Dear Oprah

We atheists get awe, we always got awe, our experience is as diverse and rich as any other people. It is full of the simultaneous beauty, hideousness, complexity, simplicity, horror, the vast macro scale, the intricate and counter intuitive nanoscale, and everyday midi scale with human nurturing, care, and cruelty, insanity, humour and consideration of our experience is the human experience.

It needs no gods, no ancient writings of savage civilizations, no poetically twisted language of science offered to sell books.

Humans are by nature emotional creatures, it was true yesterday, it is true today and it will be true tomorrow. We are also capable of reason and through reason we find no evidence of god in the traditional sense. Powerful and profound emotional experiences are just that. They can be beautiful uplifting or devastating. If they happen to be the former there is no reason to call them God, it simply demonstrates that the word does not mean what you think it means. The word god has  meaning referring to an all knowing superpower so what ever you call awe, be it yugen or amazement or joie de vivre, the one thing it is not is god. If you are going to torture the English language, have the decency to do it out of public view, like the CIA.

And while your at it knock off the "The Secret" stuff. because when things don't work out like people hope it just leaves them frustrated and depressed and being led to believe that there lives suck because they haven't a strong enough imagination to overcome their reality which is that trickle down economics is a scam designed to extract money from the working poor an middle class and give it to the rich.

Traditionally the word soul referred to living person there was no supernatural element to this word until the Catholics started chewing on their own dictionaries and the lead in the ink affect their brains. It was all good though it filled the coffers nicely. All the priests had to say was "Nice soul you have their, wouldn't want anything to happen to it." And the gullible and poorly educated peasants would respond to this empty threat, and fill the golden platter with contribution for the godfather tithe to the church. Like the traditional concept of God, the concept of the eternal or extra-corporeal soul has no evidential support.

Props to Diana Nyad for being straight up and showing that people don't need god to be extraordinary.



In case you were still wondering what Atheism is, Take 5 minutes to let Bill Maher explain it to you...

While the children were playing in Congress.

While the children were playing in Congress, the grown ups were working in labs...

Simon Bridges spazzes out on Campbell Live

Minister for Energy and Resources, and Associate Minister for Climate change issues, (seems like a conflict of interest to me) appeared on Campbell Live and proceeded to have a tantrum worthy of  guano psychotic Michelle Bachman. the only thing he didn't say was  "'Maranatha Come Lord Jesus, His day is at hand, '"

See the interview here

Simon Bridges seemed out of his depth, like many in the Tea Party, spouting talking points that barely if at all address any questions or issues raised. He also seem to be trying to win the conversation by simply talking louder and oer John Campbell. John did call Bridges out, clearly a little exasperated, in the most professional way for this nonsense, but Bridges continued. Continuing to demonstrate a disregard for facts not seen in New Zealand politics outside of case resulting in fraud trials. Bridges tactics were a brilliant demonstration of handwaving, that should be study by boy scouts aiming for the semaphore badges. Brilliant also how John pressed to admit that drilling would be in waters twice as deep any other drilled in NZ waters to date. They effort Bridges put into avoiding making this strongly evident.

Strangely it seemed, it was like he was working from a Tea Party media handbook. But then with all these US based Oil companies, If we export crude to the US, Koch Industries will more than likely refine some of that oil. With the Koch Brothers funding Tea Party's start up and spending $200m to defeat the Affordable Care Act and shutting down the US government to make it happen, it does not seem so strange. It seems quite reasonable in fact. All it needs is proof.

It has been noted that once the TPPA is signed there will be no backing out at least not without getting sued by multinational companies with reserves big enough to buy the entire country.

Simon Bridges also made illegal to protest within 500 metres (546 yards) of an oil industry vessel. The law contravenes international law and the principle of the right to non violent protest, of the sort the Arctic 30 have been charged with piracy by the Russian authorities. Note 1,300,000 people have written to Russian ambassadors in a effort to #freethearctic30.

See also
    Full article John Campbell holds Bridges to the fire
    Koch planned shutdown
    itsourfuture.org.nz

IMF: Romneys tax plan as out dated as his hair

We should have known after the congressional Research service panned Supply side economics. That the IMF might see sense, even though it has been in the past no friend to the poor, extracting debt recovery and interest from poor nations and requiring disastrous economic policy that further crushed the economic prospects of poor nations.

There has been a turn around in their thinking lately, with the admission that they made mistakes, mis-handling the economies of nations. And now they have finally seen what economists have been saying for decades before Ronald Reagan's voodoo economic strategy possessed the soulless minions and ideologues of the conservative right by appealing to the vanity and greed of the rich and those who imagined themselves to be temporarily embarrassed rich, A.K.A. the right's useful idiots.  Now those idiots calling themselves the Tea Party have taken over congress after funding by the rich, namely the Koch Brothers, there are others but this pair are the best documented.

