Worst Advertising, Evah

I really like good, no...great advertising. Clever and catchy selling is a great and under-appreciated art. But when the advert' is dookie, then that is bad...real bad. The brainiacs at the Heartland Institute obviously do not know science (or statistics for that matter), and equally, they do not know good advertising.

Heartland Institute is a think tank and their objective is to "debunk(ed) the hysterical claims of radical environmentalists." Meaning...they do not believe that Global Warming is influenced by fossil fuel burning humans. Currently they are involved in something called Fakegate. They claim that someone stole documents from them and are using them to spread the lie called global warming (gee, I wonder who's telling the truth). As if climate denial was not enuff, they made this stupid billboard (above).

I've got one word for the think tankers at the Heartland Institute...Correlation does not imply causation. (The sound you just heard is Team Skeptic collectively sayin' "duh.")

The Unabomber still believers in Global Warming. First of all I didn't know that was his belief previously and secondly, I don't see why it even matters. Are we supposed to think that if you (correctly) believe in Global Warming, then you will more than likely...blow shit up. Riiiiiighhhtttt.

It's just like thinking that the full moon has something to do with crime, or that the ways the planets align will have some kinda affect on the way a person acts: correlation does not imply causation. So what if Ted believes in G-warming. Not only do the dots not connect, there are no dots, period.

Lemmie show you dots that connect. The more educated a person becomes the more likely they will have an analytic brain and if one has an analytic brain then they are more likely to become an atheist. The relationship is causal (is that a word, or did I just make shit up. anywho...).

I quickly went to their homesite and I didn't see anything about religion, but history tells me that Gawd told them that he controls the weather and that is why they do not believe in Global Warming, or causation implies correlation.


* Fakegate in their words.

* Source article

* Real Clear Politics on Fakegate

Never Apologize For Comedy, Never

Rumor mill stuffs...Mo Do to replace my hero, Hitch, at Vanity Fair.

Ya know, I try and imitate my favorite journalist, Mo Do, by making funny names for all the key players. For example she called Chenney, Darth Chenney and the super awesome Black Prez, The One. I used to call Bill "I always have my panties in a bunch" Donohue, but some genius in the LGBT Blogosphere made a better one. So you know what that means...I'm gonna steal it.

"Jesus' angry older brother", Bill Donohue...guess, has his Catholic panties all bunched up in his super tight arse because Jon Stewart made a funny. Look man, never, never...I mean never, ever apologize for comedy. Just because you don't understand the joke that doesn't mean that others will feel the same way. If it hurts you, then don't watch or listen to the joke. For all you know there are many many people that that particular joke is totally funny, and if it is funny then it's bringing joy and pleasure to the peeps.

After 9/11 there were some good Islamic comedians trying to help the community heal. Some were offended and some were pleased. I totally used to hate Don Rickels and that was because I didn't understand his comedy when I was a kid. Now I look back at his material and think it's the funniest shit, evah. Of course Catholics like "Jesus' angry older brother" are not going to like the late great George Carlin, but that doesn't mean that the opportunity should be taken away (censor) from others. That is what is happening right now.

Angry Bill is so angry at Jon Stewart that he is contacting all, and I do mean all, of the sponsors to encourage them to dump the show (how does that go, "mmm, yea it's Angry Bill, I have been offended and now I want you to end your relationship with this sick ass show that benefits your company. Thank you."). Good luck with that Bill.

This is what gets me. We, Team Secular, often times fight for everyone's freedom. The freedom of speech and the freedom of choice. We may not agree with what you halfta say, but we can agree that you have the right to say it. Control is one of the many reasons I became an atheist. How dare Bill attempt to take away something that gives many pleasure, comedy.

Offended by the good ol' manger in the crotch joke. It's always funny...to me.

* Kellogs tells Angry Bill STFU.

Christian Double Speak Gobbly Goup

Meh, I'm not teh gay. I just look great.

When the so called Christian leadership continually, time after time, does the bad ol' "Don't do as I do, do as I say", ya know the hippo-crit route, the two faced fakey fake, the lying outta yo teeth-lying, then it is now wonder that the youth are leaving the faith of their parents and grandparents at exponential rates. God and Jesus are totally and fully love. It's all good and great and peaceful...well, except when it's not all good or all great or all peaceful.

