Anchorage broke another record. A really bad one.

Courtesy of the ADN: 

The death of a man whose body was found in Butte is now being investigated as a homicide in Anchorage, Alaska State Troopers said Monday. That would bring the city to a record number of homicides in a calendar year. 

The body of Anchorage man Weston Gladney, 36, was found in the Jim Creek recreation area of Butte, in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, on Dec. 2. 

"Investigation by troopers has determined that the homicide occurred in Anchorage," Alaska State Troopers spokesman Tim DeSpain said. "At this time there is no additional information available for release in regards to this ongoing investigation."

Gladney's killing was the 35th homicide in Anchorage in 2017, police said – a new record. In 2016, there were a total of 34 homicides in the city, which also set a record.

Of course these statistics may seem minor when compared to big cities, but keep in mind that Anchorage has less than 300,000 people living there.

And yet Forbes Magazine once ranked us the tenth most dangerous city.

It should come as some comfort that most of those murdered knew their killers, or were involved in criminal activity.

In other words every day citizens of the city should feel relatively safe. (Or as safe as you can feel when every other asshole is probably carrying a gun.)

One of the policies introduced in Trump's SOTU speech last night comes right out of Adolph Hitler's playbook.

Nazi Germany vs. Trump Administration, compare and contrast pic.twitter.com/s5SAIczj4Y

— Christopher Hooton (@ChristophHooton) January 26, 2017

Courtesy of Indy 100: 

Donald Trump confirmed in his first State of the Union address that he will publish a regular list of crimes committed by immigrants. 

It was initially announced in an executive order he signed during his first week as President, but during his speech he laid out more details of his plan. 

"I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create an office to serve American Victims. 

The office is called VOICE — Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement. We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media, and silenced by special interests."

Okay that just sounds terrifying and wrong all on its own, I mean why would the crimes committed by non-citizens warrant a different classification than those committed by your typical all American drug dealer, rapist, or murderer?

But it gets even worse when you remember this:

Adolf Hitler also published lists of crimes committed by immigrants. 

An article from a Nazi periodical entitled ‘The Criminal Jew’, featured in the book Hitler’s Ethic: The Nazi Pursuit of Evolutionary Progress by professor Richard Weikart, features photos of Jewish people captioned with the crimes they have committed. 

"In 1943, a Nazi directive to the German press declared, 'Jews are criminal by disposition. The Jews are not a nation like other nations but bearers of hereditary criminality.'"

That's right, Hitler.

This is how you create an underclass that is always viewed with suspicion by supposedly more upstanding citizens.

Soon the so-called REAL citizens will be seeing criminal activity around every corner, and with every sighting of somebody with brown skin, a thick accent, or wearing traditional clothing from someplace NOT in America.

It is only a hop, skip, and a jump from there to labeling restaurants "For Citizens Only," public lynchings, and using fire hoses and police dogs to break up every gathering of non-Caucasians.

I skipped last night's speech because I knew it would be filled with lies and dangerous policy proposals.

Clearly I was correct.

As for the lies reports are that Trump made 61 statements, 51 of which false.

 By the way just to poke the big orange bear, Trump's first SOTU did not get nearly the ratings that Obama's did.

Courtesy of Variety: 

Across nine networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Univision, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and Fox Business — Trump’s speech drew an average audience of 46.82 million from 9:15 to 10:15 p.m. in Nielsen’s still-not-quite-final numbers. 

President Obama’s first address pulled in an audience of 52.37 million people across the four broadcast networks, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, and Univision.

Gee even with over twice as many networks broadcasting the speech, he still could not measure up.

Just a reminder that no matter what he does he will always fall short. 

David Duke, Trump supporter and former grand dragon of the KKK, claims that Hillary Clinton is an agent of "White Genocide." Can she start with him?

David Duke. Typical Donald Trump supporter. No, really!

Courtesy of Angry White Men:

On the September 7, 2016 episode of his radio show, David Duke and co-host Jay Hess hyped black-on-white crimes and accused Hillary Clinton of being an architect of “white genocide.” As Hess put it, Clinton “represents the forces of white genocide” and is “definitely a traitor to her people” who doesn’t care if white people are “outbred.”

