I have a few technical questions for the American Family Association

First - if the Bible is literally true you should note that an orca is not an ox.

Second - how will the stoning be executed? I know you're not all that big on science you surely you will have noticed that stones slow down considerably once they hit the water. Will you have to remove the orca from its natural habitat to make you weaponry more effective? Is this fair?

Lastly - as this is a second offense the owner must die as well. Will you simply stone the chairperson of Seaworld or must all the shareholders die as well? Will executions be simultaneous or will they occur on separate occasions in order to increase attendance?

You may reach me here.....

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

Noted American evangelist Billy Graham defines Christianity as a cult! I quote:

"One characteristic of cults is that they strongly believe they alone are right in their beliefs and everyone else is wrong"

I find the fact that he then goes on, in the very same paragraph, to suggest that this seemingly does not apply to Christianity ("thus they reject the central truths of the Bible that Christians have held in common for almost 2,000 years and substitute their own beliefs for the clear teaching of Scripture") I assume to be untended but hilarious irony!

If Mick says it it must be true!

Without actually explaining why radical Christian (but cuddly) Christian conservative Mick Huckabee claims that the American stimulus package is "anti-religious".

I assume he doesn't actually mean "anti-religious" but rather "anti-my-peculiar-brand-of-right-wing-fundamentalist-protestant-Christianity".

How's that abstinence thing working out for you?

Not so well as it turns out. It seems that the offspring of American evangelicals like sex earlier and more often than the average American kid. Surprise! Surprise!

And his number shall be six, thrice score and six

Watch this video clip from the Guardian web site. How did we ever get to this place where seemingly well educated people have so little knowledge of the world around them? There is something truly terrifying about this.

So what's with the extraneous exclamation point?

Photo shamelessly stolen from FiveThirtyEight.com and presented without additional comment.

Why does Focus on the Family hate God?

Those lovely folks are having an anti-h*m*s*x**l anti-love in out in Denver where one of the speakers, one Joe ("Doesn't Do) Dallas, is on records as saying

:"Even if homosexuality is someday proven to be inborn, inborn does not necessarily mean normal, or divinely sanctioned."

So why does Mr. "Doesn't Do" Dallas think that God is so incompetent?

Can't somebody please stop the voices in his head?

Hey, what do you know? Pat Robertson is still alive. And the voices in his head are still telling him things! I'm just off out to buy some duct tape then.

Now here's a bloody good question for Thursday...

"Governor Palin, do you believe that mankind and dinosaurs co-existed as recently as 6,000 years ago?"

Not to (intentionally) demean her religious beliefs but someone that divorced from reality should never be one seventy year old man's heartbeat from access to the nuclear codes!

Why does the Pope hate Jesus?

It appears that the Roman Catholic Church, with the full approval of Il Papa, is coming down firmly on the side of science and evolution and not on the side of "useless" creationism. Whatever with the wing nuts say about this?

Welcome to the 12th century

Not in Iran; not in Saudi Arabia; in America as a chain of Christian bookshops takes Gospel Today off the shelves for daring to show five fully dressed female pastors on the cover; after all passing on the word of God is only a man's job!

Exploding heads alert

Watch out for right wing, laregely American, Christian-ists to deny the Christianity of the Church of England as it issues a belated apology to Charles Darwin over their reaction to his theory of evolution some 150 years ago.

Hallmark...

...when you care enough to boycott the very best. The American (Only Our Kind of) Family Association wants you to boycott hallmark because they've launched a smallish range of gay wedding cards.

I think these people drink too much coffee.

What's the matter with Arkansas?

God loving child haters in the Sunshine State claim to have garnered enough signatures to force a measure onto the ballot in November that would bar co-habitating couples from adopting or fostering children; because it's better that a child should remain in an orphanage or other state institution than be exposed to a loving family. The petition was sponsored by the rather ironically named Arkansas Families First organisation.

Won't someone please think of the children? These folks obviously didn't.

Today in Schadenfreude

The heads of Christian wing nuts right across the country must be exploding after the decision of a California Supreme Court that says that doctors cannot refuse to treat homosexuals because of their religious beliefs. Now I am sure that there will be those who say that this is a violation of their religious freedom but I wholeheartedly disagree. When one chooses a career of service one cannot pick who one will treat based on one's selective reading of a religious text. If homosexuality (or blacks or women or left handers) so offend you one simply needs to find an alternative career. After all I don't think you will find many Quakers pursuing careers as atomic weapons technicians or scientists, now will you?

1,000 reasons John McCain should not be President

Number 72: it would seem that this is his idea of straight talk and campaing of (virtually no) ideas!

Somehow I don't think that they've actually thought this through!

The World Congress for Families has decided to hold it's next annual in shindig in Amsterdam. Now I think that the Netherlands is an incredibly family friendly country; what with significant legally mandated maternity and paternity leave, flex hour requirements for workers with children, state run child care and universal health care. But somehow I don't think that those are the sorts of things that this American dominated right wing organisation is looking for. So add to the fact that they will be meeting in one of the most socialist states in Europe, even when they are run by what the Dutch consider to be right wing party, the cannabis cafes (you just can't smoke tobacco in them), the brothels and a decidedly un-Christian (in an American but not in a Christian sense) culture I think this might not turn out as planned. At least they won't be getting arrested for their shameful behaviour.

With God's blessing

Some members of the Christian right wing in America are upset with evangelical Rick Warren for deciding to fight for peace and against poverty. According to one Tom McMahon war and poverty are Biblically acceptable and Reverend Warren should be spending his time promoting homophobia and suppressing women's rights. He may have a point as long as he is only reading Leviticus.

Lie back and think of religious freedom

The patently absurd proposals of right wing politicians in America that (their kind of) Christians, who have taken up a career prohibited by their understanding of their religion, should be allowed to pick and chose which aspects of care they provide to those in their care will see rape victims raped twice.

As long as the bill will allow Quakers to seek employment in the defense industry and then refuse to work on weapons systems and Jews and Muslims to take up work in pig slaughterhouse and then refuse to have anything to do with the pigs I reckon is OK. I wonder if Scientologist pharmacists be able to refuse to dispense anti-depressants as well.

The following is a message from the Right Reverend Dr. James Dobson

"Won't someone please stop me before I endorse again!"