The question remains, will hair styles be dragged back 30 years, or can we keep our emo, punk, and goth cuts. The IMF are with us on this. New haircuts excite and revive an economy.  Also,  Tabatha Coffee would not have to work so hard taking over salons otherwise destined to go under.

Mitt Romney really should have guessed while he was running for president his hair style was not winning over voters, and vowing to repeal the Affordable Care Act wasn't helping either.

Paul Ryan is still pushing for his economic plan better known as the Romney Plan v1.0.1. while concessions, have meant the current presidency has overseen less spending than any presidency since Eisenhower. Though calls remain for further budget cuts.



See also
   AFP- IMF: tax rich to close budget deficits.
   Forbes - Obama: the cheapest president since Eisenhower.

The Tea Party are killing their own base.

Farmers in the mid west are at the heart of the Tea Party base. Now a blizzard has blown through, yes it is autumn so this is early, so we can suspect climate change had a role here, though the Tea Party will reflexively deny it. Farmers are reported to have lost between 5 and 25% of their stock. Now, the Farm Bill expired on October 1^st would help, but the Tea party blocked it. there are also a couple of agencies that could help, but the Tea Party shut them down.

They didn't just screw the pooch here, they shoved a weed-whacker up its ass.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The thing is, while this is a tragedy for those farmers, and right now there is little certainty for them. Ultimately this may give them pause during next years mid-term elections, and one thing may be certain in there minds right now, some thing like "I'm never voting for a Tea Party candidate as long as I live." because where were the Tea Party's fine words when they lost their livelihoods.

The Tea Party have more great News, never before has the Republican party popularity sunk so low in the history of the NBC/WSJ poll. This ground breaking achievement could not have been possible without Ted Cruz misreading Green Eggs and Ham and guano psychotic Michelle Bachman gleefuly chatting about the government shut down and the "end times", and we can't neglect to mention Louie Gohmert's Muslim Brotherhood/Benghazi conspiracy theories. Tanking foodstamps, WIC, Military Survivor benefits, and meals on wheels have all led to the GOP becoming the most hated mainstream politcal organisation it has ever been. None of it would have happened with funding from the Koch Brothers, they created the Tea Party, they funded their super PACs, and they told them what strategy to pursue, they even came up with the shutdown strategy.

See also
   NBC - GOP sunk to new depths
   NYT - Shadow of Koch over shutdown

Thorazine: Why the GOP is Afraid of Obamacare

Many theories have been circulating as experts have been trying to determine what is driving congress to threaten the American nation with complete economic collapse over the push to ensure 40,000,000 Americans can get health care that they can afford, Even though insurers like the Affordable Care Act.

Some say it is because incumbents are afraid of being replace by more extreme candidates in primary run offs for the 2014 mid-term elections.

Others say it is because of paid political operatives who are trying to destroy the government while many argue over whether such operatives read Green Eggs and Ham or Eat Salads grown in the Rose Garden.

To hear Republicans talk of "Obamacare", with their wild and unfounded accusations of implantable microchips, death panels, calling the president the Anti Christ Muslim terrorist from Kenya lining up Americans for drone strikes, we must consider that the real reason Tea Party congressmen and congresswomen especially, are so vitriolically opposed to the President's flagship legislation is that it may force them to get help for their anti-social personality disorder, delusional schizophrenia, and paranoid psychosis.

The preceding does use some technical terms the reader may not find familiar Let's have alook at anti-social personality disorder. It has several features

• Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest. The ACA has been law for three years, the Koch brothers are running a campaign to encourage law breaking by propagandizing young healthy Americans to not sign up for health insurance under The ACA. Also house Republicans are sworn to protect and defend the constitution and the laws of the USA.
• Deceitfulness Boehner says there are not enough votes to pass a clean CR yet several counts show at least the 217 declared votes ready to pass a clean continuing resolution.
• Impulsivity Republicans have no economic plan, Trickle down economics is a fiction design to reverse Robin Hood the system.
• Irritability and aggressiveness They still want to bomb Syria and Iran. Note also Iran's leader are described and fundamentalist Muslims funding terrorism and yet they are more willing to negotiate with President "Blackula" than the Tea Party.
• Reckless disregard for the safety of themselves and others. They voted to gut the SNAP programme, in Colorado springs they gutted emergency services because they did not like taxes and needed federal help when wild fires hit. Poll numbers show the GOP is being slammed hard as Americans realize the shutdown is been forced by intransigent kooks on a mission from a belfry bat. While Cancer kids on drug trials are not getting treatment WIC recipients will be under nourished.
• Consistent irresponsibilityConsistently they blame the president for every thing that is not wonderful, including the the steaming pile of national debt and unfinished wars, 1% failure rate of the clean energy in investment programme, the slow recovery (which is normal for a banking breakdown) that they obstructed by preventing infrastructure maintenance and development that would stimulate growth.
• Lack of remorse They are actually happy to have brought the US government to it's knees, Michelle Bachman said she was "very excited".

