Another blow for women today

Today the Supreme Court of the United States said that employers have the right to decide what I do with my body. They said that a for profit corporation has religious rights. I have no idea how to deal with this. It would never have occurred to me that this could happen in my country.

A friend posted this on Facebook

Apparently, the company Hobby Lobby is considered more of a person that I am in certain ways since it doesn't have a vagina. We women call that par for the course.

Since Hobby Lobby is quite person-like with its government-approved right to interfere with women's bodies just like the mostly white men in power have, I feel it is possible to tell it "Fuck you." You can't tell a regular ole business "Fuck you," so I don't feel silly saying it now.

Thanks, Supreme Court, for again upholding the comfort and sensibilities of rich white people while the rest of us continue to scramble for enough scraps to fill our bellies and maintain some form of dignity as human beings. You know what? Fuck you, too.

Harsh, but I get it. How can this have happened? I know how, religion; clear and simple.

Another friend posted this:  

Ok I know most of you are pissed about the SCOTUS decision on HL today but it's not as bad as it appears on the surface.

First if the religious can exempt themselves from things they are morally opposed to so can we.

Like insisting the insurance we offer does not include religious hospitals as in network and preferably not allowed at all. This will drive out of pocket costs up for the employees. Their problem not ours according to the court now.

But the best thing from all this is the long term outlook.

Religious owned companies of which many will now appear are going to screw so many people that they will turn from Christianity at faster and greater rates.

 Let's see what happens.

The Meaning of Words

I recently had an interesting conversation with a friend about the meaning of spiritual or spirituality. Some consider it acceptable to be 'spiritual' but not 'religious'. I can't wrap my head around that because the definition of the word refers to religion.

               spir·i·tu·al·i·ty

plural spir·i·tu·al·i·ties
Full Definition of SPIRITUALITY
1   something that in ecclesiastical law belongs to the church or to a cleric as such
2   clergy
3   sensitivity or attachment to religious values
4   the quality or state of being spiritual

: the quality or state of being concerned with religion or religious matters : the quality or state of being spiritual                                                                             

   My friend stated that different people have different meanings for words so if my meaning includes a reference to religion it is not necessarily the same as another's meaning.  Hummmmm.....That is a problem for me:

Case in point: I was at the airport recently and I asked directions to a particular elevator that I knew would take me within a few feet of my parking spot in the overnight garage. I knew that I had taken the elevator to the tunnel and then walked to the escalator that took me to ticketing. The person giving the directions told me to go through the tunnel past the second 'crosswalk' and the elevator would be on my right. 

crosswalk  

1.  a marked path where people can safely walk across a street or road 
2.  a specially paved or marked path for pedestrians crossing a street or road

Now that is a crosswalk to me. It crossed a street. I knew I had not gone outside when arriving at the airport and I could not understand why I had to go outside to return to the garage. The gentlemen was kind enough to walk me part of the way and I soon realized that my meaning of 'crosswalk' was quite different than his. He was referring to the 'people movers' or moving sidewalk as I have known it called.

Meaning matters. If everyone can have their own meaning then we can not communicate. We cannot do business, have relationships, become educated. The English language is fraught with double meaning words, fuzzy meaning words and even nonsense words but for the most part the important parts of communication are based on an accepted meaning. There are times when it is necessary to'define the terms' but I must hope that ordinary daily conversations are exempt from such formality.

Let me die with dignity

I recently made the 4+ hour drive to East Texas to see my two surviving siblings. One healthy, one 27 years in a nursing facility.

Our family was a big one. My parents married young, at least my mom was young...16, my dad a 27 year old divorced, WWII veteran with a child he would never see again. That was March 1945 and in July 1947 I showed up. Then came twins in 1949, a girl in 1950, a boy in 1952 and twins again in 1954. Seven in all, my parents , had their hands full.  

