Merry Christmas from your friendly neighborhood Atheist

I know, strange words to hear from an atheist. One might instead expect a, "Bah, humbug!" So why would an ardent critic of all religion be wishing you a Merry Christmas?

Before my parents get their hopes up, I still don't believe in God or that he had a son. What I do believe in is the power of the Christ story to bring out the best and worst in society. At Christmas time, through all of the bustle and road rage, I witness small, unselfish acts that remind us of what the Christ story was supposed to be about.

As you gather with friends and family this holiday, no matter what your belief system is, take some time out to do at least one small, selfless thing for someone in your life. Whether to "glorify your God" or simply to improve the species, do something to ensure we all have a merry Christmas.

Vegetarian Goodness day 4

So, for health reasons (I am a fat ass who was sprinting to a heart attack) I have become a vegetarian. I am on day four into the world of rabbit food and I have to admit, I don't miss meat that much. That is not to say I would be able to walk into a steakhouse and order a salad but I can get out of a Burger King without a twinge. I feel better, I have noticeably more energy, and I never get up from the table groaning and looking for a wheel barrow to get my ass to the car. At least at this point, four days in, it feels good. I'll keep you posted in case I get to the point I decide to kill someone for a lick of steak.

It is kind of weird writing a blog that doesn't have me screaming obscenities about some outrage. So to end in true form, fuck the fucking fuckers. There. That feels better.

Day 3

So here I am at day three. When I started this vegetarian thing I figured by day 3 I would kill someone for a lick of a steak. I had a breakfast this morning of a fresh mango and an apple. My lunch will consist of a sandwich with fresh cucumber, tomato, avocado, herb goat cheese, and a slice of provolone on 12 grain bread. I don't really miss meat that much. I'm not saying I could sit in a high end steak house and not go nuts but I am doing alright.

Changes

Cows of the world may breathe a sigh of relief. As of yesterday I have become a vegetarian. Surprised? So was I. After a good hard look at my health I realized I need a healthy change. So I have cut out both meat and most processed foods. Why? The only fat vegetarians I have ever met are ones who eat high fat, high salt processed foods like chips and fried foods. So I have stuck primarily to raw fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads, and the occasional dash of cheese. I have supplemented this with multi-vitamins to make up for the nutrients missing from the standard vegetarian diet.

What I have discovered in the last 48 hours is an increase in energy, a decrease in blood pressure, and after I eat I don't have the feeling that I need a wheel barrow to wheel my fat ass to the car. I will be making note of my progress here. As of now my weight is about 302 lbs. and my blood pressure is at 130/85. I wear a 42" waist pant. Lets see where this takes me.

A truly black Friday

First, I want to send my condolences to the family of Jdimytai Damour, the 34 year old New York Wal-Mart employee trampled to death by the stampeding bargain hunting savages.

I have watched those in the media try to blame it on Wal-Mart, the police, or the sale itself and each time they do I get a little angrier. Have we as a species descended so far that the people in that line can't be blamed for the horrid acts they have committed in the name of greed? How far have we sunk as a nation that we don't stop to realize that the only people to blame are the fucking animals who crashed through those doors and snuffed out the life of an innocent man? All this just for the sake of a fucking deal on a fucking Xbox, Wii, or whatever other piece of electronics stuffed plastic the media have convinced us we are bad parents if we don't get?

Does anyone else see what kind of society we have created? The fucking animals refused to leave the store when police tried to clear the store! After they trampled a man to death, they started shopping. THIS MAN WILL NEVER SEE ANOTHER CHRISTMAS BECAUSE OF THESE ANIMALS AND THEY FUCKING CONTINUED TO SHOP! Yet analysts in the media have the gaul to try pinning the blame on everything but the mob who valued deals over human life.

To every steaming pile of shit to step through those doors that morning, every worthless waste of flesh who used this poor man as a door mat, I hope you look at the gifts under your tree this year and remember EXACTLY what they cost. I hope every time you close your eyes at night, you hear the screams of Jdimytai Damour's family in your ears. I hope every step you take you remember that your feet helped trample the life out of an innocent man just so you could buy cheap shit. Live a long life, remembering exactly what you did. Merry fucking Christmas you worthless wastes of fucking flesh.

Wise words from Keith​ Olber​mann

Keith​ Olber​mann had a great commentary on the Proposition 8 issue that I think everyone, no matter what their stance on the issue, should see.



In case Youtube removes it for copyright violation the gist is that this issue is about the human heart. Why should an issue like this matter to those who voted for it or supported Prop 8? People keep talking about redefining marriage. Without a redefinition of marriage in 1967, blacks and whites could not be married in 16 states. The parents of the new president could not have been married in almost one third of the country he has now been elected to lead. Nobody is asking you to accept their expression of love. They are only asking you to embrace the concept of love. 50% of marriages fail no matter how much you try and here is a group of people overjoyed at taking that chance on lifelong love. With so much hate and meaningless division in the world, this is what your religion tells you to do? If you want to honor your God, spread happiness. Show me any scripture in any holy book against this and then tell me how you can believe that and the scripture that reads, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

While my paraphrase doesn't do the video justice, you get the point. If for some reason this video gets pulled from youtube, find it somewhere and watch it. It is important.

Accepted American Bigotry

So overall the elections went well, unless you count every ban on gay marriage up for a vote passing. We have finally elected a black president but we still see fit in this country to deny people in love the right to marry simply because of Judeo Christian bigotry against homosexuality. To all of my gay and lesbian friends, my heart goes out to you. To borrow from the civil rights movement, we shall overcome.

