A vision of the future

The funny thing is, I do plan to homeschool. But that's only because based on the years I spent teaching I could see how these yahoos are infecting the public school, and I want my children to have a good grounding in science. Including evolutionary theory.

Gobsmacked

Found on Weather Underground.

And the various churches have spend how much defending pedophiles and child abusing clergy?

"Thou Shalt Shoplift." Says Priest.

Speaking to his congregation on Sunday, Father Jones said: "My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift.

"I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither.

"I would ask that they do not steal from small, family businesses, but from national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices.

"When people are released from prison, or find themselves suddenly without work or family support, then to leave them for weeks and weeks with inadequate or clumsy social support is monumental, catastrophic folly.

"We create a situation which leaves some people little option but crime."

Imagine if they spent their legal fees caring for the poor....

Thank you Kamilla

I just posted a response to The Brave Lass, aka Kamilla, in response to this post here. Primarily in response to this paragraph.

Tonight I am also considering those who say hierarchy is unnecessary and even harmful in close relationships like marriage. But look what happens when two likes come together in the demonic parody of marriage called pseudogamy. When two men come together . . . well, they can't. Whatever they do physically, even emotionally can never, ever create the one-flesh relationship that comes of the act of marriage. The same with two women. And the vacuum created by two likes repelling each other in very real, if not always apparent, ways is a recipe for violence.

We've all heard the lie that complementarian theology causes, or at least encourages, abuse. Now if you believe that and you think two equals, or two likes, coming together in marriage is a good thing, you best not visit any city ER. Especially not in the wee hours after the clubs close.

She chose to delete my reply, which, as it is her blog, is her right. Sadly, I didn't copy that reply, my bad there. So I'll reply to her here instead.

Kamilla -

Given the nature of your writing it is clear that you come from a very sheltered background. I would be surprised to find out that you know anyone who is openly gay, much less anyone who is both openly gay and openly married. So I am deeply offended by your trying to paint every single homosexual relationship as violent.

You are wrong.

Most homosexual marriages I know are loving and long-lasting. I only hope my marriage can be as strong and last as long as they have.

My husband works in an urban ER. He has, in the past, worked the night shift. I have, at times, volunteered there with him, at the front desk, checking in people coming in after the clubs close, looking for help. I have some experience in these matters, and let me tell you from that experience, the vast majority of people coming in because a spouse or a lover beat them are not homosexual. Or egalitarian. Or a list of other things. They are conservative, evangelical Christians.

"I had to beat her, she wouldn't mind me. The Lord said she was to mind me and she didn't mind me." never came out of the mouth of a homosexual. Of any stripe.

Any hierarchical system where the equal value of each member is not learned from childhood is ripe for abuse. Any system that makes someone the other based on their gender, or sexuality, or skin color, or any other reason is ripe for abuse. Any system that accuses another group for all the evil in the world while taking no responsibility for their own actions (Because Santa Clause God will always forgive you) is ripe for abuse.

And in my experience, any relationship where the adults do not take active control of their sexuality will end up being abusive, or come close to it, at some point. This rarely happens in homosexual relationships. It tends to happen with disturbing frequency in Christian ones.

The definition of the word transference is

The redirection of feelings and desires and especially of those unconsciously retained from childhood toward a new object

.
In my experience it can be applied to the Christian community, when they accuse another group of doing or feeling exactly what they tend to do or feel. Now, you may very well not. I do not assume that you do feel or think that way. I think you are just parroting what you have heard from your elders. This might give you thought to where they are coming from.

Stop it. Just stop it.

Get up from your chair, walk out the church doors, and learn something about the world. Then give us your opinion on things.

Let me guess, he was handing out bibles.

Why I am an atheist #233485787

And, of course, "God" did nothing to stop it. At all.

When equality hurts

Found at Gap.com.

The American "Family" Association (I have to put it in quotes because it hardly represents every family in America) has issued what the LA Times rightfully calls a fatwa* against Gap, Inc, calling for a boycott against Gap stores (Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic) for "not mentioning Christmas in their advertising."

Well, more specifically -

Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic, the three stores owned by San Francisco-based Gap Inc., are being targeted by AFA in a limited two-month boycott over the company's failure to use the word "Christmas" in its advertising to Christmas shoppers.

Gap has refused to use the word Christmas in its television commercials, newspaper ads and in-store promotions despite tens of thousands of consumer requests to recognize Christmas as well as repeated requests from AFA to do the same.

From the AFA boycott website here

I present this evidence:



Now the above commercial is a bit hard to hear, so let me provide a transcript

Two, Four, Six, Eight, tis the time to liberate
Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanza, Go Solstice.
Go classic tree, go plastic tree, go plant a tree, go without a tree,
You 86 the rules, you do what just feels right.
Happy do whatever you wanna, and to all a cheery night.

In case you didn't notice, the second line, second word - yea, that one - that would be Christmas. Right there. So, you know, it is mentioned.

However it is given equal weight with the other three holidays around that time of year, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the Solsitce (which, according to Wikipedia, covers just about every other winter celebration). As the Gap puts is

Gap recognizes that many traditions are celebrated throughout this season and we feel it is important to display holiday signage that is inclusive to everyone.

Inclusivity. Equality. A retailer not wanting to alienate potential customers. Horrors.

AFA has this to say about that:

AFA believes this ad to be completely dismissive and disrespectful to those who celebrate the meaning and spirit of Christmas.

(also found here)

Because putting Christianity on equal footing with, say, Judaism is disrespectful, after all. Christianity has to be special.

