Desperate times call for desperate measures

This is a sick, twisted, blatant lie. Abortion at the time of birth is called murder and no Democrats support this. Stop telling us what Joe Biden believes. He’s a pro-life Catholic. He just doesn’t force his views on everyone.

— Heidi Krassenstein (@ALampoonLedger) October 6, 2020

Donald J. Trump tweeted yesterday: “Biden and Democrats just clarified the fact that they are fully in favor of (very) LATE TERM ABORTION, right up until the time of birth, and beyond – which would be execution. Biden even endorsed the Governor of Virginia, who stated this clearly for all to hear. GET OUT & VOTE!!!”

If I didn’t hear that this talking point that democrats and Joe Biden, a devote Catholic, is for something called “Late-term Abortion,” being spread by thinking/breathing Republicans, I wouldn’t believe that anyone actually fell for the idea.

But they do. Gullible people fall for simple lies. It’s not that difficult to understand.

Close friends have repeated it. And it’s just sickening. It’s a super malignant method to demonize one’s enemies. And despite all evidence to the contrary, people are saying they’re going to vote for Trump solely on this point alone.

One friend even said that abortion due to rape was wrong, because that baby wasn’t necessarily conceived from evil. A 15 year old or younger girl should have to live with being raped by her uncle for the rest of her life?

I. was. dumbstruck.

I’m not for abortion, but there are clearly more issues at stake and there are CLEAR methods to avoid the abortion all together.

This is bullshit.

What really needs to happen is we should implement Low cost, safe, reversible vasectomies for all coming-of-age boys. Make it religious ritual like in most other cultures. Women unable to impregnate themselves. Only men make unwanted pregnancy.

Here’s an entire breakdown on how fucking irresponsible it is to perpetuate this talking point.

A snip:

“But “partial-birth” is not a medical term. It’s a political one, and a highly confusing one at that, with both sides disagreeing even on how many procedures take place, at what point in pregnancy, and exactly which procedures the law actually bans.“

This “changed the world” MLK meme is making its rounds.

Here’s my response to the popular meme among conservatives and so-called libertarians making its rounds (MLK = Looted nothing. Burning Nothing. Attacked No one. Changed the world.”

Me:

I agree. Eye-for-an-eye violence should not be the answer. My brother in law sent me photos of his historical and internationally popular record store in Chicago boarded up and it broke my fucking heart. 

I hate it.

I live within ear shot of the violence every night and it makes me shake from fear. 

But how about a devil’s advocate stance? The story of redemption in the church cannot be told without the story of Mr. Christ’s ineffable torture and agonizingly violent death. First came violence, then came “peace”, for anyone who believes. Biblical history is chockfull, packed, filled to the hilt with violence before peace (e.g. Cain & Abel, the Flood Killing Umpteen number of population, Sodom & Gomorrah, Samson, Joshua & Jericho, Moses and the Plagues, David & Goliath, are just a slice of popular stories). Hell itself is a violent end to the thought crime of rejecting Jesus as Savior, but it is “necessary” for salvation for believers to choose peace over violence. 

Contemporary Americans are lucky Sons of Bitches. Our collective memories does not remember the riots, the revolution, the civil war, etc. World Wars I & II were fought overseas. We nuked Japan not once, but twice, for what? 

For violence? No, for “peace”. 

We can make our strongest arguments about non-violent protests. It’s a tough counter when violence is what ended Mr. King’s plight yet continued his message. They don’t say “fighting for peace” for nothing, perhaps. I don’t know. It’s a fucking minding numbing cyclical argument. Difficult. Nuanced and a damn travesty of challenge. Cheers, mate. I hope to see you on NC time soon.

The last line should read: “Murdered for his passive actions.”

… And, Lo, the gullible will drag everyone else down with them to their below ground level

Here's Donald Trump Jr mocking Joe Biden last night for vowing to try to cure cancer … followed by President Trump promising hours later, at the same rally, to cure cancer, AIDS, and "lay the foundation" for a Mars landing — all in his second term pic.twitter.com/VjU5E5A4N1

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 19, 2019

In this single clip, Trump promises to cure cancer, AIDS, and "lay the foundation" for a Mars landing — all in his second term pic.twitter.com/aLZqbx2p3N

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 19, 2019

I’m more American than you

Drop everything you're doing and watch this….

cc: @VictorBlackwell pic.twitter.com/N9ZWttHSzd

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 27, 2019

At some point, I don’t know exactly when, I decided that I would stop being upset by the news. Especially political news.

