Video Interview with Richard Dawkins

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Watch Richard Dawkins interview @ YouTube

Dawkins is wonderfully lucid and congenial in this interview related to the publication of his new book, The God Delusion.

The Dangers of Christian Extremism

Rippin' into Rosie

I hate Rosie. She says something that's correct: radical Christians are just as dangerous as radical Muslims, but then she can't explain why in a cogent fashion. She sputters and argues and, by making a fool of herself, she discredits a correctly drawn conclusion based on observing what radical Christians are doing.

Richard Dawkins Has a Posse

The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science

There's something really interesting to read in the page on the foundation's mission:

Feminists and homosexuals have taught us the value of consciousness-raising. A phrase like “One man one vote” either causes you to flinch, or is uttered with intent to make you flinch. It is nowadays almost impossible to hear the phrase with its original innocent meaning of “One adult person one vote.” Some atheists and freethinkers try to raise consciousness about, for example, the phrase ‘under God’ in the US Pledge of Allegiance. I am more interested in raising consciousness about something else: the habit, practised not only by religious people, of labelling children by the religion of their parents. This is a Catholic child. That is a Muslim child. I want everybody to flinch when they hear such a phrase, just as they would if they heard, That is a Marxist child. It is immoral to brand young children with the religion of their parents. At present, hardly anybody’s consciousness is raised to this. I would welcome suggestions, perhaps from those with experience of the feminist and gay campaigns, for the most effective ways to raise consciousness. I would like such consciousness-raising to be a particular project of this foundation.

For somebody who claims religion is a thought virus, this seems like an oddly naive hope. The only way to kill a virus is to quarantine it until it has no more carriers. And that, of course, smacks a little too much of a "final solution" and is completely unacceptable. I think we're going to be stuck with religion until the Singularity happens.

Clash of Mentalities Debated on Arab TV

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Watch clash of mentalities @ YouTube

Arab Psychiatrist Wafa Sultan: There is No Clash of Civilizations but a Clash between the Mentality of the Middle Ages and That of the 21st Century. This hard-line Muslim cleric goes off on her, yelling at her and throwing his arms around. Completely medieval, and, ironically, proving her point for her.

So-called Third Awakening is the New Dark Age

I am completely sickened by this from the Washington Post :

President Bush said yesterday that he senses a "Third Awakening" of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation's struggle with international terrorists, a war that he depicted as "a confrontation between good and evil."

WTF? He senses a "Third Awakening?" Senses it how? Coincided with the nation's struggle? WHAT STRUGGLE? Does he mean the struggle against American citizens who still beleive that America should befree? And how can Bush behave like this and expect to be considered the good guy?

Commentary more to my style from CorrenteWire:

And now we’ve got Bush telling The Base how to frame his campaign: As the Third Awakening.

Enough to make you vomit. The greatest proof for atheism is that a just God hasn’t struck these people down.

The problem with Bush is that it just doesn't matter that he's an idiot. The people who handle him and put words in his mouth are not idiots. Rove is a bloodthirsty master strategist. Over the years I have watched him in awe and disgust. He must be just laughing his cold ass off about this. This is pure evil genius, that's what this is. Third Awakening my ass. New Dark Age is more like it. We will be a nation of technologically advanced delusional dumbasses.

"Once there was a time when all people believed in God and the church ruled. This time is called the Dark Ages." ~ Richard Lederer

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag, carrying a cross." ~ Sinclair Lewis

The Power of Faith

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The Power of Faith

This could be remade with footage from Jesus Camp, now.

The Future Plans of Al Qaida

Just in case anybody thought this wasn't a religious war—that it had to do with oil or policy. It is purely religious.

From the New Yorker: THE MASTER PLAN

The third stage, “Arising and Standing Up,” will last from 2007 to 2010. Al Qaeda’s focus will be on Syria and Turkey, but it will also begin to directly confront Israel, in order to gain more credibility among the Muslim population.