History in the making

As I sit here catching my breath I am filled with hope. CNN just made the official call that Barack Obama will be president. When Martin Luther King spoke of having been to the mountain top and having seen the promised land, a day like today is what he saw. The realization of the dream begins its culmination tonight. I am such a swirl of emotion right now I don't feel I can wax sufficiently poetic to capture the significance of this moment but I felt I must log this moment in time. It is my hope that this night will truly change the course of our nation. Words fail me.

UPDATE: McCain just conceded. His concession speech is the best he has given this whole election. It is both graceful and gracious. Well fought Senator McCain. Your concession speech has set a tone of unification after a divisive and long election. Thank you.

The Big Day

I voted this morning. It is the first time I have ever voted almost straight Democrat. Most importantly, I placed my vote for Barack Obama, the first politician to ever inspire me. As I try to make it through the day without gluing myself to the hundred channels of election coverage I find myself both worried and hopeful at once.

As I stood in a record line this morning filled with young first time voters in a precinct that usually looks like a sparsely populated retirement home I felt a glimmer of hope. By the discussions going on in line there were at least eight Obama voters in a row in front of me and two more in back meaning in a district filled with McCain signs there were at least 11 people in a row casting a vote for change. It felt good to be a in a little flotilla of blue in a sea of red state voters.

As the final days of the campaign wound down I stopped focusing as much on the dirty lies of the McCain supporters and looked at the other issues around the country. Two popped immediately into view.

First, the dirty ad campaign of Elizabeth Dole claiming that Kay Hagan was supported by the Godless Americans and implying that she made promises to that group were as vile as all of the racist things said about Barack Obama. What offended me more though was that Kay Hagan not only defended her faith and denied the lies that she had made promises to the Godless Americans but in doing so implied that Godless Americans are an Anti-American group to be feared. I am a Godless American you intolerant hate mongering bigots. The time is coming when Americans will see the lies about us for what they are and equate them with the stories Nazis told about the Jews. The smartest among us are Atheists. Does being smart make you a bad American?

Speaking of hate mongering, I have something to say about Proposition 8 in California. I think any California resident reading this should call their local civil rights attorney and start a class action lawsuit to strip any religion that has contributed to this hate filled campaign of its precious tax exempt status. That's right Mormons, I am looking squarely at you. You still believe that in the Celestial Kingdom all righteous men will have more than one wife and have only suspended polygamy here due to bigamy laws. Don't believe me? The manifesto of 1890 only repeals the practice, not the doctrine. You of all people should be ones to talk about a "1 man, 1 woman" definition of marriage. Most of all, Mormon interference in this election by supporting Prop 8 from both wallet and pulpit stands in direct violation of federal tax codes governing church tax exempt status. Catholics and Baptists, you are in the same boat. All of your hate mongering money machines need to be taxed and taxed now. Religion is a multi-billion dollar industry. When your pulpit and coffers are used to support legislation of any kind you should be subjected to the same taxes as the rest of us. When you worship in private and keep it private, I have no problem. When you play in the public sphere, you must also pay in the public sphere. Until you open your pockets and pony up taxes like everyone else, your mouths need to stay the fuck shut.

Braindump

Every so often here in Untitled Life I feel the need to write but have so much information I wish to convey that it all comes out at once and rarely in a full cohesive thought. That is when we have the fun of a braindump where I throw up all of my thoughts in a single stream of though post and let you sort it out... or slink away slowly to call the men in white coats to pick me up.

First, last Sunday was the First Annual Texas Freethought Convention. It went well even considering some planning mixups. Originally I had been set to speak but due to scheduling and two big name speakers coming out, I got bumped. I did get to perform the de-baptisms which was a fun, tongue in cheek way for those baptized as children to undo something done to them without their consent. Purely symbolic silliness but it was all in good fun. Overall it was a great day and I was lucky enough to meet some fellow atheists from all over Texas, giving me hope for this red state. A special shout out goes to Anastasia, my fellow recovered Mormon, and Kelli and Staise, the documentary filmmakers and fellow hardcore atheists who will be immortalizing this first here in Texas. Also, much love to FACT, American Atheists, and all of the other local and national organizations that made this possible.

In other news, it looks like Barack will win the White House. That said, I will not breathe a sigh of relief until they have sworn him in. If McCain wins even with the polls predicting a Barack landslide I am taking to the streets. I don't care if I am the only person in this red state protesting. I get the feeling I won't be. Republicans be warned. The American people are tired of your dirty politics. We will not have another election stolen.

My wife got the call Tuesday that her great grandmother had been diagnosed with late stage Hodgkin's Lymphoma. While she will be going through chemo her prognosis looks grim. Ester is the kind of grandmother everyone wishes for. She is always ready with a smile and a hug for her family. Until recently she could run circles around any of us, maintaining a little shop in the flea market and caring for her many grand and great grandchildren. She has led an amazing life and if I can leave this world accomplishing half of her life I will die feeling fulfilled. Ester, we love you and if you leave us, you will be mourned and missed.

Heros and Monsters

"Battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster and if you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes into you." — Friedrich Nietzsche

America currently stands on a precipice overlooking a great abyss. This soul sucking chasm's gaping jaws await as on all sides we are pushed towards it by the "monsters" we are told are seeking to kill us. Fear is used by our leaders to prod us into giving up our basic liberties. Our collective rage is quelled and misdirected by leaders who scare us with shadow puppets. We need a hero.

