gentleman my ass...

God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?

—Nietzsche, The Gay Science, Section 125

i would narrow it down a little further - christianity killed god! and the Fishers, Donohoes, Benedicts, Fallwells, Robertsons, etc have done the most murdering of god.

where is this coming from?

Fischer: God Didn't Stop CT School Shooting Because He's a Gentleman Who Doesn't Go Where He is Not Wanted

from RightWingWatch.org

SCOTUS & the pro-Prop 8 gang...

SCOTUS last week stopped a federal judge from taping and broadcasting to other judicial venues the Bois-Olson trial contesting the results of Prop 8.

one of the arguments they used agreed with the pro-Prop 8 gang that their lives could be interrupted and they could be threatened from the queer activists if their testimony were to be shown live. never mind that there is a court recorder in the room and the entire trial transcript will be available sometime in the future.

[you can follow the news and the trial at American Foundation for Equal Rights.]

on of these "testifiers", a christianist minister publicly and very loudly dropped out.

but can anyone come up with matches to these headlines regarding lgbtq people who are asking only to be treated equal to everyone else with the christianists who are not very christian?


VANDALS SLASH TIRES OF TWO DOZEN CARS AT GAY ORLANDO NIGHTCLUB

RHODE ISLAND GAY MAN'S BUSINESS TARGETED: 'FAGGOTS HAVE NO RIGHTS'


D.C. Jail guards accused of beating gay inmate

just these three are from Towleroad and DC Agenda over the last couple of days!

how many others have we seen over the years? how long did it take to pass the Matthew Shepard Act? how many more lgbtq are going to be beaten? raped? killed?

the proponents of Prop 8 have made themselves the victims when they, in fact, are the perpetrators of violence and crime and hate all in the name of a myth that clearly espouses loving your neighbor more than yourself.

i have a sense that their Jesus would now refuse to die for their sins...

as they did to the Clinton's...,

there is absolutely nothing that the christianist, right-wingnut, ultra-conservative, faux-News crowd will do to stop attacking Obama.

there is nothing that he can do right for them. they have made it very clear that they are against him in every way. they've done this from continuing to spread the lie of his birth to denying that they are being racist - no matter how much truth is thrown into their faces. they continue to lie and call any one sane who decries their mistruths to be unpatriotic and traitors, while they are the worst kind of christians they purport to be.

there is something Obama can do right for the rest of us though:

stop the wishful thinking bi-partisan BS and go on the attack to get the frakking job done.

hit them where it hurts the most - their pocketbooks!

oh, and as far as the conservative Democrats, the correct threats were finally made yesterday telling them if they don't start toeing the line that 1) they could lose their committee chairperson standings and 2) the reconciliation voting will be invoked to cut off the Republican filibuster threats - just like the Repubs did for Bush with his tax rebates for the rich!

it's time the gloves came off.

what's that famous movie line?

oh, yeah...

I'm as mad as hell
and I'm not going to take this any more!

Howard Beale, Anchor from the movie Network

obfuscating obfuscations...

the video from Rachel Maddow's show last night really speaks for itself. it's not just as obfuscation, it's pure hypocrisy.




and they call themselves christian!

i worry for Mr. Dias on appearing on Rachel's show.

anyone want to bet he is punished in some way? suspended? kicked out?

no bets? didn't think so...

on "do away with ALL special rights"...

i guess i was a day ahead of others. [check out the previous post]

Bob Cesca over at Huffington Post wrote this today:

Here's the thing, though. Hannity, Limbaugh, King and 166 House Republicans are decidedly against the hate crimes bill. The legislation, as passed by the House, specifically defines hate crimes as being "motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim." Again, Hannity, King and the rest are absolutely opposed to this.

So while the Republicans have vocally and repeatedly expressed their position against "protecting pedophiles," it can be said -- and, quoting King, "it's a matter of record" -- that they're also against protecting women, racial minorities, ethnic minorities, religious people and disabled people, among others.

