I had a blast and got to meet dozens of fabulous people.  There were tons of guest speakers with different messages for atheists’ future, strategies and tactics to fight ignorance and mythology fanaticism, and talks on the state of American atheism,agnosticism,humanism, and nontheism.

The highlight, for me, was Richard Dawkins’ talk and book signing.

Check out the video:

Everyone should have healthcare.  Everyone.   I don’t care if you’re rich, poor, illegal, religious, or non-religious.   Every one of us is human. Oh yeah, this woman HAS insurance.

You may have heard the phrase ’stupid is, as stupid does.’  By what actions, though, would we define stupidity?  Well, that could be shown on a variety of levels in this example.

Live Prayer, an unfortunately common example of ‘give-me-all-your-money’ faith, is now running advertisements questioning President Obama’s citizenship.  These aren’t the first people to bring this non-issue into the limelight, but they are the first to actually run TV advertising supporting the Birthers.  As we’ve discussing on Left Agenda, the Birthers have no true desire to see a birth certificate and arguably wouldn’t accept it as true even if one were presented.

Now, these people and their ilk are the definition of stupid, on one level at least.  But there’s a deeper level of stupidity that we can see which ironically is also being acknowledged by the first level of stupidity.

Let’s begin with the question, who are these advertisements being shown to?  Well, they’re being shown in seven states: Tennessee, Montana, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.  These states tend to have a larger population of conservative voters than, say, California, New York, or Illinois.  The next important question is what does Live Prayer hope to obtain for the thousands (possibly millions) spent on this advertisement?  Is their distrust of Obama so high they are willing to pay simply to get the message out with no hope or desire for retribution?  Nope, ‘that wouldn’t be prudent.’

[Live Prayer] asks late-night viewers to give $30 to have a faxes sent to government officials demanding Obama produce his birth certificate. As a thank you, contributors also get a special Birther bumper sticker.

And now, we come to our second level of stupidity.  Are there people in any of these seven states that will be sooooo stupid as to send $30 to Live Prayer to send a fax to ‘government officials’, i.e. an undefined number or name(s) of people?  They seem to be counting on it.

That is according to this dumbass at one of the Values Voter seminars.

Yes, so since I received a subscription to Playboy when I was fifteen and began doing what any teenage, heterosexual boy would do with such a magazine (OK, I started doing that before I got the Playboy) I guess that I am now gay.  Wow, do I feel cool or what?

Channeling a little Chandler here, but ‘could this guy BE more of a moran? (Yes, morons the spelling was intentional.)

Right Wingers at their finest.

Posted in Home, Left News Tagged: atheist, christian, conservative, daily kos, liberal, masturbation, moran, playboy magazine, politics, pornography, progressive, religion, values voter ]]> http://leftagenda.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/im-gay-apparently/feed/ 6 Godless American moran http://leftagenda.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/jail-for-school-prayer/ http://leftagenda.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/jail-for-school-prayer/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:28:05 +0000 Godless American http://leftagenda.wordpress.com/?p=1223 ]]>

Hell, yes!

Apparently, the separation of church and state isn’t something that’s important to religious fanatics (I guess that goeswithout saying).  These guys have been warned before that prayer is OK for students to do but it can’t be something that is promoted by school staff or administration.  Well, The principal of Pace High School in Florida seems to think that his position gives him the right to push his faith in dog/god on the rest of the student body.  He’s been warned repeatedly, and now may face jail time.

Frank Lay, principal of Pace High School in Pace, Florida, and school athletic director Robert Freeman are accused of violating a consent decree banning employees of Santa Rosa County schools from endorsing religion.

They face a nonjury trial before U.S. District Judge M.C. Rodgers. If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to six months in prison and fined, subject to sentencing guidelines.

The ACLU filed  a lawsuit against Rodgers and other officials some time ago.  Officials agreed that promoting prayer was inappropriate at school.  Case closed, right?  Nah, soon after the Jan. 9 agreement, Principal Lay chose to ignore those rules again:

But on January 28, “Lay asked Freeman to offer a prayer of blessing during a school-day luncheon for the dedication of a new field house at Pace High School,” according to court documents.

The ACLU has said that it isn’t seeking jail time, but I think they should.  It will be up to the judge to decide.  This type of indoctrination is disgusting.

I, ________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:

I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.

I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.

I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls.  Also.

I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life.  I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:

• Social Security

Medicare/Medicaid

• State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
• Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
• US Postal Service
• Roads and Highways
• Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
• The US Railway System
• Public Subways and Metro Systems
• Public Bus and Lightrail Systems
• Rest Areas on Highways
• Sidewalks
• All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate appropriations)
• Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)
• Public and State Universities and Colleges
• Public Primary and Secondary Schools
• Sesame Street
• Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children
• Public Museums
• Libraries
• Public Parks and Beaches
• State and National Parks
• Public Zoos
• Unemployment Insurance
• Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services
• Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)
• Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)
• Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)
• Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD’s ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking
• Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies
• Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies

If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care

I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to:

• Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History
• The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments
• The government-operated Statue of Liberty
• The Grand Canyon
• The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials
• The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery
• All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC

I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.