The hero is one who can shine the light on the puppet show and rid us of the shadow monsters, leaving only the puppet masters and the real monsters. This opens avenues of escape once blocked by fear. This hero needs to guide us away from the precipice and rally our nearly broken spirits. There are real monsters to fight and we must be ready for them.

Every day I gaze into this abyss that looms so large, wondering if anyone else even sees it. Some days it gazes back. There are days when I find the fight to pull the world from the edge exhausting. I know I am not the hero this world needs. My light simply isn't big enough to dispel all of the shadow monsters. I can see the puppet masters with their giant lights, projecting monstrous shadows yet few around me can see the same.

I feel like I am standing by a train track, watching those around me standing on the tracks. I am screaming warnings of an oncoming train but they are too immersed in their iPods to hear me. When I try to pull out their ear buds to scream the warning, they simply anger that I have stopped the music and refuse to hear anything further. I wonder if they will move when the tracks start to rumble or will they even notice? Maybe when the glaring light is bearing down on them, or will they simply think it sunrise?

Is there anybody listening or am I simply screaming into the storm?

How can this happen?

How can the race between John McCain and Barack Obama be this close? After eight years of an idiotic right wing nut job in the house that almost no one approves of, how can the Republicans in America want more of the same? Can we afford another pair in the White House who think God put them there? Can we afford two ardent supporters of a war that was started on a lie and is currently responsible for trillions of dollars of debt? If we as a nation were to spend half of what we have wasted on this war of lies here at home, not one child in this country would go without health care. Invested in education, millions of lower income students could turn the tide of poverty by going to college. Republicans talk of ending the "welfare state" and yet refuse to invest in the one idea that can fix that, education. Instead they send our young men and women into countries that hate us to die bringing democracy to countries that want theocracy. Speaking of theocracy, should John McCain die in the White House, likely due to his age and health history, we would have someone in the White House who believes that God put her there to enact "his" plan to rid the world of abortions, even for rape victims. She would continue by furthering "his" plan to end the teaching of evolution and replace it with creationism. She would set up the Christian answer to Sharia Law in this country. We have to stop this lunacy and we have to stop it now. We must do everything we can to prevent the election of McCain/Palin.

Sarah Palin

Holy fuck on a stick. Sarah Palin, the new Republican VP nominee, scares the living bejesus out of me. If John McCain wins, this far right wingnut Pentecostal will be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If this woman doesn't make you scared, you either aren't paying attention or should be committed. This woman wants Creationism in our science classes, God in our government, no sex ed in schools, and no abortions for anyone, ever. This in 2008. This is the best Republican can come up with? Are they out of their fucking minds? Rhetorical question...

First, I know a few Pentecostals and they are generally good people. Good people who believe they can speak in tongues, believe the Bible to be the infallible word of God, the sick can be healed through prayer, and one can be "saved" through "acceptance of Jesus Christ." That is fine for an individual who isn't making key decisions on how the most powerful nation on earth is run.

The bottom line about abortion is it is a valid medical procedure for women who for one reason or another can't carry the pregnancy. There are plenty of valid reasons for it and the decision in the end must be between the woman and her Doctor. If you don't own a uterus, you don't get to be involved.

Abstinence education DOES NOT FUCKING WORK! Texas teen pregnancy rates are through the roof here in Texas as a direct correlation. Condoms save lives, prevent disease, and prevent unwanted pregnancy. Parents in America are so sexually repressed that they can't teach their kids what a condom is and how to use one. Teens have sex. Teens who are educated about it are more likely to wait to start having sex and once they do are smarter about it. Studies have come in by the thousands that real, honest sex education prevents disease and pregnancy. Anyone fucking stupid enough to deny that has no business in a position of power, period.

Creationism is the clear attempt of religious lunatics, the people who brought you the inquisition and flat earth theory, to pry their way back into science classrooms. Creationism and intelligent design are NOT FUCKING SCIENCE. They are religious propaganda.

In the final analysis, if you want a theocracy, vote Republican. If you want sane, rational government, vote Obama. People like Sarah Palin must be fought at all turns in the same way one might oppose Adolf Hitler.

I was gonna let it go...

I was going to let CNN's telecast of the Presidential Evangelical forum pass. I swear I was going to pretend not to give a shit. I figured there would be no surprises, and there really wasn't. The questions were all softball lob shots with no surprise questions. It was a nonstop love-fest with the standard fare about pro-life / pro-choice, platitudes, and empty pandering to the evangelical set. I was going to leave all of that be. That is until every single mouth breathing neanderthal talk radio host on both sides couldn't shut off their drool holes about it. The conservatives complained that the interviewer was not a real Evangelical because he doesn't discuss sin enough in his church. The liberals were annoyed by the clearly conservative slant of the questions. By the end of the day all I wanted to do was relax after foaming at my radio sufficiently doctors almost gave me a rabies shot.

So I sit down to surf the net and chill. The problem is, CNN is my homepage. Then I just had to pop. The most important point that every single pundit misses has nothing to do with whether the church hosting the forum was to liberal or conservative. The biggest problem with this forum is that it was in a church, hosted by a minister, and the product of this religious exercise is being used to help choose the president of a nation whose constitution strictly prohibits the mixing of church and state. You might as well just fucking inaugurate Sun Myung Moon. Son of a bitch, we did...

