This church must be desperate for attendance when they are giving out free guns to get teens to show up for Mass. I can certainly think of better things to offer to get teens to show up, but since it is Oklahoma I guess guns is not a dumb idea.
They were going to give away one $800 gun to a contest winner. The pastor who was to give the gun away was unable to attend due to an injury. They will give away the gun next year. After the press caught wind of the gun giveaway a controversy naturally came about.
To me it seems hypocritical for a religion to give out a weapon as an incentive. It seems to be in bad taste to do something like this.
"State Attorney General Tom Corbett announced charges against 12 individuals, including former House Minority Whip Michael Veon, Rep. Sean Ramaley, D-Beaver, and Michael Manzo, former chief of staff to House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene."
According to Hall there were several instances where fellow personnel discriminated against him because of his atheism.
"Two years ago on Thanksgiving Day, after refusing to pray at his table, Hall said he was told to go sit somewhere else. In another incident, when he was nearly killed during an attack on his Humvee, he said another soldier asked him, 'Do you believe in Jesus now?'"
Clearly these two instances are uncalled for. These two incidents certainly harassed Hall. If these events are true, they are unacceptable.
Hall is also claiming that because of his atheism he lost out on getting promoted. Hall is quoted as saying
"I was told because I can't put my personal beliefs aside and pray with troops I wouldn't make a good leader,"
Yet it seems that the military is fine with the personal religious beliefs of officers being promoted via prayer and as an influencing factor in promotions.
Hall is not alone in this suit.
"Michael Weinstein, a retired senior Air Force officer and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, is suing along with Hall. Weinstein said he's been contacted by more than 8,000 members of the military, almost all of them complaining of pressure to embrace evangelical Christianity."
Religious discrimination of any form is illegal.
The Pentagon maintain that these instances of evangelizing are rare.
According to this article from a year ago, discrimination against atheists in the military is viewed as acceptable.
Atheists are one of the most discriminated and most distrusted minority groups in America. A poll found that a majority of Americans would not consider voting for an atheist. Women, Muslims, blacks, and gays were more likely to be elected than an atheist.
I have personally experienced such discrimination and most of it stems from ignorance about atheism. It is not a belief in nothing. Most atheists believe in an ethical reasoning of some sort. Myself, I consider myself a Humanist when it comes to ethics and morality. I do have beliefs. I simply reject the notion of a higher power. That is what atheism is. However; in America and other places, atheism is seen as a dangerous way to live.
Getting rid of DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) would be the right step towards equality in the military. The notion that having open gays will deter the ability of the armed forces is plain silly.
The study is not just a bunch of liberals either grasping at straws.
"The study was conducted by four retired military officers, including the three-star Air Force lieutenant general who in early 1993 was tasked with implementing President Clinton's policy that the military stop questioning recruits on their sexual orientation."
"To support its contention, the panel points to the British and Israeli militaries, where it says gay people serve openly without hurting the effectiveness of combat operations."
There we now have a comprehensive study to back up efforts to repeal the law.
As Barry Goldwater allegedly once said
"You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight."
I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. I didn't get a chance to see the fireworks this year in Kirby Park although I went last year and it was a great site.
Instead this year it was a family cookout. Food was great as always.
My job this year was setting off the fireworks for the kids. I love fireworks, but next year I need to make sure I go on the trip to get the fireworks. My brother and dad didn't get many good ones.
It is being hailed as a masterpiece, one of the greatest sci/fi films of all time, and perhaps the best CGI movie ever made.
As of posting it has a weighted ranking of 9.1/10 on www.imdb.com where it ranks #6 amongst the 250 Greatest Movies of All Time, as rated by users of The Internet Movie Database. It is ranked higher than movies like Schindler's List and Star Wars.
Is it that good?
If I could I'd give it a 12/10.
It is is a remarkably excellent film. The film is visually gorgeous. The scene where WALL-E attaches himself to a space ship that is going through space is the most majestic scene in the film, and one of the most beautiful in a movie that I have seen. I love how they also incorporated live action into the movie.
The film is mostly without any dialogue. For the first thrity minutes or so there is virtually no dialogue and most of the dialgoue does not occur until the last twenty minutes or so. Even then it is sparse.
The film is a message film, but I don't believe it is a political message. It is a human message. This is a science fiction film. A lot of media that is sci/fi whether it be a movie, book, or comic often has a message. I dare say a warning. It takes an issue and makes it a hyperboyle. In WALL-E the hyperboyle is obesity, consumerism, and not caring about the earth. The movie is NOT saying anything about global warming or alternative fuels. It is telling us that we need to be more human and not lose the things that make us human.
Of course some commenators make take issue with that and turn it political. Some already are if you look at some more far-right movie reviews. They seem to do this with any movie that has something in it that can be contrived as political and it is often a pathetic attempt at film analysis. I remember that Bill O'Reilly had some talking heads on when Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith came out. There was one talking head that claimed Lucas was making a political statement in the scene where Yoda and Palpatine duel in the Senate.
Aside from all that, WALL-E is an amazing cinematic experience. The humor is intelligent and tight with jokes for everyone. I am so glad that there was no cheap low-brow humor in it. No crotch jokes, no jokes about farts or other bodily functions. I cringe at how stupid humor can be in movies. Not that there's anything wrong with a good bathroom joke. They just have become so overdone, that most aren't even funny.
The soundtrack is amazing as well. It is haunting, moving, and exciting. Stay for the end credits. They are wonderfully animated and you get to hear an awesome new song that Peter Gabriel did for the end credits. I love Peter Gabriel and was excited when I heard he did a song for the movie. Here's the song brought to you by YouTube.
I plan on seeing WALL-E again. Mostly because it is such a great movie.
Why is the GOP afraid of Bob Barr? Should they be?
After all he is just the Libertarian nominee and they don't get anywhere on the national scale, especially in a presidential run.
If any early polling is an indication yes.
If Bob Barr is attracting the Ron Paul voters as he says he is...then yes.
According to a poll done by InsiderAdvantage, Barr is polling at 6%.
No chance at winning, but just take a look what it does to McCain and Obama.
McCain 44% Obama 43%
If that poll is any indication, Georgia may be a state that the GOP has to defend. The demographics make it a possibility for Obama with its high black population and a high number of young voters.
In 2004 Georiga went 57-41 for Bush.
I haven't come across any other state polls, but the polls show every indication that Barr is getting votes that McCain is failing to get which helps Obama.
Apparently this may have caused a GOP Senator to confront Barr and tell him to quit.
Bob Barr is claiming that he is attracting Ron Paul voters and it should not be surprising that he is. Bob Barr and Paul are essentially on the same platform of Libertarianism.
Say what you want about Ron Paul supporters, but they can raise a lot of money for Bob Barr and that will be a benefit for not only Barr, but for Obama as well.
If McCain cannot win over these Republicans and independents who are going to go Barr, then he is going to have some tight electoral battles where he shouldn't.
