‘Tis the Season

Grandma’s head exploded when her grandson
Popped a cap in her on Christmas Eve
You can say there’s no such thing as bad guys
But as for me and Grandpa we believe.

Kyle had been drinking too much egg nog
Mom had left the Glock out on the bar
Dad had always taught us all gun safety
With the rest of the Ballistic Arts.

The cops just shook their heads in much frustration
Since they had seen it all before
Such a happy family on the gun range
‘Til there’s another dead one on the floor.

So Grandma’s no longer ‘mong the living
And Kyle, well, he’s now a homeless bum
You can say there’s no such thing as bad guys
‘Cause Kyle was just a good guy with a gun.

Now Grandma’s just a very happy mem’ry
Of past days posing proudly ‘neath the tree
You can say there’s no such thing as bad guys
But as for me and Grandpa we believe….

———–

This is dedicated to the Fiore Family of Arizona. Their Christmas calendar made me feel so yuletidish inside, I just had to rewrite the lyrics to the classic Christmas Jingle, “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer”. Michele is an Assemblywomen from Nevada with, some might say, questionable and controversial opinions. This revised song is just an homage to the logical extension of one of them….

Book Review: Did Jesus Actually Exist? Who Cares?

Spoiler Alert! He probably did.

I recently finished two books, one after the other, about the historical (as opposed to theological) existence of the man we call Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth is the historical man. Jesus Christ in the theological man. The two books, in chronological order (but in my reverse reading order), are Bart Ehrman’s “Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth“, and Reza Aslan’s more recent “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth“.  As you can surmise, both of these books explore the question of who the actual man named Jesus was, as opposed to the myths and religions we’ve created around him. In short, they attempt to analyze the latest historical scholarship about him, while regurgitating it for the layman. In the process they give their own considered opinion about exactly who Jesus was.

Not All Atheists Are Alike

Recently there was a study that found that there were six types of atheists. Apparently, a disbelief in the supernatural is not a monolithic belief system, held  in equal measure by all atheists. Actually, anecdotally, I think we would all say that was somewhat true, though it’s nice to have it confirmed. I often find myself in disagreement with other atheists about matters I would expect to agree on, based on the fact that I know how I arrived at my atheism, and assume that their path to disbelief was at least similar. But, lo, it turns out that doesn’t really work out in real life.

I was reminded of this by a discussion I had recently on Facebook. As I said, I sort of expect other atheists to think like me, so I’m a tad bit surprised when they don’t.

IRS Profiling. Scandal? I Think Not.

Republicans are so transparent, so self-centered, so clueless, yet so stupid, that everything they do in Washington is getting to be…so tiresome. Now we have another minor administrative, bureaucratic glitch in one agency of Washington, and the dumb R’s are flogging it like they flog all the other dead horses they dig up, in the hopes that unlike all the other scandals that come and go, these will be remembered in the elections of November, 2014.  It turns out the election of Obama in 2008 ignited a  flurry of so-called patriotism. We elected a black man to the White House.

Benghazi – Much Ado About Nothing

Does anyone understand WTF is going on with this trumped up controversy? I watch the news, and I thought the whole thing died down after the election, when  the false indignity of the Republicans was used to hopefully, maybe, possibly push Romney over the edge and into the Oval Office. It didn’t work. So it should have dimmed, even died, because there was no “there, there” as Obama has pointed out.

Six Years

Uneventfully, last week marked the sixth anniversary of when I started this blog. Since then,  a lot has happened.

• The Boston Bombers killed 4 and maimed scores in another “faith based initiative”, were discovered, one was killed and the other captured, and (finally) read his Miranda rights.
• Congress failed to pass a weakened version of a bill designed to require people to get background checks when they buy a gun, despite overwhelming popular support.
• A fertilizer plant in Texas, that had not been inspected in decades, blew up, killing scores (we think – it’s so bad, it’s hard to count the bodies).
• Related to the last one, Texas legislators that voted against federal support for Hurricane Sandy relief came begging for federal support for West, Texas.
• Anonymous hacked The Facebook page of the Westboro Baptist Church, and have been running it quite successfully, and humorously, since then.
• Ricin-laced letters were apparently sent to President Obama and another US Senator.
• Multiple countries are legalizing same-sex marriage. New Zealand and, it looks like, France are the latest.
• A Pennsylvania couple, previously convicted of allowing their child to die by refusing medical care in favor of the power of prayer, apparently did it again.
• The poor are still getting poorer; the rich, richer.

All in one week!

Why I’m An Atheist (In 200 Words Exactly)

• Because I was BORN an atheist. Two people I loved unthinkingly indoctrinated me into believing in something that didn’t exist. Key word – “unthinkingly”. The state of my knowledge at birth was the correct one.
• Because religion, super-naturalism, has never explained anything. From the very beginning of civilization to the present, whenever religion has tried to explain  previously mystifying natural phenomena (from lightning through mental illness to the size of the universe) it has always gotten it wrong. Always. It has not been right yet, and the odds are it will never be right, if we ever get to the point in human knowledge where we know everything.
• Because religion is an inherently anti-human phenomenon. I’m a human, not a spirit. Religion explains spirits. There are no spirits, and there’s never been any evidence of spirits. As a human, there is a natural, logical way to treat other humans, and it does not involve burning them at the stake, making them believe what I believe at the point of a blade, or flying airplanes into buildings. Religion is cruel and inhuman, in almost all aspects of its justifying rationalizations.
• Because I don’t need religion to be a good person.

The End

Dick Cheney In Hell

Yes. While that may be a delicious thought to many, it’s pointless.

We all know now that Cheney was the puppet master running the government behind the mask of President-in-name-only, George W. Bush, and was primarily responsible for the Iraq War, that boondoggle of military aggression that is the partial reason why the economy is in such a funk these last few years.  He was the lead salesman for the idea that we should attack Iraq preemptively because he clearly had Weapons of Mass Destruction.  If you haven’t seen Rachel Maddow’s documentary, Hubris, you owe it to yourself to watch it. It’s only an hour of your time.  Over 4000 American soldiers (not to mention those from other countries) died as a result. Over 30,000 wounded, many of them with life altering injuries.  Probably over 100,000 Iraqis killed, with millions wounded or displaced from their homes. All because of Cheney’s lie.

Repeal The 2nd Amendment

This one sentence has caused more trouble than it’s prevented.

I propose that it be repealed.

Tea Party Thinking

Since I began this blog back in 2007, not a month has gone by where I have not written at least one post. So, this being January 31st, and having not written anything this month, I decided I’m not going to purposely ruin that record. It’s a meaningless record, but if it spurs me to write something, then so be it. I’ll write something.