The Planet - November 4, 2013

RELIGION

When thinking of biblical evil, the omnipresent root of everything bad is the devil. The thought that people are born evil is a purely theistic view of the world and its inhabitants. A view that seventy percent of our population seemingly believes. This allows us to want harsher penalties for crime; screw that rehabilitation nonsense, people are evil and that's all there is to it. The world is a horrible place to live for those who subscribe to biblical evil. Get off the juice theists, we are human, not evil. 

On November 6th, the case of the Town of Greece v. Galloway is set for a debate. The "Separation of Church and State case," involves the predominantly christian prayers before government meetings. I'm sure that in many towns across the states, their city council meetings to state legislature forums are the same; someone talks about god and all the good things we don't get from him. Worth watching because of the implications for atheists around the country, especially for those who may be considering politics as a career.

Finally, christian killers will pay the price for their insanity. In Washington state, christian homeschoolers have been found guilty of beating and starving their adopted daughter to death. The bible doesn't appear to be much of a guide when it comes to raising humans; never has been, never will. 

I've already posted about the South Carolina atheist group that was not allowed to help out at a christian run soup kitchen. Listen to the executive director, Lou Lundrum, tell us the reason why volunteers to help the needy are not wanted:

"This is a ministry to serve God. We stand on the principles of God. Do they (atheists) think that our guests are so ignorant that they don't know what an atheist is? Why are they targeting us? They don't give any money. I wouldn't want their money."

The atheists, being of sound mind and body, reacted to the rejection of their charity by handing out three hundred care packages across the street from the "christian" assholes. Basically the director is saying, "oh no, only christians are capable, and allowed, to perform good deeds. Asshole.

CULTURE

Hope no one had trick-or-treaters in the family in Albuquerque. If you did, they may have come home with a nice anti-choice card with their candy. Images of fetuses adorned with cute little messages like, "I am not a clump of cells," or the ever popular, "I am a human being."

I only mention this because of the fact that the anti-abortion dicks who screwed up Kansas, and as far as I'm concerned helped enable the killing of Dr. Tiller, moved to Albuquerque. Here we go again.

In stupid fucking Texas, student Isaiah Smith was suspended because of screwing with a bible. The bullied, gay student had enough of god's stupid fucking followers and started ripping pages out of the bible. Excuse the language, but freedom of speech is all we have left. When that's gone, democracy is gone.

HEALTH

If you feel the need to remind yourself why chiropractors are not the place to go for medical advice, Preston Long will let you know. He has a nice list of "20 things most chiropractors won't tell you." Here's a few:

1. Chiropractic is not based on science
2. Chiropractors promise too much
3. Their education is vastly inferior to that of medical doctors
4. Their legitimate scope is very narrow
5. Little of what they do has been studied
6. It’s best to get diagnosed elsewhere
7. They offer lots of unnecessary services
8. “Cracking” the back doesn’t mean much
9. If the first few visits don’t help, more treatment probably won’t help
10. They take too many x-rays

And then there's the god news. The six health benefits of drinking beer highlights all the good reasons to enjoy that ale. A reprint from the spring of this year, it still is current for this guy. Here's the first three for you:

Reduces Risk of Heart Disease

All alcohol, whether it is beer, wine, or liquor, is known to help reduce heart disease. According to a 2008 article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, moderate consumption of alcohol makes blood less sticky, and so it is less likely to clot. Alcohol can also increase good cholesterol and lower the bad, as well as lower your blood pressure. A Harvard study of 70,000 women found that those who consumed beer had a lower blood pressure than those who consumed wine or hard alcohol.

Helps the Kidneys

Alcohol gets a bad wrap for being hard on your kidneys, but beer can actually help in that department. According to the 2011 ADA Times, beer can actually reduce your risk of kidney stones. The hops not only help slow the release of calcium from the bones — too much calcium can cause kidney stones — but beer also has a high water content, which helps clear out those kidneys.

