January 2012
20 posts
tumblrbot asked: WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER WHEN YOU ARE IN A BAD MOOD?
11 tags
Hellish Dreams of Hell
I just bought, and cannot wait to have delivered, a book titled “Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment”, by Janet Heimlich. I expect to see a fair amount of my background in this book, having been raised by fundamentalist, evangelical parents.
Ms. Preach and I were talking last night about my involvement in the freethought, atheistic and humanistic causes. She was...
7 tags
When Did The Wall Go Up?
I flew in to Southern California before Winter Solstice/Christmas to see my Dad, who this week had a heart valve repair. The operation is one of the first of its kind here, using a robotic machine that avoids the invasive sawing of the sternum, instead going in under his left arm somehow or another. I guess I’ll get the full story when I see him for the first time Sunday morning. The good news is...
6 tags
Hitchens' Prescient Quote of Primo Levi
In the introduction to The Portable Atheist Hitch has two quotes from Primo Levi. This one, so relevant to Hitchens’ death, is from The Drowned and the Saved:
“I too entered the Lager as a nonbeliever, and as a nonbeliever I was liberated and have lived to this day. Actually, the experience of the Lager with its frightful iniquity confirmed me in my nonbelief. It has prevented me, and still...
9 tags
Belief Tragically Facilitates a Suicide
A story in today’s New York Times (Dec. 10, 2011) describes the sad choice of a promising young man to end his own life. The story has become a sensation in the debate over the Dream Act, but everyone seems to be ignoring an underlying condition that distorted the reality of his options.
Joaquin Luna Jr.’s death at the age of 18 came after dressing up in a maroon shirt and tie and laying next to...
8 tags
For Angelique
Angelique,
Atheists are some of the most loving, humanistic folk on the face of the planet. Many of us, including me, came from religious backgrounds.
We share a common skepticism about religious claims. We simply don’t see the proof of god. There just isn’t any.
From there we see the tremendous damage done to humanity in the name of religion. This can be attributed to almost every religion, be it...
11 tags
Catholics are dicks about wrapped up dicks
The Catholic church unsurprisingly continues to fight proposed rules by Health and Human Services to make free contraceptive services available to all persons as part of their insurance plans.
It’s not enough for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (but too much for humanistic persons) that only churches would enjoy an exemption. Other organizations such as hospitals, schools and clinics would...
11 tags
An Open Letter to Billboard Co That Denyed Atheist...
Ms. Siegenthaler,
Please reconsider the decison of Lind to not post the billboards for the Mid-Ohio Atheists. I’m not sure what you think an atheist is, but I’ll tell you anyway; It’s merely someone who does not see the evidence for a supernatural being. Perhaps you’d like to post some bible verses instead? How about these:
Deuteronomy 17:12 - The man who shows contempt for the judge or...
9 tags
Religion in my kid's school
Well, it is a religion-intensive season, but I am still put out by what the kid brought home from school today. It has put my brain into a fit of cognitive dissonance. There was a Thanksgiving program which incorporated two religious songs.
The first was The Prayer, by Carol Bayer Sager and David Foster and the second was Shalom Chaverim. Neither is over the top with Jesus or hell or any of the...
9 tags
Variable Views on Religious Strictures Do Not...
One of the themes of atheistic thought is that among the signs that god is a construct of man, one of the strongest is that there is such an incredible variability between, not just different religions, but within each religion, as to what god demands of man.
A casual reading of the day’s news points out examples of the varying views. Look at Sunni vs Shiite and Judaism vs Palestinian views for...
6 tags
Conscience? Catholics?
Belmont Abbey College says their free speech rights are being trampled by HHS rules that contraceptive care must be provided under proposed new rules. They complain “the legislation does not treat religious groups neutrally and ‘runs roughshod’ over the college’s beliefs, forcing it to either violate them or pay significant penalties.”
Actually, it does treat them neutrally - they have to follow...
9 tags
Breaking Children's Spirits in God's Name
Why on earth someone would need to treat a child like this is beyond me. I was raised by a fundamentalist father who used a folded leather belt across my ass until I was in my teens. Needless to say I was deep into my 20s before I could show him any real respect. I needed a lot of distance.
9 tags
A priest's view of Penn State
Original Post Date 11/16/2011
This priest has a pretty clear-eyed view of the comparison between church and Penn State.
9 tags
Catholics & Republicans Livid over HHS Decision to...
Original Post Date 11/16/2011
The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded contracts for providing assistance to victims of human trafficking to three new groups, leaving the previous vendor, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, behind. Now, after complaints by the church and the USCCB more than 30 Republican lawmakers have charged that the HHS decision was religion-based...
5 tags
Sh*t My Fundie Dad Say
Original Post Date11/16/2011
My fundie Dad, who I love ever so much in spite of all the usual painful inflictions of God’s will upon my psyche and body, sent an email with this to me a couple days ago: WHAT HAPPENS IN HEAVEN WHEN WE PRAY? This is one of the nicest e-mails I have seen and is so true: I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side...
8 tags
The Milquetoast Response
Note: Moved from a different blog site. Original Post Date 10/29/2010
A very good friend is in town for the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. She works for an organization dedicated to the decriminalization of marijuana.
In the course of our conversation about Prop 19 and other efforts around the country to bring sanity to how we treat users of weed I got onto the subject of the religious...
10 tags
Obama’s Speech at Indonesian Mosque
Note: Moved from a different blog site. Original Post Date 11/09/2010
Today’s Washington Post has a story about members of ADAMS (All Dulles Area Muslim Society) waiting to hear what President Obama will say in a scheduled speech at Indonesia’s largest mosque.
The ADAMS group, according to WaPo, is one of the largest mosques in the U.S., with more than 5,000 families worshiping in a 25,000...
8 tags
Hand Touch Freaks Out Indonesian Information...
Note: Moved from a different blog site. Original Post Date 11/09/2010
According to a report in the AP, Indonesian Minister of Information Tifatul Sembiring is crying ‘she forced me to do it’ in response to a video showing him shaking hands with First Lady Michelle Obama.
The problem for him is that he touts his conservative Muslim values, which prevent him from casual touching of females not...
6 tags
How the left stole christmas? Whaaa?
Note: Moved from a different blog site - Original Post Date 12/15/2010
Lincoln Institute for Public Opinion Research chairman and CEO Lowman S. Henry was a guest columnist in the Pottstown Mercury on Monday. He took the opportunity to complain (whine, really) that nobody is treating Xians nicely in this season, which they own. Unsurprisingly, the Lincoln Institute is interested in only one...
6 tags
Keeping Faith in a Free Society?
Note: Moved from a different blog site - Original post date was 01/08/2011
WaPo editorial page columnist Michael Gerson closed out the old year with this column, making the argument that Britain’s now-majority non-religious population does not augur changes throughout the rest of the world. This was my letter to WaPo:
Thank you, Britain, for showing the world the way. Michael Gerson makes the...
