This Week In Hypocrisy

The Traditional Values Coalition has been registered as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for a couple of years now. The group has become known for sneaky tactics such as mailing out false censuses to senior citizens, which looked an awful lot like government documents. Their website and speeches preach lies about gay people, such as the extremist favorite lie that gays kidnap children to turn them into homosexuals. Their latest mailer is to senior citizens and concerns the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. This is what the TVC Christian Seniors Association is sending your parents in order to scam money out of them.




The lie that hate crimes laws prohibit freedom of religion is a widespread one, so much so that the Texas Republican Party has even bought in. However, the law only penalizes those who wish to commit crimes against people based on their race, religion, or sexual orientation. Even the HCPA itself states that “Nothing … in the law shall be construed to prohibit any constitutionally protected speech – including the exercise of religion protected by the first amendment." The Hate Crimes Prevention Act goes out of its way to protect your right to say that all fags should burn in Hell.




Groups like the TVC, the National Organization for Marriage, and NARTH are among the many currently using fear in order to raise funds. Their moneymaking schemes not only exploit the elderly, but further the spread of hatred. If any business engaged in the tactics that religious lobbies do they would be shut down, their leaders prosecuted as racketeers. Groups like TVC are among the many that are trying to make civilized democracies into theocracies. Many of these groups funnel money into nations like Uganda, hoping that Biblical law will reign.

 One peculiar aspect of all of this is the fact that the Ten Commandments prohibit bearing false witness. There is no escape clause, no "thou shalt not bear false witness except" clause. In the book cited as the basis for all of their misogyny and homophobia, one of the most horrendous sins is to lie. Then again, you don't have to read a book in order to beat someone to death with it.

Letting Go Of God Part Three

"But you need a God to be moral."

  This is one of the more loaded fallacies that theists use when they discover someone they know doesn't believe in an old man in the sky. Folks truly believe that Biblical/Koranic laws are the basis for all that is good in the world. After all, how does an atheist know right from wrong?

  To begin with, I'll offer a scientific basis for morality. Humans are social beings, and our tribal nature requires that we must get along with one another in order for species survival. We are extremely emotional creatures, exhibiting great empathy that manifests as care for our species. Morality and a sense of justice is part of the human condition and only psychopaths lack moral definition. Because our ingrained sense of right and wrong may seem to lack a cause, we blame a creator for its presence.

Yet we are not the only moral beings. Even though theists claim humans are the only creatures with souls, that is a defined sense of right and wrong, it should be noted that elephants, cats, dogs, and even fish exhibit a large array of emotions. Elephants hold funerals for their dead and wolves assign special tasks to wounded members. A family pet will often risk his life to protect a child. Behaviours like grooming and play solidify tribal bonds that lead to long-term survival. A group is a more formidable opponent than an individual and those that create disorder are shunned in both human and animal community alike. 

  But, let's get back to modern-day man for a minute. How does it feel when you see suffering? If you're someone like myself, it is justifiably upsetting. We wish the things for others that we wish for ourselves- lives of happiness and fulfillment, health and prosperity. We do not wish to torture people or take their liberties because we would not like it if someone did such things to us. Whether or not one believes in a God should have no bearing on whether or not he or she decides to do good things for others. If a person's only reason for being kind to another is because of fear of some supernatural punishment, the person is a sociopath. 

  And on the subject of sociopathy, it should be noted that there certainly are God warrior psychopaths. Marcello Palma believed he was doing the work of God when he murdered 3 of my friends in 1996. The man who shot George Tiller thought he was acting under divine command. Mein Kampf is littered with references to God and the belts the SS wore bore the term "God with us.". And if you read the Bible or Qu'ran you will discover massacre after massacre in the name of this mighty God. The Prophet Muhammed married a 6 year old and Moses' armies killed infants and pregnant women and kidnapped virgins to serve as sex slaves. Jesus himself admonished Jews for not killing their disobedient children and Lot impregnated two of his daughters whilst drunk. We warn our kids about theocracies like Uganda and Iran because there is absolutely nothing moral about their Abrahamic laws. 

  It is very easy to have solid morality without holding a personal God. All one has to do is look at the world and ask whether someone is happy or sad, sick or well, and see what can be done to change the situation. The well-being of other people depends on such things as keeping criminals away from the public and promoting the education of children. If the joy and suffering of others are not good enough reasons to do good works, you may have a far larger problem than God. 

A Voice In The Wilderness

  A few times a week, I am asked if what I do really matters. Sometimes I feel as if it doesn't, but more often I am affirmed by the fine folks who pass my explanations of day-to-day events on to others. And sometimes we all wonder if opinion-editorials can truly affect the outcomes of topics we discuss.

  Last week I was on fire about the GOP's attempts to redefine rape for the purposes of restricting women from obtaining abortions. The U.S. federal government is already prohibited from paying for such procedures under the new health care reforms, but the GOP likes to save money, so they had to have this affirmed twice on taxpayer ticket. I digress. The GOP wanted to redefine rape as forcible, which would essentially mean that women who have been drugged, coerced, or violated in the infinite number of ways that rapists invent were not raped by definition. They wanted to add a Whoopi Goldberg standard of rape to federal abortion law. They desire to add more restrictions to abortion so that it will eventually be impossible to legally obtain, and one of those is by silencing crime victims.

