Videoposts (vlogs)
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The God Squad Eats Its Own
Posted by Brad | Filed under LiveJournal Posts
Specialist Jeremy Hall, 23, outside Fort Riley, Kan., where he has been stationed since being sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers. FORT RILEY, Kan. — When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.
But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. “People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!” Major Welborn said, according to the statement.
Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement.
Last month, Specialist Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, filed suit in federal court in Kansas, alleging that Specialist Hall’s right to be free from state endorsement of religion under the First Amendment had been violated and that he had faced retaliation for his views. In November, he was sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers.
Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman for the Defense Department, declined to comment on the case, saying, “The department does not discuss pending litigation.”
Specialist Hall’s lawsuit is the latest incident to raise questions about the military’s religion guidelines. In 2005, the Air Force issued new regulations in response to complaints from cadets at the Air Force Academy that evangelical Christian officers used their positions to proselytize. In general, the armed forces have regulations, Ms. Lainez said, that respect “the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs.”
To Specialist Hall and other critics of the military, the guidelines have done little to change a culture they say tilts heavily toward evangelical Christianity. Controversies have continued to flare, largely over tactics used by evangelicals to promote their faith. Perhaps the most high-profile incident involved seven officers, including four generals, who appeared, in uniform and in violation of military regulations, in a 2006 fund-raising video for the Christian Embassy, an evangelical Bible study group.
“They don’t trust you because they think you are unreliable and might break, since you don’t have God to rely on,” Specialist Hall said of those who proselytize in the military. “The message is, ‘It’s a Christian nation, and you need to recognize that.’ ”
Soft-spoken and younger looking than his 23 years, Specialist Hall began a chapter of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers at Camp Speicher, near Tikrit, to support others like him.
At the July meeting, Major Welborn told the soldiers they had disgraced those who had died for the Constitution, Specialist Hall said. When he finished, Major Welborn said, according to the statement: “I love you guys; I just want the best for you. One day you will see the truth and know what I mean.”
It Would Be Funny If It Was A Joke…
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Day Of Silence -VS- Day Of Truth… & By Truth I Mean More Fundie Christian BULLSHIT
Posted by Brad | Filed under LiveJournal Posts
Tomorrow there will be many people - mostly students - spending the day in silence in protest of anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. The 12th National Day of Silence Honors Lawrence King, the 15-year-old California student who was shot twice in the head and killed at school in February by a 14-year-old heterosexual classmate because of King’s sexual orientation and gender expression.
I personally don’t think silence is the answer - I think being vocal and being loud is. Part of my reason why I don’t believe in silence over issues like bullying and harassment is because when you say nothing, you say EVERYTHING. Add to that the fact that I’m part of the Act-Up generation, where Silence = Acceptance. I will not be complacent about this sort of stuff, not now, and not ever. Especially considering my own nephew (Jake), also 15, is being constantly harassed by a few of the little bastards in his mostly redneck school because he’s different - he wears strange looking clothes and spiked hair, he’s an atheist and has friends who are outside the mainstream and for him it is a non-issue - they’re his friends and their sexuality/religion/self expression or whatever is inconsequential. All he really cares is that you’re a good person and not a fucking douchebag that cannot think for yourself and instead follows the crowd of mindlessness. He’s a “just be yourself, be who you know you are and fuck what anyone else thinks about it” type of guy… Between his mother and myself, I wonder where THAT comes from? He’s been harassed, assaulted, ridiculed, threatened, and the school’s administration is not doing much about it - but you can bet your ass they will. He’s defended himself when necessary and tried to let some of the name-calling go, but his patience is wearing thin and he’s acutely aware that what is happening to him is not only unfair, it is patently wrong. When Jake was a child, one of the neighborhood kids who babysat him once or twice went to school at Columbine and was visiting his father for the summer, who happened to live across the street from us. We all know what can happen when bullying and harassment don’t get properly dealt with, and I’m not about to see my nephew being victimized without trying to do something about it. I know because it happened to me when I was in school, and like Jake, I also fought back. Granted I think he has a better head on his shoulders than I did at that time, because I ended up in a lot more trouble than he has. He’s one of the most chill kids you’re likely to meet, and for the record, he’s straight.
