THE POLITICS OF EXTINCTION

Pope Francis has been in the States for the last few days, and although much of his message many of us may agree with, his is still a message of death. Although recognizing, and if at all possible, battling Climate Change is a message that resonates with a hopefully large number of atheists, it does not alleviate the path to extinction that the catholic church would like to take us down. 

Although conservative leaders did not welcome his messages on climate, wealth, refugees, etc.; they really enjoyed his life starts at conception spiel. The catholic church has been at the lead when it comes to the rights of cells. Apparently that is so much more important than the unknown number of children molested by priests; the church has still not made their records accessible to the government or the people. All internal, christian law. 

The Ordovician-Silurian extinction occurred about 439 million years ago due to a drop in sea levels as glaciers formed followed by rising sea levels as glaciers melted. During this extinction 25 percent of marine families and 60 percent of marine genera (the classification above species) were lost.

The pope's reluctance to bring up the many horrors that have been recently committed by the church, and his stance on women negates and overwhelms any good his message may contain. The anti-choice movement has its champion, and the world screams in anguish. Over 7 billion humans now hold sway over all life. Catholics have been in the forefront of the anti-choice terrorist movement, and the pope supports the terrorists.

The Late Devonian extinction took place somewhere around 364 million years ago. To this day its cause is unknown. However, evidence supporting the Devonian mass extinction suggesting that warm water marine species were the most severely affected in this extinction event, has lead many paleontologists to believe that an episode of global cooling, similar to the event which that may have resulted in the Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction, may have lead to the Devonian extinction. Thus this theory suggests that the extinction of the Devonian was triggered by another glaciation event on Gondwana, which is evidenced by glacial deposits of this age in northern Brazil.

According to Earth Overshoot Day we used up what the earth produced on August 13, 2015. This means we are drawing down on the earth's principle instead of living on its interest, if economic models work for you. Basically we use more resources than the earth can produce. 

The Pope's desire to see humans needlessly propagate is an abomination; propagation is what animals do to keep their species alive, but it is not something they should be forced to do. To straddle teens who have an entire life ahead of them with the burden of raising offspring, to destroy a woman's life for the sake of the unborn, to deliver children into the misery of a life that cannot be sustained, is simply torture.

The Permian-Triassic extinction happened about 251 million years ago and was Earths worst mass extinction. 95 percent of all species, 53 percent of marine families, 84 percent of marine genera, and an estimated 70 percent of land species such as plants, insects and vertebrate animals were killed during this catastrophe. 

The anti-choice comments were applauded by our conservative congress. The anti-science crowd who cannot accept basic life sciences like evolution, who cannot understand climate science, who purposefully close their eyes and minds to reach an unsustainable goal of profit for the few and misery for the rest. These people really are not just a freethinker's enemy, they are the enemy of all life that exists on this planet.

The Chairman of the House Science Committee, Lamar Smith, cut NASA's earth science budget this year. Though he chairs a committee on science, he doesn't understand what science is. Ben Carson, one of our fine anti-science conservatives running to be president of the Unites States, thinks evolution is a fairy tale. A neurosurgeon who does not accept the basic life science that we have al benefitted from. Instead of science, we now used ideology as theory. This list goes on and on, the vast majority of conservative elected officials do not have our best interests at heart. 

The End Triassic extinction, taking place roughly 199 million to 214 million years ago, was most likely caused by massive floods of lava erupting from the central Atlantic magmatic province triggering the breakup of Pangaea and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. This possibly contributed to global warming.

If you glance at the possible reasons for past extinctions, you'll notice that climate change has been a possible helping hand, or the main event, that drove countless species into extinction. Yet here we are, ignoring all the signs of another catastrophe. We are drowned out by a media that cannot explain what is happening in a soundbite so doesn't bother trying. The public seems to care less and less about anything science, unless it's a new way to kill, and that fault lies squarely on the confusing data being fed to them by the media. 

The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction occurred about 65 million years ago and is thought to have been aggravated, if not caused, by impacts of several-mile-wide asteroid that created the Chicxulub crater now hidden on the Yucatan Peninsula and beneath the Gulf of Mexico. Yet, some scientists believe that this mass extinction was caused by gradual climate change or flood-like volcanic eruptions of basalt lava from the Deccan Traps in west-central India. During this extinction, 16 percent of marine families, 47 percent of marine genera, and 18 percent of land vertebrate families including the dinosaurs.

Religious leaders, and politicians, are only looking out for their own welfare; senseless puppets in our new Oligarchy. These are the newest of the false prophets. They are living for today and not for eternal life. 

The Holocene extinction, sometimes called the Sixth Extinction, is a name proposed to describe the currently ongoing extinction event of species during the present Holocene epoch (since around 10,000 BCE) mainly due to human activity.

