It's been a 5 year long hobby of mine to visit numerous religious chatrooms to watch the banter of the Atheists that go to Christian rooms to blast Christians for being morons, and then in turn watching the Christians try to "save" the people in Atheist chat rooms. It just blows my mind that there are so many people on this earth that are either 100% positive that there is a god or 100% sure that there isn't a god. How can these people be 100% on something that is absolutely unprovable?? I don't mean this as a blast on either Christians or Atheists because everybody is entitled to their own beliefs. Plus the Atheist/Christian debate is the most prominant religious debate in America (Sorry Muslims). I have experience on both sides of this fence, and this is the tale I will tell you about my journey that I have made from birth and my evolution starting as a christian for the first 22 years of my life, to dabbling in atheism, eventually discovering the beauty of neutrality in agnostism, and finally defining a new religion that my friend and fellow blogger (The Revolution)coined, Godnostisism.
As a former Catholic kid growing up in a small town in mid-Michigan, I understand the pressures faced when everyone you've encounterd in your lifetime has been telling you that Jesus is everything. How can a child understand the complexilties of Christianity when all that child gets is one side of the story?
I grew up in a neighborhood that was chock full of the largest Catholic family in the township of Byron, the Cormiers. The Cormiers owned 4 houses and 3 trailers in my neighborhood. The eldest Cormiers had many children and their children all had kids by the litter. I was a nature lover since birth, and as a child enjoyed being outside in the lake, woods, and fields as much as possible. So I had constant contact with the Cormier clan because their were always a few of them running around. Donna Cormier was my babysitter for the first three years of my life. Donna was the choir leader and main singer in the choir at the local catholic church. Her husband Curry, was the Deacon of that church. Some of my first memories were of me toddling around their enormous house looking at pictures of Jesus, crucifixes, inspirational bible passages written across paintings and hung on the wall. I remember Donna singing and humming different psalms and contemporary christian music as she tidied the house. I remember how loving both her and her husband were towards everybody. These were "true" christians. They did not push their beliefs on anybody or condemn anyone to hell for believing differently than them. I also remember Donna's 2nd to the youngest son, Paris. Paris was always one of my favorites of the Cormiers. Paris always made time for me. I remember how lucky I felt that a 17 year-old like Paris wanted to hang out with a 7 year-old kid like me. We would sit in his basement and play Atari for hours. Being only 7, I never caught on to the fact that that Paris was a little slow mentally and he was also an epileptic that would have Grand Mal seizures. (I never witnessed one of his seizures) I don't think Paris really had any friends his own age and I think he was happy for my company. One summer when I was 7 and starting first grade, the Cormier clan had their annual family reunion and about 150 Cormiers from around the world would come out with rv's and tents and set up for a week or so to visit with family, worship together, eat, and of course, go swimming off the high dive. I remember it was a weekday and there were about 50 of us kids swimming and diving, way too many kids for the adults to keep their eyes on all of us. I was playing king of the raft with some of my friends and all of the sudden it started raining. We all swam back to shore and went back up to the house to dry off. After about 15 minutes people started asking if anyone had seen Paris. Panic swept the room because everyone knew of his condition and if he were to have a seizure in the water there would be no hope for him unless someone saw him go under. After calling for him for a few minutes Donna called the authorities. Police, Ambulance, and recue teams came from all the neighboring towns to search for this 17 year-old boy. It seemed like an eternity waiting for any sign of Paris. Finally after an hour or so my mom decided it was best for me to walk back up the hill and go to bed because it was past my bedtime. I think it was more because she didn't want me to be traumatized when the inevitable happened and they pulled Paris to the surface. The next morning I woke up and as I was eating my breakfast I asked my mom if they had found Paris. She said "yes" I said "good" and then as she was trying to fight off the tears she said to me "No honey, he was dead". It was a hard concept to grasp, so she did what most parents would, she told me all about Heaven and that Paris was in a better place. Naturally I believed it, why wouldn't I? My mom said it and that was always good enough for me. I remember this tragedy also gave me the opportunity to witness the power of faith. At his funeral I remember how positive Donna was, of course she was sad and she couldn't help but shed some tears but her faith in Christ was so strong that she was able to praise his name and thank god for letting her be a part of Paris' life. She never once became spiteful or vindictive towards god. I'm still in awe of the power that faith had given her.
