I first wanted to thank all the readers for their time, comments and contribution, you have all made this a wonderful site and a growing voice in the wilderness.
I especially want to thank the following:
Ailyn - for getting me to set up this blog int he first place and helping me with nifty add-ons and other technical help.
Lotus, Lone Rangers and Dave - for continuous feedback and commentary in the early stages that helped me define the voice of the blog and get it off the ground.
Mr. Pants - for not only being a both prolific and poinant poster, but also for introducing us all to your poetry which is not only as good as any I've ever read, but is often so good it leaves me speechless (and that's saying alot given my natural verbosity)
Miss Elza - for throwing her hat into the ring, sharing her life and just as quickly taking the great journey. If you ended up somewhere - don't forget to send a postcard!
As we approach the new year, I'm excited about continuing to shine the light on hypocrisy and promote equality and critical thinking for all. I hope you continue to join me.
I would also like to offer anyone who wishes to submit their own column or rant to please do so. You can email your articles along with links to stories or websites I might find interesting to:
rudicusreport@hotmail.com
I want to wish you all
A Happy Hanukkah
A Merry Christmas
A Joyous Solstice
A Good Yule
An Exciting Kwanza
A Super Saturnalia
A Magical Mithras
A Rockin' Ramadan
A Mighty Festivus
and
A Very Pleasant Saturday(for non-beleivers)
|W|P|110381796769186704|W|P|Happy Merry YulChristmaKwanzukkah|W|P|
Mr. Pants|W|P|thank you for the kind comments, too kind in fact. thank you for the wonderful virtual coffeehouse for me to ramble on and on in.
thank you to all who write here, for the great conversation.
and thank you little baby Jesus for making this all happen!
HAPPY JESUS' BIRTHDAY!
Ailyn|W|P|Happy Christmas, Rudicus. And a Merry New Year! The Lone Rangers|W|P|I am touched, or being touched or touching myself, not sure but anyway I LIKE IT.Keep up the good work.
Mr. Pants|W|P|I may have previously stated this, but it has been seriosly reinforced today after struggling through the disgruntled masses:Does the Xmas Spirit actually exist?
The holiday season is supposed to be a time of consideration and love for your fellow man. But today after being pushed, tripped, jostled, and almost rear-ended several times I've realized that the season actually reinforces our own self-importance, as we toil to accomplish our tasks without consideration for others who also struggle. Maybe this is more an axiom than anything else, but maybe we should all think to practice an omnipresent compassion this season, and be conscious of our actions, rather than our wallets.
Lotus|W|P|Wishing you a bountiful New Year and I am looking forward to reading your commentaries throughout the coming year! Tom Naka|W|P|Your blog is excellent - keep it up! Don't miss visiting this site about health care administrator jobs. It pretty much covers health care administrator jobs
related stuff.
vente|W|P|Nice blog. Have you seen your google rating? BlogFlux It's Free and you can add a Little Script to your site that will tell everyone your ranking. I think yours was a 3. I guess you'll have to check it out.Computer News
Yahoo Boasts Size of Its Search Engine Index
Trying not to include any phallic analogies, Yahoo this week announced that its overall search engine index is much larger than Google’s and is the most in depth index of ‘web objects’ on the search market. On the Yahoo Search Blog, Yahoo disclosed that its index now includes 19.2 billion web documents, 1.6 billion images and more than 50 million audio and video files - over 20 billion items.
Yahoo is usually shy about disclosing the size of its search index, but the Yahoo Search Blog is celebrating its first year anniversary and Tim Mayer thought that somewhat of a retrospect was in order - since Yahoo has grown into its own as a search engine powerhouse over the past 365 days.
From the YSearchBlog : While we typically don’t disclose size (since we’ve always said that size is only one dimension of the quality of a search engine), for those who are curious this update includes just over 19.2 billion web documents, 1.6 billion images, and over 50 million audio and video files.
Note that as with all index updates we are still tuning things so you’ll continue to see some fluctuation in ranking over the next few weeks.
Greg Sterling of the Kelsey Group, however, makes the distinction of quality over quantity What I, Joseph User, care about is accuracy, quality and relevance. The available index does matter in terms of bringing me a sufficient quantity of results. (And if I’m looking for something really obscure, having that thing in the index is obviously important, which may go to size.).
But there’s a major case of diminishing returns—there’s already way too much information online for people to assimilate. Throwing more volume at me does nothing but make my eyes glaze over. What I want is enough relevant results.”
Index schmindex, the moral of the story is what Yahoo has accomplished over the past year and what the next 12 months will bring with not only Yahoo Search, but the Yahoo Publishers Network, Yahoo LinkSpots, Yahoo Pay Per Call, and Site Explorer. What has Yahoo accomplished over the past year? Well, here’s Tim’s rundown :
Copyright © - 2005 Entireweb
=============================================
Audio & Video
|W|P|nice site about stripped downi been interested in stripped down for ages now and when i was searching for stuff to do with stripped down
i came across here your ranked high for stripped down
Check my site :) stripped down
By Richard Willing, USA TODAY
Julie West is tired of being wished "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." She's annoyed with department stores that use "Season's Greetings" banners, and with public schools that teach about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa but won't touch the Nativity story.
So last week, she sent a baked protest to a holiday party at her first-grade son's school: a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and red icing that spelled out "Happy Birthday Jesus."
"Christmas keeps getting downgraded, to the point that you're almost made to feel weird if you even mention it," says West, a resident of Edmonds, Wash., who describes herself as a non-denominational Christian. "What's the matter with recognizing the reason behind the whole holiday?"
This Christmas season, West has plenty of company. Christians and traditionalists across the nation, fed up with what they view as the de-emphasizing of Christmas as a religious holiday, are filing lawsuits, promoting boycotts and launching campaigns aimed at restoring references to Christ in seasonal celebrations.
From New Jersey to California, Christians are moving to counter years of lawsuits that have made governments wary about putting Nativity scenes on public property, and that occasionally have led schools to drop Christmas carols from holiday programs:
• In Bay Harbor Islands, Fla., a Christian sued in federal court after town officials refused to let her erect a Nativity scene next to a menorah, or Hanukkah candelabra, on a causeway. Last week, a judge ordered the town to comply.
• In Maplewood, N.J., parents and students recently petitioned the local school board after school officials dropped even instrumental versions of Christmas music from class programs.
• In Denver, a Protestant church responded to the city's decision to drop "Merry Christmas" from public signs by trying to enter a Christmas-themed float in the holiday parade. Supporters picketed the parade and sang Christmas carols after the float was rejected.
• In California, a group called the Committee to Save Merry Christmas is boycotting Federated Department Stores. The group claims that Federated's affiliates, including Macy's, prohibit clerks from saying "Merry Christmas" and ban the word "Christmas" from ads and store displays. The retail giant says it has no such policy.
Even Kwanzaa, the African-American harvest celebration, has taken a hit. In Los Angeles, the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, a conservative black activist, has urged black Christians to spurn Kwanzaa, which he calls a "pagan holiday."
Split over 'Happy Holidays'
The new battles over religion's role in holiday celebrations come more than two decades after the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) and other groups began going to court to try to require municipalities to remove Nativity scenes and other religious displays from public property. The ACLU argued that such religious symbols violated the First Amendment's ban on government-endorsed religion.
In two rulings in the 1980s, the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) said that Nativity scenes are acceptable when they are combined with other symbols - such as a Santa Claus house - that indicate Christmas is a secular holiday in American culture as well as a religious one.
Nevertheless, the threat of lawsuits and a desire to be more sensitive to the nation's growing number of non-Christians - who made up about 18% of the U.S. population in a 2002 survey by Pew Charitable Trusts - has led many governments, schools and businesses to de-emphasize Christ in Christmastime celebrations. Phrases such as "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" have replaced "Merry Christmas" at many public venues.
In a new CNN/USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, 44% of Americans surveyed said the trend toward "Happy Holidays" is a change for the better, and 43% said it wasn't. Only 11%, however, said they avoid saying "Merry Christmas" out of fear of offending someone.
Carol Sanger, spokeswoman for Federated Department Stores, says Federated employees use phrases such as "Season's Greetings" and "Happy Holidays" interchangeably with "Merry Christmas" in order to be "more reflective of the multicultural society in which we live."
She says the chain aims to "embrace all" the religious and secular holidays that occur in November and December.
"If you were Druid, I'd be wishing you a 'Scintillating Solstice,' " Sanger says.
John Whitehead, director of the Rutherford Institute, a group in Charlottesville, Va., that defends against challenges to speech and religion rights, says the recent trend has been for schools and municipalities to excise "all mention of Christmas, out of some misshapen idea that this respects diversity."
He is particularly critical of decisions such as that made by the school board in Maplewood, N.J., which decided to drop traditional carols and other Christmas music from public school programs during the mid-1990s after receiving several complaints.
This year, the ban was extended even to instrumental versions of Christmas songs.
Board President Brian O'Leary said in a statement that playing songs that "focus on religious holidays ... could become an opportunity not to learn about a religious holiday or tradition, but to celebrate it."
Bans are 'misplaced'
Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Arlington, Va., says that such bans are "rare" and "misplaced."
Court decisions, Haynes says, permit public school students to study religion and to perform religious music as part of the curriculum, provided that religious practices are not endorsed.
