Atypical Guy

Post #300: A Year in Review

AtypicalGuy — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:10:25 +0000

I wrote my first post on this blog in July, 2007, and in the following year wrote almost 300 short posts related to economics, religion, and politics in the United States. In that time, this blog has received tens of thousands of views. It’s a modest number, but considering the small amount of time I spend maintaining the site and a complete lack of advertising and marketing, it’s not unexpected. The most popular posts have remained fairly consistent and can be found in the “Top Posts” sidebar.

I have been wondering whether I would consider this blog to be “successful”, but I don’t think there’s a clear answer. I originally started writing as an attempt at catharsis. Seeing the state of American politics, religion, and a general disdain for rational thought was more than I could bear in silence. It was (and is) difficult to find people with whom I can speak on a rational and intellectual level. Yet, I had to do so, even if only for my own sanity. I thought about questions like, how could I justify sitting idly by when the worst administration in the history of the U.S. escaped from accountability? What would I tell kids and future generations that would be bound to ask? Had I never received a single page view on the site, by that measure, I might still have considered it to be useful. In any case, this would be a good time to thank those of you who have visited the site and those of you have commented. Hopefully, there will be more to come in the future…

The U.S. "Balance Sheet": $75 trillion in Debt

AtypicalGuy — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:52:08 +0000

It seems that American government functions very similarly to its people when it comes to economics: We spent far more than we have and don’t even worry about calculating the related costs. The consequences of the Bush Administration’s seemingly never-ending bungling are staggering. Still, few Americans have any idea of the magnitude of the problem. Perhaps we’re too busy focusing on having to pay an extra dime or dollar per gallon of gasoline.

A recent MarketWatch article tries to get us to focus on what’s really important. From A $75 trillion fright fest: Eight megahorror debts chilling America:

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) — America’s out of control, drowning in debt, gorging: $75 trillion and getting worse. Now we’re dumping Fannie and Freddie on America’s balance sheet. Every year we pile trillions more on future generations.
Can’t trust McCain? Obama? Time for new leadership! The best qualified for president is the same great American hero we picked as our favorite write-in candidate for the 2006 elections: David Walker, former comptroller general, chief auditor of the U.S. Government Accounting Office for a decade before resigning last spring. He is ready. See previous Paul B. Farrell.
Walker was the “voice of reason” in Washington while Congress and the White House kept wasting trillions like out-of-control drunks, digging America deeper into debt. Nobody listened. Politicians ignored Walker’s warnings, making matters worse as we went from a surplus of $5 trillion in 2000 to crushing debt that’s now $9.6 trillion.

Puns and cliches aside, I found the article to be entertaining and well-written. keep in mind that this excessive spending that focuses on war, oil, corporate profits, and broken and corrupt systems such as our for-profit healthcare system will take their toll in time. If you want to see some near-real-time numbers, see the U.S. National Debt Clock.

Most of these problems are solvable, but unfortunately they’ll require people to actually think about the costs of our investments and expenditures. History has proven that fighting issues like materialism, greed, fear, and a thirst for war are often losing propositions. Americans seem to have drifted so far away from rational thought and have migrated toward religious superstition and “thinking” based on emotions rather than facts. We continue to support catastrophic policies that have proven to fail time and again. We pretend that our failing economy needs only a “few tweaks” to get it back on track. Clearly, it will take a lot more than that. Unfortunately, I suspect there will be no shortage of related articles for this blog in the coming years.

Breaking Down American Consumer Spending

AtypicalGuy — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:37:19 +0000

It seems that the United States is often seen as unique in many different areas of life. We tend to be far more violent than other nations and have an increasing disparity in wealth. But where to we stand on consumerism? While I I would have guessed that per capita spending in the U.S. is among the highest in the world (and, accordingly, our savings rates are among the lowest), it’s interesting to look at where that money is going.

A New York Times interactive page, What Your Global Neighbors are Buying, provides some interesting statistics. Here’s a sample view of spending on “Clothing and Footwear”:

Without having drilled down into the statistics all that much, the only overall obvious conclusion is that we’re big spenders: In all areas, the United States has the highest per capita spending in every category. While this might be a dream-come-true for marketing organizations, I wonder where it will leave us in the future.

