The Big Red “A”

What's that all about, then?

I just added a new item in the left sidebar, right at the top: a big, red “A”. A for Atheist. If you click on the link you'll get a new browser tab open to the web page of the Out Campaign – the idea is to encourage atheists to “come out”.

I think this is a great idea on the whole, especially here in the good ol' US of A. One big problem with this place is that religion is ingrained into things much more than in my native Europe – even political office, supposedly protected by the first amendment from religious interference, isn't safe and it's a well known fact that it would be impossible for an atheist to become President.

The real horror of it all, though, is that the population in general have become so brainwashed by religious dogma that they have a twisted, horror-story idea of what atheists are. There are an incredible number of brainless, thoughtless ideas about atheists – that we don't have beliefs (yes, we do – but our beliefs are based on facts and evidence, not blind faith); that we're amoral (we have morals – we just believe that morals come from ourselves and not an old book, and that we're responsible for our own actions); that we believe in, or even worship, the devil (nope; our stance is that god(s), devil(s) and all similar supernatural things have as much supporting evidence as ghosts, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. That is, zero).

The religious authorities have successfully brainwashed their followers into believing these stereotypes – and many others, some much worse – to the point where any atheist making his beliefs public often risks a range of dangers, from losing friends and alienation from their families, all the way up to the risk of real, physical harm and even death. An atheist would never consider killing someone because they're religious, but unfortunately that doesn't cut both ways; some believers genuinely think that their 'holy' book gives them the right to kill non-believers (atheists as well as those of other faiths).

So although I really, really hope that the Out Campaign is a success and gets large numbers of atheists to stand up and be counted and demand that they be heard, I think that here in the US simple fear will discourage many from doing so. The good news is that recent surveys have shown that more and more people are switching from faith to reason and saying so. That has to be a good thing.

President Obama

The Inaugural Address

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I watched it live on MSNBC. Here's the transcript - I've highlighted a couple of points he made that I think are of supreme importance and that I'm really glad he said in such a historic setting:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

What the "president" could do after January...

He should have his own segment on SNL; he'd be a hoot. Some people have said that Caribou Barbie might take over from Tina Fey, but frankly I think she's too frightening a combination of stupid, unstable and corrupt to be funny for long. Bush, however, shows that he'll have people howling in the aisles for years to come:

Socialism

So the Presidential election is over and the American people have chosen. And it was the right choice; Obama/Biden are the future; McBush and Caribou Barbie promised to take America into a new Dark Age. Thank goodness for an inkling of common sense at last.

Of course we still have the Repugnican whiners complaining about how Obama will turn America into Socialist Hell, where everything you earn will be given to everyone else - the ultimate share-the-wealth nightmare.

My message: get a grip, and learn something about what the word Socialism really means.

It's easier if I give an example, and what better than the American School System. Yes, it's a Socialist thing. The schools are funded by taxes that we all pay, whether or not we have kids in school. Yes, you're paying for your neighbours' brats' education. But when you put your own kids in school, your neighbours are paying for your kids' education. The same as when your parents' neighbours paid taxes that paid for your education.

This is a good thing: parents have extra mouths to feed but those food-sinks aren't contributing income; having to foot the education bill for said money-sponges on top of all that would be too much for many families. When everyone in a community helps with the costs of teaching all their kids, it makes it possible for the kids to have a decent education without breaking the parents' banks. The alternative would be have everyone pay full whack for their kids education, and that's a recipe for an elitist system where only the children of the wealthy would actually get an education.

Socialism isn't 'Sharing the Wealth'. It's SHARING THE BURDEN.

Now I'm not saying that the American school system is good in itself; it isn't, but that's not because it works on this socialist plan. Other countries have similar systems but their schools do a much better job of teaching; the problem in this country is something to do with the way American schools actually go about teaching, and nothing to do with how they're paid for.

If you don't like this socialist idea, and you have kids in school, then you have only one choice: get your kids out of that commie pinko system and send them to private school - if you can afford it. If you can't afford it, it's homeskooling for your brats. And while you're at it, consider what America would be like if the education system was managed like the health system, i.e. as a for-profit business whose primary purpose is to make money. I'm not even going to try to imagine what a fucking nightmare that would be.

Instead try to imagine what it would be like if the health system was run like the education system. In fact, you don't need to imagine it because there are plenty of such systems around - America is the only country in the developed world that doesn't have a national health system, preferring to fool its people into thinking that a moneygrubbing system that would, and does, let them die rather than pay for lifesaving treatment if it saves an insurance company a few thousand dollars, is better for the American people.

Check out the health systems in Britain, Canada, France, Germany. Better still, get a copy of Sicko on DVD and watch it, and before you listen to some ignorant cunt telling you how Michael Moore exaggerated it all and gassing on about long waiting lists and dirty, underequipped hospitals and underpaid doctors, note that I lived in the British system for 39 years and have more than a little experience of the French equivalent, and I never saw anything like that; Moore actually got it about right.

Socialism isn't good for everything - but it can be very good when it comes to providing the basic services that we all need, such as education, health, police and ambulances.

So back to the plot. The next time you hear the word Socialism, don't immediately run off to check for reds under your bed. Look the word up in a dictionary. UNDERSTAND what it really means, and not what some far-right wingnut, like that asshole Rush Limbaugh, or the incredibly stupid and bigmouthed Ann Coulter, want you to think it means. And make your own, clear-headed decision about whether it's a good thing or not. I know where I stand on it, and I have no problem with people disagreeing - but only if that disagreement is the result of an informed analysis, and not a knee-jerk reaction.

Making your vote count

Interesting article on MSNBC:

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Sangamon County returns to paper ballots

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Georgia Early Voting Has Some Waiting For Eight Hours At The Polls

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