By the time Paris had died I was already in first grade, and although I lived in Byron my whole life, I spent young fives and and kindergarten at Highland Elementary because it was easier for my mom to drop me off and pick me up from school. But my first grade experience took me a little while to make new friends at a new school because I was somewhat shy as a kid. But a couple months in, I finally made a friend and his name was Robert. Robert was a very friendly and outgoing blonde kid that had the same priorities as me, Transformers and He-Man. Due to these similarities we formed a pretty solid friendship. I remember coming home from school and telling my mom and dad about my new friend. For the next week I was in a fierce competition for "best friend" status with Robert. My nemisis was a scrappy ruffian named Shawn Groves. Shawn and Robert were friends before I showed up to Byron Elementary. However, what I lacked in longevity I made up for with my superior knowledge of He-Man and all the storylines of Eternia. This made Shawn mad. I was fine with being a trio but Shawn wanted Robert to himself. I was punched and threatened at recess for that entire week. I didn't realize that was the easy part of being friends with Robert. The next week I came to class expecting to see Robert and Shawn...I only saw Shawn. He didn't look good and the entire class was being pretty quiet, it just didn't feel right. A few minutes later my teacher Mrs. Elbract came in and asked for our attention. She told us that Robert died last night. Apparantly his dad's car stalled on the train tracks and his dad was able to get out of the seat belt and to safety but Robert didn't have enough time. I didn't question it at the time, but looking back it sounds pretty fishy. Anyway, Mrs. Elbract gave us the story of Heaven and God's "mysterious ways" (pretty ballsy for a public school)and when I got home I got the same thing from my parents. Although it was confusing, I didn't hesitate to buy into it. Afterall, I was only 7 years old and I had just lost 2 of my friends in one year. I wanted to believe that they were in some type of paradise not any of the alternatives. (By the way, Shawn Groves and I ended up becoming best friends and are still close today) And so it went for years that I considered myself a christian. And that's gonna be my main point about christianity. It's passed down from generation to generation and the majority of these people never question what they've been raised to believe since birth. It's the easiest way to explain death to a child because there's no finality and life as a spirit goes on. It's not that it's the most rational or factual religion in America, but it's the most accepted. A politician in America could never run for president if they are not Christian. Even if every view they support directly conflicts with Jesus' teachings, if they say that they're Christian that's like the gold seal of approval. But why? Only 2 of the 10 commandments are actual laws in America (Killing and Stealing). Why should everybody have to be a christian to get elected? I'll tell you, morality. Also even more shockingly, I understand why people feel like that. Not very many Americans like the idea that a person of power doesn't fear god, I don't either. The destruction caused could be limitless without the fear of consequence from a superior power. An American president would be the the dominant force to exude that type of power. We've got money, nukes, and Football we could turn the rest of the world into a wasteland within a day. Therefore it's importanat for americans to have a president that is on some type of invisable leash. If I feel that way, then I know that the majority of the American voting block does. Even though I sincerely believe that people can still be morally righteous without religion I don't want to experiment by giving a person with no faith that type of limitless power. It is my sincere belief that religion was created in order to keep humans in check, and it seems to have had at least some success over the years. So I guess even non christians shouldn't try to fix something that isn't broken. These last few sentences make me realize what a hypocrite I am, because I also don't think that religion should play a role in schools, law-making, or politics in general. I guess you could say I'm in a conundrum. I guess I want politicians to fear god, just not to push god on society. So concludes part one of this blog that I have no idea how many parts it will end with. Your favorite, and mine--Tabor
Friday, March 23, 2007
My spiritual journey- Christianity to Godnostic part 1 of 3: The preprogramming of christianity.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The cancer that is: Illegal Immigration
Obviously the issue of illegal immigration is a huge topic for discussion in America today, and it should be. It's pretty apparent that the politicians in Washington aren't gonna do a damn thing about it. I'm sorry that the quality of life isn't great in Mexico, but why should America be forced to bear the burden for Mexico's corruption? I'm all in favor of America looking out for ourselves, which we haven't done recently. With debacles like Vietnam, the Iraq War, and Bosnia I thought we would have stopped trying to help everybody else while we denied ourselves the glory that America can accomplish for her own citizens. I personally have friends on both sides of this argument. My liberal friends are too afraid to be labeled as racists to oppose illegal aliens. My friends that lean to the right are absolutely opposed to immigration in any form. The "right-leaning" friends seem to be in direct contrast to the right-wing politicians in Washington. I suppose the fact that the hispanic voting block in America is huge and anyone that wants to stand a chance at getting elected needs those votes. Also I suppose it could be because the majority of those politicians are getting their campaign contributions from large corporations. These are the same corporations that are benefitting from the fact that these illegals are working for low-as-dirt wages. Which brings me to my first point.
