The Underground Unbeliever

Amazon Tribe Deconverts Missionary

2011-10-21T22:17:00.001-07:00

Way to go Piraha.

The Power of Doubt or Messin with Fundies

2011-10-18T21:52:00.001-07:00

In the past two months a couple of events have kept me laughing about the silliness of those who believe without really thinking about their beliefs. A religious coworker and a Jesus door to door sales lady have given me much amusement.

A few months ago I was working in an office where one coworker kept making religious references in almost every conversation. I didn't say anything but he started assuming that I was a Christian that agreed with him. How presumptuous. After a week, it was time to end that assumption.

He started saying some creationist ideas about the Earth being only a few thousand years old. I said that I did not agree with that. The evidence shows a universe and Earth that are billions of years old. He then stated that he believed that every word in his bible was true. I asked him how he knew that it was true.

His reasons were that he believed the supernatural was true and that prophecies from the old testament foretold Jesus. The boss walked in at that moment and asked what we were discussing. I found out later from my boss that my coworker had been in trouble before for bothering people about religion. I replied that my coworker was trying to convince me that the supernatural existed. The boss laughed, letting me know that he was sympathetic to my point of view.

I replied to my coworker that the old testament prophecies were useless because the writers of the new testament had those writings available to them when they wrote the new testament. That was the simplest explaination. He said that he had never thoughtful it that way and would look this up. He never came back with another explaination.

For the next couple of weeks my coworker kept making these strange passive aggressive remarks about me going to hell when I died. I finally got tired of this one day, so it was time to teach this person a lesson, the parable of the abusive husband.

After he made his little remark, about burning in hell, I said that how could that possibly describe a loving god? That this was like a man being thought of as a good husband but he tells his wife that if she does not tell him that she loves him, then he would lock her up in the basement and torture her. How can this possibly be considered "loving"?

He made a little strangled sound, but made no reply. He never made those remarks about hell again. I thought the boss was going to high-five me.

Last Friday I was expecting a couple friends to come over. The doorbell rang and I answered it. There were two ladies in their 20s, dressed up and carrying their bibles like magic talismans. One woman started by saying "God is not responsible for natural disasters." She then quoted something from John and from Timothy. Then she started with hinting that "dark forces" caused bad things. I guess she was talking about demons and the devil. Who knows? Perhaps like Voldemart, you can't say it out loud?

I asked her if God created everthing. She answered in the affirmative, that yes he created everything. I asked the obvious "If he created everything, doesn't he also create disasters as well?"

She replied somewhat uncertainly that she had never thought of it that way. I wanted to discuss this further, but she quickly stated that it looked like I was busy with my daughter and that they must be going and they must leave now. Hopefully they won't come back. I shut the door and busted out laughing when I discovered that I had forgotten that I was wearing a set of fuzzy purple antennas that my daughter had put on me earlier.

Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero

2011-09-11T22:20:00.001-07:00

I'm watching a very moving Frontline episode entitled Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero. This episode explores the emotions of the families of the victims and the survivors.

When I lost my daughter as an infant, I was handed a brochure about the stages of grief and how grief is resolved. I remember reading that about 75% of people resolve their grief by feeling that their is a god and there was a resolution for their loved one's death. I recall that the rationalization was that God's ways were mysterious or something along those lines. But 25% of people accepted that the universe is a chaotic place and shit happens, it's no ones fault when these types of things happen. This was what I felt when I lost my daughter.

The images of the falling people shown are horrifying. The couple holding hands as they jump to their deaths is a haunting one. Did they know each other? Were they strangers? Were they comforted by each other as they faced a certain death?

Rabbi Herschfield discussed how it bothered him when survivors claimed that God saved them. "What about those who died, and died a horrible, painful death? Did God cause their deaths as well? It's easy to say that God saved one, it's the easy way out. It's the easy way out for religion as well. But someone says that God saved them from death, then it's hypocrisy to not say that God caused deaths as well. That is just not a god that I can worship."

There was an interesting discussion on evil and its definition. Margot Adler defines evil as when you loose sight of others as people, they are as nothing to you. They are in the way of your goals.

There was general discussion that religion itself is responsible. Both the religious and the non-religious people interviewed recognized that religion can motivate both good and terrible things. Being absolutely sure that you are right and others are wrong can lead to terrible acts. Absolutism can blind someone to the consequences of their actions.

Dead Computer

2011-09-09T23:47:00.001-07:00

Just as I found that I have more time for blogging, one of my hard drives on my computer decides to go belly up. I will have to post using my phone. It's a rather slow way to post. The picture is not my computer, but illustrates my frustration.

Don't Be a Sucker

2011-09-08T00:12:00.000-07:00

This film created at the very end of WWII gives a very simple explaination of how a fascist political party can divide a group of people by splitting them into minorities, then setting the minorities against each other until they are all weakened. Then take a look at the current extreme right and new charasmatic Christian right in this country. You will see them in a new light. I'll give a few examples.

Rachel Tabachnick states that Mary Glazier, a friend and mentor to Sarah Palin stated the following during a conference in 2008:

"There is a tipping point, at which, at which time, because of the sin of the land, the people then have to be displaced. But while this measure of wickedness is rising, the measure of faith in the church is rising. God is preparing a people to displace the ones whose sin is rising so that then they tip over and the church goes in - one is removed and the church moves in and takes the territory. Now, that does not mean that the people are removed, because God removes them from the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of Light. They are given an opportunity to change allegiances."

Notice that Glacier is speaking of removing those who don't subscribe to either her political or religious ideology. She hedges somewhat about what happens to those who are removed, perhaps on some level she realizes how horrifying this sounds. Rachel concludes with the following discussion of elimationism:

Simply stated, the movement teaches that their spiritual warfare directly impacts the natural world. Whether one believes that these prayer warriors actually achieve these results or not, the NAR has reached millions with the message that elimination of certain people, practices, and beliefs will ultimately result in the eradication of the societal problems which plague humanity. The apostles clearly and repeatedly state that their spiritual warfare is not limited to the cosmic world but is about changing the physical world. Additionally, they teach that God is providing direct and extrabiblical instructions to the apostles and prophets of the movement, something that I will discuss at greater length in the next article in this series on the NAR's brand of "apostolic government of the church."

Rachel gives these zealots a bit more wiggle room than I would.
I plan to update this post with more examples of calls for eliminating anyone who doesn't go along with those who are pushing for government implementation of Dominion Theology.

Curiosity, An Excellent First Episode

2011-08-15T21:30:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting here finally getting a chance to do some blogging while watching Curiosity, a new show on The Science Channel. This episode is hosted by Steven Hawking pondering if there is a god while surrounded by headlines where he is declared a heretic and he states that god is a fairytale. You can see the faint hint of a smile as he observes the headlines.

The entire episode is devoted to dispelling the god of the gaps argument. I was amazed that there was such a frank and open discussion about the question "Is there a god?" I highly recommend it. I love the conclusion.

I haven't been blogging much lately or this year. I sincerely hope to change this. There have been developments on my last story about being an atheist in the ultimate foxhole (Cheyenne Mountain), evangelical Christian chaplains and America's nuclear forces. If you think this is an explosive combination, I will be posting about an even more disturbing story. This story about a few military chaplains will be waiting for others to complete some possible legal actions before I can post anything yet.

An Atheist in the Ultimate Foxhole

2011-05-31T19:17:00.001-07:00

Many people like to proclaim rather ignorantly that there are no atheists in foxholes. Most of these people seem to have never done any type of military service. But occasionally you meet religious people, either active duty or former military, who subscribe to this strange notion that an atheist can't exist in a stressful situation such as a foxhole. Even my spell checker on my Evo Android phone replaced foxholes with potholes while writing this post. I had to override and force it to put foxholes in the text. Heh Heh Heh.

I spent over four years stationed at Peterson AFB, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Colorado Springs is the home to many conservative, evangelical organizations. I was stationed there in the mid to late 80's. At that time, like now, their focus was to grow their organization and gain political power.

There were rumors passed around about previous incidents of these organizations using their power over their members stationed at Cheyenne Mountain and at various launch facilities. Apparently in the late seventies, there were several senior officers making comments about doing what god wanted rather than following their training and orders. These officers were quietly removed from their positions. With the current religiosity in the military, I'm not sure that this would happen now.

Mike Weinstein at MRFF has stated recently that 87 missile officers have complained that their commanding officer has made statements encouraging them to disobey their orders if they feel that god would want them to. This commanding officer should be courts martialled and removed from active duty. He is encouraging is officers to not follow their orders. This is extremely dangerous as we are talking about having our nation's nuclear strike capability in the hands of a mega-church.

I spent much of my time at Cheyenne Mountain AFS, familiarly known as Cheyenne Mountain, or known simply as "The Mountain". I was assigned in the Missile Warning section, where we monitored the world for incoming ballistic missiles. Cheyenne Mountain was built at the height of the cold war to provide shelter against a Soviet first strike, the ultimate foxhole against nuclear missiles.

The first time I walked through the tunnel and through the blast doors was a surreal experience. To my left was a huge stack of boxes of canned meals (before MREs), above me was the netting used to keep rocks from falling on people and equipment, and in front of me were several multistory buildings mounted on gigantic shocks. I went to my duty station which was a very small and cramped space, filled with computer equipment, completely different from the depiction shown in various television shows and movies.

Nowadays, Cheyenne Mountain has been retired from it'd missions of missile warning, space watch, and satellite tracking. I saw on a recent documentary that the facility has been turned into the alternate command center for NORAD/USNORTHCOM and some sort of secure computer facility.

General Herres was SPACECINC during most of the time I was stationed at Cheyenne Mountain. He was a great commander to work for. He was on the board for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation until his untimely death from brain cancer in 2008. Even though was a very religious man, he recognized the dangers of our nuclear capability falling in the hands of zealots. Seeing General Herres on the board encouraged me to support MRFF.

While I was stationed at Cheyenne Mountain, I had no problem as an "out in the open" non-believer. Everyone was strictly professional on the job. I think Gen. Herres had a lot to do with this. He made sure that everyone was taken care of and everyone had a chance to perform at their best. I sincerely hope that the current generation of missile warning and launch officers are as professional as we were before. The 87 officers who have made complaints about their over zealous commander have probably already tried to make official complaints or else it was made clear that doing so would be a career-killer. They are to be commended for trying to keep religious doctrines out of the silo.

For Those Who have Served

2011-05-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

A very nice memorial for those who have served their country, no God or Jesus invocations to ruin the somber mood. Thanks Nancy.

Waiting Anxiously for the Rapture

2011-05-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite scene in Six Feet Under. The earthquake should get the Kiwis any minute now. I will update this post periodically over the next day.

Update:
(23:05) Looks like nothing is happening in New Zealand.Wasn't this where the whole rapture supposed to start? At 6:00PM local time? Here is a handy site to check for earthquakes. I have a few apps on my ipod, but so far not a peep. I feel so sorry for the deluded fools who got sucked in by this rich conman, Harold Camping. Who by the way has approximately $72 million dollars in the bank. A great site for info. Harold Camping's face bookpage.

(23:40) What about the astronauts on the space station? I don't think any earthquake is going to get them.

(12:10) l'm going to bed now it's late. No Rapture yet. Damn, I guess we're stuck with the Christians now.

(13:03 Saturday the 21st) No rapture yet. Perhaps its only the godly US republican Christians who are going to heaven. We have two hours to go until the East Coast gets hit. So far no unusual earthquake activity yet.

(14:54) Hey a live streaming rapture party .

(16:05) I was talking to my sister in Louisiana, no rapture there. They were having a party and no sign of earthquakes.

It's Positively Clear

2011-05-19T22:26:00.001-07:00

It's positively clear who runs Lancaster, CA.

Lucky Friday the 13th

2011-05-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

I have always ignored the Friday the 13th superstition. In fact I received some very good news today. A skin biopsy was not melanoma. Whew, what a relief.

Lancaster's Prayer Problem

2011-04-28T16:45:00.000-07:00

Click on the above images to get a readable page.

I saw the above article a couple of days ago in our local paper, The Antelope Valley Press. I was going to make a few comments about how Mayor Parris is so concerned about his own religious views not being allowed as official policy, but sure seems to be eager enough to trample all over Lancaster citizens religious rights. I was going to comment about the list of "approved" churches in the Antelope Valley being the only ones to participate. But reporter, Bob Wilson beat me to it.

Dave Dionne, president of the Antelope Valley Freethinkers posted this article from yesterday on the AVF meetup site. Thanks Dave.

City Officials Admit Violating Prayer Policy

By: Bob Wilson

LOS ANGELES - Lancaster officials on Tuesday acknowledged in federal court that the city twice violated its policy governing the selection of persons scheduled to offer invocations at City Council meetings.

I just knew this was going to happen.

They also acknowledged the city's prayer policy was authored by Vice Mayor Ron Smith, not City Attorney David McEwen.

The acknowledgments were part of testimony elicited by Roger Jon Diamond, an attorney representing two women who have sued Lancaster over its policy on invocational prayers.

It appears the city is not too interested in what it's lawyers think. Actually, Mayor Paris has stated publicly that he knows all about church-state separation issues and he is sure he will prevail in court. Never mind that even though he is a lawyer, he is an ambulance chaser and not a constitutional lawyer. I guess the Dunning-Kruger effect happens in the law profession as well.

The city's policy, adopted in August 2009, asserts intent to provide equal opportunity for representatives of all faiths to say prayers calling for divine guidance for the council at the beginning of its public meetings.

Really, all faiths are treated equally? The evidence and testimony shows that this is not true.

A decision on whether U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer will issue an injunction barring the city from allowing such prayers or, in the alternative, will issue a declaration stating at least one of those prayers was unconstitutional is pending.

The policy was the City Council's response to an April 2009 demand by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California that Lancaster officials put a stop to prayers being routinely offered in the name of Jesus Christ.

The lawsuit's plaintiffs, Shelley Rubin of Los Angeles and Maureen Feller of Lancaster, are seeking an injunction requiring the city to end its practice of allowing ministers and other church representatives from naming specific deities such as Jesus Christ when offering prayers at the beginning of government meetings.

If they fail to obtain an injunction, the plaintiffs are asking Judge Fischer to at least issue a declaratory judgment stating that an April 2010 invocation given by Bishop Henry Hearns was in violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the California constitution.

In his prayer, Hearns closed with, "In the precious, holy and righteous and matchless name of Jesus, I pray this prayer. Amen and amen."

Why does the city council need to have public prayers before their meeting? Don't theyget enough in their places of worship? I have always thought that public piety is a show of insecurity. If you need to be reminded constantly of what you believe in, then your beliefs must be very fragile to begin with.

The bishop's recitation of the prayer was displayed on a screen in Fischer's courtroom along with other invocations offered at Lancaster meetings.

Diamond told Fischer the city's prayer policy is a smokescreen meant to obscure its efforts to promulgate Christianity.

"Basically, the city is pushing an agenda of aligning itself with Christianity," Diamond said, pointing to a January 2010 address where Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris told a group of Christian ministers, "We're growing a Christian community, and don't let anybody shy away from that."

In a previous post, I covered the Mayor's mingling of his religion with city business. He was caught using public money to pay for the meeting with local church leaders. He was caught lying about it, and had to reimburse the city out of his own pocket.

Even if the city is not taking a pro-Christian stance intentionally, it is failing to adhere to its own policy concerning how and when people are permitted to offer such prayers, he said.

Under questioning by Diamond, City Clerk Geri Bryan acknowledged that her written declaration that the city's policy had been unerringly followed was incorrect.

Instead of selecting a person at random to give the first invocation after city voters approved a referendum in support of the council's policy, Bryan said she invited Hearns to lead the prayer at the suggestion of Paul Chappell, pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church.

Chappell was supposed to give the April 27 invocation but ultimately could not, so Chappell asked that she invite Hearns to give a prayer in his stead, Bryan testified.

Another case of Lancaster Baptist Church running the city council. They get first dibs on the city's invocation, in direct contrast to the city's official policy of a random choice of religious leader.

When asked how a Los Angeles-based member of the Sikh religion council came to offer the first invocation after the filing of the lawsuit against the city, Bryan said she was asked by City Manager Mark Bozigian to find a Jew, Muslim or Sikh to offer the prayer.

When asked if that move was contradictory to the city's prayer policy, Bryan said, "It is."

She found the Sikh minister through a contact provided by a member of the city's Planning Commission, she said.

Yeah, when pressed, the city needed to look for "some Jew, Muslim, or Sikh"as a token minority when it became obvious that the invocations were given only by Christians..

When called as a witness, Parris said his use of the word "We" in the phrase "We're growing a Christian community" was intended to refer to efforts by himself and the ministers present at the January 2010 address and not to efforts by himself and others at City Hall.

Parris also said the comment was made "at a private meeting with the ministerial association that I paid for."

Supporting the growth of a Christian community "is not an official city position," Parris said.

I guess it's not now since the Mayor was caught red handed paying for the meeting with city money and had to pay it back once the truth came out.

The comment was made at a time "when Muslims were threatening one of our councilwomen," the mayor said.

Muslims threatening the council woman? As I recall, she was posting highly inflammatory comments on Facebook and was slammed back by the Muslim community. I guess she could dish it out but couldn't take it.

Arguing for the city, attorney Alison Burns said previous federal cases have determined that prayers at the beginning of government meetings are constitutional.

Burns also said that as long as persons giving the prayers neither exploit the opportunity in an attempt to convert others nor disparage the faith or beliefs of others, the city cannot impose prior restraints on the language of those praying.

"The city has and is complying with the policy," Burns said. "The policy is now being followed to the letter."

Past errors should not be used as a basis for issuing an injunction against the rule, she said.

Instead, the city should be, at most, directed by the court to follow the rule, Burns said.

"If any (past) invocation did not follow (the city's) policy, it should not form a future restriction on the city of Lancaster," she said.

So the city council should not be accountable for not following city policy?

The city can ask those who offer invocations to adhere to its policy, but it cannot retract the words of those who fail to do so, Burns said.

Then perhaps they should have followed official city policy to stay out of trouble. This is what happens when they ignore the city's attorney.

Diamond said the city's policy of allowing numerous prayer-givers the chance to possibly offend listeners of different religions was not a defense.

"This is not an isolated slip-up. They have a history of this sort of conduct over a long period of time," Diamond said. "The practice and custom in Lancaster is to violate the establishment (of religion) clause."

Diamond asked Fischer to provide the same ruling that was issued in a state-court case he won against the city of Burbank when it was allowing sectarian prayers in the name of Jesus Christ.

Fischer told Diamond she was not bound to follow decisions reached in state courts, including the one against Burbank.

"There is no (previous federal) case exactly on point" that serves as a precedent for the Lancaster lawsuit, "so we are swimming in new waters here," Diamond told Fischer. "It will be up to the court" to set the precedent, he said.

The judge agreed, noting that a precedent "would make my job easier."

"I will do the best I can," she said, noting that she had a prior matter on which to rule before turning her attention to Rubin v. Lancaster.

Hopefully, the judge will throw out Lancaster City council prayers. The city council behaved exactly like I predicted they would act. The whole selecting random religious leaders was a smokescreen and was deliberately ignored, so that the city council's favorite church, the huge mega church compound Lancaster Baptist, could continue to give the invocation. Lancaster Baptist Church is very active in Lancaster politics and giving the invocation week after week is a reminder to the city council of their political clout in Lancaster.

Rock Beyond Belief Application Submitted Again

2011-04-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

The application packet for Rock Beyond Belief has been submitted again. Good luck Justin. I hope this time it actually happens.

Gyno Pastor, EWWWWWWWWW!

2011-04-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

This story over at Friendly Atheist is probably one of the most disturbing stories I have read in a long time. Pastor Paseka Motsoeneng of the Incredible Happening's Church in South Africa holds "demon bashing" services where he molests young girls in front of the entire congregation.

In addition to inappropriately touching the genitalia of young girls in his congregation, this perverted pastor also seems to be a complete con man. He takes their money and molests their children. What else will these sheep accept from this man? This is almost as bad as the witch accusing pastors. Here are a few examples of his porno performance in front of his church.

THE much-talked about Incredible Happening Church’s “demon banishing” service in Katlehong on Sunday resembled a shoot for a blue movie.

We saw the church leader and self-styled prophet Paseka Motsoeneng insert his fingers into the vaginas of two female congregants as part of a ritual he performed to expel the demons that had allegedly possessed them.

Motsoeneng’s unorthodox demon banishing methods, which Sunday World has been advised might constitute indecent assault, left a bitter taste in the mouths of other help-seekers who attended the services.

and

As he was praying for her she collapsed. Motsoeneng then told the teenager, who was lying on her back, to open her legs, which she did.

He then plunged his fingers into her private parts and started moving his fingers inside her vagina.

As he was busy with his “healing process”, Motsoeneng ordered her to call him by his nickname, Mboro.

and

The young woman, who was not asked to identify herself, was told to tell the packed hall what her problem was.

“I haven’t slept with my husband for some time because it hurts when we make love.

“Every time he penetrates me, it feels like he is cutting me with a sharp knife,” she said.

Mboro took off his shoes and placed his foot on her vagina.

“There’s something breathing in her biscuit. It feels like a heartbeat,” he said.

He later ordered the woman to take off her undies. She complied. He said he wanted to “stitch it with his holy water”.

Motsoeneng sprinkled water on his right hand and rubbed the woman’s genitals.

Incredible happenings indeed. A lot of koolaid being drunk in this church if the congregants accept this shit. Oh, and girls, watch out for those sharp fingernails. Ouch.

Get Ready for the Rapture

2011-04-16T22:08:00.001-07:00

I saw this van on my drive home from work today. The van has lately been located at the corner of Avenue H and Division Street in Lancaster, CA. I wonder what the person in the van is going to do on May 22nd. Did the person sell all of their worldly goods and quit their job?

Rock Beyond Belief Summary

2011-04-16T01:05:00.000-07:00

Excellent video detailing Justin Griffith's struggle to get the same support from the base for the Rock Beyond Belief event that the Christian event received.

New Look to the Blog

2011-03-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

I've decided to give this blog a makeover. I'm now using Blogger's new templates and I like the look better. I've also included the link to Mojoey's huge atheist blog list.

Crazy Witch Hunters Will be at Harvard Conference

2011-03-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

On April Fools Day, appropriately enough, The Social Transformation Conference will be held at Harvard University. The people speaking at this event are Christian Dominionists who are hiding behind a facade of benign language to get this conference hosted at Harvard University. They use the following language to appear tolerant of diversity and open to varying views:

Social transformation can be defined as the process of large scale change for an environment where a shift occurs in the consciousness, in attitudes and values of a community or society (whether local, state, national or global). Scientific discoveries can cause social transformation as can religious movements (such as the great awakening of New England) or governmental policy (such as the end of apartheid in South Africa). Faith-Based Social Transformation is the process of positively changing an environment for the better using faith-based principles. This includes efforts to positively influence a nation’s culture by working to improve the values-based systems and ethical mindsets in its key strategic fronts, spheres or “mountains” — business, government, education, media, arts & entertainment, religion and family.

Notice the last statement. Sounds familiar doesn't it. This is the nice version of what these people are pushing. Instead of the usual spiritual warrior phrases of seizing the "spheres or mountains" and having dominion over society (every knee SHALL bow), they want you to think that they are merely striving for improvement.

Bruce Wilson at Talk2Action has a hilarious video on YouTube showing some of these "faith based" speakers in their native habitat of speaking in tongues, anointing with oil, casting out demons, and faith healing.

This would be hilarious except for the very real damage these attitudes and beliefs are having in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. The BBC and Channel 4 in Britain showed a horrifying documentary of children being accused of being witches and either being abandoned or murdered. The lucky ones ended up in the Stepping Stones safe compound. These same pastors at this conference mentor the same pastors in Africa who are encouraging and participating in these child killings.

Here is a review of the documentary Saving Africa's Witch Children. Parts of the documentary are still on YouTube.

