Click here to view the embedded video.

This post reminds me that I need to clean up this blog and get back to work.  Even with most of the bums kicked out of Congress and a wonderful president there is so much work to do.

1. Participated in the Blasphemy Challenge.
2. Met at least one of the “Four Horsemen” (Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris) in person.
3. Created an atheist blog.
4. Used the Flying Spaghetti Monster in a religious debate with someone.
5. Gotten offended when someone called you an agnostic.
6. Been unable to watch Growing Pains reruns because of Kirk Cameron.
7. Own more Bibles than most Christians you know.
8. Have at least one Bible with your personal annotations regarding contradictions, disturbing parts, etc.
9. Have come out as an atheist to your family.
10. Attended a campus or off-campus atheist gathering.
11. Are a member of an organized atheist/Humanist/etc. organization.
12. Had a Humanist wedding ceremony.
13. Donated money to an atheist organization.
14. Have a bookshelf dedicated solely to Richard Dawkins.
15. Lost the friendship of someone you know because of your non-theism.
16. Tried to argue or have a discussion with someone who stopped you on the street to proselytize.
17. Hid your atheist beliefs on a first date because you didn’t want to scare him/her away.
18. Own a stockpile of atheist paraphernalia (bumper stickers, buttons, shirts, etc).
19. Attended a protest that involved religion.
20. Attended an atheist conference.
21. Subscribe to Pat Condell’s YouTube channel.
22. Started an atheist group in your area or school.
23. Successfully “de-converted” someone to atheism.
24. Have already made plans to donate your body to science after you die.
25. Told someone you’re an atheist only because you wanted to see the person’s reaction.
26. Had to think twice before screaming “Oh God!” during sex. Or you said something else in its place.
27. Lost a job because of your atheism.
28. Formed a bond with someone specifically because of your mutual atheism (meeting this person at a local gathering or conference doesn’t count).
29. Have crossed “In God We Trust” off of — or put a pro-church-state-separation stamp on — dollar bills.
30. Refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
31. Said “Gesundheit!” (or nothing at all) after someone sneezed because you didn’t want to say “Bless you!”
32. Have ever chosen not to clasp your hands together out of fear someone might think you’re praying.
33. Have turned on Christian TV because you need something entertaining to watch.
34. Are a 2^nd or 3^rd (or more) generation atheist.
35. Have “atheism” listed on your Facebook or dating profile — and not a euphemistic variant.
36. Attended an atheist’s funeral (i.e. a non-religious service).
37. Subscribe to an freethought magazine (e.g. Free Inquiry, Skeptic)
38. Have been interviewed by a reporter because of your atheism.
39. Written a letter-to-the-editor about an issue related to your non-belief in God.
40. Gave a friend or acquaintance a New Atheist book as a gift.
41. Wear pro-atheist clothing in public.
42. Have invited Mormons/Jehovah’s Witnesses into your house specifically because you wanted to argue with them.
43. Have been physically threatened (or beaten up) because you didn’t believe in God.
44. Receive Google Alerts on “atheism” (or variants).
45. Received fewer Christmas presents than expected because people assumed you didn’t celebrate it.
46. Visited The Creation Museum or saw Ben Stein’s Expelled just so you could keep tabs on the “enemy.”
47. Refuse to tell anyone what your “sign” is… because it doesn’t matter at all.
48. Are on a mailing list for a Christian organization just so you can see what they’re up to…
49. Have kept your eyes open while you watched others around you pray.
50. Avoid even Unitarian churches because they’re too close to religion for you.

Well I scored 10 out of 50, not very hardcore at all.  I guess thats to be expected as I dont think of myself as atheist.  Maybe Summer will score higher.

h/t Friendly Athiest (seriously just subscribe to his blog its great).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Oh yeah, and I’m still alive.  Just taking some time to figure out what I’m going to do when I grow up with graduation a month away.   Scary.

William Ludwig – WWJV4.com

Sleater-Kinney Song Stuck in my head

Click here to view the embedded video.

