The End of Days: Indistinguishable From All Other Days

Okay, so at the End of Times there will be: earthquakes, floods, storms, wars and rumors of wars.

So, you know, business as usual on the planet Earth.

As far as prophecy goes, that's like predicting that there will be people, eating food and drinking beverages. Somewhere. In the vicinity of the prophecied activity.

But these signs- they are now! (Well, sure, they are always.)

This is just another strange event...I am constantly in awe by the pure reluctant acceptance of the general populace to the signs around us. I have discussed the earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, pestilences, turmoil in the Middle East and the state of Israel to just about anyone who will talk to me about it and it seems they always come back with the same answer.... It has always been like this! We just didn't have the technology to realize it. It makes me sad that people are just so blind to what is happening. I want people to get right with God to turn back to him. However, it seems that the ME society has finally taken over and they have no room for our Creator! I wish I knew the magic words to open their eyes.....Come Lord Jesus Come!

Psst! You, yeah, you. C'mere. Generally speaking, when you're the only person who can see a thing, that's because it's not actually there. I mean, I suppose it's possible that white horse in the garden is a unicorn, but more than likely, you are delusional.

Seriously, has there ever been a time when there weren't earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, pestilences, and turmoil in the Middle East (and everywhere else)? Go get a history book, read it and then get back to me.

I wish I knew the magic words too

Me, too! That's be sweet! Oh, you mean to convince me that earthquakes are highly unusual events. Never mind.

I found a correlation to these times at work the other day. My coworker Leslie spoke over the loudspeakers to warn customers that the store would be closing in 10 minutes, and people kept on shopping, some came to the front. She then warned that the store would be closing in five minutes. People started coming to the front then.

I realized that on a much wider and less petty scale, this is what the Lord has been doing since 1948. The store is closing, but people are still doing their shopping while those who are listening have gone to the checkout. Soon the store will close and people who didn't listen will be trapped overnight.

Um, wut? What does "correlation" mean again? Do you warn your customers that the store is closing by setting the displays on fire? I . . . wut?

Great Analogy! I could not agree more! It just saddens me to see the blind walking everywhere!

Damn blind people! Stick to your . . . blind . . . places.

Remember hurricane Katrina. Weren't the people being warned four or five days ahead of expected landfall. Many didn't heed the warning and the landfall and the breaking of the levee caused a lot more damage and loss of life than anyone anticipated or could have imagined.

Oh, you mean the poor people who had no way to get out of town and nowhere to go even if they did get out? That makes this analogy . . . interesting.

I'll end with the most disturbing thing I've ever read (and I've read the Bible):

With fish and game comissions trying to rid the US of invasive-destructive species,

starlings have always been a scourge, and remember the snake head fish infestation, should we be surprised when this kind of thing happens?

With toxic spills and weather system changes, fish will suffer very quickly.

All we need is some massive land animal die-offs.

Certianly these events need investigation, cause identification, as there may be a serious health threat to humans.

But This isn't God's handiwork. God would kill every starling on the face of the earth. God's signs leave no doubt.

satan on the other hand, loves to play games, and if these occurances get lots of christians proclaiming "signs of the times"

Well, that will be fuel for scoffers wouldn't it. "So where is your long expected Jesus?"


But then that is real Prophecy coming to fruition, isn't it?


No one knows the day, but act like the time is short - be busy until He sounds the Quitting Time Whistle.

You'll know it's god by the incredible scale of death and suffering. Um, yeah. I'm sure the Egyptians, looking at their dead first born children would agree.

Death, I Do Hope It's Cooler Than I Think

Unrelated, but really cool. And really real.

My own personal feeling on death is that you die, and that's it. It's an end. There's no afterlife, no haunting people, no heaven, no hell. I don't fear this, because there's to fear in this idea. Does anyone think a rock is afraid of it's fate? Because if I'm right, you have as much awareness as a rock after you die.

I am aware that I may be somewhat influenced by my own chronic pain in this belief. I've been in pain for so long I can't remember not being in pain. Actually, I can't imagine not being in pain. If I woke up tomorrow not in pain, not any, not at all, I'd probably be so freaked out I'd start screaming and need a serious amount of Ativan to stop.

So it's probably not possible for me to picture eternity with any happiness, but that's not what makes me think death is an end. I think death is an end because there's no evidence otherwise. There's no scientific, verifiable, falsifiable evidence of continuation of consciousness after physical death. There's lots of stories about it. Every culture has or had at least one. But preponderance of fanciful tales is not truth. There's innumerable tales about vampiric and werewolfian creatures, too, and I don't often run into people trying to get me to join their vampire worshipping club.

I have been accused of believing death is an end because I want to. Because of my physical pain. Because I don't want to believe in hell, therefore I reject any afterlife at all. That's not true.

