Links of the Week

The story of this suicide pact makes me want to find a friend like this guy's friend.  His sister tried to make him pray.  His friend gave him the peaceful ending he wanted.  I can't imagine the courage and loyalty there.

Oregon & Massachussetts are voting on whether to make assisted suicide legal.  There would be a lot fewer "murder"- suicides if people weren't forced to suffer by the outdated ideas of religious zealots.  In Canada (and perhaps elsewhere?) compassionate physicians are breaking the law.

In Pakistan, a degree-granting school for girls and young women is being named after Malala.  The students are nervous but not intimidated.  Parents support it too.  Good for them.  I hope the Taliban gets thrown out on its arse for what they did to that girl.  This is reminiscent of Brown vs. Board of Education... but worse.

We shouldn't pat ourselves too hard on the back, though.  International observers will be watching our election, and they are facing a threat of criminal prosecution for doing so.  Perhaps a certain party is worried that their vote-stealing scheme might get outed.
The Center for Inquiry is taking on the issue of secular celebrants in the backward hick-infested Fundy State of Indiana, where only clergy are permitted to do it currently.

Jesus for President, 2012!  Yay!  (I hope they siphon off enough Republican voters to give Virginia, Florida & Ohio to Obama!)

Even health care workers can be infected with the anti-science virus.  All health care companies should adopt a mandatory flu shot order as a way of weeding out people who shouldn't be working there in the first place.

European Catholics think they have to out-evangelize Islam.  Well at least they're not using the word "crusade."  Well, that's what they say.  Perhaps they were inspired by the French government's financial support of contraception and abortion.

Muslims celebrate the Feast of Sacrifice at Angel Stadium.  The "most important" holiday celebrates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac.  Ummm yay for the Religion of Peace?

Rape Pregnancies: "Something God Intended"

Ahhh Indiana, Hick capital of the Midwest.  Here we have our Republican candidate for the Senate showing the state for the backwards hick-infested pseudo-Christian cesspool that it is:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/richard-mourdock-abortion_n_2007482.html



 The guy who beat almost-centrist Senator Richard Lugar in the primary said "[life is a] gift from God. I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."

Never trust a man with no lips

Logically, if everything is god-ordained, then yes this makes sense.  By the same token, god must intend millions of babies in Africa to die from malnutrition, dysentery, and war.  God also must have intended the people of the midwest to live in constant fear of tornados, since he smites whole cities he doesn't have very good aim to take out only the bad midwesterners.  And of course there are the pregnant women who died in "the Flood."  God wasn't against abortion then, was he?  Well, whatever God wants is just dandy by these people.

I think Salon sums it up exactly right:

Here’s why this is happening: The newer crop of Republican candidates and elected officials, are, more often than not, straight from the base. They’re less polished than their predecessors; they’re more ideologically pure. As a result, they’ve accidentally been letting the mask slip and showing what’s really at the core of the right-to-life movement.

For years, the movement has fought plausible charges that it is anti-woman by repackaging its abortion restrictions, in Orwellian fashion, as protections for women. They’ve done it so successfully that until recently, when so many alleged “gaffes” went viral, no one really noticed. What is the so-called Women’s Health Defense Act? A proposed ban on abortion before viability. What are “informed consent” laws purporting to give women all the information they need before having abortions? Forced ultrasounds, transvaginal, and some of them involving the forced viewing of the ultrasound, at the woman’s expense, under the stated supposition that she has no idea what’s growing inside her unless someone makes her look. (Never mind that 60 percent of women who have abortions have already given birth at least once.)

Linky Links this Week

Japanese shrine to WW2 dead a harbinger of right-wing sentiment.  I feel the same way when I see hick cars and trucks with Confederate flags in the U.S.  What is wrong with these people?

In Turkey, a musician is on trial for blasphemy.  Why do they care what a musician thinks?   Just how weak is this theology anyway?  First they shoot a little girl for going to school next they are afraid of a musician's opinions.

Is Judaism compatible with atheism?  I love this quote: "I’m aware of all the wrongs of organized religion – which is why I prefer Judaism, because it’s a very disorganized religion."  The writer is in Canada, which probably explains why he is oblivious to the fundamentalist trend in American Judaism where I used to live (Brooklyn).  "Cultural Jews" are pretty cool people on the whole.  If I couldn't be openly atheist I would tell people I'm Jewish but be one of those cultural Jews that doesn't really believe any of the holy moly stuff.

Speaking of Brooklyn, in Crown Heights, where I once worked, a crazy Jew who fell asleep naked while trespassing or something, got beat up by the cops and now the community is up in arms.  Nobody is questioning why he isn't wearing a top hat and has apparently cut his hair, not to mention why he sleeps naked in places he doesn't belong.  I hope someone helps the poor guy!

