Belief Kills

In debates/discussions with the deity-inclined, I often hear that religion, at least these days, doesn't really hurt anyone.  The Old Testament is really old and it doesn't carry the weight that the New Testament carries.  God is loving and caring of his human creatures now.  

Bullshit!

Below is a link to a story about several pastors telling their parishioners with HIV/AIDS to STOP taking their medication because they were healed.  I am going to give you a moment to let that sink in.  Now, just so we are clear, let me repeat that: below is a link to a story about several pastors telling their parishioners with HIV/AIDS to STOP taking their medication because they were healed.  If you are fucking enraged by now, you should reread this paragraph.

My mind is blown against the wall.  How are you going to tell me or anyone else that religion doesn't poison the world?  The thing is that you can't.  And do you want to know why?  It's because in the Bible it says that if you have enough FAITH you WILL be healed.  These pastors may have lied to the folks with HIV/AIDS, but how are they in the wrong, dogmatically, by pursuing the road of faith to heal these people?  Now this doesn't mean I condone what these pastors did, don't get me wrong.  But what I am saying is that their belief that god heals people for believing the impossible is not an out of the ordinary idea for Christians, but this is a rather mainstream belief.  And after reading the article (below), maybe Christians should start rethinking this idea that religion doesn't really harm anyone.  In this case, belief literally kills.

D

Link: http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16117269

Blue Jacket Books Part Two

Look at what I got at Blue Jacket Books...

So get on over to Blue Jacket Books in Xenia Ohio.  You won't regret it.  They have a great selection of used classics and they offer GREAT customer service.  And remember that if you cannot make it into the store, you can order books from their website.  Go!  Now!  Check it out!  Support a local bookstore!!

D

A Reward for the "Outer" of Fred Phelps

I am sure all of you are familiar with the what could be described as the scum of the earth Fred Phelps who runs the what could be described as the looney toon church the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) that has a whole load of what could be described as whack-a-loon congregants.  At any rate, if you are not familiar with these highly questionable people and their highly questionable practices then you can check out their fucked-up website here (I hate the fact that I am linking to their webpage, but sometimes you have to do what you've got to do).

And given that the WBC is vehemently anti-homosexual, among other things, I believe that it is very possible that Fred Phelps is a closeted homosexual.  The reason I believe such a thing is possible is due to all of the other vehemently anti-homosexual, pro-god, pro-family values reverends and politicians who have been caught in the act having the "gay sex."  Ted Haggard is the best example of the aforementioned.  So what I and the world desperately wants this holiday season, the best gift anyone could give this year, is for a person who has been or is Fred Phelps homosexual lover to 'out' Fred Phelps.

I don't have any money to give you, and I cannot provide you with any fame; in matter of fact, I have absolutely no clout whatsoever, but you would be doing the world a favor.  I know that the WBC has only been successful in indoctrinating a handful of people, but some of those people are children, and no child is born an extreme homophobe.  So I leave you, the 'outer' of Fred Phelps, with this plea: Please, don't do it for us, but do it for the children.

D

Now This is Cool

Below is a time-lapse video of Earth from outer space.  Check out the amazing view of the Northern Lights.  Sweet!!

D


Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Black Friday

Well, another year and another Black Friday in the books.  Me, no I didn't go shopping.  I have broken free from zombie consumerism (though I did not get away completely free, I did go up to Blue Jacket Books in Xenia).  However, because I currently work in the wonderful world of retail, I got to be up bright and early to greet the consumer sheep hoard.

Don't get me wrong, customers are great, especially when you depend on them to spend money so that you can have money.  I like it when my family has food.  Full bellies is a plus in my house.  However, the problem is, to me, that (I think) people don't really think about why they are shopping.  They just seem to do it as if it is an innate drive like sex.  And I suppose the Black Friday shopping venture is much like sex: not everyone is interested in doing it at the same time, especially if it's very early in the morning; sometimes there is ton of work, but not everyone walks away satisfied; rarely does anyone want to cuddle afterwards.

