'Cause with these pictures, you definitely can't say Americans lack ingenuity or creativity ... though some more common sense would undoubtedly be appreciated by a few of them, or especially the folks around them. Just take a peek at There, I Fixed It, the blog about "Adventures in Home Pwnership". It's worth the larf.
Some examples of masterful craftsmanship:
... Maybe we should keep most of America away from duct tape and screwdrivers for a while.
Continued ...»... And yes, your first reaction should be a mingled sense of incredulity, along with a hearty derisory laugh at just how utterly delusional the little guy is:
"If the U.S. imperialists start another war, the army and people of Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all," a dispatch from the official Korean Central News Agency said.
Oh, me so scared. They don't even have enough fuel to launch an attack against their own southern neighbors, and now they think – perhaps bolstered by their recent nuclear activities – that they're in any way capable to take on the most powerful military and political force on the planet?
Here's a free hint, Kimmie: you've developed a few successful nuclear tests. Whereas the US has had thousands and thousands of nuclear warheads for decades. I'm pretty sure just a few pushes of a few buttons for them will have you wiped out – permanently. Better stop bragging, little man.
Oh, the amusement. But if you really wanna be insulted into next January, take a look at the NK News Random Insult Generator. Crueler words have never been ... well, generated.
Continued ...»Ever wonder just how hopelessly fucked Americans (and, by necessary extension, much of the world) are? Just take a peek at the US Debt Clock. This'll give you nightmares.
Continued ...»I'm not sure whether reading Balko's blog is a good thing or a bad thing for me; sure, it exposes me to all sorts of dumbass behavior from a variety of sources which always pleases my inner misanthropist, but at the same time it infuriates me to see just how fucking incompetent and/or cruel some of the assholes in charge of upholding the law can be.
Here's an example: a cop in Tennessee shot and killed a "pit-bull/bulldog-type dog" that, according to him, was charging at him in a "very aggressive manner" along with two other dogs, as the cop was busy chasing after two suspects who had apparently broken into a home. However, that's his version of the story – the version from several eyewitnesses to the incident are drastically different.
According to Deputy Chief David Quillin, the incident occurred about 7 p.m. while police were chasing two suspects in the area of Carrington Court.Witnesses have told the Times-News that police told children playing outside to get back, as they were looking for two black males suspected of breaking into a nearby home.
Quillin told the Times-News that Officer Darrell Johnson stepped over a low wire fence on Derwood Court as he was running after a suspect. He then “encountered three pit bull/bulldog-type dogs.”
“Those dogs charged at him in a very aggressive manner,” Quillin said.
“(Johnson) tried to retreat, but he did not have that opportunity. They continued to charge at him in a very aggressive manner, and that’s when he was forced to fire. As a result, one of the pit bulls died.”
According to Quillin, there were other officers in the area at the time of the shooting, and he based his information on the officers’ statements and police reports.
“It certainly appears at that point that the officer was justified in his actions,” Quillin said.
Indeed, had things actually gone down that way, it would've been a tragic but necessary killing to defend the officer's life and safety. But apparently, it's not at all what actually happened:
Richie Hammonds, 1005 Derwood Court, No. 4, owned “Mace” for three years, since he was a puppy. Contrary to police, he says there were not three dogs in his back yard when Officer Johnson stepped over his fence, but only Mace. His other two dogs remained on the back porch.And while Johnson’s report on the incident states he traveled about 20 feet into the fenced-in yard when he encountered the dogs, three witnesses have told the Times-News that he only placed one foot over the fence.
“He put his foot back outside the fence, pulled out his weapon and shot him,” said Jonathan Suit, Hammonds’ neighbor. “There wasn’t a noise made, the dog wasn’t running. It was just walking toward him.”
“The officer stepped over the fence,” said Amanda Bellamy, another of Hammonds’ neighbors. “Mace came out of his doghouse, was walking up to (Johnson) to smell him. The officer stepped back out of the fence, pulled his weapon and shot that dog. That dog would not have come out of that fence. It’s an electric fence. They’re scared to death of it. The dog walked up to him wagging his tail.”
“The dogs smell the juice and stay at least two feet back from it,” Hammonds said. “Mace was 10 feet away when (Officer Johnson) shot him.”
Naturally, I'm certainly enclined to believe the dog's actual owner and the other matching eyewitness accounts, rather than the cop, who's best justification for what he's done so far is ...
Hammonds claims that after the shooting, Johnson said “I hate pit bulls.”
Right. Just as Cheyenne Cherry hates cats. Makes you wonder who are the real beasts in these sorts of cases.
As it turns out, even his reasons he gave as to why he was there in the first place are apparently bullshit:
Another point of contention is that police say they were chasing a suspect.“The cops were supposed to be chasing two black men who just robbed a place, and yet they didn’t even pursue the chase once they shot the dog,” said John Adams, landlord of the apartment complex.
“They weren’t chasing anybody,” said Suit. “They were just looking around. They weren’t after anybody. But to read the paper (police) made it sound like there was a guy in their sights they were running after. That’s not true. I was here; I saw the whole thing.”
Witnesses told the Times-News that police were called to the area to search for two black males. Quillin said the suspect Johnson was chasing was Hammonds’ neighbor, Joe Shupe, 27.
Shupe, a white male, was arrested and charged with resisting and evading arrest.
He can't even get his story straight. Fucking moron.
“If he was in pursuit of somebody, and the dog was going to try and bite him, he should have shot the dog and went on after who he was going after instead of standing there,” Hammonds said. “He stood there and said ‘The reason I shot him was because I hate pit bulls.’ That was his exact words. It took everything I had not to hit that guy.”Mace, according to witnesses, was not dead after several minutes. Hammonds asked Johnson to “go ahead and finish him off,” putting the dog out of its misery.
“Three shots to the head, that’s ridiculous,” said Bellamy. “And then (police) let him lay there and suffer like that.”
It wasn't enough to kill the dog just because he hates pit bulls. Nah, he had to leave the poor animal there to suffer with three fucking bullets in its head before finally ending its life.
Hammonds says that it took all of his resolve not to hit the cop. I wouldn't have hit him either. I swear, I would've killed the bastard. And definitely have felt zero remorse about it.
Continued ...»What other explanation is there – other than the usual incompetency – for teams of officers who routinely barge into houses, apartments and domains – before realizing it's the wrong frickin' place to begin with? Makes you wonder regarding their literacy aptitudes. Balko from The Agitator has two stories concerning this particular branch of cop incompetency. The first one regards an elderly couple having the shock of their lives when cops wake them up and forcibly restrain them:
INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis family is asking for an apology from police after officers mistakenly barged into their home during an early-morning warrant sweep.Marye Minton, 70, and her 72-year-old husband were awoken early Thursday to officers banging on the door of their home, 6News' Ericka Flye reported.
Marye Minton said she is upset that the officers came inside and ordered her husband, who is in poor health, onto the ground.
"They said to him, 'Get on the floor,' like that, and see my husband's had four strokes, and he can't whoop anybody, he can't do anything," she said. "I'm very mad and I don't want it to happen to another citizen."
Officers were trying to serve a warrant for a man wanted on drug charges. The address listed on the paperwork was 4042. The Minton's home is 4048, with both house numbers clearly marked.
But Major Mark Robinett of the Marion County Sheriff's Department, who is in charge of warrant sweeps, said he was told that officers had a difficult time reading the addresses because of overcast skies.
Um – so they couldn't see the clearly-marked numbers ... because of overcast skies? Uh-huh. Sure. Only, I don't recall myself going blind whenever clouds cover the heavens and sunlight is a bit dimmed. I recall I can read door numbers perfectly well. Nice excuse, but seriously, try harder, morons. This reminds me of the time my brother got home past curfew (again) whilst biking, and his brilliant excuse which didn't fly was "the wind was pushing me too hard". Yeah.
At least in the end the police decided to honor her demand for an official apology (according to the report that is).
Our second "isolated incident" comes from Maryland, where apparently even brightly-lit corridors are no match for cops' illiteracy:
Kenyan immigrant Nancy Njoroge had been living in the United States for a year when a Montgomery County SWAT team burst into her Gaithersburg apartment at 4 a.m., handcuffed her and her two teenage daughters, and searched her apartment, court records show.Police found nothing.