Dan Neil in the LA Times makes a very good point -

Why not go after Gap and other retailers for trading in Chinese-made goods, since the Chinese government actively oppresses the Christian faith? Seems like building a case on religious tolerance would have more resonance.

But that misses the point, Dan. When they say "oppression" they mean "Not having an elevated, special, privileged position anymore." If people actually compared religious oppression in places like China to the US these people would be outed for the power-hungry whiners they are. In fact it might even look like the Christians were trying to oppress other religions like they themselves were being oppressed in other countries, but the rational among us were having none of it.

Spare me, please.

Now I would deliberately go to the local Old Navy and buy all my Christmas gifts but I was already boycotting the Gap for oppressing women by dropping plus-sized from their stores while creating sizes 0 and 00, so sadly that's a no go. BUT, on their "Naughty or Nice" list they also complain about Barnes & Noble, for using the inclusive word "Holiday" in their advertising, instead of just Christmas.

So I suggest we all go to B&N and give books for whatever holiday you want to celebrate. Give the gift of knoweldge and piss off the AFA in one fell swoop.

* (Granted it's a Christian leader, not an Islamic one, but the idea of a religious edict is the same)

Photograph of corpses at the Nordhausen concentration camp. Taken from a tribute to the men of the Co. F., 405th Regiment, 102nd Division (2nd Battalion). Please go read the page here.


This is why I'm not a Christian. This, right here:

According to Bodie Hodge at Answers In Genesis:

If we love God, we should obey Him (John 14:15). To love God first means to obey Him first--before looking at our neighbor. So, is the greater good trusting God when He says not to lie or trusting in our fallible, sinful minds about the uncertain future?

Consider this carefully. In the situation of a Nazi beating on the door, we have assumed a lie would save a life, but really we don't know. So, one would be opting to lie and disobey God without the certainty of saving a life--keeping in mind that all are ultimately condemned to die physically. Besides, whether one lied or not may not have stopped the Nazi solders from searching the house anyway.

As Christians, we need to keep in mind that Jesus Christ reigns. All authority has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18), and He sits on the throne of God at the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:33; Hebrews 8:1). Nothing can happen without His say. Even Satan could not touch Peter without Christ's approval (Luke 22:31). Regardless, if one were to lie or not, Jesus Christ is in control of timing every person's life and able to discern our motives. It is not for us to worry over what might become, but rather to place our faith and obedience in Christ and to let Him do the reigning. For we do not know the future, whereas God has been telling the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10).

(You can read the entire exchange here. H/T to PZ)

Now most of the "Christians" I know are decent people who would never agree with this claptrap. But I firmly believe that they are decent despite their religious beliefs, not because of them. Because from the Pope condemning a mother who kept her 9 year old daughter from having to bear twins while letting the daughter's rapist get off without so much as an angry word, to the FLDS raping and impregnating girls in the name of God while forcing the boys out onto the street so they don't compete with the old men, to now this? I can only believe that the more religious an organization is, the more evil and corrupt they become, which just shows how evil the entire belief system must be.

Why I cannot take this bible thing seriously, #2376

(click on the image to see the whole thing)

http://conservapedia.com/Conservative_Bible_Project

http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/10/conservatizing-the-bible.html

The top ten net rules

Internet map from Bar Ilan University, via the Guardian

The Top 10 Net Rules (restated)

1) Godwin’s Law - Eventually every argument degenerates into someone claiming his/her opponent is likened to/as bad as/would have been supported by Hitler. Examples:

• The term "Feminazi"
• Comparing any US President to Hitler
• Calling any form of national US health care/legalized abortion the next holocoust
• Saying that Hitler was an atheist, that means atheists are BAD

Crossing Godwin's law means the argument is over and you automatically lose, unless you are invoking Quirk's Exception and trying to win by shutting down the debate.

2) Poe's Law - “Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humour, it is impossible to create a parody of fundamentalism that someone won't mistake for the real thing.” Examples:

• Heliocentrism is an Atheist Doctrine
• Christian Domestic Discipline (adult content)
• What God Has To Say About Sex (adult content)
• Christian Nymphos (adult content)
• The Conservative Bible Project

I have no clue which, if any, of those are serious.

3) Rules 34 & 35 - “If it exists, there is porn of it.” and“If no such porn exists, it will be made.”

Does this one really need explanation? Moving on...

4) Skitt’s Law - "Any post correcting an error in another post will contain at least one error itself"

This ususaly applies to grammar, math and politics

5) Scopie’s Law - "In any discussion involving science or medicine, citing Whale.to as a credible source loses the argument immediately, and gets you laughed out of the room.”

It helps to know that Whale.to is a conspiracy listing. I vote we expand that to include not checking Snopes before opening your mouth as well.

6) Danth’s Law / Parker’s Law - "If you have to insist that you've won an internet argument, you've probably lost badly.”

Danth’s Law was most famously declared in “The Lenski Affair”, between microbiologist Richard Lenski and the editor of Conservapedia.com, Andrew Schlafly, who cast doubt upon Prof Lenski’s elegant experimental demonstration of evolution.

After what is widely held to be one of the greatest and most comprehensive put-downs in scientific argument from Prof Lenski, Mr Schlafly declared himself the winner.

7) Pommer’s Law - "A person's mind can be changed by reading information on the internet. The nature of this change will be from having no opinion to having a wrong opinion.”

Look for examples of this during all Presidential election years

8) DeMyer's Third Law - "Anyone who posts an argument on the internet which is largely quotations can be very safely ignored, and is deemed to have lost the argument before it has begun.”