Republican Political Hackery and the Hate Crimes Bill
Bob Cesca, Huffington Post

one of the arguments that i heard today was to an amendment that was added to the bill by a Republican representative from Iowa to include veterans. the problem with this amendment to the bill would invalidate the entire piece of legislation. and i'm sure the republicans knew this. of course, the other outrageous thing this representative said was that the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill (S 909 IS*) protects pedophiles when it actually is very specific in its scope. [i'm one of those people who actually reads bills and does not rely on what others write or say alone.]

the actual focus of the bill is to protect people from

(2) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, OR DISABILITY...*

(emphases in bold added)

with the exception of religion, no one falling into the other categories has any control over who/what they are and that is why they are part of these groups.

well, there is my previous argument in a nutshell. people choose to be part of a religion. they may be born christian or a follower of Islam but they can opt to change it. they can also decide to become an atheist or select Lutheranism as their basis of belief or non-belief.

why should they have special protections?


as to the idea that is prevalent in the hate-speech of the media specialists like Savage, Beck, Limbaugh, Dobson, etc. who say that it will prevent preachers from speaking in the pulpit according to their beliefs of lgbtq Senate Bill 909 is very specific in its language.

(3) CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any constitutionally protected speech, expressive conduct or activities (regardless of whether compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief), including the exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment and peaceful picketing or demonstration. The Constitution does not protect speech, conduct or activities consisting of planning for, conspiring to commit, or committing an act of violence.

(4) FREE EXPRESSION- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to allow prosecution based solely upon an individual's expression of racial, religious, political, or other beliefs or solely upon an individual's membership in a group advocating or espousing such beliefs.

in addition, another point of the bill is to assist local and state police with investigating and prosecuting hate crimes especially in place that do not have local provisions for these crimes. it also provides grant monies to local authorities to help defray cost in investigations and prosecutions as well as direct support from FBI, Secret Service, etc.


AND, before i get slammed about the veterans part: i strongly support and stand by the men and women who are or were in the services. i actively support VoteVets and SLDN. i did not use them in the amendment; the repubs did and i would bet on purpose because they knew it would invalidate and make unconstitutional the entire bill.

so..., who do you think is really not supporting veterans? to shamelessly employ a group that the country owes so much to for their service in protecting us is beyond ignominy. it borders on traitorous, IMHO. the servicemembers put their lives on the line to make certain that i have the freedoms that the Constitution guarantees. except, being lgbtq, i don't have all of those entitlements. the repubs and the nutters see to that.

i would be very much in favor of enacting a special law to insure the rights and benefits of veterans. AND while i'm at it... why DON'T all veterans have those rights? more fodder for the right-wing composter.

my point again is if any amendment should be added to the bill or removed from the body of the bill it should be to eliminate religion.

as i said in the previous post -

oh wait, Dobson, Falwell and all the other blather-mouths are saying that christianity is under attack. they would think this to be one more foray into that battle.

i still think it would be a good start...

(*link to S 909 IS as introduce in the Senate)

do away with ALL special rights...

one of the biggest arguments that the right uses against the fight for equal protection is that it bestows special privileges on a specific group of people. they don't believe that is necessary.

well, then they should be marching and preaching and screaming to reverse ALL laws that pretend to place special protections on ALL groups.

let's see. there is a law that gives equal protection to religious people.

that's a good place to start. in their logic, if special laws are not needed, then who needs this one.

oh wait, Dobson, Falwell and all the other blather-mouths are saying that christianity is under attack. they would think this to be one more foray into that battle.

oh well. gotta start somewhere...

obfuscating obfuscations: turn the other cheek - your ass or mine...?

christians consider themselves under attack today. they believe that they are the ones against whom persecution is aimed. they think that the secularism in the world is crushing them out of existence.

well, they forget how they used persecution throughout their history right from the beginning to foist their beliefs on everyone else.

