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.

Merry Teabagging Christmas

Teabaggers (and I’m using the political definition, not the sexual one) have a habit of making themselves look idiotic.  Stupid.  Moronic.  Insane.  And they keep finding new and better ways.  Faux New’s war on Christmas meme has permeated the radical right, both political and religious.  So it comes as no surprise that some Teabaggers have now jumped into the WoC, where they will (presumably) be stir fried.

A Kentucky Hat Trick of Stupid

I guess I am just not jaded enough.  I can still be surprised.  Case in point?  The state of Kentucky.  I really am beginning to wonder about Kentucky.  There seems to be a veritable plethora of stupid seeping out of the state.

I, like every other civil servant, make a sacrifice.  Any time that I am in uniform, or on duty, my freedom of speech and of action is limited.  I must, while in contact with the public, avoid certain topics and actions.  If I were to  make public statements about politics or religion, while in either work status or in my government uniform, it would be very easy for a member of the public to interpret my personal views as an official stance of the government of the United States of America.  It really does not matter if a person is an employee of a state, federal, county, local or city government, their freedom of speech is similarly constrained while on duty. 

I Get Mail. And It Isn’t Nearly As Exciting As It Should Be.

Today, I got an email from Tina Jane.  I  did not recognize the address, or the mailer, but, after doing a quick McAfee scan, I clicked.  Then I clicked over to a Google document.  And I realized that I was being witnessed via billytheatheist (at) gmail.com as I read:

Another Christian Thinks Laws Don’t Apply to Christians

A Western Florida high school is learning an important lesson.  Well, the principal (Frank Lay) and the athletic director (Robert Freeman) are learning a lesson.  And it is a lesson with which certain Christianist dominionist fundamentalists have a great deal of trouble.

For the past 20 or so years, (from Americans United)

under Lay’s leadership, Pace High School became known as “the Baptist Academy.” Teachers and staff delivered prayers and invited students or outside leaders to lead prayers during school activities. Teachers read from the Bible and discussed church attendance with students. Students were encouraged to attend religious clubs and incorporate religion into their schoolwork.

Evangelical Sexualization of Pre-Teens

One of the joys of my life has been watching my babies become toddlers become preteens become teens become adults (with some (in (((Girl)))’s case) some stopoffs in ‘bitch’).  At every stage, there were difficulties, there were challenges, and there was growth.

And the toughest part about growth was trusting.  I trust myself.  I trust (((Wife))).  Trusting (((Boy))) and (((Girl))) to make the right decision when needed can be a little trying at times.  All (((Wife))) and I can could do is teach them, help them recognize what destructive decisions can do, and, most of all, understand cause and effect relationships.  It has made for a rather roller-coaster ride but, for the most part, the kids have made pretty damn good decisions.

(((Wife))) and I did not lock them up in a convent (though it was (on occasion) tempting (though I’m not sure a Unitarian convent would have had the desired effect).  We did not fill their heads with fairy tails about birth control or the risk of disease.  We did not subject (((Girl))) to a Purity Ball.

A Strange Combination of Bumper Stickers

I just got back from the grocery store.  While walking across the parking lot, I almost got run over by a large SUV (no, Sarge, it probably was not the one gunning for you).  It had an odd combination of bumper stickers on the back:

Trying to Belong

When I was 12 years old, we moved from Grand Canyon, Arizona (a small (less than 3,000 year round residents) and educated (more than half the families had at least one member with a college degree) one) and moved to a small town in western Maryland.  I moved from a school with 16 students per grade to one with about 200.  And I moved from an ecumenically open and diverse community to a northern lobe of the Bible Belt.  I felt a strong need to belong.

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.