Dark Matter, USA

Ramsnackle Pissthong Jr. will Save us all

2010-02-26T05:36:00.000-08:00

His birth went largely unnoticed in the icy backroads of Cairo, OH during the winter of 2010. Unnoticed but for the policeman, the factory worker, and the drinker who were all coming home from their night of heavy "merriment".

When they saw the gas leak induced hallucinations from the refinery about 5 miles south, they knew they were about to meet the newly born King of the Caucasions.

Ramsnackle Pissthong Jr. was named for the non-biological father, think creepy older uncle-type boyfriend of Nancy Hamslapper. Nancy, self-proclaimed and un-verified virgin gave birth to little 7lb 8oz Ramsnackle Jr., or Ram Jr. for short.

Many miracles would come from young Ram Jr. as he grows, including walking on and only partially falling through frozen water, and turning MGD into PBR.

End Chapter L Olphlam 6: Book of Roger

Kirk Cameron Saves College Students from Science!

2009-11-24T18:10:00.000-08:00

I also would like to re-write a book, say the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy by Isaac Newton, and fill it full of my personal agenda... let's say, ohhhh... polygamy. So I think every man should be able to marry multiple wives to his liking (not the other way around, that is no fun). So somehow I modify this book to back my point of view, and I find a large and well-funded organization to invest in my book. We'll say that is the Modern Day Church of Latter Post-Modern Evangelical Southern Scientologists. However, they are going through a cover organization called The Society for the Advancement of Smartness.

Ah hell, you get the point. An organization with a very hidden agenda has decided to try and lure college students away from science. This is being done for the sole purpose of debunking a very important theory (evolution, the backbone of modern biology) so as not to contradict the story about magical ribs and devil snakes. Thankfully, college students are snarky and don't like being deceived. By the way, two of Darwin's books are numbers 1 and 2 in Discover's list of the 25 most important science books of all time. I used number 3 for my little joke. Now point and laugh at this.

See Kirk Cameron schooled by a teenager here!!!

2009-11-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

Well this about sums that up.

Veterans Day

2009-11-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

Today being Veteran's Day, let us think about the men and women who serve. Lets also think of what may have led some of them to make this commitment to their country. Some of them may be:

Sense of Duty
Patriotism
Personal Values
Strong beliefs
Glory
Valor

Some others less spoken of:
Lack of other options
Security
Family
Fear
Uncertainty
Psychotic Rage

Personally I knew quite a few who fell more in to the last few bullets more than the first ones. The redemptive point to make is that those who may not have had a morally clean and noble reason to join often found that reason during their service. I knew many good people who joined so they could legally kill another man or get to blow up stuff, only to find a sense of meaning and purpose over time. I also knew a few who found that they really only wanted to "blow up stuff"... and so on.

One thing binds all who ever have served or ever will serve, and that is they made the commitment. That alone is admirable. The trick is not to lose yourself, and not to go too far into the water. Some go deep, and some never come back.

And now for those who were cut down in their prime recently, those who were ready to go risk their lives only to lose them by the hand of a weak and troubled man. For those people we need to remember what ideological extremism does and what it means. What the soldiers who were there are most shocked by, more than anything, is that a Major... a commissioned officer of the United States Army, a man who when entering a room would be greeted by every servicemen in the room saluting... would do something so horrible, and unfair, and wrong on every front.

Regardless of what religion or beliefs or values one has, one must realize the basic value of humanity and life. One cannot allow personal disgust, rage, and resentment to be justified by ones beliefs. This is fundamentalist extremism, and this leads to devaluing human life of those who do not agree with you.

It is okay to have beliefs, just don't believe in them too much.

Thank you to all those who serve, regardless of your reason.

Life and Death... Mom and Brother

2009-05-10T17:56:00.000-07:00

My mom is dying. She has been through living hell for some time now, and there is really no doubt at this point that she is physically and mentally prepared for death.

So that's what all of this is really about. What is all of this conversation of religion vs. reason about if it is not about the ultimate truth of Life and Death. It is the inevitability and uncertainty we all either learn to live with or blissfully ignore. Some of us accept things for a finality, a completion and return to the earth, a peace and an eternal rest. Some of us, equal in all levels of intelligence and mental capacity, find comfort in expectations of an afterlife. A soul escaping the boundaries of the body and transcending into the ether. A magical and perfect existence to reward us for the virtues of our physical life.

Is that not what religion gives us? It is the same solution, more or less, that is offered by the mediums and psychics of the world. An unprovable and whimsical solution to life's most asked questions. I have very close and intelligent friends who believe there may be ghosts that haunt troubled or traumatized physical locations. The wronged and dead who can't leave the horrible place that left them to rot. Not to be facetious, but would you spend your afterlife tormenting and playing mild tricks for eternity in some location that you found to be obviously an unhappy and unrewarding place? Not me, I'll spend some time catching up on old movies and reading books.... ok hanging out at the gym at the woman's locker room.

Whatever the case, we find reasons for life and explanations of death. It is not easy, and we often turn to the safe superstitions of our forefathers.

My family and I had a very difficult conversation today, with my mom home for a few hours from the nursing home, on Mother's Day. We discussed her death, with my son and daughter present, my wife and mother and law, and my father and brother.

My brother is a devout born again evangelical. He found this about himself after a very hard run of making some mistakes due to influences of alcohol and drugs. He found comfort and safety in this, he found good friends and a second family in his Christian metal band and his church. I do not judge him for this, however I am quite certain that he would be offended if he knew my true beliefs.

I have longed for a day when he and I could have an intelligent discussion about the different beliefs we carry (rather his presence of one and my lack of one). That has not happened, so I choose to remain polite and courteous to his mini sermons and attempts to spread the "word". It was all the more difficult to hear this during a talk of my mother's death today. There were certain points where I felt good taste had been abandoned in an effort to convey the "power of prayer" and how spiritually strong he and his friends had become. It was almost as if I was listening to someone tell me how powerful they had become in the Force and the proof that they could influence minds and matter with their power.

The point is, I chose to respect his beliefs even as he chose to use the discussion of our mom's death. I understand why he did this, he was very choked up and even apologetic that he didn't know enough scripture that he could quote for us. He truly felt he was doing a service for us all, and my wife and I were exchanging furrowed glances. This was not easy for us to sit through, and the best I could do was tell him his friends' support was very appreciated (which is true), and that we all want the best for mom and her comfort.

My wife and I talked about this on the ride home, and she even asked why I did not explain to him that we found that situation inappropriate and awkward to hear about his beliefs. I guess the reason is that I did not want to jump in the fray, and I know that my beliefs offend him while his beliefs merely annoy me.

Today was a powerful mother's day and a good day overall. We all ultimately had a good time and there was a hilarious incident with some hot sauce (that shit was HOT... Mad Dog's Insanity Sauce I believe... do NOT play with that shit. If there is a hell, its bottled up and sold as Mad Dog's Insanity Sauce).

I love my brother, and I love my mother. My mother wants he and I to do her eulogy, I just want to go second so I can really keep it about mom and not a 2000 year old set of superstitious beliefs. Sorry, but it is very concerning.

Post- One Each

2009-02-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

So now I am posting just to post. This is a partially true statement. I have been so swamped with the new job and the responsibility of running a small business that is in a transformation phase. That said, I have had time to play.

So I have been rethinking my message and think maybe this blog is limiting me in some regards. There are the good blogs out there for atheism, then there are the "nice tries". I will gladly take the "nice try" award, better than "what the fuck was that?".

I will say that with the new administration in office I do feel some sense of possibility and a positive feeling of the future. I mean Obama actually gave a shout out to "non believers", so well done. Anyway, that doesn't mean I should stand in front of the "Mission Accomplished" banner for the fight of reason vs. superstition. Not even close.

In summary, I am actually going to keep half-assing this blog and writing notes to myself on it.... as well as starting a new blog with a new scope. I will link to this in my profile at some point. There's work to be done.

My upcoming epiphony

2008-10-21T19:02:00.001-07:00

I'm all about helping out the indie films... so I am going to share with you a movie I expect will give me a revelation. A movie that will make me finally realize the error of my ways, and how damned stupid I have been my whole life. I need a movie to really preach to me and fire me up full of righteousness and piety. I think this will do it:

Oh, and read the article that led me there here:

Kinda Busy.... Started New Job

2008-08-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Admittedly a bit off topic, but noteworthy none the less. I not only left the best job I ever had, I joined a tiny young company that was in the midst of starting a giant legal throw down with a jaded partner. I really should not say much even with my pseudo anonymity, so I won't. It has just been very busy and crazy taking on this new role with dreams of turning this small feisty company into a stable and lucrative enterprise.