Packed with Nutrition

Beer is a surprising source of many nutrients. One 12-ounce beer has around one gram of fiber. It is also packed with B vitamins like niacin, pantothenic acid, folate, riboflavin, and vitamins B6 and B12. It is also rich in silicon, a nutrient that is said to help strengthen bones.

POLITICS

Governor Rick Perry of Texas signed in law restrictions on reproductive rights. This is going on in most states that our conservative controlled, and in many states it has been the courts who fight back. Well, a federal judge ruled that the law was unconstitutional at the end of October. Unfortunately, it was reinstated after an appeal. This looks to be Supreme Court material.

doone already posted this, but in case you missed it; Tom Delay is back and on "a mission from god." Hey, who else would endorse this crook but the almighty god? God loves him some sinners. Delay's laundering conviction was overturned by a judge, a Texas judge of course. He thinks he had the "joy of jesus in him;" I'm thinking it was the "joy of bubba in him" that kept him going.

And not all idiots come from Texas. In Nevada, Assemblyman Jim Wheeler told members of his party that he'd bring back slavery if that's what his constituents desired. Even his supporters shuddered at that thought. It appears that the party is now run by the Klu Klux Klan.

Of course, moderates are running from the party as fast as they can. The last Planet highlighted a Texas republican judge who finally had enough and switched sides. He's now a democrat. In North Carolina, another conversion has taken place. A conservative congressional candidate by the name of Jason Thigpen just couldn't take it anymore. Please tell us why sir:

I simply cannot stand with a party where its most extreme element promote hate and division amongst people,” Thigpen said in a statement posted to his campaign website Thursday. “Nothing about my platform has, nor will it change. The government shutdown was simply the straw that broke the camels back. I guess being an American just isn’t good enough anymore and I refuse to be part of an extremist movement in the GOP that only appears to thrive on fear and hate mongering of anyone and everyone who doesn’t walk their line.

Maybe there's hope after all.

The Planet - October 28, 2013

RELIGION

Kentucky kind of sucks, for atheists at least. When the state came up with their 2006 homeland security law, it contained the following statement: "The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God as set forth in the public speeches and proclamations of American Presidents." This law has been overturned then reinstalled upon appeal. Twelve months in jail is a possibility for the reason crowd. American Atheists are once again trying to overturn the crazy.

For some fundamentalists, not kicking their children's ass legally is an abomination. Tea Party crazy Mark Meadows hates contraceptives and he hates protections for children. He introduced a "parental rights amendment" that has 64 supporters in congress.Compulsory education for children? No thanks. UN Convention on rights for those with disabilities? Not any time soon. The stupid hurts. 

Ted Cruz, the evangelist Canadian who was a prime mover in shutting down our government and destroying our economy, appears to be one of god's favorites. According to Ted's father, Ted has been anointed to bring about the "end time transfer of wealth," whatever that means. I don't think this action needs saintly guidance, transferring wealth from the wicked to the righteous believers would seem to be fairly subjective. If we cannot rid society of these parasites, we are doomed.

Sam Apple helps with the bible, revisions are always good. A little bit of humor for the atheist in your life.

ATHEISM

One short sound bite for atheism and morality; no thank you. An atheist group in South Carolina, the "Upstate Atheists," offered to help out at a local soup kitchen. Christians think that charity only comes with religion, and to a certain degree they are right. Preachers rely on charity, which is why they preach it. Con men, nothing more. Basically, you have to have the morals of a stone aged ignorant fuck to be allowed to help the needy. Once again, christians show that morals do not exist in their world.

HEALTH

Hey, you need some supplements to keep that body rolling? For those who eat food, no supplements are normally needed, yet this industry grows because of people's lack of reading skills; it only takes a few minutes to google nutrition. Well, if your one of those who think these natural healthy supplements to eating are good for you, then take your nice contaminated little pills. I guess rice filled, unregulated bullshit makes the delusional happy.

After you get sick from taking supplements that don't help you, you can always turn to alternative medicine. I mean, fighting illness with quackery is on the same level as taking unneeded supplements. Money money money, is there anything more important in life? About the same as twirling around three times while scratching your head and rubbing your belly all at the same time. Cured! Good luck with that.