Could do worse. Sleater-Kinney is/was an amazing band that has been broken up now for the past two years. This weekend I was listening to some of their stuff and now this song is stuck in my head. Normally listening to it over and over again gets it out but that hasn’t worked. So I’m trying to spread the joy and maybe that will help.

Everything Else You Need Know, So Sit Down and Shut Up

• Obama Quits his Church. I’m disappointed that Obama would quit the church where he was married and where his daughters were baptized for political expediency.
• 5 Most Badass Presidents of All Time. I found this while reading 6 Most Badass Stunts Ever Pulled in the Name of Science. Read them both their awesome. (h/t Skepchick).
• Blog carnival for progressive Christians, read more at Fetch me my Axe. We wholly support progressive religions, Christian or otherwise, so looking forward to reading some good posts.
• Catholicism, leading the fight for equality for women.
• More “progress” in Iraq. Sunnis have withdrawn from the Iraqi government AGAIN after Maliki rejected their entire list of nominated ministers.
• We all like to give Congress a hard time but Crooks and Liars points out one thing they have done perfectly right, Social Security. So I’m joining them in giving Pelosi a nice big round of applause for keeping the Republicans from killing an important program.
• Really with the popular vote totals so close can we stop talking about them and focus on the only thing that actually counts, delegate count. Isn’t this like trying to argue who won the super bowl based on rushing yards and not the final score?

Video of the Day

Robert F. Kennedy: 80% of Republicans Are Just Uninformed Democrats.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Novak Attacks Gov. Sibelius For Supporting Womens Rights

The other day douchebag of liberty Robert Novak wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post praising Kansas Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius for her strong support for women’s rights and reproductive freedom. I wanted to thank Robert Novak as I don’t think that the nation is aware of the many progressive values and accomplishments of our wonderful Governor. Being from Kansas, Sibelius has been branded a moderate Democrat and I think this article was exactly what she needed to help bolster her progressive image. Glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks so either.

The Rest of The News

• John McCain thinks that the reason American’s are dispirited is because we haven’t passed a trade agreement with Colombia. Yup, that nails it perfectly. It’s not endless pointless war, 4$ gas, an economy in the toilet, and his view of 4 more of the same … it’s that Colombia thing that has us all down. Dumbass.
• Former Republican Bob Barr secures Libertarian Party nomination. There is talk that this could cause problems with McSame but really I’m just happy that the crazy Libertarians have a party. Makes it easier to tell who they are and avoid them.
• John McCain continues to lie and distort about the Webb G.I. Bill that would greatly improve education benefits for our soldiers.
• The Republicans like to tout our all-volunteer army, especially when avoiding responsibility for their deaths and disabilities. Only we don’t actually have an all-volunteer army as thousands of troops have been forced to remain in active duty after their contracts expire. Well, now Democrats are trying to make sure these troops are fairly compensated. lets see how fast the Republicans prove that “Supporting the Troops” is just a bumper sticker.
• A Ford dealership, Keiffe & Sons Ford, in Mojave CA is running an ad that clearly discriminates against non-Christians.
  

  But did you know that 86% of Americans say they believe in God? Since we all know that 86 out of every 100 of us are Christians, who believe in God, we at Keiffe & Sons Ford wonder why we don’t tell the other 14% to sit down and shut up. I guess maybe I just offended 14% of the people who are listening to this message. Well, if that is the case then I say that’s tough, this is America folks, it’s called free speech. None of us at Keiffe & Sons Ford are afraid to speak out. Keiffe & Sons Ford on Sierra Highway in Mojave and Rosamond, if we don’t see you today, by the grace of God, we’ll be here tomorrow.

  Ford has been less than concerned about this as well. Well, I this makes my next car purchase that much easier.

• Lieberman apparently compared Pastor Hagee to Moses? I don’t really understand either but I have long ago given up on understanding conservatives and soulless leaches like Lieberman and McCain. Curious though, does that mean that to guys like Lieberman when McCain denounced Hagee’s endorsement (after first seeking it) it’s akin to denouncing Moses? Interesting.

