The Atheist Mama

All right, look around and remember where you were when you heard the news that Representative Pete Stark is openly atheist, the first one in American history!

I highly recommend you send him a positive message before the righteous backlash begins.

Whatever his politics may be, you have to admire his courage.

–Allen

It’s okay, folks, everything’s fine! The Reverend Jerry Falwell, champion of science and reason, assures us all that global warming is just part of a liberal conspiracy to distract Christians from their “heavenly purpose.” Thank you so much for setting us all straight on that burning issue, Jer.

Don’t know what I was worried about…

–Allen

It’s a bitter-sweet morning for this central Ohioan voter.

I am ashamed to admit that I voted Straight Democrat. Why is this embarrassing to me? Well as most of you know, I’m not a Democrat - I’m a Libertarian. I was quite happy with my Libertarian choice for governer - Bill Pierce. But I didn’t feel comfortable with the overwhelming possibility that the Republicans would remain in control. So I voted democrat, all the way across the board. I feel that I wasn’t true to my beliefs, but I’m satisfied with the outcome.

I am happy to say that I voted “NO” on all Ohio issues, but disappointed in the fact that several of them passed. “Smoke Free Ohio” is one of those issues. Of course, I also voted no on “Smoke Less Ohio” as well. I just don’t support a smoking ban. Period. But apparently most Ohioans do support the idea of the government making yet another law. So it goes.

I was also disappointed in the fact that Ohioans voted to “Raise the Wage.” I’m not a supportive of a minimum wage hike. I don’t think that it can do anything but harm the economy. Small businesses have a hard enough time making ends meet. Now they’ll have to pay employees more, and as a result some of them may end up unemployed. A better idea would be to fix the heath insurance issues! Bring the price down so that people can afford it and employer can afford to help their employees pay for it. Anyway, this is a whole different post.

The only issue that I was unsure of how to vote for was Ohio’s Learn and Earn. Learn and Earn? Ha…
Let’s just call it what it is - Gambling in Ohio. Anyway, I voted no, but I tossed that one around a bit. I don’t like the idea of telling people whether they can gamble or not. But that’s not what this is about. I guess I would just rather they not do it here. There are plenty of places in this country that allow gambling. I have no problem with that. I enjoy it myself occasionally. But is it really necessary here?

I am cautiously optimistic. I really hope that “the change” all of our democratic candidates were talking up is something that we will see. They need to show the American people that they made the right choices!!

The picture of Ted Haggard in the post below was just asking for it!!

But be warned, this picture isn’t very safe for work.

You know, this is just so big that I don’t even know what to say that hasn’t been said already. But I’ve come across some really great pieces written by others, so I’ll start there.

This one is from Secular Rebellion on Myspace. He listed this under “Parties and Nightlife” LMAO! I loved the title.

Evangelism is SUPER, thanks for asking!

It seems that no matter how many of these mega-church pastors and evangelists make grave and outright lies to their congregations… the sheep that are under their control just lie down and take it as some sort of a ..test of faith.. or ..the influence of Satan… Jim Bakker, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Robert Tilton and now Rev. Haggard are all cheats, liars, deviants and philanderers- yet somehow through their ..higher calling.. they are forgiven by the sheep which they lead.

This came from Gary Lenaire, also on Myspace. He posted this as a bulletin.

Please notice […] that Ted Haggard has been lying and then changing his story. He lied and said he DID NOT KNOW the gay escort Mike Jones. Once Haggard found out that Jones could prove his affiliation with Haggard, Haggard changed his story. Now, being forced to tell the truth, Haggard is saying that he does know Jones, paid him for a “massageâ€? and bought meth from him. Haggard is now saying that he didn’t have “sexâ€? with Jones and that he bought meth but “threw it awayâ€? without using it.

