White House economic advisor, who happens to be Jewish, slams Donald Trump's response to the Charlottesville neo-Nazi protest.

Courtesy of CNBC: 

Top White House economic advisor Gary Cohn says he seriously considered resigning after President Donald Trump's reaction to the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

"I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position," Cohn said during an interview with the Financial Times about economic policy. 

"As a Jewish-American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting 'Jews will not replace us' to cause this Jew to leave his job. I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them," Cohn said. 

The former president of Goldman Sachs has said that the administration "must do better" when condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Initially following the protests the president blamed "both sides" for causing protests to become deadly. Trump also said there were some "very fine people" among the white supremacist protesters.

"Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK," Cohn said in the interview.

Oh man, you know this is going to get Trump's panties all in a bunch.

And this wasn't a leak either, Cohn just said right out loud in an interview.

He clearly knows that Trump will not respond well to this, but he may not care because according to the New York Times he has already drafted a resignation letter: 

The sharp critique from Mr. Trump’s top economic adviser, Gary D. Cohn, came nearly two weeks after deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., in response to a rally led by white nationalist groups. Mr. Cohn, who is Jewish, seriously considered resigning and even drafted a letter of resignation, according to two people familiar with the draft.

By coming out publicly like this Cohn could be positioning himself to be fired by Trump so he can later say that he was willing to stay to make the administration better, and also further demonstrating Trump's inherent vindictiveness. 

News outlets reporting that Ivanka is the one who ousted Stephen Bannnon from the White House.

Source

Courtesy of the Daily Mail: 

Donald Trump’s controversial aide Steve Bannon was ‘pushed out’ by his daughter Ivanka and her husband because his far-Right views clashed with their Jewish faith, according to Washington sources. 

Chief strategist Bannon, 63, helped orchestrate the US President’s stunning election victory but was vilified for his extreme opinions. 

Many blamed him for Trump’s failure last week to condemn neo-Nazis after a violent rally in Virginia at which a woman was killed and dozens were injured. 

First daughter Ivanka converted to Orthodox Judaism when she wed millionaire businessman Jared Kushner in 2009. 

The couple have three children. A source said: ‘Jared and Ivanka helped push him out. They were concerned about how they were being viewed by the Jewish community.’ 

Wait, so are they suggesting that the Jews would not be down with a White Supremacist, Nazi sympathizer working in the White House?

Well you know who needs to go next then, don't you?

This Daily Mail story has also been picked up by Breitbart.

And the comments from their readers were.....let's say.....colorful:

We didn't vote for this faux Jew witch. She's gotta go! 

NO ONE elected Prince and Princess Kushy.... 

We've been sold down the river for a WH full of Lib Loons...led by Ivanka and Jared. Now we know what Bannon meant. Trump is no longer in control. The populist Presidency we all fought SO hard for is over. How disappointing this is. I didn't vote for Ivanka! #GoBannon 


BANNON'S REMOVAL WAS A DISGRACE . . . Throw these DISHONORABLE TRUMP CLOWNS along with that TWO-FACED SMILING WENCH and HER SNIVELLING HUSBAND JARED outta the White House. 

THEY HAVE NO HONOR

Well they seem nice.

If indeed Ivanka helped to push Bannon out that may be the only really positive thing she has accomplished since becoming Daddy's Little Assistant. 

However as I alluded to earlier, the head Nazi is still in charge, so really she has not accomplished anything of importance.

One of the policies introduced in Trump's SOTU speech last night comes right out of Adolph Hitler's playbook.

Nazi Germany vs. Trump Administration, compare and contrast pic.twitter.com/s5SAIczj4Y

— Christopher Hooton (@ChristophHooton) January 26, 2017

Courtesy of Indy 100: 

Donald Trump confirmed in his first State of the Union address that he will publish a regular list of crimes committed by immigrants. 

It was initially announced in an executive order he signed during his first week as President, but during his speech he laid out more details of his plan. 

"I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create an office to serve American Victims. 

The office is called VOICE — Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement. We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media, and silenced by special interests."

