End of Year Summary

2007. The year I embraced atheism. *hugs* And discovered the land of the Aussies.

The moments can drag on with infinite slowness but the months positively fly by.

It is hard for me to believe that I've been blogging for 9 months now. And what a roller coaster ride it has been. So much has changed in that time. And pretty much all of it for the better I'd say.

I've written "yay blogging!" posts before so will not reiterate what I have said so often in the past. Let me just say this... new friends, new family, new people to love make all the frustrations and tears of the past year drift away as eminently unimportant....

My Wish for You in 2008

May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts.

May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.

May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!

May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires !

May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy.

May the problems you had forget your home address!

In simple words .........
May 2008 be the best year of your life!


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! And thanks for reading! I'll be seeing you round the blogosphere.

~Fiery

16 November 1968

No matter my personal beliefs on the "war on terror" those are still American citizens across the sea, far from home, fighting for my country. Papa Ewok sent this to me, and it seemed appropriate for this time of year when I'm sure there is not one among the soldiers who doesn't wish he was home, safe in the U.S, planning what to do for New Years Eve.

The following was found among my maternal grandmother's personal effects. It appears to be a story/letter written by one of her eldest son's friends. But who wrote it, or who it was written to, I do not know.

Here I am huddled in this dreary, cold trench thousands of miles from home. Home, where it is cold in the winter sometimes, but a different kind of cold. A nippy wind, that makes a man hustle to get his work done and into the house for a cup of hot coffee and maybe some fresh, hot cinnamon rolls, dripping with butter and caramel sauce. Or if a fellow is lucky, a piece of apple pie hot and steaming from the oven.

But here I am instead, crouching, cramped and stiff with a freezing wind blowing into my face. I have to keep facing this blood chilling breeze because out there, somewhere in the dark, death is waiting for me and for thousands of my countrymen. Death dealt out by Communists’ guns. Death, waiting, waiting, waiting to strike on this day.

Fifty years ago, in 1918, men ended a great war. Twenty-three years later in 1945, men ended another great war, a war to end all wars, so all men thought; or hoped then. November 16th, 1968, fifty years after the first big war of our time we are still waiting to kill or be killed. This is the cold that freezes the blood. The cold fear of unexpected death, on a cold unfriendly night.

Ten years ago today I was home for a visit. A peaceful, happy time visiting with the boys. Who are the boys? The fellows with whom I went to school all through the grades and high school. The boys! How well I remember the Halloween night when 14 of us went to the stockyards, on the edge of town, with our shotguns and fired them into the air. We fired them one at a time in quick succession. I stood in front like a drill sargent and called off the names, Earl, Tom, Jerry, Art and so on down the line. As their name was called, they fired. We went through the line twice. Twenty-eight shots rang out in quick succession. What a beautiful noise we thought at the time. But now when we hear a shot we remember maybe the next will have our name written on it.

Now the boys do not fire into the air. They shoot straight and it is not a beautiful noise. They drop and lie still. Soon they are cold.

Help Wanted: Exorcist, call today

Vatican to train more exorcists

What sounds like a bad JayLeno-esque Headline to be made the butt of jokes, is unfortunately a genuine news story.

The Catholic Church has vowed to "fight the Devil head-on" by training hundreds of priests as exorcists.

*groan*

Unfortunately... true.... In between ogling altar boy bums and diddling catholic school girls, there will be a new line of priest- the Exorcist.
*insert creepy music*

Would you like to know WHY the Catholic church has decided the world needs more demon hunters????

Me either.

Unfortunately there actually is an answer in the article.

Father Gabriele Amorth, 82, the Exorcist in Chief, announced the initiative amid church concerns about growing worldwide interest in Satanism and the occult.

1st item of note... "growing worldwide interest in Satanism and the occult." Is this a Harry Potter thing again? Or is it the rising voice of atheism breaking through the murky waters of the faith deluded?

2nd item of note... the Catholic church has an Exorcist in Chief. AN EXORCIST IN CHIEF??????? You have GOT to be joking. Please, oh please tell me there is no such person as Father Gabriele Amorth, EiC.

And do you know what specifically has Papa Gabe's shorts in a bundle? The Vatican is concerned that young people are being exposed to Satanism through the media, rock music and the Internet.

The old movies, music, and Internet whinge. AARRGGHH!!!!! Do you know that way back in the late 18th century the waltz was considered the devil's playground? Too lewd, too sensual, too provocative. THE WALTZ!!!!!

Do you suppose these new exorcist specialists (did I really just type that, me a sane, rational person, actually attempting to take this subject seriously????).... *sigh* Do you suppose these new exorcist specialists will have a SWAT team they assemble to rush to the scene, lights flashing, sirens blaring. "Step aside folks! We've got a category 13 possession in progress!"

Ten minutes later..."Oh wait. Never mind. Back to the Mystery Machine boys. It's just an atheist. Nothing to see here folks, move it along, these atheist types don't respond to gestures and prayers to invoke the power of God and stop the "demon" influencing its victim".

Help Wanted:.......Exorcist
Job Description:...You will be specially trained in exorcism and on hand to take action against "extreme Godlessness".

I wonder if those suffering from "extreme Godlessness" get to choose whether or not to be exorcised? Or if it is compulsory? I wonder if people will sue others for being forced to submit to involuntary exorcism?

I said it on the Forum and I'll say it again here...Being a christian is ultimately a weird experience, because there IS nothing there. So... a christian is either faking it or delusional. Period.

And these whack jobs have brought faking it to a whole new level.

'Ware the Exorcist! Coming soon to a diocese near you.

the lesson

This was told to me as a humorous story. I laughed politely to mask my horror.

The crux of the bible passage is thus...

King Nebuchadnezzar demanded that at the sound of the royal gong everyone face plant themselves in front of the golden statue. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego said, "Yeeeaaaaah, ummmm.... NOT!" And King Nebby gave them a choice, "Worship the statue or burn in a fiery furnace". The three said, "we choose god, so pass the BBQ Sauce" and hopped in. Nebby's advisor said, "Dude! There's four in there and one looks like Jeebus!"

For the full NKJ version click here.

A lovely story to share with any Sunday school classroom of 10-12 year old children. Stick with god, remain inflammable.

It's all well and good to read of others choosing god, but that doesn't help a child with real world application does it?

So the Sunday school teacher draws a picture of a fiery furnace and a little stick figure labeled "you" and shows it to the young lad, and says... "Which would you chose? Would you stick with god and go into the furnace or would you stay safe?" The child thinks about it a long time and says, "I'd stick with god." So the teacher draws the stick figure inside the furnace.

Then the teacher says, "Alright, now what if there's a second furance..." and draws more stick figures saying, "Here is your Mother, your Father, and your Sister. If you choose god, then they will be thrown into the furnace." The child thinks for many long minutes and is really torn, not sure which answer to give. Thinking to help him the teacher says, "This is just one furnace, but there's another even bigger, hotter furnace". The child looks up disgusted, "Is the universe full of furnaces?????" [Insert polite laugh here. But the story didn't end with the punchline. Oh noooooo, it continued....]

The Mother, upon hearing the story after church, talks with her son on the way home. "Do you know which one I would want you to pick?" He sighed and said, "You'd want me to stick with god." She said "Do you know why? Because god would be there with us in the furnace." "Would he keep you from burning?" "Well not necessarily, but he'd be there with us."


indoctrinate to teach to accept a system of thought without careful evaluation or judgment.

Forcing a child to make the choice between god and his family is a hideous moral dilemma. But if you harp on it young enough and long enough it becomes automatized and not something that requires thought anymore, just a knee jerk reaction. Choose god and avoid eternal damnation and the hell with the consequences for anyone else.

following orders

Enemy Combatant

Do you know what bothers me about this picture?

It's not just that this poor bastard is about to have his testicles torn off by dogs.
It's not just the abject fear you can read in his semi-crouched posture.
It is that those are American soldiers standing there doing that to him.
Soldiers who will one day come home and have to reintegrate into our society.
What are we turning our boys into that they have become capable of that?

Oh of course, how silly of me! Nobody wants to do that. I'm sure not even one of them enjoy doing that. None of them get hopped up on the power tripping nature of absolute authority. Oh no. Surely not. They're just following orders.

Let me address this from a different angle.

What if Hitler had won the war? Would the Nuremberg Trials still have taken place? When does "following an order" become a war crime? When does the willful harming of an unarmed individual become morally acceptable? How long does said willful harming of an unarmed individual remain morally acceptable?


That person standing there could be you or one you love. It could be your next door neighbor Rahzim who delivers pizza at night and goes to the community college during the day, who wouldn't harm a fly, but who was picked up for suspicion of being an enemy combatant.

Who are those people standing around him? Do you want your brother, spouse or son to be capable of doing that? What kind of psychological damage does it do to a person to be turned into an instrument of torture? When does a person stop being an enemy combatant and start being a person again?

7 Weird Things about Me

My big brother,Protium, whom I love dearly *hugs*, wants me to reveal 7 weird facts about myself and then spread the joy around.


1. I like the taste of water- two hydrogen molecules + 1 oxygen that's it. I hate the taste of mineral water, spring water, sparkling water, tap water, well water, etc... Hold the chlorine, hold the fluoride. Just H20. You give me a good old jug of room temperature distilled water and I can drink it in one sitting. I know a lot of people flipped because Aquafina is ultra filtered tap water and I say good on 'em. Let the city filter the water, then Pepsi bottling company strips the fluoride and chlorine from it and I'm all on board with that as long as it tastes like 2hydrogen + 1 oxygen. YAY WATER!!!!!