The first to go in our family was my mom in 1981... an aneurysm, followed in 1989 by my father...Then in 1990 one of the older twins, cancer. In 2005 my oldest brother and one of the younger twins...cancer. In 2009 the other younger twin...cancer. So now only 3 of the original 9 left but something happened in 1987; the other older twin had an aneurysm but she didn't die. She went to a nursing home where she remains today.

She has the use of one arm and hand and she can move her head. She used to talk some but not so much anymore. Now she spends her time lying on a bed with the television on and eating crackers, drinking juice and breathing. She isn't on life support but my one healthy sister is. Not the kind used in hospitals with oxygen and feeding tubes but the kind that is so tenuous that the slightest tug could break the connection. 

You won't hear her complain but in a quiet moment, from the corner of my eye, I saw the despair she feels. She has cared for our invalid sister for 27 years. By some miracle of fate she married a man who really loves her and has stood by her all these years. I am her...sister and I have not been there for her, for either of them but he was and is. 

Their children are out of the nest, they have comfortable retirement and they would like to move to West Texas to be near his brothers. They can't go or at least they won't go until "something happens" to our sister.

Our sister's organs are failing, she has frequent infections and illness, she never leaves her bed, she is not dead but she is not living. I can't say what I want to say but if I could this is what I would say:

Why is it wrong to help "something happen" when lives are on hold to keep someone breathing with no hope of living? Why do we not have  system where useless life is disposable? What possible purpose does this person serve except to provide payment to a nursing facility? Can we not see the inhumanity to humans that we do not extend to our beloved pets? A sick and unhealthy dog  or an old and feeble cat can can go to rest and suffer no more. A horse with a broken and irreparable leg is quickly put out of misery. How can we not do the same for those we claim to love so much?

I do know the answer...religion...gods...holy books.

Imagine a world....with no religion to get in the way of humanity.

Serious Question

Mark 16:17-18 (King James Version)

17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.


Okay so I am rereading the new testament and here's a puzzle. What exactly does this tell us?

I know that some who call themselves Christians do play with snakes and some have died. So if they misunderstood this verse then, what does it mean?

This I Believe

I believe that the earth is one of 8 (or 9 if you count Pluto) planets in a Solar System which revolves around the sun. I believe that our Solar System is just one small part of a huge galaxy which is only one small part of a vast Universe.

I believe that I was born of the love of two wonderful people I call my parents as they were born of their parents and my children of me and their father.

I believe that the only constant is change and that all life is evolving as it has in the past and will continue in the future. I believe humans like all life, adapt to the situation at hand

I believe that while I am on this earth that it is my responsibility to leave it better than I found it. I believe that my children and their children are my legacy and that it is my task to pass on my beliefs to them.

I believe most people are morally sound and emotionally logical. I believe that religion is dangerous because it provides an excuse for bad behavior (“I am weak and I sin.”) and a crutch when things don’t turn out well (“God please forgive me”). I believe that religion provides a bucket for one’s responsibility. (“It’s God’s will”)

I believe that I am responsible for my life; my decisions and the consequences. I believe that I make mistakes and that I learn from my mistakes. I believe that I have something to offer the world, even when I have no idea what it may be. I believe that I will die and that my body will become dust and rejoin the earth. I believe that I will live on after I die in the memories of those who love me. I believe that death is the end of the body and that the only thing that remains is the footprint I made while I was here.

Role Reversal

I have just returned from a two week trip to Europe. I would have stayed even longer had I not been expected back to work.

I went to visit a friend with whom I had lost touch more than 30 years ago. What a surprise when she just called me out of the blue! And what a treat to be invited to her home in Germany.

When we became friends we were both living in California, both with new marriages and small children. Our friendship blossomed in spite of the fact that I was religious and she was not. I went to church, taught my children about god and said my prayers.

In the ensuing years I returned to school, became a teacher and dumped religion. Remembering the many heated conversations we shared all those years ago, I was looking forward to telling her that she had won all the arguments; that I too, am an atheist. Now, you can see where this is going…

Her former husband died in a traffic accident and she remarried; a believer. Now she is one too!