This is the law of Do Your Own Thinking

9) Cohen’s Law - “Whoever resorts to the argument that ‘whoever resorts to the argument that... …has automatically lost the debate’ has automatically lost the debate.”

Please note some of the above laws for examples. ;)

10) Robertson's Law of Exclamation - "The more exclamation points used in an email (or other posting), the more likely it is a complete lie. This is also true for excessive capital letters."

For an example, check your email

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Taken from, quoted from, and h/t to the UK Telegraph

What a nice thing to wake up to

They finally apologized to Alan Turing. Here's the full text:

2009 has been a year of deep reflection - a chance for Britain, as a nation, to commemorate the profound debts we owe to those who came before. A unique combination of anniversaries and events have stirred in us that sense of pride and gratitude which characterise the British experience. Earlier this year I stood with Presidents Sarkozy and Obama to honour the service and the sacrifice of the heroes who stormed the beaches of Normandy 65 years ago. And just last week, we marked the 70 years which have passed since the British government declared its willingness to take up arms against Fascism and declared the outbreak of World War Two. So I am both pleased and proud that, thanks to a coalition of computer scientists, historians and LGBT activists, we have this year a chance to mark and celebrate another contribution to Britain's fight against the darkness of dictatorship; that of code-breaker Alan Turing.

Turing was a quite brilliant mathematician, most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes. It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different. He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war. The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely. In 1952, he was convicted of 'gross indecency' - in effect, tried for being gay. His sentence - and he was faced with the miserable choice of this or prison - was chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones. He took his own life just two years later.

Thousands of people have come together to demand justice for Alan Turing and recognition of the appalling way he was treated. While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time and we can't put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted as he was convicted under homophobic laws were treated terribly. Over the years millions more lived in fear of conviction.

I am proud that those days are gone and that in the last 12 years this government has done so much to make life fairer and more equal for our LGBT community. This recognition of Alan's status as one of Britain's most famous victims of homophobia is another step towards equality and long overdue.

But even more than that, Alan deserves recognition for his contribution to humankind. For those of us born after 1945, into a Europe which is united, democratic and at peace, it is hard to imagine that our continent was once the theatre of mankind's darkest hour. It is difficult to believe that in living memory, people could become so consumed by hate - by anti-Semitism, by homophobia, by xenophobia and other murderous prejudices - that the gas chambers and crematoria became a piece of the European landscape as surely as the galleries and universities and concert halls which had marked out the European civilisation for hundreds of years. It is thanks to men and women who were totally committed to fighting fascism, people like Alan Turing, that the horrors of the Holocaust and of total war are part of Europe's history and not Europe's present.

So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan's work I am very proud to say: we're sorry, you deserved so much better.

h/t to Pharyngula

Through the week in Feminine Dress

Well, three days into it and the Week in Feminine Dress is already out in the wash. I owe you all four days, but you might not get them until next week. Too much going on around here to keep up. You will get them though, promise.

Through the week in Feminine Dress

Tuesday is Laundry Day. Among other things.


Thinking...About projects and goals and what I want to do with this coming week.

Thankful for...For having wonderful, amazing, insightful friends.

Cooking...Nothing. We have to either eat those leftovers or toss them, so tonight is leftover buffet

Baking...Nothing. Wednesday morning the husband makes pancakes, so we don't need bread for breakfast.

Wearing...


I can hear you all thinking Ummm...feminine...Well, what would you wear to the gym? A tank top and shorts are utterly appropriate. These cover everything that needs covering, and don't stand out. Being so covered as to be inappropriate can be just as immodest as being uncovered.

However, when not in class I do add a batik skirt, which makes for a very feminine outfit


No, the cat did not go to class with us.

Creating...I'm still working on my nightgowns. This one will be done as soon as I finish this.

Going...To a Tai-chi class this morning, at the YMCA. I don't know about Tai-chi, it seems rather hard on the knees. But I need to do something to shake up the workout routine and get more flexible.

Reading... The Quest for the Holy Grail. Sigh

Hoping...I can get all the laundry folded tonight, and that the movie is a good one.

Hearing... A podcast of Merlin Mann interviewing David Allen. You can listen here

Around the house...Laundry day, always fun. And we're working out the kinks of the pantry system tonight.

One of my favorite things...Long, white, lace trimmed cotton nightgowns in the summertime.

Through the week in Feminine Dress

Not a clue what I'm wearing yet. Odds are a skirt and shirt, as it's going to be over 90° today.



Thinking...Quite a lot after my morning appointment. It went an unusually long two hours, but was remarkably helpful

Thankful for...Finally having an absolutely excellent therapist to help me sort out the ideas in my head that are just not helping at all.

Cooking...Nothing. We went out to our favorite restaurant for dinner.

Baking...See above. Every other Monday I get a day off from the kitchen. My husband cooks breakfast on his days off, which he enjoys, but every other Monday I don't have to do dinner either. And we always have leftovers for lunch.

Wearing...Yes, I ended up in a skirt and tank top



(This is what 20+ years of PCOD and psuedo-Cushing's looks like. It has nothing to do with sin or vice or even lazy living, as you will see.)

Creating...It was knitting night, so I spent several hours at Starbuck's visiting with the ladies and working on my sweater. It's a kimono style, in a dark red wool.

Yes, there is fellowshipping outside of church. Sadly V had to go to work, she's an emergency room nurse and was called in at the last minute, but she did stop by to bring us all some chocolate from her recent trip to Europe. M was there, still concerned about her brother's upcoming wedding. As usual she brought E, who is our youngest member at 12, and whom we once again had to remind that she is far too young for R-rated movies. L is working on a remarkable new project, a stole-type thing that can be folded and buttoned and tied into a remarkable number of different items. And A is hoping to be expecting...well, we're keeping our finger's crossed.

