The International Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in the UK

The Daily Telegraph reports that Sir David Attenborough is a new FSM convert:

"... the good news for the international Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is that it has notched up its most high-profile convert yet with the addition to its rapidly growing flock of Sir David Attenborough.

A BBC survey, so dubious that only a downmarket tabloid reported it, suggested that 41 per cent of people believe the theory of intelligent design - a creationist theory of 'breathtaking inanity' according to an American judge - should be taught alongside Darwin's theory of evolution.

The Daily Telegraph felt duty bound to inform Sir David about the growing numbers who subscribe to the view that the world was created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster and His Noodly Appendage, and that if intelligent design is going to be on the national curriculum, then the pasta-based theory of creation must get equal billing.

Looking quizzical before chuckling heartily, the undisputed god of natural history signalled his approval. "It's perfectly OK to teach intelligent design in a comparative religion class, but it has no place in science lessons," he said."

More about Sir David Attenborough here.

The Bush Farce

Click on the graphic to see a larger image. (Thanks Dave.)

Delete Alito

Omigod! Senator Feinstein, California's version of "Joe Leiberman", has decided to vote for a filibuster against Alito!

When I sent a fax to her San Francisco office yesterday, I wrote: "We will not forget, nor will we forgive, anyone who votes against a filibuster of Alito," but I didn't really expect her to do the right thing. I was prepared to vote for Cindy Sheehan for senator to send a message to Feinstein.

I knew Barbara Boxer would support a filibuster but I sent a fax to her local office anyway.

Have you contacted your senator yet?

Progressive Democrats of America has the info you need.

Digital Double of Bush Delivers the State of the Union Speech

Huffington Post has a digital Bush to deliver the state of the union message, complete with jaw jerks and twitches. It's hilarious.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/huffpost-exclusive-new-v_b_14420.html

All that's missing is that dazed stare that preceeds his rapid eye blinks.

Why the White House really asked Google

Mdhatter knows the real reason little Georgie Bush wants Google's search records. Go ahead, click the link:

mdhatter press: Why the White House really asked Google

Impeachment on the Horizon?

I don't know how likely this is, but I found a link to this article on Huffington Post:

Insight: "The Bush administration is bracing for impeachment hearings in Congress.

'A coalition in Congress is being formed to support impeachment,' an administration source said.

Sources said a prelude to the impeachment process could begin with hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee in February. They said the hearings would focus on the secret electronic surveillance program and whether Mr. Bush violated the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Administration sources said the charges are expected to include false reports to Congress as well as Mr. Bush's authorization of the National Security Agency to engage in electronic surveillance inside the United States without a court warrant. This included the monitoring of overseas telephone calls and e-mail traffic to and from people living in the United States without requisite permission from a secret court"

The Democrats have to get control of Congress in the next election for this to be a possiblity, right?

Medicare Rx Drug Plan or Is There No End to Their Incompetence?

I feel for people who are trying to negotiate the maze of Medicare Part D in an attempt to save some money on prescription drugs. One of Baby Bush's campaign promises was to put people in charge who actually know how to run things, not those book-smart idealists of the Clinton years.

Molly Ivins thinks they're just incompentent, "... this was supposed to be the CEO administration. Yet for just the sheer incompetence, this administration sets new records daily."

But Paul Krugman thinks that it's their ideology at work and that Medicare Part D was designed to "accentuate, not fix, what's wrong with America's health-care system" in an attempt to drive patients into the clutches of profit-hungry private insurers.

They both make good points, but I think I'll go with Molly. From the invasion of Iraq to Medicare Part D to Katrina, they've demonstrated a complete and utter lack of competence. Our government is run by a bunch of morons.

Judas Was Swiftboated

Vatican scholars are considering absolving Judas of blame for Jesus' death, after 2,000 years of condemnation. Apparently a mistranslation of the Bible led people to believe that Judas betrayed Jesus. The original Greek translation uses the word "paradidomi" which means something like "hand over" or "deliver". When it was translated into Latin the word "betray" was substituted.

Judas was scapegoated around the first century A.D. about the time the early Christian Church was competing with Judaism and they needed a Jewish hate figure. (Now we know where Karl Rove and the Bushites got their bag of dirty tricks). Early Christian writings by St. Paul don't mention Judas at all but about 70 years after Christ's death, John fingered Judas as the culprit.

