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I will not go quietly into the night!

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  • P.T. Barnum Was Right

    Every so often there is a biological science report extolling the advanced level of the human brain. These reports expound upon the remarkable memory capacity and reasoning ability of this evolved organ. It is unfortunate that like the muscles in a body if a brain is not utilized, not exercised, it atrophies, or fails to reach it’s potential in the first place.

    The Creation Museum established by Ken Ham in Petersburg Kentucky is expanding. Also a theme park is being planned. Ken Ham is doing a brisk business. Obviously, pulling the wool over the eyes of the majority of the American public is no difficult task. He is fully substantiating the assertion of many non-believers that religion is just a business.

    1. Science has proven the age of the Earth at around 4.5 billion years.
    2. Evolution is a proven fact. Countless fossils and genetic analysis proves this.
    3. Scholarly research has established the distinct possibility that Jesus is a composite of many earlier messiahs and most likely never walked the Earth.

    Nevertheless there is a segment of the American public which prefers to extract their science from an ancient tome written for the most part over 2000 years ago, by people who thought that the world was flat, the stars were mere lights in the sky, and that the Sun orbited the Earth. They declare that the Earth is possibly 6000 years old at best, this determined by examining scriptural references of the lineage of humans leading back to Adam. They believe totally that the human race is a creation of God, created as adults, with Eve taken from a rib of Adam. “I didn’t come from no monkey” is the usual response when it is suggested that humans arose as all other animal species did, via evolution. No one suggested that they did evolve from monkeys, but they can’t seem to hear that instead preferring to dismiss evolution.

    Christianity has an investment in this segment of people. To allow them to enter the real world would diminish the flow of cash into their coffers. By holding out the carrot of eternal life in paradise they have been able to keep the sheep in the fold, and the cash flowing in. Ken Ham, in carrying this fleecing to greater heights, is merely feeding an addiction. Many people want so to believe the bible infallible, true in every aspect, making Ken Ham’s sham possible.

    http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/11/pt_barnum_was_right.php

    http://www.wlwt.com/r/25852269/detail.html

  • Solstice Season

    My how the years pass swiftly by, seems just a short while ago that my parents celebration of the Christmas holiday was taking place when I was a child. Of course, their celebration was just that, no ceremony, just celebration. Not a church going couple and I think they never did attend as long as I can remember. Actually as I think back today, in many ways ours was a truly secular family, with my own childhood only disturbed once  by a friend’s invitation to his church. (Even that short exposure was difficult to erase, so I can understand why so many stay trapped so long.)

    The time of year as a season of celebration was hijacked from ancient cultures. Christians, observing that the pagans were obstinate about celebrating the Solstice simply inserted their holiday, Christmas, into the slot the Solstice celebration existed within for many years. They were quite successful, as most Christians now believe the lie that the bible says Jesus was born at this time. Like the brown-headed cowbird which lays it’s eggs in other birds nests, Christians have substituted their religion for that of the pagans, and succeeded in having others aid in it’s proliferation.

    Winter Solstice Celebrations were not simply the creation of  ancient Europeans, even the Native Americans had winter solstice celebrations which lasted many days. Many countries and religions had various winter solstice celebrations, some of which continue even today.

    In closing, I sincerely hope everyone gives thanks this Thanksgiving, thank the farmer for growing the food, the supermarket for making it easier for you to acquire, and your employer for providing the means for you to earn the money to live the good life we Americans live.

    And this Solstice Season, put up a tree, as many cultures have always done, provide gifts for your loved ones, and drink a  toast to life, as it is wonderful and worth living.

  • Pilot project:video

  • Poor Old Campbell

    This is the City. Two police officers on patrol on a Sunday morning.

    “Good to have you aboard this morning, Bill.”

    “Well, if I had to be demoted back to the beat from detective, this is the place I would want to end up, Pete. Too bad about Reed, what with the economy forcing his layoff, and all.”

    “How’s Joe taking it?”

    “The stress of the extra job load is taking it’s toll. He’s smoking like a chimney these days.”

