Rou

I don’t understand the reasoning that the Romney campaign has been slewing around out there recently. They’re claiming that Mitty would have a better chance of getting bipartisan cooperation from Congress than Obama would. They say that the Democrat controlled Senate is more likely to work with Mitt than the Republican controlled House is willing to work with Obama.

Am I the only one that thinks that’s a fucked up logical leap? Effectively, he’s saying that the GOP are bigger assholes to work with, so you might as well let them run the show. Hell, if you don’t elect their guy, they’re planning on doing the same obstructionist shit they’ve done for the last couple years. At the same time, they're saying that the opposing political party is more reasonable then they are.

Like I said, maybe it’s just me, but that’s not exactly a qualification I’d vote for. It’s a plea to extortion. Remember when the US credit rating was held hostage by those same assholes last year? That was these same assholes. And now they’re saying they’ll do it again if Obama is still in the white house.

No thanks. The right response is not to reward them. The correct response is to roll up a newspaper and smack them on the snout. Bad doggie. No treat.

So, while the Muslim world continues to rail against the a YouTube video it sees as blasphemy, let me remind you that all is not well in other places either. In Greece, a 27 year old was arrested for blasphemy. His crime?

He mocked the an Orthodox monk on Facebook with jokes about the flying spaghetti monster.To quote the organization behind this sleaze fest: "This user is using hubris, irony and is attempting to ridicule this Holy person of Greek Orthodoxy Elder Paisios". That describes a lot of what I write here actually. He faces 2 years in jail.

I don't really need to rant too much about it. Odessa's previous post covers the ground nicely. This is just another example of things that shouldn't be allowed. That even in modern societies, it's easy to let your guard down and let the barbarians get their way.

When people ask me why I rail against religion so much, this sort of behavior is the reason. If it weren't for people speaking out and standing up, it would be easy for religious groups to censor the rest of us under the guise of respecting their religion. If you don't protect yourself and others, it's very easy to lose those freedoms you felt were incontrovertible.

I have a community mailbox. For the fourth time in the past 6 months, I was unable to unlock my mailbox today. Each of the previous times it was because the delivery person had shoved the mail so far into the box that it prevented the latch from turning. Each time, I get to go through the same stupid cycle.

First, I call the post office. Each time, no one fucking answers the phone because that would be stupid. So, I end up waiting in like for 10-15 minutes while the brain dead worker bees figure out how to deal with each customers problem. Then, once I get to the front of the line, the person acts like they've never heard of a community mailbox before. I explain the concept and describe the how the key doesn't turn of the latch is blocked. I'm a polite as can be because I realize that this is shitty thankless job, and this problem isn't the fault of the person I'm talking to. Today... things were slightly different.

Once I described the problem, the bitch behind the country immediately told me this was my fault for not cleaning out my mailbox often enough. I'm sorry, what? Shit-stain, before you open your mouth and say something like that, you should know I get my mail every mother fucking day. And when I tell you that, rolling your eyes is NOT the way to make the situation better. Nor is telling me there is nothign you can do about it, when I know otherwise. I shouldn't have to tell you to give the mail carrier a letter to make it right. Making me suggest it makes me angry, particularly on top of your previous attitude. See, I'm not a nice guy.

I'm really not. I can be. I do my very best to keep things civil. But once you cross the line, all the sudden, Mr Nice Guy goes away. He's on vacation now, bitch. Tonight, you're getting a sizable pile of complaint letters from different sources with different variations on the text all mentioning that you were rude and unhelpful. Some of them are translated into Spanish, and some in German. And tomorrow you'll get them all again. And the probably the day after that. It's convenient that someone scripted submissions to the USPS website for me.

If you're really lucky, that'll be the end of it. My attention span will overcome my anger. I'll get bored and stop clicking submit.  Like I said, I'm not a nice person.

Fuck you USPS lady.

The election is coming up and once again I have a horrible truth pushed to the front of my brain as I prepare to take the final slog through campaign ads. There are people that believe this shit.

