The Culture of “Life” Strikes Again: The Murder of Dr. George Tiller

Back in April, the Department of Homeland Security warned that right wing extremist and terrorist groups may take advantage of the worsening economy and the election of an African-American President would increase both the number of hate groups and increase the number of people involved in such groups.  Of course, the reaction of the media right was measured and moderate.  Well, not really — many accused the Obama Administration of orchestrating a hit job on real Americans.  After all, no Christian American would ever become a terrorist, right?  No politically conservative veteran would ever become involved in an extremist act, right?  Conservatives and Christians value life (even if it means the death of a mother).

Today, the sick neo-conservative Christian culture of ‘life’ struck again. 

There is no Way I Could Make This Up

This is from Politico (but I found it via Crooks & Liars):

Red States Erik Erickson does not like the idea that there are cracks in the conservative facade.  He really does not like that idea that Republicans are actually objecting to the dreck spilling from the mouths of such ‘main-stream’ conservatives as Limbaugh, Beck and Cheney (both, I presume). 

New Jack Chick Tracts

A few weeks ago, I wrote yet another post about atheism and morality.  In it, I made that point that Christians have no reason to behave in a moral or legal way because, as long as they believe the right things strongly enough, and have embraced a personal saviour in the right way.  I even had a commenter agree that anyone, no matter how evil, can, even at the end of his or her life, embrace Jesus and be saved.  Now, there is a new Chick Tract which says the exact same thing:  you can sell your soul to Satan and still, at the end, be saved.

At Least Ussher Had An Excuse

Archbishop James Ussher was a  brilliant man.  He decided to figure out just how old the earthis and used both written history, astronomy, and the Old Testament of the Bible to do it.  And he arrived at the “entrance of the night preceding  the twenty-third day of October in the year of the Julian calendar 710.”  In other words, October 22, 4004 BC.  Despite slipshod calculations and a hefty helping of assumptions, this date is accepted by a remarkable number of Americans.  In the early 17th century, science was so limited, so primitive, so unrefined, that Ussher’s estimate was not bad.  Wrong, but, given the temporally necessary limitations, not bad.  He had an excuse.  He did not have to disbelieve almost everything in order to hang on to that date.

Memorial Day, 2009

Today was a beautiful day.  We got up early ((((Wife))) and I have the day off together (which doesn’t happen that often)) to take (((Girl))) to the school so she could march in a Memorial Day parade up in Wilkes-Barre Township. 

Since we have a mini-van, we transported one set of quads, two bass drums and two snare drums.  Plus the mounting hardware. And all the drumsticks and mallets.  No drummers, though.  Just the drums.  The drummers rode the bus (and as we were carrying the drums, we didn’t have to ride will all the teenagers  (one of the lesser-known perks of a mini-van)).

I do not get my subs here.

I (occasionally)  grab a sub (or torpedo, or grinder, or hero, or Italian) on my way to work.  This is one place that I do not get my lunch (and yes, I know someone has messed with the letters, but it has been like this for a year (or more)).

Church Orgasm, Jell-o and Cheeze Whiz

Earlier today, while perusing PhillyChief’s excellent blog (I done casted aspersions ’bout his Chiefs, so I gotta get on ‘is good side), Quantum Flux, in the comment section, made a comment (the comment:  “What next will the crazy holy rollups think up next!? Jesus causing female orgasms?”) which sparked a memory from my childhood.  Well, not actually childhood, more like teenager-hood.  And not a pleasant memory, either (thanks a lot).

Thursday Gourmet

Even in Arizona, finding different kinds of chili peppers was difficult.  Hell, finding any peppers was tough:  green bell peppers were about the only thing in a Northern Arizona grocery store.  All Mom’s Mexican cooking was based on McCormick Chili Powder.  And it was good.

Then, in the mid-1980s, grocery stores (by this time we were in Western Maryland) discovered that there is more than one kind of pepper.  Red bells and even fresh jalapenos showed up in the vegetable bins.  We began using the fresh peppers.  And it was good.

A few years after we moved to Northeastern Pennsylvania, Wegmans opened.  And they carried (and still carry) lots and lots of different peppers.  And they carry dried chili peppers.  I quickly began experiment with neat things like ancho, pasilla, cascabel, and anaheim chilis.  And it was really good.

Anyway, here is a recipe for some of those dried chili peppers:

Black Bean Chili Mole with Pork

Interview With A Theist

I did an interview with Fallen and Flawed which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I forgot to send a picture, so I came out looking like William of Ockham.

Fear of an Idea Redux

I am, I must admit, afraid:  I fear disability, accident, death, normal things.  I fear natural occurrences which happen randomly to all humans (and all animals and plants but that’s somewhat outside my bailiwick).  I know that I will die — that does not actually frighten me.  Well, death doesn’t.  Dying does.  I don’t fear the idea of death.  I fear the actual death itself.

Many (not all) of the Christians I know, or have known, though, have a whole new level of fear:  fear of ideas (I guest blogged this almost  a year-and-a-half ago at VJack’s Atheist Revolution (but I am not rewriting that blog, just revisiting the same idea from a different angle)).  Why would true believer Christians fear ideas?