--"Illegal aliens are not doing jobs that Americans wont do." Americans do the same jobs as anyone else. The reason that Mexicans are taking so many jobs from Americans is because they can afford to do them for less than minimum wage. The CEO's end up with an extra 50 million per year in take home pay, but middle class American families cannot survive on minimum wage or less. However, if you're Mexican and you work in America for 6 months out of the year and spend the other 6 months in Mexico, you could live like a king. That's taking money out of our already fragile economy and giving it to Mexico. Why should we be letting a country that so openly hates us, steal away so much of our money and jobs?
--Work is not necessarily the only reason illegals come to America: For many illegals, America is seen as a land of opportunity. Not to work hard and live the American dream, but more to find loopholes and exploit them. 33% of our prison population is illegals from Mexico. Just think about how enormous of a number that is. You gotta figure in America there are so many different categories of people. (Caucasian, African American, Asian, Native American, Latino) then you have all those categories broken down into sub categories such as (born here, immigrant, illegal alien) and a friggin' THIRD of our prison population are Mexican illegals. That's where stats cease to be mere numbers and should be more like a slap upside the head from a 200 pound gorilla. Wake up!!
--Another common loophole is our Welfare system. Up to 42 percent of illegals are on welfare. That's America helping law breakers for not doing anything but sit on their asses and steal from us. People are branded as racist if they suggest that dependency on welfare had become a way of life in inner cities, or that an extremely liberal welfare system was contributing to the family breakdown and juvenile delinquency urban areas. If nothing is ever expected of you, and things are handed to you free of cost for your entire life why would you want to aspire to actually do something for yourself? I'm against lifetime welfare for U.S. born Americans so you can imagine how pissed I get when 42% of illegals are getting it. Welfare should only be available for American citizens and even they should only get it for 6 months per every 3 years. If we actually force some of the dregs of our society to contribute to our economy instead of mooching off it, they would be better off and so would the economy. Households headed by illegal aliens imposed more than $26.3 billion in costs on the federal government in 2002 and paid only $15 billion in taxes, creating a net fiscal deficit of almost $11.4 billion, or $3,100 per illegal household. That's not peanuts!!
--The guest worker program is not the answer to helping Americans: Let's just pretend for a minute that the morons are right when they say, "Mexicans are only doing the jobs that americans won't do." Like their aren't U.S. born Americans that pick lettuce or mow lawns. Give me a break!! Well it turns out that people involved with the guest worker program are being granted H-1B visas that allow them to apply for many great jobs that any American would want. Accountants, Administrators, Programmers, computer scientists, Various engineers, Technicians, Research Associates, Lawyers, Tax Analysts, Teachers, Nurses, Med-Techs, Pharmacists Dental Assistants, Architects, and Day Care to name a few. Every time an alien gets hired in to one of these jobs, it's taking it away from an American citizen. That includes screwing over the the American-born Latino population. This is not a "race" thing, which is what the pro-illegal activists are turning it into. It's a "country thing" and as American citizens it's important for us to want what's best for our country. In March 2003, the American Engineering Association reported that the US high tech sector lost 560,000 jobs between January 2001 and December 2002. It is worthwhile to note that during the same period companies sponsored more H1B and other "temporary" visas than the numbers of jobs lost. Obviously, there could not have been a shortage but employers simply wanted cheaper labor.
--The word "illegal" means it's against the law. Just because you think it's right doesn't change the fact that it's illegal. I think they should legalize marijuana, that doesn't mean I shouldn't be prosecuted if I'm caught with weed on my person.
--Illegal aliens bring Americans Third World Momentum. That includes crime, drugs and diseases. Sooner or later, every American community and millions of Americans will be affected as we allow three million illegal aliens breaching our borders annually without regard to their health, criminal background or drug expansion endeavors.
--In 2003, 77 border state hospitals spiraled into bankruptcy. This is because of the millions of people showing up to hospitals without insurance. 65% of whom were illegal aliens.
