Power to the PeaceFUL

In response to The Power of Peace and 41 and Done, with deference to Ghandi et al and artistically portrayed through a personal favorite of mine, Anti-Flag's Power to the Peaceful, there are admittedly some reassuring events taking place currently.

Also corroborating Richard Dawkin's idea of a shifting moral zeitgeist,

people are beginning to realize that the use of peaceful protest - en mass - as a means to enact progressive change is perhaps more influential than ever imagined. However, this mechanism would 1) not be nearly as affective without morality as defined in the year 2011 and 2) used in conjunction with the interconnectedness of geographically isolated cultures through the internet and global media.

These events have caused many of the typical freedom and democracy-thumpers to divest themselves of their flag covered shell and to speak of caution and in outright opposition to these overwhelmingly peaceful movements against oppressive autocratic, theocratic and kleptocratic oligarchies. Not only do these naysayers soil themselves with hypocrisy since it has been "vital" to spread democracy around the world - often by force - but they are tacitly acknowledging that democracy is only good when it's good for them, which completely dissolves their definition of "democracy" as an inherently righteous system. For many of us, this comes as no surprise as the American government has been supporting brutal right-wing authoritarian regimes for the last century (see: Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, the Taliban, Nicaragua, Chile, Cambodia and many many more and include such individuals as Mubarek, Saddam Hussein, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Pinochet and Pol Pot and many many more than I can think of at the moment). This wasn't just turning a blind eye to genocide, mass murders or the systematic subjugation of a citizenry, this was direct support by the U.S. government in order to protect and perpetuate these regimes in the name of "our" supposed interest.

The hypocrisy of American democracy-thumpers does bring up an important point, which is the inherent goodness of democracy is predicated on the presumption that the majority view is 1) morally superior 2) displays an affinity toward free markets and 3) like the markets tends to be self-correcting through open and honest elections. Without debating the merits of these points, it's important to note what democracy is NOT, and that is, just like the markets, it's unpredictable and inherently oppressive of minority views. I'm not advocating for another system of governance, but I do want to point out the paradox of promoting democracy through verbalized ideology and supporting the antithesis through action. I'd also like to point out that just like anything else, embracing democracy as a dogma can be a dangerous game (see Hamas).

With that said, these peaceful protests have been a touching portrayal of the human "spirit" and whatever the people want, as long as it doesn't promote violence, irrationality or illogic as a doctrine, it is their destiny (ugh melodramatic) to create; we need to sit this one out. I think if anything, this whole movement is indicative of the short-sidedness and futility of the dogmatic view of militaristic intervention as a force for good.

THE CONSTITUTION: FUCK YEAH!!

RE: OMG! Creeping Christian Sharia!


Mr. Brayton correctly points out the parallels between this case of Biblically-based mediation and the "proliferation" of Sharia law in communities such as Dearborn, Michigan. The implied question is, "Where is the outrage?" Well, this is indicative of the hypocritical reasoning behind a group of certain political and metaphysical persuasion. These are the people who claim to worship a literal interpretation of the US Constitution as a means-all, ends-all to a national philosophy, that is of course... until they don't.

"We worship the 1st amendment, but the clause 'prohibiting any law respecting an establishment of religion' has nothing to do with a separation of church and sate and we ARE a Christian nation even though claiming this in a legal sense is actually unconstitutional."

"The constitution is as inflexible as the Ten Commandments were from the carved out stone of Mt. Sinai and we love the 14th amendment, but it really shouldn't apply anymore to 1st generation Mexican-Americans born of illegal immigrants."

"We love the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment... that is until it becomes inconvenient and we drop it like a bad date and go home with the Patriot Act."

"The constitution is great because it promises equal protection for all and something something about life, liberty and happiness and we are a constitutionally limited government, but we're still going to tell you whose dick you can or cannot felate and which person you can or cannot marry."

"The constitution is the strict law of the land and if you have any intellectual dissent you are unAmerican and we agree with everything in the constitution... that is... UNTIL WE DON'T!"

Response to Juan Williams Firing

I don't think what he said makes him a bigot and based on his discussion alone he should not have been fired. Humans have evolved to identify patterns as a mechanism for self-preservation. (Eg: TV shows us: "ALLAH AKHBAR!!" -> BOMB -> people die -> conditioned to resist Islam in all forms/places in order to survive). Psych 101.

People who claim Islam is a peaceful religion are deluded. The religion is based on the doctrine and the doctrine is full of violent - what we now consider highly immoral - dictations. Islam is also not exclusively violent by any means. This whole meme is a lesson in our susceptibility toward irrational beliefs and using reason to overcome that for our own benefit AND the comfort for our collective living space.

However, if a 27 yr old average-Jake can live amongst Muslims, talk with Muslims, maintain many Muslim friends and identify that the chances of being killed by a terrorist attack in America is less than being struck by lightning, then shame on a middle-aged, highly "intellectual" and "cultured" Juan Williams for not doing the same.

As far as being fired by NPR, well, he was correct to say he does not fit in (their) box. NPR is one of the last bastions of relatively untainted journalism in the current age of admitted anti-intellectualism. It's pretty obvious where the conflict of interest arises when you act as an NPR analyst during the day and a Fox pundit at night, not to mention breaking specific sections of NPR's employee standards regarding making opinions public. If he was fired for any reason other than continually defying this employer statute over the course of years, then his termination was wrong.

This isn't censorship though, it's business. My employer is a DOD contractor and if I go around bad-mouthing the DOD there is a good chance we will lose contracts and I will get fired. I took the job on this understanding of professional discretion. Juan Williams did the same, was indiscrete (many times) and was fired for it.

Well what about cutting federal funding?!?!?!??!?!!?
I think there is an argument to be made that if he was NOT fired then gov't funding should have ceased because these funds were being allocated based on the presumption of set standards (ie. contractual guidelines for employees) that was being consistently stretched and broken over Mr. Williams' tenure.

BUTT-SEX INDUCED RETARD FROG-SQUIRREL

So evolution says...

The simple truth that Glenn Beck can say something of such intellectual incoherence - something in which I could eat tainted chorizo and literally SHART more intelligible audio - and still have such enraptured viewership, amazes me of how much further advanced I really am than him and his ilk and equally as horrified that I supposedly have to face the god that supposedly "intelligently" designed the aforementioned when I die.

Did anyone else draw the same parallels between Beck's faith-influenced obstinance and Mrs. Garrison's glorious display of scholarly interpretation of evolution?

Capitalism as Proxy for Truth???

via xkcd

This indicator is not without essential caveats:

1) Suggesting that people don't capitalize on many of the above phenomenon that are unchecked is simply false.

2) Whether or not these unfortunate people benefit from "utilizing" certain unsubstantiated phenomenon is independent to the credibility of such claims (I.e. the placebo effect).

