Latest right wing conspiracy theory: Obama is giving america back to the injuns

SO THE INDIANS ARE MUSLIMS TOO????

Barack Obama yesterday voiced his support for a U.N. resolution that asserts that "indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources" that they traditionally owned or occupied. And they do. Just like every other American. It's non-binding, meaning it doesn't actually do anything. It's nothing but a group high-five.

Well luckily for real Americans like us, WorldNetDaily's on top of this shit..

Obama to give Manhattan back to Native Americans?

President Obama is voicing support for a U.N. resolution that could accomplish something as radical as relinquishing some U.S. sovereignty and opening a path for the return of ancient tribal lands to American Indians, including even parts of Manhattan.

The issue is causing alarm among legal experts.

In recent remarks at the White House during a "tribal nations conference," Obama endorsed the "United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People," which includes a sweeping declaration that "indigenous peoples have a right to lands and resources they traditionally occupied or otherwise used" but that later were acquired by occupying forces.

[...]

The international agreement is very serious business, one legal expert tells WND, and could cause problems for the U.S. long after Obama is gone from the White House, if made part of U.S. law.

"One can anticipate that some tribes will seek to use this resolution to re-litigate centuries-old land disputes that courts have already rejected," said Frank at the Manhattan Institute.

The litigation process, according to the roadmap drawn up during the Carter era, would seek, however, to create a "non-hostile environment" in which tribes could repurchase lands and "extinguish the rights of current occupants," Jennings Nottoway told WND.

What we have here are people who have a serious a problem with other cultures. I don't know what that's called. It's not exactly racism, and it's not exactly xenophobia, but I'm sure it's all related psychologically. It's a fear of people who look and act differently than you do. On Fox News' website a couple weeks ago, I saw a headline speculating that Obama is heading for reparations, simply because he's becoming more open minded about gay rights (what else is he going to change his mind on, HUH!?) The right wing would be hating a democratic president no matter what his skin color, but what we're seeing here is a special kind of hatred that's smacking of racial undertones.

Let's go back to Thanksgiving. Rush Limbaugh doesn't like it when Native Americans are acknowledged, especially when it's in a positive light.

In a Thanksgiving day proclamation on the White House website, Obama declared, "This Thanksgiving Day, we reflect on the compassion and contributions of Native Americans, whose skill in agriculture helped the early colonists survive, and whose rich culture continues to add to our Nation's heritage."

"...at their casinos and on their reservations," Limbaugh added as he read the president's words.

"This spirit brought together the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe -- who had been living and thriving around Plymouth, Massachusetts for thousands of years -- in an autumn harvest feast centuries ago," Obama's proclamation also said.

"So, we were the invaders," complained Limbaugh. "We were incompetent idiots. We didn't know how to feed ourselves so they came along and showed us how and that's what Thanksgiving is all about."

YES, YOU FAT PIECE OF SHIT. We invaded lands that were already occupied. The United States arguably committed genocide against the civilizations that were already here. That happened. Acknowledging it is the very least you can do, but I guess even that is too much for someone who's deluded himself into thinking that it's impossible for America to have ever committed a wrong in its entire history. I hope you choke along with all the rest of the holocaust deniers.

That guy in the picture up there next to Obama? I recognized him. That man is Joe Medicine Crow, and he is a fucking hero. Why do Republicans hate the troops? Here he is in Ken Burns' The War telling his unbelievable story.

Excerpt from Isaac Asimov's Foundation

I don't know why it took me this long to start Isaac Asimov, but I decided to start Foundation tonight, and holy shit what an amazing book. I picked it up not planning to read very much tonight. Sixty pages later, I'm ranting about it in my blog. On an unrelated note, Nooks are fucking awesome.

I just want to share a part I read tonight that was pretty resounding to me. I suppose a little context is necessary if you want to understand what these people are yelling about. The Foundation series is about a massive galactic empire spanning the entire milky way galaxy. It's a collection of short stories that take place decades apart from each other, detailing the collapse of this empire. Asimov took inspiration from the collapse of ancient Rome. It's filled to the brim with social and political commentary, and it's a little hard to believe that it was published in 1951.

Long story short, some guy named Hari Seldon went and established a colony on the fringes of the empire. Seldon was a genius "psychohistorian" - a scientist who would apply advanced mathematics to various fields such as sociology, anthropology, and politics and whatnot, and effectively be able to predict the future. He predicted that empire would fall within 300 years, and a 30,000 year dark age would consume the universe before second empire would rise up. The purpose of this colony, Terminus, was to gather together all information in the entire universe into an Encyclopedia Galactica, so the that the future generations may have something to build off of, and effectively cut the dark age from 30,000 years to a simple 1,000 years.

Fifty years after Terminus was founded, a nearby system is threatening to annex their colony by force. The project is in jeopardy, Terminus is shitting, and nobody knows what to do. Mayor Hardin is butting heads with the council of scientists that head the encyclopedia project.

Fara smiled indulgently. "Your taste in epigrams is amusing, Hardin, but out of place. As a matter of fact, I think you remember my line of argument concerning the vault three weeks ago."

"Yes, I remember it. I don't deny that it was anything but a stupid idea from the standpoint of deductive logic alone. You said - stop me when I make a mistake - that Hari Seldon was the greatest psychologist in the System; that, hence, he could foresee the right and uncomfortable spot we're in now; that, hence, he established the Vault as a method of telling us the way out."

"You've got the essence of the idea."

"Would it surprise you to hear that I've given considerable thought to the matter these last weeks?"

"Very flattering. With what result?"

"With the result that pure deduction is found wanting. Again what is needed is a little sprinkling of common sense."

"For instance?"