--In five years, 16,000 cases of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis breached the Mexican border. In three years, 7,000 cases of leprosy (Hansen's Disease) arrived with immigrants from India, Brazil and the Caribbean. Tens of thousands of cases of hepatitis A transplanted into America. Another South American disease, affecting 14 million and killing 50,000 annually, Chagas Disease, a parasite that attacks the heart and other organs, invades U.S. borders in the bodies of the unchecked illegal aliens.
--The problem of illegal aliens and identity theft: Behind many of the nation’s millions of undocumented workers are someone else's documents. To get a job, illegal immigrants need a Social Security number, and they often borrow one. It's estimated that about 100 thousand or more Americans are sharing their identities with immigrants and don't even know it. If somebody uses your number to get a credit card or car loan, the nation's credit bureau creates a new credit file instead of telling you about it. Just imagine what someone could do to things such as your credit score if they had your identity and there were permanent repercussions for them.
--95% of Mexicans are Catholic. Do we really need any more Catholics? Not really, people that have 12 children because they believe condoms are evil, and people that call someone like the Pope infallible because he wears a funny hat aren't gonna do much for our quality of life as Americans. Over population is gonna be a huge problem in this country with all the Mexicans pouring in here and trying to have as many kids as possible. With this overpopulation comes the cost of America's identity. I don't want Spanish to become a mandatory language in this country.
-- The academic quality of US citizens is dropping because of immigrants. Especially when you consider 66% of Mexican immigrants are high school dropouts and only 4% go on to finish college. Mexican immigration has increased the number of dropouts in the U.S. workforce by 11 percent. Which basically dilutes the quality of product.
--The fact that foreigners can enter our country so effortlessly is scary when thought of in aspects of terrorists. Al-Quaeda could enter America through the same path that the Mexicans take. There needs to be National Guardsmen on our border instead of fighting in some bullshit war across the seas.
--Mexico is NOT a poor country. By sending its teeming masses to our country, the Mexican economy keeps on rising. Mexico has more resources per square mile than the U.S. and plenty of money to take care of its own people. Why should the U.S. taxpayers of this country facilitate Mexico's corruption?
--Mexico is hypocritical: If I were to go into Mexico with no proof of ID and started getting welfare and other "gifts for being lazy" Odds are, I wouldn't simply be deported, I would probably be killed. I can't believe that the Mexican government is calling for the heads of the 2 border patrol agents that shot a drug smuggler in the buttocks who was running drugs into America. The bad part is that the border patrol agents are now in prison and the drug smuggler who was found with 743 pounds of Marijuana was granted immunity. L-A-M-E!!
--Every immigrant that is granted citizenship should have to pass an English exam: The language barrier is a big deal. After watching the movie "Babel" I realized just how many problems can arise without being able to communicate with others. It might sound mean, but I get pissed when I walk into a store or restaurant and the associate that I deal with can't understand me and vice-versa. All I wanna know is that you're at least gonna try to learn English. If you want to live in this country then you should have to embrace our culture.
It's pretty apparent after 7 years with President George W. Douche he is going to continue to turn a deaf ear to all the important issues in America. I doubt if any of the Democratic contenders will do anything about illegal immigrants when they get into office. So basically this blog is all for nothing other than to solidify the fact that 70% of Americans are against illegal aliens and the United States government doesn't do the things that it's citizens ask of it. Here's some stats in closing from NumbersUSA.com to illustrate the financial aspects of illegal immigrants.
>Taxes: Mass immigration costs taxpayers some $87 billion each year. Giving amnesty would nearly triple the already massive federal deficit.
> Schools: Taxpayers fork over some $7 billion each year so illegal alien students can attend public schools.
> Social Security: New proposals to pay retirement benefits to Mexican citizens who worked illegally in the U.S. could cost the cash-strapped Social Security system as much as $345 billion - money that SHOULD be used to pay the benefits WE have been promised.
> Language Barriers: According to economists, poor English skills among foreign-born residents cost more than $75 billion a year in lost productivity, wages, tax revenue and unemployment compensation.
> The Job Market: An estimated 1.8 million American workers are displaced from their jobs every year by mass immigration. Because mass immigration drives down wages, U.S. workers lose an estimated $133 billion a year as a result of open borders.
> Health Care: Mass immigration costs Medicare and Medicaid a whopping $20 billion each year, while federally mandated health care for illegal aliens cost U.S. taxpayers as much as $2 billion annually.
