Hello all! I trust you all are enjoying your weekend. Today is the day I introduce the new section of the Newsletter. Entitled "Government", it will feature all the information I receive, or can dig up, regarding the governmental and political aspects of our movement. Since there are several states currently trying to erect the Ten Commandments in their capitol bulidings, (MI included), the increasing resiliency of the religious right to further impose their veiws via lobbyists and propaganda (see "Creation Museum"), and the general proliferation of religion into almost every aspect of our government, I thought it to be a fitting additional category. I noticed last week that the "Community" section was getting quite long on most days, and that a lot of the things I was posting in that section could use it's own category.

I am also changing my dating methods. Since these usually get posted late at night, I'm guessing most people aren't reading them till the following morning. In fact, most of the time I don't even post these until well after midnight anyway, so it's more like just admitting to my insomnia than anything else.

I will also apologize up front for the long post today, a few articles just couldn't be omitted. Please forgive my fanaticism in bringing you as much info as I can! And, don't miss the "Entertainment" section today! I received some great stuff you all should get a kick out of!

Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Jack,
and the RRS MI team

Get god off our money, Sapient goes to dollar store (VIDEO)

See it on youtube.

At the West Chester courthouse with Margaret Downey of FSGP.org.

See it on youtube.

The first RRS MI meeting!

...and yes, I'm gonna promote the hell outa this!

Hosted By: Jack Wynne
When: Wednesday Jul 04, 2007
at 2:00 PM
Where: Jacks house
321 Central
Inkster, MI 48141
United States
Description:
This will be an informal event, a chance for us to meet an discuss what we want to see out of this chapter. This will be a BYOB event, but I will be cooking the main courses, including baby back ribs, various grillable fish, chicken, some game, burgers, and hot dogs. If anyone feels so inclined to bring a side dish to add to the spread, I will not object! Space to crash for those who may need it will be available, so I hope to see all of you locals here! You schmucks in Canada and Ohio too!

Click Here To View Event

JOIN MICHIGAN ATHEISTS FOR AN OLD FASHIONED PICNIC AND CELEBRATE THE SUMMER SOLSTICE ~ SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2007

http://www.michiganatheists.org

Get together with fellow Atheists and other nonbelievers to celebrate the Summer Solstice. We'll gather at the Hines Park-Parkland shelter in Dearborn Heights at 12:00 Noon.

Pack your picnic basket with fried chicken, potato salad, veggies, deviled eggs, fruit, sandwiches, chips, cup cakes, or whatever. Bring your days eats and something to share.

We will provide cups, plates, napkins, and eating utensils. Note: grills are available, but you must bring all your grilling needs. NOTE UPDATE: Howard will provide a gas grill for your use.

Other things you might want to bring: jacket, baseball stuff, cards, lawn games, board games, lawn chair, and maybe an umbrella if it looks like rain. (BUT, WE DO HAVE A PAVILION) Don't forget your kids, dogs, and friends. Plan to stay into the evening. We'll have plenty of daylight.

Join us rain or shine!!!!

WHEN: Sunday, June 24, 2007 We will gather at Noon

WHERE: Hines Park-Parkland in the Parkland-Shelter

MORE INFO: ARLENE-MARIE, Michigan Atheists Affiliate Director
[email protected] (313) 388-9594 Cell: (313) 938-5960 michiganatheists.org
PO Box 0025 Allen Park, MI 48101

"Michigan Atheists is a nonprofit, non-political, social and educational organization dedicated to the complete and absolute separation of state and church as set forth in the Constitution of the United States."

Action without discussion is dangerous. Discussion without action is futile

The first video in this series was originally in a bulletin I recieved that I placed under "Religion" (see "Evolution is the work of the devil!!"). I decided to omit it there and place it here with the rest of the clips, for you to see it in full.

Journey of Life

Produced by the BBC

Another cross shaped straw man "DEBUNKED"

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Human evolution
Date: Jun 17, 2007 9:11 PM

(Thanks Ron)

Are atheists in league with the devil?

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 16, 2007 4:04 PM

Wow, this guy and logic aren't even distant cousins.

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Jeff
Date: Jun 16, 2007 2:40 PM

Making Fool's For Satan
6/16/2007 - 6:00 AM PST

Article

Contact: St. Benedict Parish
http://www.stbenedictsomerville.com MA, US
Fr. Robert J. Carr - Pastor, 617-230-3300
Email: [email protected]

(I just spoke with this jerk off, he kept saying that I was filibustering him...LOL...whatever, I guess that's god-speak for I don't have an answer for you, and I don't want to apologize for being a total dick)

By Fr. Robert J. Carr
Catholic Online

One of the more disturbing aspects of living the faith, is discovering those who feel that they can never be forgiven for their sins. Unfortunately, this is far more common than one might believe. It seems strange that the God who gave everything he had so that we could be saved, the one who forgave even those who killed him, would hold grudges. Yet, many people believe that and to some it has devastating affects. This is because they believe they are outside God's mercy. They are essentially, in their own mind, walking condemned expecting to enter Hell when they die. Many are joyful to learn that God is not this grudge holding monster, unlike some more unhappy humans we may meet in our lives.

One of the first cases I ever experienced of this phenomenon, and this as a layperson, is the case of a man who several decades earlier used magic to put a curse on a then supervisor. The following day, his boss died of a heart attack. It is mostly likely that this was a coincidence. Those Catholics involved in deliverance ministry who are versed in the aspects of the occult inform me that curses of this type are very hard to complete.

Yet, this kind of scenario, the person who does something incredibly stupid at a young age and feels condemned for the rest of his life, unable to be forgiven is one that is being perpetuated on the young and the naïve. It is called the Blasphemy Challenge.