I'd like to believe in an afterlife. It would be nice to think that all the people I love, all the people I admire, all the good people in the world get to hang out in paradise forever. That would be awesome, for a while anyone. I think boredom would set in fairly quickly, but that's just me.

I'd like to be wrong about this. I'd like to die and find myself at the Pearly Gates, and there's the Slacktivist (I think he's older than me, so I'm not wishing him dead before his time) and we meet and have a good laugh about my atheism being proven wrong so dramatically. And then we go play Dance Central with Moses and Socrates.

That'd be cool. But just because something would be cool doesn't make it true. Nor does wanting something to be true make it true.

Nobody Gets to Wear Black

Grieving. Tasteful grieving.

My boss' mother died two days ago, after a protracted illness. (And being in her late 90s.) She left her son, my boss, written instructions as to her funeral, and by "written instructions", I mean a 10 page typed document detailing the exact colours of the flowers, naming the pallbearers and exactly which direction she wanted the coffin to face.

It got me thinking, what do I want in a funeral? On the one hand, I won't really be there, on the other, funerals are such a depressing bore, and I like to think I'm not. So, since the internet is written in ink*, I thought I'd detail my wishes.

1. I want to be cremated. People look curiously . . . slack . . . once they are dead, and I don't want that to be anyone's last memory of me. I want my ashes distributed to everyone (who wouldn't be entirely freaked out by it) and I want those people to spread my ashes somewhere nice. The ocean, a little urban park, a fabulous accessories shop in France, whatever. I also wouldn't be averse to someone passing off a piece of my femur as the relic of a saint, but it's not necessary.

2. No flowers. Once you pick flowers, they are dead. I hate receiving flowers as a gift, it's like handing me death. I'd much rather receive a bunch of tulip bulbs. Then I could plant them in my front yard and have pretty flowers every spring. So, either distribute bulbs to my mourners or nothing.

3. Dancers. I want dancers, like Britney Spears' backup dancers, dancing behind the people giving eulogies. I like dancing.

4. No prayers, no quoting from holy books. Unless it is the Enuma Elish. In the original Akkadian.

5. Fireworks. Hell, yeah!

6. Bring your kids. I want them loaded up with caffeinated beverages, sugary snacks and loud toys. If they aren't screaming like banshees on a meth bender by the end of my funeral, you have failed me.

7. Music. Funeral music is wholly depressing, if there even is any. I want Trent Reznor and Saul Williams to perform at my funeral, but in lieu of that, at least try to get a New Orleans marching band.

8. No black. I wear black- as a backdrop to make colour pop! Please don't dig some boring black dress/suit out of the back of your closet. Wear colour. Purple, orange, crimson, teal, green, whatever, just wear it.

9. Free food. No celebration is complete without a buffet. I want people to pause in their grieving to exclaim "Are those lobster rolls?!" Remember me as I lived, people- for free food.

So, should I precede anyone reading this, please, make it so.

*Yes, I finally saw The Social Network. First of all, "acting" does not mean "clench your jaw for 2 hours". Secondly, the score (by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) makes that movie significantly more dramatic than it otherwise would be. By far.

I Don't Fear Death (Dying Perhaps, but Not Death)

I do not believe in an afterlife.

I have no way of knowing what happens after one dies, so I could be wrong, but I don't think anything happens after you die. I think you cease. Like going under for surgery, but without the waking up afterwards, disoriented and in pain.

I do not find this frightening. I find it impossible to imagine nothing, to be sure, but I can tell you this: there's nothing to be afraid of if I'm right. If we simply cease upon dying, you won't know the difference. You won't be capable of knowing of the difference, any more than a rock is.

The dying part, that might be bad. Depending upon what sort of dying we're talking about, I may very well be afraid of it. But being dead? Nope. Not at all.

What's really weird is that most atheists I know are like this. "Death? Meh, whatever." Whereas most Christians seem to view death the way I view a two-foot wide spider (There are no words). In fact, Christians demand more extreme end of life intervention than any other group in the US. Think about that for a second. Atheists think that death is an absolute cessation, but don't request resuscitation or extreme measures to hold off death. Christians think that death is just the beginning of a fantabulous, sparkle pony and rainbow dragon adventure, yet demand that no effort be spared in extending life for 5 extra minutes.

Anyway, I bring this up because Ray Comfort is yet again confusing "you" and "me". We really ought to buy this man a dictionary. (Boganette, is there some odd NZ usage of these words to explain his confusion?)

Never forget how you feared death before you became a Christian. The Bible says that until we come to Christ, we are "subject to the fear of death all of our lifetime." When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, God places a shield of faith in our hands so that we can combat the sharp and fiery arrows of fear. We can look death in the faith and say, "You no longer have any power over me!"

We can look death in the faith? Anyway, maybe people who became and/or are Christians are people that are deeply afraid of death. Atheists in general aren't. We're not sitting around thinking ZOMG!!1!DEATH!!1!!eleventy!!! We're more eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Hey, is that hummus?