> Welfare: Mass immigration is producing a subculture of government dependents that are nearly twice as likely to be on welfare. Benefits for recent immigrants cost taxpayers an estimated $75 billion each year. (That doesn't include the money they put back in from taxes, but it's still nearly a 12 Billion dollar drain on the economy annually.)
> $ Exported: Mexicans living & working in U.S., sent $12.4 billion to their homeland in the first 9 months of 2004, according to the Bank of Mexico.
> Net Cost: Between 1997 & 2006, the projected total net cost to taxpayers for immigration will be $866 billion.
> Influx: Immigration from 1925-1965 averaged 178,000 per year. As of 2003, we’re taking in approximately 1.1 million legal immigrants & up to 700,000 illegal aliens annually. In 2004, the Border Patrol estimates that 3 million illegal aliens entered the U.S.
> Population: Currently, we have 294 million people, but because of today’s mass immigration, 420 million is projected by 2050.
> Crime: The cost of locking up illegal aliens in CA alone is $1.4 billion a year. These are hard core criminal convicted of gang-related crimes, murder, robbery, drug-trafficking and sex offenses. These undesirable criminal aliens blend in with illegal day laborers and others violating our borders.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
15 flaws of marriage
#1 Since I was an only child, I think I embrace solitude more than someone from a larger family. I love being alone and having the opition to escape from human contact if I feel like it. The idea of having to hang out with the same person, everyday for the rest of my life seems so boring and trite to me. With a wife you have to come home everynight, and be around her during 90% of your free time. I like variety in who I hang out with. I enjoy the company of a girl, but not the same one everyday. I like to hang with friends but not the same one everyday, I also love being alone, but not all the time. It's about balance, just like people need a good balance of all 5 food groups in their diet, and just like a smart person needs to stay moderate in their political beliefs. Because the minute you say you're 100% liberal and you're focusing all your efforts on bashing republicans that's when the democrats will start pulling some bullshit and you'll be too blinded to even realize what's going on. That's what marriage is, it's like radical politics but instead of government it's radical relationship-ism. (Of course that's a word, I wouldn't make something like that up)
#2 Marriage is basically a religious union. I believe if I loved someone enough I could live with her, and basically have the same life as a married couple. (Kinda like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell) I beleive in God, however I am extremely opposed to any organized religion. I don't think there is a bigger cancer on soceity than religion. Therefore I refuse to have some bullshit religious ceremony for some Preist/Pastor to tell me when and how I can love my wife. I have more respect for the mindset of a 2 year old than I do for a preist or pastor. I was rased Catholic and I've seen religion work for a great many people, however, I am not one of these people. I've seen it get in the way of too much rationality, logic and science throughout the years. Not to mention most of the wars throughout history have been rooted in religion. Even this bullshit Iraq war is a cultural thing between radical muslims and a neo-con christian president. Therefore for me to get married is like saying that I support religion and that's just not gonna happen. Even if I were to get married in a courthouse, I would still know that the roots of marrige were founded in religion.
#3 I think love is a beautiful thing and I would hate to ruin something as beautiful as that, with paperwork, rules, and licensing. It retains it's purity between the 2 individuals, not the 2 individuals plus a pastor, and the state of Michigan or wherever.
#4 Weddings are a waste of money. Even if the parents are loaded. I've had many of my friends go into a 5 year debt because they wanted to have a fun little party for 1 night and a rented church. It doesn't compute. I would much rather have that money for a down payment on a house and bills. If I ever do decide to bite the bullet and get married, I'm going to Vegas, then I'm gonna get married by Elvis or something for $9.99 + tax. And there will not be a reception!!
#5 I'm realistic about divorce, over 50% of marriage's end in divorce so I'm not so cocky enough in my love for someone that I would dismiss that as a possible outcome. Things happen, people change, different ideals, etc. I don't want to ever go through a divorce, they're messy and people look down on them, even if it was the other persons fault. Because the scales are tipped in such favor for the female. I'm leary of being caught in that trap.
6# As I just mentioned the scales of justice favor the females greatly. If i was a female, it's no big deal because unless the woman gets caught by the cops smoking crack and choking a baby, the state will award her the money, the kids, the house, and the power. Then the man would have to move into his parents house because he wouldn't be able to afford rent, alimony, child support, and the other bills. For a woman, this makes marriage much more low-risk than it is for a man so I can understand why girls get more excited about this type of thing because for them it's a win/win.