The brainchild of the Rational Response Squad an organization that claims to be on an anti-Christian mission that promotes atheism is actually either accidentally or purposely promoting a more demonic cause. This makes them poor atheists. The Blasphemy Challenge simply asks those who participate in it to condemn their souls to Hell by uttering blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This mission, which is based on a misinterpretation of the Mark 3:29, has claimed hundreds of adherents who do this incredibly stupid act in response for a DVD of the video "The God Who Was Not There."

The problem is that the process which claims to promote atheism among our youth, actually does not, it promotes the demonic. Further, a true atheist would never condemn his soul to Hell. Why? Because to condemn one’s soul to Hell is to acknowledge that Hell exists and a true atheist would never do that. This highlights the thinking process of the adherents to the Blasphemy Challenge. It also opens those who do so to the demonic as they continue on their lives blissfully ignorant of the reality of evil.

This brings up a practical question. Would you hire someone who took the Blasphemy Challenge? Here is why I ask.

The key to the Blasphemy Challenge is that someone commits the act and receives a DVD of the movie, "The God Who Was Not There." Now if you buy the video, it costs less than $25.00. However, buying one gets you condemned as a chicken by the Rational Response Squad. So essentially you are selling your soul and the right to not be called chicken for $25.00. Don’t ask me what is rational about this. It does not make any sense to me. Granted the soul may be worthless in the eyes of the blasphemer, but is not so in the eyes of others. So, would you hire someone whose concept of finances is so bad that they would actually sell their soul for less than $25.00? Now we would say that we would never sell our soul, that means that the value we put on one is priceless. When someone offers something that has a value of priceless for $25.00, is that the kind of person whom you would want working for your company, if you believe in adding value to your product?

The second issue has to do with the lack of critical thinking. As I said before, a true atheist would never commit such an act. If such people are so easily led down a false path with this bizarre reasoning, how much more easily can they be led down other paths. Putting this in a more secular manner of understanding, if you could get them to buy a video that costs less than $25.00, and is worth almost one hundred percent less, for the cost of one's own soul, what would they pay for your deed to the Brooklyn Bridge that just came into your hands through the head of finances for the Enfield, Massachusetts Brooklyn Bridge Deed Management Company. You just have to send all your life’s savings to a bank account in Nigeria and you will send you the deed in the mail. Then you can sell it for billions, of course, recouping all your life savings and then some. They promise it works.

I think you get my drift.

Actually, the deal they made was truly with the Devil, for I guarantee you that many years from now there will be some, maybe not a majority, who feel that the atheism thing is no more than a false religion, but they are stuck with it because of this act. They will believe, falsely, that they are outside of God’s salvation unable to be saved for one stupid act they did at another time. They were misinformed in this deal and they sold themselves short. But they chose to exchange the truth for a lie and to buy into the lie for a virtually worthless video. What really scares me about this Blasphemy Challenge is the case of the person who decides that if he is going to Hell for all eternity, or will cease to exist, why not go bring that result now and then attempts suicide. Those people are out there as well.

When people try to convince some of these blasphemers in the future who sold their souls for a $25.00 DVD—that is not worth $25.00—(and the right not to be called chicken) that their act was meaningless and is not binding in the eyes of God, hopefully those who went into despair will listen. For if they don’t, they will never realize just how much their act was silly and just how worthless that movie truly is. Yet, is not that just how the Devil works? Hence, the reason we can say that even a true Atheist has far more wisdom than the fools who partook of the Blasphemy Challenge.

If you want to see who took the Blasphemy Challenge, simply check out. http://www.youtube.com/video_response_view_all?v=i7QVbJnSPQE.

Contact: St. Benedict Parish
http://www.stbenedictsomerville.com MA, US
Fr. Robert J. Carr - Pastor, 617-230-3300
Email: [email protected]

Billy Graham says atheism has no answers - but he does. haha

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Rational Response Squad So. California
Date: Jun 16, 2007 11:30 PM

I found this question about atheism along with Billy Grahams response. Just thought I would share.

Steve
RRS So Cal
www.endtheism.com

-----------------------------------------------------

BILLY GRAHAM IN MY OPINION

Question:

I've been reading a book on atheism recently. Its main point is that there isn't any reason to believe in God, and the only reasonable way to live is to forget about God. I know you won't agree, but how would you answer this?

Answer:

Atheism -- the belief that God doesn't exist -- is almost as old as the human race, and the arguments atheists used hundreds of years ago are the same ones they use today, with only slight modifications.

And yet in spite of their arguments, religion hasn't vanished over the centuries, and convinced atheists actually are few in number. In fact, today large numbers of people are turning to Christ in countries that used to be officially atheistic (such as the former Soviet Union).

Why is this? One reason is because they realize that atheism has no answer to the deepest yearnings of the human heart. Down inside, we all yearn for God -- whether we admit it or not -- and nothing less than God will satisfy that hunger. God put it there, and only he can fill it; the Bible says, "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

But another reason most people reject atheism is because they realize it isn't reasonable. Which is more logical -- to say the world happened by chance, or that God designed and created it? I think you know the answer. The Bible says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1). Don't be deceived, but by faith turn to Christ, who showed us not only that God exists, but that he loves us and wants us to know him and love him in return.

-- Billy Graham

Baptists see atheist books as sign of panic

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Rational Response Squad So. California
Date: Jun 16, 2007 11:47 PM

www.amazon.com

Christianity = 132,619 results
atheism = 24,835

Keep these figures in mind when reading this article. Under the logic of this article, Christians must be really really really scared of atheism and we must be doing something correct for Christians to feel the need to write so many books about how they are right. 6:1 ratio for Christian books to atheism books on Amazon.com.

Thanks,

Steve
RRS So Cal
www.endtheism.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A run of best-selling books belittling religious belief are a secular backlash that highlights the success of Christianity, Southern Baptist leaders and theologians said at a conference.

