This blog is a jumping off point for a bigger and more beautiful website. We need content and this blog is just the beginning! We welcome ideas and submissions!
I am no longer a Capricorn, my friends. I am now a Sagittarius, like GOP's other half. I wonder, has our compatibility now changed as a result? Are we more or less destined to be together? Our roommate is no longer a Gemini, but a Taurus. Hopefully, this means he'll be a little less crazy and two-faced.
Today's announcement that our old astrology charts are now all out of whack because of the Earth's tilt will completely alter the lives of all of those Zodiac worshipers out there. There's even a new sign, Ophiuchus, which I don't even know how to pronounce. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE! I don't understand them, therefore, I don't trust them!
I have a dear friend who owns a book that breaks down a person's zodiac sign to the very week that they were born and has a detailed match-up of each personality. The book weighs about a ton, and my friend is thoroughly convinced of its accuracy. Personally, I find it to be more than a little absurd, but the fact that someone put so much effort into the creation is fascinating. But what does this new zodiac mean to that book? Is it now all false???
The comments this is generating are priceless... People saying that they are REAL Libras, not fake ones, and "Born a Pisces, always a Pisces." My favorite ones though are from people saying that this news won't make them change their tattoos!! Yeah! You tell 'em.
Astrology is just as silly as religion. It's all made-up stories meant to comfort people and give them reasons for the unexplainable, to give order to a chaotic universe.
Now, let's play a game. I'm going to put up a profile for a zodiac sign, and you try to guess which one it's for (no Google cheating).... READY? GO!
This dramatic, creative, and outgoing sign has the keyword magnetism for
good reason. Fiery and self-assured, a _____'s charm can be almost
impossible to resist. Whether it's time spent with family and friends or
efforts on the job scene, a ______ is going to bring a lot to the table.
I've been pretty contemplative and more than a little sad about the Gabrielle Gifford's shooting, and became even more upset today when I read that the suspect was an "ardent atheist" according to an article I just read. It's sad because the media will probably try to spin him and his motives a thousand different ways, but it seems like he wasn't a right-wing nutbag, but just a mentally ill individual. Seems like he was full of conspiracy theories and hated all government. For some reason or other, he became fixated on Rep. Gifford.
Certainly, we'll all be inundated with reports on this shooting, and all I can say is that it's extremely troubling and depressing. So, since I'm a little too sad about the whole thing to say much else on the matter, here's an oldie but goodie... "Advice God" meme from GOP to you.
NPR did a story today on the Brookings Institutes study on religion and its effect on the 2010 elections.
Do you think that Obama's religious views are similar to yours? Here's what the study said:
The survey found that 51 percent of Americans saw the president’s
religious views as different from their own, including 16 percent who
saw them as “somewhat” different and 35 percent who saw them as “very
different.” Only 40 percent see the president’s religious beliefs as
similar to their own, including only 12 percent who saw them as “very”
similar. This question sharply divides Americans along racial lines: 74
percent of African-Americans see the president’s religious views as
similar to their own, compared with just 35 percent of white Americans.
We do not want to exaggerate the importance of these new
religious divisions. Views on the nature of President Obama’s religious
faith parallel political attitudes toward the president. Voters who are
hostile to him on political grounds are likely to distance themselves
from his views on other matters, including religion. In the PRRI
survey, 94 percent of those who said Obama’s religious views were “very
similar” to their own had a favorable view of the president. Among
respondents who said his religious views were “very different” from
their own, 78 percent had an unfavorable view of him.
What does this even mean? I guess since Obama states that he is a Christian and believes in God, I would have to say that his views are "very different" from my own. But I have a generally favorable view of him. I just don't get it. If you're a theist, and you claim to be a Christian, I guess your views are pretty similar to people who make similar claims. I just don't get it all of this fuss over IMAGINARY CHARACTERS!!!!