In the fourth stage, lasting until 2013, Al Qaeda will bring about the demise of Arab governments. “The creeping loss of the regimes’ power will lead to a steady growth in strength within Al Qaeda,” Hussein predicts. Meanwhile, attacks against the Middle East petroleum industry will continue, and America’s power will deteriorate through the constant expansion of the circle of confrontation. “By then, Al Qaeda will have completed its electronic capabilities, and it will be time to use them to launch electronic attacks to undermine the U.S. economy.” Islamists will promote the idea of using gold as the international medium of exchange, leading to the collapse of the dollar.

Then an Islamic caliphate can be declared, inaugurating the fifth stage of Al Qaeda’s grand plan, which will last until 2016. “At this stage, the Western fist in the Arab region will loosen, and Israel will not be able to carry out preëmptive or precautionary strikes,” Hussein writes. “The international balance will change.” Al Qaeda and the Islamist movement will attract powerful new economic allies, such as China, and Europe will fall into disunity.

The sixth phase will be a period of “total confrontation.” The now established caliphate will form an Islamic Army and will instigate a worldwide fight between the “believers” and the “non-believers.” Hussein proclaims, “The world will realize the meaning of real terrorism.” By 2020, “definitive victory” will have been achieved. Victory, according to the Al Qaeda ideologues, means that “falsehood will come to an end. . . . The Islamic state will lead the human race once again to the shore of safety and the oasis of happiness.”

Dumbest Anti-Abortion Terrorist Ever

In the Detroit Free Press:

Based on what he told police, David McMenemy's plan to destroy an abortion clinic worked out much differently in his head from what played out Monday in Davenport, Iowa.

McMenemy, 45, most recently of Rochester Hills admitted dousing the interior of his silver 2004 Saturn with gasoline he had in a Gatorade bottle and plunging the vehicle into a women's health clinic early that morning. And he told police he planned to die in the ensuing fire.

But the clinic whose lobby the native Detroiter drove into -- the Edgerton Women's Health Center -- doesn't perform abortions or even provide referrals for them. And the impact wasn't enough to cause a fire, so McMenemy had to pour more gas on the car.

And once it was ablaze, he scratched his plan to kill himself when he realized it was going to be painful.

No one was injured.

And yes, people: this is terrorism.

An Atheist Reads the Bible: One Big WTF

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One man reads the Bible and has some questions... makes a little film. It's an amusing and informative film. Then makes another one. It's even more amusing than the first one. Here's Part Two:

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The Root of All Evil - all parts, in order - Richard Dawkins

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The above is part 1-1. Because of the hodge-podge way they're broken up, uploaded, and indexed, they never seem to be listed in the right order. Below are links to all the videos in the correct order, so that you can watch the whole online.

Part 1-1: http://www.youtube.com/?v=CPaD6D54L4o
Part 1-2: http://www.youtube.com/?v=TUy-Uq3WuhA
Part 1-3: http://www.youtube.com/?v=8GgD3lgspQE
Part 2-1: http://www.youtube.com/?v=_kcKInudkq4
Part 2-2: http://www.youtube.com/?v=T27Ef_xvYMs
Part 2-3: http://www.youtube.com/?v=qPBdz-TXlaI
Part 2-4: http://www.youtube.com/?v=dTKLM09FeNM
Part 2-5: http://www.youtube.com/?v=RwD9HOrjLRw
Part 2-6: http://www.youtube.com/?v=mGLPViVW5ms

He probably didn't mean it to be this way, but one of the most entertaining aspects of this work is watching Dawkins frown grimly and disapprovingly as he sits and squirms through what must be torturous evangelical services.

Current Dark Sided Poll Results

Over to the right I have a poll running (there are a few days left for it) asking you to say what your major religious affiliation is, if any. I only selected the big ones (my apologies to Jews, wiccans, and satanists). Here's how things stand so far:

Atheist: 60%
Agnostic: 26%
Christian: 13%
Muslim: 0%

I'm really surprised that no Muslims have voted at all. Truthfully, I am also surprised at the number of atheists! You may wonder what I expected - is this not an atheist's blog, after all? Yes, but at less than 6% of the American population (as far as we know, but it's probably a bit more), I didn't know how well I was going to reach atheists with my blog. I guess I'm doing OK.

