Some Friendly Advice For My Republican Friends

Yes, I do have Republican friends.  In fact, I'm proud to say, that I have Republican friends that I love and respect.  So, while it should come as a shock to no one that I'm very happy with the results in this year's election, I admit that Democrats don't have the lock on good ideas.  So, even at the risk of loosing some ground, in the spirit of conciliation and in an effort to try to find common ground, I would like to offer some advice to the Republicans for future elections.

1) Rape is always forcible.
2) Rape is not method of receiving a gift from god
3) Rape is never, ever okay.
4) Women are over 50% of the population, telling them that middle aged white men know more about their bodies than they do is probably not a good idea.
5) Middle aged white men is a shrinking electorate, running on racism will not get you elected any longer.
6) In polls regarding religion, "None" is over 10% and is the fastest growing segment.  You might want to start paying attention to us.
7) The GLBT community makes up from 5% - 10% of the population, alienating the entire segment because your magic book tells you that they're immoral only makes things tougher for you.
8) Not all of the country is stupid, you can only change your mind so many times before people start to figure out that you're full of shit.
9) Either give the teabaggers your party and start a new one or kick them out and make them start their own extreme right wing party.
10) If you run on lower deficits and smaller government don't do the opposite when your party has the presidency.

Christianity does not lead to a more moral population

One of the "arguments" many theists use to justify the need for religion is that without religion there would be no need for morality, therefore without religion people would commit more crime.  While there's probably many ways to look at this issue, I think one of the best would be to look at crime statistics.  Let's start with the United States.  Roughly 75% of the US population is made up of Christians while the prison population is made up of over 80% Christians (83.75% according to the poll I found).  I guess the argument could be made that this is a statistical anomaly, until you look at the atheist numbers.  Atheists make up about 10% of the US population and yet only account for .2% of the prison population, that's not two percent, that's point two percent.  That is beyond a statistical anomaly.

We can also look at the prison population by country.  The top 5 least religious countries are:
1) Sweden
2) Vietnam
3) Denmark
4) Norway
5) Japan

The United States ranks 44th and yet has the highest prison population by far.  The US has 5 percent of the world's population, but accounts for nearly 1/4 of the prisoner population.  On the other hand, the countries listed above rank 174, 121, 169, 170, and 193, respectively.  In addition, a Pitzer survey concluded, "high levels of organic atheism are strongly correlated with high levels of societal health, such as low homicide rates, low poverty rates, low infant mortality rates, and low illiteracy rates, as well as high levels of educational attainment, per capita income, and gender equality. Most nations characterized by high degrees of individual and societal security have the highest rates of organic atheism, and conversely, nations characterized by low degrees of individual and societal security have the lowest rates of organic atheism. In some societies, particularly Europe, atheism is growing. However, throughout much of the world -- particularly nations with high birth rates -- atheism is barely discernible."

We need another Gene Roddenberry

On this day in 1969 we landed on the moon.  It made me start thinking.  A few days ago there was an image floating around showing that we had reached the date that Marty McFly travels to in "Back to the Future II".  When the movie came out we were imagining hoverboards, auto fitting clothing, flying cars, and personal nuclear fusion power plants.  I then saw a preview for Total Recall, which stated that it takes place in the year 2082.  Obviously I haven't seen the remake yet, but based on the original it's certainly not an optimistic vision of the future.

So, it made me wonder, when and why did we loose our optimism for the future?  We've gone from hoping for and imagining the best to, in many ways, just hoping we'll still be here.  Don't get me wrong, I love William Gibson and Philip K. Dick as much as anyone and I think that Gibson's future is probably where we're headed, but I also love Start Trek and would like to think that we can achieve that in the distant future.

It might be cliche, but I at least partially blame the politicians.  The politicians on both sides, for nearly every position, campaign by saying that the entire world is going to burn if their oponent gets elected instead of focussing on how great things could be if we had a vision.  Of course, the public is to blame as well for buying into it.

I think we need a new JFK or a new Roddenberry.  We need someone that can offer us a positive vision for the future and show us a path to get there.  I think we saw hints of that when Obama was elected.  Now before everyone starts bitching and moaning and saying whether or not Obama is a great president or a terrible one, I think nearly everyone can agree that for a large part of the American population we at least had some hope for a while.  Sadly, it didn't last, but that's not the point of this post.  The point is, as I stated earlier, when and why did we loose our optimism?  Or, have we not lost it and I'm interpreting things incorrectly?