As Michelle Bachman last weekend expressed joy that in her view the President was bringing about the end times she was glee filled secure in her certainty that she would finally see her invisible friend.

Congressman Yoho(that really is his real name), looked forward to defaulting on the national debt saying it would bring stability. It is worth noting that former President Ronald Reagan's condition has been very stable around three decades, but it is safe to say there is little hope for recovery in his case. In all seriousness, defaulting would have serious implications for American and international business concerns. Notice how Yoho, and his agreeable colleagues have not deferred to the wisdom of economists or their donor base in forming this opinion. There is some speculation as to what tools they used to arrive at their conclusion, reading tea leaves, rune stones, ouija-boards, chicken entrails, or long drunken conversations over spiced baby goat simmered in its mother's milk.

One study on the subject of conspiracy theories, showed 4% of republicans believe reptilians are trying to take over the government. the fact it reality is much worse, at least reptilians would be rational, but since the Reagan era cuts to mental services, consumers have to find new accommodation, some of them appear to have chosen the people's house.

The dreaded Obamacare not only makes it easier for Americans to access general medical services, but also gives them access to mental health services too. This means sedatives, antipsychotics, SSRIs, and many other tools of the pharmacopia would become available to them and with the right counselling  they would be encouraged to develop consciousness of their actions and empathy for others. Their fear perhaps lies, in the notion of potential guilt knowing how many and how much they have hurt people many of them Americans whom they swore to serve as representatives, but to whom they have said through their actions "I got Mine, Fuck you."

Don't be surprised when Louie Gohmert vows "We must be prepared stop the Muslim Brotherhood by any means necessary, and so we directing NORAD to target the Whitehouse. And we demand to see the aliens at Area-51."

If there is a lesson to be learned here, it one accepted by many modern and well governed countries around the world, it is this we don't vote for crazy people, at least not often. Sure it may be reasonable to not have a religious test for public office, though holding the position that the Earth is less than 10,000 years old may call into question a candidates analytical prowess. But how about psyche exam? Nothing fancy, let's just be sure as we can be that powerful nation don't leaders who are inclined to drive their nations into self destructive spirals of nationalism, race-baiting, persecution of minorities, foreign wars, and economic hari kari in the name of "The Creator".

See also
   Salon - Christian delusions are driving the GOP insane

Klingenschmitt: Transgender Professor Possessed By A Demonic Spirit

Never mind that we know transgender individuals live happier lives after their transitions, lowering their risk of suicide, depression and other self harm.



Note cross dressing and transgenderism are completely different things, only one diagnosable in the DSM IV.

What aberrant psychology, drives people like KlingenSchmitt to cock-block other peoples health, welfare and safety? Often it is self loathing identification with the target group, it can also be anti-social personality disorder with sociopathic or psychopathic features, alternatively they are just in it for the money because like sex, hating on sex with an imaginary friend sells. Which one do you think applies here?

The Onion to buy Fox News

CEO of The Onion, Steve Hannah, today announced that the Onion is engaged in a hostile take over of Fox News. Hannah stated in a press conference held at 2:30 9 ET in the Caucus Room restaurant Washington DC.

"We think they offer comedic credentials that complement our business model."

He also commented on the recent scandal where Fox reportedly stole Material from competitor satirical media site National Report.

"It is worrying behaviour, if the charges are true, but for now they have created an opportunity from which comedy will be the ultimate winner at the end of the day."

When asked if such a take over would create an unacceptable monopoly under the Sherman Act he responded with

"M*A*S*H is classic comedy, Harry Morgan has nothing to worry about, his portrayal of Colonel Sherman Potter will stand up for generations."

Hannah also noted that "We would not be here today but for a meeting that took place in this very room in January 2009."

Fox News CEO, Roger Ailes, could not be reached for comment but his office released a statement saying only "We believe we are working in fundamentally different markets, we don't do satire, we steal it, or we invent news, this is not a market for creativity."

Hannah responded to the Fox statement by email saying "Ailes is brilliant, he has a classic straight-man schtick going on, that's why we love him and his company."