I decided to stop being upset about a lot of things.

It’s part giving up. It’s part exhaustion. It’s part for my health. It’s partly so I don’t get upset by other people’s so-called passions. It’s partly to let good enough alone.

The above clip is something that bothers me. And it should. The whole idea that there are some more patriotic than others. That there are some that are more in love with America. That some are more Christian. And some are more American. And others aren’t American, Christian, Patriotic enough … what the fuck is that?

I thought that we all were Americans with different perspectives who live together in unity.

E Pluribus Unum and shit.

But if you go to any news aggregate with a comment section, the comments are so spectacularly anti-the-other-side that any different perspective is considered a troll.

Division is this country’s middle name. It’s sad. It’s very, fucking sad.

And to have a president who promotes differences over similarities. Who refuses to share the umbrella of his views with those that do not think the same … that’s refusal to common decency.

I remember this complaint about Obama. And I guess if you squinted your eyes and tilt your head, you could assume that promoting different progressive ideas means someone feels slighted. Gosh, I would hate to have someone promote their personal agendas around me incessantly without any care for my feelings, beliefs or lack thereof.

Oh wait.

These last few months I’ve spent more time with my family in North Carolina since maybe college. I do not refuse their prayers before meals even at my own dinner table. I do not oppose them when they bring up Christian literature or movies or say they’re tired of the leftist conspiracies of evolution and other leftist ideologies. I don’t claim to be more American than they are, even though I do not remotely share their views of God, Jesus, religion, faith, or any of the 100s of billboards that I read driving between Illinois and North Carolina brazenly claiming hell is real and Jesus is real and “when you die, you WILL meet your maker.”

That Yeshua Fog is thick. It’s bold. It’s insecure. It’s constantly reminding, self assuring. It’s superfluous, but I get why it’s almost impossible to walk away from.

It’d be certainly refreshing if the conversation wasn’t so hoity toity, self righteous and dominant. The division muscle is a weird one. I wish it would atrophy and die.

 

Let’s celebrate another growth spurt

The 2018 GSS was just released and there's some big news. Those of "no religion" (23.1%) are statistically the same size as evangelicals (22.8%). There was also a small resurgence of mainline Protestants, while Catholics are down 3% in the last four years. pic.twitter.com/uiyDSe7M6f

— Ryan Burge 📊 (@ryanburge) March 20, 2019

The 2018 GSS was just released and there’s some big news. Those of “no religion” (23.1%) are statistically the same size as evangelicals (22.8%). There was also a small resurgence of mainline Protestants, while Catholics are down 3% in the last four years.

I’ve been quiet-er lately because of a few things going on in my world. But I have been meaning to post this video as well. It’s from the Atheist Experience, a TV call-in show that I occasionally watch.

In this episode, a man’s sons get their dad to call in. The kids are fans of the show, and their dad has been growing away from his dogmatic past thanks to reading different books with different perspectives.

There’s a part where the dad sits down with one of his sons and admits he was wrong on so many aspects of faith. And like many people who grow up and out of faith, he’s now teetering on the idea that all faiths have merit. I remember being taught how evil that was, but it’s merely a stepping stone to the giant, not so giant leap to acknowledging that not believing in the Judeo-Christian God is as simple as not believing in any other god.

It’s a good episode.

Embrace the journey …

When I started this blog in 2010, I was riding a hell-bent train to discuss a certain level of self awareness that I was emboldened by — and insecure with — the label “atheist.” What ensued was a few years of what I felt was addressing a high level of antagonism against the church and my early education and my disappointment toward it for not being capable of an honest discussion of questions I asked of it.

We’ll call that time the anger years. Like attracted like, and this blog was a café for a lot of vocal non-theists, which also attracted some theists attempting to proselytize the so-called lost.

moral corruption and ineptitude in politics

In light of this week’s events surrounding Brett Kavanaugh and the Republicans aiming to jam him through to the Supreme Court, I offer the following reminders.

