I work in the arts.  Have for all my professional life.  And yes, I am a bleeding heart liberal that believes it is the state’s responsibility to help fund arts and culture.  It is simply a quality of life issue that we all deserve.  Indeed you will find many of us at Atlanta Skeptics either work in the arts or are active participants in arts related endeavors such as theater, museums, puppetry, etc.  Why?  Because arts and culture help us think, feel, and understand the world around us.  We are better critical thinkers and skeptics because of it.

It has been proven that art, theater, music, and other such cultural activities are a necessary part of a persons life and help greatly with education.  Apparently, however, the lawmakers in Georgia take a different stance on the importance of the arts and arts funding, a stance that I do not agree with.

The $17.8 billion budget passed by the House on Wednesday calls for the elimination of the Georgia Council for the Arts. Georgia would become the only state in the U.S. without an arts agency if that plan holds as the budget works its way through the Senate before going to Gov. Sonny Perdue.

It’s already a fact that arts funding in this state lags behind much of the country (we’re presently ranked 44th) so it is no big surprise that the whacko’s in the capitol building want to get rid of it altogether. It is a travesty, however, that should not be allowed to happen.  In an economy where jobs are already hard to come by, this decision will cut many jobs that depend on Georgia Arts Council funding.   How does cutting more jobs, by cutting a small part of the state budget help things?  In fact it will hurt far more than it helps.  I urge you, all of you who read this, to contact your state senator or representative and even the governor.  Let them know how you feel.  Try to do something about this.

On one side we have Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens (among others) calling for legal action on the Pope himself when he visits the UK this fall.  On the other we have Morford and others hoping for the final death of this ancient cult.

I would like to agree with Morford that this is a signal that perhaps the “Rapture” is finally upon us, because, like him, I have a different definition of what the Rapture will be:

The Rapture is when the major karmic roadblocks of man — all the Vaticans, popes, temples, cults, megachurches and even most organized religions all stagger and collapse under the weight of their inherent hypocrisy, all the oppressed sexuality, the homophobia, misogyny, fear of science, the denial of true spiritual source.

Hat Tip to Shalini Sehkar for pointing me to this article

Video here.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/04/09/yemen.child.bride.death/index.html?npt=NP1

Of all the sick ways people can hurt children, having a legal, institutionalized way to do it is perhaps the sickest.  It still galls me that in 2010 there can still be nations on this planet that still subscribe to modes of behavior that should have been left far behind in the middle ages.  It is for things like this that this nation should block all contact with others, yet we don’t.  In fact we still consider Yemen an “ally.” Even though they not only support and condone pedophile rape, they are also a known sponsor of terrorism.

Noro gave religious sermons wearing only his underpants and told his disciples they would be taught “Kamasutra” sex techniques to use in the afterlife, former follower Eko was quoted as saying by news website Okezone.

via AFP: Indonesian ‘sex cult’ leader arrested.

Well, what can be said.  I guess forcing your followers to have sex and partake in orgies is better than mass suicide, but this is still a little on the religious perversion side of things.  I always thought you wouldn’t need to have sex in the afterlife because it would be like living an eternal orgasm anyway.

I will have to make note of this cult when I start my own.

I am sure that most of the UFO loons will be sadly depressed once they find out that there is nothing there.  All these years, all these supposed sightings and yet nothing exists to show for it.  Hmmm, what might that mean?  That you are all credulous buffoons!

Recently while on change.gov I noticed that there are actual people who really want Pres. Obama to tell us all the truth.  With all that is going on in the world right now, do we really want him to spend the time chasing down bullshit for a few crazies?  I hope not.

Get over it people.  If aliens really wanted to visit another civilization I don’t think they would bother with us.

The 57-year-old head of the now defunct Church of Downtown Montreal, who also once ran for mayor, has maintained he is not a pedophile and that he did nothing wrong as the pair were married during a ceremony at his obscure evangelical church in 1999.

via The Canadian Press: Ex-Montreal pastor gets five years in prison for sex with 10-year-old ‘wife’.

What gets me is that he tried to justify his actions by “marrying” a 10-year-old girl.  Of all the whacked out shit.  Five years is far too light a sentence for this man…10 years plus castration would be better.

Perhaps he will get more time tacked on for next case…

In a recorded lecture entitled “The Keys to a Successful Marriage”, delivered to his male worshippers but now broadcast on the internet and viewed by several thousand people, Mr Hamza said Islamic law allowed men to hit their wives as a last resort, but they were not to make them bleed or become bruised.

via It&squo;s OK to hit your wife, says Melbourne Islamic cleric | Herald Sun.

There is a sickness to this religion…  Of course there is a sickness to all religions, but one that feels it is alright to beat, demand sex, and brutalize your wife, has an extra helping of sickness.  With idiots like this speaking for them how do Muslims expect rational people to ever take them seriously?

More and more I have my doubts that this medieval cult of misogyny and pedophilia deserves a place in a modern world.  While I am no fan of most religions (ok, all of them) this takes a special place on my wall of shame…

I think Pat Condell says it best:

Let’s stop appeasing these idiots.  Secular governments should take a stand.

LONDON (Reuters) – Cult sci-fi comedy “Red Dwarf” is to return to TV screens for a special two-part series more than 20 years after it was first aired.

The show, which ran for eight series on the BBC from 1988 until 1999, will appear on digital channel Dave over the Easter weekend.

via Cult hit Red Dwarf returns for Easter special | Entertainment | Reuters.

First the Doctor, now Dave Lester!  This is great!