Whitehead says that overly cautious approaches to mentioning Christ in Christmas celebrations has meant that "in the name of offending no one, you now have high school kids who can't play music that's part of the culture, and store clerks who are afraid to say, 'Merry Christmas.' It takes a joyous and merry day and just makes it blah."
Sandra Snowden agrees. According to papers she filed in a federal lawsuit, the resident of Bay Harbor Islands, Fla., was "offended" that the town allowed a menorah, but not a Nativity scene, to be placed along a public causeway.
When she protested, court papers say, town leaders countered that the menorah, which commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after a Jewish military victory in 165 B.C., was a secular symbol of freedom.
Before a federal judge ruled in her favor, Snowden rejected the town's offer to install a Christmas tree rather than a Nativity scene, which the town officials had called "divisive."
Those seeking to put more Christ into Christmas have had other successes.
In Mustang, Okla. on Dec. 14, parents incensed that a Nativity sequence had been dropped from a school holiday program organized to help defeat an $11 million school bond referendum.
And in Washington state, cake maker Julie West is claiming a small victory.
____________________________________________
Congratulations for making it this far. I don't have much to say on this one since we have already covered this one quite a bit lately, but for those of you coming in late:
Christmas is a pagan holiday. THE END.
Jesus (if he ever even existed) was actually born in September - they picked Dec. 25th because it coincided with the pagan holiday in Mithraism as well as other pagan holidays centered around the Solstice and they wanted to co-opt those celebrations and represent them as their own. So to the lady who sent the cake saying "Happy Birthday Jesus" - you're an idiot, sit down!
I love the fact that these folks get so indignant that we are forgettng the real meaning of Xmas when it is in fact THEY who are forgetting that Xmas is the best holiday anyone ever stole.
All I can do is shake my head and decry the loss of critical thinking skills and moronicness that plagues our nation.
|W|P|110374353101877898|W|P|More Morons Heard From.|W|P|
Lotus|W|P|At the rate that the Morons are speaking out - you will NEVER run out of material for your site! Rudicus|W|P|And how sad is that? Lotus|W|P|So sad, so pitiful, yet so funny. Ailyn|W|P|I love Christmas and/or Xmas. Although I do say Happy Holidays to try to be all encomapsing, I also say Merry Christmas. And you know what? Even though the majority of the Xmas traditions were stolen by Christians, I still like seeing the nativity on display. It is one of the parts of Christmas that I/we celebrate. Whether Christ was real or not. Hell, we celebrate Santa and most would say he is not real (although I am a firm believer). So, put up the tree, the nativity, the menorah, and anything else you can think of. I want it all. The more the Merry'er =) The Lone Rangers|W|P|I don't see a reason why the Nativity Scene shouldn't be displayed near a menorah to celebrate each holiday. They should either be all encopmpassing displays or completely devoid.Insofar as Kwanzaa being a pagan holiday, to Christians it is. Just like Christians are infidels to Muslums and pagans to Buddists. If public schools are going to teach religion (which personally I don't think they should) they should teach all of them including Christianity. They obviously couldn't cover EVERY religion without offending someone. Can you imagine the uproar that teaching Satanism would cause?
The focus should be more on acceptance, that people are different in all aspects. Personally there are some remnaints of Christianity in my beliefs, co-mingling with Shamanism and some Druidic facets. Most of my friends and family accept it as a quirk but I'm not going to run out and carve a rune in stone near a menorah/nativity display so I don't feel left out.
For some their belief is all they have, all they can cling to. When that belief system is perceived as threatened it gives them the chance to fight the only battle they will ever be able to in their lifetime.
They may be idiots and morons to you, but, as they see it, the basis of their faith is being threatened while other faiths are being promoted. It's a scary feeling.
Mr. Pants|W|P|"For some their belief is all they have, all they can cling to. When that belief system is perceived as threatened it gives them the chance to fight the only battle they will ever be able to in their lifetime"I couldn't have said this better myself.
I does sadden me to think that a belief is the cornerstone, foundation, and flying buttress of many people's lives. Although I don't knock conviction, nor do I have any disdain for personal beliefs, I think that many people, as you said use this as a battleground (whether consciously or unconsciously). The knee-jerk reaction to argue or be offended by beliefs that are not concurrent with that of your own is a sign of insecurity in my book. If someone truly holds these beliefs on a spiritual and intellectual basis then they should be open to those of others. They don't have to agree with them, but one would expect some form of understanding, at least the understanding that "these are someone else's beliefs".
These battles between thought processes seem like the ultimate form of disrespect, lack of compassion, since it never seems to dawn on some that "everyone has beliefs that they probably hold as highly as I hold my own."
Rudicus|W|P|Personally I take no issue with the folks wanting a nativity put up with the menorah - especially if it was sponsored by the state - however, because they could not do something to represent all they shouldn't represent any. I'm not in any way suggesting that Christians should be denied or oppressed. Also, I was not really referring to this part of the article in my comments, but felt I should post the whole thing for journalistic purposes.I certainly don't take issue with anyone fighting for their beliefs, however I DO take umbrage at the idea that most of these folks cannot be accepting of others rights to believe or not beleive as they see fit or allow them an equal opportunity to feel threatened and get upset if something is perpetrated on them.
I also do not approve of anyone getting upset and indignant if they do not take the time to understand what they are upset about - much like all these films that they protest when 95% of them have never even seen them - the pastor just says they're bad and everyone runs from there without ever questioning it.
Mr. Pants|W|P|Baaa! Baaa! The Lone Rangers|W|P|Agreed, so if acceptance is preached as opposed to pointing out the differences between religions (mine is good yours is evil,or wrong) it would be a beeter place. But who are we kidding the same arguement has been going on between races for a long time. I'm all for removing race from a questionaire and just putting a check box with American _Yes _No. Right now I basicall choose other or whatever "race" I happen to feel at the moment.
Hold on I think I just found the next topic for my blog.
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - The Social Security Administration (news - web sites) is rejecting marriage documents issued for heterosexual couples in four communities that performed weddings for gay couples earlier this year. The agency is rejecting all marriage certificates issued in New Paltz, N.Y., after Feb. 27, when the town's mayor began marrying gay couples, according to town officials.
Certificates issued during the brief periods when Asbury Park, N.J., Multnomah County, Ore., and Sandoval County, N.M., recognized gay marriages are also being rejected.
Susie Kilpatrick, 30, of New Paltz, said the local Social Security (news - web sites) office told her that no marriage documents issued after Feb. 27 could be used to establish identity because of the gay marriages that took place there earlier this year. About 125 heterosexual couples have been married since then.
Kilpatrick said her marriage certificate was rejected when she went to get a new card earlier this month so she could take her husband's name.
"What concerns me is that the certificate is the only way to prove that we're married," she told The New York Times for Sunday editions. "If something happens to us, or some other couple from New Paltz, we can't prove we're married. We would not be able to draw benefits."
The agency did not respond to repeated requests from the Times for comment. A call from The Associated Press for comment on Sunday was not immediately returned.
The agency posts rules on its Web site spelling out which documents can be used to obtain Social Security cards.
It accepts civil-union documents from Vermont and marriage licenses for gay couples in Massachusetts. Marriage certificates for gay couples from San Francisco are not allowed, but those for heterosexual couples from the city are being recognized.
The Web site said the legality of marriage documents in the other localities, including New Paltz, is "still unresolved at the state level."
New York state officials, including Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Gov. George Pataki, have said same-sex ceremonies violate state law. Several lawsuits challenging the law are pending, and New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, is widely expected to make the ultimate decision on the legality of gay marriage in the state.
Residents in New Paltz are confused why Social Security officials are targeting heterosexual marriage licenses from their town.
Dan Wilen, New Paltz's town supervisor, said the agency never contacted town officials to inform them that the certificates would not be recognized. He called the policy unfair.
"They're delving into every aspect of our lives, including marriage," he said. "I'm appalled."
_____________________________________
We're ALL appalled Dan! Maybe now you have a small taste of what it is like to have the government invade your personal life. Boo-fucking-hoo for you! The government, the church and every other intrusive agency and group has been delving into not only the lives, but the bedrooms of homosexuals for years. I love that they fell like heterosexuals are being targeted. I guess that all the homosexuals that have been targeted in those 11 states and had any hope of equality stripped away don't really matter.
I know we've already beat this one to death, but how two people getting married affects anyone else is beyond me. But I think it is amusing that the government is obviously so afraid that they might accidentaly recognize a gay marriage that they are throwing the baby out with the bathwater and not recognizing any. The unfortunate thing about this is that most likely all of these folks won't be pissed off at their intrusive, stupid government, they'll be pissed of at the gays. They'll see the gays as the ones doing it to them. "If those damn homos hadn't tried to get married in the first place none of this would ever have happened."
Here is my challenge to America: If someone can show me a single reason why two people of the same-sex shouldn't get married without invoking a religious based prohibition or sentiment, then I'll listen to it. But the fact is that they can't, because there isn't one and they can double-speak all they want about the institution of marriage, but the fact is that it's a religious issue and as such should not be in any way subject to any form of prohibition, legislation or governmental control of any kind - otherwise they are promoting religion and that's illegal.
Repression, oppression and suppression never works. It'll only be a matter of time before the Massachusetts liberals, activists judges and the Democratically controlled media pushes the "gay agenda" down everyone's throat.