With that, Duke segued into the argument that white people are being targeted for non-white violence. He insisted that there are “hundreds of thousands of white victims of massive non-white crime.” He went on to say that:

"When a person goes to the store, they go to the mall, or they drive somewhere in their car and they break down, or they stop at a traffic light and they might get hijacked, nine times out of ten it’s not gonna be some white guy hijacking their car. It’s not gonna be a white guy kidnapping them at the Walmart, right? And, you know, taking their family and slaughtering them, or robbing them or raping the women. That’s just the reality of life in this country."

For the record I live in lily white Alaska and when somebody here gets robbed, raped, or kidnapped it is more often than not a white guy.

Like David Duke. 

Crime is crime, and ethnicity has little to do with it.

Often it is the result of poverty, or a lack of education, or a sense of hopelessness.

Yes sometimes those things are found in African American communities, but also in poor Hispanic communities, in poverty stricken Asian communities, and yes in poor mostly Caucasian communities.

The idea that crime is determined by race is a White Nationalist meme that has little fact to back it up.

And there are also no facts to back up Duke's assertion that Hillary Clinton is a self loathing agent of white genocide.

Obviously.

It looks like someone is bucking to be added to that "basket of deplorables."

Okay so right now might not be the best time to visit Anchorage.

Courtesy of ADN: 

In an unusual advisory, the Anchorage Police Department on Tuesday warned residents of the city not to travel alone at night in "isolated areas," days after an as-yet-unsolved double homicide occurred in a park along a popular trail. 

In the statement, police asked citizens "to be cautious" late at night, "especially if they are in isolated areas like our parks, bike trails or unoccupied streets." 

"If you do plan to be out late at night, make sure you travel with several friends and not alone," the statement said. 

Police did not offer a specific reason why people should not travel late at night alone, other than saying that "criminal activity often increases late at night." The caution came after a wave of homicides in the city, including several unsolved killings. The FBI confirmed Tuesday that they were assisting APD in investigating some of those cases.

I am not going to lie to you, there has always been an element of danger in this city even back when I was a kid.

For a relatively small population in the state we have had far more than our fair share of serial killers:

No state in the country has a higher rate of serial murders than Alaska. As was the case in most other states, serial killers in Alaska claimed more victims in the 1980s than in any other decade. Robert Hansen, perhaps the most prolific serial killer in the state’s history, was sentenced to 461 years of prison in 1984 after confessing to the particularly gruesome murders 17 women. More than half of the 51 serial murders that occurred in Alaska took place between 1980 and 1990. Not only does Alaska have a higher incidence of serial killings than any other state, it also has the highest violent crime rate in the country.

And of course the majority of them lived in or around Anchorage. 

We also have an extreme number of regular homicides, rapes, and assaults, many of them related to alcohol abuse.

This year alone we have already had over twenty murders, with four months left to go. 

Yes the state is gorgeous, but it can also be deadly. And despite what you might hear the grizzly bears are NOT the most dangerous predators.

When you grow up here you quickly learn the rules. When and where you will be the most safe, where you should avoid going alone, and at what times of the night the city becomes the least safe.

Now I would not suggest that tourists need to stay away completely.

Most of the city is quite safe and right now breathtakingly beautiful.

However if I were a tourist I would ask about any dangerous places to avoid (Fairview, Mountain View, and Spenard, for a start.) and at what times it is best to avoid going on walks along the bike paths or in the parks.

Now you know why I tell people that this is the best place in the world to live, IF you can survive.

Justice Department to stop using private prisons.

Courtesy of Time: 

The U.S. Justice Department will stop using private prisons after concluding that they do not have the same level of safety or quality as penitentiaries run by the Bureau of Prisons. 

Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates sent a memo on Thursday that said officials must not renew — or at least must significantly scale back — their contracts with private prisons. The move would cut back the country’s reliance on privately run prisons until they are out of service, the Washington Post reports. 

Yates’ announcement follows on the heels of last week’s report from the department’s Inspector General that private prisons score far worse than public facilities in areas of safety and quality of life. 

“[Private prisons] simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department’s Office of Inspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security,” wrote Yates in the Thursday memo.