3) It goes without question that in our society, capitalism, or the act of making money for the sake of making money, attracts some of our brightest minds. It is also apparent that many of these minds work for some of the most ruthlessly capitalistic companies where "business ethic" means "profit margins." The supply-siders would argue that capitalism does a great job of regulating itself by rewarding innovation and overall effectiveness of product or service.

Essentially, if homeopathy cured cancer or even helped with depression or the common cold, Fortune 500 companies would be on this money maker faster than you can say "bullshit."

Substitute homeopathy for any number of delusive claims and this model is actually pretty reliable.

Stream of Lottery-Balls:

Ugh.. I'm super fucking tired because last night in my Kauakauna, WI hotel I "tossed and turned" from 10pm until after 2am, which never happens. I ALWAYS sleep like a rock. My morning could be described by what Rowdy Roddy Piper said in They Live, "Life's a Bitch... and she's in heat." Then it pisses down on me during the entire 'subsurface hydrological investigation' I was conducting. After I get done - muddied, soaked, dejected- it takes me 6 fucking hours to get home for a typical 3.5 hour drive: Traffic. Fucking Traffic. The single leading reason why I want to move on a very private piece of 10 acres. Don't get me wrong, I love the city... most cities in fact. I would rather raise children in the city. It's a perfect place for someone with a hyper 'sympathetic nervous response' because it's wonderful immersion therapy. One of my biggest pet-peeves, especially after living/working in chicago/london for over a combined three years, is when people I come across ask where I live and retort with, "Oh.. I'm from Chicago!! I grew up in Joliet!" Are you fucking kidding me? There is something admirable and challenging and sexy about living in the city. I can so empathize with sahar and her friends and everyone else who is Chicago-proper and have to listen to a bunch of spoiled Schaumbergians tell people that they too are from Chicago. It's like saying you were in Nam, but served in the Texas Air National Gaurd.

It's common knowledge now that BP lobbied the British govt for the release of the lockerbie mass murderer. BP sold their souls and we continue to suck willingly at their over-powering, evil dick. This is sick. We love to bitch them out when they destroy our earth and lobby to free a murderer of innocent people for profits, but continue to lovingly swallow their black jiz without bashing a lash or thinking twice. They are jokes. We are jokes. I stopped buying BP gasoline, but not only is my 401k probably heavily diversified with BP funds, as are all of yours, any other oil companies are just as bad. You'd think by not buying anyting plastic, buying all locally made product and using an electric vehicle would put these guys out of business... HA.. good luck with that. This is an anal-rape Stockholm syndrome. We're hooked. I mean for one, everything is plastic. And two, not only do we not have the electric-generation infrastructure to support even a 100K more electric vehicles, but where teh fuck do yo uthink we're going to get the electricity if a demand is created for these cars? Most likely, coal-fired power plants. Pound for pound... well let's just say this... in terms of pollution and greenhouse gasses: Faith is to Science as Coal is to Petroleum. Ok not the most congruent of ACT questions but illustrates my point nonetheless.

This post is a result of several weeks of chronic anxiety + acute stress + way too much scotch.
If I had a dollar for every one of you I loved I'd hav elike fifteen dollars.

A Book (Book) Review

The term Bible comes from a Greek word meaning books. And here are several reviews of said book(s):

Hell Froze Over

Tonight Bill O'Reilly unexpectedly, pragmatically, rhetorically asked if Al Gore was correct about global warming. This aberration was a result of a recent press release by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric citing recent climatic data indicating June 2010 the warmest month on record and that 2010 is on pace to be the warmest year on record, not to mention that the last decade was the warmest on record. All of this warming, which climatologists cannot explain through natural processes, ironically coincides with an unprecedented amount of unnatural unsequestering (if you will) of greenhouse gasses. Maybe we should listen to the climatologists.

Personally, I have no doubt regarding the validity of anthropogenic alterations of our climate. Deniers - many of whom live in relatively quaint suburbs, all of whom seem to perpetuate their ill-informed views due to an ideological ego-complex - either base their views on faith or actually look at some of the evidence, but retain their status quo because a narrow worldview does not allow abstract ideas to influence their bias. They continue to experience placid springs, frigid winters and that coupled with an ideological ego means all is good in the land of God and guns. You don't have to study the recession of the Greenland Ice Sheet through advanced physical techniques in glaciology to gain a concrete understanding of what is going on.

Simply travel to a city such as Beijing, Tehran, Mumbai or even L.A. and hundreds of others and you will get close-up and personal view (and smell) of how we are warming and changing our world's environment (for the worse). It's not difficult to determine the molecular byproducts of internal combustion, add the roughly 3.6 million cars in Beijing plus all the other internal combustion vehicles in the world, include industrial processes and all of the other inconspicuous sources of CO2, CH4,... including the artificially inflated number of cattle and you'll understand that for the first time in history we are dramatically changing atmospheric constituents at an alarming pace. Something is going to happen. Even if you completely disagree that the current warming trend is man made, you no doubt agree that:

1) If you fucking blow the tailpipe of your Escalade while on, you will pass out or die. If you continue to blow the tailpipe while on, you will turn into a cancer-ridden, conservative Christian invalid. Since most people don't blow their tailpipe, the earth - in a way - is blowing your tailpipe. The tailpipe effluent typically stays in the atmosphere for a long time. This is going to do stuff and if nothing else, destroy our air quality.

2) Current lifestyles are not sustainable. Not the relative ignorant, self-anointed environmental liberal idea of sustainable that is living in a 3,000 square foot home, but taking advantage of Chicago's recycling program. (FYI- None of our current recycling programs are sustainable). And not the conservative definition of sustainable, which is inherently evil because it infringes on personal liberty and is nothing more than green-industry propaganda; rather, sustainable as defined by Thomas Friedman, "Sustainability says that I will behave as if I will always be here and always be held accountable for what took place on my watch."

3) Despite your misguided definition of conservatism and ignorant views on nationalism, you are supporting terrorism. Every dollar of gas you put in your car helps support radical Islamic countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia who are very well-known financial supporters of groups like the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Hamas and the like.

With this is mind, I think it's a great idea to continue driving your Hummer and supporting a business-as-usual energy paradigm because that doesn't conflict with your conservative views at all.

I Love Airport(s) (Bar(s))

Possibly due to the optimistic excitement created only by large groups of outgoing explorers, or perhaps it is the same characterstic hustle and bustle that draws me to the city, or maybe it is because I am still a little boy when it comes to any type of aircraft, but most likely it is the fact that I can look professional whilst binge drinking large amounts of piss beer.

Mel Gibson's Pancake Nipples in all Their Glory

Possibly the worst idea in the history of mankind is the advent of white undergarments to cover orifices that excrete dark brown, bright yellow, red and sometimes even green. I seriously cannot fathom why anyone would buy white underwear. White underwear is a perfect analog for religion: A great number of people believing a horrible idea because that is what the people before them believed and so on ad infinitum. This case being that it is a good idea to cover a shit-spewing sphincter, for example, with white linen.

