P4CM

I hope this and this are jokes, but from the amount of effort put into it, I'm guessing not.

Sigh

Luckily someone has taken them on.

Arab Money Remix Part 1

Busta Rhymes has entered the news again and though I had a short period where I was over exposed to Busta, he's always been one of my favorite cameo rappers. He killed it on "Scenario" and even this year his verses on "Fried Chicken" were great. So it saddens me to hear people complaining about his song "Arab Money Remix Part 1"
With a title referring to Arab money you'd expect the controversy to be about the lyrics, the gist of which is as a rapper he's made so much money that he's rich like an Arab in the Middle East. Though this isn't what has set people off. The problem that has caused controversy and has caused a British DJ to be suspended is this.

---

“In ‘Arab Money Remix Part 1,’ in the chorus you used (‘Bismillah Ulrahman Ulrahim Alhamdullillah rab Ulalamen) which is a Quranic verse from the first Surah (chapter) in the Holy Quran,” a Muslim reader named Khalid wrote to AllHipHop.com.

“As an Arab and a Muslim it's prohibited to sing or cite a Quranic verse in combination with music and most Muslims will find this disrespectful," Khalid explained.

---

What the fuck? In "Fried Chicken" he sings about eating swine (which violates Muslim and Jewish laws), he is clearly in violation of the rules of two religions. The humanity!
What is he to do about situations where he is caught in a catch 22 and will have to violate the laws of at least one religion?

I've got two quotes to people who are offended:
“There are no gods, no devils, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”
-Freedom from Religion Foundation

"And if I offended you, oh I'm sorry
But maybe you need to be offended
But here's my apology and one more thing...fuck you!
Cause you can't bring me down."
-Suicidal Tendencies

For those interest the songs mentioned are definitely worth purchasing.

Two More Reasons

Two more reasons I find faith harmful

Half of sect's teen girls have been pregnant for the record 31 out of 53 is closer to 60%. So this is how a good religious upbringing prevents teenage pregnancy!?!?!?

Parents pray as girl, 11, dies of diabetes
Now I would find no harm had they prayed while she was under medical attention, but I hope they get all the state can do to punish them.

Word

From a blog I read on the regular

What must it be like to truly believe in fairies?

Links

This is the only pair of flip-flops on men I'll tolerate Not really work safe (not this post but the others on the mod blog site.)


This one is work safe It's funny what people will do for religion

Dating Tips

I wish this were satire

Evangelicals

This is pretty disturbing, I don't really want evangelicals anywhere near children any more.
Child 'witches' in Africa

If you have the stomach for it, watch the very saddening video.

Talking to Your Imaginary Friend

F'em Heritage Foundation
Originally uploaded by dcdan

It is often common for children to have imaginary friends and from what I've read it is pretty normal and isn't really a sign of a problem. Though I think when you are an adult you should probably be beyond it or at least realize that your imaginary friend isn't real. I saw something today that reminded of the fact that there are lots of adults who should know better but still talk to their imaginary friends. While biking* by the evil offices of the Heritage Foundation (which is under renovation) I saw an example of adults who think their imaginary friend is real on the back of a dump truck was the quote "Prayers go up, blessings come down" The fact that in spite of evidence to the contrary, the company that owns the truck presumably thinks talking to you imaginary friend will do things for you.

Sigh



*I'm boycotting Metro details to follow.

Let the Fucking Begin

(though it's been going on for years, in fact YOU are a product of fucking)
Anyway more on the stupidity of abstinence only sex education.
How is Abstinence-Only Sex Education Like South Africa’s Driving Exam?

I've also noted that the religious right always seems in favor of ignorance over education. In fact if memory serves me correctly curiosity was discouraged by the Holy See for a long time. Encouraging ignorance over education isn't only in the realm of sexual education the religious right also encourages it for thing like evolution. Just a couple of weeks ago I got an email from the American Family Ass. they were concerned that people may see the movie "The Golden Compass" which is based on a series of books that is not fond of organized religion. Their concern is that you'll see the movie and question your faith. Were I a father I would encourage my kids to read everything and think for themselves, they want to read the Golden Compass good! They want to read the Bible good! The more people are exposed the broader their horizons and hopefully their ability to think critically and make good decisions.
Take a look next time you hear from a religious leader they are almost always encouraging ignorance over education, find me a counter example and I assure that the only education they encourage is somehow related to indoctrination into their beliefs.