Welfare for the Wealthiest

AtypicalGuy — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:29:34 +0000

I hope it’s no secret that the Bush Administration has consistently and routinely provided large tax cuts and handouts to those who need it least. In fact, more progressive individuals such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have publicly criticized these moves, stating that no one even asked for the tax breaks. Yet these policies continue, as America seems be losing its middle class. MSN Money reports on the latest statistics in Ranks of the ultrawealthy soar:

New IRS data show a 62% increase in the number of people with a net worth of $20 million or more between 1997 and 2004. Separate data list the ‘Fortunate 400.’
One of the most exclusive clubs in the U.S. has picked up more members.
About 47,000 people had a net worth of $20 million or more in 2004, the latest year for which data are available, according to new estimates by the Internal Revenue Service. While that was up only slightly from 46,000 in 2001, it was up 62% from 29,000 in 1998.
The IRS also reported increases in the number of people with a net worth between $10 million and $20 million: 79,000 people qualified for this group in 2004, up from 77,000 in 2001 and 51,000 in 1998.

Another MSN Money article, Taxpayers give fat cats $20 billion looks at the rates of pay for America’s richest people:

At the expense of you and me, tax breaks help companies hand ever-bigger paychecks to CEOs. What are the presidential candidates doing about it? Almost nothing.
As our national debt reaches new heights, some elite wealthy taxpayers get a pass when it comes to footing their share of the bill:
Those lavishly paid CEOs in their corner offices.
Thanks to five tax breaks cooked up by their friends in Washington, D.C., top executives and their companies enjoy at least $20 billion a year in income-tax breaks that are unavailable to the rank and file, according to a new study from the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy.
…

The cost to you, me and ordinary workers around the country is easier to figure out. Every household filing a return pays about $192 extra in taxes to cover these breaks, by my calculation.
For a lot of Americans, that’s real money. But not for this elite group.

While we’re held footing the bill for these costs, it seems that everyone is much more focused on the price of a gallon of gas. Never mind that we’ve spent trillions on attacking Iraq and that over a million people are dead. Never mind that our deficit is staggering and the United States’ credit rating has dropped for the first time in history. We’ve got to focus on the gas pumps as the nation’s biggest issue.

Perhaps part of the problem is that Americans, as a whole, truly respect greed and excess. We tend to look up to CEOs that make tens of millions of dollars in official compensation each year. We dream about purchasing our tenth house and owning a fleet of cards and personal airplanes. With attitudes like that, perhaps it’s no surprise that greed has become a richly rewarding national pastime. Of course, all of this clearly defies all research on the topic that shows that money just doesn’t buy happiness.

McCain: Lies and [Lack of] Consequences

AtypicalGuy — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:14:06 +0000

So here’s a shocker: Politicians sometimes tell lies! OK, so perhaps no American would be surprised by this statement. In fact, we reward candidates handsomely for outright deceit. However, our sense of balance seems to be off. Around a decade ago, we impeached a President for lying about his private life. Today, we won’t even press the Commander in Chief of one of the largest militaries in the world to even answer questions about leading us into a manufactured and self-serving war. The list seems endless, and Americans are getting no better at asking for truth and accountability.

A case in point is John McCain. While there’s plenty to dislike about his decisions and checkered past, recent ads seem to have crossed some kind of line. A New York Times Editorial titled Blizzard of lies attempts to look at the the most recent issues:

Did you hear about how Barack Obama wants to have sex education in kindergarten, and called Sarah Palin a pig? Did you hear about how Ms. Palin told Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks” when it wanted to buy Alaska a Bridge to Nowhere?

These stories have two things in common: they’re all claims recently made by the McCain campaign — and they’re all out-and-out lies.

Dishonesty is nothing new in politics. I spent much of 2000 — my first year at The Times — trying to alert readers to the blatant dishonesty of the Bush campaign’s claims about taxes, spending and Social Security.

But I can’t think of any precedent, at least in America, for the blizzard of lies since the Republican convention. The Bush campaign’s lies in 2000 were artful — you needed some grasp of arithmetic to realize that you were being conned. This year, however, the McCain campaign keeps making assertions that anyone with an Internet connection can disprove in a minute, and repeating these assertions over and over again.

To be fair, there are some people that try to call politicians out on outright fabrications of the truth. This article is one example, as is one from The Huffington Post about John McCain on The View. While mainstream media continues to overlook real issues and to hold candidates accountable, it seems within reason to expect Americans to wake up, start thinking, and to stop rewarding lies.

The Source of American Economic Anxiety?

AtypicalGuy — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:27:03 +0000

I have often written about the impact of a growing disparity in wealth in the United States, leading to a shrinking middle class. The Bush Administration have been open and vocal proponents of tax cuts for corporations and the extremely rich while barely hiding their complete contempt for average working people. If one looks at history, there’s nothing shocking about – an aristocracy seems to be the inevitable by-product of unbridled government. But what surprises me is how the American people, in general, seem OK with this. It feels strange that a Republican candidate could even run for what threatens to be, in the words of Barack Obama, “The Bush Administration’s third term.” So what’s really going on?

