Month: April 2018

State Universities Must Be Viewpoint Neutral: Oregon Association of Scholars

OREGON ASSOCIATION OF SCHOLARS
“State Universities Must Be Viewpoint Neutral”

12 April 2018

Oregon state universities and colleges must remain neutral with respect to the broad variety of reasonable and civic viewpoints espoused by Oregonians, the Oregon Association of Scholars
said today.

There is an urgent need for state colleges and universities, as well as their private counterparts, to reaffirm the fundamental principle of viewpoint neutrality in higher education in an era when faculty and administration often seek to institutionalize their own viewpoints and suppress others, the Association said.

“Oregon colleges and universities violate the trust that the public has placed in them when they use their authority to promote certain viewpoints and discourage others,” said Dr. Bruce Gilley, President of the Oregon Association of Scholars and a Professor of Political Science at Portland State University.

Gilley was commenting following a spate of events and policy changes at Oregon state colleges and universities during the current academic year that violate viewpoint neutrality. These include:

 University of Oregon’s Faculty Senate passed a motion supporting the student-led disruption and cancellation of an address by the university president in October 2017 on grounds that the faculty supported the political objectives of the students.

 Portland State University administrators organized and promoted a “counter-panel” of female science and engineering faculty in February 2018 to precede a panel organized by other faculty, without university support, featuring the fired Google engineer James Damore.

 Oregon State University initiated mandatory political indoctrination for all undergraduate and graduate students under its “Social Justice Education Initiative.” Students are being taught that Oregon history is nothing but a tale of oppression; that political power should be used to impose “comparable outcomes” for every social identity group; that calling the United States a “melting pot” where “everyone can succeed if they work hard” constitutes an unacceptable example of so-called “micro-aggression”; that criticism of left-wing social justice ideology constitutes prohibited discrimination; and that students  who voted for or support the current U.S. president are part of Oregon’s “white
supremacy or neo-Nazi” movement.

 Public events and speakers at all public universities and colleges in the state continue to be grossly unrepresentative of the viewpoints and perspectives of all Oregonians. For instance, Oregon State University did not sponsor a single event between January and April 2018 reflecting classical liberal or conservative viewpoints, while sponsoring 15 events with a radical left or left-liberal viewpoints, including “The Origins of Today’s Billionaire-Funded Radical Right”, “Stopping Fascism Today”, and “Wages for Housework and #MeToo”, according to a survey of OSU Today listings by the Oregon Association of Scholars.

Both legal and academic principles have insisted that universities should not be partisan institutions, both because they receive public funds and extensive subsidies and because their mission requires wide freedoms for a diversity of viewpoints. “To perform its mission in the
society, a university must sustain an extraordinary environment of freedom of inquiry and maintain its independence from political fashions, passions, and pressures,” noted the University
of Chicago’s seminal 1967 Kalven Committee on the role of the university in political issues.

More recently, the former Provost of Stanford University, John Etchemendy, told the university’s trustees in 2017: “The university is not a megaphone to amplify this or that political view, and when it does it violates a core mission. Universities must remain open forums for contentious debate, and they cannot do so while officially espousing one side of that debate.”

While it is normally the role of faculty to uphold academic freedom and maintain viewpoint neutrality, it is often the faculty who prompt their institutions to take sides politically, the Oregon Association of Scholars said.

“Oregon legislators should take action to strengthen accountability at public colleges and universities for upholding viewpoint neutrality and to protect students from mandatory political indoctrination and abuse,” Gilley said.

www.oregonscholars.org and www.nas.org

Facebook Help Page Will Confirm if Personal Data was Shared with Cambridge Analytica

Facebook has set up a help page to see if your personal information was shared with Cambridge Analytica:
How can I tell if my info was shared with Cambridge Analytica?
https://www.facebook.com/help/1873665312923476?helpref=search&sr=1&query=cambridge
Recently, we shared information about the potential misuse of your Facebook data by apps and websites. We also shared plans for how we’re taking action to prevent this from happening in the future.
Check below to see if your information may have been shared with Cambridge Analytica by the app “This Is Your Digital Life.”
Was My Information Shared?
My Results:
Based on our available records, neither you nor your friends logged into “This Is Your Digital Life.”
As a result, it doesn’t appear your Facebook information was shared with Cambridge Analytica by “This Is Your Digital Life.”
Review and update the information you share with apps and websites by checking your settings.
Another helpful tool if you have not done so already:

Sam Harris vs Ezra Klein on the Waking Up Podcast: “Identity and Honesty”

Photo courtesy www.samharris.org

After Sam Harris and Ezra Klein had a public dispute regarding disagreements over the treatment of Charles Murray and The Bell Curve, Harris polled his followers and more than 75 percent wanted to hear the two sit down and talk about the issues at hand.

Harris began by saying the point of even having Murray on his podcast to begin with was that he wanted to explore why Murray was confronted with physical violence when he spoke at Middlebury College last year. He wanted to address the questions of free speech and shunning. Harris declared that Vox’s criticisms of him felt like a piece of political propaganda. He admitted that he was “pissed” and that he felt he had been treated unfairly by the critique.