The moral superiority of the right is well established now as the most moral in all the land. And anyone who is confused about how one can act, how men can act, in public or in private with women, need only to address the public record.

Donald Trump, republican president of the United States quote: “I moved on her like a bitch. But I couldn’t get there. And she was married. You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful – I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”

I’m an armchair Lollapalooza lover

I haven’t been to Lollapalooza in years. Last time I was there, I photographed it for TimeOut magazine. That was 2012.

That year, there were often way too many photographers in the pits (the space between the crowd and the stage), so the powers that be cut the numbers by 80% or more the following year.

I wasn’t upset, though. I loved the experience, but the pay was shit. The music industry is leading a sort of modern day slavery for artists. They figured out earlier than most that if you swing a cat, you’ll hit a “photographer.” So paying them became obsolete. While my pay covered my transportation, food and drinks for the day, I doubt most photographers were compensated at all.

If you’re a photographer, and you want to shoot music, get in and get back out. It’s a great way to learn camera settings quickly and to figure out how to nail focus. But you will get taken advantage of. 

On my to-do list: re-listen to Terry Gross’ interview with Paul Schrader and Ethan Hawke about “First Reformed”

Probably a month ago, I heard bits and pieces of the NPR show Fresh Air. It was an interview with Filmmaker Paul Schrader and actor Ethan Hawke about a movie Schrader wrote and directed called “First Reformed.” You can listen to it here.

You’d know Schrader from the movies he wrote: “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull.” He also wrote the script for “The Last Temptation of Christ,” one of my favorite books and movies.

Schrader has reached 70 years and decided that after a long career of purposefully staying away from the topic of religion, it was time to maybe pursue it.

Apparently Schrader and I share some similarities. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, deep in the heart of the Dutch Reformed Church. My dad is a Dutchman, immigrated to Grand Rapids as a teen and comes from the reformed tradition. My mom grew up in Grand Rapids as well.

We all had very religious upbringings. 

They say your media diet says a lot about you … Well … damn.

This past week has been dedicated to photo editing. Between a 50mp camera and a 40mp camera, save times can range from 3 to 8 minutes, and my computer is not slow. It gives me time to blaze through different websites for stories.

Keeping up with all the fake news in the world can become a time suck. Here are just a handful of stories that have had my attention over the past few days.

• Judge Who Literally Wrote the Book on Corruption Indicted on Fraud Charges

• Roger Stone: It’s possible I’ll be indicted (we can only hope)

• Ignore that other stuff I said … Jeff “Asshole” Sessions: ‘We never really intended’ to separate families

• Christian “Prophetess”: Jesus Lives in a Mansion and Loves Dancing and Desserts

• National Enquirer sent stories about Trump to his attorney Michael Cohen before publication
• I’ll take your propaganda and raise you three propagandas: Tucker Carlson: Rachel Maddow’s Tears Were “Propaganda”. If you’re curious about the fake news and propaganda for yourself, take a look and decide for yourself.

Rachel Maddow chokes up and cries on air as she struggles to deliver news that migrant babies and toddlers have been sent to "tender age" shelters pic.twitter.com/O6crm8cvyR

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) June 20, 2018

• Everything makes you gay: Billy Elliot forced to scrap dates in Budapest following press hate campaign claiming it will turn kids gay AND Conspiracy Fearist Alex Jones says the Pentagon has weaponized perfumes to make men gay and not want to have kids. 
• And when you get an STD from gay or straight sex, go pay Jim Bakker 100 smackers for an VD Ointment sent from God himself.

"It's a miracle in a tube": Jim Bakker is now selling a "silver gel" that he claims "gets rid of all venereal diseases." pic.twitter.com/juUgu2Zn82

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) June 22, 2018

• Nutter butter Rick Wiles says when you drink water, you’re consuming the fetuses of aborted babies, you fine cannibals.
• SWEET!!! Tom Arnold is teaming up with Michael Cohen to take down Trump, find and publish more locker room talk videos!
• FOX News host says these aren’t red blooded ‘American’ kids we’re imprisoning, concentration camping, and abusing … these are dirty foreign kids. In other news, some people are xenophobic.