I've got an idea, why don't we print up 100,000 copies of the gay manifesto and send it out with the newspaper? Maybe we could even print up a 1,000,000 copies and put one in every hotel room in the country? Better yet, let's print up 10,000,000 and ship them into every third world country with a bunch of gay missionaries so we can convert the ignorant masses.
Oh, somebody is already using that tactic. Damn.
|W|P|110365129822366531|W|P|The Gays are Ruining Everything Again.|W|P|
Mr. Pants|W|P|I have been tossing this one around in my head for a while now. I discussed this with my eerily-conservative father a while back, and this is the gist of what I took from him:The overriding concern about gay marraige is the use of legal benifits such as insurance discounts, life insurance rewards, medical insurance, etc...
Working in the insurance industry I am aware of a few homosexual couples within our pool of insureds. As a married adult, one is eligible for a 15% discount on all sections of their insurance. Life insurance benefits are distributed to either the spouse of the next of kin, not a life partner.
Marraige also benefits immigrants who wish to gain citizenship.
I suppose the point of all this is that if we were to allow gay marraige in the US, all the homos from around the world would hop on the next plane, boat or raft to America. Can you imagine a whole country full of all-night discotheques, couture boutiques, antique shops, and everything else that has a 'q' in it?
What this does support is the age-old belief in the existence of "the man"--that man being a tight-assed Conservative Christian Middle Aged White Man (like my father). For the love of God, who would want the homosexuals to receive any kind of compensation for the loss of a loved one?
It all comes down to business, and The Man is very good at business.
As my father said, "why is there so much fuss over the definition of a word[...]?" The [...] went on to say, why can't the homosexuals just be satisfied with what they have? Which almost prompted me to slap him. He also said, "we can't pander to every single niche, creating special new laws...it would become ridiculous." To which I replied, "I don't think equality among men is ridiculous."
sorry for the rant.
Rudicus|W|P|Rants are always welcome. And you bring up very good points, but I would arguw with your dad that those fears are are the same ones faced with heterosexual couples. The issues of inheritance, insurance discounts and immigration all exist in the heterosexual equation, so any policy addressing this should be inclusive of gays or it is inherrently discriminatory. No one is going to say(in public at least) I don't want two Algerians marrying each other or getting insurance etc. it's just widely acceptable to be bigoted and hateful toward gays because noone wants to come out against what God and the bible has written.And as I said before, you can argue for insurance and immigration all you like, but the underlying reason is not money, it's because homosexuality is wrong cuz the bible told me so and they shouldn't get any rights or privileges fobecause they're perverts.
Ailyn|W|P|I'm not up on my bible reading at all. In fact, this site as well as certain ovies, really makes me want to start reading it so I can better argue for or against what was said. What exactly does the bible say baout homosexuality? Mr. Pants|W|P|This is completely unrelated to the above...but I must share.http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20041218/capt.dcsw10112181608.topix_bush_dcsw101.jpg
it won't let me post the pic or set as a link, so you have to copy and paste.
The Lone Rangers|W|P|There's a gay manifesto?? There really is no non-religious reason why same sex partners can't be married. Rudicus|W|P|Even though it is unrelated, that pic is damn funny - welcome to the white house YEEEEEEHAAAAAA! |W|P|I have heard what you said- that some peoples problem with gay marriage is the legal benefits that come with marriage- I dont understand that argument. If two people are together and share their lives, why is it my concern and how does it impact me if they get each others legal benefits? Why shouldnt they receive those benefits? Why is the the receiving of those benefits so controversial?The other point I dont understand is the argument of having to make rules for all of these niches if we make rules for one. If you had one law of equality for everyone no matter race, religion, gender, sexual preference then there would be no niches to pander to. The only reason we have all these niches arguing for rights and control is because we are controlled by white christian male republicans and the rest of us want a voice. If the law and government were truly about equality then you wouldnt have all of these voices asking for their rights because they would already be listened to.
Rudicus|W|P|A very good and poignant comment - although I do think people will always find something to complain about - typically people don't complain about being marginalized unless they are being marginalized.But ultimately this is a church and state issue vs. a right and wrong one.
Public Eye
The gospel according to the Gazette
by Cara DeGette
Colorado Springs has its official daily newspaper: the Gazette.
And, thanks to the International Bible Society, Colorado Springs now has its own customized Bible.
This Sunday, Dec. 19, the two will officially join hand in glove. That's when all 91,000 Gazette subscribers will retrieve from their driveways or their porches -- or their rooftops -- copies of the New Testament, tucked inside the newspapers standard blue plastic wrappers.
The cover of the customized Bible is a panoramic photograph that squeezes in downtown buildings, the Air Force Academy chapel and Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak as a backdrop. Inside, in addition to the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, etc., Colorado Springs' version includes a brief history of the city, as well as testimonials from two "regular" locals who have found God. Rhonda, 38, is pictured in a leather Harley girl get-up and talks about how, after "reckless years of being chained to alcohol, drugs and empty relationships," her life has been turned around by Jesus. José, 74, is a "former military tough guy" with a woman in every port who is now getting to know God. In his testimonial, Jose declares, "Maybe God isn't through with me yet." Hey! That's almost exactly what the famously cantankerous Doug Bruce said to a bunch of Republicans when he was seeking their endorsement for county commissioner earlier this year. Maybe the newly elected Commissioner Bruce's testimonial will make the second edition.
Anyway, for the International Bible Society, it's a winner. It gets new souls to save. And the Gazette? Well, the newspaper will make $36,000 for distributing the New Testament, as well as proceeds from a full-page ad that will appear that day thanking 130 local Christian churches and ministries (including Focus on the Family and New Life Church) who shelled out the money to pay for the insert.
"This is kind of an exciting thing for us," said Bob Jackson, of the Colorado Springs-based International Bible Society. The organization already has customized Bibles to target, among other special interest groups, prisoners and mothers and even has "desert camouflage Bibles" for soldiers, with a camouflage-theme cover (with at least nine commandments included). But can people actually find Jesus in a blue plastic newspaper bag? Jackson can answer that, quoting from Isaiah, 55:11: "It is certain and true; My word will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
Colorado Springs is merely the first city where the International Bible Society plans to distribute the New Testament inside daily newspapers. Jackson said the group is currently in discussions with the Denver Post to distribute a Denver version; Seattle, Nashville and Santa Rosa, Calif. are also high priorities.
From the Gazette, there has been -- at least so far -- scant warning or public discussion about the undoubtedly controversial decision to distribute Bibles. An article detailing the plan appeared two months ago in the newspaper's Oct. 16 lifestyle section, in which Gazette publisher Bob Burdick compared the plan to other endeavors, like giving out laundry detergent and America Online computer disks. "Just because we distribute something doesn't mean we endorse it or don't endorse it," said Burdick.
The article did not include any quotes from the editor of the Gazette, Sharon Peters, who did not return a phone call seeking comment. But Kelly McBride, the ethics group leader at the Poynter Institute, an organization that promotes responsible journalism, underscored the importance that newspaper leaders should weigh money-making endeavors with ensuring that the public's perception of the newspaper's journalistic integrity is not altered, undermined or compromised.
"If I were the editor I would want everyone in my community to feel that the pages of my newspaper are there for them," McBride said. "I would want nonbelievers and Muslims and Jews to feel this was their paper as well."
The Gazette's editor so far has remained publicly silent, but, not surprisingly, over at Temple Shalom, the city's largest Jewish congregation, the matter has already been widely discussed. Leave it to say, not everyone is thrilled. Temple Shalom administrator Mary Simon says some congregants plan to cancel their subscription in protest. But they also have another idea for people who don't want the New Testament with their Sunday newspaper. Temple Shalom plans to collect unwanted Bibles and deliver them to a church or a homeless shelter that needs them. "We're trying to make a positive statement," Simon said.
Now that's admirable, especially since the Gazette initially planned to distribute the New Testaments on Dec. 12, until some bright bulb realized that day falls in the middle of Hanukkah and maybe, just maybe, getting a Bible from the Gazette might be an even harder slap in the face to non-Christians.
From Temple Shalom's perspective, there is a more disturbing consideration: respect for that which is holy. For many Jews, putting Bibles in plastic sacks and then throwing them on the ground is desecrating God's word. "We don't even put our Bibles on the floor," Simon noted. "If a car runs over it, or it falls into the gutter, that's desecration; it's the name of God."
The International Bible Society's Jackson notes that evangelical Christians embrace a far different tradition. "We want to shout His name from the rooftops," he said. "This is an efficient and powerful way to send out the news."
__________________________________________
You would think I would be coming out with some sort of diatribe against this, but I actually wholeheartedly approve of this. On the one hand, I'm glad that people get to see how much of thier cash goes to promoting the religion. Secondly, I like the idea that these people are now out $36,000, so that's money they can't use to oppress anyone. Plus at least with this tactic, people can decide for themselves whether or not to read it. If the paper decided to send it out for free, then you would hear me screaming.
The reason I posted this article is to make the point that God is a business. It always has been and it always will be. You can go all the way back to Babylon - the temple has always been good business - people went into the clergy because it was a viable way for a peson to make a living. The catholic church has historically been one of the richest and greatest land owners on earth. The church also historically exerted serious political power, which in turn netted them more and more money and influence.