Bits of the film were almost unbearable to watch: four- and five-year-old children, terrified out of their wits during church excommunications; young children horribly scarred by the beatings and torture that are used to extract "confessions" of their Satanic allegiance; the utterly empty eyes of a five-year-old girl called Mary who had been abandoned after her mother died and she was blamed for causing the death by a local preacher. The only saving grace was the presence of Gary Foxcroft and his Nigerian colleagues, who run a local charity, Stepping Stones, to look after the traumatised victims of these poisonous superstitions. Those confronted with their cruelty are not ashamed but adamant that they have done the right thing. "I want to kill that small girl," declared a grinning man, when Gary attempted to reunite one foundling with her mother. As her neighbour waved his machete, chuckling, the little girl's features smeared into utter terror. She knew he meant it.

Here is another review.

Located in southeastern Nigeria, Akwa Ibom State claims to have more churches per square mile than any other place on the planet.

But a dark side exists to the pious surface: A virulent strain of Christian Pentecostalism, blended with native beliefs, inspires hysteria when bad fortune or illness befalls the area, with preachers and families branding children witches.

The United Nations Children's Fund estimates that tens of thousands of innocent children have been targeted throughout Africa, including 15,000 in Akwa Ibom State alone.

Directed by Mags Gavan and Joost van der Valk and narrated by Sophie Okonedo (“Hotel Rwanda”), Saving Africa's Witch Children exposes the grimly appalling treatment of children deemed witches, and chronicles the work of two men who have devoted their lives to helping those ostracized by their communities.

and

To the superstitious in Africa, no event has a natural, causal or scientific reason. Any tragedy – disease, miscarriage, unemployment or death in the family – is considered the work of witches.

And defenseless children, sometimes as young as three months, can be scapegoated and subjected to horrifying punishments. The lucky are merely ostracized by their families and left to fend for their own, while others are tortured through a myriad of methods, from being set afire to having nails driven into their skulls, or simply murdered.

and finally

Says Foxcroft, “It is an absolute scandal. Any Christian would be absolutely outraged that they are taking the teachings of Christ to exploit and abuse innocent children.” The documentary includes footage of children from Foxcroft’s shelter being threatened by angry locals. He adds, “It’s really difficult not to lose your temper when you’re just in the face of pure bloody hatred, and then they say, ‘Oh, I’m a Christian.’ ”

Gavan and van der Valk expose the work of “Bishop” Sunday Ulup-Aya, who charges families up to a year’s salary – in Nigeria, many survive on just a dollar a day – to “exorcise” children suspected of witchcraft, feeding them a toxin he calls a “poison destroyer,” which consists of alcohol, African mercury and his own blood. If families cannot pay his fee, he holds their children captive.

Saving Africa's Witch Children also reveals the disturbing activities of one of Nigeria’s wealthiest evangelical priestesses, Helen Ukpabio of Liberty Church, who has created books and films decrying witchcraft.

Here is the update to the original documentary.

This is the horror that these assholes wish to bring to the US.

Update:
There is an editorial in the Harvard student paper, The Harvard Crimson, expressing concern that these people are presenting a conference where no opposing views are allowed.

Rapture Ready Local Mom

2011-03-23T20:19:00.001-07:00

A local woman tried to kill her two daughters and herself because she thought that the "Tribulation" was starting. Perhaps someone should ask these people if this is the message they really mean to tell people.

We visited family in Louisiana at the end of last year and ran across two signs along Interstate 10. One sign was located in Orange, Texas and the other near Laccasine, Louisiana. The WeCanKnow people have a donation link on their web page. Why? If the world is ending, why do they need donations? I hope the the people who follow them (like this mom) don't try to end their lives and those of their families before this date.

Fighting Science Denialists

2011-03-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

You tell them Rep. Markey.

Happy Early Easter

2011-03-13T22:42:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Easter this year with a batch of deviled Easter eggs. MUAHHAHAHAHAHAH. Last year we pot roasted the Easter bunny.

Update:
Oops, hubby looked at the wrong month for Easter. Oh well, for us Easter is the celebration of spring. So here we are getting the garden ready and it is spring here. ;)

Update on an Old Story

2011-03-12T02:20:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted via email by Chaplain Robert Nay. He wanted to discuss this particular story. Shortly after I started this blog in 2008, I came across a story about religious harassment towards a Jewish chaplain. The website, truthout, posted a story about Chaplain Jeff Goldman who alleged anti-Semitic harassment at the hands of his fellow Christian chaplains as well as his immediate superior officer in his chain of command.

He told Jason Leopold that at a mandatory meeting, Nazi uniforms and swastikas were displayed, and anti-Semitic comments were made. He named Chaplain Robert Nay as one of the perpetrators of this mess. He also alleged that another Jewish chaplain, Chaplain Lapp told him to ignore all of this and that he would have to work with the bigots. Jason Leopold interviewed Rabbi Lapp who told him that sure there were a few problems with certain Chaplains, but that Rabbi Goldman would have to learn to work with them.

Chaplain Nay wrote that many details of the story were incorrect and wanted to correct any errors from the original story from truthout. I asked him if he would answer a few questions. He agreed. I also searched the internet for any hints of links to neo-nazi and white supremacy sites. I found none, not even a hint of Christian supremacy at all. I checked out his thesis for his master's degree, and an interview. Other than some nonsense about the latest "spiritual fitness" craze that seems to be the latest fad in the chaplain corps, there is nothing remotely controversial in his past writings.

Here are my questions and his answers:

Anna,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Below are my answers to your questions. Thank you again.
Chaplain (LTC) Robert Nay

1) What was your working relationship with Rabbi Goldman? Very professional. We both were Captains in a Corps Support Group.

2) What was your impression of the working environment of non-Christian chaplains at Ft Stewart? Commanders and Chaplains were very sensitive to non-Christian chaplains and provided for the free exercise of all faith groups.

3) Rabbi Lapp is quoted in the article that he was aware of anti-Semitic remarks directed towards Rabbi Goldman by yourself and others. These allegations were supported by the Army's own investigation. What happened? I never saw the army investigation and I am not aware of any anti-Semitic comments made at Fort Stewart.

4) What happened at the mandatory interfaith prayer breakfast in 2001 where the Nazi uniforms and swastikas were displayed? It was reported that inappropriate jokes were made and no one made any attempt to stop it.
First, the interfaith prayer breakfast was not mandatory. Second, there were not any Nazi uniforms or swastikas at the prayer breakfast. There were historical U.S. uniforms. I did not hear any inappropriate jokes at the prayer breakfast.

5) What has been the reaction of people that know you to the story?
At the time, it was very embarrassing that a Chaplain went AWOL at a time of war.

6) What are you doing now? Other than the letter to the Jewish Voice, what are you doing to explain what happened? And why after 3 years did you contact me to explain your version on the events that happened? Have you offered you version of events to Mr. Leopold? He writes that you hung up on him when he called you for comment. Several years ago, the head of Public Affairs for the U.S. Army told us that we have a right to correct falsehoods in the media and in blogs. Since that time I approached those who ran the article from Truthout.org. News agencies such as Salon have removed Jason’s articles in the past because of his questionable sources. Jason has every right to conduct his research and provide the facts and his analysis. I respect those news agencies that have provided my unedited comments or have removed his false article. The reason why I contacted you, is that your blog is being used by spam to bring an old false article to the top of the search engine. Jason’s article brings a very embarrassing moment for Rabbi Goldman, but also a very painful moment for me and this is why. My life has been devoted to remembering the victims of the Holocaust.

7) Do you think the Public Affairs office at Ft Stewart did you a favor by declining to comment on the matter? Do you think it hurt or helped matters by not talking to Jason Leopold? I cannot comment what Fort Stewart did or didn’t do. I can tell you that Jason never called me. My question to Jason and others who initially ran with the story is where is the law suit you said was in the works? The fact that it has been almost ten years since Rabbi Goldman went AWOL, and over three years since Jason’s article there is no law suit because there is no case. Rabbi Goldman went AWOL because he ran from the new Hamon. Proof that he didn’t care about the victims of the Holocaust and when it came to defending them again, he ran.

8) I will be checking out your story with others who are familiar with it. I will also have their comments as well in the story, but I will place your answers as they are in my post. Will this make you uncomfortable? I will also give you a chance to rebut anyone as well. Thank you for posting my answers.

I was getting ready to to post the above story, as Robert Nay seemed a pleasant enough fellow via email. But then I received a strange email from him. Since I don't post emails without permission from the author, I will paraphrase his email. After first stating he thought that everyone regardless of religious viewpoint should be treated the same, he went on a rant stating that Muslim extremists and secular humanists were in cahoots trying to destroy the United States.

I replied with the following email.

Hi Bob

Sorry to be so late getting back to you, but to be honest, your last email has me a bit perplexed. I would be happy to take up your invitation should I be in the Fort Lee area.

"Personally I believe that the chaplaincy is perhaps a very visible representation of the freedom and toleration we have in our country. We have many different faith groups working along side one another, respecting the differences yet not forcing no one to compromise.

I agree with the above completely, but your next paragraph is somewhat confusing.

"In contrast to this, I believe that our current enemy with the war on terror who believes in only one faith with no toleration of others, or those who do not allow any faith but the faith of secular humanism, both of these enemies, foreign and domestic do not believe in freedom and toleration."

You seem to be equating non-religious humanists with murderous Islamic bomber cultists. Why? Is it because the secular humanists are non-religious or is it because they are humanists?

I would think that as a chaplain that you would remember that many religious groups have a basis in humanism. In Christianity, this is reflected in such denominations such as the Quakers and other such groups that are works based. This is also reflected in the sermon on the mount and the story of the loaves and the fishes in the Bible.

Humanism is simply the position that people are more important than dogma or ideology.

Or are you claiming that simply being non-religious makes someone an enemy of the state? Or is it the label "secular"? Because remember, someone can also be for a secular government and be religious as well. The founding fathers are an excellent example of a group of men ranging from the nearly non-religious like Jefferson to highly religious men getting together to create a secular government (i.e. a government not run or controlled by a religion).

And what about other groups that are explicitly "secular humanist" like Humanistic Judaism? When some of my relatives go to temple at a Humanistic Jewish Synagogue are they enemies of the state as well? And what about the 10 percent of the US population and 21 percent of the Armed Forces that identifies as non-religious, are they enemies as well?

You sound like a nice guy, but I sincerely hope that you don't get seduced by the easy answers and scapegoating that is found in conspiracy theories. My husband watched a friend get involved with a sovereign citizen group, stopped paying his taxes, go to prison, get out of prison, and ended up alone in a run down house surrounded by books and magazines all espousing conspiracy thinking. It seems once you succumb to that sort of thinking, all conspiracies seem believable.

Sincerely,

Anna

He then replied with an email sort of taking back some of what he had said earlier, but then trying to say that he has been persecuted in the past. WTF? White, male, Evangelical Christian chaplain officer in the Army and he thinks he is persecuted ? I replied with the following.

Hi Bob

I plan to update my blog this weekend. What do you mean that "secular humanist have taken over the public square"? The public square usually means public property (owned by the taxpayers), not private property open to the public. Government owned property should always be neutral towards religion and it should not promote one belief system over another.

If one religion can place their message in the public square, then all other beliefs and opinions can as well. In other words, if a courthouse posts the 10 commandments (which version?), then competing ideas can be posted as well. Perhaps it would be better for religious ideas to remain in the private square rather than being endorsed by the government in the public square.

Are you aware that the term "secular humanism" simply means a philosophy of humanism motivated by care for others instead of religious values or motivations? Someone can be considered a secular humanist and be religious as well. Now there are organizations such as The Council for Secular Humanism that advocate a moral non-religious stance. You say that you have endured persecution at the hands of secular humanists. Who has done this? What organization has done this?

Telling me that some secular humanist has somehow persecuted you sounds very improbable to me. You are in an organization where you are a member of the majority gender, majority race, and majority religion. You are in a position of authority within that organization as well. What happened? We in the non-religious community are fairly serious about calling out those members who are acting like jerks.

Now, MRFF has received many complaints about military superiors trying to coerce their subordinates into adopting the superior's beliefs. 96% of those complaints come from Christians. These complaints allege that the complainants (mostly mainline Christians) are having problems with other Christians, mainly from evangelical and charismatic denominations, not from the non-Christians. They are being told and judged as not being the right sort of Christian.

While I have had someone at a previous job place religious pamphlets on my desk and threaten to shoot me if I did not become a Christian. Luckily my boss stood up for me and the guy was transferred. I did not want him fired and later showing up at my door for revenge. This is not persecution but the actions of a bully and a bigot.

When I went through Air Force Officer Training school, we had a system of merits and demerits which could cancel each other out. You needed 5 merits to get off base privileges. I found out that if you went to Christian religious services, you could earn those merits. Non-Christian services did not count. There was not even an option of attending Unitarian services.

I went to a Methodist service with my roommate and mentioned this when I was there. There was also the chance of earning more merits for attending bible study, which I did. Needless to say, the chaplain ended up being a bit irritated by my questions. These questions were chosen because they would cause more questions and because they could not be answered easily. The chaplain asked why I was there and I answered that I was there because I both love to discuss theology and because of the merits. He told me he would give me the merits without church attendance. He seemed like an okay guy. I think he was uncomfortable with the whole merits for church attendance thing.

But I don't consider my self persecuted. I can work and carry on with my life without fear of getting put in prison or killed. My husband and myself are giving a friend of a former foster child of our a home until she graduates from high school. She was nearly killed by her brother because she is gay. He is a highly religious conservative evangelical christian who attempted to hurt his younger sister by running her over with his truck. It has taken her nearly a year to get over the trauma. She doesn't consider herself persecuted either. We have simply run into jerks and bigots.

As far as MRFF claiming conspiracy theories, I don't really think so. MRFF is simply trying to get the Armed Services to follow their own rules regarding religious coercion. The problems seem to be coming from senior officers and chaplains from a couple of endorsing agencies.

These agencies such as The Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches do not have college educated chaplains and they seem to regard military units as mission fields. These chaplains come from heavily charismatic denominations affiliated with the New Apostolic Reformation movement. Far from being some secretive conspiracy, this is a large religious movement with about 500 million adherents worldwide. Most members of this movement would probably be appalled with the behavior of some of their leaders such as Jim Ammerman. He leads The Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches and preaches hate and anti-government conspiracy theories. Check him out and you will see full on crazy.

Sorry for the long letter, but wanted you to see where I am coming from and some background information.

Thanks,

Anna

I have not heard back from Chaplain Nay, perhaps he does not have a good reply to my letter. Interesting.

Update:

I can easily see why others may have a problem working with Chaplain Nay. He seems to have a habit of saying offensive statements towards others. He came across at first as a nice enough fellow, but after a few emails, started with accusing nonbelievers of trying to destroy the United States. Then he started with the "persecution" attitude. I think that Christians who really are persecuted in parts of the world would see him as a whiny brat. I'm sure he would embarass them deeply.

I was contacted via email by Jason Leopold from Truthout. Look for more details to come out of this story.

A Scorching Case of Burning Bush

2011-02-19T22:28:00.000-08:00

Looks like someone needs a tube of Vagisil.

A Resolution for the New Year

2011-01-05T23:12:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year dear readers. I have decided on a resolution regarding this blog; I will post quite a bit more frequently. Unfortunately, last year was a year full of ups and downs. On the plus side, we had a newly adopted daughter to take care of. On the minus side, we lost my mother-in-law due to severe heart disease at the end of the year. I also have been working a few stories via email, with most of the details kept confidential. Perhaps when the stories are ready, I'll be able to provide a few more details.

The result of all this chaos was the neglect of this blog, and the lack of my participation in the local freethinkers group. This year I plan to be much more active in this blog.

A Poor Little Sheep?

2011-01-03T21:04:00.001-08:00

"We are poor little sheep that have lost our way. Baa Baa Baa." At least for women according to a religious group allowed access at the Air Force Academy. MRFF and truthout have been covering an ongoing scandal at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado involving a cultish fundamentalist group on campus.

Lauren Baas was a cadet (until her graduation last year) at the Academy and joined the Cadets for Christ run by Don Warrick and his wife Anna. According to Jean Baas, Lauren's mother, Lauren totally changed once she joined Cadets for Christ. Cadets for Christ members believe that women are "sheep" and men are the women's "shepherds". Lauren even allowed the cult to select a husband two years her junior to marry. Wow.

Here is a photograph of a cookbook given to Lauren by her "shepherds".

But I have a few questions. Lauren Baas is an intelligent college age woman who formally had ambitions and plans for a vibrant and productive life. Why would she fall for the love bombing and authoritarian structure of a cult? How could an intelligent woman fall for such transparent nonsense?

When I was about 13, I went to a Sunday School at my neighbor's church. Unknown to my parents, this church was a hard core Church of God. This church was really a cult and the churches collapsed during the nineties. Even at that age, I realized that there was something not right about this church. I kept questioning what they were teaching. When it was realized by the Sunday School teacher that I was not buying what was being taught, I was asked not to come back. I guess they wanted unquestioning obedience, which I was not going to give them.

Why did Lauren fall for such nonsense? Well for one thing, the environment at the AFA is extremely stressful. This is why religious groups place a priority on evangelizing at military training bases and service academies.

The cadets are usually away from home for the first time, with older cadets and instructors providing a role model for them to emulate. If these senior cadets and instructors insinuate that acquiring a similar religious viewpoint would advance their careers, then some cadets will pretend a religiosity they don't have in order to fit in and make life easier. Others like a lonely Lauren Baas succumb to the "love bombing" of a campus cult-like group.

When I attended the Air Force Officer Training School in the early eighties, one obtained merits to offset demerits by going to a Christian church and bible study. Since I'm fascinated by religion, even though I don't believe in it, I decided to go to the Methodist service my roommate did. I openly stated in a friendly manner that I was there only for the 5 merits that I would earn. Unlike my roommate, I also attended the bible study to get even more merits. I enjoyed asking uncomfortable questions of the Christians. I did this in a friendly and questioning manner. After seeing a couple of officer trainees seriously considering my questions, the Methodist Chaplain offered me 5 merits a week not to attend. I still smile when I recall the story.

But I was not a lonely, frightened young woman who did not know how to resist cultists. I grew up in a family that openly questioned religious matters and was raised not to believe things without questioning them. Also the religious environment of the Air Force was not nearly as evangelical as it is today.

The Pope and the Dancing Boys

2010-12-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

The camera rolled as a pile of young lusty manflesh grappled orgastically across the floor, watched by an old leering man. HehHehHeh.

Swing Low, Sweet Couple (The Real McCoy Part 3)

2010-11-26T22:49:00.000-08:00

Here is more information on the yahoo member lesdeuxparfois, who I have posted about before. Lesdeuxparfois seems to be online account for Army Chaplain LTC William McCoy and his wife. This account has been listed over many, many adult sites. I am covering this story a piece at a time with screen shots of his online accounts. Due to an extremely busy and erratic personal life recently, I am posting the third part of this story rather late.

This story seems to be pushing a few people's buttons. I have been contacted by email inappropriately by a senior Army officer seeking information. Here's the kicker, the senior officer was not seeking information about Chaplain McCoy's alleged behavior, or to have his email forwarded to the person who discovered Chaplain McCoy's online hobbies. No, he was seeking information that would identify my reader who found Chaplain McCoy online in various sex sites publicly exposing himself. A friend of the dear chaplain perhaps? I of course declined to give any information out about my reader.

I have previously discussed Chaplain McCoy's statements about unbelievers in an Army unit being the source of unit non productiveness and misfortune. Well, if you are going to throw stones at nonbelievers in the military, then you shouldn't live in a glass house. A bit cliche but true. Hence the continuation of this story.

Lesdeuxparfois seems to have a fondness for online camera action. Lets check out his groups. Here are more screenshots. I wonder if someone has video of his online sexcapades?

Wow, they really get around. If you google "lesdeuxparfois" you get all sorts of hits on sex sites for a couple ages 57 and 50 years old.

Be all you can be. Huuuyaaahhhh. HehHehHeh.

George Takei, My Hero

2010-11-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

HehHehHeh.

The Real McCoy, Part 2

2010-11-03T22:43:00.001-07:00

A friend of an acquaintance of mine using facial recognition software has determined that lesdeuxparfois is indeed Chaplain LTC William McCoy. People have commented on the fact that his denomination is gay friendly, so why am I exposing his swinging sexcapades online if I personally don't care if he is a swinger? Well, one good reason is that he is not friendly to non-believers at all in his published statements. I don't understand why others are willing to give him a pass on his bigotry towards non-believers as long as he doesn't denigrate people based on their race or sexual orientation. I guess some people just don't see religious supremacy at all, even if it is biting them in the ass.

I'm doing this because of McCoy's public statements regarding nonbelievers in the military. He has repeatedly stated that a unit's misfortunes, problems, and setbacks are directly caused by its non believing members. This incites hostility and is incompatible with a military composed of members of varying faiths and of no faith. There can be no unit cohesion if the unit is divided in such a manner. If non-believing members are blamed every time problems occur, how can this not divide a unit and cause tensions between members? If a chaplain is unable to counsel the military members in his unit, platoon, or squadron; then perhaps he should not be a military chaplain. Perhaps he should simply be a church pastor so that he will only encounter those whose beliefs he already agrees with.

This sorry episode has also illustrated that the scapegoating endemic to charismatic Christianity is crossing over to more moderate denominations. Quite a few denominations of charismatic Christianity scapegoat non members and those of differing beliefs as being "demon possessed". Now Chaplain McCoy's scapegoating is not quite as colorful as a Pentecostal Christian's scapegoating, but it is just as irrational.

God Using Cancer for Good?

2010-11-03T22:42:00.001-07:00

My mother in law has just survived lifesaving major surgery. My husband, daughter, and myself were on the shuttle to the hospital today and I heard the most jaw dropping bit of arrogance in a long time. At the front of the bus, one of the medical center's workers was talking to the bus driver. The man seemed to be a very in your face religious type.

The man's wife had divorced him some time back, but he was still wanting to get back together with her. He told the bus driver that she was diagnosed with cancer. And that "God was working in a mysterious and good way to bring his ex-wife back into his life because she needed his help." I kid you not, he actually said this.

I thought this was the most revolting and self centered thing I have heard in a long time. His ex wife may be dying from cancer and all he could think of was how he was feeling. How is getting a serious form of cancer good? What about what his ex-wife is going through? He seemed to not have any awareness of her as an individual apart from himself? What happens should she not survive? Is that too a "good" message from god?

If he was like this in the past, no wonder she divorced him. He also speculated out loud to the bus driver that his ex-wife was "angry at God." What an arrogant ass.

The Secret Lives of Atheists

2010-10-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

The dungeon reminds me of a certain chaplain.

The Real McCoy?

2010-10-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

Recently, a reader of this blog forwarded me quite an interesting email. I've spent sometime thinking whether or not I should post this story while I was researching and writing it. It seems that a particular Army chaplain and his wife may have a secret personal life. Apparently, someone found some very, very, sexy photos of US Army Chaplain Lt Col William McCoy online and recognized him as being a chaplain for the 21st TSC in Germany. Chaplain McCoy is an Evangelical Lutheran Chaplain.

LtCol William McCoy (from his Amazon blog)

The base newsletter does not mention Chaplain McCoy after May of 2009. Perhaps he is staying out of the limelight after the little dust up with Gen. Petreaus in September of 2008. This is covered here by Chris Rodda in the Huffington Post here and here. Most of his book is fluffy feel good Christianity, until the end of the book, where he starts hard selling Jesus. The book was advertised to be helpful for all military members, not just Christians. It was endorsed for this purpose by Gen Petraeus.

Someone has a yahoo login and is a member of some interesting yahoo groups.

A screenshot of yahoo account lesdeuxparfois.

