Rusko's Planet

Tea Party Wacko – Freedom of Preach

2010-06-16T13:12:00.002-05:00

Fortunately this guy is a parody. See his YouTube channel here.

Renewed Respect for America

2010-05-18T12:12:00.002-05:00

Thomas Jefferson Tried to Abolish Slavery?
The more I learn about our founding fathers the more I respect their efforts to form a ‘more perfect union’. In my recent study of African American history, specifically the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, I ran across the following excerpt from Thomas Jefferson’s early drafting of the Declaration of Independence. It shows that there was a segment of America, even in the beginning, that knew it was unconscionable to own slaves.

He (King George) has waged cruel war against
human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights
of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people
who never offended him, captivating and carrying
them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur
miserable death in their transportation thither. This
piratical war fare, the opprobrium of INFIDEL pow-
ers, is the warfare of the CHRISTIAN king of Great
Britain. Determined to keep open a market where
MEN should be bought and sold, he has prostituted
his negative for suppressing every legislative at -
tempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable com -
merce. And that this assemblage of horrors might
want no fact of distinguished die, he is now exciting
those very people to rise in arms among us, and to
purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them,
by murdering the people on whom he also obtruded
them: thus paying off former crimes committed
against the LIBERTIES of one people, with crimes
which he urges them to commit against the LIVES of
another.
[This version was removed from the Declaration of Independ-
ence after protest from southern colonies, and planted the seed
of the Civil War to come.]

This was reprinted in the prologue of the final report of the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. As a result of the report and the public's desire to know the truth about the past, Tulsa is erecting a monument and building a park to memorialize the events that took place way back then.

As a white man, I have struggled with my feelings about the cruelties and injustice done to African Americans in the past. I thought it was incredible that humans could standby and let such atrocities occur. But this revelation of Thomas Jefferson's early drafting renews my respect for the human race. At least some of the early thinkers were fair and honorable and I would like to think I am from that stock.

The Truth About 2012

2009-12-17T15:55:00.001-06:00

The Truth about 2012 from NASA Lunar Science Institute on Vimeo.

Les Paul Dies at Age 94

2009-08-14T12:20:00.008-05:00

He was old when I started playing guitar 35 years ago. I remember seeing the distinct body style of a Les Paul guitar in a music store and seeing his signature on the head stock. That was my first introduction to the man and I remember at the time wondering who the heck is he.

Not only was he an amazing jazz and rockabilly guitar player, he has been credited with developing the first solid body electric guitar. He also was a pioneer in multitrack recording and amplification.

No matter what style of music you play, if you're a guitarist you owe the state of your craft to this great man. I can't say the same for his acting. He and his wife Mary Ford had a television program in the early 50s.

NY Times Last Word: Les Paul

What Did Maher Just Say?

2009-08-07T15:35:00.003-05:00

I don't think it is in good form to blog about blogging or about a blog, but blog dammit! This guy is funny!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-maher/new-rule-smart-president_b_253996.html

Sorry, I'll come up with something to add when I quit laughing.

"Now, the hate mail all seemed to have a running theme: that I may live in a stupid country, but they lived in the greatest country on earth, and that perhaps I should move to another country, like Somalia. Well, the joke's on them because I happen to have a summer home in Somalia... and no I can't show you an original copy of my birth certificate because Woody Harrelson spilled bong water on it."

Basically he said...
Smart President ≠ Smart Country

They Call Themselves Crusaders

2009-08-05T09:09:00.004-05:00

Now it comes out that the private security firm "Blackwater", hired by the US Government to help police IRAQ, claims to be "Christian crusaders tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe."

Read Article

No one expects the "American Inquisition"! Now that is some scary stuff. It's no wonder the terrorists hate us.

We have to stop these religious wars now. Enough of the my-imaginary-friend-is-better-than-your-imaginary-friend mentality. Please. For the survival of our species. Quit killing each other.

State Preambles - Which god do they mean?

2009-08-04T12:45:00.004-05:00

This post is in response to this email.

The original email makes the point that each state constitution has 'God' in the preamble. But the quote from Obama was, "We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."

So I would ask the email's author which 'God' is in the constitutions. Is it the Christian, Muslim, or Jewish god? If it’s the Christian god, then is it Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, catholic, or any of thousands of variations of protestant? Why couldn't the 'God' in those state constitutions be Hindu or Hopi? Why not the 'Flying Spaghetti Monster'?

Also in the State of Oklahoma's constitution, the very first line after the preamble is, "Section I-1: Supreme law of land. The State of Oklahoma is an inseparable part of the Federal Union, and the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land." And the United States Constitution doesn't use any form of God.

The framers were very careful not to mix religion with politics. They knew what could happen in a government that had state sponsored religion. They remembered the Spanish Inquisition. I guess by 1907 when Oklahoma wrote their preamble, all the suffering from previous theocracies had been forgotten.

People that pass around emails like that are just trying to justify their 'Holier-than-thou' attitude. They want to pass laws that are based on their religion however unfair it may be to those who don't share that same religion. They are like the witch burners of Salem looking to root out anyone that may be different than them.

The problem is that many people around here have been too afraid to question their upbringing. They don't seem to have any doubt that the religion they were born into is the correct one. They have been preached at all their lives to believe what the preacher tells them. They believe the bible was written by god, because it says so in the bible. And they don't see any problem in that logic.

On this same topic, there was an interesting misconception that revealed itself the other day on FOX news. (Imagine that!). It seems that there are people who quote from the Declaration of Independence and claim it came from the US Constitution. Watch this video. Read this Open Letter to Fox News.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” - The United States Declaration of Independence. (NOT THE CONSTITUTION)

The Declaration of Independence is NOT legally binding whereas the Constitution is.

And just to clear up one more misconception. Atheists are not trying to take god out of government. They are trying to keep god out of government. It was never intended for religion to have anything to do with the way we run our city, state and local affairs. When they added ‘In God We Trust’ to the money, there was much controversy, but evidently the secular politicians were outnumbered at the time. Now that god has crept into all aspects of our government, any attempt to restore the secular nature of our system is perceived as a threat. It should be the other way around.

New Spot on Jupiter

2009-07-27T08:35:00.003-05:00

Jupiter's colorful atmosphere is 86 percent hydrogen and 14 percent helium, with tiny amounts of methane, ammonia, phosphine, water, acetylene, ethane, germanium and carbon monoxide. The chemicals are responsible for producing the different colors of Jupiter's clouds.

There's a new small dark spot on Juipiter. Maybe a comet.

Why is Bill O'Reilly Such A Dick?

2009-07-24T15:16:00.005-05:00

Bill says he's not offended because he doesn't care about what "you guys" think, although he had Fred on his show and asked him a lot of questions. Bill says he thinks that religious people would be offended by the billboard because of the question "Why believe in a God?". But what Bill doesn't realize is that there are nearly 20 percent of Americans who deal with his prejudices daily. Atheists and "Humanists" have to contend with reminders everyday that they live in an oppressed nation.

Bill's smirks and constant butting in really make him look like an idiot. He is obviously not an intellectual ready to have a meaningful discussion about any opposing world views.

Oppressions and offensive displays toward non-religious people:

1. We have "In God We Trust" all over our federal notes. (A clear violation of the first amendment.) The United States was NOT founded on “Christian principles” as so many under-educated rednecks would have you believe. The phrase “In God We Trust” did not appear on our paper money until 1957 when the religious got involved in the propaganda campaign against the godless germans. The phrase appeared on coins much earlier during the civil war. Many intellectuals fought it at the time, but alas the vote was dominated by the flock. So now the non-religious people have to live with a constant reminder that they are in a country that is being overrun by self righteous hypocrites.

2. Presidential Prayer Breakfast. Congressional Session Opening Prayer. Prayer in School. All of which are violations of the separation of church and state. I know that they don't force students and attendees to pray, but they do have to stand there quietly and listen to the crap.