Actually, according to Ray's beliefs, death has no power over anyone. If he's right, I don't cease to be when I die, I live forever, in hell. Nobody dies either way, it's more a matter of location.

He who lives without faith in God is open to fiery darts of terror that will pierce him to the core. I once saw a man like that as he lay on his deathbed. He was consumed with terror. It was a horrible thing to see, and my heart went out to him. He lived his life with his back turned to God, and consequently, when he needed faith most, he had none.

Again, I am not in a state of terror. Not about death, anyway. Spiders, absolutely*. (Seriously, look at this thing.) Death, no. And quite frankly, if I were dying and Ray Comfort were watching, "peaceful" wouldn't be any part of it. Never mind that the actual act of dying can be excruciating and filled with terrifying sensations, like pain and not being able to breathe, but then to have some religious huckster watching you as you go? Yikes.

So when you are sharing your faith, don't hesitate to tap into a powerful evangelistic tool that is often neglected--the sinner’s will to live. He doesn’t want to die. Don't be afraid to ask him if he is afraid of dying. It can often be a relief to talk about it, because the world avoids the question.

That's just wrong, if you ask me. It wouldn't sway me in the slightest, it's not theologically sound, and it has the same element of manipulation that see in half hour infomercials at 4am. You know the ones. The ones that prey upon the fear of illness, of unattractiveness of loneliness . . . oh. Got it.

*While looking for a picture of an enormous spider to link to, I came across the question Is it true you are never more than 6' from a spider at all times? I may never sleep again.

How Many Times Do We Need to Learn This Lesson?

This is, or was, Alisa Wilson. She could have been saved. She wasn't.

Here's the thing about health insurance companies: they're in the business of making money. Full stop. Finis. Done. That's it.

Health insurance companies are not in the business of keeping people healthy or saving lives or anything else other than making money. They take your money in the form of premiums and in order to keep that money, they have to pay as few claims as possible. By "claims", I mean "procedures or medicines that keep people healthy or alive."

That is the goal of a health insurance company, to pay for as few medicines or procedures that keep people healthy and/or alive as possible. From the perspective of profit, an organ transplant is a cost, a waste of money, less profits. Therefore, an organ transplant is, like all other "claims", something to be avoided at all costs. Including human life.

That's why tragedies like this happen:

It was this practice of frivolous denials that ended up costing Jacksonville, Florida woman Alisa Wilson her life. For months, Wilson, her family, and the surrounding community had been pleading with her HMO to approve coverage for a liver transplant. Although Wilson was enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program, she was not guaranteed care because she was “forced to join a private plan as part of a Gov. Jeb Bush-era experimental overhaul of the program,” meaning she had to deal with a private, for-profit insurance company to get her care, not a government agency accountable to the public.

Alisa Wilson died because allowing her to die maximized profits. She died for money. Morally, I really can't see the difference between what happened to Alisa Wilson and a person who kills their spouse for the insurance money. Either way, a person died so somebody else could have more money.

Death panels, indeed.

pic link

What's the Difference between My Philosophy and Yours?

My best guess as to what happens when we die is nothing. Neural function ceases, without neural function one cannot thing or feel or be, so . . . nothing. This doesn't scare me, because if I'm gone, just absolutely gone, I can't very well be afraid or lonely or in pain, anymore than my desk is ever afraid or lonely or in pain.

This is, of course, just an educated guess. The evidence seems to point that way, but I won't find out until I get there.

Oddly, there doesn't seem to be much difference between my beliefs on what happens when you're dead and the Christian belief. (Stick with me.)

Anyhow, I was wondering...many of us still have concerns for family and friends who are unsaved. I've read more than one post on this site where people have hoped that Christ will be patient and that we'll have more time before His return in hopes that some loved ones may still yet be saved....

When we get to heaven will we miss them or grieve for them? The Bible tells us that there will be no more saddness or tears...it seems hard for my tiny little human mind to envision people NOT being sad for a daughter, wife, husband, mom etc etc who will spend eternity in the other place...

You know what? That's an excellent question. And a really annoying way of expressing "I don't know*". Really, how is heaven heavenly if you spend all your time being sad about your loved ones in hell? Talk about survivor's guilt!

I feel the same way. I do believe that we will remember them no more. Like you said it is very hard for us to comprehend that while we are still here on earth. I will let someone with more biblical knowledge then myself apply scripture to your question. I can only pray that those that I love who have already passed away DID accept His free gift to us. I have my doubts as to my dad's salvation and also my maternal grandparents as well as a favorite aunt.

Remember them no more? So, your heaven is like my nothing much? Also, what kind of person seriously considers that their "favorite" aunt is being eternally tortured right this minute with such sanguinity?

