Monday, June 27, 2011

Die Christian Scum - NSFW

Now, now; everyone calm down. I don't say it in the same manner a christian might; they actually mean it.



Saying that, I think it is a sound and reasonable thought that christians would understand, and if the title was, "Die Atheist Scum," embrace. Face it, christians have no problem with killing. It is part of their life, their way of showing their superiority to everyone who doesn't believe as they do and everything that can't defend itself.



An eye for an eye bitch. Turning the other cheek is only a tale for wimps. A way of pretending to be the offended party. They do not turn the other cheek, unless they cannot win. 



I mean it. How many christians do you think agree with Scott Roeder? Killing an abortion doctor is a good deed to some, and though psychopaths may get a kick out of death, only the religious would do so for an insane ideology while maintaining a clear conscience. If you look at the states governed by theocracies, you see the same events happening; yeah, they're not killing, but still making legal activities impossible and perhaps killing from negligence. 



I'm looking at sites right at this moment, christian sites, that state god has mandated capital punishment. The thought is that before the flood, (for christian readers, you know it didn't happen, right?), god prohibited the death penalty. But after things changed.

Another reflection of god's imperfection. Since if the commands change, perfection either has been corrupted, or was never there in the first place.

God's first command was “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth," Genesis 1:28. Second command was "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food," Genesis 1:29, The third command was that the death penalty was forbidden, "Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times worse than I am punishing you. So the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn everyone not to kill him." Genesis 4:15.

No death penalty here, but then.

After the flood, (nope, didn't happen), the first command was, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands," Genesis 9:1-2. The second, "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood," Genesis 9:3-4. The third commanded the death penalty, "Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind," Genesis 9:6.




Well, something like that, depending on who's version you're reading. Regardless, there is the excuse for the death penalty.



Christians kill without a blink of an eye. Only the religious can be justified in taking a life that has not threatened them. This is not self defense, this is an action that is commanded by god. Kill those who have killed, which today means kill those who are suspected of killing.

Death to the innocent and the guilty. We do not even have to consider the other actions that god says you should die for to know that there's something wrong in that bigot's head.

They do not have a problem with strapping someone to a chair and frying the fuck out of them. No problem with a leisurely lethal injection. Hell, they'd be happy to line up and be the firing squad, with the added bonus of supplying their own guns and ammo.

And to top it all off, the slobbering little fucks feel righteous doing this.

I would never trust the goodwill of a christian. When minds are warped, attitudes can change in a heartbeat.

Suckers

Any day you take a ride, you'll probably encounter a local fish monger. No, not someone butchering the seas to keep your belly happy, but the dull-eyed driver going ten miles under the speed limit with a fish symbol on the back of his car.


Amazing how they try so hard to preserve their life when they have such a cool place waiting for them. You'd think their driving would more resemble the, "pedal to the metal and drive spectacularly!" thought. 


Why wait?


Most atheists have a better understanding than christians where the symbol originated. It has been meaningful to pagans and other religions as well. As far as christianity goes, supposedly it was a way of recognizing a fellow christian.


You would think the glazed eyes and sluggish manner would be the giveaway, but if you're not that quick in thought, you need an easily understandable and identifiable method to communicate crazy. Someone may have drawn a curve in the sand, and a fellow christian, after a bit of slow mental activity, could figure out how to complete the symbol. Sometimes they had to break for food and drink, sometimes their "squirrel!" mentality would distract them, but eventually the bonding would occur.


I link that form of communication to neanderthal grunts, though neanderthals possibly passed more valuable information in a grunt than christians did drawing a line in the sand.


I find the fish appropriate for believers. Much more so than the cross. Besides the cross losing its punch by becoming celebrity bling, it also makes it too simple to identify another christian. I mean really, you don't even have to be able to draw a line? Too simple.


There is another reason that some designs of the symbol are so much more appropriate. Here's my favorite fish symbol these days:



I think this is the perfect visual when examining current christian practices. The addition of the crucifix makes it simple to understand the basic believer.


That's not a cross, it's a hook catching another sucker. 


Monday, June 20, 2011

Purpose, Favor and Free Will




Supposedly we are made in god's image and every one of us has a purpose in life that HE has already mapped out. A statement I've heard many times, in different incarnations.

God's muddled method of controlling his subjects, hiding this, hiding that, hiding himself. Saying this, but doing the opposite. On and on the game continues.

