The Snarky Humanist

The Christian Post thinks that a single sentence spoken by Dawkins at the Reason Rally has put the atheist movement in a "pickle". "Mock them, ridicule them in public." This is what Dawkins said in reference to religious people. This article decided that it means that Dawkins wants us all to turn into bullies. I have 3 points: 1. The Reason Rally was 9 hours long. I vaguely remember Dawkins saying something like this. It is hardly what I took away from the event. 2. Christians, this is the cool thing about being a freethinker. Yes, Dawkins is highly regarded in our community. No, we don't defer to him when determining how to live our lives and treat other people. We do not blindly do what the "higher-ups" suggest, and nor do they expect us to. I know this can be confusing, since you're used to having no say in how you live your life, but I can guarantee you that throngs of atheists are not going to swarm the streets ridiculing you. 3. A

Glenn Beck assumes that conservative religious people are better at giving to charity. "While Santorum’s donations compare favorably to the average American, they’re not up to the levels that many would expect from a man of such deep faith." Of course it makes sense, because the Bible says so! "But as so many on the left have pointed out, Scriptures do direct us to help the poor. Yet God puts the responsibility on us, not on the government. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians says that "Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."" So, the atheist community has a goal this year to raise 1 million dollars for leukemia . There is no doubt in my mind that this goal will be reached. Somehow, we'll manage to do this without even a little bit of faith that this is what Jesus wants us to do. And damn it, we better get a lot of press for it.

Madscutter (or, Snarky Humanist #2) and I had a conversation recently about the Reason Rally and subsequent conference. It sort of went like this: vnectar: I'm not sure I'll have the balls to talk to our favorite well-known atheists at the conference madscutter: You can talk to them. vnectar: Sure, I could , but you know how I get when I'm all nervous about meeting someone I admire. Remember how I bounced up and down and squealed when we went to that golf tournament and Paul Azinger walked up to the first tee? I'm likely not going to be capable of rational discussion. madscutter: You should work on that. vnectar: You should shut up. madscutter: Look, if we see someone we admire, it's fine to go up and say "hi" and shake their hands. vnectar: That may be true for a good portion of the weekend, but what about the fundraising dinner? Small talk will be expected! Maybe even medium talk! madscutter: You'll be fine. vnectar: Do you think Hemant wil

http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/8/inside-the-beltway-correspondents-dinner-going-to-/ We knew some Christians were going to show up to show their "love", but there's also going to be a tea party rally about appealing the health care reform? The Mall is going to be insane on 3/24. And Imma gonna be in the thick of it. ***UPDATE*** Or not. I emailed Hemant at the Friendly Atheist to see if was aware of this, and unlike me he decided to fact check and found that the Tea Partiers are going to be at a park about a mile and a half away from the Mall. I've emailed the reporter of this story to ask for clarification.

Now there's a phrase I never suspected I would have to write. Sadly though, she is. I believe I knew that she was a Republican, but I never would have guessed that she's one of those Republicans. You know, the 'Rush Limbaugh is our God here on Earth, and we will we follow in the examples he sets' type of Republican. So when Lumbaugh behaved in his typical horribly offensive way regarding Sandra Fluke , Patricia Heaton apparently felt the need to follow suit on her Twitter page . Comments have since been deleted, but obviously nothing actually disappears from the internet, so we know she said the following: "Hey GTown Gal: How about only having sex on Wednesday? (Hump day!)," "Hey G-Town Gal: turn your underwear inside out! Then u only have to do laundry every 2 weeks—saves on detergent & trips to Laundromat!" "If your parents have to pay for your birth control, maybe they should get a say in who u sleep with. Instant birth control." S