The photo appears to be Chaplain Lt Col William McCoy. This person goes by the name lesdeuxparfois on various sex and swinger sites. Check it out yourself using ydetector. His avatar images change every so often. Evangelical Lutheran Chaplain by day, and swinger by night? Personally, I don't care who sleeps with who. But Chaplain McCoy has stated that those who don't believe in a God bring misfortune upon their unit mates. He publicly stated the following in his book, Under Orders: A Spiritual Handbook for Military Personnel :

"Belief in God is a foundational factor. Once you do away with God as a given truth, all other things are immediately affected by that. For instance, once God does not exist you suddenly have no reference to greatness outside of yourself, and no 'revelation' outside of yourself. The greatest thing in life suddenly becomes something or someone else, like yourself perhaps. ..."

Wow, what arrogance saying that those who don't believe in a god are somehow not as morally developed as himself. And this is supposed to be in a book for all military members? What about the 21% of military members that don't have a religious affiliation? Yeah, lets throw them under the bus in order to make the 79% fell better about themselves and give them scapegoats when problems occur. Well, Chaplain McCoy, perhaps you shouldn't live in a glass house when you throw stones like the following:

"Only my goodness can help me contribute to the betterment of my unit or team. When I realize that sin is an agent, I can more quickly identify my own tendency to corrupt a group and bring havoc to what needs cohesion and team confidence. My sin can also make my agenda more important than my unit's agenda and thus lead to unit failure."

Isn't cavorting around with others wives and partners considered a sin in Christianity? I just had to use the word, cavorting. Isn't he violating his oaths as a Lutheran Chaplain and military officer (UCMJ anyone?) by stepping out on his wife? Even if she doesn't care? And didn't Jesus really dislike hypocrites and liars in the Bible? According to the Chaplain's logic, his unit must really be quite a failure with this much sinning going on.

At Adult Friend Finder (watch out for malware).

Here is a quote about sinning from the Table of Contents, Chapter 7.

Fight the Real Fight. Sin is irrelevant in today's world, but it still makes its impression on each of us.

The age old problem of sin is undertaken in a way to enable the reader to understand it without defining sin for each person. Ultimately, there is no list of sins any greater than another list. We all have issues specific issues with regard to our sin both personally and judicially before God. We should realize that sin is normal and is the reason we are entitled to God's grace so freely. Without sin, we'd be perfect. It is part of our makeup and we must understand it to live better.

So we have to sin in order to get to heaven and to have a better life? Very interesting, a rationalization of why he needs to sin. Personally, I don't believe in the concept of sin myself. If swinging is okay for him and his wife, it's okay with me. But don't get up on your high horse and tell me you are a better person because you have faith in an unproven supernatural deity. You aren't any better than anyone else.

lesdeuxparfois explains his interests and hobbies at Passion.com (Click to enlarge images).

I really like his explanation of his interests, a real lounge lizard.

What types of sexual activities turn you on?
Giving Oral Sex, Threesomes, Mutual Masturbation, Voyeurism

Have you ever had cybersex?
I've done it so many times that I've forgotten how to type with two hands.

A more detailed profile.

Letting it all hang out. Thankfully dear reader, I've blurred it out.

The person who sent me the information alleges that Chaplain McCoy has made unwanted advances towards young trusting women in the past. If those who have been hurt by this man are willing to come forward with evidence, then I will certainly have more to write. But for now all I can say is that Chaplain McCoy is a complete hypocrite if he is indeed lesdeuxparfois. I invite the readers of this blog to checkout lesdeuxparfois yourself.

Chaplain McCoy is endorsed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), South Carolina Synod.

Update:

The lesdeuxparfois account has now been removed. Looks I struck a nerve. That was quick. Some people have asked if this account was for real. The account info said that the account was started in 2007 and was last accessed a few days before this post was published. I have many more screenshots of the account that I will be posting in the next few days.

For those who are questioning if this is the same person, look at the images of his face. It appears to be the same person. Notice a similar watch in both the clothed images from his Amazon blog and the nude headless photo. The profile information lists similar hobbies and interests. But the most interesting information that a couple of days after I posted this, lesdeuxparfois removed his account. If someone were trying to spoof an account to harm his reputation, why take it down so soon?

Another update:
Some of Chaplain McCoy's personal websites are being taken down. I have posted more information here.

Reference Information:

Personal website - (removed)

Radaris personal website

Book Bio on Amazon (removed) or here (removed)

base newsletter

picture in uniform

ydetector

More on Being a Dick

2010-08-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

From Scenes From a Multiverse by Jonathan Rosenberg

Phil Plait Says "Don't Be A Dick."

2010-08-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

Phil Plait - Don't Be A Dick from JREF on Vimeo.

Here is Phil's response to some of the criticism of the talk.

When I saw Phil's video, the main question running through my mind was "Who exactly is he speaking about?" I've never seen anyone in person simply be ugly and name call someone simply because they are religious. Is he talking about drive by comments on blogs or news stories in reply to someone's ignorant religious sayings? Or perhaps on his own blog? Or like numerous others am I getting the wrong message from Phil's talk? Perhaps he meant it as general advice, but it came out looking like he was personally slamming part of his audience and being a dick himself by calling them dicks. And why did Hal Bidlack get up an address everyone? Defensive much, Hal?

Everyone has beliefs that they probably shield from too much skepticism, but someone who calls themselves a skeptic should acknowledge that this is what they are doing. Martin Gardner was a religious skeptic who agreed and admitted that even though he believed in a god, there was no proof for said god's existence. He said that it even though there was no evidence, it made him happy. A theistic skeptic like Hal Bidlack would be a more honest skeptic if he would emulate Martin Gardner's attitude instead of trying to persuade skeptics to not be skeptical towards supernatural religious claims.

Phil did not give a very good definition of the word dick that he was using. It seems that being a dick is a condition where a person is does not act like Phil would in a given situation.

Some people are claiming I was saying we need to be milquetoasts. That’s ridiculous. I was very clear that anger has its place, that we need to be firm, and that we need to continue the fight.

Some were claiming they have a right to be dicks — I’m bemused by this, as of course you have that right. But that doesn’t mean it’s most effective, or that you should be one.

Others took issue with my initial question, asking how many people were "converted" to skepticism by having a skeptic yelling at them and insulting them. In fact, at least one person said that method does work and worked on them. That’s good for them, but given what we know about the way people argue and change their views on issues, the majority of people will become further entrenched when confronted in that way.

In other words, being a dick not only usually doesn’t work, it almost always works against the bigger goal of swaying the most people we can.

Perhaps I should have been more clear on what I mean by being a dick. I thought I had been clear, but a lot of people seem to think that I meant anyone who gets upset, or angry, or argues with emotion. I wouldn’t include satire in that category, or comedic work, or even necessarily using insults; tone and attitude count here. Think of it this way: when someone argues that way do you think to yourself, "What a dick"? I don’t; at least not necessarily. I think that way when the person belittles their opponent, uses obviously inflammatory language, or overly aggressively gets in their face.

Y’know. Being a dick.

Again, to be clear, I did not say we should back down when confronted. I did not say we should be weak against ignorance. I did not say we shouldn’t be angry. I did not say we should be passionless. In fact, I argued the exact opposite.

We need our anger, or strength, and our passion.

Matt Dillahunty over at Atheist Experience observes that Phil is making an argument from ignorance and is cherry picking.

First of all, who is Phil talking about? This seems a bit quixotic and exaggerated to me. Where are these people who scream in your face on behalf of skepticism? Where are these people whose primary tactic is to yell at someone and call them a retard? Since Phil didn't provide any examples to support the claim, we can only guess.

Secondly, this is a prime example of a straw man argument - setting up an issue that is easily toppled instead of the actual issue. Not only has he not provided specific examples, or demonstrated that this is a significant problem, he seems to be engaging in an extremely flawed informal poll (read: emotional appeal) to get his point across. The first question is a fair skeptical inquiry (have you changed your mind about something?). The second question is about as far from it as one can possibly stray.

If Phil had really wanted to discuss better ways of communicating skeptical views to others like he says in Part 1 of his reply, then perhaps he should have clarified himself further after Hal Bidlack got up and spoke.Personally, I enjoy reading or seeing exchanges where some bible thumping zealot gets taken down verbally. I also know some religious people who enjoy that sort of thing as well.

When talking to someone who has differing ideas, I don't attack their ideas directly. I find it more effective to make fun of the extreme in their religious institutions or its more extreme followers. This way we have a common ground in mocking the extreme example, and it may give the person something to think about later. I think that this has happened to a couple of people that I have known. But the process takes years. I also find that asking the right questions (going Socratic on their asses) and then not expecting an answer right away also may give someone food for thought.

Get Well Hitch

2010-08-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

I saw this tribute and get well video to Christopher Hitchens over at The Thinking Atheist. I was sorry to hear that he is being treated for esophageal cancer.

Get well soon Hitch, the world needs your eloquence.

The Amazing Spam Overload

2010-08-24T23:39:00.000-07:00

Blogger lately has been overrun with spam comments in most of the blogs. I've added a couple of new widgets to my sidebar. I have especially added a widget to display the last 10 comments, so I can see posts that are spammed with junk comments. Here is where I downloaded them from.

Pretty Flower Pictures

2010-05-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we made a drive along the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve and took a few pictures. I'm finally getting around to posting them.

Due to an El Nino current, southern California gets more moisture during the year, especially in the winter. This makes for a very good poppy year.

Lancaster's Little Red Scare

2010-04-12T23:21:00.001-07:00

Click on the above images to get a larger image.

Once again the local paper in Lancaster, California grabbed my eye as I was waiting in the drive through last week. Lancaster's city elections start at 7:00 AM tomorrow morning. It has been a very strange election season here in Antelope Valley. We have the current mayor, Rex Parris the wannabe theocrat, versus a handful of clueless competitors.

Mayor Parris has a very creepy ad campaign going on for this election. His placards all over over town state "Rex Paris, Our Mayor". Our Mayor who art in Lancaster? And his radio ads are even worse. He is portrayed as Lancaster's benevolent father figure who will take care of everyone. For their own good of course.

The above ads were not paid for by the local Democratic Party, but independently by one of its members. Here is a cached version of another Antelope Valley Press story of the incident a couple of days after the story above ran. I've reprinted the entire story as it no longer resides at the AV Press website.

Ex-candidate: 'Red' ads all my own doing
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Friday, April 2, 2010.
By BOB WILSON
Valley Press Staff Writer
LANCASTER - Former Democratic candidate Robert Davenport came forward Wednesday to claim sole responsibility for local TV commercials that criticize Mayor R. Rex Parris and his attempts to bring Chinese- or Taiwanese-funded jobs to the Antelope Valley.
The commercials, which encourage voters to cast ballots for mayoral challenger Arnold Rodio Jr., were created without Rodio's knowledge, said Davenport, who said he stands by the messages he funded himself. The ads were created by his media company.
Rodio also has denied any involvement with the ads, saying this past week he neither funded nor endorsed them, nor even knew they existed until questioned about them.
Parris disputed Rodio's statements, saying his election opponent could have repudiated the attack ads as soon as he learned about them.
Davenport's commercial messages assert that an influx of Communists from China into Lancaster could jeopardize the military projects and jobs at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 and Edwards Air Force Base.
Parris said Davenport's ads are "moronic" and "racist" because their creator doesn't understand the reality of what would happen if the city is successful in getting commerce from China to settle in Lancaster.
According to Davenport, "Bringing a few hundred Communist Chinese to live in Lancaster represents both a tremendous threat to national security as well as the potential impetus to lose several thousand good-paying local defense industry jobs that play a significant role in our national security.
"The high-tech, high-security-clearance jobs as well as the assembly, fabrication, engineering, and design jobs at and around Plant 42 and the Skunk Works could disappear as fast as the shuttle maintenance jobs that went to Florida a few years back" if potential spies are brought to Lancaster, Davenport said.
Parris said the goal of his recent trip to Asia was to attract funding for Lancaster business opportunities by Chinese and Taiwan investors.
In return for an investment of at least $1 million into a venture that creates at least 10 new jobs for American workers, an investor would be granted a permanent residency card by federal immigration officials, Parris said.
"It's EB-5 program, which means that if a person from a foreign country passes all the background checks, including, I presume, Homeland Security background checks, they are issued a green card," he said. "The foreign national who is putting the $1 million into the job creation doesn't even have to live in the EB-5 (jobs) area and usually does not.
"With the people we're talking to, the anticipated investment is in excess of $200 million, and so Arnie Rodio and Robert Davenport got together and figured out that meant 200 people were moving to the Antelope Valley, and it's the typical … thought process we see from these people," Parris said.
"They can talk until they're blue in the face about this having nothing to do with Arnie Rodio, but I'm telling you I do not believe it," Parris said.
In discussing his ads, Davenport said: "Here is a news flash for Mayor Parris and all other China appeasers out there: According to the current version of the Central Intelligence Agency's 'The World Factbook,' the government in China is a 'Communist state.'
"That Communist regime has robust espionage efforts aimed at our areas of strategic superiority, and they currently have nukes targeting the United States of America and our military units overseas," Davenport said.
"That Communist state is developing an anti-ship missile that will potentially render our surface Navy - which includes all the sailors and Marines who serve therein as well as our multi-billion-dollar, nuclear-powered super carriers - an endangered species," he said.
Parris said allowing foreign money to create jobs for Lancaster residents would do nothing to jeopardize the future of America's armed forces.
"If there was any danger to our country, (American investor) Warren Buffet would not have bought 10% of BYD," a firm with which the city is doing business, Parris said.
"I will rely on Warren Buffet before I rely on Mr. Davenport," he said.
"It is absolutely racist, derogatory and demeaning to the entire Antelope Valley for him and Arnie Rodio to be saying this," the mayor said. "This is saying anybody who is from China is a Communist, and that's racism.
"The entire time I was over there, I never met anybody who said they were a Communist. It's like saying everybody from the United States is a Democrat." Parris said.
"Make no mistake: What (Davenport) is doing is absolutely anti-Chinese, regardless of whether they are from Taiwan or from the mainland, " he said.
Davenport said the characterization of his ads as racist was "laughably immature."
Having Parris label them as such "almost defies both reason and logic," Davenport said. "I say 'almost' because it is an old, overused, ineffective trial-lawyer tactic to try and discredit the messenger when the facts enumerated by the messenger are airtight.
"The images used (in the ads) came from actual footage shot by the Chinese at political celebrations sponsored by the totalitarian Communist regime that controls the ironically named 'People's Republic' of China with an iron fist," Davenport noted.
"If Mayor Parris and the Communists he pals around with and wants to have as business partners thought everyone here was going to welcome them with open arms and blank minds into a region of America that plays a vital role in our national defense, they were absolutely wrong," he said. "I believe most Americans are like me: Proud, hard-working capitalists that are strongly anti-Communist.
"I would dare say that Communism is the modern-day moral equivalent of slavery," he said.
"Communists are not good employers or responsible business partners. They do not follow environmental or work place safety standards. They do not take care of their employees or produce superior products," Davenport continued, referencing reports about 153 Chinese workers now trapped in a mine in Shanxi province.
In addition, the Chinese business owners "have flooded the international market with cheap products that have caused the loss of 2.4 million American manufacturing jobs," Davenport said. "The fact that China has been able to control a significant portion of the world economy by currency manipulation and using what is in effect slave labor is why we should resist further enrichment of their totalitarian Communist regime.
"We certainly should not try to reason with them and make them economic partners in (a city near) the heart of America's high-tech aviation arsenal," he said.
Parris said none of Davenport's arguments have anything to do with reality.
"This is such incredible nonsense. It has nothing to do with bringing jobs to Lancaster," the mayor said. "We're talking about creating jobs in Lancaster with Chinese companies. If Arnie Rodio was wearing underwear made in China, does that make him a Communist?"
As for Davenport's remark about his profession, Parris said, "I am more proud of becoming a trial lawyer than anything else I've ever accomplished.
"I've protected injured people from powerful insurance companies for more than 30 years, and it's not something I'm ashamed of," he said.
In explaining his commercials, Davenport challenged Parris to reveal prior to the city's April 13 election any measures "he has already implemented in his proposed deals with the Communists to protect America's national security interests.
"If he has none and cannot immediately produce concrete, tangible, agreed-upon language approved by the federal government, which is responsible for U.S. foreign policy, I would suggest that it definitively demonstrates the lack of ability, lack of foresight and poor judgment of the leadership team in Lancaster that is pursuing this dangerous misadventure," Davenport said.
Parris again noted that the EB-5 program is administered by federal officials, and the city is pursuing its new investments under that program.
All of Davenport's reasons have been posted on Internet chat sites by supporters of Rodio's candidacy, Parris continued.
"Word for word, what he's told you has been on the blogs written by Denise Latanzi supporting Arnie Rodio three weeks ago. Let's just recognize this political mud-slinging for what it is," Parris said.
Latanzi, who ran for office on a slate with Rodio in 2008, said Parris "is absolutely, unequivocally wrong."
"I'll go one step further: I do not know Robert Davenport. I do not have cable. I had not seen the commercials against Parris until they were posted on the blog, and I have not seen Robert Davenport's response," Latanzi said.
"This is particularly irritating to me because I would not know Robert Davenport if he was standing right next to me," she said.
bwilson@avpress.com

Wow, just wow. Lancaster is just in its own bizarre little universe. You have a Republican, Rex Parris, who is an authority worshiper courting Chinese business opportunities (probably for personal gain), and his opponents, the local Democrats, who are starting up their own little Red Scare.

This has been one of the strangest elections I've seen in awhile. Unfortunately the Get Rex Parris Out of Lancaster Facebook page is gone (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Get-Parris-Out-of-Lancaster/342591791075?ref=nf). It was a great source of inside gossip about city business. The page covered the following topics and much more:

Rex Parris's dealings with local developers.
Rex Parris deciding that he did not want a motorcycle gang to stay at a local motel, so he used a very cozy relationship with the LA county sheriff's dept to close the motel down for being late on its taxes.
Since Rex Parris doesn't like pitbulls he pushed an ordinance through banning the ownership of pitbulls in Lancaster.
Rex Parris routinely cuts off and derides Lancaster citizens when they disagree with him at City Council meetings.
Involving his church, Lancaster Baptist Church, in daily city business, especially the Community Houses planned for poor neighborhoods.
Paying for religious meetings with city money and personnel until he was caught red handed.
Sponsoring the "Prayer Initiative" up for vote tomorrow, regardless of the advice of the city's attorney, who advised that the measure would make the city open to lawsuits.
Having the LA County Sheriff's Department pick up and dump homeless people in neighboring communities, so he could claim the homeless population is down in Lancaster.
Personal vendettas against city personnel who don't agree with him.
Speculation about his son's flirtation with white supremacy.

A lot of crazy behavior from "Our Mayor".

Lancaster Candidates on the Prayer Initiative

2010-04-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

The Antelope Valley Press March 29th edition discussed the mayoral candidate's views on the Prayer Measure that will be decided on the April 13 election. Here are the candidate's views:

Q: How do you plan to vote on the "Prayer Initiative" (officially known as Measure I) allowing clergy to chose whether or not to mention Jesus Christ in their invocations before council meetings?

GENE GAYNOR: I have no problem since the measure allows for any clergy to offer themselves for the initial prayer.

But what are the odds that a god other that Abraham's god would be allowed? After all, this is the town where sheriff's deputies openly supported people who harassed a Pagan store that tried to open several years ago.

ARNOLD RODIO: I strongly support a person's right to pray as they see fit. However, the City attorney has stated in a City council meeting that the current policy is illegal. I believe that this could have been resolved without the political posturing.

Parris's opponent doesn't seem to say much here.

R. REX PARRIS: As most people know by now, I not only plan on voting yes, I have campaigned for passage of this initiative and consider it critical that our community overwhelmingly show that we believe in freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The question as phrased above, is inaccurate. The initiative actually protects prayer to any deity, including Jesus Christ, as dictated by the prayer giver's faith. The threat delivered to the city by the Americal Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) specifically sought to exclude any mention of Jesus Christ in prayer, hence the actual wording of the initiative.

And again, what are the odds that other gods would be allowed? This is the mayor who only asks evangelical Christian ministers to pray at city council meetings. And put the tab for the Christian state of the city address on the city's tab. When this was found out, he quickly paid for it himself.

DAVID TALBOT: No city ballot initiative can overturn the Constitution of the United States, so it doesn't matter how anyone votes, only that we will be sued with no insurance to cover the cost for sure if it passes and likely anyway if it doesn't.

I certainly agree with this candidate.

LYLE TALBOT: "I" don't attend religious services, so I'll leave it to those who do.

I suppose he could be one of us, but wouldn't he have to sit though some Jesus meetings himself?

Lancaster's Would-Be King

2010-04-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Lancaster is a moderately sized city located north of Los Angeles, CA. Lancaster has been recently in the news due to remarks made by its mayor, Rex Parris. Parris told a gathering of Christian ministers that he was transforming Lancaster into a "Christian community". Parris has been in the news a lot recently, especially with how he handled having to apologize publicly about the "Christian community" comments. Of course this is conveniently in time for the April 13th city elections.

On February 9th, the Antelope Valley Press ran with a large headline, "Mayor Parris: I Sincerely Apologize". Parris then made a complete spectacle of himself by having a press conference and inviting all of the local religious leaders (but of course no nonreligious persons or groups were invited) and the press. According to the AV Press:

Mayor R. Rex Parris issued an unequivocal apology to groups of any faith and all faiths who he said might have felt excluded by his remarks 12 days earlier to Christian ministers about "growing a Christian community."

"It was a week and a half ago that I spoke to the Christian ministerial association and said that I wanted to grow a Christian community", he said during a city hall news conference. "But in talking to my friends of 30 years, it was clear that a lot of people felt excluded."

I don't know the mayor and his "friends" personally, but if he were friends with a lot of non-Christians for a lot of years, wouldn't he be a little more sensitive and try not to push Christian supremacy and privilege so much?

The Antelope Valley Human Rights task Force voted unanimously Monday night to send strong letters of condemnation to Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris and Councilwoman Sherry Marquez over their recent comments about the Christian and Muslim religions.

According to the same article, Rex Parris did not attend this meeting, perhaps because the people who attended were not so willing to climb so far up his ass?

There was a very interesting article in the March 15th AV Press, "Not-so-secret contractor exits sky-spy project". According to the paper, L-3 Communications was developing the sensors for the Sky Sentinel project. This project would have an unmanned aircraft flying over Lancaster, observing everything in sight. L-3 Communications routinely conduct business with secret contracts. While this may be required for secret US government 3 letter agencies, it's hardly appropriate for a California city to do so in violation of California law.

L-3 abruptly pulled out of Lancaster's Sky Sentinel project, probably because their lawyer advised them to do so to avoid being in violation of California state law. And this raises the questions, "Why does Lancaster need sophisticated, highly classified sensors for routine police business? Who does Rex Parris want to watch?

The saga continues here.

Who Would Jesus Shoot? Part 3

2010-03-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

This is my last installment in this series. My last post continued the story about the Jesus rifle scopes in use by the US Army and the US Marines. Since then, there have been many stories about this incident in the press. But despite the coverage of the Bible verses on the rifle scopes, almost nothing has been done by the US military to fix the problem.

According to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, they have received many complaints from soldiers and marines about the scopes remaining unchanged. The few modification kits made by the maker of the scopes were applied to scopes that are not being used in the field. The military commanding officers seem to be completely missing the point of the soldier's complaints. The soldiers were complaining that having a "Jesus" scope needlessly put their lives in even more danger.

