Limbaugh on Obama..."I Hope He Fails."

This post has nothing to do with religious beliefs or lack of such. No, today's post instead deals with something so incredible I cannot fathom it, no matter how I try. Yesterday on his show, conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh came right out with it. He doesn't like Obama's politics...and regardless of whether Obama's plan works to turn the economy around...Limbaugh wants him to fail. His exact words..."I hope he fails."

Now just think about that for a minute. Even if the president's plan would be guaranteed to succeed, Limbaugh wants it to fail because he doesn't like the brand of politics involved in trying to help this country's economy, and with it the entire world's economy, to become strong again. Regardless of what a failing economy is doing to the middle and lower classes...in fact, all the classes, Limbaugh wants this plan to fail!

Of course, there's no alternative plan brought forth...no ideas as to how to proceed in a different direction. Just criticism...not just criticism, but the hope for a failure and continued downturn the likes of which will tear this country apart. "I want him to fail." The reasoning behind this boggles the mind. What may I ask, Mr. Limbaugh, have the conservatives done in the last eight years to prevent this? Unchecked greed and lack of government oversight put us in this mess. Does he really expect the American people to trust in more of the same to put this right?

As an independent most of my life, I have voted Republican. In theory, I agree with many of the conservative points of view in regards to what government should be able to do and not do. But that hasn't been the case lately at all. Mr. Limbaugh just doesn't get it. It's time to think outside the box. It's time to try something new. The time for sitting idle with our thumb up our...lower part of our anatomy is over. We're in trouble. It's time for some new ideas...and it's HIGH time that we put partisan politics aside and worked together to get out of this mess.

So Mr. President...some out there may want you to fail at what you're trying to accomplish, but I will bet they are in a small minority. The majority of us are ready to role up our sleeves and pitch in to help. Good luck to you Mr. President. Good luck to us all.

There is Hope Indeed...It's a Start

Although by now the word has been overworked many times, a cliche of a cliche if you will, watching our new President being sworn in this afternoon was definitely a cause for hope. Hope not just because he replaces a man whom I believe history will judge as the worst president ever, but because I believe our new President means what he says. And in his speech this afternoon, there was a small...very small recognition, that those of us who simply refuse to believe that supernatural beings control our destiny, may finally be recognized as first class citizens.

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."

"And nonbelievers." Only two words...but it's a start!

The Atheist Blogroll

Hey! Great News! The Godless Scientist has been added to The Atheist Blogroll. There is a link to the blogroll in my sidebar. Please take some time to visit. The Atheist blogroll is a community building service provided free of charge to Atheist bloggers from around the world. If you would like to join, visit Mojoey at Deep Thoughts for more information.

The "Miracle" of Flight 1549

By now, unless you've been living in a cave for the last several days, you've heard all about the Airbus that had to ditch in the Hudson River. Apparently two geese were sucked into both engines at the same time, turning the big jet into a glider.

People are calling the pilot a hero, and I have no problem with that term. I'm amazed this guy can sit down, having steel ones the size of bowling balls. He did an amazing job, and as a result of his training and guts, everyone on that plane survived, with injuries being relatively minor and few.

So what's the point of this writing? If I hear another person say what a "miracle" this event was, and that "God was with them", I think I'll scream!!! Why is it that the deeds of a well trained, calm, cool, collected individual automatically have to be attributed to a supernatural deity? If "God was with them," what was he doing when the geese committed suicide in each engine? Or did he cause the geese to do that? Or was it Satan? In any case, this begs the question.."Why didn't God stop this from happening?" I mean, if he's responsible for the successful outcome, why not just prevent it from happening in the first place and save all these people the trouble?

Look..let's give credit where credit is due. There was no "miracle." What we saw here was the result of a well trained, competent, professional going about his job. Could everyone trained as this man was trained accomplish this? No, I don't think so. This guy truly had the right stuff. But to attribute his success to a supernatural deity simply belittles this man's abilities.

So I'd just like to say....nice job captain! The credit for the successful outcome of what could have been a major tragedy goes to you and your professional crew. Well done!!!

My Imaginary Chat with the Almighty

I've been thinking lately about immortality. No...I know that's not going to happen to me. Rather I was thinking about the promise of immortality, and how some of my friends believe without a shadow of a doubt that they will live forever in heaven once they die. If you stop to think about it, immortality sounds good at first...but forever is a very long time. I would be truly afraid that within a week or so, I would get bored. I have that trouble now, but I have lots of different and diverse interests that make life worth living. But what about afterward? I thought of what an imaginary conversation between the Almighty and myself would be like. Maybe something like this.

Me: "Uh...excuse me...pardon me...could you help me for a second?"

God: "Sure...what can I do for you?"

Me: "Well...I'm a bit confused at the moment. I remember going to sleep last night, and the next
thing I know, I'm wandering around here. I don't know where I am?

God: "Hmmmm....isn't it obvious? You're dead. This is heaven."

Me: "Uh...maybe I shouldn't say this, now that I'm here and all...but...I didn't believe in you. So
why am I here and not...well, you know.