In Where did our financial stability go?, author Jim Jubak provides some interesting insight and theories. First, some facts from the article:

What’s so extraordinary is that this tide of anxiety has risen during a period of extraordinary national economic growth.
In the past 10 years, from 1997 through the end of 2007, the U.S. economy has grown to $11.6 trillion from just $8.7 trillion, adjusted for inflation. That’s real economic growth of about 2.9% a year. The picture looks much the same when you adjust for a growing population. Real per capita gross domestic product, which equates pretty well with per capita income, has climbed 2% a year, on average, from 1997 to 2007.
In other words, if you look at the national averages, we’re somewhere between 20% and 33% better off than we were 10 years ago. So why aren’t we dancing in the streets?
The pundits, yours truly included, have offered a variety of reasons:

Incomes are a lot less equal than they used to be. In 1979, for example, the top 1% of earners had an income 9.4 times that of the average person in the bottom 90%, according to the Economic Policy Institute. By 2006, that ratio had climbed to almost 20-to-1.

The economy has become more uncertain, with give-backs, outsourcing, off-shoring and downsizing of jobs. And that’s been especially true for the relatively well-paid workers in the manufacturing economy.

Growth in national income in the past decade went disproportionately to corporate profits and not to worker incomes. Even though nonfarm productivity rose at an average rate of 2.63% from 1997 to 2007, the average hourly wage for production workers climbed just 0.79% annually. Corporate profits captured more of the national income in 2006, the peak of the recent economic cycle, than in any other year on record.

The answer? I’m not going to steal Jim’s thunder completely, but the article talks about the variability in income and its effects on human psychology. It’s good reading and perhaps will serve as a warning to people that can’t seem to manage their own finances responsibly.

American Imperialism: Military Bases

AtypicalGuy — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:05:54 +0000

Perhaps it’s a good thing that people outside of the United States tend no to associate American individuals with American politics. Despite “homeland” marketing initiatives about how great our nation is, it’s clear that our spending on war and interfering with other nations’ policies is nearly unprecedented. We spend many billions of dollars on a manufactured war in Iraq every month. To get the same amount of funding for basic needs such as healthcare or education is almost unheard of. Yet, Americans seem to be satisfied (or, more accurately, blissfully ignorant) of this. We engage in “fund-raisers” for aspects of American life that clearly should be the responsibility of government. The goal: to scrape together a few thousand dollars for causes that actually will help people. We even have a presidential candidate who feels it’s acceptable to remain in Iraq for another 1,000 years.

AlterNet has provided some details that highlight our ignorance in The US Has 761 Military Bases Across the Planet, and We Simply Never Talk About It. From the article:

At the height of the Roman Empire, the Romans had an estimated 37 major military bases scattered around their dominions. At the height of the British Empire, the British had 36 of them planetwide. Depending on just who you listen to and how you count, we have hundreds of bases. According to Pentagon records, in fact, there are 761 active military “sites” abroad.
The fact is: We garrison the planet north to south, east to west, and even on the seven seas, thanks to our various fleets and our massive aircraft carriers which, with 5,000-6,000 personnel aboard — that is, the population of an American town — are functionally floating bases.
And here’s the other half of that simple truth: We don’t care to know about it. We, the American people, aided and abetted by our politicians, the Pentagon, and the mainstream media, are knee-deep in base denial.
Now, that’s the gist of it. If, like most Americans, that’s more than you care to know, stop here.

Of course, most Americans seem to have little respect for facts, statistics, and evidence. It’s much easier to just stand in front of (or behind) an American flag and to get bumper stickers requesting God’s support for our great nation (or at least some extremely conservative part of it). Just don’t expect to see any mainstream media coverage about these bases.

McCain vs. Obama on Economic Issues

AtypicalGuy — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:34:00 +0000

With all of the standard political rhetoric we’re used to hearing, it’s often difficult to find out exactly what specific candidates are suggesting. The U.S. is in no shortage of serious economic problems thanks to the unbridled spending of the Bush Administration and enormous tax breaks for our wealthiest individuals and corporations. So how do the 2008 candidates plan to address these issues?