Coincidentally, American Exceptionalism was also mentioned in the report. A shocking 6 in 10 people believe America is a chosen nation, singled-out by God for a special mission in the world. Wow. That's kind of scary. I mean... that's clearly embedded in our national psyche and that freaks me out. What is our mission? What is it that we are supposed to do out there? And are our current engagements even copacetic with that idea? Is a war in Afghanistan and Iraq conducive to a special mission in the world? If this is what a majority of Americans believe, how come we aren't doing more to make the world a better place???
What scares me is that a large part of these surveyed people might actually believe in Armageddon. Is that what our mission is really all about? Spooky.
Boo hoo. Your giant mega church just filed for bankruptcy. You avoided paying vendors to the point that they felt they had to sue you in order to get their money. Reverend Schuller has been at the head of the church since he founded it in a drive-in movie theater decades ago. He tried to pass on leadership to his son, but then removed him when there was some kind of family disagreement about the direction in which the church should head. Now, Schuller's daughter, Sheila, runs the church.
She said the bankruptcy declaration "is just one more chapter in the
book that He is continuing to write -- and we know that God's plans are
good -- we have no doubt His chapter will be good!"
Ha. Yeah. Chapter 11 in the Good Book. Schuller isn't the worst of the worst. He doesn't practice hate speech. He doesn't espouse a completely literal take on the Bible. On the topic of homosexuality and gay marriage, he generally dodges around it, saying that he thinks that male/female marriage is the ideal... blah, blah, blah. But he believes in destiny and that God meant for him to carry His message and all that. Most of their sermons are completely generic and carry a message about "YOU can do it, just trust in God and he'll take care of EVERYTHING" and phony self-esteem messages.
The biggest problem I have with the Crystal Cathedral and similar type churches is how much money they suck out from trusting citizens. That money could be put to soooooo many better uses. Instead, it constructed a multi-million dollar building out of glass.
It also is just plain silly. Take, for example, this interview the church had with an author about God and Money. Appropriate, I thought, given the church's financial troubles. Let me give you the highlights of the author's financial advice:
First, pray. Invite the Lord of the universe to be part of your
financial life. Then secondly, review. Review what you had come in and
go out that week [...] And then lastly,
celebrate [...] celebrate when the Lord
allows you to pay off that credit card. Celebrate together.
SSC: How did you get into the finances found in God's word? I find that fascinating. HD: Well back in the early seventies, my
business partner asked me to join him in a study of the bible to find
out what it said about money. We didn't know. We had new families and a
new business. So we spent a year and read through the entire bible and
identified two thousand three hundred and fifty verses dealing with
money. SSC: I had no idea there were that many bible verses on money. HD: It totally blew us away. Fifteen percent of everything that Jesus said had to do with money. SSC: Wow, so it must be important. HD: It is. And I think the real key for us
is that Christ knew that from time to time all of us would have
struggles over money. I believe He wanted to equip us to handle money
wisely so that's why He gave us these principles that are so applicable
today.
Then he basically says to not spend more than you have to on anything and put all surplus money towards paying off debt. Well, DUH. I don't think you need Jesus to tell you that. I also find it interesting that he left out verses like this:
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'I tell you the truth, it is hard for
a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of God.'"
-Matthew 19:23-24
"Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions
and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me.'" -Matthew 19:21
I'm just saying that it's almost impossible for a Christian to NOT be hypocritical.
So, if the Crystal Cathedral didn't espouse the worst kind of Christian hate, can I still be pleasantly amused by their Chapter 11?
I just think that if you're going to be a church or pretend to be a prophet in the name of Jesus, you can't go around collecting and spending millions annually. It's hypocrisy and a waste of money and time that could be devoted to something better.