from a book by James J. O'Donnell, The Ruin of the Roman Empire -

"Christians resisted persecution well--both the ordinary spasmodic kind and the infrequent broader campaign--because their communities were many-headed, did not have substantial real property, and lived so fully intermingled with Roman society that they could not simply be carved out and attacked. A century after Galerius, when Christian emperors set out to--we might as well use the word--persecute 'pagan' communities and practices, they were far more devastatingly effective. They halted the supply of state funds for traditional practices, crippling much of what had been long familiar. Then they seized buildings and banned ritual in them, sweeping the landscape nearly clean of the old ways. What survived--and much did--was personal, small-scale, or highly localized. Over a relatively short time, the new bludgeoned the old into submission and eventually supplanted it. That's what real persecution could do, unafraid to use violence but not needing to use very much of it. But Christianity never faced anything like what it would later visit on the traditional cults."

they were the real experts at persecution. we see this all the way down to the present day. there is no hesitancy on the part of christianists in trying to bat the world into submission to their way.

sadly, they set the example. we see in the world of Islam the same type of fringe groups, eg. Al Quaeda, who adopted this christian view to their own imagined advantages.

like i said, turn the other cheek...

a question...

why do we need to have an ambassador to a fake country that does not pull its weight, does not give us any support, does not believe in democracy, and does not punish its own malicious predators?

Vatican blocks Caroline Kennedy appointment as US ambassador

Vatican sources told Il Giornale that their support for abortion disqualified Ms Kennedy and other Roman Catholics President Barack Obama had been seeking to appoint.

Mr Obama was reportedly seeking to reward John F Kennedy's daughter, who publicly gave her support to his election bid. She had been poised to replace Hillary Clinton as New York senator, but dropped out amid criticism that she lacked enough experience for the job.

Telegraph.uk

on this day that is considered the most important religious holiday of the church, it shows its true christian nature.

as i've quoted Henry II before, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

pernicious, hurtful, destructive, inimical, noxious, malignant...

i become extraordinarily hateful on beautiful days when confronted by obnoxious obfuscations by men who live in the 19th century and call on their god to condemn and foment against others while boisterously advocating free choice and will. they malign the basis for what they believe.

as i've also said before, "If Jesus were alive today, the last thing he would be is a christian."

in spite, no because, of this i'm going to have a great day with the kids, the easter egg hunt and the fried turkey. the religious meaning of this day has been bastardized, as has Christmas. i prefer to acknowledge that both days are really about the children - Celebrations of the Child.

Blogswarm: Blog Against Theocracy 2009...

below is a reposting of the one i did last year. it is still relevant and probably always will be as long as the country has fringe groups that believe that they own the only right to foist their beliefs on everyone else. they forget that we were instituted as a nation of immigrants who were searching for a place to live as they believed was right for themselves.

on Hardball tonight Christopher Hitchens was on with a religious who smiled for the entire time as Hitch made logical point after logical point based on fact not innuendo and not unquestioning faith that is highly overrated. when Hitch said that Benjamin Franklin was an atheist [well documented] i thought the man was going into apoplexy. when the point was made that the Puritans came to the Americas do be free to worship and believe as they wanted not enter another land that said they could only do it one way, the man twisted it to say that it was proof that we have a christian nation.

b***s***!

Blogswarm Against Theocracy 2009: April 10-12, 2009

One of the cornerstones of the U.S. Constitution insisted by the Founding Fathers was Freedom of Religion. They were aware that the New World was made up of many peoples from many lands who had a myriad of beliefs. Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, et al lived in an empire that had little tolerance for other beliefs and religions with a state sanctioned religion - The Church of England. The Church of England was founded purely for political expediency - Henry VIII's hunger for an heir.

Over the course of history, there have been many examples of theocratic governments and it is obvious that they all had one thing in common - repression of anyone or any belief that did not fit into their world view. Most often this repression was violent.