CNNMoney.com provides a brief and well-organized breakdown in Your Money- McCain vs. Obama. This section includes 21 brief summaries of major policy stances by the two leading candidates. I’ll hold off on making detailed commentary, as the purpose of the site is to inform readers to do that themselves. As an overall note, though, it seems perfectly clear that McCain supports reduced taxes for the rich and for large corporations while Obama actually favors supporting those who need it (something that U.S. voters haven’t heard in quite a while). As a case in point, see the Taxing Wealth page. You can also find a lengthy list of news articles in a special section of the site called Election 2008: The candidates and your money.

BusinessWeek has also posted an article that focuses on economic issues. From Obama vs. McCain: Taxing and Spending:

So where does the reality lie? According to a new analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture between the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, two Washington think tanks, this round goes to Obama. The TPC took a look at the various tax proposals put forth by the two candidates and estimated that Obama’s plan would lead to a boost in aftertax income for all but the highest earners, while taking a smaller bite out of government tax revenues than would McCain’s plans.

So we all have access to important information about economic plans. Of course, these are only promises. If the Bush Administration has taught us anything, all bets are off once a new regime takes office. The question, as always, is whether people will use facts and statistics to inform their votes and opinions.

Palin: Hard to Digest

AtypicalGuy — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:21:34 +0000

It looks like we have all become so accustomed to controversy and egregious violations by our elected officials, that it hardly seems to make the news any more. We routinely ignore or overlook important facts like the millions of deaths that have occurred since our invasion and plunder of Iraq. Nowhere does this seem to ring more true than in the case of Sarah Palin. There are so many potential issues with her nomination and her background that it’s almost impossible to keep track of the facts. Much of the “news” from mainstream media will add to the confusion by implying that there are some good sides to her candidacy (though they will rarely mentioned what those are).

Fortunately, ThinkProgress has attempted to distill down the important facts, quotes, and details related to McCain’s VP pick in The Sarah Palin Digest. The issues are clearly grouped based on areas of concern. Here are some highlights (with sources):

Palin Believes That The Iraq War Is A Task ‘From God.’ Speaking at the Wasilla Assembly of God church in June, Palin said that “our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God.” [Huffington Post, 9/2/08]

Palin Supported The Bridge To Nowhere. During her unveiling as McCain’s running mate, Palin claimed that she said, “Thanks, but no thanks” to federal funding for the Bridge to Nowhere. But in her 2006 campaign for governor, Palin repeatedly expressed support for the bridge project, saying Alaska should take advantage of earmarks “while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.” [Anchorage Daily News, 10/22/06; Ketchikan Daily News, 8/9/06, 11/21/06]

Palin Denies Man-Made Global Warming. When asked for her “take on global warming,” Palin replied, “A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.” [Newsmax, 08/29/08]

Palin Believes It Is ‘God’s Will’ To Build A Natural Gas Pipeline. Speaking to the Wasilla Assembly of God church in June, Palin said, “I think God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that,” referring to a $30 billion national gas pipeline project. [Huffington Post, 9/2/08]

Palin Opposes Abortion Even In Cases Of Rape Or Incest. In 2006, Palin said that even if her daughter were raped, “I would choose life.” She said that she would support abortion only if the mother’s life were in danger. [Anchorage Daily News, 11/3/06]

Palin Believes The Founding Fathers Wrote The Pledge Of Allegiance. In 2006, when asked by the Eagle Forum Alaska if she found the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance offensive, Palin replied, “Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me.” But the words “Under God” didn’t appear in the Pledge until 1954. The Pledge itself wasn’t written until 1892. [Huffington Post, 9/1/08; Slate, 6/28/02]

Palin Left Wasilla $20 Million In Debt. As mayor of Wasilla, Palin cut taxes while simultaneously expanding the town’s operating budget by almost $2 million. She ended her term in 2002 with Wasilla $20 million in debt. [Anchorage Daily News 10/23/06; the Politico, 8/29]

Keep in mind that all of this is just what we know now. There’s no telling how much more will be uncovered. The question, of course, is how Republican voters people will find a way to ignore these facts. And, don’t worry: It might take a lot of ignorance and creativity, but they’ll find a way.

Palin to Rival Bush’s Lack of Communication?

AtypicalGuy — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:12:02 +0000

Perhaps one of the reasons people have tolerated George Bush’s bungling for so many years is that mainstream media seems to be OK with his refusal to talk to the American people. His administration has been, by far, one of the most secretive in the history of the United States. He’s often not even at the White House at all. I’d assert that this works in his favor, and his advisors are providing good advice. Listening to King George is downright painful, and much of what he says is truly an embarrassment to U.S. voters’ lack of judgment.