The Healthy Farmland Diet says grow less corn, grow more diverse crops, help the nation's health and the environment. Just from that statement, this will be a no go. Healthier air, water and soil is not something that Americans want. In the first place, reading is so tedious. I mean really, you want Americans to spend ten minutes a day learning something? Get real fools.

LIFE

This story everyone has heard by now. Three boy scout leaders destroy what nature hasn't been able to do in 170 million years. I only mention this again in case you didn't catch the interview with these assholes. One gentleman said he "was saving lives." Where do we get these people? Keep the immigrants, ship out conservatives.

I stay away from talking about food choices that we make, but still, the facts can not be ignored. We destroy lives, including our own, by consuming more meat than our bodies need. Take a break once in awhile and live longer and healthier. Meatless Mondays is a campaign that is still spreading and hopefully will be good for all populations. Eat meat if you feel the need my friends, but try to get some veggies in you once in a while. Live as long and healthy as you can.

Climate Change is always in the minds of those that, once again, read and think. This article talks about extreme climate change effecting the tropics before the arctic. So long tropical plants and animals, humans have decided you need to die.

POLITICS

Politics is something that we dealt with in the past, now it's just an excuse for culture wars; I am starting to really hate the fools running my country, but, here we go.

There is actually a few good things happening. In Wisconsin, tea party Governor Scott Walker had to endure a recall election. He destroyed unions in the state while funneling money to his big money supporters. Apparently there is aninvestigation dealing with the recall election. Separate investigations convicted six former Walker aides. One county that was under investigation now has spread to five counties and it's all leading up to Walker. That would be nice. 

Continuing in Wisconsin, the Court holds state officials incontempt for enforcing anti-union laws. That's another big one. Wisconsin and many of the Great Lakes and Rust Belt states were once very pro-union. The latest crop of tea party governors have tried to destroy those unions. 

In Texas, a conservative judge switches parties. He finally figured it our, the GOP is the party of racists and homophobes. Thank you for thinking sir.

Back to stupid. U.S. Representative Renee Ellmers, another fine pro gun conservative, has an AR-15 stolen from her home. She's a staunch advocate of gun owners. She thinks that gun owners should be "responsible for the use and care of their weapons." Well, after target practice, a gun was left unsecured and was stolen at her home. Nice.

Conservative leaders needed some "expertise" on the implementation of the ACA, which as everyone knows is having problems. They picked up John McAfee, well known for his anti-virus software. He's also well known as the guy who after selling the software, moved to Belize and kept himself amused with teenage girls. His neighbor complained of the noise, and was subsequently found shot in the head. McAfee fled, was grabbed in Guatemala, then sent back to the states. Conservatives always find the best of the best, eh?

One thought on the ACA website problems. I watched the same thing happen while I was with the feds. When we needed new equipment, the federal government would hire outside help, but they worked under the government's thumb. We had a new system and software worked on for over a half dozen years before it was implemented across the country. Was awesome. Then, they contracted out my whole section, and the new company's equipment and software didn't work worth shit. After four years, it still didn't work. It's what you get with small government my friends.

CULTURE

What better costume for Halloween than maybe a white dude donning some black face? Well, I can tell you. Throw some blood on his shirt then have some other dip shit wear a neighborhood watch shirt and fashion a gun with his fingers and point it at black face's head. Oh yeah, theZimmerman outfit. A lack of scruples, a lack of morality, a lack of decency; yeah, we Americans are exceptional.

When it comes to the bullying debate, Fox news has the answer. Anti-bullying policies limit conservative free speech. The only thing right about this thought is that bullying comes from the conservative parts of the country. I might finally agree with these gentlemen; you guys are right, conservatives are the bullies. Little pussies hiding behind false rage and false morals. Thanks for the heads up Fox, we know how to deal with bullies.

Apparently marijuana will become legal everywhere in the states soon. Almost sixty percent now support legalization. Finally we can get the crime off the streets, regulate who can buy, and grow our economy. I'm tired of the prohibition. Kids can buy a bag a weed on the school ground within minutes, yet can't wash it down with a beer. That's because alcohol is regulated. 