  As I said, I wrote an op-ed about the GOP's latest war on women's voices. But I was just one of many people who aired concern about this issue. It wound up on twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Television, etcetera. Some folks weren't aware of what I was talking about because I tend to get the jump on things, but eventually the U.S. Republican Party's attempt at a dangerous precedent became international news. And it do3es matter.

  Today, the GOP abandoned their attempt to redefine rape and silence wounded women. Yes, the GOP is wasting taxpayer money reconfirming something Mr. Obama already stated, but at least they won't be able to ramp up their attack just yet. The Republican Party discovered themselves under a very uncomfortable microscope and caved because they know that women are more than 50 percent of the population.  Common sense prevailed, if only for an instant, because enough people spoke up against something that was monumentally wrong . It's a very simplistic explanation and there was obvious political gamesmanship at play, but the fact remains is that if nobody mentioned this atrocious attempt at uterus policing the GOP would be able to do what they wish.

  Never be afraid to stand up to injustice whenever you see it because every voice is a vote. And in a democratic society every vote truly does count. By choosing to stand idly by as your rights and those of your neighbours are being threatened is a vote for oppression; a voice in defense of the downtrodden is a vote for the liberty we too often take for granted. The world is a beautiful place, her luster more magnificent with every positive action. Words may not always be sweet, but even abrasive ones can affect our chunk of life in a grand way indeed. All it takes is your words to connect to mine, and to another's, and another's. Your words are no longer small when they have joined a choir.

Be well.

Fashion Faux-Pas?

The interwebs are abuzz with op-ed columns, Facebook photos, and tweets about the Egyptian political protests. Some comics as well as layfolk are adding humour to the situation, but most are attempting to be somewhat sensitive. And in the ill-timed humour department, we have this tweet from designer Kenneth Cole:

Justifiably or not, many are very upset with Mr. Cole about his usage of a political crisis to promote fashion articles that the average Egyptian cannot afford. This afternoon, he offered this apology via Facebook and removed the offending tweet

Kenneth Cole

I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.

Kenneth Cole, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer

My question to you is: do you think the apology is enough? Knowing that he went to the trouble of acquiring the corresponding bit.ly link, I think he made a very bad choice indeed. I realize that if a politician made such a statement, he'd be fried, but Kenneth Cole is not a politician. If you're looking to a fashion house or any similar enterprise for all of your intellectual needs, you're a moron. 

Chinese Dream

  

This iconic photograph was taken 22 years ago. While nobody knows the fate of the gentleman who dared to challenge a row of tanks, it's safe to say that he is probably not walking around today. Jeff Widener became a well-known man in the west for snapping an image that spoke for the people of China. Even though the protest was 100,000 strong, it really was one man against a giant. 

  CNN and AP were on the scenes, an a grade 10 version of me watched as people bravely tried to take their nation back from an authoritarian regime. According to the Chinese government, hundreds perished; according to Soviet Russia, thousands. Nobody will truly know the number of families who lost loved ones because the Chinese government has taken great care to erase history. Even Google censors discussion of the Tiananmen Square massacres to this day on behalf of a government that has burned books and cassettes detailing what exactly went on. While we in the free world are acutely aware that the Chinese government used force against its own people, the Chinese people know nothing by design. 

  A couple of years ago, PBS interviewed Chinese university students. They showed these bright scholars the photograph seen here and they had no idea who Tank Man was. They thought it was an art piece, a staged piece as part of a military parade. These were intelligent youths who grew up in a nation so restrictive that an event so powerful to us failed to register even though it took place in the land they call home. 

  Even today, the people of China have no freedom. The government used the Tiananmen Square protests as an excuse to further restrict the access of otherwise brilliant individuals to the outside world. Today, when the topic comes up, the protests are no longer students demanding a brighter future for China. The official version of the Tiananmen Square massacre is that protesters were armed militants and that the army was justified in taking them down. And so ingrained is this tale that young journalists frequently use the event as a reason to preach in op-eds against questioning the regime. Chinese news media are forbidden from reporting anything about the protests other than the official version that the crowd was small and that they were terrorists. Even tweeting anything that questions the official version can result in a person being taken from their home in the dead of night. In China, Tank Man never existed. 

 China is a populous industrial nation, and a look around the average home yields dozens of goods produced there. We love China and its hard-working folks, it's food, it's history, its culture. We know more about China than the people who reside there petrified that they'll step out of line and be incarcerated for long years. And we like their lack of democracy so long as it suits us. For an uprising in this nation would yield death camps and horrendous pollution just as it did in Romania after Ceausescu met his end, riddled with bullets. China's regime would not go so quietly; it would take tens of millions to connect and overthrow the autocracy to which most aspire. The re-writing of history would be different from most; in this instance it would be turning fiction into fact. But it can happen. 

