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

Richies New Documentary

Spotty crap-ola interbutz right now, so I'm a gonna go short and sweet (just like me). This morning when the internet was better I watched the new Richard "Freekin" Dawkins documentary over at a cool site called Something Surprising. I didn't know a lot of that stuff about him like he lived in Nor Cal for a couple of years, or that he was devastatingly goodlooking back in the day when he had more hair or that he was a hippie. OK, I made up that last part.

Just check it peeps.

Please Don't Revoke My Asian Card

There is a new study out that (correctly) claims that those with an analytical brain (v. the intuitive brain) are more likely to have the ability to question (their) religion and thus join the Mighty Team Atheist (not really, that is what I said. anyhoo...). I might comment on the study later, but first...let's git our math on.

Yessss sir-y folks, howz about some Saturday afternoon math (I'm bored at my weekend job, so WTF). One of the experiments that those cool scientists came up with to determine if you have an analytical brain or a intuitive brain is this...

A baseball bat and a baseball costs $1.10 together, total. The bat is $1 more than the ball,  sooooo kind gentle and very goodlooking readers (who are all know it all skeptics), how much does the ball cost.

If you answered 10 cents then you are a loser and have an intuitive believers brain. If you answered that the ball is 5 cents then you have that awesome analytical atheist brain (I didn't). So WTF.

In this study the intuitive brain is a "gut feeling" "off the top of my head" kinda thing. Without thinking about it one (pretty much everyone) thinks the total is $1.10, something costs $1 more than the other, so subtract $1 from $1.10 and 10 cents is left over, right. no, that is the kingdom called Wrongdom.

The analytical awesome atheist brain doesn't "shoot from the hip" and say the first thing (which is what I did). The analytical brain will go all Spock and automatically crunch numbers and scenarios in that wonderful evolved human brain. Instead of shooting from the hip, the atheist brain calm, cool, calculative and very charming as it is, gets down with the, err, analytics ish stuffs-n-such.

What the peeps that conducted the study claim, and I believe this to be correct, is that if you have an analytical brain then you are more likely to have the tools to question your religion and that leads to...da da daaaaa, Team Atheist, yo.

Don't feel bad, I had to look up the answer...and I'm Asian.

The ball has to cost $0.05, and the bat has to cost $1.05 because 

A. $1.05 + $0.05 = $1.10 

AND 

B. $1.05 - $0.05 = $1.00 

It is common for people who do not think through the problem to respond with $0.10, but this is incorrect because 

C. Although $1.00 + $0.10 = $1.10, 

D. $1.00 - $0.10 = $0.90, which is not $1.00 more, as required by the problem. 

To solve the problem with algebra, it would look something like this: 

Set up the equation: 
x + ($1.00 + x) = $1.10 

Collect like terms: 
$1.00 + 2x = $1.10 

Subtract $1.00 from each side of the equation to isolate the variable, x: 
2x = $0.10 

Solve for x: 
x = $0.05 

Check your work: 
x + ($1.00 + x) = $1.10, so 
$0.05 + ($1.00 + $0.05) = $1.10 

Do the arithmetic: 
$1.10 = $1.10, so the solution is valid.


* Wiki math

* The sometimes good, but not that often CNN Belief Blog.

Special Atheist Goober Nerd Geek Edition

This is the kinda stuffs that makes me heart Team Atheist so much. If you are not into studying Christianity more now as an atheist (than when you were Christian), then this post is not fer you buddy. If you take pride in knowing more about Christianity than the average lay Christian (which is not hard to do) then check this shit out.

Team Atheist's favorite New Testament scholar a one Bart "Freekin" Ehrman just came out with a new book about the historicy of Jesus-that is, did Jesus, a dude walking da erffs, really exist, or is the whole kit-n-kaboodle just straight up made up (which is called the Mythicist position). The always good Religion Dispatches did an interview with The Ehrman concerning the book Did Jesus Exist. So frackin' good, but wait, yo, it gets better. Way better.

Guess who won this one? The dude that always wins.