If you haven't voted, yet, please do, and send your friends here, too. Any ideas on what I should do for my next poll? Comment or email me (address at right) and tell me.

Dark Sided Atheism Links for Tue Sept. 12 2006

God is Imaginary offers a series of proofs (50 of them) and for many of them, the site also offers common Christian rationalizations and rebuttals. Everything on God is Imaginary is written far better than anything I've written here, and there is an excellent forum (which I just joined).

Why I am an Atheist at ministerturnedatheist.org. Many, many atheists are not only former Christians, but former ministers. The reverse occurs infrequently enough to be worth noting. This one man's personal website is touching and, to me, inspiring (almost in a religious sense... heh).

Half Sigma's tag line is: The new politics of common sense. Neither Republican, Democratic, nor Libertarian. Even though it isn't, technically, about atheism or religion specifically, I include it here because of how it includes posts showcasing the religious extremism's detrimental behavior as an issue separate from party affiliation or identifications with conservatism or liberalism. This blog is, as it purports to be, very even-handed. It is also very much worth your time.

Sell Everything You Have and Follow Me

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go [and] sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come [and] follow me. ~ Mat 19:21

One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. ~ Mar 10:21

Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. ~ Luk 18:22

Does God Want Us to be Rich?

Um... no. But I guess that's a little beside the point now, isn't it? I find it extremely curious that none of the verses above appeared at all in the Time article. How is such an oversight possible in an article concerning the Bible's take on wealth? Prosperity Lite seems to me to be proof that religion (and by extension, God) is a creation of people. Funny how this new religion reflects the consumerist culture from which it sprang.

These megachurches preaching Prosperity Lite are, to me, a frightening product. Just as radical Islam takes advantage of our own freedom of religion to plot harm to us, under the guise of the same we are looking at nothing less than the rise of a new powerbase in America. They are using freedom of religion as an avenue to political power. This looks to me like the rise of a new class in America: the religious wealthy. Yes, we have had wealthy religious people before, but I can't help feeling there's something fundamentally (sorry, had to!) different about this new batch of praise-singers.

And yet, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Might makes right. Religious power is political power. These people will soon be running for office across the land, and they will win. Theocracy will have arrived at last. Dominionism will have its day. A new Dark Age will begin, but the majority of the people will not recognize it or even care, because a theocracy is what they wanted. Even if it isn't, moderate Christians will not speak out against it. You think I exaggerate? Time will tell. I would love to be wrong about this.

There is a counter-movement living closer to the ideal expressed in the verses above, but it will change nothing for obvious reasons: they have no money and power on earth. I actually kind of admire the new monastics. If I were a believer, I would be attracted to this ideal. One thing it doesn't do is overtake the government or impose itself on me. But unless they actively fight Prosperity Lite, they will be in the unfortunate position of benefiting from the actions of the evangelicals without having to do any of the work.

The church at the center of this "faith of prosperity" is the Lakewood church, linked above. You can watch what services are like here or below:

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This isn't church—it's a broadway spectacle. Notice how there is no real learning or lessons, only entertainment and empty emotional appeals. The shared groupthink of the audience carries itself along on an emotional high mistaken for a spiritual experience.

What frightens me the most is how everybody holds up their right hand.

Why Be Openly Atheist?

Why be openly atheist? Why not just live my life and not get involved in what may be the world's most insoluble problem? I would prefer not to have to identify myself as an atheist at all, because to me it's self-evident as to why nobody should ever believe in any god or follow any religion.

For many years, I have stayed out of the debate but fumed quietly from the sidelines. I raised my stepkids as godless and with the faculties to think critically, and I felt that was the most important thing I could do to change the world (they are wonderful kids and I'm very proud of them).

Raising my children the way I think best isn't enough, because I have good cause to fear for their future safety and freedom, as well as my own. America is in danger of destroying itself from within. If the fundamentalist right has their way, our destruction is assured, and it will only be a matter of time. Radical Islam will still want to destroy us from within as well as without. Under the oppression of christofascism, America will not even be worth living in (although it would make a great setting for a social science fiction story).