Election Day has come and gone and I was super psyched to walk down the street to our polling place, all prepared with my sample ballot filled out and at the ready for reference. Jerry Brown became our governor (again) and Barbara Boxer pulled through. Prop 19 died, surely to rise again. California now requires only a simple majority to pass the budget, but now a 2/3 vote is required for all fees and fines. But air pollution restrictions and standards remain progressive. Some of the saddest news for me was not that Republicans took control of the House (at least the Dems still have the Senate), but that Iowa citizens booted out 3 Supreme Court Justices who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. What. A. Blow. Guess that proves that Iowa isn't quite as progressive as I'd like to think. *sigh*
The real sign that we're back to pre-election norms? This blog. We still have only two followers and our page views have returned to the normal 3 or 4 a day. Thank goodness. I don't know that I'm ready yet to have 300 to 500 views a day. But what that does demonstrate to me is that people are starved for information when it comes to certain issues. Like voting "yes" or "no" on judges! There was nothing else out there. What really surprised me was when another Blogger linked to OURS! This guy pretty much was doing what we were, posting the way that he and his girlfriend were going vote... but he referred to this site as a part of the "punditocracy." Not at all in a complimentary way, but me? A Pundit? A 24 year old, usually poor, white female living in an over-crowded and run-down apartment in Hollywood? Awesome. As a friend said, make me a sign and put it on my desk! Anyway, when I tackle issues like that in the future, I'm going to be even more thoroughly researched.
Now, however, I am happy to return to our usual atheist blog, protesting against infringements upon secularism, with a political slant. I don't think I'm ready for so much attention.
This November 2nd, California will confuse and befuddle its electorate by putting before them the task of voting on numerous Propositions. While some people adore propositions because they believe in direct democracy, I abhor them because they bring us nightmares like Prop 8, ruin the state budget, and contradict existing laws. Anyone can get a Prop on the ballot if they have enough money to get enough signatures from harried customers outside of Trader Joe's.
So, in short, I don't like Propositions. It's also nearly impossible to tell sometimes if they're even good or bad. Sometimes they have good ideas, but bad execution, or have no allocated funds, and put California even further into debt. California politicians hide behind these Props, hoping that some rich citizens will put up the cash to get medical marijuana legalized or some other such legislation. Of course, dirty Republicans do the same... hoping that some rich citizens will put up the cash to ban same sex marriage. Propositions are generally bad news, but they're still up for a vote and intelligent votes matter, so here's my take on them.
Prop 19: Legalizes Marijuana in California Awesome. Let's figure out the details later. Neither of us smoke, but we don't want our friends who do partake to be arrested for it. Let's tax the hell out of it, decriminalize it, regulate it, and keep folks out of jail. Done. Yes on 19.
Prop 20/27: Redistricting of Congressional Districts Prop 20 essentially upholds Prop 11 from this summer's primaries that establishes a 14 person committee to redraw California districts. Consists of Democrats, Republicans, and individuals who aren't registered with either party. But I guess Prop 20 futzes around with what was already established in Prop 11. It's funded by a billionaire, Charles Munger, Jr., the son of a Wall Street tycoon.
The idea behind fussing with redistricting is that it would make districts more fair and less tailored to individual party preferences and would make each district more homogeneous. The idea is to reduce the gerrymandering of districts. It's very anti-incumbent. But my real question is how this 14 person committee is going to be held accountable. How do we know that it will be fair? Opponents to Prop 20 state that it contains Jim Crow type laws because it "mandates that all districts (including Assembly, Senate,
and Congress) must be segregated by income level and mandates that all
districts be segregated according to 'similar living standards' and that
districts include only people 'with similar work opportunities." (that's straight from the rebuttal to the arguments for the prop, so it's hard to know if that's true?) The Sacramento Bee is the only newspaper to editorialize against the bill, and the League of Women Voters has also come out against it.
PROP 27 basically negates Prop 11 from the primaries and keeps redistricting in the hands of the Legislature.
I'm going go with the Sacramento Bee on this one and vote NO on 20 and 27 to let Prop 11 do its job. Let's see if this committee can do a better and more fair job of drawing up districts. We'll see how that goes and then change it if necessary.