I haven't said this yet, but The Erhman's position is that yes indeed JC did exist and is not a total fabrication by the powers that be to...err, do whatever it is they were trying to do (consolidate power). Then along comes Richard "Freekin" Carrier. OM(nonexistent)Gawd, oh my Gawd. Dr. Young Face Carrier toooottttaaalllllyyyyyyy dismantles The Erhman's book. And that is not like totally, it's just totally. Really, reading Richy's review is sure to put a smile on your godless atheist faces. It did me. Dr. Richy busted out with "...this is not a book that I can recommend (oh no you didn't bro, yes he did. ouch)."

Then guess what...the Erhman comes back, well sort of. "I never attacked him personally, (he) appears to be showing his true colors." Dammmmmm, Professor Erhman, dam. The Erhman lights up Richy in his .  rebuttal. He even gets a jab in on my favorite cuttie biblical scholar, mythicist, Acharya S. He said she is straight up wrong.

Really peeps check out the links and get your atheist nerd on. Me personally, I'm agnostic on whether Jesus existed or not. If dude did not exist, then let's get down to the bottom of this (it would make the whole debunking Christianity thing a lot easier). If for sure Jesus did walk the earth, then let's stop wasting time on the mythicist position (there are many many ways to debunk Christianity).

I'm a gonna side with what Richy said in that it is disappointing that Erhmans book is not the definitive source on the existence of Jesus that we all hoped it would be (wasn't Carrier gonna write a book about the exact opposite thing). That is why I'm still agnostic on this certain position. Check it out peeps.

Heeeyyyyyy girl. I'm Kriss (the pleasure is all yours. wink wink)

* I haven't read what Acharya S. said about what Erhman said about her work in his book and in the rebuttal. Hopefully a little later today.

Movie Nite

Ya know...I wuz gonna write about all that fantastic reading I did yesterday. First I read the RD interview with Bart "Freekin" Ehrman, then I went on to the Freekin' Richard Carrier, yes that Dr. Richard Carrier, total dismantling of Ehrman new book (which is about the historicy of Jesus), then...then I went to Ehrman rebuttal to Carriers dismantling. And at the end of the day, the question is still not answered...was there a dude Jesus that walked around back in the day, or is it a total made up thing that came from earlier myths and legends-n-shit. Frack that noise..I'm watching movie previews.

Next Tuesday me #teambro and members of the #cutegirlrestaurant will be going to see The Raid Redemption. Just watch the preview...but I will say this...it would be sick if there were a movie like this made to showcase the Filipino martial arts. Just sayin'

Well Played, Young Man

Go Giants

Aubrey "Freekin" Huff. Brother, you are my brother. Hats off to you. I'm proud of you. It is unprecedented and courageous of you. You told the truth. Kind gentle and very goodlooking readers YOU knooooowwwwww my struggles with depression/anxiety this past year (thanks for sticking with me my internet and reality peeps. thanks) and how damaging it can be to the depressed and those around the depressed. Professional sports is super sexist, kinda stupid and super macho. Never show weakness, never let them see you cry or be down. Just win baby, win.

The San Francisco Giants (yippie) put first baseman, Aubrey Huff, on the 15 day disabled list for, get this...."for an anxiety disorder." In this is a great article in SF Chron the author (I didn't see the name) went all full disclosure and shared that s/he also has struggled with anxiety and depression.

If I had a nickel for every time I cried and held my face in my hands, I'd be a...

" I have struggled with whether to say this publicly, and how to do it, but this gives me a good opening. Since 2009 I have been treated for depression, in therapy and medicinally, and continue to be treated. Many awful things happened to me and people around me in a very short time, and my mental health was affected. Anxiety and panic attacks were part of it ( SF Gate)."

Even in this advanced day and age depression and anxiety are seen as weakness or some shit like that. Especially in poor and minority communities it is seen as "there is something wrong with you for choosing this...get your head outta your butt...c'mon now, I get bummed out sometimes also." In fact, all across the board (most) people will say the "pull up your boot straps...mind over matter, you can control this" shit. It's wrong and it's abusive.