God: Yes, yes...I know. Well it seems that my temperament has been exaggerated slightly. You
lived a good life, you helped other people, that's enough. Those guys down there got it all wrong.

Me: "Well, that's good news for me I guess. But...what now?"

God: "What do you mean, what now?"

Me: "You know, what now? What comes next?"

God: "Why, nothing...eternal life up here with me."

Me: "So...what do you do to keep from getting bored?"

God: "Getting bored? Why I never get bored. You live here with me and the rest of these folks
(nods in that direction) forever and ever. No hunger, no pain, no troubles."

Me: "Uh...OK. At least do you have something to read?"

God: "There's no reading material up here. You don't need it."

Me: "But how can I learn anything new?"

God: "There's no need to learn anything new. I will provide."

Me: "Well what about drinking? There must be some outstanding beer up here?"

God: "Sorry, there's no need for drinking up here. It's not necessary."

Me: "Ok...no reading, no learning, no drinking. Uh...what about women? You know...s-e-x?

God: "This may come as a shock, but you don't have any "private parts" in your new heavenly
body.

Me: "So...this is it? Just hanging around up here like this forever? Nothing to do for entertainment?"

God: "Well of course. What else do you need?"

Me: "I'm beginning to think I ended up in the wrong place!"

God: "Funny, that's what Einstein and Sagan said."

Me: "Einstein and Sagan!!!???? They're here?"

God: "Well, not anymore. They asked to be sent...'down there'. They said the boredom up here
was the worst punishment they could ever imagine."

Me: "Uh....what time is the next flight out of here?"

God: "Good grief...not another one!"


Well obviously, the point is that without the opportunity to continue to learn and to grow intellectually, there really is no difference between heaven and hell. Oblivion has to be a better choice. After all, we were all there once anyway. What's so frightening about returning "from whence we came?"

Bigotry is a Learned Behavior

A number of years ago, some students attending the private school at which I work started a group know as the Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA from here on out). The GSA can be found in a number of high schools throughout the country. The idea of the group is to promote tolerance and understanding between the gay and straight communities. This was a gutsy move to say the least, since homophobia was pretty much rampant in our school at the time.

There were several obstacles that had to be overcome to get this group started, not the least of which was the prejudice of some of my colleagues. There was one gentleman in particular who would spend his afternoons walking around the halls tearing down any signs he could find announcing the next meeting of the GSA. Much to the credit of the administration, he was quietly told to "knock it off."

There were other problems too. Many of the students who attended these meetings suddenly found their friends were not available to each lunch with them, or to go into town for coffee after school.

Gradually, the "novelty" of the group wore off, and the GSA has become a regular fixture at the school. Which finally brings me to the point of this post.

A student I'll call "Bill" belongs to a family that for all intents and purposes believes in a strict interpretation of the Christian bible. Bill, on the other hand does not agree with his parents beliefs but doesn't want to "rock the boat" at this point in his life. Bill has been a regular member of the GSA for the last 3 years. You could always tell the day of the GSA meeting, as Bill would usually volunteer to bring refreshments of some sort, consisting of donuts or bagels, or something similar.

Suddenly, Bill stopped attending the GSA meetings. There was no warning of any kind...he just stopped coming, and refused to talk about it at first. Gradually, it came out that Bill's parents had found out about his affiliation with the group, and had put a stop to it. What kind of pressure was put on Bill was never clear, but what was clear was that his parents went ballistic when they found out he was "hanging around" with those types of people. To make a long story a bit shorter, Bill's friends did not abandon him as they understood that this decision was brought on by his parent's bigotry, not Bill's. Sadly, there are probably a lot of students like Bill out there, but it is encouraging that this younger generation seems determined to change things. Maybe a few of us old folks can even give them a hand once in a while? I wish them all the best of luck!

Thank You "facebook!"

Thank you facebook!!! Thank you for proving to me that I am not alone. Thank you for showing me that my beliefs are not at all "unnatural", and that there are other folks out there who have rejected the supernatural. For a while there, I thought there was something wrong with me...that I was in a very tiny minority of non-believers. Thanks for allowing the presence of folks with beliefs similar to mine to express themselves publicly, and allowing us to find each other. I know now that there are other "friends" out there like me. Friends who reject a world where supernatural beings interfere with human life on a daily basis. Friends who reject killing in the name of a "higher power." Friends who will accept other people as they are, faults and all. For these reasons, I wish you a long and happy life on the web. Ya done good!

OBJECTIVE: Ministries

If you haven't been introduced to this site, please take the opportunity to visit. It literally sends chills down my spine. The link takes you to the "kids" corner. I warn you...make sure the sound is turned down on your computer. http://objectiveministries.org/kidz/ While you're there, look at some of the other links on this site, in particular the "front page" and the links to kid's drawings. You will be amazed, and hopefully somewhat frightened!

Surprise!...The London Atheist Bus Campaign is a Huge Success!

