Murfreesboro attack on Islamic Center site on CNN

The Religious Test for Public Office - AL Governors Race

In order to be a "real Republican" in AL - you must be a science denier and believe the Bible literally.

This is clear violation of the Article VI, section 3 of the US Constitution -no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Don't tell them what you really think, tell them what they want you to think. AL Gov. candidate Bradley Byrne is attacked for supporting the teaching of evolution. Who would have thought .... in 2010? This should tell you something about the intellectual level of the average conservative voter in AL.

12 May, 2010 MSNBC:







The Republican War on Science is alive and well...

Desperate to believe: Noah's Ark Discovered .... Again

Beware of "evangelical archaeologists"

[photo: Mt. Ararat - site of 'discovery']

Dr. Randall Price was the "archaeologist" on the Chinese-led team in 2008 when this alleged discovery was first made. A leaked email from Price – which he confirms that he wrote – shows that a group of local Kurdish men trucked wood up to the mountain and staged an elaborate hoax for the Chinese team.

Dr. Randall Price, an evangelical Christian and former member of the Chinese-led team that announced this week’s finding, is director of the Center for Judaic Studies at the conservative Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Although he is referred to as an archaeologist, like many "evangelical archaeologists" ... he has no formal science education in the field.

What is really interesting is that the "evangelical archaeologists" claim the wood has been carbon dated to 4800 yrs old. Funny.... Christian fundamentalists and creationists often reject carbon dating as invalid, maintaining that it is impossible for the earth to be billions of years old.

If I had a nickel for every contradiction ....

more

Conservatives finally admit it: religion is KILLING the GOP

Conservatives are finally admitting the obvious: Howard Dean was right... it's the "white KKKristian party." The GOP is becoming obsolete.

Look at what a leading conservative writer says about it -

Townhall.com:

WASHINGTON -- As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.

Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D. Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party.

Here's the deal, 'pubbies: Howard Dean was right.

Suffice it to say, the Republican Party is largely comprised of white, married Christians. Anyone watching the two conventions last summer can't have missed the stark differences: One party was brimming with energy, youth and diversity; the other felt like an annual Depends sales meeting.

But, like it or not, we are a diverse nation, no longer predominantly white and Christian. The change Barack Obama promised has already occurred, which is why he won.

The young will get older, of course. Most eventually will marry, and some will become their parents. But nonwhites won't get whiter. And the nonreligious won't get religion through external conversion. It doesn't work that way.

Given those facts, the future of the GOP looks dim and dimmer if it stays the present course. Either the Republican Party needs a new base -- or the nation may need a new party.

Told ya

More from Palin's "Real America"

Personally, I think the guy needs to dump this fat dumb racist bitch. An example of the self righteous hateful assholes that have earned a good ass kicking, and they're going to get it. This is one ignorant piggish women - meet Tracy Kerlee:

Theological Scholar: Women are beaten by their husbands because they rebel against their husband's God-given authority

If you ever had any doubt about how Christians view women, let a Christian scholar clarify it for you.

If you're a Christian, you know that the Bible states:

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord ...For the husband is the head of the wife ... so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. -- Ephesians 5:22-24

So, what does this mean? A Christian Scholar clarifies (podcast mp3) it for us: Dr. Bruce Ware, Professor from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary said Eve's curse in the Garden of Eden meant "her desire will be to have her way" instead of her obeying her husband. What happens if a woman is not satisfied with her role?

According to the Christian Scholar, as he explained to the congregation of Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas, men have two choices:

"when women want to have their way instead of submitting to their husbands, and do what they would like to do, and really seek to work to have their husbands fulfill their will instead of serving them, the husbands ...respond to that threat to their authority either by being abusive, which is of course one of the ways men can respond when their authority is challenged, or more commonly, to become passive, acquiescing, and simply not asserting the leadership they ought to as men..."

Dr. Bruce Ware cited First Timothy in stating that women need to know and except their place as child bearers instead of "bucking against it" - and should not want "to be in a man's position, wanting to teach and exercise authority over men."

"It means that a woman will demonstrate that she is in fact a Christian, that she has submitted to God's ways by affirming and embracing her God-designed identity as--for the most part, generally this is true--as wife and mother, rather than chafing against it, rather than bucking against it, rather than wanting to be a man, wanting to be in a man's position, wanting to teach and exercise authority over men"

Dr. Ware notes disdain for the feminist and egalitarian movement that "challenges accepted Biblical views." Dr. Ware stated 10 reasons "for affirming male headship in the created order." They include that man "was created first" and that woman was created "out of" Adam in order to be his "helper." Even though the woman sinned first, Ware said, God came to Adam and held him primarily responsible for failure to exercise his God-given authority. Ware also said male/female relationships are modeled in the Trinity, where in the Godhead the Son "eternally submits" to the Father.