2. I love long hot showers. The longer the better and I keep edging up the heat as my body adjusts to it. BUT.... they make me thirsty. So I keep a bottle of Aquafina in the shower and usually end up drinking half of it by the end.

3. I love school, am a good student, I test well, and I despise sitting in the front of the classroom. 1/3rd of the way back on the instructor's left side, preferably on an aisle seat is my preferred location.

4. I was 17 years old when I got my first kiss. I got pregnant at 19. My parents never talked to me about sex, how wonderful it is, how easy it is to get caught up in the moment, or birth control. I won't make the same mistake.

5. My favorite part of my day is reading Anne McAffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series to my two children.

6. I have more in common with and communicate more with people I met through the AFA Forum and on this blog than I do with my own siblings, and I am thrilled with that.

7. The head of my bed is under a window that gets really cold in the winter. Because I couldn't figure out a way to rearrange the room with the furniture that is in it, I rearranged the sheets and sleep with my head at the foot of the bed.

I'd like to know 7 weird things about....
Johnny
Book Are you still out there?
Joe
Xavier Onassis
ThumpThumpEyes
Richard

Those who are blogless are more than welcome to post them here. :D

taser = torture without judge or jury

The use of the taser is a disgusting "innovation" of modern law enforcement.

A simple google search for "police taser child" which should have come up with a big fat honking NO RESULTS MATCHED YOUR QUERY instead revealed the following links:

6th Grader Tasered at Middle School
Second Child Shocked by Police Taser Gun
Police Taser Child (Again)
Now police are told they can use taser guns on children
Police Used Taser Gun to Subdue 6-Year-Old Student...
Police Taser Pregnant Woman in Ohio
Taser on Children OK, Police Say

What really sickens me is the abuse that goes hand in hand with such an easily accessible torture device. There is no judge or jury that sentenced the above individuals to be zapped with enough electricity to immobilize them. The officer behind the taser passed that verdict immediately and carried out the sentence personally. Police officers that are comfortable with torturing people need to have their consciences examined.

RCMP apologize to Tasered B.C. senior

Awwwww isn't that sweet. Gee sir, we're sorry we tasered you, TWICE!!!! We acknowledge that the first tasering took place while you were still seated IN YOUR CAR! And that after you recovered enough to get out of your car we zapped you again. Whooops. Sorry about that. But don't worry, sir, we've slapped the officer's wrist and will do it again if we deem it is necessary.

Richard wrote the following letter to the editor in response to the situation.

Dear Editor,

Worse than the tasering of a Kelowna , B.C. senior citizen is the RCMP’s public view of it.

The CBC reports an officer sought to ticket 68 yr old John Peters for double parking. Peters started to drive off, but thought better of it & stopped. No doubt Peters was verbally abusive, but he was still sitting in his car (!) when the officer tasered him. Such treatment would infuriate anybody! But it gets worse.

According to Superintendent Bill McKinnon, Peters got out of his car, and was “combative and resisting arrest”. (No wonder there!) Since Peters had already driven off a bit, surely the officer had told him to get out of his car. Yet the officer tasered Peters again! A 68 year old man, whom any fit officer could easily pin to the ground, had to be tasered? Peters could have died!

McKinnon said the officer "will likely receive a written reprimand on his record." Reprimand? No such officer should be a policeman! But like the tasering, it gets worse. McKinnon says the second tasering was justified!

In a responsible justice system the officer should be expelled from the Force, while McKinnon should be demoted so as to eliminate his administrative influence. It is ‘apologists’ like McKinnon who allow such officers on the streets.

Considering the recent tasering fiascos, the light sentences for violent crime and heavy sentences for victimless crime it is clear our justice system is in severe need of a genuine moral compass.

Richard

House Resolution 847: Importance of Christmas

H. Res. 847
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
December 11, 2007.

Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world;
The great significance of Christmas is school holidays. Otherwise it is really nothing more than a way to wring more money out of the lower and middle classes who generally can't afford the gifts they often feel compelled to give.

Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population;
The glorious tyranny of the majority, where sheer volume means that it must be the right choice. What of the other 25% of Americans?

Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population;
Lumping them all together into one big 2 billion strong mass rather overstates the case I think. I wonder how many of these Christians would willingly rub shoulders with each other or if they wouldn't turn on each other like a pack of rabid dogs. Their doctrinal differences far exceeding importance in their eyes than the similarities that they share.

Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization;
Nearly every single "Christian" contribution to western civilization was done against the express wishes of the church with threat of purgatory or hellfire to those who dared to defy the church's authority. Strange how that no longer matters, what matters only is that those people were baptized and went to church regularly. Of course NOT doing so would have meant certain death. Yay inquisition!

Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its Judeo-Christian roots;
Constitutional Republic????? I thought we were a Democracy! Isn't that what Dubya has been harping about since 9/11???? As to the roots... try Ancient Greece not Medieval Europe.

Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ;
I wonder what the other 25% of the population is celebrating on that day?

Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God's redemption, mercy, and Grace; and
Oh do let's talk about the necessity of being saved from hell that god created for sin that he allowed into the world.

Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore, be it
NOT!!! How many Christians walk by the soup kitchens without volunteering? How many avoid eye contact with the Salvation Army bell ringers? How many do anything other than provide gifts to immediately family members, friends, and co-workers? "Serving others" my hiney! Maybe they didn't get the memo.

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;
What makes it great its number of adherents? Or the enormous impact it has had in repressing progress at every turn?

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;
I shudder at what kind of precedent this is setting.

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;
??????

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;
Amazing how they know didly squat about history. Probably because they were all public schooled and grew up thinking that "In God We Trust" has always been the US motto. For the record Deist is not equal to Christian. A deist thinks a force called god created the universe and then tippy-toed away leaving it to its own devices.

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and
Oh yes, the poor persecuted Christians. Are the 25% of the population who don't toe the line picking on you? Making you feel uncertain and insecure in a world where there is 2 billion of you? Poor things. Gather together under one roof and pray about it.

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.
Respect? Respect! Respect for what? Believing in a being they are afraid will send them to hell if they sin too deeply or don't pray sincerely enough for forgiveness? Smell the fire and brimstone of the hell you will roast in for all eternity, now do you love me? Oh yes. I love you!

* * *

Only the following Representatives had the courage, audacity, temerity, and intelligence to vote NAY on this piece of trash.
Vote State-District Last Name, First Name
Nay NY-5 Ackerman, Gary [D]
Nay NY-11 Clarke, Yvette [D]
Nay CO-1 DeGette, Diana [D]
Nay FL-23 Hastings, Alcee [D]
Nay CA-9 Lee, Barbara [D]
Nay WA-7 McDermott, James [D]
Nay VA-3 Scott, Robert [D]
Nay CA-13 Stark, Fortney [D]
Nay CA-6 Woolsey, Lynn [D]

Hat Tip to T&A for his post on the idiot who wrote this piece of tripe.

quick question for you

I was talking to my brother last night (which is about the coolest thing ever since he lives in Perth) and he was wondering, which got me to thinking, (something I delight in)...

What is the religious equivalent of racism???

If you see a person you've never personally met before, say an African American, and immediately assign all kinds of negative traits to them because of their skin color, that is racist.

So.... if you see someone you've never personally met before, wearing a cross, driving around with an "I heart Jesus" bumper sticker, and St. Francis of Assisi dangling from their rear view mirror, and immediately assign all kinds of negatives traits to them, that is... what?

Aside from being correct, insightful, spot on, and a safe assumption, what exactly is that called?

Bigot is a possibility. But bigot is a bit all encompassing.

Bigot-A person who is intolerant, especially in matters of religion, race, or politics. (Politics? Weird. If a person says "Only an idiot is a Republican" that makes them a bigot?????)

Anyway.... What is the correct term for a person who is prejudiced against the religious, whether it is specific to one religion or all religions in general?????

paranormal... atheists ???

Sean has tagged me to do a Twilight Zone Moment thread.

I have been thinking of this off and on for the last 2 days now, trying to come up with something "paranormal".

And I think the challenge I face with this thread is right there in the definition of paranormal...an umbrella term used to describe a wide variety of reported anomalous phenomena that are beyond normal experience or scientific explanation.

Nothing inexplicable has ever happened to me. No prayers miraculously answered. No teddy's shifting position on their own, no visions of dead people or living people for that matter. Nothing beyond my normal experiences.

Oh wait. Wait wait wait!! That's just not true! There was a prayer that got miraculousy answered, and it was definitely beyond my normal experience. Way beyond. Way way WAY beyond. My first kiss. OMG. The stars wheeled, the heavens rejoiced and the earth spun round more than once that night. Fortunately Mumsy & Daddykins were far away in Montana so he could spend those few hours teaching me what a tongue is best used for. Wow. *shivers* One of the best nights of my entire life up to that point. Pity it took until I was 17, but hey- better late then never kissed.

Ok... so except for that one night, that one glorious mind altering, never the same before or since night, nothing out of the ordinary or beyond science has ever happened to me.

Oh sure, I've creeped myself out at night, letting my imagination get the best of me, even scaring myself rather thoroughly. But it was always me, and my imagination, it is for that very reason that I avoid suspense/horror movies.

There is just nothing out there that exists beyond science's ability to find a rational explanation for it. It may take us awhile, but we humans are a clever bunch of individuals, someone will figure it out.