There are currently 195,000 inmates in private prisons, down from 220,000 in 2013, according to Yates’ memo. Yates detailed how the Bureau of Prisons turned down renewing a private contract of 1,200 prison beds three weeks ago, and today reduced a pending contract from 10,800 beds to a maximum of 3,600 beds. Those reductions will lead to three private prisons closing during the next year, to cut the total number of private prisoners in 2013 by more than 50% by May 2017.

Well this is great news.

Prions for profit was never a good idea and it encouraged at least some judges to provide stricter sentences in return for kickbacks.

Hopefully with prisons no longer seen as profit centers there will be fewer incarcerations and a focus on rehabilitation instead of simply warehousing these people until their sentence is over or they die.

Gee I am so glad I don't own any stock in private prisons.

Mike Huckabee thinks that it is perfectly reasonable to sell poor people into slavery for stealing. Hey, it's in the Bible.

I'm using this much of my brain to answer these questions.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

The former Arkansas governor weighed in on our nation’s current criminal justice system during an appearance yesterday on Mickelson in the Morning, a leading Iowa radio program. 

Host Jan Mickelson began by bemoaning that the “criminal justice system has been taken over by progressives.” In order to fight back, he argued, conservatives should look to the biblical Book of Exodus. “It says, if a person steals, they have to pay it back two-fold, four-fold,” 

Mickelson explained. “If they don’t have anything, we’re supposed to take them down and sell them.” Mickelson went on to argue why jails, which he claimed are a “pagan invention,” are inferior to slavery: “We indenture them and they have to spend their time not sitting on their stump in a jail cell, they’re supposed to be working off the debt.” 

“Wouldn’t that be a better choice?” the host asked. 

“Well, it really would be,” Huckabee replied without missing a beat. “Sometimes the best way to deal with a nonviolent criminal behavior is what you just suggested.”

Okay I have to admit that I thought this might be bullshit, or some kind of exaggeration.

But then I listened to the audio that Think Progress so helpfully embedded on their site, and sure enough this is exactly what Huckabee says.

The Biblical passage which supports the idea of selling poor people into slavery can be found in Exodus 22:  

"Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep."If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed. "Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft."

Isn't it great that we have evolved to far as a society that we understand that owning other human beings, even one who has stolen from us, is morally repugnant?

And do we really want to elect a leader who still clings to archaic and primitive methods for dealing with crime?

After all what would be next for Mike Huckabee?

Stoning women for committing adultery?

Or perhaps killing people for working on the Sabbath?

Or perhaps simply forty lashes for the sin of being wicked.

Gee too bad Huckabee is not running for the leader of a fundamentalist Muslim country, it sounds like his way of thinking would make him a shoo in for the job.

California mother laughs at motorist who starts following her. She flags down cop, who tries to help her, dies in hail of gunfire anyway.

Courtesy of New York Daily News:  

A California mother innocently laughed at a stranger on the road moments before the man shot her and her 12-year-old son, killing the woman, police said. 

"It appears to be random or misguided," Lt. Dave Coleman told the Daily Breezea bout the cold-blooded killing. 

Denise Chiffon Berry, 44, was driving in Hawthorne Wednesday afternoon with her son when the boy made eye contact with three men driving by in a Cadillac, police said. 

The boy told police Berry noticed one of the Cadillac passengers had his feet hanging out the window, laughed and remarked: "Look at that, isn't that funny?" 

Then she drove on — and the men followed. 

Berry drove up to police officer and told him they were being pursued, so the cop told her to park in front of him. 

But that did not save her. 

After Berry pulled her Mercedes-Benz over around 12:30 p.m., the men caught up with her. One jumped out of the car and opened fire with two handguns. 

The officer fired back and killed the shooter, identified as Robert Washington, 38, of Rialto. Berry was killed on the scene. 

Her son, who hasn’t been named, was injured, but still managed to run away and speak to investigators before undergoing surgery,KTLA reported.

The driver and the other passenger were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy, and their bail is set at one million dollars each. 

The conservatives will simply write this off as a "black on black" crime, but it's actually a murder by handgun brazenly perpetrated right in front of a police officer.