But what about the future regime? It looks like we’re in for more of the same with McCain and Palin. ThinkProgress reports in McCain Campaign Plans To Keep Palin Away From The Press:

The McCain campaign reportedly told the Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder not to expect any one-on-one interviews with Palin any time soon. Despite McCain’s pledge of transparency — even proposing a regular President’s question time with Congress modeled after the British version — he has been shutting off press access for months. Yesterday, a Time reporter explained that McCain bizarrely refused to answer his questions, “like he’d been body-snatched.”

Davis insisted that “there are no strings attached” to media access to McCain. Yet just this week, McCain abruptly canceled an interview with Larry King as punishment for a tough CNN interview with one of his spokesmen. What’s more, top McCain aide Mark Salter said that “only the good reporters” would get the best seats in the new campaign plane. “You have to earn it,” he said.
Davis told MSNBC that Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) “didn’t do a single interview until a week after his nomination,” but the assertion is false. Biden and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) sat for an interview with 60 Minutes “just moments after” Obama left the stage at the Democratic convention.

Of course, the real problem here is that most American people will accept this. They’ll vote with their stomachs, and there’s less to upset said organ if people like Palin keeps her mouth shut.

On Santa and Ghosts (Holy or Otherwise)

AtypicalGuy — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:26:16 +0000

Recently, while scouring the Internet for something not even remotely related, I found an article that struck quite a chord with me. It’s a couple of years old, but it seemed to resonate. The news piece, ‘Santa Claus does not exist’ school tells stunned kids relates the horror experienced by parents (and, perhaps, some children) when they were told be a teacher that Mr. Claus does not, indeed, exist. Perhaps it’s offensive to teach children certain truths, but the “outcry” (remember, this is just a random news article) was quite ridiculous. Quotes from concerned parents seemed to focus on the horrors of this atrocious act of the dissemination of truth. Some quotes:

“What gives the school the right to decide when children should know the truth about such a harmless matter when knowing the truth does take away that little bit of magic?”
…
Amanda Piovesana, whose daughter is in Year 5, said: “I am upset because it has taken away a magical part of Christmas for my daughter and a teacher should not have the right to do that. My little girl was very upset.”
…
Angry parents at Calcot Junior School in Berkshire said the teacher had ‘ruined’ Christmas for their children.
…

“As parents it is for us to decide when we tell our children and some of the parents in that class could have got away with it for another year and now they can’t.
“I just hope my little girl does not twig because she is in the year below.”
…
“It is like a loss of innocence. Children should have the right to stay innocent for as long as possible.”

Perhaps the last one sums it up well, as I believe it’s confusing innocence with ignorance. Where’s the “guilt” in knowing the truth? Keep in mind that teachers have been fired over this.

The issue, to me, is that this culture of teaching children flat-out lies is not only acceptable, but to even suggest that people be exposed to the truth is a source of great exception. Does this sound roughly analogous to other popular myths?

Religion is a perfect example of this thinking. Here’s where otherwise intelligent and rational human beings can abandon all reason. They have no need for evidence and fight viciously against those that claim that their make-believe characters are not real. Many of these same people have no problem teaching their children that a God who knows and loves them will not hesitate to sentence them to an eternity of torture simply because they choose to question his existence. Of course, it’s good to question everything else… Just not Jesus… Or Father Christmas.

We all learn many “lessons” from an early age that are hard to let go of. These lessons can include emotions related to love, compassion, hatred, fear, racism, and just about everything in between. But as we grow older, most of us learn to question what we’re taught. We simply can’t grow as a species if people cling to superstitions, ghosts, and good ol’ classic fear of the unknown. Religion looks to be one of the last of these areas to fall, but I predict that it’s inevitable.

And for those who still might be interested in some scientific issues posed by the presence of St. Nick and his merry band of characters, I invite you to review The Physics of Santa Claus. And to all a good night!

Colbert’s Greatest Hits: Atheism

AtypicalGuy — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:05:00 +0000

I often find it refreshing to hear intelligent commentary in near mainstream media. Stephen Colbert is a good example. While I don’t often watch his show (perhaps because I can’t handle laughing at the neve-rending stream of disasters created by the Bush Administration), I do respect the show overall.

Comedy Central Insider recently posted a page that links to Colbert’s 8 Best Atheist Moments. In the various videos, he talks to well-know atheists, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and others. Here are some samples:

Most of the comments are both witty and thought-provoking (especially for those who haven’t given any serious consideration to these topics). However, it’s kind of sad to see that Colbert himself often cuts off some of the more interesting comments. He seems to straddle the popular middle ground that despite all of the ridiculous assumptions about the theory of a God, that somehow it’s a plausible theory.

