Panties in a Bunch Over Pink Ouija Boards?

One of the toys that we three kids played with when I was younger was an Ouija board.  Oddly, no matter what question was asked, or by whom, the answer usually matched the thoughts of the oldest of the three.  Not little (((Billy))).  Harmless fun.  Well, for me, annoying.  For my older sisters, fun.

Years later, I discovered that Ouija boards were not viewed as harmless fun.  They were, according to one local preacher (local (at this time) being Western Maryland) decried the boards as a gateway to Satanism.  As marijuana leads inexorably to opium, so Ouija leads directly to Satanic cults, orgies, human sacrifice. atheism, Darwinism, voting Democrat, alcoholism, divorce, and viewing the Bible as allegorical.  Apparently, Christians (the specific subset of literalist Christians (and selected others)) are so insecure that they think a children’s game — a boring children’s game — is a threat to their belief system.

Goddidit Really Is Easier

I should have put this up at the beginning: the graphic is found (it is off the internet from years ago and I wasn’t able to find it again) but the frame and text is my contribution.

Happy Ground Hog Day

Today, I began a new tradition.  I began celebrating ground hog day.  No, not the drag-the-poor-rodent-out-of-his-hole-in-the-middle-of-winter-and-shove-him-into-the-bright-television-lights version of ground hog day.  Not the Bill Murray version either.

I fried up some pork sausage*, took it outside, and saw a shadow from the sausage.  Which means, of course, a longer winter.

I then ate the sausage.  And it was good.

*Well, pork sausage counts as ground hog (with seasonings), right?

Criminalizing Miscarriages?

On of the things I admire* about the radical religious right wackos is their ability to get you coming or going.  First, they fight tooth and nail against any possibility of teaching our children actual facts about reproduction, sex, and all of the various ways to prevent pregnancy (abstinence, condoms, birth control pills, sponges, aspirin, IUDs).  Then, if a girl and boy do what teenagers do and (because they have been lied to about the effectiveness of birth control) she gets a little bit preggers, they make it as difficult as possible to get a legal abortion (by intimidation (of doctors, nurses and patients at women’s health clinics) or violence (up to (and including) murder).

Out in Utah (a bastion of progressive thought), a new law has just passed out of committee.  The ”bill tightens the definition of what an abortion is and removes a legal immunity for women if they intentionally try to have an illegal abortion.” (this (and all others (except where noted)) is from KCPW’s website). 

The Time I Almost Got Some Poor Sod Killed By His Beautiful Wife

(This has nothing to do with atheism, just remembering a time I almost god some poor sod killed.)

Many, many years ago (last century, in fact), I watched a young couple enter a building in which I work.  Mom, dad, a two-and-a-half year old boy, and twin 6-month-old girls in a stroller.  Cute family. 

They walked over to me, mom pushing the stroller with one hand, hanging on to the toddler with the other, and balancing a large diaper bag over her shoulder.  “Do you have changing tables in the lady’s room?  And where is it?”

Where Have I Been II

Back on 06 January, I posted the first half of my trips to visit family up and down (literally) the east coast.  I promised that I would, on the next day, post the second half.  So here it is nineteen days later, and I realized that I had let down my loyal fan.  Er, fans.  Both.  So, without further ado, here is the second half of my travelogue (with pictures (and parenthetical statements inserted where apropos)):

A Pointless Poll

Why?  Because I haven’t had a poll on my blog this month.  Or this year, for that matter.

(Inspired by a thread at Pharyngula)

An Overheard Conversation

I both love and hate cell phones.  I hate the damned things because, when I had one, I couldn’t get away from anything.  Boss has a question?  He can call me while shopping.  Or driving.  Or whatever.  I hate the damned things because I find it extremely rude when someone interrupts a conversation with a living, breathing, and present person to talk to someone who isn’t even there.  I love the damned things because some of the conversations (or half-conversations) I overhear are funny as hell.

On Friday, (((Wife))) and I were walking into an overstock store (Marshalls or TJMaxx or some such (don’t laugh — I can get some good spices cheap)) to pick up a disposable pan (all my pots and pans are Calphalon, non with non-stick coating;  I like having one cheap non-stick for certain situations and, when it is no longer non-stick, I just toss it).  As we walked across the parking lot, I overheard one half of a hilarious cell phone conversation:

Christianist Values: Jesus on a Sniper Scope!

Trijicon  is, by most accounts, a reputable member of the national defense establishment and the NRA.  I know that they produce excellent scopes for rifles — for hunting trophies, for meat, and for hunting humans (real quick caveat:  I do not hunt but I have no real problem with most hunters;  I also understand the ethics and efficacy of military sniping — neither is the point of this post (not that that will stop some, but . . .)).  It would appear that they are, at some level, full-blown Christianists looking to ’save’ the Middle East (after all, those ragheads are worshipping the wrong misogynistic psychopathic ‘god(s)’) for the greater glory of the eternal paradise of  . . .   Sorry.

They Just Can’t Help Themselves, Can They?

The earthquake in Haiti is tragic and horrific.  And the response from America was quick — U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard units were underway within, literally, hours.  And the the response from one of the most prolific mouthpieces of the religious right was adding insult within, literally, hours.