Once again that is not the sort of crime that happens in places without a so-called "gun culture."

Three young Muslims killed in North Carolina. Police investigating it as a hate crime, since suspect was outspoken Atheist.

Courtesy of the Guardian:  

A family of three young Muslims has been shot dead in their home in a quiet neighbourhood of North Carolina in the US. 

Police have named the victims as 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19. 

Officers were called to reports of gunshots at 5.11pm at an apartment block largely housing academics and young professionals on Summerwalk Circle in Chapel Hill. 

A 46-year-old man, named by police as Craig Stephen Hicks, has been arrested on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder. 

Hicks described himself as an atheist on Facebook and posted regular images and text condemning all religions. Police said he handed himself in last night.

Of course this is already making the rounds on Right Wing news sites which are salivating at the prospect of spinning this as a anti-religious hate crime.

However initial reports seem to suggest that religion was not a factor: 

In a statement released on Wednesday morning (local time), Chapel Hill Police said that a preliminary investigation suggested the crime was “motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking”.

One of the reasons that conservatives will be quick to jump on this is that it would be one of the extremely rare cases where an atheist was responsible for senseless violence directed at a religious person. Most of the time that is the other way around.

Now if this indeed does turn out to be a hate crime against these young people due to their faith, that of course will be condemned by ALL atheists around the world. In fact Richard Dawkins has already done just that:

How could any decent person NOT condemn the vile murder of three young US Muslims in Chapel Hill? http://t.co/pdtwnKqYG3
— Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) February 11, 2015

Of course people are individuals, but as a rule Atheists simply want religion to stay in temples, synagogues, and churches, and out of politics and education.

Hurting or killing people is simply NEVER part of the conversation.

After all we are not burdened by any deity to rid the world of those who do not think as we do, or to force our point of view on others by convincing them of the eternal suffering that awaits them for rejecting our belief system.

I feel terrible for the families of these young people, and my heart goes out to them.

The myth of gun ownership and home defense.

Courtesy of Politico:  

In 1992, Gary Kleck and Marc Getz, criminologists at Florida State University, conducted a random digit-dial survey to establish the annual number of defensive gun uses in the United States. They surveyed 5,000 individuals, asking them if they had used a firearm in self-defense in the past year and, if so, for what reason and to what effect. Sixty-six incidences of defensive gun use were reported from the sample. The researchers then extrapolated their findings to the entire U.S. population, resulting in an estimate of between 1 million and 2.5 million defensive gun uses per year. 

The claim has since become gospel for gun advocates and is frequently touted by the National Rifle Association, pro-gun scholars such as John Lott and conservative politicians. The argument typically goes something like this: Guns are used defensively “over 2 million times every year—five times more frequently than the 430,000 times guns were used to commit crimes.” Or, as Gun Owners of America states, “firearms are used more than 80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives.” Former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum has frequently opined on the benefits of defensive gun use, explaining: “In fact, there are millions of lives that are saved in America every year, or millions of instances like that where gun owners have prevented crimes and stopped things from happening because of having guns at the scene.” 

It may sound reassuring, but is utterly false. In fact, gun owners are far more likely to end up like Theodore Wafer or Eusebio Christian, accidentally shooting an innocent person or seeing their weapons harm a family member, than be heroes warding off criminals.

The article points out a number of ways in which the criminologist misrepresented and extrapolated their data in order to reach such ridiculous numbers.

And then goes on to point out the following:

For example, guns were allegedly used in self-defense in 845,000 burglaries, according to Kleck and Getz. However, from reliable victimization surveys, we know that there were fewer than 1.3 million burglaries where someone was in the home at the time of the crime, and only 33 percent of these had occupants who weren’t sleeping. From surveys on firearm ownership, we also know that 42 percent of U.S. households owned firearms at the time of the survey. Even if burglars only rob houses of gun owners, and those gun owners use their weapons in self-defense every single time they are awake, the 845,000 statistic cited in Kleck and Gertz’s paper is simply mathematically impossible. 

Of course here at IM we have reported on the almost stunning number of times that guns purchased for protection instead killed or badly wounded the owner or a member of their families. 