    “Those coffin nails are going to kill him someday.”

    “Can’t tell him anything.”

    Just then the car in front of them makes a left turn without signaling. Pete flashes the lights, the woman pulls over. Pete exits and approaches the car. Bill, observing from the car sees the woman hand Pete her license and registration, just a routine stop, only a warning this time. The radio blares a message as Bill watches Pete, “Car in vicinity of Azitex Mills, manager reports man by the side of the road, possibly inebriated.”

    Grabbing the mike Bill responds, “Car 12, will respond.”

    As Pete reenters the car Bill relays the message and the patrol car speeds off. Soon the car is on East 15th street. Approaching Azitex, the man lying near the curb is soon visible.

    “It’s old Otis, again! This is twice this month.” Bill observes.

    The car pulls up in the parking space next to where the man is resting. The two officers exit and casually walk over to the man.

    “Otis, wake up…” shouts Pete as he physically tries to bring Otis out of his stupor.

    “Wha…. guh! What are you doing in my house, Pete?” blubbers the man, obviously still 3 sheets to the wind.

    “Come on Otis, we’ll take you back to the tank where you can sleep it off.” states Pete, lifting the man by his arm to a standing position. Carefully the two officers escort Otis to the back seat of the patrol car and once he is secure the car pulls away from the curb.

    “Don’t know what got into me, Pete, how did I end up on the street there. Don’t know how I got there.”

    “I don’t know how you got there either Otis, but I do know what got into you. Probably some cheap wine.”

    As the patrol car navigates the streets, Otis, slipping into sad drunk mode observes a church they are passing, parking lot filled to the brim, overflowing into the streets.

    “Them people. They go to the church for the same reason I go to a bar. They want to magin’ being some place better, at least for a little while. They goes in, seeking god, but he never shows. At least for a little while, they feel important, not neglected, part of a group. Then they go back home, but the magic don’t last, soon they are just like everybody else, tryin’ to survive. “

    “Maybe you need to go there Otis. Might keep you out of the gutter.”

    “All’s the same! My world, their world, make believe. We both find a different way to deal with it, reality, that is. Or should I say, avoiding it. Pete, you know, I went in one once, to see if God was there.”

    “You, in a church, that’ll be the day.”

    “No, really, did. Didn’t find no God, but found a lot of people who said they spoke for him. Everybody claimed they knew him. When I asked to see him they said it was all a matter of faith. If I would just believe, they said, I would live forever in heaven with God.”

    “What happened then?”

    “I asked them to show me some proof, instead they showed me the door.” is the short reply.

    As the car pulls up to the station Otis makes one last remark. “Weak, that’s what we are. Both me and the church people. Seeking escape from reality, from facing the truth. Being sober is too hard, so I look for relief in a bottle, they look for relief in an old book of fables.”

    Gently Otis is pulled from the car and escorted inside.

  • Let Us Face The Truth

    A quote found in “The Quotable Atheist” a book authored by Jack Huberman. The quote is by Ibn Warraq, a pseudonym by the real author to preserve his life as he is an escapee from Islam.

    “Let us face the truth…. Islam divides the world in two; Dar-ul Harb [land of war] and Dar-ul Islam [land of Islam]. Dar-ul Harb is the land of the infidels. Muslims are required to infiltrate those lands, proselytize, procreate until their numbers increase, and then start the war… impose islam… and convert that land into Dar-ul Islam… And when the ignorant among us read those hate-laden verses, they act on them and the result is September 11, human bombs in Israel, massacres in East Timor and Bangladesh, kidnappings and killings in the Philipines, slavery in the Sudan, honor killings in Pakistan and Jordan, torture in Iran, stoning and maiming in Afghanistan and Iran, violence in Algeria, terrorism in Palestine and misery and death in every Islamic country…. It is not the extremists who have misunderstood Islam. They do literally what the Qur’an asks them to do. It is we who misunderstand Islam.”

    Questions arise….