Today, we see perfect examples of theocracy's rule in the Muslim world by extremists who have highjacked the religion of Mohammed to meet their own thirst for power and control. Countless citizens are maimed, murdered, exiled and tortured simply because they do not believe as others think they should.

The guarantee of the Constitution by Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

was written into the document to prevent the abuses so often foisted by theocratic governments.

Sadly, in the U.S. today we have been bombarded by rhetoric and innuendo by certain political forces that believe we should be subjected to a form of christianist sharia. They believe, wrongly, that the country was founded on christianist principles when the Founding Fathers overwhelming in personal writings warned of christianist inequities. In fact, most all of them viewed themselves simply as deists - "the belief that the existence and nature of God comes from reason and personal experience."

Inherent in "freedom of religion" is the idea "freedom from religion. There are people who, through the use of reason and personal experience, have come to the conclusion that there is no god. This is as unique a conviction as choosing a denomination or sect with which to identify for others. During this current presidential campaign it has been invoked time after time that the one type of person who could never be elected president would be an atheist or agnostic, and nearly 100% of people believe it.

The logo at the beginning of this post was created for a blogswarm addressing the support of Freedom of Religion. The purpose of this tactic is to make as many people aware of a certain issue as possible, to bring focus on a problem or possible injustice, and to foster understanding and acceptance.

I find it interesting that the group initiating Blog Against Theocracy 2008 chose Easter weekend for this action, a time of rebirth and reaffirmation. It is appropriate to remind people that their right and freedom to believe as they choose is written into law, that it is under attack at all times, and that there is always a demagogue right around the corner believing they have the answer to everything - no questions allowed.

You can find out more about the blogswarm by clicking Here

originally posted March 21, 2008

"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" - a new twist...

instead of talking through a designated representative, Benedict opens his own mouth and shows that he is not christian:

VATICAN CITY, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.

"(The Church) should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed," the pontiff said in a holiday address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration.

"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."

The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound".

i would have more hope for Rick Warren than i would for this human, and i hesitate calling him a human.

the stands of this pope and his church over the last several months with its refusal to support the two U.N. resolutions, the one on disability because it says nothing about abortion and one other on decriminalizing LGBTQ in the world, speak to the inhumanity and the belief that all men are not created equal.

the panzerpope refuses to enter the 21st century and is ensuring the eventual death of his own belief system.

i've always found that the louder someone screams against something it is to hide their own fear that they will be found out.

do i think Benedict is queer? you bet. just like Saul of Tarsus...

the use of fear in the United States...

I would also add hatred, but it would be an oxymoron because hatred is being used to promote the fear.

It's taken me awhile to digest a report at Media Matters from November 13, 2008 -

Women, minorities, autistic children: Conservative radio's vitriol not reserved for Obama

by Eric Boehlert and Jamison Foser on their blog County Fair that is part of the broader Media Matters site.

Today, there was a follow-up to the report - Homophobic Hate Speech "More Than Offensive" - on County Fair that addresses the specific reaction to the LGBTQ venom that the conservative right-wing media spreads.

LGBTQ is only a part of the initial report. It includes smears against immigrants, sex & gender, race and ethnicity, the poor, "those with HIV/AIDS, people with autism, teachers, other radio hosts, comedians perceived as progressive, Democrats in the House and Senate, and the organizations that document their attacks."

Just one example cited in the article by ultra-conservative radio blatherer Michael Savage on his show The Savage Nation:

... Democratic Party's "membership is made up largely of minority blocs ... that are all against the white person..."

Racist, sexist, homophopic, anti-Latino, and all blatant and non-apologetic. All men, and women, are not created equal to these people. No matter what the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution of the United States say, even though these men quote and spout it at every turn as justification for what they say.

Every member of the right-wing media has one thing in common. They all profess to be christian.

Yet when you read the article, listen to these people talk and hear the quotes from not only Savage but others like G. Gordon Liddy, Mark Levin, or Bill Cunningham, you see the blatant blindness they have to the law set down by their Jesus in the gospel of Luke,10: 25–37. There is no love in their words; there is no acceptance in their thinking; nor is there any "Go and do likewise."

