Archive for ‘March, 2010’

Stop Apologizing for the Pope

datePosted on 22:23, March 30th, 2010 by Kosmic Kurt

Enough already! Pope Ratzinger/Benedict/whatever is a malicious sadist. He willing allowed sadistic inappropriate behavior to transpire and furthermore covered it up. As has been pointed out by just about everyone on the planet lately; if he was shown evidence of abuses against children by Catholic priests and did nothing about it, he is guilty and culpable. If he did not understand what he was being shown or was ignorant of it, then he was, and still is, incompetent. He should not be in a position that has the power to influence millions of mindless sheep.  It’s not that difficult. This is an evil criminal that got busted. Plain and simple. Truly ignorant apologists like Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who recently compared Benedict to Christ in the way he is being persecuted, are idiots. Stop apologizing for your boss. He is a liar and pedophile enabler. Actually I take that back. I agree with Dolan. If Benedict is just like Christ, then perhaps we should crucify him. The world would be a much nicer place without him. Then again, keeping him alive will do more to discredit the Catholic Church then we could ever hope for. Maybe people will even doubt church doctrine and start using contraception in third world countries and lives could actually be saved. Tough call.

Court Upholds God in Pledge

datePosted on 10:24, March 16th, 2010 by Kosmic Kurt

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals formally rejected the lawsuit brought by Sacramento attorney Michael Newdow challenging the 1954 decision to add the words “…under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. Judge Carlos Bea, who wrote the majority opinion, said that the 1954 addition to the pledge was to set America apart from the “godless” communists and was not a violation of the Establishment Clause. He also confirmed that people are not required to say the pledge by law. The truth is, you do not have to say the pledge or even stand for it (West Virginia State Board of Education V. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624). That’s well and good; however, suppose you are a grade school student and refuse to say the pledge. There is really good chance that your teacher and rest of the class will either coerce you into saying it – or you will be severely chastised. The decision is B.S. and Judge Bea is dead wrong. Further, saying “under God” as in one god, rules out polytheistic religions like Hinduism. Explain to me how this does not violate the establishment clause of preferring one religion over another.

In a second ruling the same court also ruled that the motto “In God We Trust” on our currency was also not in violation of the establishment clause either and stated, “the phrase is ceremonial and patriotic and has nothing whatsoever to do with the establishment of religion.”

I am deeply saddened by the courts decision. It is clearly not in the best interest our country. And I can only hope that someday when reason prevails, both decisions will be overturned. In the meantime I will most likely continue to refuse to say the pledge and inform my daughter that she does not have to say it in school, however, I will understand if she does.

On the positive side, it should be noted that a federal judge did originally rule in favor of Newdow in 2005, but that decision resulted in it going on to the appeals court. It should also be noted that the current decision was a split one. As non-theists it is critical that we continue to protest and let our voices be heard in this matter. The only way to change the discriminatory status quo is to keep pushing for absolute separation of church and state in the way our Founding Fathers intended.

Muslims Strike Back: The Sectarian Killing in Nigeria Continues

datePosted on 14:10, March 8th, 2010 by Kosmic Kurt

If you remember, this past January, Christians slaughtered at least 150 Muslims in the town of Kuru Karama and left bodies piled in heaps out in the streets after having burned all of the houses down to the ground. Today Muslims raided a town south of the city of Jos, Nigeria and killed at least 200 Christians (New York Times Report). The raiders were seen using machetes and hacked mostly woman and children to death. The fighting in Nigeria is based on the ethnic divisions that exist in a country that is primarily half Christian and half Muslim. In all fairness, there are a number of issues other than religion that contributes to the rising body counts. But the main division itself is clearly one between Christians and Muslims. Is this a preview as to what could potential happen on a global level in the future? Most assuredly, yes!

Today in the United States tensions continue to rise as Christian Right fanatics continue to bash Muslims, Jews, non-theists, and even other Christians. Unfortunately almost all theists are united in their hatred towards us atheists. Even though we are not the ones attacking and perpetrating violence, we are still vilified. That is why it is so important to stand up as an atheist and as an atheist that helps people and does good deeds. We have the potential to work and live with theists – we are doing it right now. However, theists apparently do not have the potential to live with us – or each other, for that matter. You want see what happens when different theistic groups try to live together? Look to Nigeria. Perhaps if we wait long enough all of the Christian and Muslims will kill each other. Then all we have to worry about are the militant Buddhist and Hindus, and a couple hundred other theistic sects.

Imagine no religion.

Great Time to be an Atheist

datePosted on 23:44, March 2nd, 2010 by Kosmic Kurt

How fortunate we are to be atheists at a time like this. The unprecedented meeting last Friday between the Obama administration and the Secular Coalition of America, along with many of it’s member organizations, marks an important milestone in our cultural development. The first time high ranking officials of the United States government actually sat down and talked to us! Wow! Some have argued that not enough was accomplished and that this should be the norm, not an exception. To people like that I say, “Wake up!” We live in a country that is currently dominated by superstitious dogma, by religious zealots who obfuscate reality and cause pain and suffering to millions. The fact that the event happened at all is a clear signal to theists, that, yes, we are a real force in this country. And, yes, we are getting the attention of those in power. What’s more, the ignorant theistic majority has labeled atheists as hostile, disruptive, unpleasant people (some would even argue we are not people at all). Check out the report on Hemant  Mehta’s blog and look at the smile on David Silverman’s (American Atheists) face. Does he look angry and disruptive? Quite the contrary. Collectively we are ecstatic to have an audience with the administration. It is long overdue, but now that it’s here, we embrace it. Hopefully this will mark the beginning of a turning point in the perception of non-theistic groups in this country. Do not let this opportunity pass. Now, more than ever, is the time to stand up and be counted. Now is the time for all of you closet atheists to come out and publicly embrace reason and denounce the dogmatic hypocrisy and hatred of religion.

Despite what we hear from Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin, we’re in a stage in history where millions upon millions of Americans share a secular perspective on American public policy. We think the real ‘silent majority,’ if you will, is the Americans who say, ‘Enough of this religious and even theocratic nature to American policy.’

—Sean Faircloth
—Executive Director of the Secular Coalition of America