"For instance, if he foresaw the Anacreonian mess, why not have placed us on some other planet nearer the Galactic centers? It's well known that Seldon maneuvered the Commissioners on Trantor into ordering the Foundation established on Terminus. But why should he have done so? Why put us out here at all if he could see in advance the break in communication lines, our isolation from the Galaxy, the threat of our neighbors - and our helplessness because of the lack of metals on Terminus? That above all! Or if he foresaw all this, why not have warned the original settlers in advance that they might have had time to prepare, rather than wait, as he is doing, until one foot is over the cliff, before doing so?

"And don't forget this. Even though he could foresee the problem then, we can see it equally well now. Therefore, if he could foresee the solution then, we should be able to see it now. After all, Seldon was not a magician. There are no trick methods of escaping from a dilemma that he can see and we can't."

"But, Hardin," reminded Fara, "we can't!"

"But you haven't tried. You haven't tried once. First, you refused to admit that there a was a menace at all! Then you reposed an absolutely blind faith in the Emperor! Now you've shifted it to Hari Seldon. Throughout you have invariably relied on authority or on the past - never on yourselves."

His fists balled spasmodically. "It amounts to a diseased attitude - a conditioned reflex that shunts aside independence of your minds whenever it is a question of opposing authority. There seems no doubt ever in your minds that the Emperor is more powerful than you are, or Hari Seldon wiser. And that's wrong, don't you see?

For some reason, no one cared to answer him.

Hardin continued: "It isn't just you. It's the whole Galaxy. Pirenne heard Lord Dorwin's idea of scientific research. Lord Dorwin thought the way to be a good archaeologist was to read all the books on the subject - written by men who were dead for centuries. He thought that the way to solve archaeological puzzles was to weigh the opposing authorities. And Pirenne listened and made no objections. Don't you see that there's something wrong with that?

Again the note of near-pleading in his voice. Again no answer.

He went on: "And you men and half of Terminus as well are just as bad. We sit here, considering the Encyclopedia the all-in-all. We consider the greatest end of science is the classification of past data. It is important, but is there no further work to be done? We're receding and forgetting, don't you see? Here in the Periphery they've lost nuclear power. In Gamma Andromeda, a power plant has undergone meltdown because of poor repairs, and the Chancellor of the Empire complains that nuclear technicians are scarce. And the solution? To train new ones? Never! Instead they're to restrict nuclear power.

And for the third time: "Don't you see? It's Galaxywide. It's the worship of the past. It's a detioration - a stagnation!"

Not being allowed to discriminate against people is discrimination

War is peace?

Gary McFarlane, a 48 year-old Relate counsellor from Bristol, was sacked after refusing to work with same-sex couples.

He challenged his dismissal at the Court of Appeal, arguing that forcing him to go against what he sees as the Bible's teaching represented religious discrimination.

However, Lord Justice laws dismissed the legal challenge and condemned any attempt to seek protection for beliefs under the law as "irrational" and "capricious". He claimed that doing so could set Britain on the road to a "theocracy", a religious autocracy. [Really? You really had to explain what a theocracy is?]

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote to the judge warning of a tide of discrimination against Christians that threatened "civil unrest".

Mr McFarlane said that his treatment was "without a doubt" an example of Christians being persecuted in modern Britain.

He had given relationship advice to homosexual couples in the past. But in 2006, after he qualified as a psychosexual therapist, he told his employers that he did not feel able to give sex therapy advice to homosexuals. Fellow counsellors claimed his views were homophobic, and in March 2008 he was sacked.

A Christian bed and breakfast owner was threatened with legal action for turning away a homosexual couple in March 2010.

Susanne Wilkinson told the two men that it went against her religious convictions to let them share a double room at the Swiss B&B in Cookham, Berks. Michael Black and John Morgan plan to sue for discrimination under Sexual Orientation Regulations.

Chris Grayling was criticised for saying that bed and breakfasts run by Christians should be allowed to turn away homosexual couples.

Government's Sexual Orientation Regulations which forced Catholic adoption agencies to consider gay couples as potential adoptive parents.

Dr Sheila Matthews, a Christian doctor, was told she would be removed from a council's adoption panel because she refuses to recommend cases involving homosexual couples.

The paediatrician was told that her stance meant she could no longer sit on Northamptonshire county council's panel because it conflicted with its equal opportunities policies.

She said she simply wanted to abstain from decisions involving same-sex couples seeking to adopt because to do otherwise would contradict her Christian beliefs.

A Christian nurse lost her case of religious discrimination against the hospital trust that employed her. Shirley Chaplin, a 54-year-old grandmother, was taken off wards and moved to a desk job after refusing to remove the crucifix that hangs around her neck. In April 2010 she was told by an employment tribunal that wearing the cross raised health and safety concerns and was not a "mandatory requirement" of the Christian faith.

She had the support of a number of bishops who claim that Christians are being persecuted in an increasingly secular society.
After the judgment Mrs Chaplin said that every Christian would now be afraid to reveal their beliefs at work, adding: "This is a very bad day for Christianity."

Truck Driver: Employer, you should pay me for not doing my job.

Employer: Actually, I think I'm going to fire you for refusing to drive my truck.

Truck Driver: But how can I possibly drive that truck when driving trucks goes against my religious beliefs? You prepare for lawsuit now.

Sunday Youtube Post

"The last election just laid the foundation of the next 500 years of Dark Ages." -Frank Zappa in 1981

America has a long and distinguished history of freaking out over really stupid shit. In 2010, you should be well aware by now that the atheists, fags, and Mexicans are all out to get us. But in the 1980s, it was music. Concerned Parents (tm) took it upon themselves to eliminate music that promoted sex, violence, nonexistent occultism, and backward messages that weren't actually there. We make fun of this shit now, but it these morons literally thought rock music was associated with the devil, and that it was responsible for rape and violence.

