Water Melons

So, here's what happened. A few nights ago, Melinda and I decided to run over to Wally fer something. My friend Jordan works night shift there as a stocker. Turned out his break was in a few minutes and he said he'd meet us outside to have a smoke. When he came out two other guys came too, one another stocker I guess and one was a black guy named Brain who was a security guard, I assume also employed by Wally. Jordan is my only "friend friend" that I have known from my life before...even before I met Melinda. He says he used to be an atheist and now considers himself a born-again Christian. You have to know that I consider Jordan a genuine friend, in fact one of the best friends I ever had. We have each helped the other out over the years in many ways, including financially, when one had and the other did not. We've seen each other through girlfriends and marriages, deep depressions and good times. In fact we met, maybe strangely, when I was doing the newsletter for the Alabama Freethought Association (AFA) at Lake Hypatia, and later I had my own little publication I called SOAR. Apparently at some point he was a member of a freethought group.

Jordan doesn't do online hardly at all, but writes and talks a good deal about religion, etc. He's not much on "church Christians", has his own ideas about the religion, and is one of those folk who, for some reason, accept "the resurrection" as evidence for the existence of God. Go figger. Ordinarily I would never engage in any conversation in the "real world" about religion with total strangers. On this morning though, when these fellers came out to the parking lot to take their break with Jordan, he introduced me to them as his best friend Temy with whom he had some online debates about religion. The young feller didn't say anything as I recall, just listened a bit and then kinda vanished. Brian asked, "You don't believe in God!?", as though he had never met such a monstrocity in person before...probably hadn't.

I considered for a moment simply leaving but Jordan was there and I felt compelled to see this through, though I knew immediately this was not going to end well. There are people on both sides of "the debate" about whether a god exists who genuinely enjoy the argument in an intellectual kind of way. There are others who instantly think one who is not on "their side" is simply crazy; the atheists of this sort often resort to calling such folk various names like morons, at least online, though I wonder how many would do so face to face, especially if such a person were a genuine friend. Some of the believers of this sort are restrained only by social factors from physically attacking an unbeliever, like some people would attack a gay man for being stupid enough to be gay. I might be wrong, but I got the distinct impression that Brian is in this category.

Brian set out to show me how silly it was to not believe in God by invoking water melons. "Water melons are food, right?", he asks, and when I assent, he explains how ridiculous it would be for there to be food if there were no one to eat it. Therefore God created water melons for us to eat. I'm not kidding. I asserted there were other possible reasons for the existence of water melons, such as to produce more water melons, and I had a flash of him pointing to seedless melons, but he didn't. The back and forth continued for a bit and Brian finally asserts that "...every knee will bow to the name of Jesus at Judgment Day", and by then I could see it was beyond futile, talking to this man about this subject; I also got the sense that Brain would love to be one of the enforcers making every knee bow. I was getting a bit perturbed and informed him that even if there were such a thing as Judgment Day, my knees do not bow, even for a cop with his pistol aimed at my head screaming for me to "get on the ground" and both Melinda nodded and mentioned how they knew this was fact because Melinda was there at the time, and Jordan found a bondsman to get me out of jail.

Luckily, break time finally was ending and I got to my feet from where I had been sitting on the curb beside Jordan. I extended my hand to Brain and he shook my hand and I said, "You have a good night", even though it was actually about 5:15 in the morning by now. I expected maybe a "You too", from Brain, but he said, "Now see, I can't even wish him a good night", apparently talking to Jordan. He went on to say something about Christians not associating with unbelievers because that means you support them....something to that effect. I looked back at him and said, "Man, that just doesn't make any sense at all", and continued on to get on the car to come home. I last saw them heading back into the store.

I got a call from Jordan a day or so later and he was telling me how he had told Brian that I had kicked his ass in that little debate. Jordan, of course, agrees with Brian that God exists, but thinks I won the debate. Jordan has even written a small booklet for Christians on how NOT to debate an atheist...maybe I'll include that here sometime.

It was a bit like hearing callers who call in to The Atheist Experience podcast. I can't bear to listen to or watch hardly any show at all about anything which takes calls from the public. My level of embarrassment just goes off the charts at hearing most representatives of the masses. I would never call in myself, for the same reason.

I do like water melons, but sheesh!

TRB

Childish...

In some ways I think I am in my second childhood, although I don't agree with these definitions of second childhood. Some people who knew me very well might say I am a self-absorbed asshole; others that I have a childish attitude; still others that I am a bit of a sociopath. There might be some amount of truth in all of those, I don't really know. I do know that my idea of personal freedom is that I do precisely what I want when I want to the extent possible, without causing harm to others. If this is not how you live your life, then whose life is it?