Some of them are almost humorous, while others are tragically sad.

The facts are that owning a gun does NOT statistically make you safer than a non-gun owner, however it does dramatically increase the possibility that you yourself, or a loved one, will be shot with that firearm.

I have said it before, but it bears repeating, the best deterrent against burglary is a good dog.

And might I add that dogs are MUCH less likely to go off accidentally and take off somebody's finger. I am not saying it doesn't ever happen, just that it is much less likely.

Why is it when Alaska is number one in something it is always something bad?

FBI statistics for 2013 show that Alaska is the number one most dangerous state in America. Yay us?

Here is more courtesy of USA Today:  

To identify the most dangerous states in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed violent crime rates from the FBI's 2013 Uniform Crime Report. Property crime rates also came from the FBI's report. The data were broken into eight types of crime. Violent crime was comprised of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault; and, property crime was comprised of burglary, arson, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. In addition to crime data, we also reviewed median household income, poverty rates, and educational attainment rates from the 2013 Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

Number one with a bullet, actually apparently a number of bullets, was the Last Frontier:  

1. Alaska 

> Violent crimes per 100,000: 602.6 

> Population: 735,132

 > Total 2013 murders: 34 (11th lowest) 

> Poverty rate: 9.3% (2nd lowest) 

> Pct. of adults with high school diploma: 91.6% (tied-6th highest) 

Alaska was the nation's most dangerous state in 2013 and the only state with more than 600 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Incidents of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter and rape both rose nearly 10% in 2013 from 2012, despite falling across the country last year. Alaska residents have struggled with sexual assault for years. According to a 2010 survey of Alaskan women, 37% of respondents reported being the victims of rape or sexual assault. As of 2013, rapes were reported nearly four times as frequently as they were nationwide. High violent crime rates in Alaska may seem incongruous with the state's socioeconomic environment. As of 2013, fewer than one in 10 residents lived in poverty, and thanks to a permanent fund that pays residents a share of oil profits, the state had the second highest median household income in the country, at $72,237.

I would quibble with the fact that our median household income is the second highest due to the PFDs. After all the cost of living up here is quite high so we are paid with that in mind. 

However I am unable to argue with the rest of the statistics.

It is indeed dangerous to live here. Especially for women, and especially in rural areas.

Is it pathetic that I would be thrilled to someday come in even second on a list like this? Cause I would be.

Occasionally we leave our mark on the internet.

I happened to notice this graphic over at Reddit. Which is, for those who do not know, a terrifying black hole which is known to ensnare innocent victims and drag them into its maw where they disappear forever and are never heard from again.  

Or, if you believe the administrators, simply a place where you can find pictures of cats.

Anyhow as I looked at that graphic I could not help but realize that it was probably inspired by this post on IM from earlier this week.

Which, if true, gives me a warm fuzzy feeling in my........let's say tummy.

I always like to know that my work is appreciated and shared among many, and in this case that seems to be what happened.

Viva la Internet!

Ammosexual shoots 17 year old girl after she confronts him about driving his riding lawnmower over her property.

Courtesy of the Times Colonist:  

A northern Minnesota man was charged Wednesday with shooting a 17-year-old girl several times after authorities say she told him not to ride his lawn mower through her yard. 

Chad Pickering, 40, of Bemidji appeared in Beltrami County court on a felony charge of attempted first-degree murder. Bail was set at $300,000. 

Pickering shot the teen three times as she stood on the deck of her home Monday night, the criminal complaint said. The teen was shot in her chest, right thigh and left ankle. She was taken to a Duluth hospital. 

Police found .45 shells by a tree on the young woman's property, and when police searched his home and found a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol hidden in an air vent, Pickering claimed that he had not seen in in a week or so.

The police then pointed out a grass stain on Pickering's knee, and his excuse for that was equally lame.

Finally.....  

When authorities pointed out inconsistencies in his statement, Pickering said he had taken his children for a ride with the mower and that after he returned home a girl came to the front door and confronted him about trespassing, the complaint said. Pickering told investigators he went to her house, knelt by a pine tree and shot her twice after she came out the front door, according to the complaint. 