PLEASE NOTICE: Haggard knows that there may be no way for Jones to prove the sex acts or that he actually used the meth. It seems to me that becuase of that Haggard is again lying about the allegations that cannot be proven. I mean, he bought meth and threw it away? Received a “massage� from a gay escort but didn’t have sex? Yeah right.

He then listed a few quotes from articles that are floating around. I also want to mention that Gary Lenair recently wrote An Infidel Manifesto. It’s coming out on December 11th. Check it out!

Here’s my thought about the meth. Haggard says, “I was tempted but I never used it…”
He was tempted to buy and use meth?? I don’t know about you, but I don’t go around fighting my meth temptations. Let me be honest, I’ve done my fair share of experimenting. But the typical person doesn’t just jump into speed without some past drug use. I’m sure it happens, but if a person is tempted to use meth, odds are they smoke a little bit of pot, or do a little coke, before asking to get hooked up with a “$100 or $200 supply.”

But I must say, Haggard’s choice in male prostitutes is quite good! Mike Jones is a hottie! Check out those muscles. I’m sure he gives one hell of a “rub down.”

CP @ GifS

By now, I’m sure you’ve all heard about the Ted Haggard/male prostitute scandal. What a scumbag.

The Rev. Ted Haggard stepped aside as senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church and resigned today as president of the National Association of Evangelicals amid allegations by a former gay male escort that the two had a three-year sexual relationship.

Here’s a short clip from Jesus Camp - Ted Haggard talks about homosexuality.

So today, Dennis Mahoney from The Columbus Dispatch paid me a visit. Mr. Mahoney writes for the Faith & Values section of the paper. He contacted the president of the local Humanist community here in Ohio and told her that he was “doing a story on the segement of the population (both in U.S. and worldwide) that has no religious belief” and was interested in “talk[ing] to several local folks who fall into this category and explore why they think the way they do.” She recommended me, along with several other local atheists and humanists.

He was a very nice man and asked questions about what my family’s religious beliefs were, how I came to be an atheist, and how I plan to raise my children (as far as beliefs go). We also touched on morality, politics, and people. Overall, it was a great experience and opportunity!!

So the story is due out in 2 weeks or so. I’ll post the link when I see it!

The Guitar Tablature Archive, OLGA.net, has been shut down to “ensure that composers and songwriters will continue to have incentive to create new music for generations to come.”

Read the letter that OLGA got from from the NMPA and the MPA -
pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

Apparently it’s copyright infringement to give access to freaking guitar tablature!! What. The. Hell? I mean, I’ve heard “Stairway to Heaven” more times then I can actually stand. But if my boys want to learn how to play the guitar when they get older, where will we find the music with shit like this going on??

Hat tip to /. and Bullemhead

And now for your entertainment…

Marilyn Manson - This is the New Shit

Today in the Gahanna News, I found this LTE:

Books fail to recognize true nature of Jesus

To the Editor:

We want to write a few lines in response to two hughly public books. The Da Vinci Code and The Gospel of Judas.
These books speak of Jesus but not rightly.
They recognize His goodnes, but not His holiness.
They propound His manhood, but not His uniqueness.
One suggests he fathered a child which is absurd to a Christian who knows Him as Prince (or Originator) of life.
The other presents Judas as a “model” disciple, who used his discipleship to betray his Lord. Really.
These books are profane and their effect pernicious.
The truth is that Jesus came into the world uniquely lived uniquely, died uniquely, and was raised uniquely.]
That He became Man is a blessed, glorious fact and endears Him to me yet His perfect, Divine holy nature has always been the same. His value is infinite and His work, eternal. His love’s without limit - time is all that runs out.

[Authors name]

[sic]

UGH.
The response that I just emailed in:

To the Editor:

In a letter published in The Gahanna News on June 28th, [Authors name] wrote of two books: The Da Vinci Code and The Gospel of Judas. [Authors name] claimed that these books were “profane and had a pernicious effect [on Christianity].”

