Just goes to show you how fucked-up xians can be concerning this world. There’s actually a tug-o-war about faith for some people: Edwards: Religion Shouldn’t Divide Voters. Whatever, it’s an election in America. No surprise. But this part really killed me:

President Bush, who has visited West Virginia nine times since April, has found staunch support among conservative Christians. At rallies across the state, dozens have cited his faith in God as the main reason for their support � more important than jobs, the economy and the war in Iraq.

“Yeah, I don’t care if I’m out of a job, or if my kids can’t eat, or if we go somewhere else and kill people. All’s I care about is that the Man in Office has The Faith.” Amazing.

Hey, here’s a scan of the aforementioned GOP “Liberals will ban the Bible” mailing, in case you’re interested.

ROME (Reuters) - A 67-year-old woman was killed when a three-meter tall metal crucifix fell on her head in a small southern Italian town on Wednesday, police said.

The cross, which has been in the main square on Sant’Onofrio for decades, fell on Maddalena Camillo while workers were setting up lights for an annual religious festival.

Italy, home to the Vatican City, is a predominantly Roman Catholic country where crucifixes and religious icons and effigies are a common sight in most towns and villages.

Well, why not? They lie and fear-monger about everything else.

The Republican National Committee acknowledged this week that it distributed campaign literature in West Virginia and Arkansas warning voters that liberals want to ban the Bible… The literature claims that “the liberal agenda includes removing ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance” and shows a Bible with the word “BANNED” across it. It also shows a photo of a man, on his knees, placing a ring on the hand of another man with the word “ALLOWED,” a reference to same-sex marriage.

RNC Says It Sent Mail Warning Bible Ban.

This is pretty neat — an empirical study of God’s will:

I thought it was an interesting coincidence that a state with questionable presidential election results would be pummeled by hurricanes just before the next election. Then I thought it was an interesting coincidence that the storms spared Miami, who voted for Gore in 2000. Just out of curiosity, I overlaid two map: one of the tracks of the hurricanes of 2004, and one of the election results of 2000.

This is no longer an interesting coincidence. It is an unmistakable message from God. I hope everyone is listening.

Check it out here.

I’m the lone atheist / political liberal in my family (situated in Texas). So you can imagine the frustration of trying to talk to xtian conservatives about political dialogue. Every once in a while, however, I try to get them to at least look at the issues and facts. I beat my head against the brick wall of their antiquated schema only to be presented with the following wisdom on how we ought to select a president:

Well then you should think about the fact of…do you want a red neck christian
Texan in office … or do you want a girly man yankee that has no guts or back
bone in office?

Apparently, the issues mean nothing. The record means nothing. Facts simply don’t enter into it. So long as the candidate in question is:

1. red neck[ed]
2. xtian
3. Texan

That’s all that matters in the Lone Star state.

I have got to move.

Ah, the loving southern xian community. They’re so friendly and warm and welcoming — unless you’re not a xian, in which case you’re totally fucked with.

In late July, Wynne [a Wicca priestess] won a decision from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia ordering Great Falls not to invoke the name of Jesus Christ during prayers before its Town Council meetings. She said the prayer excludes non-Christians like her.

Wynne said she has endured escalating harassment from townspeople hostile to her religion and her lawsuit.

That harassment, according to Wynne and police reports, recently included someone�s breaking into her home and beheading one of her beloved parrots, an African gray she named �Little One.� A note attached to the bird�s body read, �You�re next!�

There ya go. Just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Just found out about a site called Had Enough Religious Bullshit. Some pretty cool cartoons, quotes, and links. Check it out.