Fox stocks fell 5 points, while The Onion stock was over 200F degrees at time of writing.


See also
   Fox fakes it - Yahoo
   Obama's Muslim Museum - National Report
   Caucus Room 2009 meeting sets agenda - Huffpost 

In Historically Unprecedented Move, Congressional Research Service Finding Is Squelched

Republicans moved to silence a Congressional Research Service scientific report that showed Supply Side economics is little more than a counter-factual narrative that leads to deepening income inequality and has little effect on economic growth.

According to the CRS paper:

Throughout the late-1940s and 1950s, the top marginal tax rate was typically above 90%; today it is 35%. Additionally, the top capital gains tax rate was 25% in the 1950s and 1960s, 35% in the 1970s; today it is 15%. The real GDP growth rate averaged 4.2% and real per capita GDP increased annually by 2.4% in the 1950s. In the 2000s, the average real GDP growth rate was 1.7% and real per capita GDP increased annually by less than 1%. There is not conclusive evidence, however, to substantiate a clear relationship between the 65-year steady reduction in the top tax rates and economic growth. Analysis of such data suggests the reduction in the top tax rates have had little association with saving, investment, or productivity growth. However, the top tax rate reductions appear to be associated with the increasing concentration of income at the top of the income distribution.

The paper was published in the lead up to the 2012 election, even though it was mentioned by the New York Times, the headline was so muted, and the article slanted by finishing off with a talking point the author had made a $5000 contribution to Democratic political causes. No reader, going by the article alone could accurately assess the nature of the article, or its veracity. This slimy trick could be applied to the discovery of a cure for cancer using stem cells of the patient by claiming the researcher eats babies for lunch. [Ed. Watch out researchers your big pharma competitors might actually try that].


If you are having to tighten your belt, and to do so, you have to punch a new hole in it, it's not just you. If your doctor is telling you that you have to eat more, but you're left with month at the end of your money, it's not just you. You are one of millions who have been swindled, not just out of any hope of prosperity, but out of any hope of even a comfortable standard of living.

If you have three of those 10,000,000 new jobs Rick Perry has bragged about the solution is not to get a 4th one. your only getting 6 hours of sleep a week as it is. What needs to change is the minimum wage. it must raise to a living wage, California has started the process, and from January 2016, Californian workers cannot be paid less than $10/hour. This is how it starts, workers will migrate to California and other states offering living wage levels. States sticking with the "I got mine, f*ck the rest of you" minimum wage rates, will find it harder to attract worker. So Texas will once again see net migration depopulating the state. Her only hope in the near future is Wendy Davis becoming Governor. But even if Wendy's Campaign does not take her into the the Governor's mansion, she will raise issues, and mobilize a Texan population that is turning blue not only from demographic trends but also from the strangle-hold of  theocratic anarcho-capitalist* aristocratic governance that has blighted the state for nearly 20 years. Texas becoming a blue state is inevitable on current trends. Republicans in Texas know this and it is why they a so keen to gerrymander the states electoral boundaries and laws, especially the winner -takes-all law.


* Anarcho-capitalism refers to the concept that governments should not regulate industry, which is fine until your unregulated fertilizer plant explodes or Wall Street tanks your economy by gambling your money and a mega tonne of money it doesn't have on risky stock market trades in junk markets like junk bonds and underwater mortgages.

See also
   BusinessInsider.com
   ThinkProgress.org

Shout for one of USA's biggest indepentant media channels

The Young Turks needs it own studio. they have swag to go and they call truth to power like few others do. I recommend that those who can support the team in this very important project - replacing the oligarchy.

See also
  Indegogo

Going solar in Wellington schools.

Going to school in days of sun are a fond memory for many, but soon the experience will be even more solar powered, thanks to a partnership between Wellington City Council and Genesis Energy. This partnership will put rooftop solar panels in 12 Wellington schools. This should ease pressure on school budgets, as well as educate the next generation on the effectiveness of solar microgeneration.

Many myths exist about solar power, including doubts that solar panels can deliver enough energy to run a home. Yet in Europe and in the UK where solar is rather more common, people are very happy with the energy surpluses their residential roof top solar systems provide, resulting in cheques and rebates from grid energy providers.

These myths are encouraged of course by New Zealand grid providers and political conservatives who see our energy infrastructure as a valuable asset to be sold to multinational interests. Having game changing competition would ruin that value and any prospect of get a "decent" price for our big generators.



The fact is, the technology works, panels specced at 23% efficiency are available in New Zealand, and Genesis will pay retail prices, for now anyway, for excess energy fed back into the grid. The incentive for Genesis may well be that it helps them avoid investing in new generation, which would sink quarterly returns.