Kudos to Aubrey Huff (and the writer) for being honest-n-shit and I hope so much that he is getting the proper (scientific) medical attention. Y'all that have supported me this past year KNOW, but for the peeps that do not have depression and anxiety it's like this...

This is my firearm and it is still not in my posession. Dammmm, I miss you baby. 357 yo.

This year for the first time evah evah...I wanted to kill myself. In fact I had thoughts and fantasies about killin' someone else and I'm a fuckin' hippie. I got depressed and anxious, then that led to frustration because I could acknowledge that this isn't Kriss (but I couldn't change it) and after the frustration came the anger. I think I now know why my father was so fucked up. He had what I have (or visa versa), but he didn't get help so fuck him.

I've been to Kenpo seminars with Jeff (it was just OK).I don't need a gun fer shit.

You can't "walk off" depression and you being "bummed out" then cheering up is an insult to those that have a chemical imbalance (fuck you). I know you mean well but don't ask me if I'm exercising because compared to you...I'm a stud. Why would a person that has a good job, lots of friends, a good social life, a good past and a great future, and that is happy go lucky start closing up and showing anger all the time. That is what depression is.

For the not-depressed you may be sayin' to yourself..."well gee wiz, he's a professional baseball player and a millionaire" what does he have to be depressed about. If you think something like that, then...I can't explain it to you.

"Huff Man" I wish you luck and a speedy recovery. Go Giants.

Kriss

* If you think depression is a choice, then come over to Sacramento and I'll punch you in the face, idiot.

Black Jesus v White Jesus

Hello black folk...I'am the Lord.

Yeah...sooooo anyways, yesterday sucked and my forearm is sensitive right now (I slipped on a piece of ice and smashed this thing with my rock hard elbow...but it doesn't feel rock hard right now) and today is gloomy and drizzely-n-shit. Whatevah...

I've been reading about Black Liberation Theology for a couple of hours now and my brain needs defragging. This is what I have so far...Black Liberation theology is like the Protestant Reformation in that it is a revolution from the white Christian powers that be, the powers that the founders of BLT believed were more about self preservation (that's you Vatican) than about God. In fact the BLT shifted from god to Jesus because they believed that Jesus was more about the po' peeps and an Exodus kinda thingy (one of their messages is the liberation from suffering here on earth, as opposed to getting yours in the afterlife.). Of course that is not what I wanna talk about.

First of all BLT is a new interpretation of the Jesus Cult. The fact that there are so many interpretations, to me, means that there is no one true word of God. If there was a thing as the true word of God, then wouldn't there be only one interpretation (yes).

This second thing is kinda cool. One of the dudes that invented BLT, James Cone, was all WTF, why should gettho brotha's-n-sista's worship a white European Jesus God that looks exactly like the very people that has enslaved blacks stolen form Africa. That is cool, this is where he gets it wrong-ville.

"It's very important because you've got a lot of white images of Christ. In reality, Christ was not white, not European. That's important to the psychic and to the spiritual consciousness of black people who live in a ghetto and in a white society in which their lord and savior looks just like people who victimize them. God is whatever color God needs to be in order to let people know they're not nobodies, they're somebodies." 

If Jesus is God and the holy ghost at the same time, then God cannot be whatever color one wants God to be. If there was a dude named Jesus walking around in hot dusty old Palestine of the day, and he looked like the average Jew, then he looked like this...

That's all I got today.

* Black Liberation Theology

The Buddha Bone(r)...Literally

I used to chant the Lotus Sutra to this thing. What was I thinking.

I used to practice one of the many splinter cells of Buddhism, so ya know I got excited when I was cruising CNN Belief Blog to find out that, yes, a fragment of the skull of Buddha is now on the very rare public display.

In their great kindness, China has allowed Buddha Skull to be displayed in Hong Kong. Yippie. Little did this atheist know, but it is common for China to give gifts like giant pandas to other countries, you know, because their diplomacy is so awesome and all; and included in that is Buddha Skull. It's not only that but some of these crazies also claim to have Buddha's tooth. Yes...a tooth.

Would Buddha even want us to revere his skull fragment. I thought it was more that that.