I always hope to someday take my skills into a non-profit community based venture that will be my contribution to society. I do not think all is lost, but I know much help is needed. I want my success to be a model for other godless fiends such as myself. I want to support those willing to not only voice dissent over ancient superstition, but to take some kind of positive stand to show that godlessness does not equal evil. Sure, its tempting to be a Malcom X, but I'm trying to be a Martin Luther King, Jr. here. Trying.

Glad to get something written anyway. Peace.

Numerology!

2008-08-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

Its bullshit! But this is fun!

http://homokaasu.org/gematriculator/rate.gas

State Sponsored Intolerance

2008-07-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

I know there is nothing shocking about an Islamic state funding religious beliefs, but there is this little piece of news that is worth reacting to. The Saudi government funds and distributes school textbooks to all of Saudi Arabia, as well as much of the rest of the Islamic world. In these schoolbooks are lessons on how to love god (the Islamic one that is), and how to hate everyone else who doesn't love god (any other god, particularly Christians and Jews). I think it is safe to say they do not care much for non-believers either.

Well, the good news is that they cleaned up the newest version from a few years ago. The old one was a little more specific with who you should hate, and furthermore who you should kill (again, the pesky Christians and Jews, who have that eerily similar set of superstitions and crazy beliefs). Good stuff. I would like to think that even here in "God's America" there would be major outrage at our children's textbooks explaining how we are allowed to kill those who work on the sabbath, or others who worship competing gods.

Read the article here.

Great Responses from the Community

2008-07-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

I got this link from Atheist Revolution. A columnist in Georgia decided to try and subtly jab at the atheist community through his Saturday column. I'm not so much posting about the article itself, which is really just poorly written and uninformed garbage. What I'm actually impressed by is the stream of outstanding outcry that his article received.
I will credit the attention the article got to the blogger community, as I can't believe that many people actually would read this guy. Of course, I'm sure there are a lot of local columnists all over this great land that are not exactly brilliant journalists. No surprise that the article is weak... just that he is so easily and handily ripped to shreds in the comments the article gets. Go for the ignorance, stay for the slaughter.

http://www.times-herald.com/opinion/op-ed/Believe-it-or-not--507794

Louisiana Improves Science

2008-07-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

I don't mean to pick on Louisiana in general, that has been done well enough here.
It is disgusting that another victory has been won by those who are obviously trying to push religion into schools. And let me be clear... pushing religion into public schools is a violation of the constitution, an attack on freedom from religious persecution, and an outright assault on REASON. This is inexcusable, disturbing, and wicked on multiple fronts.

I can't pull punches about this kind of thing. When Gov. Bobby Jindal signs a bill into law that allows bullshit to be fed to open minded, easily influenced kids, I have to protest. I read about this on a few of the other atheist blogs, and this is exactly the kind of thing I hope to prevent. I am not going to report on what happened, only bitch about it. Click on this or this to read good write ups.

The real kicker, the guy supposedly has an honors degree in biology. Judas!

This bill is clearly meant to back door religious doctrine into "controversial" topics, that are only controversial due to their challenging of the old scrap book of know-it-all uneducated desert primitives. At least Scientology comes from a noteworthy sci-fi hack who made some money.... the bible comes from poor nomadic ignorants, who due to the era and environment that they happen to be born in to HAD NO EXPOSURE TO SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE, or even what we know by the time we start high school. And christians make fun of scientologists wacky beliefs... its like watching 5th graders tell 4th graders how immature they are.

Unfortunate Side Effect

2008-06-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

I say "gosh" quite a bit now. This is mainly due to my effort to remove all references to a Christian belief from my vocabulary. The thing is, as I'm sure my fellow non-believers can tell you, you do not realize how much "The Lord" and "God" and "Jesus" and "Holy" are all part of our regular collective vocabulary. Even non-religious quasi-theists are regular mentioners of holy things, or so I've noticed.
So the first to go was "bless you". That's a no brainer, but for years I felt some kind of obligation to say that out of kindness. Now, after not saying it for a couple of years, I still feel like a dick when someone (mainly a chick) sneezes and I say nothing. I would like to submit alternatives to "bless you" and "gesundheit" (which is just silly sounding, no offense to Deutsch land), such as "shut up" or "cover your mouth".
So now I'm saying "gosh". Not "oh my god" or "god!" or "good god", etc. I will hold on to "god dammit!". That one is just too powerful, and it is kind of fun. Think if you really had the power to command an omnipotent super-being to damn anything at your whim. "God, go DAMN that. Now". "YES MASTER".... It would be like walking around with a Hulk you could command to go smash things (yes, I'm excited to go see the movie and it's leaking out in my writing... sad).
So, there are my harmless and cute observations about not uttering references to my former invisible buddy in the sky. Maybe if I stop bothering him by uttering his name, he will find time to stop Chinese earthquakes, tornadoes in the mid-west, floods, genocide... you get the point. The Christian god is on the rampage, and we all going to hell on his watch.

Delete your Mindset! Move out of your Stronghold!

2008-05-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Wow. What a stinking load of horse shit. As I sit in my hotel room, I can't help but watch this Joel Osteen douchebag unload his snake oil for the believers. It is truly amazing how he can continously speak and not say anything. He barely breathes, as he draws out his southern lispy soft-spoken gibberish.

Shift into a new season through the Lord.
Break the stronghold.
I am a vicTOR and not a vicTUM
Delete that mindset!

So apparently, ignorant optimism and mindless belief in the supernatural will SOLVE ALL OF YOUR PROBLEMS!

I know, this is too easy, but I can not help it. As an athiest, I find myself listening to more of these idiots than I EVER tolerated in my half-ass theism.

"Why can't I write this BOOK that GOD PUT IN ME"!!! He actually said that!

EVERYONE is supposed to be a fucking superstar. No one is SUPPOSED to be mediocre. Its your weak faith to blame for your shortcomings. He is all about shortcomings. Feed off of their self loathing... there is no short supply of that.

Attention All Fighting American Soldiers: Stop Looking at Dirty Pictures.

2008-05-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Those sick bastards have really gone too far this time. I am officially outraged. I am logging in on a business trip and going strong after a 15 hour day of travel and work. Finally able to drink a beer and catch up on email, then I read about the Army crackdown on smut magazines. Of course, the Republicans have found something new to ruin... and to take away from what tiny little bit of escape these boys (yes, I am focusing on the male soldier here) have.

Look, I was a soldier, and I don't need to get into the details. Those magazines are not a LIFE saver per se, but they certainly help with morale and to get through those horribly lonely days and nights. Sure, midevel knights and vikings didn't have porn mags, but they did a few more damaging things than your standard issue Army soldier. For example, pillaging has been pretty much eliminated (pretty much).

The real problem is that the Republicans have demonized another morality issue, and they are going after our troops. The chanters of "SUPPORT THE TROOPS" who do more to put them ill-equiped into the receiving end of IED shrapnel, and more to take them away from their families by endlessly extending their tours, those very same hypocrits are taking away their shiny, mindless spank-magazines.

It is noteworthy that publications like Hustler and Penthouse are fiercely critical of the wars and the right-wing agenda. I don't think that is a big secret, but it has to make you wonder. Do they really actually think that porn magazines lead to aggressive acts towards women? Just like how TV and video games INVENTED violence. They are obviously to blame for the holocaust and the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition.... OOPS. I came full circle, put the blame back on where it belongs... sick extreme ideology birthed in the womb of religious dogma and impossible to interpret tennents of faith.

Am I Evil?

2008-05-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

There is no doubt that I am a person who is able to embrace my darker side. That is something I am comfortable with. I like to drink, have wild sex, party, etc... that constitutes about 2% of my total time on this earth. I think about doing those things another 30% of the time, or so. I have regularly posted that I feel I am also a great father, loving and loyal husband, and well respected professional. So what is the deal? Am I good or bad?

So the point is that I'm neither. There are few absolutes in life, especially when it comes to the complexity and contradictions of human behavior.

I happily revel in my ill behavior. At my job I am regularly joking about how reckless I was at a party, or how I crashed a wedding, got thrown out of a bar by my own friend, or how I.... you get the point. I also am quietly open about my lack of belief, as many of my coworkers are quietly and respectfully open about their theism. We all get along, work well together, and like each other for the most part.

So here is the fun part, the "oh shit!" moment, the "Luke, I am your father" part. My brother is a born again evangelical Christian, and an active member of his church. He is mentoring troubled kids while playing bass for a Christian metal band. They are pretty good.