The reason: Njoroge lived in No. 202 of her apartment complex. The police had a search warrant for apartment 201.
After rejecting an offer from the county’s claims adjuster of a “couple of movie passes,” the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the county on the family’s behalf for unspecified damages, according to ACLU records filed in court.
The ACLU said the purpose of the lawsuit was to hold the police department accountable for its mistake.
“Officers had but one apartment to locate, in a quiet and well-lit hallway in the dead of night, without distraction and with clearly marked doors and numbers,” ACLU lawyer Fritz Mulhauser said in a letter to the county.
Njoroge and her daughters have suffered emotional distress since the attack and have seen their work and school lives disrupted, according to their lawyers.
[...]
Police later served the search warrant on the correct apartment, where they found 600 grams of cocaine and $27,820 in cash, according to a report by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which partnered with the county on the drug investigation.
Court records don’t give a clear reason why the police raided the wrong apartment, and the county attorney assigned to the case did not respond to inquiries for the story. But in court records, a SWAT team leader indicated that it was an isolated incident.
An isolated incident. Riiight. Apart from the dozens of such "isolated incidents" Balko routinely digs up and pastes over his blog's front page. Isolated incident, my ass.
As Ed Brayton put it, "If you had a pizza delivery guy who delivered pizza to the wrong address as often as cops do, you'd fire him.". Hell, forget firing him, just make him pay for all the wasted pizzas. And then fire his stupid ass.
Continued ...»Taken from Ed Brayton who obtained the permission from Michael Weinstein, founder and current leader of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation which aims to prevent evangelical Christian intimidation within the military, the letter below is an example of the dozens of reports and complaints the MRFF gets each and every week. It's quite annoying to try and read the letter with any sort of understanding whilst half the details are prominently withheld (ranks, dates, names, etc.), but the overall message of the text is rather disturbing. (Also sorry for the lack of paragraphs; it's taken as-is.)
Dear Mr. Weinstein and MRFF: I am absolutely worried about writing this to you, as I am terrified of the (military service branch withheld), but feel I have no choice. My husband is an honorable man, who I believe has been persecuted in the United States (military service branch withheld) for his refusal to cave in to the Evangelical agenda. He is a (rank withheld), waiting for his retirement, that he won as a part of his Court Martial proceeding in (time frame withheld). Mikey, I have never seen anything like this. My husband has a (educational degree and discipline withheld), taught at (university name withheld) where we often bucked the system regarding the proselytising and has had an honorable career (in the top 4% of rank withheld) in (military command name withheld) until a new command came in to (military installation name withheld) in (month and year withheld). Up until then he was considered to be an excellent candidate for (rank withheld) but we refused as he only wanted to retire and get away from the bible thumping. This command is evangelical in nature-and they harassed me all the way through my husband's court proceeding. When the new command came in, my husband (raised Catholic and an agnostic now) found himself under investigation for (infraction withheld) and then they finally dug until they found (minor infraction name withheld) that were present and could not be denied. My husband, scared for his pension and his family, plead guilty to some of the charges leveled against him. Ultimately, (husband's name withheld) was given an honorable discharge and his pension. Anyways, this commander of his called me often, telling me that "if you accept Jesus Christ as your savior, then things will go better for (husband's name withheld)." He went to the brig yes-the judge sent a (rank withheld) to the brig for 45 days)and then asked to pray over my husband, telling him if he just confessed his "sins" to "Jesus Christ" then he would find things getting better for him. Of course (husband's name withheld) gave his commander permission to pray over him as he was terrified to say no-because we believe all of this stemmed from my husband's stance on the illegality of evangelical proselytising in the (service branch name withheld). So, now he was due to retire on (date withheld), but the (military branch name withheld) "cannot get his paperwork." I complained about this pressure put on us several times to the JAG, who has done nothing to my knowledge on our behalf. I believe they are being passive aggressive with the retirement because I complained about the harassment from my husband's commander who told me "call me even in the middle of the night, (wife's name withheld). I will pray with you, anywhere anytime. Jesus is your Lord, and we all soldier forth in his service." I shudder to think of what they could do when they find out I wrote to you. I am a professional woman, an educated woman, and I know they could try to ruin me for speaking to you. I am crying writing this. I am scared of these people, and I know that they will try to do something else. I was told by my husband's commander that I should attend his church. I wonder if because we did not they are "punishing" my husband now by slow leaking his retirement. What does it mean "things will get better for your husband"? I appreciate your time sir. With best regards, (name and location withheld)
And keep in mind the MRFF receives an average of nearly 10 such letters every single day, which by now, has led to a total of over 10,000 letters received.
Religion needs to get the fuck out of the military and any other place where rational thinking and reason are needed, period, from the government to education, and certainly the military. Disgusting parasitic fucks.
Continued ...»What is with all these famous deaths in this past week alone!? First was Ed McMahon, then Farrah Fawcett who finally lost her battle with cancer, then (most notably of all) Michael Jackson, whose death came as the largest shock of all; and now, Billy Mays, the widely-known TV pitchman who I will admit to have found, while a little loud, amusing and entertaining (kinda like Vince, though less desperate), was pronounced dead at his home just a short while ago.
(CNN) -- Infomercial pitchman Billy Mays died at his Tampa, Florida, home Sunday morning, authorities told CNN.The 50-year-old known for his shouting OxiClean ads was pronounced dead at 7:45 a.m. The Hillborough County medical examiner will perform an autopsy, Tampa police Lt. Brian Dugan said.
Mays was on the US Airways flight from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Tampa on Saturday that had a hard landing at Tampa International Airport when the plane's front tire blew out. There were no reported injuries on Flight 1241, US Airways told CNN.
According to a local Tampa TV station, Mays said: "All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head."
The police have stated it's unclear whether this bump on his noggin was related to his death, though I wouldn't be surprised – found dead less than 24 hours after being hit on the head? Doesn't seem like much of a coincidence to me. Perhaps it's similar to what happened with Natasha Richardson, who had an apparently innocuous head injury whilst skiing – and was dead only a few short hours later. Blows to the head are never something to be trifled with, even with hard-heads like Billy Mays (*wink*). Personally, my best guess would be the blow set off an aneurysm, which is nearly always fatal – plus they really aren't all that hard to set off to begin with.
Poor Mays. Damn, this has got to be the single darkest week for Hollywood and show business in general for as far as I can recall. As bad as it is, you can't help but wonder – who next?
Continued ...»That's right – he's a cop in Chicago, of course, which basically dictates he can be as big a brutish asshole as he wishes and will still get slapped on the hand, at worst. Must be fun to be a cop, able to commit all sorts of felonies and vile acts and not get punished for them. *Sigh*
Anyway. Today's story is about officer Anthony Abbate, who was caught on security camera beating three people in a bar, including the barmaid herself, just because she refused to serve him any more drinks once he had clearly become inebriated. What's his rightful punishment? Two small years on probation.
Somehow, I figure that stings rather more for the victims of his unprovoked attacks than for himself.
A Chicago police officer avoided jail time today for pummeling a woman who was tending bar, even though prosecutors produced a previously unseen video showing him beating someone else at the bar hours earlier.Anthony Abbate was sentenced to two years probation for beating Karolina Obrycka in February of 2007. He could have gotten up to five years for the attack, which was captured by the bar's security camera and shown around the world.
Judge John Fleming said he decided against jail because he did not believe the crime was serious enough and throwing Abbate behind bars would not be a deterrent to others.
"If I believed that sending Anthony Abbate to prison would stop people from getting drunk and hitting other people, I'd sentence him to the maximum," the judge said. "But I don't believe that is the case."
Fleming also imposed a curfew of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for Abbate, who declined to say anything to the judge before he was sentenced. The cop must also attend anger management classes, undergo alcohol evaluation and perform 130 hours of community service.