Chris Rodda from the blog, Talk2Action, has posted one of the letters MRFF has received from a soldier describing how the Bible verses on the scope are causing some friction with the local Afghan population. Here is the letter:

I am a United States soldier currently deployed to Afghanistan. I am a practicing Baptist and my wife is too. My cobat [sic] unit is currently engaged in major combat operations in the southern provinces of Afghanistan. I am of junior enlisted rank and my fellow soldiers (most of them to my knowledge being Christians, too) and I are at the bottom of the chain of command. Many, many native Afghan civilians and especially the Afghan military members here are well aware of the "Jesus rifles" controversy which was covered aall over the place by the news services back in the middle of January of this year. It makes them very, very mad at America and our military. They constantly ask us if we are still using these "Jesus rifles". They ask us to see for themselves what is written on our gunsights. Wherever we go these same questions come up almost immediately. Not all the native Afghans ask them but enough of them do that my fellow soldiers in my company and even my battalion have asked our military chain of command about what we're supposed to say to them when asked. This has been a mess. We've been told to "shut the fuck up" and to "tell them that it's none of their damn business 'cause we're there to save them from Islam (yes, ISLAM!)". We've even been told to explain Christianity to them and use it as "an opening to enlighten them." Yes, those exact words! We all heard that there were supposed to be "100 kits" which the company that put the bible references on our gunsights were going to be sending to the military right away to "fix" the "problem". When my fellow soldiers and I have asked our chain of command about this fact, we've been told that "that was just to shut up the traitors in the media and the bleeding heart groups". Our chain of command really hates the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and blames it for all of this mess in the first place. If any of them knew that any of us were talking to the Military Religious Foundation about this problem here, it would be over for us and our families immediately. It's not just embarrassing to have these "Jesus rifles" with us but it's also a serious security threat to all of us. When we walk into an Afghan village trying to determine whether it's "friend or foe" regarding the Taliban etc. and they ask us right off the bat if we are using the "Jesus rifles" it is a VERY BAD way to start out considering our combat mission. We want the bible stuff off of our gunsights. We feel it makes us targets. We want them off now! When are we EVER going to see one of those "100 fix kits" which were supposed to be sent out? None of us here feel we can even raise the subject again with our chain of command because we risk being identified as a "problem child" and when you're fighting a war like this one here that can get you in alot of trouble; it can get you killed.

So it's business as usual for the Pentagon, just ignore the problem and let more soldiers die needlessly. For more information about this situation, MRFF's February newsletter and March Archives cover this situation as well as the large cross left at the Air Force Academy's Pagan area.

Welcome to "Christian" Lancaster, CA

2010-01-28T22:23:00.000-08:00

Click on the above images to see a readable size.

I was on my way to work this morning and saw the above story in paper in the newspaper rack at the drive-thru window. Needless to say, I was intrigued by the title and bought a paper. I read the story and I'm sure my mouth fell open several times as Lancaster, CA mayor Rex Parris was revealed to be a complete nut job. Later, in the morning I shared the story with my cube-mate who lives in Lancaster. She was horrified as she read the story and said "I voted for the man, but didn't realize he was such a nutcase." Another coworker, who is pretty religious, said her pastor attended the meeting and was shocked by the mayor's statements.

I'll post the complete story from the Antelope Valley Press, along with my comments from each section. I don't usually post a complete story, but in this case I'm commenting on all sections of the story. Here is the story on their website.

Parris Touts City as a "Christian" Community
Mayor's address focuses on crime, culture, green energy
By Gerry Price
Valley Press City Editor/Assignments

LANCASTER - Mayor R. Parris sees his city as strongly Christian, and he's proud of that.

"We're growing a Christian community, and don't let anybody shy away from that," he told an audience of 160 people, mainly pastors and their spouses, during his State of the City address Tuesday at the John P. Eliopulos Hellenic Center.

He said he wants the community's electorate to validate a Christian stance in the April municipal election, in which a ballot measure endorses prayers at city meetings, specifically with permission to invoke a specific deity, including Jesus.

How can this possible be anything but divisive? The mayor wants a "Christian city". What does this even mean? Does he want a higher percentage of Christians living in the city? Or does he want a town run by Christians for Christians? And if this is supposed to be a city run meeting, why is the audience mainly Christian pastors and their wives? What about switching the word "Christian" to "White", then the bigotry is instantly obvious.

While Parris, who is running a second term as mayor in April, sail he didn't care which candidates the voters favored. "I do want them voting for that prayer amendment," referring to a measure asking voters whether or not the City Council should seek religious guidance before its meetings.

The council put the measure on the ballot after the American Civil Liberties Union sent the city a letter of warning that said allowing "sectarian" prayers, such as those that mention Jesus Christ, at governmental meetings is divisive and unconstitutional.

"I need them standing up and saying we're a Christian community, and we're proud of that", he said, speaking of his multimedia Powerpoint presentation flashed a big-screen picture with a large Christian cross and and the phrase "Growing a Christian Community."

Currently the ACLU is suing the city of Lancaster for the use of sectarian prayers before city council meetings. But even worse in addition to the sectarian prayers, Mayor Parris has also limited the denomination as well. Only a couple of pastors are allowed give the prayer.
[Correction - Currently the ACLU has not sued the city of Lancaster yet. They are waiting to see if the ballot measure allowing sectarian prayers passes.]

If the measure passes, hundreds of residents should petition petition the city to allow them to pray in the name of various deities. That would be hilarious. How can they possibly turn someone down without making it obvious the city prefers only Christian prayers? Personally I prefer the goddess Bastet, since I love cats.

Asked afterward whether his talk of being a "Christian community" tends to leave out or anger residents who are not Christians, the mayor said he doesn't mean to exclude anyone.

Noting that he had a meeting scheduled that evening with members of a local gay and lesbian organization, Parris said "My vision of it is not a vision of exclusion. It’s a vision of attraction. I understand for so long it had an exclusionary feet to it. That doesn't mean we shouldn't do it. We should remove the exclusionary aspect to it."

The mayor says he wants a Christian community and says he can't see how that is divisive. What a crock of shit. How can stating a Christian community is better than a community that is not exclusively Christian not be insulting and divisive? It's like when Christians advertise they would like to talk to the "lost". How can this be anything but insulting?

Parris maintained in post speech remarks that a Christian city had a better sense of community that an "atheistic city", and said that the progress Lancaster has made over the past several years came about because of the sensor of cooperation between the various elements in the city.

What the hell is an "atheistic" city? Some place in North Korea or China? Or the former Soviet Union? Certainly no place here in the United States that I know of. Or perhaps he is talking about some city that is not expressively Christian? It's like when some Christians refer to anything non-Christian as "atheistic". Or perhaps he is confusing a neutral stance of not mixing government and religion as "atheistic"?

As a prime example, he referred to the recently announced 31% drop in the Lancaster crime rate in the last two years, commenting, "That 31% is the difference between a city that is dangerous to live in vs. a city that is safe to live in."

Despite the best efforts of the Sheriff's Department, that drop wouldn't have occurred without the cooperation of all the city's departments and its citizenry, Parris said.

"It was all of us coming together," he said.

What's with all of the statistics? References please, Mayor. I've spent time in places where the crime rate was low, a lone woman could walk around freely at midnight and never be disturbed. But these are places I would never live in. For in those places, there is little to no freedom to speak and write as one pleases.

Parris praised the jump from 118 active Neighborhood Watch groups in 2008 to 192 in 2009, and an even greater hike in involvement in Business Watch.

Other city-led actions took a large step to reduce what he called "hyper vigilance" of youth, which led them to become vulnerable to gang involvement.

Specifically, by allowing graffiti, truancy, roving pit bulls, and gangs to proliferate, we were putting our children in harm's way, Parris said.

To that end, the city:
Cleaned up graffiti in 18,114 locations in 2009.
Removed 1,034 pit bulls from city streets during that same time frame.
Paris also touted the planned Voyager Sky Sentinel project, which will allow a Sheriff's Department official to keep an eye on crime from above the city from some 8,000 feet above the ground.

He noted that, during one demonstration of the aircraft, the brainchild of aviation pioneer Dick Rutan, he was able to see every detail of an accident or crime in real time.

He discounted any idea of the plane infringing on the privacy of law abiding individuals, noting, "This device will not do anything a current (Sheriff's Department) helicopter can't do.

At the same time, by using the aircraft "we'll be able to utilize services like we've never done before."

I honestly believe we're on the way to becoming the safest city in America," Parris said, despite the many reasons that shouldn't happen, including the city's proximity to a state prison and the high number of parolees in the community.

I'm almost beyond words at this. All I can think of is the quote by Benjamin Franklin, "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security." The mayor has strayed far, far from the American vision of our founders.

The mayor also praised the introduction of Community Impact Homes in the community.

The first two, one near Piute Middle School and the other in the Trend tract, are run by personnel from Grace Chapel and Central Christian Church.

Parris said, "We're not putting churches (running neighborhood houses) in every impoverished neighborhood. I'd like to put them up in every neighborhood.

The mayor also said he would like to have health workers operate out of the community houses.

I would like to see how these houses are financed. Are the churches renting them? Can only Christian groups rent them? Here is a video of the dedication of the Trend Community House.

The video starts off with the mayor, Rex Parris telling of his vision of overworked parents being helped (or preyed upon) by a house in every neighborhood run by an evangelical Christian church. If the Evangelical Churches are renting these houses, can't other groups rent as well. The Satanist Community House would be one happening place, with large pentagrams in the windows, and heavy metal blasting the neighborhood. Or a Rastafarian house, with mighty clouds of pot smoke drifting over the neighborhood. HehHehHeh. Perhaps the AV Freethinkers can get a house as well.

Then the mayor hands the podium over to a Pastor Dave Prather from the Central Christian Church, with the remark "Now he is responsible for an entire neighborhood." WTF? If I lived in that neighborhood, I would be insulted at the patronizing tone. No one is responsible for me but myself.

Pay attention at 4:15 in the video where Concepcion Harris says "We're here to transform the neighborhood for Christ. That's what we're here to do." And the mayor wants one of these in every neighborhood? Holy Church-State entanglement, Batman. Talk about preying upon those too poor to afford decent daycare.

Also notice the cross symbol. Apparently, this is the new city symbol for Lancaster CA. Lancaster's previous symbol was a California Poppy, representing the California Poppy Reserve west of the town. I've noticed the new symbol the last year or two. I liked the poppy better. It was much nicer and more representative of the city. Interesting note, the video is no longer hosted at the city's website. I found it on Youtube and downloaded a copy for myself.

He also said that on Sundays, church buses should be stopping at homes in all the neighborhoods to take children to church.

You mean these buses? The mayor is probably a member of Lancaster Baptist Church. I've done some searching, but he never comes out and says which church he is a member of. But the Lancaster Baptist Church always seems to be involved in city business. (I've heard this from some friends.) I also have a vision of surveillance drones busily flying over the city on Sunday morning, searching for those children not going to Sunday school.

Another area the mayor praised was the city's support for the arts, especially in the development of Lancaster Boulevard as a mecca for artists and patrons of the arts, and as a place for fine dining.

Noting the opening of the Brooklyn Deli and Giannini Bistro and the upcoming opening of BeX, the mayor bragged, "Pretty soon, when you go out to eat, you'll be going to Lancaster Boulevard. They'll have better restaurants than the (Antelope Valley) Mall, and more fun, too."

Upon revealing a slide titles "Alternative Energy Capital of the World," Parris said a Monday meeting between a foreign company and a "major home builder" will lead to the construction of 10 of the most energy efficient homes in the world within the next year.

Touting the "best sun in the world" and the Valley's nearly constant winds as wonderful sources of green energy, Parris said a planned trip to China will allow him to meet with representatives of a major company that builds batteries designed to store green energy.

The mayor also said the city hopes to be announcing that 6,000 to 10,000 new jobs will be coming in the near future.

Other statistics cited by Parris were a 36% drop in fatal collisions from 2008 to 2009, the elimination of 5,421 illegal dump sites during 2009, and the repair of 24,129 pot holes in that time frame.

Managing Editor Charles F. Bostwick contributed to this report.

The above sounds like the city has neglected large problems for a long time, then suddenly realized how bad things were. The mayor sure seems to like bragging about himself a lot. How exactly did the city reduce the number of fatal collisions?

This photo was taken the day before at a city council meeting where city council woman Sherry Marquez had to defend statements she made about Muslims on her Facebook page.

Do a search for Mayor Rex Parris on Google and check out the craziness. He seems to have the jobs of mayor and theocratic dictator confused.

Story continues here.

Who Would Jesus Shoot? Part 2

2010-01-23T00:38:00.000-08:00

Part 1 of this story consists of the ruckus that was raised when ABC "discovered" the Bible references on Trijicom's rifle sights that were sold to the US Army and US Marine Corps. The decision by Trijicom to place bible references on scopes used in a predominantly Muslim country was a bad decision. But what was even worse were the decisions by the US Army and the US Marine Corps to allow these verses on the scopes and purchase them anyway. It seems the upper brass consists mainly of blinkered Christians unaware that not everyone follows Christianity.

Chris Rodda posts a letter sent to MRFF from a Muslim soldier about what happened in his unit when they received these weapons. I'm reposting the letter in it's entirety here as well.

To: Mikey Wenstein [sic] and MRFF:

I am a U.S. Army infantry soldier with the rank of (rank withheld). I am married with children. I am stationed at Fort (installation name withheld). I have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times. I have been awarded medals for direct combat engagement as well as for injuries and wounds received in hand-to-hand combat. I am a Muslim American. My family converted when I was very young. I am caucasian and have a last name that does not sound ethnic. Therefore, few of my fellow soldiers know that I am a Muslim. My wife comes from a Christian tradition but rarely practices or attends church. I have witnessed terrible religious persecution in the my (number withheld) years in the Army. Most of it comes from "angry" conservative Christians in my unit chains of command and occasionally from my fellow infantry soldiers. I am very familiar with the Trijicon ACOG gunsights and have often had them as part of my personal weapons; both my M-4 and my M-16. In my first 2 deployments I saw and experienced no incidents regarding the New Testament bible quotes that are written on the metal casing of the gun sights. Many soldiers know of them and are very confused as to why they are there and what it is supposed to mean. Everyone is worried that if they were captured in combat that the enemy would use the bible quotes against them in captivity or some other form of propaganda. As an American soldier I am ashamed that those bible quotes are on our primary weapons. As a Muslim American I am horrified. As one who swore his oath to the Constitution, I am driven to fight this Christian insanity but I know if I try to do so in a visible way that I will suffer at the hands of my military superiors. I am of low enlisted rank and can be crushed easily. I am prepared to suffer, but I am not prepared for my wife and children to suffer. So I have reached out to MRFF because there is nowhere else safe to go to try to fight this thing of disgrace. There are many other soldiers who feel as I do. Many are Protestant and Catholic and they fear reprisal just as much as I do for trying to stand up to the Christian bullies in uniform who outrank us. But if you try to fight back, you are not "asking" for trouble, YOU ARE IN TROUBLE from the start. And if you are a Muslim American, the hatred is always just below the surface and ready to explode at a moment's notice. After the Fort Hood shootings, it was so bad, even for a low profile Muslim like me, that I had to ask MRFF for help.

Nothing in my first 2 deployments prepared me for what happened with the Trijicon ACOG gun sights during my 3rd deployment to Afghanistan. I will never forget the day it occurred. It was morning and there was a mandatory formation of several companies. A very senior NCO was yelling at us which is not that unusual. He asked a private what it was that he (the private) was holding in his hand and the private said it was his "weapon" several times to which the senior NCO replied "and what ELSE is it"? FInally, the senior NCO said that the private's rifle was also something else; that because of the biblical quote on the ACOG gunsight it had been "spiritually transformed into the Fire Arm of Jesus Christ" and that we would be expected to kill every "haji" we could find with it. He said that if we were to run out of ammo, then the rifle would become the "spiritually transformed club of Jesus Christ" and that we should "bust open the head of every haji we find with it." He said that Uncle Sam had seen fit not to give us a "pussy `Jewzzi' (combination of the word `Jew' and Israeli made weapon `Uzi') but the "fire arm of Jesus Christ" and made specific mention of the biblical quotes on our gun sights. He said that the enemy no doubt had quotes from the Koran on their guns but that "our Lord is bigger than theirs because theirs is a fraud and an idol". As a Muslim and an American soldier I was fit to be tied but I kept it in. There were many Afghans, both civilian and military, on base within earshot of what was being yelled at us and I can only wonder in shock what they must have thought. This senior NCO was apparently also the head person of a conservative, crazy Christian group called the "Christian Military Fellowship" and made a big deal about the importance of joining to everyone. He told us all that we MUST read a book called "Under Orders" in order to make it through this combat deployment and said he had many copies for everyone. Some of my friends went and got their copies. I refused. Finally, this senior NCO ended his yelling by warning us that if we did not "get right with Jesus" then our rifles would not provide spiritual strength despite the bible quotes on our ACOG gunsights and that we would be considered "spiritual cripples" to our fellow units and soldiers. He didn't say it in so many words, but the message was clear; if anything bad happened in a combat situation, it would be the fault of anyone who had not accepted Jesus Christ in the "right way". I have never felt so ashamed and scared in my life. I have never hated myself so much for not speaking out. So I thought of my wife and children and endured. Every time I looked at my rifle with that Trijicon ACOG gunsight/scope with the biblical quote from the book of John (8:12), it would make me sick. If I had tried to protest, it would have made me dead. And if I'm dead I'm of no use to my wife and children.

I've highlighted the parts that especially convey how the average soldier realizes the dangers that Christianizing the military puts on individual soldiers. Not only "In harms way" but now "Stupidly put in even more harm's way for no reason."

This letter shows the harm of mixing religion with government, especially the military. Even something so small emboldens the theocrats, who then claim they are vindicated by the verse on the equipment.

Part 3 will discuss the furious backpeddling by the military and Trijicom once the story hit the national news.

Who Would Jesus Shoot? Part 1

2010-01-22T22:03:00.001-08:00

This past week ABC News presented a story, U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret "Jesus" Bible Codes. It turns out on further reading the title was not very accurate. The Bible reference was not very secret and was not a code. The US Military contracted with Trijicon to supply them with sights for various rifles. The founder of Trijicon, Glyn Bindon, was a very devout Christian who was killed in a plane crash in 2003.

Trijicon makes the ACOG sight which is considered by many soldiers to be one of the best sights purchasedby the government. They have been putting serial numbers on them consisting of standard biblical reference numbers. This has been known for years by soldiers out in the field, even though the US Army and Marine Corps have said they were unaware of this.

Looking at Trijicon's website, there is this curious statement "• Morality - We believe that America is great when its people are good. This goodness has been based on biblical standards throughout our history and we will strive to follow those morals." They don't seem to realize that the founding document for the United States, the Constitution, has no references to God or the Bible in it.

Go here for the ABC Niteline news report on the story.

Here are a few examples of the serial numbers on the scopes, more images are located here:

Trijicon's Reflex scope, which according to the company, is "the fastest, most user-friendly gunsight in the field." According to Trijicon, "the U.S. Special Operations Command has designated the Trijicon Reflex as a vital part of the…Accessory Kit fielded by all Special Operations Forces. This scope is imprinted with the marking "2COR4:6", a reference to the second book of Corinthians in the New Testament, Chapter 4, Verse 6. The verse reads: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (King James Version) (ABC News)

At the end of the scope's model number, you can read "JN8:12", which is a reference to the New Testament book of John, Chapter 8, Verse 12, which reads: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (King James Version) (ABC News)

In addition to the above images ABC News also shows Iraqi soldiers training with the scopes. What do they think of this? And wouldn't this further inflame tensions in the area and give AlQaeda more ammunition for claims that the US is on some sort of religious crusade? It seems that religion has blinded the company management of Trijicom to common sense. Since these scopes have been in use for sometime, how can the US military not know this has been going on? And what about reports of Christian commanders in the US Army bragging that the weapons are "spiritually transformed by the Lord Jesus Christ"?

Trijicon confirmed to ABCNews.com that it adds the biblical codes to the sights sold to the U.S. military. Tom Munson, director of sales and marketing for Trijicon, which is based in Wixom, Michigan, said the inscriptions "have always been there" and said there was nothing wrong or illegal with adding them. Munson said the issue was being raised by a group that is "not Christian." The company has said the practice began under its founder, Glyn Bindon, a devout Christian from South Africa who was killed in a 2003 plane crash.

Why should it matter that the group, MRFF, that has been raising this issue along with a host of other more egregious problems is "not Christian"? Don't non-Christians have the same rights to speak and raise complaints as Christians" Are Christians some how more human or superior than non-Christians? What a bigoted jerk. According to Rob Boston of Americans United, it depends upon who is doing the speaking for the US military if there is a problem or not.

I was shocked, however, to read the military's response to the matter. Air Force Maj. John Redfield, the spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, told the News, "This situation is not unlike the situation with U.S. currency. Are we going to stop using money because the bills have `In God We Trust' on them? As long as the sights meet the combat needs of troops, they'll continue to be used."
Let's be clear: This situation is not like "In God We Trust" on the money. That "civil religion" affirmation - problematic as it may be from a church-state perspective -- is not the same as a symbolic military embrace of one particular faith. When U.S. troops use weapons inscribed with passages from the New Testament, it's an endorsement of Christianity, and it sends the false message to the world that the United States is a Christian country.
Thankfully, some military officials seem to understand that there is a problem. Capt. Geraldine Carey, a Marine Corps spokeswoman, told the Associated Press, "We are aware of the issue and are concerned with how this may be perceived." Carey said Marine Corps officials will meet with Trijicon to discuss the matter.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. These Christians at Trijicom are so blinded by evangelical fervor, they cannot see the harm they are doing to the soldiers they claim they are interested in protecting.

Part 2 continues the discussion and shows an example of the harm these "harmless" references can cause.

They're At It Again

2009-12-20T19:31:00.001-08:00

Well I thought I was through posting for the year, but this story by Chris Rodda grabbed my attention. Wheel of Fortune was hosting a Heroes's Week and one of the contestants decided to take the opportunity to announce to the world that he was a "Undersea Nuclear Christian Warrior". My jaw drops in amazement that such a clown is commanding a US Navy nuclear submarine.

Posts on message boards and Twitter confirm that the writer of this email heard correctly. As unbelievable as it sounds, Cmdr. Steve Cincotta, a submarine commander stationed at Navy Mine Anti-Submarine Warfare Command in San Diego, did, in fact, embarrass himself and the entire U.S. Navy by identifying himself on national TV as an "undersea nuclear Christian warrior," and MRFF certainly will be responding swiftly!

I'd hate to be stationed on this pious asshole's ship. But I have a similar tale of Dominionist attempts to hijack this nation's nuclear capability. When I was a young Lieutenant in the US Air Force, stationed at Peterson AFB, I heard stories from some older enlisted members about earlier attempts to take over the nation's nuclear forces.

I heard that in the late 1970's, some SAC officers were attending some extremely fundamentalist churches. On one occasion it was rumored that one of these officers mentioned that he would follow "God's Word" instead of his orders. The person who told me this story had the opinion that "God's Word" was really "Fundy Pastor's Word". Afterward some of these officers were quietly removed from the silos and stationed elsewhere. After all, the control of this nation's nuclear response should not be in the hands of someone who is convinced he personally is at the right hand of God.

It looks like the Dominionists would love to have their hands on the nuclear trigger. This should be ringing some alarm bells in the Pentagon if they have any sense at all anymore.

Happy Monkey 2009

2009-12-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Monkey Everyone. This is my last post for 2009. It has been an very hectic and wonderful year. May everyone have a great holiday and a wonderful New Year.

Our Local Meetup Group Makes the Local Paper

2009-11-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Darwin's On the Origin of the Species, the Antelope Valley Freethinkers had Dr. Matthew Rainbow present an overview of evolution for our members. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend due to an unforeseen family issue. The Antelope Valley Press covered the meeting and wrote an article about our group. I don't normally post an entire article, but the paper usually removes the web version after a week, so I'm posting it before it is removed.

