Sunday, August 18, 2013
Scott Walker wanted to arrest spectators?
Where were you when Elvis died?
I'm listening to a CBS Sunday Morning piece on the 36th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. It dredged up a memory from the 70s. I was 17 at the time and driving with my friend Craig to his cousin's house for a game of basketball. We were listening to KMET when the news broke. We pulled over to listen to the story. I remember sitting on a treelined street in Yellow VW bug and thinking, "How is this possible?"
Where were you?
Nutball Alert: Daphne Spurlock
Daphne Spurlock allegedly took a kitchen knife and slit her 5-year-old son's throat to "let the demons out". She also stamped on his sweet little face and chest, apparently for spite.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – A mother accused of slitting her 5-year-old's throat early Saturday said she wanted to "release the demons" from his body, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. Daphne Spurlock, has been charged with attempted capital murder.
Magnolia police and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office responded to a welfare check of a child shortly after midnight after the child's father told police he believed his son was dead inside a residence.
Read more: Texas mother slits son's throat to "release the demons"
I don't automatically associate crazy stories like this with Christianity run amok. I think most rotational people would agree that this is mental illness. My problem is that Spurlock became increasingly more fixated on Christianity over the last year (or more), and it was not recognized as a problem. Why is that?
When it is appropriate to say that the actions of an individual are enough to justify intervention? Does it take violence or should it be some other behavior, like talk of demons? Can we define normal belief and abnormal belief in a way that allows us to identify those who need help?
It makes one think. Right?
Nutball Alert: Gordon Klingenschmitt
Does anyone believe that President Obama is trying to drive Christians out of the military so he can use the military to kill American Christians. No? I thought as much. Have your heard "Dr. Chaps" Gordon Klinenschmitt tell his crazy story? It reminds me of my grandpa telling me that President Carter was allowing the UN to establish bases in America. Even as a young teen I knew it was crazy talk.
Nutball: "Dr. Chaps" Gordon Klingenschmitt talks about Christian persecution and a certain segment of Christianity listens.
Hat tip: Right Wing Watch: Klingenschmitt: Obama Creating Atheist Military to Attack Christians
Santorum - Middle Class is Marxism Talk
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Youth pastor Trevor Fortner guilty
Former Baptist youth pastor Trevor Jacob Fortner, profiled here, pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in federal court.
LUBBOCK - A former youth minister admitted in federal court he had child pornography. Trevor Jacob Fortner, 25, pleaded guilty in Lubbock to attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor.
The plea documents filed state Fortner and the government will make a non-binding recommendation to the court of a 48-month sentence.
Fortner was a youth minister at a church in Levelland, Texas; he has also worked in the graphics department of a church in Lubbock.
Source: Ex-Youth Minister in Lubbock Admits to Child Porn Possession
Lubbock Texas is the epicenter for Baptist sexual misconduct. Guard your children well Texans.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Police brutality is justified by black on white crime says Sheriff David Morgan
Well… I think the clock is ticking on Florida Sheriff Dave Morgan. Officers under his command shot an unarmed African American male as the he was looking for cigarettes in his mother's car, which was parked in his own driveway. Sheriff David Morgan explained that the shooting was a tragedy of non-compliance. Which is another way of saying, the victim, Roy Howard Middleton, had it coming. Sheriff Morgan went on to say that the officers were trained and acted properly. Which is like saying they are trained to shoot an unarmed man. Right?
Two white officers shot Middleton, who survived, 15 times. Sheriff Morgan claims that the shooting was caused by black on white crime. I think he's a racist.
Then Morgan loftily adds that we “must address those statistics for what they are, and not inject race,” adding, “Last night we had four black male teenagers attacked a 77-year-old white man. Where was the public outrage in that?” He cites another attack in which “two black males and one black female brutally attacked a white female ... beat her to death with a hammer and crowbar . . . where is the public outrage in that?” Then he cites another execution-style murder by an armed black male against a white male. Plus graphic crime scene details. None of these cases involves the police. They’re just examples of vicious black-on-white crimes that presumably justify—what, exactly? Police brutality? Racial profiling? More warrantless searches? Morgan never exactly tells us what we are meant to conclude from all these allegedly neutral “statistics,” but it’s certainly implied: The real racism in America is in fact directed at white people who are not allowed to defend themselves from being called racists whenever they act like racists.
Source: David Morgan is wrong, Terribly wrong by Dahlia Lithwick
Silly Morgan. Black on white crime does not give you the right to violently confront every black man you meet. In fact, black on white crime is not a factor. Are you suggesting that black on white crime justifies the use of force against African Americans? Lets look at proper police conduct. Is it proper to shoot an unarmed man 15 times? Would you have done the same to a white man, or would the interaction have been friendly? I'm betting friendly, or no interaction at all.
I don't write about racial issues much. I am a early 50s, white American male, and I know the unspoken and sometime ignorantly overt games that racists play. I refer to myself as an Irish American. I am married to a Filipino. My sons are biracial. I have a smart and beautiful African American daughter-in-law, and a wonderful little multiracial grandson. And don't get me started on the Puerto Rican side of my family. I have few white friends, instead, I have plenty of Asian, Pacific Islander, Latino, and African American friends and relatives (Did I mention my LGBT friends? No? How silly of me). I may be white, but I live in the mixing pot of Los Angeles. My friends and family reflect the diversity of my reality. People like Sheriff Dave Morgan would not survive here. His racism and screwed up perspective would have caused his self-destruction long ago.
My views are simple and consistent. Judge a person by what he or she does. Be kind. Love everyone. Extend trust slowly. Keep your word. Don't lie. Do you see anything about race in my words? I'm not color blind, I've just grown past the stupidity of judging a person by the stereotypes of his or her race. Now excuse me, I have an early game of disc golf with my Chinese best friend and half-Dutch, half Puerto Rican co-worker… I wonder if he will wear that damn orange teeshirt?