I’d like to suggest that [Authors name], and others, have an open mind. So what if Judas was not the “traitor” that the Bible made him out to be? Why is the possibility that Jesus fathered a child so harmful to your faith?

That Christianity is threatened by the mere contents of a book is amazing to me, and should be embarrassing to you (Christians). You claim that your faith is strong, and that “He is the way,” yet you become defensive when a different theory is suggested. Some of the books that were chosen for the Bible, thousands of years ago, contradict each other. Isn’t it at all possible that some of what was written about Jesus is wrong?

The fact is this: no one knows the truth for sure. The assumptions made about Jesus in [Authors name] letter are no more a fact than are the stories written in the two books he spoke of in his letter.

Cassandra Cox

The ridiculous Constitutional amendment to “prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States” went down in flames today (ha ha). They were one vote short. How scary is that?

Among possible presidential contenders in 2008, six voted yes: Democrat Evan Bayh of Indiana and Republicans George Allen of Virginia, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Frist, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, and John McCain of Arizona. Five, all Democrats, voted no: Joseph Biden of Delaware, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, John Kerry of Massachusetts.

Read the rest here.

Comments closed due to spam.

…”lawless mob” of homosexuals… LMAO! Sorry, but can you picture it??

Anyway…

According to Agape Press (you know, “Reliable News from a Christian Source”):

The head of a Philadelphia-based Christian ministry says his group was targeted by a “lawless mob” of homosexuals at the city’s annual homosexual pride event — and that city police refused to enforce state laws against harassment and disorderly conduct at that time.

[…]

While being shouted down by the homosexual activists, Marcavage calmly preached over a microphone: “You don’t get to heaven by being a good person. You don’t get to heaven by doing good things. We have all violated God’s law, and the only hope we have is found in Jesus Christ.”

The person that they were “harrassing” was Michael Marcavage, head of Repent America (yup, that’s him in the picture).

This took place during the June 11th annual Gay Pride Parade in Philly. You can see the video that Repent America has of the “offense” here. I mean really, what was that “militant mob of homosexuals” thinking? They were interupting his gay bashing!!

According to a study at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles, there has been no link found between smoking pot and head and neck cancers (tongue, mouth, throat, or esophagus cancers).

The heaviest smokers in the study had smoked more than 22,000 marijuana cigarettes, or joints, while moderately heavy smokers had smoked between 11,000 to 22,000 joints. Even these smokers did not have an increased risk of developing cancer. People who smoked more marijuana were not at any increased risk compared with those who smoked less marijuana or none at all.

[…]

There was a clear association between smoking tobacco and cancer. The study found a 20-fold increased risk of lung cancer in people who smoked two or more packs of cigarettes a day. The more tobacco a person smoked, the greater the risk of developing both lung cancer and head and neck cancers, findings that were consistent with many previous studies.

[Link]

Surprise, surprise!!! What great news!

Thanks to D’Alliance for the tip.

This morning in The Columbus Dispatch, there’s a story about how Kent is banning their athletes from sites like Myspace and Facebook. University administrators are banning almost 400 athletes. This article is only mentioning the banning of athletes, but not other students.

Athletics Director Laing Kennedy recently told student-athletes they have until Aug. 1 to remove their Facebook profiles, citing a need to protect both their identities and the university’s image.

I’m a bit split on this issue. On one hand, universities are private schools, and the athletes do represent them. On the other hand, this is the first amendment they are dealing with. Gary Daniels is a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.

“There’s no clear connection between their roles as athletes and their use of these Web sites,” Daniels said.

“For the government to say that you can’t engage in First Amendment activities, they better have a really good reason. And saying, ‘I don’t want them to do it’ is not a goodenough reason.”

What do you think about this? How would you feel about OSU [or any other university] taking similar actions? As a parent, how would you feel about your college student having controlled access to the internet?

Cross-posted at weColumbus.

…and kidnapping, assault, conspiracy, larceny and housebreaking.