Harris was especially critical of Vox’s use of terms such as “pseudoscience” and “racialists,” which he felt stopped just short of calling him a “racist” or even a “Nazi,” though Vox never used those terms. Harris has characterized Vox’s actions as slanderous, defamatory, dishonest and in bad faith. The two agreed that the initial offer to debate was extended by Harris, who then rescinded the offer, but then decided, after his poll, he should go forward.

The fact that these two even had this difficult conversation is admirable on both ends. It ran for a little over 2 hours and nobody got punched, but it was rough and there remained underlying disagreements on both ends.

Harris’s main points centered around the fairness of the criticisms made by Vox considering that the outcome of their piece is that it landed on Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch page right alongside folks like the Austin bomber.

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/03/29/hatewatch-headlines-3292018

Harris admitted he was quick to attribute bad faith to Klein because he feels “battle-scarred” by so many others misrepresenting him and trying to smear him with dishonesty by selectively clipping out this and that to suit their narrative. Harris said his fuse was too short and he regretted that.

Harris said that Vox should have at least been charitable enough to discount the notion that Harris is a racist. Klein specifically stated during the podcast, that no, he did not believe Harris is racist. Klein said he was not trying to slander Harris but that Harris was trafficking in harmful topics.

HARMFUL TOPICS

A divergence between Harris and Klein is the issue of harmful topics. Harris does not want to be restricted by intellectual taboos or topics that we just shouldn’t talk about.

Klein pointed out that Murray has been used by white supremacists to champion their ideology and that Murray continues to influence policymaking today. He also said that Harris should not have resuscitated a topic that was 25 years old. Harris countered that scientific data might be politically inconvenient, but shouldn’t we still be able look at it?

At no time did Harris say he supports Murray’s policy or even the idea that IQs are related to superiority or inferiority of any human. Harris does not believe that any race is inferior to another nor would he ever advocate for any further oppression of anyone. He pointed out that he and Klein share the same goals of improving racial inequality.

SO WHAT ARE WE ARGUING ABOUT HERE?

Klein says Harris doesn’t put this type of data into a broader context of the American experience. Harris, on the other hand, sees the data as just that—data that should not or cannot be ignored, even if it’s the best data set we have at this point in history. What can we learn from it? How do we apply it to human flourishing and racial equality to the benefit of all?

Klein answered that this type of data is harmful in that it can be misused to justify racial inequality and oppression and therefore should not be re-embraced. He chastised Harris for couching the discussion with Murray as political bravery.

But that dispute will not be resolved today.

BIAS

Klein gave a pretty scathing assessment of Harris as not being aware of his own blind spots which was probably hard for Harris to hear without steam coming out of his ears. Here are a few of his criticisms:

  1. Harris lacks empathy for the other side of this argument. He dismisses opposition as SJWs (Social Justice Warriors) when he should listen to their ideas.
  2. Harris doesn’t have enough African Americans on his podcasts.
  3. Harris doesn’t understand Murray as deeply as Klein does. Klein says he is a close reader of Murray’s work, has spoken with him and has reviewed his books. To Harris’s credit, Klein compliments Harris for asking Murray, “Why do you even do this?”
  4. Harris is quick to see bias in others but is not self-reflective. When asked by Harris to explain that bias to him, Klein says Harris is overly sensitive to identity politics and that Harris believes it contaminates everything.
  5. Harris sees threats to his own tribe and identity and overreacts. Harris is threatened by harm to his career but not to anyone who may be harmed by topics he addresses. Harris sees how Murray has been shunned and fears the same.

DEMONIZATION

Harris criticized Klein for contributing to the toxic environment in which people are demonized for discussing certain taboo topics. This might take the form of online mobs or it might take the form of being targeted by the SPLC, tactics which he finds dysfunctional, immoral and unethical.

Harris says in the midst of a moral panic, humans will see bigotry where it doesn’t exist. If you are determined to find bigotry and you go looking for it everywhere, you will certainly find it. To Harris, this is ethically and politically deranged.

In the end, why are we inflicting reputational harm when we could and should be assuming goodwill? Harris says we must be able to speak about science in a dispassionate way and stop sliming or smearing people for even speaking.

Vox has now published a transcript of the conversation which you may find here:

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2018/4/9/17210248/sam-harris-ezra-klein-charles-murray-transcript-podcast

On the Chemical Attack in Douma, Syria: US Dept. of State

 Press Statement
Heather Nauert
Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC
April 7, 2018

We continue to closely follow disturbing reports on April 7 regarding another alleged chemical weapons attack, this time targeting a hospital in Douma, Syria. Reports from a number of contacts and medical personnel on the ground indicate a potentially high number of casualties, including among families hiding in shelters. These reports, if confirmed, are horrifying and demand an immediate response by the international community.

The United States continues to use all efforts available to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise, accountable. The regime’s history of using chemical weapons against its own people is not in dispute, and in fact nearly one year ago on April 4, 2017, Assad’s forces conducted a sarin gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun, which killed approximately 100 Syrians.