This one has been brewing for a couple of days and it will  not go away, in fact it is so prevalent that a Nor Cal stoner blogger like me has given up many chances to write about this, but the opportunity is still, unfortunately, there (or is that here).

Pastor Stupid Head, the other day said the stupid head and pretty much said...kick the shit outta your teen that thinks s/he is gay, because that will work. Since then he has been in retraction mode, big time.

"The purpose of this document is to issue an official statement of retraction of any and all words that suggest that child abuse is appropriate for any and all types of behaviors including (but not limited to) effeminacy and sexual immorality of all types. I should not have said what I said about “cracking,” “punching,” and particular bias toward outward attraction of girls. Nor should I have used the words “special dispensation.” I did not say that children should be squashed. I have never suggested children or those in the LGBT lifestyle should be beaten, punched, abused (physically or psychologically) in any form or fashion. The gospel is the only source of power sufficient to deliver anyone from the power, penalty, and presence of all forms of sin including, but not limited to, all forms of sexual immorality including homosexuality ( more goodies here)."

I didn't have the heart to Google "beat up gay dudes" so I Googled "beat up car." Yuck.

Look man. I don't see godless liberals misspeaking all of the time. Right now Roger Clemens is on trial and he, infamously, said, " I misspoke." How many times have we seen the Republican Right, when called out on things like scientific fact, say "well, that's not what I meant." Look at their clergy and their religion. When it fits, then it's symbolic, but when they are trying to brainwash and instill fear, then it's "this is fact. The erffs was created in 7 days (biblical days that is), Adam and Eve are fer' reel, etc..."

Now we have Pastor Stupid Head saying "I didn't mean (literally)kick the shit outta your teen that thinks s/he is teh gay. I meant kick the shit outta your teen that thinks s/he is teh gay."

No wonder their numbers are dwindling. No frackin' wonder....

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

What I never went to Joe. My. Blog. before. It's really good. In fact if you need godless LGBT news, you know.

I Can't Quit You, Baby

I haven't done this in a while and I promised myself that I was not gonna do it anymore. In fact, didn't we collectively say that we are ALL not doing that anymore. I guess I fell off the wagon this morning. I dunno  what I was thinking, or better yet, I wasn't thinking. Wha'...my drinking, no. My weed smoking. No. I thought we were all gonna quit the Huff Po, right.

It was so funny the other nite when the awesome Black Prez congratulated Arriana (hellllooooo, I'm Kriss) for winning that journalism award for..."linking" and "not paying the writers", then he pauses and then says, "That's a good business model." If you haven't seen the Corespondents Dinner check it out. Sooooo teh funnziez. Anyhoo...

So I went to the news paper that is, pretty much, a link round up everyday and I got this gem...(Read this is a big Gawd voice.)...THE END IS NEAR, again. If I have not written about this guy before, then my Mighty Atheist Blogger Card should be revoked. I'm sure I must have at least mentioned Jesus Christ himself, the real one, the one we all have been waiting for, yes, that Jesus...Jose Luis De Jesus that is. Oh yea, and simultaneously he is also the antiChrist (am I supposed to capitalize the "a". I dunno).

Pretty ridiculous that everyone goes to church every Sunday waiting for Jesus to return, but he has totally been in Miami this whole time at his Growing Grace ministry. Not only that. Get ready for this (I'm going cap-lock)...HE SUPERSEDED THE MAYAN CALENDAR THING AND SAID THE WORLD WILL END JUNE 30. That is way before the Mayan one (Dec, 21). You guys know the drill, right.

Erffs quakes-n-shit, "cities will fall", you know the whole 9 apocalyptic yards, but wait...it gets waaaayyyyyyy better. All the "bad seeds" will be destroyed by his father, Gawd, and at the same time Jose, err, Jesus will emerge from this with powers to fly and walk thru walls; which is so baddass.

All the usual evidence is here to support his claims like extreme weather happening all around the world, the economy-n-shit, mysterious things happen-bird die off recently (pathogen), volcano's (Mexico) yada yada yada...Want even stranger and more stupid head...

His followers call him "Dad" and many get 666 tattooed on their foreheads.      

Really.

* Wiki

* That paper we said we weren't gonna do anymore.

My Opinion: The Raid Redemption

Yea, sooooo, anyways...is it good. Yea, it's totally good. Is it the best that I have evah seen...as the French say, "non." Should you go see it-fo sho. In fact take hella peeps you guys will talk about for the whole next week. They use a really cool martial art called, Silat, which is a good comprehensive street fighting style.