So in 1985, the Parents Music Resource Center was formed. This senate committee was cofounded by Tipper Gore, the wife of Al Gore. It eventually grew to 22 people, who were nicknamed the 'Washington Wives,' as they were all married to politicians. It's as true today with Wikileaks as it was back then: America is bipartisan when it comes to shitting on rights. The PMRC called three rock stars before the hearing to defend what they do: John Denver, Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, and... Frank Zappa.

Frank Zappa, being one of the greatest composers and musicians of the last hundred years, was naturally an extremely intelligent person. Back in the sixties, he countered the counter-culture. He hated hippies. He was militantly anti-drug, and called those who took them "assholes in action." He was very opinionated and very passionate, and when you put those qualities into an intelligent person, you get the very last man this bullshit committee would want to put in front of the cameras. Below is part 1. Here's part 2, part 3, and part 4. It really is worth watching in its entirety at some point. Grab something to eat, because this is epic.

"I think you should leave it up to the parent, because not all parents want to keep their children totally ignorant."



And just for shits and giggles, here's one of my favorite Zappa songs. It's insane. It switches all over the place from 19/16, to 4/4, to 21/16. Oh, and it's about prison rape. Art.

Fox News' Gretchen Carlson considers it a "problem" that people consider the Daily Show a source for "real news"

WATCH A COMEDIAN DO A BETTER JOB THAN YOU

MAKE FUN OF HIM



I actually agree with her. It is a problem. But it's not one with the Daily Show. When the news channels themselves refuse to cover any actual news, where the hell are we supposed to go? The 9/11 Responders Bill was just a blip before Stewart dedicated a show to it. It passed today, probably because of what he did. Maybe more people would treat Fox and Friends like real news if they actually covered real news instead of gossiping about a comedian.

Pope blames secular society for children being raped by priests

Piss.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI told Vatican officials Monday that they must reflect on the church's culpability in its child sex-abuse scandal, but he also blamed a secular society in which he said the mistreatment of children was frighteningly common.

In his traditional, end-of-the-year speech to Vatican cardinals and bishops, Benedict said revelations of abuse in 2010 reached "an unimaginable dimension" that required the church to accept the "humiliation" as a call for renewal.

"We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our proclamation, in our whole way of living the Christian life, to allow such a thing to happen."

Maybe it's because you send priests who rape children to other churches instead of putting them in fucking jail. That might have something to do with it.

"In the 1970s, pedophilia was theorized as something fully in conformity with man and even with children."

[Citation needed.]

"It was maintained — even within the realm of Catholic theology — that there is no such thing as evil in itself or good in itself. There is only a 'better than' and a 'worse than.' Nothing is good or bad in itself. The effects of such theories are evident today."

Moral relativism is a moronic position that's hated even among philosophers. Stop attacking things that don't exist.

As far as I'm concerned at this point, anyone who puts their kid in the hands of these maniacs is personally responsible for any trauma their child experiences. They're self-regulated and answer to no authorities, they refuse to take any responsibility, and they're not doing a thing to prevent a "scandal" like this from happening again in the future.

Music Ramblings on the Black Keys

I'm reading Nick Mason's memoir about Pink Floyd, so I find myself extremely interested in the inside stories of bands at the moment. I just came across this interview with the Black Keys' Pat Carney and it is literally sex. I had no idea that they split up for a year before recording Brothers.

After a break, the Black Keys are back with an album they consider their best to date. Scott Kara talks to one half of the band, Pat Carney.

You've heard the one about life in a rock'n'roll band being like a marriage? Well, Pat Carney of the Black Keys reckons it's more like "the most dysfunctional relationship you could ever possibly have".

It seems, in the last few years, he and his bandmate Dan Auerbach have been through a few tough times. Not that Carney is ready to talk specifics and for the time being he's keeping his psycho-babble more general.

"The dynamic between all bands is really interesting," he says in his droll, soothing lilt. "You are combining friendship, creativity, work, travel and money. It's madness."

And with this the drummer and groove-making force of the Akron, Ohio, two-piece starts off on a laid-back rant about animosity, jealousy, and pettiness in the world of rock'n'roll.

"Look at the book Keith Richards just wrote. It's incredible that the biggest rock band ever, who have been together forever, have these childish and petty little bullshit things that for some reason Keith Richards felt he kind of needed to get it off his chest," he says with a wry snigger.

Phew. Things must have been bad between Carney and the music-making mate he started the Black Keys with in 2001.

"I didn't necessarily want to have the break. It was kind of imposed on me," he offers in a glum deadpan of Auerbach's decision to record and release his debut solo album, Keep It Hid, early last year.

During this time Carney started a new band, Drummer, and left his hometown to live in New York ("My little brother got a job there so I kinda followed him up there."), and is now living in Nashville where Auerbach lives ("It's like a small big city. It reminds me of home but there's enough stuff going that it doesn't get boring.") So the band, who have played in New Zealand several times but play their first Big Day Out next year, are well and truly back on track.

"The break kind of worked out for the best," he resolves on the phone from his home in Nashville, where he's talking to TimeOut during a break from playing video game Blackout: Call of Duty and "getting murdered by 13-year-old kids".

Their latest album, Brothers, is the band's best yet - and one of the albums of the year. Which is not bad considering it's their sixth in eight years, not counting Auerbach's solo record, Carney's album with Drummer, and the pair's excellent hip-hop-rock collaboration Blakroc from last year.

Carney says the year-long break meant they got out of certain habits they we were in, such as recording a particular way (usually at break-neck speed with 2003's excellent Thickfreakness taking just 14 hours) and for the first time they recorded outside Ohio - in Alabama, New York, and San Diego.

"I think all those things were factors [in making it their best album]," he says.

Musically, the Black Keys were once again influenced by hip-hop on Brothers, which gives their blues-rock songs a slop and strut effect, as well as 60s and 70s soul like the Isley Brothers.