"If you shoot down an alley and you hear a yelp, you know you've hit something," said Mark Coppenger, a professor at the Kentucky-based Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

"Apparently Bible believers have hit something and so it is a measure of the success of the church that the opponents are so stirred up right now," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting.

Combative British writer Christopher Hitchens' "god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" is the latest atheist best-seller to hit the stands.

It follows "The God Delusion" by Oxford scientist Richard Dawkins and "The End of Faith" and "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris.

In their different ways, all set out to prove that science trumps faith and reason trumps religion.

Such books are bound to stir passions in the United States, where religion -- Christianity in particular -- has a much firmer hold than it does elsewhere in the developed world.

DEVOUT NATION

Opinion polls vary and are subject to dispute but generally show that around 40 percent of Americans attend church on a weekly basis, more than double the rate of most western European nations and almost 10 times the rate of some.

A survey last year by the Pew Research Center found that 78 percent of Americans view the Bible as the word of God, though only 35 percent believe the Bible is literally true.

Evangelical denominations such as the Southern Baptists -- who take the Bible very seriously and place much emphasis on the individual conversion experience -- have grown rapidly in the United States.

With 60 million evangelicals, that is one American in five.

"We have made some serious inroads into society and some people are increasingly antagonistic toward that," said Southern Baptist Convention president Frank Page, who saw the recent intellectual attacks on faith as "aggressive atheism."

Many secular Americans resent the intrusion of religion into politics, with the so-called "Religious Right" delivering votes for the conservative Republican Party and the Democratic Party recently trying to woo the "Religious Left."

The mix of religion and politics has shown up in the public sphere in renewed battles over the teaching of Darwinian evolution in public schools. Many evangelicals have pressed for the teaching of Biblical creation or "intelligent design," which holds that the complexity of life points to a creator.

A Gallup poll last year showed almost half of Americans believe that humans did not evolve but were created by God in their present form within the last 10,000 years.

Coppenger said that "after well over 100 years of pressing the Darwinian project, still half of Americans don't believe it, they are not buying it."

"There is a great indignation now and an astonishment so they (secularists) are redoubling their efforts because they are finding out that they're failing," he said.

Edward Pauley of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth told Reuters the onslaught of atheist books was a reaction to the "receptivity" of the American public to intelligent design theory.

But the success of the recent wave of atheist books has been seen by some as a reaction to the intensity of religion in America and its intrusion into public life.

Protestant sex abuse cases exceed 260 each year

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 17, 2007 8:17 AM

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Jamie Guinn
Date: Jun 17, 2007 9:44 AM

Sex abuse - Protestant cases exceed 260 per year, insurers say

By ROSE FRENCH, Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The three companies that insure the majority of Protestant churches in America say they typically receive upward of 260 reports each year of young people under 18 being sexually abused by clergy, church staff, volunteers or congregation members.
The figures released to the Associated Press offer a glimpse into what has long been an extremely difficult phenomenon to pin down – the frequency of sex abuse in Protestant congregations.

Religious groups and victims’ supporters have been keenly interested in the figure ever since the Roman Catholic sex abuse crisis hit five years ago. The church has revealed that there have been 13,000 credible accusations against Catholic clerics since 1950.

Protestant numbers have been harder to come by and are sketchier because the denominations are less centralized than the Catholic church. Many congregations are independent, which makes reporting even more difficult.

Some of the only numbers come from three insurance companies – Church Mutual Insurance Co., GuideOne Insurance Co. and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co.

Together, they insure 165,495 churches and worship centers for liability against child sex abuse and other sexual misconduct, mostly Protestant congregations but a few other faiths as well. They also insure more than 5,500 religious schools, camps and other organizations.

The companies represent a large chunk of all U.S. Protestant churches. There are about 224,000 in the United States, according to the Assn. of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, although that number excludes most historically black denominations and some other groups, which account for several thousand congregations.

Church Mutual, GuideOne and Brotherhood Mutual each provided statistics on sex abuse claims to the Associated Press, although they did not produce supporting documentation or a way to determine whether the reports were credible.

The largest company, Church Mutual, reported an average of about 100 sex abuse cases a year involving minors over the past decade. GuideOne, which has about half the clients of Church Mutual, said it has received an average of 160 reports of sex abuse against minors every year for the past two decades.

Brotherhood Mutual said it has received an average of 73 reports of child sex abuse and other sexual misconduct every year for the past 15 years. However, Brotherhood does not specify which victims are younger than 18 so it is impossible to accurately add that to the total cases.

Abuse reports don’t always mean the accused was guilty, and they don’t necessarily result in financial awards or settlements, the companies said. The reports include accusations against clergy, church staff and volunteers.

Even with hundreds of cases a year, “that’s a very small number. That probably doesn’t even constitute half,” said Gary Schoener, director of the Walk-In Counseling Center at Minneapolis and a consultant on hundreds of Protestant and Catholic clergy misconduct cases. “Sex abuse in any domain, including the church, is reported seldom. We know a small amount actually come forward.”

Tom Farr, general counsel and senior vice president of claims for GuideOne, based at West Des Moines, Iowa, said most abuse cases are resolved privately in court-ordered mediation. Awards can range from millions of dollars down to paying for counseling for victims, he said.

One of the largest settlements to date in Protestant churches involved the case of former Lutheran minister Gerald Patrick Thomas Jr. in Texas, where a jury several years ago awarded the minister’s victims nearly $37 million. Separate earlier settlements involving Thomas cost an additional $32 million.

When insurance companies first started getting reports of abuse from churches nearly two decades ago, the cases usually involved abuse that happened many years earlier. But over the past several years, the alleged abuse is more recent – which could reflect a greater awareness about reporting abuse, insurance companies said.