Today it is no different - God is still good business, but the difference is that fundamentalism and evangelism have dramatically upped the stakes, but also changed their tactics. Wheras before the church ruled through the same forces as kings and generals - power, money and fear of death or eternal damnation, these new folks are more subtle and sneaky. They're more like politicians who rule through manipulation, lies, trickery and coercion - the very same tactics the bible accuses Satan of using to tempt and lure Christians away from the true path.(hmmm very interesting)
A philosophy does not cost money, but a business does. Why are churches non-profit corporations if they are not a business? Buying up acres and acres of land to build buildings, spending thousands of dollars on advertising and sending missionaries around the globe and encouraging wars of conquest does not glorify God. An omnipotent and omniscient being that created the universe shouldn't give a rat's ass what a guy named dave from wisconsin thinks about him. The glory of the almighty should not be in anyway influenced by the size of a steeple or how good the audio tape sales of Jerry Falwell are. All these things glorify and enrich people, not gods.
Organized religion is a business, and that business is people, not souls. If super-god wanted to save everyone, he could - he doesn't need some person to "witness" or "convert" anyone. If a guy living in the Rainforest of Brazil is going to hell because he hasn't been saved, then God's plan is flawed and inefficient. People shouldn't have to jump through hoops or get a special membership card to get in.
The catholic church isn't going broke because of God, but because of people. If you take all the money out of the equation, what would you have left? If churches were not allowed to accept money - what would happen to them? It would go back to a bunch of people meeting in different people's houses to discuss life and philosophy - just like the Jews did way back when this whole business started.
So I hope they spend all their money on advertising and lawsuits and continue to lose money, maybe then they will lose some ground and people will actually have to start thinking for themselves.
But then again, I'm sure someone else would pop up and replace them - sheep need a shepherd.
|W|P|110356938198977082|W|P|God is Good Business.|W|P|
The Lone Rangers|W|P|Did I just miss it or did it say anywhere that the Gazette is benefiting from this new "ad campaign"? Rudicus|W|P|They're benefitting to the tune of 36 grand. The Lone Rangers|W|P|Yeah I missed that. Well whatever they want to do with their money. Mr. Pants|W|P|"If they won't listen, shove it down their throats." That's what I always say. Propaganda propagandize propaganda
I'm almost stunned that the "International Bible Army" even recognizes the Jews as part of a religion, I mean come on, they're savages. They don't even believe in Jesus. What's right about that? Maybe those poor wayward souls will benefit from this mass marketing of the one true faith.
This could possibly be the most degrading and embarassing thing the Xian church has ever done. Maybe next they will drop Bibles from airplanes, along with Home Baptism Kits.
Save those souls so they can make us money.
Lotus|W|P|Praise the lord and pass the checkbook. Ailyn|W|P|That was a most interesting article. Religion certainly is big business. I so want to see what happens now if a Wiccan tries to distribute a booklet discussing the wonders of the goddess.I seriously applaud Temple Shalom for planning to collect unwanted Bibles and deliver them to a church or a homeless shelter that needs them. That is exceptional and I would say, the right thing to do. Probably what Jesus would have done.
Rudicus|W|P|That's the thing about the Jewish faith - they don't evangelize it - there aren't very many Jewish missionaries - the dojn't think it is thier job to save everyone and do not recruit, convert or do anything to gain adherents apart from trying to get stray Jews back into the fold.Converted Jews are not even seen as equal by many, so there is no reall conversion benefit apart from if you want to make your life with an existing Jew and live by Jewish Doctrine.
Only Christianity seems hell bent on conversion - I'm not familiar enough with Islam to know how all the sects operate, but I'll tell you I have never been acosted by a Muslim at the grocery store, never been "witnessed" to on the basketball court by a Muslim, and no kid I've ever known has come home with a crescent pendant with "Muhammad is the way" literature attached to it.
Mr. Pants|W|P|You have an excellent point. There is something ominous or rather questionable about a philosophy that requires one to be actively recruited/ converted/ convinced. A logical or reasonable one should be self-explanatory. Especially since Xianity claims to be the basic universal moral code. Ailyn|W|P|Well, if I recall, when Christianity firs started, it was perceived by many to be a cult. Perhaps it still is? Here is an interesting defintion of the word cult (turns out, there are a lot of definitions) from mountainretreat.org/glossary.html, "Cult is from the Latin [cultus] meaning to cultivate, and by extension, any group or sect which cultivates, or 'promotes growth' through their beliefs to make proselytes." Real basic, definately Christianity. "In modern Theological terms, the word is generally reserved for religious groups which (in contrast to classical Christianity, of having God's Word as their authority) blindly give authority to their leader. These leaders are often venerated, and manipulate and control the group through their charisma, deception, fear, and even perceived power." Except for the 'God' bias in the parenthesis, still sound like Christianity to me.
Anf finally, "Anyone having a fanatical veneration of, or loyalty to, a human leader, animal, or thing." But Jesus was a living human at one point. Then came apostles. Now we have the Pope.
Sounds kinda cultish to me.
The Lone Rangers|W|P|Christianity WAS a cult when it started out. It bucked the existing systems of multiple gods/godesses and was a renegade faction of Judeism. But kiddies as a cult, they really hit a home run with this one two thousand years and kicking. Now Wicca and Shamanism which were around longer and promote the idea that nature is sacred become the cult. If Wiccans and Shamanic cultures concentrated on more IMPORTANT subjects such as filling their coiffers and subjegating weaker civilizations instead of focusing on the individuals worship of nature there would be a stonehenge and sweat lodge on every other corner instead of churches.
doer|W|P|Hello, just visited your bible blog, I also have a bible related website, it's about some books which is helpful to understand the God's WordsNEW YORK - Television entertainment programs mention God more often than they did in the mid-1990s but tend to depict organized religion negatively, a study released Thursday said.
The Parents Television Council watched every hour of prime-time on the broadcast networks during the 2003-04 season and logged 2,344 treatments of religion. They judged 22 percent of the mentions positive, 24 percent negative and the rest neutral.
The conservative group's last study, released in 1997, found far fewer mentions of the topic an average of once per hour compared to three times per hour last season.
But any mention of a religious institution or member of the clergy was at least twice as likely to be negative than positive, the council said.
"Ninety percent of the American people believes in God," said Brent Bozell, the council's president. "It is an important issue to most people. Hollywood is attacking the very thing that they consider important in their own lives. Perhaps Hollywood ought to be changing its world view."
Negative examples varied widely: from comic Jimmy Kimmel joking on the American Music Awards that winners should resist thanking God, to a Catholic priest admitting on "The Practice" that he had had sex with a woman who was later murdered.
Well-publicized scandals about pedophile priests made Catholics particularly vulnerable, the council found.
"Catholicism is in the bulls-eye of the entertainment medium," Bozell said.
His group singled out NBC, saying its mentions of religion were nearly 10 time more likely to be negative than positive. "Law & Order" episodes, which tend to have stories ripped from the headlines, helped skew those numbers, the group said.
Bozell noted, however, that one of the negative NBC examples the PTC cited Karen on "Will & Grace" quipping, "let's go buy that historic church and turn it into a gay bar" reflected as poorly on the character as on religion.
An NBC spokeswoman, Shannon Jacobs, said the network hadn't seen the study but rejected its conclusion. NBC's programming reflects the diversity of its audience, she said.
"It is never our intention to appear, nor do we accept the notion that we are, anti-religious," she said.
Among the positive examples, the PTC cites a "JAG" episode where a character prays to God to say hello to her dead mother, and an "American Dreams" episode where an actor playing a medical student says a surgery is partially in God's hands.
Bozell said he's not suggesting that all television programming "ought to be about St. Teresa" or even be all positive about religion, but that Hollywood should keep in mind the overall picture it presents to viewers.
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I love this stuff. There are so many things wrong here I don't know where to begin. Only a religion bent on conquering the world and converting everyone would would spend this much time seeing how they are depicted - let that sink in, they watched every hour of prime time TV. I feel fairly confident that there is not a Buddhist or Hindu group that is doing the same. This is like Saddam Hussein complaining that he was not receiving the level of positive press that he wanted and blaming it on CNN. And while were at it, why don't we go back and tally up all the negative references and depictions of Muslims since 9/11 and see how they hold up. I'm sure the Christians will come out pretty well compared to them.
However, once again, they take absolutely no responsibility for anything themselves - here we have the horrible Satanist Hollywood "attacking" Christians. You poor babies. I'm sure that the fact that all those priests and bishops DID molest all those kids had nothing to do with this. I'm sure that the fact that most Christians are openly and vocally discriminatory and even hateful toward gays, as well as the fact that they seem to be singularly intolerant of anyone and anything that is not exactly like them and what they believe, also was not a factor here - just that darn Hollywood.
I'll tell you what, on the day that you drop the hateful, small-minded and polarizing agenda, you'll probably get more love from Hollywood.
|W|P|110337650955894267|W|P|Hollywood is going to hell.|W|P|
Ack|W|P|what I find the most disturbing is that this is considered "news" by people. "the whole world's going to hell, Mal."
Mr. Pants|W|P|Don't forget that Hollywood is run by L. Ron Hubbard via the Scientologists, and their goal is to destroy God and load us all up into a spaceship and commune with Xantar of Galaxaverse-12. This is why I'm desperately trying to eek my way into this religion, I figure I will enjoy some well-deserved fame from my myriad of movie cameos, and then get my first-class seat right next to Mr. Travolta.
Objects of ridicule are generally those which draw the most attention to themselves, a consequence of such attention. Not to mention the obvious negative consequences of employing (or creating via dogma) pedophiles and evil evil men.