Answer: Many people say that the first thing they want to do when they arrive in heaven is see all their friends and loved ones who have passed on before them. In eternity, there will be plenty of time to see, know, and spend time with our friends and family members. However, that will not be our primary focus in heaven. We will be far more occupied with worshipping God and enjoying the wonders of heaven. Our reunions with loved ones are more likely to be filled with recounting the grace and glory of God in our lives, His wondrous love, and His mighty works. We will rejoice all the more because we can praise and worship the Lord in the company of other believers, especially those we loved on earth.

Doesn't answer the question and doesn't sound like fun. "Recounting the grace and glory of god in our lives"? I'd rather set my gums on fire.

The bolded part is the crux of the matter. God says that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We aren't capable of understanding and rationalizing everything about God. I have a hard time rationalizing God Himself, I have a hard time rationalizing Jesus performing the miracles He did, I can't rationalize living with a sinless and inccoruptable body forever...............in fact, alot of my "understanding" is based 100% on faith because for the things I can't "wrap my head around", my faith is my eyes and my "reasoning". Alot of times we just have to step out in faith and leave it at that.

I'll take "Ineffable for $200, Alex."

I think heaven will be such a joyful place that, the pain of knowing others who didn't make it will be grounded out.... I thank God that all my family are saved, but I do have alot of friends who are not yet saved at this point, and it does concern me, but when the rapture takes place will our joy in the presence of the Lord be robbed because they chose not to follow God?... I doubt it.

So that's what that third prong is for! Effectively, either you're as brain dead in heaven as you are in my scenario, or you're a selfish, selfish fuck who's so happy about winning you don't care what the penalty for losing is.

*My mother asked me last week what IDK means. Without thinking, I replied, "I don't know" and the conversation devolved into an Abbot and Costello routine from there.

Why Would They Die for a Lie?

cult, christianity, death, proof, stupid, apologetics, witness, evangelism,

One of the most annoying arguments for Christianity is Why would Jesus' apostles have died for a lie? In other words, Christianity must be true because people have died for it.

First of all, I haven't seen any credible historical proof that the people named as apostles in the Bible actually existed, or wrote anything they are said to have written, when it was claimed to be written. We don't have any original writings and every bit of evidence I have seen tends to be self referential or lacking in backup documentation. For example, I can prove that George Washington existed because we have his original writings as well as the original writings of literally dozens of people who knew him. They all agree on the basic facts of George's existence. We can't say the same for Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. (Never mind why the other apostles' writings didn't make it into official canon.)

What we are left with, in this argument, is whether or not people are willing to die for lies. Yes, they are. This has been proven countless times. Jonestown, Heaven's Gate, the Solar Temple are all proof of this fact. So, if you are making the argument that "People have died for it, it must be true", you need to go find yourself some cyanide Koolaid and a comet, or risk eternal suffering.

Guest Post from the Cynical Nymph: Death and Belief

catholic, atheism, death, christianity,
Cynical Nymph (you should recognize her from hell's comments) asked me to post this in hell because this doesn't fit the theme of her own blog, and I am quite delighted to oblige. Enjoy.

On Tuesday I went to Mass and received the Eucharist for the first time in twelve years. My completely devout yet utterly nonjudgmental Nana passed away Sunday morning, and I went through the motions out of respect for her. It was her dearest with that all her children and grandchildren who had "fallen away from the Church" would eventually "come home to it," and while that will never happen for all of us, I thought she'd appreciate it if I at least gave the sacrament of the Eucharist the ol' college try. Techincally I should have abstained out of respect for the Church, as Catholicism teaches the mystery of transubstantiation, and also since my husband and I weren't married by a priest, so we're still living in sin in the eyes of the Vatican. I figured respect for my Nana was more important to me than respect for some German guy living in Italy.

Some people find faith again through death. If anything, I feel more confident than ever that Catholicism is constructed of man's trappings, and that Christianity in general just sounds... well... silly. In all my years of reciting my parts at Mass by rote, I don't think I really stopped to listen to what I was saying. When you're raised in a tradition or activity from birth (be it a religion, a political or ideological belief system, or hell, even certain sports), it's easy to miss the opportunity to examine the discrete actions and proclamations that make up part of who you think you are.

I went to 13 years of Catholic school and my mother would sporadically drag me to Sunday Mass, but my immediate family wasn't particularly devout (e.g., my mom's "don't have sex" talk centered around not getting pregnant, as opposed to not sinning). I stopped taking communion at school Mass in sophomore year of high school. I was floored - floored, I tell you - by how much of the ritual of Mass came back to me automatically. At this Mass, I believe I considered more deeply than I ever had what I was actually saying in response to the priest, and what the various kneeling/standing/etc. cues most directly symbolized. Ironic, I guess, that it took full participation while not believing for me to really pay attention - and for me to reaffirm what I believe now. All the talk of paradise and pearly gates cemented my newfound ambition of getting my MSW or some kind of psychology training. I mean - and I know many of PF's readers will agree with me here - that right there is a deep well of rejecting the unknown. And that profession of faith in rejection of the unknown is what's in the Bible. It's what makes the Mass, especially the funeral Mass. I for one find it hard to fathom an omnicient, omnipotent deity working in terms of pearly gates and physical bodies after death, and other things so easily identifiable in the human experience. Maybe it's just me (no, it's really, really not), but it seems rather more logical that whatever happens after death has more to do with the expanse and atomic intricacies of the universe that totally pass human understanding. And that, to me, is an utterly comforting thought.