Insurance officials said the number of sex abuse cases has remained steady over the past two decades, but they also said churches are working harder to prevent child sex abuse by conducting background checks, installing windows in nurseries and play areas and requiring at least two adults in a room with a child.

Patrick Moreland, vice president of marketing for Church Mutual, said churches are particularly susceptible to abusers.

“By their nature, congregations are the most trusting of organizations, so that makes them attractive targets for predators,” he said. “If you’re a predator, where do you go? You go to a congregation that will welcome you.”

A victims’ advocacy group has said the Southern Baptists, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, could do more to prevent abuse by creating a list of accused clergy the public and churches could access.

“I think they should have a list of credibly reported clergy child abuse,” said Christa Brown, a member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a group initially created to hold the Catholic church accountable for sex abuse by its clergy.

“These are things people are entitled to know,” said Brown, who says she was sexually abused as a child by a Southern Baptist minister. “The only way to prevent this crime is to break the code of silence and to have absolute transparency when allegations are raised.”

At the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting at San Antonio this week, Rev. Wade Burleson of Enid, Okla., proposed a feasibility study into developing a national database of Southern Baptist ministers who have been “credibly accused of, personally confessed to, or legally been convicted of sexual harassment or abuse.”

A convention committee referred Burleson’s motion to the SBC executive committee, which will report back with findings and a recommendation during next year’s meeting at Indianapolis.

Southern Baptist President Frank Page said leaders are considering several options to help churches protect children against abuse.

“We believe that the Scripture teaches that the church should be an autonomous, independent organization,” Page said. “We encourage churches to hold accountable at the local level those who may have misused the trust of precious children and youth.”

Several years ago, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which represents moderates who have increasingly distanced themselves from the conservative-led Southern Baptists, started a list of accused clergy for churches but not the public. Under pressure from victim advocates, the Texas group just released the names of some convicted sex offenders who may have been ministers in local congregations.

Joe Trull, editor of Christian Ethics Today and retired ethics professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, helped the Texas convention create its registry and says there are now about 11 cases involving clergy abuse with minors.

But he believes these are just the “tip of the iceberg” because churches don’t have to report abuse cases to the registry and aren’t likely to.

“The problem we’re having is that churches just weren’t sending the names,” Trull said. “In the normal scenario, they just try to keep it secret. We’re going to have to be more proactive and let them know if they don’t come forward, they’re helping to perpetuate this problem.”

Evolution is the work of the devil!!

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 17, 2007 11:21 AM

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Brian the Dilettante
Date: Jun 17, 2007 11:58 AM

Brian's note: This video is like a black hole in which all critical thinking goes to die. I suggest going to Youtube and looking at all of the comments on this kid's video. All of the comments are glowing endorsements of his profound genius... it seems all of the negative comments have been systematically deleted.

It is actually quite frightening that so many people fail to see the absurdity of this guy's arguments.

-----------------------------------

Original posting from: VVizard of Hillsdale

I'm sorry to pick on this kid. A pathetic Kirk Cameron wannabe. This guy mistakes masonic pentagram symbolism for satanism.

I commented, "You act like a monkey, you imitate what you were shown in Sunday school. You are seriously wrong on every point. You can't trust your thoughts because you are unintelligently designed by a silly belief system."

The bible, like human society, exists because humans have evolved a highly complex brain , opposable thumbs, upright posture and a voice box which permits language.

Abortion feud has 2008 Republicans on edge

by Stephen Collinson Thu Jun 14, 11:00 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The fluid and unpredictable 2008 Republican White House sweepstakes took a sharp new turn Wednesday, as the stuttering John McCain campaign ripped into rising rival Mitt Romney.

Barbs flew between the camps on the pivotal issue of abortion, in a grab for hearts and minds of grass-roots conservatives, who hold the fate of the race in their hands.

Senator McCain's camp claimed Romney was guilty of conflicting positions on opposing abortion, an article of faith for conservatives, charging in a statement he would "Say. Do. Anything" to get elected.

Romney's team hit back that McCain's assault was "sad" and showed desperation at his campaign's slow start.

The venue of the latest spat, partially on the video-sharing website YouTube, reflected the role of the new Internet frontier on US elections, seven months before the first voters get the change to weigh in.

Romney is a suave, multi-millionaire former businessman, who was governor of Massachusetts and credited with salvaging the 2002 Salt Lake City
Winter Olympics from financial meltdown.

He is trying to become the first Mormon to win the White House, and trying to tamp down suspicion of his faith among evangelical Christians and social conservatives at the party's base.

Latest polling appears to show his tactics are working, as Romney has rocketed to the front of the Republican field in key early voting states New Hampshire and Iowa, helped by robust performances in early party debates and a television advertising blitz.

His rivals however, sense he may be vulnerable to claims he is a "flip-flopper" who has come to conservatism late in life.

McCain meanwhile was keen for a scrap as he seeks to reverse a media storyline that his candidacy has slumped alarmingly, after lackluster early fundraising takes and his staunch support for the war in
Iraq.

"Mitt Romney's biggest challenge in this election will be convincing Republicans he has principled positions on important issues," said McCain's deputy communications director Matt David in a statement.

The McCain campaign unveiled a video of Romney which it said showed that he remained committed to pro-choice positions in support of abortion after his "epiphany" on opposing the procedure in 2004.

"In stark contrast, John McCain has a consistent 24-year pro-life record," David said.

The video showed Romney at a November 2004 press conference saying he was committed to maintaining the "status quo" in abortion laws in the liberal state of Massachusetts, whatever his personal and philosophical views.

Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden immediately accused McCain's aides of ripping Romney's remarks out of context.