Going...and going and going. We found treasures at Goodwill, I stopped to poke about in a sales rack at a favorite store and found something...unmentionable that had been $25 and was now $5, so it came home and then our usual running around.

Reading... The Quest for the Holy Grail, still. I keep falling asleep on it.

Hoping...After therapy, a lot

Hearing... The laughter of friends. And a background of Alice Di Micele, one of our favorite local musicians



Around the house...Nothing on a Monday

One of my favorite things...Finding treasures at Goodwill. Including a set of knitting needles in the perfect size and material, for all of $0.50

Through the week in Feminine Dress

Graphic from The Graphics Fairy. So is the one up top.

I decided to do a week of posts because a lot of you might be wondering what does an atheist "rebel" homemaker do with her time. How does it differ from those good Titus 2 mentors anyway? How does it look? How does it feel? What can you expect?

I plan to follow a specific format every day, and put in pictures where I can. The idea for the format was taken from The Simple Woman's Daybook (which is another lovely place to visit, for views into lots of other lives). No day is actually finished until I start the next one, as I may add pictures through the day.

Well, I'm getting a late start in the day with this, so I may do Sunday twice. Hopefully an average week here or there might give you an idea of what to expect from one variation of a life of "rebellion". There are lots more. In fact, it could be everything you ever dreamed of.

But we have to start somewhere. So, we shall start here.

Today I am...

Thinking...That if this helps one young woman find freedom and happiness it's worth the effort.

Thankful for...My wonderful and supportive husband

Cooking...Chicken and dumplings for dinner

Baking...A loaf of whole wheat bread in the bread machine

Wearing...My first jumper


It's McCall's #2316 and is the first I made after I married, so it's about 9 years old. I used to wear it teaching, but now it's rather old and worn so it's become a cottage dress. Under it I'm wearing a plain white t-shirt. And over it


My pink calico apron. The pattern for this used to be on the Martha Stewart website, and was called Aprons with Cindy, but it has since been taken down. I have a few apron patterns I plan to try in the future as well.

Creating...some new nightgowns. This one was finished yesterday...

It's Simplicity #7944, made without sleeves for the summer. I used quilt binding around the arm holes instead, and eyelet material for the front of the top. I also put a band of eyelet lace where the top met the skirt, and the same eyelet lace around the hem.

I'm hoping to finish another tonight. If so I'll post a picture.

Going...nowhere. Which sounds horrible, but today is one of my husband's work days, when we don't usually go out. He was out of the house before I got up this morning, but will be home for supper by 6:30.

Reading... The Quest for the Holy Grail

Hoping...I finish that book tonight

Hearing... The Illiad by Homer. A Librivox podcast while I sew

Around the house...I have laundry to fold tonight after supper

One of my favorite things...Lace, lace and more lace. At least today

A few plans for the rest of the week: To finish this project. Also to finish setting up the pantry system and finish these nightgowns.

--------

Tomorrow is our errand day, which ought to mean lots of pictures. Then later in the week I'll share what happens on a usual stay-home day as well.

You might ask, "It's Sunday, what about church?" Well, if my husband wasn't working we might go down to the UU church for services, mostly to visit friends. But he works week-ends, both because it frees up his weekdays for school and because he gets extra pay for working on "The Lord's" day, so we just don't bother. And our lives are the slightest bit the worse off for it.

Lady Lydia speaks...kind of

Image of "The Standard Victorian" from Homeplace Structures.

Or something.

"Lady" Lydia Sherman over at Home Living and Guard The Home decided to lock her Guard The Home blog, more than likely because she couldn't take the criticism.

I am not surprised.

For those "rebels" out there who are being hurt at home, you are not alone. You do not deserve to be beaten, at any age, for any reason. Not even if they don't leave bruises. You do not deserve to be scorned just because you're not male. Being a "helpmeet" does not mean being a surrogate wife. Training up a daughter does not mean anything sexual. Ever. *

Your parents are wrong. Parents can be wrong.

But who so shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
- Matthew 18:6

If you need help, call the nineline.

1-800-999-9999

This will get you to the Covenant House nineline. They have a Christian mission to help abused children.

We who recognize God's providence and fidelity to His people are dedicated to living out His covenant among ourselves and those children we serve, with absolute respect and unconditional love. That commitment calls us to serve suffering children of the street, and to protect and safeguard all children. Just as Christ in His humanity is the visible sign of God's presence among His people, so our efforts together in the covenant community are a visible sign that effects the presence of God, working through the Holy Spirit among ourselves and our kids.

- The Covenant House Mission Statement. (Found here)

You are not a rebel. It's not your fault. You are not, not ever to blame.

I was...am a "rebel" as well. If you want to talk, reach me at TheUrbanFarmhouse@gmail.com.

------

* And while we're at it, you also deserve to choose your own spouse, earn and keep your own money, have your own friends, and have as much education as you like. Just to be clear on that too.

Another child-loving Christian

In case you're wondering, right under the ultrasound it reads -

"Well, lucky, lucky me, I'm having yet another piss-spraying, fist-wielding, shit-smearing, son. Yeah, how 'bout that? He TOLD ME to conceive, I obeyed, and my blessing is to get screwed on the girl I really wanted."

A loving god sends a child to a mother like that? Or tortures a woman with a child she clearly doesn't want?