I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.

I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.

I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.

Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.

Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.

SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF __________ IN THE YEAR ___.

_____________   _________________________

Signed       Printed Name/Town and State

Now, will any Right Wingers that are screaming against the Public Option or, god/dog forbid, a Single Payer System actually have the balls to sign this and live up to it?

Don’t like Socialism, then don’t take part in it.

When are people going to learn that a system that works will involve a healthy mix of many different political philosophies?  Let’s balance the scale between Capitalism and Socialism.  Capitalism only benefits the people with lots of money.  It’s a winner-takes-all system.  America can do better.

Many thanks to Laura Clawson over at the DailyKos family.

Sad news coming out of Oklahoma.  75% of high school students couldn’t say who was the first President of the United States.  While many of these questions are expected to be answered correctly by people applying for U.S. citizenship, it appears that it’s not important for people born in the U.S. to have any idea about civics or U.S. history.

Question                                            % of Students Who Answered Correctly

What is the supreme law of the land?                                                                 28

What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?              26

What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?                                                  27

How many justices are there on the Supreme Court?                                  10

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?                                                14

What ocean is on the east coast of the United States?                                  61

What are the two major political parities in the United States?               43

We elect a U.S. senator for how many years?                                                   11

Who was the first President of the United States?                                           23

Who is in charge of the executive branch?                                                        29

Is it just me or is it, perhaps, even worse that almost 40% of the students didn’t know the name of the Atlantic Ocean?

The No Child Left Behind Act that was put into place by Bush and his lemming Republicans does exactly that.  It leaves children behind.  It leaves them behind in civics, creative thinking, critical thinking, etc.

Oh, on a side note.  OK was decidedly RED during the last presidential election.  What does that say about the Republican constituents?

You know what’s really funny?  I found this book review that seems perfect for this occasion.  Hell, maybe it helps explain what’s going on in America.

What’s ironic about this is that the book review was done by The Oklahoma Daily.  I guess people in Oklahoma need to start doing some more reading.  Kudos to the OK Daily for reviewing this book in possibly one of the states that is being specifically targeted by this book.

My favorite part:

For example, the problems that Pierce addresses are nearly all related to Republicans. It wouldn’t be hard to believe that this book was once titled “Idiot Conservatives,” but changed at the last minute before printing.

Good stuff coming out of SNL. What do you think? Could it have been a Republican plot that fell to tatters while Joe (Racist) Wilson was in the loo?

For what, you might ask.

Or, if you’re one of the many idiots in our beloved nation you might think that we ’saved’ people over there.  You could say that was true, except for the 100,000 or more civilians dead from our actions and the Iraq nation’s oil fields being sold off to the highest bidding oil companies.  Oh, and the nation’s ancient relics being dispersed throughout the black market.  Oh, and the thousands of people who are unaccounted for in Iraq.  Oh, and… well, you get the point.

Nope, WMDs were never found and the entire thing was one big hoax perpetrated on the American people and, sadly, the Iraqis.  But, that’s not what this Republican Congressman thought.

“I have never heard one word of gratitude from the Iraqi people about the 4,300 Americans who lost their lives,” he exclaimed.  ”We went to Iraq to try and free your people and now we’re being blamed for sectarian violence,” he said. “Don’t blame us because that type of bloodlust exists in your society.”

The good bad news?  This guy’s from California.  Proof positive that dumb Right Wingers are everywhere.  Is dumb contagious?  I hope not.

If you haven’t been paying attention, the Right is now in full hysteria over President Obama’s election.  The fanatical Right now believes that President Obama, somehow through a conspiracy of over forty years, faked his own birth, was trained by liberal terrorists, and plans on taking over the country and making it either Marxist, Communist, Socialist, or combinations of those three.  I don’t need to give links to these phenomenon, do a quick Google search and you’ll find plenty of examples.

Now, the Right believes that President Obama while speaking to America’s children at school on Sept. 8, which a few other presidents have also done, is going to be indoctrinating America’s youth just like the Hitler Youth organizations of the 30s and 40s in Germany.  It boggles the mind how people could be so frightened of nothing.

Teachers have been offered a lesson plan for the speech President Obama will be making; something many teachers will be happy to use and adapt to their own class room because it saves them the time of having to do it themselves.  Here’s the lesson plan provided.

Now, as you would assume, the lesson plan gives some vague questions to ask the students about the U.S. President in general, and very little about Barack Obama specifically.  But an e-mail sent out by Right Wing Teabag Nutjobs seems to think that Obama’s going over the line,

I wouldn’t have such a problem with the Department of Education were this presented in a non-Orwellian fashion. Oh yes, it is, as the lesson plan directs, to listen to what t he president, the mayor, et al. says, to respect their “authoritah” </Cartman>, but there is no emphasis in here on why the president and other elected officials should listen to US. The focus is solely on authority. There is no consideration given to the authority of the American people. That’s what concerns me.