My brother has had his share of tough luck, bad decisions, addictions, and general debauchery. He is really a good person with good intentions. However, he does not do well with drinking or any type of controlled substance... 2 things he has done quite a bit of. He came out of his latest incarceration as changed as I have ever seen him. He had a purpose and conviction to make a difference, get his act together, and stay clean.

I'm proud of my brother. I respect his decision. Do I believe in the same fantasy? No. Do I think he is out there doing good things? Yes. Am I doing as much as he is. No. I donate to charity. The rest of my wife and my paychecks go to living our slightly better than average lifestyle. Do I plan to change this... That doesn't matter. This blog is my difference, or at least a start. And this post, is just the beginning of that conversation.

Monique Davis: Unleashing Christian Hate!

2008-04-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

The RichardDawkins.net website is asking Chicago area voters to protest this representative to the Illinois General Assembly, after her hilariously uncensored and hateful shouting at an atheist activist named Rob Sherman.

I had to listen to this little clip from the website, and I have to say I am impressed. This just reeks of someone who is so convinced of their righteousness and piousness, that they are able to dehumanize someone who does not believe as they do. The hostility that comes from this elected official is disturbing, especially with her linking of atheism to some desire to wish children harm!

Now, I could be taking this out of context... which is done enough on both sides of this argument. Regardless, the hostility felt here is genuine, and Mr. Sherman remains composed and quiet while this woman runs all over him with accusations of wanting to "destroy all this state was built on", or some such insanity.

This is the article: http://richarddawkins.net/article,2441,Get-out-of-here-atheists,PZ-Myers-Pharyngula

Read and bleed for yourself.

super-Dad businessman warrior poet renaissance ninja bad-ass.

2008-03-28T21:02:00.001-07:00

So this Mary.com site sponsors a personality test that is supposed to tell you that you may believe in god, EVEN if you DO NOT, because of your GENETICS! Its religion piggybacking on the confusion brought on to the masses by science... it is bullshit in one of its higher forms.

This is worse than white teens rapping and dressing like gangsters. This is blue trying to be red. This is disgusting. And they didn't even bother to acknowledge (clearly) that they ripped off Myers-Briggs blatantly for religious purposes.

My genetics make me believe in god, but my brain makes me rational. Maybe I outgrew it.

Yes, I fell for clicking on one of those links that make it into atheist sites google ads.

Yes, I am dumber now for suffering that shit. It was pure masochistic curiosity that made me sit through that 20 minute pile of shit.

I am confident.
I feel for others pain.
I love my kids.
I don't hate.
I am rational.
I love art and poetry.
I love science and reason.
I enjoy others.
I lead.
I am fair.
I am social.
I take initiative.
I follow through.
I am sympathetic to the human condition.
I am successful.
I am happy.
I love life MORE than someone waiting for the BIG PAYOFF
I am KING SHIT OF FUCK MOUNTAIN, why would you want to fuck with me?? (Bob Odenkirk)

Assholes.

Its late, I'm tired. I am worn out from being super-Dad businessman warrior poet renaissance ninja bad-ass.

Raising Secular Children: Part 2

2008-03-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

My daughter is just over 2 years old now. She is picture perfect, as doll-baby as a little girl can look with big brown eyes, a tiny chin and mouth, and the Japanese cartoon girl look that her mother has given her. She is very talkative at this age, and beginning to understand counting, spatial relationships, colors, the alphabet, you name it. Today, she sneezed and in the most adorable little high-pitched mimicking of adult language, she said "bess-yoo".

I can not help but laugh, she has done this a few times now. I of course realize that she does not know the meaning of this, but it is a great example of how our society promotes this behavior and begins the programming early on. You see, she no doubt got this from our daycare provider.

We have only been with this woman for about 4 months, but in this time our daughter has made leaps and bounds in language skills and word meanings. Her knowing that sneezing requires a "bless you" is new, she doesn't get it from her family. The provider is pretty good, and a necessary evil for my wife and I to live in our beautiful home and enjoy a higher quality of life. So yeah, we're greedy, and my wife is not a "housewife" at heart... she wants to work to a large extent.

So we have daycare, and we are at risk of Christian indoctrination of our daughter. I am not afraid. I chose to allow my son to make his own decisions, trying my best not to let my beliefs be obvious. I allowed him to challenge religions (why do people kill each other over religious beliefs? which leads to "who's right?). I refused to tell him what I believe outright, but I will say that you should consider all the options and take away the good concepts from all of them (although a disproportionate amount of the good comes from eastern philosophy religions, not the partisan sectarian contradictions of sky-god religions). My son told me almost voluntarily a while back that he doesn't believe "any of it". My twelve year old does not think he is going to heaven when he dies, and he is OK with that... he does believe in ghosts still. That is much more believable than gods, devils, arcs, prophecies in his eyes. I don't take that away from him, some of the most fun I had as a kid involved what I thought to be supernatural occurrences.

Hell, he is still young, and may embrace Jesus or Muhammad when he is 14, then worship the devil when he is 18 (why not? the devil is way less evil than sadistic bastard Yahweh, and maybe he can turn it into a sweet death metal career). Meanwhile, I will giggle and wait when I hear my daughter say "bess yoo" in her adorable little perfect girlish voice.

Children and work are my immortality. Parents are gods in the eyes of children, there is no more real god than that.

Expelled again...

2008-03-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

Ben Stein and the ID goofballs are on the move. The release date for "Expelled", the pro-creationist movie portraying a persecution of ID supporting scientists, and the ID community in general. Now, the funnier part... biologist PZ Myers, who is interviewed in the movie and thanked for his involvement, was asked to leave before the film began by the movie's producers. Embrace the irony... a movie called Expelled about rejecting non-conforming belief booted a noted biologist who WAS IN THE MOVIE from the movie, which thanks him for his time. Apparently, the event was open invitation and Myers was accused of gate crashing.

Anyway, the story is best told by Richard Dawkins who was with Myers at the screening, and was not removed, which is in itself very strange. If I were on the other side of this argument, I would probably be quite afraid of Dawkins being there over about anybody, but I digress. Click here or here for either side, and here for a link to the video.

As for everything else in life, I have been quite busy working the equivalent of two jobs over the past month or so. I am happy to say that things are going very well, and may end up resulting in the ability to expand my time and resources towards this cause. I really can not imagine anything better in life rather than contributing towards a brighter future for humanity. This is what raising children is all about to me, and it is what education and open-mindedness are all about to me.

Good resource

2008-02-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

I took a whole 10 minutes to find this historical essay of the bible. Very interesting and easy to read. This is an appetite-wetter for my dive into all the major religious books (Bible, Koran, Dianetics, the Book of Mormon, etc).

http://www.bidstrup.com/bible.htm

Imagine

2008-02-12T19:12:00.000-08:00

There are the few things that bring a smile to my face, the little things. The Columbus Dispatch ran an article in the obligatory "Faith and Values" section, titled "Billboard Carries Challenges by Atheists".

This is compliments of the folks at Freedom From Religion, and well worth a mention in my prestigious diary.

God for President

2008-02-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

I don't think anyone with a brain and some knowledge of matters political saw this coming. Romney dropped out, McCain is pretty much the Republican front runner, Huckabee is doing what he does best.... win over rural and religious voters, and Clinton and Obama are in a dead heat. Where do we go from here? It almost does not matter at this point, and I love it.

Bush and his administration has done about as much damage as one man can do to this country, and other countries. The Republican juggernaut is broken, split, and confused. Their closest front runner is their biggest renegade. He's the man that they allowed Bush to beat in 2000 because of his rogue behavior. The religious right is backing Huckabee, but Christian conservatism is not pulling in the financial conservatives and moderates that the Republicans were able to get the last two elections.

And the Democrats.... who knows. Which way will we make history? It has already been made. The real question now is who is most qualified.... just kidding!! The real question is who is most electable. Who can beat McCain / Huckabee.... or whoever. Probably not Hillary.

These are interesting times we live in, whether or not you give a flying fuck about who will be the next leader of the free world, and whether we will see the first black or female president. Just let me see the first rational and accomplished president in my life time. I can honestly look a the span of my life and say that it was between Reagan and Clinton, and that is nothing to brag to grandkids about....

Jesus Christ!

2008-02-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

Due to an unforeseen resurgence in my social life, I have not been able to post in some time. Well, that on top of the normal not having time to post. I have been going back and forth since I started this thing, and I just can not seem to settle on what I want my approach to be.