Are they all insane?

The more I listen to politicians on both sides, the less sane I think they are. Take the energy policy debate. You have the "DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW" crowd screaming for new offshore drilling and drilling in ANWR. On the other side we have the Democrats calling for no new drilling at all and instead investing in "green" technology. Somehow there is no middle ground. There are thousands of ready made wellheads, ready for drilling and no one is stopping the oil companies from drilling. There is no need to fight for ANWR or extra offshore drilling locations. We need to invest further in "green" technologies that will move us away from dependence on oil. We need all of this and we need it now. The most annoying part is that not one politician is needed for these decisions. Oil companies already have clearance for thousands of acres of drillable land. There are plenty of market demands for green technology. No governmental interference required.

More ranty goodness...

So here I am, on the flip side of 30 and living a better life than I did at 20. Some people talk about wanting to be 20 or 25 again. I wouldn't go back if you paid me. I lead a good life. I am more conscious of the world around me. I am free to think and say what I want and be who I am. Some days that makes me so happy it almost hurts. Other days I also feel the burden of knowledge.

The other night I went out to grab some dessert for Tiff and I. When I returned she was watching "Platinum Weddings" on WE. I sat down to enjoy some mindless television with her. As the show progressed there were two things that stood out to me. The first was the ridiculous amount of money this woman was spending on an event that would only last a few hours. I understand the feminine desire for a nice wedding. I get that these can be pricey. This woman blew over $500,000 for this event, including a $30,000 cake, $120,000 in jewels, and thousands of other insane items. Her mother was footing a large part of the bill. Her mother was born and raised in Haiti. Haiti is one of the nations the U.S. State Department advises U.S. citizens not to travel to due to political unrest. It also has a child death rate of one in eight, rampant poverty, and starvation. The cost of this woman's wedding could feed thousands of Haitian children for a long time. I understand this woman's right to spend her money however she wants. I am just aghast at such conspicuous consumption from someone whose roots are in a land that is dying more every day.

Then I remember that even here in this country children die of malnutrition. Every day in this country, millions of children will go hungry. We need not look to the third world to find starvation and needless death. We in the richest nation on earth need only travel a few miles in any direction. Every day thousands of uninsured children are turned away from medical care that could save their lives because their parents make too much for free medical care but not enough for insurance. Every day in every city in America there are children whose only meal of the day is the lunch provided at their school.

Have we become the new Roman Empire? Has the American elite forgotten the fall of Caesar? In a land where children are dying it takes someone truly self centered to burn that much money, a fraction of which could spare hundreds of people suffering, on such a self indulgent exercise in narcissism. Weddings should be about the sharing of love and the vowing of devotion, not spending enough to feed a small country as an opulent display of self love and delusions that you are important. The woman in this story kept referring to this wedding as "her day." The groom almost seemed to be more of a decoration than half of this ceremony.

My wife and I are examples that a wedding doesn't have to cost much to have real meaning. We were married on the beach and the most expensive thing was the minister for $100. Even if you factor in the rings which were purchased much earlier our wedding cost less than $3,000. We have been married almost seven years now and I love her more today than the day we said, "I do." What I love most about her is the way she loves me, with her whole heart and unconditionally.

More political ranting brought to you by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court cranked out a few tough decisions over the last couple of days. I support their choice on repealing the death penalty in child rape cases simply for the number of falsely convicted fathers out there whose vindictive ex-wives frame them. Frankly, if the case were clearly and unequivocally provable I would personally kill them slowly by beheading with a butter knife. I just can't get behind execution in cases that are not an exact science. I understand the close split on this and for that I give them a pass on this decision.

What irks me is the narrow margin by which second amendment rights were supported. Before I go further let me refresh everyone's memory as to the exact wording of the amendment.

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

I support the decision of the court that banning the owning of firearms by private citizens is unconstitutional. Strange to hear from a liberal, isn't it? The court supported reasonable legislation but restricted states from completely banning firearms. What disturbs me is that this decision was not unanimous. To be clear, the job of the Supreme Court is to interpret the Constitution and apply it to the cases brought before it. Whatever the personal belief of the judge, the Constitution must reign supreme. The intent of the writers of the amendment is quite clear. The people's right to bear arms is maintained specifically to form militias to protect themselves from the government. These men had just fought off an oppressive regime using a militia formed by men with their own personal guns. It was tantamount to the founders that, should the government ever become oppressive, the people must be able to rise up. A government not scared of its people will trample its people. Look at every major genocidal regime in history. They started by disarming their people. The enemy of tyranny is a well educated and armed populace. That bears saying again.

The enemy of tyranny is a well educated and armed populace.

I hate that defense of the right to bear arms falls to the uneducated dolts of the Christian right who inherently tie guns to conservatism. Defense of liberty is a very liberal ideal. There is no reason to let the conservatives take this ideal and run with it. More importantly, the justices of the Supreme Court have no business attempting to legislate from the bench. The intent of the framers of the Constitution is quite clear. Allowing infringement of the rights of the people to keep and bear arms is directly controverting the very duty of the Supreme Court. The four justices who attempted to reinterpret the intent of the second amendment were one vote away from doing away with one of our basic liberties, the right to defend ourselves. Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer, you shame the institution of the Supreme Court and sully the reputation of its justices by ignoring the real intent of the document you are sworn to defend.