More Atheist Quotes

AtypicalGuy — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:37:39 +0000

I have posted numerous times before about quotes related to atheism. Some of these are so well written, that it’s difficult to ignore the ideas (although most Americans seem to have found a way). Overall, I hope that readers will be provoked to think and question their beliefs instead of being overtaken by the more base emotion of feeling offended. AtheistBlogger.com has a new collection, 101 Atheist Quotes. While I’ve read most before, here are some of my favorites:

The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. – Richard Dawkins

Faith means not wanting to know what is true. – Friedrich Nietzsche

We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes. – Gene Roddenberry

If I were not an atheist, I would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul. – Isaac Asimov

The world holds two classes of men – intelligent men without religion, and religious men without intelligence. – Abu’l‐Ala al Ma’arri

What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. – Christopher Hitchens

It will yet be the proud boast of women that they never contributed a line to the Bible. – George W. Foote

I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours. – Stephen Roberts

God should be executed for crimes against humanity. – Bryan Emmanuel Gutierrez

To say that atheism requires faith is as dim-witted as saying that disbelief in pixies or leprechauns takes faith. Even if Einstein himself told me there was an elf on my shoulder, I would still ask for proof and I wouldn’t be wrong to ask. – Geoff Mather

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? – Epicurus

Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a God superior to themselves. Most Gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. – Robert A Heinlein

I refuse to believe in a god who is the primary cause of conflict in the world, preaches racism, sexism, homophobia, and ignorance, and then sends me to hell if I’m ‘bad’. – Mike Fuhrman

Faith does not give you the answers, it just stops you asking the questions. – Frater Ravus

If we expect God to subscribe to one religion at the exclusion of all the others, then we should expect damnation as a matter of chance. This should give Christians pause when expounding their religious beliefs, but it does not. – Sam Harris

Most religions prophecy the end of the world and then consistently work together to ensure that these prophecies come true. – Anonymous

The list obviously includes some famous names – people who have really advanced the field of human thought. I hope their contributions will help open more peoples’ eyes in a world that seems to cling to superstition and mystical beliefs.

The Mystery of WTC Building 7

AtypicalGuy — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:10:30 +0000

Despite all of the “We will always remember” bumper stickers, it seems that Americans have largely forgotten that three buildings were destroyed on September 11th, 2001. World Trade Center Building 7 mysteriously collapsed many hours after buildings 1 and 2 fell. It’s understandable that the Bush Administration would fail to investigate this – secrecy and cover-ups are daily operating procedures for them. But shouldn’t people be asking for an explanation? I posted about this topic a little over a year ago (see 09/11/2001: We Will Never Know?).

It does seem that now, nearly seven years later, some information has emerged. Of course, it’s just as unbelievable as some of the more extreme conspiracy theories. TheRawStory reports in As federal agency declares ‘new phenomenon’ downed WTC 7, activists cry foul about some opposition to the theory that thermal expansion cause the collapse:

However, Richard Gage, founder of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth and a member of the American Institute of Architects, doesn’t believe a word of the theory.

His group, which has swelled to over 400 architectural and engineering professionals, immediately responded to the Institute’s claim in a press conference.

“Tons of [molten metal] was found 21 days after the attack,” said Gage in an interview with a Vancouver, Canada television station. “Steel doesn’t begin to melt until 2,700 degrees, which is much hotter than what these fires could have caused.”

“There are holes in this story that you can drive a truck through,” Gage added during the press conference. His group asserts that thermite, a steel cutting agent, was used to bring the building down.

Unfortunately, few Americans will pay attention to this (we have a “War” in Iraq to focus on). People will happily live on without any credible explanation, much as they’ve accepted the many transgressions by Bush and his cronies. I wonder, what will we “always remember”?

More Proof of Bush 2.0

AtypicalGuy — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:07:10 +0000

The comparisons between George Bush and John McCain are hard to overlook, though it seems that most Americans have found a way. The evidence seems to show that McCain will carry on the Bush legacy of bumbling and ignorance. As with Bush, we have always had all the information we need to see that McCain is not a very intelligent man. His mind seems to be clouded by religion, and he seems to have no interest in learning about things he doesn’t understand.