Funny?
Mean?
Sarcastic?
Super pissed?
Serious?

I need to get my head together. My son pretty much had decided he does not believe in God. That would be worth talking about. I would like to expand on how I am pretty sure he came to that independently. I am sure he has picked up on my feelings, I can't independently observe without influencing the results.

Oh, and I have to thank fine people at the Jesus 1st website (actually promoting Jesus) for that crazy fucking picture on my profile.

Militant Atheism

2008-01-10T19:46:00.001-08:00

I'm all about promoting like-minded atheist sites, as non-like minded as we tend to be. This site is pretty anonymous, but has good content from what I've seen thus far. Check out Militant Atheism.

I will say, I'm a sucker for good in your face quotes... and these are some of the best I've seen.

Fry in Hell!

2008-01-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

Hell to me is living my only mortal life faking a belief in the unbelievable. Then, if the Christians are right, I will fry in hell for eternity for not believing. This is all despite my productive role in society, parenting skills, general humanitarianism, and friendly persona. All I am asked to do, is believe that a bearded homeless guy in sandals cured diseases with magic, and would walk on water to show off. If that is true, then Yahweh/Abraham/Allah/God is a real asshole.

So this is what I wrote. All that is going on in the world, and this is what I have to offer. Hah!

Huckabee took Iowa! Save me Jebus!

2008-01-03T19:34:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to start on this one. I can't wait to see what Christopher Hitchens has to say about this after his last rant about the caucuses. The whole system is so screwed up, it elevated that bible believing hick into front runner of the Republican party. This makes me sick.

I was trying to explain to my wife how much of a fundamentalist he was, which led me to google his thoughts on evolution. I found the following:

After the initial shock wore off and my wife went into all the usual intelligent reactions to an answer like that (how can he defy the foundation of all known science and biology for a hundred years... all for an old book???), I began to read the comments for the reactions.

ALL POSITIVE. Oh yeah, the United States has an evangelical born-again majority. See these results (found on Adventures in Frickentardistan), just one of many Gallup Polls that have indicated that most of our country is not only extremely Christian, but likely not educated in the bible or even literate. That's okay, Muhammad wasn't literate, but it did not stop him from translating the pure word of Allah! You go, eventual spiritual leader of millions!!

I guess I have always been able to tolerate the fact that a large number of the human population is basically stupid. This is not hard to believe... everything in nature follows the bell curve, including human intelligence. Half of are dumber than the other half. Now consider that the dumb half have been tapped into by the engineers of the evangelical movements. That is almost a freebie. There is more susceptibility for easy to understand and touchy-feely ideas. They want to believe with their heart, and not understand and accept that they may have evolved from slightly simpler, yet impressive and beautiful creatures in their own right. It is hard for a very informed person to truly understand the scope and magnitude of the theory of evolution, let alone the uninformed, under educated, and easily confused.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to stop there. Plenty of the average intelligent people (which is most of us) and very intelligent are afraid to give up the beliefs of their parents. Afraid to give up heaven, immortality, magic, devils, demons, ghosts, a history resembling the Flintstones, or what have you.

I call this one "Huckabee's Ancestor Gets Home from Work". Then Fred begot Elmer, Elmer Begot Steve, Steve Begot Joe, who forgot to Beget at first, then finally got around to Begetting and Begot Spray. Spray begot Susan, who was drown for being female... Oh shit!

I used to enjoy that I did not seem to think like many people. I currently enjoy that the people who claim atheism, agnosticism, skeptics, free-thinkers, and even Brights are a select bunch. No one comes and recruits us, but we come here on our own. We are the wise men and women seeking the light of sanity and progressive thinking. We gave up seeking the baby king of the Jews who would some day bodily return from Heaven and save whoever had the sentience and exposure to specifically believe that he would do just that. I know Christians have made efforts to explain how my innocent and pure 23 month old daughter won't go to hell with me, just because she doesn't have the mental capacity to "believe" in what they tell her to believe in.

If Jesus would have showed up in 1989, I would have been packing my bags for a one way ticket to silver clouds, golden harps, and cherubs floating about. Maybe, I was still pretty skeptical, but it was probably the most I ever honestly did believe in a personal god. A few years before that, I also thought a man with a white beard gave me a shitload of expensive and unnecessary toys because I was a good kid. Not because I was fortunate enough to be adopted by hard working middle class parents who wanted to give me as much as they could afford.

I am much more impressed that my parents worked so hard to provide what they could, rather than a magical system of material karma rewarding me with plastic toys and mindless video games. I am also more impressed by the mysteries of the cosmos and the sub-atomic realm than by a confusing book of who begot whom, which is the victim of 2000 years of reinterpretation for personal and political gain, poor translation between languages, and numerous sects of varying interpretation.

Maybe, just maybe... Huckabee will take the Republican nomination and we will see an uprising and uniting of the secular and progressive. Or, we will dive 4 more years into de-evolution. I just built a house in Ohio, but I'll seriously consider moving to Canada, Australia, somewhere to get away from that.

Moved In. Back at it. Happy New Year! Ron Paul Doesn't Believe in Evolution!

2008-01-01T18:51:00.000-08:00

So yeah, I'm finally fucking moved in. 2 grueling and miserable weeks. My hands are split and chapped from the overdose of physical labor. It has been a few years since I've done much more than walk up the stairs to my office. I'm getting soft.

Not to dwell on that terrible subject, it is over and I am finally settling back in to the groove. I did my usual rounds to my frequent sites (like us bloggers like to do apparently, preach to the choir). Also as usual, it didn't take long to find inspiration for a post.

A good lifelong friend of mine has recently put a lot of support into Ron Paul, in philosophical terms for now as far as I know. I have been trying to pay more attention to him because I do think his points about our government spending are spot on. He and Kucinich are just snipers when it comes to calling out the "mainstream" candidates, and I love it.

However, Paul just lost major points in the science department. We need a lot of things in the new president. We need fiscal responsibility, a sensible foreign policy that is not driven by corporate interests only, and we need someone with a respect and knowledge of science. When Ron Paul declares his belief that "evolution is just a theory", he is speaking in Christian fundamentalese... which takes its usual ignorant and defiant tone towards science.

From there, it's not much of a leap to assume that he questions the validity of global warming. This of course carries heavy and serious consequences that we can not continue to ignore. I will have to do more digging into this, as I need to be more informed. Not to be a one issue guy, but I can not support another science idiot. Thanks to vjack and mojoey for spreading the news on this.

Moving coming up...

2007-12-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

For the two or three people who may actually notice, I will be between ISPs for a few days due to a home move. I am picking up the family and relocating us about 45 miles down the road, closer to the cultural pulse of Ohio (yes, there is one).

The whole ordeal is a story in itself, and something I wrote about before I started this blog. It was my first attempt at having a work enter the public domain. Regardless, time is short so I must wrap up before Time Warner rings my doorbell and takes my modem.

Hopefully I will be back to pissing away my time soon.

Great article in The Economist

2007-12-11T18:42:00.000-08:00

Check out this article. It makes a good argument for choosing our battles, and also shows what kind of strength we could have if we were able to unify in our disassociation from religion and superstition.

Enjoy the fight...

2007-12-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

As I was posting on vjack's site a few minutes ago, I realized something about what made me determine myself to be an atheist and what makes it all so fun to me. It is the fight... the thrill of the hunt.

In high school, I realized how much I did not think like everyone else. Some of it was upbringing, but I know a lot of it was genetics. Regardless of why, I enjoyed being witty, smart, funny, and weird. The first time I was caught drawing symbols of heavy metal bands on my Trapper Keeper by some female friends, their response was priceless. They were honestly concerned that I may have problems and that I may worship the devil. Needless to say, I let them run with that. It was too good to be true, they actually felt sorry for me!

Without going on and on, it basically took off from there. I would regularly engage people in conversation playing only devil's advocate, while taking comfort in my own spin on Christian belief. Over time, I read more and more about the foundations of religion and ancient religions. Then came my infatuation with the cosmos and quantum physics (among other basic space and sub-atomic physics).

That finally did it. God flew out the window quicker than the Tooth Fairy after giving a kid a nickel for a molar. Luckily for me, some of my friends came to this conclusion around the same time as I did. Our new past time was out loud public blasphemy. At first it was for shock value, to see how far we could push it. Then it was uncontrollable, like we could not help blurting out exactly what we had to say. Finally, it was irrelevant. It barely ever got a reaction any more. Were people afraid of saying anything? We certainly gave them every reason to.

