That Clinches It For Me

There is far too much discussion about religion in this election. I don’t care who has the better theology, whether one is a better Christian than another, what god says about gays, vaginas or the price of oil for that matter. I don’t care what every two-bit preacher with a mail-order degree thinks. I don’t care what Obama’s pastor said once or twice in the 20 years he attended service in his church (that issue is old news and I don’t want to hear it re-hashed by Santorum).

This Country wasn’t founded on Christian beliefs, scriptures, morality, or religion, nor are the Ten Commandments the basis of all of our laws, so stop saying it. I’m sick and tired of having every speech followed with “…and God Bless the United States”. God’s not blessing anything.Just look around. Do we LOOK like we’ve been blessed? And I don’t want to hear how our kids are failing academically because we don’t let them pray out loud in mandatory prayer before math class.

What I want is a President who says what he will do to keep the government, the economy and the nation, moving in  a positive direction, and in a secular way, without a prayer before every event and session of Congress. I want a secular President, like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. I want what the constitution says, freedom from religion, and no religious test for the office. This whole campaign so far has been one big religious conversation equating to a religious test, with the one who passes getting the job. Bullshit!

So if Franklin Graham says Obama is not all that Christian, but all the others are, then that clinches it for me. I’m voting for the one who is the least Christian of them all, as declared by the most obnoxious, dyed-in-the-wool Christian. I’m sure Pat Robertson, Bryan Fisher and James Dobson all agree.

And I’ll do so even though Franklin Graham speaks out of both sides of his mouth, as you can see from the video. This is why Christians are known for their hypocrisy. It’s the sine qua non of their beliefs. Without hypocrisy, they couldn’t reconcile all the contradictions in their belief system. Watch Graham try it and fail.

H/T The Ebony Mom

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My Gosh, What A Chuckle…Head

If you’re seriously thinking that Santorum is a viable candidate, you need to have your chucklehead examined. This guy is a major financial backer of the candidate, yet his ideas about women are from the 1950s. Birth control consisted of women keeping they legs pressed tight against a Bayer aspirin? How enlightened of him! Of course, the Pill had not been invented and commercially produced by then, so I guess that was the only pill available for birth control when Mr. Chucklehead was playing hide the salami.

I Like This

Sometimes I run into some really lucid, spot-on comments and posts while wandering through the Atheosphere, that I feel the need to share. Over at Freethought Blogs, there are so many thoughtful, interesting posts that it’s hard to keep up with them. I like the idea of congregating much of the Atheosphere in one place, but on the other hand, it can be overwhelming, with much of the forest lost for the trees.

Catholics and Contraception

We all know that the “official” position of the Catholic Church is against any form of birth control, other than the rhythm method. And surely we’re aware of the current controversy (and when I say “controversy” I mean bullshit created by the Republican party to stir up trouble for Obama) involving the health insurance requirement being imposed on Catholic employers mandating coverage of Birth Control, even for the Catholic Church. Yes, the Catholic Church will be required to provide medical insurance for its employees, except in certain circumstances, primarily involving employees of the religious edifice itself, as opposed to incidental employes not providing religious functions, such as hospitals, clerks, secretarial etc. Oh, the horror. It’s been the law, however, since 2000, all during the Bush years, with nary a peep from conservatives – until now.

Have A Cup Of Coffee

One of my addictions is coffee, and Starbucks is what I usually drink. My wife hates it, can’t stand the taste, prefers something …lighter…but taste is subjective, so I can’t fault her on that. But I like it. I even have the app on my iPhone, tagged to my bank account, so I don’t even need to have any cash on me to buy a cup of coffee. Yeah, I’m a sorry fellow. The only downside for me is that it’s a major corporation, and sometimes I feel I should be giving my business to local coffee shops. Actually, occasionally I do, but I still frequent Starbucks the most. Shoot me.

Life

One of the major lines of demarcation and a constant source of disagreement between theists and atheists is that of Life. Primarily human life, but in general, all life. How did living things get their beginnings, how did we come about as a result of creation? It’s one of the great mysteries of…ummm…life. How life began.

And of course, most theists believe that life began when their particular god created them. Christians believe the story in the Bible about Adam and Eve, either literally or figuratively. In either case, it’s a supernatural being that consciously and affirmatively decided to create that which we call life. Other religions have their own creation myths, but they all share a beginning story that attempts to explain how we got here.

Top Ten Creationist Arguments

Sometimes I just don’t feel like writing, especially when I see that someone else has done a much better job at it, in a more succinct way, with fun graphics and sound.

Sexual Hypocrisy

Not sure where I’m going to go with this post as I start it, but I’m motivated and inspired by the Republican political candidates and what passes for their political campaigns, and sex is the reason why. A major portion of what they call a political platform, not to mention the questions that follow them from debate to debate, revolve around sex. Sick Rantorum, that frothy gentleman from Pennsylvania, is personified by the topic, given his stance on gay marriage, homosexuality, abortion and contraception. Newt Gingrich has made the earmark of his campaign a promise to never indulge in the pleasures of adultery again, because of his three marriages and the circumstances of his spousal selection process, though at the age of 68 that seems like a safe, and therefore empty, meaningless promise from him. And, of course, the rest of candidates, both those still in the race and those who have dropped out, have had various yet consistently judgmental opinions on the subject.

What politician does snail sex remind you of?

A Muscial Interlude

We interrupt these serious discussions about gun control to bring you a few videos of some wonderful music performed by an international bevy of musicians.

This one is just as good.

Enjoy!!

Guns, Redux

A few posts ago I tried to get a discussion going about guns and gun control, which started but then sputtered to a stop after a few desultory comments. It was suggested by one devil’s advocate (*cough* Philly *cough*) that perhaps guns in the hands of responsible citizens protecting their homes from invasion was a counter-argument to my implied disdain for guns (my implication most obvious in the graphic of Rick Santorum holding a gun. I just don’t think frothy fecal matter and guns mix well). I tend to agree, to a point, but I don’t necessarily feel that ends the discussion.