The authoritarian nature of his views of authority and submission were neatly summed up by his concluding statement:

"Women are called in various relationships... to submit to rightful male leadership, and this is for their good... It is as God-like to submit to rightful authority with joy and gladness..."

H/T: Ethics Daily

A tribute to the great George Carlin

George Carlin cuts to the chase. One of the greatest comic geniuses of our time. Carlin died last week at age 71.

The thing about Carlin is that he often made total sense in his own outrageous and comic way. He wasn't afraid to touch on sensitive moral and political issues. Tell us what ya really think George!! Truth is power.

Here are a few of my favorite clips, incredibly funny, highly recommended!!

Pro-Life is anti-women

Sanctity of life


Religion

McCain's spiritual advisor: "we get off on warfare"

McCain: Pastor Rod Parsley is "one of the truly great leaders in America ... a moral compass, spiritual guide"

Another extremist Christian nutcase is endorsing McCain. McCain says he is "greatful" and "very honored" for Parsley's "leadership and guidance."

Parsley guiding McCain. Here's what kind of guidance Parsley gives McCain:

"Mohammed received revelations from demon spirits, not from the living God. America was founded in part with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed. ... We were built for the battle, we were created for the conflict, we get off on warfare"

Watch it

With 1.8 BILLION Muslims in the world, McCain will have his work cut out exterminating all of them.

A look inside the evangelical mind-set that gave America 8 years of George W. Bush

An inside view of Hagee's evangelical church camp indoctrination

This article was stunning. The adult version of "Jesus Camp," reporter Matt Taibbi joined Pastor Hagee's Cornerstone Church to attend a 'Christian Encounter Weekend' in the Texas hill country. What he observed was absolutely nothing short of psychological abuse and conditioning. You have to read it to believe what goes on in such evangelical ministries ... and this is no small wacky cult. This megachurch has 19,000 active members and a TV audience in the millions. Pastor Hagee has been an outspoken Christian Zionist and recent endorser of John McCain.

Taibbi, an atheist, wanted "to get a look inside the evangelical mind-set." And boy did he ever, what he found was scary.

The 'encounter' began with an imposing macho leader, gaining the emotional empathy of the crowd by telling a tearful story of how his father had failed him and was unfaithful to his mother. Confessions of this 'childhood wound' was the basis for gaining the required emotional leverage of members, setting up 'the deliverance' to come:

"The wound theory was a piece of schlock biblical Freudianism in which everyone had one traumatic event from their childhood that had left a wound. The wound necessarily had been inflicted by another person, and bitterness toward that person had corrupted our spirits and alienated us from God."

After mind numbingly long 14 hr days of group confessions, prayers and singing hymns, the flock would be gathered to hear the leader demonize everything from gays to Harry Potter. Indoctrinating the flock in a weakened state, as Taibbi observed, the crowd "swallowed whole" anything told to them:

Who are the 28%ers?

Poll: Bush most unpopular in modern history

This is no surprise. This was confirmed by a Gallup Poll last week and reaffirmed in today's CNN Poll - except the CNN poll is even worse for the president. Bush is the most unpopular President in modern American history. This is part of his legacy that will go into the history books.

71% of Americans disapprove of how Bush is handling his job.
Only 15% think America is on the right track.

CNN:

"No president has ever had a higher disapproval rating in any CNN or Gallup poll; in fact, this is the first time that any president's disapproval rating has cracked the 70 percent mark." -- CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

What is surprising is that 28% of Americans still approve of the job Bush is doing. Both Nixon and Truman had lower approval ratings but never higher disapproval ratings. A stunning 73% see America on the wrong track, only 15% think the opposite.

Why do 28% still approve despite the direction of the country and Bush's multitude of failures? Who are these 28%ers and why do they think the way they do? I think I'd have to chalk it up to a number of things:

• A new breed of authoritarian partisans who care more about perceived principles they have formed based on insufficient or faulty information (a prime authoritarian characteristic). Stubbornly cult-like in their tenacity, they seem to put their 'personal principles' and perceptions above reality and what is good for America. Anyone who disagrees, they dismiss as the enemy, BDS, aiding the terrorists, etc.... Demographics reveal that these people are primarily white Christians. Studies have found Christian fundamentalists are often authoritarian by nature, and conservatives, stubborn by nature (failing to change habitual response patterns). Denial is very strong among those with this mindset.
  