Last weekend I saw a catholic priest pull up to a Starbucks in a brand-new monolith of a Mercedes.
Wrap your head around that.
Rudicus|W|P|You're comment about the Mercedes is a poignant one - and inspired today's story. Thanks for all your contribution. Mr. Pants|W|P|This post has been removed by a blog administrator. Mr. Pants|W|P|I find no greater enjoyment than belittling the hypocrisy of the self-righteous. Thanks for the soap box and microphone. Keep up the good work! Lotus|W|P|These people have WAY TOO much time on their hands, maybe being hypocritical and self-righteous is not as time-consuming as I thought.One of the items my company sells is a banner that reads "Flakes Welcome" Tradtionally this type of sign is popular in the winter and especially in snowy regions of the country. Our signs will sometimes be put out around apartments, hotels, senior centers and other facilities as a verbal play to indicate their love of snow and also welcoming of everyone.
WELL, we just got a call from a person who was offended and concerned that we were being politically incorrect and possibly illegal because we were being descriminatory.
"Descriminatory against who?"
"Flakes." she said.
"Snowflakes?" I asked.
"No, flakes. You know, flakes."
"I'm pretty sure flakes are not a protected class in this country, so who are you referring to?" Exasperated she whispered "You know...gay people."
Ah, those flakes.
It's nice when someone points out how hip and sensitive they're being by telling you a homosexual slur you've never even heard before. All this time I thought flakes were people who were unreliable who changed their mind on a whim and couldn't be counted on to pick you up because they might end up driving up to Napa Valley instead and never call you.
Maybe it hasn't made it's way into the popular culture yet.
I can see it now... a gaggle of gay youths hanging around P-Town, unaware that they were starting a new trend.
"What up flake?"
"Nada, you"
"just chillin' my flake"
I'm sure this will be catching on any minute now.
"Ugh, look at those two flakes over there."
"Did you hear? Collin Ferrell is a flake, you know he was in that movie where they were all flakey"
"That sweater is totally flakey, it makes you look like a really flakey flake."
But think of the rammifications of this. This revelation could cost millions - think of the potential ACLU lawsuits:
Bran Flakes
Corn Flakes
Frosted Flakes
Mrs. Smith's Flakey Pie Crust
Golden Flake Potato Chips
Cadbury Flake
Fish Flakes Fish Food
And what does this say about Jeff Flake the Republican congressman from Arizona?
Thanks for your clever euphamism lady, but can you just say "fag" like everyone else.
Southern people should stick to creating swear words, they are much better at that. Classics like:
Goldurnit
Dadgummit
Jeezum Crow
or my personal favorite "Bless your heart" which can mean "fuck you" "shut up, bitch" or "bite me you stupid motherfucker" respectively.
I'm looking forward to the next whitty moniker the folks over at Morons-R-Us think up.
Lady, if you really want to help, don't help. Buh-Bye!
|W|P|110323827857401687|W|P|Thanks For Your Help!|W|P|
The Lone Rangers|W|P|Someone with wayyyy to much time on her hands trying to be ultra sensitive. I'd be more offended if I were one of the senior center attendees and found that banner wrapped around my center. Or imagine coming home to find that wrapped around your apartment.Ummm Rudicus someone from Kelloggs is here to talk to you about copy infringement on your sign.
Mr. Pants|W|P|my mother used to work at an elementary school, and I remember one "holiday season" where a Jewish [pagan] woman complained about the wreaths hanging on the front doors of the school. The wreaths were customary, but had een decorated by some second or third-graders with construction paper ephemera. Apparently the wreath was symbolic of the crown of thorns worn by our buddy JC. Since she was a pagan, she didn't believe all that son of God baloney, and was offended that the chilluns were being subjected/brainwashed by these blasphemous wreaths. My vote: holiday decorations are for suckers.We are doing a holiday craft party here at the office and we are making these little Xmas type trees out of coat hangers and garland. (actually a pretty neat project) Well, they were asking everyone what colors and such they wanted, and I said that I would take blue and silver and make a Hanukkah bush.
GASP!!! “That’s sacrilegious” one of my co-workers said (and she was serious).
When others came in to see what she was reacting to, she told them “He says he’s making a Hanukkah bush instead of a Christmas tree – I can’t believe you are going to celebrate a pagan holiday from that pagan religion.”
This is where the bus comes to a screeching halt. We all know about Christian tunnel vision, but this one about takes the cake. I guess somebody wasn’t paying attention in Sunday school. However, I have to say that I love the idea that Jews are pagans. I especially like the idea that Jesus the pagan Jew started their whole evangelical revolution.
My personal favorite is the idea that the Christmas tree was somehow holy, but the Hanukkah bush was sacrilegious and pagan. Those crazy Christians will get a big kick out of this then.
Their beloved Christmas tree is totally and completely pagan (and not the new Jewish pagan for those who came in late). The Christmas tree has been around in many forms since ancient Egypt, but the common Xmas tree that we all know began in Rome with the festival of Saturnalia, but was also a big part of the pagan festival of Yule. So the Hanukkah bush that was so sacrilegious is no more so than the pagan Xmas tree that these people so embrace.
I thought to myself – how can someone be so blind and so stupid, but then I remembered a conversation with ana real Georgia teacher who believes that Lutherans actually worship Martin Luther – that’s good news for the kids.
I guess we need to add idiocy to the list of virtues - since it appears to be in such plentiful supply amongst the saved.
So party on with your pagan Christmas tree with the full knowledge that my Hanukkah bush is actually holier than thou - it's ok, I won't judge you like you judge everyone else.
|W|P|110321530777938367|W|P|Those Darn Pagan Jews.|W|P|
Mr. Pants|W|P|All I want for Christmas is the Rapture to wipe all these imbeciles from existence.an interesting sidenote: I also believe in the Channukah bush, as well as Hannukkah Harry who leaves dradles and gefilta fish underneath.
Mr. Pants|W|P|This post has been removed by a blog administrator. Mr. Pants|W|P|oh yeah! Don't forget that Xmas isn't the celebration of the birth of that Jew hippie, but a celebration of American Capitalism!http://www.buynothingchristmas.org/
sorry for taking up so much space.
Rudicus|W|P|Post as much as you like! I got to play dradle for the first time last week for Hanukkah (Channukkah) however it's spelled. And I won! Supposedly it was supposed to be with money (which would have been nice), but we played for M&M's.But if the rapture did come - who would we make fun of? I guess there's always NASCAR.
|W|P|But if the rapture did happen, we would also not have nascar and so would not be able to make fun of either.I am glad someone at your work pointed out the sacreligousness of hanukkah. We as jews often play dreidel and light the menorah in hopes of leading christians into temptation. Your co-worker was probably just trying to save you since you obviously did not understand the power of these amazing rituals.
Lotus|W|P|this is so damn funny.I'm a pagan and I have decorated my christmas tree with faeries, pentacles, tarot cards, runes, elves, goblins, totem animals and other thing I can find. The year I had the tarot cards on the tree was a treat. You should have seen the looks on people's faces.
Rudicus|W|P|You are SO going to hell - see you there! Lotus|W|P|Oh and for fun one year I decorated the xmas tree in my office with Halloween ornaments. Instead of preaching at me, the over zealous idiots LEFT ME ALONE! Lotus|W|P|See you there, I'll bring the Tequila and we will be having a great time! Lotus|W|P|This gave me an idea for my tree this year. Since Buddha was enlightened while sitting under the Bodhi Tree, think I will do a Buddhist theme. I'll bet my jesus freak mother would just love it. gravitybear|W|P|I also send out Yule cards sometimes. No one has ever said anything. Perhaps they think I am just being quaint.Anyway, we all know that Christmas is just a co-opted winter solstice celebration. The light is returning!
Christmas tree with Haloween ornaments? I love it!
Rudicus|W|P|Sounds like a great idea - Maybe I'll put a cigar and rum under mine to honor the voodoo loa Rudicus|W|P|Watch it with those ideas Gravitybear - I bet some marketing guy will come up with that idea - eithe for a halloween tree or thanksgiving ornaments - that's all we need, more commercialism! Lotus|W|P|This post has been removed by a blog administrator. thewitchingpost|W|P|Everyone, thank you, I needed that laugh - Kay Morning Morgan|W|P|go figure, hypocrites in the workplace, imageine? I think I will put a wreath full of "special" rainbows on my door this year. The Lone Rangers|W|P|WOW...go figure, Jews are pagans huh? Amazing how much Christmas Trees, Holly and Mistletoe have to do with the Pagan festival of Yule!! Also that on December 25th both Natalis Solis Invicti, (Latin and Italian scholars pay special attention to that first word!!) the Roman "birth of the unconquered son" and the birth of the Iranian God Mithras "Sun of Rightousness" were celebrated. Isn't it amazing too that the Heralds of Christianity WERE Jewish?? Christians moved the birth of Jesus (since no one knows exactly when he was born) to December 25th in or around 335AD to offset having to celebrate a Pagan Holiday.
A quick run down:
EVERGREENS (Christmas Trees)- Has been a symbol of everlasting life since the ancient Egyptians and HEBREWS.
MISTLETOE- from Nordic and Celtic legend; has magical powers in its ability to render poison harmless, protect one from witchcraft and possess healing powers. Kissing under the mistletoe is said to grant you eternal love....by Frigga Goddess of Love in Norse mythology.