Stupid or Insane

makes as much sense as conservative health care "reform"
health care, reform, poor, poverty, rationing, death, panels, shortages,conservative,

Are conservatives in this country stupid or insane? Seriously, it's got to one or the other. Anne, the Backyard Conservative (whatever that means) is pushing, like a lot of conservatives, the so-called Patient Centered Reform. Reading this, I have to ask, stupid or insane?

Right now, in this country, 50,000,000 people are uninsured, and even those with insurance are self rationing (why, yes, I do belong to that club):

In the new poll 59 percent said that the cost of their health care had increased more than their other expenses over the past two years. Fifty-one percent said they had faced difficult health care choices in the past year. The most common responses were putting off a doctor visit because of cost (28 percent), not being unable to afford medical bills or medication (25 percent), and putting off a medical procedure because of cost (22 percent).

Twenty-eight percent said they had lost or experienced cutbacks in their health care coverage in the past year. The greatest concerns about health care expressed by respondents were a major financial loss or setback from medical cost due to an illness or accident (73 percent), not being able to afford health care in the future (73 percent), necessary care being denied or rationed by health insurance companies (73 percent), and the prospect of rising costs forcing them to choose between health care and other necessities (64 percent).

So this is the conservative answer to the problem:

Begins with individual ownership of insurance policies. The tax deduction that allows employers to own your insurance should instead be given to the individual.

I can't afford my $1,000 deductible. I can't afford the $50 copay to see my specialists. I do without care, tests and medication because I can't afford it. Right now, I cannot afford it. A tax deduction means spending the money up front and getting it back a year, maybe 14 months later. If I can't afford $50 to see my doctor, what makes you think I can afford to pay for health insurance up front? Are you stupid or insane?



Leverages Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). HSAs empower individuals to monitor their health care costs and create incentives for individuals to use only those services that are necessary . See above.



Allows interstate purchasing of insurance. Policies in some states are more affordable because they include fewer bells and whistles, and consumers should be empowered to decide which benefits they need and what prices they are willing to pay. "Bells and whistles"? This sounds like in some states, insurers are covering cosmetic surgery and thorough frivolous tests and procedures. What they're calling "bells and whistles" are actually maternity care, pap smears and mammograms. If you, or anyone you care about, has a vagina, a uterus or breasts, these are not "bells and whistles", these are necessities. Are you stupid or insane?



Reduces the number of mandated benefits insurers are required to cover. Empowering consumers to choose which benefits they need is only effective if insurers are able to fill these needs. see above.



Eliminates unnecessary scope-of-practice laws and allows non-physician health care professionals practice to the extent of their education and training. Retail clinics have shown that increasing the provider pool safely increases competition and access to care and empowers the patient to decide from whom they receive their care. Yes, a physician's assistant is fine for a healthy person who has an ear infection. The concept of people seeing PA's as their primary health provider is horrifying. PA's do not have the necessary training to deal with chronic illnesses, or even to recognize most of the uncommon ones. This is a recipe for disaster. are you stupid, insane, or do you just enjoy disasters?



Reforms tort liability laws. Defensive medicine needlessly drives up medical costs and creates an adversarial relationship between doctors and patients . Yes, yes, yes, trial lawyers bad! Patients greedy! Limiting medical liability would amount to less than 0.5% of health care spending. Yeah! that'll solve all our problems! so, stupid, insane or incapable of understanding math?



Basically, the conservative answer to currently existing shortages, rationing and death panels are to make people who already can't afford health insurance pay more. I don't even know how to describe that, but it makes me sputter with rage. That's right, I'm sputtering right now.

The Obama Problem

Wingnut porn
obama, assassination, death, threats, military, coup, voter, democracy,

What do citizens of a democracy do when they don't like their elected officials?

a) vote
b) vote
c) vote
d) all of the above

Seems obvious, right? Not over at Newsmax, where John L. Perry, who's apparently never heard of voting, wrote this (it was subsequently taken down):

There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America’s military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the “Obama problem.” Don’t dismiss it as unrealistic. [...]

Military intervention is what Obama’s exponentially accelerating agenda for “fundamental change” toward a Marxist state is inviting upon America. A coup is not an ideal option, but Obama’s radical ideal is not acceptable or reversible.