But you have a purpose, and supposedly, if you open yourself to god, he will favor you in some way. But if he favors you, isn't that just your purpose? Did you just complete a useless activity? Favor can be granted in different ways of course. Preachers will tell you it doesn't mean you will get rich, or be powerful; but you might be!

That'll grab their attention, oh yeah. Makes for a nice little sermon, or maybe just a teaching experience; everyone likes thinking of their impending good fortune, especially when it takes zero effort.

But favor could be a simple as a believer having a daughter that doesn't come out quite as idiotic as the parents, those parents could say they gained god's favor. Maybe you needed a little bit of a break at work, and you get one, you were favored. You had a flat tire, but were close to a gas station, how favored are you? You were in a pummeling rain storm, and boom, after a little prayer, you break out into the sunshine. Ah, god favors you.

See, all that praying has really made your twisted little life worthwhile!

Maybe the areas of drought in the country are directly related to all the crazy christians wishing to drive in the sunshine? That would be great theater, every fucking christian praying for something that harms the earth in ways that their imbecilic minds can't understand. I can see it now, "Oh, I sure pray it doesn't rain tomorrow, it's my birthday party!" And every day for the rest of your life is sunny, because every day its some idiot's birthday. Turn the planet into a desert, hooray!

If you think that we all have a purpose, and we are created to fulfill that purpose, then anything that is caused by man is just "purpose." Possibly one of the CEO billionaires that spends his time raping the earth and poisoning the land is just engaged in his purpose, and not to blame. Dictators killing millions, god's purpose. Children starving, purpose. Raping, pillaging, conservatism and liberalism, all approved by the big, dumb, guy in the sky.

I know I'm not the only one who sees the discrepancies here. What about free will then? If god created each person with a purpose, doesn't that negate free will? No one should be blamed for their actions if those actions are guided.

How does a christian reconcile the thought? Either we were made for a purpose that we fulfill and are not to blame for anything, or we have free will and our only purpose is to use it to do all the stupid damn things that the big dumb guy frowns upon.

Wish they would tell me the fucking answer, but I already know the response, for god works in mysterious ways; which just means none of the dumbfucks understands a damn thing.

Blind allegiance must be a very strong christian trait.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Bush the Liberator


The spin is on once again. How can we make a failed presidency, possibly the worst in U.S. history, look a bit less pathetic. Hey, tie it into current news like he is still president!


I was with most Americans who wanted revenge after the 9/11 attack. Afghanistan here we come. But what happened? We use our military might to go after Saddam, a dictator no doubt, but not the cause of the attack. Instead of finishing what terrorists started in Afghanistan, we are distracted. There were no weapons of mass destruction, no imminent attack on America from Iraq; nothing but sweet crude oil.


Some would say we didn't go there because of our need to control the planet's resources, oh no. We went there to liberate the populace. That is such bullshit. There's dictators and the oppressed all over the world, but if you don't have resources, we're not freeing you. In fact, we like dictators, they are some of our best friends. 


With the civil unrest in the middle east, some republicans would like us to think it is all Bush's doing. Like he magically implanted an idea a half a dozen years ago into non-english speaking prepubescent minds. I'm sure they all rallied to his cry, they were just waiting to muscle up before hitting the streets.


In reality, Bush didn't liberate anything. He's a war criminal that is not allowed in many parts of the word. It's a simple case, prosecutor says he authorized torture, done. Lock the bitch up.


But I guess we should look at the people of Iraq; has it really faired well for them? 


I guess we could call Bush the liberator when it comes to Iraq. They went from an American supported secular dictator to a free country with freedom of speech; as long as you praise allah at the end of each sentence. Dictatorship or theocracy, both horrible in my book.


He did chase out two and a quarter million of the educated in the country, they're in Jordan and Syria, so at least those two countries benefitted. Forty percent of Iraqi professionals have left the country. He displaced another two and a quarter million in Iraq, those that lost their homes and jobs are probably not too sure about joy of liberation. Unemployment anywhere from twenty-seven to sixty percent where curfews are not in effect, so we did liberate them from those lousy jobs they had. In 2006, the consumer price inflation was fifty percent, so I guess they are liberated from buying food. Iraqi children suffering for chronic malnutrition was close to thirty percent by 2007, again, liberated from food.


In fact, after ten years of sanctions and the war, the probability of an Iraqi child dying before forty is three times the level in surrounding countries that we haven't liberated. So, Iraqis have been liberated from old age as well. 


At the end of Bush's reign of terror, the average daily hours Iraqis had electricity was one to two hours, before the war it was sixteen to twenty four hours. We've liberated them from comfort.