HOLLY- In Roman times was a protective herb and would guard against lightening, poison and evil spirits. It was also FORBIDDEN anywhere near a church.
So, I say, my friends let us embrace our Christian friends because, after all, aren't they just celebrating the Yule with us??
Tequila? Stogies? I'll make apps!!
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A judge refused to delay a trial Tuesday when an attorney objected to his wearing a judicial robe with the Ten Commandments embroidered on the front in gold.
Circuit Judge Ashley McKathan showed up Monday at his Covington County courtroom in southern Alabama wearing the robe. Attorneys who try cases at the courthouse said they had not seen him wearing it before. The commandments were described as being big enough to read by anyone near the judge.
Attorney Riley Powell, defending a client charged with DUI, filed a motion objecting to the robe and asking that the case be continued. He said McKathan denied both motions.
"I feel this creates a distraction that affects my client," Powell said.
McKathan told The Associated Press that he believes the Ten Commandments represent the truth "and you can't divorce the law from the truth. ... The Ten Commandments can help a judge know the difference between right and wrong."
He said he doesn't believe the commandments on his robe would have an adverse effect on jurors.
"I had a choice of several sizes of letters. I purposely chose a size that would not be in anybody's face," he said.
The case raised comparisons to former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was removed from office in 2003 for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery.
Moore said Tuesday he supports McKathan's decision to wear the Ten Commandments robe.
"I applaud Judge McKathan. It is time for our judiciary to recognize the moral basis of our law," Moore said.
Powell said if he loses his case, he expects the judge's wearing of the Ten Commandments robe to be part of an appeal.
_____________________________________
Not again. These Alabama guys still don't get the separation of Church and State thing I see. Hopefully this judge will get removed too. It's a good thing that this guy isn't one of those dreaded "activist" judges that the conservatives keep crying about. You know the ones who try to legally interpret the law and fight for equality for everyone vs. these other guys who see fit to actually embroider their robes with Christian dogma. That darn hypocrisy keeps coming back to haunt us. I wonder what would happen if a judge embroidered "I'm Pro-Choice" or "We're Queer and We're Here!" in his robes - how do you think that would go over?
But let me ask you Mr. "Morally Upright" Judge from Alabama. How can you judiciously and impartially interpret the law when you are opposed to the very thought of equality? When you oppose a woman's right to choose (which is actually the law) how can you be impartial or in fact competent to do your job? If you think gays are immoral and beneath contempt, how can a gay person possibly get a fair trial? There was another group who advocated the blending of religion and law so that the legal system was based on the moral teachings of the scripture. You remember their name right? The Taliban.
Thanks for sharing - don't let the door hit you on the way out!
|W|P|110312332714245272|W|P|Welcome to Alabama!|W|P|
|W|P|I think the thing that scares me most about this article is that there seems to be a prevalence of this mindset everywhere. Where I work everyone would agree with wearing this robe because after all "that is the true law". What angers me is that these self righteous idiots are so busy pushing their agenda on everyone around them that they cant possibly follow the tenents of love, and compassion which are actually the foundation of their "christian path". There is a church near my work where they spent an obscene amount of money with fancy lights, organ, sound, seating etc... Is this where someone who cared about the welfare of the world would spend their money? What really angers me is that I sit every day and listen to their points of views, and discuss what I think in a nonjudgemental way. I dont get offended at everything they say. But if I mention anything about other paths, yoga etc they get really upset. In fact I could not even teach a yoga class because some of the people where I work would be so offended by the use of this term.
How could I possibly have respect for these people or their beliefs when they are so judgemental I cant even use certain words?
How can these people think they are being spiritual or caring, compassionate people?
Lotus|W|P|I am concerned about the non-existent separation of church and state. According to the laws that these Judges are supposed to uphold as "officers of the law", they are supposed to be unbiased, stand by freedom of religion and separation of church and state. I for one am sick of having Christian dogma shoved down my throat EVERYWHERE I turn. It has a bitter aftertaste. If the majority of these people actually practiced the compassion they preach, the would not be so judgmental as to FREAK OUT at anyone who thinks for themselves and as a result disagrees with them.On a side note, I have a friend who is an attorney who sits frequently on the Judge's bench as a substitute Judge, who is also a Wiccan High Priestess. Its very likely she is going to be a Judge in this Court in the near future. But I wonder, if her religious affiliation was widely known, would they bar her from becoming a Judge?
Ailyn|W|P|The truth? Who's truth? Did you know there are more than one interpretations of the ten commandments? For example, while the Catholics have "Thou Shall not kill", the Jewish faith has "You shall not murder". This is a very big difference. So, which one is the truth? And why must your truth be forced on me? However, as much as we rant about these thigs, we need to realize something. Those who came to America and conquered it left Europe for, amongst other things, religious freedom. The laws they set up for themselves are based on Christianity. Our country is a Christian country and was meant by these settlers to be this way. Freedom of religion was not meant to mean that each citizen is free to worship anything they want. It meant that the settlers were free to go against England. Our laws are based on freedom from England, not freedom for all. There is only one point of view - Christian.
Mr. Pants|W|P|I can't believe the disillusion people carry nowadays. Whether Christian, American, or worse Christan Americans, there seems to be some stubborn naivete that clings to them like sweaty judges robes. Sometime, somwhere in their life someone told them--you're American, and that means you're the best. America does no wrong...we are the BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. Likewise, the Xian church uses that wonderful Jesus quote, " I am the truth, the way, the light, yadda yadda yadda". And now they find themselves so confused with the "irrefutable evidence of divine providence" that they can't separate real life from religion. I suppose the greatest fallacy is the belief that "their" beliefs are "the" beliefs since they are in the majority (so were the Nazis).
The overbearing need of the Xian church to bend/break others into submission and acceptance of their guiding principles (with complete disregard for the similar principles of others) astounds me. For a religion which claims to preach tolerance, Xians are possibly the most intolerant and stuborn group out there.
(Exclusive - Must credit Ryan Davis/Notgeniuses.com)
What would you do if you were a closeted eighteen-year old senior in high school and your principal told your parents that you were gay? That recently happened to James Barnett, who was a senior at Trinity Christian Academy in Dallas, Texas.
It all started, when a young gay personal site decided to start charging for their service. He knew this would hurt the anonymity usually provided. “You have me and 50,000 other gay teens out there, who don’t want their parents to know anything is up and a credit card statement saying XY.com Magazine would be a little obvious.” He knew this would make people less likely to use the site. “When they released this greed campaign I said this isn’t right, kids who struggle with this and need some kind of help won’t pay money.”
Being able to talk to other gay teens on-line had provided James with support when he was questioning. “The site to me meant a great deal, as it had probably saved my life; it gave me people who were going through the same thing and we could talk. I could finally come out of my shell. So I created a free service that would give teens an outlet; stray away from drugs, suicide, alcoholism, etc.”
So with the best of intentions James, a talented web programmer, started My-Boi.com. It went off well, and three months later he had over fifteen-hundred members. “I have personally received countless e-mails from teenagers who are experiencing what I was nine months ago, and say that this site helped!” Three months later, things changed.
A snoopy kid at school told several heads in the administration that James was gay and ran a gay-themed website. He was called into the office and grilled about the site and his sexual orientation. After the discussion James asked the principle repeatedly not to inform his parents. “I again emphasized and I explicitly said, 'I am 18, I reserve the right for my parents not to know and I do not want them involved.'”
What happens next?
“The first people I see to walk in the door are my mother and my father. This is where I bury my head in my hands and don’t really know what to do, how to respond – I for the first time in my life have never felt that betrayed and first time I’ve ever been speechless.” The principle took it upon himself to out his student. “They tell my parents “I am struggling with homosexuality.” My mother broke down in tears, my dad wasn’t particularly thrilled…”
If this wasn't enough they took six days to decide to expel James from school, citing 'immoral behavior and supporting an immoral cause.' “The reason for expulsion and the suspension is the fact that what I have done/am is a Class A offense. I am not given a chance to appeal to honor council, it’s “too sensitive”;”
Before the expulsion the school made James pull his site. They suggested if he complied they might allow him back. They didn't and he was able to get it put up on a private server, which is costing him $200 a month. He thinks its worth it. “My site meant a great deal to me to keep up, since sites like it saved my life. I felt like it was stripped away from me and from a group of people who might not have been able to find a friend in a hard time.”
James attended Trinity Christian Academy for thirteen years, his family paying around $130,000 in total tuition. All he wanted was a degree from the school he's been so fond of. It's a shame that they won't give him that.
As of last Monday, James has contacted the ACLU and is waiting for a response.
Update: 12/14 10:45 AM -
To clear up some confusion: The site was not stored on the school's server. James has a server at home and runs a successful web design company. The site was pulled so it wouldn't be “under his parent's roof.” I assume he makes enough money to cover the $200 a month bill from his design work.
James is currently attending a local public high school for the remainder of the year.
______________________________
OK. This is just plain sad. You'd think he was the first gay kid on the planet the way these people reacted. I personally love the crime of 'immoral behavior and supporting an immoral cause.' Wow, it seems like no matter how many laws and edicts they pass and how much descrimination and hate they spew and how many beatings and kids they leave chained to fences to die, those darn gays keep turning up. Guess what folks, homosexuality is not a disease and it's not a "condition," it's regular people. And if those so-called "morals" are the ones that tell you to hate people and do everything in your power to spread that hate and keep those people oppressed, I'm not sure how good those morals are. Let's see, person A. is friendly, hard working, thoughtful, helpful, open, accepting and kisses boys - person B. is preachy, overbearing, hateful, unforgiving, manipulative, close-minded and ingnorant(but uses their genitalia in a "moral" way) - who would you rather sit next to? Live next to? Have as a friend?
