I’ll be on Canada’s CKNW radio at 10:45 tonight about this.There is no controversy here… Walmart can sell whatever it likes to whomever will buy their stuff. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t give:DAVE’S TOP 5 REASONS TO BELLY LAUGH AT THIS ARTICLE5) Greed is a “deadly sin”, but these pieces of plastic cost $25 each4) if “Most Christians don’t like violence”, why is this all about violence (gruesome violence at that)3) Sampson didn’t kill Goliath… Duh…2) Puts religion where it should be — with other fictional characters. Shall we now move the Bible to the fiction section?1) “Thou shalt make unto thee NO GRAVEN IMAGES of anything in Heaven”. Sound familiar? Last time I checked, the penalty for this crime is death.

Biblical icons to fight for sales at Wal-MartDespite Violence, Company Touts ‘Real Superheroes’Mary Vallis National Post Parents in the United States will soon be able to buy their children Jesus, Goliath and Moses action figures at Wal-Mart.The faith-based toy line, which will appear in the preschool aisle of 425 select Wal-Mart stores in mid-August, is produced by one2believe, a California toy company urging parents to join “the battle for the toy box” by bringing home muscular Samson and Goliath action figures instead of the usual Transformers and Spider-Men.The toys’ release is billed as the first time Wal-Mart has offered a full line of faith-based toys.”I think parents are dying for something for their young child that they can give them that they know is going to give them a positive image,” said David Socha, one2believe’s founder. The company’s goal is to “spread the word of God to children throughout America.”"What’s nice is that they’re real, as opposed to other superheroes that are out there. Kids can relate to people who didn’t have superhuman powers, but relied on God’s strength.”The toys will be available at Wal-Marts predominantly in the U.S. Midwest and South, but will also be available in more liberal regions of the country, including California, said spokeswoman Melissa O’Brien.”While this distribution is in less than 1 /8 of our U.S. stores, we anticipate the product may appeal to families and teachers looking for faith-based products to share stories of the Bible,” Ms. O’Brien said.”Recent research indicates a growing interest in religious products, so this is a test for us to see if these toys have interest among our customers, who may be looking for an alternative to licensed action figures.”One2believe’s Web site includes a short video of its Samson and Goliath “Spirit Warrior” dolls fighting each other.In the video, Samson snaps back Goliath’s head with a cheery left uppercut, sending Goliath sprawling to the floor.Mr. Socha conceded not all parents will agree with the violence but said it depicts reality.”I’m sure with some Christians, violence is out. But our saviour died a very violent death at the hands of violent men,” he said. “I think that there are messages to be learned within the violence, good and bad.”Spirit Warrior action figures retail for US$24.99. The company plans to expand the Warrior line to include Joshua and David by the end of the year.Mr. Socha hopes children will be attracted to the “underdog” nature of many of the personalities. The toys come with small books explaining the Biblical story behind each character.”Moses, he was slow of speech. Esther was a minority girl in a foreign land [and] saved her people. David was the youngest of his brothers, shouldn’t have been at war, his brothers laughed at him and he killed Goliath and became the greatest king ever.”The toy collection also includes a line of smaller “Tales of Glory” figurines for US$7.99, including Jonah and the Big Fish, Moses and the Ten Plagues and Jesus Walks on Water, complete with miniature boat.”Jesus seems to sell the best,” Mr. Socha said. “I think that in Wal-Mart, Samson and Goliath could do really well because they’re very edgy because they’re very buff.”The faith-based toys will not be available at Wal-Mart stores in Canada, but Mr. Socha said the company plans to distribute the line through Christian bookstores and parents’ groups here. One2believe plans to sell the toys in 15 countries by the end of the year, including in the Middle East. A line of faith-based dolls for girls is also in the works. The company made headlines last fall when the Marine Reserves’ Toys for Tots program briefly refused to accept a donation of 4,000 of its talking Jesus dolls that quote the Bible. That decision, based on the Marines’ reluctance to offend Jewish or Muslim parents, was reversed after a public outcry.The first hints of controversy with one2believe’s latest line are already evident.”Personally, I don’t think kids are going to go for it. Nobody’s really all that interested in Jesus. Kids aren’t,” said Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, a New Jersey-based group with 2,400 members.”Isn’t religion the one who is always claiming that everybody is so materialistic? And now we’re marketing Jesus dolls,” Ms. Johnson said.”You can buy anything, anywhere, and that’s America.”? National Post 2007

That’s right. On July 26 to 29, 2007 in Milwaukee, WI, the Neocon wing nuts held a memorial for the Christian Terrorist Paul Hill complete with re-enactment of his crime:

Saturday, July 28Early am – abortion mill demonstration10:00 am ? Public preaching11:00 am ? Re-enactment11:30 am ? News conference12:00 pm ? Parade12:30 pm ? Pizza in the parkEvening ? Picnic tba

Okay, so there is no end to the craziness of these Neocon theocratic wing nuts. They have declared war on secular America and are spilling the blood of innocent doctors. I know their position, but it doesn’t alter the fact that these medical professionals murdered by Christian terrorists like Hill and Rudolph were engaged in legal activities that is responsible for stopping the butchering of innocent girls and women by supplying them with professional medical care. It is totally indefensible for the Neocon theocratic wing nuts to hold celebrations to memorialize murderers. So who is for pizza in the park with your favorite homegrown religious domestic terrorist?Peter Nuhn

Oh well, one less grandpa deluded with idiocy.Man Dies After Police Break Up Exorcism

PHOENIX (July 29) – Officers responding to a report of an exorcism on a young girl found her grandfather choking her and used stun guns to subdue the man, who later died, authorities said Sunday.The 3-year-old girl and her mother, who was also in the room during the struggle between 49-year-old Ronald Marquez and officers, were hospitalized, police said. Their condition was unavailable.The relative who called police said an exorcism had also been attempted Thursday.”The purpose was to release demons from this very young child,” said Sgt. Joel Tranter.