Locals look at Darwin's book 150 years on
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Monday, November 23, 2009. By JULIE DRAKE
Valley Press Staff Writer

LANCASTER - This year marks the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth. November also marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's "On the Origin of the Species." The book introduced the theory that organisms evolve over the course of generations through the process of natural selection.
To celebrate, the Antelope Valley Freethinkers group scheduled a Darwin discussion and luncheon on Sunday for their monthly get-together. Club president David Dionne said they chose to celebrate the anniversary because Darwin's book is one of the most important and influential scientific works in history.
Club member Matthew Rainbow, an AVC biology professor with a Ph.D. in molecular biology and biochemistry, was the featured speaker. Rainbow said that in the history of science, Darwin is even more dangerous than Nicolaus Copernicus and the even more dangerous Sir Isaac Newton. He noted that Copernicus removed man's home - Earth - from the center of the universe.
"Darwin ratcheted it up a little, he did an even more serious thing," Rainbow said. "What did he remove from the center? Man himself."
Rainbow said that Newton, who believed in God, reduced astrophysics to a series of laws, whereby God works through laws.
"What did Darwin do?" Rainbow said. "Darwin basically took the most important question in biology - how did living things get here - and reduced that to laws … Darwin explained how the origin of species themselves can occur through laws."
Rainbow said the origin of life itself is misunderstood. The professor, who described himself as a card-carrying, flag-waving evolutionist who is an agnostic half the time and an atheist the other half, said that even he believes the first cells may have been intelligently designed by what could be called a creator.
"I think that if this creator exists, he or she or whatever it is, obviously wants to remain unknown, if he exists at all," Rainbow said. "The evidence now tends to suggest that they were intelligently designed."
But Rainbow said that everything else in evolution, such as fish into amphibians, amphibians into reptiles and ape-like creatures into humans, is all well explained by evolution. There are three steps to evolution: mutation to DNA of organisms; altered embryological development; and natural selection.
"Darwin knew almost nothing about the first step … much less what DNA was," Rainbow said. However, Darwin figured out the third step, that organisms constantly change. They pass on their traits to offspring and organisms exploded in growth."
Dionne said the Antelope Valley Freethinkers is a diverse group comprising agnostics, atheists, secular humanists and other religious nonbelievers. The club began as an affiliate of the Los Angeles-based Atheists United and became a local, independent nonprofit organization this spring.
There are currently about 60 members.
Dionne said the group's diverse membership includes independent thinkers from all different backgrounds and occupations.
"I really like finding interesting stuff for us to do and to talk about," he said. "To connect and build friendships with people with the same world view I have."
Dionne said the evolution of the club has been organic in the sense that it grows based on what members want. For the Antelope Valley Freethinkers, Dionne defined a freethinker as someone who bases their world view on reason, objective evidence and compassion, and who tends to be skeptical about supernatural things such as the existence of Gods, angels and demons, and the afterlife.
Dionne said that they strive to make their meetings interesting and entertaining. Past events include barbecues, picnics, movie viewing, board games, karaoke, and presentations on science and history. Members also volunteer in the community by participating in events such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. They also raised more than $300 for multiple sclerosis.
Antelope Valley native Erik Gunderson, the group's secretary, said he became involved with a similar group when he lived in Knoxville, Tenn., a few years ago. He joined the Antelope Valley Freethinkers when he returned to the Valley about three years ago.
Gunderson said that he enjoys the social aspects of the club in that he looks for a combination of fellowship and something interesting to think about.
"You get out of your brain what you put into your brain," he said. "We have a group where you have interesting, educated, smart people to talk with, sharing their knowledge, sharing their ideas, (it) makes you more interesting, smart and educated yourself."
Johann Olivier, the group's treasurer, said that he enjoys the intellectual stimulation you get as a member of the group.
"People are not constricted by dogmatic ideas of how the world should operate," he said.
For details, e-mail the group at avfreethinkers@yahoo.com.
jdrake@avpress.com

I bolded part of the story above where there port quotes Dr. Rainbow saying "said that even he believes the first cells may have been intelligently designed by what could be called a creator." I hope the reporter is misquoting Dr.Rainbow because I can't see how someone who describes himself as an agnostic atheist believes in intelligent design. Perhaps Dr. Rainbow was describing Darwin's views rather than his own and the reporter misunderstood.

Other than this nit, an excellent article about the Antelope Valley Freethinkers. Way to go Dave, Kelly, Eric, Johann and everyone.

The Twelve Steps of Christmas

2009-11-17T22:06:00.000-08:00

I bought a box of Christmas cards at Target with the following on the front :

The 12 Steps of Christmas
Admit you are powerless over Christmas, and that your life has become unmanageable.
Believe that a power greater than consumer credit can restore you to sanity.
Decide to turn your will and life over to Santa as you understand him.
Make a searching and fearless inventory of your material desires.
Admit to Santa, to yourself, and to another human being the exact nature of your size, color preferences, and taste in furniture.
Allow Santa to remedy all defects of your bank account.
Humbly ask Santa to payoff your mortgage.
Make a list of everything you want, and be willing to read the instruction manuals.
Cite model numbers and retail locations wherever possible, except when doing so would require an internet search.
Continue to take personal inventory, and when you think of something else you need, add it to the list.
Seek through prayer and meditation to improve your conscious contact with Santa as you understand him, praying only for knowledge of his gifts for you and the power to open them quickly.
Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, carry Santa's message to friends and family every Christmas.

My personal favorite is #3. If I ever find myself looking towards a higher power, it will be Santa. Unlike other gods, Santa actually delivers. I actually find gifts under my tree every year.

Holy Piss, Batman

2009-11-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

Pastor Steve seems to be really obsessed by Obama's death, gays, and pissing against a wall. Well, girls can piss standing up too, Pastor Steve. So there.

And PZ Myers really nails this guy's likely motivation.

Somehow, I get the idea that Steven L. Anderson, the flaming anti-gay pastor, has these dreams in which he stands shoulder to shoulder with a long line of men, and they all unzip and flip out their penises and spray a mighty stream forth, together, with pride and joy…and he feels good about these dreams. Glory!

Pastor Steve, you really need to get out of that closet. It's not healthy.

And here's more of Pastor Steve's antics.

Creepy Christmas Tree Ornament

2009-11-13T22:21:00.000-08:00

I get sale catalogs in the mail. HarrietCarter.com has this amazingly tacky Christian ornament. The ornament claims that spending the holidays with Jesus is better than with family. This brings up a few questions I have. How do they know that the holidays are better in heaven? How do they even know there is a heaven at all? How do they know Jesus is in heaven? How do they know Granny is in heaven? After all, perhaps she was a crack whore in her younger days. Or even worse, perhaps she mixed linen and cotton while knitting. Maybe she's burning in the fiery pits of hell, being sodomized by demons. Perhaps HarrietCarter.com needs to sell an ornament for that.

Merry Chistmas from Hell ... I love you dearly, Now don't shed a tear, I'm spending my Christmas being sodomized by demons this year.

Had an Enjoyable Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T21:32:00.000-08:00

We had an enjoyable Veteran's day to day. Appleby's had free entrees for veterans. Both me and the hubby enjoyed our free lunches. We had to pay for the rugrats however. It was a very enjoyable meal. The restaurant was packed with both veterans and active duty military.

New Boom-De-Yada

2009-11-09T00:19:00.000-08:00

And of course the original.

Now, this is the way you frame science.

The Things You Find in A Christian Store

2009-11-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

According to Aaron at Consumerist:

So I walked into my local Christian bookstore the other day, just to kill time while at the mall, and I see a rack displaying various Veggitales products. Having once worked in a church nursery, I know of the magical powers contained in those anthropomorphic carrots and cauliflowers. Imagine my surprise when I see this SEEMINGLY innocuous cookie cutter.

Innocent looking at first...but with a simple 90° rotation.....

It's perfect for your kids AND perfect for bachelorette parties. It's all about the frosting. Ya know?

Perhaps the Veggie Tales crew has a secret atheist working for them. HehHehHeh. And that bump, it scares me.

Beck: Liar, Lunatic, or Oh Lordy

2009-09-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

Wow! That is all I can say. Well, not really, since I'm posting about the guy. Glenn Beck has really gone off the deep end with his latest rant. He has passed the last stop on the way to Crazytown. I thought I was watching Pat Robertson on the 700 Club for a minute. But for all of his ranting, Beck seems to know very little of the Christianity he professes. In an earlier show, he made some crack about "swords into plowshares" being a "commie plot". It very telling that he is unfamiliar with one of the most famous images from the New Testament.

He cries about how we should follow the ten commandments, lamenting that they have been removed from a park. He then follows this with the standard right-wing fundamentalist claim that no one can pray in school. Children can pray in public school as long as they are not causing a scene or disrupting class. But teachers and other government employees cannot coerce children to pray. He is breaking one of the very commandments he wants others to follow. What about the ninth commandment? The one about not bearing false witness? Oh, I see. Do what I say and not what I do. He can cherry pick his Christian commandments, but others must obey them all.

Glenn Beck follows an all too familiar format, a former drunk, now drunk on Jesus. He talks about an empty void inside everyone that must be filled with his god. He has traded an addiction to alcohol and drugs with an addiction to religion. His void was formerly filled with alcohol and drugs and is now filled with Jesus and an authoritarian church structure. He projects his own feelings of worthlessness and moral weakness on everyone else. Sorry, Mr.Beck, but I have a happy and productive life, filled with family. I don't have an empty void waiting to be filled. I also don't need an authoritarian structure to give my life purpose and morality.

Beck rants on and on about how "the godless" are corrupting American society and are responsible for all its social ills. Replace the "the godless" with "the Jews" and anyone can see exactly where he is going. I won't be surprised if one day he appears wearing a brown shirt on his show.

Update:

I thought of this scene in V for Vendetta when I heard Glen Beck. Friendly Atheist also has it posted as well.

One Step out of the Textbook

2009-09-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

I just don't understand the Texas Board of Education. They want to remove the name of Neil Armstrong as one of the first astronauts on the moon from Texas textbooks. After all of the crazy antics they have pulled trying to remove evolution in the curriculum, one would think that the ridicule that has been directed their way would at least generate some self reflection amongst the board members. But no, the crazier the better.

"What I think is happening here is there's too much politics and not enough kids. There's too much ideology and not enough education," said Kathy Miller of the Texas Freedom Network.

On day one of hearings in Austin, disagreements flare over the importance that should be given to civil rights leaders including Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall.

On the other side some members are looking at adding mentions of people like Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh to the curriculum.

"I want these board members to talk to professors at Texas colleges and universities and ask them, what my daughters need to know when they graduate from high school," said Miller.

Well now we know who the Texas BOE regards as heroes. Neil Armstrong just isn't up to Texas BOE standards. After all, Armstrong wasn't arrested with illegal Viagra in the Dominican Republic, a country known for its child sex tourism. Neil Armstrong only walked on the moon, no big deal.

The Sad State of Science Reporting

2009-08-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

Missionary Mafia

2009-08-30T01:09:00.000-07:00

Tomas Ryska from the Czech Republic went to Thailand and Laos to investigate the Akha people. Both local governments and Christian missionaries have preyed upon these people and have taken their children. He was curious about how the Akha children were treated by Christian missionaries. What he discovered shocked him and nearly got him killed by these Missionary child abusers. This documentary was presented to the UN and now some of the missionary organizations are starting to regulate their missionaries.

Constantine's Sword, An Excellent Documentary

2009-07-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

Constantine's Sword has now been uploaded to YouTube. This documentary is well documented and very moving. I recommend it highly. I will be ordering this documentary myself. Constantine's Sword documents James Carroll's hard look at his Christian faith. He grew up seeing only the good that religion can bring people. But he needed to see the dark side of evangelism, antisemitism, and the forced conversions of Christianity's past in order to see his religion as it is rather than how he would like it to be.

Here is part one of nine, the other sections are linked and show after each section is played.

Happy Independence Day

2009-07-04T20:47:00.001-07:00

Fault Lines - Religion in the Military

2009-06-28T01:08:00.000-07:00

Part 1

Part 2

The Army company staff meeting was really creepy. When I was in the Air Force in the 1980s and 1990s nothing like this would happen at a squadron meeting. This looks like a church revival service. The chaplain probably only gave people permission to leave because the camera crew were there. She only gave permission to leave after the incredibly creepy prayer service. Why couldn't the prayer service be optional and before or after the staff meeting?

When I attended squadron staff meetings, there was only very rarely any kind of prayer. The few times I encountered some sort of prayer, it was very short and only acknowledged some sort of vague deity. I would use the time look around to see who else was a godless heathen like myself. We would exchange knowing smirks. It was always the same people. HehHehHeh.

Look closely at the crowd in the video. Very few (brave people there) took up her offer to leave. But look closely at the crowd. Even though there are quite a few people praying, waving their arms around, it is not a majority by any means. Also there are quite a few soldiers looking not too happy about being a captive audience for this chaplain.

The Chaplains of Hate

2009-06-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

The Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches (CFGC) has been in the news lately, and not in a good way. They endorse approximately 270 chaplains in the United States military. Jim Ammerman runs the CFGC out of an office in his house. They seem to exist only to endorse chaplains, they do not serve any specific religious sect or congregation. This violates several of the rules regarding chaplain endorsing agencies. Talk2Action author, Chris Rodda, and MRFF have been investigating this story for the past month. The story finally bubbled up to Newsweek. MRFF weekly briefs also cover some of the articles. The MRFF also has sent a letter with 55 pages of supporting evidence to Secretary Gates and others.

From MRFF's letter:

1. The Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches (CFGC), headed by retired Army Col. E.H. Jim Ammerman, which, according to its website, currently has over 270 chaplains and chaplain candidates in all branches of the military, habitually denigrates all religions and religious denominations except Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity. This denigration, which includes virulently anti-semitic and Islamophobic statements, as well as the deprecation of Catholicism and mainstream Protestantism, occurs in the CFGC's chaplain newsletters, as well as in the speeches, media appearances, and videos of both Mr. Ammerman and a currently serving CFGC chaplain, Army Maj. James F. Linzey.

2. Both Mr. Ammerman and Maj. Linzey have made numerous statements against the government of the United States and certain government officials and departments, promoted civilian militia movements, and disseminated many conspiracy theories in an attempt to foment disloyalty to the government of the the United States among both civilians and military personnel. This type of activity has previously led to an investigation of Ammerman and CFGC, called for by Air Force Lt. Gen. Normand Lezy in 1997.

DoD Directive Number 1325.6, "Guidelines for Handling Dissident and Protest Activities Among Members of the Armed Forces," cited in Lt. Gen. Lezy's 1997 memorandum, states that "Military personnel must reject participation in organizations that espouse supremacist causes." The Prophecy Club, an organization for which both Mr. Ammerman and Maj. Linzey have made videos, unquestionably espouses a supremacist cause. In addition, various statements made by both Mr. Ammerman and Maj. Linzey in their Prophecy Club videos, as well as in other forums, such as radio appearances and speeches, incontrovertibly violate one or more of the following statutory provisions found in Enclosure E1.2 of DoD Directive Number 1325.6.
3. According to the definition of a "Religious Organization" found in DoD Directive Number 1304.19, "Guidance for the Appointment of Chaplains for the Military Departments," CFGC is not eligible to be authorized as an ecclesiastical endorser. CFGC is not an "entity that is organized and functions primarily to perform religious ministries to a non-military lay constituency." CFGC, which is operated out of a house located in a residential neighborhood of Dallas, Texas zoned for single family homes, did not have a "non-military lay constituency" at the time of its founding, but was founded for the sole purpose of endorsing chaplains, and this continues to be its primary purpose to this day.

4. In a clear and blatant violation of CENTCOM's General Order 1-A, which absolutely prohibits the proselytizing of any religion, faith or practice in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, a network of forty CFGC chaplains has engaged in the organized distribution in Iraq of Arabic language Bibles and other Arabic language fundamentalist Christian evangelizing materials to the Iraqi people. The violation of this explicitly prohibited activity by these forty CFGC chaplains was initiated, encouraged, and aided by Mr. Ammerman.

According to US Army Regulation 165-1 :

4–3. Professional status of chaplains
a. Army chaplains have a dual role as religious leaders and staff officers. Their duties are prescribed by law, DOD policy, Army regulations, religious requirements, and Army mission. In performing their duties, chaplains do not exercise command, but exercise staff supervision and functional direction of religious support personnel and activities (title 10, United States Code, section 3581).
b. The chaplain is a qualified and endorsed clergy person of a DOD recognized religious denomination or faith group.
c. Chaplains are noncombatants and will not bear arms.
d. The proper title for a chaplain is “chaplain” regardless of military rank or professional title. When addressed in writing, the chaplains rank will be indicated in parentheses (see AR 25–50 and AR 600–20).
e. Commanders will detail or assign chaplains only to duties related to their profession. Chaplains may perform unrelated duties in a temporary military emergency. Chaplains may volunteer to participate or cooperate in nonreligious
functions that contribute to the welfare of the command. Commanders will not—
(1) Detail a chaplain as an exchange, athletic, recreation, drug or alcohol, graves registration, welfare, morale, dining
facility, personal affairs, information, education, human relations, equal opportunity, next-of-kin notification, suicide prevention, or survivor assistance officer. However, in the event of the death of a chaplain, chaplain(s) will be appointed to assist Summary Court Officers in review of confidential records and personal effects when next-of-kin is present.
(2) Assign a chaplain as military judge, trial counsel, defense counsel, investigating officer, member of a courtmartial, or member or adviser to investigative boards of officers. Chaplains may be required, however, to conduct inquires into chaplain-related activities or incidents.
(3) Require a chaplain to serve in a capacity in which he or she may later be called upon to reveal privileged or sensitive information incident to such service.

Section 4b states that Army chaplains must come from a DoD recognized faith group. If the Wiccans can't have an official chaplain in the Army, then some group operating from a guy's home office shouldn't be able to endorse chaplains either.

It starting to look like some of the worst offending chaplains have been endorsed by the CFGC. Our old friend Gordon Klingenschmidtt is still endorsed by this agency despite having been drummed out of the Navy with a courts-martial. Since 1993, this agency's chaplains have participated in the following:

Violated numerous service members' constitutional rights.
Made up conspiracy theories.
Called for the violent overthrow of the United States government.
Pushed white supremacy.
Advocated for military members to ignore military rules.
Denigrated other religions and those who are non-religious.
Called for the execution of those they disagree with politically.

These chaplains have a virtual cornucopia of skills. [A virtual cornucopia of skills - Inside joke warning. Yes, I've actually used this phrase as a joke when writing officer ratings back when I was in the Air Force. We would try to see if we could get this phrase in an OER without anyone noticing. HehHehHeh]. CFCG chaplains have violated numerous service members constitutional rights regarding religious freedom. The CFGC seems only to exist as a chaplain endorsing agency according to the MRFF. What religious group to they represent? They seem to advocate a Christian Identity Militia type of religion, where white Christians are the "real Chosen people".

Of course not all of the offending chaplains have come from the CFGC. Capt. Robert Nay was accused of making anti-Semitic remarks against Jewish chaplains in 2001. He was also accused of hanging up Nazi uniforms at a prayer breakfast where chaplain attendance was mandatory. The Army investigated and found Rabbi Goldman's complaints were valid. I did a Google search on Chaplain Nay and found he is a member of the Carlisle Reformed Presbyterian Church. It can also be seen that instead of being courts-martialed, this man was promoted. This is not surprising since the chaplain leadership is almost exclusively extreme right-wing evangelists.

Here is a very long and detailed reading list for this story. These stories have to be read to be believed. The CFCG advocates the same type of conspiracy theories espoused by an insane co-worker I worked with during the mid 1990's.

MRFF's Complaint Letter to Secretary Gates - a good overview and lots of links.
MRFF's Weekly Watch for 26 Jun 09 - another good list of articles.
Christian Soldiers by Newsweek. - story finally hits a major news magazine.
Toxic To Democracy - Chip Berlet's very good overview of conspiracy theories and hate groups.
Conspiracy Theorist Military Chaplains Promote Anti-American Militia Activity - First story by Chris Rodda.
Conspiracy as Prophecy - Ruth
Col. Jim Ammerman, Apostle & New World Order Conspiracy Theorist - Ruth
Defense Department-Certified Agency Newsletter Suggests Killing Democrats - Bruce Wilson, with lots of video of Army Chaplain James F. Linzey advocating violent action against the US government and bizarre conspiracy theories.
Al Jazeera Special Report Covers Advance of Fundamentalism in the US Military - Bruce Wilson
MRFF Demands DoD Revoke Authority of Chaplain Endorser Who Suggested Democrats Should be Executed - Chris Rodda
Jim Ammerman's Lunacy - Dispatches From the Culture Wars
Why is This Man Still a Chaplain?
Onward Christian Supremacists

The chaplains of hate indeed.

Why is This Man Still a Chaplain?

2009-06-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

This article by Bruce Wilson has me speechless. It looks like Chaplain Linzey has been a busy boy over the last few years with some very bizarre radio and video interviews. Here are a few excerpts from an interview on April 10, 2005.

22:00
Linzey : I want Americans, I want everybody listening, to go out and buy 5 weapons and 5,000 bullets - for your own protection, for self defense. Because I believe that foreign soldiers will come to our houses, to rape our wives and teenage daughters and kill the men right in front of them - and then the women will bear children of an ethnic stock different from what they are, and that's how you alter the course of any society; you change the ethnic stock. Egypt today is not the same ethnic stock it was during the Moses days."

...
34:50
host : "There's a article here, it says Arizona National Guard... plans more aggressive border action... down here at the end [of the article] he says `when the Minuteman thing is over, if it doesn't work, we're going to come out here and close down the border with machine guns.' Now, that's not the right attitude, is it ?
Linzey : I believe it is. This is a matter of national security, because if we don't, what `s the outcome ? - Our wives and teenage daughters are going to be raped, our men will be shot in their homes by these aliens who are put up by the Chinese soldiers who do this. There are 5-10 thousand Chinese soldiers in Mexico right now, training Mexicans to do this very thing.
36:30 : "I've heard of a plot by communists to get 5 million aliens coming up from Mexico, not that they're all Mexicans, to invade America and to each kill 5 Americans - then you have an instant Holocaust."

Wow. How can anyone believe this shit? Obviously there's no critical thinking going on here. How the hell can 5-10,000 Chinese soldiers be in Mexico without anyone noticing? Training people to rape? WTF? Rape classes for millions of Mexican men? And no one has noticed?

US military forces number about 2 million. It takes trillions of dollars and large facilities to support this number of people. And these people think that Mexico is training 5 million of their male citizens to come over here and rape people. What are these nutcases smoking? Also notice the inherent racism in Maj. Linzey's statements. What is his fascination with foreign men raping female citizens? Why would that destroy the United States? Of course he is implying the rape of white women by dark skinned invaders.

And here is an excerpt from March 12, 2005.

Linzey: I was the command chaplain for the largest mobilization mission in the Continental United States for Operation Iraqi Freedom, the number one chaplain and what we did, you know, maybe some people don't understand our roles as chaplains, but we are missionaries to the military. And I served as an advisor to commanding generals on spiritual and personal needs of soldiers, marines, airman and sailors and advisor on ethics, religion, and morals. I personally shook hands for thousands of soldiers boarding the planes to go over and coming back, and prayed over their units and spoke to them while they were in their formations, spoke to their relatives in the assembly area at Fort Bliss, where Jessica lynch came back and the news media covered her at the same facility where we were.

Read the highlighted part again. Maj. Linzey states "but we are missionaries to the military." He is absolutely wrong. A military chaplain is not a missionary to the military. Military personnel are not his personal mission field. He cannot try to convert military members as a chaplain. His job is to support military people in the beliefs they hold. And what exactly is he trying to convert military members to? Christian Identity? Christian Patriot movement?

I have one question left "Why is this man still a chaplain in the US Army?"

Interesting Paint Job on a Local Police Car

2009-06-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

I was going through some old email and came across this photo. Apparently, a couple of years ago
the local Kern County Sheriff's department received this car from the paint shop. According to the story, the car was driven for a week before the officer noticed the paint job on the side. The painter was retiring and he painted the car on his last day at work. I don't know if this is true or not but the picture is funny.

Update:

According to Cat in the comments, the photo is correct, except for the donuts sticker. A Snopes article has the Kern County Sheriff making a comment about creating gag stickers for the cars. It looks like his people took the idea a little too far.

Militants

2009-06-07T00:34:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Atheist Cartoons. In the third panel, they need to add a bus with an atheist ad on the side driving by. HehHehHeh.