I love that this is a christian school that is teaching kids how to live along with the three R's. I guess the whole 'love thy neighbor' and 'god loves all his children equally' got lost in the budget cuts. However, I totally understand this action by the school. If you believe that promoting abstinance and completely ignoring health, safety and reality for your children and then act surprised when they turn up pregnant, raped or get HIV, then it's not really a stretch to see why its a bad thing to provide a much needed place for kids to work through their feelings and emotions in a healthy and safe way rather than having them doped up on anti-depressents and prayer meetings until they commit suicide because they can't cure themselves of "gayness."
And let's not forget, these are the same hypocritical geniuses that scream oppression because they can't read the morning prayers over the loudspeaker in public schools.
|W|P|110304857093376644|W|P|Gay Teen Expelled From High School.|W|P|
Ack|W|P|While the hypocracy of the catholic church never ceases to amaze me, I find their is much humor to be found by their actions. The school will have stupid levels of control over their students and the activities of those students in their admission contract. This will include their extra-curricular activities. They will include such phrases as "Lewd" and "Immorral" and leave plenty of room for interpretation. The parents will happily accept these terms, give the school 130k and hope that their children become an upstanding citizen and leader of their community and church.
A few fortunate things will hopefully occur from this debacle.
1 - the 18 year old will make quite a bit of money. Enough to go to the college of his choice for free and not worry too much about money for beer / condoms / pizza.
2 - because he is 18, he will have the choice wether to reimburse his parents the money they dropped on his education.
3 - the school will be made a mockery of in the liberal media. I bet Leno('s staff) is already working up material.
The unfortunate portion of this is that America, while in the midst of a Queer explosion, still doesnt seem to be ready for having a gay in their home. on the TV or whatever seems to be fine.. but not part of their family. In November, every single gay marriage bill that was voted upon failed. every county that had one, the majority of voters dont want gay marriage. I find intelligent, educated, non-religious people frequently who believe that gays are "broken".. tho I bet a large portion of them have jerked off to lesbian porn.
Bah. Summation - Religion is good. Going to church is good. Organized religion has an amazingly shitty track record historically.
Lotus|W|P|I don't even know where to begin. This is such a violation of human rights. Convicted mass murderers and child molesters apparently invoke the sympathies of these overzealous religious pious nuts, but heaven forbid a homosexual be treated with dignity. It pisses me off. Morning Morgan|W|P|I saw your link on aonther site and deceided to check it out. Thank you for bringing out the "gay" issue, you see I "came out" this year and people just don't understand that I am human and have feelings, morals and character strenghts and flaws JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. Great site by the way. Rudicus|W|P|Thanks! Congrats on your coming out. People have enough trouble fitting in and finding themselves without crap like this. Thanks for visiting the site - hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy putting it together. But with a world this full of bigotry and hypocrisy - I'm sure to be busy for a long time.You're gonna love this one:
Arkansas Woman Killed in Mistaken Rapture
by Elroy Willis
ARKANSAS CITY (EAP) -- A Little Rock woman was killed yesterday after leaping through her moving car's sunroof during an incident best described as a "mistaken rapture" by dozens of eye-witnesses. Thirteen other people were injured after a twenty-car pile-up resulted from people trying to avoid hitting the woman, who was apparently convinced the rapture was occurring when she saw twelve people floating up into the air, and then passed a man on the side of the road who she believed was Jesus.
"She started screaming 'He's back! He's back!' and climbed out through the sunroof and jumped off the roof of the car," said Everet Williams, husband of 28-year-old Georgann Williams who was pronounced dead at the scene. "I was slowing down but she wouldn't wait till I stopped," Williams said. She thought the rapture was happening and was convinced that Jesus was gonna lift her up into the sky," he went on to say.
"This is the strangest thing I've seen since I've been on the force," said Paul Madison, first officer on the scene Madison questioned the man who looked like Jesus and discovered that he was on his way to a toga costume party, when the tarp covering the bed of his pickup truck came loose and released twelve blow-up sex dolls filled with helium, which then floated up into the sky. Ernie Jenkins, 32, of Fort Smith, who's been told by several of his friends that he looks like Jesus, pulled over and lifted his arms into the air in frustration and said "Come back," just as the Williams' car passed him, and Mrs. Williams was sure that it was Jesus lifting people up into heaven as they drove by him.
"I think my wife loved Jesus more than she loved me," the widower said when asked why his wife would do such a thing. When asked for comments about the twelve sex dolls, Jenkins replied, "This is all just too weird for me. I never expected anything like this to happen."
You have GOT to be kidding me! I'm not sure I can even comment on this other than to say that I feel for this guy who lost his wife, but what a moron - and these are the very people who are are casting votes that decide our future folks.
A 20 car pile-up, 13 injuries and one dead idiot - this rapture thing sounds like a real hoot.
I'm going to give this woman the benefit of the doubt and assume that she was mentally ill, but the thing that is really funny but also scary to me is the idea that she bought into this whole rapture idea based on a guy who "looked like Jesus." Let's think about that for a second. The guy "looked like Jesus." How the fuck do we know what Jesus looks like? Let's assume he even existed in the first place (which would make this story even funnier if he didn't) but how would you have even the slightest clue what a guy looked like 2000 years ago? It's not like there are a lot of contemporary time period Jesus statues laying around in the Bethlehem museum(or any for that matter). I'm also pretty sure no one took his picture and I'm also reasonably sure there aren't any drawings or caricatures that were made at any point either. So all of the currently accepted depictions of Jesus were all created about 1200 or so years after he supposedly lived at the earliest - and most weren't created until the renaissance period. So this lady is basing her life and ultimately her death on a guy who looked like a painting probably drawn by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. Now THAT'S funny!
Yessireee gimme that olde tyme religion.. it's good enough for me! YEEEEEHAAH!
Thanks for playing.
|W|P|110295733090921727|W|P|Jesus Returns and The Crowd Goes Wild!|W|P|
Ailyn|W|P|This post has been removed by a blog administrator. Ailyn|W|P|come on, that story has to be bogus. it's just too much! but I agree with you on Jesus. He could have looked like eminem for all we know. Actually, considering the part of the world, he probably had much darker skin than most pictures show. Some historians even say that he was black. Not that any of this realllllly matters. But it would be interesting to know. The Lone Rangers|W|P|Can we just say that the US gene pool just got smarter with her passing?Its like the contractor who got fired from working on the Evengelical College that was being built about 6-7 years ago for putting up a hazard sign stating "Danger 50' Jesus ahead" (There was a fifty foot Jesus statue at the entrance of the college).
Ok, well the sad thing is I've actually seen bumper stickers that say things like "In case of Rapture car will be empty" or "Please avoid this car during Rapture".
Please....like if the Rapture happens I won't pull over.
Elza|W|P|This story is crazy, and hopefully a hoax or its really tragic. Another possiblity:
Did anyone consider that the husband saw an opportunity and made up the story and possibly pushed his wife out of the car?
And speaking of "that old time religion", lol, gimme that REALLY old time religion - Voodoo. LOL
Rudicus|W|P|Alas, this is a real story. Truth IS stranger than fiction. Ack|W|P|actually.. Im kinda liking Elza's interpretation of events. You're cheating on me? BITCH!! /shove
oh CRAP! how am I gonna get away with this..
Umm. she.. um.. saw something, thought it was the "Rapture" and dove out of the car for Jesus.
Hey.. its more believable than the crap that the Mormons believe.
Curiously, What Would Jesus Do for a Klondike Bar?
Mr. Pants|W|P|This is fake.http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blrapture.htm
Rudicus|W|P|Haha! Oh well, I guess that's the danger when you accept submissions from others - thanks to Mr. Pants for pointing out our folly.Sorry about that folks, sometimes we get duped.
However, I think the question of what does Jesus look like is still valid.
Mr. Pants|W|P|There was a poignant episode of "Gimme A Break" that comes to mind. Nell brought the white family to her house for Thanksgiving (I think) and on the wall hung a picture of a black Jesus. The white chilluns had never seen this depiction before, and thus there was some coded racial banter about acceptance, belief, and understanding--very heart-warming. But from this point forward (I think I might have been 6 or 7) I have questioned the white Jesus--especially since Iraqis tend to be rather well tanned. But to put it another way, Jesus was the son of God...and white parents have white babies...and EVERYONE knows God is white.
I'm more interested in the "thou shalt not worship graven images" part of the idea.
Mr. Pants|W|P|btw. Mr. Pants = Daniel (from Java Monkey) Lotus|W|P|thanks for the laugh Rudicus|W|P|I knew it was you - thanks for all the comments I really appreciate it - I just got my computer fixed at work so I will be able to surf over to your blog to return the favor.I remember that episode, although I thought it happened on Good Times when Michael put up the photo of Black Jesus - but it probably happened on both.
I guess the thing that is the most funny is that it must have been fairly reasonable to have happened or so many people wouldn't have been duped so easily - as I'm sure I and all the readers could easily see this type of thing happening. Oh well, onward!
|W|P|This is not a real news story. This was on an episode of the HBO series, "Six Feet Under". You can check it out on their web site if you don't believe me. It is still funny though....While this ruling was met with cheers by gays and gay rights groups around Canada, the news back here at home was far more dire.