I found long ago, to my astonishment, that many people cannot seem to function very well, some not at all, unless they have imposed upon them some structure and rules from outside themselves. Most people seem to believe that "self-discipline" is a desirable and admirable trait to have; they seem to mean by this, generally, that one does what one "should" regardless of whether they might like it or not. For me, this is simply a form of slavery...worse, self-IMPOSED slavery.

It seems bizarre to me that people want to have a meal or go to sleep, etc., because of what time the clock says. I eat when I want to eat. I sleep when I feel sleepy. Why should the world not be this way for all? One reason I love places like Walmart is that I can go and shop to my heart's content as easily at 2am as 2pm. I think ALL businesses should be this way. I think they all should be required by law to be this way. Why should I have to drag myself out of bed at 7am in order to be at a doctor's office at 8am? Why can I not find a doctor's office with someone on duty 24/7?

QUESTION:

If the Bible is meant to be "the word of God" as per 2 Timothy 3:16-17, and if Jesus IS God, as per John 10:30, then why didn't Jesus sit down and write the whole works?

The notion of "making a living" is quite repulsive and insulting to me. I think all the basic necessities of life should simply be there, just as air is there. Since I lost my job several years ago, it was extremely nerve wracking for a while because I had no way of paying for a place to stay or food to eat or anything else I needed. When I finally got the government check started, then I was in a position where most of my basic needs were met but I was not required by law or circumstance to go any place or do anything. I realized this is how it should have been from the beginning...for everyone. Recently someone asked me if I would not like to have a job again. My blood pressure spiked, I felt fear, and I replied that I have a job, than you. It's called living my life.

We are programmed to think that "being lazy" is a "sin"; a quite negative trait. Why? No one except the dead or comatose do "nothing". Being "lazy" doesn't mean you don't "work". It only means you do what you want when you want for the reasons you want, as opposed to doing what, where and why based on someone else's wishes...usually much more for their benefit than yours. Everyone knows, at some level, that no successful society can exist without slavery. It is only now that some are beginning to see that we can and must create our own slaves to do "work" so that we may "live" instead.

I see people yelling that we need more "jobs" and it seems similar to me to a bunch of people yelling that we need to be beaten and whipped more. Oddly, the meme seems to be hardwired into humanity...well, most of us. The one that says you are not sufficient; that your desires are not relevant. This meme is the main thing that allows religions to exist. And corporations. Which are essentially the same thing in most cases. "You must be forgiven and redeemed because you are a vile lowly thing unworthy even of life." "You should grow up and 'make something of yourself', because, whatever you currently are, it is not sufficient." Sufficient for what and according to whom? "You must go here and fight and kill these people." Why? They have threatened your freedom. Really? Where is the evidence for that?

Some cars have collision avoidance technology and things like Onstar. Why do all vehicles not have this as standard equipment? It is because you are not worthy of such comfort and safety unless you are rich. We are programmed to "ooh" and "aahh" and nod approvingly when a car commercial comes on which announces this car gets "35mpg" or some such number. But the Tesla Roadster doesn't use a drop of gas, does 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds, goes 245 miles on a charge, plugs into any outlet in the world...why don't all vehicles have similar specs? If the mass production techniques of GM and Ford were used, such cars could be made very cheaply, no? Why should you not have such a thing if you want one? You are not worthy, your society tells you. And you believe it...accept it.

Of course you cannot change the world yourself. Things are what they are. But can you not at least pass such messages as this on to every person you know? Can you believe that you are just as deserving of everything good in life as anyone else, just as you are, without having to do anything in particular to get it? What might your life be like if your only "job" were to live your life?

"Indeed, just as people are destined to die once and after that to be judged," Hebrews 9:27. Do you honestly believe that? Why? Inasmuch as we are animals, like all other animals, we are destined to die. The purpose for your existence is the same as the purpose for any other animal...to reproduce more of your kind. But why would think you would be "judged"? By whom or what and based on what? Suppose that you do not wish to die at all? Why should you not have that choice? In all the many millions of years there have been ants, not a single ant has ever decided to do something outside the parameters of his genetic programming. It is quite impossible. It is just as impossible for you to do anything that is outside YOUR genetic parameters. But your parameters are far broader than any ant's and it is within your parameters to alter the parameters...with the help of science.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5. "Trust in the written words of ancient humans who believed in all manner of gods because you are too stupid to understand yourself and the world around you." Do you believe this? Really? You don't find that at all patronizing or insulting? father, priest, pope, king, president... knows best. So...what is YOUR brain for?

"Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country". I call bullshit. I'm fine with doing good things for my country and my world...but I must agree what the good things are and it must be a reciprocal arrangement. "War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing." "God! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing." Well, neither is technically correct, but you get the idea. Would George Orwell be proud of all of us who understand that wanting to live our lives is childish, while being a well-disciplined and "responsible" slave is grown-up? Perhaps there have been a lot of "childish" pharaohs, emperors, kings, presidents, and CEOs.

There are many places to blog online. It always pisses me off to have to use a "template". I want every single thing about my blog to be totally customizable. Because it's MY blog. Nor do I wish to have to learn a "language" like CSS stylesheets or whatever. I learned HTML last century...that should be sufficient. I look forward to a time when keyboards and mice, etc., are as antique as the single town telephone. I think one should be able to think the web, instead of type or upload, etc. It will come eventually. We are taking small steps.

WHAT IF:

There exists somewhere, a liquid world with no solid rock or ice surface; perhaps water, perhaps some other liquid. And what if there lives in the depths of that liquid a species maybe analogous to our octopus. And what if that species has intelligence at or beyond human level. Is it a law of the universe that such intelligence MUST develop technology?

I am grateful I lived long enough to have...actually a FIRST childhood. The one I was in when I was four was full of lack and hunger and hard work. Enough already. Lemme just live. If I die lying in a hospital bed, I suspect some of my last thoughts might be..."aw, fuck!" Sadly, I will never make it to see my species get out of its infancy. Therefore I don't especially care if we ever do. No skin off my intestines. But never mind me...I'm only a self-absorbed child.

TRB

Stuff I Don't Get...

One cannot "wreck" havoc on something. The term is "wreak havoc". Google "wreck havoc" and see what happens. Please inform all your local newscasters.

The Double Slit Experiment: Contrary to the beliefs of some rednecks, this has nothing to do with whores. Watch this video and see if YOU get it. No law says you have to be a physicist to get it...they don't seem to get it either. It's enough to make you want to interfere with yourself.

We're told the "particles" are NOT particles...unless they are observed. But this creates a problem with some people. The notion that "observation affects reality" is sometimes used to imply there must be some consciousness involved in the universe, at least at the quantum level. This can lead to stuff like Francis Collins's BioLogos Foundation and fuzzy headed notions of trying to mix actual science with "faith". The article Quantum Theory Demonstrated: Observation Affects Reality explains that the "observation" in question here does NOT have to be human observation or even observation by a living creature, which illustrates that "consciousness" is irrelevant as to the behavior of the "particles". Yet that article itself obviously has the unfortunately misleading phrase "observation affects reality" in its title.
Luckily, there are folk like PZ Meyers to douse things like BioLogos.

Why do some people have such trouble with the word nuclear? Even the former President of the United States, called them "nucular weapons". Just say the word "new", followed quickly by the word "clear" and you get the phonetically correct "nuclear". How hard is that?

Why is the default view of society basically that children are the property of their parents? Why are small children not removed from homes where obvious abuse is taking place, such as in the homes of the Westboro Baptist Church people? Although in specific cases, sometimes a court will rule that the well being of the child trumps parents religious beliefs, in general we are still told to "respect their religious beliefs". A court might rule that the child of a Jehovah's Witness does not have to die just because the parents oppose blood transfusion on religious grounds...but they would never rule that parents are not allowed to teach their children that. Why not?

If another country...South Africa or maybe Germany, were doing the things in their countries that Israel is doing in theirs the world would be at war to stop it. Why is it ok for Israel? What things? Essentially keeping all non-Jews in prisons...building whole highways for "Jews only". How is it that all self-identified "Jews" in the world number less than 14 million, or less than 0.2% of the world population...yet "Jewish influence" is vastly out of proportion to those numbers? Why does merely pointing out such a fact get you accused of "anti-Semitism"?

Why does all of human society seem to be essentially a collection of cults; some very large, some tiny; some far more insane and violent than others, but still.... why does almost everyone everywhere seem terrified of not being "accepted" by a certain group of "others"?

Why do people think one should feel "lucky to be alive"? What is the alternative? Is it not death? Why do so few people seem capable of grasping one of the most basic, fundamental, undeniable and obvious facts about life...that dead means dead?

Why would anyone think there could be such a thing as a Christian atheist?

If y'all will kindly explain these to me, I'll find some more stuff I don't get.

TRB

The Match

To Whom It May Concern...this is to announce that I am going rouge (easy enough for someone with Rosacea) at least temporarily, which is why the following should not be taken as part of the Gospel of The World According to Temy.