The BAD news is that this stuff is not rare. Indeed, about half of the respondents to AOL’s questions voted IN FAVOR of demonic possessions and exorcisms. And they vote.

Poll ResultsDo you believe exorcisms can expel demons from people?No 52% 23,042 Yes 48% 21,625

http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=47626Good pro-Camp-Quest letters published in Stars and Stripes, courtesy of Kathleen Johnson, our Military Director now serving in Iraq.

ROME (Reuters) – Catholic missionaries have always trekked to dangerous parts of the Earth to spread the word of God — now they are being encouraged to go into the virtual realm of Second Life to save virtual souls.In an article in Rome-based Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, academic Antonio Spadaro urged fellow Catholics not to be scared of entering the virtual world which may be fertile ground for new converts wishing to better themselves.”It’s not possible to close our eyes to this phenomenon or rush to judge it,” Spadaro said. “Instead it needs to be understood … the best way to understand it is to enter it.”Second Life is a simulation game where players can create a virtual version of themselves — an avatar — and interact with other people in the three-dimensional world.According to its Web site, it has a population of more than 8 million residents and millions of dollars change hands there every month.”Is there (cyber) space for God?” Spadaro aaka in his article which says there are already virtual churches and temples serving countless religions. He quotes a Swedish Muslim who says his avatar prays regularly as he prays in real life.Spadaro warns the uninitiated that “the erotic dimension is very present” in Second Life, that people can buy genitalia for their avatars in a world that is “open to any form of erotic stimulation from prostitution to pedophilia”.

Yeah. Better watch out for those temptations, preachers! Seriously. Doesn’t that last sentence remind you of reverse psychology? Freud could write a book here.

The summer is in full swing, and I’m not having the summer I wanted. I had hoped to take off some substantial time, and I won’t, but at least I get to spend the week at Camp Quest with my daughter.Despite the mosquitoes and other airborne woods-wonders, I had a really great time last year and this year should be just as good.Camp Quest is getting a lot of press this year, mainly as a reflection of “Jesus Camp”. Some try to make us look like the Christian version of Jesus Camp, preaching to kids and brainwashing them into Atheism.It’s not at all like that. 95% of what we do at CQ is just plain fun. Yes, we are all Atheists (with rare exception), but the amount of time we spend on that subject is very small, relative to the horses, the games, the swimming, and or course, the campfire. They will learn a little, but they have a lot of fun — that’s our objective.

Linked to the title of this post is an article on the currently richest multi-millionaire televangelist in the world, John Hagee of San Antonio, TX, and a meeting of the CUFI in Washington, DC last week. The article also contains a video shot by the author at the meeting. You just have to watch this one. It contains a piece where Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Knesset) gets up and kow tows to the religious right and I especially enjoyed the part where he genuflected to his far-righteous holiness, Ex-Senator Rick Santorum. Of course, the piece is entirely about how the craziest christians in the universe support the state of Israel, nuking Iran, and keeping the war machine against all Islamic nations at full tilt in order for the rapture to take place.I really doubt we are going to survive these total nut-wack-jobs, you know, like our beloved leader, W and his brain K. Rove and the real President and Decider, Dick.Peter Nuhn

We lost an ally yesterday. OUr thoughts and best wishes go out to Rabbi Wine’s family and followers. Humanistic Jews are a major good-guy in the fight to separate churhc and state.

Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of the Humanistic Judaism movement, died in a car crash on Saturday in the Moroccan coastal town of Essaouira. Wine, 79, founded the first congregation of Humanistic Judaism – which viewed the religion as a culture rather than a faith, in Michigan in 1963. Wine, who was vacationing on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, was killed instantly along with a taxi driver when a car slammed into their cab.

I know most fundy Xtians hate Harry Potter, so I like it. But here’s what PH had to say about the new book.

?But that?s ? I?m sorry, but that?s completely ridiculous! How can I possibly prove it doesn?t exist? Do you expect me to get hold of ? of all the pebbles in the world and test them? I mean, you could claim that anything?s real if the only basis for believing in it is that nobody?s proved it doesn?t exist!?Deathly Hallows, page 411Perhaps a hidden secular message for the fans

Anyone agree?

The dems really avoided any firm stance on the Separaation of Church and State in their recent debate. Did anyone see any mention of this topic, which was for a time a top u-Tube question?I thought not.So here’s the question: Should we, as Atheists, leave the Democrats and GOP in favor of a third party? If we did, the GOP would surely win, but it may be worth it in another 4 years when they actually addressed our concerns. Should we be looking at the larger picture?