Am I the only one feeling sympathy for them?

Don’t get me wrong - what happened was terrible. What happened was a crime. But there is so much more to what happened here. These guys are in WAR.
There is an entirely different reality in their world.

They are trying to survive. Always afraid. Constantly on the look out. Sleep deprived. Hoping that they are going to make it home. Missing their families. Losing their friends and fellow soldiers. Seeing blood shed and gore. To top it all off, they are trained to kill the enemy. I’m sorry, but I don’t know how this type of thing isn’t happening more often.

I’ve been having a hard time getting the news today because of the kiddos, but from what I can gather, it sounds like North Korea is wanting to test a long range missile that is able to carry a nuclear weapon, and it has the capability of reaching the west coast of the United States?  Is that what’s going on here?

I get that North Korea would like to test it’s missiles, but who could possibly think that this would be a good idea?  Now the U.S. is saying that they will attempt to shoot it down.  Well, yeah!  That makes good sense to me!!

What am I missing here??

I came across this article tonight about an adorable black and white cat named Lewis, who is on death row.  Check out the paws on that kitty!!

Neighbors say they have been terrorized by Lewis, claiming the gray and white cat has used his long claws and stealth to attack at least a half dozen people and ambush an Avon saleswoman.

The Best Friends Animal Society of Kanab, Utah, has offered to take the cat.  They claim to be the largest no-kill shelter in the country.

This reminds me of the cat that I grew up with, Gamishta Mush Kavits (ok, I’m probably way off on the spelling there, but that’s what my parents named him - we lived in Germany when we got him).  Mush was a very fat cat - he weighed about 17 lbs at the height of his weight.  He would attack people coming into the house to install the cable, inspect the furnace, or any other person who had a reason to come in.  My mother would leave a box by the door so that Mush could be covered up as the person walked by.  He would leap through the air and attach himself to the person’s leg.  He was declawed, but his teeth would do a hell of a job on them if they weren’t in pants!  Luckily, my parents were never charged with second-degree reckless endangerment!

This is an excellent map showing the position that the states are taking on the abortion battle. There’s a lot more information in the USA Today article. I’m pretty surprised that Colorado is dark blue, because it’s certainly a red state.

Hat tip to Pam.

Um, have I been under a rock? Apologies in advance if this is old news…

The Unapologetic Atheist? Remember him? I had him blogrolled for the longest times. I totally loved his blog, and thought that he was such an excellent and talented writer. I even commented that I thought that I could learn a lot from him. He stopped posting one day because he said he was moving and didn’t have internet access yet.

Finally, I deleted him from my blogroll. I think it was because the link was broken. That was quite a few months ago.

So tonight, I decided to do a quick search for “Unapologetic Atheist” to see what I could find. I kept coming up with these stories about a guy who is HIV+ and having sex with women - 4 of them - and knowingly exposing them to the virus.

Here is Rob Richardson in his happier days of attempting to infect women with HIV. Ohhhh, and then I came across this creepy comment (well, creepy because of what we know now), left by Mr. Unapologetic himself. I wonder if he’s making apologies now?

Anyway, here are some articles on the situation. I’m just floored.

*** UPDATED ***

I’ve just been sick to my stomach about this whole thing. After I read Ebonmuse’s comment, I felt even worse. I would never forgive myself if I had posted all of this and then had it wrong. So I’ve been researching this frantically trying to make DAMN sure that the man that is being charged with exposing women to HIV is actually The Unapologetic Atheist.

Here are links to the reports from The Lawrence Journal-World (listed by date). Make sure that you read all of the comments following the article, and pay special attention to “Marion.”

- Resident accused in HIV infection case - Saturday, February 25, 2006

- Man charged with exposing others to HIV - Thursday, March 9, 2006

- Suspect faces second HIV exposure charge - Friday, March 24, 2006

“Marion” set up a forum dedicated to Robert Richardson. I guess that this is a site that is local to Richardson. There is a lot going on in this post.