These people spread fear and hatred in order to maintain their false sense of power. They are losing hold on what they know, deep down in their psyches, is no longer applicable. We no longer live in a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant world. The christian nation they so highly tout has created a world that wants what they have, and they are fighting to keep it away from them. These radio personalities speak out of both sides of their mouths - at the same time.

I recommend that you click on the links to the Media Matters report and today's follow-up. It is long and at times difficult to read without getting angry, but it puts into one place the hypocrisy and an accurate description of these people as the pharisees of today's world.

These men, and they are all men, are not ignorant; they are not stupid; they are idiots. An idiot, according to a group of fourth graders I taught one year, is someone who is too stupid to know they are ignorant.

fourth graders! that would be nine & ten-year olds...

unbelievable ignorance...

the American Family Association is selling these online for a suggested donation of $81.85, to people who are Looking for an effective way to express your Christian faith this Christmas season...





a burning cross?

this is not a joke. you can click on the link before the photo to see it for yourself, but be careful not to hurt yourself...

these people have lost their minds.

i can't wait to hear the African-American reaction to this...

i'm also wondering if this is not a reaction to the election results of November 4, 2008. subliminal or otherwise...

and, of course, the christianists will scream that people are trying to stop their right of free speech and freedom of religion as an excuse when this makes the news and shows up on more and more websites. when did they become the victims?

one friend's reaction when i emailed him was: I won't have to work all day stringing lights in the front of my house. One cross will do.

i think we may have just officially entered the Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and Scare Tactics all at the same time.

unf****** believable ignorance!


thanks to The Box Turtle Bulletin for the heads-up on this.

Westboro Baptist Church arson; their response?

Here come da judge. Here come da judge.

Early Saturday someone set fire to the garage behind the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas.

Flames damage Phelps garage
Blaze remains under investigation; family member insists it's case of arson

Topeka Capitol Journal

So, what did they do? They got out their signs and picketed. What would you expect? They also filmed what the firefighters were doing, and they put out a response on what they believe is behind it. [you don't have to watch it, if you don't want to.]


Thank God for WBC Fire

It was the judges' who consistently rule against them and do everything to push the faggot agenda that were behind the fire. Of course, it is. There is a vast conspiracy against the First Amendment from the fag-loving media to the Bush/Cheney administration's Homeland Security measures. It's all there for you to see.

Except there is one major problem. Mr. Phelps wants the media to be controlled but the First Amendment reads "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...;.

so, needless to say, i'm confused [as is often the case]. either you have a press that is unencumbered to report freely or you don't. you either have a government without religious establishment or you don't. you can't have it both ways.

or can you?

and the reaction from Pfelger's boss..

Cardinal Francis George said Friday he deeply regrets the Rev. Michael Pfleger's videotaped "personal attack" on Hillary Clinton -- and has received assurances from the firebrand priest that he won't campaign for or publicly mention any candidate by name.

George, the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, issued a written statement taking the St. Sabina pastor to task for mocking Clinton during a Sunday address at Trinity United Church of Christ -- home church of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

"The Catholic Church does not endorse political candidates," George said. "Consequently, while a priest must speak to political issues that are also moral, he may not endorse candidates nor engage in partisan campaigning.

"Racial issues are both political and moral and are also highly charged," he said.

"Words can be differently interpreted, but Father Pfleger's remarks about Senator Clinton are both partisan and amount to a personal attack. I regret that deeply.

"To avoid months of turmoil in the church, Fr. Pfleger has promised me that he will not enter into campaigning, will not publicly mention any candidate by name and will abide by the discipline common to all Catholic priests." Cardinal clamps down on Pfleger, Chicago Sun-Times, May 31, 2008

and this isn't the first time Cardinal George has had to do something like this with Pfleger.

