Arkansas and 5 Other States Still in the Dark Ages.

I think it's really funny when Christians cry out that they're being persecuted. Christians can hold public office in any state in America. There are no laws against god-believers in the public service. Too bad the same cannot be said for atheists in Arkansas and a handful of other states:

"Arkansas is one of half a dozen states that still exclude non-believers from public office. Article 19 Section 1 of the 1874 Arkansas Constitution states that "No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court."

If you don't believe in God, you are legally barred from public office, and you're not even legally allowed to testify in court. I'm literally appalled that such a law exists, despite the fact that such laws were deemed unconstitutional by the American Supreme Court in the 1960s.

So next time you hear a Christian spouting their persecution complex, remind them that at least they're not legally second-class citizens in half a dozen states.

EDIT: Seems this has also been covered by P.Z; might want to head over there for a more comprehensice writeup.

In God We Don't Trust

The folks over at NBC have a poll up asking whether or not "In God We Trust" should be removed from U.S. currency. The "No" side is winning, unsurprisingly, 84% to 14%.

The issue of removing the official American federal motto - which, by the way, has only been official since 1956 - is one I hear popping up in the news every so often. Of course, the idea is constantly scoffed at in the media, but it is one that I support. Separation of church and state is, by constitution, mandatory in America and the motto does nothing to achieve this.

But that is not the main reason why I think "In God We Trust" should be removed from coinage, or anything that has to do with politics. The main reason I think is because it is quite simply wrong.

I don't trust in God (but then again, I'm Canadian, so I don't count). Any reasonable American doesn't trust in God. I mean, that God fellow is notoriously untrustworthy. Think of all the poor cancer patients who have been prayed for, only to die a few short months or even weeks later. Think of the residents of New Orleans who, when hurricane Katrina hit, prayed for their situation to get better, only to find their city spiral into wreck and ruin. For someone who is supposed to hear all those prayers, and give aid to those who really need it, you really can't trust him to deliver on that.

He's also a deceitful God. Consider the story of Isaac and Abraham. God tells Abraham "You must take your son Isaac, and sacrifice him to me, to prove your faith!" Now, when a voice booms down from the sky, commanding you to kill your kid, you have to be very very sure that's what the disembodied voice told you to do. You don't want to be mistaken about that sort of thing. God must have reassured Abraham that, yes, honestly, he had to kill his son. Abraham trusted God. But right at the very last second, God sends an angel down to stop Abraham and is all "Haha, just kidding man, I can't believe you fell for that shit! Go sacrifice that ram instead." Now, does that sound like someone you can trust? Someone that makes you almost murder your child just for a laugh? I don't think so.

And what about the second coming of Jesus he promised? It's been two thousand years and he hasn't shown up yet. I don't think he's coming. We've been duped. Mislead.

So no, in God we don't trust. God's a lying bastard.

The sad truth: this is the average McCain supporter

A significant proportion of supporters of McCain are not supporters based on his political platform; rather, the refer to themselves as "values voters". What does that mean, exactly? The video below does a pretty good job of explaining:

Tracy here feels that the most important issue in the upcoming election is "the one who has the most faith in the Lord". Not their foreign policy, not their stance on the current economic crisis, not their thoughts on the war in Iraq, but who believes in God more.

But Tracy's ignorance truly shines when explains why she won't be voting for Obama:

"I can't imagine a President of the United States being named President Obama. I really have a problem with that and I'm not the only one."

If you wont vote for someone based on their name, then you should probably rethink voting at all. And what's really sad is that she's right that she's not the only one who has a problem with Obama's name: the "Obama's a Muslim, just look at his name" thing is common among the fundies, despite the fact that he is a Christian.

And she follows up that gem with the following dumbosity:

"His background. A mother that was atheist. Huh, that really gets to me. A father that was a Muslim. That should get to everyone."

So what if his mother was an atheist (is there even any evidence to support that? I've never heard of this)? What does his father's religion matter (there is actually evidence that points to his father being an atheist, actually)? None of these have any bearing on Obama's faith, and Obama's faith has no bearing on how well he could run the country. Again, if this is the reason you're voting against someone, then you should rethink voting at all.

The Real American Jesus

I couldn't agree more.

Someone explain to these people what "foreign policy" means.

Via Ed Brayton:

Steve Doocy of Fox News, ever the bastion of non-facts and sleazy pseudojournalism, has declared that Sarah Palin is a great pick for VP because of her ample foreign policy experience. Just wait until you hear why:

You heard him right. She has tons of experience with foreign policy because she's from Alaska, which is close to Russia.

I'm dumbfounded. This might be the most idiotic argument I've heard in a long while.

But wait! Fox News isn't alone; here's John McCain's wife, Cindy, offering the same argument:


I'm baffled how people can be so stupid.