"You can hear it in a lot of Dan's guitar licks," says Carney.

There's the distorted bluesy bounce and stomp of Howlin' For You, the lazy yet powerful groove of Sinister Kid ("Those are the easiest songs for me. I can play shit-illy but it still sounds really good," jokes Carney.), and the cooing, keyboard-soaked ballad The Only One.

Another influence rubbing off on Brothers is Carney's personal preference for, not cheesy tunes, but classic anthems with big hooks and heartfelt soul. He never used to like tunes like that, preferring more obscure and little known tracks, but now that he's getting older "I don't really care what people think, which I did care about when I was younger".

"I'm really bored with obscure nuggets. I'd rather hear a really good Otis Redding or Marvin Gaye song than one I've never heard before that's got an interesting drum beat. I just don't have the time for it. I want to get to the hooks. And I really think there are reasons why no one ever heard those songs," he laughs.

"I hope I didn't just sound like a [expletive] just now?" he asks.

Not at all brother.

The Black Keys are without a doubt my favorite band, in terms of straight up conventional rock. I've been a fan for very long time, and I'm pretty ecstatic that they're finally getting some recognition. I had no idea Carney went and made his own band. I looked them up, and I guess they're made up of nothing but drummers in bands from Akron, Ohio. Patrick plays bass. And they're really good:



I was a bit indifferent about Brothers the first time I listened to it. I mean, it was fantastic of course, I was just a little worried about the direction they were going. I fell in love with them because of the mindblowing, balls-to-the-wall blues rockage from The Big Come Up, and now they backstab me with this goofy White Stripes shit? I go out of my way to make sure people don't compare you to the White Stripes, dicks. But after listening to it a bit more, it started to grow on me. I was being too conservative. I was oversimplifying it. It was really damn good. It's like they integrated the hip-hoppy funk stuff Dan made when he was solo into their old fashion bluesy music, and it works really well. I'm not sure if I'm willing to admit that it's better than The Big Come Up quite yet, but I'm sure I'll find my way there eventually.

The remainder of this post will dedicated some of my favorite Black Keys performances on youtube. Here's to a fantastic band not imploding.

Sunday Youtube Post

Free Republic users calling for the deaths of gays and lesbians

Free Republic is a fascist "ultra conservative" internet forum. It's mainly the last bastion of hope for the old fucks who opposed civil rights in the 60s. In the wake of the DADT repeal, its founder Jim Robinson left this message to all forum users. "Zot" means banned.

A couple more posters got zotted today.

Guess we need another reminder:

If you support the homosexual agenda you are anti-constitution and you'll get the zot from FR. Homosexuals already have the same "rights" as everyone else. God did not grant and the constitution does not guarantee homosexuals any special rights. In fact, the homosexual agenda is a full frontal attack on OUR God-given, constitutionally protected rights to free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, Life, Family, Marriage, Pursuit of Happiness, etc.

I don't want it on FR and won't have it on FR.

Like abortion, if you support the homosexual agenda on FR, your account here will be zotted!

Don't like it? Tough frickin Shinola! Get the hell OFF this conservative site!!

Supporting "the homosexual agenda's full frontal attack" (lol rape) will get you banned. Telling everyone you're gonna start shooting fags? Perfectly fine. Via reddit, click to enlarge.



It's a wonder why they haven't sought out the Taliban as an ally yet.

If you want to lose faith in humanity further, here's the actual thread where Jim left his message. The comments are fantastic.

• Agreed. The homo-positive agenda is an elite-sponsored cancer on America. Not in my house!
• Jim, Thank you, You Don’t know how refreshing it is for me to see a person who actually understands that OUR RIGHTS COME FROM GOD, And The Constitution Protects those Rights from Government Intrusion. Most people simply do not understand. Thank You
• Amen, we should stand firm and hold on to our beliefs and not give in to the radical left and their push to make this nation a homosexual haven.
• out of the thousands of fags I have met, only a handful can be remotely considered to be real humans...the rest are mentally deficient, with large amounts of emotional baggage
• I am all for praying for our troops, but what happens when the Sodomy Brigade is in full force?? I truly am at a loss right now as to what to do with regards to the military, How Do I support that which is Morally Reprehensible and an Abomination of Gods Law??

Heh

Anti-gay Christian groups vow to force Congress to reverse repeal of DADT

Haha. Look at that guy.

A coalition of Christian groups, led by the Freedom Federation, signed a very stern letter today. We better watch it.

"This action will be overturned in the next Congress because it breaks the bond of trust that must exist between the military and those who command in the Pentagon and Congress. Today's vote will prove as costly to its proponents as ObamaCare was to its advocates. We promise a full mobilization of faith-based and policy organizations, veterans, and military families in the states of every Senator who voted for repeal of DADT against the advice of our service chiefs and during a time of war. Those Senators - and the Pentagon leaders responsible for this breach of trust - should understand that they will be the object of concerted political action against them."

As a person who enjoys freedom very much, I'm personally quite offended that an organization which doesn't think gays are people would call itself the "Freedom Foundation." Stay out of my government you fucking hicks :)

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' has been repealed

Alan Turing was a genius mathematician, the father of computer science, and a codebreaker for Great Britain during World War II. In 1939, he broke the German enigma codes, possibly turning the tide of the war. He was made Officer the Order of the British Empire in 1945. It came out in 1952 that he was gay. It was illegal to be gay in England at this time, so he was given two choices: imprisonment, or probation with forced chemical castration. He chose probation. Two years later, he killed himself.

This is the cost of discrimination. Brilliant minds who can offer the world so much are shunned, unable to fulfill their potential. How many of these minds has the United States lost thanks to DADT? I don't even want to think about it. More than 13,500 people have been dismissed from the military since 1993 when this law first went into effect.