Well, so much for the win/loss record.

A Call to Arms

I am usually a happy person. Fairly satisfied with my financial station in life, I contribute to causes with which I concur. But today something has upset my satisfaction. I wish to have the resources of Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey. Not to indulge myself in bobbles and bling but to finance a real defense of science. Here, is what got me going. And this.

It has already been said, better than I can but this is a cause I completely support.

Everywhere I go!

This morning I made a visit to a doctor's office. (This is a new doctor since I have only recently moved here.)

The first thing I noticed was the absence of any magazines. One must always wait in a doctor's office....however, nothing but a television going on some religious station. I asked the receptionist if there was reading material available somewhere.

"Oh sure," she said and handed me a copy of the Bible. "We give them to all our patients," she proudly spouted. "It's free," she said, "take it home with you."

Okay what did I do? Nothing. But I certainly thought about it.

Science Fiction Fantasy

I found this on Secular Earth and am reposting here for those who might miss it otherwise.

I am in shock! I can't believe that the museum puts up with this. And what about those kids? I call it child abuse and museum abuse!

Celebrating Death

I have long felt unnerved by the Easter religious celebration but this truly takes the cake.

Today I received a "little story" from my daughter. It is too long to post here but the gist is that three trees are standing in the woods dreaming about what they will be when they grow up.

The first wants to be a treasure chest filled with gold an silver.
The second wants to be a great ship that carries kings and queens across great oceans.
The third wants to remain on the hill so he can be close to god.

The first is made into a horse trough, the second into a rowboat and the third into little pieces. It so happens that these trees then wind up in Bethlehem when a certain virgin gives birth to a baby boy. The trough is the manger, the second, which was made into a rowboat carried the grown up baby on some mission and the third became the cross upon which the baby died!

What a morbid story! How can anyone gain inspiration from that?

Thank god?

Last night I caught a few minutes of an old Law and Order SVU episode. In this one a 14 year old girl is found to have a venereal disease. When her father is told he practically disowns her. However, when he is told that she was raped, his reaction is "Thank god, she did nothing wrong." Thank god? His daughter is raped and becomes ill and he is glad that she was raped ???


I know it was a TV show but it reflects our society in many ways. Do you ever wonder why? Religion and the belief that women are less than human. Check out this article about the bible's take on women.

Thank god? I don't think so.

Children and God

I recently started a new job. Although I have worked with children in the recent past, my exposure to them was limited to 30-45 minutes a week. Now I have the total responsibility of 17 little darlings all day long, 5 days a week. I don't know what I was thinking!

All that aside, I recently over heard several students in a heated argument about the orgin of man...MAN...not mankind. Now please keep in mind that these students are 8 years old.

A very snappy little girl said, " I don't care if god did make the man first, he saved the best for last ."

Then a rather indignant young man retorted, "Well, you still have to do what we say because you are made with one of our ribs."

An then the conversation starter, " You're both wrong because people were born from monkeys and that makes us all equal."

Of course, the bell rang and I had to put a stop to the dialog but oh how enlightening to find that at least one of my students has been exposed to reality.

Religion and Divorce

I recently read here that 20% of Catholic and Protestant marriages end in divorce within the first 5 year. The stats for Jewish marriages is 40%.

Looking further at this site I found that the number one reason say they got a divorce is because "She was unfaithful". The last was because, "I was unfaithful".



I have to ask...what are the stats for non-believers?

Does it make a difference? Are the numbers comparable?

Men of the Cloth

I recently read a book by Susan Ray Schmidt His Favorite Wife. My interest in the mormon church and its history, continues to be one of MY favorite things. As I finished the book I was left wanting more so off on a search to find something I have not read.

I found an article on About.com that reviews a book by Martha Beck who is the daughter of Dr. Hugh Nibley, professor emeritus of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University and "arguably the leading living authority on Mormon teaching." She is also the author of a new book where she reveals being sexually abused by her father and explains why she left Mormonism.

