it was yesterday,” James said after Monday night’s 88-77 victory.

So, since it wasn't Mother's Day, it's ok? …

Thoughts on Buddhism

Like any other religion, there are so many forms of Buddhism, as most of you already know. Some can get crazy just like the extremes in any religion. And I suppose it’s like any other religion where according to one’s needs and interpretation it can turn into any variety of Buddhism one wants, and more and more “flavors” of Buddhism form every day. Like the head honchos of all religions, Buddha never really clarifies what “true Buddhism” is. (Proving once again that people make the religions according to their own culture, traditions and beliefs that have been passed down generation to generation.)

Just a basic few variations are:

From Wikipedia:

* Theravāda Buddhism, using Pāli as its scriptural language, is the dominant form of Buddhism in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma. Also the Dalit Buddhist movement in India (inspired by B. R. Ambedkar) practices Theravada.

* East Asian forms of Mahayana Buddhism that use scriptures in Chinese are dominant in most of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam as well as within Chinese and Japanese communities within Indochina, Southeast Asia and the West.

* Tibetan Buddhism, using the Tibetan language, is found in Tibet, and the surrounding areas in India, Bhutan, Mongolia, Nepal, and the Russian Federation.

* Most Buddhist groups in the West are at least nominally affiliated to some eastern tradition listed above. An exception is the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, though they can be considered Mahayanist in a broad sense.

To many, particularly in the west, to become a Buddha in everyday life means to live in complete harmony with the universe, and that also means that how the forces in the universe operate is directly linked to humans. I think that is why atheists are a bit more open to Buddhism than other religions, because we already understand our origins, and we know we were not “poofed” into existence by some god’s magical wand. And we aren’t “poofed” out of existence by some invisible supernatural entity. We are just a microscopic part in the whole big operation of one huge universe. And for me, that is a big enough explanation for why I am here at all.

Creepy Jesus Luv

This is getting to be like Jesus Matrix! So many claiming to be Jesus, and so many sheeple who will believe them. And when you get rid of one, more just come out of the woodwork. Never ending supply of Jesus nutjobs.

Wayne Bent of New Mexico is yet another one claiming to be Jesus. He is going through the whole martyr act, fasting and refusing to eat, and claiming total innocence. He is accused of laying naked with underage virgins. He has also admitted to having sex with a couple of married women and another woman who is “of-age” (which he claims was instructed by God…yeah…ok).

One thing in this news video that got me is how the son of Mr. Bent says that the authorities have “stepped over the line, by forcing children to go into an environment they do not want to go into. Yet these children have been forced to remain isolated in a compound and brainwashed to believe this is where they should be and that there is nothing wrong with sleeping naked with a creepy old fart.

What will happen to all of these kids when they finally grow up?

Church leader arrested on sex charges in northeast N.M.

A posting attributed to Bent on the church’s Web site Monday said:

“Jesus had not committed any crimes, so the authorities had to invent some crimes to crucify him over. It is the same for me also. I have committed no crimes, but many crimes are being imagined and concocted in the minds of men to try and kill me again.”

Latest news video link: Strong City Cult

Boogeymen

click on cartoon to enlarge











Kids are funny. They think that if they cover up they are safe.

Pangea Day 2008

“Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film.

Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it’s easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.”

Will this effort make a difference?

History
In 2006, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize, an annual award granted at the TED Conference. She was granted $100,000, and more important, a wish to change the world. Her wish was to create a day in which the world came together through film. Pangea Day grew out of that wish. Watch Jehane Noujaim’s 2006 acceptance speech now.

What is hoped will happen after Pangea Day

People inspired by Pangea Day will have the opportunity to participate in community-building activities around the world. Through the live program, the Pangea Day web site, and self-organized local events, everyday people will be connected with extraordinary activists and organizations.

Many of the films and performances seen on Pangea Day will be made available on the Web and via mobile phone, alongside open forums for discussion and ideas for how to take social action.

A Pangea Day documentary will be created to catalyze future activities, and dozens of talented filmmakers will make strides in their careers.

Details on the Pangea Day films can be viewed here.

Thinking of all the Moms whose sons and daughters are serving in Iraq

Update on the Duggars - Woman pregnant with 18th child

Michelle Duggar caused quite a stir in the news media when she gave birth to her 17th child not that long ago. I posted about it in this story: “Quiverfull as God allows.”

