Commentary, news, and rants on the evils and stupidity of belief in the big invisible daddy in the sky. Illuminating and watchdogging the widespread attempts to institutionalize the theocratic rule of the US. Making fun of believers everywhere.
Damn, Hitchens is really dead-on is this clip (his part ends at around 5:10). Good form, Hitch.
(Granted, I’m not exactly a fan of the times when he’s drunk off his ass — but, to be fair, I’m guessing that daily death threats to one and one’s family might cause one to be slightly anxious.)
God belief and religious superstition often leads to more superstition, which leads to even more superstition, and so on, and so forth.
How do these people function while being afraid of the grotesque inventions of their own minds that they believe are real? I can’t imagine what their children must go through.
Here is an amusing, yet sad report from MSNBC’s Countdown
Question for you all. Do any of you have superstitions even though you are an atheist? As for me, I don’t have any superstitions. Shit happens, coincidences happen. That’s life.
Abortion foe urges ‘Burn in Hell’ effigies of Pelosi, Reid
WASHINGTON (AP) — Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry is calling on people to burn effigies of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this Halloween, as part of a “Burn in Hell” video contest to protest the health care legislation in Congress. Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, said Tuesday that the contest serves as a political and spiritual statement that “gives people a chance to peacefully vent their rage.” “If Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid force us to pay for child killing and they die unrepentant, they will burn in hell for this,” Terry said in a telephone interview. [...] A YouTube video of the contest instructions shows how to print a poster of Reid and Pelosi and construct a stand for it. The clip shows a person dousing the Democratic leaders’ images with flammable liquid. The next scene shows their picture going up in flames. People are then encouraged to take pictures, record and submit online the footage of their Oct. 31 protests. “No, this is not a threat to their body,” an unidentified man says in the instructional video, “but it is a threat to their soul.”
Wow. You know, when you look back to that Rev. Dipshit who was praying to God to strike Obama down with a heart attack (or something, I can’t remember), xianity really comes into focus…
Praise Be! Glory!
Fundamentalist Christians whatever their denomination do not fail to keep us supplied with a steady stream of material to post about. Here is a story about a crazy fundie teacher at a public school in Arizona who is telling kids things creepy things that the devil tries to do. He also uses his platform for proseltyzing and encouraging the kids to pray, etc.
Teacher accused of telling devil tales could be fired
“Could be fired”? How about should be fired!
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.15.2009
A teacher accused of telling his second-grade students frightening tales about the devil is facing dismissal from Miller Elementary School.
Michael P. Corkery came under scrutiny last month when a parent sent a letter to the south-side school saying her child was being taught about Jesus, God and the devil.
The child said Corkery taught the students that the devil rapes little boys and “touches them where they don’t want to be touched,” according to the parent’s letter.
The student went on to say that the class was told not to tell the principal what they were learning because he could get fired and then he would miss them.
That is a tactic an abusive teacher used when I was in the fifth grade, but he didn’t play on our sympathies. He told us if we told the principal or our parents that he would “get us.” Unfortunately, despite complaints from the students and a few parents, this same monster went on to become co-principal of the school! Good thing times have changed and most parents listen to what their children are telling them.
The article goes on to tell more about this lunatic:
Miller Principal Mary Anderson placed Corkery on administrative leave and conducted individual interviews with 22 of the 25 students in the class.
Ten of the students interviewed made statements that were consistent with the allegations in the letter, said a complaint filed with the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board.
One student told Anderson that Corkery discussed the crucifixion of Jesus. Another said Corkery told the students to pray to God before they went to bed for protection of their families, the report said.
One student reported that Corkery told the children that if they lied, the devil would pull their feet while they slept, causing their feet to turn red.
Another said Corkery taught them to “never go on the devil’s side, never be the devil.”
Several students mentioned a devil doll that was kept in the classroom and utilized by Corkery, according to the report.
I hope that this insane man will never be allowed near children again.
Atheists Oppose Christian Science “Faith Healing” Provisions in Health Care Reform Bills
“Faith-healing provisions in health care reform bills”? I knew the anti-abortionists were in a tizzy about provisions for abortion coverage, however I had no idea there were provisions to allow reimbursements for magical “medicine”!
An Atheist public policy organization today called for elimination of
requirements in Senate legislation which would reimburse faith-based
“healers” for their services.
Reimburse for what? If their imaginary friend is doing their healing, shouldn’t their imaginary friend receive imaginary “reimbursement”?
“Any adult in the legislative or executive branch of the federal
government, or of any state government, who wants to use unproven,
unscientific ‘remedies’ should be free to do so,” said Buckner. “But
support for such irrational nonsense violates the separation of
religion and government and the canons of good sense. Including
faith-healing or other non-medical ‘treatment’ in health care
legislation must be rejected.”Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists, said that
Christian Science and other faith-based healers already receive public
money, and that the policy is not based on good science.“We need to spend that money on providing solid, fact-based medicine.
Reimbursing the faith-healing industry wastes precious resources, and
violates the separation of church and state.”
It’s a damn good thing there are people paying close attention to these sneaky superstitious folks.
Good response by Illini Pundit.com — Voodoo Healthanomics?
Giving any sort of legitimacy to quackery, religious or otherwise, seems inherently dangerous to me. Especially dangerous and indeed often fatal to children of folks who take this stuff too far. While this particular amendment doesn’t seem to change the fact that killing a child with faith based denial of care is still generally illegal, it could encourage more of it and even reward those who attempt it and propagate irrational fears, distrust, or dismissal of proven medical treatments to those who might otherwise not know better. Of course empowering the government to decide what treatments should be covered is bound to cause even more issues along these lines. Will insurance companies or government programs be forced to pay for scientology thetan tests too? How about subluxation tests/treatment in the quackier side of chiropractic care which has roughly the same scientific grounding… i.e. none. Will we end up with a public option for prayer circle coverage too?
This religious nuttery in government and elsewhere is out of control. No wonder this health care reform bill is taking so long to pass! Too much bullshit to weed out!
And another child dies because of the parents’ superstitious beliefs. And no god comes to save him.
DA: Pa. couple prayed, denied care to dying tot
PHILADELPHIA – A fundamentalist couple who prayed over their sick toddler rather than get medical help before his pneumonia death have been ordered to stand trial on manslaughter charges.
Prosecutors believe 2-year-old Kent Schaible succumbed because his parents chose prayer over modern medicine.
*snip*
The Schaibles, who quit school after ninth grade, work as teachers at their church, First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia judge who upheld involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and conspiracy charges Wednesday against the Schaibles called them “loving” but “misguided.”
Kent Schaible died Jan. 24, about 10 days after he fell ill. His symptoms included coughing, congestion, crankiness and a loss of appetite, and he was warm to the touch, the parents told police in their Jan. 26 statements.
“They took time off from work, they fed him, they nourished him, they comforted him,” Carmen said.
A day or two before he died, they thought he was improving, as he slept better and ate and drank some. But when his condition worsened, they called their pastor and then a funeral home.
Police later asked why they didn’t call a doctor.
Good question. I am sure the DA will ask that question.
Of course, the defending attorney is crying religious persecution.
“We’re talking about symptoms that mirrored the flu and the common cold,” said public defender Francis Carmen, who represents the mother. “The Commonwealth is dragging this (issue) into the courtroom, to persecute them for their minority religious beliefs.”
Someone needs to inform this Mr Carmen that the flu and common cold can be quite serious, especially in the very young and very old. This isn’t about persecuting them for their religious beliefs. They are being held accountable for the welfare and protection of their child, which they failed to do and is criminal neglect. That they never called a doctor even when the child grew seriously ill is proof enough.