Speaking of shit-spewing sphincter, is anyone else tired of the incongruity that is Sarah Palin's logic? The media should also be humiliated for covering Bristol "I preach abstinence-only eduction, but continue to take more black cocks than that blonde in 18 and Taking it Deep 4" Palin and her supposed future husband. It's one thing to cover inane topics such as the Palins and their erroneous relevance, it's another thing to cover Mel Gibson in an attempt to destroy is reputation and career.

I used to think Matt and Trey were being hard on Mel when they would seemingly arbitrarily satirize him. Yet, as a testament to their genius, they were obviously on to something.



He's pretty close to winning the douche of the year award, but a close second would have to be Dr. Phil. God what a douche.

At least legitimate shrinks capitalize on people's problems in private instead of exploiting them for ratings. And please don't think that Dr. Phil's pancake nipples make him credible. A lot of douche bags have wonderful pancake nipples. Hell, I bet Sarah and Bristol have pancake nipples.

pan·cake nip·ple
Pronunciation: \ˈpan-ˌkāk ˈni-pəl\
1. Aeriola or tissue of 'Andre the Giant' proportions around the protuberance of mammary gland, see pannies.

Can you use it in a sentence?

That bitch looked like a shit-spewing sphincter, but Daayyamn! she had some sweet-ass pancake nipples!

I'd like to close with the keys to a Clean Sweep (ie. The ART of defecating without the need to clean up effluent remnants).

1) Fiber, insoluble and soluble
2) Adequate protein
3) Morning and evening squat thrusts
4) Tri-weekly meeting with Colonel and Anel Angus
5) And most importantly, communion. The weekly consumption of the Body of Christ, specifically the portion of his divinely superior small intestine.

Ten Commandments Vs. Ten Commandments:

Let me present a lesson in modern morality - or amorality - brought to you by of those Christ'n Christians, Jump'n Jewsafits and Maulin Muslims. Please allow yourself to be refreshed by the 'moral' foundations many of you continue to fight for in our society. Taken from the book of Exodus, which is the narrative of Moses's acid trip in which 'God' spoke to him and inscripted his absolute moral directives on stone, and retold in Deutoronomy, here is what you've all been waiting for! (with a bit of my rudimentary insight in red)

-I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (I'm afraid since I was not of Jewish lineage, God technically did not bring me out of the land of Egypt ergo he does not want me to claim him).

-Do not have any other gods before me. (There are a lot of people around the world breaking this one. Is it just me or does God seem more of a self-conscious, pimply-faced deity?)

-You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (What about Freud's theory of 'Penis Envy.' Many woman subconsciously worship the Almighty Peep. Didn't God make woman in his image from Adam's rib or something. Does God worship the Peep above himself?)

-You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. (I thought God was all-loving. If you failed to notice, he's flat out saying that he will punish innocent children. Hmm.. jealous and vengeful. What a wise God).

-You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. (My Grandfather used the phrase God Damnit several times a day over the course of his successful and relative fortuitous 85 year-old life).

-Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. (God in human form, God's Son, one of the several Gods that make up what many people think is actually Christian polytheism or some conman (Jesus), says in Mark that not only was the Sabbath made for man, not the other way around, but the Sabath was/is just for Jews, so I guess all of us gentiles (the unchosen people) can sleep in).

-For six days you shall labour and do all your work. (Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. Guess most of the working class is going to hell).

-But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. (Ohhhhhhh.. so God is saying that slavery is morally acceptable. Great!)

-For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it. (I believe we have a name for people who believe this: Fucking Batshit Ignorant DogShit Bloody Tampon-Taco Crazy.

-Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. (Most teenage girls are going to burn).

-You shall not murder. (Duh).
-You shall not commit adultery. (From a social perspective, no. From a biological perspective, adultery is more natural than green grass).
-You shall not steal. (That would be the nice thing. Tell that to the pyramid scheme sub-prime mortgage securities and derivatives dealers, or maybe that should fall under the next one).

-You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

-You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Once again, it's ok to have slaves just not fuck them in the physical or in mind. Donkey? Really? Yeah, just because I have a partner means I find all other females hideous. Great intelligent design'n Jebus's Ghost).

For all you people of religion, particularly Abrahamic religions, that proclaim morality is absolute and a derivative of the above commandments, take a look at the list of 'commandments' below. Please read them carefully, study them, meditate (or pray) and compare them with your list. If you can look into your 'soul' and honestly say that you would rather live in the world with the former, we're all fucked. However, I already know your answer; I already know that no matter how much evidence and reason contradicts your amoral and paradoxical belief system, you will always side with your god because THAT IS FAITH. For everyone else, read and be enlightened:

*Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.

*In all things, strive to cause no harm.

*Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.

*Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.

*Live life with a sense of joy and wonder.

*Always seek to be learning something new.

*Test all things; always check your ideas against the facts, and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.

*Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.

*Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reason and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.

*Question everything.

I Worship YOU Carl Sagan!

Somewhere in my awkward adolescents - before my scientific and literary comprehension allowed me to fully grasp the depth of such substance - I read Carl Sagan's "Dragons of Eden." Having won a Pulitzer prize in some years before my conception, this work of art about evolutionary biology, psychology and the like has all but contextually fleeted at this point in my life except for a few thoughts about similarities between the brain scans of humans and chimps. However, as a symbol of my enlightenment for the unrelenting profundity of our existence and 'the' - not our - universe, it persists.


Later, during my intoxicated teens, it was Sagan's "Billions and Billions" that really brought me into the realm of science. Written as a collection of essays on global warming, religion and morality, abortion, anthropology and on and on, "Billions and Billions," in its unpretentious prose, illustrated the sheer breadth of science as a practice and savior: I was hooked.



The final stage in my conversion came in college with "The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark." A book that should be required reading for all high school students, after consuming this instruction manual on the scientific method as a means of critical thinking, there was no going back. I could no longer accept a claim on face value regardless of volume of belief. I could no longer NOT question authority whether in politics, religion and even science. I finally understood that faith as a virtue meant a life without integrity.



The following is Mr. Sagan at his finest, perhaps because of his relaxing tone or maybe because of the density of consciousness-raising in nine minutes, either way, Carl Sagan has taught me that there is more beauty and wonder in the universe than any religion and spirituality can offer, there is comfort in scientific achievement and there is always hope - without simply conjuring fictions - in what we don't yet know.



via Pharyngula

Days of My Life (via iphone and a self-hating neo-luddite)

We believe this is the elf that tends to defecate in our mouths after long nights of drinking. There is also reason to believe the elf steals my socks and hides my keys. Based on apparent excitement of the elf, it is likely the subject just consumed several of my socks and subsequently took a nice dook in my sleeping mouth.

Rare physical contact with the elusive underpants gnome.

