Hi everyone.

I've been posting very little here lately, and I'd like to take this opportunity to try and sum up a bunch of the things I've thought about writing for a while, but have just been too lazy to do.

The reason I am prompted to write this post is an article I stumpled on just now, that's got my more angry, frustrated, and disgusted than I've ever been, but more on that later, because I think you deserve a bit of background first, that can also serve to present you with some of the other thoughts I've been having lately.

Maybe two years ago I found Penn and Teller's Bullshit on the internet, and quickly consumed a bunch of episodes that I could find streams or downloads to, for the entertainment value more than anything, though I of course sympathized with the sceptic aproach of the show.

In so doing I came across the Blasphemy Challenge (can't remember if it's featured on "Bullshit" in an episode, or if I came across it somewhere else. You know what surfing is like), and soon I was visiting RichardDawkins.net and many other sites, including this one, because the whole "New Atheist Movement" had losts of entertainment value to me.

Now as most of you know I'm from Denmark, and you have to understand, for a Scandinavian like me, the whole debate that's croped up over the last 6 to 8 years, is more alien and exotic than anything else. Sure, we realize that people are very different politically, philosophically and spiritually in other parts of the world, but we still live a fairly isolated existence up here in the North, and it really is fascinating from a Scandinavian's perspective to see just how differently people treat politics and difference of opinion between people in other parts of the world, especially the U.S.

We really are a pretty homogenius bunch up here, when all's said and done, and as such, I've never been able to meet anyone in real life with whom to disagree so vehemently as seems to be a daily occurance for most people in the U.S. The very notion of feeling so strongly about your neighbour's opinions and beliefs, as many appear to do in the U.S, with regard to both religious beliefs, and political opinion, on both the atheist, theist, liberal and conservative sides, is foreign, even alien to me.

So I've always felt slightly detached from the whole debate, approaching it more as the study of history or anthropology: it's fascinating and exotic, and it gives me insight into the human condition, but it's not really MY reality.

But for a while there I was a reasonably active poster on these boards, and as time has gone on, I've started spending alot of time on the internet, reading, watching youtube clips and Google Videos of lectures and booktours, and generally emersing myself in American culture.

With the election of Barack Obama, I found myself drifting away from the Atheist/theist cultureclash in America, and started becoming more interested in the Conservative/liberal divide, which was the first reason I started posting less here.

I never got into following the activism of the RRS, and only really followed the forum here, so at first I didn't really notice that the RRS slowed down as an activist group, because the boards here kept going undaunted. I really like you guys here: Hampy, Will, Allison, Nigel, and all the rest of you, and have had lots of fun reading, and occasionally contributing to the boards, but as it became more and more of a laid back social club, I've found I've spent less and less time here.

Not that I mind the social club feel, but for that I've got friends in real life too, that draw my attention just as much.

But importantly, I also felt more and more alienated from the general topics that started to be the norm here, as the Social club became the dominant role of this forum. Either we were repeating the same old arguments to drive by theists, or the atheists here were discussing personal issues about being an atheist in America that I couldn't relate to, and so didn't feel I could contribute much to.

And then came that subject a couple months ago about: "Who is it that's oppresing you atheists? Give me an example of atheist oppresion?"

I remember posting something in that thread about how while I'd never been oppressed, it was clear that my American friends here suffered all sorts of bigotry and prejudice for being atheists, and I stand by that, but I still remember thinking that I didn't really know how bad it is over there, and I wasn't sure if I was being overly judgemental of American society in general to think that there is a real Civil Liberties issue with regards to atheism.

As much as I respect and empathise with you guys here, I really had no way of knowing if the impression I got from this place was really reprensentative of what it is like to be an Atheist in America in general.

I mean, the RRS has got a very bad rep around the interwebs for being a bunch of hyperbolic fanatics, and while I KNOW that isn't true, I still have to admit that some of the atheist posters here I don't trust to represent "mainstream" atheism in America.

Like I said, the level of emotion and antagonism I see in American politics leads me to believe that keeping a level head is not very fashionable over there, and I know from Liberal blogs and liberal media that this goes for some of the Americans I agree with too.

So lately I've started toying with the idea of moving on to another forum, to see if the grass is greener, so to speak. Specifically theleagueofreason.co.uk. I'll still keep my profile here, and stop by from time to time, but now you know why it is, if you'll be seeing less of me from now on, and you'll know where to find me.

I will be moving on, but tonight I had to rethink one of the reasons I'm moving on from here.

It happened when I saw this:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,877155,00.html

Atheism IS a civil liberties issue of the most grave magnitude if something as vile as this can take place in America!

I know that this is just one isolated case, I know that miscarriages of justice happen everywhere all the time, here in my country too, and that thousands of children end up in fostercare, even when there are willing parents out there, but never in my life have I been so mad!

To read of a judge display such blatant hypochrasy, to so malevolently debase two loving parents, to so violently fuck up the life of an innocent child who caught the luckiest break of all: to find a loving family, makes me sick to my stomach.

My sister Isabel is adobted from Equador, my cousin Kalla is adobted from Sri Lanka, and recently my brother and his wife adopted my niece Frida from South Africa.

Everyone who's had experience with adoption knows the bittersweet emotions that the subject brings. To know how many loving parents with no kids that are out there. To know the sorrow, frustration and heart-ache it is to go through the adorous process of adoption, to know how many kids, like my dear Frida will never ever win that cosmicly unfair lottery it is to be lucky enough to be found by a safe and loving family.

And then to see it spat on by such a pompous selfrightious bigot, all in the name of: "parents don't get to influence their child with their beliefs"!?!?!?!

Such hypocracy! Such... such...

I'm at a loss for words...

Not only does he not belong on the bench, such a man belongs in prison, if there was any justice in the world.