So... there it is Sean and here is the rest...

The Rules

1. You should post these rules
2. Recall and relate a time when you experienced a "paranormal event"
3. Explain it rationally if you can
4. Inflict this thread on 5 other people

What is it with the number five???

Let's see...
Johnny
Richard
Protium
ThumpThumpEyes
Xavier Onassis


Any paranormal experiences? I'm rather anticipating each of you coming back with an "uhmmmmm, nope!" but that is just me and I am curious.

If you give a mouse a cookie

My first year at college in Fargo, 1991 (aka a lifetime ago), I was startled beyond measure at the absolute orange sherbet colored night sky that greeted my eyes. There was so much "cloud" cover that the street lights would reflect off of it, creating the most bizaare orange haze.

Shortly after that, they passed a city ordinance against wood burning stoves. You could still use fireplaces, but not the stoves- too much polution. Strangely enough the winter sky is still orange.

I remember in junior high, the mid 1980's (aka two lifetimes ago), that vehicles were causing too much polution in California so they forced car manufacturers to place catalytic converters on all the new automobiles. I remember for the next several cars the first thing Dad would do with them when he got home was remove the converter.

I know they have been whingeing about burning fossil fuels and peak oil, demanding that scientists develop cleaner energy sources.

At the same time they insist that nuclear energy does not count because of the waste product left behind.

Well what about wind? You can't get much cleaner than wind.

Irvine, CA--King Ranch and the environmentalist coalition Coastal Habitat Alliance are suing Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson in an attempt to stop the creation of a windmill farm along the Gulf Coast in Kenedy County. According to the suit, the wind farm could kill migrating birds and damage the bay.

BBBZZZZZZTTTTTT They don't want wind farms either.

Wait a minute! Wait just a damn minute!!!! Because a wind farm might kill migratory birds??? MIGHT?????

Anyone else under the impression that they think the world would be a better place if mankind just did everyone..er... everything else a favor and went extinct? If only they could reduce the population by say...80%... the world would just be a garden paradise for all the rats and the hyenas. And as long as they're happy, well....

prayer = laziness

Ya know what shits me?

People who say, "I'll pray for you."

I appreciate part of the sentiment behind that particularly odious phrase. The part that translates as, "I wish I could do somthing."

And to that sentiment I think "awww gee, isn't that swell, they wish they could help." And then I think, "Hold on! Their wishing to help stops when they hit their knees because they feel like they already have helped!"

I understand the feeling of helplessness in a situation where you really have no direct control and where there might not be anything you can personally do to fix what the personn is going through.

My problem with people who say, "I'll pray for you." is because they can't immediately think of something to do, some way to get involved, they offer to pray and actually believe they've made a difference.



The thing is, there is always something you can do. It just depends on the actual situation and your own imagination.

Get off your knees, unfold your hands, roll up your sleeves and do something meaningful with that time. Use that brain and the imagination that you think your god gave you and actually do something constructive for the other person.

And if that person who is worth your prayers isn't worth your time and effort, then how contemptible is it that you will turn them over to your god just so you don't have to deal with them at all?



Thanks for the pic Joe!!!!

global warming: cyclical or critical???

(Guest Blogger- Richard)

For 100s of millions of years the Earth's temperature has fluctuated through a range of about five degrees Celsius. The fluctuations are a function of Sol's varying output, our planet's orbital and axial relationship to the sun, cosmic radiation (alters our cloud cover) and shifting ocean currents. At present the Earth is on the crest of one of these cycles.

In the past (early dinosaur era) the atmosphere has had CO2 levels exceeding 5%. CO2 has presently recently risen from 0.027% to almost 0.04%, which is nothing. 98% of the greenhouse gases (mainly water vapour) are not man-made, so environmentalists would have us all suffer economically and even die. (This is because cars are so light --to save gas and CO2 emissions-- that the occupants are more likely to die in accidents --over 20,000 deaths/yr and 200,000 more serious injuries/yr in the USA alone).

I believe more CO2 would cause a greening of our planet on a grand scale. Even at 0.04% CO2 most plants are struggling to get CO2 for photosynthesis. A doubling of CO2 is known to double fruit crop output, and would likely do similar wonders for most other plant species.

Plants would even survive better in dry regions because they could close their stomata (leaf pores) to conserve water and get enough CO2 to continue photosynthesizing.

As for humans the changes in environment would be so gradual that lifetimes would come and go, so no one will drown or dramatically lose property. In most cases, if someone finds the regional climate to be too hot or wet, they can do what people already do for all sorts of reasons: move a few hundred miles to a place they prefer.

In many ways Environmentalism is a religion (incl. the present anthropogenic global warming furor). It is a belief system that uses snippets of (scientific) fact but only if it suits Environmentalist beliefs*. It even has its goddess, "Gaia", that many believe in either implicitly (revering Nature, over Mankind) or explicitly.

*While Al Gore tells us about melting glaciers, neither he nor the media tell you that Antarctica's Ice Cap is the thickest it has ever been. The breaking off of the Ross Ice Shelf was more likely caused by increased flow of glacier ice off the continent, than by any melting.

Richard- guest blogger 2

I was raised a Christian, I did the Sunday School thing from the ages of four to fifteen. I was an altar boy until I was 16. I read any number of religious stories, and was totally awed. Often I read by flashlight under the covers until 2 and 3 am. Two books stand out in my memory.

At thirteen I read "The Robe" by Lloyd C. Douglass and it brought me to tears. Jesus and God were so amazing for their positive impact on human happiness and security. Still, the biblical and Sunday-go-to-Meetin' stuff smelled of B.S. Then I read "The Source" by Roland Michener. I was bed ridden by mononucleosis at the time, so I read it in about two days. My abstract thinking was already getting pretty good (because reading makes a world of difference in that respect), and I saw the implications for religion.

As a result, I became a Deist of sorts, and saw that the Son of God story was an overblown legend. A story promoted by the greatest orator of the early centuries A.D., St. Paul. The story was written and re-written by early medieval men who thought writing itself was primarily an exalted duty to God. No doubt St.Paul did a lot of the rewriting, to make it more and more captivating for his audiences.

Did the these re-writers read and think? No. They were more interested in the wealth their sheeple could provide.

They embellished the stories a little here and a little there, so it would 'go over' better and better. The illiterates will would accept the authority of the 'educated' and 'literate' men, and believe the embellishments.

It was not until I was in my thirties that I fully grasped that religion, and the morality it espouses, is the biggest con ever perpetrated on the minds of Man. Priests and Witch Doctors are all the same... Liars, Liars, Pants all Fires!

Getting rid of God was very emotional for me. For some months I felt torn in half. Then one sunny morning, walking my dog across fields sparkling with dew, I was still pondering what a Universe without God meant, and I finally understood! I felt a weight lift off me. The Universe and everything in it was mine to explore, and my life was mine to make happy. I imagine I had the same sense of Joy that those who are born again experience, except I knew I was being intellectually honest.

No longer was there any 'super thing' tallying my pros and cons. Since then I have been an enormously more moral and honest person. Why? Pride! Pride as respect and caring for my own character, the same way a craftsman takes prideful care to produce an excellent end result. Pride, in the religious morality is one of the worst sins. Morality by fear & or obedience is a subtle hell, sharply contrasting with the rational pursuit of happiness and self valuing.

If you actually understood Christianity, you would not be a Christian. You too would be an atheist, and be happier for it.

God, and the supernatural cannot possibly exist.

the pink lady at Fiery's house

My favorite part of our house is the beautiful tree in our front yard. Perhaps there are some tree enthusiasts who know what kind it is. It produces the most gorgeous pink blossoms in the spring, the petals drift life snowflakes in the summmer, and in the fall it puts out little red berries. I call them squirrel bombs for the squirrels seem to love them. When they fall to the ground, the black birds come in the spring to eat them. The other birds seem relatively indifferent.

The picture in the side bar of the branch with the red berries is taken from the front bay window of the pink tree in the picture at the top of the post.

Blogger has stopped telling me when people post to my blog. The last comment I was informed of was Richard's in open forum 8 on 4 December 6:18p.m. I will have to go back and manually check the more recent posts for comments. Hopefully they will get it sorted. *sigh*

XO's Christmas Wish

Ask and you shall receive.
Merry Christmas XO. :-)

open forum 8

Is November really over? Good grief where did the month go? Who let my mother on my computer? Mama Ewok is always decrying the speed with which her life is going by.

For me, November was a month of stabilization. Changes have settled somewhat, the dust is clearing, and life is proceeding again. It can't really be high drama all the time, humans are not...well... I am not capable of sustaining that for long periods of time.

It has now become a tradition here on my blog that on the first of each month I put up an open forum. Long time readers know the drill... OMG!!!! How cool is it that I have long time readers!!!! HOORAY for you!!!!!!!!!

So- This post is the opportunity for you to broach a subject, ask a personal question, bring up a topic, talk about whatever...

It is after all an open forum, I want to know what's on your mind.

if I don't look, it isn't lost

I’m not the most imaginative person when it comes to personal accessories.

For instance, I’ve been wearing the same necklace for the last 8 years. It’s a really beautiful gold chain The Kids’ Dad gave me for my birthday along with a pretty little black hills gold heart that my Mum’s dearest friend gave me. So… put it on, never take it off, permanent accessory. Same goes with earrings. Mum gave me the most lovely pair of double-twined gold hoops that I’ve been wearing for the last 5 or so years. They’re really pretty, go with everything, put ‘em on and forget about ‘em.