Beast-sitting this cat-dog, Sahar gets a free exfoliation from a sandpaper tongue, but developed a rash probably due to the fact that this thing regularly licks its butt.



Dr. Seuss role-playing.



My home office. It's a much less depressing view in the summer and the thick foliage allows me to work naked without being branded a pervert. It's pretty tranquil until the affluent queens come by walking their noisy ankle-biting designer dogs and bump Cher in their convertibles. No joke. They don't help the stereotype.

I call this "Afternoon Sailing: Horizon Over Easy."

Commuter's view of the most underrated 'coastline' in the world.

Lunch Break
Crosstown bike commute.

Shakira, "Statistics Don't Lie and I'm Starting to Feel It's Right"

"Jake, you have no idea how bad it's getting down there," as my friend attempts to justify Arizona's new immigration bill, most likely in response to the murder of a rancher - suspected by this Fox News report - by an illegal immigrant drug scout. The author takes no time in stating that the rancher was, "...likely killed by an illegal immigrant," but cites circumstantial evidence that would not hold up in any objective court.

I don't want to take away from the tragedy of such senseless violence, and I am in no position to claim an understanding of the Mexican-American border town dynamic, but wish to make two points:

1) This is a perfect example of mob mentality: condemning a group of people based on the actions of a few outliers.

2) There are conspicuous differences between the overwhelming majority of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. and that of illegal immigrants associated with the drug trade.

Take a look at arrest records from around the country to confirm my claim. After all, what is the incentive for someone who takes great risks for a better life just to turn around and break the law by committing a violent crime and risk imprisonment and deportation back to the ghetto? It's simply cost/benefit and the short answer is there is no incentive.

Most of the 'crime' associated with illegal immigration isn't about immigration at all, but about the drug trade, which was brought to Mexico in a large part due to our 'War on Drugs.' The geniuses decided that creating a blockade in the Caribbean would stop drugs and crime in the U.S., but all it did was reinforce the 'path of least resistance' principal. Now, drug cartels have taken over Mexico, created virtual war zones and have ultimately helped in destroying the economy south of the border. And who do we blame but the very hardworking people who have ultimately helped grow our GDP (overall net positive/negative fiscal benefit can be debated).

Conservatives, mostly, are using the increased crime wave caused by illegals to push through the most controversial immigration bill in our history. But, if you look closely and objectively, there is no increased crime wave. The FBI has just released new data indicating that overall, violent crime in Arizona is down.

This debate is as much about violence as a violent regime was Bush's reasoning for going into Iraq. If that was the case, Bush would have gone into Darfur and we would currently be talking about the internal genocide taking place on the streets of Chicago's south-side instead of the 'violence' 'perpetuated' by illegal immigrants in Arizona. But it's not about violence and crime; it's about power and selfishness and a lack of empathy and xenophobia.

President Obama was all but crucified by conservatives when he stated that, "The southern border is more secure today than at any time in the past 20 years." Any objectivist can look at the data (e.g. number of personnel on the border, amount of technological security developments, length and height of physical obstructions and crime rates in southern states) and reasonably make the same deductions of Mr. Obama. Just take a look at these two graphs illustrating violent crime in Phoenix and Mesa over the last decade through data collected by the FBI:

Obviously these aren't exactly 'border towns,' but not only can these data reliably be used as proxies for other towns in Arizona, much of the anti-immigrant and pro-SB 1070 rhetoric comes from cities such as Phoenix and Mesa. There are no doubt many violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants and these graphs also do not represent the first generation children of illegal immigrants, many of whom turn to gangs and other crime as a result of what some experts say is a loss of culture and lack of supervision by parents who have to work long hours and multiple jobs. However, suggesting there is an inherent relationship between illegal immigration and crime is disingenuous at best and is more likely due to the well-documented relationship of poverty and crime.

I have no problem carrying a national i.d. card with me all the time or limiting immigration in the U.S. similar to that of NPOs keeping a large percentage of profits in order to perpetuate their cause, but let's acknowledge that America is not a white-Anglo-conservative closed system, rather it's a country that was the original moral authority as a model for freedom despite race, color and creed.

Christopher Hitchens Meet God's Wrath

Christopher Hitchens, author of "Why God Is Not Great" and most notably known for his unrepentant anti-religious views, has rather unsurprisingly developed esophageal cancer. After years of blasphemy toward, well, all faith ideologies, it's apparent that the God of Christ - or perhaps Allah, or maybe the Jewish Yahweh or Vishnu or Krishna or Nirankar or Buddha, oh and let's not forget conman turned deity Joseph Smith - has smote a group of Mr. Hitchens' esophageal cells with uncontrolled cell division.

Experts are not yet sure which one of these deities was responsible, but the consensus is that it was a group decision most likely taken place at a restaurant known as The Golden Coral, famous for its Divine trough for lower class individuals of greater mass. An unconfirmed report noted that Jesus, being a poor, dirty, whore-fucker (Mary Magdalene) who also enjoys babyback ribs, threw a temper tantrum until his Father, being the most powerful deity, chose the trough.

Time passed not until our compassionate, humble leaders came out of the pew-work and noted that Mr. Hitchen's cancer is the obvious result of his repeated blasphemy and will end in his deathbed conversion. Writer for the online Star Ledger, George Berkin, is quoted as saying,

"It would be a huge blow to Hitchens' ego (as it is to any ego) to admit that he's been wrong these many years. But Hitchens' rebellion against God has been so public that God may require a very public humbling.

But maybe God is doing it this way because he desires that Hitchens give up his "god," that is, Hitchens' pride in being different from the run-of-the-mill mortal. Maybe God is doing it this way so that Hitchens can encounter the God he has been denying for so long, before eternity sets in."

Berkin, being the good Christian he is, also asks all believers to pray for Mr. Hitchens despite his deserved diagnosis. At first I did not understand why we should spend time with this hell-bound mole, but it makes sense after reviewing double-blind studies of prayer in medicine that conclude prayer is no more useful than a placebo effect and actually, if people know that many believers are praying for them, they tend to fair much worse due to an anxiety to get better. Therefore, Hitchens won't get better (pheww!). (Need us not forget that people of faith tend to reference science when it helps our cause, but reject it in defense of God's Will when evidence hurts our ideology).

My fiancée, a rather ignorantly boorish woman with whom I have dominion over, has a scientific (psshh) graduate degree from a non sanctioned (by God) University. She is employed as an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Physician's Assistant and claims she is inundated with empirical evidence indicating that Mr. Hitchens' cancer was not a result of super-natural punishment. HA! Yeah right.

I have looked at this so-called evidence that has been published in countless peer-reviewed medical journals, textbooks, media programs and while the evidence 'appears' to be valid and while there 'is' a consensus of my fiancée's claim with the same people who have developed what is known as Western Medicine (psshh again), we all know God's Will is not evidential, but based on the Virtue of Faith: Belief in something in spite of all evidence to the contrary and an unwillingness to change our minds even if it makes us look like ignorant stubborn-headed Christards. Let us not forget these are the same people who insist on sticking fingers up Men's butts in order to supposedly "check" the prostate. Need we forget that homosexuals should not be trusted and will burn in hell for their sins?

