I am an atheist who has strong views about religion and the state......even at work I am surrounded by theist who I most generally cannot relate to nor them me. I so hunger for atheist companionship I cannot put it into words. I so miss like minded peeps that see the u.s. government and governments of the world for what they are.........I crave the atheist connection most of all. I had a wonderful group of like minded friends on facebook and the n.s.a. infected my computer to point I could…

Chickens Come Home to Roost

Note: I wrote this piece in 2010 because of US involvement in constant war. I knew about many of the wars via the movies (World Wars I & II, Korea). I was in the Army during Vietnam and witnessed several other US "interventions since then. This piece is only here because of one paragraph, which I highlighted in red. I will say up front that it took no…

Many Theists make this argument at some point, but it was Carl Sagan who said it with the most clarity:

“An atheist is someone who is certain that God does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against the existence of God. I know of no such compelling evidence. Because God can be relegated to remote times and…

I we look at the world today; We will undoubtedly see that the world is not at peace. If the situation were to be summerized using a simple quote; I would quote the bible. "Wars and rumors of Wars".

If we look at who it is that is fighting these wars we would see, for the most part it is theist that are waging these wars. I am not saying that the official reason for the wars is religious but I am saying that for many religion plays a major role in desire to fight. For many religion is…

I would think that, at some point or other in our arcs toward or in atheism, a good number of us have seen the following quote:

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.

-- Voltaire



That quote was on my mind this morning, to the point where I Googled it and found via Wikiquote that it was part of a larger statement made by Voltaire.  While the brief quote above is a powerful and disturbing statement, it is like many things…

I confess. I don’t understand the the word “surrender”. Sure, I’ve used the word. Like the popular 80s tune by Corey Hart “Never Surrender”, I’ve shouted the words during many late night study sessions. On reflection I don’t think I understand.

Both Google and Oxford (aka Googoxford) define surrender: ”cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority.“ Looking for enemies? How about the following:

war on crime

war on…

For some reason, I was actually quite nervous--maybe anxious is the word--entering St. Mathews Methodist Church December 22, 2013. I was out of my realm of comfort. I almost (stress almost) felt hypocritical. But I soon fell into a mindset of an outsider looking in, a sort of disinvolved observer.

Memories of past church attendance flooded my mind. And while I had stored such memories in "the attic", out they came as the service…

OK, I'll admit it; I was down about the apathy and indifference that greeted my Pot Stories. It was my magnum opus after a life of inescapable unconventionality.  Viet Nam, NYU, the ‘60s, New York City and a smorgasbord of pot and hash, pretty much blocked the straight and narrow path.  Studying social psych with Phil Zimbardo made it improbable I would allow myself to be drafted in 1966 when I graduated, just before the Tet Offensive. In my opinion, every new Army recruit…

Originally posted in the Society of Friends of Epicurus page.

Karl Marx’s fascination with the ancient atomists led him to base his dissertation on Democritus and Epicurus: an early symptom of his future career as a materialist philosopher.  However, from their respective vantage points in history, Marx and Epicurus both reacted against…

Okay, here's the background. I grew up a Methodist. My mother was choir director, and I sang. Really, that's the only reason I went, besides being forced.

Fast forward 50 years and my two (twin) sisters are involved at the same church--one plays organ and piano, the other directs the choir. Being that my parents anniversary was on Sunday, Dec. 22, I asked my father if he wanted to go to church to: a) honor mother (who died in '01), b) listen to and support his daughters doing music,…

In which I read from Santa Claus, Last of the Wildmen: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000 years, by Phyllis Siefker

Playlist

Wildman 1

Dion Opening

Intro 1

Alleee 1

Durwood Douche * Just Another Christmas Gift

Christmas one-liner 01

Paul Trip * I've Got a Date with Santa

Wildman 2

Martinn * Christmas in the City

Christmas…

The christian religion is struggling in this modern world but I don't believe it is because we are too modern for it. Many people do not believe in the spiritualism of it but want to adhere to the philosophy. I think for many the idea that the bible has stories and ideas of hate and violence, genocide and chosen people of god is a real problem. The other problem for many is the hypocrisy of the leadership. 

Phil Robertson, is an example of "look at these other people and their sins,…

Morality is a human construct, by and for humans. If not, we'd have to get it from a natural source . . . or a supernatural one. I'm an atheist, so a supernatural source isn't a serious alternative to me. That leaves one alternative: Nature. But I can't detect the slightest whiff of morality in nature. Mother nature is red in tooth and claw. She is indifferent to violence,…

This week we have Krampus from You Tube and American Dad. Also, there's more remixed Christmas tunes for your pleasure, and Krampus laments the fallout from the American popularization of her kind.

Playlist

A Krampus Story-Austria

Alleee1

Matt and Trey Parker * Dead, Dead, Dead

What is the Time

Kay Brown * Daddy, is Santa Really Six Foot Four

A Krampus…

Most known for his books "Lies My Teacher Told Me" and "Lies Across America," James Loewen tackles a subject that few white and just as many blacks Americans know little about and that is racism in small town America. "Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism," is a kick in head for those believing that racism in the United States is dead. This book also holds a…

Read this carefully worded article which doesn't give any clue as to how the Ethiopian maid in question became pregnant.

How did a 12 year old boy impregnate a 28 year old woman by himself? Gang rape is a frequent crime not only in the Muslim world but increasingly in Western countries too (Sweden, Britain), too often though, it is female children that are the victims.

There is overwhelming evidence for the use and abuse of foreign workers in Arab/Muslim countries. It is…

Political Correctness has become a Religion for Naive Fools and Idiotic Politicians to Follow.

I have just read a News Release that they are now starting an entire Psychological Study in order to understand why Youth who were raised in dysfunctional, sometimes violent, parental or guardian environments appear to be more resilient when it comes to dealing with hardship and depression.

Those children brought up in…

“The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White," a book written by James Loewen in 1971, is an important look at race in the United States, especially in the Deep South.

You may know of Loewen from his popular "Lies" books including "Lies My Teacher Told Me," "Lies Across America" and "Lies My Teacher Told Me About Christopher Columbus." Mississippi Chinese examines…