#7 I'm very flighty and my opinions and feelings can change with the wind. I don't like anything permanant. The same reason I would never get a tattoo. I love the band Slayer, I have since I was 5 years old. But I would never get a tattoo because what if they started making country albums, then I'd be stuck with a tattoo that I would hate. Well on the flip side of that coin, what if I was head over heels in love with a girl in my late 20's but by my 30's the reality of it is she's a miserable opinated judgemental person that made me dread even going home? Once again, things happen, people change. I've seen marriage change more people than anything else on this planet.
8# Many people that get married are way too young, and I don't think they know what they want in life. If somebody gets married before the age of at least 25 I am just absolutely baffled. I am a completely different person than I was when I was 20. In only 6 years since then I probably wouldn't even recognize myself at the age of 20. I continue to grow and become wiser and with that wisdom I think that 35 is the ideal age to get married if it's something that you must do. My parents were married when my mom was 18 and my dad was 20. My mom was the only girlfriend my dad ever had, luckily it worked out for them but that's rare. There is an entire world of mates out there and to settle before you ever have a chance to know what you're looking for and play the field seems very restricting.
#9 Marriage hinders individuality. There are so many things I want to do with my life. I need to be free in order to accomplish some of these. I was told once by a married woman that in marriage your interests and opinions grow and change together. I replied: "If your opinions grow and change together as you say they do in marriage, then that means you're not yourself anymore, you're comprimising your own uniqueness to satisfy the other person. That means at least one person in that relationship is being fake. Or maybe both." That's no way to live. I like who I am and I wouldn't change for anything. In my relationship of 6 years I was somebody different with my girlfriend than I was when I was alone or with friends. I would never do that again.
#10 There's way too many hot women out there to be tied to one for the rest of my life. I like to go to the bar and flirt with women. I would never cheat on someone but it is flattering to make a beautiful girl laugh and flirt back. With a wife, that whole scene is pretty much over.
#11 Marriage would interfere with my 24/7 obsession with football. I haven't missed a single televised football game in the 2 years that I've been single. That means 15 straight hours of football on saturdays, 10 staright hours of football on sundays. Monday night games, Thursday night games and even when they put the little unranked college teams that nobody cares about on a Tuesday. I watch it all. With a wife I'd feel pressure to pay attention to her, or actually leave the house and do something with my day. I don't need that stress. I'm a football junkie and missing even one game is enough to throw my mind into a state of panic. Football season is 5 months of "me" time. I spend it with my dad, friends, or alone. If a girl can actually hold her own in a football conversation that's extremely hot. However it's very, very, rare. Hmmm. maybe I could find a wife for 7 months out of the year. Anyway this would seem petty to most girls but it's something that I thoroughly enjoy. Once again, I like to be able to do what I want when I want.
#12 Not sure if I want kids. Many couples get married strictly because they have a child together. Sometimes it's to hide the fact that they had pre-marital sex because the parents are ultra-christian. I think anybody that doesn't have sex before marriage is dumb. (stronger than me, but dumb nonetheless) What if your partner sucks at sex? You get to look forward to an entire lifetime of unfullfillment, congrats!! Marriages based on a child can only work for so long. They rarely last. My favorite is when the couple has been miserable with one another since the wedding day but they stay together until the kids graduate. Then afterwards they realize they've wasted their entire 30's and 40's staying with someone they despised. Oh those crazy douchebags!!