Also, one of the ongoing battles that Pfleger has waged with Cardinal George [and previously Cardinal Bernardin] is over his tenure at St. Sabina. He has been there for over 20 years. Archdiocesan rules and procedures only allow a pastor to be in charge of a parish for ten years then he moves to another parish as pastor. Pfleger has continuously flaunted the rules and insisted that only he can run the parish. He has used tactics to remain that are, to say the least, not very Christian. It flies in the face of all the other pastors who obey the Cardinal and the rule.


AND NOW THIS:

From the New York times - Obama Quits His Church

Senator Barack Obama is ending his membership at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, a congregation he has belonged to for about two decades and one that had become a lightening rod in his Democratic presidential bid.

Mr. Obama informed his campaign advisers of his decision today, according to people familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the candidate. Mr. Obama is scheduled to explain his decision tonight in South Dakota.

mmmmmm?

it's not just being queer...

Another sergeant allegedly told Specialist Hall that as an atheist, he was not entitled to religious freedom because he had no religion.

Everyone is aware that most in the military don't want LGBTQ involved with the service but there has also been a concerted effort by evangelical [christianists] service members to eliminate atheists as well.

Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats

FORT RILEY, Kan. — When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.

But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. “People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!” Major Welborn said, according to the statement.

Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement.

Last month, Specialist Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, filed suit in federal court in Kansas, alleging that Specialist Hall’s right to be free from state endorsement of religion under the First Amendment had been violated and that he had faced retaliation for his views. In November, he was sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers. New York Times, April 26, 2008

There is a large flaw in Maj. Freddie's argument - going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!

What the Founding Fathers wanted was a nation that had tolerance for all beliefs. Contrary to what Freddie thinks, not believing is a belief.

Add to that the fact that many of the Founding Fathers were not Christian but deists and warned against the intolerance and bigotry of christian sects and you have to wonder what history class Major Freddie missed. It may have been all of his American History classes. Of course, people also hear and read what they want. Christianists insist that they read their Bible literally, when in fact they are the biggest interpreters of it. They will pull the parts that they agree with to bolster their intolerance and ignore the universal message behind it.

Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Of course, Specialist Jeremy Hall isn't the first time we've heard about religious intolerance in the military. There was the scandal at the Air Force Academy when commanding officers were evangelical proselytizing and forcing cadets to participate and belittling them if they didn't. It was in direct conflict with Air Force procedures and rules.

Also, Remember footballer/soldier Pat Tillman? After his death by friendly fire, there were questions about his non-belief and wild inferencing that it may have been because of this. At the least, military personnel belittle his family after his funeral because of their non-belief.

So much for defending your country's right of tolerance.

Blogswarm: Blog Against Theocracy...

One of the cornerstones of the U.S. Constitution insisted by the Founding Fathers was Freedom of Religion. They were aware that the New World was made up of many peoples from many lands who had a myriad of beliefs. Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, et al lived in an empire that had little tolerance for other beliefs and religions with a state sanctioned religion - The Church of England. The Church of England was founded purely for political expediency - Henry VIII's hunger for an heir.

Over the course of history, there have been many examples of theocratic governments and it is obvious that they all had one thing in common - repression of anyone or any belief that did not fit into their world view. Most often this repression was violent.

Today, we see perfect examples of theocracy's rule in the Muslim world by extremists who have highjacked the religion of Mohammed to meet their own thirst for power and control. Countless citizens are maimed, murdered, exiled and tortured simply because they do not believe as others think they should.

The guarantee of the Constitution by Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

was written into the document to prevent the abuses so often foisted by theocratic governments.

Sadly, in the U.S. today we have been bombarded by rhetoric and innuendo by certain political forces that believe we should be subjected to a form of christianist sharia. They believe, wrongly, that the country was founded on christianist principles when the Founding Fathers overwhelming in personal writings warned of christianist inequities. In fact, most all of them viewed themselves simply as deists - "the belief that the existence and nature of God comes from reason and personal experience."