Give up on the whole god myth thing and take responsibility for your self already. If you don't want children take the pill, tie the tubes or keep your legs closed. If you want to try for a girl accept that you have a 50-50 chance of a boy and either live with it or give him up for adoption. There are thousands of couples in this country that will absolutely cherish that boy.

But you watch, as a good Christian she will keep him home and ruin his life and her own with her hatred. Because "God wants it that way".

Perhaps I should explain

Sometimes in the morning, you realize what you wrote in the night was entirely inappropriate. And so I will be re-writing this post, perhaps, at some point in the future. Sorry.

Oh bollocks

I consider myself a feminist. I think the fight for equality is not over. However when you say any choice is wrong for women, including that of housewife, you are repressing women. I am a woman, and this is my choice.

The Australian version of 60 Minutes did a piece on secular woman who choose to be housewives.* They intercut it with an interview with Germaine Greer, which just stood my teeth on edge. Go and have a look here. I've pulled a few quotes out of the transcript to fisk.

ELLEN FANNING: Sophie is one of a new wave of women who DON'T want it all. Sick of struggling to achieve the seemingly impossible balance of work, home and family. So despite greater career opportunities, better pay, even sexual liberation, last month, a landmark US survey found women are less and less happy. Many want to live more like their grandma - spend less time at work, and more time at home with the kids. These are young women who don't want to turn into their own frazzled working mothers, or don't want their kids, to be juggled in the way they were.

Guess what, being a latchkey child is a bitch. Women have always worked, my grandmother and her sister both worked, sometimes 50-60 hours a week or better. But my mother and her cousin went to their grandmother's house, where there was someone home to take care of things and keep them safe. Having to fight all day between school and daycare, or coming home to an empty house is no picnic. And don't even get me started on "sexual liberation". I have to find the source but I believe something like 65-70% of sexual abuse is committed by a mother's boyfriend or a stepfather. **

Sorry second wave*** feminists, we're not selfish or self-centered enough to do to our children what you did to us. The only ones I know of are the ones who listened to you and got way over their heads in debt, usually student loans, before they realized what they were doing. And they know it, and are miserable.#

Moving on

SOPHIE BACIC: I'm cool with that because I'm not out working all day. You know, I get my housekeeping every week.

ELLEN FANNING: So, when you say Frankie gives you the housekeeping every week how does that work?

SOPHIE BACIC: Oh, Frankie just gives me a certain amount of money.

ELLEN FANNING: So does he decide how much you get, or do you decide together?

SOPHIE BACIC: No, I didn't have a choice in that.

This is the one disagreement I have with the homemakers in this piece. Decide together. He needs to know what things cost, so he can make an honest determination of priorities. And if something does happen to him you need to know what the finances are about. This is not something you should do like our grandparents did. Look at the money together.

GERMAINE GREER: If you make somebody else responsible for you, then you've given up your life. You're not having a life.

How does being a housewife = someone else being responsible for you? Last I looked I was an adult, quite capable of making my own decisions. And accepting responsibility for them.

GERMAINE GREER: And the women would say, "Oh I don't know, you'd have to ask my husband," and I'd think, "Oh what do you have to do to get into these women," you know. What's two and two? "Oh I don't know, you'd have to ask my husband."

You have to hear her voice to hear what kind of a bullying, teasing asshole she sounds like. Seriously.

GERMAINE GREER: We want to think they'd never watched 'Desperate Housewives'. They're going to turn into that housewife who gets everything right and who is murderess in her heart. What you would probably say to somebody who has that rosy notion, that she can have the tickety-boo house, is that it's an illusion. It was never there.

ELLEN FANNING: But what if you're just doing what grandma did?

GERMAINE GREER: You don' really know what grandma did without asking grandma, and she might turn out to have some very bitter reflections.

Or she might have been quite happy. Or, like 99% of the world, she might have had good and bad times to remember. How the f*ck do you know it was all horrid? And why exactly can't you have the tickety-boo house? I do, and I work my ass off to keep it that way, thanks.

(For the record, I want to be Bree. Only.....saner, and less conservative)

GERMAINE GREER: I agree. When people say to me, "Nowadays young women have it all, what have you got to say to them?" And I say what I've got to say to them is, "They've got all the work, that's the only thing they've got all of."

ELLEN FANNING: Well some of these women say that's your fault.

GERMAINE GREER: No they don't.

Yes they do. This one does. You and Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem and all of the rest of the second wave feminists who encouraged our mothers to give up their homes and marriages and families and do things your way. This mess is your collective fault.

ELLEN FANNING: They've tried it and they can't have it all, and they're cranky with you for saying they could.

GERMAINE GREER: But I never did. I never argued for a career. Never. What I wanted for women was a different thing, a life, and there are lots of different ways of having a life.

As long as your life isn't that of a housewife, is that what it is? So, you ought not to have a husband, or a home, or a career, than what are you to do? Sex worker? Is that the only thing liberated enough for you?

At this point they go on to interview a woman who runs her own company. They also speak to her husband. They seem fine and happy, and she's clearly quite thrilled with her life. I do notice they don't speak to the children though.

Then they go back to a housewife.

ELLEN FANNING: Sonia used to be an accountant, but now spends most of her day doing domestic chores for her family, and actually resents the years she spent at university and the thousands of hours in offices, climbing the corporate ladder, only to find it completely incompatible with motherhood. What about a young women saying, "Well, I don't want to give up my career, "he doesn't have to give up his career, "why should I have to give up mine?"