But thankfully, our dumbfuck country has finally decided to follow the rest of the world into the 21st century. Gay people can be in the military now. In 2010. Yay? I hope I'm not the only one anxiously waiting to hear what Rush Limbaugh will have to say about this.

The vote was overwhelming, 65-31. To the surprise of no one, Republicans were once again the party to impede progress and equality. Only six Republicans joined the majority to repeal it (Correction: it was eight), one of whom was Mark Kirk, the Republican senator of Illinois. So that made me proud.

John McCain argued during the procedure that a policy like this should not be pushed on our troops during a time of war. Considering that we've been at war for nine years straight with no end in sight, McCain is essentially arguing that we never consider this policy ever again.

Enjoy this. I have a feeling that it's going to be a very, very, very long time until we see another progressive legislation passed in this country.

Propaganda and the American media

The word "propaganda" is not a word that should be thrown around. It has a specific meaning, and its important to know what that is. The goals of propaganda are not always evil. It was an extremely important tool to getting the American Revolution off the ground, and America may not even be a nation without it (see: the Boston Massacre). It's not always political either, advertisements use it all the time. But it is always manipulative. Its goal is to sway people into holding a specific opinion. One thing that is potentially very frightening about the modern age is the ease and speed that information can be spread. Hearts and minds can be manipulated more easily now more than ever before.

I want to focus on right wing media. All media of course engages in propaganda to a certain extent, but Fox and talk radio has taken it to McCarthyist levels. Edward Filene established a list of ten common propaganda techniques in 1937 to educate the American public on how to recognize it. Once you know them, you will start seeing them everywhere.

Name calling: This techniques consists of attaching a negative label to a person or a thing. People engage in this type of behavior when they are trying to avoid supporting their own opinion with facts. Rather than explain what they believe in, they prefer to try to tear their opponent down.

You see this all the time in right wing circles. They attach the names of people they don't like to policies they don't like, such as Obamacare or the Obama deficit. They've turned "liberal" into an insult. They call Obama a socialist, and a Nazi, and a Muslim, and a Kenyan.

Glittering Generalities: This technique uses important-sounding "glad words" that have little or no real meaning. These words are used in general statements that cannot be proved or disproved. Words like "good," "honest," "fair," and "best" are examples of "glad" words.

Maverick. Patriot. Freedom. Liberty. Real/Every Day Americans.

Transfer: In this technique, an attempt is made to transfer the prestige of a positive symbol to a person or an idea. For example, using the American flag as a backdrop for a political event makes the implication that the event is patriotic in the best interest of the U.S.



False Analogy: In this technique, two things that may or may not really be similar are portrayed as being similar. When examining the comparison, you must ask yourself how similar the items are. In most false analogies, there is simply not enough evidence available to support the comparison.

Here's Glenn Beck comparing a conservative health care bill to Pearl Harbor, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Neville Chamberlain's policies towards Nazi Germany, Jimmy Carter, and the Hindenburg Disaster all in less than two minutes.



Testimonial: This technique is easy to understand. It is when "big name" personalities are used to endorse a product. Whenever you see someone famous endorsing a product, ask yourself how much that person knows about the product, and what he or she stands to gain by promoting it.

Did you know the founding fathers were Republicans?



Plain Folks: This technique uses a folksy approach to convince us to support someone or something. These ads depict people with ordinary looks doing ordinary activities.



Card Stacking: This term comes from stacking a deck of cards in your favor. Card stacking is used to slant a message. Key words or unfavorable statistics may be omitted in an ad or commercial, leading to a series of half-truths. Keep in mind that an advertiser is under no obligation "to give the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."



Bandwagon: The "bandwagon" approach encourages you to think that because everyone else is doing something, you should do it too, or you'll be left out. The technique embodies a "keeping up with the Joneses" philosophy.



Either/or fallacy: This technique is also called "black-and-white thinking" because only two choices are given. You are either for something or against it; there is no middle ground or shades of gray. It is used to polarize issues, and negates all attempts to find a common ground.

I don't even need to explain this one. Turn on Fox.

Faulty Cause and Effect: This technique suggests that because B follows A, A must cause B. Remember, just because two events or two sets of data are related does not necessarily mean that one caused the other to happen. It is important to evaluate data carefully before jumping to a wrong conclusion.

See this post.

Like everyone else, I have right wing friends who support Republicans. It scares me when they listen to this stuff. I can never tell just how much of it they're actually buying. How many of them are the smart ones - the Ron Paul/Penn Jilette libertarians? Or do they think Barack Obama really is a socialist? A Muslim? Do they think there's something wrong with being a Muslim? Do they really think there's a massive left wing conspiracy to derail the United States government in order to establish a socialist dictatorship? I always try to avoid getting into debates with them now, because I can never tell just where on the spectrum they stand. And I know that no matter what I say, their opinions will never change towards anything at all. Having a political discussion in any sense is completely pointless. There are legitimate reasons to criticize Barack Obama and the Democrats, but the right wing doesn't focus on them. Instead, they put their supporters into a world that does not exist. They fill their heads with lies and misinformation, and transform Obama into an inhuman boogeyman who is out to get them.

In fact, a recent study concluded that out of all major media outlets, it is Fox News' viewers, regardless of political party, who are least informed. They were "significantly" more likely to believe than non-viwers that:

-Most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely)
-Most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points)
-The economy is getting worse (26 points)
-Most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points)
-The stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points)
-Their own income taxes have gone up (14 points)
-The auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points)
-When TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points)
-And that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points)

Now tell me how many viewers of Fox will ever hear of this. And of those who do, how many will actually believe it? I'll bet no one. They'll likely convince themselves of a loophole they have no evidence of. The study is unfairly biased, of course. They'll reach that conclusion without ever reading it or doing any research about it at all. Here. Go ahead and read it yourself. It's pretty damning.