3. There are churches of every denomination on every street corner especially in the southern cities. And no where for non-religious people to congregate for fellowship, personal fulfillment and growth. (Except maybe the bars on every street corner.) Lately, there are some organizations growing locally that offer some relief, and one of those is the Humanist Association.

4. The Ten Commandments. Nativity Scenes. You would think a government building would be more appropriately displaying the Ten Ammendments, but people had to initiate law suits in order to get certain governers to take the monuments down. Still some states display the commandments. Reference

5. Business organizations. There are hundreds of groups like "The Christian Businessmen's Association" that strive to give advantageous treatment to others in the group. Kinda like a 'good old boys' network. And this is considered an acceptable practice, but if an "Atheist Business Alliance" were to form, it would be such a threat to the good old boys that it would probably get bombed like the abortion clinics.

6. Parochial Schools. The Texas Christian University comes to mind. There are lots of seminaries that take young people's money and train them to be preachers, but what if an Atheist College started up. It might be a good thing to educate the young people that atheism is not a bad word.

And Bill O'Rielly is worried that someone may be offended by one billboard that asks one question. What is he afraid of? And why is he such a dick about it?

More Christian Priveleges (Thanks Randomwitticism)

Checkmate Dumbass!

2009-07-19T09:09:00.006-05:00

This post is in response to This YouTube Video
"Trilobites, like this perfectly preserved specimen at South Dakota's Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, were among the most successful organisms ever to populate Earth. These familiar marine arthropods first arose about 545 million years ago in the early Cambrian and thrived throughout the world's oceans until they were wiped out in the Permian extinctions about 250 million years ago." - National Geographic

Checkmate dumbass!

It's guys like EdwardCurrent that I'm poking fun at, not good christians. He makes the claim that he has, "Ten absolute, irrefutable, God-approved proofs that Christians are right and atheists are dumb and deluded!"

(Wait... this is one of the funniest videos on YouTube ever. He's so ... um, dumbass looking and acting. Anyway. He's a satirist. No, I didn't say Satanist. His YouTube videos are parodies of what most fundamental christians base their belief on. Some funny stuff!)

The difference between my "checkmate" (points at fossil Duh?) and his Ten Checkmates is the evidence. He has no evidence to overcome his burden of truth. And you don't really need a preponderance of evidence. Just any evidence. To be taken seriously. I mean if you want to call it checkmate. And I do think he means it in the "I'm right, you're wrong" sense.

If you beleive his claims without any real evidence, here's a great site for you. UFOs, Ghosts, Bigfoot, Conspiracy Theories and More.

The Classical and Elegant Gift From Carl Sagan

2009-07-18T20:10:00.002-05:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan

http://www.skeptic.com/

The Religous Favor Torture

2009-05-04T09:08:00.002-05:00

I think there is an alarming number of people that would impress their will upon others, and go to any length to justify their actions. It’s the self-righteous that have no problem breaking their own god’s laws to force their agenda. They believe that in order to pursue the evil doers, you must step away from god. This alarming study would seem to validate my theory.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.More than half of people who attend services at least once a week -- 54 percent -- said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified. Only 42 percent of people who "seldom or never" go to services agreed, according the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified -- more than six in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only four in 10 of them did.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/30/religion.torture/index.html

I had the opportunity to listen to some talk radio this week, and I heard a caller ranting about how other countries still torture their captives. He went on about how the North Vietnamese tortured our POWs back in the day, etc. As I listened to the caller’s thick country twang, I wondered if his mother ever told him, “Just because the other kids do it doesn’t make it ok for you to do it too.” Or, “If all the other kids jumped off a cliff would you do it too?” (This particular caller may have.)

I heard another caller say that the ‘water boarding’ that we did to the prisoners in Guantanamo was a ‘light’ form of torture, so it should be justified.

Also, evidence suggests that torture does not work. The intelligence gathered through torture is known to be faulty.

Some people just don’t get it. Torture is illegal, by the Geneva Convention. For our leaders to issue memoranda that essentially gave the green light to GITMO to engage in any kind of torture is reprehensible and the responsible parties should face war crime prosecution. It’s just another case that serves as an example of how the Bush administration approached matters in a totalitarian manner without regard to legality, human rights, or foreign relations. I’m so glad we got that party out of power.

Bush Lied

2006-09-09T09:34:00.000-05:00

Well it's official now. Most of us knew that the Bush administration used the September 11 attack as an excuse to invade Iraq. Bush had personal reasons including greed for power and money/oil. Now there is the release of a senate investigation report stating Sadaam had no ties with Al Qa'ida. I knew it!
I feel sorry for our troops that died because Bush lied. This has me infuriated. It is my opinion that the power hungry right wing administration is who the terrorists hate, not Americans. I would be willing to bet that if Bush was not in office there would have been no 9/11 attack.
As a veteran I can't help but imagine the betrayal felt by the soldiers fighting in Iraq. When news of this senate report reaches the rank and file troops there will most certainly be an uproar. They have been told that they are fighting terrorism and making America safe. Now they know the truth that they are just pawns in baby Bush's tantrum. We need to impeach this president to show the world that Americans are not war mongering tyrants. We got duped. This pisses me off.

Statue of WHAT?

2006-09-04T09:10:00.000-05:00

No, this $260,000 symbolic statement does not offend me. I'm not offended by this grandiose expression of one’s worldview. I find it rather amusing. People really believe that the United States was founded on Christian principles. The name of the idol is The Statue of Liberation Through Jesus Christ. That is funny to me. Our founders were escaping Tyranny and Religious Persecution when they came to America. I’ve learned by reading up on this news story, the original Statue of Liberty has been copied and altered in many other countries. So it’s not a particularly original idea. I would probably erect a much less expensive and not so grandiose statue and name it The Statue of Liberation From Jesus Christ. I would claim that it is a reminder to me that my fore fathers and my father’s father, and my father have fought to keep this country free from religious persecution.

The framers of the Constitution fought amongst themselves while deciding what exact words would attract people of all religions to agree on matters of law and government. They were very careful not to embed any symbolism of religious nature in their document. I think if anyone had suggested that we found this country on one religion’s set of ideals, Ben Franklin would have politely asked you to reconsider.

Amusing. Yes, I do hope no one gets too offended by the actions of Americans expressing their opinion. I will fight to the death defending the right of a man to erect a statue that states anything he wants it to, even if I disagree with most of it.

Article Fer It Article Agen It ‘nother good article

Fugitive Polygamist or Persecuted Prophet?

2006-09-02T08:15:00.000-05:00

The meek and humble Warren Jeffs was abducted from the privacy of his car and taken into custody for carrying on his fathers calling to the lord. Thousands of people have been dependant upon Jeffs to tell them what to believe and how to worship. The entire community is deeply affected by his incarceration. Prayer services and protest rallies are planned and we can expect to hear more on this story as it develops.

It is common knowledge that the fundamental Mormon sect (FLDS) has practiced polygamy for many generations. What we sane people consider perverted or just plain wacko is normal and expected behavior in their community. Warren Jeffs didn’t go out and prey on victims and create his following through charismatic leadership. He inherited it. Jeffs was raised in that lifestyle. To him, the world was evil and his flock threatened by outside persecutors. He tried to protect the children from learning anything that would take their interest away from the lord and their salvation. They have been instructed not to answer the door to any strangers. No outside music. No unapproved literature. Absolutely no TV. There are great dangers to religion in the secular world around them.