Getting Older

Now that I have pissed off the three religions most likely to declare holy war, it is time to wax reflective. Whoever said 30 is the new 20 needs to have a semi-automatic shotgun shoved up his ass without lube and have the trigger pulled until it clicks. You know you are getting old when you turn on the classic rock station and hear the stuff that came out when you were in high school. Metallica's Load album is not classic yet, is it? For that matter, could it ever be? I digress. I had my hair cut today only to reveal more gray hair. I'm turning 30, not 60. I shouldn't have this much gray hair. I actually found a few grays on my chest. A kid I taught in Sunday school when he was 5 is 14 now. My brother, a kid whose diapers I changed, is a 6'5" 19 year old.

To top it off, George Carlin, the edgy comedian I have loved for years, is dead now. I am watching his tribute marathon, remembering all of the laughs he brought to my time on this planet. In his 71 years on this rock his comedy made people think, laugh, and often run in terror. You will be missed George. In your honor I end with your most famous seven words.

"Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, CockSucker, MotherFucker, and Tits"

Unleashing the misanthrope

You know there are some days my inner misanthrope wants to come out. In these days I look at society and wonder if it can be saved. I look more and more at the issues of faith and religion and the harder I look, the harder it is to understand how the species keeps on going. The New Testament is historically impossible, not just improbable. The Old Testament God needs serious medication and the story is less likely than the gods of Mount Olympus. The Koran is the psychotic ranting of a nutjob, pedophile, misogynistic, warmongering, genocidal maniac. Here in America we are surrounded by shallow, stupid, buffoons who would rather vote for the next American Idol than a president. When they do vote it is for candidates with the best hair or smile rather than their position on the topics that matter. This is how you explain Rick Perry, perfect hair and teeth but not one functioning brain cell. Sometimes I just wish smart people would step back and let the idiots kill themselves off, natural selection style. Darwinian evolution has been hindered by safety measures for too long. The stupid should be left to cut off their own genetic lines in the most horrifically stupid ways. If you don't know or haven't figured out what a misanthrope is, go step in front of a fast moving bus...

Maybe I should lay off the CNN for a few days... It creates anger management issues by robbing faith in the viability of the human species...

P.S. In case you were wondering, yes, I just called Mohammed a pedophile and a maniac, Jesus a myth, God a psycho, Americans morons, and no, I am not apologizing. Truth sucks. Deal with it.

It types like stimulus...

So I have a new toy thanks to the wonderful folks in the United States Congress. Since the government was sending out free money (I'm going to ignore the fact that I paid about 5 times the amount of my "stimulus" in taxes) I decided to invest in my business with a tool that also makes my wife's photography business more productive. We purchased a new Macbook and a 24" external monitor for the primary purposes of photo editing and web design. Of course the side effect is we have a freaking cool laptop with an absolutely sick monitor. I love this shit almost enough to forget that the money they sent was only a small chunk of the massive chunk taken from my hard earned paycheck at gunpoint. If you don't believe the gunpoint, try not paying your taxes a few years in a row. It is like having a thief rob you at gunpoint, take all of your cash and cards, toss a couple of fives at you, and then tell you to get something nice. At least with this nice thing I can make more money... so they can take more money... so the can fund more stimulus checks... Son of a bitch... for a moment I was so happy about my new shit...

Time for change

As you all know, I lost my job a couple of months ago. I have been working as an independent and am actually making a good bit more than I made at my last job. There are a couple of major differences. One, I cannot guarantee I will make as much this week as last week. Two, I have found out that my wife and I are un-insurable. I am ready and looking to purchase good health insurance. My wife and I have no major ongoing medical problems but to insure us will cost more than rent unless we both lose a significant amount of weight. I am stuck in a catch 22. If I spend the money for insurance, I am basically throwing money down a hole in the hopes that they will cover us in a major medical problem, which is never guaranteed. If I don't and then one of us is sick or hurt we will never be able to get coverage for that illness or injury. Even if we lost 40 pounds each insurance would cost just under $500/month for the three of us. Our normal medical costs for six months don't even run that. I make too much money for Medicaid, even for my daughter, but not enough to justify burning $500 a month on something I won't use enough to justify the costs.

The big problem here is that I am not at or below the poverty line. I make more than a significant number of Americans with that number going up every year. I am right in the middle of the middle class and moving up fast. If I can't insure my family, who can? Something has to change and it has to change now. We need sensible health care reform. We need to stand up for a change. We as Americans can't accept the status quo anymore. There is no way we can simply "let the market sort it out." The insurance industry has gone too far, gotten too corrupt, and has ceased to serve the needs of the American people. There is no excuse for the most powerful nation on earth not to be able to provide medical care to every citizen, regardless of class or income. The amount we spend invading foreign countries alone could fund health care for all indefinitely. We have to change our thinking and look at the successful nations of Europe and the Netherlands. Their people are happy, healthy, and not driven into the ground by the costs of medical care. They work fewer hours, live longer lives, and enjoy less of a gap between their richest and poorest citizens.

It's the end of the world as we know it...

...and I feel tired...

As you all know, I am a news junkie. This explains my reliance on blood pressure medication. Listening to CNN over the past few weeks has had me popping them like candy. I have a large amount of ground to cover so strap in.