PROP 21: Establishes $18 annual vehicle license surcharge to help fund state parks and wildlife programs and grants surcharge vehicles free admission to all state parks. Awesome. I'm willing to pay this because I'm a big animal/nature loving hippie and I always forget to purchase a parking pass ahead of time when I go to state parks. So, yeah. I'm willing to do that. Sorry if you aren't. YES on 21
PROP 22: Prohibits the state from borrowing or taking funds used for transportation, redevelopment, or local government projects and services. Um.... Boy, this sounds nice. It's mostly funded by the League of California Cities, but as the Sacramento Bee points out, in a year where city managers have awarded themselves with gigantic salaries and perpetrated massive fraud (as in Bell, CA), this doesn't sit very well with a lot of people. Transportation workers and libraries support Prop 22, while health and education workers worry that this will limit their own funds. I say that while the state is in financial crisis, let's not limit our ability to make ends meet. NO on 22
PROP 23: Suspends implementation of air pollution control law requiring major sources of emissions to report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming until unemployment drops to 5.5 percent or less for full year. Um. FUCK NO. NO ON 23. Yeah, so let's just go back to polluting. I doubt that this will create more jobs and those jobs will simply be lost once this is repealed and these laws are enforced. Let's move forward and create jobs surrounding green and renewable energy and businesses. What a joke. NO NO NO NO NO on 23
PROP 24: Repeals recent legislation that would allow businesses to lower their tax liability initiative statute. During budget negotiations this past year, California created new tax laws that would allow businesses to save money. The debate is over whether this benefits small business or fat cat corporations. Does this save the state budget or drive business/jobs away from California? Eliminating those tax breaks would bring in $1.3 billion to the state which would most likely, in turn, go to our schools. That's a good thing. I'd also like to point out that MAJOR funding for the "No on 24" campaign has come from Viacom, Time Warner, and other big corporations. Obviously, they stand to benefit. However, almost all newspaper editorials have come out against Prop 24, as have a lot of genuine small business owners. This has already been in effect for two years, I guess a few more years can't hurt. NO on 24.
PROP 25: Changes legislative vote requirement to pass budget and budget-related legislation from two-thirds to a simple majority. Retains 2/3 vote requirement for taxes. Thank goodness. I've been hoping to see this on the ballot for awhile. Part of the reason that California can't get a budget passed on time is because the minority of Republicans in this state hold the budget hostage. It's infuriating. Just look at the supporters (Federation of Teachers, Professional Engineers, Nurses Association) versus the opponents (Chevron, Philip Morris, Anheuser-Busch, Shell Oil). It's kind of obvious who stands to benefit from giving Republicans more control than they've earned in this state. YES ON 25. YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!
PROP 26: Requires that certain state and local fees be approved by two-thirds vote. Fees include those that address adverse impacts on society or the environment caused by the fee-payer's business. No. I think I made my opinion clear on 25. This kind of shit ruins our state every year. This would mean that before the State Legislature decides to levy fines on polluters, they need Republican approval. Republicans who are funded by companies like those who oppose Prop 25. Number one supporter of Prop 26? You guessed it, CHEVRON. I'm sure they'd love to stop paying fees for ruining the environment. NO ON 26!!!!!!!!!!!
PROP 27: see above PROP 20 NO.
Many thanks to Ballotpedia for being a valuable resource for info on the Propositions. Grab your "Official Sample Ballot" and fill in your choices ahead of time to avoid panic in the voting booth! Tomorrow, I will try to tackle the judges for our district! Yipes!
I'm sure just about everyone has seen the video of Christine O'Donnell (R) in a debate with her opponent, Chris Coons. They're competing for Delaware's seat in the Senate.
I like the way Anderson Cooper breaks it down. She repeatedly asks, "Where in the First Amendment is the Separation of Church and State?" If one gave her the benefit of the doubt, she might have simply meant that those exact words aren't actually anywhere in the Constitution. This is true. But Article Six of the Constitution states that anyone running for office shall face "no religious test" and the First Amendment clearly states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." And the Supreme Court over the years has clearly interpreted the First Amendment to mean "separation of church and state."