Back in October of last year, the British Humanist Association decided to launch an advertising campaign in London using the sides of buses in an attempt to counter religious ads running on public transportation. If you logged on to the URLs listed in the religious adds, they basically said that all non-Christians would spend “all eternity in torment in hell”, burning in “a lake of fire.” New ads planned will tell you that failing to believe in Jesus will “condemn you to hell.”

The Association was hoping to raise a total of 11,000 pounds (a little under $16,000) in an effort to counter these ads. Richard Dawkins, the author of the controversial The God Delusion generously offered to match any funds raised up to a maximum of 5,500 pounds.

Well, much to the surprise of everyone, within two days the campaign raised over 83,000 pounds (over 120,000 dollars). This accomplishment has not only hit the national headlines, but has also “generated much debate on TV, radio, and in newspapers throughout the world.”

The only problem now is what to do with the extra money? The Association promises that, regardless of how much extra money is raised, it will all go towards some form of atheist advertising. One drawback might be this…outside of London, the company that owns most of the buses are owned by an evangelical Christian, and he may not be too enthusiastic regarding running these ads on his buses.

So what does the success of this campaign say to us, if anything? Several things come to mind. Is it possible that the number of atheist/agnostic individuals in Great Britain is actually larger than we’ve been told? If so, can the same be said for the United States and the rest of the world? I think that there is a good possibility that this is the case. And if this is the case, does the success of this campaign signal a new era of the non-believers making themselves heard? This could get interesting. Stay tuned.

Evolution vs. the Fundies

As a student advisor, I get to see a side of some of the students that many teachers do not. One of my favorite students in the group is a girl named "Sally". Since the time Sally was a freshman, she would spend about one day a week in my office discussing politics, science, religion, etc. during her lunch hour. Sally is a very bright girl, and sometimes our discussions became a bit heated.

Sally is one of the most thoughtful, logical kids I know...until it comes to religion. Now normally I don't like to discuss subjects that are controversial and somewhat personal with my students on an individual basis. However, when it comes to the topic of evolution, religion almost always rears its head somewhere in the discussion.

Sally and I haven't seen eye to eye on the topic of evolution from day one. I don't want to go into a lot of detail here...that's not the point of this writing. Suffice it to say that Sally had a lot of reasons why evolution couldn't have taken place, all of which I was able to argue (successfully?) against.

Two weeks before our current holiday, we once again got into a discussion involving evolution. I had mentioned that I had to prepare some lessons on evolution over the break, and that I was looking forward to having the extra time to work on the lessons. Sally replied with the statement..."It doesn't make any difference how long you have to prepare, the fact is that evolution is a myth." This was the first time that Sally had use the word "fact" in one of her statements. I decided to pursue this a bit further (yes...I should know better).

I asked her where she got her "facts" regarding the "mythology" of evolution. She hesitated for a few seconds, and then said "the bible." I said, "How did you conclude that from reading the bible?" She replied that the bible allows you to calculate the approximate age of the earth (see Bishop Ussher) Based on the calculations that were done, the Earth can be no older than 6000 years. Since it would take much longer than that for evolution to occur, it's obvious that it never happened in the first place. She went on to say that these calculations also explain why radioactive dating must not be accurate. After all, how could it be accurate if the earth is only 6000 years old? The numbers that are typically published for radioactive dating are much greater than 6000 years. Hence radioactive dating must not work!

At this point, our discussion became pointless. According to Sally, the bible is the true word of God. Therefore, if the calculations of the age of the Earth added up to 6000 years, it must be accurate. Our discussion had come to an end. There was no way to successfully argue past this point. If her minister said that the bible was the true word of God, than that's the way it was. It never even occurred to Sally that her minister could have been wrong.

Now perhaps this discussion actually revealed a weakness of mine. I try to live my life based on logic and critical thinking. Sally is one of the best critical thinkers I know...except when it comes to religion. There, all of her logic and reason are put aside somehow. This is a "skill" that I don't have, and I never will. I've never been able to understand how a logical, reasonable individual can suddenly throw all logic out the window when it comes to religion. I can't do it, and I have difficulty understanding how other people can.

Religious People Have More Self-Control?

A recent study done by professor of Psychology Michael McCullough of the University of Miami finds that religious people have more self-control than do less religious people...at least according to his findings. He claims that his findings "imply" that religious people may be "better at pursuing and achieving long-term goals that are important to them and their religious groups." Now this is the part I find interesting. Professor McCullough claims that this "might help to explain why religious people tend to have lower rates of substance abuse, better school achievement, less delinquency, better health behaviors, less depression and longer lives."

First of all...I'm curious as to where he found his data in regards to religious belief and desirable behavior? As far as I know, U.S. federal crime statistics show this is just not the case. The next question I have is...does "less religious" include the category of non-believer? Nowhere was this mentioned in the article.

I think it would be quite interesting to know a little about professor McCullough's background, as well as the sources that were used to compare the results of his studies. As one person commented on the article..."Methinks there may be a bias here." Methinks he is correct.

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Here's hoping your 2009 is better than 2008 in every way!