On a positive note, in spite of many of them being up since midnight, the customers were quite pleasant this year.  I mean, no one got pepper sprayed in our store, unlike at a Wal-Mart store in California.  Oh well, maybe next year.  Until then, have a happy and safe holiday season.

D

Blue Jacket Books

Alright, I don't normally do this but...if you are in the Dayton Ohio area and in particular the Xenia Ohio area, please go visit my friend Lawrence Hammar at Blue Jacket Books.  It is the best used bookstore in the Dayton area.  I know, I am biased (I did say he is my friend), but that shouldn't stop you from stopping in.  You can check out their website (below) and you can even order books over the internets (you get free shipping with all orders over $20).  Support local bookstores; shop at Blue Jacket Books.  That is all.

D

Website: http://www.bluejacketbooks.com/

Address: 60 South Detroit Street
               Xenia, Ohio, 45385

Phone: (937)-376-3522

Contact A Big-Box Store Headquarters!

I just recently contacted the Wal-Mart headquarters about their disdain and indifference toward their workers by opening their stores at 10pm on Thanksgiving night.  Of course they are not going to take advice from a sociology undergrad, but it is incumbent upon me to at least bring it to their attention (not that others have not already done so).  And so here is my succinct message to Wal-Mart:


I just want to thank you for destroying your employees' family time this year by opening your stores at 10pm.  I really think that is just superbly awesome of you.  I guarantee that no member of the Walton family will be cutting short their time with their family on Thanksgiving to go do manual labor in one of their stores.  But hey, anything for a buck, right?  


Treat your employees right,
David Wean


I know, it's not much but it is something, and I encourage all two of you reading this to contact Wal-Mart or any other big-box store that is opening uber early and in doing so screwing their employees.  These workers have families that they would love to spend time with, and it is a kick in the teeth for companies to expect their workers to cut their family time short just to sell a TV.  So all I ask is that you do your part: contact at least one big-box store and let them know how you feel about them taking advantage of their employees.  Maybe, just maybe, we can change how they do business,  It's worth a shot.

D

Where are the Skeptical Posts?

That's a great question that I have not received from anyone.  Though I have not recently checked the skepticdave@rocketmail.com account (shameless plug for you to send me hate mail).  I have, however, have set a few people straight in a couple of the comment sections of my various posts.  But anyway, where are the posts pertaining to skepticism?  Well, I have been a lazy bastard in that regard.  I understand that you may be expecting to read more about defending evolution, debunking ghosts and the supernatural, reiterating to you that there is no such thing as the Loch Ness monster, and that there is, of course, no god (though I can't say that I know such a thing, but the evidence seems to be on my side of the fence).  And you know what?  I am going to be getting you more of all of that sort of material.  It's just that recently I have been distracted by all of the other current events of the day that I have not been keeping up on all of the cool skeptic stuff; after all, the title of the blog is "Skeptic Dave."  So I don't blame you if you are disappointed in not finding the skeptical content that you have been looking for and not getting.  Not to worry, some will be on its way very soon.

D

Oh, That's How You Can Get a Tax Return

So, according to Senator Bernie Sanders, (I) Vermont, you, if you are a corporation, can receive a tax return from the IRS if you make ten billion dollars.  I didn't stutter.  That's right.  I said ten billion dollars.  And to make this a little easier, let me type that out in its numeric format: If you make $10,000,000,000.00 then you can receive a tax return from the federal government.

I know, I know, I know.  This story is not new.  Earlier this year we were inundated with the news that many of America's top companies pay zero in taxes (e.g. GE), and some even get to make a ridiculous profit and then get a very, very large tax return.  So not only are some of these companies NOT paying taxes, we are paying them to NOT pay taxes.

I find it incumbent upon me to ask...HELLO, IS ANYONE F@$K!^G HOME?!?!?