Rumor has it that Jeffs had 40 wives. Now that is impressive. I don’t think I would want more than about 10. Hugh Hefner only has 7 (girlfriends, not wives that would be illegal). But in a society like the one Warren Jeffs ruled over, your status as a man is judged on how big your family is. Their families are very structured. Everyone has a job to do. Small children are given the responsibility to look after smaller children. I believe this kind of society would cause young adults to mature at earlier ages. Perhaps that is why they marry at age 14. This appalls most of us. We Americans have already defined the age of consent to be 16 – 19 depending on the state you live in. So Warren Jeffs is pimpin’ children to old men. That’s just sick! Or is it just the norm for that society?

Freedom of religion. That is what we’re talking about. That is one of the primary principles upon which this country was founded. Should the government be able to dictate morality? What laws has this man broken? According to his beliefs, he is innocent.

No I am not a sympathizer. I believe that Warren Jeffs probably took his father’s kingdom and through power hungry drunkenness and greed, proceeded to pervert and exploit the fundamentals of his religion. Once he told a young girl that she must have sex with her (much older) husband or she could sacrifice her salvation. Some would say that this is a form of psychological or physical abuse, and that is why he is facing charges today.

LNTV Video Report

Public Stoning: Not Just for the Taliban Anymore

2006-08-21T13:23:00.000-05:00

It's impossible to escape the religious tyranny in a theocratic society. It seems no matter where you go, there are god people trying to convince everyone that they are right. What's worse is the organized religious groups that have snowballed into very powerful lobbyists and activists for the sake of spreading their beliefs amongst the public sector including the government. I wish the non-religious (sane) people had such power. Every time someone dares mention that maybe the ten commandments shouldn't be hanging in a county courthouse, or maybe creationism isn't science class material, they are immediately labeled as evil, and the stoning begins.

Here is an interesting article about the trend towards religion in politics. It's pretty scary to think this is really going on in a 'free' society.

Tough Talk, Wimp!

2006-07-31T16:47:00.000-05:00

The big bad creation/intelligent design advocate, William Dembski, made some pretty bold statements about how evolutionists are too chicken to testify in court about terms such as 'science', 'nature', etc. Then when time came to tell the truth, he withdrew from the case. Read an excerpt here.

Amazing Sand Painting

2006-07-30T15:09:00.000-05:00

New sport

2006-07-23T17:50:00.000-05:00

In Bookstores Today

2006-06-26T10:38:00.000-05:00

Intense investigation into the wicked worldwide powers and their ties to the Bush clan

This investigative account details how America's economic and intelligence associations with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan led to the devastating September 11 attacks and illustrates the role that private military companies are playing in George W. Bush's "new world order." Based on personal interviews, never-before-published classified documents, and extensive research, this examination details the criminal forces thought to rule the world today—the Bush cartel, Russian-Ukranian-Israeli mafia, and Wahhabist Saudi terror financiers—revealing links between these groups and disastrous terrorist events.

Wayne Madsen is an investigative journalist and syndicated columnist whose articles have appeared in publications such as In These Times, The Miami Herald, and The Village Voice. He is the author of Genocide and Covert Operations in Africa 1993–1999 and The Handbook of Personal Data Protection. A former U.S. naval officer, he has appeared on 20/20, 60 Minutes, and Nightline. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.

The 'C' Word

2006-06-13T21:04:00.000-05:00

The "C" Word
By Bill Zide
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Tuesday 13 June 2006

No, not that word.

Once upon a time there were real "Conservatives." They believed in fiscal and political responsibility. They expounded on the virtues of getting government out of people's lives. They talked about caution with regard to the use of military force and foreign intervention. They even promoted a policy of governmental accountability. Many of these people existed in the Republican Party. They might have been off track, behind the curve possibly, or at times deluded, but most tended to be civil, honorable and sincere. They were more often than not the necessary loyal opposition.

Now, "Conservative" has become a particularly dirty word. Worse yet, it seems to be heading toward becoming totally meaningless altogether. Once, the root of the word "Conservative" was "conserve," a word that implied caution and preservation. Now, it seems that this new brand of "Neo-" or "Theo-Conservative" that populates the rank and file of the current GOP leadership has put the "con" back into "conservative." They are more about being against things than being for anything real or substantive. It's all about the "Con": Conceal. Conceit. Concoct. Condescend. Congest. Confabulate. Confederacy. Contradictory. Conformity. Confound. Confrontational. Confused. Conglomerates. Conjecture. Conquest. Conflagration. Conflict. Condemn. Convicted. Con-men. Consolidation. Conspiracy. Consume. Contorted. Contrivance. Control. And, always, always - Contributions.

Interestingly, the "cons" missing from their agenda and concept of the world include: Concern. Contraception. Constitution. Consistency. Conscience. Contriteness. And, always, always - Consequences.

I thought this article was interesting so you can read the rest of it here if you wish.

Mass Superstitious Lunacy

2006-06-06T08:48:00.000-05:00

We had a 'hell' of a storm at our house this morning. The power went out at 6:00. There were tree limbs all over the road. One huge limb fell on a neighbor's new Cadilac crushing the roof severely. The power was still out when I left for work at 7:30. So today the clocks are stuck at 6 on 6/6/06. Isn't that scary? If you think it is anything other than pure coincidence you should read this.

A Good Start With Grampy.

2006-05-27T22:11:00.000-05:00

This is the respect I get around the house. I'm glad my four month old grandson feels comfortable enough with me to show me how he really feels.
I swear this photo is untouched. I was holding him and my wife said, "He's flipping you off!" She's quick with the camera.
Riley is a cool kid. Everytime he sees me he grins and sometimes giggles. Maybe he knows something!
We are so glad to be able to help him get off to a good start.

How To Eat A Mango

2006-05-19T20:52:00.000-05:00

"If the same verse keeps repeating we must be stuck in a groove. Or, if we are stuck in a groove we will keep hearing the same verse."

I love the smell and taste of a plump fresh mango. But for most of my life I would not buy or eat them. Why? I really never thought about it. Then one day someone bought me a mango (my wife). Here's the secret.

Slice the mango length ways close to the seed. Now cut that slice half way lengthwise. Now simply peel the skin back on either side of the slice with your fingers and teeth as you eat the pulp. Now repeat the process with the other side of the mango.

Now you are left with a mango with the two sides cut and eaten. Now simply peel the skin from around the mango and eat around the seed. Not quite as simple as eating an apple but worth the effort. Now I eat mangos whenever I can.

Not much of a secret was it? I wonder how often we are held back in life because we never stop to think about what we do?

Most of what we are is the product of the genes we inherited, the behavior we observed from our parents, and our experiences as we grow and mature through life. If we eat something and then get sick, we may never eat that food again even though it had nothing to do with being sick. We all develop prejudices that hold us back from experiencing life to its fullest.

Life can be seen as overcoming the prejudices we are taught by our parents, our experiences, our friends, our governments, the media, our church and in fact by nearly everything in our existence. How do we overcome this training? Be open to learning to eat a mango.

The Many Faces of Me

2006-05-19T15:04:00.000-05:00

Noteworthy Blogger

2006-05-05T09:01:00.000-05:00

This is one of the funniest blogs I've ever read. I don't know if he is trying to be funny though. I think we should do everything possible to help Evan with his Unlikely Ambitions. Good luck getting punched by a priest!

The Official OU Statement on Evolution

2006-05-03T13:12:00.000-05:00

Read this article. I thought their stance was articulated very nicely.

Bush - How Embarrassing!

2006-04-29T12:44:00.000-05:00

I thought you guys would be interested to see this picture. I feel like telling the world the same thing. Hopefully Dubya hasn't done irreparable damage to the American reputation worldwide.

Caught In The Act!

2006-04-16T08:52:00.000-05:00

This large bunny was caught hiding eggs and distributing baskets of candy to small children. Legend has it that every year a giant rabbit visits millions of homes on this day. Could the stories be true. One thing is for sure, that's one big hare!

Let's see how this works.