You know who’s also not being silent? You guessed it - the Christian Right. That is because they have their own campaign/agenda scheduled for Monday, and they’re calling it the Day of Truth:
“This marks the fourth year of the Day of Truth, which was established to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective.”
Their version is equally misguided as far as I’m concerned, and their version of the TRUTH amounts to the notion that there are alternatives to being gay, which apparently is much worse than being a teenaged heterosexual murderer of a gay teenager. Their version of the truth is also backed up by religious hysteria, right-wing propaganda, self righteous grandstanding, and not ONE SINGLE IOTA of reasonable scientific data to back up even one of their claims. They’ll be wearing t-shirts and passing out cards that read:
“I’m speaking the Truth to break the silence.
True tolerance means that people with differing — even opposing — viewpoints can freely exchange ideas and respectfully listen to each other.
It’s time for an honest conversation about homosexuality.
There’s freedom to change if you want to.
Let’s talk.”
Yes, they have the nerve to think this passes for honesty. My friend Jeremy offers this spot on analysis:
“That’s right — they are telling kids that despite the lack of scientific backing, there is “freedom to change” from homosexuality if one wants. And they don’t see how maybe, just maybe, this might be seen as “disruptive” to the gay students, children of gay parents, science teachers, or any straight allies who have chosen to put reason over faith-based rhetoric? And not only disruptive to the school day, but instead disruptive to the very cores of people’s beings!!!
We always say that one of the most annoying aspects of our opposition is their sheer non-desire to own their bullshit. And this is just more of the same. They are not seeking “honest conversation” and dialogue. They are trying to reshape a conversation because they don’t like the way fact, progress, and tolerance are steering the narrative for the nation’s young people. “
The online news magazine Same Same has a current post on both sides of the argument that you can read here.
Now for my two cents. Ah, fuck it - here’s my quarter’s worth.
I’m a gay man. Faggot, queer, nelly, Mary, cocksucker, butt pirate, woofter, whatever you want to call me - I don’t care. You don’t have to like me, there are plenty of others that do. They more than make up for the lot of you who dislike me for being a homo. I’m not proud to be gay any more than I’d be proud to be a man or a caucasian, because these things, much like my sexuality, we decided for me - no matter what you may think about that. Being gay is actually the least interesting thing about me, in fact. Want to know some of the more interesting things about me? I can fix the plumbing when a pipe bursts. I can throw a football AND catch a baseball. I can fix the truck if it breaks down in most cases. I spent years of my life helping to raise children that were not my own when their heterosexual sperm donors couldn’t be bothered, and made appropriate sacrifices to do so, and never ONCE complained about my choices - and am to this day a parental figure to those same children. In other words, I worked my ass off to earn what I got. I survived being beaten to a pulp by 5 rednecks who jumped me once at night when I was alone and called me most of the names in the first sentence of this paragraph - because I “looked like one”. Consequently, I have no fear of getting my ass kicked now because that’s already happened, so by all means, step to me with some bullshit and threaten to kick my ass, and by all means assume that I’m not going to fuck you up because after all, I’m just a cocksucker, right? Oh, if I had a dime for every asshole that ever underestimated me with that mistake…
When these mindless shitstains cloak themselves in God and indoctrinate children into doing their bidding, all the while accusing US of having an agenda to push, I have to take some comfort in knowing that I’m better than they are. So I won’t be silent tomorrow, and I won’t speak my truth only on Monday. I’m not that guy, I’m this one, and that’s me EVERY day.
From the Wall Street Journal, Thursday, April 17, 2008, p. A 18.
Posted by Brad | Filed under LiveJournal Posts
We Need a Science White House
By David Baltimore, and Ahmed Zewail
Tomorrow Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain should have been going toe-to-toe in a televised science debate. All three were invited by a bipartisan group of Nobel laureates and other scholars called ScienceDebate 2008 to step on stage at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and explain how they will ensure that America continues to dominate the sciences. Leading in scientific research and advancement is an essential element to our future prosperity, health and national defense.All three candidates declined. Apparently the top contenders for our nation’s highest elective office have better things to do than explain to the public their views on securing America’s future.