___ O___

Naturally this culminated in the year of our lard, 2012; the time that everyone from The Mayans to the Chinese (they should have known!) to the Hopi to Nostradamus (according to some) said would be the end of us. Well, maybe I shouldn't say 'culminated' because there are some people left, so... It's not December yet so we are waiting to see if it really is the Culmination. It was the match some had been waiting for for years. A truly AllStar Card. Keith Olbermann had gone from MSNBC and shortly thereafter announced he had been hired by President Al Gore for a new show on Current. It was like on the pro-wrestling circuit, when a wrestler decides he's taking a little time off to relax, regroup, train hard and come back a monster.

Meanwhile, Glenn Beck announced he was leaving the Fox show he had been doing for years. He made a point of noting that he was NOT leaving Fox...just that show. It was to be HIS time to head into the dressing room to prepare for battle, just as God had commanded him. When the time finally arrived...the world held its collective breath...including factory workers in Bangladesh, India and such places who, previously, had never heard of either Olbermann or Beck.

This Event would have several differences from previous events...aside from the sheer scale of it; TWO referees, TWO announcers, TWO scorekeepers, etc. The global audience was expected to eclipse that of any mere sporting event, even the Olympics. This was genuine idealogical war (by proxy). The television audience consisted of tens of millions who had sworn they would never participate in any "pay-per-view" stuff (though concessions were made to accommodate all those who lived on less than the equivalent of $1000 US per year). There was no building on the planet, of course, which could hold an audience of this expected size. There would be billions watching in their mansions and hovels on gigantic wall TVs and tiny battery-powered boxes. But The Event (not to be confused with the sci-fi television series with the same name) must have some physical venue apropos of its significance. Thus, a location was selected in central China, all indigenous humans and all other life forms larger than a housecat were hastily removed...fortunately not many humans were there.

Chinese workers got to their task and within a month or so (these people know how to build), there sprang from the earth a vast Arena. The mere size of it would have had Roman Emperors committing Harry Carrie in shame and embarrassment. The Egyptians were embarrassed for a time that it had taken so long to build pyramids, but in fairness, the Chinese did have modern tools and machinery. The Chinese now had TWO things visible from space, which gave a huge amount of pride to a bunch of guys with small penises. You could see this one even better than the Great Wall, perhaps because the original wall builders had not thought to wire it for lighting. The Arena was so gigantic that many in the audience could not see the gladiators at all without binoculars. The size of the many digital screens ringing the top of the Arena were the size of two football fields joined side by side. One criteria in choosing the building site had been to ensure no fault lines were nearby which might be triggered by vibrations from the sound system. Of course, entire industries which previously never existed also sprang up to support The Event (everything from road builders to slaughterhouses), which resulted in hundreds of thousands of jobs for (mostly) Chinese workers which, in turn, quickly propelled China into the status of the wealthiest nation on the planet.

It was touch and go for a bit but Rachel finally agreed to be one of the referees, though she flatly (HA!)refused to do it topless and promised the Mother of all Lawsuits against the Chinese, GE, and the entire Corporatocracy and anyone else who had ever wanted to see her boobs (Susan was a possible exception), when The Event was over. Ed Schultz would be the other ref, mainly to ensure that Rush didn't try to sneak into the ring. Yeah, it was a ring, like a boxing ring, only larger and had tables and chairs in which the fighters and refs would sit during the bouts. In Glenn's corner, the Man Himself, Murdoch (sometime lately renamed Marduk), had deigned to watch, if he could see anything that was, through Rush's clouds of cigar smoke.

Anthony Weiner and John Boehner had resigned from Congress in order to participate. They also had a secretive (for now) but possibly highly lucrative joint business venture scheduled to launch immediately after The Event began. In fact it was the first scheduled commercial announcement. They would have an entire line of sausages, franks and weiners; great for those family and neighborhood cook-outs and a specialty line of BONER WEINERS, sculpted into penis shapes, 'specially for the ladies and, as silent partner Barney Frank insisted, for gays as well. Foods with multiple uses were becoming more popular. Tony and John were the scorekeepers of the whole works, just to keep it honest (and if you can't trust US Congressmen to be honest, well...)

Lawrence O'Donnell jumped at the chance to participate, staving off a declining career in Conan impersonations; and George Will (while he still could) would lob the questions at the fighters, some in rapid succession, some requiring in-depth answers. Watson was considered to participate for a time but was ruled out mainly because he did not appreciate the humor of BONER WEINERS. Some swore later they saw Asimo smile, but skeptics claimed it was only their own smile reflected in his visor.

This sexually suggestive verbiage was protested by some; others insisted on more weiner, less boner.