After you are done banging your head against your desk or nearest wall, watch the video below.  Though after you do, it will make you want to bang your head against your desk or the nearest wall, so be careful.  Try not to cause yourself too much brain damage.  Also, if you live in Vermont, re-elect Bernie Sanders.  He really seems to be a wonderful senator.

D

Rise Against September's Children

I love Rise Against.  And I wouldn't say that they are the new Rage Against the Machine (RATM), but they have filled a hole left by RATM, by bringing to the mainstream music consumer political issues that they normally may not have been aware, even in the age of the internet.  Below is their touching video for their song "Make it Stop (September's Children)."  In the video have highlighted many of the videos created by members of the It Gets Better Project, which lends support and encouragement to LGBT youth.  The LGBT community, especially youth, are more highly susceptible to suicide and bullying than most if not all groups (I can't remember the statistics right off hand).  You can check out and find out how to support the It Gets Better Project here.



D

Black Friday Retailers Pt. 1

"Ms. Nyberg is drawing the line now that major chains like Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s say they will open for the first time at midnight on Thanksgiving, and Wal-Mart will go even further, with a 10 p.m. Thanksgiving start for deals on some merchandise."


This is what we have come to: cutting far into Thanksgiving so that one store can beat the other to the first dollar, I guess.  The saddest part of this story is that the workers who spend time with their families on Thanksgiving will have their holiday cut short, more than likely.  But again, for what reason?  Money doesn't magically disappear from the consumer's hand if they don't spend it by a certain time, but apparently this is lost on, at least, the Best Buy CEO:


"One retail executive sounded sad about the decision to open earlier. Brian Dunn, the chief executive of Best Buy, said that the midnight opening “became an operating imperative for us” after competitors moved their openings back. “I feel terrible,” he said."


The truth is that Best Buy and no one else needs to open up the two-hours before their competitor.  People will make sure they are at your store if you have the deal they want, and if Mr. Dunn actually gave a rip about his employees, he wouldn't be opening his store at midnight.  And I bet that Mr. Dunn won't be torn away from his family during this holiday season so that he can go to work to load a heavy-ass TV into someone's car at midnight; if he had to, I bet he would have a different perspective on the situation.  He  does NOT feel terrible.  That is bullshit.


Of course, Mr. Dunn and his like will always fallback on good ol' platitudes about the market and how its invisible hand will magically guide their business to do the 'right thing.'  They will say, if people didn't come out and buy our cheap Chinese made crap at midnight then we wouldn't open.  And that's bullshit, too.  If Wal-Mart or Best Buy cared about their employees, like they claim, they wouldn't open until later in the morning, but the sad truth is that they don't care about their employees, and they are counting on you, the consumer, to not care about their employees either.  So this holiday shopping season, please don't only think about the product you are buying, but think about who it is you are buying it from.  The holiday season is a difficult one for everyone, but it is especially difficult for retail workers.


D


Quotes above are from this Yahoo News article: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/thanksgiving-day-shop-meets-rejection-123025036.html  

Twitter

Yes, I am catching up with the always connected in every possible way at all possible times world (next week I will have the internet connected to my brain so I don't have to use a computer).  Alright, so you can, if you so choose, follow me on the Twitter using your internet machine.  My handle (screen name?) is @WeanDavid, so come on, follow me into an oblivion!  It'll be fun...maybe.

D

Blogging App

I just got the Blogger app for the iPod. This could be interesting.

D

Music for the Depressed

Band: The Antlers

Song: Kettering

Album: Hospice





P.S. I have no fight left.

New Layout

As you have probably noticed there is a new layout for the ol' blogski.  So let me know how you feel about it.  Do you like it?  Is it easier to navigate?  Is it easier to read?  Do you not care?  Whatever it is, let me know, or don't.

Personally, I kinda like it, but we'll see if it lasts.