It’s refreshing to see a mainstream media outlet like CNN post a valid opinion on what could be our nation’s second greatest disaster. Jack Cafferty asks some important questions in Commentary: Is McCain another George W. Bush?:

It occurs to me that John McCain is as intellectually shallow as our current president. When asked what his Christian faith means to him, his answer was a one-liner. “It means I’m saved and forgiven.” Great scholars have wrestled with the meaning of faith for centuries. McCain then retold a story we’ve all heard a hundred times about a guard in Vietnam drawing a cross in the sand.
…

He was asked “if evil exists.” His response was to repeat for the umpteenth time that Osama bin Laden is a bad man and he will pursue him to “the gates of hell.” That was it.
He was asked to define rich. After trying to dodge the question — his wife is worth a reported $100 million — he finally said he thought an income of $5 million was rich.
One after another, McCain’s answers were shallow, simplistic, and trite. He showed the same intellectual curiosity that George Bush has — virtually none.
John McCain graduated 894th in a class of 899 at the Naval Academy at Annapolis. His father and grandfather were four star admirals in the Navy. Some have suggested that might have played a role in McCain being admitted. His academic record was awful. And it shows over and over again whenever McCain is called upon to think on his feet.

The conclusion is concise, well-written, and terrifying:

George Bush’s record as a student, military man, businessman and leader of the free world is one of constant failure. And the part that troubles me most is he seems content with himself.
He will leave office with the country $10 trillion in debt, fighting two wars, our international reputation in shambles, our government cloaked in secrecy and suspicion that his entire presidency has been a litany of broken laws and promises, our citizens’ faith in our own country ripped to shreds. Yet Bush goes bumbling along, grinning and spewing moronic one-liners, as though nobody understands what a colossal failure he has been.
I fear to the depth of my being that John McCain is just like him.

Sadly, history shows that these “qualities” are what will make McCain a serious candidate in the 2008 election.

Rich Corporations for McCain

AtypicalGuy — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:45:51 +0000

In an earlier post, McCain’s Lobbyists- An Interactive Guide, I linked to a site that shows how much money John McCain has accepted from lobbyists. Americans seem to be rather tolerant of having corporations and private interests run our government. This is most obvious in tax-related issues, where voters have passively accepted George Bush’s numerous tax cuts for the richest members of the population (some applied to only the .1% of the richest people in the U.S.)

A recent article from ThinkProgress shows that McCain will carry on that legacy. From Top CEOs Give 10 Times More To McCain Than Obama; McCain Promises Huge Tax Breaks For Them In Return:

McCain has cultivated support from mega-corporations by promising to dole out huge tax breaks in return should he win the presidency. As the Wonk Room reported in June, McCain’s plan to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent would yield $45 billion in tax breaks for the 200 largest corporations:

…

Eight companies — Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Bank of America Corp., AT&T, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Microsoft Corp. — would each receive over $1 billion a year.
McCain would deliver about $4 billion in tax cuts to the five largest oil companies. He would also hand over $2 billion to the top 10 health insurance companies. Unlike the highest-rung of the corporate ladder, much of the rest of Wall Street refuses to be bought off. Those employees are giving more to Obama than to McCain.

Perhaps the most annoying part of this information is that voters won’t even challenge McCain on this. They’ll either remain ignorant, or will passively approve of the selling of the United States to large corporations. Perhaps it’s for the better. If American voters were a little smarter, McCain would have to manufacture new wars and create irrational fear to divert the spotlight from his actions.

The Case of Bush v. Vacation Time

AtypicalGuy — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:40:00 +0000

Mentally speaking, I think it’s safe to say that Bubba Dubya is always on vacation. People who have been paying attention know that Bush rarely shows up to work, and is famous for taking time off at his ranch. Of course, that hasn’t stopped him from criticizing others of shirking their responsibilities. ThinkProgress reports in After Returning From Four Days At The Olympics, Bush Criticizes Congress’s ‘Vacation’:

Bush’s dig at Congress for being on vacation is ironic, as he rivals Ronald Reagan for the title of “presidential vacation-time record holder.” Some highlights of Bush’s time away from the office:

– Attended 95 sports-related events.

– Made 74 trips to his Crawford ranch, for a total of 466 days.

– Made 142 trips to Camp David, for a total of 450 days.

– Attended 327 fundraising events for Republican candidates and causes.

Over the course of his presidency, national catastrophes have taken shape while Bush has been on vacation. When he was in Crawford before 9/11, Bush ignored an infamous memo about an impending bin Laden attack. Similarly, Bush brushed off warnings of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 while at the ranch.

I think it could be argued that having no one in charge of the United States would be far preferable to the decisions made by our current regime. Unfortunately, “no one” isn’t on the ballet. I wonder: Can you add a write-in vote and leave it blank?

