In 1977, Wildmon moved his family to Tupelo Mississippi to fulfil his dream of foisting his narrow version of blue nose morality on the public at large. To this end, he founded the National Federation for Decency.

His first target was Sears, for sponsoring Charlie’s Angels, Three’s Company and All in the Family. Sears withdrew its sponsorship for the first two.

Is this a man motivated by a desire for a return to morality and family values, or is there another agenda?

Let’s let him speak for himself;

Others have said;

1. You(I) are an introvert
2. You(I) are coerced OR outright forced to deal with relatives you'd rather have little to do with
3. You don't care for these pointless, highly kitsch "cards" you receive and are expected to give a shit about
4. Don't care for the trinkets people give you that you are expected to give a shit about
5. You have something much more fun and rewarding to do with your time
6. You'd rather NOT have a winter holiday locally as opposed to... say, in Calgary or Bahamas
7. You don't like how commercialized many holidays like giftmas have become
8. You don't care for how disingenuous/facade-like "family friendly" holidays like giftmas have become
9. You don't need the stress of travel arrangements, gift ideas, contacting long distance relatives, finding a convenient spot to gather at, work parties, and the like
10. BAH HUMBUG! (all of the above)

There ya have it folks, my top 10 reasons why I tire of such "holidays" meant to somehow promote "(Christian) charity and good will towards men"... from my PoV, they do the exact opposite.

I'm sure the same is, at least, partially true of most of the people posting to RRS. Yea? Nea? And (most importantly) why? Respond here!

Roommates are off with family, I have the place to myself. Woken up hearing someone moving in the room beside mine. Grab weapon, jump up, and then decided I didn't want to massacre an intruder with bed hair, and grabbed my hair brush.

Turned out to be the cat anyway.

Time to get a coffee. Day that starts this way must be prepared for.

Well what do ya know. It's already been 5 years since I found the RRS. Good times.

Was a little excited to find an atheist forum, so I wasn't concerning myself with details like logic at the time. lol.

Glad I stuck around though.

Jesus was simply a copy of other gods before him. If you accept the bible as true then you'd believe Jesus was born in the spring months. There is not enough historical proof of Jesus Christ in order to warrant belief in him. There isn't a single source or witness of his life that wrote about him within 30 years of his death. If he did exist, he was nothing more than an ordinary man, who might have been a narcissistic pot head. He probably didn't exist. And if that idea has you shaking your head in disbelief then you need to do more research. Do it.

Because of how similar his story is to other myths before him it leads one to believe that he likely was just another figment of our imagination. The feast and gathering that Christians enjoy on December 25th is a tradition based on a gathering celebrated by Pagans called Saturnalia. Today it makes more sense to celebrate a Winter Solstice, in which we gather with family and friends, enjoy the last harvest of the year, and unwind together as we prepare for a new season.

Please share this message of reality. Clarity and education is the best gift you can give on this day full of sharing.  

The God Who Wasn't There Movie on Amazon.com

Stand up comedian Kent Hovind is the Ed Wood of the creationist camp. Wood was known for his utterly sincere efforts at film making which gave us some of the worst cinematic moments of all time. Hovind is equally well known for his laughable and simpleminded notions about geology, biology, palaeontology, cosmology and of course, the US Tax Code.

Hovind is an embarrassment to the creationists, a crowd not known for being all that rational themselves. His ‘theories’ are a shining example of self refuting clap trap, and are used on the creationist site “Answers in Genesis” as an example of arguments creationists should NEVER use.

Like Ed Wood, Hovind has built a cult of personality around himself, a mythology in which he is the heroic, martyred protagonist tilting at the windmills of science, government and society itself.

He was born Kent E. Hovind in 1953. I can find no information on his parents. Hovind claims that he became a ‘born again’ Christian in 1969 at the age of 16. He did graduate from East Peoria Community High School. He then spent two years at Midwestern Baptist College where he obtained a “Bachelor of Religious Education”. Note that the school is NOT accredited, so his first claimed ‘degree’ is to be blunt, fake.

(According to the US Department of Education, unaccredited degrees and credits might not be acceptable to employers or other institutions, and use of degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions.)

Dobson was born to Myrtle and Traveling Evangelist, James Dobson Sr. in Shreveport, Louisiana on April 21, 1936. He is the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Church of the Nazarene ministers.
Education: He attended Pasadena College (now Point Loma Nazarene University) In 1967, Dobson received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Southern California and served in the faculty of the university's Keck School of Medicine for 14 years.

Dobson has been called one of the most influential evangelical leader and spokesman for conservative social positions in the country. He displays a Machiavellian ability to manipulate the political process, relishing his role as ‘king maker’.

Slate Magazine said

Dobson entered the national consciousness in 1970 with his book “Dare to Discipline.” Which advocated a Skinnerian approach to child rearing tied to an evangelical Christian perspective. “Spare the rod and spoil the child” being the key concept.

Pat Robertson, even the man’s name is a lie. He chose the name ‘Pat’ because he felt ‘Marion’ was just ‘too effeminate’.  He was born Marion Gordon Robertson in March of 1930 to Absalom Willis Robertson, a conservative Democratic United States Senator, and his wife Gladys Churchill.  

Robertson has an issue with truthfulness. He can’t do it. For instance, He claims to have been elected Phi Beta Kappa. Robertson did graduate with Honors from his Prep School, The McCallie School in Chatanooga, and then enrolled in and subsequently graduated from Washington and Lee University majoring in History. Phi Beta Kappa keeps a registry and he’s not on it.

Robertson lied about his military service. This is what he says…
"I ended up at the headquarters command of the First Marine Division," says Robertson. "The Division was in combat in the hot and dusty, then bitterly cold portion of North Korea just above the 38th Parallel later identified as the 'Punchbowl' and 'Heartbreak Ridge.' For that service in the Korean War, the Marine Corps awarded me three battle stars for 'action against the enemy.'”

I woke up bright and early this morning and checked my newsfeeds and of course, what riveted my attention was the story about the passing of Christopher Hitchens. I wish I could say it was a shock and a surprise, but it’s been obvious for the last few months that his end was close. I won’t discuss his death, it’s unimportant. It’s his life that matters, and the indelible mark he has left on those of us left behind.

I first became aware of Hitch with his blistering expose’ of ‘Mother’ Teresa. I was awestruck at the sheer balls of the man in tearing into a ‘beloved’ icon with simple, readily available truth. He didn’t speak with temerity from the crowd, he grabbed a bullhorn and screamed out, the “Emperor is bloody naked!”.

From that point on, I tried to read everything he wrote, even the political things with which I must admit, I didn’t agree.

We lost Christopher Hitchens last night.  Many of us have a feeling of emptiness today, we know how amazing he was.  Many of us have been influenced by his style, and because of this he will live on.  Because we read his books and use his arguments, quote him in arguments, and are influenced by him, he will live on.  Christopher Hitchens seems irreplaceable.  It's only in the strength of our collective voices do we consider the notion that we could possibly fill his shoes.  And we will try, this is obvious to us, all of us had a collective atheist head nod today.  We know we must pick up where he left off.  

Hatred gets slick…

It’s an antiseptic cover for a cesspool of the vilest and most disgusting rhetoric possible. I’m speaking of course of the site known as www.Godhatesfags.com, which is the internet home of the Westboro Baptist Church,  that gaggle of forty or so inbred cretins spawned by Fred Phelps.

The Church itself, ostensibly a mix of Primitive Baptist and Calvinist theology has been polluting the quiet residential neighbourhood in which it squats in Topeka, Kansas since 1955. But the odd and colourful career of Fred Waldron Phelps goes a bit further back.