Maybe baby Jesus is playing with Dads branding iron again

Via Pharyngula

This is Ali, a six month old baby in Southern Russia.

It’s a miracle! Every Monday and Thursday, fresh quotations from the Quran ‘magically’ appear on his legs, belly, or arms when he’s home alone with his mommy and daddy, and then the pilgrims show up in the thousands to give the happy family lots and lots of attention. I simply can’t imagine how red marks might appear on the delicate skin of a young baby while under the care of doting, attentive parents, or why anyone might cheat and fake a miracle…can you? The only possible explanation is that the omnipotent, omniscient master of the entire cosmos occasionally gets bored overseeing the fusion of hydrogen in stars, and just has to come down to visit Ali and dickishly inflame small regions of his epidermis. I can understand that; if I had the power to end a wasteful war in the Kizlyar region, I’m sure I’d just use it to torment babies instead. But hey, I’m an atheist. What’s God’s excuse?

Which religion should I be?

Dr. Dawkins on Real Time

Mormon Art!!

What more could I ask for! Jesus Christ quite literally placed in the middle of everything that is America, at least America to the Mormon church. No, this painting is not sending any sort of ironic message, which is what I originally thought. Regardless, I am buying a print for my bathroom.

One Nation Under God

It’s actually kind of fun to move the mouse over the picture and read the Mormon perspective on the American landscape. Look at the greedy lawyer counting his Jew gold! And Liberal News Reporter!!! DAMN THEM!!

Notice the rather out of place black male in the bottom left is holding a book by noted Mormon author and Glenn Becks personal mentor; Cleon Skousen.

The book is titled 5,000 Year Leap and according to an article from Salon is “a heavily illustrated and factually challenged attempt to explain American history through an unspoken lens of Mormon theology. As such, it is an early entry in the ongoing attempt by the religious right to rewrite history.”

It seems Christianity is being pushed out into the periphery of the conservative ideology and being replaced by Mormonism, whether Christian conservatives would like to admit it or not. Mormonism is exciting for “gimmemycountryback” republicans and Glenn Becker’s because it combines Jesus with America, and makes America and White Americans the chosen place of the chosen people. Mormonism does what Christianity, with its middle east Abrahamic origins, has been unable to do despite recent evangelical efforts; takes Christ from the land of pesky Jews and transplants his white-ass right here in the good ol’ USA. Missouri, to be exact.

More from Salon… “Anyone who has followed Beck will recognize the book’s title. Beck has been furiously promoting “The 5,000 Year Leap” for the past year, a push that peaked in March when he launched the 912 Project. That month, a new edition of “The 5,000 Year Leap,” complete with a laudatory new foreword by none other than Glenn Beck, came out of nowhere to hit No. 1 on Amazon. It remained in the top 15 all summer, holding the No. 1 spot in the government category for months. The book tops Beck’s 912 Project “required reading” list, and is routinely sold at 912 Project meetings where guest speakers often use it as their primary source material. At one 912 meet-up I attended in Florida, copies were stacked high on a table against the back wall, available for the 912 nice price of $15. “Don’t bother trying to get it at the library,” one 912er told me. ‘The wait list is 40 deep.’ “

Fun Game: See if you can find Satan! Hint: (Right border, next to Mr Hollywood, naturally)

FreshDose of…. Beck Disciples

It’s funny for a few minutes, and then I just became depressed.

FreshDose of… Satire

The Billionaires for WealthCare join the 9/12 protesters… ironically

You can find their website here, it is definitely worth a visit.

Via RachelMaddow

FreshDose of… Tea-baggers in the wild

A friend of mine, a schoolmate and a college educated Republican with a panache for the world of finance, argued that this protest was more of an affront to big government, over spending and over taxing than any sort of “angry or racist” ideology. While it seems that these could be viewed as legitimate concerns from the right, and have long been the main division between our two parties, I would argue that these protests had very little to do with budgeting issues and health care reform.

This brash attempt at de-legitimizing the power of the Executive branch of our government from the right without ANY suggestion for an alternative has, since its inception, been about preserving the white privilege of America above all else. It is often construed as a backlash against spending and tax increases, but it seems that this circus of armed protesters, birthers, death panels rumors, heckling the president during addresses by congressional constituents is almost entirely derived from nothing more than archaic racist fears of white Americans who would rather ignore the blight of social issues plaguing our nation.

(Via OliverWillis)

FreshDose of… Darwin

A British film about Charles Darwin has failed to find a US distributor because his theory of evolution is too controversial for American audiences, according to its producer.

From the article. “US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution. “

Read the whole thing here

FreshDose of… Big Bang

Janna Levin, a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University, narrates this two-minute video about The Big Bang.

FreshDose of… hocus pocus

HINT! There is no difference

same shit, different get-ups