Taxpayer subsidized bigotry

In the following video John Hagee tells atheists that they should leave the United States.  He then goes on to say that some of the religions, that of course aren't HIS religion, should be made illegal.  Now, if you don't think this is bigotry, try substituting the word Jew, Protestant, or Buddhist every time he says "atheist".

I support any private organization's right to hate or fear anyone they want to.  As much as I despise them, I believe the KKK and Nazi's have a right to exist and spout whatever bullshit they want to.  However, as a religious institution, Hagee and his followers, just like the Westboro Baptist Church, are doing this on the taxpayer's dime since they pay absolutely no tax.

Besides this, there are several flaws in his argument.  The United States is not a Christian nation.  The religious right continues to say this in the hopes that it eventually becomes true, but it is not.  Some of the founders were Christian, but certainly not all of them.  Regardless of their religious affiliation, they were secularists and they  believed in the separation of church and state.  Have doubts?  I suggest reading nearly anything by Thomas Jefferson or you can simply read the Treaty of Tripoli, the first treaty signed by the United States, where it specifically states that we are not a Christian nation.

Secondly, I [I cannot speak for all atheists] am not offended by your belief in god, I am offended when you act like your beliefs allow you to make me believe like you or when you violate the separation of church and state and want me to follow your religion based rules.  Believe whatever the hell you want.  Believe that Jesus was born from a virgin.  Believe that your first prophet was given a book and magic glasses to interpret it.  Believe that your prophet rode on a magic horse to receive divine knowledge from angels.  Believe that humans were buried in volcanoes by aliens.  Just don't make me live the same way you do because of those beliefs and don't use my tax dollars to support your religion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75b1FMzGTB8

Obama made me proud today

If someone were to ask me about the things I didn't like about Obama I could easily provide a list.  Believe me, there are many things he's done over the last three years that have disappointed me.  However, the things that have disappointed me are the things that the Republicans said they would do in the first place so to switch my vote just to spite him would be idiotic.

That being said, the fact that today he went out on a limb and said that he supported marriage equality for all members of my country made me incredibly proud.  I realize that this is an incredible risk for Obama.  There are a lot of independents and centrists that are still bigoted and could vote against him solely for that reason.  So, for him to state unequivocally that separate but equal is not equal is a huge step.  Equality is not a political issue.  Equality is not something that the majority should be able to deny to a group they do not agree with.  Nowadays, the idea of banning interracial marriage is abhorrent to all intelligent members of our society and anyone that was on the wrong side of history is viewed as such.  I believe that that will be the case with gay marriage in another fifty years.

What amazes and saddens me, is that gay rights are still a straw in this presidential election.  As before, gay rights are merely a straw man that Republicans have created to scare a (sadly) large segment of the population into voting for the White Christian Male.  This election can be summed up by the words of the candidates themselves.  Romney said, "Corporations are people, my friend".  Obama said, "Corporations are not people, people are people."

Santorum simply can't be for real

This interview with Santorum is a little long, but it's worth watching.  But if you don't have 40 minutes of your life to spend listening to a theocrat please at least read the article accompanying it.  Either way let me summarize.

Of course he spends much of the time spouting the typical Republican hypocrisy, but he actually manages to take it one step further.  For instance, he says that  ALL contraception is bad and that no one should have access to an abortion all the while saying he would cut funding to all of the programs for children of parents that can't afford them.

But while proclaiming to want a small, limited government he would use the federal government to promote conservative education at public universities.  He says that the federal government should get to determine "what is [religious] truth".  In addition, he says that that he would use the federal government to promote what his idea of a family should be.  If you think this sounds like small government then you're an idiot.

Thank you Rick, now you're telling women what they get to do with their uterus and what I should do with my penis.  Since you apparently think you have the right to tell me how to have sex I'm going to tell you how to have sex:  go fuck yourself.

2012 Reading List

My reading list for 2012

Required:
“Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson” - Jann S. Wenner and Corey Seymour
“On The Road” - Jack Kerouac
“The God Delusion” - Richard Dawkins
“The Craft of Stone Brewing Co.” - Greg Koch, Steve Wagner, and Randy Clemens
“The Bible” - Unknown

Optional:
“God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” - Christopher Hitchens
“Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith” - Jon Krackauer

There will most certainly be some other books mixed in with those, and I most certainly won’t finish the entire Bible, but these are the ones on my stack staring at me the hardest.