(see alsothisand this

and I'll end it with a song

The Dead Kennedys
"Religious Vomit"

[Chorus]
All religions make me wanna throw up
All religions make me sick
All religions make me wanna throw up
All religions suck
They all claim that they have the truth
That'll set you free
Just give 'em all your money and they'll set you free
Free for a fee

They all claim that they have 'the Answer'
When they don't even know the Question
They're just a bunch of liars
They just want your money
They just want your consciousness

[Chorus]
All religions suck
All religions make me wanna throw up
All religions suck
All religions make me wanna BLEAH

They really make me sick
They really make me sick
They really make me sick
They really make me sick
They really make me sick
They really make me ILL

In-N-Out

One of my goals on this trip to LA was to get an In-N-Out burger, I've heard nothing but good things about their food, the way they treat their employees and their commitment to quality. I was even a good nerd and read their Wikipedia entry which led me to decide to put my money where my mouth is and NOT eat there.
You see the Snyder family prints Bible references on their packaging. Which might be okay were the passages perhaps moral issues which would be useful, but After reading them, they all focus on a need to believe to believe in a fairy tale guy (Jesus)
So alas In-N-Out burger, just like Chick-fil-A and Domino's Pizza, I refuse to spend my money with any group that promotes your silliness, so until you come to your senses I won't be dining on your Jesus food.

Ignorance Follows Not Only Party Line but Religious Ones

Religion—our maelstrom of ignorance

This leads me to often heard "you can't prove there is no god" argument I hear from the faithful; and you know what you are right I can't and I don't claim to, but you can't even come fucking close to proving there is a god, the burden is on you to prove that "He" exists.

Look at it this way, if I told you that eating ice cream made people healthy and would build classical greek olympian bodies you'd ask me to prove it right?
Or if told you that your significant other was cheating on you, you would ask me to prove they were, no? And not take the "you can't prove they aren't" route would you?

So starting with no belief, prove to me that Jesus, Allah or Buddha is right.
If you can you've got a follower but I'm not going on faith, I need evidence.
I want something that proves it is right and I'm going to tell you right now, the Bible, the Torah, the Koran and the Siddhartha Gautama is so full of holes that they can't count as evidence.
and if you tell me that "I need faith and it comforts me", my response is "Fine by me, but you're living in denial and suppressing rage, motherfucker! "

later,
dc dan

PS hat tip to Sam Harris and Kevin Smith

Pope Powers

Scare as man tries to board popemobile
• Man vaults security barriers and tries to climb onboard popemobile in Vatican City
• Security guards wrestle the man to the ground and arrest him

I read this on CNN.com and the first thought that came to mind is why does the Pope need security? Doesn't he have the power of God behind him? Shouldn't that be enough?

Who Knew

Evangelical teens are actually more likely to have lost their virginity than either mainline Protestants or Catholics. They tend to lose their virginity at a slightly younger age — 16.3, compared with 16.7 for the other two faiths. And they are much more likely to have had three or more sexual partners by age 17: Regnerus reports that 13.7 percent of evangelicals have, compared with 8.9 percent for mainline Protestants.

Evangelicals are easy!

from
Brian Flemming

It's Made of People!

Wow, just wow work safe unless you fear magic people in the sky.

Bullshit Censorship

[update below]

I purchased a copy of the song "Pearly Gates" from iTunes this weekend and as always I made sure to purchase the explicit version because, well the non-explicit versions suck because they cut out words and you'd often miss a lot of the song. So you can imagine my surprise when certain words where mixed over (ala the reverse record sound) here is what was on iTunes version:

Now homey if I go to hell and you make it to the pearly gates
Tell the [censor sound] we got beef
And tell [censor sound] I'm a see him when I see him
And when I see him, I'm a [sound]
For leavin us out to dry on staight poverty
For not showin me no signs they watchin over me
Yo! We a new breed in two thousand six
We don't give a fuck about that [censor sound]

and here are the real lyrics:

Now homey if I go to hell and you make it to the pearly gates
Tell the boss man we got beef
And tell his only son I'm a see him when I see him
And when I see him, I'm a beat him like a movie
For leavin us out to dry on straight poverty
For not showin me no signs they watchin over me
Yo! We a new breed in two thousand six
We don't give a fuck about that religious bullshit

Notice I didn't get the clean version as the word fuck was still in it, they censored the lyrics that question god. What fucking bullshit, they don't the same to Kanye West in "Jesus Walks" What the fuck is that about?


Update:
After reading around online I discovered, that this was done by the record label and that Prodiy, the rapper, didn't fight it.

Lie to Your Kids

A post on Snopes expands on the virtue of lying to your kids. Personally I find the whole thing a bit creepy. A stranger opened your mail address to essentially nowhere, knows you have a child and that your child is grieving over a lost pet and knows where you live.
Doesn't that border on scary to those with children?

Link of the Day - Font Master

Pointed out to me by TEAM*Jess
The inventor of the font Gill Sans:
Gill's devout Roman Catholicism did not prevent him sexually abusing his own children, having an incestuous relationship with his sister or performing sexual acts on his dog. His personal diaries describe his sexual activity in great detail.

Eric Gill

Link of the Day

Devotional Candles for the Truly Enlightened

A Wing and Prayer

Pilots for Christ

I became aware of this group via a sticker I saw on a car today while at lunch. So I checked out the site and all I'm saying is Bible believing, Christ loving Christians dismiss evolution and so why couldn't they just as easily dismiss the science of gravity*, and I find that's not acceptable from people flying planes.