SONIA WILLIAMS: And that's where, that's where the crossroads is, isn't it? Is that like what happens to the children? And you've got two partners there who are competing with careers, but what about the children? Like, who's going to raise them? And that's the conundrum that the feminists haven't really covered, is that ultimately, whilst the women can have their career, someone has got to take care of the children.

Now look, I don't believe that women absolutely, positively have to stay home with their children. I've seen families where they father stays home, families where an aunt stays home, families where a grandparent stays home, families where they have hired help. I've seen large, poly families where one wife stays home. I've seen co-op style housing where one person in one apartment stays "home" and is paid by the others. In everyone one of them someone is home cooking the meals, doing the laundry. keeping track of the kids, and in general making sure everything runs smoothly.

I've also seen families where all the adults work, and it works and everyone is happy. ## But for every one of those I see 9 more where something is always falling apart. And it usually ends up being something with the kids.

GERMAINE GREER: Women are good at guilt. We're capable of feeling guilty no matter what. We weren't juggling, we'd be guilty that we weren't juggling. We are juggling, we're guilty that we are juggling. Everything that goes wrong is our fault and we've got a whole nation of psychotherapists who will tell people that everything that goes wrong with our children is our fault.

ELLEN FANNING: So you can't win?

GERMAINE GREER: No. You're a woman, take it as read.

Um, I don't feel guilty. The housewives in that piece certainly don't seem guilty. Methinks the lady doth project a bit.

ELLEN FANNING: But older feminists are going to be tearing their hair out listening to you.

SONIA WILLIAMS: Oh, if I could get a hold of the older feminists, let me tell you, what a crock. They set us up for a fall. How were we to know that we were going to have these careers and then have to sacrifice? Until you actually decide to become a mother you don't realize that huge sacrifice that you do make and that's where the dilemma comes in and that's what the feminists never told us.

Amen, sister!

GERMAINE GREER: She'll soon find out that housework is a crock, I'm telling you. You get to 50 what then? You're going to live another 40 years lady, what are you going to do with that?

Any damm thing I want to.

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I may fisk the full interview with Germaine Greer. But right now my stomach hurts.

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* Correction, I can only assume they were secular because a) no one brought up god every 5 seconds, b) there wasn't a ton of religious goop in their houses and c) most of them were wearing pants.

** For the record, just in case it's overlooked, I'm not against sexual liberation as in the gay rights movement. Nor am I against the freeing up of the morals around kink. But regardless of who you are or who you do or how you do it, if you think your desires are more important than your children's safety, I'm sorry, you're wrong. Find away to do it that doesn't endanger your children, or don't do it. With logical exceptions like spousal abuse, drug abuse, or other criminal acts, this may well include putting off re-marriage or even divorce until they hit college. Think toys.

And for those who say "It's the man's fault. He ought not to be going after the children" I say yes, you're right. And you're wrong, because parents are responsible for protecting their children, and bringing a stranger to spend the night in your home isn't a real great way to do that.

*** There is first wave, second wave, and third wave feminism. Learn this, it matters.

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# Note to K & B, yea, I know, you two are the one out of the ten. This isn't about you. *g*

More Christian violence

Did you hear about the shooter in Pittsburg, PA? He shot up an aerobics class in a gym.

Part of his diary (h/t to AboveTheLaw)

August 3, 2009: I took off today, Monday, and tomorrow to practice my routine and make sure it is well polished. I need to work out every detail, there is only one shot. Also I need to be completely immersed into something before I can be successful. I haven't had a drink since Friday at about 2:30. Total effort needed. Tomorrow is the big day.

Unfortunately I talked to my neighbor today, who is very positive and upbeat. I need to remain focused and absorbed COMPLETELY. Last time I tried this, in January, I chickened out. Lets see how this new approach works.

Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell. Christ paid for EVERY sin, so how can I or you be judged BY GOD for a sin when the penalty was ALREADY paid. People judge but that does not matter. I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them.

I will try not to add anymore entries because this computer clicking distracts me.

This is the result of Christianity. Of all religions. This.

A response to Lady Lydia

Lilac Time by Lee Dublin

I've posted a response to "Lady" Lydia Sherman on her blog Guard The Home. As she has comment moderation on, I will be pleasantly surprised if it actually appears there. So, here's a copy for the record.

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First off, while I understand that your policy of anonymous commenting is designed to protect the commenters, I prefer to put my name to my comment. I prefer to own my words and take responsibility for them, for one, and for another I am not afraid of people coming back to my blog and posting comments of their own. I believe a comment reflects back to the commenter, for good or ill, and not the blog owner. However, since this is your blog, if you prefer to take my name off, I will not complain.

That said, I finally have to respectfully disagree with you, and your description of "rebels".

I have been quite happily married for nine years now. For seven of those I have been a keeper in my home, taking care of my husband and our little nest. He is well employed, a proud military veteran, and is currently studying to be a civil engineer. We're not wealthy, but we are self-sufficient and comfortable. My in-laws, who have been married almost forty years and are active members of their church, are quite proud of us and the lives we lead, and have said so both to us and to other friends and family members. We are all quite close, and even though they love several states away we visit a number of times a year.

And yet, I do believe you would consider us rebels.

For one thing my husband has never taken "headship" in our home. We make decisions equally. discussing each one until a mutual decision has been agreed upon. I do not "submit" to him in any way, shape or form. I do what I do around the house not because it is my duty but because it suits the common good or because it will make him happy. And he does things for me for the same reason. Yes, I do consider myself a feminist, and at times have been politically active as such, as has my husband. We are currently working for the right for homosexuals to marry, and a number of our friends who are close enough to be called brothers and sisters are both homosexual and married. And yes, our marriage is as strong as ever.

