Farewell, Hitch
December 16, 2011 1 Comment
The world is now less articulate.
History of Halloween
October 31, 2011 Leave a Comment
The story starts, somewhat ironically, toward the end of the Middle Ages; most historians cite the year as 1974.
Reese Hershey, notable alchemist and part-time plumber, stumbled upon a previously unknown element. He found that when placed in the nostril, the element gave off a pleasant odor, and when placed on the tongue, it had a pleasant taste. He named it “candy” after his favorite stripper, John Kandi, who, according to Hershey, also had a delightful aroma. (Hershey later changed the spelling to “candy” to avoid confusion).
Candy was rare and initially only available to royalty and the very wealthy. It was thought that due to its pleasant odor, candy had heeling properties for the common affliction of stinky feet. It became popular to cut candy into squares with a razor blade, and ingest both.
As candy became more widespread, parents of poor families would send their children into rich neighborhoods to beg for this new remedy. They would often wear masks to avoid embarrassment as they went door-to-door asking the wealthy to smell their feet. If the homeowner felt the child’s feet were stinky enough, candy would be given in exchange for toilet paper—an homage to Hershey’s plumbing hobby.
This tradition of smelly kids begging the rich for handouts became known by the name of the road where it is first thought to have occurred as “Occupy Wall Street.”
And then there was something about pumpkins.
Happy Halloween!
911 Dichotomy
September 11, 2011 6 Comments
I don’t have an interesting story about what I was doing 10 years ago today. I wasn’t in New York or D.C. I didn’t have family or friends in harm’s way. I was 21 years old, driving a sandwich truck in Cleveland, gathering bits information from construction workers as I went from site to site.
The chaos and tragedy of the news I was hearing stood in stark contrast to the mundane nature of my life and that day, making it particularly surreal. The day stands as a vivid memory of a foggy experience. I imagine this is not an unusual recollection of September 11th.
10 years later we are all looking back on that day and it’s important not to oversimplify when reflecting on the role religion played. Like with most things, we see a division between the left and right—one insisting that Islam is not to blame for the attacks and the other holding all Muslims responsible.
They’re both wrong. At least on those two points. And, in other ways, both sides are right. Do we really need fall into one of these camps? Can we not say that, yes, the attacks were carried out because of Islam, and no, the Muslim family down the street are not terrorists?
Of course it would be unjust to hold all Muslims responsible and of course the blame should be laid with the disgusting perpetrators, but to suggest that the September 11th attacks were not religious or that Islam was not the driving force. And please, let’s avoid making false Scotsmen out of Osama Bin Laden and friends by claiming that they are/were not “real” Muslims.
Even President Obama, speaking to the nation after killing Bin Laden, sought to downplay Bin Laden’s religious motives, if not eliminate them. Could anything be more vile than to create a fiction about such an important event and attempt to sell it to the victims’ families just to avoid saying anything critical about any religion at any cost?
To say that Islam was not the driving force behind the attacks is to rationalize to the point of self-delusion. The Quran is filled with verses explicitly instructing Muslims to slay the unbelievers. Read them. Read them in context. See the mental gymnastics involved every time the mantra Islam is peace is uttered. Hearing what Bin Laden has said in countless interviews, fatwas, and grainy videos, can anyone really say that his actions do not stem directly from Islam and the Quran? The following are just a few kernels I picked out of the bag of Bin Laden references to God:
I’m fighting so I can die a martyr and go to heaven to meet God. Our fight now is against the Americans. (Wikiquote)
Hostility toward America is a religious duty, and we hope to be rewarded for it by God. (PBS)
For this and other acts of aggression and injustice, we have declared jihad against the US, because in our religion it is our duty to make jihad so that God’s word is the one exalted to the heights. (PBS)
The flip-side is that some use the undeniable blood on hands of Islam as justification for bigotry.