Holy Crusades, Batman

2009-05-31T21:54:00.000-07:00

GQ Magazine aired an article a few weeks ago entitled, And He Shall be Judged, about how Donald Rumsfeld manipulated George W. Bush and some of his White House staff by playing on their religious wants and desires about the Iraq War. Religious imagery and quotations were used on the slides for the intelligence briefings given to the president in the early days of the Iraq War.

Why was this done? And why would senior military and intelligence officials go along with this? Couldn't they see what would happen if this should get out? It appears that quite a few of these senior officers and government officials sympathized with the religious sentiments expressed in the slides. That is not surprising considering the Christian Embassy scandal at the Pentagon and the reports of all types of religious meetings and proselytizing happening at the Pentagon. Senior Pentagon officers also seemed to be as credulous as former Pres. Bush when it came to being manipulated by Donald Rumsfeld.

Onward Christian Supremacists

2009-05-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

I've long suspected that white supremacy is linked with some of the overt evangelizing of military members by fundamentalist Christian chaplains, so this story by Chris Rodda is no suprise. Mikey Weinstein spoke at CFI-West about two years ago. In the question and answer session, I asked him if MRFF had received any reports of this type of activity. He gave me a rather vague reply, indicating that either he did not know or could not talk about the matter. In continuing to investigate Gordon Klingenschmitt, Chris Rodda ran across his chaplain endorsing agency while he served in the Navy.

The other was to post a very strange disclaimer on his website, in which he called Lynn and Weinstein "bone-heads," and defended his right to call himself "Chaplain," stating that he has a current endorsement as a "Chaplain and Evangelist to America" from the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches (CFGC). It was this statement that led MRFF to take a closer look at the CFGC, a chaplain endorsing agency headed by retired Army colonel and chaplain Jim Ammerman, and authorized by the Department of Defense to provide the ecclesiastical endorsement required by the military for all military chaplains, with several hundred of its chaplains currently serving in all branches of the military.
Right off the bat, MRFF found the expected stuff -- which alone provides ample reason to demand that the DoD to revoke the chaplain endorsing authority of Jim Ammerman and the CFGC.

CFGC should be disqualified as an endorsing agency because of its repeated denigration of all other religions and Christian denominations that aren't Charismatic or Pentecostal, which is completely contrary to Department of Defense Instruction Number 1304.28.

The CFGC is the endorser for approximately two hundred chaplains. This endorser openly denigrates other Christians, Jews, Muslims, and the non-religious. The CFGC also advocates crazy conspiracy theories and the armed overthrow of the United States government. There is even a current chaplain, Army Major James F. Linzey, who is a member of something called the Prophecy Club. This website seems to be some sort of money making site, consisting mainly of ads for videos and their magazine.

Maj. Linzey has made several videos in the past for the Prophecy Club and Jim Ammerman, his endorser. One video is called "Imminent Military Takeover of the U.S.A." showed by militia groups in the 1990's, and another is a radio interview for a show called The Edge.

Maj. Linzey also went into all the conspiracy theory stuff about the "masonic, Illuminati wackos" who have gotten into government office by deception, and the 9-11 conspiracy theory stuff, but it's his statements inciting the taking up of arms against the government that are most disturbing.

Linzey first talked about his "friend, Jim Gilcrest, who's heading up the Minuteman Project," promoting the group with statements like this:

"I'm trying to avoid saying we need to take up arms and go take care of it ourselves, but it appears that we might be needing to head this way."

He also promoted militias in general because there will be "blood bath" when the "invasion from the south" and battle with foreign U.N. forces and the Chinese in the U.S. commences.

"I suggest that Americans get their arms to be ready to defend themselves and their own homes when they come knocking on your door, demanding your food, demanding your money, and raping your wives. The U.N. troops will be here to start patrolling the cities, the streets, the highways, and we will be under, basically, European rule."

Among his other fear-mongering claims are that there are detention camps already set up by the U.S. government for "patriots" who won't go along with the government's agenda, that these detention camps are equipped with facilities to kill the detainees by gassing the "patriots," and that the government already has a list of the "patriots."

This radio show is also one where Maj. Linzey directly stated that his military chaplain endorser Jim Ammerman knows exactly what he's out there doing.

When the interviewer asked Linzey:

"If what you are saying is true, wouldn't the government -- if the government is any way culpable to some of these events -- wouldn't they want to not have you, say go on a speaking tour or anywhere else, or even be on this show?

Linzey responded:

"Would they not want me to? Well, you know, probably not. Now -- but that doesn't matter. As long as I'm abiding within the law, I can say that I'm speaking as Jim Linzey, not in my official capacity as an officer or military chaplain, then I prefaced it right, and I can proceed. And Col. Jim Ammerman -- he's my endorser -- and he knows exactly what I'm doing, and, so, that's it."

But, of course, Jim Ammerman would approve of what Maj. Linzey is spewing. Ammerman's own "Imminent Military Takeover of the U.S.A." video contains the same kind of seditious incitement, which, no doubt, accounts for its popularity among militia groups.

The Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches should be removed as an endorser for the United Stated military forces. How can an association which advocates sedition and crazy conspiracy theories and associates with the militia groups associated with violence be allowed to place chaplains within the US military? These chaplains obviously support these ideas since they are endorsed by this agency.

I'm not surprised by the link between fundamentalist, usually Pentecostal churches and militia groups. I grew up in Louisiana, in the Deep South, where these links have historically been much more overt. Growing up in a small town, I learned which families were usually members of the Klan and milita groups. Not surprisingly, these families were usually involved in very fundamentalist, Christian churches, usually Baptist and Pentecostal (usually all-white Assemblies of God churches). Nowadays, non-denominational churches have joined the fun. I don't think that his has changed much in the 25 years I have been away.

Update:

Not surprisingly Ammerman is a part of the New Apostolic Reformation.

Colonel "Jim" Ammerman was listed as being an apostle in C. Peter Wagner's International Coalition of Apostles [see ICA prospectus] from the organization's inception in 2001 through to December 2008. The ICA is one of the main entities in Wagner's New Apostolic Reformation, a movement rapidly coalescing out of the Apostolic networks that have arisen in Third Wave Christianity.

This type of Christianity is highly emotional and irrational.

Weary of Such Continued Idiocy

2009-05-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, in the LA Times, Charlotte Allen wrote an incredibly stupid piece of tripe entitled Atheists: No God, no reason, just whining. I was going to go through this dreck point by point with a rebuttal. Mike's Weekly Skeptic Rant has already done this, and I'm just too weary of Allen's imbecilic rantings to spend much time on it like Hemant Mehta and PZ Myers have.

Her first and only point that I'm going to address is this:

I can't stand atheists -- but it's not because they don't believe in God. It's because they're crashing bores.

Then why did she even bother writing the article at all? What was the point other than a sorry excuse of pathetic bigotry? Her points did not even make any sense and contradicted each other, as in these examples on a few scant paragraphs apart.

My problem with atheists is their tiresome -- and way old -- insistence that they are being oppressed and their fixation with the fine points of Christianity.

and

The problem with atheists -- and what makes them such excruciating snoozes -- is that few of them are interested in making serious metaphysical or epistemological arguments against God's existence, or in taking on the serious arguments that theologians have made attempting to reconcile, say, God's omniscience with free will or God's goodness with human suffering.

So Ms. Allen which is it? Are atheists too interested in debating the finer points of religion, or not interested in it at all? You can't have it both ways. If this is what passes for writing in the LA Times, I'm thankful that I have not wasted any money on a subscription.

Update:

My favorite takedown from the Young Australian Skeptics:

Charlotte’s opinion is noted, and stupid. Presumably she won’t spend the entire article talking about how boring we are then - after all, that wouldn’t be particularly interesting, would it?

Don't Nonbelievers Bleed Just as Red?

2009-05-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

Cardinal Murphy-O'Conner opens his mouth and the stupid just comes out. We're not "totally human" according to him.

Cardinal Murphy-O'Conner's own words:

"...there is, in fact, in my view, something not totally human if they (atheists) leave out the transcendent. If they leave out an aspect of what I believe everyone is made for, which is a search for transcendent meaning, we call it God, if you're saying that has no place, then I feel that it's a diminishment (sic) of what is being human...I think that if you leave that out then you are not fully human."

And exactly what does he think we are? According to this arrogant windbag, we are less than human because we don't blindly accept a supernatural god without evidence. Transcendence does not only mean a belief in a god. The word has many meanings, one of which means a sense of awe or wonder at the world around us, another is that flash of insight where we feel at one with our surroundings. But because our thoughts and words are different than his, and because we don't submit to his church authority, how dare we expect to be seen as "fully human". Yes, how dare we have the audacity to even exist and have happy productive lives.

But you know what he really wants. And yes, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

I wonder what comes next. The Catholics that think just like him join with the NAR fundies and in addition to thinking us less than human, they also confiscate our belongings and kill us? Hmmm, this is starting to sound awfully familiar.

Update:

Checkout Jesus and Mo.

Just theTip of the Iceberg

2009-05-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

Chris Rodda over at Talk2Action has yet more information on past proselytizing by soldiers in both Iraq and Afghanistan since the wars in these countries started. She gives example after example pulled from the websites of various Christian ministries to show that these are not isolated incidents. MAAF also has a web page highlighting some of these stories.

This example tells it all:

But, topping the stupidity list, we have a Lt. Col. who was being so stupid that a missionary had to tell him that he was putting his troops and other people in danger. The missionary was from Liberty Baptist Tabernacle, which had already shipped 20,000 Arabic "Soul-Winning Booklets" into Iraq, with more on the way. This Lt. Col., who knew the missionary from the states, went to his hotel and offered to use his troops to protect the people who were converting the Muslims. This is from the insane story of what this genius of an officer did to meet with the missionary, copied from the ministry's website:

"On another note, a dear Christian friend, that I had met some ten years prior, who was a deacon of an independent Baptist church in Missouri was also in Iraq. I was totally unaware of this. He was in the Missouri National Guard and holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonial. Col. Koontze immediately contacted me when he found out I was in country. He was made aware of my being in Baghdad by a pastor friend of his that he had spoken with in the states.

"Through his command intelligence office, he located the hotel I was staying at. When he came to the hotel, I was sitting outside with the other pastors on the hotel's terrace, waiting for Robert Lewis [Global Resource Group-Director], who was going to meet with us that afternoon. Col. Koontze must have had 15-20 soldiers with him; they literally blocked off the entire city block with tanks and humvees to secure the area. He then walked into the lobby asking if anyone could tell him where Pastor Furse was. As he was saying those words, he spotted me and immediately said, "It's good to see you again Bro. Furse." At first, I did not recognize him, until he took his helmet off. We spoke for about 20 minutes at one of the tables on the terrace of the hotel; all the while the tanks and humvees were being lined up and down the main street in front of the hotel. After renewing acquaintances, I had to tell him that it would probably be best if he and his unit left as soon as possible.

"The Iraqi people in the hotel and those on the street were to say the least, very concerned. I did not want to bring that much attention to the hotel; for fear that terrorists would target the area as well [over the previous four or five days, we had heard sporadic AK-47 gunfire going off just blocks away from the hotel]. Col. Koontze agreed fully with me on that assessment and ordered his unit to leave quietly and as quickly as possible."

This Lt.Col is quite possibly the stupidest person in Iraq. He reminds me of the Air Force Colonel in the Christian Embassy video gushing on and on about Jesus with the goofiest, most credulous expression on his face. I, for one, would be embarrassed to have such a doofus as a commanding officer.

These Christian websites brag about the influence they have in the military and discuss how many hundreds of thousands of bibles and tracts they have sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army commanding officers seem to live in their own reality when they claim that only personal copies of religious materials are being sent. These missionary-soldiers seem to be completely oblivious to the harm they are causing to their mission and their fellow soldiers. Or perhaps they don't care. After all, one more convert for Christ, no matter the cost.

Participated in an Interesting Pew Survey

2009-05-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I received a letter about participating in a Pew Survey. This survey is being conducted by both the Pew Research Center and AAAS. According to the letter:

We are writing to ask for your help in an important research project jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Pew Research Center. We are conducting a national survey of scientists to learn more about the experiences and concerns of scientists today. We are also surveying the general public about their views and attitudes regarding science.

You are among a small number of scientists whose views we are seeking. Survey topics include the motivations and goals of scientists in the United States today, challenges and barriers to the conduct of science, and opinions about scientific issues. Your answers will be kept completely confidential and used only as summaries in which no individual answers can be identified.

The Pew Research Center is an independent, non profit public opinion research organization, and AAAS is a nonprofit membership organization. Results of the survey will be released this summer and will be posted on the websites of both the Pew Research Center and AAAS.

So I decided to login and take the online survey. The survey contained various questions about global warming, evolution, stem cell research, and belief in a higher being. This is a strange combination for a survey, as it seems to pertain to topics discussed regularly on atheist and science sites. Perhaps we are having an effect on the national discourse after all, no matter how much some of the believers try to tell us to sit down and shut up.

Here are some example screen shots of the survey. The resolution was not very good, so if you can't clearly see the question, double click to get a larger image. You can see that the questions don't really have a variety of selections, most of them only allow a couple of selections only.

The two choices are special creation or evolution. At first I wondered about old earth and theistic evolution as choices for those who believe in a god who created life that evolved. But when I reached the other questions, they were about whether or not a god existed. So it looks like they are separating out the combinations of answers about yes views on the origin of the diversity of life.

As you can see, there are only two choices here. I guess the young earth creationists are out of luck here as both choices assume the evolution of life whether or not you believe a god guided it or not.

They leave out the option I would have wanted: All people should be vaccinated unless a medical condition precludes it.

I was a little confused, because the last option, Nothing in particular, can also mean atheist or agnostic. A lot of times I answer the religion selection on forms with None.

This one is fairly straight forward, but what about atheists who attend services to support a spouse or family?

Well, this one they mucked up in my opinion. They make a difference in spirituality and a belief in a god. But what definition of God are they using? Don't a lot of people define a universal spirit or higher power as being God for them?

Well, it was interesting participating in a Pew Survey. They made it easy to login and take the survey. The results are supposed to be tabulated later on this summer.

"It's About Fucking Time"

2009-05-09T23:33:00.000-07:00

Seth McFarlane replies "It's about fucking time." to Bill Maher's question about the popularity of atheism in the past couple of years. And the audience cheers like mad. Maher tries to says that his movie is the reason, but I don't think so. It's the internet that is largely responsible. I remember reading discussions about atheism on the early internet in the late 1980's and early 1990's on alt.atheism and alt.atheism.moderated.

Then Internet Infidels and IIDB (now FRDB) started up in the mid-1990's and I was happy posting and meeting other atheists online. Now it seems atheist blogs are popular and the number seems to be expanding every day. Now, there are more dynamic sites like Atheist Nexus and Atheist Nation. Also people are meeting in real life and using Atheist Meetups. Local groups are becoming more common and I participate in most of these types of social interactions.

Texas School Board in La-La Land

2009-05-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

The Texas Board of Education apparently thinks that the age of the universe is something that can be voted on. Barbara Cargill apparently has been teaching science for over 20 years in Texas and is acting like her position on the Texas BOE allows her to decide the age of the universe. She comes across in the video as not accepting the current scientific consensus of the age of the universe and the expanding universe. It seems this science teacher fancies herself more knowledgeable than astronomers, geologists, physicists, etc.

You think that she would have learned a little bit about the scientific method in her 20 years of teaching science. But I guess not. Sorry dear, you're entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts. What is it about the South? My home state of Louisiana seems to have more than its share of fantasy prone individuals like this. They act like all they have to do is wish for something to be true in order for it to be a reality.

And here's the video:

Pam mentions the legislating teaching of Pi as three instead of 3.14159... (Actually, Indiana tried this in the late 1800's). Here's one of my favorite cartoons:

MRFF's May Newsletter

2009-05-09T22:23:00.000-07:00

MRFF's May Newsletter is out, the Mayday, Mayday, Mayday Issue. There are plenty of links and further discussion of the two stories in the past week, US soldier-missionaries in Afghanistan and a disgraced former navy chaplain.

NPR Summary on Soldier-Missionaries in Afghanistan

2009-05-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

NPR's Democracy Now has an excellent video summary of the Army soldier-missionaries that were filmed by a documentary maker last year.

NOTE - If the embedded video does not load or is too slow, visit the link at Democracy Now to view it.

Update

The maker of the documentary, Brian Hughes, gives an update to the story on his blog. He also gives a link to the latest CENTCOM order 1B.

The Most Dangerous Game?

2009-05-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

According to the article in the May 2009 issue of Harper's Magazine entitled Jesus Killed Mohammad by Jeff Sharlet, Lt. Col Gary Hensley is documented as giving sermons telling soldiers to go out and convert the Afghan people indirect opposition to US Central Command (CENTCOM) General Order 1-A. CENTCOM General Order 1-A prohibits proselytizing civilians among other things.

According to the Harper's article:

"Then as if addressing 33 million Muslim Afghans and their belief that Muhammad was a prophet as Jesus before him, he shouts, "There is no one else to come! There is no new religion. Jesus is it!" Amen, says the crowd. "If he ain't it, let's all go home!""

There were rumors about even more explicit pushes for the soldiers to go out and try to convert Muslims. Here is the video shot by Brian Hughes of Lt. Col Hensley.

The violations of CENTCOM General Order 1-A are pretty explicit in the video. (from the article by Jeremy Scahill referenced by MRFF)

"The special forces guys - they hunt men basically. We do the same things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them down," he says.
"Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the kingdom. That's what we do, that's our business."

I keep picturing the movie The Most Dangerous Game, but in this version, the hunted man is a Muslim and the hunters with their dogs are the chaplain and his cult followers.

[T]he chaplains appear to have found a way around the regulation known as General Order Number One.

"Do we know what it means to proselytise?" Captain Emmit Furner, a military chaplain, says to the gathering.
"It is General Order Number One," an unidentified soldier replies.
But Watt says "you can't proselytise but you can give gifts."

This makes it very clear the chaplain and his followers know they are deliberately disobeying orders. They are simply rationalizing why they are doing so.

Update:

The Army pretends to be unhappy about the situation.

Reuters News says the Bibles were confiscated and destroyed after Qatar-based Al Jazeer television showed soldiers at a Bible class on a base with a stack of Bibles translated into the local Pashto and Dari languages. The U.S. military forbids its members on active duty -- including those based in places like Afghanistan -- from trying to convert people to another religion.
Reuters quotes Maj. Jennifer Willis at the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, who said "I can now confirm that the Bibles shown on Al Jazeera's clip were, in fact, collected by the chaplains and later destroyed. They were never distributed."

Somehow, I don't really believe this happened as reported unless the bibles have been hanging around for awhile. The video was shot last year, not recently. And of course the Army is denying that any Bibles were distributed. The following is the Army's story according to Reuters:

A U.S. military spokeswoman, Major Jennifer Willis, said the comments from the sermon were taken out of context and chaplains were told to make clear to soldiers they could not proselytize while serving.
Willis said the bibles had been mailed to a soldier by a church in the United States and were never distributed. Officials said the incident occurred in May 2008.

"That specific case involved a soldier who brought in a donation of translated bibles that were sent to his personal address by his home church. He showed them to the group and the chaplain explained that he cannot distribute them," she said.

A U.S. defense official in Washington described the soldier as a sergeant who was an evangelical Christian. He presented the bibles to a class attended by officers and chaplains.

Chaplains quickly alerted the chain of command, which ordered the bibles confiscated before they could be distributed, said the defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Somehow, I just can't believe the Army's version of events in this story. According to Chris Rodda at Talk2Action, this would certainly not be the first time the Army has covered up proselytizing by soldiers.

Then, there were the Christian reality TV show missionaries who were allowed to be embedded with U.S. troops as journalists while proselytizing Afghans -- well, the military has lost all records of that.

U.S. Military Now in the Christian Reality TV Business -- Putting Muslim Interpreters in Christmas Pageants

U.S. Army Conveniently Loses Records of Embedded Christian-Reality-TV-Show Missionaries

We also have videos, like the one below of a chaplain admitting that Swahili language Bibles are being sent in to Iraq to evangelize the Ugandan workers employed by the U.S. military, newsletters from a plethora of evangelical ministries boasting of the number of Arabic Bibles and other materials they've been able to get into Iraq and Afghanistan with the help of our military, photos of these evangelizing materials, and many other videos, photos, and statements from military personnel verifying that what is shown in the Al Jazeera video cannot be explained away as an isolated, out of context incident.

They can't even leave alone the hired contractors supporting them. And it seems this was only the tip of the iceberg.

Here's another of the many examples from MRFF's stockpile of General Order 1-A violations. The January 2009 newsletter of Worldwide Military Baptist Missions (WMBM) included these images of the English-Arabic proselytizing materials that they've been sending to our troops.
This was the caption:

"In 2008, we shipped over 226,000 gospel tracts, 21,000 Bibles, New Testaments and gospels of John (to include English-Arabic ones!) and 404 'discipleship kits' to service members & churches for use in war zones, on ships and near military bases around the world."

As for the military's claim that the Al Jazeera video was taken out of context, well, Al Jazeera has released the raw footage to prove that it wasn't.

I think these numbers give lie to the Army's story that this is an isolated incident. I don't see these huge numbers of books and religious tracts going to just a few soldiers. I mean we're talking about 21,000 bibles and 226,000 religious tracts being sent to soldiers for distribution. Yeah, just a few "free gifts" for a couple of friends. I'm sure their fellow non-evangelical soldiers appreciate the warm feelings engendered in the locals after receiving their "free gifts". And I'm sure the locals are more than willing to exchange a few "free gifts" of their own.

Honoring Atheists in Foxholes

2009-05-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of ChuckyJesus666.

Bizarre Booklet in the Mail

2009-04-30T22:36:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week I received a strange little booklet in the mail called On the Edge of Time. It is a small, glossy 120 page booklet filled with incomprehensible biblical gibberish. The booklet is produced by Project: Steps to Christ, Inc. Apparently, their goal is to to send this bizarre little booklet to every household in the United States. According to their website:

PROJECT: Steps to Christ is an evangelism program designed to assist you and/or your church in taking the Three Angels’ Messages to every home in your city or ZIP code through the bulk saturation mailing of our "Mailbox Missionaries," The Path to Peace (Steps to Christ), or On The Edge Of Time (an abridged version of The Great Controversy). These mailings provide an easy, affordable, and effective way for you to sow the gospel seed and find spiritual interests in your community.

The mailing label matches the same one from the mailings I described earlier that I get every so often. Last year our housing association had a potluck and an obnoxious neighbor got up and delivered a very obnoxious Christian sectarian prayer, assuming that everyone was an evangelical Christian like he was. I refused to bow my head and a neighbor lady kept following me around talking about her church. Shortly afterwords, I started receiving proselytizing materials from their church. Materials which quickly find their way to the circular file after I've had a good laugh at the craziness. I wonder what they would say if they knew their religious tracts and booklets were fodder for my amusement and for this blog. Heh Heh Heh.

According to their website, Steps in Christ has mailed more than one million copies of this booklet in California. Why? I would think that the Christian message is not exactly new news at this point in history, especially here in the United States. Another mass mailing for Christ, yeehaw.

Here is an example of the biblical gibberish in this mostly unintelligible book:

But the beast with lamb-like horns was seen "coming out of the earth". Instead of overthrowing other powers to establish itself, the nation thus represented must arise in territory previously unoccupied and grow up gradually and peacefully...

They go on for a whole section about the beast with "lamb-like horns". WTF? The whole book is like this. With writing like this, the only people they will reach are those who speak cult speak. Apparently, the book is about the biblical end-times, if I'm translating correctly from Rapture-speak to English. There is enough conspiracy-mongering in it to do the John Birch Society proud. Another section of the booklet proclaims that anyone who does not believe and act just like them is being manipulated by guess who? Satan, that's who. So, the message I get from all of this is, that since I'm not just like them, I'm some sort of Satanic minion and part of Satan's plan for world domination. Gee thanks, assholes. And they say I'm arrogant.