For another, I have very little contact with my family, especially my Mother. I do not "honor" my mother, simply because she does not deserve it. She's been through three marriages, each one more abusive than the last, and I cannot trust her not to cause us harm by bringing another abusive man home. Her lifestyle is utterly against our values, such that we cannot even go over to her home. And she is usually combative and manipulative when we have dealings with her. She's repeatedly told me she wished she had aborted me, but her mother prevented her from doing so, and that she doesn't consider me her daughter. For the sake of our mental health and marriage it's much better for us to avoid her whenever possible.

Finally, as you might have guessed, we are not members of any church. In fact we are both atheists. I do consider my self a Unitarian Univeralist, and affirm the seven principals, and my husband follows a philosophy based on Buddhist teachings. But neither of us believe in any sort of a supreme being, or that the bible is anything other than fiction, and we do not care what stand it takes on any issue.

And yet contrary to what you espouse, we do not live in a car. Neither of us has ever done drugs or an STD, and I've not had an abortion. We don't commit crimes, or live lives of poverty or ugliness. I hold a dual degree in computer networking and education, have held a teaching certificate and taught third grade for eight years. My husband is late getting his degree as he joined the US Marine Corps after high school, and spent eight years serving his country before starting college. We live in a comfortable apartment, as we see no reason to go through the trouble of home ownership until we decide where to settle. We love to read and listen to jazz and create things for our home. I am currently working toward Masters certifications from both the Knitting and Embroidery Guilds of America, and he is learning woodworking during his breaks from school. In fact, at the moment he's outside building a rocking chair for me so that I can enjoy the lovely weather from the patio. Our lives hardly fit your description of the "rebel", and yet in your world we most certainly would be exactly that.

So I am afraid I must disagree with your portrait of the "rebel", Lady Lydia. Just because children disagree with their parents, that doesn't mean that they are home wreckers, living in misery and destroying lives all around them. It can mean that they are adults, with differing opinions and differing ways of looking at the world.

Sometimes someone else just says it better

From PunditKitchen.com

More video goodness

>

What have liberals done for America?

Over the past few years a number of these have gone around. I know Shakespeare's Sister has done one, and I think someone connected to the Group News Blog has as well. But I like Guerrila Dove's for being simple and direct:

What have liberals done for America? Here are some items to ponder:

- Lead America out of the great depression

- Lead America and the world to victory in WWII

- Stood firm against communism in Berlin, Korea, Cuba and Vietnam

- Spoke out against racism and fought for the right of ALL Americans to vote

- Landed a man on the moon

- Negotiated peace between Israel and its former enemies Egypt and Jordan

- Gave America social security and Medicare to ensure that ALL Americans would have the right to retire without fear of living in abject poverty

- Elected presidents have balanced their budgets or at the very least reduced the deficits of their Republican predecessors

- Led the United States into becoming the most powerful political, economic and military power in human history

Or perhaps this list from the Umatilla County Democrats

1919—Women’s Suffrage Ratified [Wilson]

1920—Annette Adams, First Woman Appointed To An Administration Position
[Wilson]

1933—Federal Deposit Insurance [FDR]

1935—W.P.A. [FDR-put people to work during the depression]

1935—Social Security Act [FDR]

1938—Fair Labor Standards Act [FDR]

1944—G.I. Bill Of Rights [FDR]

1947—Military Desegregated [Truman]

1947—Marshall Plan [Truman-Rebuilt Europe after WW II]

1961—Peace Corps [John F. Kennedy]

1964—Civil Rights Act [Johnson]

1964—Medicare And Medicaid [Johnson]

1964—Fed Dept Of Housing And Urban Development [Johnson]

1965—Head Start Created [Johnson]

1968—Occupation Safety Act [Johnson]

1987—Clean Water Act [Dem Congress override of Reagan veto]

1990—Americans With Disabilities Act [Democratic Congress]

1993—Family Leave Act [Clinton]

1993—AmeriCorps [Clinton]

1996-- Largest expansion of college opportunity since the GI Bill [Clinton]

1997-- Converted the largest budget deficit in American history to the
largest surplus [Clinton]

1999-- Longest economic expansion in American history & Lowest
unemployment in 30 years [Clinton]

He then issued a challenge for anyone to come up with a list of 10 things the conservatives have done for the US. Here's a list from Broad Sunlit Uplands:

• Raised taxes on wages and lowered taxes on unearned income

• Three Quarters of federal debt accumulated by three Conservative Presidents

• Massive devaluation of the dollar by the logical outcome of their belief in invisible hands and cronyism

• Massive and expensive expansion of the military to fight nonexistent threat; one at the expense of social goods like infrastructure maintenance and care for the least among us.

• A distribution of wealth approaching Latin American levels.

• Largest number of homeless and unemployed ever.

• The judicial murder of people later found innocent.

• Imprisonment of almost 2 percent of the national population including those who committed no crime against property or persons.

• Wrecking in turn each industry that they have deregulated. Banks, Airlines, Energy and other deregulated sectors fail then require regulation.

• Wars for irrational beliefs that are against the national interest.

• Self-destructive and irrational fear, hate and ignorance.

To which I will add

- Were in charge during three of the greatest financial crises of the 20th century: The Great Depression (Herbert Hoover), the S&L crises (Ronald Regan) and the Great Recession (George W. Bush)

- Deny citizens their rights based on their sexuality

- Sanctioned the use of torture by the United States

- Took us off the gold standard and put us on the petrodollar (Nixon), thereby tying the value of our currency to foreign oil

- Had lots and lots and LOTS of sex scandals (source)

- Looked the other way while their Saudi friends trafficked in child sex slaves (George W. Bush) (source)

- And, oh yea, not only created Timothy McVey, but were in charge of our national security on 9/11

Now, which party has proven better for this country?