It is not bigotry to speak ill of Islam, especially considering the harm it has done. It is not bigotry to be fearful of someone or something, whether it be justified fear or not. It is bigotry to discriminate against innocent individuals for simply belonging to a group, to deny those people the rights we all enjoy, to commit violence against them.
The controversy that arose following news that an Islamic Center was being planned to go up on privately owned property in the general vicinity of Ground Zero is an easy example of a blatant attempt to take away the rights of others. Do we really want to start ignoring the right of the people to freely exercise their religion? (I ask this mainly of the majority Christians that made up the outspoken opposition.)
Islam is the problem. Some Muslims are the problem. I see no reason to shy away from saying this, and no reason to exaggerate it.
I Heart Voting in Ohio
August 9, 2011 1 Comment
Here in Ohio, Secretary of State Jon Husted launched an online poll for Ohioans (or anyone else who knows an Ohio zip code) to vote for a new voting sticker (as many times as they want). This stirred up a bit of controversy because some of the sticker options include the state motto, “With God All Things Are Possible.”
The sticker above was leading the pack (by a lot) before Hement Mehta encouraged readers to vote for the second place sticker, which doesn’t include the motto.
PZ also mentioned the poll and a repeat-voting campaign on the Cleveland Freethinkers Facebook page cropped up. Soon the numbers were close—very close.
The result? God got voted out of Ohio!
Well, sort of—it’s just a stupid sticker and the motto remains. A victory nonetheless. Congratulations, secular Ohio!
Dan Carlin for President
July 29, 2011 1 Comment
Dan Carlin, host of the Common Sense and Hardcore History podcasts, must be psychic. It’s the only explanation.
On show 203 of Common Sense, “Upgrading the Electorate,” released July 20, Dan gives us the following in the last five minutes:
I know it seems like we’ve had this internet around forever, but because presidential elections—which are the really big ones that most americans get all hyped up about—only happen every four years, we haven’t really had that many presidential election since the world wide web became something that people, you know, by and large used ubiquitously. We haven’t had a ton of time to have the really creative people amongst us figure out really good uses for this internet to keep us politically informed and aware—really creative ways to do it. I mean, if you want to get voting information there’s all sorts of sites, but i’m talking about like, wouldn’t it be interesting—and there may actually be a site out there like this, but I’m thinking about something that’s eventually on everybody’s bookmark the way Google and Wikipedia and Dictionary.com and those places are, right? A site where you could go and the first page starts asking you questions about what you care about and what you think is important, so that by the time your three clicks into this webpage the stuff you’re looking at on the pages is stuff you care about. And then you start clicking around, “I like this, I don’t like that, I like this.” And eventually the very end, you know, boom boom boom boom, you get to see the candidate who’s running who most scores, you know, highly on the things you care about, the way you want.
Interesting idea, yeah? Well two days later, AmericansElect.org launched. The following is from te website:
Start by building your profile and identifying your colors, not just red or blue, but your true colors. The more you define your views, the more unique and vivid your palate will become. Maybe you’re light purple. Maybe you’re turquoise. Maybe you’re lime green. Choose where you stand on each of the issues and find out.
But don’t stop there because Americans Elect is just getting started. Soon you’ll be able to join discussion groups, connect with others and share the topics you care about most. You’ll also have the option to search a variety of candidates to find someone who matches your values, preferences and goals for the country. You might only be a 40% match with your neighbors or a 55% match with your state, but wouldn’t you want to match close to a 100% with your president?
In actuality, Americans Elect goes much further than Dan suggested. Users sign on as delegates and will actually choose a ticket to appear on the ballot in all 50 states for the 2012 presidential election.
It’s very cool and I’d recommend signing up and answering the questions. The site is in it’s infancy now, but looks promising! You can read more about it from Thomas Friedman.
Bin Laden Not a Muslim Leader? Obama, Please.
May 2, 2011 1 Comment
I’m not going to write about Bin Laden’s death or the political ramifications of it. Nor will I write about the conspiracy theories I’m starting to find among my Facebook network. Instead, I want to take issue with one little part of Obama’s little speech.