Pastor charged with crimes against humanity
Hey! This was my idea!
Evangelical pastor to stand trial in Massachusetts for alleged crimes against humanity
A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss a crimes against humanity case brought against evangelical pastor Scott Lively of Massachusetts.
Lively is accused of violating international law by inciting the persecution of LGBT individuals in Uganda. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on behalf of Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) in 2012.
“We are gratified that the court recognized the persecution and the gravity of the danger faced by our clients as a result of Scott Lively’s actions,” CCR Attorney Pam Spees said. “Lively’s single-minded campaign has worked to criminalize their very existence, strip away their fundamental rights and threaten their physical safety.”
If one LGBT person died because this hate monger, then he deserves to be locked away for a very long time.
Action Altert: Greece v Galloway case
My fellow atheists, please take a moment to act on this alert.
Ask the White House to withdraw their amicus brief supporting legislative prayer (Greece v Galloway) and uphold the separation of church/state by signing this petition. (Text Below)
We The People ask the White House and the Obama administration to support our founding principles of keeping the state separate from the church and withdraw their amicus brief (http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com in support of legislative prayer.
We The People ask that our government take a position of neutrality in this matter and refrain from endorsing prayer or religious endorsement in government proceedings.
We The People believe that allowing legislative prayers unnecessarily entangles church and state.
We The People would all be better off if government stuck to government business, and left the business of promoting religion to religious leaders in society.
Thank you.
'I am special' says Missouri Rep. Paul Wieland
“I see abortion-inducing drugs as intrinsically evil, and I cannot in good conscience preach one thing to my kids and then just go with the flow on our insurance...”
Missouri Rep. Paul Wieland is Catholic and wants to make a point.
According to a report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Wieland had been able to opt out of contraceptive coverage in previous years but was recently notified that it had become a requirement in the state plan, which he qualifies for as a member of the Legislature.
“In July I got a letter saying that opting out was no longer an option for me, and it really kind of upset me because I’m a devout Catholic,” Wieland told the Missouri Times.
While refusing to comment on the specifics of the case, Wieland’s attorney Timothy Belz acknowledged that the couple may be the only plaintiffs in the country currently seeking to be exempted as individuals. Belz told the Post-Dispatch that the legal precedent in cases filed by employers is mixed, but if Wieland prevails “it will be of great value to other families.”
Source: Republican lawmaker sues the federal government to keep his daughters from using birth control
Hey Paul! I'm pretty sure that it will only become an issue for you if you or your daughters choose to have an abortion. Otherwise, this is just a political stunt. And remember Paul, when your daughters seek an abortion (and the numbers tell us this is possible), they you get to pay for it yourself.
Let me give you another out. Resign. Leave government in protest and go find a job in the private sector where you can practice your religion in private.
Links to other posts on this issue:
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
I'd call this discrimination
Rock Beyond Belief has an interesting story about an atheist veteran who was profiled for discrimination by a Arizona police officer. I call his story discrimination. I would also call it abuse of power. Give it a read and let me know what you think.
Adam, a friend of mine who served in the Army, is currently making a cross-country road trip. He’s a pretty outspoken atheist, a combat veteran who was highly decorated in Iraq, and a pretty cool guy to boot! He was in the Army, which isn’t as cool as the Marines, but I forgive him for that every time he buys me a beer. :)
This year he made his way through Arizona driving to Vegas en route to TAM 2013. For those of you unfamiliar with TAM – it is The Amazing Meeting put on by the great magician James “The Amazing” Randi. I’m sure most of you know about TAM but it was my first. I ended up staying in the same hotel room with Adam and he gave me a lift back to California on his cross-country road trip. Just a few hours ago he recanted this story to me about how he may have been profiled because he was an atheist.
Read more: Did a Police Officer Attempt to Imprison a Decorated Combat Veteran merely because he was an Atheist? by Paul Loebe
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Christian family takes leap of faith
There are Darwin awards for a reason. The Gastonguay family made an absolutely crazy decision to flee America by boat for Kiribati. They claimed religious persecution as the reason for their idiotic quest. They ended up stranded at sea for months. It was only through the kindness of strangers that they survived. They should be dead. Hell, if they were authentic in their desires, they should have renounced their citizenship before departing so that they could be called stateless and dead. But no… they were rescued, and our tax dollars brought them right back home so that they can continue their nutball ways.
A northern Arizona family that was lost at sea for weeks in an ill-fated attempt to leave the U.S. over what they consider government interference in religion will fly back home Sunday.
Hannah Gastonguay, 26, said Saturday that she and her husband "decided to take a leap of faith and see where God led us" when they took their two small children and her father-in-law and set sail from San Diego for the tiny island nation of Kiribati in May.
But just weeks into their journey the Gastonguays hit a series of storms that damaged their small boat, leaving them adrift for weeks, unable to make progress. They were eventually picked up by a Venezuelan fishing vessel, transferred to a Japanese cargo ship and taken to Chile where they are resting in a hotel in the port city of San Antonio.
Source:Hannah Gastonguay: Arizona family to return home after fleeing US due to religious conflict
By the way, the phrase 'God will provide' is another way of saying that a fishing boat will save us. They were not in the hands of God or under his protection. If they truly believed that God had their back, they would have walked into the sea.
I don't understand why the children are still with the parents. If this stupidity is not the worst parenting imaginable, then what is? They clearly endangered the lives of their two children. The state should take the kids and never give them back. These nutballs are the type of people who drink kook-aid as the solution to their problems.