So yeah if you're in Hong Kong this weekend go check it out (I would rather go to the Bruce Lee museum, but that's me). Anyhoo...while I was researching this the funniest thing happened. Christianity hijacked this post.

No...no, not on their shift. Christianity will not be outdone by a bunch of bald dudes in robes. In the relic wars to attract pilgrims and money the Jesus Cult kicks arse over everyone else.

For example there is the Jesus foreskin (yucky), the "fraudulent or not" Shroud of Turin, the Jesus sponge (in case your one of those bad atheist that do not remember...it was soaked in vinegar, or wine-they can never get their stories straight), and the spear that, mmm, I guess speared Jesus on the cross. Show patience Team Atheist it is not far from over.

There are a million gazillion parishes that claim that they have authentic pieces of the actual cross that dude hung from. The Jesus robe that I talked about the other day. The actual nails (ooohhhh, the nails, and there is debate, cause they can never have one true story, as to whether those muscular Romans used three or four nails. It doesn't matter, there are many more that claim to have the true nails) that were used to, err, nail. There are also blood samples of Jesus and parts of his crown of thorns available for public viewing...that is, if you have a pretty penny to donate to the church.

But my favorite one has gotta be the Holy Chalice. Yes the Jesus mug that inspired that Indian Jones movie, that cup that *allegedly* was used at the last supper so Jesus could drink wine, which is the blood of Christ, which is himself and his father, who is god, and that holy ghost that people keep talking about, with his homies before the nailing, the spearing and the hanging. Is it blasphemous of me to want to drink outta that chalice. Hell, I like me my alcohol and who knows...maybe it gives you super powers.

Or you can go see the Buddha Skull or the Bruce Lee museum in Hong Kong.

* Article Buddha Skull

* Relics of Jesus Wiki

* 4-skin of JC

It's Worse Than We Thought

It is worse than I thought. Kirk "gaydom is unnatural" Cameron's list of "no..no, say it isn't true"is hella long. It's so long I'm going bullet points on this one.

* First the obvious one...he is one of them and they believe that teh gay is destroying America...somehow.

* Public schools are leading the assault on destroying Christianity.

* He has a TV show with Ray Comfort.

* He believes that God ordained America better than the world (American Exceptionalism).

* Dude makes hella "preachy" Christian movies.

* Somehow he is associated with the idiotic Left Behind series.

* "You look at the state of the world we live in and all signs say panic." (wrong-ville)

* I thought he married his TV show sister, but it was really the characters girlfriend. I still that is stupid.

Wow. Those are all WTF shake your head in disgust things. No normal person should be proud of those things. I mean c'mon, Ray Comfort. I always thought that he was the weakest of all the evangelical "big hitters."

Besides that...word around Hollywood is he's a dick.

CCOKC - Child Celebrities Opposing Kirk Cameron - watch more funny videos

Pussy Riot, I Heart You

First of all, this is the very rare third post in one day. Yippie. Second...

Dear Pussy Riot,

Any all female punk band that takes over "holy" buildings to rock out and protest the corruption in Russia and gets arrested (and now faces up to 7 years for...hooliganism, really), any group of hotties that MAKES believers show up in the thousands to pray for...mmm, I dunno what they are praying for, any group that wears costumes (I heart me my rocker ladies in costumes), any group that has Russian bikers against them, any group that speaks out against Russian clergy wearing $40,000 watches, any group of ladies that protest the obvious scam that was last months election (really, did anyone think Putin was NOT gonna win), and any group that has the balls to call themselves Pussy Riot...is OK by me,

Heart Kriss

What's The Ado With Bahrain

Quite simply it's about money, the inequality between rich and poor, upper class v. lower class and Hatfields v. McCoys, occupy movements and the Arab spring...and money. Just that. The Sunni (minority) government with their King, yes a King, rules over the Shiite (majority) peeps. Guess who's rich and who's poor. Guess who has a voice and who does not. The Arab Spring has toppled some authority ruled kingdoms this past year, in a quest for equality and democracy, while others, well...they are still trying. That shit happens all the time. So what is the big dealeo about having one of the riches and glamorous sports in the world, Formula One Racing, coming to Bahrain.