The Assad regime and its backers must be held accountable and any further attacks prevented immediately. Russia, with its unwavering support for the regime, ultimately bears responsibility for these brutal attacks, targeting of countless civilians, and the suffocation of Syria’s most vulnerable communities with chemical weapons. By shielding its ally Syria, Russia has breached its commitments to the United Nations as a framework guarantor. It has betrayed the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2118. Russia’s protection of the Assad regime and failure to stop the use of chemical weapons in Syria calls into question its commitment to resolving the overall crisis and to larger non-proliferation priorities.

The United States calls on Russia to end this unmitigated support immediately and work with the international community to prevent further, barbaric chemical weapons attacks.

Oklahoma Lawmaker Pushes Conspiracy Theory that Teacher Walkout Includes Paid Protestors from Chicago

“I was told that there were paid protesters down here.” Oklahoma Rep. John Enns told KOCO 5’s Zach Rael that he was told there were paid protestors at the teacher walkout from Chicago.
————
Courtesy Facebook:

I met with Rep. Enns inside the capitol today. Here are a few of the highlights.

-He said that about 25% of the people in the crowd were paid actors from Chicago.

-He said that we were all being too emotional and out of control, which makes the legislators choose not to vote for us. I responded with, “Isn’t that action based out of emotion because you’re mad at us?” He said, “Yes, but the teachers started it.”

-And my personal favorite:
“I’m alternatively certified. I took the education classes, but I didn’t learn anything.”

I did not walk away feeling too good about our conversation.

 

Courtesy KOCO:

The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety has doubled down on this claim without providing details:

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

 DPS statement re: protest groups at Capitol

The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety has identified a growing number of outside protest groups, not involved with the ongoing teachers’ rally, present at the State Capitol. The situation is being closely monitored for the safety of educators, elected officials and others at the Capitol and the surrounding area.

In the past, some of these groups have been known to show violent behavior during non-violent rallies. There have been reports of threats made towards members of the Legislature and the Governor’s office.

The Department of Public Safety is consistently utilizing resources to identify and monitor these outside groups, investigate threats made, and to provide safety and security for all attendees.

Atheists Are the Reason We Can’t Have Nice Things

In the course of one day, I read three articles bashing atheism and accusing atheists of all manner of bad acts or bad non-acts (failing to do something that someone thinks they should do). I have synthesized them here. Enjoy!

The three articles I reference are the following:

The Anti-Christian Movement by E.M. Cadwaladr

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/04/the_antichristian_movement.html

Visiting the American Atheists National Convention By Daniel King, King Ministries

http://kingministries.blogspot.com/2018/04/visiting-american-atheists-national.html

Too Many Atheists Are Veering Dangerously Toward the Alt-Right: And atheists can’t afford to be quiet about it by Chris Stedman, VICE.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3k7jx8/too-many-atheists-are-veering-dangerously-toward-the-alt-right?utm_source=vicetwitterus

ATHEISTS ARE DANCING WITH THE DEVIL

Source: Public comments, American Thinker, The Anti-Christian Movement.

When the source of their hatred is diabolical–logic and goodness are merely weapons to abuse.

It is almost as if Satan and his entire Evil Army have been alerted that the end of his reign on earth is all but over and he has reasoned his Feast of Fire is about to be terminated. If your eyes can not picture this or you fail to see the pieces of his diabolical puzzle coming together you need to wake up before being swept away in the torrent of tyranny by those who despise the Truth and any of us who proclaim it with Christian holiness.

The damned are damned by themselves, not by God.

The many antichrists are simply followers of Satan, whether they realize it or not.

Atheists don’t believe in the reality of either God or Satan, a very dangerous place to be.

No one is going to take away your right to burn in hell for all eternity…in fact none of us can take that away from you. To accept or reject belief in Jesus is a choice given to all by God himself and none of us can take that away from any individual

Best to let Christ prove it himself when he comes again to separate the wheat from the chaff for all eternity…..

Anyone who denies that Jesus is the son of God is an antiChrist against Christ. Their are more antiChriss in the world than Christians. This is why God says only a remnant of His creations will be saved at the end time.

Lucifer in his evil is doing a terrific job of fooling Gods creations into believing “Surely you will not die” for doing what God has told you not to do.

Lucifer is not trying to get non-righteous people to rebel against God our Father. Lucifer already has them. Lucifer is spending his time trying to get we who believe in God our Father to rebel against God our Father and become non-righteous.

Lucifer is in a struggle against God trying to take all of Gods righteous creations from Him.

What you don’t know of the beginning you will come to regret in the end.

Well…we at least know that atheists do NOT believe that God (Christ) exists. Hence, they are both antichrist (1 John 2:18) and serve only to take his place “instead of” Christ.

Servants of Lucifer have no tolerance for the righteous. They are helping Lucifer in his war with God our Creator.

It is OBVIOUS from everything going on in this nuthouse of a world, that NOBODY believes in any kind of God except the goddamn Devil.