The Continuing Tale of Court-Martialed Navy Chaplain

2009-04-26T21:50:00.001-07:00

Gordon James Kilingenschmitt was a Navy Chaplain who was court-martialed for refusing to follow orders, lying, and generally not acting like a navy officer should. Now he is getting into trouble with a website that gives the illusion that he is still a Navy chaplain. No suprise here, he is now calling for God to kill people he disagrees with.

Last November, I wrote about Cindy Jacobs who is a leader in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement.

Cindy Jacobs is a leader in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement within the larger Charismatic Christian community. NAR churches are extremely cult-like and controlling of their members.

These churches preach a warped version of the Prosperity Gospel. Unlike the general Charismatic or Pentecostal churches, NAR churches preach that Christians need to grab power in this world and control everything in order to bring about the return of Christ. According to Bruce Wilson:
As the top leader of the New Apostolic Reformation, which extensive evidence suggests is Sarah Palin's chosen religious and political movement, C. Peter Wagner proclaimed, on June 21, 2006, that "God has declared through His prophets that the wealth of the wicked will be released to the Kingdom of God," and Wagner declared, threateningly, "the enemies' camp will be plundered."

The highlighted statement "God has declared through His prophets that the wealth of the wicked will be released to the Kingdom of God," and Wagner declared, threateningly, "the enemies' camp will be plundered." will set the tone for this post.

Today, I read the latest about former navy chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt via Friendly Atheist. Ex-chaplain Klingenschmitt was court-martialed out of the navy for refusing to follow orders to honor religious pluralism in his duties as a navy chaplain. He has a website where he gives the impression that he is still a Navy Chaplain. Here is a little background on why Klingenschmitt was court-martialed.

Naval regulations forbid service members from wearing their uniforms to political or partisan events. This directive is clear and has been in place for a long time. Nevertheless, Klingenschmitt insisted on wearing his uniform to a Religious Right-hosted protest and press conference opposing the military’s inclusive policies on religion. He showed up on the street outside the White House in the company of former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, Religious Right activist Rob Schenck and Texas preacher-politician Rick Scarborough. (Americans United staffers were there, so we know. See picture.)

And here is a scathing interview from Klingensschmitt's former boss, Capt. Norm Holcomb:

Holcomb also clarifies an important point: Klingenschmitt, despite what his defenders say, was not punished for praying in the name of Jesus. He was court-martialed for refusing to follow orders. It’s a simple as that.

“I was the dishonored ex-chaplain’s supervisor for the past 2 years,” Holcomb wrote in his message. “I found him to be totally untruthful, unethical and insubordinate. He was and is contemptuous of all authority. He was not court martialed for praying in Jesus’ name. I sent him out in uniform every week to pray at various ceremonies and functions. He always prayed in uniform and in Jesus’ name. He was never told that he could not pray in Jesus’ name. In fact, the issue of prayer had nothing at all to do with his dismissal from the Navy. He disobeyed the lawful order of a senior officer. I am sure that you understand that Navy Regulations forbid any of us, regardless of rank or position, to appear in uniform in support of any political or partisan event.”

Holcomb goes on to say, “He appeared in direct support of a political event, demonstrating contempt for the order of his Commanding Officer and Naval Regulations that we all swear that we will abide by…. The ex-chaplain is a man without honor and you have accepted his story and in doing so you have had ‘the wool pulled over your eyes.’
He writes, “We have been relatively quiet regarding our ex-chaplain’s untruthfulness and lack of honor because we are embarrassed that one of our own could display such behavior in the name of our Lord. We wanted to spare all concerned the embarrassment associated with his dishonesty. However, it now seems that it would be wrong for those of us who know the truth to remain silent. I served with him and supervised him (as best as it was possible to supervise a person who refused to submit to lawful authority) and I know about his daily dishonesty and ‘spin’ of the truth.”

Well, you can clearly see the lack of character of Gordon Klingenschmitt. Lying for Jesus seems to be a full-time job for him. A military chaplain is first and foremost a military officer, and then a minister. If he only wanted to be a preacher with no intention of honoring the religiously pluralistic environment in the military, then he should have become a minister instead of a chaplain.

Americans United noticed that Klingsenschmitt had a website where he was giving the appearance that he was still a navy chaplain. Mikey Weinstein at MRFF also had noticed the website.

We at Americans United were surprised, therefore, to receive copies of an e-mail Klingenschmitt issued recently promoting his new right-wing political Web site www.prayinjesusname.org. On the site, Klingenschmitt referred to himself as “Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt,” and included a large picture of himself in a naval uniform. The e-mail and the Web site implored people to oppose President Barack Obama’s nomination of U.S. District Judge David Hamilton to the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

It’s likely anyone unfamiliar with Klingenschmitt’s history who received this e-mail or visited the site would assume he was an active-duty chaplain. In fact, some people who sent the message to AU thought just that.

Out in New Mexico, Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) knew something wasn’t right. Federal law prohibits misuse of military uniforms. It appeared that Klingenschmitt was attempting to depict himself as an active-duty military chaplain to raise money and recruit people for his right-wing group – a violation of federal law.

Here is the letter that Mikey Weinstein and AU sent to the Navy asking them to investigate this matter. Now it looks like Klingenschmitt has added a disclaimer indicating that he his not currently a Navy Chaplain. Hmm, betcha, he also does not mention that he is a court-martialed ex-navy chaplain either.

How does Klingenschmitt respond to these allegations? Why with an impreccatory prayer of course.

“Let us pray. Almighty God, today we pray imprecatory prayers from Psalm 109 against the enemies of religious liberty, including Barry Lynn and Mikey Weinstein, who recently issued a press release attacking me personally. God, do not remain silent, for wicked men surround me and tell lies about me. We bless them, but they curse us. Therefore, find them guilty, not me. Let their days be few, and replace them with Godly people. Plunder their fields, and seize their assets. Cut off their descendants, and remember their sins, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Listening to the mp3 file, I thought it was a strange podcast. It starts like he is still on the ship calling every one to pray. It's like he can't let go of his Navy career. Well, if he wanted to remain in the Navy, then he should have followed the orders of his superior officers. Klingenschmitt wants Barry Lynn and Mikey Weinstein dead. He hides like a coward behind his god's skirts by pretending this is what his god wants. What a nutcase.

This imprecatory prayer is no different from Cindy Jacobs and her call for unbelievers like myself to be killed and our property and assets to be plundered by these Joel's Army fanatics. Well this unbeliever won't stand idly by and let myself and family be slaughtered and my property be confiscated by these assholes.

Great Epsiode of This I Believe on NPR

2009-04-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

On Episode 378 of This American Life, Ira Glass has a very moving conversation with Trisha Sebastian. She relates the story of a close friend, Kelly, who died from cancer and how she wanted to believe in God again.

This past Christmas a story swept the internet about a football coach at a Christian high school in Texas who inspired his team’s fans to root for the opposition: a team from the local juvenile correctional facility. Among the thousands of emails that the coach received in response to his actions, one stood out to him. Trisha Sebastian mentioned her loss of faith, and coach Hogan got a message from God that he was meant to bring her back. We eavesdrop on their phone calls. (19 minutes)

Trisha tells how she tried to have a conversation with the coach, but was ultimately he was unable to really relate to her. From the bits of conversation played on the show, it appears Coach Hogan was more interested in scoring debate points than in really talking to Trisha.

Trisha was interested in discussing why her friend died, and wanted someone who could relate this to God and faith. Instead Coach Hogan was more interested in gaining another conversion for Christ.

My favorite part:

Ira Glass: Is there any small part of you that thought he might be able to put the religious part of his message in some way that would finally make some sense to you? Like he would say to you...

Trisha: Yeah, I really did hope that. Deep down and I've said that to so many friends of mine, why? I really wanted to believe again.

Ira Glass: So you really wanted him to bring you back to God?

Trisha: Maybe, possibly, most likely.

Ira Glass: But the way he was doing it wasn't a way that really talked to you.

Trisha: No. No.

Ira Glass: I wonder if the problem with that was the way he was going about it, the arguments he was using. I wonder if there is nothing really that anyone could actually say to make you believe this thing that you say you no longer believe in.

Trisha: I don't know. If someone were to just tell me this is why Kelly died and they were able to relate it back to God, I would probably respond to that better.

Ira Glass: And when you asked him this, what did he say?

Trisha: We never got to that point, ... we never got to that point. I couldn't get him there. I couldn't ask him the questions I really wanted to ask.

Ira Glass: But what if it is as simple as for people that believe in God, God takes people at different times, and that doesn't mean that God doesn't have some plan for you, you know.

Trisha: See, that makes more sense to me than anything he ever said in our conversation.

Ira Glass: That's very sad because I actually don't believe in God.

It's hilarious that an atheist has an example of a comforting religious message, whereas the "committed Christian" did not. Ira mediates the second call with the coach and they bring up the topic of why bad things happen to good people. Coach Hogan immediately goes into how it's "anti-god" to simply ask the question. Wow.

Although Trisha's conversation with the coach, I felt that I was hearing over and over, why it is so hard for religious and non-religious people to communicate sometimes. The premises are just so far from each other. The coach says we live in a fallen world, that explanation is a comfort for him. It's comforting to think that he doesn't have to make sense of everything, injustice and every terrible thing that happens on this earth. It's messy on this earth. Things will be better in heaven. Because God understands the details of cancer and why one person dies and one person lives, he doesn't have to. The coach has a hard time, I think, seeing why this explanation isn't a comfort to Trisha.

Trisha explains that after her friend died, she felt that things happen for no reason, they just do, that the universe is a random place. I felt exactly the same after my daughter died as an infant. It was more comforting to believe that the world was a random place. Things simply happen and sometimes we have no control over them. There is no god or force making things happen for a reason. For it would indeed be an evil god who would punish the innocent to teach a lesson to someone. Good and bad things happen to everyone.

Walking to Support the Multiple Sclerosis Society

2009-04-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day to be out walking, especially for a good cause. Three of us and a guest from the Antelope Valley Freethinkers Meetup Group met up for this month's meetup to support the Multiple Sclerosis Society's annual walk. We walked the 5k walk. Most excellent conversation was to be had while we walked. Here are some highlights from the Antelope Valley Press:

Highland High School cheerleaders greeted more than 1,300 MS Walkers at the finish line of a 10K, 5K and 1K route in the Lancaster City Marketplace.
Walkers of all ages did an outstanding job of creating awareness of Multiple Sclerosis as they saturated Lancaster Boulevard, Avenue J, Valley Central Way and 32nd Street West Saturday morning, said Jon May, field program manager for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Antelope Valley/Santa Clarita Field office in Lancaster.

The MS Walk is setup for anyone to easily join in and walk. I signed up on-line and simply turned in my collected donations.

There was no minimum donation to join the walk, so May said there was a large group of people not pre-registered for the event that joined the walk that morning.
Four rest stops with water, fruit and energy bars were available for people during the walk and lunch, cooked by the Sherry Chefs of the Lancaster Elks Lodge, came afterward along with a medal for finishing the route. Coaches Sports Grill in Rosamond, Plaza Meats, Knights of Columbus and Costco sponsored the food.
Money raised at the Antelope Valley walk site helps fund cutting-edge research worldwide and local programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families.

And for those who want to donate either money or time, contact the National MS Society.

Teabagging Nuttiness

2009-04-12T22:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, a friend mentioned that the Republican Party was sending tea bags to the White House. WTF? Teabagging? He then mentioned that there would be a large gathering at the Lancaster, CA courthouse. Here is the Antelope Valley Press coverage of the shindig. When he was telling me about the link, it was all I could do not to break out laughing.

Here is what I was thinking about. The common definition of "teabagging" according to the Urban Dictionary:

teabagging
	To have a man insert his scrotum into another person's mouth in the fashion of a teabag into a mug with an up/down (in/out) motion.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I don't think the word means what they think it means.

Courtesy of the Friendly Atheist, a link to some scary right-wing book-burning advocates at one of these "tea parties". (Book-burning advocated at around the 5 min mark)

According to the Antelope Valley Press, the group wants lower taxes. While this is an admirable goal, they are not going about this in an honorable way by advocating conspiracy theories and secession. They are coming across as whiny crybabies. They seem not to really want lower taxes, they are simply unhappy that taxes are not being spent the way they personally want them spent. The voters approved the spending measures and the legislature has to allocate the money.If voters would not approve some of the unnecessary projects at election time, then perhaps the state would have less obligations to fund.

If they were truly interested in reducing taxes in a legal manner, they could put measures reducing or eliminating some of the pork up for vote at the next election. It's up for all the voters to decide how the state spends its money, not just the Republicans.

Update:
Orcinus has a couple of articles covering the recently leaked Department of Homeland Security report about the rising threat of right-wing extremist sites. In this opinion piece, Shepard Smith blows the 'DHS is picking on the Tea Parties' meme out of the water (Friday, April 17, 2009), Dave Neiwert discusses how conservative television and radio hosts are trying to say that theyand the teabagging movement are being attacked by the DHS. Well unless they are members of right-wing hate groups, I see that their hysteria is just that, hysteria.

Finally, a voice of reason on Fox News:

Big Butter Jeebus Time

2009-04-05T20:02:00.001-07:00

Required Viewing for Non-Skeptics

2009-04-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with Fellow Godless Bitches over at Ravelry

2009-04-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

I've spent the better part of the past week laughing my ass off reading a monster thread of nearly 3000 posts over at Ravelry.com. The Lazy, Stupid, and Godless (LSG) group has the most amazing thread trashing trashy romances (I think you have to be registered to view forums over there). The thread is entitled Mermaid Angel Romance Novel From Hell. I've never laughed so hard in years.

Here's how the thread starts:

I started reading a book about an angel who gets a wing lopped off and falls into the sea, where he commences banging the shit out of a mermaid, bondage style. I mentioned it on another thread, and now that there is mroe ridiculousness, I have to share it.

So far the book as suggested the following

Global warming is a war between good and bad angels
Angels jizz rainbows
Angels have cocks and like to fuck womens after battles to heal themselves. Said cock is described as having “a head like a dragon’s”
Terrible metaphors involving seahorses
FAR TOO MANY mentions of children/infants during the sex
Fucking a mermaid in the cloaca
Catching mermaid on fire during fucking

With a plot like this you know I just had to find out more about this literary masterpiece. Here are a few more highlights from the thread.

If she can turn into a person at will why is he boinking her in the fishhole? I’m confused…

And...

I have another nominee for the LSG Book Club–“Love Slave,” by Bertrice Small. It’s got the double-stereotype-fulfiller of the “fiery redheaded Scottish vixen” and somewhere, I guess there’s a sheik and a harem.

All I know iz: we read the first few pages aloud at work. A chick gives birth, naked, on a table. A dude comes in and gives her her now-deceased husband’s severed penis (war trophy, donchaknow?). He stares at her (naked, laboring) body lustfully. She pops out a placenta.

I’m all about sex. And nature. But nowhere in my life is sex ever, EVER enhanced by placenta

And ...

The mermaid can apparently also turn into a pixie. She is now giving the angel a very tiny hand job.

His precum was referred to as “a gift from his body.” She then proceed to rub it all over her torso. He is now asking that she hump his dick (she’s about the height of a hand, now) so he “can feel the tiny stickiness.”

What.

And...

It’s been my experience that if a man can fuck you in the cloaca, he doesn’t want to fuck you in the mouth.

And...

She uses a lot of fancy words incorrectly.

And there is no buttsecks either. She had it all set up for hot buttsecks between two of the angels, but now one of them is all into one of the mermaid’s buddies. Apparently they get their very own sequel, which I may have to read for you guys, since she is an octopus down below instead of a fish!

And...

Maybe she’ll look like this..

And...

I hope and pray that her final form is corpse by the side of the road.

AM I CLOSE?

And...

I kinda wish someone would buy it for me! Of course, it wouldn’t be quite as magical now that I know every intricate twist and turn of this book’s fascinating trainwreck-esque plot, but still. Oh! I know!! Someone could buy me another book by the same author that I know nothing about! I’m sure as a “national bestselling author” she must have written other novels filled with depraved mythical sex fantasies. Maybe there’s a book about fairies putting on a donkey show with centaurs or a unicorn fucking Satan in the ass or something.

And...

Wow. This bitch needs therapy, or an exorcism, or something. Dear god! This is what she writes about – can you imagine what her dreams are like??

And...

Don’t forget “pixie-frotteurizing”

How I wish I had never read that scene.

MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The thread that keeps on giving.

Update:

Thanks to Rebecca in the comments. Here's a couple of links: Longmire Does Romance Novels and the Naughty Covers from Longmire.

Fundamentalist Christian "Chaplain" Exposed as a Fraud

2009-03-22T19:30:00.001-07:00

So, dear reader, which one of these officers is the real soldier and which is the fake soldier? You can't easily tell unless you look very closely at their uniforms. The man on the right is First Sergeant Rivera of the Los Angeles MEPS, and the wannabe "Major" on the left is Tim Sherman of the In PURSUIT Ministries. He has never been in the military, much less obtained an officer rank. Holy shit! Why isn't this asshole in jail where he belongs? It's a federal crime to impersonate a military officer.

The above is one of the stories contained in MRFF's March newsletter. They should call this the March Madness edition. There was an earlier story about the fake chaplains by MRFF in June 2008. I covered it here as well as asking for photographs to be sent in if anyone had them. No need for this, the assholes posted one of themselves violating Title 10 of the US Code. I'm not surprised this is in the news again. These fuckers don't quit until they are slapped down hard.

From the article:

The Gideons weren't the only non-federal entity using the MEPS as a forum to proselytize. Back in June, MRFF exposed another, far more problematic organization operating at these facilities -- a civilian ministry with the very military sounding name of United States Operational Support Command (USOSC). USOSC evangelists were not only given access to the MEPS, but were wearing military uniforms so close in appearance to U.S. Army uniforms that the new recruits, completely unfamiliar with military uniforms and insignia, would never guess that they weren't real military officers.

Apparently, in addition to seeing no problem at all with the proselytizing of recruits by these officer impersonators, the MEPS commanders and Inspector General, who not only sanctioned, but praised, the USOSC were completely oblivious to the fact that Title 10 of the U.S. Code strictly prohibits any person who isn't a member of the armed forces from wearing "the uniform, or a distinctive part of the uniform, of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps" or "a uniform any part of which is similar to a distinctive part of the uniform of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps."

The original article from June about MRFF's investigation can be found at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/rapture-ready-evangelical_b_106739.html

As you can tell, I'm extremely pissed at all of this. In fact it took me over an hour to calm down enough to write this, so you will have to excuse the obscenities in this post. As I said earlier:

And even scarier, members of this ministry are putting on military uniforms and giving themselves superior officer rank that they did not even earn. This is not only illegal, IT'S A FEDERAL CRIME.

What part of this do they not understand? It looks like another case of right-wing religious kooks pretending they have qualifications they did not earn. Just like fake college degrees in the Homeland Security Dept. It's bad enough that some of the non-denominational or Pentecostal chaplains have very little or no college education. Now we have wannabe chaplains who don't even even want to get accreditation and sponsorship of a religious organization, even one with little or no educational requirements.

Who the hell is even checking up on these people? What is wrong with the current military leadership these days? So anyone calling themselves Christian can do anything they want to young recruits these days? Is this the start of right-wing Christians just putting on military officer uniforms and waltzing in and taking command? WTF?

I worked very hard for my rank as an officer in the US Air Force. I graduated with a degree in Applied Math and passed Officer Training School. I made all of my promotions and held the rank of Captain when I left the service. I worked my ass off and earned a regular commission as a First Lieutenant instead of having to wait until the rank of Major. I'm extremely pissed that these assholes think that all they have to do is simply put on the uniform, walk in and get treated like an officer.

So these wannabe posers with military uniform fetishes show up and get treated as actual military officers. What has happened to pride in the uniform? So, anyone who gets a hard-on at the thought of putting on a military uniform with officer rank can now waltz in and start commanding enlisted service members on a whim? I guess they can, if they are "Christian" enough.

Air Force Investigating "Inspirational" Email

2009-03-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

Previously, I've covered the story of Air Force Col Toney who sent out an email linking to an extreme right-wing hate site. Now, according to the New York Times, The Air Force is starting an investigation into the sending of this email through official channels.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit watchdog group that monitors possible religious bias in the military, said it had received about 60 complaints from military personnel about the colonel’s e-mail message.
Among them was one from Master Sgt. Jeffrey L. Thompson, who works under Colonel Toney at the Royal Air Force Alconbury base in England and objected to military officials at the base about the e-mail message.
“A commander shouldn’t send out any type of e-mail that’s perceived as endorsing a particular faith system,” Sergeant Thompson, who is Catholic, said in a telephone interview. “It crossed a line, I thought. My faith stays in my home life and my church life.”

I'm glad that some Christians are stepping up and agreeing that proselytizing should be prohibited in any official emails. People are starting to get very tired of the constant misbehavior of these "Conservative Christians".

Colonel Toney sent out a second e-mail message to the personnel in her wing last month apologizing for sending out the link “to what I believed was an inspirational message about hope and encouragement.” She said she was unaware when she sent the link that the Web site contained “inappropriate” material.
Although Sergeant Thompson said he was prevented from filing a formal complaint because the Air Force said he had not suffered any personal harm, the Third Air Force Command in Europe has opened a broader investigation into the episode, officials said Friday.
“The purpose of this process is to look at all of the information and make a determination as to whether there’s been any sort of violation of policy and, if so, what action is warranted,” said Darlene Cowsert, a spokeswoman for the Air Force’s European command.

As I've said in the previous article, the MEO is clueless if they cannot see how other Christians can be offended at this type of email addressed to non-Christians. They seem completely unable to understand that a Christian can see the point of view of a non-believer.

Colonel Toney could not be reached for comment.

I guess her lawyer has advised her not to talk to the press.

Officials at the Air Force, which was hit with controversy in 2004 over charges of pro-Christian bias at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, said they had made significant strides to enforce a position of official neutrality on religion.
“We feel that the policy is clear, and we’re consistent with our message, but unfortunately there are isolated cases that come up,” Capt. Thomas Wenz, a spokesman at Air Force headquarters in Northern Virginia, said of the recent episode.

What planet are these people living on? The MRFF has received over 11,000 complaints about this type of behavior in the last four years.

But Mikey Weinstein, who heads the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said the incident represented a “textbook case” of improper religious influence.
“There’s a pervasive pattern of constitutional abuse when you have a wing commander who sends out a direct, proselytizing e-mail with a link to a Web site that slanders the president of the United States,” he said.
Mr. Weinstein’s group is suing the Defense Department in federal court over what it charges is a pattern of religious bias, and the Obama administration is set to respond to the lawsuit later this month. As a result of the Toney episode, Sergeant Thompson said he was considering joining the litigation as a plaintiff.

Good for you SSgt Thompson, but be careful, as some of the others who have complained openly about this behavior have received death threats from these insecure, fearful zealots.

Ignoring Complaints: Business as Usual for MEO

2009-03-07T21:45:00.000-08:00

Previously, I posted about Col. Toney who sent an email across several Air Force bases. The email was about a man missing all four limbs who was a dedicated Christian.The letter implored the reader to accept Christ. This email also contained a link to an extreme-right Catholic hate site, which contained various defamatory statements about Pres. Obama.

MSgt. Jeffery Thompson contacted me via email this past week and added a few details that were not mentioned in the Stars and Stripes article. He had contacted the Military Equal Opportunity office not once, but several times to file a complaint. He was ignored. The MEO staff seemed confused why a Christian would file a complaint about the matter. They seemed completely unable to understand that even if someone is not offended personally by the story in the email, they could understand why others might be. In addition to ignoring complaints, the MEO office leaked MSgt Thompson's complaint to the Col. Toney. This is a direct violation of AF regulations and a violation of the trust between the MEO office and the service member who comes to the MEO office with a complaint.