I dunno, I think Easter Condors is better.

Badass Inspiring Story

I don't think I've ever mentioned The Clergy Project here before, but I've known about it for a while. Didn't Dennent start it. Anyhoo...It is a cool online place where clergy can go to transition from Team believer to the Mighty (and I believe correct) Team Atheist. Recall your own personal story and that eureka moment when you admitted or acknowledged that...the probability that there is an all knowing and all powerful and all loving God (that is diest-y and doesn't interfere with human affairs, much less a specific and particular God that can be boxed into a name like Lutheran, evangelical, Protestant, born again, whatevah) is veeeeerrrrryyyyyyyyy small (and yet, fer all we know, there is). Now imagine how shocking it would be for a clergy peep, with a congregation and all. Yea, that's a lot.

This one particular guy is made of cool and I think that it shows a step by step, or how incremental, the process is.

"Jerry Dewitt went from respected pastor with a vibrant congregation to an atheist without a job (Thanks RNS)."

Yea, that's God's love. Me personally I don't give a shit if my family knows that I'm an atheist (I only talk to my brother and sister), but I know that it means a lot to so many wanting to come out (don't forget the Out Campaign either). So for the normal peep it teh tuffs and for the clergy peep it everything.

Think about it: it is your job, your livelihood, your community, your passion, even your downtime. It is your freekin' everything. That is one of the reasons why The Clergy Project is so important. It is one opportunity, one avenue, that these people can turn to and explore in a time when they need help. That is awesome, I say.

OK, back to Jerry. First he thought about hell and the stuff like if a person is good, but doesn't subscribe to my particular splinter cell of the Jesus Cult, then why doesn't that person go to heaven (I dunno if he was influenced by that Rob Bell book that came out a while ago, but it sounds like it). So at one time he went the "there is no hell rout." After that the house of cards will fall.

If there is no hell, then there is no heaven. If they lied to me about this, what else did they lie about (the day Jesus was born, who wrote the gospels, are Adam and Eve and Noah historical, did humans and dinosaurs walk the erffs at the same time....).

I end with this show stopper, super epic quote. Jer' was asked to pray for a sick friend, but dude knew by this time (25 years in the making) that...

“I could not do it,” he said, as the hall grew quiet. “At that moment my conscience outweighed everything else in my life. ... No matter how much I loved her, I knew the best hope for her situation was a good medical staff and I wasn’t going to pretend there was anything better for her than science and reason (RNS)."


"Nuff said."

* The Clergy Project

* Billiards master, John over at his site, I dunno if you guys evah heard of it so just check it out, has an article today from someone else from The Clergy Project. It's good, no...great stuffs, yo. 

* There are many ways to debunk religion, any of them. There is philosophy, any one of the sciences and there is fighting fire with fire. I like the approach of debunking Christianity with Christianity. And who know better than clergy how to do that. 

Suicide, Depression And Rock & Freekin' Roll

I guess last nite was the tribute concert fer freekin' Bad Motto Scooter, Ronnie "Freekin" Montrose. It's so sad. Am I at the age (43) where peeps I looked up to growing up are just straight up dieing right now. Last year it was "The first in Rock" Ronnie, this year Montrose and even Dick Clark-he was forever young, not.

I'm at a loss of what to say, which is very rare for me. Montrose committed suicide because he gave in to depression. Can't say I blame him. It's tuff you guys...it's really fuckin' tuff (I'm still in the game, please don't worry). When you add music to the equation...then it's a whole different ballgame.

I'm not old enuff to experience first hand early Montrose, Gamma, and even Haggar. That was more of what my uncles were into. Still, I know the songs. C'mon now "Rock Candy" (I'm your candy baby...I'm hard sweet and sticky) it doesn't get anymore rock and roll than that. The slow drum tempo with the double beat on drums (we all tried to imitate it) and the most powerful of power chords. It's primitive and natural. It was one of my first feelings for music.

It's been a really hard year for me. I haven't played my guitar in months and often times I think about just giving all my equipment away. Summer festival season is upon me and I will have opportunities to go to three day music festivals that put Woodstock to shame (really), but I dunno if I'm going to go. I dunno if I have the heart. Recall the only one I went to last summer was total dookie (I will never never be in that position again). We'll see.

Le sigh.

* Article SF Gate