As we all know, the loving union between two people of the same-sex signals the end of western civilization as we know it. No longer will we be able to look to our neighbor to the north and see them as nice people who play hockey, do whatever we say and pretend to be American. No, this news quickly shifts Canada from a relatively quiet and neutral country and immediately adds them to our growing axis of evil.
Think of the ramifications of this. Now that Canada has fallen, there will be nothing to stop the gay horde from taking over America. Already they have captured Massachussetts and are threatening California and New York. This is the Cuban Missile Crisis all over again! With gays stationed in every Canadian province – how can we hope to survive? Did you know that gays launched from Windsor, Ontario could be in the U.S. in less than an hour? OH MY GOD!!!!
I’m surprised the U.S. hasn’t invaded yet – obviously they need a big Texas sized dose of regime change up there. We’re probably waiting for them to pass the legislation. I can’t wait to hear the U.N. briefing on that one.
At least one North American country has decided to be progressive. I applaud the Canadian Supreme Court for their decision (especially since our own supreme court is too chicken shit to take this on themselves).
So, three cheers for Canada!!
Canada is rising in Coolness every week (and I don’t just mean the weather). I know a lot of people were threatening to move to Canada after the election, but maybe it’s not all that crazy an idea.
If you are interested in finding out more about moving to Canada, check out their immigration site. You can even take a test to see if you would be a good candidate for immigration:
http://www.cic.gc.ca
And if you are traveling and want to pretend to be Canadian so you don’t get harassed by everyone, or you just want to have some cool Canadian logo wear check out:
http://www.t-shirtking.com
Their “Going Canadian” package is fun.
That’s a wrap for this week folks – we’ve got the holiday season upon us, so I’m sure there will be some doozies next week – stay tuned.
|W|P|110271497212811709|W|P|Go Canada!|W|P|
Dave|W|P|That is a great victory for the LGBT community! WooHOO!Wonderful news!
Lotus|W|P|Its great to hear progress is being made in this arena. The Lone Rangers|W|P|Ok I don't know if leaving the country will actually make the US a better place. But Canada is an extremely large country; so if we post signs on the border of Free Beer and Great Deer hunting that MAY actually attract certain anonymous groups that will in essence have the effect of raising the US gene pool overall.Very cool that our neighbors in the Great White North have come to their senses. It seems that California may also soon follow suit, however, with Bush about to propose an amendment to the Constitution here soon it doesn't seem very likely.
|W|P|Free Beer?? The Lone Rangers|W|P|And I think I NAILED that one! Thank You. Mr. Pants|W|P|The dictionary has this to say:marriage
n 1: the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce); 2: two people who are married to each other; 3: the act of marrying; the nuptial ceremony; 4: a close and intimate union
Why is it necessary to involve this definition with politics or basic freedoms? It seems more of an agenda than anything else, something to leverage power (discrimination) from, another method to perpetuate the subdivision of our society.
The United States continues to give us a myriad of reasons to run across the border. The "If-You-Don't-Like-It-Then-Get-Out" mentality expired with Glasnost...I thought.
There were two testing stations outside of a big tent and I sat down and was handed two metal cylinders that were attached by cables to a strange machine that looked like a cross between a voltage meter and a radio.
He asked me to hold onto the cylinders with each and he would be asking me some questions. He placed his hand on the back of the machine and put his thumb on a dial. He asked me to think about anything that was bothering me. Natural scientist and skeptic that I am, I intentionally emptied my head of everything and concentrated on a spot on the wall so that I would register nothing (so as to get a baseline reading). As I sat immobile and nothing was happening, he began to fiddle with the machine and moved the dial with his thumb causing the dial to jump. “What was that?” he exclaimed.
I asked what he meant and he explained that I must have been thinking about something stressful, because the dial had jumped. He then asked if anything was bothering me or stressing me out. I mentioned that I had a challenging week at work so he asked me to think about that. So I did, and again nothing was happening so he started playing with the dial which caused another jump. “Oh” he said. “Must be something there.”
My bullshit meter now going full-tilt, I was still trying to figure out what the two cylinders were for. I couldn’t figure out what it was measuring, so I decided to squeeze them – and the needle got buried at the far end of the spectrum. “WOW! You’re really stressed about work.” I chuckled to myself and started squeezing the cylinders with varying levels of strength and the needle jumped accordingly. All the while he is going “See, See Yeah we’re definitely onto something here” Meanwhile I’m guessing that the machine measures hand tension that would most likely be generated as a person tensed in response to thinking stress inducing thoughts.
I decided to play along to see what they would do next – I figure if I get a free massage or something it would be worth it. He turns to me very happily and says “We can definitely help you, come with me.”
We go into the tent where I’m expecting a Chiropractor or something and what do I see? A big poster of L. Ron Hubbard. Crap.
Well I have to hear the pitch now, so I follow him over to this table full of books and he proceeds to tell me the spiel on Scientology. He hands me a pamphlet on reducing stress at work – which unlike the Jehovah’s Witnesses, I would have to pay for. Flipping through the booklet, it has some “super” ideas – my favorite one was if you were feeling bothered by other people in your office who were getting on your nerves, the booklet suggests you go out side and walk amongst a crowd and feel everybody’s energy and smile at them. After doing so, you will feel less bothered and you can go back to work.
What a wonderful world we live in where you can just leave work when you feel stressed and go hang around outside. I’ll tell you what, if every time I feel stressed I can leave and go for a walk – I won’t be stressed anymore – and I don’t need L. Ron Hubbard to tell me that.
He asked if I was interested in the information, so I told him I’d think about it – and I went for a walk.
I don’t really have a commentary on this experience as it pretty much speaks for itself, but frankly if L. Ron Hubbard can start a religion based on a sci-fi story and Joseph Smith can start one by telling a whopper and getting his neighbors to back him up, then maybe I should start one too – it’ll probably pay better than my current job.
Hmmm.
|W|P|110262989424721184|W|P|Fun with the Scientologists.|W|P|
Lotus|W|P|LOL, very funny. Maybe you could be a tele-evangelist while you're at it, no boss (unless you believe in god), low overhead if you get on a local cable tv spot, oh and you get to wear your hair coiffed and concreted. The Lone Rangers|W|P|ARE YOU KIDDING ME....L. Ron Hubbard ROCKS!!! I mean Battlefield Earth was a GREAT 3,000 page story, I mean....er, what...Dyanetics? He ummm started his own religion? (Covering the microphone to his portable podium with his right hand and leaning back to speak to his personal assistant) "Is he ummm qualified in that field"? Oh we don't know. "Was Dyanetics given to him on stone tablets on the Mount"? Probably not. Hmmmmm. "Ok maybe he was spoken to by the Lord through a burning Japanese Maple or something"? No. "Ok then what the hell qualifies L. Ron to start his own religion"? Personal assistant shrugs. "Is there money in it?" Personal assistant once again wonders why she took this job and nods emphatically at her boss. "Er, Alright then I'll ummm be back in a bit, I just recieved a communique from Up On High and ummmm.....well I'll pass it on to you all once I've got it down.....for a price".
Ailyn|W|P|s'funny. I heard that Hubbard decided to start his cult after making a bet with a student friend. Mr. Pants|W|P|There is a church of scientology just down the street from my office. I have a nagging interest, this impetuous itch, to go inside and see what scientology is actually all about. When I was younger, I read the "Mission: Earth" series, as well as a good portion of "Battlefield Earth"
and I recall I found Mr. Hubbard to be a decent writer, but I did not find him to be any manner of prophet. I remember how my parents worried as I was reading his work--asking me not to take anything I read too seriously.
I am afraid, however, that if I were to enter the hallowed halls of scientology, I may receive a loaded syringe to the jugular and wake up on a work farm somewhere outside Hollywood. I've heard so many disturbing things about the religion that my interest can't help but be piqued.
www.scientology.org says:
"Scientology follows a long tradition of religious practice. Its roots lie in the deepest beliefs and aspirations of all great religions, thus encompassing a religious heritage as old and as varied as man himself.
Though drawing upon the wisdom of some 50,000 years, Scientology is a new religion, one which has isolated fundamental laws of life and, for the first time, developed a workable technology that can be applied to help one achieve a happier and more spiritual existence. Scientology is therefore something one does, not merely something one believes in..."
I think that you experienced that "workable technology" there during your test. This pile of feces really scares me.
Elza|W|P|To Mr. Pants: When contemplating any relgion, tread cautiously and do your homework. Also and most importantly listen to your inner voice and gut feelings, they will guide you. If you have doubts and fears it could be a signal that this is not the path for you. Keep searching and you will find something satisfying to your soul. Mr. Pants|W|P|Elza:I am confused by your advice. I believe that the only true religion is that of the self; not in the Anton LaVey-brand of self-indulgence, but in the spiritual sense of self-discovery. I feel that one should always be learning and experiencing different points-of-view. I consider myself well read in the religious philosophy department, Bertrand Russell to Depak Chopra to Japanese and Indian writers and beyond--if this is what you mean by homework.
Elza|W|P|You understood correctly. I too believe Spirtuality is a journey of self-exploration, filled with many paths and detours. I have also studied many disciplines and incorporate several into my spiritual pra