It's all about the discrepancy between rich and poor and the distribution of wealth. Where have we seen this before: a minority government (which usually has lighter skin) rules all over the majority of the peeps (who usually have darker skin) and the rich get richer and the poor get fucked. Gee, I dunno, all over the world where regimes are handed down to offspring (North Korea) for generations, and the people of the land, for decades and decades, keep telling the royalty that they want jobs, education, a voice and democracy (Africa, S.E.Asia, Middle East).

To get a Formula One race in your country is a big deal and what the authorities will tell you is that it is good for the country. What they don't tell you is that it's only good for part of the country, the part ruled by the elites. An F1 race is watched internationally (up to 600 million) which brings a lot of advertising dollars and prestige, not to mention all the tourist dollars, to a place where (almost) no one can point out in a map. But it's good for the country you say, well, that is only if you believe in trickle down economics (I don't believe in that and the reason is that it doesn't trickle down).

Didn't people boycott South Africa back in the day (yes)? Well you say, what about soccer and cricket matches, they go to fucked up places where there is no democracy and the distribution of wealth is unequal. That's true, but as the sayin' goes...two wrongs don't make a right.

Oh and one more thing. There's that Amnesty International thingy..."Despite the authorities claim to the contrary, state violence against those who oppose the Al Khalifa family rule continues, and in practice, not much has changed in the country since the brutal crackdown of anti-government protesters in February and March 2011."

Yea, don't forget that crackdown stuff.

* Four part series Al Jazeera Bahrain crackdown 2011.

* Foreign Policy magazine "Formula Zero"

* NPR Protests Press Bahrain's Formula One Race

* Christian Science Monitor April 20

Shoes To Die for

Wow, super creepy.

I dunno if this is a good thing, a bad thing, or a WTF thing. Fo sho human sacrifice is teh wrong, right. If religion is cultural and helps peeps, then that is OK, right. But what if the religion (from this atheist's point of view) is totally made up and used by drug traffickers to kill. I'll go out on a limb...wrong.

A while ago I wrote about Santa Muerte which is a mix of the bad ol' Catholicism and a voodoo-y looking brown people indigenous religion of the Meh-he-con-oh's. In the Mexican culture death is revered  and Santa Muerte literally means Saint Death. I'm down for cultural religion, myyyyyy beautiful Philippines has a lot of that, but when said religion is hijacked by drug traffickers and they go all human sacrifice-n-shit to some how protect their illegal endeavors, then that is wrong-ville.

Last month 8 peeps were arrested for killing (sacrificing) three people for their satanic ritual. But guess what, I don't want to talk about that. To my confusion Nike has come out with the Nike Dunk High Santa Muerte line.

It boasts "handmade tooling leather, but looks like they have been lasered."

You have the iconic Nike Swoosh and a prominent Santa Muerte, I guess to signify that you are a satanic drug trafficker that is willing to human sacrifice innocent peeps to ensure your "cargo" doesn't get confiscated at the boarder.

Lasty and most yucky...it comes with horse hair (1). The best part...these can be yours for about 60-70 bucks.

Like I said earlier...WTF.

* Santa Muerte Wiki

* Sneaker Files

* Article at Religion Dispatches and you can vote for them for a Webby Award. They are going up against CNN Belief blog which is OK, but compared to RD...it sucks.

* Article Three killed

(1) That is sooooo not desirable to me.

Jails For Jesus Part Deux

You can talk prisoners without mentioning the Filipino prisoners doing Michael Jackson.

I don't lie cheat or steal. I believe that it is so important for Team Atheist to be ethical and moral, first of all because it is the correct thing to do and secondly to prove them wrong (you can be good without God). And yet...I can't help be feel a little bit of schadenfreude-y when I learned of the not exaggerated demise of one Chuck Colson.

If you will recall, kind gentle and very goodlooking readers, I wrote about Chucky and his billion dollar (tax payer billion dollar) enterprise of prison evangelicalism, like, last year-ish. I know y'all read it, but if you will recall in the post Jails For Jesus...