So the judge keeps Abbate out of jail, just because it wouldn't "stop people from getting drunk and hitting other people"? What kind of stupid reasoning is that? Since when do you keep bullies and thugs from being punished, on the sole premise that it wouldn't stop others from being bullies and thugs? I'm sorry, "Your Honor", but you sentence criminals to jail because they deserve it, AND to keep them off the streets for a while. Not because it would act as an example for others. That's completely nonsensical.
In arguing for prison time, prosecutors produced a previously unseen video from the bar hours before Obrycka was attacked showing Abbate beating someone else.In the video, a man in the bar can be seen speaking with Abbate for a few seconds, after which Abbate grabs the man, slams him against a wall and then throws him across the room. The man crashes to the floor and into the bar stools, and Abbate stands over him as the man tries to shimmy away on his back.
Assistant State's Atty. LuAnn Snow said the attack was one of three unprovoked assaults in the span of 6 hours, a violent window into "a day in the life of Anthony Abbate." Authorities did not charge Abbate with the other two alleged attacks.
What a thug. I'm still waiting for Judge Scalia's fabled "New Police Professionalism" here ...
Continued ...»I hate it when others (as in "others who are far more eloquent, articulate and reflective in their words than I") manage to write out my exact sentiments, even better than I myself can. I conjured a little piece regarding my thoughts concerning Michael Jackson and his untimely death, and now I've just come across Roger Ebert's very well-written eulogy. As usual with Ebert, it's a must-read.
This excerpt in particular perfectly reflects what I tried to put forward and failed miserably at doing so:
Michael Jackson doesn't seem to have had that rock. His father seems to have driven him to create an alternate universe for himself, in which somewhere, over the rainbow, he could have another childhood. He named his ranch Neverland, after the magical land where Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, enacted his fantasies with the Lost Boys. I wonder if we ever really understood how central that vision was to Jackson, or how literally he tried to create it.I have no idea whether Michael abused the children he "adopted." It is possible those relationships were without sex; he seemed frozen at a time before puberty. Whether he touched them criminally or not, it is easy to see what he sought: To create, with and for these Lost Boys, a Neverland where they could imagine together the childhood he never had.
Mixed with that was perhaps a lifelong feeling of inadequacy, burned in by the cruelty of his father. That might help explain the compulsive plastic surgery, the relentless rehearsal, the exhausting tours, the purchase of expensive toys, the giving of gifts.
Sigh. What a couple of days this has been.
Continued ...»Sally Kern, the godbot Republican Oklahoma representative who's already known as a remorseless homophobic bigot and an overall pearl-clutching religious zealot, has released a "Proclamation for Morality" which basically blames all of America's problems on abortion, porn, gays, divorce and an overall lack of religiosity:
WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance upon the Creator of the Universe; andWHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and
WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and
WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and
WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and
WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned elected officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE
Note that her grand solutions for fixing it all are, as usual, praying and adhering to the moral codes from the Bible. Perhaps all of the US's problems would be fixed if we stuck closer to Deuteronomy? Just sayin' ...
Continued ...»I've just strolled upon Atheism is Dead, the charming anti-atheism blog (as the name so subtly implies), and a recent post about New York city buses that now sport pro-atheism banners from New York City Atheists, reading:
You don't have to believe in God to be a moral and ethical person
Compare this to the previous bus ad campaign (the one I blogged about months ago) which actively promoted the leaving of religion, and you'll agree they are quite tame and noninvasive. But that's not the case in Mariano's mind, as he/she goes on and on (and on) about atheism being a sect, and even about atheism supposedly possessing "vast amounts of money". Yeah, we're bleedin' rich, we are. *Burns paper dollar bill in irony*
Ken Bronstein offered the obligatory cognitively dissonant statement which has been a requirement of atheists PR campaigns in stating that they sought to…find a statement that we thought was positive, it wasn’t bashing religion and it wasn’t huge…They’re not attacking or disparaging the Church as far as I can see.[1]Well, my dear sir, keep looking further than you can presently see from deep within your well within the box atheist group think. “You don’t have to believe in God” is not attacking or disparaging the Church? Alrighty then.
I literally said "what?" reading this. Are you kidding me? How the heck can a statement a peaceful as "You don't have to believe in God to be a moral and ethical person", possibly be interpreted to be oppressive or offensive towards the Church? Where's the insult, or the argument against the Church?
Unless, of course, any writing that so much as says that you don't have to believe in God, that it's not a law, is interpreted as "attacking or disparaging the Church". Which actually makes more sense now, knowing it's exactly how the minds of these weirdos work.
The rest of the post is blatant ignorance coupled with a fine infusion of pure stupidity, and I have no interest in dissecting it, no matter how pathetic or laughter-inducing the result may be. You can read it, and point and snicker, for yourself.
In short: Mariano = FAIL.
Continued ...»Yeah, I'm surprised too. The ignorant gassbag is basically accusing President Obama for Mark Sanford's decision to cheat on his wife in Argentina. Or something like that. It's Limbaugh's usual incoherent drivel so it's hard to make out just what he means, but you get the gist of it.
"This is almost like, 'I don't give a damn, the country's going to Hell in a handbasket, I just want out of here,'" said Limbaugh. "He had just tried to fight the stimulus money coming to South Carolina. He didn't want any part of it. He lost the battle. He said, 'What the Hell. I mean, I'm -- the federal government's taking over -- what the Hell, I want to enjoy life.'"
"The point is," he added, "there are a lot of people whose spirit is just -- they're fed up, saying to Hell with it, I don't even want to fight this anymore, I just want to get away from it."
My head hertz. Talk about idiotic logorrhea of the most inane kind.
Not to mention that, of course, Sanford has personally admitted that he started seeing his Argentinian concubine some five years ago. Long before Obama had any real influence, and when, of course, Dubya was in power. Stay smart, Limbaugh.
Continued ...»This WingNutDaily story is driving me to exasperation. It's about a "boxing match" – a metaphor for a battle of ideals and thoughts, no doubt – between Charles Darwin and this Theory of Evolution, and John Calvin and his Calvinism teachings.
WND's been advertising this "battle" for weeks. And no, I still don't have any idea what the fuck it's supposed to be about, either.
The "Boxing Match of the Millenium," a head-to-head debate that pits the teachings of Reformation leader John Calvin, born 500 years ago this year, and evolutionist theory author Charles Darwin, born 200 years ago this year, is being planned during the Reformation 500 Celebration in Boston starting July 1.It's far more than just a clash of words.
"We're trying to point out that there needs to be a debate, a public discussion on the elitist philosophy that currently dominates and would suppress that debate," said Doug Philips, president of Vision Forum Ministries, the sponsor.
"And we're trying to point out that there are two world views, one largely coming from Christianity and the second from evolutionary humanism. … The future of our nation really rests in part on how we respond," he said.
Even at its very basics, it just sounds so stupid and kooky. What is there to compare, and much less debate, between Darwinian evolution – or, as the article puts it, "evolutionary humanism" – and Calvin's theocratic teachings? It's just another case of idiots putting science and religion against each other as though they were on any sort of playing field at all. One tries to explain the world, the other is a bunch of ideals and doctrines to keep people in line. There is simply nothing to "debate".
Yet, one of the stupidest things in that article is where they claim that Calvin was the "Father of Modern Liberty", or better yet, that he is sometimes called the "true founding father of America". Sweet Jesus in a can.
"The major media is having a field day extolling Charles Darwin's 'virtues' during this 200th anniversary year of his birth," Philips said. "And it's high time that the Father of the Modern Theory of Evolution be given a firm counterpunch by the Father of Modern Liberty, John Calvin, whose 500th birthday is also being celebrated this year."Calvin, Philips said, sometimes is called the true founding father of America, even though the nation arose hundreds of years after his death, because of his dedication to the doctrines of liberty, governance and the proper response to tyrannical authority.
Great. More morons who claim that Christianity had anything to do, at all, with redacting the Constitution or the actual birth of the United States of America. Hasn't this been debunked thoroughly enough yet? And also, calling Calvin the "Father of Modern Liberty"? While Calvin openly taught how God ruled over absolutely everything and we're all basically his minions? Yeah. True freedom there.
Saying that Calvin had any weight at all in the creation of the USA is simply delusional and ignorant. Hell, just take a look at what one of the actual founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, thought of Calvin: he absolutely hated the man.