Okay that just sounds terrifying and wrong all on its own, I mean why would the crimes committed by non-citizens warrant a different classification than those committed by your typical all American drug dealer, rapist, or murderer?

But it gets even worse when you remember this:

Adolf Hitler also published lists of crimes committed by immigrants. 

An article from a Nazi periodical entitled ‘The Criminal Jew’, featured in the book Hitler’s Ethic: The Nazi Pursuit of Evolutionary Progress by professor Richard Weikart, features photos of Jewish people captioned with the crimes they have committed. 

"In 1943, a Nazi directive to the German press declared, 'Jews are criminal by disposition. The Jews are not a nation like other nations but bearers of hereditary criminality.'"

That's right, Hitler.

This is how you create an underclass that is always viewed with suspicion by supposedly more upstanding citizens.

Soon the so-called REAL citizens will be seeing criminal activity around every corner, and with every sighting of somebody with brown skin, a thick accent, or wearing traditional clothing from someplace NOT in America.

It is only a hop, skip, and a jump from there to labeling restaurants "For Citizens Only," public lynchings, and using fire hoses and police dogs to break up every gathering of non-Caucasians.

I skipped last night's speech because I knew it would be filled with lies and dangerous policy proposals.

Clearly I was correct.

As for the lies reports are that Trump made 61 statements, 51 of which false.

 By the way just to poke the big orange bear, Trump's first SOTU did not get nearly the ratings that Obama's did.

Courtesy of Variety: 

Across nine networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Univision, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and Fox Business — Trump’s speech drew an average audience of 46.82 million from 9:15 to 10:15 p.m. in Nielsen’s still-not-quite-final numbers. 

President Obama’s first address pulled in an audience of 52.37 million people across the four broadcast networks, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, and Univision.

Gee even with over twice as many networks broadcasting the speech, he still could not measure up.

Just a reminder that no matter what he does he will always fall short. 

White supremacists plan armed march in Montana town.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

The Daily Stormer, a popular American neo-Nazi website, is organizing an armed march in Whitefish, Montana, home of white nationalist leader Richard Spencer’s mother. 

In a recent blog post that features Hilter’s face as its banner image, Andrew Anglin, publisher of the white supremacist website, announced he’s planning an armed march in the town for the second week of January — days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. 

“Montana has extremely liberal open carry laws, so my lawyer is telling me we can easily march through the center of the town carrying high-powered rifles,” Anglin wrote, adding that he plans to be there personally. “Currently, my guys say we are going to be able to put together about 200 people to participate in the march, which will be against Jews, Jewish businesses and everyone who supports either. We will be busing in skinheads from the Bay Area.”

I wrote earlier that this same group was targeting Jews in Montana and releasing their personal information onto the internet.

This of course is just another example of what it will be like in Donald Trump's America, where no minority group is safe from intimidation, harassment, or physical endangerment.

White supremacist group targets Jews in Montana. And so it begins.

Richard spencer

Courtesy of the Independent:  

A white supremacist website has endangered people’s lives by posting contact details and photos of Jewish residents in a small Montana town – where the mother of white supremacist Richard Spencer lives - and has urged readers to "take action". 

The Daily Stormer, a racist website that describes Jews as a "people without shame", cites a Daily Mail article which alleges that Sherry Spencer was considering selling her business in Whitefish, as she claimed she was suffering backlash against her son’s views. Richard Spencer is a member of white supremacist think tank the National Policy Institute, which coined the term alt-right. 

The attacks focus on a group called Love Lives Here, which Ms Spencer accused of damaging her family. 

The peace organisation, which is "committed to co-creating a caring, open, accepting and diverse community, free from discrimination and dedicated to equal treatment", denied any wrongdoing. 

The fascist website has posted photos, phone numbers, addresses and social media channels of members of Love Lives Here. It also posted a picture of a child and pasted yellow stars on each photo. Jewish people in Nazi Germany were forced to wear a similar yellow star on their clothing. The article told readers to "hit them up".

Having trouble remembering.

Wasn't Hitler already in office before they started targeting the Jews?