D

Living in the End Times

I have of late become a big fan of Slovenian philosopher Slovoj Zizek.  His book First as Tragedy and then as Farce is an excellent read; in it, he tackles the idea that ethics is now a highly profitable commodity for capitalism; what is particularly interesting about this phenomenon is that ethics have, to this degree, never been profitable.  However, it is a great selling point now, for instance, to say that your product or company is "green." Zizek draws very much from Marx, Hegel, and Lacan, to formulate his arguments.  He draws especially heavy on Lacan.    

So below you will find another video that you must watch.  It is basically the TV version of parts of his new book Living in the End Times, which is also an excellent book.  But don't get confused by the title.  The book is not an apocalypse.  Well, for capitalism it might be...

D

Matt Damon Lays the Smack Down

Watch Matt Damon as he channels Will Hunting (you know, his character from Good Will Hunting) to lay the smack down on those kooky libertarians from Reason Magazine.  Get 'em Will!  I mean, Matt...

Jobs, Jobs...No Jobs

Oh, the Republicans last year won sweeping margins in the general election.  And some would argue that the huge victories obtained by the Republicans was due to the influence of the Tea Party.  The Tea Party, as it has been purported to the point of nausea, is purely about small government, but yet, the Republicans put into office last election cycle seem more concerned with abortion and ensuring that "In God We Trust" is still our nation's motto.  Conspicuously missing this past year is the focus on small government and jobs, jobs, jobs.  Do you want to know why?  Well, I don't have a definitive answer to that, but I do have a slightly cynical one: they don't want the president to be successful and, thus, get re-elected.

Please, don't get me wrong.  I can't stand Democrats (at least most of them).  If I could I would send almost every Democrat in office to the Wizard of Oz so that they could get a spine.  But unfortunately we don't have that capability, yet.  I, much like everyone else, am tired of hearing bullshit promises.  If you are going to run for office, at least be honest.  I want to hear a candidate say, "I don't really care about you or anyone else except for myself.  My ambition is to reach highest place in government that I can so that I can wield unimaginable power for my own gain."  I wonder if they would get elected?

Anyway, watch this.  It's from the Rachel Maddow Show.  Trust me, it'll be good for you.

D

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Banks...Suck

I was perusing the CNN website, and, as usual, they had a question poll.  Today's question was something like, "Is the fact that banks are backing down on fees a sign of consumer power."  I voted.  It didn't take me long to figure out the answer, as it was obvious.  Of course it isn't a sign of consumer power.  But, not shockingly, 70+% of people said "yes."  I then proceeded to have a "Lewis Black" moment*.

The truth is that banks don't give two shits or a fuck about you or I.  They care about us in the sense that they want us around so that they can generate more revenue, but other than that there is no positive relationship between us and the banks.  What will happen, and mark my words, is that banks will cut ATM fees and then they will complain about how they aren't making giant-fuck-you profits anymore.  So what they will do is layoff works because the few at the top still want to make the giant-fuck-you profits, and coupled with layoffs will be the instituting of hidden fees or new fees in the other parts of your banking (e.g. loans).

The moral of the story is that the consumer, despite the popular myth, has no power in the American capitalist market.  Sure, we may have our ATM fees waved, but the banks are just going to find another way to hold us hostage.  Therefore, in the long-run, we have accomplished nothing.  We must find, or create, a new alternative to the banking industry.  Radically changing the landscape of the financial sector is the only in which we as a people will be able to have any power over our economic landscape.  I don't know how to accomplish such a feat, but I do know that it has to be done.

D

*A Lewis Black moment (LBM) is what one has when they hear, read, see, etc. something so stupid that one feels like their head is going to explode.  The symptoms accompanied with an LBM severe inner pressure against one's skull, a momentary lapse in being able to form complete words and sentences (sometimes one experience severe stuttering), a eyes crossing involuntarily, and a twitching of the extremities (usually the hands and fingers).  The LBM usually comes to completion after screaming expletives like "FUCK."