The Infiltration Makes Progress, Comrades

Saw this story on ABCNews.com today:praying

Is Religion Good for Your Health?

… and got the shock of my life.

Okay, well, it wasn’t the shock of my life, but it was surprising, and more than a little pleasing.

What would you expect from a story with that headline in any mainstream news medium in America? They wouldn’t dare answer anything but –> YESYESYES!! <–, right?

But this writer, Dr. Richard Besser, sort of DID answer something other than yes. Continue reading “The Infiltration Makes Progress, Comrades”

Sorry, Change.org, I’m Not On Board

tsa KnivesGot an intense email about a Change.org petition

TSA: DO NOT allow knives on airplanes!

… to stop the TSA from allowing pocketknives on planes.

Ian Funderberg’s petition says:

“I am a flight attendant and this news outrages me: the Transportation Security Administration just announced rollbacks of security rules — allowing pocket knives to be carried on US planes, starting April 25. This policy would affect the safety and well-being of FLIGHT CREWS and PASSENGERS. This decision must be reversed to protect EVERYONE.”

Here’s the money quote from the petition: Continue reading “Sorry, Change.org, I’m Not On Board”

Beta Culture: Adrift in an Ocean of Lies

Beta Culture JPGOne of the things I have in mind for Beta Culture is a culture-wide focus on – and awareness of – lies.

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A quick aside: One of my Wise Old Sayings I Just Made Up is:

“Lies are camouflage for predators, protective coloration for the weak.”

Meaning I separate lies into two broad categories, based on the relative power of the entities involved. In other words, though I have strong feelings about not telling lies – I try to NEVER do it (which doesn’t mean I’ll answer every question asked; some of my shit is none of your business, or anyone’s) – if armed brownshirts came to my door tomorrow and asked me if I was hiding Jews in my attic, I would instantly and convincingly lie my head off, earnestly telling them how much I loved the Fatherland but thinking behind my totally-innocent smile “Screw you, Nazi jackwagons.” Continue reading “Beta Culture: Adrift in an Ocean of Lies”

Disturbing Early Morning Thought

great-ozIf you lived with someone who had done EVERYTHING, say a superstar father or mother – a famous author or adventurer or actress or athlete – how would you gain a sense of your own worth and value? How hard would it be to chart your own life course? To find and develop your own talents?

Would you live your whole life feeling inferior and lesser? Knowing that you could never do or be anything unique, that you would always live in the giant shadow of their spectacular accomplishments, that by comparison you were nothing and nobody, and always would be, would you give up even trying to write or act or adventure or compete?

If your father were a world-famous philosopher and and thinker, and you were made to believe over and over that your thoughts were juvenile and empty, that nothing you could think of on your entire best day could equal what went on in your father’s mind in one second, that all the amazing and profound and true thoughts about how to think and live and understand had already been thought, that you would be inevitably wrong in every new and different thing you tried to think, would you bother to try to think on your own? If you knew you could never match the power or understanding of this huge mind in your life, would you place any value AT ALL on your own inner voice?

It occurs to me that this is one of the hidden prices of religion.

Belief in an all-powerful supernatural superbeing might not have a definable effect on any one particular person, but as a statistical force, a steady pressure upon hundreds of generations of children and then the billions of adults they become – squeezing them down into that mindset of hopeless subservience, of creative and inventive futility – I simply can’t imagine it not having a blanket effect upon the people within it.

It would, without question, diminish and retard the progress of the entire civilization in which it took place.

Chips Ahoy! Gadzooks! And Oh, This Poor Woman.

OMGChipSHARE THIS AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!!!! THESE CHIPS ARE REAL!!! AND ALREADY BEING INJECTED INTO UNWILLING AMERICANS!!!

In addition to your medical records, banking records, etc., every one of these RADIO FREQUENCY ID chips will contain a locator device, allowing government agents to know where you are every second, and listen in on your private conversations. If you say anything the government doesn’t like, you can be fired from your job and never be able to work again!

Chips implanted in men contain potent mind-altering drugs which force radical changes in personality. In addition to causing a violent aversion to handling or owning guns or Bibles, the chips cause men in the northern states to become permanently impotent and begin speaking French, those in the Deep South to engage in hyperactive group homosexual activity while watching cooking shows on TV, and then all go out and get matching “666” neck tattoos. Continue reading “Chips Ahoy! Gadzooks! And Oh, This Poor Woman.”

The Place of Failure and Death — Part 1

failureIt’s a few months back and I’m answering a question I’ve just been asked online about my activist brand of atheism:

“Why do you do this? I mean, why do you want to take away people’s faith? Even if they believe things that aren’t true, what is that to you?”