Unthinkable? Then think up an alternative, non-violent solution to the Obama problem. Just don’t shrug and say, “We can always worry about that later.”

That's right, Mr. Perry went with e) military coup, the hallmark of every democracy.

Mr. Perry, you seditious spleenweasel, I don't have to think up an alternative, nonviolent solution to your nonexistent problem. We already have one: voting. Why couldn't you think of it?

This, combined with the uptick in death threats against our President, combined with disturbing polls to determine under which circumstance we should assassinate our President, makes me a little . . . concerned.

How is Canada this time of year?

Some Suicide Note

glenn, beck, frog, 912 project, liberty, census, undocumented workers, death, hanging, extremism, conservative, wingnut, bachmann
On September 12, the day of Teabagging Madness, a census worker was found hanged with the word "Fed" scrawled across his chest.

WASHINGTON — The FBI is investigating the hanging death of a U.S. Census worker near a Kentucky cemetery. A law enforcement official says the word "fed" was scrawled on his chest.

The body of Bill Sparkman, a 51-year-old Census field worker and occasional teacher, was found Sept. 12 in the Daniel Boone National Forest in rural southeast Kentucky.

Investigators have said little about the case. A law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity, tells The Associated Press the word "fed" was written on the dead man's chest.

FBI spokesman David Beyer said the bureau is helping state police determine if Sparkman's death was the result of foul play, and if so, whether it was related to his census work.

I suppose it's possible "Fed" was a rather inscrutable suicide note, and that the only place he had to write such a note was his own chest, but that seems rather unlikely to me.

It seems a little more likely to me that somebody got a wee bit riled up by the likes of Michele Bachmann, who said that she was worried if she filled out a census form, she would be thrown in a Japanese internment camp run by Acorn. (What I can't figure out is, when did Bachmann become Japanese? Or is the internment camp in Japan?)

It also strikes me that with Glenn Beck (who, at the very least, simulated boiling a live frog on TV yesterday) calling upon people to "water the tree of liberty", the 9/12 connection is a bit suspicious.

Yeah, that DHS report is looking like a load of bullshit, now, huh?

Sarah Palin was for Death Panels

palin, sarah, death, panels, health care, obama, democrat, republican,
before she was against them.

Yesterday, Sarah Palin doubled down on death panels, claiming

“President Obama can try to gloss over the effects of government-authorized end-of-life consultations, but the views of one of his top health care advisers are clear enough,” Palin wrote. “It’s all just more evidence that the Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing and more evidence that the top-down plans of government bureaucrats will never result in real health care reform.”

In April of 2008, however, she introduced legislation that included- wait for it- death panels!

WHEREAS, Healthcare Decisions Day is designed to raise public awareness of the need to plan ahead for healthcare decisions, related to end of life care and medical decision-making whenever patients are unable to speak for themselves and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate these important healthcare decisions. [...]

WHEREAS, one of the principal goals of Healthcare Decisions Day is to encourage hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, and hospices to participate in a statewide effort to provide clear and consistent information to the public about advance directives, as well as to encourage medical professionals and lawyers to volunteer their time and efforts to improve public knowledge and increase the number of Alaska’s citizens with advance directives.

WHEREAS, the Foundation for End of Life Care in Juneau, Alaska, and other organizations throughout the United States have endorsed this event and are committed to educating the public about the importance of discussing healthcare choices and executing advance directives.

That is exactly the same leglislation that Sarah Palin is now calling death panels. Apparently, one year and four months ago, end of life counseling was the Republican way, but today it's roving government death squads, seeking out grandparents and the disabled hidden in your attic.

What a difference a Democratic President makes.

Nothing at All

death, christian, theism, atheism, atheist, fear,
Death.

It's the main difference between atheists and theists of any stripe, I think. Tell a Christian, for example, that you think death is the end, that there is nothing more, that people just cease to be at that point, and you're likely to end up getting a frothing-at-the-mouth lecture on heaven and hell. In fact, I suspect that there are a certain percentage of theists that don't really believe in supreme beings at all, but they're terrified at the idea of there being nothing after this.

It's almost impossible to express to someone that attached to the idea of an afterlife how not frightening atheists find the end to be. (Christians, btw, demand more heroic measures, and spend far more, in the last month of life than other groups*. I suspect this does not mean they don't believe in heaven, but rather that their belief in heaven is a symptom of their fear of death. I also don't think that atheists fear death less, but rather that people who fear death less are more likely to become atheists.)

Let me put it this way: Once you die, you're done. It's over. There's no more thinking, no more feeling, nothing. I know it's almost impossible to imagine nothing, but do you suppose a rock misses its family? Does your chair bemoan its fate as it gets moved about the room? Once you die, you're meat. Brisket doesn't complain.

