LDS cult waterboards babies

What do you do when an infant becomes difficult to manage?  Submit it to water torture, of course:

“It’s quite common,” Carolyn Blackmore Jessop said. She was a witness for the B.C. government in the constitutional reference case to determine whether Canada’s polygamy law is valid.

“They spank the baby and when it cries, they hold the baby face up under the tap with running water. When they stop crying, they spank it again and the cycle is repeated until they are exhausted.”

It’s typically done by fathers and it’s called “breaking in...”

Her assertions about water torture were not challenged by FLDS lawyer Robert Wickett during cross-examination.

I simply haven't the words.

Erick Erickson: Government shouldn't accommodate atheists, or even mention them.

CNN contributor Erick Erickson can't stand that there are atheists in the United States, expecting to be treated equally by the federal government. 

Erickson criticizes President Obama for calling for a "Moment of Silence" rather than a "Moment of Prayer," the way God intended it (pay no attention to Jesus urging prayers to be done in secret.)  Never mind that previous Republican presidents have done the same thing.  When Obama does it, it's because Obama is "of the left."

But the offensive part is when Erickson argues that the President shouldn't "accommodate atheists" even by calling for "prayer or reflection."  Why, in Obama's inaugural speech, he had the audacity to "mention" atheists. Can you imagine such a thing?

(No word on when Erickson plans to contact his U.S. Representative and ask him or her to begin the paperwork on repealing the First Amendment.)

Shira Hirschman Weiss: Why do Atheists Even Care?

On Huffington Post, Shira Hirschman Weiss writes . . .well, an interesting article on atheists, wondering aloud why atheists pay so close attention to the goings-on of the religious.  She starts off well enough, saying that atheists are "some of the most interesting people I've met," and that "Atheists want to be well-informed."

However, she also gives voice to others who espouse common myths about atheists, like that some atheists may be secret agnostics who read the religious sections of news sites because they are struggling with internal doubts.

She quotes several atheists, many of them comedians, who joke about monitoring the religious for self-protection or for the humor aspect.  But then Weiss, for some reason, asks theologians why atheists pay attention to them.  Unsurprisingly, they get it all wrong.  A rabbi somehow knows that "deep down within every person is a yearning for belief in God."  No, Rabbi, it's called a yearning for the truth.  A pastor wonders why atheists responded so strongly to her religious assertions when she lets believers in astrology alone.  Perhaps that's because astrologers don't work to force their wacky beliefs on the rest of us via legislation and public education, that's why.

Superstition in the Supreme Court

Sadly, one can graduate from law school while still believing in Satan.  No word yet on whether the belief in the Tooth Fairy, Cthulu, or leprechauns is required to pass the bar exam.

"What do you think about Satan?" That's not a typical question at the Supreme Court, but those words were indeed uttered by Justice Scalia on January 10. The question drew a near belly laugh from the packed gallery, leaving one to wonder whether the Devil has become nothing more than a joke in modern America...

As I bowed my head to pray, I asked the Almighty (who now is publicly replaced by silence if not yet laughter) to bind a Devil who seems to be quite actively at work (as evidenced by the actions of a deranged young atheist in Tuscon) even while the real possibility of his evil existence is ignored in the hearts of men and the halls of earthly power.

If Satan was a real evil entity, the United States government would have sold him weapons long ago.

Cold Beer Podcast Featured in iTunes

Well, this is mildly exciting for me.  My podcast Cold Beer for the Skeptic's Mind is on the "New and Noteworthy" page in iTunes under the category of "Religion and Spirituality - Other."

Of course, it's probably more accurate for iTunes to call this group "New OR Noteworthy," and that my own effort falls under the former label rather than the latter.  But it's an honor just to be nominated.

Episode 07 - CB4SM - Rabbi Sherwin Wine - Two Visions

This episode of Cold Beer for the Skeptic's Mind features Rabbi Sherwin Wine, 20th century American rabbi and a founding figure of Humanistic Judaism. The passage is called "Two Visions" and highlights two competing visions for the future of America.


You can subscribe in iTunes or get the podcast directly here.

I hope you enjoy it.

Top 25 Living Atheists

A site I'm not familiar with ranks the 25 Most Influential Living Atheists.

Many of these are slam-dunks, but I personally would have included George H. Smith, who was instrumental to my deconversion, whereas some of the names on this list of 25 I've never heard of.

What do you think of the list?  Missing anyone?