First lets hit "Issue #1" as CNN calls it, the economy. I swear if I see one more pundit push up his nerd glasses and say, "Well technically we are not in a recession in the classic sense of the term..." I will blow a gasket. The jobless rate is up, the cost of food is skyrocketing, and soon the dollar will replace Charmin on rolls of toilet paper in the bathroom. Adding fuel to that fire, in a quite literal sense, oil prices have hit the ceiling and promise not to stop. Soon you will have to put a tank of gas on layaway. Rice is being rationed, corn is in short supply because some dumb fuckers are fueling their cars with it, even though it is not one bit cleaner than gasoline, and the cost of wheat is insane.

Second, you have many religious people looking at this situation and celebrating the coming Armageddon saying, "These are all just signs Jesus is coming soon." Problem is, they say that every time the world hits a crisis. Still no Jewish zombies with hand and foot piercings running around. Get off your knees and lets actually try to fix this shit.

Third, the Democrats are yet again aiming to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. That vile bitch Hillary may just steal this one, disenfranchising millions of voters who are voting for the first time. I, along with millions of others, will sit this election out if she steals it.

Forth, while I still support Obama, this Jeremiah Wright business scares the shit out of me. Jeremiah Wright is a vile, racist, hate-monger whose very existence sets back race relations 50 years. Barack, you have to condemn his psychotic hate speech and let the world know he is never to be your advisor on tie color, much less anything else. Hate mongering assholes like him are the reason I am an atheist activist.

With all that said of Jeremiah Wright, I have the same opinion of Pat Robertson and the rest of the right wing hate mongers the Republicans hang out with. If there were a heaven and people like Jeremiah Wright, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell are indicative of those in it, I will gladly take myself to hell.

Finally, I am sick and fucking tired of the idiocracy in this country. Why is it a bad thing for Barack Obama to be smarter than the average American and flaunt it? I want an elite president. To paraphrase Jon Stewart, "I want a president who is so obscenely smarter than me it is no longer funny." This guy is leader of the free world. We simply can't afford to have the average drinking buddy, and I'm looking at you Hillary "shot and a beer" Clinton, in the White House. We need someone for whom the SAT and ACT would be a morning brain exercise. We do not need another dimwit who doesn't understand math, economics, science, and technology. We definitely don't need another president who says, "When it comes to evolution, the jury is still out." I am sick of having intellectual superiority be something to hide and be ashamed of. More people in this country have voted for an American Idol than any president. Fucking uneducated bastards who have a better chance of knowing Tila Tequila's life story than Thomas Jefferson's. You stupid fucks are dragging this country down with mindless television, Fox News, and a complete inability to accept logic on any level.

Where are my fucking blood pressure pills???

Democrats Getting Religion

In an article on CNN.com Roland S. Martin succeeded in getting my morning started with a migrane. See the article here:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/08/roland.martin/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Go ahead and read it, I'll wait. I need a moment to let the steam cool before I pop.

In a nation that is supposed to have a "wall of separation" between church and state we have to deal with politicians pandering to the religious. It makes me sick. Why does it matter? Here in the real world we have people dying because of government and religion mixing. In Texas we have a teen pregnancy and STD rate that would be shameful for a central African nation. Why? Our teachers are required to teach abstinence only education. Here is a fun fact, condoms save lives. When religious idiots start tampering in government, they ignore facts for faith and people die.

Roland goes out of the way to mention the religious hot button issues of homosexuality and abortion as things the Democrats need to address. They have. Democrats have come out against bigotry and hatred and stopped the ridiculous marriage amendments where they could. Frankly they need to come out and further grant the same rights enjoyed by married couples to same sex couples. Who a person loves should not make them a second class citizen. On the abortion issue, there are many perfectly valid reasons for terminating a pregnancy. The bottom line is that a woman's body is hers and hers alone. If she doesn't want to give birth it is her right to not drop something the size of a watermelon through her pelvis. Deal with it.

The bottom line is that faith is simply an unwillingness to continue seeking the truth. While that may work for most on a personal level we have to find a clear and evidence based path for our society. There is no evidence for ANY religion so it has no place in public policy.

It is only 9:51 a.m. and I already need a scotch...

The death of the youth vote

This election is history making. This is the first time in the history of the United States we have the opportunity to elect either a black man or a woman to the highest office in the land. These primaries have seen a record turnout from voters of all ages. Contributing to this flood of voters is the youth vote, motivated by a chance for change.

Sadly, the Democratic Party doesn't seem to want the young, fresh voting public not to become the jaded assholes they are. The archaic and disgustingly stupid rules of the Democratic party primary process threaten to crush what little faith in the election process we had. The election rules may allow the old guard (a.k.a. "Super Delegates") to ignore the popular vote and put into place one of their own. If you think Hillary isn't one of their own, ask yourself, why did she not once vote against George Bush on the war? If the Super Delegates go against the popular vote, she will have pulled a "George Bush", stealing the nomination. Once again, they will have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The last two elections were lost by choosing the only two nitwits on the planet who could lose to George W. Bush. Now they have apparently decided to lose it before they even begins. How? If they give the nomination to Hillary Clinton, voters like myself will either sit this one out or *ugh* vote Republican... I need a moment to vomit...

Note the the DNC: if the nomination process is not changed, your party has seen its last election. If you want the youth vote, you need to stop lying to them about their vote actually counting and instead actually make it count. Also, when the rules get changed mid-game (i.e. seating Florida) you simply drive another nail into the coffin. You want your party to survive, instruct the Super Delegates to follow the popular vote and then eliminate them in the next election cycle. While you are at it, set up some rules to prevent the "Operation Chaos" dittohead Rush lackeys from influencing the nomination.