“Our war is not against Islam, because Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims”
Really? Interesting.
Should we forget that Bin Laden declared jihad—defined as a holy war undertaken by Muslims—on the U.S.? And that he opened said declaration with:
It is God that we thank and it is God whose help and forgiveness we seek and whose name we uphold against our own evil and our wrongdoings. Whoever is guided by God cannot be misled and whoever misleads can find no guidance. I declare that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is his subject and messenger. (FBIS Report)
Should we forget that Bin Laden saidthat “Muslims need a leader who can unite them and establish the ‘pious caliphate’.”?
Surely he doesn't mean the Muslim version of paradise...
Should we forget that 30 seconds on Wiki-fuckin-pedia—as Tim Minchin might say—should make it obvious to anyone who can read that Al Qa’ida is an Islamic organization that was headed by Bin Laden?
Should we forget that Joseph Stalin was a Soviet leader and a mass murderer of Soviet people, and accept that because Bin Laden was a mass murder of Muslims that he was not a Muslim leader?
Should we forget Obama’s blatant dishonesty and continual pandering to the religious and reelect him anyway? Well, yeah, I guess the answer is unfortunately “yes” on that last one.
FU Friday: Newt Gingrich
March 31, 2011 Leave a Comment
Today’s FU Friday comes on a Thursday—deal with it.
Former House Speaker and Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has been saying some awful and just plain strange things about non-Christians lately. Here is John Stewart’s take:
In case you’re outside the U.S. and can’t watch the video, here’s what Newt said:
I have two grandchildren — Maggie is 11, Robert is 9. I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time they’re my age they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American.
A week or so before expressing his worries about atheist jihadists, Newt was already barking at the same tree. He conducted an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network to speak about his past indiscretions, the coming presidential race and the threat to “Judeo-Christian society.”
FU Friday: Newt Gingrich, posted with vodpod
I’m pretty sure you can all see that video. If not, let me know.
I’m not sure why he seems hell bent on associating atheists with Islam. I’m pretty sure the two groups have as much contempt for each other as they do for Christianity. Yet he wants to include Jews in his club with the meaningless term, “Judeo-Christian.”
Let’s be honest here, Newt. If your contention is that America has a “Judeo-Christian civilization” because it was founded that way, you’d be wrong, but you’d also have to drop the “Judeo”; I don’t think there were a whole lot of Jewish founders and, more importantly, our founding documents don’t say anything about Judaism (or Christianity for that matter).
If your contention is that Jews and Christians make up a majority of Americans, fine, but you’re forgetting about the non-religious who make up more than 10% of the population compared with the minuscule 1.7% Jewish, according to Pew Forum statistics.
Or perhaps you include Jews because they have similar values—they share one of your holy books and worship the same god. Well guess what, Newt—those Muslims you hate so much share with you two books and a god!
Bottom line is you can say, “Deio-Christian,” “Atheo-Christian,” or my personal favorite, “Judeo-Christo-Islamic,” and still make some sort of sense, but not, “Judeo-Christian.”
Gaddafi’s Sordid Past … or Future?
March 6, 2011 Leave a Comment
The international magnifying glass has been pointed at Muammar al-Gaddafi since violence has erupted on the streets of Libya. As Gaddafi continues to hang on and fight against the Libyan people, we dive into his past and focus on a crime Gaddafi committed right here in the U.S.
Gaddafi had been known throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s to both fund and actively support a wide variety of terrorist groups. In 1981 he had gone as far as to plot an assassination attempt on then U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
By the late 70s, Libya had already been seeking nuclear materials and weapons technology from various countries, despite being part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In 1985, the efforts came to a head here in the states.
A group of Libyan terrorists had acquired plutonium by raiding a nuclear power plant. The group, which would have certainly been funded by Gaddafi, recruited the help of Dr. Emmet Brown of Hill Valley, CA to assist in the making of a nuclear weapon.