During the same debate, O'Donnell also didn't remember what the 14th (dealing with citizenship) and 16th (income tax) Amendments were, despite the fact that the Tea Party has made a big deal about these this year, going as far to call for their repeal. I mean, I don't know what each Amendment is without looking it up, but O'Donnell constantly invokes the Constitution as the basis for her opinions and claims to have studied Constitutional Government. Well, she obviously didn't study it very hard. What a dingbat.
This is so disturbing, because this is a right wing, über conservative, fundamentalist Christian who doesn't believe in Evolution and thinks "intelligent design" should be taught in schools. GAH! THIS is why political involvement is so important right now!
If you care about SECULARISM, get out and VOTE!!!!
Sam Harris was on 89.3 KPCC today promoting his new book, The Moral Landscape. He tries to argue that science can define morality based on assessing the effect of an action on the well-being and ability to flourish of humans and animals. He argues that we don't need God to tell right from wrong. He's been pushing the book like crazy. Sam Harris hasn't posted on his web page for ages and all of a sudden, BAM! Four posts in one day!
jurvetson/Flickr (cc by-nc-nd
Of course, I agree that we don't need a god or religion to tell right from wrong. Some would argue that I have a moral compass because my mother is religious and I was raised in a religious household. However, I do not believe in God now and follow no religion. The Bible is DEFINITELY not the basis of my morality. I definitely don't believe in slavery or the subjugation of women or stoning....so, you know, I DON'T believe the Bible or any other Holy Book is a good basis of morality. Certainly, there are people who do great harm and incredibly immoral things in the name of religion. So where's their moral compass? Clearly, the God Compass isn't working right in them!!
I follow a philosophy of "Do Least Harm." I try not to bring hurt or pain to others, and try to limit the hurt and pain I place upon our environment. I don't eat animals, I recycle... this is a part of my morality. I don't think that using fear of god or the threat of hell or the reward of heaven is a good basis of morality. This promotes IMMORAL behavior, I think... If you think you can be an asshole all of the time, but at the last minute go to confession or "find" Jesus, that's not very moral. So, you kill a person? No big deal! Repent, and all is forgiven! BULLSHIT. The victim's family will not forget and there will be plenty of people who won't forgive.
Occasionally, I'll consider doing something "immoral"... like, taking the $10 left in the self check-out machine. But, *sigh* I would want someone to turn it in if I forgot it, so I hand it over to the supervising cashier. Maybe he pocketed it, but that's on him. I'm an extremely honest person because I am extremely empathetic. How would I feel if I were in their place? I found another server's book, forgotten, left lying around and filled with money. Guess what? I returned it. Even though I didn't care for that person. I would hate it if that happened to me. Sometimes my morality is based on guilt, but not on God's... it's based on my mother. Sometimes her voice just pops up in my head.
The Sam Harris interview was interesting, but I don't know (based on this interview) that he made a strong argument for science as a basis for morality. I doubt that religious people who listened to it were particularly convinced. When the subject of promiscuity was brought up, I thought that I could have added more to the conversation.
Sam Harris argued that pair bonding and stable relationships are most fulfilling and conducive to well-being for most people, therefore there is an argument in its favor based on scientific studies. I would also argue that promiscuity puts one at a higher risk for STDs and emotional stress, therefore it isn't the best choice to make. I know that I would use these facts when discussing sexuality with my own children. But I also don't think that remaining a virgin until your wedding day is a moral/immoral choice. I think it's an unwise choice. Relationships last longer and are more successful if the partners involved are well matched sexually, so it makes sense to "test drive" (so to speak) before making long term commitments. And hey, six years of monogamy has worked for us and *GASP* we're atheists!
Since I already touched on the subject of homophobia and gay bashing recently, I won't talk much more about it except to highlight a couple things that I've seen recently that at least make me feel more positive about America's attitude toward the LGBTQ community. Even though Congress messed up big time on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," at least a new CNN poll show that at least half of America now supports gay marriage. Here's my favorite part of the article I read...