ATHEISTS LOVE ISLAM, PRAISE FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

Source: The Anti-Christian Movement by E.M. Cadwaladr

But without batting an eye, many of today’s atheists manage to believe that Islam, an objectively more intolerant, more misogynistic, and far more bloodthirsty system of beliefs than Christianity – is somehow forgivable, or even a net social boon.

Source: Public comments, American Thinker, The Anti-Christian Movement.

From their perspective Christianity is the very foundation of our civilization and has to be annihilated and Islam is a tool in the destruction process so it has to be protected.

It is that simple. They don’t care about contradictions, even ridiculous and pathetic ones, like feminists fighting the white patriarchy while tolerating and even praising Muslims that practice FGM. After all they are all victims.

If men and women are not worshiping Christ in the Atheists and leftists are not going to stop Islam, considering that for decades they considered Islam just some other religion and have continuously picked on the “so-called” weaker target of Christianity because Christianity has that clause called turn the other cheek. A clause, (I should remind the atheist readers), that Islam does not have. Just last week in Pakistan there were forced conversions of Hindus. Islam’s power is growing, in large part due to atheism in the West. It’s almost as if Western atheism and Islam are conjoined twins of the attempted destruction of Christianity.

Islam is tolerated or even encouraged by these so-called “atheists” because their true program is to use Islam as a weapon against the best aspects of western civilization among which is Christianity.

So very simply, either you are going to follow God’s Law as defined in the Christian Bible and worship Christ, or you will bend the knee to Mohammed and follow Sharia Law.

The modern atheist “scientific” movement is absolutely enthusiastic towards Islam, and condescending towards Judaism.

ATHEISTS HAVE AN ANTI-MUSLIM BIAS

Source: VICE

(Sam) Harris has in the past called for profiling “Muslims, or anyone who looks like he or she could conceivably be Muslim.” (When I challenged him on this, he suggested I “wear a t-shirt stating ‘There is no God and I am Gay’ in Islamic countries and report back on [my] experiences.”)

Outspoken atheist Bill Maher rightly came under fire last summer for using racist language on air. He has also argued that “most Muslim people in the world do condone violence,” told “transgendered” [ sic] people to be quiet, and gave alt-right darling Milo Yiannopoulos a sympathetic interview on his HBO show.

ATHEISTS DENY FACTS, PUSH FALSE NARRATIVE OF EVOLUTION

Source: Public comments, American Thinker, The Anti-Christian Movement.

The interpretation that evolution is the only possible explanation for such placement of fossils is a fallacy.

And, when correctly tested, radiological dating supports the Bible.

Talk, talk, talk. Polonium halos in granite show that the earth is not old.

False. You assume that they had a common ancestor. You did not evolve at all.

The idea that both apes and men had a common ancestor is an assumption made by those who refuse to accept God’s authority. It is NOT true. They have a common designer.

I’ll go into gravity now. If someone believes it doesn’t exist does that change the natural law of things? Is it not an invisible force? yet people believe it exists because they feel it all around them. Our creator is also an invisible force and if you have faith you will feel his presence all around you as well.

Atheists do not believe in God, especially in a creator God, but the majority of atheists do believe in evolution. One has withstood thousands of years of challenge, the other was invented by a man that noticed different size beaks. One is the belief in an intelligent creator, the other is the belief that rocks were hit by lightning. The belief in one is held by billions of people, the other is not allowed to be questioned by our government.

God would make the speed of light change, if He wanted to do so!

This God’s universe, He alone can and does make the rules. And, God cannot be deceitful. God always has a purpose for what He does. Do not forget, that there was never any big bang. That big bang is a mythological invention to increase the supposed age when the evos realized that there was no proof for their fairytale, and that no amount of time would allow it to work.

ATHEISTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA, AN ILLEGITIMATE PRESIDENT, MUSLIM, COMMIE, HOMO

Source: Public comments, American Thinker, The Anti-Christian Movement.

Is Obama a communist or just a muslim? He never attends Church but he likes to go to mosques. He hates Christians.

How did he ever get elected President?

in order to amass his unearned loot makes him a jack -commie while at the same time His proclivities with respect to his homosexuality would be a deal breaker in muzzie land . A true bastard, even to his own prescribed worldview, that one

Obama liked to visit the homo Chicago Bath Club.

Why did the manager kick him out of that disgusting club?

Obama was born in a nice British Mombasa Hospital. His Mombasa Birth Certificate looks authentic. It was signed by the two African doctors who attended his birth. Barry was not qualified to run for dog catcher.

ATHEISTS ARE CULTURAL MARXISTS AND HAVE BECOME A POLITICAL ENTITY

Source: The Anti-Christian Movement by E.M. Cadwaladr

What atheism has become can be more accurately described as “the anti-Christian movement.”  It is a movement that assumes that Christianity isn’t merely naïve and false, but a major cause of social ills, something worth the effort to actively ferret out and purge from our society.  This anti-Christian crusade has been both supported by, and a natural outgrowth of, the much larger program of cultural Marxism.