Now, I hold my opinions like a sword inside of a cane. I don't stick out, but I instill doubt. I am a voice of skepticism and reason, playing devil's advocate and not believing in him. This is what makes it all fun. The game is afoot...

Finally, my title has a relevant post.

2007-12-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

Discovery magazine had an interesting edition that I read, in it's entirety on my flight from DFW to CMH. One of which was the 6 most important experiments of the year.

Xenon is a project being done by Rice University to actually discover dark matter.

As the article says far more eloquently than I could, this could prove just one more thing about the beautiful insignificance of humanity in the scheme of the cosmos... we are not even made of the stuff that composes most of the universe.

Really, that should tell us even more how improbable and incredible life as we know it is. Truly, that is much more inspirational than a giant wizard in the clouds controlling our destiny. I serve no master. I just spin on a tiny rock on the outside of a giant pinwheel of galactic dust, hurling through space at thousands of miles per second. Cool.

FSM in the news

2007-11-27T19:17:00.000-08:00

Nice write up about the FSM movement....

Ohio: No Strippers Allowed!

2007-11-20T19:21:00.000-08:00

This is one that has been on my back burner for some time. For those of us who choose to willingly live in Ohio, despite its right-leaning ways and infirmed job market, we also recently were introduced to a law allowing concealed weapons, and now the new law banning lap dances. Yes, LAP DANCES. Not only that, but if you can't be within 6 feet of a dancer or touch them in any way. This could land both of you in jail.

Be assured, my strip club visiting days are pretty much over. I'm happily married with kids, so I am lucky to go to an R rated movie. Regardless, once again we are policing fucking morality and personal pleasure. Strip clubs are FUN. So is drinking beer, watching sports, getting laid, smoking a cigarette, hitting a bong, and punching random people in the face.

Okay, you get the picture. Drinking beer is super risky, but legal. Getting laid, super risky, legal. Smoking a cigarette, legal and deadly... just getting expensive. Hitting a bong, illegal and mostly harmless. Punching random people in the face, that one makes sense... illegal and hurts others. Getting a lap dance... HARMLESS. No pregnancy, no disease, supports young women (or men for that matter).

Regardless of the arguments of objectifying of women or potential crime influences, stripping (like prostitution or marijuana use) is a personal pleasure. Period, end of fucking story. Coming soon to Ohio... women can not cut men's hair. Young women should not be shampooing men's hair, it is too personal and requires gently caressing their scalps... after which the man pays the woman!

Ridiculous, but the best analogy I had at this time of night. I usually do better. It will be okay... see you strippers at the grocery when your bagging my groceries!

Go to this site: http://votenoonissue1.com/

Secular Scholarships and Grants

2007-11-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

One of my brilliant ideas that I will work towards some day, is to create a good resource for secular students to receive college funds. Here is a good resource for anyone looking.

This is the kind of effort that needs more attention. Whenever I hear about Christian colleges it makes me cringe that a liberal education will be laced with references to mythical creatures.

So anyway, I will also include the link in my permanent link list.

God's Customer Complaint Center

2007-11-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

Click here to address all deity related issues.

Be Blessed

2007-11-18T19:07:00.000-08:00

The long open aisles of Wal-Mart are a good place to find yourself crawling around on a shiny cement floor. A good place to be on your back, struggling to reach the giant pink pacifier that your 20 month old daughter has violently hurled in anger. And it is then, in your moment of weakness, that you find yourself "blessed".

The guy obviously had some kind of righteous, good intentions. He made a joke under the assumption that the baby was angry because mommy had walked away, and not because she did not like me taking her new booster seat away to run a price scan (under orders). So that was fine. He couldn't have known.

A few minutes later, taking the turn around the vegetable aisle, I am caught off guard by the same voice jesting in our direction.

"Hey, she must have got what she needed (mom)! Stay strong... be blessed!"

I really don't want to be blessed. He said it almost as if it were a command. I wondered if maybe he was a pastor, and it was some pro bono work he was doing while shopping. Why should I be blessed? Because my daughter was being a fussy brat? Because he thought I needed it? It really makes you open your eyes when you decide that your are sure enough in your beliefs that you are an atheist. You start to hear things differently...

bless you
be blessed
via con dios
god dammit
Jesus!
jumping Jesus Christ on a pogo stick!

Well, you get the idea. It all makes the assumption that we live in a Christian nation, and we all subscribe to those beliefs and worship those gods. I didn't want anyone to fucking bless me today. It really just comes across as pretentious and self-righteous. It pains me to hear those things. It is something I will live with, and allow others to exercise their first amendment rights. I just hope they remember those rights when I slip up and tell one of them to stuff their blessing up their ass.

I know this reads as hateful, but sometimes that is how it feels. Sometimes I think, "Wow! Thanks dude! You just blessed me for nothing! I can do anything I want!" But mostly, I just think, "shut up."

GO BUCKS

2007-11-17T12:57:00.000-08:00

Yes... I am a Buckeye fan. I am an alum of The Ohio State University. I am one of those guys. I received my liberal arts degree in psychology from one of the best public universities in the world. I am proud of that and our bad-ass football team. I used to look down on die hard fans, but I have given in. It's fun, and we have the best rivalry in the land with Michigan.

OSU: 14 UM: 3

So what if Illinois stomped us last week... Big Ten Champions. Rose Bowl bound.

Oh... and I hate Jesus. Hah! Just kidding. I have nothing against that guy. He was a real subversive revolutionary. Probably gay, or at least didn't much care for women. Hung out with dudes judging everybody. Wore sandals and robes all day long. Not a bad guy really. Probably a bit of a con artist, what with all his "magic".

I just hate that people follow blindly... anyone or anything. Question authority, help society evolve. That's all for now!

Nova's Great ID v Evolution Special

2007-11-14T16:03:00.001-08:00

I have nothing more to say now other than how amazing last night's Nova was. Please click on the link, and please watch the show.

If you do not know what this is, it is the story of the trial in Dover, Pennsylvania a few years back when the Dover school board required students be told that evolution is "only a theory". The show does a beautiful job of telling a fair account of both sides (yes, BOTH sides), and really exposes the relentless efforts of creationists to put religion back in school.

The website is full of great links and even contains the entire court transcript for the trial. This is a very important documentary. It should be shown in schools. It needs a bigger audience than the already science savvy Nova crowd. Spread the word. Probably the best introduction to modern evolutionary theory and findings anyone could ask for.

Peel back the onion

2007-11-10T10:54:00.000-08:00

So, I finally started to reveal some indication of who I am, and what I look like. So my profile shows one of the more sober pictures of me from a Halloween party doing my best Hunter S. Thompson. The party was a furious drunken blast... and I remember large parts of it, which is sometimes a good thing. My wife was looking evil as some kind of zombie red-riding hood (packaged and sold as "Little Dead Riding Hood", available at your local Wal-Mart). We had a real good time, and a fair number of people actually knew who I was trying to be, thanks Johnny Depp. Other popular guesses:

DeNiro from Cape Fear
Panama Jack
Some tourist
Johnny Depp from "Blow" (some credit for being confused but close)
Some asshole

I polished off a fifth of Gentleman Jack within my first hour or so there, on the rocks. Great way to start a great evening. And yes, my friend's house has a stripper pole. Guaranteed to attract drunks.

Reactionary Rant...

2007-10-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

What can we do, right now? How can I get people to realize the complications of the wars we are fighting? How can I get them to see that bombs and bullets don't solve what true diplomacy should be handling? We can not beat the religion, belief, culture, and history out of millions of people. I also do not know how to get people to stop denying global warming... and furthermore, science.

Why is it that I must defend SCIENCE? I understand someone choosing to defend religion takes on a monumental task. They must take a stand on a position that is neither provable nor deniable. To be fair, they have safety in numbers. I mean, thousands of Elvis fans can't be wrong... thousands that for years believed that he really could not possibly be dead. If a shitload of people believe in something, then people feel more comfortable in believing. Sorry, not going to reference any journal to support this. It doesn't matter.

So, I have to take a stand and say:

Global Warming is real and a probable result of human consumption of fossil fuels. Why? Because the overwhelming majority of SCIENTIFIC research tells me so.

Darwinian Evolution is a theory that strongly supports the idea that we humans have evolved over millions of years of random mutation and natural selection from simple origins of life. Why, because the overwhelming majority of SCIENTIFIC research tells me so.

Testable hypotheses. Repeatable processes. Multiple studies. Volumes of data. Oh, so you have all this for Noah's boat? No.... What about a virgin birth, a resurrection, walking on water. No.