Rationalists, people of 'reason' and nonbelievers have already begun claiming that even if Mr. Hitchens does have a deathbed conversion, it has no relevance on the validity of their absurd claims that there is no God, or at least the violent megalomeniacal jealous and ignorant God of Abrahamic religions. Remember, people of reason are EVIL! Reason undermines our faith-based belief system and will result in a world where our children will go to Sunday Science School and learn to look at the world objectively and will solve humanity's problems - Divine tests purposely sent down by God - which will lead to better quality of life for everyone. I say, why would we want gays and Mexicans to have a better life?

In the end, my fiancee continues to blasphemously claim that Mr. Hitchens' cancer is the result of years of abuse represented in the images below. What horrible Reason:

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY

Alien Penis to Planetary Intercourse: Is it Sodomy?

HOW THE TEXAS GOP THINK BLOW J'S ARE DIRTY AND ARE ACTUALLY ALL CLOSET HOMOGAYS SO THEY WANT TO RUIN IT FOR THE REST OF US:

(Please reference this story in previously linked article pertaining to the Texas GOP attempting to recriminlize sodomy and make homosexuality a felony in new platform).

Let me state for the record that sex without sodomy (e.g. oral sex, anal sex, ear or nose sex, basically any non-genital to genital contact) is like fishing… sober. Sex without sodomy is like non-alcoholic beer. Sex without sodomy is like eating a black-bean burger. Sex without sodomy is like baked, not fried Buffalo wings. Actually sex without sodomy is like baked, not fried anything. Sex without sodomy is like being in Wrigley bleachers and not drinking Old Style. Sex without sodomy is like basing your worldview on ancient creation stories purple-monkey-dishwashered down from generation to generation.

The “platform” is outlined with ten main principles that are woven within more hypocrisies and naiveties than bullet points. “We believe in: the sanctity of human life, created in the image of God; having an educated population; a free enterprise society unencumbered by government interference or subsidies,” to quote a few.

I’m not quite sure how having an educated population equates to the abolishment of mandatory schooling for children and not having even a rudimentary understanding of scientific methodology and its inherent motivations – based on historical evidence, it’s not an effective practice to attribute all unknown phenomena to divine intervention.

Without government subsidies, not only would the private Texas farmer go out of business, but without regulation such as Sherman (Anti) Trust, we could all likely work for a handful of giant corporations in what would be the ultimate plutarchy. While at it, why don’t we remove subsidies from gasoline as this is government intervention? I have no problem riding my bike or paying more for gasoline if that means a paradigm shift to a more energy efficient and independent culture. However, it’s highly likely that if this happened, the Texas GOP would somehow use the unsubsidized, higher gas prices to blame the government in its predictable charlatanic fashion.

The points that really grab my attention though are 1) Strict adherence to the Declaration of Independence and U.S. and Texas Constitutions, and 10) Restoring American sovereignty and leadership, and we honor all of those that serve and protect our freedom with peace through strength.

It’s not an accident that strict adherence to the Declaration of Independence (DOI) – a document that has no legal standing – is mentioned before the U.S. Constitution. While the DOI is an honorable mission statement with respect to human rights, the only reason they hold it in such high regard is because it is their only connection – albeit erroneous – between the U.S. and their dogmatic ideology. First, the DOI refers to the “Divine Providence,” “Creator” and “Nature’s God,” all terms that reflect the majority of founders’ deistic views. Again, for the evidence-impaired, objective historical analysis tells us that most founders were at the most, deistic, which is the belief that a supreme being kick-started the universe, but has absolutely no interference therein. While some of the founders attended church as cultural status, a few of the more insignificant founders were Christians, but most were private agnostics and atheists while many were openly critical of theism.

Here are just a few quotes to corroborate my claim:
Thomas Jefferson:
“(the God of Moses is), of terrific character – cruel, vindictive, capricious and unust.”

“Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity.”

“Christianity is the most perverted system ever shone on man.”

“Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.”

Benjamin Franklin:
“Lighthouses are more useful than churches.”

James Madison:
“During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.

Let’s not forget the treaty with Tripoli drafted in 1796 by George Washington and signed by John Adams in 1797 that states, “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”

Even if the term “Creator” was in some sense a literal interpretation, in no way does it specify a “Christian Creator.” In fact, I’d be willing to bet the writers of the DOI were referring to a monstrous extra-terrestrial ejaculation on what we now call Earth that created us in the well-known theory of Panspermia; a cosmic facial of universal proportions, if you will. In fact, the only reason the Texas GOP does not welcome Panspermia with open arms is because it’s considered sodomy – alien penis to planetary intercourse, not alien penis to alien vagina intercourse.

First, let me explain the Texas GOP’s closet gay infatuation with sodomy. It all began with a biblical reference to Sodom and Gomorrah in the book of Genesis and the story of Lot, an upstanding citizen who houses two angels – who have the appearance of men – to protect them against a mob of men. The mob of men want to “know” the two men in the house (i.e. rape them) and Lot in his compassion offers up his two virgin daughters instead, “bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes.” Eventually the mob is blinded and God, in his infinite wisdom and loving kindness, annihilates Sodom along with all innocent bystanders, in a rain of sulfur and fire. From this account, the Texas GOP does not want you to have oral or anal sex. Bummer.

Jude reiterates this account in the New Testament, “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” In other words, if you have anal, you’re going to burn, right? Wrong! The phrases in the English version of the bible that use the above terms, “sexual immorality” and “unnatural desire” were incorrect translations that should have read, “strange flesh.” Most biblical scholars believe the story of Sodom was not referring to consensual sex, but either rape or a desire to have sex, possibly with angels.

Let’s review: The Texas GOP is basing public policy on millenia-old, misinterpreted stories about a mob of men who wanted to rape angels. Do we really want to go back to this level of thinking? Or let me rephrase: Can we once and for all divest ourselves of this ignorance? Most people say, “Even though I am a Christian I’m not as radical as the Texas GOP.” Unfortunately, many of my friends and family, people who I love dearly, still think Jesus was born of a virgin. Instead of taking this indoctrination at face value, I have actually done some research and found that the English version of the bible translated “virgin” from the Greek word for virgin, “parthenos,” which was MISTRANSLATED from the Hebrew (first biblical language) word “almah,” meaning YOUNG WOMAN! Even if Jebus existed and divinity aside, he was born of a young woman according to the original version of the Bible.