I’m not talking about believing little things. I mean, there are legitimate arguments over a candidate’s position on this topic or that. Where does Obama stand on gay marriage? Does Romney’s experience at Bain Capital translate into a good commander in chief? Yada-yada. I expect that. I even expect the more political based things like the possibility that Romney didn’t pay taxes for several years.

No, nothing that mundane. I’m talking about people who still believe that Obama is not a US citizen. Or that he’s a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Who believe that the US is a Christian nation and any adherents of another faith should be deported. Who can’t tell you where Mexico is on a map, but is positive that Mexicans are the cause of most of our economic problems. Who scream loudly about people getting handouts on the unemployment line while hypocritically drawing on Medicaid. Who sit in a world full of technology and believe that Neil Armstrong never walked on the moon. Who honestly and reverently believe that the antichrist has already set foot on the planet, and has gotten elected to the Presidency.

It seems like nearly every week I run into these people. I don’t seek them out, but I see them anyway. Arguing in the work cafeteria. Talking in the supermarket. Posting online. And worst of all, staring out of my TV screen and being given a platform on the nightly news.

They are the biggest problem in America today. Forget abortion, marriage equality, housing bubbles and distribution of wealth. Those are all side effects. This large group of ignorant people is the underlying cause. The average person isn’t real bright, which means this bottom third is REALLY stupid. They reinforce belief structures and help each other wallow in their feeble-mindedness.  They band together and push the rest of the country to acknowledge their particular brand of gobbledygook. They give their money to corporations that indulge them, which just spreads their lunacy further. They band together so you can explain it away as the crazy cat lady down the street.

They believe, and that’s far more important to them than knowledge. You can disprove their views a thousand times and it doesn’t matter. They already locked their belief in place and take any contrary evidence as conspiracy and lies. They believe and will not falter. They will refuse to accept anything that hinders that belief.

And worst off, they vote. In the past twenty years, most of the elections have come down to a few percentage points one way or another. And there are enough of them that they have actual influence on the outcome. Politicians pander to them as a voting demographic. These voters are the mental equivalent of potted plants, but get the same right to speak their… I guess we’ll call it their mind, though I would stipulate that the word is being used loosely.

I’m not saying they should have their suffrage removed. I’m just saying that this time of year makes my head hurt. It also reinforces the need for children to be properly educated.

Hey kids. Don’t be dumb.

Look douchebag, you didn't misspeak. Misspeaking is mispronouncing niche or forte. Slipping up and calling Bob by Dave’s name would be considered misspeaking. Confusing psychology and physiology could be misspeaking.

You went out and said that women who are ‘legitimately’ raped don’t get pregnant, and thus implying that anyone who gets pregnant must have actually wanted to be raped.

Sorry Mr. Akin. That’s not how the game works. You’ve said a vile and repugnant thing. You did it via a medium that allowed the entire fucking world to read what sort of dick-bag you really are. I mean, honestly, even the pro-life people and tea party people are bashing you for it. Even if they agree with your stance on abortion, they find your claim of legitimate rape to be abhorrent. Your own party is asking you to drop out. They think it's better for you to bow out than try to continue putting your menovolant ideas on the public stage.

Even if people wanted to give you a pass on that, a quick review of your record doesn’t help you out much. Remember arguing against making marital rape illegal? Or supporting people who kill abortion doctors? And that’s just this topic. You voted against child nutrition programs? And autism?

Please. Go away. Go live in some backwater cabin in the boondocks of Missouri. Go far away from civilization and never bother civilized people again. Filth like you doesn’t deserve the benefits of living in society with good people. You certainly should never be allowed to represent them.

Sikhs are not the same as Muslims.

I could go a laundry list of reasons why that’s true, but people like Wade Page and his racist white power buddies don’t care.

I could lay all of the differences out. X is Muslim and Y is Sikhism. One does this, and the other does that.

But in the end, it doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know the differences between them to know that murder is wrong. And if we can’t agree on that, then there really isn’t anything more to say.