I can come closer to proving time travel, than anyone can proving one single component to the teachings of the bible. Is it really just about the message? Then fine, get everyone together and agree to that. Just decide what the message is... the bible does not seem to be sure itself.

So, we are all going to die. What is it all about? Nothing in particular. We all seem to be wired relatively the same, so the same basic stuff makes most of us happy. Sometimes there are fundamental differences in what makes us happy, but we all need basics. Oxygen, food, water, human companionship, stimulation, sex, and so on up Maslow's Hierarchy.

This really does not have a direction. As usual, it is me rushing to get my thoughts out with limited time, limited energy, and limited patience. More excuses, more piled up stories for another day.

Many things...

2007-10-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

The great thing about doing this blog is that I have far too much material, and far too little time. So be it, that this will be another rambling and less of a relevant posting. I have been catching up on the videos posted on Richard Dawkins' website, watching some great shows (Nova for one), and actually doing some reading for pleasure. I have also spent the last 2 weeks traveling, which builds up more material and takes away more time.

I also want to take some time to do some upgrades to the layout of the site. The template from blogger is nice, but I want to tweak it a bit for my subject matter. Well, no time to get into anything now... have to wake the baby up!

Part 1 of My Path to Enlightenment: The Drill Sergeant

2007-10-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons for this online forum is to find release for certain things that happened in my life. I will foremost try to be topical, as I want to be relevant and part of the movement to open a few eyes. Secondly, I want to tell my story... much as we all do.

This posting is a rare moment where I can relay a short anecdote and still be somewhat relevant.

1993: The First Time Religion Really Pissed Me Off

The US Army's basic training program is a lot of things. It instills discipline, hones the body and mind, and prepares the novice soldier for the future in the world's most advanced army. I expected all that when I was barely old enough to shave, and signed up for 3 years plus training to be an Airborn Ranger. I also expected to get kicked, punched, or smacked around if it came to that, just like in the movies.

I went to infantry basic training in Fort Benning, GA, which was often referred to as the "old Army". Although they had formally stopped hitting the trainees, they still had a good amount of vicious techniques that caused great mental and physical torment. This was before the official bans on hazing was enforced, which was well after my second year in the service.

What I did NOT expect was an evangelical blindsiding, a religious shovel upside the head. It took me some time to realize the impact of what happened that evening in the barracks, but looking back I realize how completely inappropriate and outrageous the whole thing was.

For those who never were in the military, imagine combining the authority of the police, your parents, your teachers, priests, or any other authority figure. Push those into one person, and you have a Drill Sergeant. I am sure many have seen the movie's take this on, and some do a very good job. The key point is to realize how unquestioning you become of them, how you hang on their every word. Then factor in the reality that 90% of what they say is negative and insulting. That 10% of positive is really powerful. If you get praise from a drill sergeant, your chest swells with pride and accomplishment. If you are the fastest at field stripping an M-16 (or M4 now a days), then the drill sergeant may hold you up as a model for the rest of the platoon. If you max the running score in a PT test, you are held in high regard for others to rise to.

It was well into the whole 17 week process of infantry basic and Advanced Individual Training (AIT). Infantry trainess do not stop and graduate from basic before going to AIT They take a weekend off then keep going, same cadre, same platoon, same everything. On a hot and slimy Georgia evening, one particular drill sergeant softly and politely called a platoon meeting on his evening shift.

The whole platoon gathered around as he started appealing to our basic need for approval. He very carefully navigated through our insecurities, our fear, and our collective need for kindness. At this point in my life I had become fairly agnostic, but was still entertaining the thought of a god and often praying in private when I felt the need for meditation. When the drill sergeant began asking if we wanted our eternal souls to be guaranteed a place in heaven, I kind of looked around and thought, "well yeah, of course. That would be sweet".

At this point my best friend in basic training at that point turned around abruptly and said "man, I can't listen to this" and walked away. I could not believe he had the audacity to walk away from the drill when he was talking to us. I continued to agree with all of the wonderfull things the drill said about our heavenly salvation. I admire his boldness to this day.

Finally, at some point, we all said "yeah sure", or some such affirmation, to his final question. It was then that he announced that we were all officially born again.

My chest filled with the distinct heat of burning rage. Had this guy honestly just swindled me into stating my acceptance of his religious beliefs? Had he actually used his authority to get my attention to hear his speil? Yes, yes, yes he had.

I have always been pretty good about sniffing out a con, but this really caught me off guard. Like the choir boy about to be molested by his priest, I accepted the whole thing on blind trust and faith in his position. Now that said, I was not physically violated. Someone tried to take something that did not belong to them. They told me, "hey, you have an eternal soul that's up for grabs. It's not yours, because either God gets it or the Devil gets it. If you say these words, then God gets it, and you're good. If not, then your screwed and your fingernails will be pulled out slowly and regrow in a vicious eternal cycle of unbearable searing pain. But hey! It's your call dude!"

Again, it took some time to realize the importance of this event in the movement away from faith. I understood more about the tactics and techniques of the relgious movements. I am sure there were Muslims, Hindus, atheists, and other non-Christians that all had to hear that asshole's speach. I can't imagine how many times this has happened, and no one said a word. I could have really been ahead of the times if I would have said something back then. I was just afraid of getting smoked (hazed), and not getting my chance to jump out of airplanes and shoot bad guys.

Widget for Blogger?

2007-10-10T19:21:00.001-07:00

Oooh, that was cheap! Now that you're here, you can take some time to read one man's views, insights, and musings based on years of hard earned experience. Then, after you've read all my links, you may even read my postings.

You see, it took me years to come to certain conclusions... as we all do growing up. Some go to a further horizon than others. Some do not like what they see, and turn back. And some just don't bother looking at all. Regardless of where you fall... relax, take a look around, and let me know what you think. I am open to positive and negative feedback, so have fun.

As for the title, apparently that link is a Technorati Top 100 and gets a lot of hits... yeah, that was my cheap attempt at getting you here. Now if I only had some good content. Oh well, I'm new to this.

Look forward to future installments of (adult content warning) "crazy things my wife and I do with our friends." You wouldn't believe the pictures my wife's friend has been sending her... it's good to live like a heathen.

Megaphone Around the Corner

2007-10-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

How does one make a bunch of noise, make a difference, change the world, all while remaining anonymous? How can you really do something with passion, and half-ass it at the same time? The logic seems fatally flawed, right from the outset.

My wife coined the metaphor. I was trying to justify why I wish to do this online forum, in all of it's pointless preaching. I was explaining, like I always do, that it is really about intelligent discussion. It is really about participating in a free-thinking community and spreading a positive message about the benefits of ditching superstition, for the betterment of humanity. But, I need to be careful, because:

I do this blog to get discussion started on a global scale
The discussion I wish to start is about religion
Religion is a very touchy subject taken very seriously by some very powerful/crazy/intelligent/passionate (pick your adjective) people.
These people may become my enemies due to my words
If my blog is "successful" then I will get a lot of attention
My enemies will know who I am
They may try and hurt/impair/hinder/harass (pick your negative verb) me

So, should I not stay anonymous to protect my family and my career?

I always wanted to be the guy whispering in the ear of the guy with the microphone and the cameras pointed at him. I wanted to be the power, but not the face. However, I wanted the informed people to KNOW that I was the man. In my ultimate career fantasy, I am the architect, the puppet-master, the Karl Rove to the George Dubba-Ya., the Emperor to the Darth Vader... and so on.

My wife, looked at me and said I wanted to hide around the corner, and yell into a megaphone. I thought, "well yeah, I don't want the bullets to hit me while I yell."

So here's the big question: "Who fucking cares?"
If its no one, then great. My family and I are safe, and nothing happens. But then, nothing happens. The only benefit I get is a medium for my creative urges, and to get my thoughts published in the vast expanses of the internet cosmos.

If someone does care, then maybe something does happen. Maybe you inspire the right woman who becomes president, or the man who creates a belief structure that allows for all beliefs and everyone buys into... right. Keep your goals small. Just be glad to have a reason to write.

I was considering creating a myspace/facebook page. That goes greatly against my character... I guess. I will send you freaks a message when I get my pages set up...

The Atheist Sell Out

2007-10-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

I just turned on AdSense... this should be interesting. I am really trying to do two things, make a difference in free-thinking and liberation from religion, and see what kind of money doing that would make me. I have a good job, and enjoy what I do, but if I save some huge client $1 million bucks, the world is not a better place. If I make a few smart people question the superstition of their ancestors and challenge the world around them, then I can say I did something worthwhile in life. Furthermore, if I can support my family doing what I love (and keep my wife happy about me sitting on the computer every night), then even better!