Rush Limbaugh says Democrats are terrorists

Symptoms of painkiller addiction include paranoia, hallucinations, confusion, forgetfulness, rapid speech, excessive energy, anxiety, and social isolation. Living the dream, Rush.

Last few opponents of a DADT repeal have stopped trying

The House passed resolution to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell yesterday. Now the bill will go to the Senate, which is of course quite notorious for killing things that need to be passed. So it's up in the air.

This is Republican Representative Louie Gohmert of - where else - Texas. Here he is making his last heroic stand yesterday for his beliefs - the humble belief that people shouldn't be able to defend their country if they're faggots. He's like Leonidas at Thermopylae!

Big 'wtf' moment about a minute in.



He's right you guys. If you look at the history of the greatest nations in the world they always let gay people in their armies when they are at the end of their existencez as greatt nationsns. This has absolutely nothing to do with the debate and there's no reason to mention it though, because like he said, it's not cause and effect. All he's saying is that a friend said it once without naming a single example. Something to think about.

But why turn only to history!? There are countless modern examples of nations succumbing to the gay-army-hordes from within their own ranks! Just look at Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Australia, Spain, Japan, Israel, or nearly every one of our allies! They allowed gays in the military, and now their governments have been taken over by Muslims. So much for liberals. Oh wait. Muslims are liberals.

Alternatively, take a look at the countries which do not let gays in their armed forces! China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, or in other words, all of our enemies! Discriminating against gay people only strengthens them, so why give them that extra advantage by repealing this!? WHY DON'T LIBRULS UNDERSTAND THE WORLD LIKE REAL AMERICANS DO

Uh

The world would be a much better place if people actually read the positions they argue against.



1) The problem of evil is not the only argument against the existence of a god, and certainly not one which I particularly subscribe to. To me, the idea of god simply implies that the universe had a beginning because a consciousness willed it. Manmade ideas about morality have absolutely nothing to do with that. If there really had been something which willed all of time and space to come into existence, do you really think it would give a flying shit about the opinions of insignificant meatbags on a speck of dust? Do you care about the opinions of microorganisms? The argument from evil only applies to the biblical God of Abraham, and arguing against that god is like beating up a quadriplegic. If god is at all plausible, it will only be in the neutral architect of deism.

2) Atheism is not a religion, and it does not require faith. It is nothing more than the lack of belief. If atheism is a religion, then baldness is a hair color.

3) I should know, I once called myself a Christian and I know everything there is to know about Christianity ever but unlike my brethren I actually wised up okay

Well

There's a lot of truth to what this guy said. I always have this series in mind when I explain humanism to someone. That's why I'm a little indifferent about the newest movie. The direction it's heading in is both good and bad. It's a fucking awesome action movie, but the discussions about moral struggles that everyone thinks are boring have been taken out, and those are why the series is so great. It's not your typical television droll where you can plop down and turn your head off. Thinking is a part of it.

Sunday Youtube Post

cool kids don't need drugs to enjoy music stay in school D.A.R.E. to be cool \m/

This was in a reddit thread about creationism.

Military chaplains don't want gays to serve

"We believe that normalizing homosexual conduct in the armed forceds will pose a significant threat to chaplains' and service members' religious liberty."



If your religion tells you to hate and call it love, and to discriminate and call it liberty, then you need to seriously reconsider what you're doing with your life. Or not.

Guy on Huffington Post claims "New Atheism" is one of the top ten overrated things of the decade

I don't even

With religion the reason (or the excuse) for everything from 9/11 to the Tea Party, God has seen better decades. So, just as it was cool in the nineties to come out as gay, it was cool in the 2000s (especially for really smart people) to adopt another once-scandalous lifestyle choice: atheism. The non-believers were inspired by such prophets as Christopher Hitchens (who devised the term “the new atheism”) and Richard Dawkins. Hitchens’ book God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything was (as you might guess) an attack on religion, justifying the author’s own passionate atheism. This is like complaining against the management of the Elvis Presley Fan Club, and hence concluding that Elvis didn’t really exist.

Dawkins’ book The God Delusion at least spends some time arguing why God doesn’t exist, based mainly on Charles Darwin’s theories. Darwin would probably be surprised that atheists talk about him so much, because he himself was not an atheist. Sure, there’s good reason to criticize religion and promote science… but exactly how does that prove that God doesn’t exist? The new atheism might be cool, but it makes about as much sense as… as… well, religion.

Disclaimer: Born a Catholic, I still lean towards believing in God (no, I can’t be bothered justifying that), and was not convinced by the arguments in The God Delusion. I’m not gay either, so I haven’t been even remotely “cool” since 1989.

Damn, Keith.

There is a big difference between the way American liberals and American conservatives form ideas. Most conservatives (at least the neocons everybody hates) give up their principles when someone important tells them to. It's unbelievable how far right the hivemind has gone because of Fox and corporate media. Liberals are simply not going to do that. The Democrats have transformed themselves into a center-right party, but the progressive base refuses to budge. Fox News would never, ever, ever criticize George Bush with the same scathing ferocity as Olbermann displayed here towards Obama. That's the difference between America's right and left.

Bill Maher: Glenn Beck is a religion

In related news, here's Glenn Beck saying 10% of Muslims in the world (157 million) are terrorists.

"What is the number of Islamic terrorists? One percent? I think it's closer to ten percent but the rest of the PC world will tell you, 'oh no, it's minuscule.' OK, well, let's take you at your one percent. Look at the havoc one percent of Muslims causing in the rest of the world. You don't think one percent, half a percent here in the United States of radicals, of people who want to violently overthrow the government, is a problem?"

Liberal east coast elitist jew fights against christ

war on chirsktmas think of the children

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Can we stop calling Obama liberal now?