Seriously, I don’t know who still shops at GameStop. It’s a full store dedicated to games. 20 years ago, that was a niche that needed to be filled because you couldn’t find games everywhere. Now, Wal-Mart, Target and dozens of other major stores carry games. You can downloaded games straight from the manufacturer. Not to mention places like Amazon to buy things online.

What do you get out of going to GameStop now? If it’s not a new title, they likely don’t have it. The workers are forced to push pre-orders and magazine subscriptions on you. The pre-owned games aren’t even deeply discounted.

Is it just that you can sell them your old games for store credit? That would be fine if they didn’t rip you off royally for each sale and blatantly resell it for 250% what they just offered you. My local store in the mall has a giant sign outside saying they’re now buying used iPods and iPad’s and reselling them.  I can’t imagine them offering a much better percentage there either. You’re better off hitting up eBay or craigslist.

Or are the midnight Madden releases really driving that much business? Or it is all people that honestly don’t know any better?

I just don’t get it.

I have the right to speak out about what I believe. I have the right to believe what I want.

So do you. So does every citizen of America and many other countries around the world.

But let us remember, that this right to say and believe is only the right to prevent the government from oppressing our views. So when the owner of Chik-Fil-A says his company actively promotes anti-gay marriage groups, I support him and his organization’s right to do so. Give money. Raise awareness. Speak loudly and proudly.

But remember that speech doesn’t come without repercussions. The government may not oppress you, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want. When other people find your speech reprehensible, they can choose to speak out against you. They can choose to move their business away from you.

Your speech is free. And so is mine.

There are good jokes. There are bad jokes.

Typically what seperates the two categories is the reaction of the audience. If they laugh, it's a good joke. If they don't, it's a bad joke. The subject of the joke doesn't matter. It's either funny or not.

I believe almost anything can be the subject of a funny joke. The joke may be in bad taste. It may be insensitive. But it can still be funny. I've laughed at jokes that are racist, steroetypical, crude, vulgar, and foul. Jokes about dead babies, 9/11, suicide, rape, and the Holocaust. Each has made me laugh to some extent or another. 

I don't think any subject should be off topic for humor. We need to be able to laugh at things. We need to be able to take a tragedy or a horror and find a way to cope with it. They can help us recover. They can help us stand up and recognize that we can get past it. That said, I don't think rape jokes are appropriate at a domestic couseling event. And you probably shouldn't joke about Joe's dead brother at the funeral. Time and place matter.

But inside a comedy club, there should be the expectation that you're going to see good and bad material. Comics work on thier material constantly. Adding, tweaking and subtracting jokes to try to make people laugh. Some comics are talented, but a lot of them aren't. Some jokes are good. Some aren't. I don't get offended when a joke fails, or even when it hits too close to home. I just don't laugh. And insteadof getting offended, maybe that's what a lot of other people should do too.

A little while ago, Michelle Bachmann opened her mouth and lies poured forth. This isn’t particularly unusual for her, so no one was surprised. She claimed that an aide of the Secretary of State was actually a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.  She demanded the state department open an investigation on the aide.

Two problems. There is no evidence of a link to the Muslim Brotherhood, and even if there was, that’s not really cause for action because the Brotherhood is a group with direct diplomatic ties to the US. Like I said, lies spew forth.

The response was swift. People on both sides of the aisle spoke out against Bachmann and denounced her claims including the Republican Speaker of the House, and several other prominant republican representatives. They spoke up, because it's bullshit. And even the most dishonest represenative doesn't want to be associated with that sort of thing during an election year. No wait, that's a lie. Michelle Bachmann still does. She's secure in her district because (I assume) her constituents are either just as crazy, or even dumber. Niether bodes well for Minnesota.

Anyway, the idiot brigade... I mean, Tea Party decided the aide was a threat to national security because she was a Muslim. Apparently any actual links to terrorist organizations aren’t needed. Just because she shares a religious belief, she’s guilty. The tea party and Bachmann claim that Muslims must put their faith ahead of their county, so they can’t be loyal to the US.