    1. Should a belief system which does not tolerate, will not change and then tolerate, be tolerated?

    2. With the exception of a couple of centuries or so, how does the Christian faith differ?

    3. How is it different when Christian missionaries today go into foreign lands, proselytize, generating bigotry and division among the peoples, from what the ‘missionaries’ of Islam are doing here and other western oriented societies?

  • Wait

    The wait grows tiresome. Long ago it was already time to move on, but I have hesitated. The desired return to normal programming has not occurred. It is detrimental to delay in moving on. There is no purpose in delay. Certain individuals and things must be discarded when they become incompatible with the present. So it is now, and move on I must.

  • NOT JUST ANOTHER WORDPRESS BLOG SITE

    A welcome and an insult in the same breath.

  • Why No One Matters

    Each individual is a world. Each has their own concept of the ways things should be. Some base them on fantasies, others on reality, others on a mixture of both fantasy and reality.

    One individual’s world does not necessarily interact or depend upon another’s world. Realities are separate and neither affects or is dependent on the other. Degrees of interaction may require compartments of one to be dependent on the other, but only to the degree of content, not existence. The whole is not damaged by the altering or loss of a compartment. The world of one, continues, regardless, whole, complete, repairable.

    The oppressive nature of some, that insist their realities are the only realities, are irrelevant, as they are irrelevant. No one can know true reality as no one is unfettered by some distortion created by personal notions of the way things should be. Such an unfettered person, who most likely can never be encountered, would  seem strange  indeed. Would the person, who cannot know reality, even perceive someone who is totally reality based, and recognize them as such? Could such a person be observed? Recognized? An individual, fettered by distortions created by personal notions, would no doubt impose such distortions upon the unfettered, without realization of having done so. This is where assumptions, and misunderstandings originate. Seeing something of yourself, thinking they are similar, is a cause of much turmoil within human society.

    Once a reality comes into existence, altering it is impossible. Small incremental changes can be made, but as said before, the whole, continues. Realizations can be achieved, as my realization that each individual is a collection of notions, and a separate reality. Behavior can be modified to accommodate this observation, to alleviate personal disappointment and stress, but care must be taken to never assume anything.

    In the end, each individual is a world of one, each reality a creation of the individual, whereas interaction between realities is possible in a limited way, from separate perspectives, each reality is independent of all others, existing by itself. No one’s reality matters to anyone else’s, therefore no one else matters, except, in a compartment of one’s own reality.

    The only way peace will ever materialize for humanity is for everyone realizing the reality of separation of realities. No one sees the same thing, in anything, no assumptions can be made.  No one sees the same issue in the same way, ever. There is always some nuance which is different, and unless such differences are accommodated, there will always be conflict.

    ns4ia

  • Trust

    Internet friendships no matter how long they endure can not be allowed to proceed beyond certain levels. Personal information should never be freely handed out to internet friends, who, regardless of how long you think you may have known them, may not be the person you think they are.

    Even if you blog, and they make inquiries of a personal nature, the purpose of such could be to bring you down, embarrass you.

    Access levels should be assigned, and those that do not qualify, kept in the dark, about personal information, no matter the topic. It is sad, that such measures must be taken. It does indeed seem a dog eat dog world.

  • Time to End the Free Ride

    It has been estimated that if religious institutions were taxed like all other business enterprises the income tax on individuals could be cut by 50% as well as provide the government with adequate funds to finance a national health care program.

    Religions are a business. Churches, religions, are in the business of selling salvation, forgiveness, and whereas some of their services, like counseling, may seem intangible, no more so than the services of a psychiatrist.

    Churches also charge fees for various ceremonies. Examples include: marriages, funerals, communions. Income is also realized from the operation of schools, collections, donations, investments.

    In addition, land owned by religious institutions is not taxed, which results in a great loss of revenue for communities.

    Through these tax breaks all Americans are forced to subsidize religious institutions. Nonbelievers are also forced to subsidize this religious business without any recourse. Churches are being maintained and reaping profits with the help of Atheist citizens. No one should be forced to support any religious institution. This outrage must be ended.

    jesus car