#13 I will considered a cheapskate and a loser if I were to propose without a diamond ring. Even if I bought a very expensive ring, it still wouldn't be deemed acceptable in the eyes of our brain-washed society. I will never, ever, ever contribute to the genocide, rape, murder, terrorism, kidnapping, and limb-hacking that diamonds cause every single day in Africa. A diamond is a shiny rock, that is all. If it comes down to me being called a cheapskate in order for an extra five children to live an extra day then you can call me whatever you want. A rock? Or a human life? Maybe to some of you this is a tough decision. Women do seem to a have a fondness for over-expensive shiny things that serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever. (Gold, silver, other bullshit shiny rocks) It's almost laughable, it's like shaking your keys in front of an infant to get them to look at you. Well to me it's not a tough decision. A boycott on diamonds is the only answer, shame on anybody that can profit on such an easily avoidable evil!! Think I'm being unreasonable? Check this out: http://www.dashes.com/anil/2003/01/20/diamonds_are_fo
#14 Homosexuals should be allowed to marry. I don't know why they'd want to. But they should have that option if they choose. A ban on gay marriage is one of the only forms of facsim that still exsisits in the USA. Homosexuality is NOT a choice. Anybody that has taken a college psychology course will tell you that. Different brain patterns exsist in a gay brain compared to that of a straight brain. Once again I blame the Bible, Koran, and whatever other books of untruths for the weak-minded to justify this fascist agenda. I love women!! They get me hornier than hell. So that being said, why the hell would I CHOOSE to get up in some dudes nasty bunghole? Why the hell would I CHOOSE a life of ridicule, disownment from my family and other loved ones, and a sexual relationship with someone that I'm not even sexually attracted to? It's nonsense to think that ANYBODY would ever make that choice, let alone 1 out of every 10 people on the planet. But getting back to marriage. I don't think it's right that one group of people get special rights and another group gets excluded. What? Are we in the 1950's? That's segregation in its purest form. Neo-cons and religious leaders always talk about the "sanctity of marriage" and gays marrying will ruin that sactity. So I guess they are saying that they are going to divorce their spouses if gays get married. Somehow their own marriage doesn't mean spit if gay can do it too. Gays have jobs, does that mean your job isn't important? Gays eat food, does that ruin the sanctity of your own hunger? What about people like Rush Limbaugh that talk about gays ruining the so called sanctity marriage, Limbaugh has been divorced 3 times!! I think that takes away from marriage more than a gay couple that genuinely love each other for a lifetime. Convicted pedophiles, rapists, wife beaters, and murderers are able to marry as many times as they want if they are released from prison. Is that more acceptable than gays getting married too? People need to mind their own business. What goes on in somebody elses bedroom is no concern of yours. I'm just not like all of the other reindeer, I think gays should be allowed to play in all the reindeer games as well as the straights.
#15 Marriage is a crutch . That about sums it up.
As I said these are reasons "for me" NOT YOU. I didn't mean to offend. I have strong opinions on everything and this is just the beginning. Oh and before you say "Tabor, you've never been married, how can you know how bad it is"? I've lived with a girlfriend for over a year. That's basically what marriage is right? After a year I was about ready to pull my hair out, and she was a great girl. Better than anybody else as far as kindness, beauty, and understanding, in my opinion. If I couldn't find peace with her in the year we lived together, than how can I ever expect to live for 70 years with someone that might not even be as compatible as Kate and I? But my opinions are open, maybe one day I'll meet someone that just floors me and makes me change my entire outlook. I have an open mind. As I said "staying moderate" that's the key" Hope you enjoyed Bloggings vol. 1 I'm outtie-- Your favorite, and mine...Tabor
Pat Robertson: Corruption Incarnate
I'm sure you have all seen the stereotypical lunatic on TV yelling In The streets making outlandish claims like that the end of the world is upon us, or that homosexuals and abortions are directly linked to hurricanes, tornadoes and other forces of nature. We have seen these people and dismissed them as drunks or crazies; sad humans who were just never able to adjust to rationality. They are people that we would never allow in our homes with our families in a million years. But what if that same lunatic was born into wealth and was given the opportunity to use TV as a medium to spew his hatred and bigotry. Not only that, but he can also manipulate his hatred to be viewed as positivism by saying the name "Jesus".
I think Christianity is something that works for some people. I have Aunts and Uncles that have wonderful lives with all of their faith resting in Jesus as a savior and something to lean on. But something needs to be done about the obvious bias in this country towards Christians. If you don't believe that there is a bias, then look no further than Pat Robertson for proof. Pat Robertson is a horrible, corrupt, insane bigot that founded the CBN (Christian Broadcast Network). He has used his telecasts for numerous deplorable acts and views that are both narrow-minded and harmful to humankind. Before I list some of these atrocities I want you to ask yourself if he would have been able to get away with them if he were not blanketed in the "Immunity of Christianity blanket".