See also
  Stuff
  Solar on your roof for $2.50/day for water $3.50/day for PV.
  New Green energy policy for big small scale energy(pdf)

The holy quran and plaguerism.

While many maintain that Mohamad wrote wrote entirety of the the "holy" Quran, there is good reason to accept while Mohammad contributed  some verses, a half dozen other authors contributed much of the text.

The symbol of moon and crescent is owed to pagan traditions followed by Mohammad before he took to exploring religious traditions.

See more at www.faithfreedom.org

Libertarian heaven, is it real?

Libertarians want to end government by they say government does nothing get in the way. There one country that got rid of their government, however, and this may seem odd liberatarians not flocking to it's sunny shores and its free market Utopia, I wonder why?

Climate change - The Story of Carbon Cycling & Methane

Carbon Dioxide may get things started, but methane may finish us off.

Panorama: Britain's Crimes Of Honour

The horrors of honor in the UK. This lunacy must be stopped.

Wall Street Derivates: The end of the world economy.

The number don't lie, but banksters surely do. Their death grip of control over washing is going to make the Great Depression look like a picnic.

Banksters, can we shoot them now, or do we have to wait until they bring on the zombie apocalypse?

As Shutdown takes hold GOP demand more...

House Republicans, gleeful and bouyed by their success in shutting down federal Government, have issued new demands.

Michelle Obama must do her in the style of Nancy Reagan
Bring back Eight track tapes.
Release Elvis Presley from Area 51.
Make Chastity belts fashionable.

After every thing else that they have demanded is it so hard to believe anymore they would make such demands? Sadly the truth is such foolish behaviour is more credible than it should be.  For all their posturing over Obamacare, however, the above demands might well have been the GOP's primary focus, for all it actually matters to them. While they have chosen healthcare reform as their focus, it could have been anything, even building a mile long spaceship to boldly go where no one has gone before, for this crapfest, any turkey will do. Since 2009, Republicans have been plotting a government shutdown, because nearly pulling it off 17 years previously was so much fun the first time. In 2009, Orrin Hatch commented that health care reform must be stopped or it will become so popular no one would vote Republican again.

That's their goal. Move people into government that way. Do it in increments. They've actually said it. They've said it out loud.
...
A step-by-step approach to socialized medicine. And if they get there, of course, you're going to have a very rough time having a two-party system in this country, because almost everybody's going to say, "All we ever were, all we ever are, all we ever hope to be depends on the Democratic Party."

The entire spectacle is little more than a political stunt design to make the Democratic presidency look bad to those in their base and those with an affinity for the GOP and let's not forget the low-information-voters or as political-science calls them - dip-shits.

To the architects of this charade, It does not matter than 800,000 hard working federal employees wont know when they'll get paid next, or that the job market is so broken they may be unable to support themselves for the duration. It does not matter that it will hurt foreign trade relations. It does not matter that it hurts the tourist trade. Nor does it matter that the American people want the provisions of Obamacare when they under stand what they are.

In fact that last point, sort of does matter, they know that when Obamacare is fully implemented, Like the UK's NHS, the people will fight to defend it and may hold a grudge against those who have sought to destroy it. Their greatest fear is the American people will never vote Republican again. they need to train with Yoda some more, these crackpots are too exposed to the darkside, and soon to be Empiror Palpitine, who's now going by the name Ted Cruz is bent on destroying the republic. Looking back to a week or two back, did we not just have a slaughter of younglings? When the Teahadists voted to cut the SNAP programme, this action targets the 21.8% of American children living in poverty. The head of Panera tried eat from US$4.50/day, it made him "listless and grumpy". We also know, that the physiology of the juvenile brain is such that, hungry kids don't learn well.

Rachel Maddow took a look this issue hours before the shutdown took effect.
Ultimately, Republicans have Obama exactly where he should want them for the 2014 mid-term congressional races according to Quinnipiac University...

source

As Abraham Lincoln said, the Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my profession. But for those that are here is a clue that maybe your God does not side with the party.

Sounds to me like this character wants to kick their asses. Pity that, like Star wars, it is fiction. I'm greatful that reality rarely as bad for the average 1st world punter as it is in such melodrama. The  GOP of course should be especially greatful, I guess.
Greek thinker Seneca said "Religion is seen by the masses as true, by the wise as false, and by the powerful as useful." Which is likely why GOP Representatives were busy quoting some of the worst parts of the bible, while preparing to vote to take food from hungry children and seniors.  Keep an eye on dog food stock prices.

See Also
    Kochs behind ridiculous ad campaign to get young people to break law.
    Religious kookery for shutting down the Fed Gov- huffpost.