I used to joke that I wasn't an activist... I was a deactivist. That little joke was good for a wry chuckle now and then among my family and friends. But I no longer think that. I perceive that the freedoms we in America hold dear are under threat, not just by Muslim extremism but by dominionist Christian extremism. Exposing this frightening doctrine is one of the reasons why I write this blog.

I suppose I could support the cause of freedom quietly, while outwardly do and say nothing to make theists think I am any different from them, but then I would be living a lie, and I can't do that. I do not believe the ends justify the means: that is the way of the cheater, the liar. That is how people convince themselves to commit atrocities. I believe the means justify the ends, and if I am to speak out against lies then I cannot live a lie. I will not sit by and hope other people do what I could be doing. I can leave my country or I can fight for it. I choose to fight for it (many years ago, I chose to fight for it another way by enlisting in the Marines, but that is a different story I'll tell later), and my first move is to declare myself openly an atheist.

If you have found yourself growing concerned over the the future of this country and the rise of the irrational religious right (both Islam and Christianity), you may have wondered if there is anything you can or should do about it.

There certainly are specific things you can do, but only you can decide if you should openly declare yourself as a person on the side of reason and rationality. There are many places online to begin learning if these ideas are entirely new to you. The links to the right or the book The End of Faith, by Sam Harris are good places to start.

We may be in the minority, but we could stand to have a stronger voice than we currently do. The song will be stronger if you add your voice to the choir (uh oh! church metaphors! look out!). One way to add your voice is to start your own blog. Chronicle your own observations of a world gone mad or your own personal journey into your outlook and philosophy. To show solidarity, to show that you are indeed part of a group that stands for freedom and for reason, you can link to other atheist and secularist blogs and websites. You can post links to social bookmarking sites. You can rejoin ridiculous comments left by ignorant fundies. I'm sure many atheists are wary of appearing to take on the same outward conventions as religion, and I understand that, but humans are social animals after all. We can band together for protection, strength, and friendship.

Somewhere out there, a young teenager may be just starting to think for herself. Who will she find when she types in her query at a search engine? Maybe it will be you, maybe it will be me. The more of us there are, the better, and that is why I am openly atheist. That is why I implore you to become more active if you've been holding back or, if you're unsure, to learn more. Know yourself. Be true to yourself. Being true to yourself can be surprisingly difficult, but it is worth it. For me, being true to myself means being openly atheist.

Phony Muslim Faith Healer deals with Freak-Out on Muslim TV

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This is a show broadcast on Egyptian television in 2005. The guests are a man who professes to be able to tell the difference between fakery and true jinn posssession (demon or spirit possession) and a sheikh who seems to be claiming people can be healed with just the Koran and honey.

A third guest freaks out and starts rolling around on the floor, twitching, whooping & hollering, and throwing papers everywhre. The guests debate what's wrong with him in an oddly calm way. Quackery, hucksterism, and phony healers are certainly not the exclusive domain of christian fundamentalists.

Religious Hypnosis and Groupthink Video: Drunk with Holy Spirit

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Watch morons @ YouTube

This is a powerful, funny, and yet also sickening and sad demonstration of the power of collective groupthink and hypnosis. These people are doing what's expected of them, and later they will lie to themselves and each other about how real it was. They will say they had a spiritual experience.

Seeing this kind of pure charlatanism amazes and disgusts me. I am simply agog at how these sheep willingly give themselves over to this spell, how drunk with raw power (not the Holy Spirit) the preacher must feel.

Afterlife According to Islam: Eating Fruit and Shagging Virgins

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Let me see if got this straight. In the muslim afterlife, men get to: eat fruit and the flesh of any bird; and have their way with "large-eyed maidens." Women get to become virgins again and have all age differences between them erased. They will have the pleasure of serving the men.