Humans may be on their way out. We have spread to the ends of the earth using resources as fast as we can. For the most part, we have no sense of the future. Our ideology and politics are driving us to extinction. Any that have even a minimal understanding of the ecological requirements for diversity, basic biology and life sciences, should be able to imagine a future that doesn't include life as we know it.

It was fun people. 

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.

The Planet - September 22, 2013

POLITICS

Keeping the insanity "real," the House GOP decided that the honorary position of "science laureate" was just too damn useful for them to support. The initiative was stopped. An unpaid position that's only purpose is to promote science across the country is just way to damn subversive for these cave dwelling tea party members of the house. Their thought is that science is political, which of course it is not; scientists would say the same things no matter who is in charge. An anonymous high ranking house member stated, "fear and ignorance, it's what we're all about." Not really, but someone might as well; the truth is evident.

In Kansas, Governor Brownback had promised on the campaign trail that he would reduce poverty. Besides the amusement that one might get from any conservative saying he cares about the plight of American workers, it was an out and out lie. The state hit a new high in child impoverishment in 2011. Policies that were instituted by the crazy man has had their desired effect, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.

For better, or worse, atheists are sticking their noses into politics. A political action committee has been created that will spend its money on either atheists, or at a minimum, those candidates who will support the separation of church and state. 

House republicans voted to cut $40 billion from the food stamp program. Only conservatives can hate fellow Americans so openly without retaliation. Republicans think that an average of $138 dollars a month is way to generous to feed the starving. For these bastards and their caviar covered filets, shit on the shingle is way too good for the poor.

FOX helped out by passing around videos on "The Great Food Stamp Binge." Fraud and waste has been proven to be less than 1 percent of the program, but the fiends from FOX perverted that data.

This is where one would normally see a horrible image of a starving child, but apparently no child is starving in the U.S. First I tried searching for "starving children" images on google. I didn't want to put up another photo of an African child starving; we've all seen them. I wanted starving white children. The only ones found are black and white photos from the early 1900s, or maybe even earlier, or old eastern European images. Then I tried American starving children, still very few photos of white children, and again when there were, they were old black and white photos. Then I tried U.S. starving children, same basic results.

Apparently, every white child in this country is fat, dumb and happy. Congratulations America.

EDUCATION

Our friends in North Carolina, those tea party statesmen that have done all they can to restrict voting rights, mandate arms carrying in playgrounds, and all other whacky dumb fuck shit, has decided to ban a literary classic from school libraries. "Invisible Man," a Ralph Ellison classic that won the National Book Award in 1953 about social conditions surrounding blacks, no longer has any "literary value" according to old white conservatives in the State. We'll see about this.

A library aide was fired in upstate New York for having a library reading competition. One child kept winning, because you know, some of us like to read. The Director of the library, who apparently was fired as well, started the controversy because the young one winning the contest every year was involved in "no-good-dirty-rotten-book-stealer." Apparently this dimwit thought the winner should be chosen at random, because you know, that encourages reading.

GUNS

They finally fired that police chief who liked to make videos of himself shooting weapons while talking about "fucking libtards" and anyone else he's hating at the moment. Just think, that guy probably has a legal permit to carry firearms, and he hates everyone who disagrees with his moronic viewpoints. Jump him if you see him and kick his ass before he starts shooting is all I can say. Self-defense for real.

FOX reflects on the real problem of gun violence. Increased institutionalization. They must never listen to the real news.

In my lovely state of Michigan, ten minutes from my home, 2 men got into a crazy road rage battle while driving. They were both legally carrying weapons. They pulled into a car wash parking lot, got out of their cars, and started firing those weapons. Both are dead. That's what everyone is missing when it comes to the gun control battle, normally sane people can get pissed. It used to be you would take a swing at someone, now it's the O.K. Coral in every little town in the country. Rage is never in the equation when discussing the legality of carrying instruments that serve one purpose only, killing.

Guns are not for defense, running and ducking for cover is defense. Again, guns are made for one purpose only, death.

HATE

A very small town in disrepair attracts white supremacists. Leith, North Dakota has been falling apart for years; what better haven for a bunch of knuckle-dragging neanderthals to inhabit. This is America, where we allow freedom of hate. The townspeople aren't that happy about the prospect of a takeover, especially, as you can imagine, there one and only minority citizen. Only 24 people live in the town, I think they're in for a battle.

Then there's the idiocy that follows all things non-white. Our new Miss America had the audacity to be born of Indian descent. Oh no you don't. This is one of the best Bill Maher monologues I've seen, he hits the nail on the head when it comes to American's new pastime, hate. Read it or watch it.

ATHEISM

We all need a chuckle now and then, thanks Snoopy.