Read more at the London Times.

The Catholics recently decided to get rid of "limbo", a place they used to send unbaptized children. It isn't clear what they do with those unlucky kids now that limbo is gone. How low can they go?

I love Google

Google not only has the best search engine, they also have the best politics of all the search engines. Yahoo and MSN rolled over when the Bushites asked for their record of the searches conducted by users, but Google said no.

Google founders have a "do no evil" policy that includes providing free software funded by non-intrusive advertisements - no blinking ads and no pop-ups. In addition, they donate to Democrat candidates.

MoJo blog reports:

The Bush administration, in an attempt to revive an Internet child protection law struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, has asked a federal judge to order Google to turn over some material from its databases. Google, when issued a subpoena for the material last year, refused to turn it over.

The subpoena includes a request for one million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period. Google has refused to comply because of concerns over the privacy rights of its search engine users and concerns over protection of its trade secrets.

The Supreme Court, in striking down the Child Online Protection Act, said that its reach was too broad and may indeed prevent some adults from accessing legal pornography sites. The court then gave the government a choice between developing a narrower law or defending the Constitutionality of the one struck down.

Laura Bush is Clueless

Not surprisingly, Laura Bush is as clueless as her husband. Sure, she's more articulate most of the time, but even with the Bush crime family's millions, she couldn't buy a clue.

MoJo Blog: Clueless in Africa: "While touring Africa and defending her husband's use of international AIDS funds to market abstinence, First Lady Laura Bush said: 'I'm always a little bit irritated when I hear the criticism of abstinence, because abstinence is absolutely 100% effective in eradicating a sexually transmitted disease.'

She went on to say: 'In many countries where girls feel obligated to comply with the wishes of men, girls need to know that abstinence is a choice.'

We cannot even get middle-class American girls to understand that abstinence is a choice, yet Bush is suggesting that girls whose only source of income involves having sex, and women whose husbands have never heard of equality in marriage just say no. Many young girls are forced to marry their husbands, and part of that obligation is sex; many other girls are forced into prostituion. A popular belief in Africa, especially South Africa, is that having sex with a virgin cures AIDS, and the men who opt for this 'treatment' are not asking the virgins' permission.

The Bush administration has already endangered the lives of thousands of women and girls by restricting the counseling and educational activities of family planning clinics. Laura Bush's advice to African girls truly adds insult to injury."

California Leads the Way with Solar Power

According to an editorial in The Christian Science Monitor, half of all electricity is still generated by coal, our cheapest, dirtiest source of fuel. Although the media brought us the news of the 12 miners who died in a coal mine recently, they don't tell us about those who die prematurely every year from power-plant pollution. Coal plants are responsible for much of the planet-warming carbon dioxide produced in this country.

Coal may be cheap and abundant, but mining it is dirty and dangerous and is another example of the truth of the cliche, "penny wise, pound foolish."

Like WalMart, this is an example of the high cost of low price.

Meanwhile, my state is working to change the future for the better:

California energy regulators placed a $2.9 billion bet on solar power Thursday, backing a landmark plan that environmentalists hope will become a model for the nation.

The California Public Utilities Commission approved pouring money -- drawn from a new charge on utility bills -- into rebates for residents and businesses that install solar panels during the next 11 years. No state in the country currently spends more.

"Our hope is that solar will become a major part of California's energy portfolio," said commission President Michael Peevey. "This solar program simply offers one more alternative to Californians concerned about a clean energy future."

Laura Bush Speaks Out About Domestic Spying

Stepford wife, Laura Bush said, with her characteristic Prozac smile, that the U.S. government is right to eavesdrop on Americans.

What?! You expected her to say something intelligent? Puhleeze.

Laura Bush Backs Domestic Spying Program - Yahoo! News

Belated New Year's Resolutions: The Way of the Tao

I'm late coming up with my resolutions for 2006, but recently while in bed with a fever and chills, I had time to consider my value system and make resolutions for the current year.

As I mentioned previously, I was indoctrinated into Christian fundamentalism as a child. My mother was a devout follower of the Church of God, an organization that had some virtues but was extreme in many areas. Among the cons were the fact that they didn't allow adherents to seek medical care and women and girls weren't allowed to wear jewelry or to cut their hair.