Uninterested in hard materialism, today’s atheists believe in an emotional narrative invented and reinvented at the whim of politically motivated human beings.  Today’s atheism is not a philosophical position, but a political one.

Christianity, like Western civilization, is squeezed into the usual Marxist mold as just another instrument of oppression.

The anti-Christian movement of today, like all other Marxist or neo-Marxist splinter groups, draws its strength from a simple, if unstated, promise: All the world’s aggrieved can acquire social acceptance and the unholy grail of victim status by denouncing someone else as an oppressor and working for his destruction.

In truth, the new atheism isn’t about helping the “oppressed” – any more than it is about the non-belief in God or the exclusive belief in the world we can grasp with our senses.  It is about being a vocal part of the identity group of avid Christian-haters.  A political entity.

ATHEISTS SEEK OUT VICTIMHOOD STATUS, ESPECIALLY THE WHITE MALES

Source: The Anti-Christian Movement by E.M. Cadwaladr

What Dawkins is saying, perhaps without even fully understanding the meme that he himself has swallowed, is that if you’ve been raised in a Christian household, you’re a victim.  By telling you this, Richard Dawkins makes himself a kind of revolutionary hero.  If gold medals were awarded for virtue-signaling, The God Delusion would have won the prize for 2006.

Renounce your faith and you’ll have instant standing as a victim; keep it, and you will be counted as one of the few groups liberals are encouraged to hate – and potentially persecute as well.

While I’m not an advocate of affirmative action, it is telling that practically all new atheists are white, and most of them are men.  This is probably no coincidence.  If you are black, Latino, female, or any foreigner with solid non-white credentials, you have ready-made victim status that will charm the neo-Marxist heart.  You don’t need atheism to get your ration of liberal street cred.  If you happen to be a white man, though, you have to make up something to earn your right to exist.  Not all white men looking for a victim group to hide in are willing to emasculate themselves as anything from beta males to “transwomen,” so anti-Christian militancy has been, for some, the painless alternative.

ATHEISTS ARE ALL LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AND LEFTIES AND TRUMP HATERS

Courtesy Daniel King, King Ministries

Most of the atheist crowd sounded like liberal Democrats. Many of them were gob smacked by Trump’s election and it seems they are still depressed over a year later.

Source: Public comments, American Thinker, The Anti-Christian Movement.

Why are so many Democrat atheists illiterate?

They take drugs and go to anti-trump riots.

They should stop being Democrats, fall on their knees this Easter. and pray to the LORD.

Maybe Darwin evolution bums were telling us that we came from Monkeys that look like Obama and Hillary.

Why do sooooooo many Obama/Moochie Democrats look like monkeys.

Why do soooooooooo many decent, honest women vote for Democrat monkeys or baboons?

ATHEISTS ARE MISOGYNISTS AND RACISTS

Source, VICE

But there’s a toxic side to internet atheism. For years, women and people of color have repeatedly voiced how atheist websites, organizations, and public figures ignore their concerns and tolerate—or even actively contribute to—an environment that makes them feel unsafe and unwelcome, particularly online.

Last year Sam Harris hosted Charles Murray—who has famously argued that black people are genetically predisposed to lower IQs than whites—on his immensely popular podcast, calling Murray a victim of “a politically correct moral panic.”

Lawrence Krauss, a popular skeptic who now faces numerous sexual harassment allegations, has criticized the #MeToo movement.

Richard Dawkins, perhaps the most famous atheist in the world, has mocked women for speaking out about experiences of sexual harassment, shared a video ridiculing feminists, and railed against “SJWs” (short for “social justice warriors,” a derisive term for social justice activists).

Twitter comment on article from Vice:

A distressing amount of old guard skeptics and atheists really need a boot out of the movement. The amount of sexism, racism, and general right wing terribleness is appalling. We can’t be relevant as a bunch of straight crotchety white guys

ATHEISTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ALT-RIGHT

Courtesy VICE:

Richard Spencer, the white supremacist and movement figurehead who coined the term ” alt-right,” discussed his atheism last year in an interview with atheist blogger David McAfee.

When he posted the interview on his own website, Spencer retitled it “The Alt Right and Secular Humanism,” leaving no doubt that he sees atheism and humanism as linked to his cause.

Yet I don’t know of any prominent atheist, humanist, or secular organizations that took the opportunity to condemn Spencer.

One of the biggest reasons   for this (the author left online atheism)was my growing concern over its failure to adequately address some of its darker currents—such as overt sexism, racism, and anti-Muslim bias.

Like the alt-right, American atheists—a growing segment of the US—are more likely to be male, white, and younger than the general population.

By neglecting to address its darker currents, online atheism has perhaps unknowingly planted the seeds for the alt-right’s harvest.

While championing liberal views on some issues, many of atheism’s most prominent advocates—the majority of whom are, like me, cisgender white men—have expressed troubling sentiments that align with views held by the alt-right and faced little to no consequences.