If you are wondering if this Richard Spencer is a big time Trump supporter, well duh!

Of course this is just the beginning. Once Trump is officially in office every deplorable out there will feel they have free rein to openly discriminate against every minority that they have secretly, or not so secretly, hated for years.

I am sure my scarlet "A" for Atheist will be arriving in the mail any day now.

Here is the video that Richard Dawkins sent to the Reason Rally this year.

Religious people described as cowards.

And people say that I'M not diplomatic.

Still he makes excellent points.

P.S. I should probably add that in light of the events that took place in Orlando, this video seemed especially appropriate. Hiding behind religion to camouflage your inhumanity to man may be one of the most prevalent acts of cowardice that we see.

Overwhelming majority of women getting abortions are Christians. Let's file this under "Things we kinda already knew."

Courtesy of Reverb Press:  

When it comes to anti-choice activists interfering with women’s reproductive rights, there’s no denying that it’s mostly Christian groups trying to get Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers shut down. From the Pro-Life Action League to the National Pro-Life Religious Council, there’s an undeniable link between Christianity and anti-choice activism. That’s what makes a recent survey, sponsored by a self-proclaimed pro-life group, so ironic. 

The newly released research, conducted by Christian research group LifeWay at the behest of pro-life group Care Net, paints a very different picture of those seeking abortions than you might imagine. The study interviewed 1,038 women who had received an abortion. Surprisingly, a full 70 percent of these women were Christian.

The study’s results were broken down by religious beliefs, and Christianity was further divided into four distinct categories — Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and non-denominational. The two groups with the highest reported abortion rates were Protestants (26 percent of respondents) and Catholic (27 percent of respondents).

I have two favorite parts of this report.

First that Atheists only account for 4% of abortions which should be shoved in the face of every one of those smug fundamentalist who call us sinners and accuse us of lacking morality.

Second that this study was paid for by a pro-life group who certainly expected a different result to emerge.

The study goes on to point out that 43% of those Christians who had an abortion go to church at least once a month, and 20% go weekly. So these are not just women who picked the label Christianity out of a hat, they are died in the wool church going believers.

Which leads to only one conclusion. When it comes to baby murdering none of us can hold a candle to Christians.

Now whose turn is it to be smug?

Hopeful 2016 GOP presidential candidate sends explosive thank you message to local Jewish voters.

"Duck Jews!" Sincerely Scott Walker

Courtesy of AOL:  

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker may want to try using spell check. 

The union busting Republican politician tried and failed to wish a happy Chanukah in an undated letter to a local group representing Jewish voters. 

"Thank you again and Molotov," said the letter. 

The incendiary remark came in a reply to letter from Milwaukee attorney Franklyn Gimbel, according to The Cap Times. The letter is undated but believed to have been written prior to him being elected governor. 

He likely meant to write "mazel tov," a common Jewish phrase.

Perhaps Walker is to be excused for this gaffe, as he is a Baptist and the only thing they want from the Jewish people is for two thirds of them to die off so that Jesus will come back.

Yet another prime example of the kind of intellect that the Republican party believes fit to run the country.

Salon lists the Sarah Palin "apology" as one of the "5 worst Right Wing moments of the week."

Courtesy of Salon:  

Clamoring to stay relevant, Sarah Palin hit the airwaves this week for some startlingly incisive commentary on Obama’s speech outlining his strategy to fight ISIS Wednesday night. Just kidding. She went on Hannity to bash the president some more for playing golf that one time rather than immediately declaring war. It only stands to reason that Palin would be asked to comment on geopolitics. She can, after all, see Russia from her house. But Palin had something really important to say. She feels she owes us all an apology. Great, we feel that way, too. For dumbing down every debate in America (not single-handedly, but she really helped), for using made-up words like “refudiate,” for advocating policies that decimate the earth, and for that brawl her idiot familygot involved in over the weekend. We have a list. Contact us, Sarah. 