To be clear this 40 year old man went to the house of a teenaged girl, shot her three times, and lied to the police about what he had done, all becasue she asked him to stop driving his lawnmower through her yard.

And that my friends is how the 2nd Amendment keeps us safe.

Pope claims that about 2% of priests are pedophiles. Sadly 100% of their victims are innocent children.

"Oy vey, what did I say?"

Courtesy of Slate:  

Pope Francis touched on particularly thorny issues confronting the Catholic Church during an interview with Italy’s La Repubblica published on Sunday. The Pope—known for extemporaneous remarks that at times simultaneously delight and confound his followers—addressed the lingering questions of sexual abuse in the church, saying about “2 percent” of the church’s clergy are pedophiles and pledged to "confront it with the severity it demands." “Among the 2% who are paedophiles are priests, bishops and cardinals. Others, more numerous, know but keep quiet. They punish without giving the reason," the Pope was quoted saying by La Repubblica. "I find this state of affairs intolerable." 

“In the interview, Pope Francis was quoted as saying that the 2% estimate came from advisers. It would represent around 8,000 priests out of a global number of about 414,000,” the BBC reports. “While the incidence of paedophilia in the general population is not accurately known, some estimates have put it at less than five percent.” 

Of course there is already an attempt by the Vatican to walk back the 2% estimate, saying that the Pope was misquoted.

Personally though I think the idea of 8,000 pedophile priests on the loose to be extremely troubling, I would be willing to bet that the number is even higher than that.

Especially when you consider that only a small portion of victims are willing to report abuse in most instances, and that the number becomes even lower when the abuse happens at the hands of a priest.

After all how many Catholic kids want to face the shame of identifying themselves as a victim while also facing the anger of the congregants who almost always side with the priest?

That means that there are almost certainly a large percentage of unreported abuses that are not counted among those of which we are already aware.

No I'm guessing the number is much larger, much larger indeed.

And what's more important, no matter what percentage of priests are involved in molesting children, is that the church was 100% involved in keeping it secret and protecting them from prosecution.

The "End of the Land" in Alaska. Where the long arm of the law cannot reach.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Over the course of several years, Beth's boyfriend shattered her elbow, shot at her, threatened to kill her, lit a pile of clothes on fire in her living room, and, she told me, beat her face into a swollen, purple pulp. 

These are horrifying yet common occurrences here in the 200-person village of Nunam Iqua, Alaska, which means "End of the Land" in the Yupik Eskimo language. 

Yet the violence is allowed to continue in part because Nunam Iqua is one of "at least 75 communities" in the state that has no local law enforcement presence, according to a 2013 report from the Indian Law and Order Commission. 

"There would be someone to call for help" if there were police, said Beth, a 32-year-old who asked that I not use her real name because her abuser is still free. "Someone who could actually do something -- right there, as soon as they get the call." 
Seems reasonable, huh? 

Not in rural Alaska. 

Here, state troopers often take hours or days to respond, usually by plane. 

The flight takes 45 minutes, at minimum. 

Alaska State Troopers will tell you they're doing the best they can to police a state that's four times the size of California and has very few roads. 

The challenges are daunting, to be sure, and I don't blame the hard-working law-enforcement officers. But the logistics can't be an excuse for impunity. 

Alaska is failing people who need help most.

This is another portion of journalist John Sutter's amazing reporting on violence and rape in Alaska.

I think Sutter is doing an amazing job of exposing some of the horrifying details of life in the Last Frontier and I am going to do everything I can to help publicize his work.

As I have said before I work with the mental health community up here, and I have seen first hand the results of alcoholism, sexual assault, and child abuse.

We have a problem up here that will not be solved with a simple task force, political lip service, or even in depth articles like these.

This is a problem that is decades, if not centuries old, and it will not go away on its own, nor respond readily to a beefed up law enforcement presence.

Statistics and Atheism.

Source

Quite often people accuse Atheists of being arrogant, but I think they simply confuse a refusal to bow to the superiority of their religious brethren that invites that label.

And remember we are not among those who claim a moral superiority, nor go door to door threatening eternal damnation for those who do not accept our point of view.

Just saying.

Is Alaska Governor Sean Parnell gunning for Todd Palin?