But that complacency has come back to haunt me.

I lost another earring the other day. It’s the second one I’ve lost from my left ear in the course of the last two weeks. For some reason they have been falling victim to my headphones. Note to self: pull earphones away from ears then remove, don’t just drag them off your head.

I was really bummed when I lost my first earring, one of Mum’s gold hoops. I’m pretty sure it happened in the middle of the night because when I woke up the next morning, the earring was gone.

I am something of an insomniac and often get up to fiddle with the internet in the middle of the night, checking e-mails, the forum, my blog. The headphones come into play when I am listening to recordings that get sent to me.

The reason I’m not sure when it happened, is that don’t regularly fiddle with my earrings so I couldn’t say for sure when it disappeared, only that it was not there when I woke up in the morning. I do remember, though, struggling a bit when my headphones snagged in the middle of the night. The only thing for headphones to snag on would be earring or glasses, and it wasn’t my glasses they got caught on.

SO- somewhere around my bed is that pesky earring. I looked a bit and haven’t found it.

For ten days or so I’d just switch the remaining earring I had back and forth (just in case the hole closed) chuckling to myself that I had something of a pirate look going and waiting for somebody to notice. It’s amazing how people either don’t care, didn’t notice, or couldn’t be bothered to comment on only wearing one earring.

Really makes me realize that we really are the star of our own personal drama that isn’t being watched by anyone but ourselves. Probably the most important thing to help a teenager realize… nobody else is watching! :-)

Anyway, I finally got tired of the one earring show and decided to just switch. I checked my earring collection and it really is crap. Mostly singles left over from previous times I’ve lost the mate. I still have one of my original studs that were used to pierce my ears and a mish mash of badly tarnished ones that really should be pitched. I did find my really pretty gold leaves so decided to give them a go.

The problem is, they are not stud earrings they are decorative earrings. What that means is that they don’t tolerate being tugged on or even normal, everyday life, for that matter. You’re supposed to wear them for dress-up and then take them off when you get home. I just can’t be bothered with that much activity in the bathroom and just left them on.

So I’ve lost the left earring on that set too. *sigh* Same situation, remember futzing with the headphones and them getting snagged then later noticing the missing earring.

The weird thing is I found the back to the earring sitting next to my laptop. But I thought the snagging took place out in my car…. or was it in the entry way by the door… or maybe it WAS here by my bed.

I was excited to see the back of the earring and really hope the leaf shows up too.

But I’m afraid to look too hard for either earring.

Do you know why?

I’m afraid to look for them because, right now… they could still be around some where. But if I look for them and can’t find them, then they really are lost. Right now, I just don’t know for sure where they are. I can still hope to find them. Maybe they’ll just turn up. But if I look, and they’re not there, then I’ve really lost them.

I wonder if that isn’t how some Christians are when they are confronted by atheists. Maybe they are afraid that if they put their faith aside, even for a moment, to rationally consider the atheist’s arguments against god, that they will look for god and not find him. They want god to be there so badly that they refuse to peer around those corners and to look under the bed because they do not want to discover that god just isn’t there.

liar liar pants on fire

When I was about 13, my sister, 3 years younger, wanted to get her ears pierced. Mum didn’t want to say yes to her unless my ears were pierced as well. So…we were trundled off to the lady who pierces the precious innocent little ears brought to her all unwittingly.

Young Fiery- “Does it hurt?”
Lady with the ear gun- “No, of course not!”
Young Fiery- “Oh, ok then.”
(That was the extent of my excitement at getting my ears pierced.)
*ping*
Young Fiery- “OW!!! That hurt!”
Lady with the ear gun- “Ok, tip your head I need to do the other one.”
Young Fiery- “You said it wouldn’t hurt.”
*ping*
Young Fiery- “OW!!!!”

I don’t know about anyone else’s ear lobes, but you shove a metal spike in mine and it stings like crazy. The correct answer to “Does it hurt?” is actually, “Yes it hurts a bit, but only for a little while and you get to wear pretties in your ears for the rest of your life.”

Why do adults lie about pain? It would have been much easier to cope with and much less of a horrid shock knowing that it does indeed sting. I’d rather know than be surprised by it like that.

It’s like with labor and delivery. “Do contractions hurt?”

“Yes, absolutely. But because they are natural and your bodies way of expelling the baby, they’re not that big of a deal and in between contractions, barring complications, it doesn’t hurt at all. Plus, once you have the baby, the pain of the contractions is gone. “

“Oh, well alright then. I can handle just about anything knowing that it’s natural, the discomfort doesn’t mean anything is wrong, and that it won’t last forever.”

Which brings me to another question. Why do adults lie to children at all? If you give them the information they need, they are much more able to cope with the world as they find it. Why don’t adults provide children with the tools they need to behave properly? How many adults drag children places without telling them what behavior is expected from them? “Sweety, we are going grocery shopping. I need you to hold my hand or ride in the cart. Your job will be to help me pick out some fruit, choose between 3 types of cereal, help me find our favorite soup, and help me count the bananas.”

“When we go in the mortuary, everyone is going to be really quiet. It is rude to run around and shout so if you need to ask me a question or tell me something I need you to use your quietest whisper. I’ve brought along some toys for you to play with quietly. You can color, or read this story, and I need you to help keep Raggedy Anne really quiet too. You know how she likes to bounce and yell.”

Just tell people what is going on! Be straight forward with them about what you want from them, what you expect from them.

I want to live my next life backwards.

You start out dead and get that out of the way.

Then you wake up in an old age home feeling better every day.

You get kicked out for being too healthy; go collect your pension, then when you start to work you get a gold watch on your first day.

You work 40 years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement.

You drink lots of alcohol, you party, you’re generally pretty promiscuous, and you get ready for High School.

You then go to Primary School, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities.

You become a baby, and then.....you spend the last 9 months of your life floating peacefully in luxury, in spa-like conditions; central heating, room service on tap, larger quarters every day....

and then......

you finish off life as an orgasm.

I rest my case!

Moral Atheists are morally superior to moral christians.

Moral atheists- rational people who live moral lives without the threat of eternal punishment (hell) or the promise of eternal reward (heaven) from a supernatural being.

Superior- to be of greater value or excellence, extraordinary.

Christians- people who believe in the born of a virgin, risen from the dead, son of God called Jesus. They believe his followers will go to heaven and everyone else will suffer eternal torment with Satan and his minions in the hell fires God himself has prepared for them.

In hopes of eternal reward, the Christian avoids specific immoral acts.

Sometimes the choice is between refusing to follow god’s command and impregnating your own flesh and blood.

In fear of eternal damnation, the Christian chooses to act in a moral fashion.

Sometimes the choice is between allowing embryos to continue to be aborted or murderingthe doctor responsible for destroying those innocent “lives”.

Some countries have outlawed abortion for any and every reason, including the saving of the mother’s life. In this case, it is morally acceptable for the poor unfortunate child who is developing the mother’s fallopian tube to spend a few more minutes alive rather than be removed from the mother’s body so the mother herself may live.


And what of the moral atheist? The moral atheist behaves in a moral manner because it is the right thing to do. Because it is good for him, the people he cares about, and the society he is a member of to act in a moral fashion.

So who holds the moral high ground? The one who wishes to avoid an eternal spanking? Or the one who wants to do the right thing because it betters his own life right here, right now.

Know Thy Limits

It would take 7 Long Island Iced Teas to kill me

Thanksgiving Daysaster

No one in my family gives a turkeys gobble about eating...well...turkey. *gasp* I know, I know. It's blasphemous to be an American and to not only not like turkey, but to not even serve it on the big day!!!!!

When I was growing up, it was always Papa Ewok's job to make the stuffing. I remember him drying bread on cookie sheets under the wood burning stove down in the utility room. The day before, he'd get the turkey thawing in a mop bucket, and that evening he'd be able to finally get the little packet of giblets out.

And that's when I started to hate Thanksgiving. He'd open up that lumpy white packet and empty it into a pot of water, put it on the back of the stove, and let it simmer until the whole house smelled of parboiled turkey lips. Yep, Papa Ewok makes hardcore stuffing, homemade bread crumbs and minced turkey giblets.

There is something about that smell that makes my stomach roil. *blech* Since neither the kids' dad nor I care for turkey or turkey left overs I decided to let the kids pick various favorites for the big meal.

My son wanted what I grew up calling long spaghetti, which we now just call spaghetti, which the Aussies and Kiwi's call spag bol. Since we eat that quite often, I ixnayed the idea for Thanksgiving dinner, much to my regret as I was later to learn.

I thought the big "Thanksgiving Meal" should be something we didn't eat very often, and encouraged him to pick a different favorite, maybe for a different part of the meal, so he picked vanilla (NOT! French vanilla) ice cream and pumpkin pie for desert. This is significant only in that we have a freezer full of frozen apple slices waiting to be turned into pies or apple crisp, but my son doesn't like eating cooked fruit.

My daughter chose bean casserole as her favorite, and rightly so, I've seen her polish off half the pan in one sitting.

We decided the main course could be meatloaf and baked potatoes and that we would eat around 3 p.m.-ish.

We got the hamburger thawing in the fridge the day before. I was tempted to cut up some all beef hot dogs and boil them on the back of the stove in honor of dad and his turkey lips, but we didn't have any hot dogs to sacrifice.

