I really like ideas like this where each state’s outline now has the country that most closely corresponds to Gross Domestic Product (GDP.) Don’t know the original author, but hats off to you.

If you’ve got a thing for cephalopods on bivalves, then this Flickr stream (NSFW) is not to be missed. Brings a new meaning to octopussy (with all due respect to Mr. Bond…)

Charlie Daniels, one-hit wonder from the 1980’s with the tune The Devil Went Down to Georgia is a blogger. Who knew? (Apparently Fred, who sent me this link to a recent entry Charlie penned, knew.)

Charlie is apparently upset that these damned atheists are trying to take the god out of the good ole US of A. Particularly, he’s tweaked by the law suit brought by Michael Newdow challenging the presence of religion in the inauguration. He’s convinced that atheism is a religion and that none of this stuff makes sense to him. Read it yourself.

Charlie goes on to state that 80% of the country believes in a god and that as a democracy, the majority should rule. So why don’t these non-believer heathens just shut up already. Since I can only presume this is new information for Mr. Daniels, the law provides for protection of minorities persecuted by the majority. In such ways social change may happen as witnessed by women’s suffrage, the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement, and now the rational thinking movement.

Just because the majority believes anything is not sufficient reason to detach ourselves from the intent of our nation’s founding, a clear and distinct separation of church and state. The Pledge of Allegiance, the phrase on our currency, and prayer at inaugurations all clearly violate that precept and are, under our Constitution, illegal. If, Mr. Daniels, your faith is so fragile you need these symbols to remind you of your imaginary diety’s greatness, perhaps it is you who needs to rethink your approach to faith.

Meanwhile, back to the entry in question, here are a couple of choice quotes:

I can’t imagine living in a dark world of believing that there is no Heaven, no Hell and no hope, that prayers are never answered because there’s no divine being to answer them.

Charlie, you live in that world now. I’m glad you framed it so succinctly, if steeped in a little hyperbole….You can of course continue to believe you don’t live in such a world – but if that’s the case, I want to know if you also believe the toothfairy is hanging around waiting for the remainder of your teeth to drop out so you can get a nickel under your pillow.

I personally can’t for the life of me understand how any sane person can believe there is not a God.

And again, you’ve succinctly framed the situation: sanity is in the eye of the beholder. If we both saw a person talking to themselves on a daily basis with some belief that such talking would lead to riches and rewards in another world somewhere, I tend to believe we’d both say that person is a little crazy. Now the difference is, when the behavior above is cast into a religious context, it’s suddenly OK. It’s not a crazy person muttering to themselves, they’re praying. From a purely observational perspective, you’ve got to admit, there is no difference between muttering to one’s self and praying!

One final word, the reason you’re seeing non-believers now emerge from the background is because of the pervasiveness of religion and the way it is now seeping into the lives of non-believers. If religion truly was private, if children had a choice about if to enter and believe, if there truly was a separation between church and state, if religious people didn’t feel a need to proselytize and judge, if religious leaders didn’t routinely abuse and rob their followers; then non-believers wouldn’t have to take a stand and care about what believers are doing. In short, the behavior of the religious community makes it the business of non-believers to fight for truth, justice, and the American way.

Anything worth believing (or not believing as the case may be) is worth fighting for. So, you’ve now got a fight on your hands….

Delivered in the best Monty Python faux French accent:

Do you think I care about your “laws?” Do you really think I can read? Well, you’re wrong. I’ll show you what I think of your rules.

Your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries. I fart in your general direction! Get away from me before I have to taunt you a second time!

Mr. Dick is not to be confused with James Bond, but certainly was a man on a mission. A mission to rob an 88 year old woman in her home. A mission to complete this crime while naked. A mission foiled when the target of the crime, the aforementioned 88 year old woman, grabbed his balls and yanked hard during the course of the mission. As a consequence of such fierce resistance, Dick fled the scene (I suppose with his original package.)

To add insult to injury, he was apprehended by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and we discover that his name is, Michael Gordon Dick. A now failed, naked robber.

Truth is stranger than fiction. You just can’t make this stuff up…..Bail was set at $104,000.

HT: Rob