I can never join Calvin in addressing his god. He was indeed an Atheist, which I can never be; or rather his religion was Daemonism. If ever man worshipped a false god, he did. The being described in his 5. points is not the God whom you and I acknolege and adore, the Creator and benevolent governor of the world; but a daemon of malignant spirit. It would be more pardonable to believe in no god at all, than to blaspheme him by the atrocious attributes of Calvin. Indeed I think that every Christian sect gives a great handle to Atheism by their general dogma that, without a revelation, there would not be sufficient proof of the being of a god. Now one sixth of mankind only are supposed to be Christians: the other five sixths then, who do not believe in the Jewish and Christian revelation, are without a knolege of the existence of a god!
Kinda hard to make out just what Jefferson meant with the Olde English, but you get the idea: he loathed Calvin, and I'm willing to bet, so did the others. It's simply ludicrous to say Calvin was any influence at all in the founding of America. (Yet that's never stopped the delusional wingnuts and religiots before, has it now?)
So, all in all: yet another case of WND stupidity. Oh my, the novelty, there.
Continued ...»Once more illustrating that conservatives – especially when wearing suits and ties and snot-faced smiles – just can't rap for shit. Yo.
Somehow, I don't think Jay-Z or Eminem are gonna be kept awake by these two.
Continued ...»Note that asking whether science and religion can be "compatible" isn't the same as asking whether they can coexist peacefully. I am certain that faith and science can indeed coexist peacefully – but only when there's a certain amount of cognitive dissonance in the religious scientists' minds, or when they simply cherry-pick which facets of their religions they're to follow. However, while science and religion can coexist peacefully in theory, it's been proven throughout history, quite thoroughly, that their "practitioners" – religionists and scientists, respectively – mostly cannot live together in harmony without quarrels and tension at best (and wars and terrorism at worst). But again, that's another debate.
So, can faith and religion every truly be compatible in ideas and procedures with science, evidence and rationality?
Simply put: No.
They can live together, sure (and they do in this world). But they can never truly work together. Science is all about evidence, the truth, naturalistic processes and the scientific procedure. Religion is all about believing without seeing or knowing, following blindly on the expectation that your authority has your best interests at heart, and never really finding out anything for yourself because all the answers – all those you need, anyway – are already provided within ancient texts. Science is about discovery; religion claims to already know everything. Science is about adaptation and progress; religion is about keeping things just fine how they are (see the technologically-challenged Middle East as a demonstration).
It is said that science explains the "what", while religion explains the "why". That is simply not so: it is my personal belief that there is no true "purpose". Yet that does not make the world any darker or colder for me. It's just another angle of viewing it. If you ask "why does the water stay in the glass?", the answer – "because the walls of the glass keep it contained" – is not the "why", but it is the how – ie. the "what".
Viewed in that light, science and religion are basically two different sets of answers to the same questions and problems of our world. The problem is, science tries to answer these questions via evidence that we can calculate and demonstrate, while religion simply evades the question with a quick "because God said so". That can simply never be satisfactory.
Science and religion existing together in harmony is simply a myth, an idealized concept which holds no true ground in reality. It simply cannot be – at least, not while humans are, well, human, with a human predisposition to try and assimilate those who differ, those who are considered to be wrong. It's plain and simply human nature never to coexist together in peace and full compatibility.
Continued ...»I'm not terribly well-versed in mythology and religious history – actually, I pretty much suck at it, to be honest – but I do know enough about the fabled Ark of the Covenant, that sacred box that would've held the two stone tablets that contained the Ten Commandments, to know that discovering it would be a tremendously important archaeological find, even bigger than King Tut's tomb, arguably. So that's why this WorldNetDaily "Exclusive" report does hold a modicum of interest for even the greatest of skeptics – sure, it's probably some more silliness. But what if ...?
Ark hunters and Bible enthusiasts are buzzing about a report that the Ark of the Covenant, the ancient container that holds the Ten Commandments, is expected to be unveiled in Rome today.
As WND reported, the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia says he will announce to the world the unveiling of the Ark, which he says has been hidden away in a church in his country for millennia, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos.
Abuna Pauolos, in Italy for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI this week, told the news agency, "Soon the world will be able to admire the Ark of the Covenant described in the Bible as the container of the tablets of the law that God delivered to Moses and the center of searches and studies for centuries."
Of course, a potential unveiling of the actual Ark of the Covenant would be groundbreaking not for its religious meaning, but simply because it's such an important piece of human history. While I'm naturally doubtful that this is anything worth raising our hopes up about, it's still an interesting suspense.
However, another reason to fear its unveiling would be – well, just ask Dr. Jones.
Yeesh.
Continued ...»A football field in Georgia has a sign on a fence that lists their priorities in order. They are very ... peculiar.
This image fails on so many levels it would bring FAIL Blog to its knees, though it's obvious the area's "acedemic" institutions spend far more time honoring God than learning to spell, or devoting resources to "atheletics". Poor South. *Sigh*
It does raise a question, though – what are my priorities? Let's see ...
Sounds about right ...
Continued ...»I've never been a fan of you, Mr. Michael Jackson. I don't mean that as in "I've never liked you or your work", but literally: I've just never been devoted to you like so many around the world have throughout your illustrious career. I barely know the first thing about you, or your songs, or your career.
I know you wouldn't really care about me or what I thought (and especially now), but nonetheless: I've never believed, for a second, any of those disgusting allegations launched against you. Even though so many around me, in my own friends and family, are ready to believe the worst of you just because it's printed in the news and yelled from the circus that is the media, I'm still standing up for you (metaphorically). I've certainly had my doubts for a few years – perhaps the allegations were true, perhaps it really was that bad – but over time my distrust and contempt for people and the regular media have grown, and although usually that would probably not be something to cheer about, it's certainly helped me see with clearer eyes than ever before. And that's why I can safely say: I believe you, and believed in you.
It truly is horrible what the media, led by a few filthy money-grubbing attention-crazed assholes, has done to you, your image, and your career. Once the King of Pop for crissakes, you've been reduced to nothing more than a washed-up artist-turned-pedophile in the public eye. I fail to imagine any harsher, any more dishonorable note to end on. I sincerely wish the immoral parasites who've gotten rich off your back suffer, psychologically, with their conscience on fire after what they've put you through. It's just so fucking horrible.
You were the greatest star on the modern music scene. Despite your fall from grace into the lion-infested pits of the media's crucible, you still managed to keep your head high, however you could. You finally planned a comeback that would, with a bit of hope, provide you with the rebound you so sorely needed and deserved. I cannot imagine what amount of stress and personal duress you must have been under. No-one can. I can only presume it will have played some role in your tragic, premature demise. Leaving us at the very threshold of your potential "comeback" – can there be a crueler sort of irony?
Some will remember you as a washed-up artist-turned-pedophile. Some will remember you as a star who's simply been shot down by the forces of inevitability. Hell, they'll believe anything, I guess. But to me, you'll always be (until proof to the contrary) that you were the greatest Pop legend in history, one of the greatest musical artists of all time, and overall, perhaps just a bird who flew a little too close to the Sun for his own good. Like Icarus, you just wanted more, and you certainly deserved it ... Perhaps you just flew too high. Fate and the world have a knack for knocking people like that down to the ground in flames – whether rightly so, or not.
I will miss you, Michael Jackson. Farewell, and may you rest in peace.
Continued ...»Wednesday morning, DC insiders were treated to one of the most unforgettable and downright insane exchanges of eMails undoubtedly in the nation's history. Elizabeth Becton, the office manager and scheduler for Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), has a no-longer-secret pet peeve: she really ... really ... hates being called by anything other than the full-length "Elizabeth". Some poor bloke found this out to his dismay (and perhaps even terror) when he made the lethal faux-pas of calling her "Liz" just once in an eMail concerning the details of a meeting. Elizabeth went absolutely apeshit, and the following exchange of no less than 19 eMails is testament to such.
You can read the full exchange of eMails here – or better yet, you can watch Keith Olbermann mocking the insane tantrum in his "WTF!?!" segment. A bit childish, perhaps, but it certainly does get the point across – and is hilariously entertaining, so there.