"Its very troubling that the McCain campaign would attack the governors pro-life stance by trying to alter the context of a statement made at a news conference where he also made a passionate case for his veto of stem cell legislation that showed a level of disregard for the sanctity of human life."

"The McCain campaigns motives are obviously borne of desperation. Their actions are both sad and unfortunate," Madden said.

The Romney campaign hit back with a longer version of the press conference on YouTube, which it said showed his remarks in their correct context.

McCain's attacks came as Romney appeared to be rising to the top of the Republican field in Iowa and New Hampshire, two states that hold fabled early nominating contests for Democratic and Republican 2008 nominations.

In a poll CNN/WMUR poll published Tuesday, Romney was favored by 28 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, ahead of McCain and former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani with 20 percent.

In the latest Des Moines Register poll in Iowa in May, Romney led on 30 percent, ahead of McCain on 18 percent and Giuliani with 17 percent.

The Republican field is bracing for the entry into the race of former Tennessee senator and screen star Fred Thompson, expected within weeks.

Riding a wave of free publicity and media buzz, the gruff southerner has elbowed his way into the top tier of the race.

A national poll by Qunnipiac University published Wednesday had Giuliani leading the race of 27 percent, followed by Thompson tied with McCain on 15 percent. McCain's ratings had dipped four percent since May 3.

What I like to tell people whenever they claim that 9/11...

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The Secret Delusion
Date: Jun 17, 2007 3:13 PM

This was sent to me by Michael in response to Zeitgeist and The Truth About 9/11 Conspiracy Theories post.

---

Hey Secret Delusion,

RIGHT ON! Right on!

This is what I like to tell people whenever they claim that 9/11 was "an inside job":

Suppose you were working on your lawnmower inside your garage. It's late at night, and part of the fuel line breaks, spilling gasoline on your hands. All the while, an electrical fire breaks out at the other end of your home....from the basement....accidentally...and you have NO smoke alarms. The doors to the inside of your house (from the garage) are closed, so there is NO way for you to smell any of the smoke. You finally decide to go inside to wash the gasoline off of your hands....only to have a gust of black smoke suddenly burst forward as soon as you open the door to go inside....much of your house is now CONSUMED IN FLAMES!!!! So you run to a neighbor's house...but it's 2 in the morning....and ALL of your neighbors are probably asleep...but you keep banging on the door for help (since you left your cell phone inside your now burning house) until your neighbor awakes, strolls toward his door in his pajamas, and finds you all frantic....and sees your house burning up!!!! Naturally, he lets you in....but also notices the strong aroma of gasoline on your hands.

With your friendly neighbor knowing that you have been unemployed for six months....still getting over a really bad divorce, in which you're months behind on your alimony payments....not to mention behind on your credit card bills and mortgage payments...basically he knows that you're going through a really hard time, and are at the end of your rope.

With the stench of gasoline on you? And the house up in flames, what's the FIRST thing to naturally come to his mind? FOUL PLAY, of course!

Burn the house down, and collect on the homeowner's insurance. Why not? Someone in HIS desperate situation? Seems very likely. Right?

WRONG. Dead WRONG. Of course you know damn well that you were working on your lawnmower just as your house quickly caught fire from a faulty electrical socket. But nonetheless, your neighbor begins telling your other neighbors about the gasoline smell on you the night your house caught on fire. Bullshit rumors begin to circulate about your torching up your own house on purpose, just to collect on the homeowner's inusurance, and your reputation and character, as a result, starts to become ruined. Not to mention, a possible total loss of your home and what your insurance company would rightfully owe you.

Of course, once the forensic examiners discover the supporting EVIDENCE to substantiate your HONEST and LEGITIMATE claim, then you're no longer suspect. Still, despite all the evidence to the contrary, you'll continue to have ignorant and insensitive neighbors who continue to blatantly accuse you of arson. How would that make YOU feel?

Now, think about THAT for a moment, in relation to the events of 9/11. To make the utterly preposterous accusation that bombs were used to bring down the towers in addition to the "explosion" at the pentagon is about as equally cold, insensitive, offensive, ridiculous and profoundly ignorant as someone accusing you that you had deliberately burned your house down (full of many sentimentally valuable and irreplaceable items such as yearbooks, photo albums, awards, trophies, mementos, etc.) just so that you could collect on your homeowner's insurance.

REALLY THINK about that for a moment. If your house did burn down accidentally, how would that make YOU feel, hearing such an absurd, offensive and idiotic accusation that YOU delieberately burned it down?

In my humble opinion, this is exactly what makes these conpiracy theorists' outlandish claims and accusations deeply offensive and hurtful on many profound and personal levels.

Of course, anything is possible. For all we know, the events of 9/11 could have been the work of space aliens, but the evidence just doesn't support that utterly moronic hypothesis. Or of bombs used. Or radio-controlled airplanes. Or of anything remotely accusatory, paranoid or delusional like that.

And when I speak of evidence, I mean REAL scientifically sound and credible evidence from REAL scientists and engineers who are highly educated and competent in their given fields of study. Intelligent, mature and completely unbiased individuals who approach their work objectively.....NOT from some bozo 20 year old, radical left-wing liberal extremist kid with nothing more but a political agenda up his puckered ass!!

What would constitute REAL and scientifically sound and credible evidence for me? How about actual video-taped footage of demolition personnel installing C4 plastics explosives, blasting caps and hard wiring from inside the World Trade Center, or even building 7 for that matter? How about dated phone call recordings, email messages, or any hard copy files of such an incredibly heinous plot from any government officials?
How about a Mythbusters episode on the Discovery Channel, in which a mathematically precise scale model of the towers were built (using the very SAME materials) and then attacked by two mathematically precise scale model remote controlled airplanes (replicating the very SAME rate of speed, velocity, force of impact and gallons of fuel used) so to replicate and entirely re-create the entire event....just to see if the building WOULD INDEED collapse in the SAME fashion as they did????