Unfortunately, for the hamburger, come the day of, it was still fairly frozen. So we throw it, freezer bag and all, into the stove so it can sit at room temperature on the rack, safe from the cats eager paws, until we need it later in the day for the meatloaf.

Attempt 1: About 11:00 a.m. my daughter heads out to the kitchen to get the pumpkin pie made up. And what do the directions say in regards to the oven? That's right... preheat the oven to 425*F and since she decided to follow the directions today, she preheated the oven.

..What is that weird candle-like burning smell?...

That would be melted and burning plastic shrink wrapping itself onto the thawed hamburger. Windows open, fans on, smack out the flames with the metal kitchen utensil.'

Okay- so.... no meatloaf. What else do we have? Well, we've got frozen chicken breasts or I could throw a roast in the slow cooker with the potatoes and have that for a late Thanksgiving supper instead of a late lunch. So... pie's in the oven, I'm dumping spices on the frozen pot roast, cutting up the potatoes, taking the pie out of the oven, and wondering what the heck to serve for lunch.

Leftovers. We have leftovers for lunch (sung to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas): 5 breaded fish fillets, 3 boneless chicken wings, 2 Applebee's onion rings, and a limp slice of pepperoni pizza.

BUT... in honor of the festive day we decide to eat the pumpkin pie and ice cream right then with an eggnog chaser.

Attempt 2- We figure after 7 hours in the slow cooker the roast should be about done so we get the stove fired up again and get the bean casserole tossed in the oven. The timer dings, we put the dried french onions on and back in the stove it goes to brown for five minutes. Time to check on the pot roast.

WTF?????? The potatoes are still rock hard. The roast is still blood red under the potatoes. AARRGGHH!!!! I didn't add water so there wasn't enough fluid to steam everything. I guess we'll eat "leftover" pot roast and potatoes for lunch tomorrow after it finishes cooking at about 10p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

So what the hell did we eat for Thanksgiving?

Attempt 3- The bean casserole, all of it, with pumpkin pie, ice cream, and eggnog for desert.

I can't wait for Christmas.

Dear Jesus

So many people here in America and in Australia, well heck, let's just say around the world, believe in you.

For the moment, I am entertaining the notion and I have a few questions for you.

1- PRAYER

Did you ever hear the joke about the man who called the psychic hotline?
*ring* ... *ring*
Psychic- "Hello Psychic Hotline, how may I help you?"
Caller- "Don't you already know?"...
*click*

Do you answer prayers based on the number of people who submit the same request? Do you answer prayers based on the sincerity of the person asking? Do you give more attention to people who have utter faith in your positive answer or do you prefer people who offer up the problem but leave the solution up to you? If you already know the outcome of the situation, is prayer necessary at all?

2- OMNICSCIENCE v. FREE WILL

According to my dictionary we mortals define omniscience as having total knowledge, or knowing everything. It is said that you also gave humans "free will".

Now I've heard it argued that time is like a road, and you are standing beside that road like a giant Colossus watching us make our little decisions, exercise our little spot of free will, letting us make mistakes that will lead to our own or others pain and suffering. Sometimes you intervene (answering prayers), sometimes you make radical changes (miracles), sometimes you stand aside and do nothing (God's will).

So, attempting to combine those two ideas, you have known since the moment you chose to create a universe, that one day I would sit here typing this open letter to you. Before there was a sun, before there was a Milky Way galaxy, you knew me and that this moment in time would eventually occur. You knew the decisions I have made, am making, and will make in the future. You know that my mind craves answers, proof, rational explanations. You know that throughout my life I have been unable, but not unwilling, to generate true faith in you, in spite of years of effort. You know that according to the rules you have set forth, that I will burn in hell for all eternity.

Yet you will not take the one step closer to me that will prevent my own eternal pain and suffering? Why?

3- Pascal's Wager

When I was in highschool and doing my best to be a good little Christian, did that count? Did you really count me as a believer? Or did you look down with contempt or pity upon me for making my pitiful little efforts but failing to actually believe?

Does being a believer mean going through the conscious mental effort of choosing to believe? Or does it simply mean saying I believe regardless of my thoughts on the matter? Does deciding to believe count, or must one actually believe in order to get into heaven? If I decide to be a believer so I don't burn in hell for all eternity, is that really what you had in mind for me? Why do you want that?

What is in it for you, if I get to heaven or if I burn in hell? Am I just a number to you?

4-How do you feel about Epicurus?
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

Omnipotent- all powerful, capable of anything. I won't bore you with the boulder so big you can't lift it conundrum, or the borrito so hot you can't eat it challenge, but if you can do anything....ANYTHING at all.... I was wondering... Because of free will you allow people to make all the mistakes they want including hurting those who love you dearly. What about the natural disasters in the world that people have nothing to do with creating but which cause enormous amounts of suffering? Why do you allow them to happen? Did sin damage the physical world? When did you decide that was an acceptable consequence in this world that you created from scratch?

Is he able but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
If you really are omnipotent and COULD stop evil, why don't you? Doesn't that make you just as bad as the people doing the evil itself? The legal term we have come up with is an accomplice or possibly even an accessory. How is it that in our legal system, you are guilty and yet we are the ones who will burn for all eternity? How is it that we have created a country founded on justice for all with laws preventing cruel and unusual punishment (which at the time consisted of floggings, brandings, and mutiliations, etc...) yet you ...our loving creator, are willing to see your own creations suffer indescribable misery for a never ending period of time.

No matter how long one human being has ever tortured another, it is as but moment in the time frame that you have decreed for those who do not know and love you. I'm scared Jesus, how does that make you a creature of goodness and loving compassion?

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
How did it come about that Lucifer came into being? Why did you create him? Does he have free will? Why would he choose to go against you? If you choose not to prevent the evil ascribed to him that the bible claims but rarely documents, how are you not assisting him? Why allow him free reign in your universe?

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"

Well Jesus, you know where to find me.

Fiery

redirect 3

They're BAAAACK!!

That's right! Lest you think they were to be counted among the dearly departed (Janice).... Reg Golb and Mountain King commented again, both on the same day. *snerk*

Mountain King with an amazingly long 57k response to a post from last month called "How to shut up an atheist if you must part 2".

I can only imagine that he spent the intervening month typing one letter at a time with a monkey stick normally reserved for fetching ants from rotten logs.

Johnny has a stunning 111k response, his original bits which are particularly impressive, followed by a cut-and-paste war at the end.

Pop over and give it a look see!!

St. Nick's visit to MN

A great big thank you to Protium & Thump Thump Eyes for the nicest, most personal Christmas gift I think I have ever received.

First out of the air mail pouch... "Let's Talk Strine/Nose Tone Unturned" by Afferbeck Lauder a book dedicated to the exploration of the vagaries of the Aussie vernacular. It is set up as a reference book so when an Aussie says, "The air fridge fundy is an idiot."

One can flip through the book and reference the entry for

Air Fridge- A mean sum or quantity; also: ordinary, not extreme. As in: The air fridge person, the air fridge man on the street.

Now I'm thinking, "Yep, the air fridge fundy is an idiot."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA... Actually had me laughing out loud within the first 5 seconds of opening it. Not a book to just plop down and read cover to cover, but to pick up at random and savor.

The second item to tip from the pouch was a home made dvd and on the case was written...."Fiery read the text file XX"

And I'm thinking AUSSIE PORN!!!!!! *snerk* And I'm dancing around the room, WOOHOOING waving it in the air, frantically trying to get my dvd drive open at the same time so I can see how the Aussies do it down under when I discover.....It was actually something even better!!!!

A whole collection of stuff put together for me by my dear big brother and his lovely wife. Two home videos (a tour of where they live and the surrounding area), some AFA Forum newsletters, and a whole heap of atheist mp3 podcasts.

Awesome. Just AWESOME!!!

Thank you both ever so very VERY much!!!!!

college gestapo

I live within 30 minutes of a series of 4 cities right next to each other: West Fargo, Fargo, Moorhead, and Dilworth. In those cities there are 4 main colleges/universities and a variety of community/tech colleges: North Dakota State University, Minnesota State University- Moorhead, Concordia College, and Moorhead Technical College.

For a population of under 150,000 people, there are 30,000 college students.

That's a lot of beer.

Most people, when they think back on their days at uni, think of all the partying, drinking, and shenanigans that they pulled in between studies. Some took the studies seriously and partied anyway, some partied and didn't study hardly at all.

Well the schools are tired of the drinking. Each of the 4 campuses has instituted the toughest anti-drinking regimen I have ever heard, aside from the countries where the penalty for drunk driving is death by firing squad.

If a student wishes to return to the dorm after curfew he must pass a BREATHALYZER test and if he fails, is fined $100, not to mention possible notification of his parents, referral to counseling, and a permanent mark on his record.

Note the lack of internally generated personal responsibility. Nope, not necessary anymore, WE will take care of YOU.

In more recent news, the following posters are being placed throughout each campus:
"Big Brother is Watching You!"
"Happiness can exist only in acceptance."
"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength."

a new direction

I've been toying with about 4 or 5 different blog posts and haven't known for sure which one to follow through on. Maybe it is that the ideas are too short for what I normally put up on my blog.


hmmmmm..... hadn't thought of that before, stymied by standards I didn't even realize I was establishing for myself.

Well the heck with that. No unwritten rule is going to keep me from posting.