This trend will continue. Nationally, a majority of people under age 30
support same-sex marriage. And this is not because of overwhelming
majorities found in more liberal states that skew the national picture:
our research shows that a majority of young people in almost every
state support it. As new voters come of age, and as their older
counterparts exit the voting pool, it’s likely that support will
increase, pushing more states over the halfway mark.
That's great news. Everybody just needs to ignore what is the very LOUD, but minority voice on this issue. The other thing I'd like to share is this wonderful and very touching video from Tim Gunn. In it, he has a message for LGBTQ teens..."it gets better." He urges them to seek help if they are in despair, and shares a very personal story of his own experience. I loved Tim Gunn anyway, but this just secured him a place in my heart forever.
It's not totally on topic for this blog, but it was so uplifting, I just thought I'd share.
By now, I'm sure everyone has heard about Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers freshman who committed suicide after his dorm roommate publicized a video of his private sexual encounter online.
I hope, hope, hope that the young man who was Tyler's roommate thought of his harassment as just a prank. I hope that his behavior was not the result of bigotry, but just immaturity. However, since Tyler committed suicide, I think that all kinds of anti-gay rhetoric has bubbled to the surface. I do love that celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris are calling out to gay teens to be strong and be proud.
As someone who was pretty depressed as a teen, my message to young people is that it GETS BETTER. Leave your home town, leave the people who make you sad, form your own family of close friends, go to a town that's friendlier to you. Plus, as you grow older, you'll find that you become less sensitive, events seem to affect you less. You gain a little perspective.
What happened to Tyler though, was enough to ruin any adult. The breech of trust, the invasion of privacy. I'm sure Tyler felt like he'd been violated. That would be enough to deeply disturb any individual. And for Tyler, with all the anti-gay rhetoric in the media, it would seem like life wouldn't get any better. I'm sure that he thought that college would be 10x better than high school. I'm sure he went in with a lot of hope, only to be completely let down.
I saw a video over at The Friendly Atheist with an interview between Anderson Cooper and the Michigan Assistant Attorney General, Andrew Shirvell. For the past 6 months, Shirvell has been blogging against the openly gay student body president at Michigan University. He's called him a Nazi, a bigot, and the servant of Satan. Shirvell claims he's not against the young man because he's gay, but because of his "radical homosexual agenda" to petition for gender neutral housing at the university. What a great idea, especially considering what happened to Tyler Clementi. My first year of college, I had a lot of friends who had to change roommates because of issues surrounding their sexuality. Even if they weren't open, they knew that their roommates would be difficult if they found out.
I know this post is a little redundant because it's been talked about so much in the blogosphere, but I just felt like I had to comment on it because it upsets me so much. So-called "Christians" attacking gay people and feeling like they have a moral imperative to do it. It's so much god obscuring perception that I just can't stand it.
I think one of the hardest things to let go of as I came to terms with atheism was the idea of an afterlife. As a child, my gut instinct was to believe in reincarnation. Even before I ever saw the movie Fluke(a chief influence on my beliefs, I assure you), I thought it was most likely that I would come back to life as a squirrel or dog. Despite my weekly catechism, I just had this idea that reincarnation made more sense than a literal Heaven. Imagine my shock when I got older and learned about Karma and Hinduism. You mean I didn't come up with that on my own???
As I got older, and wasn't sure what I believed in, I found that it was easier to let go of the idea of Heaven than Hell. It was so satisfying to imagine that rapists and child molesters, spousal abusers and murderers, Hitler and the like, were all rotting in this imaginary place... suffering for the crimes of their life on Earth. That's something that was really difficult to let go.
My LP had an even harder time imagining the lack of an afterlife. It can be a really scary idea. Moreover, it was pretty sad to abandon the fantasy that we would be able to spend eternity together after we died. That's a really nice fairy tale.