But no, she wants to apologize because John “Bomb Them to Smithereens” McCain is not president. And, we guess, although she did not say it exactly, she blames herself for destroying his chances. “

As I watched the speech last night, Sean,” she said, “the thought going through my mind is, ‘I owe America a global apology. Because John McCain, through all of this, John McCain should be our president.’” 

A global apology. Global. Wonder what the hell she means by that.

You know with all of the coverage over the brawl, this lunacy kind of got lost in the mix.

Any other time I am pretty sure that this would have received a lot more coverage, and have been mocked more efficiently than has been the case this last week.

And speaking of videos that did not receive an adequate amount of attention, Wonkette finally took notice of Palin's two "surprise" Jewish visitors from last month.

Gif courtesy of Jezebel

Here was their take:

“So Todd just comes beepin’ up — be-boppin’ on up stairs, right? Um…interrupted me a little bit…and he says, ‘Hey, Sarah, there’s these two really nice guys from New Jersey, they’re in the dri–.’ C’mere, Todd!” 

And then Todd shows up, and he is rockin’ Transitions lenses and a black mock turtleneck. Todd says that he saw these two dudes out near the Palin’s fence, and it seemed like they wanted to come in.

Right about here is where Wonkette shares the video, that all of you have seen already, followed by some rather hilarious transcribin'. And then they close the post with this:

So there you have it: the First Dude let in two sorta socially awkward and completely starstruck visitors, because they showed up, and the Sarah Palin Channel filmed the whole thing and then put it up online. It was as weird as it sounds. 

Yes it is, it is exactly as weird as it sounds.

You know the great thing about the national coverage the Throwdown at the Hoedown is receiving, you know besides the fact that a giant brawl featuring almost the entire Palin clan is receiving national attention, is the fact that the increased interest means that these older videos and interviews are now receiving more attention as well.

It also means that people who did not want to talk, are now willing to talk, but more on that later.

In other news Ted Cruz gets booed off stage by Christian group for defending Jews.

Courtesy of Politico:

The president of the Christian organization who hosted Sen. Ted Cruz at its summit has partially blamed the senator for walking off the stage after being heckled and booed by some in the crowd during his speech. 

In Defense of Christians President Toufic Baaklini, in a statement released Thursday evening, said that while the hecklers were out of line, Cruz’s actions were “unfortunate” and detracted from the event.

“Sen. Cruz abruptly ended his remarks accusing some participants of being ‘consumed with hate,’” Baaklini said, in reference to a comment the senator made moments before he left the stage without finishing his speech. “That was as unfortunate as the inappropriate reaction by a small number of attendees.” 

EWTN News Nightly recorded a video of the tail end of Cruz’s speech on Wednesday. In it, the senator faced boos and angry yelling from some in the crowd over his previous comments. “I will say this: I’m saddened to see that some here, not everyone, are so consumed with hate,” he said in the video. 

“I will say this: If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you. Thank you, and God bless you,” he said, walking off stage to scattered applause and boos. 

Probably wrong that I enjoyed that so much isn't it?

I will say this however, even though it is against my religion, which you may know as the "I Always Disagree with Everything Ted Cruz says Adventists," but actually I think that old Rafael was saying some righteous shit.

However he was saying it to a crowd who only wanted to talk about Christian persecution, you know like Sarah and Bristol Palin, and not about any other group's centuries old persecution.

Yeah let those assholes get their own  fundraising event.

This is how another attendee, Republican Congressman Charlie Dent, summarized the Cruz kerfuffle: 

"I support Israel, but what Senator Cruz did was outrageous and incendiary," Dent said. "He showed a true lack of sensitivity for the people he was speaking to, especially the religious leaders who were there. It was a political speech, inappropriate and, overall, an uncomfortable moment."

So maybe it wasn't the whole  Jewish thing that upset the crowd so much, as simply the fact that Ted Cruz was being a giant douchenozzle.

God on Trial: The Verdict.

I caught this for the first time the other day after it popped up on one of the sites I visit frequently.

I had never seen this movie entitled "God on Trial" but I found this portion to be incredibly riveting.