Today I was reading this article in the Alaska Dispatch about the frustration that legislators are feeling about being called back to a special session by Parnell to work on a new oil tax bill, when I happened to read this:

He's also urging the swift passage of a measure that would toughen criminal sentences for pimps and others who engage in sex trafficking.

Now that kind of caught me by surprise since I have not been following  Alaska politics very much recently.  However with a little more digging I found that recently Parnell had a bill passed that accomplished the following:

Under HB359, the crime of sex trafficking would be punished as a felony. While many of those crimes are already prosecuted with harsh penalties, Gov. Sean Parnell said he wanted to make sure prosecutors had the tools they needed to fight the problem. 

In a statement, he called trafficking "a horrible crime that degrades dignity and violates the most basic human rights." 

Current law labels victims as prostitutes, but the bill would write into law that they are victims. 

Parnell proposed the bill in February. It now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Now why this is rather fascinating, and possibly problematic for a certain Wasilla snowmachine racer, is that recently Shailey Tripp was asked just WHO she had sent copies of her book to, or contacted about her situation, and she answered thusly:

The asssociated press, cnn, msnbc, fox news, et, nancy grace, heraldo, anderson cooper, new york times, the white house, The President, the first lady, Sean Parnell, the polic chief, the FBI, the IRS, Homeland Security, Salvation Army, and many many many other places.

Hmm, interesting no?

Now obviously Shailey's experiences may have NOTHING to do with Parnell's desire to increase the penalties for sex trafficking, but even before she wrote the book he HAD to be aware that her story was out there.

Now it would go against EVERYTHING we know about Parnell to imagine him going up against the Palins. But then again what better way to send a message to a certain Grizzled Mama that her interference in his administration is no longer welcome? Or even to rise up out of her shadow by convicting her husband of such a heinous crime?

Your thoughts?

Not trying to convert anybody, just throwing this out there. Top Ten Reasons to be an Atheist Nation.

Yeah it does! Oh wait, were you being sarcastic?

Courtesy of Atheist Connect:

#10 – Lower Crime Rates 
 That’s right, secular countries have the lowest crime rates and are the safest places on the planet.

#9 – Lower Homicide Rate 

#8 – Lower Rates of Sexually Transmitted Diseases 
Almost all secular nations have sex education programs for children, confidential public health-care programs to treat sexually transmitted diseases for free, publicly advertised programs to educate the masses about sexually transmitted diseases, and free condoms for any and all. 

#7 – Lower Rates of Infant Mortality 
Why do religious countries have higher rates of infant mortality? It is probably because of the demonization of unwed mothers by religious societies. Combine this demonization with an inability to receive an abortion, and you will have a large group of mothers having children that they don’t want and/or can’t economically afford. 

#6 – Lower Rates of Teen Pregnancy 
As should be clear by now, secular nations tend to encourage sex education and have a far more honest understanding of human sexuality than religious nations. 

#5 – Lower Abortion Rates 
This is one of the hardest and most bitter pills that religious nations have to swallow, their policies of restricting the ability of women to receive an abortion, actually results in increased rates of abortion. 

#4 – Healthier Citizens 
The citizens of secular countries are healthier than the citizens of religious countries. The reasons for this difference are almost certainly due to a combination of factors involving public education, health-care policies, access to care, etc. 

#3 – Citizens have Better Personal Relationships 
The citizens of secular nations have better interpersonal relationships (and are more happy!) than the citizens of religious nations. Religious nations tend to demonize life-styles that don’t conform to their expectations, and tend to place women at a lower social status than men. 

#2 – Citizens Have Higher Education Rates 
 Secular nations such as Norway, Finland, etc., not only have citizens with an average education that is higher than religious countries, but the children of secular nations outperform religious children in math, science, and reading. 

#1 – Higher Per Capita Income 
Possibly the single most important reason why you should want to live in a secular nation instead of a religious nation, is that the citizens of secular nations make more money than the citizens of religious nations!

I am actually not at all positive that I agree with every one of these, but I will admit that some of them do seem quite obvious. However  I am certain I would not have chosen the making of more money as the number one reason to live in a Atheistic society.