Have a good 4th

Blogging like it's 2008

Once again Barbara Curtis has to go political.

The price they paid.

Now, I'm not disagreeing with the idea that the 4th should be about more than just BBQ and fireworks. But she really ought to find a better source than oxy freak Rush Limbaugh. Much of that essay simply isn't true.

Snopes - The price they paid.

Granted she'll just tell you that Snopes is run or paid for by the Communists/Socialists/Fascists/ACORN/Obama Campaign, so you can't believe them.

Uh-huh

Near as I can tell over-taxation means actually paying your fair share, control means having to obey the law, and tyranny is when you lose and election.

Now, I'm going to go help out at the VA clinic, where a bunch of us horrid liberal progressive types are trying to make life better for a bunch of veterans who lost their homes thanks to the Bush/Republican era economic policies, who can't get the help they need from the VA thanks to the Republican tax cuts, and who were injured in Bush's war of aggression against Iraq. And then I'm going to go watch the fireworks.

What are you going to do today?

Sometimes the headline says it all

(Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images)

Archbishop of Westminster attacks atheism but says nothing on child abuse

On corrupt Christianity

I made these comments, both in comments here and on another blog. I wanted them here as well.

Some negative examples of Christianity..

The Patriocentrics and the idea that women should not be educated or vote. (Links here and herehere)
and

Ted Haggard and his condemnation of “sodomy”, before being discovered with a male prostitute.

Pat Robinson and Jerry Falwell blaming 9/11 on, well, everyone. (link here) and saying that God allowed that to happen.

Pope Benedict II, and the case of the girl in Brazil (link here) when the Vatican excommunicated every adult involved except the rapist.

Also Pope Benedict II claiming that condom use will make the AIDS problem in Africa worse, not better, thereby undermining efforts to help fight the disease. (link here)

Fred Phelps and the Westborogh Baptist Church, picketing at soldiers funerals, claiming that God was killing them for our supposed sins.

Was it the Pearls or the Ezzos who came up with the idea of using pluming line to beat your children in order to train them? Most consider that child abuse.

The sheer number of priests and ministers who have been able to get away with sexual abuse over the years because “a man of God would never do anything like that”. (See links here and here and here

Commercials like this

Deeply dumb jokes like this

The Southern Baptist Convention deciding not to create a database of clergy convicted of molesting minors. They claim it's against their principal of autonomy, which is of course Biblically based. (link here)

The results of Ireland's Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. According to The Irish Times.

"The sheer scale and longevity of the torment inflected on defenseless children – over 800 known abusers in over 200 institutions during a period of 35 years – should alone make it clear that it was not accidental or opportunistic but systematic. Abuse was not a failure of the system. It was the system".

When I see the sheer amount of corruption and evil perpetrated by Christianity, I have to think the entire system is corrupt. From readying and studying the bible and bible history, I have found that the system is corrupt as written.

I take issue with the idea of being forgiven for the wrong you do with no need for retribution on your part for those wrongs. A system like that can only encourage wrongdoing, not only do you not have to incur punishment, but if you ask for forgiveness you are automatically forgiven and rewarded. You may say that Christ knows your heart, but based on the behavior of his followers, he obviously doesn't know or care enough to change those hearts.

The only conclusion I can settle with is that the whole thing is a myth.

When you look at the history, there is no proof of Christ. The Gospels were written decades after he supposedly lived. The decision of what made up the bible was made by committee centuries after that. It makes far more sense to me, and fits the behavior of Christians through the ages, that the whole thing was set up to justify a power structure and allow for corrupt behavior.

Playing for change

Amazing videos. PlayingforChange.com Thanks to K for turning me on to them

On Evangelicals and torture

photo © Adrian van Leen for openphoto.net CC:PublicDomain


From CNN.com:

Survey: Support for terror suspect torture differs among the faithful

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.

More than half of people who attend services at least once a week -- 54 percent -- said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified. Only 42 percent of people who "seldom or never" go to services agreed, according the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified -- more than six in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only four in 10 of them did.

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The religious group most likely to say torture is never justified was Protestant denominations -- such as Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians -- categorized as "mainline" Protestants, in contrast to evangelicals. Just over three in 10 of them said torture is never justified. A quarter of the religiously unaffiliated said the same, compared with two in 10 white non-Hispanic Catholics and one in eight evangelicals.

I think this goes back to my theory that "being saved" subconsciously translates into "I can do anything I want, no repercussions.". After all, you're already forgiven of all your sins. Whereas groups who have to "earn" their salvation by actually following the Bible (instead of just reading it over and over again), doing the dreaded "good works", and treating others as they would be treated are less likely to torture. The least likely are those who don't believe in an afterlife, so they have to make this life count.

Problem is, the people who pay for this one are not the believers. It's our men and women in uniform. See, when we don't follow the Geneva convention when we capture the enemy, why should the enemy follow it when they capture our people? Matthew 7:12 actually does directly apply here:

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Funny how the Atheists get this more than the Evangelicals do.

Heartfelt sorrow

This may only matter to the knitters, but Kay over at Mason-Dixon Knitting lost her husband over the week-end. Sincerest condolences to her and her family.

On the financial crisis

Please note: The next video in line is the first that addresses the Obama administration. The previous four videos address the actions of the Bush administration.