Michelle Duggar continues to be “quiverfull” for the Lord”

Happy Mother’s Day: Woman pregnant with 18th child

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - It’s a happy Mother’s Day for an Arkansas woman — she’s pregnant with her 18th child.

Michelle Duggar, 41, is due on New Year’s Day, and the latest addition will join seven sisters and 10 brothers. There are two sets of twins.

“We’ve had three in January, three in December. Those two months are a busy time for us,” she said, laughing.

The Duggars’ oldest child, Josh, is 20, and the youngest, Jennifer, is nine months old.

The fast-growing family lives in Tontitown in northwest Arkansas in a 7,000-square-foot home. All the children — whose names start with the letter J — are home-schooled.

Duggar has been been pregnant for more than 11 years of her life, and the family is in the process of filming another series for Discovery Health.

The new show looks at life inside the Duggar home, where chores — or “jurisdictions” — are assigned to each child. One episode of the new show involves a “jurisdiction swap,” where the boys do chores traditionally assigned to the girls, and vice versa, Duggar said.

“The girls swapped jurisdictions, changing tires, working in the garages, mowing the grass,” she said. “The boys got to cook supper from start to finish, clean the bathrooms,” among other chores.

Duggar said she’s six weeks along and the pregnancy is going well. She and her husband, Jim Bob Duggar, said they’ll keep having children as long as God wills it.

“The success in a family is first off, a love for God, and secondly, treating each other like you want to be treated,” Jim Bob Duggar said. “Our goal is for each one of our children to be best friends, and everybody working together to serve each other makes that happen.”

The other Duggar children, in between Joshua and Jennifer, are Jana, 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 16; Jessa, 15; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 10; Jeremiah, 9; Jedidiah, 9; Jason, 7; James, 6; Justin, 5; Jackson, 3; and Johannah, 2.

They just keep plopping out babies because they believe it’s the Lawd’s will, but what about this “free will” and personal choices that Xians say they have? To me, this is highly irresponsible, and selfish. Why not adopt some of those children out there who need homes if you have so much desire to have children? Why does not their God call them to take in the needy and homeless children of our country instead of mindlessly plopping out more and more of their own?

Maybe it’s not so mindless. Maybe they are doing it for money and publicity? This comment might explain it all:

Duggar has been been pregnant for more than 11 years of her life, and the family is in the process of filming another series for Discovery Health.

I wonder how much they get paid for that?

Need For School Neutrality On Religion

There are many good reasons why religion belongs in the home and churches, and not in the academic setting. One of them being that it violates the law of separation of church and state. Another reason is when public schools get into the business of encouraging or sponsoring prayer, Bible reading and other religious activities, it is usurping a role reserved for churches and religious institutions. But most of all, public schools should stay out of the religion business because it is divisive and counterproductive to a school’s core mission of education.

Things get complicated since this is a diverse nation of many religious beliefs (and many with no religious beliefs or affiliations). When attention is given to one particular belief over another, then resentment ensues and division. How can we teach tolerance for one another's beliefs while giving special attention to some and not others? And if schools try to balance religious education and to give each religion equal time, academics gets lost. Leave religion to the churches, temples and synagogues, and keep it out of our public school systems.

Discord Among Ohio Students Shows Need For School Neutrality On Religion

Now lines are being drawn at the school. Students are attacking one another on the basis of religion.

Link to full article by Rob Boston

Video update on Ohio teacher who violated 1st Amendment

Humans helping humans

Many of our problems on this planet are human fault. Gotta have our big cars, gotta have all our electricity, our garbage piles high. We don’t think about it because we won’t be here…let the next generations worry about it. People killing other people. Greed. War. Violence. All caused by humans and only humans can change all this. No god is going to clean up the mess.

Nature is at “fault” of most natural disaster. It’s just the way things are. NO god causes these things, no god prevents them. They just happen and no help comes from any god to clean up the mess. No messes get cleaned up unless humans intervene and take action. No god waves a magic wand and makes things all better. No god cures the cancers and disease in little children and adults, no god feeds those who are starving to death in third world countries and no god prevents the exploitation of the poor and impoverished. No god keeps a president and leaders of nations from starting wars and killing innocent people who have no say in the matter. No god prevents perverts from molesting and murdering children. No god stops the gangs from murdering, stealing and killing each other. No god comes. Humans strive to sort out the messes other humans make. But no god causes it, no god cleans up the messes. . . and

only humans can save humanity.