I think people conflate the grief they feel at losing someone with what that someone might be feeling. Death is easy for the dead, it's hard on the living. Funerals aren't for dead people, dead people couldn't care less. Funerals are for the living, to help in their grieving. I am mystified at people that plan their own funerals, or demand this location or that song. I've always told my family to do whatever makes them feel better. I'll be dead, I won't be capable of caring. If they want to play country music, dress me up like a 70s disco queen and read the entire bible at the funeral, more power to 'em. I won't be there.

*wish I could find that link.

Wow. Just Wow.

ten commandments, crazy, death, penalty, homosexual, rape, bestiality, incest, capital, euthanasia, infanticide, prochoice, prolife, abortion, birth control,
Daniel Florien, at Unreasonable Faith, reminded me of the Society for the Practical Establishment and Perpetuation of the Ten Commandments.



Daniel just did a post on the article "Exposing the Atheist", and I've done a couple on the SPEPTC, as well, so I went looking around the site to see if there was anything new to discuss.



All I have to say is that I clearly didn't look closely enough at this site the first time around.



Controlling the World's Population



by Robert T. Lee



The present world's population of people is said to be nearly 6 billion. It is expected to rise to 8.9 billion by 2030, and reach 10 to 14 billion by 2050. The largest increases are expected to take place in some of the poorer countries, such as Africa and southern Asia. I actually don't know if this is true or not, but it sounds about right, especially with the Pope running around telling people that condoms are Teh Evul.


In view of those projections, more and more attention is being placed on ways to control the world's population.


Some of the present methods proposed and practiced are: legislation restricting how many children a family can have, contraceptives, sterilization, sexual abstinence, permanent celibacy which would be different from sexual abstinence how?, deliberately induced abortions as opposed to accidentally induced abortions?, infanticide, euthanasia, homosexuality i'm pretty sure nobody is a homosexual purely for the sake of population control, delayed marriage, sterilization of the retarded which we could include under "sterilization", war as population control?!, fatal disease inducement upon certain portions of the human population see: what the eurpoeans did to the native americans and etc. "and etc."? uh, yeah.


Although demography draws its insight from several of the so-called intellectual fields, such as anthropology, biology, economics, history, medicine, sociology and statistics, so called intellectual fields? if none of the above are intellectual, what is? it is quite obvious that most of the ways proposed and being tried to control the human population is are blindness -ness, foolishness -ness, immoral and thus infringes upon the God-given rights of the weakest and most innocent of the human community. wait until you see what is seeing, wise, moral and doesn't infringe on rights.



There is a better and more sane way to control the human population without allowing immorality, the immorality of delayed marriage or sexual abstinence? without doing injustice to anyone wait for it. and while not seeking to discourage pronatalist prolife, i think. views among the human population. we don't really care about prochoice lemurs, after all.


Since the population of mankind is a "closed" population - no humans can migrate to and from earth, only the rate of births and deaths can increase or decrease the human population. what living thing on the planet would not qualify as "closed" under this definition? just curious.


Therefore, the way to control the population growth is through the increase of the human mortality rate by legitimate means. we're almost there. Not through the crimes of abortions, infanticide, euthanasia and etc; but through the automatic DEATH PENALTY for the broad spectrum of deeds that are high crimes in the sight of the true GOD. that's right kids, abortion, infanticide and euthanasia are crimes, but the death penalty for adultery is just and righteous. that's his moral answer to overpopulation: kill everyone. This principle of population control has never been addressed by demography. I wonder why? It is the cornerstone better than birth control! of proper human population control which the builders have rejected. i just can't see why.


Some of the high crimes which God requires the human society to vigorously odd use of an adverb enforce the death penalty upon are: blasphemy against the true God i'm dead; idolatry leigh at odins daughter, and denelian, dead.; breaking the Lord's day we're all dead; dishonor to parents every teenager to ever live, dead; murder; adultery according to the last study i saw, 40% of women and 60% of men would be dead; incest; homosexuality half the people i know dead; bestiality; rape not punishable by death in the bible. there are two punishments for rape in the bible: marrying your victim or paying her father; kidnapping what verse is that? god was fine with the israelites kidnapping virgins and turning them into sex slaves; seeking to destroy the righteous what?; putting to death the innocent i'm gonna need a bible verse on that one(such as putting innocent embryos and fetuses to death in abortions); seeking to overthrow God's appointed authority question Mr. Lee and you're dead, etc.

If this method of population control were ever enacted, we wouldn't have to worry about population control, because there would maybe 3 people left, and 2 of them would be in comas.