2006-04-07T19:32:00.000-05:00

I decided that I need a place to store really cool articles that won't go away like the ones that I link to CNN do. Somehow some of my links in previous posts go away. Maybe Bush is behind this? Read More

300 Million Year Old Rock

2006-04-07T10:01:00.000-05:00

By Lauren Becker

The summer before my senior year of college I worked as a park ranger guiding hikes in one of the most beautiful state parks in the country. Its central feature was a 256-foot waterfall that plunged down through a gorgeous natural amphitheater, cutting through bands of limestone and sandstone and collecting in a deep pool, the perfect hangout for summer swimming. My favorite program was the hike to the base of the falls. Layers of rock are like chapters in a history book and this canyon, carved so deeply, told an ancient story. Standing at the bottom, calling out over the roar of the falls, I got to teach the exciting conclusion, “The layers of slate and shale beneath our feet tell us that 300 million years ago, this deciduous forest was a tropical jungle.”

“What book d’ya get that out of?” came the reply one day. And thus it began, for this waterfall was not only located in ancient rock, it was also in the heart of the Bible-belt. I had heard there were people who believed the Earth was only 6,000 years old, but I never thought I would actually meet any. That summer, and every other summer I worked teaching science to the public, I met a lot of them. Though most objectors would just walk away from the program, some mothers would cover their children’s ears to protect them from the “blasphemous park ranger.” One man, after I patiently explained how we know the age of rocks, finally just threw up his hands, exclaimed, “The Devil made that rock look that old to turn you away from God,” and led his family back up the trail.

At the time, to a college kid with a summer job, these responses seemed bizarre but relatively harmless – they were local, “everyone’s entitled to their own beliefs”, “no skin off my back”, “whatever”… But now, 15 years later, I understand these taunts to be the threat they truly are: dangerous beliefs made more dangerous because more and more people believe them.

How does believing a 300 million year-old rock is only 6,000 years old become dangerous? It is a reflection of where and how we find answers. A 300 million year-old rock is the answer resulting from decades of observation, research, field study, laboratory testing, comparative studies and critical thinking. A 6,000 year old rock is the answer because God said so.

Is the accurate age of a rock really important? Interesting, yes, but important? Maybe not. But what if the question is about Polio? Should we seek an answer from decades of observation, research and field study, discover a vaccine and destroy a worldwide plague or does the answer lie in God’s plan?

To Read more of this article visit: http://www.csicop.org/intelligentdesignwatch/rocks.html

Lauren Becker is a science interpreter who has taught at museums and parks around the country. She is Public Relations Assistant for the Center for Inquiry.

Expired Medication

2006-04-06T16:50:00.000-05:00

Is it a ploy created by the big pharmaceutical companies to scare consumers into buying more medication when the bottle expires? Are medicines safe to use beyond thier printed 'use by' date? Some say yes. I recently recieved email from a friend stating that many medications can be used long after the expiration date if kept cool. He may be right but there is some controversy about this topic. Below is my response to my friends email.

Friends,

I would be concerned about using prescribed medication after the expiration date. An article on Associated Content says that the expiration dates on pharmaceuticals are based on the medicines ability to be effective. Exposure to various environmental conditions such as light as well as temperature can be variable factors on shelf life. However controversial this topic is, I don't think it is a ploy by the pharmaceutical companies to sell more product. Many disposal programs for drug stores include a credit for returned expired drugs. Below is an excerpt from the article that I found.

"No one knows for sure if expired medications are safe. A consumer-oriented version of the Pentagon shelf-life program - which would check the actual life span of prescription drugs stored in bathrooms, kitchens, purses and cars - has never been done. "Currently, I am not aware of any programs that focus on drug stability in the consumer environment," said Dr. Claudia Okeke, an associate director at the U.S. Pharmacopeia in Rockville, Md."

Read the whole article here.

I have heard about dollar stores selling toothpaste that is expired or manufactured in other countries, but that is a different topic altogether. Read snopes story.

This time my vote counted!

2006-04-05T10:52:00.000-05:00

“It was a very tight race in District 5, with incumbent Bill Martinson defeating John Kirby by just 21 votes.”

The reason I voted for Republican Bill Martinson instead of Democrat John Kirby is because on Kirby’s website he listed as his accomplishments his active church membership and volunteer time with the youth fellowship of his church. I’m not against someone being involved in church and definitely applaud efforts to help youth organizations, but to list your religious accomplishments in your campaign platform is a good indication that he has no idea about separation of church and state.

So now my question is, if the guy I voted for is a screw-up, do I still get to bitch?

Tulsa Makes National News

2006-03-28T12:46:00.000-06:00

It is embarrassing that I live in a city that is in the national news for its resident exorcist. Yes I said exorcist. Bob Larson has a ministry in Tulsa that claims to take demons out of people. He also takes money out of wallets too. When you watch the video (see below), pay attention to the people in his audience. It disgusts me to see the weak-minded people taken advantage of like that. I think Bob Larson needs his pedestal knocked out from under him.

Go to www.cnn.com using internet explorer, firefox doesn't seem to work, and copy the line below into the address bar to see the video.
javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/us/2006/03/28/foreman.the.exorcist.affl','2006/04/04');
Oh yeah, you'll have to temporarily allow pop-ups also.

Maybe some of you who commented on my last post need to go see this quack.

UPDATE: Bob Larson Ministries is headquartered in Denver Colorado. I checked out his website and it looks like he travels all over North America spreading his bullshit and collecting poor people's money.

Am I Evil?

2006-03-25T12:58:00.000-06:00

Turns out I am not.

How evil are you?

Take My Survey

2006-03-23T10:37:00.000-06:00

I created a survey to collect data on the readers that land on my blog. Please take the survey only once. I will post the results when enough responses have been gathered.

Take Survey

Thanks!

Why Not Stork Theory?

2006-03-23T09:12:00.000-06:00

This makes about as much sense as teaching creation based ID alongside biology. Someone emailed this to me. A little humor never hurts. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Science v Religion

2006-03-21T13:47:00.000-06:00

Here is an interesting lecture discussing the issue of religion in an age of science. I've only watched about the first 15 minutes of it. It's a little over an hour long. It was filmed back in January, but I just found it today. I mainly posted it here so I wouldn't forget to watch the rest of it when I have time.

Ramblings Part II

2006-03-12T09:37:00.000-06:00

Well its not that I’ve run out of things to blog about, its that I can’t figure out what is the most interesting or important. Here are some of the topics that I’m psyched about.

Mars - Our newest efforts to explore Mars has entered into orbit around the red planet. I’m anxious to see the hi-resolution pictures start streaming in. I was fantasizing about the day that humans inhabit Mars. When we send video messages by radio frequencies from Mars to Earth, there will be a delay of over 4 minutes. (48 million miles / 186000 miles per second) But if we had a powerful telescope that could watch the person making the video message, the image from the telescope would appear simultaneous to the message.

Turkey Shoot – Last week was the last week for my pool league. Today is a tournament where the top shooters from each team compete for prize money and fun. I happened to win more games than my team mates, so I get the honor in participating in the Turkey Shoot. I spent some time practicing yesterday and it went well, but it’s different when the pressure is on. Wish me luck.

Primary Mayoral – I voted on the 7^th in the local primaries for mayor of Tulsa. It turns out that my candidate for mayor and city council lost. Does this mean I get to complain when things don’t go my way? I’ve always heard that if you don’t vote you can’t complain.

Las Vegas – On Tuesday this week I’m off to Las Vegas for the NSCA Expo. I will be attending courses in WiFi networks, VLAN fundamentals, Programming for the Human Interface, and a couple of business related seminars. I don’t plan on gambling too much, but it will be cheaper to plug a nickel machine and get the free drinks than to buy the drinks at the bar. The last time I was there I spent $12 for two Coronas. I plan on taking the laptop and keeping up the blog while there, if I can get Internet access in the hotel.