Here is how IMBD describes the film:

Awaiting their inevitable deaths at one of the worst concentration camps, a group of Jews make a rabbinical court to decide whether G-d has went against the holy covenant and if He is the one guilty for their suffering.

You know you almost HAVE to believe that conversations like this took place in concentration camps all over the place during World War 2. In fact I believe that they are happening with increasing frequency in the years since that terrible war, and not only among the Jewish population.

I am interested in your feedback, because as an Atheist all I could think was that the questions posed simply had no reasonable nor logical answers, and either pointed to the non-existence of God or to the existence of a terrible God who relishes the act of human genocide and revels in our suffering.

Rachel Maddow's chilling report about George W. Bush and his world ending, Rapture ready, foreign policies. If you have not seen this, you must take the time to listen now.

"It wasn't just an accident that we were almost bringing about the end of the world, that was the point."

I started this blog in November of 2004. And I started it right after George W. Bush beat John Kerry to start his second term.

In fact it is that victory which is the only reason that you are reading these words today.

Somebody had to speak out.

They had to speak out about politics, and religion, and more importantly religion's impact on our politics.

They had to talk about those subject that are always considered taboo in polite get-togethers, family holidays, and conversations with coworkers.

What Rachel is reporting is not new information to me, that was what I was blogging about way back during the Bush administration. I typed until my fingers bled, but it seemed to make little difference.

Until that is 2008 rolled around.

But we are by no means out of the woods yet.

There is a reason that you will rarely see me talk about Astrology, Scientology, Shintoism, Hinduism, or any number of other beliefs which I find ridiculous and potentially damaging. And that is because they do not present the kind of threat that fundamentalism in Christianity and Islam do to this country.

Currently these two, and to be honest mostly Christianity, are to blame for most of the problems we are dealing with right now with public policy toward education, women's health, terrorism, LGBT rights, foreign relations, and numerous others which may or may not seem directly tied to religion.

Like I have said before I do not care if you carry a rabbit's foot for good luck on your key chain, check your horoscope every morning before deciding whether to go into work or not, or if you drop to your knees in prayer when you are confused about what choice to make next. None of those are any of my business, until you force them into the public forum and use them to make public policy, or attempt to force those beliefs onto our childen.

THEN it is our business. And it is especially our business if you use superstitious nonsense as a factor when deciding when or where to wage war, who does or does not deserve to live, or whether the planet will be around long enough for us to worry about a little thing like man made climate change.

Abortion opinions based on race and religion.

Courtesy of Talking Points Memo:

As part of its extensive study on Americans' views of abortion that was released Monday, Pew Research Center broke down the findings to provide a closer look at a number of groups and sub-groups, including by region and gender.

You know what I find fascinating?  That the Evangelicals, who seem to take most of their cues from the Old Testament rather than the New, are overwhelmingly anti-abortion, while the Jewish community, whose Torah essentially IS the Old Testament, are overwhelmingly pro-choice.

It would seem that SOMEBODY is suffering from difficulties with reading comprehension.

That reminds me by the way of this brilliant bit by Lewis Black pertaining to Christians misunderstanding or the Old Testament.  

Does Hell exist? And if it does how do you feel about your loved ones being sent there? One woman's response might shock you.

The video below is from the BBC program "The Big Questions" which is a remarkable program with the kind of format that we in the states cannot seem to pull off effectively.

I must admit that I am somewhat addicted to the program and have watched numerous episodes, many dealing with religion, Atheism, the bible, and many of the types of controversial topics that I like to discuss here on IM.

In the one below they are talking about he existence of Hell and have a variety of experts representing various religions, faiths, and the nonreligious to discuss the topic. There are also a couple of regular church members included as they also are asked to provide their opinions.

This woman, Liz Weston, who has already established her belief in Hell, is asked at the 3:50 mark how she could enjoy heaven knowing that many of her loved ones are being tormented in hell.

Her response is so bizarre and irrational to me that it makes my head ache. Here take a listen:

Wow! Here is what she says, in case you also cannot believe it:

Weston: "No, it won't. Because I will be with Jesus."

Host: "But the people that you love.."