...because of the Bush regime there were drastic cuts in the rehabilitation stuffs that happens in prisons. For example education, access to books-n-interbutz-n-stuff type services were cut to nil and then evangelical Christian organizations stepped in to offer the lost services to the prisoners...but...

...but ya hadta listen to their spiel about Da Savior. Even a Muslim dude was forced to hear the "good word" just to get, like, a book or something. Of course I don't recall everything I wrote a year ago, or yesterday, but you can check out the post here. The main thingy is that Chuck was instrumental in the billion dollar Christian brainwashing industry that filled the void when the economy went to shit and prison rehabilitation services went the way of the doe doe.

So Chuck died at age 80. Listen angry atheist, would we have gotten hella angry if they celebrated when my hero, Hitch, recently passed away...yes. I'm sure sure Chuck had family and friends that loved him and will miss him...it's just that I don't think that peeps in prison that sincerely want to be rehabilitated will miss his God talk in exchange for books-n-stuffs.

Oh yea...Watergate.

* O-bit Huff Po

* Jails for Jesus

Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up

If I had a nickel for everytime I drank and danced with a drunk 50 something white lady, I'd have $2.35.

While some of us will be participating in Drinko de Mayo, the less fortunate will be pilgrimaging  to a church in Germany to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Holy Seamless Robe of Jesus. This year will be awesome because all denominations will be invited and they are going for that unity thang, and good for them. But wait...

OK we have the fakey fake Shroud of Turin, assorted Jesus statues crying their tears of rust and condensation, Shadow Jesus I talked about the other day and now Seamless Robe Of Jesus. First of all...

White pointy nosed Jesus is extrapolated from the Shroud. The real Jesus is made from real Israeli skulls.

Supposedly this is the robe that Jesus wore right before his not exaggerated demise. For whatevah reason the guards were going to rip it up into pieces so each could take a piece home (really, they wanted that.wtf) but they realized that it has no seams, they realized that it is woven in one piece. So they rock paper scissors (I made that up) to see who got to keep the stinky robe of a dude that was gonna be executed, even tho they hella executed many peeps back in the day. And now it is in a church in Germany where it is celebrating it's 500th anniversary and of course many many peeps go to see it and the local economy thrives.

Don't fer git Vine Jesus.

Should I go Shroud of Turin on this one. No I've already done that one. Lemmie talk about the real Jesus. Is this the robe of a 6ft Caucasian man with a pointy white dude nose, or is this a robe of a person that chilled in that day and time.

Jesus was Jesus right. So what did the average Jewish peep look like back in the day. First of all, dude wasn't white. He look more like Palestine style (brown). Peeps back in the day were not 6ft, the were more like five foot one-ish (in that Gore Vidal book he's hella short and three hundred pounds. fiction meets life).

Will the real Jesus please stand up. "I'am standing up."

"The result is shown in the left portrait above: a person with abroad peasant's face, dark olive skin, short curly hair and a prominent nose. His height would have been on the order of 5' 1"; he would have weighed about 110 pounds. Alison Galloway, professor of anthropology at the University of California in Santa Cruz , said that: "This [portrait] is probably a lot closer to the truth than the work of many great masters (link)."

So I guess we can just use common sense on this one. Is the robe one that fits a small dude (which is actually my size. hey...I'm Jesus) that is 5.1 and 110 lbs, or is it a huge robe that fits a huge white guy (yes).

The church needs money and there is no better way to raise money then deceiving innocent brainwashed peeps to travel to you country to gaze upon an ancient relic that you savior supposedly wore before he got crucified (like a common criminal back in the day).

I guess one cool thing is...is the robe really without seams. That's kinda cool. I'd check that out.

* Shroud of Turin. An interesting guy made a comment and I linked him up. He poo poo'd my work. You decide.

* What did Jesus really look like from the awesome Religious Tolerance dot Org

* Wiki The Seamless Robe of Jesus

* My go to spot, RNS The holy robe of Jesus

The Great Nun Conspiracy of 2012

Dear Gawd, thanks for waving your magic cloudy hand and making all the news this week prove my point that if religion is to survive in the upcoming decades, then it must shed all the stupid stuff like the sexism, the anti-awesome LGBT'rs and shit like that.