Personally I LOVE conversations about religion since it is one of those taboo topics I was discouraged from discussing when I was a kid. Since I am now an adult, and have this handy blog at my disposal, it seems like the perfect place to open up a dialogue.

So what do you think? Do these statements, or perhaps a portion of these statements, seem reasonable to you?  And do you think religion overall makes for a better society, or does it interfere with the ability of humans to rise to their true potential?

P.S. If you want to read a longer explanation given for these assertions then click the link at the top.

P.P.S. By the way, in NO way do I agree with the definition of Atheism posted at the top, but I just think it is important that ALL of us be able to keep a good sense of humor so that feelings do not get hurt and we do not become so defensive that we cannot hear the honestly expressed opinions of others.

Man charged with trying to assassinate President Obama, because he believed him to be the "devil." Gee, I wonder where he got THAT idea?

Courtesy of the LA Times:

An Idaho man has been charged with trying to assassinate President Obama or his staff by allegedly using a high-powered rifle to fire two bullets at the White House, sending one bullet into a window -- where it was halted by security glass. 

Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 21, of Idaho Falls was arrested Wednesday in Pennsylvania after a multi-agency manhunt and made his first court appearance just minutes ago in a Pittsburgh federal courtroom. He will remain in federal custody while he is transported back to Washington. 

If convicted of "knowingly" trying to "kill the President of the United States," he faces up to life in prison. Ortega sat quietly as the hearing began, his hands free but his feet shackled. Ortega said only, “Yes, ma’am” when he was asked if he understood that he would be going back to Washington to face the charges, according to the Associated Press. 

Authorities have said that the suspect is obsessed with President Obama, believed he was "the devil" and needed "to be taken care of" when he allegedly took aim at the presidential mansion, cracking one of the windows outside the Obamas' living quarters, according to media reports.

I would bet my bottom dollar that this guy is either listening to Right Wing radio, or an avid Fox news viewer, or both.

I am all for free speech in this country, but the kind of vitriol that spews from these right wing sources could be creating an army of potential assassins, who have been conditioned to believe that the man sitting in the White House is not ONLY doing bad things for this country, but is indeed the embodiment of ALL evil in the world.

Personally I think if evidence is uncovered that proves this man got his ideas from Fox News, or Rush Limbaugh, or Glenn Beck, or some other Right Wing asshole, that there should be consequences.  I mean what happens if somebody listening to these programs, where they are told repeatedly that the President is a Socialist, or a Muslim, or the freaking Anti-Christ, gets lucky and actually manages to put a bullet into our President?  I am totally against censorship, but we are talking about programs that purposefully fan the flames of hate through misinformation, and venomous rhetoric.

Shouldn't there be some accountability, before it's too late?

Go ahead, tell me why I'm wrong.

Sending your children to Christian school to teach them morality? You might want to think twice.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

Authorities in Schaumburg, Illinois have charged a teacher at a Christian school for repeatedly masturbating in class over a period of 10 years. Schaumburg Christian School fired math teacher Paul A. LaDuke, 75, on Friday after a student reported that she saw him masturbating, according to NBC Chicago. 

After conducting an internal investigation, school officials contacted Schaumburg police Monday. On Tuesday, LaDuke was charged with sexual exploitation of a child. Several students reportedly told police that they were present in the classroom when LaDuke unzipped and lower his pants and then masturbated. 

“Through the course of our investigation, our detectives have come to believe that this has happened several times per year for 10 years or more, possibly,” Schaumburg police Sgt. John Nebel told the CBS affiliate in Chicago.

I am always on the lookout for hypocrisy, so of course this story really caught my eye.  The idea that parents sent their children to a Christian schooling order to protect them from what they see as the immorality of a secular school system, only to learn that one of the teachers has been pleasuring himself in front of students for possibly ten years, is the height of irony.

I am completely shocked that this type of behavior could have occurred for ten years without ANYBODY yanking this guy out of the classroom and getting him as far away from the children as possible.

I don't yet know all of the particulars, and I don't want to paint ALL religious school with the same broad brush, but I cannot imagine THIS type of behaivor taking place in a public school without officials being notified immediately!