1 In 5 Americans Believe Obama Is A Cactus

I found this story from The Onion extremely funny... sad because it so closely mirrors the truth... but, funny nonetheless...

Poll: 1 In 5 Americans Believe Obama Is A Cactus

Proud to be a Liberal

Christine O'Donnell's Greatest Hits (so far)

She is the best friend Delaware Democrats have ever had!

More Proof That Smoking Is Bad For You

A LAWYER who videoed himself smoking cigarettes made with pages from the Bible and the Koran expects to lose his job at a Queensland university.

In a YouTube video titled ''Bible or Koran - which burns best?'' Queensland University of Technology staff member Alex Stewart compares cigarettes made with pages from the two texts. The atheist says in the clip that burning religious books is no big deal and people need to get over it.

But the Queensland University of Technology is not impressed and has demanded an explanation.

Mr Stewart, an assistant organiser with a group called Brisbane Atheists, was not at home yesterday but in a message on the group's website said he expected to be sacked. ''I'm screwed. I think I will lose my job over this. Damn it.''

The president of the Islamic Association of Australia, Sheikh Muhammad Wahid, said Mr Stewart's actions were hurtful to Muslims.

In the clip, Mr Stewart gave the Bible a seven out of 10 for its burning qualities, and said the Koran left him feeling sick.

Robert Green Ingersoll

Robert Green Ingersoll was a Civil War veteran, political leader, and orator, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism.

The Second Annual Robert G. Ingersoll Oratory Contest will be held on Sunday, October 24, 2010... and with that in mind, here are a few of his interesting thoughts:

"The man who does not do his own thinking is a slave, and is a traitor to himself and to his fellow-men."
- Robert Green Ingersoll, "The Liberty of Man, Woman and Child"

"The notion that faith in Christ is to be rewarded by an eternity of bliss, while a dependence upon reason, observation and experience merits everlasting pain, is too absurd for refutation, and can be relieved only by that unhappy mixture of insanity and ignorance, called "faith.""
- Robert Green Ingersoll, The Gods

"This century will be called Darwin's century. He was one of the greatest men who ever touched this globe. He has explained more of the phenomena of life than all of the religious teachers."
- Robert Green Ingersoll, "Orthodoxy"

"The hands that help are better far than the lips that pray."
- Robert Green Ingersoll

"The liberty of man is not safe in the hands of any church.
Wherever the Bible and sword are in partnership, man is a slave."
- Robert Green Ingersoll, Some Mistakes of Moses

Religion vs. Religion

In less than a month, Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida plans to host "Burn a Quran Day" to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The pastor, author of the book "Islam is of the Devil," is using the burning to urge American Christians to "stand up" to what he describes as a monolithic Muslim threat. A Facebook page for the event has accrued thousands of "likes" and Jones has said people have been mailing him Qurans to burn.

What to think of this one... well, there sure is a lot of ridiculous bluster here. Jones is using a stupid tactic (burning books) to raise attention. Instead of getting his message out, he will be equated with censorship a la Fahrenheit 451. Of course, there is an element of that in these books burning (it would seem that this pastor would be thrilled if Islam were to be censored), but I think the larger meaning of this burning event is as follows: Christianity is being threatened by Islam and there are militant factions within Islam that are violently anti-American.

Of course, Jones and his ilk say it much more offensively than that, and that is what hides some actual viable criticism of Islam (and, oh, yes, there is MUCH to criticize). Furthermore, the city of Gainesville has not given the chruch permission to burn, but the church said it will do so anyway. I hope they all get thrown in jail for that.

The other side seems to be a bunch of whining babies, making statements like "Jones' burning will have great symbolic significance to a Muslim world already feeling under attack by the United States. It will cause undue harm to U.S. relations with the Muslim world and particularly the war effort." Ridiculous. We are to worry about how a free expression of thoughts and ideas (albeit a patently stupid one) impacts on the very people that are being targeted by the event?

So, bottom line, there is more stupidity here than you can shake a stick at. Maybe if we wait around long enough the various religions of the world will destroy themselves. That'd be fine with me... except, of course, that they'd probably take most of us down with them.

For the time being, I think I'll just sit back and laugh at everyone involved in this one -- both sides.

Where Are The Statesmen Today?

"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."
-Benjamin Franklin, in Poor Richard's Almanac

"As to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of all government to protect all conscientious professors thereof, and I know of no other business which government hath to do therewith."
- Thomas Paine, Common Sense 1776

"Every new and successful example of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matter is of importance."
- President James Madison, in a letter to Edward Livingston, July 10, 1822

"We all agree that neither the government nor political parties ought to interfere with religious sects. It is equally true that religious sects ought not to interfere with the government or political parties. We believe that the cause of good government and the cause of religion suffer by all such interference."
- Rutherford B. Hayes, in a statement as Governor of Ohio, 1875

"Whatever one's religion in his private life may be, for the officeholder, nothing takes precedence over his oath to uphold the Constitution and all its parts--including the First Amendment and the strict separation of church and state."
- President John F. Kennedy, Look magazine interview, 1959

"It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others."
- President Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Benjamin Rush, 1803

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."
- President Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to the Danbury Baptists, 1802

"Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by a difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought to be deprecated."
- President George Washington, in a letter to Edward Newenham, 1792


I think we could use more of this caliber of politician in this day and age.

Government Sponsored Praying... Yeccchh!

Susan Narvaiz, mayor of San Marcos, Texas, sent a letter to area clergy and congregations inviting them to "a community wide prayer gathering" to pray for the city's sister city, Santiago, Mexico, and its mayor who was recently tragically killed. This prayer event took place Aug. 30, 2010.

Adding to the inappropriateness of a government-sponsored community prayer event, the mayor wrote the clergy:

"Also, August 30th marks the one year anniversary since we held a prayer meeting for rain, we will give thanks for the rain that we have been so blessed with this year. Please let me know if you have any questions, we believe this is the right thing to do to show our support for Santiago, and we need your help!"

It is a serious violation of our treasured constitutional principle of the separation between church and state for any elected official to hold a public prayer service, or to enjoin citizens to pray at all. Prayer is something that Thomas Jefferson as president pointed out was beyond the purview of elected officials. Elected officials hold civil powers alone.

This is not the first time that San Marcos is in the news for mixing religion and government. The San Marcos city council prays at its meetings. San Marcos Mayor Susan Narvaiz backs that too, saying "I think it’s our right (to pray at government meetings). It’s our history. If they can do it in Washington, we can do it in San Marcos. I have a belief that it serves a higher purpose to do so."

An interesting point... but the folks "in Washington" are wrong, too.