There are other topics in the news and in my life, but most of the topics in the news have been well covered by Stardust and others. The happenings in my life are pretty boring by comparison.

Political Misconduct

2006-03-08T13:55:00.000-06:00

Politicians that want to add creationism in Oklahoma public school science classrooms will go to any length to get their measures passed. I would hope that our intelligentsia learned from the Pennsylvania Judge Jones ruling. He said it was ridiculous to teach religion in schools, that it violates the establishment clause of the first amendment of the constitution. Read the 139 page ruling.

In Oklahoma there is a large number of fundamental literalistic christians that want to negate everything that good science has discovered about the origin of life on this planet. Therefore, the intelligent and informed representatives of this state have voted to pass a resolution rather than possibly lose votes from their constituents. The one politician that would speak against the issue was cut off in mid-sentence. Someone turned his microphone off! Read the details.

Some People Compare Bush to Hitler

2006-03-03T10:56:00.000-06:00

A Colorado schoolteacher apparently made the comparison, a student recorded it, and the teacher was suspended from his teaching duties. The father of the student said there wasn’t equal time given to opposing views. I guess as a schoolteacher you shouldn’t preach your personal views on politics or religion in class. How does this compare to giving equal time to each and every worldview? If we would keep religion out of public schools, should we keep politics out as well? The answers to these questions would be answered by some that say political science is science and should be fair and balanced in schools (Not FOX style of fair and balanced!) and religion is not science and shouldn’t be taught in public schools at all. Read the story on CNN.

I’m glad that the teacher had the support of 150 students who protested the decision to suspend him. I’m betting that the father of the student who recorded the lecture is a right wing gun toting god fanatic. However, there are quite a few of those people in our society today. They are organized and powerful in social and political circles. Here’s a good website to keep an eye on. The Religious Right Watch.

Ramblings

2006-02-25T09:30:00.000-06:00

I was sitting at the bar minding my own business when a good old friend of mine sat beside me. We began to talk and the conversation somehow went into the subject of spirituality. My friend said, "...whether or not you believe in god, you should at least admit there is a spiritual side of life." I disagreed and said there doesn't have to be anything spiritual about life, but if you do good things, good things tend to happen... etc.

Well it was about then when someone overheard us and made the comment that he didn't like that I said there is no god. I told him that I never said there is no god, only that I don't believe there is a god. He argued that I said there is no god again, then someone else from the other side of the room chimed in and said something about me being an idiot and telling the first guy not to talk to me because - "he is a lost cause, he doesn't believe". I told this guy that I'm willing to talk about it and hear what he has to say. He said, "I don't want to talk about it. I think you're a piece of shit for not believing in god".

That is when I realised that I was about to get into a fist fight unless I just dropped the subject. I decided to ignore the eavesdroppers and lower my tone and turn to my old friend for more talk about doing good things.

Whew! I thought about the encounter later and realized that those angry people were displaying the same emotions as the muslims when they burn down embasys over cartoons. Violence in the name of religion - what lunacy!

Ten Thousand Clergy Endorse Evolution

2006-02-20T14:23:00.000-06:00

The courts have struck down teaching Intelligent Design (ID) in public school science classes, however that doesn’t mean it’s dead. Its proponents are likely just regrouping and preparing a different strategy. Scholars in both the scientific and religious circles agree that evolution has been tested and accepted as a viable explanation to our existence. A letter speaking out against ID has been sponsored by a retired pastor/professor and signed by more than 10,000 other clergy. Still the majority of not-so-scholarly religious people see evolution as a threat to their security. The average church member has heard sermons hailing that the evil atheists are trying to eliminate god from the world. This is not the case. Atheists are not evil; they simply don’t believe there is enough evidence to support the claim of a supernatural omniscient creator. There is a multitude of evidence that supports the evolution theory, and it has been studied, reviewed and changed by the presentation of new evidence all the time. You could say that the evolution theory evolves as new evidence is discovered. This is the basis for science and should be taught as a good thing in schools. We should not be teaching children that a huge controversy exists between scholars about evolution. It simply isn’t true. Only uneducated and bias zealots with an agenda to propel their beliefs into our government scoff at evolution. Read today’s article from CNN.

On another note: My blog surpassed the 1000 hit mark today! Thanks to all who have read and commented.

Science Proves Faith Wrong - Again

2006-02-19T18:11:00.000-06:00

I remember hearing stories of Mormon families going on to Native American reservations and actually stealing children in the name of their religion. They believe that Native Americans were direct descendants from a lost tribe of Israel. It seems that a fundamental selling point for the Mormon religion has been proven wrong by DNA tests. Native Americans actually migrated from Asia. (I could have told you that!) This would seem to be a death rattle for the Mormons, but religions don’t necessarily rest on scientific evidence but on mystical experiences instead. Don’t take my word for it, read about it here.

The Willie Lynch Letter - Revisited

2006-02-18T16:39:00.000-06:00

Back in October I watched the movie "Animal" and commented on the plight of black americans on my blog. Today, someone commented, on that archive, that the letter by Willie Lynch was a 20th century fabrication created with the intent of "race-baiting and hate-mongering". The commenter was anonymous and said that a simple google search would prove this.

So I googled "Willie Lynch" and found hundreds of articles seamingly substantiating the validity of the letter.

Willie Lynch, as I have learned by reading the top web sites that came up in the google search, was a british slave owner, who in 1712, delivered a speech on the banks of the James River at the colony of Virginia. This speech, later a letter, was basic instructions on how to train and control the black slaves, and basically treat them like livestock. The text of the speech can be read here, with a longer version here, and a still longer and scarier version here.

I decided to refine my search to see if my commenter's statement was true. So I googled "Willie Lynch Faked". Not surprisingly, very few hits came up, but one did stand out. It was actually the only hit that had anything to do with the topic at hand. It was a long list of archived radio programs that you can purchase from LIBRadio. It is a radio station/website devoted to the topic of "Living In Black".

The blurb for the CD by Keidi Obi Awadu states, "despite it's widespread reference, the facts appear to be irrefutable that the so called "Willie Lynch Letter is a 20th Century fabrication. Listen to the research of four scholars who show that the letter cannot be authenticated." ... Interesting?

I would like for someone to settle this argument. I don't want to pay $10 to order the archived radio show. Does anyone have any proof that the Lynch letter was a fabrication. After all, isn't that where the word "lynched" came from?

Auras and Indigo Children

2006-02-17T13:39:00.000-06:00

Beliefs in diverse paranormal phenomena tend to show a cyclical character, just like the width of neckties in vogue. Now resurfaced, with a sort of science-like disguise, is one of the most absurd beliefs, yet, one of the easiest to refute: it’s that idea, that first began to gain acceptance in the early 20th century, that we all project an aura of bright colors around our bodies. According to this idea, the aura is a radiating emission, produced by the energy that supposedly emanates from all living beings and surrounds them. The aura cannot be perceived by ordinary vision, only by means of clairvoyance. There are no tests that may demonstrate its existence; and on the contrary, several experiments reveal that those who claim to be able to observe people’s auras, are incapable, for example, of determining with exactitude if there is a person standing behind a table or barrier that only prevents the vision of the contour of the body, but that leaves the zone in which supposedly the aura could be seen free and unobstructed. Yet, no psychic can guess right, above the expected chance levels, whether the experimentation subject is present there or not.

A self professed “medical intuitive,” Caroline Myss (1997), claims that she can describe the nature of all diseases, of any person, just by reading his or her field of energy, and she makes treatment recommendations, both in the physical as well as in the spiritual domain. She calls this "energetic medicine," but she has never offered scientific evidence that would prove her alleged powers.