So what follows is a series of short posts on topics that have been niggling me but haven't developed into full blown typical Fiery-length posts. Who knows, maybe in the course of writing them, they'll expand a bit.

Fiery's earliest memory

Sean has tagged me to play the "Earliest Memory" game.

THE RULES
1. Describe your earliest memory where the memory is clear enough to provide at least 3 details.
2. Give an estimate of your age at the time.
3. Tag some other bloggers with this thread.

Papa Ewok and my uncle worked the family farm together, and we all lived in the big house. Grama Ewok (the only one of my grandparents I can actually remember) lived in the original homestead house down a tiny hill from us. She was almost completely blind as a result of uncontrolled diabetes.

My earliest memory is trudging down that hill to Grama's house with a small black plastic box (probably 6"x5"x2") of playing cards in my hands. I remember the box had a clear plastic square in the lid and a silver button over flap with the type of closure that you inserted horizontally and then twisted vertically to close. I can still see the cards all a jumble in it. I remember sitting on a footstool in front of her with a tv tray between us. (At least that's what I've always called them, most refer to them as tray tables I believe.) The tray was off-cream with gold glitter flecks spangled across and green flowers swirled around the middle.

She had a light that sat on her television. (Remember when tv's came housed in their own wooden boxes and were a piece of furniture as well as a source of entertainment? It was back when they had dials instead of buttons and no input/output jacks.) The light was about as tall as an upright shoe box, oval opening at the top, with gold painted casing around it and when turned on looked like water trickling over stones. I remember she always fed me sesame seed crackers that to this day remind me of her. I was about 2 at the time.


I pick the following people to play the game, and if you don't have a blog, you can e-mail it to me at atheisthomeschooler at yahoo dot com and I'll post it here if you wish.

Johnny (because I want to know)
Richard (who is too dignified to play such a silly game, but might be goaded by this.)
Harry Nads (who seems to have disappeared on us)
T&A (because he's just such a darn nice guy!)
Thump Thump Eyes (because I know almost nothing about her and would love to learn more.)
Crazyman Bob (who's early childhood memory is practically nonexistant and I want to see how young he can get. ;-) )

she's baaaaack!!!!! :-)

Hi All!

Looks like things are fairly quiet around here, and I don't blame you a bit, not been much new going up recently. Will have to do something about that.

It was a good trip, great to see my folks again. Mama Ewok is suffering a bit from depression after 7 months of chronic pain, and I don't blame her. Hopefully her doctor will prescribe something to help her through. The trip down was a glorious fall day which I was unable to capture as my rechareable batteries, I discovered 3 minutes into the trip, are bunk. *grrrrrrrr*

So this morning I spent $5.50 on 4 AA batteries at the gas station and now my camera is good to go for a bunch of pictures and maybe a few movies. *rolls eyes*

Camera eat batteries like Cookie Monster eat oreos.

Where yesterday was a beautiful fall day with gorgeous blue skies, this was what awaited me on the road today.
*shivers*

Yes it's true, fall is pretty much over and I sort of didn't get my yard raked of leaves. I wonder if that will be a problem come spring? I really must get the kids' bikes put away as well. oops.

Not bad for snaps taken one-handed while driving 70 miles per hour down a North Dakota highway. :-) It's not a hill, the prairie is flat, it was an over the shoulder shot.

This was the one break in the clouds looking north and lasted about 15 minutes. In the winter, one searches for the blue sky like the ear perks at the sound of your name whispered around a corner.

The kids are thrilled to be reunited, they both missed each other a great deal. I'm so glad they get along so well with each other.

road trip

Well I'm off to pick up my daughter in Minot today. We will be meeting my folks at the mall around 3p.m. and spending the night at the hotel enjoying the hot tub and swimming pool. Yay!

If Dad's along he'll want to get an early start back in the morning so I'll be home around 1p.m. If it's just Mom, then she'll want to go shopping and I probably won't be home until supper time.

I'm bringing the camera again and will take more pics of the road. Late fall in the Dakotas.

'Til then....
play nice!

Holy Bong Bat Man!

What exactly are Mary & Joseph smoking???

we are who we edit ourselves to be

In any form of communication with another person, whether that is in person over a cup of coffee, on the telephone, or through text, it is always possible that a person is misrepresenting themselves in whole or in part.

Meeting someone in person does not guarantee a higher degree of accurate information about that individual over what they might say or type about themselves, especially depending on the specific circumstances surrounding the communication itself.

In person, one does not have the opportunity to take back what was blurted. Things can just "get said" without the full ramifications being thoroughly thought through. Sometimes in the heat of the moment or following the general flow of the conversation, it is easy to flippantly toss off a remark, that upon further reflection is a flat out falsehood when it comes to how you really think. That doesn't mean the person was being deliberately misleading, just that they got carried away.

How many times as a child did you see your parents turn from shouting at each other or shouting at you to answer the phone with a cheery, "Hello!" and you're standing there wondering where the hell that came from? She wasn't all sunshine and smiles 3 seconds ago, why does that person rate a smile when she was just yelling her head off a bit ago? As an adult we realize that the person calling doesn't need to know of our bad day, and certainly doesn't deserve to get caught in the emotional fallout of normal everyday crankiness. Is the person lying when they answer the phone in that manner? Not exactly. More just responding to a new context in which shouting would be highly inappropriate.

If the context is an internet dating chat room, chances are not that good that people are interacting on a highly accurate basis. They are there looking for people to like them and presenting themselves in the most positive light possible, including flat out lying. "The internet: where the men are men, the women are women, and the little girls are FBI agents"~CrazyMan Bob.

However, on this blog, and the ones I visit, there is just no reason for the commenters to misrepresent their thoughts, feelings, insights, circumstances, or individual take on a situation. What would be the point? It is very much a voluntary community, one that is easy to withdraw from and if you don't feel you can be honest with those around you, what are you doing on that blog in the first place?

That is not to say that a particular post contains absolutely every possible piece of information that could be construed as being relevant to the situation. It just is not possible or desirable to include that level of detail in a post. So the writer essentializes and strips from the actual to present a snapshot of the situation with the details they feel are relevant to the discussion at hand.

For serious discussions and meaningful conversations, I would rather type than talk. Often during a verbal conversation, I get caught up listening to what the other person is saying without thinking about my own reactions to what they are talking about. Or worse, instead of listening to them I am busy trying to come up with something to say when it is my turn. Neither of which leads to much more than superficial conversations.

I enjoy writing and seeing my thoughts appear before me. Sometimes I look back on what I've written and nod in agreement, or shake my head in amusement at the things I've typed. I read and reread editing for style, content, accuracy and clarity. Do I really mean that? Does it convey my thoughts accurately or is it possible to misinterpret it to mean something different? Does the person reading have enough information to understand what I am saying?

But the most important thing, for me, about writing, is the necessary mental clarity that comes with actually formulating thoughts coherently enough to get them written down in semi-formal English capable of being understood by others. I learn more about myself by writing then I do in any other situation in my life.

Internet communication may not replace face-to-face interaction. But if the alternative to face-to-face interaction is nothing, then I will take text any day and revel in the ability to take my thoughts and refine them to be as clear and accurate as possible.

StarHawk- guest blogger

This post is mainly to say goodbye. The last week or so has been a bit stressful for me. My sister (whom I have a joint mortgage with, for our house) has apparently fallen into financial ruin. I've spent everyday of the last week going over her finances and realizing there is no way out. She is the most responsible person I know of when it comes to money. Unfortuneately between her credit card bills (which she only uses for emergency bills we didn't expect) and her deteriating health, there is no way she'll be able to pay all her bills... she needs to double her income to stay afloat. Even with my help that's not possible.

I'm not griping I'm just trying to explain to those who are interested why you won't hear from me for a while. I have to concentrate on my family (I live with her and 2 of my younger siblings).

I spend more time on this blog than I should or even have to. The problem I've found with the internet is that people think it replaces face-to-face conversation. It does not. We spend 30-40% of our time explaining what we meant to say as opposed to understanding the message. How many times have you posted something and then spent the rest of the thread trying to get others to understand what you were saying. The internet is an incomplete medium when compared to actually meeting someone and spending quality time with them. I'm not knocking the net, it has allowed people seperated by a globe to communicate with one another; but I spend 1-2 hours trying to come up with a post that will get across what I mean and not allowing it to be misinterpeted. It's not just because I lack the ability to express myself; or my lack of formal education. I watch Crazyman and Richard (two minds I respect) spend an inordinate amount of time trying to explain what they said 2 weeks ago instead of progressing the conversation to the next level.

I was raised and born by manipulative people. I have spent most of my life (since I was 15) trianing that out of me. I want to express honest opinions and recieve objective feedback. The problem I have with the internet is it is to easy to coach a post to get the response you desire. In order to police myself I spend an hour...minimum... typing my post, and rethinking it just to avoid coaching the response I want from you folks. Look to your most recent posts and you may find yourself guilty of such things. Not lying per-se, but gearing what you DO say to hear the response you wish. Using what you know those here will say about situations that do not pertain to most of them.

The worst part of it for me is that despite the time and precaution I take; I still find myself manipulating the conversation to suit my desired goal. Until you meet me and sit down for coffee with me face to face... possibly on multiple occasions; you will not know me. I feel wrong pretending you would. Too many things I've posted here, I believe in a general sense. Specific situations... once you know all the details can change how one views the case. Many of you seem to have a firm strong belief in their view of the world and how it works. Good for you, I wish I was so settled. I just feel uncomfortable with putting my thoughts in such a permanent form when I'm still determining my own moral outlook.