Boy, if the Mythbusters guys could effectively pull that off and demonstrate that only PART of the buildings would have collapsed....Then, and ONLY THEN, would we have some REAL evidence to support the idea of explosives being used!!!!

But where is this evidence? Where?

Until we discover such hard data, we have no right to make such utterly ridiculous and profoundly ignorant and irresponsible accusations like that. We should always remain skeptical and open to new ideas and possible explanations, but at the same time, we shouldn't just randomly make stuff up without performing the adequate and necessary research and testing to validate the veracity of our claims.

Pasted below is a link to 911myths.com, which critically examines all such conspiracy theories as they relate to 9/11:

Please, DO take the time to carefully read through as much of this site as possible.

Hope this helps. Thanks again for the GREAT bulletin, and feel free to hit "reply" so that you can copy and paste the code to the above website.

Spread the word! And thanks again!

Yours in critical thinking,

Michael

Why don't young women care about the end of the world?

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Ω
Date: Jun 16, 2007 12:55 PM

FromTPO
Elizabeth Cady
Susan B.
Substance D

Allison Kilkenny| BIO

Why Don't Young Women Care about the End of the World?

Most pundits and citizens agree that American youth are ignorant and/or apathetic about politics. However, nowhere is the trend more startling than with young girls. The phenomena began when grown females began talking like valley girls. You'll know valley talk when you hear it: the sentences all go up at the end, as if the subject is trapped in a constant state of inquiry, and statements are riddled with "like ... um ... " and "y'know ... " Talking like a vapid airhead meant adopting the culture of the airhead, as well. Girls were taught to shop, gossip, and flirt. Even Barbie got in on the action when her talking model proudly declared: Math is tough! When women began talking like idiots and Barbie condemned arithmetic, little girls stopped paying attention to the world around them. Though People magazine sometimes includes blurbs about politicians, you are not political by default for reading it.

The sad truth is: young women are not interested in the world around them. But is it entirely the woman's fault for her invisibility in the international policies arena? We can't possibly condemn an entire generation of young ladies. Something must have inspired this plague of apathy. As it turns out, the blame rests with the media, parents, and private corporations.

The Soulless World of Politics

The American people and the political/judiciary rings are stuck in a sad truce: We won't raise hell because we know you'll get away with it. Why do citizens need to waste their energy on petitions and protests when the government elite do whatever the hell they want, whenever they want? And no electorate is more disempowered than women. Why should young women concern themselves with a broken political/judiciary system where the only person held accountable for their misdeeds is Paris Hilton? It seems the country only perks up when some good-looking girl goes to court because, hey, at least you can fantasize about her naked.

Before Paris, the only political women in the news were Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Valerie Plane, and Monica Lewinsky. How sad is that statement? The first two were labeled lesbians, the first because she supported her gay constituents in San Francisco, and the second because she's a lesbian (kidding). The CIA spy, Valerie Plame's status was reduced to that of a mere groupie by the GOP when she was outted (by, surprise, the GOP), and the last was known as a beret-wearing target for Bill Clinton's projectile splooge.

The message from D.C and the media is clear: Shut up, sweet heart, unless you're getting fucked literally, or figuratively, by a man. Maybe if Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff looked like gaunt Barbie dolls, the country would pay attention when they did something wrong.

My Mother Ruined my Life

To the glee of most children and therapists I say: Blame your mother. Seriously. Without a strong, female role model, what hope is there for little girls? Harriet Homemaker will say, 'Feminism works both ways, Allison! I have the right to stay home and raise my children, just as you have the right to become CEO of a corporation!' Very true, though women have had the right to be house-moms since the beginning of time, and at last check, it seems like there are still only a handful of female CEOs, so that feminism-works-both-ways thing seems less than balanced. Are women complacent in their inferior roles, or are they trapped in a perpetual cycle of exploitation? Are women more preoccupied with fashion and landing a husband than global warming? Do we really just want to stay at home and rear children, or is this the only option offered to us by superficial soccer moms who care more about botoxing and over-medicating than asking for paper over plastic at the grocery stores?

We Are PHARM-ly

Did you know there is now medicine for your feet falling asleep? The familiar sensation of pins and needles has the name of a serious-sounding disorder: Restless Leg Syndrome. This is a proud moment for the United States of America. First Viagra and now Mirapex. Finally, we can officially tell the rest of the world: Fuck off. We care more about the limp dicks and tingly legs of our white, upper-class citizens than we do about your AIDS-ridden, starving black people.

Here at home, the pharmaceutical industry's exploitation of women is nothing new. They began their fear-mongering back when they convinced women that menopause is a disease, rather than a natural part of a woman's physiology. Next, they came up with sexual stimulus in pill-form. You're the reason sex isn't working, and it has nothing to do with the fact that your husband gives lousy head. In America, private corporations, which include pharmaceutical giants, have no civic responsibilities. If women have symptoms that little pills can stop, this equals profits. Whether the symptoms were ever indicative of real medical problems, or if the long-term benefits of the drugs are permanent, or even fully understood, are inconsequential. Profit = YAY! MORE PILLS!

However, recently the PHARM business finally did something right. Merck came out with a vaccine for a virus that can lead to cervical cancer. But here in America, if one branch of the money machine does something good, another agent comes along to fuck up everything. This time, blame the Christians.

Feeling Icky from your Cancer? Better hope you're a congressmen or CEO! Because if you're poor or have a uterus, you're out of luck. The far right and the seriously misguided don't want young girls to be vaccinated from HPV (Human Papillomavirus). Since HPV is primarily spread through sexual
contact, parents are concerned that their daughters will feel inspired to engage in sexual intercourse once they receive the vaccine (Gardasil). This is like saying Polio vaccinations will make our daughters want to run triathlons. The two things don't necessarily enjoy a causal relationship, you see.