Video from last year

Joe Zamecki of the Texas office of American Atheists just posted a video of my speech at the Separation of Church and State Rally on the steps of the Texas State Capitol and now I share it with you all.



Thanks for posting it Joe.

Changes

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life..." What a load of cliché tripe.

Today I joined the ranks of the unemployed. I have been here a few times before but this time is different. This time I was laid off, on good terms, from the best job I have had to date, I have debt up to my eyeballs, the economy sucks, inflation is on the rise, and somehow, I am not worried. I know I should be but this is the most prepared I have ever been. I left DOYLES on good terms and was given fair treatment considering the circumstances. I harbor nothing but fond memories of that job. I have an insane amount of experience and skills in my field. I have options. I have hope.

The question arises though, do I go it alone? Should I use my skills as an independent contractor, braving the bumpy but possibly very profitable ride of the entrepreneur? Should I take the "safe" less profitable route and get a regular 8-5 job with the semi-guarantee that I will have that job next week? I am not sure. I should be scared out of my mind by that but I am not. Maybe I've gone nuts. Time will tell. I'll keep you posted.

The audacity of hope

Lest anyone accuse me of plagiarism, I am borrowing the title of this post from Barack Obama's book. Watching the campaign closely I have seen a trend in Hillary's attacks steadily downward. Most recently she has stooped to the new low of childishly parodying his soaring rhetoric, calling it in essence naive. She scoffs at his lofty goals of reaching across the isle, working past the gridlock, and finding real answers. Is it true? Is it his lack of experience that makes his aims so high? Or is it a vision of a better tomorrow that makes his goals so lofty?

What is so wrong with giving the American people hope? Why is it we must settle for politics as usual? Why admit defeat before beginning to fight? It is this very attitude that has created the political climate in which we live. Why not aim higher? Why not strive for great things? A wise man once told me, "It is better to aim for the stars and land in the trees than aim for the trees and land in the mud." To quote another wise man, "In the unlikely story that is America, there is never anything false about hope."

Witnessing History

Friday I went to the Barack Obama Rally for Change in Corpus Christi. My super cool photographer friend Connie, also known as Mini Mija (because she is who I would be if I were a 5'2" hispanic girl), and I went down with our awesome cameras to document the time when the first black man with a real shot at the presidency came to Corpus Christi. Here was our journey.

The crowd lining up was so huge there was no good way to really reflect that in a single photo. Imagine a crowd 6-7 times what you see here. It was absolutely crazy.

There were people from every walk of life, including the obligatory protestors.

Seriously, I remember 9/11. I remember it was led by a Saudi man and pulled off by a mix of Saudis, Syrians, and Afghanistani terrorists. Not one Iraqi. Not one. There were no terrorists in Iraq until we overturned the dictator that was keeping them out. Are the Iraqis better off for our overturning their dictator? Only time will tell. Even a homicidal dictator is better than Sharia Law.

Seriously, no matter what your stance on abortion, I am pro-choice, there is NEVER going to be a Supreme Court that would overturn it. Period. Move on.

The Rally itself was worth the few hours waiting outside and standing around. Barack was in top form. I will leave you with a couple of the best photos of the day.

Raging against injustice

Today, as I watch CNN, I saw a story that I had to record and watch twice just to make sure I heard it correctly. I then searched online to find an article with more detail. On the BBC website was where I found the most detailed story. There is a woman in Saudi Arabia. A poor illiterate woman who has been the victim of abuse, torture, and will soon be executed by beheading. Her crime? Witchcraft. This in the 21st century in one of the most advanced and wealthy nations in the Middle East. She was detained in 2005 by religious police. These are the same police who arrested a married American business woman for sitting in a Starbucks with a male co-worker.

These people have all the technology in the world available to them, every piece of information in the human understanding at their fingertips and yet they live like they did in the 1400's. Sharia law is the culprit. Every year, millions of innocent women are beaten, raped, and killed under Sharia law. While mainstream Islam is at least progressing towards women's rights, under Sharia law women are seen as unclean pieces of property. A woman getting raped can land her, not her attacker, in prison. School girls were left to burn alive in a school by the religious police because they weren't dressed to be in public. We in the civilized world must speak up. We must not allow Sharia law or any Wahhabist interpretation of Islam to spread further.

As a society we must not allow the shield of faith to stand. Simply because it masquerades as religion should not make it untouchable. This particular religion could very well get us all killed.

Inspiration

Watch this and if your aren't inspired by this man, you need your head examined:

Exposing a lie

There have been some emails floating around for a few months now about Barack Obama being an anti-American Muslim who refuses to say the pledge and put his hand over his heart for the pledge. Here he is addressing these lies directly.



Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Petersburg Times, Slate, The L.A. Times, and a myriad of other news sources have all referred to these emails as "scurrilous lies" and "false and vile". Before you believe another email sent about Barrack, or any other candidate, consider the source and do some research. Most of the time these lies are generated by the supporters of opponents. Huckabee supporters pulled the same dirty tricks with Romney, phoning potential voters and spreading insane lies about Mormonism. To see other myths about Obama exposed go to http://factcheck.barackobama.com/

Backing a candidate

I have watched this race for a while now, listened to the candidates and for the first time in my voting life, I have found a politician that isn't just settling for the lesser of 2 evils.  Barack Obama is the first politician ever to truly inspire me.  He is the only one talking about reaching across the isle and forging a coalition for change.  Too long have those who label themselves "conservative" or "liberal" fought it out, never enacting change.  We need a leader who can reach across borders, a leader who can bridge divides and enact change.  Watch the videos at his website.  If you aren't inspired by this man, check your pulse, you are probably dead.