• The concentrated misinformation campaign by the right wing media reinforcing false information already spewed by a lying administration. The latest - the vast Pentagon Analyst Program revealed to be nothing more than an expert propaganda program endorsed and operated by the Bush Administration. This is classic example of the weak-minded being manipulated by fear, 9/11 being the catalyst they keep coming back to.

You can tell who they are, they tend to be the least aware... only getting their 'news' from places like NRO, Hot Air, News Busters, Fox News, Little Green Footballs, etc... you can find a list in the sidebar of many 28%er bloggers. Many of them don't want to talk about politics. When engaged, they revert to fear-based discussions of jihad, the evils of the Koran, etc... It's not surprising that the huge Pentagon propaganda scandal or the GAO report showing the failure of Bush's war on al Qaeda never made it to the Drudge Report. Wonder why? That's called "fair and balanced" in Bushie authoritarian land.

Ignorant religious conservatives - deep in the heart of TN

H/T: Hendrix Keats

I think you just have to see this to believe it. Normally, I wouldn't bash people for their ignorance but when it comes to something as important as justifying their vote for a presidential candidate, I have little patience for ignorance that when repeated become lies.

Or see it on youtube




Pharyngula:

They're probably good, decent people who care about their families, but listen to what they are saying — they are picking a president on the basis of his dedication to the Bible. They are advocating a foreign policy based on biblical prophecy. They measure patriotism by whether someone "worships" (interesting slip, there) the flag and Jesus. They parrot lies, such as that Obama is planning to be sworn in on the Koran. …but the whole problem here is that their brains have been poisoned by religion, a lying, dishonest, corrupting religion that has turned them into deluded fools. Lay the blame for this criminal distortion of human minds right at the feet of religious belief.

Like I said, probably good people…but the whole problem here is that their brains have been poisoned by religion, a lying, dishonest, corrupting religion that has turned them into deluded fools. Lay the blame for this criminal distortion of human minds right at the feet of religious belief.

How 'southernism' has affected American politics

From an interesting op/ed in Newsweek on how the conservative south has changed the face of American politics: "How the South won this Civil War" by Michael Hirsh.

Based on these trends, I'd say it's not been a healthy direction for America. Hirsh cites the founding fathers, the Jefferson-Adams letters:

When Jefferson, in his letter of May 5, 1817, condemned the "den of the priesthood" and "protestant popedom" represented by Massachusetts' state-supported church, he was speaking for both of them--the North and South poles of the revolution. Yet John McCain, even with the GOP nomination in hand, would never dare repeat his brave but politically foolhardy condemnation of the religious right in 2000 as "agents of intolerance." Why? Because we have become an intolerant nation, and that's what gets you elected.

And as a result you have this kind of shit in politics as Hirsh points out:

We must endure "lapel-pin politics" that elevates the shallowest sort of faux jingoism over who's got a better plan for Iraq and Afghanistan. We have re-imported creationism into our political dialogue (in the form of "intelligent design"). Hillary Clinton panders shamelessly to Roman Catholics, who have allied with Southern Protestant evangelicals on questions of morality, with anti-abortionism serving as the main bridge.

Hirsh explains the irrational southern conservative hero worship of GW Bush:

In Bush there seems little trace left of the Eastern WASP sensibility into which he was born and educated, and which explains so much of his father's far more moderate presidency. The younger Bush went to Andover, Yale and Harvard, but he rebelled against the ethos he learned there. The transformation is complete, right down to the Texas accent that no one else in his family seems to have.

And you can see where we are now as a result: seriously lacking leadership possessing sensibility, intelligence, prudence and the competence that moderate, balanced and diverse influences bring. Some might say it's a culture war where a lack of knowledge coupled with religious fundamentalism, authoritarianism, isolationism, and bigotry have indelibly changed American politics. Hence the emergence of intolerance, the 'white Christian party' and the neo-cons. I shudder to think where we'd be right now if the Bush presidency had been successful in any measure. Fortunately, the jury is in on that.

Intelligent Design movie, "Expelled" - debuts as a miserable failure

Another failure in the Conservative Religious right wing War on Science.

The reviews are in ...the move Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed sucks. Called a "flunkout documentary," an "unprincipled propaganda piece that insults believers and nonbelievers alike," Expelled is a crusade by Ben Stein to show how believers of intelligent design are victims of persecution and that Darwinism is the root of all evil. As the Chicago Tribune put it:

"...a cynical attempt to sucker Christian conservatives into thinking they’re losing the “intelligent design” debate because of academic “prejudice.”