Poor Lizzie. (Yes, I called her "Lizzie".) Seriously girl – you need to get over it. People are gonna be calling you by nicknames and diminutives for the rest of your life (and presumably have been already), from "Lizzie" to "Liz", and perhaps even "Lizette" in there somewhere (some do get creative). Others are gonna call you "Beth". You can't avoid this, no more than a Robert can avoid being called "Bob", or a Susan can avoid a "Suzy", or an Alphonso can avoid "Alfie". Instead of going nuclear, how 'bout just telling them you don't like it, politely? Otherwise, you see, you're no more than cannon fodder for the likes of Olbermann – and anyone else who likes to laugh at sensitive clods like you're making yourself out to be.
Wow ...
Continued ...»A fellow blogger and an RD reader (I told you I – we – have readers here!) recently held an interview with a lawyer from the ACLU, who is busy trying to quash a federal subpoena which is demanding that four anonymous commenters who left "threatening" replies to a tax evasion story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal have their IP addresses and eMail addresses revealed, in yet another phony case of "Big Brother" taking over and crushing Freedom of Speech over ridiculous pretexts. (*Pant*)
For example, here are a couple of examples of these "threatening" comments:
“The sad thing is there are 12 dummies on the jury who will convict him,” one comment stated. “They should be hung along with the feds.”Another one bet imaginary money — quatloos, from Star Trek — that the prosecutor wouldn’t see his next birthday.
Wow. Yes, I can just picture those jury and prosecutor sweating in their robes, glancing over their shoulders for imaginary threats. Oh, the terror.
Here's some more in-depth detailing of these so-called "threats", and the course of action the ACLU is rightfully taking to deal with this nonsense:
McLetchie contended that neither of these are direct threats, and that the subpoenas are merely a way of attacking free speech and these commenters’ rights to remain anonymous. So the ACLU has filed a motion to quash the subpoena.
“The comments aren’t actual threats,” she told me. “One of them for example says that he’d bet quatloos that the prosecutor won’t make it to his next birthday. First of all quatloos are Star Trek money, so it’s clearly a fantastical reference, and quatloos.com is a website that debunks anti tax myth. So it’s clearly an inside joke, it’s meant to be fantastical and it doesn’t reveal any actual plan to kill the prosecutor. As awful and crude as it is, people can wish bad things about people and wish bad things would happen to people without it being an actual threat. So in our view, the subpoenas are clearly problematic because the government is in essence trying to squelch the criticism — most of the comments were critical of the government in this case, and now they’re seeking their information, including IP addresses, presumbably because they can turn around and go to the ISP and get more precise information about who these people might be.”
In short: gov't trying to silence dissent. Yeah, that's news to me, too. (*Stifles yawn*)
McLetchie said that this case is an important one because it sets a dangerous precedent that would send a message that “if you go on the internet and you criticize the government, the government might start a criminal investigation about you, and we think that’s extremely problematic.”
Chinamerica, anyone?
Since filing the motion to squash the subpoena, the US attorney’s office has filed a motion to dismiss the ACLU’s case, and has done so under seal so that the ACLU doesn’t get a copy of the motion.
Sheesh, what is this? "I'm gonna do something to you, but you can't see it!" For Christ's sake, what are they, 12?
As disturbing as it may be to sensitive souls, people are allowed to wish bad things unto each other. Example: personally, I wish my brother would wake up one night in a jail, with a bunch of weirdos he doesn't know and a hangover to make him want to bash his own head against a stone wall, just so he would grow a brain and drop out of Delinquency High School. I wished plenty of horrible (and I mean horrible) upon my bullies and tormentors when I was in school throughout my life, things I won't even detail here. And yet, none of that makes me a bad, mean, or dangerous person in any way. I'm as big a threat to you or anyone else as the common housefly. (Unless you deliberately piss me off, in which case this housefly somehow lands its hands on a minigun.)
Point is: get over it, oversensitive twits. People can say bad things. It's this mystical "Freedom of Speech" thingy. If there's no intent to actually cause harm to anyone, as there clearly isn't any in those comments, then it's not a threat, but just an expression of their negative sentiments. Deal with it, and grow up.
(Via Simon Owens at Bloggasm)
Continued ...»It's been over a month since the beginning of the Daniel Hauser chemotherapy refusenik saga, which has taken a number of risky and chaotic twists and turns along the way. To refresh your memories: he's the homeschooled and totally illiterate 13-year-old boy who's been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is actually good news if you're to get cancer as it's one of the easiest to treat and cure – if you catch and treat it on time. However, the problem is that Hauser's parents were ardent naturopaths and preferred to treat their ailing son with "herbs and vitamins" – which, of course, they'd heard of "on the Internet". rather than force him to undertake chemotherapy. Daniel had already undergone one round of chemo previously, and not only had it treated him horribly and made him sick to his stomach (and beyond), it also seemingly scared him as he remembered his aunt dying while undergoing chemo herself. This pushed him and his parents (particularly his mother who was intent on helping her son escape the evil clutches of them medicine workers) to fall back on that failed "Freedom of Religion" excuse, claiming they were members of the notoriously fake-sounding pseudo-American-Indian religion of "Nemenhah" which, of course, promoted the use of woo rather than actual (or "conventional") medicine.
However, light finally shone for a moment as the courts ordered Hauser to undergo chemotherapy whether he liked it or not, ruling he had been "medically neglected", despite Hauser's previous threats to resist, literally "kicking and screaming". However, things quickly took a turn for the worst when he and his mother went on the lam to evade treatment, apparently heading for Mexico. Thankfully however, after a few days reason prevailed (again) and Daniel was finally placed under chemotherapy – for good this time.
It's now being reported that Hauser is actually going quite well in his treatment and is making a great recovery – even though they're crediting their persisting use of woo for the drastic reduction of the tumor so far. Not exactly unexpected, but ... *sigh*.
NEW ULM, Minn. (AP) — A 13-year-old boy with cancer who fled Minnesota to avoid chemotherapy said he was angry about a judge’s ruling today he must continue getting the treatment after court documents showed his tumor has shrunk significantly.Daniel Hauser was not at the court hearing but later told The Associated Press he had hoped he would be able to stop chemotherapy, which he said makes him ill.
“I get really sick when I do it,” the teen said during an interview at his family’s farm at Sleepy Eye. “You get so dizzy and I get a headache right away.”
Daniel said he believes his tumor’s improvement comes from alternative treatments he’s doing such as supplemental drinks and pills.
His parents also remain concerned about the risks of chemotherapy, which they initially rejected for religious reasons, saying it harms the body. But they told Brown County Judge John Rodenberg during the today's hearing that they would take their son to a Wednesday chemo appointment.
Colleen Hauser told the AP at her home that doctors said it would take six months to treat her son’s Hodgkin’s lymphoma when he was first diagnosed, but they’ve now seen improvement in the past few weeks.
“Wow,” she said. “Something’s working.”
But when asked if she credits the chemotherapy, she said, “I’m not going to say it’s not, but I just want to make it clear that I would like a better plan, a better treatment plan, for Danny.”
Eh, as long as Daniel's cured and lives, I don't really give a shit if he thanks his magic water or herbs, the chemo (that's bloody likely), the stars of Buddha's slim third cousin for being alive and well, just as long as he is. Though, having a cancer survivor claiming he survived because of woo ... That might not be a good thing after all, for all those other cancer patients who might start to rethink about undergoing chemotherapy.
Continued ...»Though it can't really be his own book if he's apparently never known about it enough to be outraged over his portrayal in it, no? Too bad his Almighty smiting powers seem to have fizzled out ... Who know Christians were such a self-sadistic bunch?
Poor Mr. Deity. =( I do have a suggestion for punishment, though: perhaps he could spread "evolutionism" around, really make them boil under their collars. Now that's cruel. Heh heh.
Continued ...»But apparently, using the Holy Son's name in vain – such as hitting yourself with a hammer or a golfing club or so forth – actually means you're blaming God himself for the mishap and the pain ... which, apparently, means you acknowledge him, if you're blaming him.