“If you’re walking along a roadway and you see a nail out on the pavement, do you leave it there where it could puncture somebody’s tire, or do you pick it up?”

“What? I pick it up.”

“Yeah, well so do I.” Continue reading “The Place of Failure and Death — Part 1”

Ted Nugent — Masculine, Admirable, Freedom-Loving American. Or Not.

weThePeoplePimple-on-a-dog’s-ass aging rocker Ted Nugent has been invited to the State of the Union Address by Texas Rep. Steve Stockman.

Considering that Nugent has made fairly blatant public threats against both the President and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — for instance:

 “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will be either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”

— and —

“Obama, he’s a piece of sh*t. I told him to suck on my machine gun. Hey Hillary [Clinton], you might want to ride one of these [brandishing two automatic rifles] into the sunset, you worthless b*tch.”

… I think Nugent should be kept away of the State of the Union. Simple respect for the office of the President would be one good reason. I mean, can you imagine anyone like this being admitted to one of George W. Bush’s speeches? No.

But even aside from the politics of the thing, hell, I think there’s justification for mother and wife Michelle Obama to put her foot down. “I don’t want that man anywhere near my husband or my daughters. If he’s in the room, we won’t be. Period.”

I’d like the White House and the Secret Service to VERY CAREFULLY consider Nugent’s presence there.

Yes, Nugent has every right to make drug-addled, machine-gun-brandishing threats against the President. But to afterwards enter the chambers of Congress to attend the State of the Union Address? No, I don’t think so. That’s well beyond any First Amendment right.

If he’s to be admitted, I suggest AT LEAST a thorough interview, probably including a very careful physical search.

Here’s my We The People petition:

Carefully Interview Ted Nugent Before Admitting Him to the State of the Union Speech

Recognizing that aging rocker Ted Nugent has made thinly-veiled but blatantly public threats against the President of the United States and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, we request that the Secret Service interview Mr. Nugent, respectfully but carefully and at length, before admitting him to the State of the Union speech.

Observing an abundance of caution regarding the safety of the President, Vice President and members of Congress, as well as the guests, families, and loved ones of all those present, we further request Mr. Nugent be thoroughly screened for the external or internal presence of firearms or edged weapons, as well as chemical, radiological, biological or pharmacological agents which might, with or without Mr. Nugent’s knowledge, pose a danger to other attendees.

It’s the “internal” screening that really shows the gravity of the situation, don’t you think? Rubber glove time, Ted! Do it for America! (Hey, if I have to submit to a full-body scan or pat-down in order to get on a plane … )

If you want to pass along the petition via Twitter or Facebook, here’s the short link:

http://wh.gov/d2Df

 

Holy Shit, Really?!?

pope ratziHuh. The Pope is quitting.

No surprise, though.

He never really recovered from that fight with Yoda.

I’ll bet it has something to do with blackmail involving a sex tape with Jar Jar Binks.

Hey, wonder if Sarah Palin is advising him?

But the REAL REASON, revealed here for the first time: The Pope read my book, Red Neck, Blue Collar, Atheist … and has realized he can no longer believe in souls, Heaven, Hell, or the Big Magic Juju Guy.

My work is done.

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Oh, well, SHIT. I dropped into Denny’s for breakfast and they already have a dish named after the bastard.

I’m updating my resume. I figure the Vatican is taking applications.

Seriously, I wonder if this is a sign of the church’s fading fortunes? Reeling from the molesting scandals and massive settlements, facing falling membership … is the Catholic Church on the ropes?

Then again, it makes sense he’s resigning. The Death Star isn’t going to rebuild itself.

Nothing to See Here, Move Along

Deer TracksThis is a little nothing-much, posted mainly to see how I feel about posting. If you’ve been following my recent exploits, you know I’m just a week into recovery from surgery – the minor-but-major removal of my gallbladder – and I haven’t felt much like writing. Or even turning on the computer.

But today I felt pretty good. Woke up at 7 a.m., lay in bed thinking and reading until almost 10 a.m., then got up and … well, got a great deal done. Continue reading “Nothing to See Here, Move Along”

Adventures in Cholecystectomy Land – Part 2

Argh. Survived. Recovering. Also caught a cold, so that makes it extra fun.

Maunderings on Facebook and elsewhere, before, during (sort of) and after:

After my cholecystectomy tomorrow, I expect to make medical history by being the first person ever to suffer the gallbladder version of PLP (phantom limb pain).

A few hours sleep, then up early for surgery, something new and scary in my life. Dang it, wish I could talk to my Dad. I really am a little bit scared, and he’d tell me “You’re gonna be just fine, Hank.” Continue reading “Adventures in Cholecystectomy Land – Part 2”