Some might be surprised by my inclusion of the Bible.  I was thinking about it a couple of months ago and realized that although I rail on Christianity and the Bible quite a bit, I haven’t personally read it in quite sometime.  Besides, Lao Tsu said, “Know your enemy” and I can’t think of a better way of learning their tactics.  For the record, the Koran and the Torah will be on future lists for the same reason.

Shut the hell up about Tebow

Guess what, if I wanted to watch people pray on Sundays I’d go back to church.

I really enjoy football, but I don’t spend an inordinate amount of time following it (Sarah might disagree with this statement).   I watch a fair amount and I don’t miss many Seahawks games, but I don’t watch the draft, I don’t follow college ball (although I keep an eye on the Huskies, Ducks, and Utes), and I don’t set aside my Sundays to watch every pro game. So I generally know the big names, but it’s not unusual for me to hear a name that I don’t recognize.

Six weeks ago I barely knew the name Tim Tebow, little did I know how much I would relish those days.  At that point all I knew was that the Denver Broncos had an Evangelical Christian quarterback that was using the sidelines and interview time to preach to everyone that was looking or listening.  In fact, I had to ask a friend of mine, who’s a Broncos fan, “Who’s this Tebow guy I keep hearing about?”  Coincidentally, I ended up watching the Broncos beat the Bears in overtime later that day and the entire bar was cheering for the Broncos.

Since that fateful day the Tebow furor has continued to grow and it’s to the point where I can’t get away from the damn name.  SNL is doing skits involving him (very funny by the way), Bill Maher is tweeting about him (also hilarious), people are referring to him as “God’s quarterback” and other bullshit terms.  A recent survey shows that 43% of Americans believe god is involved in Tebow’s success and Tebow’s pastor says that Tebow’s wins are God’s wins.

First and foremost, if god is spending his/her time determining the outcome of a football game his/her priorities are way out of whack.  In case everyone has forgotten, the US is still involved in a war in Afghanistan.  Thousands of people are dying every day in Somalia.  Radiation continues to leak in Japan.  A significant portion of the world’s population is living at a level of poverty that most in the US can’t even imagine.  Apparently god already has more to deal with than he/her can handle so if he/she is spending his/her time fixing NFL games then I am not impressed.  And yet, people continue to worship a god that they believe cares more for multi millionaires playing a game for a living than starving children and I find this terribly disturbing and depressing.

However, let’s assume that god has a vested interest in the NFL, why would god favor Tim Tebow?  The majority of NFL players are Christian and Tebow is not the only one that makes a big deal of it.  Troy Polamalu crosses himself before every play.  Ray Lewis certainly isn’t quiet about his faith.  Tony Dungy couldn’t conduct an interview without mentioning his Christianity when he was coaching, and those are just three examples.  That’s not even mentioning the millions of people that pray for their team every Sunday so why does Tim Tebow get to sit at the right hand of Jesus?

What I can’t figure out is why the Tebow mania in the media?  Denver squeaked into the playoffs with one more win than the Seahawks.  Of the eight remaining quarterbacks in the playoffs four have won the Super Bowl and Brady has won three.  Brees not only has had the best season of his career, but has one of the best seasons of any quarterback in history.  Rodgers and the Packers nearly had a perfect season and watching them play is like watching poetry in motion.  Who do I keep hearing about and who is  dominating the Sports Center airtime?  Tebow.  Tebow has exactly 0 championships and has had an average season.  While he does have spectacular moments he’s inconsistent at best.  I would argue that Cam Newton had a much better season and he’s a rookie.

All I can hope for at this point is that the Patriots beat the Broncos soundly (again) on Saturday and the hype will just go away.  The sports commentators and fans can begin talking about something other than Tebow.  Football coverage will return to football instead of Christianity.  I am so sick of seeing “The Tebow” I can’t stand it.  I spent the first 15 years of my life watching people pray on Sundays and if I wanted to see it again, believe me, I know where I can go.

In conclusion, I would like to tell Tebow to shut the fuck up using a reference from the book he supposedly loves:

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
- Matthew 6:6