The Evolved Republican

I have talked before how words change, evolve and eventually get bastardized. Environmentalist, feminist and atheist are words that at one time had a more simple meaning, but now they have grown to imply negative yucky-ness (feminist equates to man hater, really). The word republican has also changed, especially since the emerging of the teabaggers, err, tea party.

Old school republicans are out, they are the republicans of our fathers and their fathers and quite frankly, they are not republican enuff. Where at one time to be associated with the republican party only meant small government and conservative spending, taxation, pro business. Now, the republican party is the party of the answer "no", super religious, like, literal bible religious and because of that, also anti science.

50% of Tea Partier's do not believe in global warming and 51% do not believe in evolution. With that said 100% are uber religious. The current top three GOP candidates are promoting an anti science and pro infallible scripture platform and, "you betcha", they have the mission to use the government to usher in that kingdom of God that they always talk about. As far as I know, only former Utah Gov. John Huntsman has gone on the record and sided with science on evolution and the climate.

I sort of feel sorry for a true, old school conservative republicans the same way I feel bad for good, normal Christians that are not evangelical weirdos. In the past I've made fun of the republican party because they are still debating the scopes monkey trail and Roe v. Wade. Now I'm gonna add to that evolution, climate change and infallible scripture.

Like I said yesterday, if ya don't want us making fun of your silly beliefs, then stop having silly beliefs.

* CNN Belief Blog

Pointing The Finger

It's slate...get it.

Ok then, let's see if I can squeeze a quickie post in before I go to the #atheistcafe. I was reading the super good Slate magazine online. There is an article about how the F.B.I. is teaching Islamophobia in some of it's training courses and how there is one dude in particular that is very Muslim Hate-y-ish.

Slate is reporting on a piece from  Wired's Danger Room Blog, who reported that American mainstream Muslims, or Joe Average Muslim (really it should be Muhammad Average Muslim) is a terrorist. Yes, it's true. The F.B.I. is teaching hate-y hate to it's agents specifically directed at lay American Muslims (if the same happened to an average lay Christian there would be outrage). The agents are taught that normal average peeps that happen to be
Muslim that give donations to their temple...are probably funding terrorism. Once again, if that accusation was made against Christians, that when they give to the church it automatically funds really bad stuffs, then there would be outrage. To complete the Islamophobia the agents are shown a "pseudoscientific" chart that clearly shows how Christians and Jews are peaceful peoples, while as history progresses the Islamic peeps has become more and more violent (brainwashing anyone.sheez).

One dude was singled out by the name of William Gawthrop. He has important credentials and perhaps the only thing that the prog-lib crowd needs to know is that he occasionally writes for the World Nut Daily, err, The World Net Daily (if you have never been there then go...and be shocked). What dude is all about is learning the mindset of Islamic warfare through the understanding of Islam, Qu'ran, the splinter books that are popular...It's a good strategy and all, but the thing about it is that it comes packaged with Islamophobia.

So far I haven't made a religious connection other than this Gawthrop guy was involved in the Birther movement (remember them). I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he is one of those dominionists that the atheist blogosphere and religious news sites keep talking about (we'll see, and if I'm wrong, I'll admit it).

Ok I have to go to work so let's recap: The F.B.I is teaching agents Islamophobia, if the same actions were expressed towards Christians then there would be outrage, a dude that taught these classes was also associated with the failed Birther movement and writes for WND, I9 suspect that there is a dominionist connection but I haven't explored that much yet and finally, I have to go to work at the #athesitcafe.

Kind gentle and very good looking readers...even opossums think you're awesome.

* Slate

* Article on Gawthrop

Update: Awesome, jsut got off of work and guess what I'm doing...wrong, I'm drinking beer. Also, I'm updating Pointing the Finger.

So Slate is really awesome, but ya know what...Mother Jones is awesome also. Mo Jo says that Islomophobia training is not just for the F.B.I., oh noz, it's for the local police and the armed forces too. what are they learning, only that all Muslims are terrorist and if you dress all Islamic-y, ya know in the haji, then that person is more likely to fund terrorism (really, I can't make this stuff up).

"When you have a Muslim that wears a headband, regardless of color or insignia, basically what that is telling you is 'I am willing to be a martyr," one trainer blathers (Washington Monthly)."