Barack Obama TV

Helping save the world, one cycle at a time...

So I stumbled across a great way to help save the world with spare processor cycles on your computer. Anyone with an internet connection can do it and it doesn't cost a penny. All you need to do is visit the World Community Grid website. Sign up for an account and install the software. It does the rest. You can open the window and see which project your cycles are going to at the moment and even see the results of projects computed by the grid. Most importantly, you are helping speed the calculation of problems that could save millions of lives. Every cycle given puts us that much closer to curing cancer, aids, and millions of genetic disorders.

Every second your computer is capable of using millions of processor cycles. Most people never push the limits of their processor leaving hundreds of thousands of spare cycles. With the world community grid, you are giving some of those spare processor cycles to calculate complex problems like the human genome or cures for cancer. It never slows your computer down because the software is written to never preempt any task you are doing. Your computer will become part of the largest computer grid on earth, dedicated solely to the betterment of humanity. Do your part and join today.

State of the Union

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Ben Franklin

I am watching CNN this morning and have been reading the Reuters coverage of the State of the Union Address. I am disturbed that not one news agency is covering the chunk at the middle of the address where he urged Congress to vote to extend the domestic spying program as well as legal protections for communications companies that aided in this direct violation of the Constitution. He then spent a couple of minutes wallowing in fear mongering, essentially telling Congress that not voting for these domestic spying programs makes the country unsafe.

Using the logic that, "you shouldn't mind if you have nothing to hide" is just ludicrous. Freedom for all is destroyed when liberty for some is infringed upon. Did we learn nothing from the Japanese internment camps of WWII? Giving the government freedom to violate our Constitutional rights, we spit on the graves of the men and women who died founding this great nation.

We must stand up as a nation and bring this violation of our rights to an end. If our founding fathers had believed dissent was wrong, we would have no nation to begin with. There is nothing less patriotic than blindly supporting a government that tramples on liberty.

Airport blogging

I am blogging from my new 15" MacBook Pro from the Houston IAH as I await a flight back. I just finished some user creation tasks, site updates for a client, caught up on my email, and now I am writing this all with nearly the same speeds I pull from the bonded T1 at the office. How freaking cool is that? Oh, yeah, NO WIRES...I love technology. How did I live without this...

God, thy name is Steve Jobs...

Picking a president

As I sit here in a hotel room in Houston I find myself with nothing better to do than watch the New Hampshire primary results on CNN. I have been listening to candidate speeches, watching poll results, and reading up on the histories of the candidates. It is time to contribute my thoughts on this election.

For the sake of disclosure, I have voted Republican in every election since the year I turned 18. I hated that vote the last two times but I could not in good conscience vote for Al Gore or John Kerry. I loathe George Bush but he is the evil we know. Al Gore and John Kerry were unpredictable evils. With that out of the way, lets start on the Republicans.

John McCain: This former P.O.W. has seen better days. I respect his service but I just can't see this man leading us into a new era that is any different from his predecessors.

Mitt Romney: He seems socially pretty moderate, has a great understanding of business, and while I am a good bit left of him, I like the idea of knowing where a man is coming from on a personal level. I was once Mormon and while I disagree with them, I have a great deal of respect for the way they lead their lives. I would actually list him as my second choice for president.

Mike Huckabee: This vile hate mongering bastard needs to be pulled from every ticket. First, he has engaged in a "my God is better than your God" game that has no place in a civilized society. He has lied about Mormon Doctrine to draw doubt to Mitt Romney. He has supported nothing short of lying to our children in the form of teaching Intelligent design in science class. He isn't even a real conservative, just a Jesus loving big government liberal.

Rudy Giuliani: This guy is a 1 hit wonder. I don't give a shit that he was mayor when the planes hit. His policies suck. Enough said.

Ron Paul: This is the only guy in this election I despise more than Huckabee. He has a large following of 9/11 truth proponents, KKK members, and conspiracy theorists. If you pull up the archives of his old newsletters you will discover he is a racist, xenophobic, homophobic, paranoid, vermin worthy of nothing.

The rest of the Republicans are just a waste of my time. Now to the Dems.

Hillary Clinton: This vile snake will say and do anything to get elected. If she gets nominated I might have to hold my nose and vote Republican. It has nothing to do with her being a woman or even former first lady. She can't pick a position. She has been preaching to end the war but voted every time to back the president.

John Edwards: I sort of like him but he is too extreme to actually get anything done in the White House.

Barack Obama: I heard him speak tonight and for the first time in years, I was inspired by the words of a politician. I see a great president in him. I hope the final elections are between Obama and Huckabee. Huckabee is un-electable. Obama is inspirational. He speaks of changes that can actually be made and understands that to truly govern one must not divide but instead build a coalition.

In watching this election, I am excited by the record turnouts of young voters. It is my hope that my generation is able to break through the haze MTV and Playstation has left it in and speak out. We must rise and pry the reigns from the aging hands of the fools who have put this country where it is now. To my young readers, get out and vote. Your vote is your voice. If you don't stand and fight you will be trampled.