It became unclear whether people were wanting more political honesty,

more actual meat, or more of a certain kind of sex.

Perhaps it was all the talk about sausages and weiners that aroused Sarah Palin to make her shocking announcement/offer, or perhaps the fear of being left entirely out of the idealogical limelight; but she did announce that she would be willing to be a topless referee, since Rachel "didn't have the hooters for it". Fearing that she would not be able/willing to eject (more likely erect) Rush if the need arose, the offer was rejected, whereupon she declared that she would be a topless card girl. Michelle Bachmann declared that she was too old, that she could use her droopy boobs to mop with, which prompted speculation about a Repub catfight match; a crowd pleaser before the Main Event.

There had long been "bad blood" between the two gladiators (that's what they were both being called by then) and Keith had predicted "'Lonesome Rhodes'' descent into oblivion". Perhaps, but Keith himself had been very close to occupying that land before his announced resurrection. Although a small number of humans? David Icke smiled their smiles, little did most of us know at the time, that oblivion, or something like it, awaited just over the horizon...for all of us.

This is the part where one might expect a "to be continued..." line. Instead, here is where you...
VOTE!*

*No guarantees are made or implied as to who, how or whether the story will continue or end.

TRB

A One, anna Two, anna...

The United States has one “viable” political party. It is known variously as either the Republican or Democratic Party. No doubt there are citizens here who still tell their children that “anyone can grow up to be President”...many probably believe it; people do believe any nonsense the mind can conceive. Most tell their children that Santa exists and try to make sure a belief in the grownup and more important Santa exists too, thus almost ensuring their children never can grow up. But back to the party...

"Third party officeholders in the U.S. are rare. Since the end of Reconstruction, there have been a total of 31 U.S. Senators, 111 Representatives, and 22 Governors that weren't affiliated with a major party." Source. Do you know when “Reconstruction” was? Do you know the last President who was NOT a member of the (DemPub) Party? It was President Millard Filmore...in 1850. He was a Whig. He didn’t have a Vice President either... apparently he could handle his own vices.

You might wonder, “What are the official requirements to be US President" anyway? No, you don't have to be a lawyer... basically you have to be at least 35 years old, have lived in the US for a total of 14 years, and be a natural-born citizen. A couple of those are iffy. Source. But if you believe that meeting these criteria assures you that you have at least the real possibility of becoming US President, you are, at best sadly mistaken; at worst a real fool. There are many other requirements, though they may not be actually written down anywhere, certainly not in the Constitution...we DO have to maintain appearances, yanno.

One requirement is that you be physically attractive...like being class president, it’s a popularity contest. Another is that you have previously held some political office. You don’t really think you can be a “walk in” do you? Another is that you must be a member of the (DemPub) Party. Another is that you must either be extremely rich or have very rich friends who will monetarily support you. It is said that the 2012 presidential campaign will cost billions...i.e. non-billionnaires (or their puppets) need not apply. Perhaps most importantly, you must be approved by the Political Machine. Even if you have acceptable looks and “charisma”; even if you have your own billions to spend on a campaign; even if you get the most “popular” votes...you will not be President unless you are approved. This shows that there are people far more powerful than any President...and you ain’t one of them. You must have access to considerable amounts of money even to “officially” play the game without any possibility of winning. Look at this. It’s a little like telling your baby brother he can play monopoly with you...as long as he is not allowed to touch the board, or pieces or money...but he must give you his whole piggy bank.

Who is responsible for the fact that “Gitmo” is not closed? The DemPub Party. If the scary specter of a “government shutdown” occurs...you don’t really think that means ALL the government, do you? Of course not...only those parts which might cause huge problems for average and poor people. But then, who cares about them anyway? You can be assured, the War Machine, the infamous “Military Industrial Complex” (MIC^Ò)will roll right along unperturbed. The things seen as necessary to maintain Empire will continue as before...why would they not?

Take any particular issue that you feel strongly about. For example, suppose you are extremely passionate about the idea that the Federal Reserve System should be abolished and the sole legitimate right to issue currency should rest with the elected government. (You DO know “the Fed" is neither federal nor has any reserves, right?) Do you honestly think there is the remotest chance that you could get from "I feel passionately about this" to the laws actually being changed?

To think that you, as an individual, have a say in federal government is akin to saying that you vote that our nearest stellar neighbor, the Centauri System, be moved closer to us...and believing this will actually cause it to be closer.

Here's a random thing: man gets his ass glued to toilet seat in Walmart. I have zero sympathy for the guy...I say it’s what you get for not looking where you’re about to put yer naked ass first.