Protecting that future starts with understanding that much of the wealth in this country comes from scientific research and technological innovation. Translating science into commerce has opened up vast new fields of endeavor and has raised the standard of living in America. The country that is on the cutting edge of developing new technology is the country best positioned to benefit from that new technology.
A clear example is biotechnology. The U.S. is a leader here, and is able to capitalize on its pre-eminence with disease-resistant crops, anticancer drugs and much more. By developing a strong understanding of the basic science that underlies advances in biotechnology, we are also creating a good training ground for a future generation of scientists and innovators.
But America cannot simply assume its lead in science will continue. In recent years the science community has been starved of the resources it needs. Young, new, energetic scientists are the see d corn of nearly all new scientific development. However, our schools, laboratories and granting agencies all, in one way or another, discourage launching a career in the sciences. There are few grants to live on; and both schools and laboratories have long since lost the sense of joy we remember from our younger days. Science can be exciting and attractive. But convincing bright students to become scientists requires a lot more than we are now providing.
A young university scientist today spends much of his or her time scouring up funding rather than wrestling out the secrets of nature. And the young are not so young. At the National Institutes of Health, the average age of a first grant is 42 for a Ph.D. and 44 for an M.D. We need policies that nurture excellence and give scientists independence at a younger age. And we need to make American science attractive to both those who were born here and those who were born abroad.
Last year things seemed hopeful, at least for the physical sciences. The National Academy of Sciences issued a report, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” that helped drive Congress to pass legislation - the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) - aimed at bolstering the sciences. It was supposed to beef up the study of science in high school. In the end, no money was found to fund the initiative. It was a commitment made, but not kept.
That’s embarrassing as well as shortsighted. We need to re-energize our commitment to being the world’s leader in science and technology. We can start doing that by doing a few things:
We need a president who moves science back into the White House. Today we do not have a presidential science adviser and there is no office of science in the White House.
Our government needs to treat science honestly. When the world’s scientists flag global warming as a threat to our way of life, it is a warning that should be taken seriously. Stewardship of the planet is our responsibility. No one else is going to do it for us.
We need to fund ACI and double the National Science Foundation’s budget for basic research. The government should fund science at a level that will ensure that the U.S. stays in a leadership position in areas like biotechnology, military preparedness, electronics and communic
ation. We need to pay special attention to health research.We also need to encourage young people to become educated about scientific issues, regardless of whether they become scientists.
This would all be a start. But a complete overhaul of national science policy is needed to prepare the U.S. for a future rapidly overtaking us. Our presidential hopefuls should be telling us their positions on critical science issues, but they have not done so yet. We hope they become more responsive in the months ahead.
Mr. Baltimore, a professor of biology and president emeritus at the California Institute of Technology, was awarded the Nobel Prize in biology in 1975. Mr. Zewail, a professor of chemistry and physics at the California Institute of Technology, was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1999.
Jerry P. Becker
Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction
Southern Illinois University
625 Wham Drive
Mail Code 4610
Carbondale, IL 62901-4610
Phone: (618) 453-4241 [O]
(618) 457-8903 [H]
Fax: (618) 453-4244
E-mail: jbecker@siu.eduSee http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120839518424921607.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
Bill Maher Defends Elitism
Posted by Brad | Filed under LiveJournal Posts
| http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtbarqbKNNI |
Bill Maher Defends Elitism
The “Real Time” host offers his own unique take on the bitterness fiasco:“If you think the Democrats are going to take away your bible, you’re an idiot. If you think they’re going to take away your gun, you’re an armed idiot. And if you think they’re going to take away your gun and give it to a Mexican to kill your god, you’re Bill O’Reilly.”
Six Amazing Years
Posted by Brad | Filed under LiveJournal Posts
ANNIVERSARY !!
If it is possible, I love you more now than ever. Six years, and not only going strong but stronger than ever.
Today is also the first anniversary of one of the happiest days of my entire life, which was part of one perfect weekend. I love and miss you all!
Win/Fail Pt. 3
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Fox News PWNED!
Posted by Brad | Filed under LiveJournal Posts
From BradBlog:
And that’s what America really looks like. Which is why you normally don’t get to see it on TV.