Genital correctness isn't going over in Evangelical Christian circles.  Sing along everybody! "You say vagina, I say... SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Ted Haggard seems to be evolving on the issue of gay marriage.  He almost sounds rational here!

The U.S. Air Force Academy allows celebration of a Hindu deity.   They'll portray it as an attempt at inclusiveness, but really they just don't want to give up Evangelical prosletyzing.  Still, rather a good thing that cadets may develop a little understanding of others.

The New York Times says the Benghazi attack committed by extremists who were inspired by that stupid video, but there was not a demonstration.  "It was the Ansar al-Shariah people,” said Mohamed Bishari, 20, a neighbor of the compound who watched the assault and described the brigade he saw leading the attack. “There was no protest or anything of that sort.” " ... not al qaeda.  Mitt Romney will continue to claim Obama should have known 100% of the details within hours of the attack, of course, even though the bad guys made no claims of responsibility. This same group has attacked consulates of other countries over perceived insults to their thin-skinned prophet.

Russia destroys a Pentecostal church in Moscow as part of their crack-down on non-Orthodox Christianity.  Now that Godless Communism is gone, uhhhh yay? 

Greetings from my Binder

When I send my resume to a potential employer, I don't want to be in a "women's" binder.  I want to be in the binder with everybody else who meets the minimum qualifications for the job I've applied for.  And then, I want my resume to stay there and duke it out with the other resumes and not be tossed into the circular file (or the "NO" binder?) just for being a woman's resume.  I don't want my potential employer to say, okay we've got five white men, now let's grab the women's binder, the Hispanic binder, the Asian binder, the black binder and the disabled binder and find some token hires.

Just thought I'd clarify that in case readers don't understand why that line has become the take-away from last night's debates.  (Just watched Piers Morgan repeatedly not getting "it")

Links Links Links

Typing "completely wrong" into google image search yields some LULZ

This is how 1950s horror movies start, but it happened this week! 

Dear Abby is on the side of salespeople who say "Have a blessed day."  I've been annoyed by that one too, and no, it's not a secular greeting.  Only religious people use it.

Pakistan's Taliban tries to assassinate a little girl.  Seriously, they are afraid of a teenager who wants to go to school?  If 9/11 couldn't get the attention of the less nutty segments of Islam, perhaps this abomination will.  The backlash is starting already.  Quotable quote: "One human rights activist said that while there was "a great big moderate majority" in Pakistan but "it never speaks up".  Perhaps they're taking a cue from the cowards in the U.S. who are afraid to speak up against the Christian Taliban.

Meanwhile, Pakistan goes after a different kid for "blasphemy."  Seriously?  Kids?  WTF is wrong with that country?

In Canada, students who protest religion in schools have their way. 

Biden & Ryan represent two sides of American Catholicism, and it became an issue in the VP debate.

Even a neurosurgeon can be fooled by his brain.  Sam Harris explains what really happened.  Now if only Newsweek would feature Sam Harris's rebuttal in a cover story.  (Found via Why Evolution is True blog)

Liberty University grad & straight fundy lives life as a gay man for a year, then writes a book about it.

SCOTUS will debate gay marriage this year.  YAY!

Dearborn Michigan is the hub of Islam-Christian tug-of-war on Free Speech, with crazyass Koran-burning pastor the latest combatant.

The Hindu festival of Durga Puja sounds like fun or at least artistic and creative.  It sounds almost as commercial as Christmas, but with more colors.    The downside is that idols get thrown into rivers for um... some religious purpose... but they often contain lead-based paint.

A Baptist church ordained a gay man and other Baptist churches want to excommunicate that church... or something.  When Baptists are coming around you know the culture war is over.  Or... Baptists will have to rethink being Baptist and letting churches select their own clergy.  "The action also goes against the long-known Baptist principle of the autonomy of the local church"  If they want to drop that principle, then they'd be Episcopalians!

In Atlanta, Wal-Mart wants to sell liquor next door to a church.  The church thinks being withint a few hundred feet of liquor will damage their children's minds.  Seriously?  I can think of better reasons not to be near Wal-Mart (see photo)  The church won this battle, but I hope Wal-Mart appeals.  This law seems to me to be a clear violation of the First Amendment, since there is only sensitivity toward Christian establishments.  Why not ban Starbucks near Mormon temples or any store selling Spam near a mosque?  Or any meat-eating establishment near a Hindu temple?

Voting Machine Influence Redux

Here we go again:

Religion Clause: Recent Articles of Interest

Religion Clause: Recent Articles of Interest

I recommend the blog and the links to articles of interest!