Typical of the religious right, Expelled is a loathsome and idiotic attempt to show scientific legitimacy for a creationist worldview while desperately trying to swiftboat science.

UPDATE: The National Center for Science Education has launched a website exposing the lies of the film "Exposed." Check out - Expelled Exposed.
Further exposing the films unprofessionalism, the producers of Expelled have been cited for copyright violations.

NYT

One of the sleaziest documentaries to arrive in a very long time, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” is a conspiracy-theory rant masquerading as investigative inquiry.

Mixing physical apples and metaphysical oranges at every turn “Expelled” is an unprincipled propaganda piece that insults believers and nonbelievers alike. In its fudging, eliding and refusal to define terms, the movie proves that the only expulsion here is of reason itself.

New York Post:

After all of his efforts to unhook the ID caboose from the creationism train, Stein makes it clear that his beef with Darwinism is that it weakens religion.

In a long, greasy detour, Stein shows that the Nazis were Darwinists. So what? They also liked skiing. Having Nazi fans doesn’t make Darwin wrong.

Time:

It’s in the film’s final third that it runs entirely off the rails as Stein argues that there is a clear line from Darwinism to euthanasia, abortion, eugenics and–wait for it–Nazism. Theories of natural selection, it’s claimed, were a necessary if not sufficient condition for Hitler’s killing machine to get started. The truth, of course, is that the only necessary and sufficient condition for human beings to murder one another is the simple fact of being human. We’ve always been a lustily fratricidal species, one that needed no Charles Darwin to goad us into millenniums of self-slaughter.

Huckabee the Theo-con . . .one of the most dangerous men in America

Mike Huckabee wants to change the US Constitution to reflect the laws of his church and god:

"But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that's what we need to do, to amend the Constitution so it's in God standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family." - Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee is the embodiment of the American version of the Taliban. With this statement, he is negating the separation of church and state and further professes to make his interpretation of "god's law" the law of the land ... this land, our USA. He is a clear-cut theocrat.

We don't need a theocracy in America.

It is amazing that a guy with a degree in religion from Ouachita Baptist University and a seminary school drop out has risen to the level of winning a state presidential primary. It is absolutely frightening! Particularly when we hear statements from him like:

"When we become believers, it's as if we have signed up to be part of God's Army, to be soldiers for Christ..." - Mike Huckabee, 1/08 Windham, NH

Huck proved himself a good soldier for god by subverting his boss while Lt. Governor of Arkansas. Huckabee's boss, Governor JG Tucker was advised not to proclaim 'Christian Heritage Week' in Arkansas, he did not think it was appropriate to honor a particular faith. But when Tucker went out of town for a week and Huckabee became the acting chief executive, he enthusiastically signed the proclamation, declaring at a later celebration that he was taking a stand against "Christophobia."

George Grant was the co-author for Huckabee’s 1998 book, Kids Who Kill: Confronting Our Culture of Violence. That was the book where Huckabee and Grant lumped homosexuality with pedophilia, sadomasochism and necrophilia as “institutionally supported aberrations.” That line, which Huckabee defended, may well have come from Grant’s 1993 book, Legislating Immorality: The Homosexual Movement Comes Out Of The Closet. In that book, Grant compares homosexuality with pedophilia and bestiality. He also calls for the death penalty for gays, saying “[t]here is no such option for homosexual offenses” except capital punishment.

I thought Muslim theocracies were the only places that called for criminal penalties for gays?

The Huckster claims he knows all about Muslims, because of his 'theology degree'. The only problem is that he lied about that too. Right Mike. Good christian values: lie about your resume, cover up acts of animal cruelty, persecute gays, and change the Constitution to reflect your religion. Not to mention your trouble with ethics as governor of AR.


More on Huckabee's connections with theocratic Christianists.

H/T: BTB
TheocracyWatch.org

Evolution vs. Creationism argument ends with creationist committing murder

The dude went 'Old Testament on him' and demonstrates some good Christian values - by killing an infidel. He was following his Biblical principles.

They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. (2 Chronicles 15:12-13)

------------------------------------------------
Jail for creationist killer
TheAge.com.au
12/17/07

An English backpacker who killed a Scottish tourist at a New South Wales [Australia] caravan park after a row over creationism versus evolution, has been sentenced to a minimum three years' jail. Alexander Christian York, 33, was found guilty in July of manslaughter over the 2006 stabbing death of Scottish tourist Rudi Boa.