We brought Shock and Awe, that liberated over a million Iraqis, who are now dead or seriously injured.


We have filled the rivers with blood, and some would like to make us think that it was a noble pursuit. 


Fuck them.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Evolution for Dummies

Every so often one of our members expresses a thought on evolution as a given. A simple thought that just happens to be stated without much background. 


For all the intelligent people here, it is such a given that they don't spend much time on it. You are so into the subject that you know all the details, details that excite you, but details that will possibly bore all the non-science people out there as well. 


Yet those simple thoughts are the ones that I think will bring the non-science oriented around. 


When you think of evolution deniers, the first thing that comes to mind are the uneducated or the religious; which, for the most part, could very well be the same thing. Not all atheists are science minded either, and some concepts go way over their heads as well, only because of their backgrounds. 


So what to do?


Concentrate on the simple, the common sense arguments. I think Adriana mentioned, as a quick aside once, about testing done on animals. Why do we test on animals? Because we share genetic backgrounds. For her, or others that are very much into the science, this is a minor point possibly, but to the uneducated, a simple thought to grasp; maybe even the start of an enlightening concept.


It was the same for me reading Dawkins' "The Greatest Show on Earth." He understands that you have to capture a thought in simple enough terms for laymen to interpret. For this dummy, I never thought about the similarity of skeletal structure until reading his simple explanation. The way he explained the data almost anyone could understand. Especially when he goes on about horses actually running on their fingertips; how they have the same structure as all of us except they evolved to run and their fingers are welded to the hoof. Bats expanding their wings using five digits was another easily understood example of the commonality of all animals.


Another fascinating thought for the science impaired like myself, was the article posted here about hiccups and how it is genetically equivalent to what a fish uses to breathe. (And yes, correct all my bumblings and errors).


Then there's the simple visual that connects us with our ancestors, the way a fetus forms in the womb. Starting with eyes on the side of the head, and a palate that joins much in the same way as our ancestors.


These are probably all basic thoughts that most here are very aware of. Probably so basic as to not earn more than a passing thought. To an evolution denier though, the simple thoughts may be the ones that introduces him to the fact that evolution is.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Potholes


As a child, I noticed my elders had various ailments. Skin blemishes, scars; all the good stuff aging has to offer. I heard their stories, their desires and their sadness. You hear the stories about hopes dashed and goals that were attained. 


Much information I filed in my young brain, but never really concentrated on. We all think that our lives will be greatly different. Then as we age we find that yes, to a certain extent are lives are different, different in technology, but really not that different on a social basis. You still have the social relationships that can sour or enhance your life. You have dreams that are fulfilled, or lost.


All of this you see, but do not concern yourself with. Yet as you age you find the same set of characteristics that your family shares becoming more evident. Their sense of purpose, of ethics, of family; it's all there waiting to come out.


Fortune telling that actually works. As you live and watch the struggles of others older than you, you are seeing your future. Scars that you will get, physically and emotionally no matter how hard you try to evade. 


For someone young, you have a map of your future laid out before you, but one that you will ignore until you realize it has happened. Some that I find to be weak willed, or indecisive, or lets life control them instead of them controlling life, are those that ignored the map.


Maybe we should study that map and the roads that we might travel. 


Christians have a seemingly safe road to travel. Do such and such, end up here or there. Simplistic it is. Yet many fail to even tread that well worn road safely. Pedophile priests and cheating christian conservatives prove the path is untenable. 


Religion doesn't give you a road to follow. Delusion and irrational thinking make the trip hard. Too many potholes to make a safe trip. Atheism give us a life based in reality, a life that may have pitfalls, but also the knowledge to overcome difficulties.


Atheists are blessed.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

There Are None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See, There Are None So Deaf As Those Who Will Not Hear.


I received an email from a family member with the title words in a bright lime green color, extra large fonts and all in caps.

You think someone is trying to tell me something? Or, do they think this phrase will open my mind to the wonders of fantasy?

There was a video attached that I watched, thought it was going to be highly religious, (and it was a religious message), but it was mostly about a gentleman with no arms playing guitar with his feet. That part was okay, he played, had timing; the guitar was tuned to a chord so he could make simplistic fingerings, (toeings?), to play songs. The one he played on the video was "Let it Be." Then it ended with a statement about the pope visiting and listening to him play. The last statement was about how the pope called him a "gift of hope."

The family member who sent me the video is of course religious, and is an intelligent design kind of guy. Crazy. Intelligent design is like a festering wound boring through the mind leaving scars that state "I'm with stupid."