Have you ever read the Quran? I suggest you do so, because anyone that is a Muslim is a threat to this country, and that’s a fact… There is no such thing as a moderate Muslim. If they are Muslim they have to follow the Quran. That’s their religion and that’s their doctrine.”

See, I find that interesting. After all, there are Christian terrorists operating in the US and abroad. And they share the same religion. Most Christians put God before country as well. So, I assume that by his train of thought, 80% of the country can’t be loyal, and should be considered a threat to national security. It's their religion and doctrine. The is no such thing as a moderate Christian.

See how stupid that sounds? No wait. I forgot. Bachmann. You don't get it. It's easy for me to forget exactly how moronicly, unbelieveably, incredibly stupid you are.  Just trust me. It's pretty dumb. They have the right to be Muslim. You have the right to be Christian. And both of you have the right to be American. And I have the right to tell you to shut the fuck up every time I catch you spewing bullshit.

Unexplained murder? Check.

Used guns? Check.

Male? Check.

Muslim? Nope.

Ah, it must have been caused by video games. Obviously. Took less than 15 hours for that to be a theory.  news commentators should learn to wait for a shred of evidence before they espouse moronically stupid ideas like this.

Louisiana just passed a law that created a voucher program that allowed public school money to be given to religious schools. The idea behind the bill was that crazy fundies could get a double whammy out of a single law by both bleeding the public education system of money, and allowing their children to go to crazy schools where they will learn that the Loch Ness monster is proof that evolution never happened (Sadly, I’m serious. Google it.)

It’s definitely bad for the public educational system and probably unconstitutional. But we’re going to do our best to ignore those two details and focus on the other part.

What other part? You’re going to love this. Valarie Hodges is a state representative. She voted for the bill. But now she’s mad.

Apparently she didn’t think the bill through. Because she found out that some of the money is going to go to religious schools that…. AREN’T CHRISTIAN! In fact, some of the schools might even be…. MUSLIM!

OH.

EM.

GEE.

No seriously, her exact quote was “Unfortunately it will not be limited to the Founders’ religion…. I do not support using public funds for teaching Islam anywhere here in Louisiana”. Who the fuck says dumb ass shit like that? Disregarding the fact that there were more deist Founders than Christian ones, as a politician, you should at least make an effort not to seem like a complete religious bigot. I know, in many states bigotry can actually help you get elected.

I think those Muslim schools should jump on the gravy train. Make these fucking idiots realize that they religious freedom doesn’t just mean ‘Christians Rule’. Set up a madrassa and demand that those douchebags fund it with thier hard earned tax money. It’s like teaching a child. Sometimes you have to let them hurt themselves a little so they know not to do that again.

When you encounter a problem, most people try to determine a solution for it. Easy problems have obvious solutions. Harder problems take more effort, but the solution is found inside the bounds of expectations.  

Really complex problems require a bit more thought. When you’ve exhausted all of your obvious clues, and nothing you’ve tried works, you’re forced to take a step back and reevaluate everything you’ve done and are doing to find a solution. Make sure you’ve thought something through from all sides and that all of your assumptions about the problem are true. That’s called critical thinking. Thinking outside the box. More generically, you could call it ‘problem solving’. It’s a basic skill that it utilized every day by scientists and engineers. Many employers consider it a valuable skill in their most productive employees. I’ve been asked about it numerous times in interviews.

So, I’m disappointed to see the Texas GOP specifically come out against it. I can’t say I’m surprised by it. The signs have been there for years. It’s just not often that a group like the GOP can be that honest. They’re against critical thinking. As part of their platform, they specifically call it out and declare themselves opposed. They even give a rationale, if you can call it that. They’re against it because it has “the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.”

That is almost as depressing as it is revealing. If I’m reading that right, the basic gist is that they want the children to have the exact same thought patterns as the parents, and they’re willing to legislate it to make it harder for children to learn that authority figures aren’t always right. Or even to give them a mental framework to learn that simple life lesson.