I think that one can achieve immortality, to a certain degree, in the memories of the living. Because I don't think anything happens when we die (other than decomposition), I don't care too much what happens to my body after death. I'd like it to be as eco-friendly as possible, but also bring comfort to whoever cares about me when I'm gone. That's why, when I heard about "And Vinyly" on NPR the other day, I was totally intrigued. Basically, they press your cremated ashes into vinyl records and you can have whatever song or message you want. Now, is this the most practical idea ever? Absolutely not. But I do think it's pretty cool. Will anyone even own record players once I'm dead? Unlikely.
I don't think that I would actually have my family pay the money for something like this. The funeral industry is pretty evil in its manipulation of the emotions of the grieving. But I'd love to find more options like this... something a lot more interesting than having an ugly urn on your fireplace mantle for 50+ years.
Then I'm thinking everyone should listen to the world's smartest man.
Stephen Hawking's newest book, "The Grand Design," states that the idea of a creator of the universe is redundant.
Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will
create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is
something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.
Thank you, Stephen Hawking. You were a hold out on rock solid atheism
for a long time, always bordering on agnosticism. So, for this, thank
you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
And as I warned in my previous post... Don't bother reading the user comments on news articles like this. They will just make you sad. People can believe in a God or witches or fairies or the Loch Ness Monster if it makes them happy. I just don't think it's a very logical or reasonable belief and I don't like it when wars are fought and people are oppressed over it.
I once read in a magazine article that a New Year's Resolution should be to STOP READING USER COMMENTS. On every Yahoo News article or YouTube video, there are dozens of idiots espousing opinions that they would never dare to voice in person. If the topic at hand happens to be about religion or politics, you can throw all logic and reason and basic civility out the window.
Recently, I stumbled upon this article that stated that the majority of Republicans believe that Obama sympathizes with Islamic goals. A whopping 59% believe that Obama favors Muslim Americans over other groups. I don't even know how this "reasoning" occurs.
According to the poll, 14 percent of Republicans said that from what
they knew of Obama, they thought such allegations were "definitely
true"; 38 percent thought the allegations were "probably true."
Meanwhile, 33 percent of Republicans thought they were "probably not
true" and 7 percent thought they were "definitely not true." Asked
whether Obama favors the interests of Muslim Americans over other groups
of Americans, 59 percent Republicans said yes, whereas 34 percent said
he has "generally been evenhanded."
For realsies????? The article was bad enough, but then when I went down to read the comments... OH, MAN. I really wanted to punch myself in the face so I could forget what I had read. This is the one that made me throw my hands up:
I voted for this knucklehead since the primaries and have regretted it
for a while. He is a muslim sympathizer. He reaches out to the Muslim
world by saying a Mosque is o.k, by hosting Ramadan dinners at the White
House. This imbecil bowed to the Saudi king. How pathetic!!!!
Thanks "Steve." What really surprises me is that he voted for Obama when he has such ridiculous views. Um, yeah, of course a Mosque is OK. They are allowed to build anywhere they want, zoning restrictions considered. And if you want to talk about a President that was good buddies with Saudi Arabia, look no further than the darling Bush family.
But the thing that gets me about this is that President Obama has been adamant from the beginning that he is a Christian. But honestly, I think he is a Christian/Theist for political reasons only. Given Obama's life experiences and religious history, I've always had the gut reaction that he is a bit of an agnostic...perhaps the sort of humanist that Thomas Jefferson was. I love the Jeffersonian Bible. It takes out all the mysticism and leaves only the nice, pleasant philosophy of the New Testament...the "love your neighbor" kind of stuff that Jesus supposedly preached.
Most importantly, I just appreciate having a President who doesn't inject his religious beliefs into everything he does. Unlike certain leaders, I'm relieved that Obama doesn't believe that he's on a mission from God. I'm glad that he doesn't believe that military involvement in the Middle East will bring about the Apocalypse so that all good believers can go to heaven. I don't care if Obama is a "real" Christian... but to fear him and believe that he favors Muslims over all other Americans??? It's on such a level of absurdity that I don't even know how to deal with it.