Turns out the man in the video above is a Catholic priest by the name of Rev. Michael Pfleger, and apparently Bill O’Reilly did use a part of the interview above on his show. Approximately 5 seconds of it. On April 2. And yet, despite how well Pfleger deflects the nonsense tossed at him by O’Reilly’s ambush reporter (as seen in the above, not on his show) O’Reilly has been flogging the same “racist, hate-monger” nonsense for weeks.
As if that’s not bad enough, after the 5 seconds shown from the above interview, O’Reilly went on to do a full 6 minute segment discussing whether or not…wait for it…Pfleger should be sanctioned by the Catholic Church!
I wish I was kidding. (Watch the Bill O’Reilly video over at BradBlog)
Nicole at C&L: “That’s what I’m talking about. Talk about showing up for a match of wits unarmed.”
New Game
Posted by Brad | Filed under LiveJournal Posts
A few weeks ago Yellow and I came up with a new game that we play called “I’m So Goth”. Last night when sleep was not favoring us and Damien was already in bed, Renea and I camped out in the guest room and rolled around the bed laughing our monkey asses off playing this game. Here are the best bits - feel free to add your own in comments!
: “I’m so goth I bleed black.”
: “I’m so goth that the decorating magazine I read is Martha Stewart Dying.”
: “I’m so goth I fucked the devil and gave him 3rd degree burns.”
: “I’m so goth I’m the only thing bats can see coming.”
: “I’m so goth that it’s always night when I go out because the sun is scared shitless of me.”
: “I’m so goth I make Jesus consider Agnosticism.”
: “I’m so goth that the three nails used to crucify Jesus are all on the fingers of my right hand.”
: “I’m so goth that the video of my 5th birthday party is considered a snuff film.”
: “I’m so goth I ate My Chemical Romance and shit out Bauhaus.”
: “I’m so goth I have patent leather pajamas.”
: “I’m so goth Siouxsie calls me for make up tips.”
: “I’m so goth that you say tomato, I say eating people’s souls.”
: “I’m so goth that the Batman movies were filmed in my house.”
: “I’m so goth I sleep upside down in a closet.”
: “I’m so goth I live in Helena Bonham Carter’s hair.”
: “I’m so goth my phone number is 666-GOTH.”
: “I’m so goth that my Godfather is Aleister Crowley.”
: “I’m so goth I’m only allowed outside on Halloween.”
: “I’m so goth I fucked Wednesday Addams… She’s now known as Friday Addams.”
: “I’m so goth I was born wearing combat boots.”
: “I’m so goth my kidneys are pierced.”
: “I’m so goth that when I walk near a church I burst into flames - or as I like to call it, taking a bath.”
: “I’m so goth I have 666 tattoed on my soul.”
: “I’m so goth my blood type is midnight.”
: “I’m so goth I knew Rob Zombie when he was still Bobby The Ghost.”
: “I’m so goth that it’s called Gothy-Goth.”
: “I’m so goth I have a part time job filling for Evil on his days off.”
: “I’m so goth I hired you for that job.”
: “I’m so goth I have a voodoo doll of Tipper Gore.”
: “I’m so goth my shadow can kill a death eater.”
: “I’m so goth that I went to see a concert by the Really Nice Blokes and stared down the lead singer - by the encore they’d renamed themselves The Damned.”
: “I’m so goth I cry mascara, whether or not I’m actually wearing it.”
: “I’m so goth I made Anton Lavey convert to Christianity.”
: “I’m so goth I wear Brimstone cologne.”
: “I’m so goth I have a suit made from Ed Gein.”
: “I’m so goth I really do eat nails for breakfast and tacks for snacks.”
: “I’m so goth that if it looks purple but I say it’s black, then goddamnit, it’s fucking black.”
: “I’m so goth that after I saw the tape of The Ring, it took Samarra 10 days to get up the nerve to call me.”
: “I’m so goth I have a fishnet umbrella.”
: “I’m so goth that the dark
is scared of me.”
: “I’m so goth I use black Q-Tips.”
: “I’m so goth that I spell the word ‘goth’ with a silent 7.”
: “I’m so goth that when I stare at holy water I can make it boil and freeze at the same time.”
: “I’m so goth I don’t have a washer/dryer, I have a darker/gother.”
: “I’m so goth I lost my virginity to a ghost in a coffin.”
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