Kentucky Passes Short-sighted Religious Exemption Law

My religion. I'm coming, Kentucky!

There's a type of argument called a "slippery slope," and it's usually a logical fallacy (which FOX "News" and the religious right don't seem to recognize). That's because it's usually done like this: If X happens, Y will happen. And if Y happens then Z will happen. So, X leads to Z. But usually, the argument maker provides no proof for their work. They just make the logical jump past the link.

 But here's a case where the logic flows effortlessly. If you pass a law that allows for a religious exemption to law--except in the case of a demonstrable state's interest--you open the door to quite a slippery slope. For instance, let's assume you're a Rastafarian, and you really like smoking pot. Can the state Really prove a state's interest that says you can't? Or, how about you're a fundamentalist Mormon who wants several wives? Or maybe your religion dictates that you have special prayer rooms in your house or business that are against building or zoning laws? Or maybe your religion dictates that you walk around naked on every third Wednesday. Maybe my religion says I have to have 40 chickens, a goat and a milk cow on my 1500 sq. ft. suburban property. Maybe you're a cult leader, and you want to turn your condo complex into a gated, guard-patrolled compound.

Every religion is invented at some time by somebody. At any given moment, you could invent your own, and claim whatever rules (commandments) you wish. Nobody has the right to tell you that your religion isn't "real." I'm sure you can see that this could lead to chaos. Right? The fact is, when laws like this are passed, the passers only think of THEIR OWN, because to them, that is THE REAL TRUE religion. Because somehow the religion their parents instilled in them is coincidentally the correct one. They don't think that Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Rastafarians, PASTAfarians, and more will also be included. Good luck, Kentucky, you're going to need it!

[Excerpt]


KENTUCKY: Senate Passes Bill Allowing "Religious Refusal" On State Laws


The sponsor of Senate Bill 158, Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, said it is designed to protect the free exercise of religion from unnecessary restriction by government. He said it would give courts "more ammunition in favor of religion" when considering cases such as the jailing of Amish residents in Western Kentucky who refused to use orange safety triangles on their buggies and Christians in Bell County who want to hold public prayer at school athletic events. . . 

Read more at: Joe.My.God.

What Happens in Vegas: Atheist Billboards Installed, Removed

Image from source, Las Vegas City Life

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the tip for this story. I'm sort of caught in the middle in modes of thought on this issue. An atheist group decided to erect several billboards proclaiming their beliefs--or rather, lack of beliefs. This shouldn't be a problem in a fair and hypocrisy-free world. But we don't live there.

In my own family, there has been a mini version of this battle. My brother, sister and I are all fairly firmly in the "unbeliever" camp. My sister and I will occasionally foray into confrontation mode, just little stuff. I for instance have a Flying Spaghetti Monster emblem on my Jeep. You know, subtle. My brother goes the balls-out route, loudly declaring his atheism via his license tags, bumper stickers and the like. This outraged our mother, and I'm stuck between, both believing my brother has every right to do this, and that my Mom could be understandably embarrassed by it.

So what is the difference between proclaiming your atheism and others (many, many others) with Jesus fish, "Praise God" and "Jesus is Lord" bumper stickers? There is no difference in our imaginary world. But in the real one, the pro-religious messages are essentially the default. The pro-atheism ones are controversial, confrontational and apparently not very billboard worthy. Still, as a gay man, I understand the urge to stand up and shout, "I'm here!" See, straight is the default too, and anything else--anything--is controversial, confrontational and definitely not billboard worthy.

The irony of course, is that this is Las Vegas. Sin City. Racy billboards are the standard, not the exception. Religion exists here, and ironically owns part of the sin. The religious right was capable of prohibiting same-sex marriage here, by loudly proclaiming the "sanctity of marriage." In a town with drive-thru wedding chapels, quickie weddings, and quickie divorces. My imaginary world makes a lot more sense.

[Excerpt]

A sign from above
ClearChannel exorcises a billboard message that tried to bring some reason to the season

Rich Hermsen is a skeptic, not a Scrooge, so he didn't set out to spoil anybody's Christmas.

In October, the 81-year-old engineering professor agreed to pick up the tab for the Freedom From Religion Foundation's billboard campaign dedicated to promoting atheism. He and the foundation hoped to extend an existing billboard-advertising contract with ClearChannel Outdoor into November. . .

Read more at: Las Vegas City Life

Flying Spaghetti Monster on a Steam Iron!

Looks like it wasn't Jesus after all! It was The Flying Spaghetti Monster! Bless his noodly goodness!