In order for the world community of humans to actually put this decorous someone needs a dictionary principle into practice, it must adopt the MORAL LAW OF GOD - THE TEN COMMANDMENTS as the supreme laws of the World community. boy am i glad that not only isn't the US a christian nation, but the world isn't christian, either.
This principle of controlling the population punishing everyone everywhere for everything until there isn't anyone left would positively affect the economic prosperity of nations by removing anyone making or spending money?, positively affect the health and increase the life expectancy of lawabidding citizens how? mouthy teenagers aren't the reason for cancer, properly educate the human race in fear i suppose, positively affect the family structure by removing all the families, overwhelmingly reduce crime, etc. actually, capital punishment has never been shown to reduce crime. in fact, capital punishment increases extremely violent crime. think about it: if you're going to get the needle anyway, you may as well go out in a blaze of glory. Every legitimate aspect of the human society would benefit greatly. if by "legitimate aspect" you mean "executioners", i suppose.

By adopting the TEN COMMANDMENTS as the supreme laws of the earth and properly administering them actually the ten commandments don't address bestiality, homosexuality, incest or rape, the true criminals - those worthy of death pretty much everyone, will be the ones put to death instead of the innocent. It is only right to focus on true criminals who commit high crimes of adultery and mouthing off to one's parents in order to control the world's population rather than focusing on the most helpless, innocent and weakest people of the human society. you know, by using birth control.

now that is some grade-A, prime cut crazy, there.

Fun with Fundys

atheism, atheist, death, heaven, hell, religion, christian, christianity,
Remember my death ticker post? (It's okay if you don't, I won't cry for long.) I just got the bestest anonymous comment evah!

Since it was a short post, I'll reprint it here:

Seriously, this is awesome! Awesomely awesome!This is the first thing that comes up on the webpage (I have a discreet Google search. Feel free to use it.)

150,000 People Will Die Today The counter to the side to the right are rapidly rising numbers in BRIGHT RED is ticking off the number of people who have died since you opened this webpage. So far? 14.5. The vast majority of those people are entering Hell. Yes! You're all going to hell- unless you believe exactly what I do! I know the secret, and the rest of you will burn! Only I know the answer- follow me without thinking or suffer for all eternity! Christ commanded his followers to share the Gospel with those who are perishing so get thee to a nursing home, then, because as of today, I'm okay... who have you shared with today? 26.3

The counter comes from Living Waters, your evangelism resource- a subsidiary of Ray Comfort, professional Liar for Christ(tm). 47.1 I'm letting the counter run to see if it stops at 150,000.
63.4

So, 13 days later this is the anonymous* comment I get:

I ask simply not wanting an answer from you. But that you would look honestly at you answer the question for yourself. Do you fear death?

No, I don't fear death. First of all, there's nothing you can do about it. Everybody dies. Why get all obsessed about it? (I naturally tend toward Zen.) Secondly, I believe that when I die, nothing happens. The instant I die I will no longer be capable of thinking, feeling or anything else, so I won't know the difference.

I had my appendix removed when I was 17. On the way to the surgery, I was losing my mind I was so frightened. I kept trying to crawl off the gurney while crying and trying to convince anyone I saw that I didn't need surgery. Seven seconds after they gave me the anesthesia, I passed out. When I woke up it was all over. I went from going into surgery to waking up with it all over with. I felt really stupid about being that scared. (In my defense, at that point my temperature was 104.5.) (As a side note, my heart stopped 4 times during that surgery, once for 45 seconds, but that's an entirely different story.)

To me, that's what death seems like. Something everyone is so frightened of, but once it happens, it's done and there's nothing to be scared of any more.

This is the basis of the atheist credo: stop worrying about tomorrow and live today. It truly makes me sad to watch people so focused on an afterlife that isn't going to happen that they don't bother to live the life they do have. Life is beautiful. It is filled with beauty and wonder and happiness and love- but only for those with the courage to go find those things and grab them with both hands.

*When is a screen name not anonymous enough? Honestly, people, that's just silly-unless you think my parents named me "Personal Failure".

Death Ticker

ray, comfort, evangelical, evangelism, evangelist, witness, witnessing, stupid, religion, christian, fundamentalism, fundamentalist, fundy, death, atheism, atheist,

Seriously, this is awesome! Awesomely awesome!

This is the first thing that comes up on the webpage (I have a discreet Google search. Feel free to use it.)

150,000 People Will Die Today The counter to the side to the right are rapidly rising numbers in BRIGHT RED is ticking off the number of people who have died since you opened this webpage so far? 14.5. The vast majority of those people are entering Hell. Yes! You're all going to hell- unless you believe exactly what I do! I know the secret, and the rest of you will burn! Only I know the answer- follow me without thinking or suffer for all eternity! Christ commanded his followers to share the Gospel with those who are perishing get thee to a nursing home, then, because as of today, I'm okay... who have you shared with today? 26.3

The counter comes from Living Waters, your evangelism resource- a subsidiary of Ray Comfort, professional Liar for Christ(tm). 47.1

I'm letting the counter run to see if it stops at 150,000. 63.4

Whore Dolls Die!

The Bratz are dead! Yeah!