Kriss

No...cereal-y...religion is proving my point for me and for that I give much thanks. This time, oh boy, this time it is such a doosie. I really could have written this up any more perfect for my secret atheist agenda. Here's the nut shell...the largest affiliation of nuns here in the states had to be "reined" in by the Vatican because, get this, because they are not towing the line when it comes to traditional Catholic values.

So saith the Vatican, these people that have dedicated their lives to the poor and suffering (nuns) are not outspoken enuff on abortion, contraception and LGBT stuffs. These nuns are so outta line that the Vatican hadta appoint a bishop to oversee this returning to traditional Catholicism thingy, really.

The nuns group, Leadership Confrence of Women Religious, now is being baby sat by Seattle Archbishop Peter Sartain...yes, that Perer Sartain. And remmber this is because LCWR is going sorta liberal and helping people...all people. In the meantime the Vatican is welcoming into their fold (while giving them hella power) a right wing religious group who's intent is to bring back the fire and brimstone Catholicism, you know traditional (Society of St. Pious X).

So WTF. The mighty Vatican is suppressing the lady nuns and empowering an ancient *society* of dudes with ancient rituals-n-stuff. Is Dan Brown dead yet, because if he is...he's rolling in his grave (or not).

Kate isn't all that. I work next to a college. Just sayin'.

* Article with facts-n-stuff

* If you don't know who Dan Brown is, then UR straight up stupid.

Andy The Norway Shooter

Andy, The Norway shooter, is crazy pants bonkers. Fo sho I did that thing that skeptics are not supposed to do (come to a conclusion aaaannnnnnddddd THEN  find evidence to back that up.I forgot what thats called, Team Skeptic hint hint, wink wink), but after seeing this vid from the mighty Al Jazeera...I dunno.

I wanted to peg this dude as a Christian extremist, "he did all that because white God Man told him so", but the association is seemingly loose, or not trust worthy because he is teh crazy, so...I dunno. Stevo and the gang at Left Hemispheres did a good point/counter point when this came out, and at the time I was convinced that Andy was on mission from God (now I think he was on mission....in his brain).

Now..I just think dude is teh crazy.

Teh Onez True Biblz

G'morning Team Atheist...It is super sunny and awesome in Sac Town and it feels fuckin' gooooodddddd. Let's get down to it.

There is one true God of the million gazillion splinter cells of the Jesus Cult and by golly, there is one true bible..the King James version, right. Well not unless you belong to a parish that uses the New International or the Common English Bible which (both) came out last year. There are hella splinter cells and there are hella bibles to go with whatevah Christianity you want to project. I don't know what bible my awesome LGBT friends use, but I'll dare say that there is a LGBT bible (right).

So as far as I can tell, the newest bible on the block, is The Voice. This one, outta the infinity of choices of bibles, is different because the "he said, she said, they said, we all said" parts are cut out (so I guess there is no gender) and what remains is the dialogue.

I'm not braggin' but..I have real guns and know martial arts. I don't play video games, yo.

David Capes, lead scholar for The Voice, said that their intent is to make the bible an accessible text and not and ancient, foreign, type of old people thing (I said that last part). That's what I've been talking about. If religion is to survive, then they gotta let go of the old shit and modernize it (sexism, LGBT). Dude also says the funny when he (correctly) states that most Christians think that "Christ" is Jesus' name (Christ was a common title one would have back in the day. kinda like sergeant or sumthin').

This is my gun...a Smith and Wesson model 65, in .357 of course (1).

I dunno...to some people the very fact that there is a million different versions of the Jesus Cult and there are almost as many different bibles, that THAT is true testimony for the existence of Gawd. Team Atheist thinks the exact opposite. The fact that there are so many different bibles means that Gawd is NOT all powerful and all knowing. The fact that the Jesus Cult can have so many interpretations is testimony to the fallibility of Christianity. There either is one true Christianity or there is not. There is one correct interpretation, or there is not (let's settle this God is pro Gay or not, God is sexist or not. One true, not two true interpretations). Same goes for the bible.