-------------------------------------------------
The murdered tourist, Rudi Boa, was a biomedical scientist. He obviously knew too much and had to be dealt with... Biblically.

The judge concurred and dismissed the murder charge, sentencing the killer Alexander Christian York to a lesser charge of manslaughter with a very light sentence. The judge remarked about the killer: "The offender is a person of good character and the offense is a complete aberration."

But of course, he was killing for God; and to some, that's ok.

TN Senate Candidate: women in leadership roles is contrary to God's design

According to Republican Mark Albertini, God says women should not run for political office

Mark Albertini's blog post, sporting a photo of Hillary, uses Biblical examples to show why women running for political office goes against God's design. He feels it is unnatural that women should take leadership roles in society.

He explains in a blog comment:

God made men and women fundamentally different and with a different purpose in mind. Man was made to be a goal -oriented warrior. Woman was made to be a nurturing comforter. When either one deviates from this pattern, it strikes us as unnatural and it disturbs God‘s design. This was known as Natural Law to our founders. ... Perhaps a good illustration is would you want to put Ginger from Giligan’s Island on the tackle line of a professional football team? Obviously no. I think God’s plan unfolds from his design. He designed us all to fill a certain purpose in life. It’s not that one is better then the other. It’s that each serves a specific purpose. God created women with a womb so they could bear and nurture children. Men were not made primarily for this function.

Well ladies, forget about 'being all you can be.' As Mark says, your primary and specific purpose is to bear and nurture children. You better not get too ambitious, you will go against God!

Personally, I find this mentality not only archaic, but shocking in this day and age where many nations have, or have had female Presidents and Prime Ministers. It should give us all a wake up call that there are those out there running for political office who would like to see America run as a Christian theocracy. This type of "Dark Ages" philosophy has no place in American society or politics. Didn't we go to war with a regime - the Taliban - that subjugated women? It seems to be a habit of Christian conservative men to have a need control women - limit their rights, keep them pregnant and in the kitchen. This is not modern thinking and is no better than the theocratic regimes we condemn.

Proof that the anti-choice campaign is pointless, irrational and most of all - ineffective

Here's why:

1) A study by scientists from the World Health Organization, and the Guttmacher Institute in New York have shown that instances of abortion declined the most where abortion was safe and legal.

2) This global study of abortion also concluded that abortion rates are similar in countries where it is legal and those where it is not, suggesting that outlawing the procedure does little to deter women seeking it.

The study showed that the result of outlawing abortion has been to endanger women's lives. The study indicated that about 20 million abortions that would be considered unsafe are performed each year and that 67,000 women die as a result of complications from those abortions, most in countries where abortion is illegal.

The continued preoccupation with denying women reproductive rights is dangerous, irrational, and counterproductive. It is an example of pushing a religious agenda where it doesn't belong - into our laws.

Faux News promotes "Liberal War on God"

Picking up where they left off with their 'War on Christmas,' the Faux News Channel cited Air America's Free Thought Radio show as an atheist "shocking show."

Pitting believers against non-believers, Faux News again attempts to demonize the minority of people who don't subscribe to religious beliefs.

They also note that atheism is growing in America and those that are atheist are generally more highly educated than those that are religious. Hmmm... do you suppose dogmatism and lack of education could be connected?

Clearly, there is a mountain of research that shows the correlation:
Religious conviction diminishes as education level increases

Wiki:

A letter published in Nature in 1998 reported a survey suggesting that belief in a personal god or afterlife was at an all-time low among the members of the U.S. National Academy of Science, only 7.0% of whom believed in a personal god as compared to more than 85% of the general U.S. population. In the same year Frank Sulloway of MIT and Michael Shermer of California State University conducted a study which found in their polling sample of "credentialed" U.S. adults (12% had Ph.Ds and 62% were college graduates) 64% believed in God, and there was a correlation indicating that religious conviction diminished with education level. Such an inverse correlation between religiosity and intelligence has been found by 39 studies carried out between 1927 and 2002, according to an article in Mensa Magazine. These findings broadly concur with a 1958 statistical meta-analysis from Professor Michael Argyle of Oxford University. He analyzed seven research studies that had investigated correlation between attitude to religion and measured intelligence among school and college students from the U.S. Although a clear negative correlation was found, the analysis did not identify causality but noted that factors such as authoritarian family background and social class may also have played a part.

Please remind the Christian right wing 'moral majority' - morality starts with the truth.