A conservative t-shirt, I’d always been told
Would be simple, and muted in color–not bold.
It wouldn’t have pictures, or writing or such,
Or at most just a bit on the pocket–not much.
Conservative dress meant a suit and a tie,
In the cold of December or heat of July;
Your shoes were well-shined and your trousers were pressed,
And that was the way that conservatives dressed.
At least, that’s the tale I’d been told all along–
Till today, when I find out I’m totally wrong… [Read more…]
If you haven’t yet, watch this video, courtesy of Chris Rodda. Then, forgive me for re-posting this verse. It’s just that it’s all too appropriate, once again.
The chaplains are ready to answer the call
In the guise of supporting our fitness
To breach and dismantle the church-and-state wall
And to act as a born-again witness
And the Head of the chaplains will smile and nod,
For God and for country (but mostly for God) [Read more…]
What she said was so offensive
We must ban her from the floor!
We can’t use that sort of language
In the State House any more!
It displays her immaturity—
She’s perfectly aware
That the proper designation
Is the whispered “ummm… down there” [Read more…]
Well, fuck.
An Indonesian man arrested after writing “God doesn’t exist” on his Facebook page was jailed for 30 months Thursday for sharing explicit material about the Prophet Mohammed online.
Alexander Aan, 30, was found guilty of “deliberately spreading information inciting religious hatred and animosity,” presiding judge Eka Prasetya Budi Dharma told the Muaro Sijunjung district court in western Sumatra.
Aan posted comic strips. Comic strips. Ok, and a few articles. And for this…
“Under the Electronic Information and Transactions law, we sentence him to prison for a length of two years and six months,” Dharma said.
“What he did has caused anxiety to the community and tarnished Islam.”
Aan was beaten by an angry mob and arrested by police in his hometown of Pulau Punjung in western Sumatra in January after posting the material online and declaring himself an atheist.
The court had earlier indicted Aan with two other charges — persuading others to embrace atheism and blasphemy — and prosecutors had sought a three-and-a-half-year jail term for him.
But the court convicted him of the most serious charge and dropped the other two.
Ah… leniency.
This is freedom of religion without freedom from religion.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, guarantees freedom of religion in its constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but only recognizes six faiths: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Confucianism.
Its courts have in recent years given light sentences to perpetrators of violent attacks on Christians and Islamic minority Ahmadis, some of which have been fatal.
(wow, even this news story omits atheists in this last sentence.) This is, I think, the model that the Tea Party wants for the US.
So I fired up my search deally, that look through the sites I don’t normally traffic, to find me something to read that I probably wouldn’t have come across all by myself. Sometimes I will find something interesting; sometimes I can find something old and cliched, something I can’t believe has survived the information age (like seeing a horsefly, outdoors, in mid-January, you wonder how it survived). Today, I filled my BINGO card on the very first site. [Read more…]
We have to prune the registries
Of enemies of note—
What sort of country would we have
If everyone could vote? [Read more…]
It’s plain to see—for goodness’ sakes—
That showing faith by handling snakes
Shows God you’ve got the will it takes
To follow and obey.
The bible says to show the “signs”—
No need to read between the lines—
Just show your faith as God defines;
There is no other way.
You’ve read the book; in Mark 16
A test of faith is clearly seen—
No doubt to what the verses mean;
You simply must believe.
Your faith is strong; these are your rites,
You have salvation in your sights,
And if by chance the serpent bites…
We all shall surely grieve.
My little search deally thingie (particularly attentive readers might remember that I use a search deally thingie to find stuff for me, so I don’t fall into the rut of looking at the same places all the time) found me a site called “Christian Activist Pro-Life News”. It seems they cut and pasted an essay (labeled “just for catholics.org”, so it’s quite possible they stole it) titled “The Cruelty of Atheism“. Don’t feel you have to visit–unless you are the very odd reader here, you have seen every bit of their argument before–but I had to place a bet with myself, whether they even had comments allowed.
I lost. They have comments.
I couldn’t help but comment.
Alas, comments are moderated. So you, too, get to place yer bets. Will my comment get through? Just in case, here it is in its entirety: [Read more…]
It’s time to raise our voice in prayer,
And pray to–well, there’s no one there.
No god to urge to do our bidding;
Go on and pray–just know you’re kidding.
It’s time to all sit on our asses,
And pray forgiveness for trespasses
(Or is that to forgive our debtor?
Who cares, as long as we feel better.)
It’s time we all embrace god fully,
Feel all righteous, good, and holy–
Or be some atheistic jerk,
Roll up your god-damned sleeves, and work!
It’s time to say “I do not care
To join you in this day of prayer.”
Sure, a day off looks like fun,
But there is work that must be done.
Our problems will not fix themselves
There is no god to send in elves
To do the work of human ranks
So… join, today, in prayer? No thanks.
First posted 4 years ago! My goodness, how time crawls!
Politicians, of course, serve us shit,
Since they’re lacking in substance or wit–
Still, I just have to smile
When I read of the pile
That is Rudy’s endorsement of Mitt
Headline: Giuliani endorses Mitt Romney, shelving animosity [Read more…]