If you want some history with your Halloween, Live Science has you covered. Most of us probably know more than we need to about the pagan origins, but still fun. Apparently pagans have more fun than christians.

Rush Limbaugh, who is always talking about how liberals are making us a country of pussies, has decided to move that attack to the National Football League. Maybe it's because they wouldn't allow the racist to co-own a team, but maybe it's just because Rush doesn't have anything real to talk about. The NFL wearing pink for breast cancer awareness was too much for the old fuck. I think he may have gone too far this time. Maybe he doesn't realize that in real life, not like on his flat screen, these guys are giants. Motor mouth better start running.

In reality, if anyone is stealing our manhood, it is this clown. A bully, nothing more. He encourages people to rant and rave, to hate and deceive; he is the one who is helping the decline of morals in the states.

Angry America

Hat tip to Adriana for pointing out a blog to me on atheist republicans; the gist being how can you support a party who hates you? Though atheism doesn't exactly preclude conservatism, the inherently religious statements in the republican platform would make it seem to be a match more likely to be found in a mythical hell.

State by state conservatives have platforms that are meant to establish god as truth. In Iowa, besides the anti-science plank when it comes to the environment and the anti-women's health issues, they also want to reframe education. Yes, evolution is not a fact and creationism should be taught side by side. They want the books supporting the nonsense in publicly funded libraries as well. Interesting enough they intend to help that thought along by downsizing the Iowa Department of Education and eliminating their federal counterpart. 

You can look at each and every state's republican party platform and read the same nonsense, It would be impossible for me to be a republican since so much of it is based on falsehoods

Their National Platform isn't any better. One line says it all:

"We ask all to join us in rejecting the forces of hatred and bigotry and in denouncing all who practice or promote racism, anti-Semitism, ethnic prejudice, or religious intolerance."

They lump the religious thought with easily discernible ones; of course a person should not be judged by any of the above, yet religion's creed has always been one of intolerance. Is this statement meaningful or confusing? Liberals for the most part agree with the basic message against intolerance, but we do not ignore the fact that large privileged right wing religious groups whose intolerance for race, women, ethnicity and gender preference are apparent. 

The right's obsession with groups that they don't agree with getting "special" privileges is a twisted reality; what all those groups desire is the benefits from rights that are already in place.

In a weird twist, the Secular Coalition of America has hired a conservative, Edwina Rogers, to help build coalitions in all fifty states. Looking to unite atheists as a voting block by hiring a conservative who knows how to twist the truth with the best of them seems absurd to anyone who relies on facts to make their personal decision.

Apparently she's looking to recruit secular republicans, but to be fair, she is also involved in keeping religion out of health care, education and policies that discriminate because of religion. 

Gay endorsements for conservatives are as bad as atheist endorsements; possibly worse. GOProud describes its members as gay, yet three out of the seven board members are straight. GOProud has endorsed Mitt Romney, two out of the four gay board members went for Romney and all three of the straight members.

Presidential politics continues the grind. President Obama announced his plan on immigration. Conservatives fight back by attacking Attorney General Eric Holder. Childish.

What is interesting about the contempt charge, is that it doesn't matter whether they get the paperwork or not. Congressman Issa said House Republicans would have to see the documents before delaying or canceling a contempt vote. “We can’t have a promise that we’re going to be satisfied and dismiss this contempt,” he said.

Well, no need to give them the paperwork then.

Health Hypocrites

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has vetoed a bill that would have allowed vaccinations of seventh graders against a cancer causing sexually transmitted virus. HPV infection, no problem. Though at one time supporting a mandate for the vaccination, she has now decided it is better politics to fight reality.

We know that there has been a battle between the Catholic Church and the administration going on over contraceptives. What I find interesting is their view on why conscience is important. They relate the civil rights movement with women's health issues as if they are one and the same. The civil rights movement was a religious movement according to them, which is of course a hard thought to accept; we know what the bible and other musings from history say about slavery. I guess it's a subtle form of rewriting the bible one more time.