For one, the “fashion” this lesson plan is presented in is exactly how lesson plans are presented.  With a M.Ed, and three years teaching experience, I’m confident in that.  Secondly, did teaching our children to respect authority suddenly become a bad thing?  Don’t we want our children to respect authority?  Respecting and questioning authority are not opposites.  You can respectfully question authority; it is possible.  Lastly, the President of the United States does have authority, authority vested in him by the people; we, generally, call that an election.  I understand that the Right can’t bare the fact that a black, moderately liberal, and not zealously religious man won the election but you’re going to have to live with it.  Besides, the Left dealt with Bush stealing his election; you should be able to deal with Obama actually winning his.

Leaving me in further confusision is that people are already sure of what he’ll say.  Now, rationally, what do you think Obama will say to America’s youth?  I’m guessing that he’s going to say something about working hard, staying in school, and staying away from drugs.  Nothing shocking.  But, comments on the Right seem more hysterically frightened:

Go to school with your children…don’t keep them home.

I’m going to school with my child. I’m going armed with facts and information to counter any level of indoctrination that this government or any faculty member tries to cram down her throat. Instead of just keeping your child home, go to school with them. Stay for any discussion that occurs, and present the information as it really is. Going to class with your child will accomplish 3 things: 1. It will let the faculty know that you will not tolerate attempts to politically indoctrinate your child while they should be receiving an education. 2. It will show those that intend to indoctrinate school aged children that you are not blind to their attempts, nor are you afraid. Rather, you will meet them head on and will not allow the propaganda to go unchallenged to your community children. 3. It will reach more than just your child. It will reach his/her whole class. Bring cookies. Be the “cool” parent, and educate the whole class at the same time. If this is the arena they choose, this is where we meet them. Stand up…don’t stay home.

Notice the use of words like “armed” and “arena?”  This is a fight, I guess.  Who would’ve thought that parents would be so upset that their children would be told to work hard?  Hmmm.  I wonder, does this parent show this same type of zeal when their local church “authority” is educating their children?

NO WAY!

I’m SO glad this was brought to my attention! I’ve contacted all the mothers on my block and we’re ALL planning on keeping our kids HOME Sept 8th and 9th. We’re going to meet at our local park for a play date. We do NOT send our children to school to be INDOCTRINATED! If public school teachers are choosing to exchange EDUCATION for political brainwashing, they’re going to find many EMPTY desks! With this being a small town, it will take a huge toll on them financially. We’ll be pulling our kids out to HOME-SCHOOL! Amercians need to ban together and start taking a stand, demanding they get this clown OUT of the White House. Apathy is no longer an option! If we want to make sure we have a land of the free left, we need to oppose this idiot’s move toward MARXISM at every turn! TODAY is the day of redemption! There may not be a tomorrow!

I think my favorite part is that “Americians need to ban together…,” so we can, “get this clown OUT of the White House.”  Another parent that apparently doesn’t understand what elections are.  Hello, we just got the “clown” out of office, and prevented further clowns from holding office.  Also, we people work together isn’t it being “band together?”  It’s like negation is built right into their thinking, “No, no, no, no, no…”

creepy

I thank God (yes I said God) every day that I am fortunate enough to send my child to private school and my older child is in a Christian college. My high schooler is appalled that the president is so ego centric that he needs to be seen on television everyday of the week and now is injecting himself into schools. This reeks of socialism/Marxism/communism. I cannot believe that so many people in this country were blind enough to vote for this person. I am also to blame because I did not speak loudly enough against this regime. Now is the time to move forward. Educate your children about real American history that they don’t teach in public school. Keep them home from school and go to the library to read the Constitution, read about the founding fathers and read about the 2 world wars. Many of you are going to say, but I work, how do I take the day off??? I work also. If my child’s school shows this I will ask that she be exused from the class at that time. If she chooses to watch it we will talk about it later. Never turn a blind eye or deaf ear to what this man is saying.

I’m not sure if the title, “creepy” is meant for Obama’s speech or for what the person has to say.  Home schooling has got to be one of the biggest jokes.  What “real American history” is she talking about?  The one that covers in detail all of the horrible lies we made to Native Americans, or maybe the years and years of bigotry perpetrated by the American majority against racial, sexual, and religious minorities?

Conservatives need to wake up and stop the irrational religious nutjob take over.  The Right use to make rational arguments; I didn’t agree with them and I’d argue against them, but they were arguable and rational points.  Since Newt Gingrich’s false and misleadingly titled Contract with America, the Religious Right has taken over the conservative movement.  Conservatives, it’s time to clean house and toss out the nutjobs, i.e. Glenn Beck, Pat Buchanan, Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, etc., etc.  It could be the dawning of a new conservative era; one I will, gladly, continue to debate.  But this mass hysteria nonsense?  Please, it’s like going to the psych ward and arguing with Napoleon.