In the end I need to focus on what is going on with the people and family around me for now. I'll drop by and maybe take peek from time to time, but I need to focus on what is before me... thank you for the time we did have. Hopefully I'll be back at some point in the distant future.

Some of you have my e-mail address, so feel free to drop me a line if you want to talk to me specifically. Otherwise, good luck and good travels.

heartfelt laughter

*sigh* I can't figure out how to embed the video. *rolls eyes*

Since 99.99% of you are on faster Internet connection than me downloading shouldn't be a problem. ;-)

I hope you find this as adorable as I did. Thank you Richard for a thoroughly delightful laugh, warmed my heart.

I remember when my kids were at that age. I know they would find absolutely the most astonishingly simple things amusing and would giggle themselves silly over it.

Oh- watch out for the comments underneath. A couple of the people are abominably cruel for no apparent reason other than to throw mud at the innocent. What is wrong with people like that? Anyone here have any insight at all as to why people behave that way? It is completely uncalled for.

lessons from B5

A friend of mine recommended that I give the Babylong 5 tv series a try. Fortunately for me, the public library had the series readily available. Being the left to right sort of person that I am, I watched all 5 seasons in order. There were many times when a character would say something profound enough that I would reach for the pause button and capture the thought. Yes, I'm that much of a nerd, I actually take the time to capture good quotes. B5 was riddled with them and I would love to give the series a rewatch and capture more of them.

The relevant one for this week was said by the character Marcus, a ranger steeped in wisdom, knowledge, and skilled in battle.

I used to think that it was awful that life was so unfair.

Then I thought, "Wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair? And all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?"

So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.

~Marcus, ranger, Babylon 5

At least when bad things happen in life, it is not because we are being punished for misdeeds. It is simply that sometimes.... poop happens and all you can do is find a shovel, step into your waders, and slog through it.

Johnny- guest blogger: Evolution

A new member of the Aussie Atheist Forum, Freediver, has jumped into the pool and dropped this little gem.

Freediver said..."Evolution is not a scientific theory!

Evolution should not be taught in high school science classes because it is not a scientific theory. It fails the requirement of falsifiability that is the litmus test for judging whether an investigation is scientific.

The modern scientific method is defined in terms of hypotheses, theories and laws. The difference between each is the level of acceptance in the scientific community. What they all have in common is that they must be falsifiable. This means that it must be possible to run an experiment that would prove the theory (or hypothesis or law) wrong, if it were not true."


Johnny replied...

It is naive to think that falsification is the only thing that makes science, science.

Falsificationism is not abused by antievolutionists invoking it as a rigid standard for rational discourse; rather, it is abused when they use it as a rigid standard for deciding what belongs to the realm of science. The demarcation between science and non-science is a very thorny issue that is not sufficiently addressed by falsificationism.

It is a naive view of falsification to expect that whenever we encounter data that are contrary to what is predicted by the hypothesis being tested, that we must discard the general concept behind that hypothesis. This is an exceedingly important point to understand because, while at face value it seems counterintuitive, it does not violate any rule of logic.

The structure of scientific epistemology acknowledges
1) General Concepts
2) Specific Models and
3) Observations.

EG...
1)General Concept= Darwinian evolution
2)Specific Model= Continuity of the fossil record and
3)Observation= (for falsification) Discontinuity of the fossil record.

When the predicted observation is not found, then one needs to examine either the Specific Model and/or the General Concept. Often one can reasonably make the equation fit simply by changing the specific model and retaining the general concept. Thus, the prediction of gradual evolution might be substituted with a prediction of punctuated evolution.

Science, therefore, often does not directly test the General Concepts. Rather, it often tests Specific Models and a number of Specific Models can support any General Concept. So, while the General Concept of Darwinian evolution may not be falsifiable, it also is not the direct object of scientific inquiry. The Specific Models of Darwinian evolution are what is tested by science and these are what need to be falsifiable.

Simply put Freediver, evolution as a concept is undeniable (unless you are wearing god goggles) and also unfalsifiable. It is the mechanism of evolution ie. the theory, that is what needs to be testable.

Look past your nose and you will see that there is lots of repeatable experimentation in the field of evolutionary biology here is a start for you.

Hmmmmmm

Fiery opens with Mother Nature: the World's Biggest Polluter

T&A counters with Do Volcanoes Cause Global Warming?

Reg Golb's riposte Global Warming: The Origin and Nature of the Alleged Scientific Consensus
and There Is NO Man-Made Global Warming

Richard enters the fray with 19,000 Scientists sign Global Warming Petition and Termite Farts

happiness: theirs or mine

When you love someone, their happiness becomes like unto your own. The smile on their face becomes the one on your own.

Yet when does the delight in their happiness become a responsibility to maintain it? How does one fight the compulsion to keep another happy at the expense of your own happiness? How do you weigh the consequences of finding your own happiness when you know it will cause unhappiness to those that you love? When is it ok to choose your own happiness over someone else's?

Long have I caused my parents distress and perceived myself as a disappointment to them. They have not said so, in so many words, yet I know that the life I live and the choices I've made are not the ones they wanted me to make.

I find myself approaching a crossroad. A crossroad that has the potential to bring me great happiness and contentment the like of which I've never known but only dreamt of. Yet if I take that path, Mom will cry, Dad will be saddened, their happiness diminished. For that path will lead me far from my home, far from the place of my birth. And it will not be an easy path. It is fraught with challenges, obstacles, change.

I do not want to remain on the path I am on and die regretting the life I might have led had I but stepped onto the crossroads and taken a chance on a dream of my own.

The alternative is to continue on as I am now, knowing full well that when I have walked this path to completion I will look back with regret for what might have been, but could not be.

Yet what if I am wrong? What if the path at the crossroads leads to disappointment, disillusionment? Then again, what if it does not? Is it worth the risk, to take the chance? Are the consequences of reaching for happiness and not getting it irrevercible?

What is the alternative to maintaining the current path? If nothing changes...regret.

open forum 7

October was a month of extremes. It had some of the highest highs I have had in years, and some pretty darn low lows as well. Inspite of the rather grim present, the future looks bright, hope blooms on the horizon.

It has now become a tradition here on my blog that on the first of each month I put up an open forum.

There have been times when visiting other blogs that I wanted to ask the blog owner a question off topic, but never really knew where to put it. I didn't want to be just bust into an on-going comment-conversation.

So- This post is the opportunity for any of my readers to broach a subject, ask a personal question, bring up a topic, talk about whatever is on your mind...

It is after all an open forum, speak your piece!

Fiery's a baaaaaad girl

First off, a warm welcome to my newest lurker! Don't be shy, please say "hi!" :-) We're real friendly here! This post has a few references to previous posts, in order to bring you up to speed, I've linked the relevant bits in the story. ;-)

I drove by the fundies at the women's clinic... again *sigh* When is the 40 days going to be over?

I'm sorry Richard, I had no restraint today. But ohhhh did I laugh my guts sore. I think at one point I was literally bouncing up and down in the car at a traffic light, I'm sily that way.

I had driven by the clinic a bit earlier today and gave them the one fingered salute of universal disdain when I saw they were still standing at the clinic murmuring.

Not too long later, I had the oppportunity to drive by again, and I was really excited! A second shot at the fundies. What to do? What to do? Hmmmmmmm..... I didn't want to be boring and repeat myself, so I rolled down the window, trying to catch one of the old heifer's eyes. I swear all I was going to say was that they were being particularly "exasperating, annoying and inconvenient" in as few words as possible. Honestly!

Instead what came out was, "Go home ya fucking fundies!" yelled in my best revved up atheist voice, in addition to the appropriate finger gesture that left little to the imagination, hopefully.

Being bitterly disappointed that I had not communicated the true "exasperating, annoying and inconvenient" nature of the fundies to them, I turned and yelled the abbreviation back at them, really using the diaphragm on that one.

Did you know that when you yell that particular abbreviation at a stop light with three to six story buildings on all 4 corners it creates the most delicious echo? My opinion positively reverberated through the streets. Fargo resounded with my contempt, if only for a moment.

Come on StarHawk, let's get together and go razz the fundies!

CONGRATULATIONS JOHNNY!!!!!

WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!!!

(In order to read this properly... the correct pronunciation for over is "ova" and weekend is emphasized "weekEND".) :-D

The following cricket match results just in from Australia:
Mt Waverley Uniting 1st XI vs Toorak Prahran 1st XI

(1st XI means the top ranked team of 11 players from that cricket club.)

Leading off the bowling (pitching) for Mt. Waverley Uniting was our very own Johnny. And a fantastic job he did! In the second half of a match played over two weekends, Toorak faced Johnny with 4 wickets in hand. (They had 4 batsmen left who could score runs for their team.)

In a stunning display of talent and skill, Johnny took 3 of those 4 wickets in just 3 overs!!!!! (An over is 6 balls thrown to the batter before it is another batter's turn to try and score. Getting 3 wickets in 3 overs is even more impressive than a pitcher getting 3 up 3 down in baseball.)

Not only did Johnny do it in 3 overs, but two of those wickets were taken by hitting the stumps! Which is a feat in and of itself. But to do it twice WOOOHOOO!! (The batsman's job is to defend three sticks shoved in the ground and to score runs. The batsman can be ruled out if the ball he hits is caught in mid-air, if the stumps are tagged with the ball by a player as he is trying to score, or if the bowler hits the stumps while bowling to him- which is what Johnny did.)