Here MSgt Thompson's original letter to Col.Toney in its entirety, posted here with MSgt Thompson's permission:

2 Feb 2009
MSgt Jeffrey L. Thompson

[Address removed]

Colonel Kimberly K. Toney

501 CSW/CC

APO AE 09470

Col Toney,

Our MEO NCOIC, MSgt XXXXXX, suggested that I write you a letter regarding the inspirational email that you sent out to the wing. I initially approached MSgt XXXXXX to get his opinion on the email because I had a concern that your email about Mr. Vujicic seemed to be wing leadership promoting, advancing or endorsing Christian faith. MSgt XXXXXX invited me to his office to discuss the issue. I had expected anonymity IAW AFI 36-2706 (3.18.1 / 4.3.12.7 / 5.2.12.3) to protect my identity until I decided how to proceed, but MSgt XXXXXX informed me that that he has told you my identity regarding this issue. I appreciate that his intentions were good, but approaching the wing commander on what I perceived as a foul has made me very nervous. No one wants to be on the wrong side on their wing commander.

Here is why I perceived the email as proselytizing: Your email to the wing asked us to look to Mr. Vujicic as an opportunity to think about our lives and how we handle our personal and professional challenges. Mr. Vujicic, in the article written just above the video, is described as someone whom the Lord has given an unquenchable passion to share his testimony and hope in Jesus with the world as he introduces Jesus to others and tells of His great desire to know them personally by allowing Him to become their Lord and Savior. By this language, this was Mr. Vujicic's intent and basis of his inspirational message.

MSgt XXXXXX told me that any endorsement of faith by your email was unintentional. My own impression of your email was an organizational endorsement of Christian faith because the email, article and video compelled us to witness an exercise in religious-specific faith that I felt was in conflict with DoD neutrality on religion. Although I am of Roman Catholic faith, I have always felt passionately about keeping religious events out of our mandatory military functions because faith is such an intensely personal, private and emotive issue. A basic tenant of some fundamentalist Christian faiths is their mission to convert others to their faith. When practiced openly or aggressively, this creates an exclusionist atmosphere for those of other faiths and those who reject religion entirely. Perhaps I am especially sensitive to this issue because I have been persistently pursued by fundamentalist Christians throughout my 23-yr career to convert; from supervisors, to subordinates, to the once agenda-covert Military Marriage Seminar, and more recently strong anti-Muslim sentiment and characterization of our current operations in Southwest Asia as a mission from God by the then deputy undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Lt General Boykin. For me, some of the pieces of the puzzle fell into place when the Air Force academy scandal was uncovered in the media. Our top Air Force leaders were being "character-shaped" into a fundamentalist Christian mindset with the help of organizations the Campus Crusade for Christ and The Military Ministry who has run Military Marriage Seminars in order to proselytize.

MSgt XXXXXX disagrees with my perception that your email was proselytizing. He made the point, if I understood him correctly, that because the wing chaplain programs belong to you, that you are able to publicize religious programs. He made the point that the Air Force has legitimate concern in its members' spirituality (not necessarily in a religious sense, but which can include faith). He made the point that after his own thorough review of DoD guidance, AFIs, and chaplain program guidance, he cannot see a direct MEO violation by the email. He made the point that you were unaware that the video and website had a religious association; again if I understand him correctly it was a simple oversight. Despite those clarifications and the context put forth by MSgt XXXXXX, I still cannot set aside my own impression that, even if unintentional, the email promoted and endorsed Christian faith, which creates an environment of exclusion of others that do not share that faith.

I am a deeply reflective person and I thoroughly considered MSgt XXXXXX's reasoning against my own perception of this event. In an attempt to grasp some additional perspective on this issue, I reviewed the MEO AFI and researched other resources such as the Military Religious Freedom Foundation website [www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org] and contacted Mr. Mikey Weintstein, the foundation's president and founder. He is an AF Academy Honor Graduate, served as Judge Advocate General for 10 years, served as the Whitehouse legal counsel to President Reagan for 3 years, and was General Counsel to Mr. H. Ross Perot. He is an attorney and has extensive expertise in MEO religious issues. I requested his perspective and discussed the issue in depth. The act of sending out an email with religious affiliation may not necessarily constitute an MEO institutional barrier. But there are indeed AFI's other DoD regulations that control such distribution, especially from chaplains. In contrast, such messages coming from the commander, as in this situation, almost certainly raises serious issues of Constitutionality. In any event, important legal issue aside, it certainly creates the likely potential to negatively impact the human relations climate of the wing by sending a message of exclusion to those who do not share that faith. Also, by AFI, commanders' support of religious beliefs and practices must be in a manner that is consistent and fair to all. The Official Air Force Core Values Handbook (The Little Blue Book) specifically addresses Religious Toleration under part 2, Service Before Self: "Religious toleration. Military professionals must remember that religious choice is a matter of individual conscience. Professionals, and especially commanders, must not take it upon themselves to change or coercively influence the religious views of subordinates."

There is an additional issue. The 4Marks.com website that you linked to in your email explicitly promotes an atmosphere that is hostile to our commander-in-chief, which is potentially detrimental to the good order and discipline of our unit. This website prominently host political extremist media directly linking religion to citizen's voting obligations for and against specific political candidates, such as arguing on religious grounds that "voting for Obama would be wrong," that Catholics were "morally obligated" to vote for McCain-Palin, and that Catholics could not have voted for Obama "without endangering their immortal soul." That Obama "is not fit to our commander-in-chief." That our former President Clinton and our Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are "career criminals." That one of the videos pushes that to vote for Obama "would be to assist in his evil," and, "cooperating with evil," and that President Obama is "soft on terrorist." [http://www.4marks.com/videos/details.html?video_id=699]
Especially offensive content include: That President Obama is "a veritable forerunner of the Antichrist." That suicide-cult leader Jim Jones "would be proud of these Democrat pied pipers leading their sheep to slaughter." That Obama wants to "kill babies." That our commander-in-chief is "anti-American," influenced by Satanism and inspired by domestic terrorists. That "a good Christian in his right state of mind could [not] vote for such a monster like Obama." That President Obama's mind is "twisted," that his voting record is "sick" and that Vice President Biden is an "American Judas." That in an article titled "America's Dead," President Obama's "election to the presidency, free speech and freedom to practice and freely worship our God may be denied." That, "Given the election of Obama, I fear that the days of the Third Reich are being revisited." That one article is preceded with a photo of President Obama depicted as Hitler, wearing a Nazi uniform and holding a Nazi flag [http://www.4marks.com/articles/details.html?article_id=2451]. These are not forum discussions, but are posted articles and videos that make up the message of the 4Marks.com website, just as the video and article of Mr. Vujicic do. One video I saw on the 4Marks website was sponsored by "www.NoHussein.org " who sell anti-Obama merchandise such as a bumper sticker that reads "Obama=666." The 4Marks.com website that your email linked to, seems to part of a network that is contemptuous and disparaging toward our president. These issues are perhaps more relevant to Dissident and Protest Activities, but the organization actively uses religion to discriminate between candidates aggressively uses religion to persuade those who view the website to vote for or against a specific candidate or political party. I believe that MSgt XXXXXX has referred the organization's website to AFOSI to determine if it falls under Dissident and Protest Activity. Additionally, because of 4Marks.com's open and extreme contempt toward President Obama and our other elected officials, and with all respect to you, I am especially troubled that wing leadership linking to, or promoting, the website may violate UCMJ article 88-Contempt Toward Officials.

I do not know what resolution is needed to put right this situation. As a commander you wield a tremendous amount of power over the four Air Base Groups and the 8 installations in the U.K. and Norway that make up our wing. What you say, write, or send out sets our direction and instructs us how to get there. I feel passionately that our job as military members is to defend, among other Constitutional concepts and rights, religious freedom which is understood and consistently defined by our courts as the secularity of government balanced by each individual's freedom of religious faith. We also defend the very core of democracy; individuals voting their conscience, free from coercion and well-informed by our Constitutionally protected press. With all of this said, I will respectfully meet with at your convenience to discuss this issue if you desire for me to so. However, because of my very strong feelings on this subject and the seriousness by which I believe this issue needs to be addressed, I am proceeding with a formal complaint.

Very respectfully,

JEFFREY L. THOMPSON, MSgt, USAF

Thank you MSgt Thompson for speaking out. It looks like it is business as usual for the MEO, who have previously ignored cases of rape, sexual harassment, and the rising number of suicides. The latest stylish trend for the MEO is ignoring senior officers who abuse their position of authority by shoving their religion in everyone's faces.

A Blast From the Past

2009-03-03T22:29:00.000-08:00

In the process of removing spam from my blog, I came across some old and bitter comments from our old friend, JW Horne, in comments from this post and in this post. JW Horne setup a series of failed blogs as replies to the Keiffe & Son's obnoxious advertising last year. Someone by the name of JW Horne showed up here claiming to be the person who did the ad. He set up and deleted a series of blogs, showed himself to be a total ass in both posts at his temporary blogs and in comments here. His words were angry and filled with empty threats.

In the process of cleaning up my blog I had planned to take down the link to the ad, but I think I'll leave it up for sometime, perhaps move it to the bottom of the page eventually.

If it is JW Horne who is still doing the ads, from what I hear on the radio, he is no longer doing those obnoxious Christian supremacist ads. It appears the posts and the wonderful people who emailed and called Keiffe & Sons had an effect. Take a look at his current blog, Sit Down and Shut Up, there are no posts, comments, or friends listed. It's merely just a reply to my posting about his ad. How sad, with a blog set up he doesn't have anything to say.

Blogger Spam Infestation

2009-03-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, Blogger really has been infested with spam comments lately. I'm having to go in and get rid of spam comments.

New Skeptic Site and Podcast

2009-03-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

I received an email from Jason Ball of the Young Australian Skeptics highlighting their blog and podcast. I decided to go over and take a look at it and I'm very impressed with what they have done. Keep up the good work, you guys and gals down under.

Peaceful Religions

2009-02-15T23:43:00.000-08:00

Air Force Colonel Sends Crazy Right-wing Email

2009-02-15T22:55:00.000-08:00

I was browsing MRFF's latest newsletter for February. Its only the second week in February and already they have a full list of the craziness perpetrated by the right-wing Christians in the US military. This story just boggles my mind. It's also mentioned in the Stars and Stripes.

An Air Force Colonel is under fire for distributing an e-mail to thousands of Air Force personnel from her official government account directing personnel under her command to visit a far-right, Catholic website where President Barack Obama was compared to Adolf Hitler and the Antichrist.
Col. Kimberly K. Toney’s Jan. 16 e-mail was sent to eight different Air Force installations in the United Kingdom and Norway and included the subject line: “Inspiration of the day - A Giant of a Man - Meet Nick Vujicic,” who was born without limbs.

“Every day, all around us, we meet people who make a difference in our lives,” Col. Toney’s e-mail says. “Please take a few minutes to enjoy the attached video and meet a truly inspirational individual who will provide you with an opportunity to think about life and how we handle challenges in our personal and professional day-to-day lives.

“Keep doing the GREAT things you do and don't ever let the challenges get you down. Live, learn and enjoy! Thank you!”

Col. Toney’s e-mail would appear to be a harmless, motivational message from a Colonel to personnel under her command. But the electronic communication pointing Air Force personnel toward a five-minute video clip about 25 year-old Vujicic, whose incredible story of courage and hope is indeed inspirational, is also rife with religious undertones. His story, as showcased on the website 4marks.com, would seem to have little to do with the challenges he faces and more about turning one’s life over to Jesus Christ.

Why is Col. Toney sending out an exclusively Christian emails to a base with personnel of many varying beliefs? Does she think that the US Air Force only consists of right-wing born-again Christians?

In fact, at least one of the e-mail’s recipients also believed Col. Toney was endorsing religion with her mass e-mail. Master Sergeant Jeffrey L. Thompson filed a formal complaint against Col. Toney accusing her of illegal proselytizing that would “negatively impact the human relations climate of the wing by sending a message of exclusion to those who do not share that faith.”

MSgt. Thompson, who said he is a Roman Catholic, was told by an official with the Military Equal Opportunity office (MEO) that Col. Toney’s e-mail was not intended to come across as proselytizing.

In a letter Thompson wrote directly to Col. Toney, he said he was told by the MEO official “that because the wing chaplain programs belong to you, that you are able to publicize religious programs.”

“He made the point that the Air Force has legitimate concern in its members' spirituality (not necessarily in a religious sense, but which can include faith),” MSgt Thompson’s letter to Col Toney says. The MEO official “made the point that after his own thorough review of [Department of Defense] guidance, [Air Force Instructions], and chaplain program guidance, he cannot see a direct MEO violation by the e-mail. He made the point that you were unaware that the video and website had a religious association; again if I understand him correctly it was a simple oversight. Despite those clarifications and the context, I still cannot set aside my own impression that, even if unintentional, the e-mail promoted and endorsed Christian faith, which creates an environment of exclusion of others that do not share that faith.

“Perhaps I am especially sensitive to this issue because I have been persistently pursued by fundamentalist Christians throughout my 23-year career to convert; from supervisors, to subordinates, to the once agenda-covert Military Marriage Seminar, and more recently strong anti-Muslim sentiment and characterization of our current operations in Southwest Asia as a mission from God by the then deputy undersecretary of Defense for intelligence Lt General [William] Boykin. For me, some of the pieces of the puzzle fell into place when the Air Force Academy scandal was uncovered in the media. Our top Air Force leaders were being "character-shaped" into a fundamentalist Christian mindset with the help of organizations the Campus Crusade for Christ and The Military Ministry who has run Military Marriage Seminars in order to proselytize.”

It seems that a clear pattern is emerging here. Fundamentalist Christians have been proselytizing and pushing their religion so much that moderate Christians are turned off by any attempt to push religion on others, even when it is their own religion. There was also some mention of the MEO office giving the name of the complainant to the Colonel. How unprofessional.

Neither Col. Toney nor an official from the MEO’s office returned messages left for Col. Toney at her base of operations in the UK and Norway. A Pentagon spokesman said he was unable to comment for “at least a week” and did not elaborate.

"How comforting it is to know that the MEO official sees no problem here,” Weinstein said. “Until the military is ready to treat unconstitutional religious predators with the same seriousness and severity which they finally impose on sexual predators, these transgressions will never stop.

I love how Mikey Weinstein compares these guys to sexual predators. HehHehHeh. It also looks like the Equal Opportunity office is doing nothing as usual.

Moreover, aside from the alleged proselytizing, MSgt. Thompson and many others of the 501st Combat Support Wing who received Toney’s e-mail were outraged by what they believed was the Air Force’s endorsement of a website openly hostile to the new Commander-in-Chief.

Apparently, personnel who surfed 4marks.com stumbled upon a series of presidential campaign articles and videos about Barack Obama on the site, one of which said the president is “a veritable forerunner of the Antichrist” who wants to “kill babies.” In another article, Obama is depicted as Hitler, wearing a Nazi uniform and holding a Nazi flag. Vice President Joseph Biden is called a “pseudo catholic,” an “American Judas,” and “pathetic.”

Looks like the 4marks.com website is an extreme right-wing Catholic website. In the past 10 years or so right-wing Catholics and Protestants have joined together politically,even though they still call each other names and consider the others not real Christians.

Update:

Here is the letter from MSgt Thompson after his personal information was leaked by the MEO office to Col. Toney.

The Power of Peer Pressure

2009-02-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

Here is a letter from a Christian officer posted here at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. I am posting the entire letter here. The officer is afraid to speak up for his rights as a moderate Christian in the face of his superior officer's pushy Evangelical Fundamentalist Christianity. He gives some background about the events:

To Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation:

My name is (name withheld) and I am a (officer rank withheld) in the U.S. Army currently stationed stateside at Fort (military installation name withheld). I, my spouse and my children are Methodists attending church regularly on both Wednesdays and Sundays. I will always remember today as the low-point of my long (number of years withheld) year career in the Army. I have only myself to blame. Today I firmly established myself as a shameful person. Mikey, I write about 3 things; Rick Warren, my cowardice and your bravery. Today, I watched President Obama's inauguration on the television set up in our Brigade staff conference room. I attended as a member of (unit level designation withheld) staff along with over 40 other senior officers, senior enlisted and a few senior Army civilian staffers. There had been much talk here about Pres. Obama's selection of the evangelical pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at the ceremonies.

This reiterates the pattern the MRFF is seeing from the complaint letters they are receiving. The majority of complaints are coming from moderate Christians who are now discovering first hand for themselves the treatment that non-Christians routinely get. Their religious viewpoints are being discriminated against by conservative Christian officers in power.

Our current Commander is a very intolerant and "serious and committed born again Christian" as he always describes himself to all his subordinates. At every military assignment I've ever been to it's always the same thing; if you are not a born again "serious" Christian you are branded as pretty much worthless. My current Commander is bad but not the worst I have seen. I have served 2 combat tours; one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. I have seen those under my command killed and grievously wounded. I was wounded twice. I have been awarded many combat medals and decorations. I have also stood by silently while my combat superiors have openly and repeatedly proselytized me and my troops. I did nothing. I have stood by and watched them continuously proselytize the Iraqis and Afghans. I did nothing.

It looks like the other Christians are "not Christian enough" for these "serious and committed born again Christians". This man has served under fire and watched his men get seriously wounded and killed, and himself wounded as well. And yet he cannot bring himself to protest these pushy and obnoxious Christians shoving their religion on everyone around them. He did nothing, being afraid for his career and family.

Today, after Pastor Warren ended his invocation by praying in the name of his personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our Commander jumped to his feet clapping and yelled "God Bless him for having the courage to pray for all of the lost souls in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ!" [Click here to see video of Warren's invocation]. About a third of those attending also clapped. I did not. That was until our Commander turned around to survey everyone's reaction to his statement. When that happened, the officer next to me started to clap and the one to my left clapped too. I felt like I was in a spotlight as the Commander looked at me and the female officer in front of me who had also not clapped. Then she clapped. And then I clapped too. I tried not to but could not muster up the strength to be the only one in the room not clapping in support of our Commander and Warren. I know what I should have done but I just couldn't. Despite the many fierce combat situations I have been in, including hand-to-hand, I just couldn't. I hate myself for this failure. I hate myself for my cowardice. I hate myself.

This is the insidious power of coercive peer pressure. A good and strong man is reduced to conforming to the group against his will in order to enjoy the his place in the group. Is this what the Fundamentalists want? People forced to pretend they worship? How does this in any way honor the god they supposedly believe in?

I have heard and read about all of the death and other threats being made against you, your wife and children. I listened to the voice recording of the death threat that you released made against MRFF client Spc. Jeremy Hall. I heard about that church being burned down when you spoke in that town. All of you show bravery especially when the chips are down. I had my chance today and I showed fear and cowardice. I can't stand what I did today. I have been a client of MRFF for over three years now but no one knows it other than my spouse. We are both afraid of anyone finding out. I have heard other Army personnel talk of being MRFF clients but they usually try to keep it very quiet. Everything you are fighting for, Mikey, is the right fight. I'm not guessing and not assuming; I have lived it. I am living it. I will continue to live it. Trying to complain up the chain of command is as useless as filing an IG complaint or other administrative action. No, it's far worse than just useless. It can and will brand the complainer as a target for revenge.

Why is it that it's the non-believers who file all the lawsuits? Are we so used to the bullying by Christians in power, we know how to either stand up for ourselves or stay hidden? Why don't the Christians who are harassed by these bullies stand up for themselves? Are the moderate and liberal Christians so used to the their privilege that they have never been in such a situation before and don't know how to handle it?

I have seen it happen and fear it could happen to me if I stood up to it. I have a family and am not that far from being able to retire in peace and quiet. MRFF is the only outlet for military people like me. I hope this e-mail message can help other people (there are so many of us) be willing to contact MRFF and allow you to fight on our behalf against the multitudes of "serious and committed born again Christians" who control all of our careers and lives. Your lawsuit is important to us all. Please don't stop your fight and please don't hate me for not fighting. I hate myself enough for everyone.

(name and rank withheld)
Fort (military installation withheld)
(unit designation withheld)

All I can hope for is the new administration tries to stop the dangerous power grab by the religious conservatives in the US military forces. But I'm disheartened by the choice President Obama has made of leaving in the current Secretary of Defense.

It Seems Generals are now Chaplains

2009-02-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

Check out MRFF's latest January newsletter. Christian conservatives gone wild. It's been awhile since I've checked over at MRFF for the latest church-state violations in the military. To me, it appears the religious conservatives are trying to push as much Jesus as they can before the current administration can stop them. Check out the previous newsletters and the weekly happenings.

President Obama's Inclusive Speech

2009-01-20T22:27:00.000-08:00

My favorite bits:

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers."

"We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do."

Catching up on a Few Shows

2009-01-19T21:34:00.000-08:00

I've taken a couple of weeks of from blogging to catch up on episodes of Numb3rs via streaming video and DVD. You can watch year 5 here at CBS via streaming video. I have a BS in Applied Math and a MS in Aerospace Engineering, and I just love the use of math in the show. I try not to let my rather pedantic nature get in the way of enjoying the show. I also love mysteries as well. I try not to mind that the characters assume way too much information in order to use some of the math they try on the show.

FBI Report on Hate Groups in the Military

2009-01-06T23:21:00.000-08:00

In July of 2008, the FBI released a report entitled (U) White Supremacist Recruitment of Military Personnel Since 9/11 describing the activities of hate group members in the United States military services. This post is a continuation of this previous post.

Some choice bits from Page 7:

• Two Army privates in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, received six year prison sentences for attempting to sell stolen government property in mid-2007 to an undercover FBI agent they believed was involved with the white supremacist movement. The property included ballistic vests with plates, a combat helmet, and the controlled substances morphine sulfate and Diazepam.

• In May 2003 the US Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) advised the FBI of six active duty soldiers at Fort Riley, Kansas, with possible AN affiliations. One of the six, who has unconfirmed service in Iraq, sought to recruit members from within the Army and served as the AN’s point-of-contact in Kansas.

• In mid-2000 and leading into the early 2001 assessment period, Army CID and FBI sources of unspecified credibility reported on the recruiting of individuals stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, by an AN Tennessee leader who also sought information about troop deployments, unit sizes, and military missions. The subject also expressed interest in setting up a training camp for instruction in assault, infantry, camouflage, reconnaissance, and building bunkers. Although the FBI assessed the subject successfully recruited soldiers from Ft. Campbell into the AN, his arrest on felony firearms charges in December 2000 and sentencing to two years probation in April 2003 effectively disrupted his leadership and training activities.

From Page 8:

• According to reliable information, an incarcerated former member of Volksfront and the Confederate Hammerskins attempted to submit an article to the NA’s Resistance magazine in December 2006. In the unpublished article, the author, who claims having received counterterrorism training in the Navy, urges Aryans to pursue “a long war of attrition” against the “Zionist” US Government similar to the strategies of insurgents in Iraq and Northern Ireland. This would include “sporadic bombing campaigns” against the public and “executing prominent officials.”

• According to reliable and corroborated source reporting, in 2006 the leader of the Celtic Knights—a now defunct Hammerskin splinter group in central Texas—planned to obtain firearms and explosives from an active duty Army soldier based at Fort Hood, Texas, and to use the soldier in attacks against methamphetamine labs in the Austin area. The soldier, who served in Iraq during 2006 and 2007, concurrently held membership in the NA and probationary membership in the Celtic Knights. The soldier is going through proceedings for military discharge.

• In November 2005 a federal court convicted a former Army intelligence analyst on a weapons violation for having assisted a convicted felon in purchasing a firearm. Military police at Fort Bragg discovered white supremacist materials and several weapons hidden behind ceiling tiles in the subject’s quarters. The subject was formerly associated with the NA but founded a Spokane-based skinhead group after leaving the Army—a group for which the subject reportedly advocated pursuing tactical training in firearms, knives, close-quarters fighting, and “house sweeps” for general readiness and possible use in robbing drug houses.

Looks like these members are doing much more than only advocating for their racism and white supremacism, as was discussed in the previous post.

The above figure shows where military trained supremacists end up in some of these hate groups. It looks like skinheads and neo-Nazis end up with the most military trained members. Scary.