Get God or Get Out!

On this Memorial Day, when we honor the sacrifice made for our First Amendment rights (among others), I encountered this lovely graphic on Facebook.

It's an obvious photoshop, but the person who posted it loved it and so did his friends.  It really rankled me because:

1) The obvious misunderstanding of the country's history & values

2)  The bigotry of it

3)  Posting it on Memorial Day sends the message that Memorial Day is about saving the Country for GAWD.

4)  I've encountered the message far too often, usually from people whose religion wouldn't have been approved of in the 1780s.  If we had adopted Christianity as our national religion, it would be Episcopalianism / Anglicanism, which has its crazies but they are few and far between.  They would have to believe what the bishop tells them to believe, instead of making shit up like evangelicals do.


...but I digress. 

This bigotry reminds me of the line I heard many times in the 1960s as the adults around me (not my family) debated the civil rights movement.  "If the blacks (not always their choice of word) don't like it here, they can go back to Africa."  Or they skipped the first part and just said the blacks should go back where they came from.

Atheists being "in the closet," and drawing parallels to the civil rights movement isn't too far off the mark.  My friend who posted the cartoon is an otherwise rather enlightened person.  In the 1960s some of the nicest people (otherwise) were rabidly racist under the surface.

So, somber Memorial Day everyone.  I hope you exercised your right not to believe in God even though some of your neighbors don't think you should have that right.

Religion Clause: Court Rejects Compelled Religious Speech Challenge To Oklahoma License Plates

Religion Clause: Court Rejects Compelled Religious Speech Challenge To Oklahoma License Plates

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.  If atheists have to tolerate "In God We Trust" on our money, then Christians should have to put up with this.

Stupid creationist crap

http://www.waynesvilledailyguide.com/community/blogs/designer_blog/x373013832/evolution-a-religion-in-school-3

You'd think they could find something more Christian to argue about, like ways to feed the hungry, or ending wars. Sheesh

God is Love. God is Just. New Video

Penn Jillette on Piers Morgan's show

Jillette gets grilled on atheism by a devout Catholic.  I admire him for not busting out laughing and actually answering the stupid questions.   "How does an atheist fix the economy?"  What the heck?  Do Christians run the economy through prayer?  Well, actually that would explain a few things.

Humans can be Fucking Awesome!

An eaglet in Minnesota with a nestcam on it got stuck in his nesting, and a brave human scaled the 80-100 foot tree to check on it then brought it down to earth for TLC & vet care, and give him a chance to survive.  Unnatural?  Yes.  But so was the eagles' near extinction due to our use of DDT, so I think we are obligated to help them recover.  Instead of getting punished in Hell, rational people realize the error of their ways and then do what they can to correct and address the damage they've done.  That's what makes atheists morally superior to Christians.  We take responsibility for ourselves.

Go to 15:10 to see it all as it was recorded on the nestcam:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/22353672 

Another Crazyass Christian Cult that Abuses Children

http://www.wfaa.com/news/investigates/Waco-religious-commune-accused-of-masking-abuse-149134605.html

WACO, Texas - Homestead Heritage, just outside of Waco, has been revered as a model of Christian values. But is it a Utopian commune, or as some suggest, a extreme group of believers putting children at risk?


Videos posted on the Homestead Heritage web site present to the public the wholesome image, bolstering its perception as a beloved staple of the community for two decades. The estimated 1,000 members, crafting a pristine portrait of communal bliss.

But many who have left the church and its 500-acre, gated compound, paint a much different picture. One of a secretive and tightly-controlled religious environment...

According to Homestead’s membership contract, the aspiring members agree "to never bring before the public outside our church... any accusations or wrongdoing or any charge, lawsuit or court action." Agreeing "that all disputes be settled within the confines of the church."... and in return... "the church agrees to never expose a member's shortcomings and sins to any outside it's covenant."


The greatest sins, some former members say, are committed against children and teens. From emotional to physical, even sexual abuse.

News 8 has learned that in the past seven years, five individuals, either members of, or with close ties to Homestead, have been convicted of sexually abusing a child within the Homestead community...

Becky Crow, a former pastor's wife who left the church ten years ago, tells News 8 the abuse was common.


“Many heartbreaking stories of broken lives have been shared with me,” Crow said. “Some have not only been raped, they have been sold for other's sexual perversion by the ones who should have protected them."

Attorney Greg Love has represented abuse victims across the country, and said the stories of abuse at Homestead fit a pattern.

“When you get these closed communities and part of the fabric of that community is, information stays on the inside, behavior stays on the inside, how we do things stays on the inside,” Love said. “Even if those behaviors are injurious to a child, and you are discouraged from bringing in the outside, you really find children at risk."