* Kind gentle and very goodlooking readers, check out the LOL Cat Bible.

* Article at the mighty RNS. Really, really like their work-n shit.

(1) For those keeping score...I am still not in possession of my gun, my good friends are holding it for me, and even tho I'm feeling so much better with my depression (but not 100%, yet) I feel that I should not have my awesome and powerful gun in my possession. One day, le sigh.....

and fuck YOU.

Texas...You're Number One

Awesome sauce..this is the info I needed the other day when I wrote about the stupid teen birth rate. the other day I said something like...the teen birth rate is down, in fact lowest in decades, but there is a war on the whys and hows. Of course Team Reasonable thinks it's because of access to contraception-knowledge-n-stuff, and they think it is because "teens just aren't interested in sex like back in the day (meaning that stupid Christian abstinence is working. not)."

Well, the chart above says a million gazillion words. The bible belt-y areas have the highest teen birth rate and as you leave the south it gets lower. It looks like ripple in a pond or something. It looks like Texas, the ones that brag that they are the most pious of all states because they have the most churches per capita, is the hot bed of teen prego's. I recall years ago that Lubbock Texas ( didn't Buddy Holly come from Lubbock(1)) is source of the ripple in the pond within Texas. Sheez...

Teenage births remain high in more religious states. The correlation between teenage birthrates and the percentage of adults who say they are “very religious” is considerable (.69). The 2009 study posited that attitudes toward contraception play a significant role, noting that "religious communities in the U.S. are more successful in discouraging the use of contraception among their teenagers than they are in discouraging sexual intercourse itself."

"Overall, teen birthrates remain highest in America’s most religious, politically conservative and blue-collar states (The Atlantic)."

Good luck with that teen ladies of Texas.


* Article

* When I first wrote about this on the 10th.

(1) One of the first records I have evah bought, and yes, that is records, was the soundtrack to the Buddy Holly Story.

Gawd Hates Babies...

 Boy oh boy, Gawd sure does hate babies and more specifically, those adulteres single women that have the nerve to wanna have a baby...outta wedlock. Spanish nun, Maria Gomez, is currently on trial for (get this) taking new born babies away from their mothers right after birth, telling the mommy that the baby died, refusing to let the mother see the (allegedly) dead baby...then selling it to an unsuspecting couple that sincerely wanted to adopt, dishing out fake adoption papers and spilling milk (the article doesn't say that, but after all that shit, she might as well have).

 It is believed that up to 15,000 babies were stolen and sold on Gomez's watch. She is the first to take the stand, there are also doctors and other nurses involved, and wouldn't you know it...she chose to not incriminate herself (that's the fifth, right). Distraught mothers have gone to graves and dug up the coffins only to find...they're empty, yo. The government is offering DNA tests to, hopefully, reunite the children and their parents. Reluctantly, the government admitted that a conviction will be very difficult that is why they are offering the tests.

Gee wiz Beav, where have we seen this scenario where the Catholic church decides that single mothers are filthy sinners and it is in the best interest of the child to be stolen from the biological mother and raised in a traditional home. I dunno, Ireland, Australia, USA, Peru and now Spain.

Hey, it the Three Stooges.

"...a single mother or a married woman who already had several children gave birth to an apparently healthy child, but was soon told — often by a nun who worked as a nurse — that the baby had died. Although the adoptive parents frequently paid significant amounts of money for their child, ideology more than greed appears to have been behind the thefts. "These are nuns and priests who strongly believed that the child would be better off with a more traditional or more 'moral,' family," explains journalist Natalia Junquera, who has led the newspaper El País's investigation of the thefts. "They honestly thought they were doing the right thing."

 "After the delivery she told me my daughter had died," Torres told the press. "Then she said that the baby had been given to another family. And she threatened me that if I didn't go along with it, she would tell the authorities that I was an adultres , and they would take away my other child as well."

(Thanks Time Magazine)

* Article Spains Stolen babies.

* Forced sterilization in Peru.

* The Australian Baby Giveaway

* Banished Babies in Ireland 

* Fo sho there are more instances of Catholic baby stealing, but you get the picture.