Kinky Sex Stories – According to God

AtypicalGuy — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:34:14 +0000

Of the Bible’s many failings related to accuracy and consistency, perhaps its treatment of the topic of sex is the most entertaining. Apparently, the supreme creator of the Universe finds little issue with slavery and the treatment of women as property. But, the topic of sex (which is most often portrayed as a heinous taboo) shows some clear signs of repression. Leave it to the team at Cracked.com to discover some examples from their religious studies. A summary from The 6 Raunchiest, Most Depraved Sex Acts (From the Bible):

#6. Lot Has Drunk, Drunk Sex in a Cave. With His Daughters.
#5. Jacob, Two Sisters, And What the Hell, a Handmaid
#4. God Gives You Tips on How to Hold Your Load
#3. I Thought She Was a Prostitute, But She Was My Daughter-in-Law!
#2. Solomon Gives Boobies 10 Fingers Up
#1. Gods and Girls

If you thought that porn scripts seemed overly contrived, be sure to check out the staring role that dark rooms and veils seem to have on the otherwise good sense of the denizens of Godland.

OK, so perhaps the team at Cracked.com is not comprised of poets. Still, they do a good job of exposing what a disturbing number of people consider to the literal word of God. “The Good Book”, indeed.

The Terms of Afterlife

AtypicalGuy — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:46:14 +0000

The obvious apparent purpose of many religious myths is to give people some form of peace about a future after they or a loved one dies. The need for some kind of comfort seems so extreme that people will accept just about any wacky idea. For example, Christians believe that a God that created, knows, and loves them, wouldn’t think twice about sentencing them to an eternity of torture. But, as long as they accept him as a savior, all will be well. Others, of course, can [literally] go to Hell. Potentially thorny issues, such as children who die early and haven’t (and actually cannot rationally) accept Jesus going to Hell are conveniently swept under the rug. The same applies to questions about how a loving and just God (who would know where everyone’s going to end up) justify the mass-torturing of approximately half the population of Earth.

Of course, Christian beliefs are the only game in town when it comes to crazy theories about the unknown and what’s beyond. Cracked.com has a post about The 5 Most Ridiculously Unjust Religious Afterlives. These are all actually based on real beliefs and most are hilarious at face value (Cracked’s often childish translations are entertaining but also superfluous). Here are some examples:

Regarding Zoroastrianism:

Judgement is decreed by the individual’s ability to cross the Bridge of Chinvat, the account keeper (a St. Peter type person). Cross the bridge and you’re in paradise, sitting on your golden stool in Mazda’s house of songs. Fall off and you’re dropping to hell.

Aztec Beliefs:

The Aztecs did not believe your fate was based on whether or not you lived a moral life. Instead, they believed that whichever of the three afterlives you got depended largely on your role in society and the manner of your death. So you could be a total shit who spent their adult life breaking into blind people’s houses to move their furniture around, and depending on how you died, you could still find yourself sitting by the side of some god in the late afternoon sun, eating cheese and drinking wine with your feet in the pool.

Tribal Ancestor Worship:

For some tribes, the souls of the deceased just mill around in a happy state, so long as the skulls or bodies they previously belonged to were looked after. Basically if you had a family who was good at looking after your skull, times were good. If your offspring were lazy assholes who turned your skull into a bong, then you were in for a pretty tough time

Egyptians:

The Egyptians believed that mummification was an essential part of a journey towards a good afterlife, and mummification was expensive. It took seventy days, and after that, you had to be buried in a tomb which was acceptable in the eyes of the Gods. Which was, again, expensive. Basically, if you were a horrible little poor person, the Gods extended a middle finger in your direction and packed you on your way to eternal oblivion.

Of course, the typical religious mind can quickly and summarily reject the absurdness of these beliefs, unless they are from their own religion.

Republicans vs. Democrats: Spending Statistics in Cartoon Form

AtypicalGuy — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:44:39 +0000

One of the most popular posts on this blog was related to the myth that Democratic presidents spend more than Republican ones. The facts show that nothing could be farther from the truth. The original post, Spending Statistics- Republicans vs. Democrats, links to some interesting statistics. Of course, some people can’t be bothered with that kind of information, so here’s a quick visual recap of recent U.S. Spending:

President Bush is projected to run up a national budget deficit of $482 billion, possibly a lot more. This is a fiscal conservative? In fact, the only president in the last 25 years to not only not run up a deficit, but to actually leave a surplus, was one of them thar “tax-and-spend” Democrats.

You can see more cartoons and blog posts at Steve Greenberg’s Blog, hosted by the Ventura County Star. If I could start blogging all over again, I might invest in developing my cartoon-drawing skills to get my points across.