  With the rise in technology, the impossible could become a reality. There is enough know-how in China to make democracy occur if the people want it. Forget the West and her desire for cheaply-made shoes and cameras. The West would be forced to wise up to the fact that we have enabled atrocity after atrocity in the name of commerce; we have expected over a billion souls to live under conditions that we wouldn't wish on criminals because of greed. We would have to get used to the idea of getting by on less for one fifth of the World's population to become emancipated from lifelong autocratic enslavement. 

  Shoes can be had for $5. Televisions are had more cheaply now than in the 1950's. There are reasons for these facts and as much as we complain about outsourcing, ask yourself if you are willing to do more with less, because that's what real lasting change will take. The Chinese people are among those who are 21st-century slaves to the West, and if we truly wish freedom for all of the globe's incredible voices we will have to demand that our governments stop palling around with dictators. We must exhibit true empathy instead of offering tokens to the executed dissidents; we must be willing to stop viewing our concerns as the only ones that are valuable. By living locally, we are thinking globally; for if despots conclude that they will no longer be able to do business the way that they have been doing it they will be forced to change the way they do business. 

  Liberty is an incredible thing, and a reality for us. By consuming less and speaking more, by truly loving our neighbours, we give them the courage to dream. 

Groundhog Tales

  Groundhog Day is a festive event that occurs in North America on February 2nd. According to folklore, if a groundhog sees his shadow, he'll retreat to his lair and winter will be lengthy. Should it be overcast, he'l come out of his burrow and Winter will soon end. While the origin is in dispute, the modern incarnation derives from superstitions held by Pennsylvania and Southern Ontario Germans who likely carried the tradition from the old country. 

 

  Whether or not there is any truth to relying on animals to predict future weather, Groundhog Day is a nice break from obsessing about the winter's chill and a sign of brighter days ahead. With that in mind, here are a few interesting Groundhog Day facts for you to enjoy.

  When the Canadian groundhog Wiarton Willie died in 1999 (at the ripe old age of 22) , he was found dead just before Groundhog Day. On Groundhog Day, a miniature coffin with a stuffed groundhog complete with coins over his eyes and a carrot between his paws was revealed to the world press. Shortly after, it was discovered that the real Willie had decomposed and that this was a generic taxidermied groundhog. A minor scandal ensue, with foreign press having to issue a retraction. 

  In Alaska, groundhogs are scarce. Thusly, February 2nd is Marmot Day. The bill was introduced into legislature and signed in 2009. The governor? Sarah Palin. 

  Shubenacadie Sam is the first of the famous groundhogs to predict the coming weather. This is because he's in Nova Scotia, a time zone ahead of Wiarton Willie and Puxsatawney Phil. He's also a relatively new beast, first celebrated in 1987. He is not roused from his lair like other groundhogs, but if anyone can sleep through Nova Scotia bagpipers and a town crier, he's a sound sleeper indeed.

  The oldest famous burrowing rodent is by far Puxsatawney Phil. While groundhogs have an average lifespan of 10 years, believers say Phil really is 121 years old. Every day, save for the day he makes his prediction, Phil lives in the town library with his wife, Phyllis. A select group of town citizens take care of the pair year round, who say that Phil drinks a magical life-extending potion every summer. Phil is said to make his prediction in an unknown language that only his Inner Circle understand. The forecast is then translated for the rest of the world. 

Those who support Groundhog Day folklore claim a prediction rate of over 75%, when in reality, they have been right less than 40% of the time. This seems to be statistically less than chance, so I suggest that if an accurate prediction is to be made, it is the exact opposite of the groundhog legend.  For the record Phil, Willie, and Sam all predicted an early Spring, so I'm going with a long winter. Environment Canada agrees with me.

Suck on that, Sam.

Smoke Out

  On a nondescript day I was looking for something online, but happened upon a couple of photographs. They are of a man named Bryan and they were taken 2 months apart. And I want you to look at them.

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This one was taken on March 29. -->

and this one was taken June 3rd of the same year 

It goes without saying that Bryan did not make it. And how did he die? Was it AIDS, meth, tuberculosis? What killed a healthy looking man in 9 weeks? 

Bryan died from smoking. He was the same age as I am now when he died. He was a roofer too. And just like me he was worried about his mother who smoked and thought illnesses were for the old. 

3 days after the photo on the right was taken, he would go to the hospital with a pain in his gut that was cancer eating its way into his liver. He had small cell lung cancer and knew it would kill him. He got sick very quickly and made sure to go out in public as often as he could and tell people what was happening to him and why.  He had an open-casket funeral because he wanted people to know what tobacco does to the human body. 

  I've seen all of the anti-tobacco adverts. I live in a country that has graphic photos on cigarette packs. I'm a rational person. But I still smoked until I read about Bryan Curtis, a person a lot like me who died way too young for no real reason.  And I haven't smoked since.

 I hope I can be tough enough to stick it out. I was born addicted to nicotine but whether or not it kills me is basically my choice and I've decided that I need no more smokes. Wish me luck. 

(This is the part where I go and walk my dog for the 4th time today to stave off another nic fit.)