This is the divine word of Allah? Sure sounds to me like it was cooked up by a bunch of stupid horny men thousands of years ago. In fact, it sounds exactly the kind of primitive, sexist, and sexually objectifiedimagining of an afterlife you would expect from ancient tribal patriarchal cultures. You'd think a god could come up with something a little better than some idealized version of a life-on-earth fruit-and-fuck fest. But hey, it sounds better than the Christian idea of heaven. Praise god for all eternity? Oh, where do I sign up!?

This is what terrorist recruiters tell their marks what their reward is for being a martyr: you get to fuck little girls(you think that by "virgins," they mean grown women?). I can see why Muslims have a bit of an image problem. Unless we can get people to see the lunacy and idiocy of any religion, but especially Christianity and Islam, this world is headed for a global war unlike anything in the past.

This portrayal of the afterlife is no different for moderates than for extremists. too, and it's just as ridiculous for them. No, it's even more ridiculous for moderates. You might expect a moderate to have more sense than a stark-raving-mad extremist, but where is there any sense in this description of the afterlife straight out of the holy Quran? Many people feel that we should be tolerant and respectful of others' religious beliefs. Are we to show respect for this primitive, sexist claptrap? It's ridiculous! It's absurd! I refuse.

God Hates America

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These people are so far gone into cultish delusion that they believe god hates America because America supports fags.

That's right: fags.

It seems fags are so much more worse than anything else imaginable, that the reason why 9/11 happened was because god punished America for being a fag-loving nation. The reason why our military service personnel are dying in Iraq is punishment from god because in America, fags either run everything or there's one at the elbow of the people in charge. People died during hurricanes Rita and Katrina because of faggotry.

These nutjobs (really just one huge no-birth-control family and orbiting mental weaklings) are appearing at the funerals of military service personnel slain in the line of duty and protesting with placards that read "Thank God for 9/11," "Thank God for IEDs," and, you guessed it, "God Hates Fags."

I didn't know that being a fag was the worst sin imaginable. I thought murder was bad, but it looks like I was wrong, because these good christian people celebrate the death of every American. They are such insane wack-jobs that even the right-wing idiots at Fox were disgusted with them.

It makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Get rid of the fags and the hurricanes, terrorist attacks, and deaths by IEDs will simply stop because then god will no longer be mad at us.

Why I Profess Atheism and Actively Disparage Religion

It seems our world is increasingly polarized by religion: Muslim vs Jew, Muslim vs Christian, Muslim vs Hindu (are you sensing a trend, here?). Global communications have placed religion in an untenable position. Globalization has shrunk the world to the point where the world's religions are running out of room to believe they are each the only one. Religions are mutually exclusive: My God cannot possibly have created the world and set down its laws if yours did. Your heaven and my heaven cannot coexist. Therefore, you will go to my religion's Hell or I will go to yours, and both of us will do our damndest to see the other off.

We are dealing with some very primitive, downright laughable beliefs which are bringing humanity closer and closer to destruction with each passing year. If there is ever to be a World War III, it will be a war of conflicting religions. The beliefs, words, and deeds of these ignorant, superstitious people cannot go unnoticed and unquestioned. They deserve every arrow of ridicule and scorn launched their way, because somebody has to call "bullshit."

My future, my childrens' future, and my grandchildrens' future is, I feel, in jeopardy. I will not sit by and pretend to tolerate the socially-sanctioned mass insanity that is Islam, Judiaism, Christianity, or any other myth believed as historical fact. To me, there is no such thing as a moderate, only a lazy person who hasn't thought things through thoroughly enough. To tolerate other religions means you don't believe in your own, because they cannot all be true at the same time. Whether you are a fundamentalist or a moderate, the basis of your strong or weak delusion is still a lie. I do not tolerate or show respect for lies. I do not believe in fairy tales. I am an atheist. I am left out of the polarization of civilization. It isn't that I think your religion in particular is false—I think they all are.

I realize I am quite in the minority. I'm sure there are many "closet atheists" out there who fear what their families would say or some other type of retribution if they "came out." But generally, the number of people who live full, rich, meaningful, ethical lives without any god or religion is miniscule compared to the number of those who need to delude themselves with magical, invisible deities. And since religious morality is hardly anything more than a variation on might makes right, it's easy to see why some people who know perfectly well that religion is a ludicrous lie do not profess it.