Weston: "The person that I love the most is Jesus."

Host: "But what about the people you love in your life?"

Weston: "But I don't love them as much as I love Jesus. That's the point."

The rest of the conversation is well worth watching and I encourage you to do so, but it is this one back and forth that quite literally caused me one or two sleepless nights.

Simply put I have NO frame of reference to understand how somebody could look forward to living for eternity while believing that the people she one loved are punished in the most excruciating manner possible, simply because she will be in the presence of a person that she has never met, and has no reality based relationship with.

Essentially, despite what she might believe, everything that she believes is admirable about Jesus, and worthy of her love, is something she read in a book or was told by a representative of the religion named in his honer.

She has NO actual relationship with Jesus, and yet gaining access to HIM after her death is more important than what will happen to the people who have loved her all her life, and those she has laughed, cried, and struggled beside for her entire existence.

It makes me wonder if she is able to really form relationships here on earth, if she is always thinking of how much more fulfilling the one she has after she dies will be? I mean is it possible to truly love, when you care more for the possibility to a perfect love that lays behind death's door than you do about the ones you are having as a mortal on this tiny rock in space?

I am anxious to hear what you have to say, because in my nonreligious brain this feels like the very definition of insanity.

The most touching video you will see today. I promise.

Nicholas Winton single-handedly established an organization to aid children from Jewish families in Czechoslovakia at risk from the Nazis. He set up an office at a dining room table in his hotel in Wenceslas Square.

In November 1938, shortly after Kristallnacht, the House of Commons had approved a measure that would permit the entry of refugees younger than 17 years old into Britain if they had a place to stay and a warranty of £50 was deposited for a return ticket for their eventual return to their country of origin. Winton found homes for 669 children, many of whose parents perished in Auschwitz.

50 years later, in 1988, Winton was given a very touching surprise courtesy of the a BBC program "That's Life."

Is the Bible still relevant today? A discussion.

Okay obviously my first post this morning was tongue in cheek, but here is a video of a much more serious discussion of the relevancy of the Bible today, which includes host Nicky Campbell, Michael Nazir Ali, Bishop of Rochester, Richard Dawkins, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, and Bible scholar Francesca Stavrakopoulou.

 As you can see the debate gets quite lively and somewhat confrontational. Which in my opinion are ingredients for a fascinating debate.

(As you can imagine there is much more of this conversation online, which you can watch by clicking here, here, and here.)

The Romney family converted Mitt's atheist father-in-law to Mormonism, AFTER he died. How incredibly disrespectful!

"Oh you may not be a member of our church right now, but you can't live forever."

Courtesy of Gawker:

Gawker's substantial Mormon readership has come through for us: Two readers have sent us confirmation that Edward Davies, Mitt Romney's militantly atheist father-in-law, was indeed posthumously converted to Mormonism by his family, despite the fact that when he was alive he regarded all religions as "hogwash." 

As we mentioned yesterday, Ann Romney's Welsh-born father (who Mitt mentioned in last night's debate to shore up his pro-immigrant bona fides) was an engineer, inventor, and resolute atheist who disdained all organized religion and raised his children accordingly. Davies, his son Roderick told the Boston Globe in 2007, regarded the faithful as "weak in the knees." But when Mitt began seeing Davies' daughter Ann, the Romney family launched a concerted effort to convert not only Ann but her entire family to Mormonism. And they were wildly successful: Within a year of meeting Ann, Mitt and his father had converted all three of Edward Davies' children. Days before she died in 1993, Ann Romney's mother asked to be converted as well. Edward Davies was the only member of his clan whose soul the Romneys never claimed for their church. 

Until he died. According to this entry in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' genealogical database, Davies was baptized as a Mormon at a "special family meeting" 14 months after his death: "All ordinances except sealing to spouse performed in Salt Lake Temple on 19 Nov 1993 in special family meeting," the entry says. (When we previously asked the church whether Davies had been baptized, a spokesperson told us that the information was available only to his family and church members. But it's apparently right there on the internet for those who know what to look for.)