Marion also managed to get a copy of The Un-Apologetic Atheist’s Blog. The photos didn’t make it, and the links don’t work. It’s basically a screenshot of the main page.
He also got a screenshot of just about every profile that Richardson had out there. This one is particularly interesting…

Personal Bio :: […] Somehow avoided the field of marine biology, main interest is virology and genetics… modeling career on hold while I save the world from HIV.

Anyway, go to that fourm and read more. They’ve really been doing their homework, and apparently, Marion has been communicating with Richardson.

I came across this over at Pharyngula.

On Friday, a man was arrested in Oklahoma for the murder of a 10 year old girl.

>Jamie’s unclothed body was inside the tub, along with a towel used to soak up blood, officials said. Police said that, while there were deep saw marks on the girl’s neck, she had not been dismembered.

Check out the guys blog (I’m sure it’ll be pulled off of Blogger soon).

The Insomnia Report highlights some of the more disturbing entries.

It’s really creepy to see the private (and I only say private because until recently, this blog was just about comment-less) thoughts of someone who is capable of such a brutal act. Of course, I’m not excusing what he did, but he’s obviously very sick and suffers from depression, as well as a social anxiety disorder. It’s just too bad that he didn’t get help.

Now we can all try to get back to reality. Just a few thoughts this morning from all over the place.

This weekend we got some serious work done here at home. Did some major reconstruction of a flower bed, pressure washed the side of the house, pressure washed the deck, accomplished the first cut of the year (grass), did some major weeding, did some transplanting and some plant trading with the neighbors, grilled all weekend, and even got some shopping in. It was an excellent weekend, but the inside of my house was very neglected so now I have carpets and floors to clean, laundry to do, dishes to wash, fish tanks to tend to, plants to work with and kids to keep happy.

Wow. I LOVE Spring. Such hard work, but so very fulfilling. Even without the belief of a god. It is possible…

So yesterday was Easter and our neighborhood was just “hopping” with activity. I was wished a “Happy Easter” more times than I could count yesterday. I answered each one with “I don’t celebrate Easter, but thanks. I’m having a happy weekend.” It was interesting that not one person asked me why I didn’t celebrate Easter.

My neighbors don’t really know that we’re atheists. Not that we’re in the closet, but it just hasn’t come up. We prefer to stay away from religion and politics when it comes to the neighbors. I mean, we see these people everyday, and they are all actually the first neighbors I’ve ever had that I really like. So why bring such controversial subjects up? I’m much happier just talking about the kids, and yards, and what we’re doing for dinner.

But yesterday, the subject of Easter came up while I was working in the yard and my two neighbors (Christians, but not church goers) started talking about church and what myth they believe in. I piped up with “Well, we’re atheists.” and there was complete silence. Then one of them said, “Yeah, right. So are we.” I don’t know. Maybe he thought I was joking. LOL!! That was the end of it.

It was really great seeing familys spending time together yesterday. Everyone having a good time, kids playing, kites flying… We live right across the street from the neighborhood park, so we get to see it all. It’s just so sad that all of this togetherness is all about celebrating a myth of magic. It would be much nicer if all of this activity was just because.

I wanted to point out a great post over at Pharyngula, if you haven’t seen it all ready - Easter mourning. Read it.

Another interesting thing to mention: A Christian from the church that I visited with that DVD has agreed to a challenge. So we will do this here. I’ll get the details together and post them at some point today. Please come back and take part in this. I’m trusting that Kerry is sincere… I would like this to be civil. So that means there will be no name calling or putting anyone down (that goes for theists and atheists). Also, please note that this is a challenge to a Christian to examine their beliefs, not the other way around. Anyway, I’ll reiterate this and other points when we begin.

Also, make sure you check out The Carnival of The Godless this morning over at A Rational Being. Some great entries to read.

Have a wonderful day!