As more and more nonreligious young white men seek out community, resources, and a sense of identity and purpose online, any overlap between online atheism and the alt-right should move atheists to speak out. Spencer’s views are not shared by the majority of atheists in America, but if we want to keep it that way, atheists cannot stay silent.

If there truly is no god that will fix humanity’s problems, atheist leaders and organizations that won’t take a strong stand against white supremacists don’t inspire much faith in our ability to do so ourselves.

Until atheists and humanists confront this Something head on, we will continue to struggle with people like Spencer who embody an atheism that got rid of the gods but put white men in their place.

ATHEISTS ARE OUT TO TAKE DOWN WESTERN VALUES AND CIVILIZATION

Source: Public comments, American Thinker, The Anti-Christian Movement.

Atheists may hate the Judeo Christian philosophy but they love the freedoms within, and cannot state one comparable replacement.

Many self-proclaimed atheists are theologically illiterate. They know little and care less about the actual history and teachings of Christianity in the West.

The attacks on America – the USA, avowedly Christian in its cultural foundations – are meant to weaken and eventually destroy the one nation that is strong enough to resist the horror desired by the one-worlders.

The “hate and eliminate” is the newest feature of atheism. And its violence is growing with the approval of many. The hate and eliminate is a propaganda war from forces outside the USA to take America down without firing a single bullet. Once the morals are completely removed from a society it withers from within.

Humanism is based on Judeo-Christian principles but there is no absolute moral authority to back it up, as God provides to those who believe in Him. We see the crumbling of society around us when the relationship between a man and a woman is reviled and the family is viewed as an archaic institution. Take away God and Family and Western Civilization is doomed.

ATHEISTS ARE ALL MIXED UP WITH ‘THE GAYS’

Source: Public comments, American Thinker, The Anti-Christian Movement.

Homosexuality is the real cause of all the rage against Christianity. They know inside they are going to burn in hell for all of eternity, and want to kill the Christians for reminding them of it.

Source: Daniel King, King Ministries

The atheists also celebrate homosexuality which is weird because if evolution is true as atheists believe then the gene for homosexuality should disappear within a few generations.

ATHEISM IS A RELIGION ATTEMPTING TO CONVERT OTHERS

Source: Daniel King, King Ministries

Atheists often claim they are not a religion, but after being with them for two days, I have to say that they look and act an awful lot like a church. They had preachers (speakers), an offering, and a class on how to convert other people to their way of thinking. Atheism is a belief system that has all the elements of any other religion: dogma, heresy, discrimination, bias, etc. Atheists don’t want an absence of religion in the public square, they want only their religion in the public square. They want to silence all of their competitors.

I met lots of internet atheists at the conference like AronRa (@Aron_Ra) who has 29 million views on his channel. YouTube and Podcasts are the probably the two biggest tools atheists are using right now to convert people to atheism. It would be wise for the church to develop better videos so that they can compete effectively in this space.

Anthony Magnabosco (@magnabosco) taught a class how to convert a Christian to atheism in 15 minutes. He calls his method Street Epistemology (@StEpistemology) which is a conversational tool that helps people reflect on the reliability of the methods used to arrive at their deeply held beliefs. He recommends that instead of arguing and mocking Christians (what Richard Dawkins recommends) the atheist should engage in conversations with people. I found this interesting because in my witnessing classes, I tell believers they should engage in conversations with people instead of yelling at them through a bullhorn. Magnabosco recommends getting past “what” someone believes, and “why” they believe it, to the “how” do they know it. He advocates for asking epistemological questions about “How do you know what you know?” He uses the Socratic method to get to how people believe what they believe. He showed several videos that demonstrated the effectiveness of this solution. He says, “Don’t give any evidence. Instead ask people what evidence they would accept to change their belief.” He keeps asking questions until he gets the person to honestly answer the question, “Is faith your epistemology or is reason and evidence your epistemology?” If their belief system is based on faith, he might go on to ask, “Is faith a reliable way of proving something is true if anyone can use it to prove anything? If anyone can use faith to prove anything is true, why would anyone want to use that method?” For Christians interested in exploring Christian epistemology, I would recommend reading Cornelius Van Til who wrote extensively on the subject.

When an atheist conference has a workshop on how to proselytize I think it stops being a community and starts being a religion.

Source, Public Comments, American Thinker, The Anti-Christian Movement

Atheism is a religion itself, so the government should not be able to establish it.

Actually, atheism as a religion requires that one go where the Devil takes him……

Anti-belief is itself a form of belief. Atheism is the mirror image of religious belief. It is a perfectly respectable position, but it should not be confused with actual knowledge.

ATHEISTS ENDORSE MURDER

Source: Daniel King, King Ministries

Jim Helton’s (@TSFJim) thirteen-year-old daughter gave a speech. She screamed through most of it. She is mad because Christians try to take away her right to get an abortion. The atheists at the conference believe that teaching children about hell is child abuse. But I think that teaching your daughter that it is OK to murder your granddaughter who is still in the womb is the worst kind of evil there is.