Look I know I have taken some heat for being a little judgmental when it comes to religions, but does ANYBODY feel this is okay?

I am not completely insensitive and understand how people of a certain faith may worry that their loved ones will not share eternity with them if they are not saved or baptized into their belief system, but I can see no way that this is a reasonable response to that fear.

Besides is it not usually considered too late once the person has shuffled off this mortal coil?

Well not according to the Mormons:

Because all who have lived on the earth have not had the opportunity to be baptized by proper authority during life on earth, baptisms may be performed by proxy, meaning a living person may be baptized in behalf of a deceased person. Baptisms for the dead are performed by Church members in temples throughout the world. People have occasionally wondered if the mortal remains of the deceased are somehow disturbed in this process; they are not. The person acting as a proxy uses only the name of the deceased. To prevent duplication the Church keeps a record of the deceased persons who have been baptized. Some have misunderstood that when baptisms for the dead are performed the names of deceased persons are being added to the membership records of the Church. This is not the case.

Okay that just creeps me out!

It feels like some religious necrophilia or something.

By the way, the Mormons have also been in trouble for doing this to others, INCLUDING dead Jewish Holocaust victims.

Alright go ahead.  Tell me I am too sensitive, or that it is no big deal. I dare you.

Comedian Lewis Black explains the Old Testament. Warning NSFW language.

Lewis Black is hands down my favorite comedian, and I have listened or watched as many of his performances as I can find.

Here Lewis is using humor in order to explain something to which I think most Fundamentalist Christians, like Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, and Sarah Palin should be forced to listen.

I am not sure that Lewis speaks for ALL Jewish people, but I am fairly confident that he speaks for most of the really smart ones.

Atheists as distrusted as rapists. WTF?

Courtesy of CTVBC:

Atheists are distrusted to roughly the same degree as rapists, according to a new University of British Columbia study exploring distaste for disbelievers. 

The research, led by UBC psychology doctoral student Will Gervais, found distrust to be the central factor motivating antagonism toward atheists among the religious. 

"Where there are religious majorities – that is, in most of the world – atheists are among the least trusted people," Gervais said in a release. 

"With more than half a billion atheists worldwide, this prejudice has the potential to affect a substantial number of people." 

Researchers believe the negative perception of atheists may stem from some people's understanding of morality; a 2002 Pew poll suggests nearly half of Americans believe morality is impossible without belief in god.

For one part of Gervais' six-part study, researchers compared views of atheists, homosexual men and the general population, noting that the first two groups are "often described as threatening to majority religious values and morality." 

Both are explicitly denied membership to the Boy Scouts of America, the study adds.

A sample of 351 Americans between the ages of 18 and 82 were quizzed on their feelings for each group. Sixty-seven per cent or subjects were Christian while 14 per cent said they did not believe in god. 

The results suggested anti-atheist prejudice was characterized by distrust, while anti-gay prejudice was characterized by disgust. 

For another part of the study, 105 UBC students between the ages of 18 and 25 were presented with a description of an untrustworthy person – an "archetypal freerider" who committed selfish and illegal acts when he thought he could get away with it. 

Subjects were more likely to find the description representative of atheists than Christians, Muslims, gay men, feminists or Jewish people. Only rapists were similarly distrusted. 

"People did not significantly differentiate atheists from rapists," the study said. 

You know it is this kind of stuff that really chaps my ass.

The idea that an identified religious affiliation determines that person's morality is demonstrably untrue, and the kind of ridiculous propaganda that certain groups love to cite to make themselves feel special and to justify their illogical belief system.

For instance I don't believe that Muslims are more prone to terrorist acts, that Catholic priests are more prone to pedophilia, or that Fundamentalists are all as batshit crazy as Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin. (Okay on that last one I have to admit the jury is still out.)

One of my least favorite phrases is, "Oh we can trust him, he is a good Christian man."  That is usually followed, it seems, by the realization that someone has been swindled out of their life savings or the discovery of some dead bodies in the woods.  Trusting ANYBODY based on their proclaimed religious affiliation is a sure sign of severe mental impairment in my opinion.