But without each single voice there is no choir. The smaller the choir, the greater it is improved with the addition of even one more voice. I have decided to add my voice. I feel like I am standing above the fray and joining in the chorus that sings of another way. A way without superstitious mumbo-jumbo.

But people don't listen unless you can get their attention, and even then they tune you out as soon as they realize you are challenging their worldview. If I calmly sit here and type words of reason and logic nobody would notice or care. So I write in an inflammatory style, designed to get attention through controversy. Once I have jolted you and got your attention, then if the grip on your delusion is weak, perhaps you will let it go.

My vitriol is not an act, however: it is very real and heartfelt. I am exasperated to no end with religious ignorance and idiocy, and my tongue is sharp. I will belittle, disparage, and scorn religion and the actions of its followers because that is what gets attention. And attention must be paid to where humanity is taking itself, because there is a very steep cliff up ahead called World War III.

Training the Next Generation Army for WWIII: Jesus Camp

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Link to video page @ YouTube

Just imagine how angry and upset most of you would feel if you watched this and, instead of little christian white boys and girls you saw little brown muslim boys all willing and eager to die for allah (girls would be excluded, of course). You know what muslims would think if they saw this? They would think that's the best terrorist training camp video I ever saw! The next war will not be about oil. It will not be about land. It will be about belief. Not belief in something worthwhile, like freedom, or creativity, or self-actualization. But belief in something so patently ludicrous and stupid it is nearly unimaginable: invisible supernatural gods and stolen mythological stories mistaken for history and reality. No, I take that back—I can imagine it. No, I don't even have to imagine it—I just saw it in that video.

Crazy Right-Wing Fox Anchor Deals with Even Crazier Fundamentalist Nutjob Cult Bitch

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Watch nutjob @ YouTube

This is that batshit Phelps bitch from a cult in Topeka, Kansas, that consists mostly of her own family (breeding god's little army, apparently). She's such a nutjob that even the normally disgusting rightwing Fox news anchors can't stomach her.

She and her cult/family picket the funerals of American military service personnel killed in the line of duty with signs that say things like "Thank God for IEDs" and "God Hates Fags." They believe that everything bad that happens to America is the result of god's punishment for America being a fag-loving nation. These people make mormons and scientologists seem normal and catholics seem like pagans.

You think this is all very extreme, but there's a surprising amount of material from mainstream christians saying the same thing. It just doesn't seem as bad because they're not showing up at people's funerals. The first thing that ignorant dumbasses think when the volcano erupts is that the fire gods must be angry. This is the twenty-first fucking century and people are still this dumb? 

Welcome to the Dark Side

The purpose of this blog is to hold up religious idiocy and ignorance to the scorn and ridicule it deserves.

We should not tolerate the mass insanity that is religious belief. Religious belief (not just fundamentalism—I don't care if you're a little crazy or really wacko) is bringing ruin upon the entire world. Over the next twenty years or so the United States may very well enter a new dark age in which religion speaks through government, silences science, and oppresses everywhere the freedoms so hard-won by our nation's deist, nonchristian forefathers.

With every post on this blog I will point out the ignorance, the idiocy, and the outright insanity of those that follow religions and who believe in the existence supernatural beings. Believing in an invisible, white (oh shut up of course he is), bearded man-in-the-sky who never answers back when you talk to him is pure, certifiable insanity.

The "dark side" is, of course, no such thing. To suffer no illusions is not to dwell in darkness, but in the light of reality. As the old joke goes: Reality... it's not what you think.

And so, without further ado:

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For your delight, the remix:

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There's another side to this video (which has been popular online far before my humble post to it here) that doesn't get much (if any) mention: the other woman in this show is a wiccan. A pagan. A different form of a similar insanity. Lest you think I only have it in for christians, let me say that the ignorance and duplicity of the new ager is stupendously without parallel. And they have really, really ugly
websites. More on them later.

My work here is just beginning.