Thought for the Day

How come the Republicans, the "Party of Personal Responsibility" champion a form of business that was created  for the express purpose of avoiding personal responsibility? 

( Inspired by this news item where not paying your bills is "just standard stuff".)

How to deal with terrorists

Since it's mostly christians who get wood from fighting The War On Terror ™ why not look at the Bible for advice on how to treat suspected terrorists?

What we need to do, sez god, after we catch them, is to cut up their clothes, give them a shave and let them go.

 Laugh all you want, this has to be right, it's in the Book.

3 ... hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?
4 Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. (2 Samuel 10)

hat tip to Baal's Bum

Look, a Journalist!

Abby Martin on RT



Link to follow-up interview with Israeli spokesman and psychopath Alex Selzy, who babbles incoherently that

"We start wars to maintain peace and quiet"
"We didn't bomb the building, we only bombed the antenna on the roof of the building"
 "We don't blockade Gaza"

Wow. 

Speaking of Turkeys,

as we were, this is a fantastic short video from Nature. Be sure to notice the very last sentence.

More here

Atheists, Death, and Priorities

Singer Fiona Apple is on a worldwide tour. Well, not now she isn't, because why? Because her dog is dying. Now some of you are saying So what? That's no reason bla bla  but you are dicks. The rest of you should read this totes heartwarming (unless you're a dick) letter explaining why she is cutting off her tour. This part stands out

she is coming close to the time where she will stop being a dog, and start instead to be part of everything. She'll be in the wind, and in the soil, and the snow, and in me, wherever I go.

That's beautiful. It's how I've always dealt with my baby son's being dead, but not gone--never gone. The fantasy that I will see him as a little boy again can be hugely seductive, and people wonder how atheists can get along without it. This is how. It's comforting, and it's real.  He's with me always, and soon I'll be in the wind, the trees, and the stars along with him. And Janet and Fiona.

Thanksgiving Unprayer

On this day,
when Earth tilts away from the Sun
and the world lies dormant,
it's fitting to pause for a moment
and express appreciation for all that we have.

To express awe and reverence for the
nuclear furnace that formed this planet from interstellar dust,
the natural processes that organized its elements
into the carbon we are made of, and water,
that enables life to exist, to reproduce itself,
to be mobile, and conscious,
so we are able to appreciate our good fortune.

To thank our predecessors who
developed eyes to see the sunrise,
ears to hear music,
brains to understand
and a society to share all this.

Thank our fellow beings,
who share this earth
and who produce the oxygen we breathe,
the food we eat, the medicines we need,
and provide us with companionship.

Thank our ancestors who
freed us from superstition,
learned about the world
and passed on their knowledge
so that we enjoy the luxuries of our modern lives.

On a personal level, we thank
our parents for bringing us into this world,
and those who are here to share this day with us,
and not least, our fellow creatures,
who give up their lives
so that we might continue on
in this great cycle we celebrate.

Meet Ralph

It feels like I'm in a movie. I've moved into a new place, and sort of like the Pilgrims, there are indigenous inhabitants everywhere. These little guys used to really creep me out but I've been in the South so long I don't mind their company:  

"Hi Ralph, whatcha doin?" 

...just walkin up this wall here."

"Wanna go outside?"

  "I'm lookin for noms. Leave me alone"

"Here, lemme help ya out"

"AAAGGGHH. A giant hand coming at me!"

"Damn, yer fast! How can you squeeze into such little cracks?"

"!!!!!"

"Oh well. G'night, Ralph."

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They're cute little guys in an ugly sort of way, and harmless. They can't help how they were born.

Israel & Gaza

PLEASE. JUST. STOP.

Batting 1000

Blogger says I've made a thousand posts! Do I know how to waste time, or what? 

Happy Turkey Day

A  little something to help you shop for dinner



 from ThinkProgress

 

We're at War

"the whole business model for the fossil fuel industry is based on burning five times more carbon than is compatible with a livable planet"

  --Naomi Klein

"So what we're saying is, "Your business model is at war with life on this planet. It's at war with us."

Listen up, Christians

All she's asking ...

... is for a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

the weather

Why I've never liked Mitt Romney

When you see someone or something that is small, weak, clearly out of its element and helpless, then what? My impulse is to try and help. Not this guy.

He's in the middle of a Very Important Speech, trying to impress the world that he's a Very Important Professional, but all that goes out the window when he sees a bug on the floor. You might think that little guy was insignificant to interrupt a major policy discussion over, but not Willard

 "Wait! Here's a chance for me to kill something!" 

 then he runs what?, four steps, clear across the stage, to go and stomp on it.

 Watch the video [can't embed it, sorry] and ask, was that really necessary or appropriate? and why did he feel the need to do it at all? Yeah, it's "just a bug", but remember ‘whatsoever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.’