The Gamut

Here’s an interesting experiment. Go to the page attached to this post and you’ll see a graph of the Dow from 1992 to present. You’ll notice a sliding scale where you can focus on the different lengths of time. Set it on the beginning and move the endpoint to as close to Jan 20, 2001 as you can get it. This scale shows the Clinton years, and you’ll note a 230 point increase in the Dow. Now move it so it begins on Jan 20, 2001 and ends on Jan 20, 2009. The Dow lost 26 points under Bush. Now move it to the end and slide the start point to Jan 20, 2009. So far, under Obama, the Dow has gained 43 points.

Why are we not hearing about this?

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=^DJI+Interactive#symbol=^dji;range=19920102,19990921;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;

i-eat-your-face:

There is no title in religion that means you can’t believe in anything (because that just plain isn’t religion.) Atheists don’t believe in God at all. Agnostics don’t know if there is a God or not. I don’t not believe there is no god nor am I not sure, I just cannot believe anything! I have no label in anything and I’m pissed off with the amount of people who call me an Agnostic because I’m not.

If you can’t believe in any religious doctrines, you’re an atheist. Atheist does not mean “I believe there is no God.” It can mean that, but it doesn’t have to mean that. It can also mean, “Maybe there’s a God. To be honest, I don’t really know, but I don’t personally believe that there is one. The stories certainly don’t make any sense, so there’s no way I can say I believe that crap.” That’s called weak atheism. Most atheists are weak atheists.

I keep seeing Christians posting that story about the “noted atheist blogger” who decided to become a Catholic over and over and over. So as an atheist who never heard of this noted atheist blogger before, this has given me an idea. If I declare myself a Mormon, can I be a noted atheist blogger too?

you learn that somebody who you were Facebook friends with has unfriended you because Facebook recommend that you friend them.

When I was a young man, I was idealistic and believed in those ideals. I believed that the bigotries of the past would not be clung to by my peers. I believed that we were moving away from the fears and non-understanding that had plagued previous generations. I believed that in time - the new generation would supplant the old ways of thinking with newer and more optimistic ways. To a point - I believe I was correct. Racism still exists, but it is not  nearly so mainstream and pervasive as it was once. Environmentalism is burgeoning as a way-of-life. I’ve seen growth, and it has made me feel that my hopefulness was not entirely misplaced.

However, I have also noted that as the previous generations fade away, change is not so rapid as I had hoped. In fact, I have seen many of the idealists I once admired adopting many of the philosophies I had hoped would go extinct in time - breathing into them new life and stymieing the evolution of the ideals I held then and still do.

Do not suppose that change must come. Do not presume that your own wide-eyes of today cannot be narrowed and eventually become squinting filters. There is a quote often incorrectly attributed to Winston Chruchill that says, “If you’re not Liberal when you’re 25, you have no heart. If you’re not Conservative when you’re 35, you have no brain.” This is nonsense, but not uncommonly held. Be wary. Remember why you hold your ideals, and work at maintaining them.

0nceuponyourdeadbody:

That makes absolutely no sense to me.

Satanism:

1.

the worship of Satan  or the powers of evil.

2.

a travesty of Christian rites in which Satan  is worshiped.

3.

diabolical or satanic disposition, behavior, or activity.

Atheism:

1.

the doctrine or belief that there is no God.

2.

disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings. 

So.. you don’t believe in higher beings… yet you worship satan. Oxymoron.

While I agree that Satanism is a silly silly worldview, it’s really not that difficult to see how one can be Satanist and atheist. LaVeyan Satanists are basically hedonistic solipsists. They consider such ideas as God and Satan and sin and hell to be archtypical metaphors. They apply the rituals and imagery of Christian symbology to their own symbolically dependent worldview. Had the same philosophy grown in a different culture, they’d have applied the symbolism of that culture. Satan to them is not the specific Satan character found in Christian mythology. He’s an idea found in most human cultures. He’s the adversary who stands opposed to conformity and subservience.

Anthropologically speaking, they have a point. Rationally speaking, they’re coocoo for coacoa puffs.

Confirmation bias. Atheists win!

dalenathedamaja:

So I’ve tried writing humor, you know to compensate for my unbelievably depressing writing, and all I want to write is just dry, deadpan humor. I’ve been watching too much Seinfeld all of my life. 

Humor is hard. Writing humor requires an understanding of your unique writing cadence to understand the timing issues. I suggest reading what you have written aloud. Wait a day then read it again. Better yet, have somebody else read it back to you.

Am I the only one who thinks the same asshole is trolling the atheist tag with a new blog every day because he’s pretty sure that by the end of the first day everyone has already blocked his feed?

qerishot:

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http://wwrn.org/articles/37416/?&place=europe

Atheists believe in a lot of things. They just don’t believe in fairy tales. Theists believe in a paradise for believers. What’s the point of living for theists?