The Texas GOP also states, “We believe that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases. Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans.” Not to mention the over 50% divorce rate in the U.S., which I’m sure they’ll blame on gays; not to mention the reference to “…ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders,” which was completely and accurately refuted by what little evidence I provided in the above essayic ramblings; not to mention there is not one credible peer-reviewed study showing any evidence connecting the decline of the nuclear family and homosexuality: But we’re still on the gay issue?! I’m getting tired so I am only going to say this, countless studies in The American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and National Association of Social Workers illustrate that the vast majority of homosexual adults were raised by heterosexual parents and the vast majority of children raised by lesbian and gay parents eventually grow up to be heterosexual. Way to turn your kids gay, supposed straight Texas GOP representatives.

Let me finish by briefly touching on the concept of freedom, which is referenced in bullet point ten. I have two complaints about the people who preach about freedom – or lack thereof – due to government “overreach.”

1) These people preach, “Freedom! Freedom!” unless of course it contradicts their dogmatic, dark-age view of humanity.


2) These people – libertarians, Christian conservatives, etc – don’t understand nonlinear dynamics. They don’t understand that the freedom of an industry in a deregulated market is the oppression of those who get sick or die due to unethical waste disposal practices or work conditions. They don’t understand that the freedom for a multi-national conglomerate monopoly is the oppression of a small business start up as well as the oppression of a consumer due to price-fixing. They don’t understand how the freedom of insurance companies to drop customers to save money is the oppression of the sick who desperately need the health insurance they purchased. They don’t understand that you can’t have an omniscient and omnipotent (pronounced Omni – pōtent) God and have freewill.

The Texas GOP and their ilk are unable to comprehend how one person’s freedom is another person’s oppression; their platform is a throwback to an totalitarian dogmatic theocracy and a very slippery-slope to a modern day Inquisition.

The Barbarians... A Dialogue: Response to Brain

Well it's important to identify the distinct dangers between the two groups. Through empirical evidence we can safely conclude that the group currently containing the most extremists is Islam. (Extremists being those who not only foster fundamental and violent views, but are also willing to bridge the gap between those views and action, as opposed to people who, for example, believe homosexuals should die, but are unwilling to kill them).

I completely agree with you that the acute danger comes from the likely chance - and continual willingness - that Muslim extremists will carry out an extremely destructive, relatively isolated one-off attack. However, for someone like Hedges who has probably been completely desensitized to the violence of war and of terrorist attacks, the fear the rest of us have in the back of our minds no longer lingers in his, which allows him to see perhaps the most destructive danger facing the United States.

Think about it: Chicago gets nuked, the economy crashes, we go Hulk on all countries harboring Muslim extremists, we start back with our lives (well those who weren’t within 100 square miles of the city), the economy comes back up, life goes on and the U.S. survives.

Now what could completely destroy the U.S. as we know it? The danger, as Hedges understands, lies with the connection of Christian iconography with American nationalism; a U.S. Christian Theocracy, or some form thereof. As much grief as Obama gets from both sides* for trying to mitigate multiple cluster fucks, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that someone like Palin or Huckabee get elected in 2012.

[*That’s a big difference between conservatives and progressives, the former, who is pretty use to making decisions based on little evidence, rarely questions or criticizes authority of the same “party,” yet, the latter will shoot themselves in the foot because they are typically of the more rational persuasion and will criticize and hold leaders of their “party” to the fire until Jebus comes back with a bunch on those horses. ]

It’s bad enough that during one of the Republican debates when the panel was asked if they rejected evolution, three of the candidates raised their hands and they all agreed that intelligent design (creationism) should be taught alongside evolution. I listed just two quotes, but there are countless quotes that just reek of ignorance, intolerance and an unwillingness to learn facts.

These are the same people who think that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation even though there is not a single word of relation in the constitution and while some of the framers were relatively fundamental, most at best were deists and according to historical consensus, the majority were cultural Christians while holding agnostic or atheist views (even though agnosticism is being an atheist). These are the same people who waste more moral time and energy on the rights of a 150-cell blastocyst while refusing to promote technology that could relieve the suffering for billions of actual HUMANS. These are the same people who have been responsible for the very real stagnation of scientific and moral progress as a result of their dogma. These are the people who think the burden of proof is on us and claim WE are the intolerant, dogmatic, arrogant ones even though THEY are the ones that claim their “book” is so profound that it was written under the direction of an omnipotent and omniscient super-being, even though WE are just simply the ones who have considered their claims, have read their books and have made the rational deduction that their claims are absurd.
When you divest yourself of the acute fear Muslim extremism brings, you can clearly see what we should be worried about and continue to fight.

PS: There are 20-500 million sperm cells per milliliter per 2-6 milliliters per ejaculation. Jesus Christ, how many living cells (ie, potential human beings) have I destroyed with just my involuntary ejaculations (ie, nocturnal emissions, monthly through my urine due to natural production and renewal of sperm cells), not to mention my voluntary ejaculations?! The simple answer is trillions and trillions of potential human beings have been put to death through natural processes that I cannot control. Since I am made in God’s image and I have murdered trillions to the power of trillion potential human beings… well… God must be a dick (no pun intended).

The Barbarians Are Coming!

Chris Hedges - despite his overused pessimism, likely the result of years as a war correspondent in some of the most violent zones in recent history - is one of the most prolific reality clarifying writers of our time. In his article, The Christian Fascists Are Growing Stronger, Hedges quickly states, "...the Christian right, have begun to dismantle the intellectual and scientific rigor of the Enlightenment." Perhaps the most frightening revelation is that Hedges believes the Christian right believe “Global war, even nuclear war, is not to be feared, but welcomed as the harbinger of the Second Coming.”

This is nothing new to people who follow these ignorant ramblings, but it makes it none less inevitably horrifying when potential conservative candidates such as Sarah Palin is quoted as saying, "God made dinosaurs 4,000 years ago as ultimately flawed creatures, lizards of Satan really, so when they died and became petroleum products we, made in his perfect image, could use them in our pickup trucks, snow machines and fishing boats,” and Mike Huckabee is quoted as saying the earth is only 6,000 years old.”

Hedges briefly mentions the “rewriting of textbooks,” referring to recent amendments in Texas social studies curriculum. For those of you who are not privy to this very public information, these changes include, but are not limited to:

-The removal and/or downplay of Thomas Jefferson’s role in our founding due to his secularist philosophies.

-Questioning the separation of church and state.

-Claiming the U.S. was infiltrated by communists during the Cold War and giving credit to Joseph McCarthy for his infamous “witch-hunts.”

He concludes this thought with a spot-on observation that,“Facts and opinions, once they are used “scientifically” to support the irrational, become interchangeable. Reality is no longer based on the gathering of facts and evidence. It is based on ideology. Facts are altered. Lies become true.”