That's (apparently) the best this evangelist has come up with so far, shown at the near-end of the video below. (The rest isn't too painful to listen to – it's just slowly slicing through your skin with a blade rather than blowtorching your eye – and is mostly incoherent and stupid. Whoo. (And don't worry; yes, the vid has been re-edited as satire.)
Anyone else thinks he screams like a girl? *Snicker*
Continued ...»Who do you think is to blame: the cop for being another unprofessional reckless imbecile, or the undoubtedly shoddy service?
Sources familiar with the case, and the fast food worker's account of what happened, say two off-duty Denver police officers placed an order from their car in the early morning hours of May 21. But once at the drive through window, the employee said the men became agitated and angry at how long their food was taking. The men thought they were being ignored, according to contacts familiar with the worker's account. The male clerk then said one of the officer's flashed his police badge and pointed a pistol through the drive through window in a threatening manner, before driving off without paying.
Look, I know we all routinely get some insanely long waiting times, but – oh wait, it's a cop. Nevermind.
At least they probably won't get away scotch-clean this time:
A Denver police officer has been suspended after allegedly brandishing his gun at a McDonald's restaurant in Aurora after his order took too long to fill.Aurora police confirmed the CBS4 investigation saying the incident occurred May 21 at the McDonald's at 18181 East Hampden Avenue.
A spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department said they plan to present the case -- now classified as a felony menacing incident -- to the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office Thursday for possible filing of criminal charges.
Good. Perhaps a while in the courts, or behind bars for utter stupidity and recklessness with a firearm, will cool this hotshot's temper down a bit.
Continued ...»The loony moron has openly asserted that she would refuse to fill out most of the information during the next Census because she's apparently afraid it would put her in a bad light. Sorry, but statements like there being 3% of "perfectly harmless" CO2 in the atmosphere, or about the "Hoot-Smalley Act", or about Obama somehow being responsible for the swine flu pseudo-epidemic – I think the HMS Ur Lookin' Stupid Der sailed a while ago, Michele.
"Outspoken Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann says she's so worried that information from next year's national census will be abused that she will refuse to fill out anything more than the number of people in her household.
In an interview Wednesday morning with The Washington Times "America's Morning News," Mrs. Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, said the questions have become "very intricate, very personal" and she also fears ACORN, the community organizing group that came under fire for its voter registration efforts last year, will be part of the Census Bureau's door-to-door information collection efforts.
"I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home," she said. "We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that."
Incredible. And I'm not just talking about her hypocrisy of trying to control or restrict what's said about her when she openly entered politics, which is rather fair game, but also that no matter where she is or what she says, she just – can't – miss an opportunity to say something false, stupid or ridiculous. As a fellow (and much better) lawmaker points out:
Shelly Lowe, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Census Bureau, said Mrs. Bachmann is "misreading" the law.She sent a portion of the U.S. legal code that says anyone over 18 years of age who refuses to answer "any of the questions" on the census can be fined up to $5,000.
Sigh. Poor Michelle. Can't even get the basics right.
And then, of course, she wouldn't be a Republican if she didn't show some form of cognitive dissonance:
Mrs. Bachmann, who is in her second term in the House, has become a lightning rod for criticism from Democrats and liberal talk show hosts for her unapologetic conservative views.She said she considers that "a badge of honor."
"It's clear when a person speaks out against those policies they become a target, and that should be concerning to everyone," she said.
So are you afraid or not? Dammit, make up your mind, idiot.
Continued ...»A few days ago there was a landmark court ruling in Georgia, where the state Supreme Court overturned a previous judge's order that denied the children of a divorce case the right to see their father's gay and lesbian friends, saying that such exposure would make the children suffer harm. This actually stemmed from the mother/ex-wife, obviously a bigoted bitch. Good riddance.
Now, the Liberty Counsel, another Christian religiot law firm, is arguing that the kids should be taken away from their father altogether, because he exposes them to a homosexual environment. You gotta love how they make it all sound:
"Obviously it is not in the best interest of a child to be taken by his father and introduced to a group of people who are engaging in abhorrent sexual behaviors, who are modeling abhorrent sexual behaviors and celebration of that [which is] demonstrably dangerous from a medical, spiritual, and emotional standpoint -- modeling those behaviors for the child."
Typical bigoted and dishonest bullshit. What an asshat. I couldn't applaud the court ruling more if I attached cymbals to my hands.
Continued ...»Sounds biblical, no? Which sort of contrasts with this new, enlightening and joyful news from a small UK survey which basically tells us that teenagers are abandoning their religious faiths – and that's for those who even had a religion to begin with. In fact, up to two thirds of children don't believe in gods at all.
Teenagers even say family, friends, money, music and even reality television are more important than religion.It also emerged six out of ten 10 children (59 per cent) believe that religion "has a negative influence on the world".
The survey also shows that half of teenagers have never prayed and 16 per cent have never been to church.
Is it just me, or are kids and youths from across the pond always a few steps ahead from the kids and youths we have over here in North America in terms of spiritual beliefs and overall behavior? Rather disheartening for us, really ... Though you can't help but smile at this news, nonetheless.
How 'bout some more good news?
The research also found 55 per cent of young people are not bothered about religion and 60 per cent only go to church for a wedding or christening.Only three out of 10 teenagers believe in an afterlife and 41 per cent believe that nothing happens to your body when you die, but one in 10 reckon they come back as an animal or another human being.
And what does the Church have to say about these revelations? Tired, repetitive and unsubstantiated crap, of course:
A Church of England spokesman said: "Many teenagers aren't sure what they believe at that stage of their lives, as is clear from the number who said they don't know whether they believe in God."On the other hand many of these results point to the great spirituality of young people today that the Church is seeking to respond to through new forms of worship alongside tradition ones."
Right. Chalk it up to those dumb kids not knowing what to believe in and being rebellious. Never mind that they may just be opening their eyes to the possibility of a world without the poisoning aspects of religiosity.
In the end, it's as this lady puts it:
Hanne Stinson, chief executive of The British Humanist Association, said: "It confirms that young people - like adults - do not need a religion to have positive values."The 'golden rule', which is often claimed by religions as a religious value, is in reality a shared human value - shared by all the major religions and the non-religious and almost every culture - that predates all the major world religions."
Exactly.
Continued ...»There is a new, abridged version of Charles Darwin's magnificent On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life ... which, appropriately, has been reduced to Origin of Species. Unfortunately, as tempting as that may sound, there is one glaring problem that kills the experience for me: it has a 50-page introduction by ... Ray Comfort himself. I think it's pretty much ruined now, one of the greatest texts in human history being preceded by the ignorant and fundamentally stupid drivel from one of the most pathetic morons of this century. That's just cruel to the book, really. This may explain the book's retail price of only 99¢ – not that anyone would pay any higher.
Here's the description of the revolutionary text from the Living Waters website:
This special 280-page edition not only contains an abridged Origin of Species but also has a 50-page Introduction that reveals the dangerous fruit of evolution, Hitler’s undeniable connections to the theory, Darwin’s racism, and his distain for women. It counters the claim that creationists are “anti-science” by citing numerous scientists who believed that God created the universe—scientists such as Einstein, Newton, Copernicus, Bacon, Faraday, Pasteur, and Kepler. It has many original graphics and (as it says on the back cover) is designed for use in schools, colleges, and prestigious learning institutions. The back cover lists the above information as well as saying the book contains “Information on Intelligent Design vs Evolution.” We want to get one million copies into the hands of students and professors in colleges and universities throughout the U.S. Let’s see if they try to ban Darwin’s Origin of Species. That would be interesting.
Think I'm gonna throw up. Way to promote the founding framework of the entire field of biology, wackjobs.
Seriously – just buy the complete version, without Comfort's mental diarrhea, instead of a cheaper text with a 50-page introduction that tarnishes the whole of the rest of the text. Makes you wonder what else has been fucked-up.
Continued ...»It's kinda hard to make out what this pastor is trying to say, and not just because of the video edits ... So, "believers" in Evolution are ... woodpeckers from Boomboomland?
Dammit, my neurons are apoptosing again.