Source: TravisJMorgan

Rachel Maddow, Darwin Day, & the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Yeah, her again. But can I help it if Rachel Maddow was talking about Charles Darwin Day, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and the silliness of "Intelligent Design?" All big faves here at Greenlee Gazette.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Book Report: Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Image from Wikipedia.org

This is at once 1) a book report, 2) an acknowledgement of genius and entrepreneurship and 3) a jealous screed.

The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (2006) by Bobby Henderson

Today, for one of the last days of my extended holiday break, I settled into the comfortable couch (leaving The Other Half adrift on the semi-tolerable one) with the down comforter, the lazy fat cat, and the above mentioned book. I'd purchased the book for myself for Christmas, along with an additional copy for the Stupid Monkey and car emblems for both of us. Having written previously about the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) phenomenon, I expected the best. I was both delighted and enraged by the contents of the book.

We'll start with delighted. I first encountered/discovered the FSM shortly after his "creation." To quote Wikipedia, FSM was "founded in 2005 by Oregon State University physics graduate Bobby Henderson to protest the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to require the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to biological evolution." Bobby is apparently both very smart and very funny, and managed to skewer "intelligent design" proponents while simultaneously emulating them--to hilarious effect.

This happened during my pre-blogging days, but somehow I stumbled onto it very shortly after it happened, and have followed the development with great interest. See, Bobby didn't stop with sending a letter to the school board. He followed with a web site. Car emblems. T-shirts and bumper stickers. And of course, his own bible! This is where the outrage comes in.

Bobby Henderson is a 26-year old kid! And hey, if you're 26 and are thinking, "you jerk, I'm not a kid!"--yes you are. You don't realize it right now, but you will. Besides, his name is "Bobby." 'Nuff said.

Anyway, The Other Half is always accusing me of having a big juicy brain that ought to be making us some money. I started this blog, of course, which has netted a big fat 81 cents from AdSense. But it's one in a billion. Shoot, even amongst agnostic, gay, liberal moonbat bloggers from Las Vegas, I'm probably one in a couple hundred thousand. I've even toyed with the idea of creating a religion from scratch, like L. Ron Hubbard or Joseph Smith. But, dammit, little Bobby Henderson beat me to it!

But if I'd started it before he did, I could only hope I had his follow-through and inventiveness. His book manages to be both blatant and subtle, sarcastic and sweet. And it's made me laugh so hard that tears rolled into my ears, and the lazy fat cat scampered away (but returned). Now, to counter with my own creation, an anti-FSM of sorts. . . Every religion needs it's demons! I'll get my noodle working on that!

Recommendation: Buy it. Buy it now, along with tons of swag. Do it for little Bobby. Heh.

RAmen

In Praise of Pastafarianism: The Flying Spaghetti Monster

Image from source, Venganza.org

I've been meaning to write about The Flying Spaghetti Monster and Pastafarianism for some time, and was just waiting for an appropriate news story to peg the issue to.

I'm tired of waiting.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster was "created" as an illustrative point, during one of the fights to stop creationism from being taught in science class along-side evolution. Oh, excuse me, I meant to say "Intelligent Design" not "creationism," not that it matters. ID is merely creationism in fancy new clothes.

Anyway, springing from that (apparently successful) beginning, the idea seemed to catch on, for its originality, humor, and point of view.

There is some marvelously creative artwork on their web site, much of which is available for purchase. My favorite is the "Jesus Fish"-like car emblem.

Here is an excerpt of the Pastafarian doctrine.

[Excerpted from Wikipedia, see link below]

The Eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts"

1. I'd really rather you didn't act like a sanctimonious holier-than-thou ass when describing my noodly goodness. If some people don't believe in me, that's okay. Really, I'm not that vain. Besides, this isn't about them so don't change the subject.

2. I'd really rather you didn't use my existence as a means to oppress, subjugate, punish, eviscerate, and/or, you know, be mean to others. I don't require sacrifices, and purity is for drinking water, not people.

3. I'd really rather you didn't judge people for the way they look, or how they dress, or the way they talk, or, well, just play nice, Okay? Oh, and get this into your thick heads: woman = person. man = person. Samey = Samey. One is not better than the other, unless we're talking about fashion and I'm sorry, but I gave that to women and some guys who know the difference between teal and fuchsia. . .

Though it is all very tongue-in-cheek, I have to wonder: will this turn into another Scientology someday? An invented religion that takes on a life of its own? It may well be on its way, as some people seem to be taking it pretty seriously.

So don't be surprised if you wander into what you think is an Italian restaurant, only to have people pray over your plate of pasta.

RAmen, brother, RAmen.

Read about FSM at: Venganza.org

and at Wikipedia.com