ATHEISTS DO SERVICE WORK TO LOOK AND FEEL SUPERIOR

Source: Daniel King, King Ministries

The atheist convention spent a lot of time patting themselves on the back for giving away 30,000 meals at a cost of $7,500. They did it because they are SO caring and generous. But their generosity is nothing compared to most churches. My small ministry gave away 270,000 meals in the past year so their generosity is not that impressive. They also sent six hundred bags of food to Puerto Rico, but that pales in comparison to what some churches sent down there after the hurricane. If atheists are going to compete with Christians in the area of giving, they are going to have to seriously step up their game.

The organizers were impressed with the fact that 850 people attended the conference. But I have attended a dozen church conferences in the past year that have more people than that. In some ways, I think the church has little to worry about from such a small, insignificant organization, but in other ways, I am very concerned because their goal is nothing short of transforming our entire nation from one with Christian foundations to a completely secular nation where the religious would be forced to keep their beliefs confined to the inside of their homes.

ATHEISTS WANT TO HAVE FREEDOM TO SIN AND ARE SEX MANIACS

Source: Daniel King, King Ministries

The reason most people are atheists is because they want to have the freedom to sin. At the atheist conference I saw people promoting abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, premarital sex, and polyamory. The most common theme at the conference was, “There is no god” but the second most common theme was, “I want to have sex unhindered by religious morality.”

ATHEISTS ARE UNSCIENTIFIC ABOUT GENDER

Source: Daniel King, King Ministries

Atheists pride themselves for being scientific, but they also celebrate Gavin Grimm, a girl who thinks she is a boy. It is an absolute, irrefutable scientific fact that a female with XX chromosomes cannot become a male with XY chromosomes, yet the great scientific minds at this atheist conference see no problem with allowing this girl with a beard to lie to herself and about herself.

ATHEISTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

Source: Daniel King, King Ministries

American Atheists are mad about the recent school shootings, but their founder Madalyn Murray O’Hair is the one responsible for taking prayer out of schools. When an objective moral standard is removed from education and prayer to Almighty God is forbidden in the classroom, then lawless behavior is the inevitable result. Who is responsible for school shootings? I think the American Atheists are.

ATHEISTS HAVE POTTY MOUTHS

Source: Daniel King, King Ministries

Mary Johnson (@_MaryJohnson) is a former nun who worked closely with Mother Teresa. She left the church because having sex and romantic relationships was more important to her than her vows to God. She had a potty mouth and said “What the F*@!” several dozen times, mostly just because, as a non-believer, she can.

David Silverman (@MrAtheistPants) is a charismatic and abrasive non-believing Jew who is the current president of American Atheists.

Silverman …  shouted, “American Atheists is a 501c3 organization and we are not supposed to politic, but F**K Donald Trump.”

His goal is to turn the American Atheists into “a caring community that is pro-heart, pro-brain, and anti-a**hole.” In fact, his favorite word to refer to believers is the word “a**hole.”

We care and we show it by attacking religious a**holes. All religions are wrong. All gods are false. Astrology is bullshit. And for Christ’s sake, there is no such thing as ghosts. People who believe these things are victims of lies. It is clearly a good and ethical thing to help free these people from that which is clearly wrong. Religion deserves to die.  A**holes have bad intentions and I don’t care about them.”

Silverman finished his speech by telling everyone, “Enjoy the rest of this God-dammed convention.” To that, I say, “Yes, he’s right, it is a God-dammed convention.”

Atheism leads to Collapse into Immorality & Lawlessness: Letter to Editor, New Zealand

Kim gives enthusiastic response to South Korean concert

Photo/Selfie Book: Red Velvet is an all-female pop band based in South Korea. The group performed for Kim Jong Un and his wife as well as other guests as part of a cultural exchange between the two Koreas.

2018/04/02 07:56

Courtesy Yonhap News Agency

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) — North Korea’s state media reported Monday that its leader Kim Jong-un and his wife watched South Korean musicians’ rare performance in Pyongyang a day earlier.

Kim warmly welcomed the South Korean art troupe’s visit to Pyongyang and gave an enthusiastic response to its concert, which was held under the name “Spring Comes,” according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

South Korea’s art group held the performance Sunday that involved 11 teams, including contemporary pop legendary Cho Yong-pil and girl group Red Velvet, and plans to hold a joint gig Tuesday.

The KCNA said that Kim attended Sunday’s performance as he could not probably arrange time due to the hectic schedule for political events in early April.

A South Korean media pool report showed that Kim proposed the two Koreas hold more cultural events, suggesting it would be better to hold a concert in Seoul around fall under the title of “Autumn Comes.”