Continued ...»Now, this is the kind of commercial I'd love to see on TV (instead of that ShamWOW, SlapChop or Mighty Putty shit).
So, anyone wanna sign up?
Continued ...»Chase Kear, a young man from Kansas, got into a serious accident last year, enough to fracture his skull and leave him at death's door. He was immediately taken into intensive care and surgery whilst others, such as his family, simply prayed and prayed.
Thankfully, he survived and made a full recovery. Now, I ask you: modern medicine simply doing its job, or a miracle? PZ Myers has the timeline; you be the judge.
Chase Kear has a serious accident, fracturing his skull.
↓
Bystanders call for emergency medical help on their phones.
↓Doctors arrive in a helicopter.
↓Doctors administer emergency care.
↓Helicopter arrives at hospital; doctors take him into surgery.
↓Surgeons remove portion of his skull to protect his brain from swelling.
↓Kear is treated with antibiotics to prevent infections.
↓Swelling reduces, doctors restore Kear's skull.
↓↓
Bystanders pray.
↓Family prays.
↓Family prays.
↓Family asks for the last rites to be administered to Kear.
↓Family prays.
↓Family prays.
↓Family prays.
↓Family prays.
↓Kear survives, is rehabilited, and seems to be making a full recovery.
In fact, the question about whether or not his recovery was from God's mystical healing touch, or from the valiant doctors who did all they could to save his life, has grown so important in the media these days that the Vatican itself is to commence an investigation to determine whether this was a miracle or not. Seriously.
Dr. Myers then explains his sentiments in a way that, I think, I couldn't presume to try and surpass:
You should see me right now. I turned water into iced tea this morning, and right now I'm levitating a glass of the stuff with the power of my mind. Please ignore the contributions of the Lipton company, and the fact that I'm also using my left hand to hold up the glass, and canonize me. Oh, wait…I feel another magical transformation coming on. Let me submit this post (Huzzah! I affect electrons thousands of miles away!) and teleport myself to the bathroom. I expect emissaries from the Vatican to be at the door by the time I get back.
Ooh, snap. However, the idiocy is not over. Hell, take it from Chase's own mother:
Chase survived in part because hundreds of people prayed to Father Emil Kapaun to intercede on his behalf. It was absolutely a miracle.
Uh-huh. Sure. No thanks for those insignificant doctors, of course – it's all you brainwashed kooks praying to your mystical flying sky-fairy that saved the kid's life. Of course.
Continued ...»The similarities between Shakespeare's magnum opus and this story are both surprisingly close – and terribly saddening. It could be its own little play or novella. Amreen was a Muslim girl, and Lokesh was a Hindu boy. Both were very much in love, and although a relationship between a Muslim and a Hindu was categorically prohibited in their Indian village of Phaphunda, they threw caution to the winds and literally eloped, running away and getting married. A beautiful story ... but that was not to last.
As they heard of the secretive and forbidden marriage, both their respective families, and the village council (or panchayat) themselves, united to order them to annul the marriage immediately – or they would be killed.
They both took poison and died together.
As tragic as this may be, there is one good thing to come out of it which shows that this sort of behavior may not be the norm for long: the local police are doing everything they can to charge the entire panchayat with abetting suicide and building a case against them for leading the two innocent lovers to their deaths.
Below are parts of the source article, a sort of investigative journalism piece from the herald of frank and austere reporting, the BBC, in which the reporter (Sanjoy Majumder) arrives at the village in question to get the full story on what happened.
Like most others in the area, it was small and unremarkable.
The villagers, mostly farmers, live in houses built close to each other, with narrow lanes running through them. Horse-carts and cattle amble along - Delhi seems far away.
Attitudes here can be unforgiving. I headed first to the house of the village chief, Achan Singh, who heads the village council.
A tall, well-built man in his 40s, he was very welcoming, pouring out steaming cups of tea as we sat on his carpet.
Yes, he had heard about the incident but no it was not his panchayat that had anything to do with it.
"It was a gathering of elders from the two families," he told me.
"The boy and girl were told that their marriage would not be allowed. They would have to leave each other or else they would be killed," he said in a matter of fact way.
Pressed further, Mr Singh sympathised with the couple but said they had made a fatal mistake.
"You see, they fell in love and then ran away to get married. They should have stayed away and lived in the city.
"In our village, Hindus marry Hindus and Muslims marry Muslims. It's very sad, what happened but what can you expect? The pressure on their families was enormous. They were being disgraced and dishonoured."
Right ... how dare two young people fall in love and try and live happily together. Ooh, the shame that reflects upon their families.
"Go on, tell them how you were dishonoured in the community," Achan Singh prompted him gently but firmly."We were dishonoured in the community," repeated Salim [Amreen's father].
"Neither family wanted them to marry. But no-one threatened them either," he maintained.
The girl's aunt, Syeda, who had been listening in while tending to her sick mother, decided to speak up.
"She was a lovely girl, very innocent and always used to read the Koran. God knows what madness prompted her to run away with that boy. We're all very sad at what happened."
Madness? It's called love, something I'm certain you've definitely never experienced – and probably never will.
Thankfully, the police are not taking this lying down and are doing something about it.
It was obvious I was going to get little more out of the family so we left and headed to the office of the local policeman for a little more clarity."We got to hear about the incident and decided to act," said police superintendent Sharad Sachan.
"The young couple were legally married and therefore entitled to live together. Their parents and the villagers had no right to put pressure on them and force them to commit suicide. They are guilty of a crime and we will do all we can to build a case against them."
Good.
But, hey – let's all keep religion in place, let's not speak out against it, and let's all adhere to it's marvelous moral codes. What could go wrong? Right?
Continued ...»I thought YouTube's registration was able to filter out autonomous spamming robots ... Guess not. Anyway, one sent me a video entitled "GAY = HELL (Sorry?)", which is apparently a re-enactment, word-for-word, of an Internet conversation between the vid's author, KSicsFaces, and some random homophobe. It's a larf, and I think KSicsFaces deals with it pretty well indeed. :P
"I lost my How Not to Talk Gay for Dummies book." Heehee.
Obviously a video of this nature would soon be swamped with replies, and it was, so KSicsFaces decided to put up a "Part 2!" vid just to respond to some of the comments he got. It's still pretty sweet.
Maybe that spambot was trying to gayify me ... too bad it's happened at birth.
(Meaning I'm openly accepting, not that I'm – y'know.)
o_o
Continued ...»And here's what a socialist America looks like ... Scary thought.
Yes, the U.S. is definitely being overtaken by those pesky socialists. Bugger.
Continued ...»That student is Brian Diaz, who was the President of the College Democrats organization at Liberty University before the "university" decided that liberals and progressivists were against the conservative wingnuttia they wished to promote in favor of Christianity and disbanded the whole group (whilst keeping the College Republicans intact, of course). The lesson? Simple and evident: get the fuck out of Liberty University and, as Richard Dawkins once put it so aptly, "find a proper university".
“My time as President of Liberty University College Democrats has been a great and enjoyable experience.I learned how to work together with my counterparts, the College Republicans, I also learned the asset that is patience, and I learned a little bit about something called trust.
Throughout my term as President I have spent numerous days and hours working to make a difference on the Liberty University campus.
I established a Faith caucus within the Virginia Young Democrats, a caucus of which I now chair. I worked closely with a number of campaigns, candidates, and issue based groups to bring parts of the democratic platform to the students at Liberty University.
Our club received the “Up and Coming club of the Year” award while I was President, as well.
Although I have put in a tremendous amount of work this past year, I believe that based on the dismissal of Maria Childress as our club sponsor, as well as an email from the administration to me stating that, “You are distorting the truth, and you know it. You have no credibility with me” forces me to resign as club President and look for other educational opportunities by the means of transferring to a new institution.
I do not wish to speak badly about the Liberty; I only wish to be apart of an institution that fosters diversity within its student body. I am deeply saddened by this decision but I feel that with the present administration the Liberty University College Democrats cannot be effective.
I hope that I can transfer to an institution this coming fall that will continue to help me develop my education, bipartisanship, and leadership skills. I will be applying to a number of schools including Virginia Commonwealth University, Randolph College, and a number of other universities across the Commonwealth.