Why do people laugh at creationists? (part 22)

Ben Stein is a complete idiot. (And he sounds as if he has a mouth full of cud when he talks.) This video is a quick rebuttal to Stein's foolish comments.

Jesus in a uterus

Now this is carrying delusion a wee bit too far. If she claimed to see anything that was not religion related people would call her a kook and newsertainment media would not give her a second of publicity.

LINK: Pregnant woman sees
image of Jesus in ultrasound
I don't really see it unless it's supposed to be Jesus with his arms out to the side. hmmm

My husband and I like to find familiar images in clouds. When I was a kid I loved to see how many images I can find in woodgrain. My pansy flowers look like they have little smiling faces to me. People see what they want to see. But seeing Jesus inside your own uterus! Eeeeghads! That is totally weird.

Top 25 Creationist Fallacies

The Extant Dodos explain the meaning of the top 25 most common logical fallacies used by creationist speakers with examples from the most popular creationist speakers.

Another annoying evangelist

The Atheist Jew sent me this for all of you to “critique”. When one crazy evangelist dies, another just fills in his place. Ravi Zacharias says no atheist can defeat him in debate and he always wins the argument. That’s because no matter who really has the better argument, he declares himself the winner despite his lack of actual evidence, just like a typical fundie.

Who is Ravi Zacharias you might ask? Jeffrey J. Lowder writes: “Ravi Zacharias, the former Hindu-turned-Christian apologist, is President of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, an organization dedicated to “presenting the credibility of Christianity as the only reasonable option by which people should live.”

Ravi Zacharias says,

“It is a mindless philosophy that assumes that one’s private beliefs have nothing to do with public office. Does it make sense to entrust those who are immoral in private with the power to determine the nation’s moral issues and, indeed, its destiny? …. The duplicitous soul of a leader can only make a nation more sophisticated in evil.”

Well, we have a President who many evangelicals believe holds higher moral standards and look where that got us.

I am sure you will have a lot to say to dispute this video. It was very difficult for me to watch the whole thing without my blood boiling. Zacharias and others like him attempt to intellectualize absurd religious beliefs and are maddening the way they pompously proclaim victory while offering no evidence except his bullshit rhetoric. Apologists are the most annoying to debate because they are so “smug” in the way they try to woo us with their “intellect”.

Man wants name legally changed to "In God We Trust"

The nutball stories abound. I found this in Yahoo Odd News category, and that is right where it belongs because it’s so bizarre. Some people go to such extremes just to maintain their beliefs. It's not enough just to believe for some people. I am embarrassed to say this fruitball is from my state of Illinois. And this doofus is allowed to drive bus loads of children around.

Man asks court to change his name to ‘In God We Trust’

ZION, Ill. - Steve Kreuscher wants a judge to allow him to legally change his name. He wants to be known as “In God We Trust.”

Kreuscher (CROY’-shir) says the new name would symbolize the help God gave him through tough times.

The 57-year-old man also told the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald he’s worried that atheists may succeed in removing the phrase “In God We Trust” from U.S. currency.

He recalls that the phrase “God Reigns” was removed from the Zion city seal in 1992 after courts deemed it unconstitutional. Zion was founded as a theocracy — by a sect that believed the Earth was flat.

The school bus driver and amateur artist in the northern Chicago suburb says he has filed a petition to change his name in Lake County Circuit Court.

Richard Dawkins interviewed by Bill Maher

Great to see people openly discussing atheism on major airwaves.

Another one for "Fundies Say the Darndest Things"

"I know that I am right and that is why I do not have to question anything."
~Lauren

Funny if it wasn't so sad.

Not to know is bad;
not to wish to know is worse
(African proverb)

American Atheists president Ellen Johnson steps down

Thanks for all of your work, Ellen, and good luck in your future endeavors.

LINK: To members and Supporters of AMERICAN ATHEISTS...

"Dear friends,

I want to take this opportunity to tell you about some of the important changes now taking place at American Atheists.