Let's strike the heart of the real issue: women's bodies are, once again, the playground of governmental bureaucracy. The Supreme Court just issued a ruling that puts the health of a fetus over the health of a grown human being. Now, the right shows they would rather women dead than horny. I think I remember something like this happening in Salem once, except back then girls were burned for being good at math.

Vaccinations don't cause promiscuity and abortions don't cause increases in teen pregnancy, but oppressive regimes, coupled with abstinence-only programs do. Why should young women engage in a government that shows such clear disdain for their very existence? When you're shown you aren't an equal through unfair wages, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation on television, music, and advertising, it isn't a huge shock for young girls to learn their uteruses don't count either. I don't blame them for not engaging in a government that has done everything in its power to keep them repressed and disenfranchised.

Thus far, we've seen that the media, pharmaceutical companies, the government, and the Supreme court have all told young women they don't matter. But who else is to blame? How about the president?

Civic Responsibility

During a time of war and national crisis, the president asked us to shop rather than reduce our carbon emissions. Can you name one positive thing the president asked us to do in the face of global terrorism? Me neither! All I know is I'm supposed to rat on my neighbors if they're doing something suspicious and avoid interacting with people of Middle Eastern descent. Also, I've been told pot-smoking and celebrating Cinco de Mayo fund terrorism.

When Suzy's mom is telling her to look pretty and get a rich husband, and the president of the United States tells her to shop more, what is a rich, white, upper-class girl supposed to do? Grab a credit card and start racking up some debt, is what! As far as I know, there is no program in place at the high school level that requires students perform community service with AmeriCorps or the Red Cross. Some societies believe a large part of a student's education involves serving others and participating in global affairs. They're right, but our country has become such a xenophobic, self-centered, materialistic wasteland that we would rather stick our young girls in front of MTV to watch My Super Sweet Sixteen than send them out into impoverished areas to help the homeless and needy. Oh, but I forgot: homeless people are, like, so totally gross!

What War?

It's not that I blame young girls. As mentioned, the media has done one hell of a job brainwashing them into forgetting we're at war. During Vietnam, our citizens saw footage of combat and viewed photos of dead, United States soldiers. A massive, public movement lead to the end of the war. However, the media failed its citizens this time around, though who can blame them? Anna Nicole Smith's jiggling, heaving bosom is far more interesting that sectarian warfare.

I don't think young women are cruel. I truly believe that if they saw pictures of dead Iraqi children, dead United States and Iraqi soldiers, and saw the horrible consequences of cluster bombs and U.S.-imposed sanctions, this war would end. Not only that, if the media did its job and showed all consequences of war, war itself would end.

Women are too empathetic and nurturing to let humankind fall to such a horrid fate as unending war. Though war is profitable (and we know it's profitable because of the military-industrial complex), a movement of conscientious women scientists, entrepreneurs, and politicians could make peace profitable, too. We need only see the goal and move toward it resolutely and rapidly. Peace is not just ideal; it's essential. Pissing contests with nuclear weapons are unacceptable, and the boys have played their war games long enough. Women need to be present for grown-up time.

But the War is SO Four Year Ago

Suggestion for the media: it's pretty easy to link any story to Iraq and make it topical again. Example: the tornados in Kansas. Know why it took so darn long to look for bodies through all the rubble? The National Guard sent most of its equipment to Iraq, so we don't have enough supplies for domestic problems! If the Kansas story doesn't have enough casualties for your taste, I suggest you revisit the debacle with New Orleans and FEMA.

Save the World

Men know we're dangerous. We are great communicators (Ronald Regan looks like a deaf mute by comparison,) we are compassionate, brilliant, but we lack leadership and motivation. Without female role models, girls are reduced to blathering idiots, preoccupied with their appearance, Lindsay Lohan, and male approval. The fate of the world relies on the education of women. Now, more than ever, we need women who are willing to extend the olive branch to other nations. We don't need military strategists. We need communicators who can heal relations.

Though the administration seems preoccupied with a modern crusade, it doesn't seem to understand the teachings of its own prophet. Jesus healed people, he didn't firebomb entire families while they slept. Women are the modern world's healers, but we need to work with our brains and morality, instead of with what we're told is our real value: our looks.

The truth is the sexy cheerleader will never be the one who saves us. It will be the well-educated, strong, determined, moral women who lead this world and save the men from themselves.

You Tube's You Choose

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Dangerous Talk
Date: Jun 17, 2007 11:35 AM

Hey everyone, a group of people put together the first step toward my tube-olution idea. The call it Community Count. Check them out and vote for my video... Please, with sugar on top, vote for my video. Thanx,
-Staks
Outsight Radio Hours now on www.Radio-Freedom.com

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: www.Outsight.mu - Outsight Radio Hours
Date: Jun 17, 2007 12:17 PM