I really really really hope that the above picture is a joke...but it is not. This is from an actual slideshow during a training session (sessions paid for by tac dollars). So law enforcement, the armed forces and the F.B.I. are all getting dookie training that basically teaches that all Muslims are bad and out to get you. Ya think ten years into the War on Terror 'we' would know more, culturally, about the people we are engaging. Instead we are brainwashing recruits, officers and agents to hate hate hate.


Fo sho on the other side they are telling their people that NATO and the U.S. of A. are all weirdo Christians that want to take their land and whitewash (pun intended because I'm funny like that) their culture. Not all Americans are American Taliban and doninionist, but ya know what...some are, so they are not totally incorrect. 


It goes both ways. I can (kinda) see the other side spewing hate and teaching about the "imperial dogs" and their attempts at world domination, but not us. I thought we were supposed to be the good guys.


* Mother Jones article


* How We Train Our Cops to Fear Islam

* Why do the gad-darn fonts and spacing keep changing...why why why...one more time with feeling...why.

Voting, Dominionism and the Northern California Chocolate Snake

I dunno why peeps keep sayin' she's hot. I'm hotter than she is.

I heart my chubby, protestant, East Coast sister and her blog for USA Today. She blogs about politics but she just reports the facts (like a real journalist, not a blogger). In her article today she talks about how Michele "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann recently said something like...the hurricanes and earthquakes on the East Coast is Gawd punishing us. So come on people, let Gawd back into politics and the public square (my words not hers, but that is the 'jist' everyone always talks about). Needless to say, that is very dangerous.

Was it on Saturday, @vjack over at Atheist Revolution made his Idiot of the Week none other than Pat Roberston, again (BTW, check in every week for his I.o.t.W). The Pat-Man recently said...

"Ladies and gentlemen I don’t want to get weird on this so please take it for what it’s worth. But it seems to me the Washington Monument is a symbol of America’s power, it has been the symbol of our great nation, we look at that monument and say this is one nation under God. Now there’s a crack in it, there’s a crack in it and it’s closed up. Is that a sign from the Lord? Is that something that has significance or is it just result of an earthquake? You judge, but I just want to bring that to your attention. It seems to me symbolic. When Jesus was crucified and when he died the curtain in the Temple was rent from top to bottom and there was a tear and it was extremely symbolic, is this symbolic? You judge."

Dude are ya praying or trying to pinch a loaf, or as we say in Nor Cal...searching for the Northern California chocolate Snake.

And a couple of months back everyone's favorite news person, Bill "The tides go in, the tides go out" O' Riley said he doesn't know why or how the tides work, so it must be Gawd, right (actually it is the gravitational pull of the moon).

So here we are with a very important election cycle coming up and within a matter of months three separate and super stupid remarks from the Christian and Conservative Right. Traveling the Mighty Atheist Blogosphere and reading hella newspapers and magazines a day, it seems as if the prog-libs have already declared victory in the next election. The reasoning is how can the public vote for such weirdo's (Perry, Bachmann and Palin), this will be an easy victory. I have one word for people that believe that...remember the Al Gore election. We were supposed to win that one right. Remember.

Really peeps, the candidates are saying that plate tectonics and weather patterns are unknowns and that magically it is their particular Gawd that is creating havok, because why...because we have rejected him and need to bring him back to the public square. My last post was about dominionism and American exceptionalism and that is what Perry and Bachmann are showing. They are ignoring the science and they are substituting superstition in it's place. We know better and we should know better, but that is not the case all the way across the board.

Lately I have been asking, are there more of them, or are there more of us. Are there more science minded skeptic, nonblievers out there that will vote liberal, or are there more believers-believers that will vote for Gawds party no matter what policies are debated. I live in Nor Cal and it is the mecca of atheism and liberalism (even tho the Tea Party launched their "tour" in beautiful Napa last weekend), so I do not know what it is like in the rest of the nation. That is why I have fear.

I fear that the prog-libs will lose this next election and we will go back to Bush era democracy (please not another Texas president). Will we go Al Gore in this election and stay home and not vote because we know in our hearts that we will win.

We can't let that happen. It too important.