The scientific method, which I would define as developing results (making conclusions) through repeated experimental observation (emprical evidence), reporting methods and conclusions in peer-reviewed journals, allowing other scientists to repeat these methods to come up with new results and if these methods are repeated enough and consistent results are maintained whilst holding to the rigors of peer-review, then a consensus is developed (Long sentence, poor grammar. Get off my back. This is science not english). That is science. There are no absolutes in science, only statistical likelihood. For instance, experiments with gravity have yielded consistent results since Newton’s day that says the statistical likelihood that the gravitational constant is approximately 9.8 m/s^2 are pretty good. However, the beauty of science is that this “theory of gravity” – while the whole of it remains intact – has and will continue change as new empirical evidence is produced through the scientific method. With this we know that gravity is weaker at lower latitudes and higher altitudes and etc, etc, etc.

The theory of evolution is analogous to the above. Through the scientific method we have determined the accuracy of isotopic dating, illustrated the evolution of the eye and have identified natural selection as the primary mechanism of evolution, which is NOT survival of the fittest, but the process by which certain genetic traits that favor survival our passed down through successive generations. Yet as Hedges correctly cites, “The Christian right has, for this reason, its own creationist “scientists” who use the language of science to promote anti-science.” He goes on to say, “Once creationists can argue on the same platform as geologists, asserting that the Grand Canyon was not created 6 billion years ago but 6,000 years ago by the great flood that lifted up Noah’s ark, we have lost. The acceptance of mythology as a legitimate alternative to reality is a body blow to the rational, secular state. The destruction of rational and empirically based belief systems is fundamental to the creation of all totalitarian ideologies.”

I have so many beloved friends, families and professional acquaintances that consider themselves religious moderates. These people typically hold one of three views:

1) I don’t want to get involved. Ignorance is bliss.
2) I don’t have time or don’t want to take the effort to educate myself.
3) Unfortunately I shape my world view around my ideology beginning with conclusions, then searching out evidence, which is the inverse of scientific method.

It is this last world view that is by far the most frustrating, but all three are detrimental to our species. There is a great quote from Boondock Saints where the priest says, “Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.” Most of my friends and family are genuinely good people, but as the priest says, stop being evil, get off your ass and fucking educate yourselves so we don’t get literally and figuratively ass-raped by the impending wave of barbaric theocrats because as Hedges says, “They are coming.”

I do have one criticism of the article, however, which is the false equivalency Hedges draws by grouping Jews and Muslims in what the Christian right is attempting to eradicate, along with the other "social deviants": homosexuals, immigrants, secular humanists and feminists. Obviously Hedges is attempting to provide examples for the intolerance of the Christian right; I just hate to see the "Chosen People" and "a group that calls for the extermination of anyone who does not follow Islam (see the Qur'an)," two groups of people that make conscious decisions to follow immoral, violent Abrahamic doctrines, with people that were born with a sexuality they could not choose, people seeking a $5/day job in order to feed their families, people who refuse to base decisions on ignorance, or faith, and people who attempt to seek equal treatment and opportunities as their male counterpart. (As an aside, there is a very proven inverse relationship with the empowerment of woman and population growth. Hmm... )

Regardless, this is another gift from a man who has devoted his life to intellectual enlightenment, despite his seemingly sexual fetish for war zones.

Islam a peaceful religion?

For those who occasionally stomach my crappy and sporadic blog posts, but don't have facebook, their was a brief discussion about the appropriateness of a mosque being constructed near the ruins of the World Trade Center. I urge everyone to participate in this dialogue as it is vital to our moral progress.

**DISCLAIMER** MORAL PROGRESS: It is good to give someone a hug. It is NOT good to behead someone based on your "supernaturally" derived doctrinal directives. Alliteration is good. It is NOT good to worship a violent doctrine, but call yourself a peaceful religion.

Below is a transcript of the online discussion started by the Artificial Intelligent simply known as, "Brain." But first, here is a picture that proves we can all get along:

In order of intelligence: oh shit.. um.. don't think I can categorize these guys by intelligence. From left to right: Joseph Smith, Buddha, Jebus and Muhammad. (Note how they are all getting along).

--------------------------------------------------------------

Brain:

A mosque 600 ft from Ground Zero, are you fucking kidding me?? BRB...I'm going to go erect a Hooters next to the Dome of the Rock, I'm sure the Islamic faithful will have no problem with that.

Girl:

We shouldn't punish a whole religion of people because the actions of a very small group of people. It's like the man who attacked me on the el telling me I had no right to be in America because my people bombed Pearl Harbor (ha moron, I'm Koean - but that is besides the point) and the man who attacked me on the steet yelling "you killed my uncle ... See Morein Korea!!!!!" I would hope that I there will come a time that I and everyone else in the world is no longer judged simply by their race/religion or the actions of a few crazies (example for white people: the KKK).

Brain:

I have no sympathy for the followers of a religion that preaches the destruction of everything we hold dear.

Islam is NOT a religion of peace, their prophet was a militant who killed over 3,000 people.

Just a few "peaceful" passages from the Quran below... tell me you want the followers of this religion anywhere in our country, let alone Ground Zero.

Quran 4:89: "They (infidels) desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah's way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper."

Quran 8:12: "Instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers;"

Quran 2:191: "... kill the disbelievers wherever we find them …"

Quran 22:19-22: "… for them (the unbelievers) garments of fire shall be cut and there shall be poured over their heads boiling water whereby whatever is in their bowels and skin shall be dissolved and they will be punished with hooked iron rods."

Quran 8:12: "Your Lord inspired the angels with the message: 'I will terrorize the unbelievers. Therefore smite them on their necks and every joint and incapacitate them. Strike off their heads and cut off each of their fingers and toes.'"

Quran 8:7: "Allah wished to confirm the truth by His words: 'Wipe the infidels out to the last.'" Quran 8:59: "The infidels should not think that they can get away from us. Prepare against them whatever arms and weaponry you can muster so that you may terrorize them. They are your enemy and Allah's enemy."

Quran 8:60: "Prepare against them whatever arms and cavalry you can muster that you may strike terror in the enemies of Allah, and others besides them not known to you."

Quran 9.29" "Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection."

Quran 47:4: "Strike off the heads of the disbelievers" and, after making a "wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives."

Hadith Sahih Muslim (41:6985): "Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: 'The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.'"

Quran 9:5: "When the sacred forbidden months for fighting are past, fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, torture them, and lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war."

Sura 3:151: "Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers for that they joined companions with Allah for which He had sent no authority: their abode will be the fire; and evil is the home of the wrong-doers!"

Sura 8:60: "Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power including steeds of war to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies of Allah and your enemies and others besides whom ye may not know but whom Allah doth know. Whatever ye shall spend in the cause of Allah shall be repaid unto you and ye shall not be treated unjustly." Tabari IX:113: "Allah permits you to shut them (women) in separate rooms and to beat them, but not severely. If they abstain, they have the right to food and clothing. Treat women well for they are like domestic animals and they possess nothing themselves. Allah has made the enjoyment of their bodies lawful in his Quran."