ORH 3pm-5pm Eastern tonight onwww.LUVeR.com & Radio-Freedom.com Tonight: 2 hours of music including Cesaria Evora, Todd Snider, Mutant Press, and more. Full playlist is online. Outsight Radio Hours Homepage | Playlists  Artist / Selection / Source / Label ARI UP / BABY MOTHER / DREAD MORE DAN DEAD / COLLISION CAUSE CHAP QUINTRON / PLACE UNKNOWN / ARE YOU READY FOR AN ORGAN SOLO? / THREE ONE G RECORDS AMINO ACIDS / DUNKED IN THE THINK TANK / DESTROY THE WARMING SUN / BOWL~O~PHONIC RECORDS NED VAN GO / NEVER KISSED A GIRL / MARRY A WAITRESS / NED VAN GO WAYNE "THE TRAIN" HANCOCK / JOHNNY LAW / THAT'S WHAT DADDY WANTS / ARK 21 WAYNE "THE TRAIN" HANCOCK / FREIGHT LINE BLUES / THAT'S WHAT DADDY WANTS / ARK 21 BILL FRISELL / BLUES DREAM / BLUES DREAM / NONESUCH BILL FRISELL / RON CARTER / BLUES DREAM / NONESUCH CESARIA EVORA / CABO VERDE MANDA MANTENHA / PUTUMAYO PERSENTS: CAPE VERDE / PUTUMAYO WORLD MUSIC CESARIA EVORA / MAR AZUL / MAR AZUL / NONESUCH KICK IN THE EYE / STRIKE FORCE OVERHEAD / STARLINER / NONESUCH KICK IN THE EYE / AFTERSOUND / STARLINER / NONESUCH PLOTZ! / CRABMAN / EXTRAORDINARY RENDITIONS / NONESUCH PATCHWORK / FALLOUT SHELTER SIGNS / WORK AND WORRY / NONESUCH TODD SNIDER / MAYBE YOU HEARD / THE PILGRIM: A CELEBRATION OF KRIS KRISTOFFERSON / AMERICAN ROOTS PUBLISHING ALEC BERLIN / MY BABY LIKES TO EAT / BEAUTY, GRAZING AT THE TROUGH / ALEC BERLIN PETER DAYTON / HAPPY TO BE ME / PETER DAYTON / SMASHEASY/TOURMALINE MEDIA PETER DAYTON / PERFECT WAVE / PETER DAYTON / SMASHEASY/TOURMALINE MEDIA DARYLL DOBSON / VOODOO CHILD / REALITY CHECK / SOLAR GUITARS PETER FRAMPTON / BLOWIN' SMOKE / FINGERPRINTS / NEW DOOR RECORDS BABYLON PARTY MACHINE / BABYLON PARTY MACHINE / BABYLON PARTY MACHINE / BABYLON PARTY MACHINE HUTCHY / WAR ON TERROR [DANCEHALL] / MY TIME / RUFF CUT RECORDS ELLEE VEN / ALLERGY [DAVID GADBOIS (I CAN'T BREATHE CLUB REMIX)] / PROJECT 11 VOLUME 5 / HOT SAUCE MITCH EASTER / GLAZED / DYNAMICO / 125 RECORDS MITCH EASTER / WANT A NEW SCENE / DYNAMICO / 125 RECORDS XTATIKA / TONGUE / TONGUE BATH / TZADIK MUTANT PRESS / DARK MESSAGE / MUSIC FOR ELEVATORS / 500 POUND WEASEL MUTANT PRESS / SISTER SUICIDE / MUSIC FOR ELEVATORS / 500 POUND WEASEL PROTEST HILL / KILLER'S WIT / THE CITY ECHOES OUR HEARTS / LATEST FLAME RECORDS PROTEST HILL / HOPEFUL / THE CITY ECHOES OUR HEARTS / LATEST FLAME RECORDS THE TRUE BUGS / LUMBER TOWN / AUTUMN ISLAND / THE TRUE BUGS CONNI ST. PIERRE / ROSE REPRISE (ROSA RUGOSA ALBA) / FLOWER SPIRITS / SMASHEASY/TOURMALINE MEDIA ROSE MADDOX & THE VERN WILLIAMS BAND / TURN YOUR RADIO ON / A BEAUTIFUL BOUQUET / ARHOOLIE RECORDS THE SHAKE / MANIC BOOGIE / KICK IT / UNICYCLE RECORDS THE SHAKE / STOP FIGHTING / KICK IT / UNICYCLE RECORDS A POCKETFUL OF DENG / SUCH MAGIC POTION / BOXED IN / A POCKETFUL OF DENG A POCKETFUL OF DENG / NEBUCHADNEZZAR / BOXED IN / A POCKETFUL OF DENG THE HELLERS / AND NOW THE NEWS / SINGERS, TALKERS, PLAYERS, SWINGERS AND DOERS / FALLOUT THE HELLERS / THE ELEVATOR / SINGERS, TALKERS, PLAYERS, SWINGERS AND DOERS / FALLOUT THE HELLERS / TAKE 46 / SINGERS, TALKERS, PLAYERS, SWINGERS AND DOERS / FALLOUT THE PASSIVE AGGRESSIVES / EVIL CLOWN SONG / EP / THE PASSIVE AGGRESSIVES FEIST / INTUITION / THE REMINDER / CHERRY TREE THE JOEL RUBIN ENSEMBLE / MIDNIGHT PRAYER / MIDNIGHT PRAYER / TRADITIONAL CROSSROADS

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Joe Rogan

Editorial note: Even if you don't like Joe Rogan, I urge you to watch the last clip here. One of the best and most hilarious refutations of the Noa's Ark story I've ever seen!

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Human evolution Date: Jun 16, 2007 2:57 PM

Joe Rogan explains life

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Death Squad 11: Evolution

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Joe Show Episode 1: The Ark

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----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The Secret Delusion
Date: Jun 16, 2007 9:53 PM

From:
Substance D
Blu222

"Have You Smoked Anything Today?" (LMAO)

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The Secret Delusion
Date: Jun 16, 2007 10:04 PM

thanks
Creationist Opposer
Substance D
TPO

"Have You Smoked Anything Today?"

Our glorious mainstream media at work. MSNBC talks to Tommy Chong about Paris Hilton and it's "not exactly what (they) expected":



(Thanks to reader Sal)

Stephen Colbert has the follow-up:

Link posted by Krup

I was gonna put this under "Religion", but it's just too funny for that!

We've been saying church was full of hot air for years

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 17, 2007 11:37 AM

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Cheryl
Date: Jun 17, 2007 2:30 PM

Will it ever end?