Soap Box Time:
Research your religion, challenge what you were born into, confront superstition, escape intellectual restrictions. Religion is thought-control. That is how it has been used for thousands of years, and we should all be ashamed that we have not discarded it's archaic hold on our minds.

Look into the universe, look into the sub-atomic world, marvel at what you find. There is nothing more magical and fascinating than the realities of science, especially the dogma of ancient superstition. Look into it, for yourself, your children, and the future of humanity.
End Soap Box.

Administrative Issues:

I am trying to reach out and support outspoken atheists. I have somewhat tried to find the myspace page for Jeremy Hall, the Army Spec 4 who was threatened for being an atheist. I am also trying to reach out to Pete Stark, the California Senator who finally admitted to his atheism. His site only allows contact from constituents, which is understandable. If anyone has some ideas to support these free-thinkers on the front lines, please let me know.

The Athest Blog Roll... Hell Yes.

2007-10-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

I wanted to publicly thank Mojoey for including me in the Atheist Blogroll. To help the cause, bring publicity to the list, and fight the ole' interweb fight, here is the entire list as of today:

2007-10-02T19:14:00.001-07:00

Technorati Profile

Win Ben Stein's Religious Endorsement

2007-10-01T15:46:00.000-07:00

I know I'm late on this.... but...What the hell? Should I be surprised that sort-of media star, former Nixon speech writer, and pop culture icon Ben Stein is supporting Intelligent Design?! Why Ben, why? I guess my disappointment is the way he is supporting the cause, by starring as the main interviewer/narrator of the new documentary of ID called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. This is the one that rounded up some great atheist spokesmen and biologists and interviewed them under false pretenses, after which they "quote-mined" the interviews for anything that could be used against them. Some articles have stated this was a Michael Moore-style documentary, in the way it spins interviews of the opposition into the message of the movie. Michael Moore, for all his spinning and shortcomings as a fact finder, does not try to convince the world that there are alternative theories to gravity, or another viable option to mathematics.

This movie, in short, is unbelievable bullshit. In all attempt to not rant and rave, how can rational people sponsor such pseudo-science and mysticism? The Atheist Ethicist does a very well done letter to Ben Stein here, that says it better than I can.

The sad fact is that intelligent design will be the embarrassment of our generation. Future generations will look back at this backlash to the increasing understanding of scientific principles and theories, and feel sympathy for our poor, back water intellects. Intellects of a large number of people who were unable to accept that their 2000 year old book may not be 100% accurate.

I fear the future for our children, for a great number of reasons. If we can tell them that evolution is flawed and there are viable alternatives within the realm of superstition, then we can also tell them that the ice caps are not really melting, their just migrating south for the winter. We can tell them that oil comes from an infinite well at the core of the planet. We can tell them that solar energy is too expensive and not-feasible. Yes, we are already telling them most of this stuff. Sad.

God of the Gaps

2007-09-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

God's gap is getting increasingly smaller. Thanks to the advances of science and technology the domain of superstition, mysticism, and religious dogma has become much, much smaller. It is because of this that a person of average intelligence and curiosity for the world around them can so easily realize the truth. Let's try and look at it in a very simple way:

I am typing on a computer, connected to a world wide network of computers.
Computers are possible because of advances in science, technology, and overall enlightenment and education of the general public
Science, through its proven and repeatable methods, have given us a range of theories
Among these theories are the theory of relativity, string theory, the Big Bang theory, and evolution
All of these theories are directly contradictory to many of the key theories put in place by religion and superstitions, which also attempt to explain the world, life, death, and the beginning of human existence.
Christians and Muslims, who do not allow for the fact that their scriptures may not be totally true, are forced to condemn the findings of science.
Those who do accept some of the science, but refuse to give up religion, are forced to dwell in the gaps.

With that, I present The Anointed-One's argument against atheism. Thanks to a poster on the Atheist Revolution website for pointing this out. This is a very well thought out attempt at marrying science and superstition. I give this credit for now, I have not had the time to really dig into the details. I will be interested to hear other's thoughts.

Raising Free Thinking Children: Part 1

2007-09-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

My son and I had about an hour conversation the other day. It started by watching Ken Burns' new documentary, The War. He professed, that at 11 and in the public school system, he did not know which war was which, so we started talking. Speaking of the second world war, topics turned to kamikaze pilots, the terrorist suicide bombers, then, naturally, religious zealots.

For ease, here are the bullets of our conversation:

Some religious fundamentalists feel the need to kill for their religion.
Some of these people kill other believers, for not believing the "correct way".
The differences between Catholics and Christians.
Who wrote the bible, where they lived, how they lived, and what their situation entailed.
How the bible has been passed down, translated, re-worked for political reasons (The King James Bible, for example).

As an analogy, I told my son to imagine that I wrote a story about how great my grandfather was. That he lived to be 80, and was a great blacksmith who could make anything with metal. Now imagine that this story was translated into multiple languages, passed down over the ages, and the grapevine effect kicked in. Finally, in the future, my grandfather is revered for living to be 800 years old, and could magically create metal objects with his bare hands.

Multiple religions and multiple gods, different people and different cultures, and so on.

Many children go through playing the grapevine game. They learn how a simple message, over a short amount of time can mutate and take on a whole new meaning. Sometimes, you can identify the one person, who with a slight misunderstanding, identifies a pattern and a meaning that has some significance to them, and changes the entire message.

Some parents these days believe in telling their kids everything, and not hiding anything. I made the decision, years ago, that I would not systematically brainwash my son into believing anything. I question how he feels about religion, or if his classmates question his beliefs (we do live in a very conservative small town), or if he feels uncomfortable about faith. He usually says there is no problem, and shrugs it off. I have played out telling him exactly how I feel and why in my mind's eye, many times.

My parents took me to church occasionally at a very young age. My father was raised Irish-Catholic, my mother Presbyterian. I assumed their general, modern, and somewhat liberal views in God. I believed, and took it for granted that I would earn my way to heaven at some point. However, they never pushed me into a belief, and never silenced me on my questions and disbelief on certain stories of the bible. I attribute my ability to question authority and think freely to my parents, despite a loosely Christian upbringing.

My son, laying on the floor, looks up at me and says, "what is it called when you don't believe in any of that stuff?"
"What stuff, you mean religion and gods?"
"Yeah. Like if you don't think any of that stuff is real."
I trembled, composed myself, then spoke.
"That's called atheism."
He questioned the word, and I explained how theists believe in some religion, atheists believe in none.
"I don't believe in any of that stuff" he said.
"I will not ever try and influence your beliefs, and I am okay with whatever choice you make", I say, trying to not do the exact opposite of what I was saying.
I continue, "I spent most of my life believing in basic Christian concepts, but challenged them and researched them. I finally made up my own mind. I hope you make up yours in a similar way."
"How do you know so much about this stuff Dad?"
"Well...."

The Best Reasons to Give Up Religion

2007-09-24T15:49:00.001-07:00

I plan on making this a permanent fixture on my site, and I hope that it will evolve into a solid list that people will refer to, quote, ridicule, or at least think about.

So far, it's a list of 8 items... a nice 10 will be settled upon in the long run.

8. Enjoying Personal Pleasures

Ultimately, this one is something that religious and the non-religious do alike. However, non-religious may not be as devastated by guilt and fear of eternal hell-fire for enjoying private pleasures. I will touch on this subject in the other bullets, without getting into too many details (I don't want to give away all my secrets, but let's just say I am VERY happily married, and won't go to hell for anything I've done....). Remember what is truly ethical, right for society, and legal (as legal as possible), and you will feel complete without feeling empty.

7. Thinking Outside of the Box.

Yeah, I said that annoying business axiom. However, how much more outside the box can you get? The phrase asks us to question what's accepted, challenge the status quo, and get away from the beaten path. If religion were obscure, rare, and limited in scope, then this would not apply. Religion is none of this, it is everywhere. It dominates rational thought across the world, and it keeps critical and free thought in check, as it has for many thousands of years for many millions of people.

6. No Masters.
This is similar to number 5, however more literal. I will officially state order of importance as to who your masters really are:

Family
Society
Humanity
Nature

I add nature only to specify that we owe our environment special care. That said, humanity, family, and society are dependent on our ability to take care of the environment. Why serve a thankless God, who at best knows what bad things you've done and keeps an eye on billions of lifeforms (let alone the billions of already deceased souls)? Why be a number to God, when you can be the center of the universe to your loved ones? Many will argue you can do both, but I won't put anyone above family, which is more than a lot of followers can say.