"Following over 13 years of outstanding service to American Atheists and the cause of State-Church Separation, Ellen Johnson is leaving her post as President of the organization. Her tenure in this position was marked by some of the most amazing and historic events in our movement’s history. She stepped in following the tragic disappearance of our founder, Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her family, and oversaw the relocation of the American Atheist Center and Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library and Archives (CESAALA) to New Jersey. She organized the Godless Americans March on Washington, and brought together our nation’s diverse and sometimes fractious community of Atheists, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and other nonbelievers. She testified twice before the National Commission on Civil Rights, and made hundreds of media appearances on prime time and cable news TV programs. Ellen also mobilized Atheists and other secularists throughout the nation to speak out on the vital First Amendment issues of our time. And with all of this, she managed to coordinate the hectic daily activities here at the American Atheist Center.

"In the spirit of obtaining all that she (and any other Atheist) can from one life the elegant, energetic and outspoken Ms. Johnson will now focus her passions on anew adventure. Just what that might be we do not yet know. We know, however, that it will be something splendid!

"Ellen, who will remain on the Board of Directors, is succeeded by long-time member Frank Zindler.

"There have been three presidents of American Atheists since its founding over four decades ago – Madalyn Murray O’Hair; her successor and son, Jon Garth Murray; and since 1995, Ellen Johnson. They left, as the saying goes “big shoes to fill.” We are confident that Frank is fully prepared for this new challenging role. He has a distinguished academic career as a former biology professor, linguist and bible-era historian. He has authored numerous books and articles dealing with a wide range of subjects, everything from the alleged historicity of Jesus to the on-going controversy over teaching creationism in our public schools. His tenure as an activist with American Atheists goes back over 30 years. Frank is a nationally-recognized speaker and debater, and has served as an eloquent spokesperson for our organization.

"Frank Zindler will serve as President Pro Temp until a suitable replacement for this office is found. The day-to-day operations at the American Atheist Center will continue – and so will our activism!

"Other Officers and Directors will be staying on as well. Dave Silverman, who has done an outstanding job as our Communications Director, will continue to be the “public face” of American Atheists, working closely with Frank to make sure that our message gets out to the media and others who shape public opinion. Board member Edwin Kagin will remain in his important post as National Legal Director, The American Atheist magazine and all of the other benefits of membership will continue. And so will our efforts to represent you in the important fight for state-church separation, Reason and the civil rights of Atheists.

"We’re hitting the ground running, folks! The baton is passed – and we’ll continue our all-important work.

Thanking you in advance for your support!

The Board of Directors, AMERICAN ATHEISTS"

Willfully ignorant

Recently, I had a visit by a 17-year-old creationist high-school junior (she goes to a fundie school, of course and plans to go to fundie college) who came by my blog to tell me that I was “ridiculous” in my critique about the IDiotic film, Expelled. After 150 comments, and several educated atheists trying to convince Lauren to round up some real books on evolution, pointed her to some excellent evolution resources, and after we had asked Lauren some very direct questions that she was not able to answer, Lauren said she was far too busy to “waste time” responding to anything we asked her. (Even though she wasn’t too busy to keep coming back to tell us she loves her god and to tell us we will find out for ourselves one day and it will be too late, yadda, yadda, yadda.) The reality is, Lauren has decided to remain willfully ignorant. This is quite sad, and it happens to millions of fundie kids.

Lauren feels that the Expelled film is brilliant. (Even saw it a second time with her whole fundie school and CLAPPED at the end of it...aye carumba!) Lauren believes in Intelligent Design. She wants it taught side by side (or maybe in place of) with evolution. So, since Lauren and other IDers want creationism taught side by side with science, then I pointed out that it should be held to the same standards as science. I asked Lauren repeatedly these following questions that Jason poses:

What are ID’s scientific predictions?

What are its unifying principles?

What experiments have been done to support your ID theory? WITHOUT THE MYTHOLOGY BOOK.

I must have asked her a dozen times at my blog, and at her’s. No answer, of course.

I have asked these questions of several IDers in the past several days, and they evade the question, ignore it or just flat out get frustrated and pull out the “you’re persecuting me” card.

Try it yourself. In debates with fundies, ask them these three simple questions and see them get all pissy, frustrated, and even outright angry. They all end up leaving, choosing to remain willfully ignorant.

If people have to have a sky daddy belief, at least let it be Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, etc. where people actually accept and understand real science and evolution.