It’s a new fad in México to supposedly record the auras of small children, in accordance to the criteria of a gifted seer, and those that show a bluish hue in their auras are to be considered what they call “indigo children”: mentally superior child prodigies, with psychic powers. A substantial business has been created thus, dedicated to carefully siphoning the money out of the parents of those so-called “indigo” kids.

Read More of This Article Visit: http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/

Napoleon Christ

2006-02-12T13:36:00.000-06:00

Italian prime minister Silvio Burlusconi claims to be the Jesus Christ of politics. Last week he said he was like Napoleon. So which is it? He claimed that no one has done as much for his country since Napoleon. Now he says, "I am a patient victim, I put up with everyone, I sacrifice myself for everyone." - story

Perhaps he brings it upon himself?

...and I thought Bush was the Christ.

Humanist Principles

2006-02-10T16:12:00.000-06:00

I affirm humanism as a realistic alternative philosophy to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in service to others.

I deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside of nature for salvation.

I am committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems.

I believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities.

I am committed to the principle of separation of church and state.

I am concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance.

I attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, nationality, creed, class or ethnicity and strive to work for the common good of humanity.

I want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species.

I believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest.

I believe in the cultivation of moral excellence.

I respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health care, and to die with dignity.

I am deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. I want to nourish reason and compassion.

I am engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences.

I believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that I am capable of as a human being.

I believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.

They can't prove Jesus existed.

2006-02-09T12:53:00.000-06:00

Well they shelved the case. The Italian court doesn't want to try the existence of Jesus in a court of law. In fact they suggested that a countersuit for slander be waged. Read this article. The plaintiff doesn't seem too worried about the slander charge. (I told you I would be following this case.)

Don't Get FiLCHeD!

2006-02-05T13:09:00.000-06:00

Consider this post as a consumer report about life in general. I’m really sick of seeing people making a living on human frailties. The late night ‘infomercials’ are an excellent example of preying on the inner most weaknesses of the masses. I think the before pictures are funny to look at, but whether it’s a pitch for hair growth or fat burning drugs, you must be critical thinkers to avoid getting ‘FiLCHeD’. What really burns me is not so much the fact that people are paying money to these ‘quacks’, but some ‘products’ could cause serious physical, and in the case of mediums, psychics, and parapsychologists, emotionally damaging. I found an article in ‘The Skeptical Inquiry’ that can help. The article, ‘A Field guide to Critical thinking’, by James Lett, presents a set of rules used to get beyond all of the junk science that is out there.

I hope you read the entire article. It can be used to settle just about any argument. It taught me to use the rule of honesty to admit when proven wrong, and to realize that new evidence can always be discovered.

For further reading on logic and scientific theory please read the following. I consider these as essential reading for anyone with a burden of proof. “If you’re gonna talk, back it up.” – Joey Porter, Pittsburgh Steelers

Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Science – The Cronicle of Higher Education

Carl Sagan’s Baloney Detection – The Demon Haunted World

How to Bash Pseudoscience – The Blatant Opportunist (pdf)

The Logical Fallacies Index – Stephens’ Guide to Logical Fallacies

A Field Guide to Critical Thinking – The Skeptical Inquiry Magazine

Alabama Burning

2006-02-03T12:36:00.000-06:00

Well it seems the southern baptists have made an enemy. Six churches were on fire this morning. While it is a bit extreme to set fire to a house of worship, I can see how some people may want to. It's statements like the ones made by ultra-fundamentalist christians about homosexuality, jews, islams, etc. that can really heat people up. Take a look at a very serious website that claims, "you're going to hell!".

God Told Me To Hate You!

2006-01-29T21:52:00.000-06:00

As a young christian may ask, "Why did Jesus have long hair like a homo?" (Children are so honest and upfront. ) I would direct them to a website that I recently discovered.

I was doing some research for a dissertation that I'm obligated to write regarding examples where religion has hampered scientific progress throughout history. There are the obvious examples of how the Catholic Church gagged Galelieo regarding his heliocentric view of astronomy, and of course stem cell research, epilepsy vs excorsism, hiccups vs witchcraft, germs as demons, etc.

One example of religious efforts to stifle learning is the burning of books (A True Christian® Tradition) . Not just evil bad books but all books that aren't of 'divine' origins. This led me to the website that I am introducing.

A hilarious parody of ultra fundamental christian idealism that will have you rolling in laughter all the way to hell. Please check out the Landover Baptist Church. They are endorsed by God and George W. Bush as the purveyors of faith and salvation.

With This I Can Agree

2006-01-25T16:18:00.000-06:00

The embedded video that was on this post is now here. It's Dateline's Josh Mankowitz discussing Break.com, 'chocolate' New Orleans, and Hillary. Pretty good stuff. I liked his use of Google Earth to enhance his editorial.

Bad People

2006-01-20T02:49:00.000-06:00

Do you think Bush's approval ratings will increase if Osama attacks? Do you think his ratings will increase if Osama fails to attack? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you are correct. If we get attacked again, as threatened today by the Al Qaeda leader, we will see the wishy washy political middle sway in favor of the 'war on terror'. If not, the red states will claim that the efforts of our whitehouse administration has been successful at protecting us. It makes me think that Osama and George W. are way ahead of the rest of us.

What a stupid thing for Hillary to say. Even if I agree with her, she's not very smart to say the 'Plantation' thing. I'm not sure if she won any net votes with that move. Sure she got some 'black' support for that, but she probably lost some 'black' votes too. Anyone who is educated on the plight of the American slavery liberation and the effort to abolish prejudism will agree that it was a gigantic set back for civil rights. I hope the democrats have another candidate in mind for 2008.

Nancy (dis)Grace... I don't know, I just don't like her show. She is irritating to listen to and she took over my regular 3o minute repeat of the headlines. Now I have to listen to 3 hours of Nancy's pet peeves. She is hell bent on missing children. Good for her, but there are other news stories. I think Nancy is a lonely bitter bitch.

Jesus? - Let The Courts Decide

2006-01-16T13:23:00.000-06:00

I heard a rumor that the Catholic church in Italy was facing a lawsuit claiming that it was fraudulent to teach the existence of Jesus. Turns out that it is one very old and very vocal atheist that has brought suit against his seminary school classmate for writing christ oriented stories in the local Italian paper. He is claiming that laws are being broken, laws that are in place to prevent Italian citizens from being swindled or conned in to believing something to be true when it is not. Source1 Source2 Source3
The plaintiff is calling upon the defendant to prove in a court of law that Jesus truly existed. This may claim to be a difficult task. The bible, with all of its contradictions and fallacies, will be a flimsy, if admissible, piece of evidence. A hearing is scheduled for the 27th of January to decide if the case is worth the courts time. I'll be following this story.
I would like to see this go a couple of steps further and see someone challenge the legal system to prove the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, creator. I won't hold my breath either way.

Personality Quiz

2006-01-12T12:21:00.000-06:00

I took a quiz and these were the results. Pretty accurate I'd say. Try it!

Which File Extension are You?

I Love Chinese...

2006-01-07T16:52:00.000-06:00

...food that is.

Did you know that the Chinese government censors their citizens' blogs? What's worse is the cooperation that the Chinese government gets from Microsoft to do it. A very popular blogger that goes by the name Mr. Anti has been shut down for reporting (on his personal blog) that a group of reporters in Beijing has gone on strike. Allegedly Mr. Anti didn't even say he supported the walkout. Apparently a reporter was fired for reporting on some police shootings and citizen unrest. In sympathy for the fired reporter, hundreds of other reporters refused to work. Hooray for a glimpse of cohesion in an oppressed society.

It has been common knowledge that MSN Spaces cooperates with oppressive governments to prevent their citizens from expressing any dissention. Words like 'Democracy' and 'Human Rights' are banned from blog titles. This however is the first account of an entire bloggers work being removed, and without any warning. (He wasn't given any chance to back up his files.)

