Brexit causes 2 trillion dollar losses in stock market as millions of Brits experience "Bregret."

Courtesy of ABC News:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 611 points, or 3.39 percent, as investors reacted strongly to news that the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. U.S. markets closed at three month lows. 

Friday's sell-off marked the Dow's biggest drop in 10 months. All told, there were an estimated $2.1 trillion in losses across global markets today, according the S&P's Howard Silverblatt. There were an estimated $830 billion in losses estimated in U.S. markets today. 

The Nasdaq dropped 202 points, or 4.12 percent, while the S&P 500 slid 76 points, or 3.6 percent. 

U.S. crude fell 5 percent, or $2.47, to settle at $47.64, its largest one-day decline since February. 

From Europe to Asia to the United States, financial markets showed panic over the so-called Brexit.

There is also news that the United Kingdom may not deserve that name for much longer.

Courtesy of the New York Times: 

There has long been political jostling among the four nations that constitute the United Kingdom, but the so-called Brexit referendum has divided them in ways that mean they may not come back together again. England and Wales voted to leave the union. Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay. Within hours, Scottish and Irish politicians raised the possibility that their nations would leave the United Kingdom so they could remain in the European Union. 

“This outcome tonight dramatically changes the political landscape here in the North of Ireland,” said Declan Kearney, the chairman of the political party Sinn Fein, which has legislators in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and has long sought their reunification. Mr. Kearney said Sinn Fein would seek a referendum to have Northern Ireland leave the United Kingdom and join Ireland, an independent country (and European Union member). 

Scotland rejected a proposal to quit the United Kingdom in a referendum in 2014, in part over concerns that as an independent country, it would be unable to join the European Union and would suffer economically. On Friday, Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland, said her party would “prepare the legislation that would be required to enable a new independence referendum to take place.”

While all of this is going on there are millions of British citizens who are hoping that the "no take backs" rule is not in effect in this case.

Courtesy of the Washington Post: 

A petition calling for another referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Union has now received at least 2.1 million signatures — a level that means it must now be debated by British politicians. It was apparently so popular that the British Parliament's website, where the petition was hosted, briefly crashed.

The hope is to somehow invalidate the Brexit vote and get things back to normal in the United Kingdom, before that moniker gets retired for good.

What the political fallout might be if they succeed in shifting this whole thing into reverse is anybody's guess, but I imagine that the country will suffer some serious political schizophrenia for quite awhile.

Let's just make sure that every Trump supporting moron is paying close attention to what is happening here, becasue if their candidate were to be elected they would likely suffer the same feelings of regret now sweeping the British Isles.

Street preacher in Scotland gets shut down in the most Scottish way possible.

As annoying as bagpipe music can be, it sure beats the hell out of listening to some asshole spouting about fire and brimstone on a street corner.

On British talk show fundamentalist offers a rather frightening view of humanists, only to be quickly corrected by an actual humanist.

The topic of this episode of The Big Question is a discussion concerning how the UK recently passed a ruling saying that humanist marriages are not to considered a legal form of matrimony in the country, while in Scotland, which embraced humanist marriages since 2005, they now outnumber Catholic weddings.

But things quickly go off the rails with the introduction of Taiwo Adewuyi, founder of the group Discuss Jesus. (Though to be honest it does not sound like he wants to rationally discuss ANYTHING.)

Courtesy of Raw Story:

Host Nicky Campbell presented Adewuyi, who said humanist weddings are “entirely demonic.” 

“It all goes back to the origins of humanism,” Adewuyi said. “Humanism is the cancer on thanks-giving. It is the Devil’s PR. It is a first-class ticket to the sea of wantonness and debauchery.” 

Humanism, he said, tries to “knock God off the throne” and put mankind at the top instead, which Adewuyi claims is wrong. 

Andrew Copson of the British Humanist Association responded, “Well, if you’re going to wantonness and debauchery, you might as well travel first class.” 

“Humanism,” he explained, “is a nonreligious world view that — instead of looking to revelation or authority, we look to reason and evidence to understand the universe. Instead of looking to moral rules that come from outside human beings, we look to other human beings to generate values in the here and now and also to generate meaning in our life.” 

“Instead of looking externally for some meaning to give value and sanction to the existence we’re having, the humanist view is that men and women in the course of our lives create the sustained meaning together,” Copson said.

Okay I am not terribly familiar with this Andrew Copson fellow but I found his explanation of humanism to be very satisfying.

And this in a nutshell is how many people in the religious right characterize those of us who are living our lives free of religion or oppressive dogma.

Everything to them is black or white, right or wrong, good or evil. And if you are not one of them, believing exactly as they do, then you are an agent of Satan and you, and your dangerous ideas, must be rejected out of hand.

And the struggle continues. 

Scotland passes bill allowing same sex marriages. Because these days EVERY country is better than America.

Courtesy of Richard Dawkins.net:

 MSPs voted by 105 to 18 in favour of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill. 

The Scottish government said the move was the right thing to do but Scotland's two main churches were opposed to it. 

The first gay and lesbian weddings could take place this autumn. 

Religious and belief bodies can "opt in" to perform same-sex marriages. 

Ministers said no part of the religious community would be forced to hold such ceremonies in churches.

Really? Scotland?

Isn't this the land full of hard drinking men wearing kilts with no underwear?

How could they be more progressive than America?

But they are, because we are a nation under the influence of a religion that stifles love and restricts happiness.