Inherent in "freedom of religion" is the idea "freedom from religion. There are people who, through the use of reason and personal experience, have come to the conclusion that there is no god. This is as unique a conviction as choosing a denomination or sect with which to identify for others. During this current presidential campaign it has been invoked time after time that the one type of person who could never be elected president would be an atheist or agnostic, and nearly 100% of people believe it.

The logo at the beginning of this post was created for a blogswarm addressing the support of Freedom of Religion. The purpose of this tactic is to make as many people aware of a certain issue as possible, to bring focus on a problem or possible injustice, and to foster understanding and acceptance.

I find it interesting that the group initiating Blog Against Theocracy 2008 chose Easter weekend for this action, a time of rebirth and reaffirmation. It is appropriate to remind people that their right and freedom to believe as they choose is written into law, that it is under attack at all times, and that there is always a demagogue right around the corner believing they have the answer to everything - no questions allowed.

You can find out more about the blogswarm by clicking Here

"bless me father for i have sinned...

it has been 39 years since my last confession. in that time i threw paper and cigarettes out the window of my car. i smoked hash. i would not put any money in the Salvation Army kettle.... but, oh, wait a minute, i don't have to worry because i have "Get outta Hell" free card that the Vatican gave me in 1976. so what am i doing this?

Reuters is reporting that the Vatican lists "new sins," including pollution.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of "new" sins such as causing environmental blight.

as if we didn't have enough to worry about?

When asked what the most important of the "new" sins are, Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, number two in the Vatican "Apostolic Penitentiary," stated to L'Osservatore Romano

"(Within bioethics) there are areas where we absolutely must denounce some violations of the fundamental rights of human nature through experiments and genetic manipulation whose outcome is difficult to predict and control," he said.

whew, at least on that one, i'm okay. i haven't manipulated any genes in..., i don't know how long.... wait, i may never have done it.

But what about the moneylenders who are taking people's homes away from them? what about Tsar George who said torture was acceptable by his veto of the intelligence gathering bill? (wait again..., the church more or less invented moast "enhanced interrogation techniques during the Inquisition.) what about the terrors in Darfur?

i'm sorry. i forgot. the Catholic Church is God's presence on Earth and the pope is infallible.

you know... the Egyptian mythology, the Greek mythology, the Roman mythology were all much more fun than this current acceptable mythology of christianism. at least back then you could sacrifice a pig and eat it afterward, fighting hunger in the community. today they give you a piece of bread or a cracker and say it's the body of Christ.

ewww.... isn't that cannibalism? just asking...

blog post/news must reads: January 2, 2008...

Looking at America editorial in the New York Times - this makes me very sad and wanting to cry...

Huckabee wants to take America "back to Christ" over at AmericaBlog.com - of course, this leaves out Jews, Muslims, Hindi, etc, but the bigger problem just may be what kind of Christian is he talking about? There are many types of Christians - Catholic, Episcopal, Baptist, Methodist, etc, or is it just his kind of Christianity?

I Am Conventional Wisdom: An Unstoppable Zombie Wreaks Havoc On America: Arriana Huffington over at Huff Post - the lie of Conventional Wisdom perpetrated by Bush/Cheney, et alia, for the last seven years haunts us even through the 2008 election...

Doubts Raised on Technology Sales to China: from the New York Times - China already owns the U.S. because of all the loans Mr. Bush has gotten to keep his war going, but even with his song of national security he still leads his choir in Money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around, Money makes the world go around, of that we both are sure. (Raspberry) On being poor...

Pat Robertson's New Year's Forecast: "China Will Be The Largest Christian Nation On Earth" from Pat Robertson's 700 Club via HuffPost - if we owe them so much money, let's just bring 'em into the fold...

Attorney General Mukasey appoints outside prosecutor in criminal probe of CIA torture tapes - at Cliff Schecter's web site. This does bear watching. Gonzales refused to investigate any of the Bush/Cheney flubs. This guy is at least starting to go through the motions. we'll see..

