Why Atheism Is Offensive

Here's a video of Ricky Gervais discussing his atheism.

http://youtu.be/o1XGTrrZjlI

It is interesting how Christians will get offended if you say you don't believe in god and will often take it as an insult. This isn't something exclusive to religious people, I've noticed. I once ordered a veggie wrap in a restaurant with a friend who gave me a dirty look like I just sneezed on his steak. (I'm not vegetarian, but sometimes I like a veggie wrap.) I didn't scold him for eating a steak, I just decided not to have one myself, and he took offense to that.

This is all irrational, of course, but people find the very idea that others exist who don't think like they do offensive.

I Still Like Trump

He'll virtually assure a second term for Obama, and he's putting those old Bush cronies in their place. Karl Rove has recently said that Trump isn't to be taken seriously, and Trump's response was basically that Rove is partly responsible for the horror that is the Bush administration and therefore his opinion on political matters has even less credibility.

The Illusion of Escape from the Caprice of Man

In the upper left of this picture of a London protest against the French burka ban, you can see a sign that looks like it reads, "The Veil: Liberation from Man Made Laws". This is a really good illustration of one of religion's tempting myths. Many people who are drawn to religion hate to have to make up their own mind about right and wrong. They don't trust their own moral judgement, have weak consciences and find great comfort in the simplicity of allowing religion to make moral decisions for them.

Now, what I said above sounds contemptuous, but I don't mean any contempt for those who struggle with guilt, shame, or an inability to hold themselves to a strict moral code. Lots of people are like that; probably even most. I only have contempt for those who condemn people for having the balls to continue the struggle with their consciences rather than submitting their own judgement to the equally capricious, and even more capriciously interpreted rules and regulations of religion.

Libertariansim Is Not Conservative

Many libertarians consider themselves conservatives, but they really shouldn't. The reason why I think they do this is because people who do have some conservative beliefs also tend to believe in a laissez-faire style free market. Advocating this, however, is not conservative.

For a belief or position to be conservative, I think it should stand for the conservation of something, or at least for the resurrection of something that has been abandoned. Advocating laissez-faire economics does neither of these things. Because a completely free market capitalist system has never existed in all of human history, advocating such is actually very radical. It is anti-conservative. Sure, some people who advocate this also advocate the resurrection of traditional social values and, therefore, can rightfully call themselves conservatives, (although not entirely consistent conservatives). Libertarians, however, who want to do away with both traditional economic systems and with traditional morals, cannot.

Why Donald Trump Is My New Favorite Republican Candidate

I was a hardcore Palin supporter for quite some time, because I knew that she might actually get the Republican nomination and, if she did, Obama would slaughter her. Now that her approval ratings among Republicans are starting to sour, it looks like her chances are as good as they once were. When Donald Trump started throwing around the idea of running, I got a little nervous. I thought this guy might have enough popularity to beat Obama, if he were to get the Republican nomination. This was dumb on my part. After having listened to a few interviews, it seems as though he's even dumber than Sarah Palin, and that, while he might be popular enough to get the nomination, he clearly has no idea what he's talking about when it comes to foreign policy and everybody who's not a Republican can clearly see that.

Some people think the whole Trump thing is just a publicity stunt, and it very well could be, but I hope Trump really does run. He's so naive when it comes to foreign policy that he'll make Obama look like Henry Kissinger. Let's just hope that people don't clue in to what a dunce he is until it's too late. Unfortunately, Glenn Beck of all people, already has.