This is disturbing to me. I am unsure what the solution is. I know that Microsoft can't force China to be an open country, but where does it end? Will companies like MS and Yahoo become so powerful as to shape the way information is presented and decide who is allowed to present it? Will crap like this spill over into our country? I hope not. source source source

What A Dumbass

2006-01-05T18:53:00.000-06:00

Here's another example of religion getting stupidly involved in politics. Today Pat Robertson suggested that the prime minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, brought his stroke on himself by making god angry. What a stupid thing to say. I know people who truely believe that their physical illnesses are caused by guilt from sin. This is exactly how religion can be dangerous. When medical problems are ignored or simply prayed about, the condition can become gravely severe. Even if I were a religious person, I would believe that god gave us medical science for a reason.

The justification for Pat Robertson's statements came from the old testament - something to do about dividing god's land. I thought that the christian dogma states that the old testament's laws were nullified by the resurrection of the christ. If we still lived by the laws in the old testament it would be a very scary world. Read this.

Anyway this holier-than-thou jesus pimp named Robertson has seriously embarrassed himself in my eyes. He sells religion and makes a real good living doing it, so I suggest he stick with that and stay out of politics. Anyone who watches his 700club television show will soon realize what a fanatical kook this guy really is, and anyone who buys into it is worse because it indicates a weak mind and a low self-esteem.

Here's today's links.
The Anti-Pat Robertson/Christian Coalition Site (Pat's REAL agenda is scary!)
Humanist Association of Tulsa (The official site)
Positive Athiesm (Checkout the extensive list of quotes)
The Complete Bushisms (Comprehensive collection of stupid things our president has said)

My favorite 'Bushism' from the above website:

"Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican." - George W. Bush Declining to answer reporters' questions at the Summit of the Americas, Quebec City, Canada, April 21, 2001

The Politically Incorrect Secular World

2006-01-03T16:18:00.000-06:00

If any of you have had the opportunity to watch Bill Maher's latest HBO comedy special "Victory Begins at Home", you would agree that if he had performed that routine a couple of years ago, he would have been branded anti-American, terrorist, or even Satan. His views are expressed in a very 'matter of fact' style, mixed with cynicism and sarcasm. As GW's war slowly lingers, people are starting to wise up to the fact that the Bush administration manipulated the public (flat out lied) to justify waging war for his own hidden agendas. Bill Maher got some big laughs here and there, but there were also alot of nervous jittery laughter throughout. When he asked if there were any fundamental christians in the audience, people just quietly giggled, but no one responded directly. I found myself laughing out loud in a sinister kind of way. It's worth watching if you can catch it.

Also, today I found a new resource for secular information. Check out the home of The Internet Infidels at The Secular Web.

Ringing in the New Year

2006-01-01T11:38:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to all. This is day one of your new resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking, start excersizing, or whatever honorable endeaver you have chosen. Most new year resolutions are given up within the first month. Therefore, I have chosen not to make a resolution.

However, I do intend to post more often, and to be more open about my personal philosophies. Until just recently I have felt guilty about being godless and existential. I now realise that I'm not alone and I'm not a bad person. There is a local organisation of humanists that I intend to join for fellowship and enlightenment. The Humanist Association of Tulsa is affiliated with the American Humanists Assocation and The Council for Secular Humanism.

As defined by the AHA, "Humanism is a progressive lifestance that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity".

So my new year reasolution is to learn more about the responsible secular societies and be more active in their support.

My Dog

2005-12-25T17:52:00.000-06:00

This is my dog.

He is cool. Except he sheds.

...and pees.

But otherwise...

He is cool.

Mr. Bush

2005-12-19T10:22:00.000-06:00

He intends to use his powers as he sees fit no matter how the citizens feel about it. What a power hungry, self-righteous man.

To continue to use wire taps on American citizens after a plea from congress to stop this madness is insane. The patriot act has not been extended, we’re tired of this crap.

For a man named Bush, he sure is a dick!

Happy Holidays!

2005-12-15T10:33:00.000-06:00

The title of a poll released today is "Happy Holidays" Rings Hollow for Most Americans which is boloney! According to the poll, only 1/3 of the respondants were offended by the "Happy Holidays" greeting.

If I were to say "Merry Christmas" to someone, I'd be taking a chance on offending someone that doesn't observe the christian holiday.

Also, if I were to go on vacation until after the end of the year, and used the "Happy Holidays" title for this post, it would cover Christmas and New Year.

Again I think people are just being too damn sensitive.

Death of an Inspiration

2005-11-24T10:36:00.001-06:00

Although, unfortunaletly, I was never enlightened until his death, Link Wray was an innovative inspiration to guitar players since the 50's. He has been listed as an influence on modern punk and rock artists. Well, he died Saturday the 5th of November 2005 reportedly at the age of 76. You'll recognize his song 'Rumble' from the movie Pulp Fiction. Like me, you'll say, "So that's the dude that did that."

Sorry Link, I never knew about you until you died. :(

Why So Sensitive?

2005-11-24T10:34:00.000-06:00

Download this song and tell me if it offends you. It is the song that was removed from a school play because the father of one of the grade school actors was offended. The lyrics talk about picking cotton yes, but never does it once mention that they were slaves, maybe they were share-croppers, but who every wrote this lively tune did so to overcome the adversity of a hard labor job. That's why we should cherish songs like this and not ban them. I swear some people are just too sensitive. story

The Edge

2005-11-23T21:44:00.000-06:00

Well fella's I'm here to tell ya, the Edge isn't so sharp any more. We need some new rock in Tulsa.

Yeah, I said I was pissed earlier. I've just been getting into old music. There's some great old rock that can be revisited. This link is for D.

Sad Day for Freedom and Rock and Roll

2005-11-23T14:09:00.000-06:00

Today my favorite radio station changed to a 'christian' format - this pisses me off!

Tulsa's Real Rock 102.3FM was the best station for new and classic hard rock. It was one of the Lex and Terry affiliates and they took them off the air about two months ago. My feeling is that some zealot heard the Lex and Terry 'Drunk Bitch Friday' show and decided to get his morality all over my liberty! (shamless plug for Animosity Merchandise see her blog at right)

Man that pisses me off.

We can with ICANN

2005-11-23T12:37:00.000-06:00

Many of the world's nations are upset that the US has control of the world wide web. The California non profit company Internet Corporation of Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN) has control of it all. When you type a website name in your address bar, your computer checks a database (DNS Service) to match the name to the number (IP address) of the site. Therefore if the US wanted to, at any point in the future, it could blackout entire portions of the web, say Zimbabwe, or better yet, Venezuela. read more and more

My view on this matter is that the US developed the internet and gave it to the world for free. If a country abuses this gift, or uses it to construct strategies against the US, they should be subject to being 'turned off'. If they want to invent a better network, they are welcome to try.

They could even use the same TCP/IP technology in a closed system, to avoid being controlled by the US. This would prevent what President Mugabe of Zimbabwe calls the undermining of a country's values with porn and crime.

I vote that the US maintain control, not the inept UN or any other consortium of world leaders.

Good Advice

2005-11-07T08:37:00.000-06:00

Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone.

It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

Sex is like air -- it's not important unless you aren't getting any.

No one is listening until you fart.

If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away, and you have their shoes.

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was worth it.

Good judgment comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Cherokee People

2005-10-10T00:12:00.000-05:00

Did I mention that I'm part of the Cherokee tribe? My Uncle was very in tune to his heritage. My father's side of the family was here way before the white man came. Albeit, I am fairly educated about the conquest of the Americas. I know that my distant relatives are rolling in their graves when I say, "such is life".
Get over it people. We have a life to live. I would like to smoke the peace pipe and sit back and let the spirit world guide me.
What it comes down to ... "Don't take yourself too seriously." Do yourself some good and be wise. Your father learned from his mistakes and now you can carry on.
Ok, sorry for rambling.
Everyone is in the same canoe. Paddle or get the fuck out!