I wish all the best to the Liberty University College Democrats, and I hope that this situation will not hinder anyone but will encourage political involvement, and standing up to what youth believe in.”
A little kiss-ass, perhaps, but no-one sheds the bullshit the likes of which LU is part of in a single bound. Small steps, one at a time, and Brian is already coming along well. Who knows – maybe others will follow in his footsteps. Though hoping that the bulk will is perhaps wishful thinking. (And at worst, insanity.)
Continued ...»This is one of the stranger reports you'll find when it comes to someone suing someone else for having done something reportedly "immoral":
A Texas man who used the S-word to complain about cat feces left in his yard has been acquitted of disorderly conduct in a jury trial. Joseph Loflin, 48, admits he used the vulgar term for excrement because neighbor Michael Rainey had ignored his previous, more nuanced complaints. Rainey asked police to cite Loflin, saying his 13-year old daughter heard the word. "A little piece of America died today," Rainey said of the verdict. "It's a sad day for morality."
Right. Because at thirteen years old, she'll never – ever – have heard "shit". Hell, I bet she's afraid to call it "poodoo", isn't she.
Eat shit. Fucking moron. The only piece of America that died today was a tiny fragment of the stupid, ignorant, fascist and necrotic part of it.
Continued ...»Here's yet another case of police corruption, one which lead to two wholly innocent brothers being arrested under charges of dealing drugs – only they'd never sold drugs in their lives. And this time, the whole thing had been caught on security camera. Sweet, no?
NEW YORK (AP) -- When undercover detectives busted Jose and Maximo Colon last year for selling cocaine at a seedy club in Queens, there was a glaring problem: The brothers hadn't done anything wrong.But proclaiming innocence wasn't going to be good enough. The Dominican immigrants needed proof.
''I sat in the jail and thought ... how could I prove this? What could I do?'' Jose, 24, recalled in Spanish during a recent interview.
As he glanced around a holding cell, the answer came to him: Security cameras. Since then, a vindicating video from the club's cameras has spared the brothers a possible prison term, resulted in two officers' arrest and become the basis for a multimillion-dollar lawsuit.
The officers, who are due back in court June 26, have pleaded not guilty, and New York Police Departmental Justice have downplayed their case.
Not guilty? Too bad they have clear camera footage that shows just how it all went down, completely exonerating the two accused brothers – and inculpating the corrupt assholes of the law. Below is a rendition from the brothers' own testimony as to how the stupid affair went down without them even knowing what was going on.
The brothers' evening started much like any other.
Max's friend worked at a bodega down the street from Delicias de Mi Tierra, where they'd sometimes drink and play pool in the evenings. This night, the pool table was closed. They instead sat at the bar. Security cameras ended up filming their every move.
The brothers barely moved from the same spot for about 90 minutes as the undercovers entered the bar and mixed with the crowd. Moments after the officers left, a backup team barged in and grabbed six men, including the brothers.
Paperwork signed by ''UC 13200'' -- Officer Henry Tavarez -- claimed that he told a patron he wanted to buy cocaine. By his account, that man responded by approaching the 28-year-old Max, who then went over to the undercover and demanded to pat him down to make sure he wasn't wearing a wire.
Max collected $100 from Tavarez, the report said. The officer claimed to see two bags of cocaine pass through the hands of three men, including Jose, before they were given to him.
Jose was released after a court appearance. His brother was shipped off to Riker's Island until he could make bail.
''I was scared,'' Max said of his time at Rikers. ''I don't get into trouble, and here I am with real criminals.''
A disgusting affair, indeed. Thankfully, Jose had the good sense to procure himself the only evidence that would completely exonerate him and his brother.
The moment Jose walked out of the holding cell, he made a beeline for Delicias and asked for a copy of the security tapes from the night they were arrested, Jan. 4, 2008.''I knew it would be the only way to defend myself, because I knew the police would not believe me,'' he said.
The owner of Delicias queued up the tapes and the two waded through an entire day's worth of surveillance -- until they found the two hours the men spent in the club that night -- supposedly selling drugs.
Jose quickly got the tape to defense attorney Rochelle Berliner, a former narcotics prosecutor. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
''I almost threw up,'' she said. ''Because I must've prosecuted 1,500, 2,000 drug cases ... and all felonies. And I think back, Oh my God, I believed everything everyone told me. Maybe a handful of times did something not sound right to me. I don't mean to sound overly dramatic but I was like, sick.''
What the tape doesn't show is striking: At no point did the officers interact with the undercovers, nor did the brothers appear to be involved in a drug deal with anyone else. Adding insult to injury, an outside camera taped the undercovers literally dancing down the street.
Berliner handed the tape over to the District Attorney's integrity unit. It reviewed the images more than 100 times to make sure it wasn't doctored by the defense before deciding to drop all charges against the brothers in June.
A lot of turmoil and sick feelings, but at least now the truth is there for all to see – particularly the courts.
And you'll love what kind of stupidity the idiot cops' attorney came up with to try and defend them:
Six months later, Officer Tavarez and Detective Stephen Anderson pleaded not guilty to drug dealing and multiple other charges that their lawyers say were overblown.Anderson's attorney has described him as a seasoned investigator who had no reason to make a false arrest. Tavarez, his attorney said, was a novice undercover merely along for the ride.
Um – there are never any reasons to make a false arrest. What a fundamentally stupid thing to say. It's just that – they happen. And when they do, the prosecuted party has every right in the world to want retribution for having had their lives turned to hell for the duration of the false charges and imprisonment. It's also interesting how they claim Tavarez was just a "novice undercover merely along for the ride". Perhaps I'm mistaken, but – wasn't that his fucking name signed on the report? Sounds like he was certainly more than just tagging along.
However, even though the two Colon brothers have finally been cleared of all charges and are even suing the department for $10 million (ouch ...), this messy affair has pretty much ruined their lives for now. Turns out it's never good for your reputation, or your business, to be charged with dealing drugs – whether they're false charges or not.
Life quickly deteriorated for Max and Jose after their arrest.They owned a successful convenience store in Jackson Heights, but lost their license to sell tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets. The store closed a week before their case was dismissed.
''My life changed completely,'' Jose said. ''I had a life before, and I have a different existence now. ... Now, I'm not able to afford to live in my own house or care for my children.''
Jose has found construction work, while Max commutes two hours to Philadelphia to work at a relative's bodega. They stay away from the old neighborhood, where they say ugly rumors about them persist.
The brothers have filed a $10 million false arrest lawsuit against the police department, the officers involved and the city.
''I'm angry because, why'd it happen to me? I know a lot of people ... they don't go the right way and they can get away with it,'' Max said. ''I'm young and I try to go the right way and boom, this happened to me. So I'm angry with life, too.''
I hope it's not too redundant of me to say that, yes, you certainly have every fucking right in the world to be pissed. Sue the fuckers for all they have and ever will have.
The New York Times article also has some disturbing, but sadly not unexpected, revelations that show that this case is far from unique.
On May 13, another NYPD officer was arrested for plotting to invade a Manhattan apartment where he hoped to steal $900,000 in drug money. In another pending case, prosecutors in Brooklyn say officers were caught in a 2007 sting using seized drugs to reward a snitch for information. And in the Bronx, prosecutors have charged a detective with lying about a drug bust captured on a surveillance tape that contradicts her story.Elsewhere, Philadelphia prosecutors dismissed more than a dozen drug and gun charges against a man last month when a narcotics officer was accused of making up information on search warrants.
The revelations in New York have triggered internal affairs inquiries, transfers of commanders and reviews of dozens of other arrests involving the accused officers. Many drug defendants' cases have been tossed out. Others have won favorable plea deals.
Let's all marvel at the wonders that are our law enforcement agencies, no? "To serve and to protect" ... any wonder I've never believed that bullshit?
Continued ...»
Joé McKen
Joé McKen (also known as Bumdark) is a young misanthropic atheist who spends his time composing music, blogging, entertaining a passion for science and technology, bitching against social and civil injustices, and most of all, jabbing idiots, trolls and assorted cretins with sharp pointy sticks.
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