5.No Thought Police.
I think bad things... sometimes a lot of bad things. We all do. We are animals, barely civilized in a few thousand years time. In fact, listen to the news and decide for yourself how civil we actually are today. I have vividly thought of violence against people. I have had reprehensible sexual fantasies. I delight in doing harm in the privacy of my own mind, however, I am in control of myself. I love my life, family, wife and children, and I believe in the general well being of others. It saddens me that some people need a supernatural mega-being to keep them in line. My obligation to family, society, and humanity are my regulators. It is healthy and natural to have immoral thoughts, it is not either to pray for forgiveness from a jealous and vengeful God.

4. No Invisible Overseers.
One of the best things I ever did was to decide that no one was actually watching me every minute of the day. Whether a god, an angel, a dead relative, or even a dead pet following me around, I just never liked the idea of being watched by an unseen being. Especially when I was 14, and thought the door would fly open at any minute because my dead grandmother had tipped off my mom about my appointment with a Playboy magazine.

3. No hell.
No brainer. See "No heaven" for much of the argument. The human sensory system can only accept so much input, before it overloads. To keep it simple, it sure is nice not having to worry that you picked the wrong god, didn't do enough Hail Marys, or masturbated too much when you were 14 (or last week).

2. No Heaven.
This one may seem unusual, as you may be thinking that is the best thing about faith (although the bible itself is pretty sketchy on the afterlife. As with many of the stereotypes we maintain of religion, it has mostly been made up along the way). Here are some issues with heaven, for starters:

Sanity. How can the human mind go on forever? Too much of anything would become a hell. If I think of my 30 best days, I know I couldn't tolerate them for eternity.
Relative pleasure: what is everyone's heaven? Will my Aunt Marsha be in my heaven, as it would likely conflict with her perception of heaven? I would love to see all my dead relatives and friends again, but it does not stand to reason that we would all share a personal paradise.
Morality: What if, as a perfect Christian, you lived a life burying your homosexual impulses? That is who you are, and it partly defines you. How then, can you be happy in a heaven forbidding such desire? Are you waging that you will be rewarded with fulfilling those needs? What about other fetishes? Does heaven remove them entirely? I don't know that I would ever want to stop fantasizing and subsequently having sex (as long as I'm conscious).

1. You won't have to defend ancient dogma and superstitions to atheists!

Trust me on this one. Atheists tend to really do their research and can be quite articulate. Their arguments are usually logic based, and it can be really frustrating trying to convince them that faith is an answer to anything. I am fortunate that I have never had to do this, but I seen a few people squirm, question, and paint themselves into corners. I didn't envy them.

God, the Pretentious Ass.

2007-09-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

So, apparently the courts don't have jurisdiction over otherworldly beings. This is according to the mysterious legal document from God, that appeared in response to the law suit being filed by Ernie Chambers. And, we have now learned more about God's personality, he's an asshole. He makes a pretty clear threat to have the Senator removed from office, due to his refusal to believe in invisible magical beings.

More realistically, this is a look into the less attractive traits of humans. Vindictive, angry, jealous, spiteful, mean, and so on. Zeus and the ancient Greek gods are perfect examples of this. Their emotions ran wild, the soap opera of their lives was the stuff of legends, and made for good drama. It makes for this good drama because it reflects human feelings on an epic scale. My personal enjoyment of superheroes is barely different, except I don't ever for a second consider that Superman or the Incredible Hulk is real. For all of known history, there have been tales of great human-like beings who were somehow beyond and better. The Christian sky god is the answer to that, as decided over 2000 years ago in the deserts of Mesopotamia.

Robert Alter was recently on NPR explaining his new translation of the Book of Psalms.
Among many things, the idea of the soul was a later veneer applied to the original works, making it more in tune with the ideas of Christians that have evolved over time. He also translated verses that depict God as presiding over a sort of board of other gods, where he berates them for their treatment of humans. Apparently God eventually demotes these other gods, as punishment for their actions. This gave the early followers a feeling of superiority over the other gods of the time. So, did a Christian of the early AD years feel that he was worshiping the best option among many various gods? As opposed to now, where religious followers tend to believe that the other ones don't exist, only their own.

One of the original reasons towards my revelation of atheism was my struggling with other religions. How egotistical of me to think that the religion I happen to be born into is the only "true" religion (oxymoron). What about the millions of Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Buddhists, and otherwise? So they all go to hell apparently. This is a big joke among even the religious who have any intelligence and realize there is a world outside of their city, state, country, whatever. What about the factions within religion? The problem is endless, unresolvable, and pointless. Who would win in a fight between Superman and Batman? Its really up to the person who is asked, because it's purely hypothetical. At least with superheroes, you can have fun talking about it. I don't think I could have a jolly laugh with my Muslim friends about whether Allah would get his ass kicked by God.

So that's what I think today. Another ranting by a freed mind, having fun picking on religious belief.

More Rapist Preachers / Priests

2007-09-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

Its old news, and we hear it everyday. Whether its a teacher, a cop, or a priest, the abuse of authority and the community's trust in them. Kenton, OH which is a very small town in north-central Ohio, is home to a preacher who raped one teenager girl, and tried to rape a second. These horrific acts of religious authorities have become status quo, and that is sick.

Some pscycho-analysis (of people like Senator Craig) will tell us that sometimes the most outspoken moralists and conservatives may in fact be redirecting hidden and shameful inner feelings. Too often religion is used as the means to bury these impulses, and it continues to fail. Science and psychology have not solved everything, but they have put much more methodology and reason into the potential cures. Religion, its dogma, its ancient traditions, and its superstitions do nothing other than put a lid on a pot that is about to boil over.

More on this tomorrow, and GOD's reply to Senator Ernie Chambers. I will start with this: what kind of pretentious, self-righteous, arrogant prick would actually have the nerve to pretend to be HIS OWN GOD and draw up some unbelievable shit like this? Unfortunately, this response is not at all surprising. I don't know much about the good senator from Nebraska, but good for him for making the statement.

Senator Suing God, Best news ever.

2007-09-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

I will not be writing much about this amazing development, not tonight anyway. I had never heard of Ernie Chambers (at least I don't recall), but apparently he has been adamant about not praying during the morning prayer at the senate. I always admire someone who is taking a stand against the majority. I recall a girl who went to my high school who wouldn't stand and recite the pledge of allegiance due to her religion. At the time, she and her family received massive criticism for her stand. Looking back, even though I don't agree with her religion, I admire her resolve. For the record, I don't agree with really any religion, but that will come later.

Back to Ernie. He seems to only be having fun with actually suing God. It seems his main contention is the fact that there are so many frivolous law suits going on, so he's making his point. You can read more about it here http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jqCsP7OChy5Q8AFcTeiB58cfy6Uw

A small start... tired and pointless ravings from central Ohio

2007-09-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today, I was actually happy to hear a bit of news. After a lovely day of pretending to be a big important guy (meeting with a large client), I was giddy to hear that the Fed cut interest rates by half a percent. So new home buyers might actually be looking to enter the market. Yeah, don't try to sell your house now. Not a good idea. End of story.
Enough about that. Warren Jeffs, earlier this week, sat nearly emotionless as the now 21 year old women described how she was forced to marry her first cousin under the order of Jeffs. This was all done, of course, for Jesus. Well, the Mormon Jesus. He's the weird one. Not like the pleasant looking Anglo-Saxon gentlemen that is in all of the paintings. Larry Craig just went back to work today on Capitol Hill after playing tappy-tap in a bathroom stall at the Minneapolis airport.
Of course, he was a strong opponent of gay rights. This can be explained quite easily, he's not gay. That's the beautiful thing! He probably does not actually think he's gay!
This is the world we live in. George W. is still president. A large portion of U.S. citizens believe that there is a devil, heaven, and hell. A somewhat smaller portion believes the earth is on the magnitude of some 6000 years old (I can't wait to get started on the Creation Museum, it's as if God himself blessed me with the best thing ever to make fun of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_museum ).
I am a post Somalia and pre-9-11 veteran. I have a BA in psychology and an MBA. I am passionate about this country, education, and raising my kids. I hope to join a community who feels the way I do, or is at least willing to give reason a chance. Sorry if the name is misleading, I do enjoy all things related to the cosmos and quantum physics. I think there is far more fascinating and inspirational information coming from those two fields than I do from any 2000 year old book.
If we long to believe that the stars rise and set for us, that we are the reason there is a Universe, does science do us a disservice in deflating our conceits? "....For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. [Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark]"
OH, and OJ got arrested again!! Uh- oh!