Comment: That was for the good friends of mine that said I wasn't an Indian because I didn't believe in a higher power. Peace my good friends.

Willie Lynch

2005-10-09T23:37:00.000-05:00

I was moved. Today I watched a good movie. "Animal" It's in the rental stores. I am not a black man. I'm actually very white. However, I feel that there has been a terrible wrong done against a race of people that hasn't gotten the publicity of say the Jewish. Please read the document that was mentioned in the movie at http://www.daveyd.com/willlynch.html
It's very sad. We should all realize what a terrible plight the blacks have to overcome. Don't forget to watch "Crash" it was great too.
I don't take light of this. Since I was a young boy in an elementary school in Mobile Alabama, I have wondered why black people are different than me. That was in second grade. Then later in California I was bussed to integrate with the 'black' side. There I was taught, not by teachers, that I was a bad person for being white. At the age of 10 I wondered why is this an issue.
Please, let us all just get along.

The State Fair

2005-10-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

I wandered around at our State Fair yesterday. Mainly, I looked at the exhibits and commercial booths. It wasn't too surprising to see two or three booths that were spreading the word of god. I got blind sided by one older lady who noticed my black harley t-shirt from the hog rally in Florida.
She said, "Hey is that Florida on your shirt?"
I was glad to stop and let her look at the back of my shirt, "Yea, it's from a biker gathering."
I thought we were wrapping up our short cordial conversation when she shoved a smiley face sticker my way and asked, "Are you absolutely sure that you're going to heaven?"
I said, "No, I'm not too sure about that."
"Well, you don't want to go to hell do ya?"
That's when I decided to walk away. I simply said, "There is no hell."
I'm sure she was still talking to me as I walked away, but I didn't feel like disturbing her little world with my beliefs (or lack thereof). My wife didn't notice my hijacking and had kept wandering into the sea of people.
Anyway, I was wondering if next year they would allow me to set up a booth that tried to convince people that there is no god. I would very much doubt that the fair officials would allow that. I would hand out those little darwin fish stickers. And ask people "Are you absolutely sure that you're going to heaven?"

The New Nickel

2005-10-05T08:06:00.000-05:00

I really like the forward looking Jefferson portrait proposed for the new nickel. The artist said he tried to give him a hint of a smile for an optimistic look. story
However, if they're going to redesign the coin why not give some consideration to changing the bold capitalized phrase to something more positive. "IN GOD WE TRUST" sounds like we have to be afraid of something and need to trust in a miracle to save us.
When will people grow up and stop placing mindless faith in mythology?
Perhaps the phrase "VENI VEDI VICI" would be more appropriate. Jefferson's westward expansion was accomplished with the attitude of "We came, we saw, we conquered."

Convert the Masses!

2005-09-23T17:07:00.000-05:00

I've referred to the website of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster before. Now you can play the game!
I made 6550 on my second try. Have fun!

Definition of Failure

2005-09-22T10:49:00.000-05:00

As we all watch in anticipation of the next killer hurricane 'Rita' slamming into our gulf coast, there has been a request by the whitehouse to alter the Google search engine. As of now, if you search with the keyword 'failure' the number one response is a biography of George W. Bush. Try it.
It is actually a result of a practice called 'googlebombing' where a number of webmasters create links with the word 'failure' to that website.
Like this... failure failure failure failure .
Google representatives say they will not manually alter the results of this search, but they don't condone the practice of googlebombing.
failure failure failure
It appears that the right-wingers are trying to battle in this arena too as the number two result of the failure search is www.michaelmoore.com - Those darn kids!

Blogsearch by Google

2005-09-14T13:06:00.000-05:00

The new blog search tool is available at http://blogsearch.google.com . Try it out. I typed in Rusko and my blog came up as a preferred site!

Read about it here.

ID vs Evolution - Is the Pres on the Fence?

2005-09-11T09:52:00.000-05:00

Listen to NPR's Daniel Schorr on Intelligent Design and Katrina. This was from August 31st which is supposedly Mr. Schorr's 89'th birthday. I hope I'm as cool as him when I'm that age.

I realize it was a while ago when this aired, but I really thought it was timely, wise, and worthy of a repost.

Now read the radical mumbo jumbo of his 'christian' attackers -> website1 website2 website3 . Notice how they are so clever with the cut-n-paste. Each story is exactly the same. Get some creativity you creationists!

For more on ID in classrooms check out www.venganza.org

UFO's Big Foot and GOD

2005-09-10T05:46:00.000-05:00

I think it's just disgusting how psychics prey on the gullible 'Christians' that think they can communicate with their recently departed loved ones. It's all a sham folks.

It's hard for me to believe that even in this age of technological revolution and scientific discovery, people still believe in...

Ghosts UFO's Aliens Chiropractics Paranormal and... GOD, all of which are considered to be just mythical magical mumbo-jumbo by most skeptics, and critical thinkers.

All of the above links are from http://skepdic.com . It has an array of other weird stuff that people believe explained from a skeptical point of view.

Also read this about a so-called scientific experiment studying prayer and its effect on healing.

"...if God is omniscient and omnipotent, he should not need to be reminded or inveigled into healing someone."

Here's a great story about how when he died, Ray Wallace's family could finally reveal that he was the one that started the American Big Foot hoax.

I know that the majority of people have some belief structure regarding the spiritual world, but really only about 33% of earthlings claim to be 'Christian' and that includes Catholics, Jehovah's Witness's and even Quakers. I don't have a problem with religion. I do have a problem when 'religious' people use their beliefs to take advantage of the weak or worse yet try to legislate their morality on others. Gambling, prostitution, recreational drugs, more drugs, j-walking, helmet laws, etc. etc. (Although if you're not going to wear a helmet you should have to prove that you have good medical insurance. I don't want to have my medical bills and insurance rates hiked up to pay for the idiot that is in a coma with no insurance.) All of those links come from the book Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do - The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Our Free Country. A great book by Peter McWilliams who also wrote: LIFE 101: Everything We Wish We Had Learned About Life In School—But Didn't, DO IT! Let's Get Off Our Buts, LOVE 101: To Love Oneself Is the Beginning of a Lifelong Romance, and others.

The Christian that says, "If there were no god, everyone would be free to rape, kill, steal, etc.", doesn't realize that most people want to treat people the way they want to be treated. The golden rule is one ideology that is present in all major religions. (but then it usually only pertains to people of the same religion.) To quote Cerberus, one of the founder of The Church of the FSM, "Religious war at its very simplest is killing each other over who has the best imaginary friend." It's interesting to note that in New Orleans at the superdome, during what seemed to be anarchy, people gathered their chairs in little circles throughout the lobby area to form bands of protection. It is human nature to group with people of like interests and beliefs for the purpose of survival. I believe people are basically good and fair, at least with the people in their circle, and if there were no laws, they would at least form codes of acceptable behavior to provide protection for the group. Many of the fundamental laws that are set forth in religious dogma are also simple common sense that normal intelligent people would obey with or without the doctrine.

Now I know that you have clicked on every link above and read every article in it's entirety. So now you are enlightened. Go forth in critical thinking and spread the word that there is no Santa Claus even though you trusted your parents when they tricked you into going to bed early one night a year.

Starting Over

2005-09-10T05:05:00.000-05:00

Well somehow my blog got deleted. So I'll start over. I've taken this opportunity to revise the tone of this blog. Rather than being so harsh and belligerent, I've decided to be a little more informative and unemotional. Hopefully this change of attitude will serve to invite readers who may not share some of my personal views. No more ‘fundy-bashing’.

Please leave comments to let me know you’re out there. Have fun!