Gravity and how the universe actually works goes against the Bible as well if you believe me then you need to read about Galileo
Not that it is a good thing that the space flight is common, because if Galileo hadn't stood up to the Pope and geocetrism prevailed there would be a lot of confused space pilots, when they returned to the "center of the universe" and Earth wasn't there.

While reading about this also note that a lot of it sounds familiar to the arguments of creationists (or "intelligent design" it's all the same) you can mad-lib the following (from the wikipedia)
"Pope Urban VIII personally asked Galileo to give arguments for and against heliocentrism in the book, and to be careful not to advocate heliocentrism."
vs today
"President* Bush personally asked the scientific to give arguments for and against the theory of evolution in the book, and to be careful not to advocate the theory of evolution."

It took a couple hundred years for the Catholic Church to admit their mistake, hopefully this time they can move a bit faster to come inline with reality when it comes to evolution.

Link of the Day

Lourdes Holy Water

Really people? If you believe in the miracle of holy water there is a bridge I'd like to sell you.

from the site:
But among the sick that flock here, many come to be immersed in its waters, and some are healed. Since the first healing, of Catherine Latapie, on March 1st, 1858, as many as 2,500 unexplained healings have been recorded. But many feel that the true miracle of Lourdes is, above all, the presence and goodness of God, expressed in this "limited bodily Proof of the unlimited grace offered to all" (R. Laurentin).

Dirt on Your Forehead

So today many people have put some dirt on their foreheads, this some how is part of the path to eternal salvation.
Yet I am an outsider because I just think it is silly.
Dirty foreheads just don't seem to jibe with my understanding of how to make the world a better place to live.

Another Good Church Going Guy

Fleeced flock hopes crooked pastor gets the max

I sure hope that religion and its leaders aren't really the back bone of the US.

Who is the Bigot?

Oxford's English Dictionary says:
Bigot
obstinately convinced of the superiority or correctness of one's own opinions and prejudiced against those who hold different opinions

Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights says:
"John Edwards is a decent man who has had his campaign tarnished by two anti-Catholic, vulgar, trash-talking bigots" link

His beef is over these statements:
"The Catholic church is not about to let something like compassion for girls get in the way of using the state as an instrument to force women to bear more tithing Catholics" and
Regarding what religious conservatives don't understand about "keeping your noses out of our britches, our beds and our families?"

I fail to see the bigotry in these ladies statements. Where I do see bigotry is in statements from Donahue like:
"It is no wonder that Joan Osborne instructs her fans to donate their time and money to Planned Parenthood. It is of a piece with her politics and her prejudices. Her songs and videos offer a curious mix of both, the effect of which is to dance awfully close to the line of Catholic baiting. If even her admirers see something of the sacrilegious in her work, it is hard to maintain that Osborne doesn't have an agenda. It is our hope that she doesn't let her sentiments regarding Catholicism get in the way of whatever artistic abilities she has."

and this with a great response from Marlyn Manson:
Donohue said, "It is Christianity that [Manson] hates, and it is Catholicism that he hates most of all. This guy is at war with Christ."
Marilyn Manson then responded to Donohue's claim by saying, "I can't possibly be at war with Christ, because your religion killed him and what he stood for. But if you want to be at war with me, bring it on."

and this:
"Hollywood likes anal sex. They like to see the public square without nativity scenes. I like families. I like children. They like abortions. I believe in traditional values and restraint. They believe in libertinism

and this:
"In this country, we are civilized. We don't appreciate it when somebody sticks it to you in the name of freedom of speech, sir. We condemn it. But over there, they take the uncivilized approach. And then they wonder why so many people don't trust the Muslims when it comes to liberty, because they will abuse it."

and lastly this:
"Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It's not a secret, OK? And I'm not afraid to say it. That's why they hate this movie. It's about Jesus Christ, and it's about truth. It's about the messiah."

So really, who is the bigot?
It looks like Donahue is bigotry personified.

Really?

Really?!?, Ted? I'm heterosexual and I've never found myself on meth with a guy giving me a massage. To quote Jane's Addiction "Ted Just Admit It" You like "teh cock" nothing is wrong with that it takes people some time to figure out what makes them happy, Ted, if cock makes you happy embrace it!*



* Pun intended.

But I want to believe in the Tooth Fairy

Would you mother fuckers stop this non-sense

""I did not evolve from Turkana Boy or anything like it," says Bishop Boniface Adoyo, head of Kenya's 35 evangelical denominations, which he claims have 10 million followers. "These sorts of silly views are killing our faith.""

I say then let you faith die or at least euthanize it./

He Was a Good Church Going Christian

Priest arrested in Las Vegas church attack he was in church every Sunday. Speaking of which why bother with tradition?