On the positive side, they didn't have ordained ministers. They met to sing and when it was time to preach, anyone could get up and give a sermon (including women and people of color). Sometimes we sat in silence for several minutes waiting for God to get around to motivating someone and other times, a couple of people would stand up at the same time and then one would have to give way to the other. That's about the only thing I found entertaining about those meetings and I frequently got spanked after church for being inattentive or fidgety.

As a young adult, I became interested in eastern philosophy and began to practice yoga. Recently scientific research has proven that meditation causes physical changes in people's brains (Dawn at Illuminations has more on this subject) and it seems logical to me, that following a set of values in your life can enhance your enjoyment of life. "Don't worry, be happy" as an aphorism seems too simplistic to me, but I do believe that individuals can develop their own set of values that lead to contentment in life. In particular I like the pagan value of doing what you want as long as it doesn't harm others (I include animals among the "others"). I admire the Jains, a sect who are so careful to avoid harming insects that they brush the ground before walking on it, but I can't go that far. Moderation is a value in the practice of yoga and I wouldn't hesitate to kill fleas on my kitties. I do escort unwanted spiders outside without killing them though.

Lao Tzu said that greed is expensive, so I don't shop at Walmart. Supporting a greedy company that exploits its workers might save me a few pennies, but I don't need to benefit from the oppression of others. Unfortunately in some rural communities WalMart is the only shopping choice because they've driven the "mom and pop" stores out of business so I don't condemn others who shop there. However, I still have a choice and I will continue to exercise it.

I also choose to buy organic food from a locally owned natural food store, rather than buy conventional food at a large chain store. Probably I could save a few pennies, but my values include supporting small, local businesses and the extra cost benefits my community. Buying organic food supports people who demonstrate concern for the health of the earth and its inhabitants. It costs a little more but Lao Tzu said that hoarders are destined for a great loss, and I believe him. It's the way nature works to maintain balance.

Greedy agribusinesses use pesticides that damage the earth and its creatures so I will continue to avoid purchasing their products. Factory farming is horrific and cruel and based on greed. I will continue to avoid any support of that activity. I have the greatest admiration for those individuals who are working to stop the cruel torturing animals in the name of experimentation and I vow to continue to donate money to organizations and individuals who work to put an end to that cruelty even if the NSA reads my emails and listens to my phone calls.

Yoga teacher, Swami Satchidananda said:

Disease is nothing but the disappearance of our natural ease. The entire Yoga philosophy aims at the prevention of the loss of our ease and peace. Most of the modern problems are caused by our wrong habits like smoking, drinking, eating the wrong foods or overeating, and stress.

Yoga aims at putting us back into natural living. For this sake it gives certain methods. First, the physical postures, or asanas. By placing the body in different positions that give mild pressure to certain body parts, there is a gentle massage that squeezes out the toxins and brings fresh blood circulation to those areas.

Our food should contain clean nutrition, free from any toxins, easily digestible and assimilable.

The same holds true with the mind The mind is constantly "fed" upon our thoughts. Thought is food for the mind. Thoughts affect not only the mind but the body also. Simply think of candy-it has already affected your salivary glands That is why we hear the proverb, "As you think, so you become."

That is why in the Yogic approach we recommend meditation. First analyze your present thoughts. Then, fill the mind with proper thoughts. This will help you learn to lead a dedicated, selfless life. Do everything for the joy of doing it. That is Yoga. This is the way to clean the body and mind so you can truly enjoy life. Then there is no need for high blood pressure. There's no pressure at all! You are always relaxed and in good health

I plan to resume my practice of yoga postures to maintain health, strength and flexibility of body and mind.

Oh and most important of all, I plan to continue to poke fun at the religious right - laughing is a wonderful yogic activity.

On a Slippery Slope with Holy Oil

I was raised in an extremely fundamentalist church, called the Church of God. Like the Christian Scientists (what an oxymoron) they didn't believe in medical care. They put their faith in God's abilities to heal. I had childhood asthma and my mother summoned the church people to come and pray over me when I had an attack. They smeared oil on my forehead and then put their hands on my chest and loudly beseeched God to heal me of my affliction. Those prayers were never effective and my ability to breathe was made even more difficult when they pressed their hands onto my chest. Those experiences probably led to my becoming a non-believer.