Why would someone think learning to play guitar with your feet has more to do with god than being born without arms? The story would be uplifting if it focused on the man's determination to play music, to immerse himself in an art that he loves. But no, we have to bring in the magical, the bullshit, the one and only master fuckup, god.

It would seem to be a dangerous proverb to toss around when history shows that at times the religious have definitely closed their eyes and ears to science. If you send me this, I must inform you on how at one time the religious enjoyed having the earth as the center of the universe, and what they would do to keep it that way. If you send me this, then I must talk about how evolution is currently treated the same way.

All know who those are that close their minds to reality.

In fact, why don't the godly just go for it. Embrace the little leprechaun bastards as real. Werewolves and vampires are already story favorites, can I get a Saint somefuckingbody for them? Medusa is just as real as well bitches, and all those marvel comics? Yeah, that's as real as well. Can the Hulk be a disciple please? That would rock. Ghosts, witches, warlocks, wizards, sorcerers; include every mythical or fictional thought you can. Make some evil, some good, with the toss of a coin like the rest of your idiot characters.

I want the Book of Thor dammit.

Every religious person should accept that the saying applies only to the religious. It has no other place. If you can not accept science as fact, you are the deaf and blinded.

Weak minds make for weak people.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Short Bus

Christian terror paralyses a nation
hypocrites need not make a fuss
many pretend to believe in creation
climb on board that short bus


Your sanity has been blown
ignorance is not a plus
happily you're not alone

climb on board that short bus




Morality you explain with a sneer

you think you're better than us

women you eye with an evil leer

climb on board that short bus




Our daughters bodies are not yours to command

your book turns to dust and your church rusts
truth you do not understand
climb on board that short bus




A destination has been saved for you
neither heaven or hell or any of your lusts

there will be simplistic stuff for you to do
climb on board that short bus




Psychiatric hospitals have a nice bed

pretty parks and a big nurse named Gus
don't you wish you could take back the lies you said
too late now, you're on that short bus.


or,


short buses skidding

christians whining

off cliffs

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Neighbors, or How a Man From the City Terrorizes His Rural Christian Community

Have had an interesting week. Besides family problems to deal with, I am learning how to deal with my neighbors. So far that is not working out well for me.

Being a kind and gentle man, who would of thought?

I live in a very small condo complex. When we bought into the community, the plan was for twenty-three units, cool common areas, etc. Now we are down to thirteen units, and selling our beautiful common area to the city. The failing economy has not been good to us, condo values dropping rapidly.

Of of the thirteen units, (we may get two more if anything sells), there are nine that are owned by individuals, the rest owned by the builders. I only have seven neighbors to contend with, (one owner rents his place out), one would think that would be easy. Apparently not for me, I know not how to communicate properly.

I have one neighbor who is a single mother with two adult sons. One lives with her, one is back and forth. They have a small driveway that only holds two vehicles. They also have a two car garage, that is filled with the owners daughter's furnishings, (the daughter lives in a manufactured home community and doesn't have the room to store her belongings).

Basically three vehicles are around often, with only two parking spots. Our Association bylaws state there is no parking on our street, but we are usually fairly lenient on enforcing the rule; we don't mind when neighbors have family or friends over and they park on the street, it is temporary.

Well, my neighbor that I've described parks her car constantly on the street. Sometimes it is there for weeks. Again, I don't have much of a problem with this, except for the irritation I feel when I see her car parked there, and her driveway empty. If you have the room get it off the damn street.

We also have additional parking at the end of the street, ( a hundred feet away), where she does park every so often; her adult male children cannot because she fears for their safety.

Did I mention I'm in a small fucking town that has no crime except for a few pot smokers? She's insane. We have neighbors that rent, and their female children have no problem parking at the end of the street and walking.

One more part of the problem is that I live on a Cul-de-sac, that circles and heads back out. I am an end unit, and where she parks is actually behind my driveway off to the right. Always have to keep in mind she is there so I don't run into her.

Last Thursday, I awoke to her car alarm going off. Four in the morning, not happy but let it go. The next night, at the same time, it goes off again waking Jo. She wraps a blanket around herself and walks over to the neighbor's house to get her to shut off the damn alarm. She finds our neighbor fully dressed, (weird for the time), and claiming she isn't aware of the alarm.

Probably because you park closer to my home than your own, bitch.