Honestly, it’s straight from a fascist handbook. And I’m not using that term lightly or loosely. It’s forcing cultural thought patterns into children as a method of maintaining authoritarian control, while eliminating potential foreign influences.  It falls in line with the belief structure of the GOP and tea party. They don’t want their children to question their parents or the majority authority.

Your parents were Christian, and you will be to. Your parents didn’t believe in evolution, so you won’t either. Your parents hated the gays so you will to. Your parents vote republican, so you will to. Your parents hate immigrants, so you will to. Your parents oppose taxes, so you will to. Your parents didn’t go to college, so you won’t either. Your parents were racist bigots so you will be to. Your parents didn’t question authority, and neither will you. Your parents were sheep. Baaaa.

It’s a disgusting plank to exist inside the platform of any party. The fact that they’re so proud of this that they not only publish it, but stand up and act like it’s a good thing…. Well, it boggles the mind.

I suppose that’s the difference between myself and the GOP. I would actually prefer that my child questioned my beliefs. If my ideals are strong and sound, they will withstand any scrutiny.

Of course, if that’s true, the corollary is that the GOP doesn’t think their ideas can stand up on their own without undermining the thinking skills of its supporters.

Marriage. Marriage is what brings us together today. Marriage, that blessed arrangement…that dream within a dream.

Unless you’re a gay couple in North Carolina. In which case, the voting citizens of that particular locale have recently declared that you are damned in the eyes of their religion and shall have no access to even basic relationships rights.

I wish I could get up in arms about it. Many of my liberal brethren have grabbed the pitchforks and torches. Aside from snide comments about being able to marry your cousin Sue-Anne in NC, but not your buddy Steve, this is much ado about nothing.

Most of the South and most of the Midwest already have constitutional bans on same sex marriage. Jesusland has a pretty firm grasp on the laws in its area of influence. It wasn’t legal there last week, and it’s still not. Even in homosexually tolerant areas of the country, there isn’t widespread or uniform legality. I really can’t even consider it a setback to gay rights. North Carolina didn’t give them any rights before, and they still don’t.

The course forward for gay rights is the same as it has been. Legislative avenues in the states will result in the hodgepodge of solutions we already have, and allow backwoods states to remain backwoods. Federal laws aren’t going to happen until they take the Jesus out of politics (aka never). So, they're looking to federal courts to recognize that the stigma associated with homosexuality is almost entirely religious in nature, and force the states to protect it under some form of equal protection minority. It will happen eventually. Sadly, not fast enough, and probably not with the courts in their current form.

The only thing this does is allow 61% of the primary voting population of NC to stand up and reaffirm that they’re bigoted assholes who don’t/can’t read the bible, don’t respect other human beings and are totally intolerant of any culture other than their own. Fuck ‘em.

So, the DEA goes in and busts up a house party because of drug abuse. Ecstasy, pot, shrooms, the works. Ok. Fair enough. Go coppers! They detain a number of people and take them back to the DEA detention facility for processing. Again, good job! You found drugs and drug users and you carted them off. They detained seven, and arrested six. The last guy, they apparently decided to release. Still good here.

One teensy tiny miniscule mistake though. You see, when you 'release' someones, accidentally forgetting about him isn’t so good. Leaving him locked in a detention cell for 5 days really really isn’t good. Detention cells don’t have toilets. And no one dropped by to give him food or water. For five days, they forgot about him. He drank his own urine to try to avoid dehydration.

Then apparently, after five days, a worker wondered what that strange sound in the cells was and found him. He was rushed off to the hospital and nearly died of kidney failure due to dehydration.

I could rant on that quite a bit longer, and describe how insanely stupid that was. But in the end, it all just boils down to one question that I want to ask the San Diego DEA office:

What the FUCK?

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is an organization that advocates that being a member of US military forces should not force you to conform to any religious practices, in line with the first amendment. Mostly, they ensure that soldiers aren’t punished, reprimanded, or passed over for their faith, or lack of it. To be clear, a significant portion of the people working at this organization are Christians who don’t believe it’s right to enforce one particular set of beliefs on others, even inside the many sects of Christian faith.