The Pyongyang concerts reciprocate a North Korean art troupe’s performances in South Korea to celebrate the PyeongChang Winter Olympics last month. President Moon Jae-in attended one of the two concerts held by the North’s “Samjiyon Orchestra.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) waves and South Korean Culture Minister Do Jong-whan claps before a South Korean art troupe holds a concert in Pyongyang in this image captured from pool footage taken on April 1, 2018. (Yonhap)North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) waves and South Korean Culture Minister Do Jong-whan claps before a South Korean art troupe holds a concert in Pyongyang in this image captured from pool footage taken on April 1, 2018. (Yonhap)

Death, Severe Bleeding Caused by Synthetic Marijuana in Illinois

Courtesy Illinois Health Department:

As of March 30, 2018, IDPH has received reports of 38 cases, including one death, linked to an outbreak, since March 7, 2018; cases report using synthetic cannabinoid products before suffering from severe bleeding.
***Numbers are provisional and subject to change; IDPH will update the website every weekday at 1:30pm, for the duration of the outbreak***

County Number of Cases
Chicago 10
Cook County 4
DuPage County 1
Kane County 1
McLean County 1
Peoria County 7
Tazewell County 12
Will County 1
Under Investigation 1
Total 38

While many of the cases report acquiring the synthetic cannabinoid products in the Chicagoland area, contaminated products could be in counties across the state.  Individuals reported obtaining synthetic cannabinoid products (i.e., K2, spice, synthetic marijuana, and legal weed) from convenience stores, dealers, and friends.

If you have purchased any of this product in the past month, do not use it.  If you have used any of these products, and start experiencing severe, unexplained bleeding or bruising, please have someone take you to the hospital immediately or call 911. Do not walk or drive yourself. Tell your health care providers about the possible link between your symptoms and synthetic cannabinoid use.
_______________________________________________

Synthetic cannabinoids are human-made, mind-altering chemicals that are either sprayed on dried, shredded plant material so they can be smoked or sold as liquids to be vaporized and inhaled in e-cigarettes and other devices. They are sold for recreational drug use with claims they will provide the user the effects of cannabis. These products are also known as herbal or liquid incense and have brand names such as K2, Spice, Black Mamba, Bombay Blue, Genie, and Zohai, but may be packaged under other brand names also.

These chemicals are called cannabinoids because they are similar to chemicals found in the marijuana plant. Because of this similarity, synthetic cannabinoids are sometimes misleadingly called “synthetic marijuana” (or “fake weed”), and they are often marketed as safe, legal alternatives to that drug. In fact, they are not safe and may affect the brain much more powerfully than marijuana; their actual effects can be unpredictable and, in some cases, more dangerous or even life-threatening.

Synthetic cannabinoids are part of a group of drugs called new psychoactive substances (NPS). NPS are unregulated mind-altering substances that have become newly available on the market and are intended to produce the same effects as illegal drugs. Some of these substances may have been around for years but have reentered the market in altered chemical forms, or due to renewed popularity.

American Atheists Convention: Hugh Laurie, Seth Andrews, Mandisa Thomas and more

Photo: Me with Mandisa Thomas of Black Nonbelievers.

Hugh Laurie (best known for his role as Dr. House on TV) volunteered his time to do a keynote Q&A with David Silverman this afternoon and helped the Convention just by being a big name on the slate. (Registration was around 850 this year.) The room was packed, including an overflow room, and he and Silverman sipped on martinis as they chatted.

Laurie announced, “I stand before you a proud atheist,” but reminded us that he comes from a godless country. In fact, he said, about 70% of Brits under the age of 30 now identify as non-believers, so the label “atheist” is nearly irrelevant.

Laurie grew up in a home with parents who were “vaguely observant,” attending church maybe 2 times per year. He described his childhood environment as largely agnostic, with a reverence for science. His father was a physician and he was sent to a secular boarding school.

Laurie said he is less argumentative and combative than he used to be, and only gets excited when he sees religion infringing on public policy or the rights of others. (Less significant, it riles him when NFL players run up to the camera and give all their thanks to God.) His personal belief is that atheists need to check bias and prejudice, making sure not to come off as overly confident or arrogant.

Also today, we got to participate in a recording of the podcast “The Thinking Atheist,” hosted by Seth Andrews. Andrews typically begins each episode with a dialogue followed by fielding questions from phone callers.

Andrews discussed his fundamentalist upbringing, including being sent to private Christian schooling. His first job was in Christian radio, a position he held for 10 years.

His format is nicely organized, not just a “shoot-the-breeze” kind of a show. Andrews is witty and serious all at once, and at just the right times.

In response to a question about how to start a podcast, Andrews said there is way too much focus on negativity on the Internet right now. He recommended content that promotes solutions and visions, not tearing other ideas down. Agreed!

http://www.thethinkingatheist.com/

We also heard from Mandisa Thomas, founder of Black Nonbelievers. Thomas is an activist and high-energy speaker. She has been volunteering and speaking for many years, while holding down a full-time job and raising 3 kids. The good news is she is moving into full-time activism and has opened a Patreon account at www.patreon.com.mandisalateefah.

Thomas discussed the meaning of community, how to support it, and how to recognize that at times it is going through growing pains, but in the end, it pulls back together and gets it done.

There were other speakers and events today—too many to attend for me, but a great day and more tomorrow, including a major service project during which 30,000 meals will be packaged for the Oklahoma City Food Bank.

Also today and requiring a longer post:

Mohammed Alkhadra: “Islamophobe”: American Atheists Convention 2018