Cain and Abel and Huckabee and Romney...

Since we now have a presidential campaign that is breaking Article VI* of the Constitution, if not legally but in spirit, and a couple of the Republican candidates have made it very clear that they ascribe to the literal view of the Bible with not believing in evolution and that democracy cannot survive without religion or their G**, I'd like to understand how they reconcile their views with this passage from Genesis 4:

13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

The Bible: King James Version

Now, if I understand this correctly, Cain's argument to G** is, "if you send me out of this land [Eden I assume], others may kill me." G**'s response is to put a mark on Cain that would prevent anyone from killing or harming him.

First, if Adam and Eve were the first man and woman and Cain and Abel were the first of their children, from where did these other people who might kill Cain come?

Second, if Cain knew his wife, meaning in the biblical sense, and Adam and Eve were the first people to bear children, meaning that Cain's wife had to at least be his niece but probably his sister since he was the first born, and they had a son, Enoch, wouldn't his wife then have to be his sister? And wouldn't his son also have to be his nephew? Isn't this incest and doesn't the Bible forbid it?

And while I'm on it, Huckabee et.al. are literalists and do not believe in evolution. They believe that the earth was created by their G** in six days. Couldn't it be very possible that G**'s day isn't 24 hours like ours but maybe, oh, I don't know, 50 million of our years long? I've never found anything in the Bible that says a day is 24 hours. As a matter of fact, back 6,000 years ago they didn't even know that a day was 24 hours.

I think you can see where my confusion comes in with this religious test business. I mean, with Tsar George, it's easy to understand. He's not exactly the brightest bulb in the box. These other guys pretend to be genius'.

am i wrong? what do you think?

just asking...



*Article VI: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Luke 2:14 - ..."and on earth peace, good will toward men"

Olmert rejects truce talk: "Jerusalem - Gaza militants fired at least four rockets after Israel's prime minister ruled out truce talks and pledged to keep up with his intensified military campaign against Hamas and Islamic Jihad to stop the barrages." World News, 24 December 2007

Record numbers of child soldiers drafted into Congo war: "Concern over the plight of child soldiers increased after aid workers for Save the Children reported seeing youngsters in militia close to some of the worst of the fighting near Goma, capital of the war-torn North Kivu district." The Independent, 24 December 2007

Palestinians delayed, humiliated at checkpoints: "Under the supervision of an Israeli soldier clutching an M-16 assault rifle, Qassem Saleh begins his daily disrobing. He lifts his bright orange shirt so the soldier can see there's no bomb strapped to his torso. Then, after passing through a metal floor-to-ceiling turnstile, he undoes his belt and hands it over for examination by a second soldier, along with his wallet, mobile phone and cigarettes." Toronto Globe and Mail, 2007-12-18

Iran’s Ruling Regime Violates It’s Own Laws by Murdering Makwan Moloudzadeh: This week, 20 year old Makwan Moloudzadeh was executed for alleged sexual activity with other boys at the age of 13. Makwan was initially arrested for smoking during Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. In a show of humiliation was placed on a donkey and taken around the town in city of Kermanshah. Several days later 3 boys told the authorities that Makwan had sexual relationship with them when he was 13 years of age. Despite the fact that the boys later withdrew their allegations, Makwan was sentenced to death for these alleged sexual acts. SCE News & Updates, December 8, 2007



Mark Twain:

Let us try to think the unthinkable: let us try to imagine a Man of a sort willing to invent the fly; that is to say, a man destitute of feeling; a man willing to wantonly torture and harass and persecute myriads of creatures who had never done him any harm and could not if they wanted to, and -- the majority of them -- poor dumb things not even aware of his existence. In a word, let us try to imagine a man with so singular and so lumbering a code of morals as this: that it is fair and right to send afflictions upon the just -- upon unoffending as well as upon the offending, without discrimination.

"Thoughts of God" from Fables of Man