They were, however, being played by Brown, who had agreed to help so that he could take the plutonium for use in his DeLorean Time Machine. And that’s exactly what he did. Brown had said that a nuclear reaction was required to “generate the 1.21 jigowatts of electricity.”
Gaddafi’s terrorists learned of the betrayal and tracked Brown to Twin Pines Mall (aka Lone Pines Mall) where Brown was demonstrating his machine to friend, Martin McFly on the morning of October 26, 1985.
Two Libyans in a Volkswagon Bus attacked the two, shooting Brown and attempting to shoot McFly who jumped into the DeLorean and sped off as his only means of escape. The Libyans gave chase, but were unable to catch McFly before the Time Machine reached 88 mph, vanishing with McFly into 1955, and sending the disoriented Libyans crashing into a photo stand.
Fortunately for Brown, McFly had enough sense to write a letter describing the events of October 26, 1985, and give it to Brown in 1955. Brown initially rejected the letter, refusing to read it on the grounds that the knowledge contained could disrupt the space-time continuum, but later figured, “what the hell!” McFly returned to 1985 just in time to see the events unfold “again.” He was relieved to discover that Brown had read the letter and wore a bullet-proof vest.
As Gaddafi continues to murder protesters and slam down his iron fist, we would do well to remember the plights of Brown and McFly. They are an example of everyday people rising up against Gaddafi and his goons, and succeeding. I like to imagine that somewhere in space and time, Brown and McFly are listening to the news coming from North Africa and rooting for those brave protesters on the streets of Tripoli.
FU Friday: Ahmadinejad
February 25, 2011 Leave a Comment
Today’s FU goes to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, after having the gall to criticize Gaddafi for using violence against protesters in Libya. I can’t say enough words about this one, so I just made a video instead:
This coming from the guy who had protesters in Iran killed, then made their families pay for bullets.
Fuck you, Ahmadinejad.
Here’s what he said:
It’s hard to imagine there’s a person who can kill his own people or bombard them. That’s really ugly. I advise strongly that everyone should allow their people to talk, and reply to their demands. They lead these people. How can a ruler bombard his own people then say, “if anyone speaks out, I’ll kill them”? This is not acceptable. People should have freedom and decision making powers in their own future. This is their right. I think everyone in the world is very shocked at what’s happening in Libya. It’s really bad. I think they should heed the demands of their people. But of course, as we know, anyone who doesn’t respect the will of their people—well, their fate is written.
The Climate of Faith
February 20, 2011 Leave a Comment
NPR ran this article about a scattering of islands in the South Pacific that make up the country of Kiribati (listen) that could soon find itself underwater due to the rising sea levels in part caused by climate change.
But there is good news—the former president, current member of parliament, and biblical literalist, Teburoro Tito, says it ain’t gonna happen:
I’m not easily taken by global scientists prophesizing the future … Saying we’re going to be under the water, that I don’t believe, because people belong to God, and God is not so silly to allow people to perish just like that.
Am I missing something here or is this guy completely delusional? He doesn’t think his god would be “silly” enough to allow a mere 90,000 people perish?
I wonder how he explains the 2004 Tsunami that wiped out 230,000 people. Perhaps Tito missed the Haiti earthquake that killed over 300,000—JUST LAST YEAR. And let’s not forgot the silly 1931 China floods that killed millions! I could go on and on and on…
This biblical literalist has also, it seems, never read the Bible. If Tito believes the Bible is the literal word of God, he must also believe all of the mass murder and genocide committed by and ordered by God really happened. Let’s not even talk about the flood, when he intentionally murdered almost every living creature on the planet. Instead let’s name just a couple of the many other examples found in the Bible.
I Samuel 6:19 And he asmote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had blooked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
Deuteronomy 7:2 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly adestroy them; thou shalt bmake no ccovenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
Better yet, just open the Bible and put your finger on the page. Chances are you will point to an example of God killing somebody—often children.
Silly God.
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