It’s a good goal, and it’s fighting an uphill battle against a deeply entrenched belief system.

I should be surprised by the letter the founders of this organization received. I should be. But I’m not. It demonstrates all the traits I have come to expect. It’s got cowardice, hatred and bigotry with a dose of sanctimony, and an extra helping of vile. Please, read this in its entirety.

we called you on the weekend to advice you that our womens prayer circle at our church will be ending your wickedness against Christ Jesus and his anointed of the USA in our military. In America which is Jesus’ country we can pray all we want for anything we want. you hung up on us and were rude to our leader. but will that stop us or Christ Jesus? No it will not and never could have, wicked Mickey. Our prayer circle has never failed to acheive our hosts granting of the scripture we pray. for direct intervention against you as you are a true demon to America. Luke 9:1 We will not stop our prayers until you stop the evil you do with Lucifer on a daly basis. Luke 9:1 But not against you Mickey. We know by your internet site and your book who it is to be. Now for our prayer, we pray that the women who work in your MFRR and the women in your family will befall fast moving breast cancer which can not everbe cured. We pray this for Leah Bruton, and Becki Miller, Patricia Corigan, Chris Rodda, Edie Disler, Vicky Garrison, Kristin Leslie, Melinda Moeton and Joan Slish. And you evil clan too, we pray this for Bonnie Wiensten and Amanda and Amber Wienstein and the woman lawyers Cariline Mitchel and Katherin Ritchy and all women of all who work at with for Military Freedom Against Religon Foundation. know that we pray and pray hard all the days until you stop your destruction of our American army and accept Christ Jesus as Lord and join His army.

So, the person hung up on them, no doubt after they began spouting this sort of vile nastiness over the phone. This prayer circle decides that the appropriate response to that sort of thing is that they will pray for God to smite all of the women with fast moving incurable breast cancer. They go further to say that every single prayer they’ve ever requested has been granted. And the MRFF needs to cease insisting on first amendment protections for our soldiers because this is Jesus’s army.

Honestly, I could rant and yell and go on and on about this for a long time. But I really don’t think I need to. Most of our readers here can look at that filth and discern it for themselves and have their own reactions. And for those few that can’t, you are welcome to meet me in the comments so I can tailor my responses to yourparticular brand of disgusting.

Jessica Ahlquist spoke up for herself and her beliefs. More importantly, she correctly pointed out that the school district was inappropriately support one set of religious beliefs over all others. She took them to court. She faced public slurs and outrage. She won.

Hurray for her.

Naturally, she got death threats. She posted up the image of one that threatened her with being gang raped before they threw her body out of the car. These 'crusaders' told her to move away or they'd get her. And made threats against her sister as well. She removed the picture at the request of the police, so I'll leave the actual text out too, but needless to say it's disgusting.

Can anyone enlighten me? I'm curious what portion of Christ's teaching advocated this sort of thing? I'm all for saying that the Christian faith contains some of the worst possible moral teachings. But I've read the bible cover to cover a couple times now and I don't recall the 'gang rape a minor because she won a legal court case' clause. Even Christ's more hard line phrases don't go that far. It certainly sounds like something from the old testament, but wrathful God was more about pillars of salt and genocide. Maybe this is something akin to Lot's offering of his virgin daughters to satiate a mob? Still doesn't seem to match up very well with 'the punish those who were proven right in court' motif. Help me out here. I could certainly use a passage that advocated this in my anti-christian rants. If it is spelled out in the bible, I missed it.

Can't find it? Maybe you cowardly rapists should try to live by a better moral standard. If you want to make a small journey you can just switch to a Christian faith that practices a more non violent view of your faith. Love your brother (but not in a gay way) is a common one.

But if you want to go all the way, try live up to a moral standard where you do what is right because it's right, and not because of the promise of eternal reward. Or the fear of eternal punishment. One that has the courage to stand up when it's easier to sit down. One that accepts the consequences of doing the right thing even when it's unpopular. One like Jessica Ahlquist.