Although the article was posted in 2005 it seems timely today. With the rise in reported molesting by "men of the cloth" I become more frustrated by religion every day. What is it about these men that makes them such a despicable, evil characters? Is it religion and the belief that they are working for god?

If so I am certainly glad god is imaginary.

“Who cares, if the founding fathers were believers or not?”

Actually, I don’t care one way or the other. But it comes into play when we begin the conversation about the separation of church and state. Our founding fathers were wise to create a constitution that provides for such a state. They had lived under the rule of the Church of England and they were well aware of the problems created when church and state are mixed.

You asked how it affects my life and the answer is in several ways;
• First I am a patriotic citizen but when the pledge of allegiance to the United States of America is recited “under god” is injected, not in the original by the way. The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag
• In many schools children are never taught the science of evolution. Whether you believe it or not, children should be taught science not religion
• I am an atheist and I pay taxes which are used to promote religion Americans United: Home Page
• Churches are exempt from taxes when they often use the pulpit to promote political values Preacher Against Romney
• Political leaders are heavily influenced by the Christian right which promotes an agenda with which I don’t agree.
• And then if religion is a part of policy, which religion? Christian? Judaism? Islam? Mormon? Scientology? Wicken? They are all represented in the US population.

We must, as a nation, remain secular; our freedom depends on it.


Prayer in Schools? Only for Muslims
Muslim Prayer Protected in Texas Public School

To Believe or Not to Believe

Some time ago I was in a conversation with an evangelical concerning whether or not we could choose to believe. My argument was and is that we do not choose to believe or not to believe.

1. I find “belief” to be a lot like “love” (i.e. love for one’s spouse). Something magical and ineffable draws us to an idea (or another person). But some effort is usually required to make that attraction last. Love requires one to continually expend emotional, physical, intellectual, etc. effort in one direction (i.e. toward one’s spouse); and at the same time one willingly withholds or does not expend such efforts in the direction of others. http://theculturalhall.com/?p=157

As I read this post it started me thinking again. My mother always told me that we cannot choose how we feel or with whom we fall in love. But she also said that we can choose where we go and with whom we associate. In that way we do choose to a certain extent for where we go determines who we meet and we can only fall in love with one we meet.

Now, how does this relate to belief? Lately I have read many posts and responses about persons who have begun to question their belief, often in Mormonism but also in the existence of god. Something that really stands out is the number of people who say, “ choose to believe because…” and they have a multitude of reasons:
· It makes my family happy
· It is easier at work
· Everyone else is doing it (going to church)

So, I don’t know…can one choose to believe? Or do they just go along to get along?

Preventing groupthink

According to Irving Janis, decision making groups are not necessarily doomed to groupthink. He also claims that there are several ways to prevent it. Janis devised seven ways of preventing groupthink (209-15):Leaders should assign each member the role of “critical evaluator”. This allows each member to freely air objections and doubts. Higher-ups should not express an opinion when assigning a task to a group.

The organization should set up several independent groups, working on the same problem. All effective alternatives should be examined. Each member should discuss the group's ideas with trusted people outside of the group. The group should invite outside experts into meetings. Group members should be allowed to discuss with and question the outside experts. At least one group member should be assigned the role of Devil's advocate. This should be a different person for each meeting.

By following these guidelines, groupthink can be avoided. After the Bay of Pigs fiasco, John F. Kennedy sought to avoid groupthink during the Cuban Missile
Crisis.[5] During meetings, he invited outside experts to share their viewpoints, and allowed group members to question them carefully. He also encouraged group members to discuss possible solutions with trusted members within their separate departments, and he even divided the group up into various sub-groups, in order to partially break the group cohesion. JFK was deliberately absent from the meetings, so as to avoid pressing his own opinion. Ultimately, the Cuban missile crisis was resolved peacefully, thanks in part to these measures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink#Preventing_groupthink

If only those in religious circles could or would be so inclined.