The Bush tax cuts are being extended by two years. The super-rich minority will be receiving billions upon billions from the U.S. government. Way to reduce the deficit. This was a deal Democrats struck in order to extend unemployment benefits. I'm fucking pissed. Two million Americans being able to eat should not be a bargaining chip. I'm not sure whether I should complain that this is what America has become, or jump off a bridge after the realization that this is what we always have been.

I'm seeing a lot of internet rage from progressives right now saying that they're not going to vote for Obama in 2012 because of this. Normally this would piss me off, but I'm keeping my fucking mouth shut now. They're right. If you're a liberal, then no one expects you to vote for a moderate. It's as simple as that. I'll still be voting for him, but not because I want him to be President. It's inevitable at this point that every catastrophic policy that Republicans want is going to get passed, so I'm just hoping that voting Democrat might slow them down a little. Democrats owned the government for the last two years, and their greatest achievement is a health care mess that Republicans proposed in the 90s. That's not change. Once I get out on my own and get myself established, I'm going to seriously consider moving to Canada. Fuck this dumbshit country.

Hawaii opens its senate with a Christian prayer. Two activists show up to protest, and are assaulted.

This isn't about whether or not you believe in God. This is about keeping religion and government from interfering with each other. This happened in April.



"Get that camera."

After Kahle was placed in handcuffs, Kwon and Carrabacan led Kahle to the elevator. As they waited for the elevator, Kwon-kept tightening the handcuffs on Kahle's wrists. When the elevator door opened, it was empty, and Kron and Carrabacan led Kahle inside. Once inside the elevator with the doors closed, while Kahle was standing with his hands behind his back, restrained by handcuffs in an enclosed space, Kwon slammed Kahle, face first, against the side wall of the elevator. Thereafter, both Kwon and Carrabacan took turns assaulting Kahle's back and legs with their shoulds and knees, giving him body blows. Kahle asked Kwon and Carabbacan to stop giving him body blows in the elevator. Kwon and Carabbacan only laughed, verbally taunted Kahle, and continued the body blows.

Source. The bullies got away without any charges. Kahle is now suing the state.

Sunday Youtube Post

High school teacher calls creationism "superstitious nonsese." Gets sued.

Or, "How to not be a teacher".



Let me first get it out of the way that I agree with every single thing the teacher said. Creationism is superstitious nonsense. But this asshole was way out of line. It's okay to talk about religion when you talk about European history. In fact, you are quite simply not talking about European history if you don't also discuss religion. In my art history class last year (which focused on western art), Whalen gave us a disclaimer at the beginning of the class, and said the vast majority of the art we'll be studying is based on Christian ideas. He said the class was not meant to convert anyone, it's simply what these artists painted. The disclaimer was completely unnecessary, because that should all go without saying. Christianity was embedded into that culture. They were experimenting with art for the first time since ancient Rome, and there was nothing else they knew. It's like saying you're not trying to convert people to ancient Egyptian pantheism when you talk about the pyramids.

But this guy went way too far. It's one thing to say "Those in power often manipulated religion into a tool," which I think was the point he was trying to get across, but it's another entirely to say "when you put on your Jesus glasses, you can't see the truth." You're in a fucking high school. Stop. This shit is exactly what Christians feared when prayer was taken out of public schools, and as the subjective strokefest that consisted of the interview demonstrates, this teacher has given them all the ammunition they could ever need. Just listen to that kid, "Teachers all over the place are doing this." Oh really? Then why did you only sue one of them you little snot? People like him are going to generalize the fuck out of public schools now. Thanks, guy.

I conform again

So I guess I'm on Tumblr now? I'm still not exactly sure what this thing is, but from what I can gather, it's sort of like twitter except slightly less gay. This blog will be reserved for pissy rants and cool internet things I find, and tumblr will be nothing but straight up images and videos. Don't worry, the best stuff will stay here, and I'm not getting rid of Sunday Youtube Posts, those are like the foundation of this blog. Music posts might move over there though. Not sure yet. I'll put a link on the right side of the blog under "Sites that are awesome" so it'll be easier to remember to check.

Wikileaks' Julian Asange wanted for 'sex crimes'

My feelings towards Wikileaks have been mixed, but the way they're struggling to bring this guy down is making me root for him more and more.

Rape charges were brought up on Asange a few months ago, but a Swedish prosecutor threw it out because it reeked of such bullshit. So now Interpol wants him again for the exact same thing? Right now? I mean, these charges have absolutely nothing to do with Wikileaks, why did this happen to pop up immediately after the diplomatic cables were released? As he's hinting at a leak concerning a massive bank next year? I'm with Cenk. Show me the evidence.

war onn kirsthmas

CHOO CHOO GOING OFF THE RAILS ON THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS TRAAAIINN



As much as Megyn Kelly's ignorance makes me want to punch a hole in the wall, this Silverman guy is doing a pretty bad job at making his case too. The purpose of a debate isn't to flex muscles, it's to understand where the other person is coming from and to convince. When you call someone's beliefs a myth to their face, they're just going to shut off and stop listening to what you say. All he did was further reinforced in the viewers minds that atheists are arrogant and angry and hate children. Also, Megyn Kelly totally wants to fuck him.



Media Matters went ahead to do what journalists do and contacted the school district. What do they have to say for themselves?

"There is not a ban on the colors red and green at Heathrow Elementary."

List of Famous Atheists

Bruce Lee

Not just an actor. Lee was easily the greatest martial artist of the last hundred years. He invented his very own form of martial arts, Jeet Kun Do, when he was only 27. He could perform two-finger pushups, throw grains of rice in the air and catch them with chop sticks, and his striking speed from three feet away with his hands down was five hundredths of a second. He had well over 2,500 books in his personal library. When asked in 1972 if he believed in God, Bruce responded, "To be perfectly frank, I really do not."