Now speaking for myself, I can say that I am certainly no saint. However if you were to compare my life choices to those of Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, or John Edwards, all self identified Christians, I would certainly seem like one.

I don't lie, or cheat, or steal.

I am not a drug user, an alcoholic, or a wife beater.

I have worked with children my entire life, and have NEVER even been accused of any impropriety. (Despite the best efforts by the Palin-bots.) And in fact have received numerous commendations for my work.

And NO that has nothing to do with my lack of religious faith. It is just who I happen to be.

However if one were trying to measure the morality of certain segments of the population based on their belief system, one might look at data from the prison system. (Admittedly this is a little old, dating back to 1997, though I doubt it has changed much.)

The Federal Bureau of Prisons does have statistics on religious affiliations of inmates. The following are total number of inmates per religion category:

Catholic 29267 39.164% 
Protestant 26162 35.008% 
Muslim 5435 7.273% 
American Indian 2408 3.222% 
Nation 1734 2.320% 
Rasta 1485 1.987% 
Jewish 1325 1.773% 
Church of Christ 1303 1.744% 
Pentecostal 1093 1.463% 
Moorish 1066 1.426% 
Buddhist 882 1.180% 
Jehovah Witness 665 0.890% 
Adventist 621 0.831% 
Orthodox 375 0.502% 
Mormon 298 0.399% 
Scientology 190 0.254% 
Atheist 156 0.209% 
Hindu 119 0.159% 
Santeria 117 0.157% 
Sikh 14 0.019% 
Bahai 9 0.012% 
Krishna 7 0.009%

(For the sake of comparison the percentage of Atheists in this country stands at roughly 12%.)

Like I said it is not terribly intelligent to judge a person's morality based on their religious affiliation. But if I were, and based on the above data, I know who I WOULD and WOULD NOT trust.


Distrusting somebody based solely on their religious beliefs, or lack thereof, makes no more sense than trusting somebody based on the color of their skin, their gender, or their height. And in fact it is this "trust shortcut" that is a by product of a deep religious conviction that has allowed certain church members to find themselves victimized time and time again.

Palin arrives in Israel. Oy vey!

From the NY Daily News:

The former Vice Presidential candidate arrived in Jerusalem on Sunday as part of her whirlwind trip that many think is meant to bolster her foreign policy credentials leading up to a possible 2012 presidential run.

She visited India earlier this week.

Sporting what appears to be a necklace with the Jewish symbol of a Star of David, the Alaska resident visited the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray.

She also toured Jerusalem's Old City and is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

"Israel is absolutely beautiful and it is overwhelming to see and touch the cornerstone of our faith and I am so grateful to be here," the devout Christian told reporters. "I'm very thankful to know that the Israeli and American link will grow in strength as we seek peace along with you."

(You have to love that guy's face as he spies Palin coming out of the Western Tunnels in Jerusalem. That is how Alaskans feel about her as well.)



Of course I love the Jews. Don'tcha see my necklace?

Perhaps the Israelies would be even less welcoming of Palin to their country if they realized she was a Christian Zionist who salivates at the idea of their country plunging into a devastating war, where hundreds of thousands of them die, before becoming so demoralized they give up and convert to Christianity.

It will come as no surprise to any of us that Palin has refused to allow any Israeli journalists to ask her any questions about her beliefs, or her political aspirations, or even how she is enjoying the weather:

Palin did not comment to Israeli reporters at the airport and was whisked away in a white van.

She kept the reporters in India as far away as possible too, don'tcha know:

Here's another fun note. According to the AP, reporters (who'd been promised an invite) were barred access at the last minute, while Palin insisted on the TV and web broadcast, "I will not sit back and take media criticism...."

Let's face it Palin can fly all over the damn planet if she wants, but as long as she continues to harbor her overwhelming distrust of the media, she is never going to be able to run for anything. 

The majority of Americans are simply never going to accept a candidate as viable so long as she hides behind Facebook and Twitter like an overweight, insecure thirteen year old who is terrified of her peers.