The statement that says it all is this:

"This is a matter of whether religious people and institutions may be forced by the government to provide such coverage even when it violates our consciences." 

I must give them credit for the subterfuge. Combining "people" and "institutions" as if they are one and the same; does an institution have a conscience? Then there is the "forced" to provide;  another nice framing of the discussion. It is all about them, not you. 

The Catholic Church is a willing participant in spreading more than mental diseases. This month they were outraged that a lesbian employee sued St. Joseph's Medical Center. What is it that this woman would want? The same rights as heterosexual couples. 

Childhood Cancelled

This is one of those subjects that should aggravate any caring human on the planet. The Senate passed the Farm Bill, which cuts 4.5 billion from SNAP. Basically SNAP is the newer term for Food Stamps. This will effect a half a million low income Americans, because you know, those people are freeloaders to begin with. 

This is significant in two ways. Besides once again taking away needed assistance to the poorest of us to give to the billionaires, it effects the moral constitution of this country. It reduces the monthly benefit for families by 90 dollars. For some of us, 90 dollars may not be that big of a deal, but to a growing population of impoverished humans, this is a big blow.

Next time you hear about a CEO making a shit load of cash, think; 90 dollars. A 4.5 billion dollar subsidy cut for the wealthiest corporations on the earth would not make a difference in their lives, while 90 dollars goes a long way in helping feed a family.

Once again, a fetus is worth so much more than a child. 

Liberals supported the bill, and it did have a couple of progressive causes added to the bill. 

Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 child sex abuse counts. The problem with this case is that it is not over. Sandusky is a criminal, doesn't seem to be much doubt about it. The problem here is not only Sandusky, it is an entire institution. How many people are involved in the coverup is the story line.

But even that doesn't get to the root of the problem; greed and power seems to be always at the center of perversion.

Planet Politics

Egypt has a new leader, President Morsi. The Muslim Brotherhood will now lead the country, kind of. Apparently it really didn't matter who is the president, the military still is in control. 

Greece shows us that politics is generally the same in western countries. The strong divide in ideology and the excessively bad behavior is unfortunately getting commonplace. Most of us have seen the clip of Ilias Kasidiaris throwing a tantrum on live television. Then he raised tempers by saying he was going to sue the victims of his attack for provoking him. As far as I can tell, he is still in hiding.

Very conservative people really are angry.

Pakistan has a new prime minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf. Apparently corruption and other problems may make life tough for the gentleman. 

Turkey is upset with Syria, as the rest of the world is. Syria has formed a new government, with all the old faces; not much help. Turkey's dismay over having one of their jets shot down could open the door for military intervention.

Final Fixation

The Death Penalty

Killing is for the weak

an eye for an eye

thinking people are freaks

death doesn’t make them complete

Bitter because life is not just

they have lost, now so will you

won’t bring back the loved one

won’t heal your heart

An eye for an eye is cruel

leaves us with blinded fools

compounds the crime

adds another death rhyme

From unwilling hands of mine

that dole out another dime

to torture and kill

a citizen possibly innocent

Hang your heads in shame

because you’re part of the blame

doesn’t make it right

doesn’t make it good

Doesn’t mean you should

because you have the power

doesn’t mean you have the right 
it creates a moral blight

Stay that hand of might

think of the legacy you leave

stay the hand that’s built on fright

think of all the bereaved

Most have children and families

you kill a father you create another

you kill a brother you shame another

you kill a son you kill a daughter



You all cry out for death

as long as it isn’t one of yours

you demand death

as long as it isn’t one of yours

you need death

as long as it isn’t one of yours

A faulty thought of thinking apes

extinction would be better

a sickness never cured

religion warps our matter

Humans die daily
children wail in loss
sick minds killed at birth

may satisfy your need

Now we kill the defenseless
the same as any killer
it feeds on our thoughts

death and loss

Did it bring back your mother
or maybe a lover
there is no satisfaction
only false righteousness

You all cry out for death
as long as it isn’t one of yours

you demand death

as long as it isn’t one of yours

you need death

as long as it isn’t one of yours