Things he has done: MILITARY SERVICE 1. Throughout his time in the Marines during the Korean War Pat frequently slept with prostitutes and sexually harassed a cleaning girl. (This was testified in a disposition by a veteran in Robertson's' company and proved to be true) 2.Robertsons father, a United States Senator intervened to keep Pat out of combat during the war...Sound familiar? (This was proven also, in fact the letters were made public by the Marine officials). 3.During Pat's presidential campaign he stated that he was a "Combat Marine who served in the Korean War". This of course was false; when other Marines in his battalion heard this they set the record straight. It turns out that all Pat did was supply alcoholic beverages to his offficers. SHADY BUSINESS DEALINGS: It has been estimated that Pat Robertson is worth more than $1 billion dollars! That's "B" -illions!!! How might a man of god make such a wonderful living? Everyone that has donated to his little causes to spread the word of Jesus all over the world should be made aware that the money goes straight into his pocket. The most notable instance was the "Operation Blessing" mission in 1994. Robertson used this tax-exempt, non-profit Operation as a front for his own financial gain. Robertson made emotional pleas on the 700 Club for cash donations for OPERATION BLESSING to support airlifts of refugees from Rwanda to Zaire. It was later discovered that Operation Blessing's planes were actually transporting diamond-mining equipment for the Robertson-owned African Development Corporation, a venture that Robertson had established in cooperation of Zaire's dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko. Of course Robertson wasn't prosecuted for this because the Virginia Attorney General Mark Early, a Republican. Intervened and overruled the recommendation for his prosecution. It is interesting that the largest contributor to Mr. Early's campaign just so happened to be Pat Robertson. Coincidence? Oh and by the way, those Rwandan refugees were not airlifted to Zaire. In fact, most of them were executed. Someone so obviously dishonest and immoral as Pat Robertson would never dare to think that he is better than anyone, right? It would be the pot calling the kettle black, but that has never stopped him from judging others and making outlandish claims. Mr. Robertson is a walking sound byte. Everything that comes out of his mouth is crazier than the last. Here are a few of my favorites. Pat has said that he can pray tornadoes and hurricanes away from him and has done so at least 3 times single-handedly. He claims that there is no such thing as the separation of church and state in the Constitution. He even said- "There is no such thing as the separation of church and state in the constitution. It is a lie of the Left and we're not gonna take it anymore." (The constitution states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." I think that's obviously a separation of church and state clause.) He has also proposed a "godly fumigation" for non-Christians referring to them as termites. So basically 80% of the world should be executed in the eyes of Pat. Hmmm.... I wonder if Jesus would approve of that? He has called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. (I was under the impression that was illegal if you even mentioned that in your own home. And he's saying it on national TV with no disciplinary action taken against him.) He has called for the stoning of UFO enthusiasts. Not to mention numerous times of encouraging the bombing of abortion clinics. He even endorsed Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City bombing of a Federal building that killed thousands! He's stated many times that men are the leaders of the household and women should just "Learn quietly and submissively". My personal favorite is his belief that homosexuality brings hurricanes, and possibly even a meteor. (I hope you're listening San Francisco, better keep an eye to the sky.) In 2006 the 70+ old Pat Robertson said that he can squat thrust 750 lbs!! (That means he could qualify for the USA Olympic team, so I guess we should keep our fingers crossed that Pat stays alive for the 2008 summer games. That's not a harmful quote from him but it's fucking funny!!
I could go on for hours listing more examples of this man's never ending spreading of hatred, fear, and stupidity but I think you get the idea. The whole point of this piece is to illustrate the simple fact that "Men of Faith" can get away with so much more. Howard Stern is a douschebag there's no doubt about that. But he has come under a firestorm of controversy and he has been taken off the air last year. All Howard has done is act like a pervert on the radio. He tells women how much he wants to sleep with them on a regular basis. But the point is, nobody gets hurt. Even though it's in bad taste, the most you'd have to worry about is teenage boys telling girls how nice their racks are. But Pat Robertson calls for assassinations, genocides, and bombings weekly, and people just look the other way because he's a man of Jesus or worse, they might actually beleive him!! If the FCC should be canning anyone, it's Pat! Since he has so many republican senators on his side I doubt if he'll ever spend a day in jail. But the least someone can do is pull the plug on his broadcasts. I mean that sincerely. -Tabor
P.S. This isn't a knock on Christians, because every christian I know thinks Pat Robertson is a tool and he doesn't speak for them. He preys on the really dumb "christians" that are too illiterate to actually read the bible for themselves. People that let other people form their opinions for them are a detriment to society.