I'm really tired of hearing about this debate over putting a mosque/Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in NYC.
Oddly enough, this household is split.
My LP thinks both sides are being assholes. He thinks that the imam behind the project should be more outspoken to try to appease the irrational fears and sensibilities of those who oppose the building. He thinks that the Islamic group should be a little more sensitive. Of course, he thinks that the opposing side should acknowledge that the imam and his followers have a right to build wherever jurisdictions allow.
You should see their other shirts.
For me, I don't care much for any religion. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all have the potential for extremism. The Koran, Bible, and Torah all have violent implications if taken literally. Some people choose to be assholes about their religion. Now, the imam of this particular mosque is currently on a tour in the Middle East promoting "Americanizing" Islam. He's been a sponsor of the state department
on many previous tours of a similar type. It seems to me that this particular mosque and center is of little threat to anyone. Even though I dislike the propagation of religion and religious buildings and icons... they certainly have the right to do it in this country and I certainly respect that. I appreciate that in this country, my blog is just as welcome as Conservative Paradise. But at least I don't spew hate.
To me, the hubbub over this issue is akin to a pro-choice group getting up in arms over a conservative Christian church building two blocks away from the site of a bombed Planned Parenthood. It's not a perfect comparison, but you get the idea.
I'm from Iowa, one of the swingiest states in the Union. You never can tell what those goofy Iowans are going to do and that goofy Iowa Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage over a year ago.
I left Iowa for California in order to live in a more progressive state. To be around more liberal people like me. Hmmm... guess I was somewhat wrong. Just about everyone knows about Prop 8 (Prop Hate, as it's usually called in our house) and that millions of Californians enjoy voting to restrict the rights of others.
Luckily, the case went back to court and as the L.A. Times put it, "Prop 8 is Hanging by a Legal Thread." Right now, we're just waiting to on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to decide on the case.
At least a precedent has been set that even if this ruling is overturned in the future, that all those same-sex couples waiting to get married will have permanently legitimate marriages. If I were part of a lesbian partnership that missed the chance to get married before Prop 8... I'd be on pins and needles right now.
I think that same-sex marriage, more than almost any other issue, is a clear cut example of when God Obscures Perception. Why should anyone care if two gay people in a committed relationship receive the same benefits as a straight couple? No one is being harmed here. This isn't a threat to marriage. Divorce is a threat to marriage. The iPhone is a threat to marriage.
There are people out there who don't understand parody. Don't waste your time reading user comments.
My very Catholic mother has always been pretty iffy about gay marriage, even though she personally knows plenty of nice gay and lesbian couples. It took me explaining to her that no matter what the law said, they would never be able to force churches to marry same-sex couples. She was surprised. Why? I don't know. I thought that was rather obvious given all the restrictions the Catholic church already imposes on married couples (vowing to raise their children Catholic, pre-marriage counseling, etc...). But this actually satisfied her concerns! I explained that it was about tax laws, hospital visitation, insurance, and most importantly, equal recognition!
Actually, one of the many reasons that Life Partner and I aren't married yet is because the ugliness surrounding this debate has made marriage seem like some dirty, exclusive club... and we aren't sure that we want to be a part of that until same-sex marriage is safe in this state. I'm not judging those who care about this issue and still get married...I'm just saying that it feels wrong to us.
I can't claim to understand the discrimination the gay community faces, but I have felt it in a very small way. My life partner and I have been together for almost six years and act like any other young married couple. We live together, share expenses, have always been completely monogamous, consult each other on pretty much everything... we plan to spend our lives together and renew that promise almost every day. Yet, when I went to the doctor's office, there were boxes to check for single, married, divorced, widowed, and domestic partner. Well, in California, you can't be domestic partners unless you are a same-sex couple or one partner is older than 62.