The game concluded with Mt. Waverly winning by 260 runs. Johnny personally finished 4 for 25. (He was responsibe for getting 4 of their 11 batsmen out and they scored 25 runs off of him. In a game where the scores can get upwards of 150, only having 25 runs scored on you is AWESOME!!!!)

WAY TO GO Johnny!!!! You must be absolutely chuffed!

"How to Shut Up an Atheist if You Must" PART TWO

Authors Dinesh D’Souza and Robert Hutchinson skillfully answer, once again, the atheist’s pet questions about the existence (or non-existence) of God and how Christianity has allegedly made the world suck. Suck, for you thick atheists, is a slang word which means to make or to be really, really crappy (kind of like how our culture becomes anytime you guys mess with it).

These books will be especially beneficial for high school and college students to draw upon when their secular anti-God fuming delirious instructors start railing against God and Christianity.

For instance:

1. When the prissy anti-Christs tell you the Bible stands in the way of science, inform them that the greatest scientific geniuses in history were devout Christians—and scientists from Newton to Einstein insisted that biblical religion provided the key ideas from which experimental science could develop.

BWAHAHAHAHA! Does the image of a prissy anti-christ storming through the world hellbent on Armageddon strike anyone else as funny? Maybe he didn't mean the Revelations inspired "antichrist" but rather people who are against jeebus. Wow, it is hard to hold on to what he is saying.

"The mystical trend of our time, which shows itself particularly in the rampant growth of the so-called Theosophy and Spiritualism, is for me no more than a symptom of weakness and confusion."
- Albert Einstein

"The idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I am unable to take seriously."
- Albert Einstein

Yeah, Einstein was ALL about the jeebus factor in his work.

2. When the pissy God haters tell you the Bible condones slavery, you can remind them that slavery was abolished only when devout Christians, inspired by the Bible, launched a campaign in the early 1800s to abolish the slave trade.

Look pal, you obviously know how to use a thesaurus, I would love to know which one so I could predict your next randomly chosen derogatory term. Atheists do not hate god! Grab a dictionary, enlighten yourself. An atheist is a person who has looked inside themselves and said.... "Do I believe in god?" "Nope, no belief in god in me." That person does not then say, "I HATE GOD!" I'll tell you what a lot of atheists do hate though, is the IDEA of god. But that is a topic for another time. You cannot hate it, if it doesn't exist.

Despite the disappearance of slavery in Great Britain, slavery was a way of life in the southern colonies of America and the West Indian colonies of the British Empire.

First Steps to abolishing slavery, "By 1783, an anti-slavery movement was beginning among the British public. That year the first English abolitionist organization was founded by a group of Quakers. The Quakers continued to be influential throughout the lifetime of the movement, in many ways leading the way for the campaign. On 17 June 1783 the issue was formally brought to government by Sir Cecil Wray (Member of Parliament for Retford), who presented the Quaker petition to parliament. Also in 1783, Dr Beilby Porteus issued a call to the Church of England to cease its involvement in the slave trade and to formulate a workable policy to draw attention to and improve the conditions of Afro-Caribbean slaves."

Have christians EVER considered Quakers to be devout chrsitians????? Did you know you can be Quaker without being christian? lol And poor Porteus actually had to convince the Church of England to stop its INVOLVEMENT in the slave trade. But here in America.... what made the abolition of slavery even possible. Words, words floating in my head, "unalienable rights... life...liberty...pursuit of happiness" something foundational there. Something created in the very fabric of our society. Who... who wrote those words? It's not a name that is surfacing it is a religious affiliation. Deist. The deists wrote those words. What did the deists believe? That the universe was created by a supreme being who got the ball rolling and then LEFT IT ALONE!!!!!!! Hardly devout christians.

3. When the screechin’ teachers tell you the Bible has been proven false by archaeology, hark back and show them that each year a new archaeological discovery substantiates the existence of people, places and events we once knew solely from biblical sources, including the discovery of the Moabite stone in 1868, which mentions numerous places in the Bible, and the discovery of an inscription in 1961 that proves the existence of the biblical figure Pontius Pilate, just to name a few.

"Each year a new archaeological discovery substantiates"..... Wow. They must have HEAPS of corroborating evidence. Cool! What examples do they provide, "1868 and 1961" BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! and what did they discover? a Moabite stone and that there was a dude named Pointius Pilate. OMG!!! The virgin birth MUST be true. Pontius Pilate LIVED!!!!!

4. When they get sweaty and tell you that the Bible breeds intolerance, refresh their memory with the fact that only those societies influenced by biblical teachings (in North and South America, Europe, and Australia) today guarantee freedom of speech and religion. Period.

Sweaty? As in perspiration? Do atheists get sweaty when they talk about the bible? I'd best refresh my anti-perspirant than. Sheesh, no sense stinking up my own blog. Does the bible teach intolerance?

black people bear the mark of cain and are inferior
homosexuals should be killed
witches should be killed
women should be seen and not heard
beat your children
slaves obey your masters
if a virgin is raped she must marry her attacker
if a woman doesn't yell loud enough when she is raped, stone her
if a woman commits adultery stone her but let the man live
if the wrong people are living in the land god wants you to inhabit, kill them all.

Yes, the bible is a hot bed of compassion and tolerance, loving kindness to others. As to the list of countries, sounds like parts of the British Empire to me.

5. When one of them queues up and quips that the Bible opposes freedom, smack ‘em with the fact that the Bible’s insistence that no one is above the law and all must answer to divine justice led to theories of universal human rights and…uh…limited government.

BWAHAHAHAH!!! The ideas for democracy came from ancient Greece and were suppressed in every way possible by the catholic church.

The following bible verses actively condone slavery... which is NOT a form of freedom.
Leviticus 25:44-46
Exodus 21:2-6
Exodus 21:7-11
Exodus 21:20-21 NAB
Ephesians 6:5
1 Timothy 6:1-2
Luke 12:47-48

6. When they tell you that Christianity and the Bible justify war and genocide, unsympathetically remind them that societies which rejected biblical morality in favor of a more “rational” and “scientific” approach to politics murdered millions upon millions more than the Crusades or the Inquisition ever did. Hello. “Atheist regimes have caused the greatest mass murders in history,” says D’Souza. Inside D’Souza’s book you’ll find little gems like, “The Crusades, the Inquisition, the Galileo affair, and witch hunts together make up less than 1% of the murders that have occurred during modern atheist regimes like Stalin, Hitler, and Mao.”

Stalin- raised christian political affiliation COMMUNIST
"Communism was a comprehensive, all-embracing religion and not simply a political party, political system or philosophy. This fact is illustrated by the numerous ways in which Communism embraced and attempted to promulgate peculiar quasi-religious (and often clearly anti-scientific) beliefs which had nothing all to do with politics or government. Although Communism typically touted itself as anti-religious and pro-science, it was, in fact, deeply anti-scientific and clearly a religion."

Hitler-
Hitler's Christianity. "In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote: 'I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord...' As a boy, Hitler attended to the Catholic church and experienced the anti-Semitic attitude of his culture. In his book, Mein Kampf, Hitler reveals himself as a fanatical believer in God and country. This text presents selected quotes from the infamous anti-Semite himself."

Mao-
I can only assume that "Mao" refers to Mao Tse Dung or Mao Zedong. And what can we learn about good old Mao? He founded Maoism, the Marxist Communist religion and ideology founded by Chinese dictator Chairman Mao Zedong.
Yeah, he sounds like an atheist as well. NOT!

This is just a smattering of the various 411 fun the Christian is going to get as they plow through What’s So Great about Christianity and The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible.

Wow if this is a sample, one assumes the best the book has to offer, I am unimpressed, uninspired and certainly unwilling to shut up. Try again.

Senior pastor, college pastor and youth pastor: do yourself and your congregants a favor and teach this stuff to your church. Equip Christians to stand against the BS (belief system) of the atheists. The culture war is heating up, therefore make sure your people don’t stand intellectually naked and neutered before these no-God numb nuts.

Sorry pal, you're still intellectually naked and neutered.
"no-god numb nuts" *snerk* name calling is sooooooooo 3rd grade school yard bully type stuff.

Lastly, comfortable and cocky atheists, you had better brace yourselves. Hundreds of thousands of Christians and authors are about to read these books and, as stated, systematically dismember your old and haggard arguments.

Ohhhhhhh dismembered in time for Halloween. *shivers* Whose arguments are old and haggard? Why do I hear school yard children chanting, "I'm rubber and you're glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you!"

In addition, everywhere I go and speak—be it in conferences, on the radio, on television or in print—I’m going to encourage the tens of thousands of Christians I address that every time and everywhere they get crapped on by an atheist with unfounded arguments to open their mouths and slam dance them with facts found in these two new brilliant books from Regnery.

Crapped on by atheists! Slam dance them. HA! Not with the tripe I've seen. Try again Regnery.

Tell the fat lady to sit back down on her humongous backside, false alarm!

As for you Doug Giles- you strike me as particulary exasperating, inconvenient and annoying. If only I knew of a short way to sum up that irritation, one simple easy word to convey my contempt for Doug Giles. That way I could say, “Doug Giles you are a xxxx”. I guess I will just have to reiterate that he is particularly exasperating, inconvenient and annoying. Doesn’t pack the emotional punch that I want it to have though. Rats.