Joss Whedon

This guy is the creator of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Dollhouse. Most people would say his fanbase is loyal, but I prefer to use the word "cult."



Douglas Adams

Author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and writer for many television shows throughout the years, including Dr. Who.



Gene Roddenberry

Creator of Star Trek, he viewed his imaginary universe as the perfect humanist society.



Kurt Vonnegut

One of the 20th century's greatest writers. Author of Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, and Cat's Cradle.



David Cross

Co-Creator of HBO's Mr. Show and starred as Tobias Fünke on Arrested Development. Easily one of my favorite comedians.



Ricky Gervais

Comedian and star of the highly underrated Extras and the British version of The Office.



Ian McKellen

Gandalf and Magneto. Here he is on Extras.



Patton Oswalt

Probably my favorite living comedian.



Adam Savage

Mythbusters.



Henry Rollins

Jack of all trades. Henry Rollins started off as a punk rocker in the 80s as the frontman for Black Flag, and since then has been a comedian, actor, social commentator, and star of his own Henry Rollins Show on IFC. He played Weston on the last season of Sons of Anarchy, and he will probably go down as the coolest bad guy that show will ever see.

Followup to yesterday's entry. Sort of.

Are You Ready for the 21st Century ? from Michel Cartier on Vimeo.

The Death of a Free Media

Media, as far as I see it, is splitting into two groups. There is 'mainstream media' - the cable news channels that benefit more from telling you what your opinion is than reporting news. Then there's the internet. For me, it's mostly Reddit, particularly, the /r/politics subreddit. Reddit operates because of its community. People submit stories, and other people upvote the stories based on their importance. I guess you could say its community is liberal, but I prefer to think that facts have a liberal bias. I'm slightly ashamed to say it, but I get most of my news from reddit. When you get your news from community-driven internet sources, there is no filter. You are cutting out the middle man. And in an America where news organizations can legally lie to its audience, it is our responsibility to cut out the middle man.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security shut down 82 websites for piracy with no court order. In terms of free distribution of information that's actually important, this isn't all that notable. But it sets two crucial precedents: that matters of copyright are now matters of security, and that the government can shut down web sites whenever it chooses. This is terrifying.

Media worldwide is currently going on a jihad against Wikileaks. A U.S. Representative wants to label wikileaks as a terrorist organization, completely unaware that terrorism is the use of violence and intimidation. Whether or not you agree with what Wikileaks is doing, using language like this is irresponsible and downright dangerous. What's even more dangerous is that mainstream media has thrown objectivity out the window and is once again asking "how high?" after the government says to jump.





The world has just entered the digital age. The digital age, by easily distributing information to people, will give more power to people. Think about the last time something like this happened: the printing press. The printing press was catastrophic for the power structure. The masses became smart enough to begin questioning religion, and so we get the Age of Enlightenment. That was followed by an age of worldwide revolution throughout the 19th century led almost entirely by an educated populace. Whenever people gain knowledge, the status quo loses power. What we're seeing now is the status quo catching on, and so it's trying to stamp it out before it can gain a foothold. Their goal is to control the digital age. I'm not saying it's some worldwide conspiracy, they're not doing it consciously. It's just what people will naturally do when they're at risk of losing power. I honestly believe that humanity is standing on crossroads right now. This is where we decide whether we'll be the humanistic utopia of Star Trek, or the braindead phantasm of Brave New World.

Sunday Youtube Post

This guy is Mumia Abu-Jamal. In 1981 he was convicted of murdering a police officer. He was an activist, journalist, and until 1970, he was a member of the Black Panther Party. He's extremely controversial. People debate about whether or not he received a fair trial, or whether or not he's even guilty. Personally, I'm on the fence. You can do some google research about the whole thing if you want, but as far as I'm concerned, it's all a matter of someone's word over someone else's, and I don't think we can ever know. He's a pretty bright guy regardless, and he's been doing this "Prison Radio" thing for a number of years.







Saïd from Oz, anyone?

CHUGGA CHUGGA CHOO CHOO WAR ON CHRISTMAS

All aboard the self-victimization train! Thanksgiving has come and gone, and you know what that means! It's my favorite time of year! It's when the religious right make shit up about what atheists and agnostics believe, and vastly overestimate the tiny influence they have to boost ratings! It's officially CHRISTMAS TIME!



I'm tired of political correctness telling me what I can and can't say, that's why atheists should shut the fuck up. THE MAJORITY IS ALWAYS RIGHT NO MATTER WHAT.



An opinion I don't agree with? FREE SPEECH MY ASS, THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. ONLY YEAR ROUND CHRISTIAN BILLBOARDS ARE ACCEPTABLE. TAKE IT DOWN MISTER GRINCH 9/11 CHOO CHOOOOO

[Day of the Week] Music Post - The Ascent of Everest

The Ascent of Everest formed in 2005 in Nashville. That is literally all the information I can find on them. They're a post-rock band who have found a way to combine soothing ambience with a swelling, unrelenting barrage of strings. I probably now consider them my favorite post-rock band after Explosions in the Sky, but in fairness, EITS can never be topped by anything ever.

Their first CD, How Lonely Sits The City is the better of the two in my opinion. The songs are much longer, giving them more time to build up and explode, while the songs on their second CD, From This Vantage, have a harder time standing on their own; the CD is better listened to in its entirety. What few vocals there are in How Lonely seem more like obscure background noise, while in their second CD they're brought forward a little more. The Ascent of Everest's sound isn't necessarily sad, as much as it's filled with a sort of beautiful melancholy, and yes, there is a difference. The first song here is from How Lonely Sits The City and the next two are on From This Vantage. Molotov definitely makes it into my top five favorite songs of all time.