She uses her car the next day, I wash my vehicle and put it in her spot to keep her away from my unit, don't want to wake up to the bullshit again. After two days of parking there, I go to move it and the front of my vehicle is scratched up. Like I said, I had washed it before putting it out on the street, it was perfect. It sits in my driveway, no one touches it, I put it in her spot, it is vandalized.

Not once did this happen but twice. Earlier in the year I got tired of seeing her park there, so I put my car out on the street. When I pull it back in I noticed the license plate had been bent in half.

Now I'm pissed.

I'm thinking it is her or her sons, I mean, wouldn't you? My car is left alone when parked in my driveway, messed with when parked on the street twenty feet from where it normally sits. I thought it would be reasonable to suspect her.

So, in my usual forgiving manner, I send an email chronicling the events to all the other owners, including who I think is the culprit. I explain all the events and how I'm getting tired of the aggravation, and end my nice note with, "now we have a war."

Apparently she only knows one definition of that word.

The next day I get a response from her claiming her innocence and my stupidity. She goes on to rant about rules or regulations and how they suck. She did this last year when the problem surfaced. She doesn't believe the rules should be followed, especially since she can't even keep her association dues up to date. No rules for her dammit!

When I see her response, it pisses me off. So I reply, but have missed some of her text. She writes a paragraph and inserts numerous blank lines before she starts the next paragraph, so I miss the last paragraph of her communication.

My reply was again very nice, only calling her or her family a criminal, but no swearing or cussing.

The next day I get up and the wife is a little frantic. Cleaning house, running around doing more chores than is normally done in a week. I ask her what the problem is, she says she's worried about the police making a visit. I think she's going overboard, nothing that I know of that is a major problem, so I offer to take my car up to the police station and file a report.

She says thanks, I'm still puzzled.

I go to the police station to file the report. The officer who meets me looks really grumpy, like I've made this the worst day he's had, maybe ever. He listens to my story, then asks if I have an inkling of who may have done it. I tell him about my cranky neighbor, but trying to be nice I state that I do not think her or her family is involved, and really hope it is not them. I'm just reporting the incident.

He says that's good.

He tells me he's been reading my emails all morning. The paragraph I missed on her last reply said she was calling the police and forwarding my emails because she, "fears for her and her family's lives."

WTF bitch?

Well, at least now I know why the officer is looking at me so strangely. Here I am, the big bad guy threatening the poor little woman. Stupid fucking people, like I'm not intelligent enough to realize that kicking her ass wouldn't be worth the jail time. Lowlife bastards all of them.

This is the first really small town that I've lived in, I'm sure I'm now the talk of the town. In fact, I know it. I'm sitting outside yesterday and I overhear two ladies talking as they walk the fitness trail about a man who threatened a woman and her children; one telling the story, the other replying "oh my!"

Fuck.

Not being from a small town or dealing with small town gossip I have no clue what to do. Go over and beat the fuck out of my neighbor and her adult male children, (teasing of course), just because she is slandering my name, or go spread my own story.

I grew up in areas where a bar was affectionately named "The Knife and Gun club." A place where people took care of their problems without involving the law. 


What's a city guy to do?

Meaning


I am always bewildered by a theist's desire for ultimate meaning. I know the topic surfaces with every atheist, and every atheist tries to explain the thought in a manner that would satisfy other atheists. 

I think that question is personal, and can only be answered by the individual. I think the simplest reason for the search for meaning comes from those who have personal tragedies looking for the good in that tragedy. That would be a theist. A hundred plus people die in recent tornadoes; yet a child may be saved, a relic of a destroyed home found intact; a theist would say it's a plan and has meaning. 

Bullshit.

Pretty lame plan in my mind. Shit happens, get over it. If meaning is a construct of those who are believers, do atheists need concern themselves with the discussion?

For most of us, I think meaning ends up often being pleasure. That pleasure might be a simplistic as reading a book or watching a sunset; not sure if that devolves into meaning, or life. 

Does meaning have anything to do with anything except personal experience?

I don't think there is meaning for me in the fact that someone accomplishes some deed, even if amazing because of said person's background. It is life. I don't feel meaning in my life to be as important as self worth or pleasure, and even self worth could be thrown off the cliff as well, it is really just another form of pleasure.

I guess I am struggling with the thought of meaning. Yes, there could be meaning in relationships and experience, there could be meaning in someone's accomplishments that may help others; or it could be a useless word that cloaks personal pleasure.

Some would think that pleasure in itself is not a goal, but meaning is. I think pleasure is the meaning. 

Kant said, Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.

Is awe and hope, or pleasure and experience, all there is to the word?