I was reminded of those anointings when I opened an email today from The Week's newsletter. (It's a newsletter exclusive, so I doubt you'll find in on their web site):

A group of Christian ministers last week snuck into the room where Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito was to have his confirmation hearings and daubed the chairs with "holy oil," and smeared oil in the shape of a cross on the hearing-room door. Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition insisted the ministers weren't taking sides, but said of the nomination, "God is interested in what goes on."

Alito will probably be confirmed, but I doubt smearing oil influenced the proceedings. Alito was certainly slick and the Democrats weren't tough with their questioning of him. The separation of church and state is on a slippery slope with Alito and all that holy oil.

Oh, regarding that asthma thing, after my mother died, my dad took me to the doctor and my symptoms were relieved. Where prayer failed, medical science prevailed.

Woo hoo for Maryland

ABC News reports that the state of Maryland is going to force WalMart to provide better health benefits to employees:

"Maryland has become the first state in the nation to require Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health care or pay the difference into the state's Medicaid fund. Similar laws may be coming elsewhere. "

That's all the excitement I can handle today. I'm trying to recover from the bird flu (okay maybe it's just a cold). I gotta go lay down again.

The Baptist Mafia Supports Alito

Republicans and leaders of the religious right met to build support for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito as part of their effort to block gay marriage, end abortion and restore religious expression in the public square.

At the meeting, a minister of the Baptist church said:

'My friends, don't fool with the church because the church has buried a million critics. And those the church has not buried, the church has made funeral arrangement for.'

This hit man minister is 'a Bush supporter whose organization has received more than $1 million in federal grants under the administration's Faith Based Initiative'.

The Washington Post has the rest of the story.

Pat Robertson: God's Mouthpiece

Self-appointed spokesman for God and professional crackpot, Pat Robertson, recently announced that God smote Prime Minister Sharon for dividing his (God's) land:

"'God considers this land to be his,' Robertson said on his TV program 'The 700 Club.' 'You read the Bible and he says `This is my land,' and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, `No, this is mine.''

.... "in the Bible, the prophet Joel 'makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who 'divide my land.''

Sharon 'was dividing God's land and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU (European Union), the United Nations, or the United States of America,' Robertson said."

I would say whoa unto Pat Robertson. Thy mouth runneth over and thee brain hath absented itself.

So if God owns land in Israel and Robertson is such a big fan of God, why isn't Robertson over there in God's country? Either God owns no land in the U.S. or he hasn't noticed how we've carved it up and polluted it.

Wisconsin Requires Verifiable Voting

Slashdot reports:

"Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle today signed legislation that 'will require the software of touch-screen voting machines used in elections to be open-source. Municipalities that use electronic voting machines are responsible for providing to the public, on request, the code used.'

Madison's Capital Times reports 'the bill requires that if a municipality uses an electronic voting system that consists of a voting machine, the machine must generate a complete paper ballot showing all votes cast by each elector that is visually verifiable by the elector before he or she leaves the machine.'' "

That'll put a crink in Diebold's vote rigging.

What is your state doing to protect your vote?

Justifying Criminal Behavior

George Dimwit Bush claims he is protecting Americans when he directs the NSA to illegally spy on us; when he holds prisoners without trial; and when he "renders" detainees for torture.

Sefton notes that Hitler also had justifications for his crimes:

he who is known as sefton: protecting the germans:

"yeah, sure ... that's what Hitler did, alright. With very much like- minded justification, 'dum'ya botch' our current president is protecting the Americans."

Wet and Wild in Santa Cruz

Photo of West Cliff in Santa Cruz taken by Rob Watson.

It was a dark and stormy week on the left coast, but the weatherman says the sun will be out tomorrow. He also said the rain would stop by midnight and it didn't, but DUDE, surf's up.

We didn't lose electrical power this time, but we have a noisy generator that we can power-up in an emergency. We're in a valley so the sound bounces around a lot and, I'm sure it annoys the neighbors, (it definitely irritates me) but Rob found a quiet way to get electrical power to your home during an outage. It's just one more reason to buy a hybrid automobile. Make has a link to a blog explaining how you can use your Prius to power your home during a blackout.