Tabari I:280: "Allah said, 'It is My obligation to make Eve bleed once every month as she made this tree bleed. I must also make Eve stupid, although I created her intelligent.' Because Allah afflicted Eve, all of the women of this world menstruate and are stupid."

Ishaq:327: "Allah said, 'A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion."

Girl:

Everyone knows I'm not a fan of any organized religion in general. I just believe in respecting humanity. I could paste the whole bible, any bible, here and it would be filled with all kinds of nonsense that is good for no one. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. :) Have a fantastic weekend! Can't wait to see the kitties at Kims!

Me:

Anyone who says or thinks Islam is a peaceful religion is patently ignorant and so pumped with "tolerance" that they rob themselves of any and all intellectual credibility.

For those who claim they are peaceful Muslims and Islam is a peaceful religion, they 1) are bad followers of their own religion as you can tell from the aforementioned ... See Morepassages 2) need to omit those passages and print new doctrinal hardcopies, which really just voids their current religion and creates a whole new mythology and 3) need to come out and speak LOUD against the violent rhetoric and horrific murders being carried out all over the world against all "non-believers" (which they aren't doing.. and if they are.. it's not LOUD enough).

You can be a compassionate progressive, such as ourselves, without giving violent mythologies a free-pass from any type of justified critiques. Even Christianity, in terms of a doctrine, is arguably just as violent as Islam, and for those of you who disagree, in my next post I will repeat all of the lovely passages that advocate genocide, gang-rape of minors, slavery, intolerance, etc etc etc. Just because most Christians don't preach violence doesn't mean they once did not do this, as history dictates. Christianity is just an older religion and fortunately the brightness of reason has cut through and diminished that violence and ignorance over the centuries. It's tragic how people somehow derive THEIR moral authority from these writings.

Erecting a mosque next to the site where 3,000 civilians were killed in the name of Allah and preaching the same violent doctrine the 19 hijackers used to justify this genocide... well in OUR world we protect this type of behavior because that is the civilized, moral action that we concluded through millenia of trial and error through evolution... but next time I'm in the area, don't be surprised if I eat a bunch of greasy Sbarro and take a steaming hot shit on top of your new shiny mosque.

Girl:

There were millions of people killed during th Christian Crusades in the name of Christianity and millions before and after including specific events towards Jews, Heretics, Native Americans, Africans, the Vietnamese, and the list goes on and on. These actions were done by everyday Christians in the name of "god", not even close to the radical muslims involved in the twin towers tragedy. You don't see anyone attacking churches, do you? Oh wait, yeah, the KKK burns them cuz the church happens to be filled with black people. If we judged whole groups of people by the actions of a few - we would live in a pretty intolerant world with very few of the freedoms that we all enjoy - espeically this crazy freedom of speech thing.

Me:

"These actions were done by everyday Christians in the name of "god", not even close to the radical muslims involved in the twin towers tragedy."

So you're saying there is a false equivalency with christian and islamic violence? I'm sure quantifiably they are different, but analogously they are the exact same in terms of violence. I completely ... See Moreagree that there are a few "bad apples" in a world full of relatively peaceful muslims. When I was in Iran most people I came across were either cultural muslims or at least "public" muslims in order not to risk indefinite detainment without habeous corpus. Now these people were mostly educated, but my point is that if you look at the current islamic theocracies or pseudo-theocracies such as iran, saudi arabia, afghanistan, jordan, bahrain, etc., you will see a very concrete causatory relationship with violence (particularly against woman) and islam.

We should never judge a whole group by just a few, that is obviously the sign of an advanced, civilized species; however, when the vast majority of a peaceful group bases their life around a violent doctrine and doesn't come out and LOUDLY, publicly decry the violence of their few, they are doing a disservice to themselves and insulting the rest of us.

As a quasi-pacifist I never advocate violence or even the defacing (with feces) really anything. My comment about the sbarro-induced flaming poo was merely a facetious parallel to highlight the incongruities of constructing a mosque based on a violent doctrine next to the 9/11 site. Freedom (reasonable freedoms not unrealistic childish libertarian freedoms) is the most important aspect of our country, but a little compassion is prudent occasionally as well. Until I see these mosque leaders hold multiple press conferences, advertisements, release statements decrying violence toward anyone in the name of islam, even against satirists who draw muhammad, I will continue to view this situation as insulting and absurd.

My point was that from a doctrinal standpoint, both islam and christianity are incredibly violent religions; this is indisputable.

Boy:

This is why religion is evil

Girl:

exactly!

Brain:

I'm sure there's plenty of "peaceful" Muslims out there, cherry-picking what parts of the Quran they're going to adhere to and ignoring that part about killing the infidels, but are they even Muslim in the first place?

As Jake pointed out, when you remove certain parts of the holy text you create an entirely new mythology all together. I've ... See Morealways found it strange to refer to suicide bombers and their ilk as "radical" or "extreme." I think a much more accurate description would be PRACTICING MUSLIMS.

No matter how you try to defend these "peaceful" Muslims, the fact remains that their instruction manual for life, the Quran, basically beats you over the head with the mantra, "KILL THE NON-BELIEVERS." I'd like to believe that most humans would realize that killing someone because they don't believe in your deity is completely fucking stupid, unfortunately, this is not the case. Christianity's been around longer than Islam and, for the most part, Christians have stopped murdering non-believers (even though the Bible instructs them to do so). I can only hope that in another 700 years, Muslims will do the same.

Until then, Islam remains very dangerous and every mosque that pops up only causes their numbers to swell and unfortunately for us, there's no disclaimer in the Quran that reads: "Just ignore all that stuff about beheading infidels, spreading fear, owning slaves and degrading women."

Me:

I'm going to assume since no one else is chiming in here everyone on facebook agrees with Jakemon and Brainba. Come on... won't someone continue the debate...?!

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Daily Thoughts

The Duggar Mom's "plumbing" has got to be absolutely destroyed. Maybe they have raised some good kids (despite being crazy jebus freaks), but seriously, save some air for the rest of us. Did you know they declared their house a freakin church and are tax exempt now? For someone who is an ardent supporter of zero-population growth and who thinks that just because you pray to "zeus" doesn't mean you shouldn't have to pay taxes, watching this show is like listening to nails on a chalkboard all the while seeing our president placate conservatives and libertarians by doing shit in mitigating the worst environmental disaster the U.S. has ever experienced.

You know, libertarians, the people who rail against such institutions as the EPA until THEIR child develops brain tumors or leukemia because of some companies reckless waste disposal practices and they have to watch THEIR child die a slow tortured death. On a lighter note, our friend Javi is making a Mexican feast the likes of haven't been seen since good'ol Rob Rum's fiesta days. You can't beat ethnic food, high life and Sahartsock on a beautiful Chicago afternoon.

PS: Libertarians and Theocrats eat poop.

Exploiting fat kid... Childhood obesity is hilarious