Video Photo Montage of the Day

Michelle Malkin, who is famous for having a fat ass and a … sorry, thats someone else … has surpassed her previous record for stupidity by making the insane connection between celebrities wearing scarves and supporting terrorists. So as a public service I feel the need to expose the other hidden terrorists lovers hiding in Hollywood.

Thats after just 5 minutes on Google. I shudder to think how many terrorists loving scarf wearers are lurking out there. I’m going to have to subscribe to Malkins RSS Feed so that she can keep me safe.

Photo Credits

• California Style
• The Glamourous Life
• Celebrity Beauty Buzz
• Will Askew
• Bauer Griffon Online
• Glamour.com

When I first started hearing this I was under the assumption that “progress” was just another insecure platitude to quiet the angry masses. You know, just another way to string out the Iraq war until it becomes the Democrats problem. Now I realize that the conservatives belief that we are making progress is sincere and honest and is exactly the reason why they are unfit for government.

As a liberal and as a fan of facts and reality I tend to define the word progress, in the context used by Republicans, as meaning “the act of moving forward toward a goal”. I naturally measure this progress by how far from the goal we are and by whether or not were getting closer to that goal. I think that this way of looking at the world is not only natural and logical, but its essential for any kind of real success.

As I’m sure you can relate to this definition of progress left me confused and angry whenever conservatives used it. It’s much like accepting the offer of an apple, which you assume to be a red tasty fruit, only to receive a punch in the nose. Now imagine that happening for 7 years. Eventually you figure out that what they call an “apple” isn’t an apple at all and the last thing you want is more of their “apples”.

Understanding the conservative view of progress had me baffled until I realized one thing. For liberals success is dependent on the quantifiable achievement of a set goal. Conservatives seem to accept that success is guaranteed and that all they have to do is wait for it. This assurance of success makes things like timetables, goals, strategy, planning all irrelevant. For America to be successful we simply need to wait.

So when you start with the faith that success is inevitable the definition of progress changes. As their is no goal other than to wait for success the liberal definition of progress makes no sense. The conservative definition of progress is nothing more than the “progress through time”. When conservatives say we are making progress they don’t mean that goals are being achieved or that a sound strategy is being successfully carried out. They simply mean that time is still passing and therefore we are that much closer to our inevitable glorious success.

Click here to view the embedded video.

With that in mind watch this short clip taken from Keith Olberman’s 5/1/2007 episode. You will see that if you think of the word progress as a rational acceptance that time has not stopped the words of George Bush make sense. See that piece in context here.

This method of government that the conservatives are offering has clearly not worked. I would be interested in hearing a single thing that the Bush Administration has actually made better. If we allow another conservative like John McCain to be elected we can expect 4 more years of Republican “progress”.

Thanks to gmknobl for the heads up!

I know I always say this but todays RSS Roundup is really short. Thanks for putting up with me.

Obama Gets Specific on What Change Is

Click here to view the embedded video.

From FireDogLake Change is …

• a tax code that rewards work instead of wealth
• a health care plan that guarantees insurance to every American who wants it
• an energy policy that doesn’t rely on buddying up to the Saudi Royal Family and then begging them for oil
• giving every child a world-class education
• ending a war that we never should’ve started

The Little Thats Left

• American prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay have allegedly been abused and tortured at the behest of the Chinese government.  Wow, I knew that we flew prisoners to other countries to be tortured but I never thought that we would fall so low as to be one of those countries for someone else.  And for China no less.  I have no words.
• Myanmar is turning away US aid for cyclone victims.

The Video of the Day

I have been saying all along with my McCain vs. McCain series that there are two John McCain’s.  I would have thought that the vast differences between beliefs and positions of the two would have made it obvious.  Well, finally the media is starting to wake up to this fact.  Thanks Crooks and Liars

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more on the Two McCain’s revelation:

• McCain vs McCain: Economy
• McCain vs McCain: Katrina
• McCain vs McCain: Border Security

Thats it for today, told you it was a short one.  Hope you all have a great day and I’ll try to get out a real story later this afternoon.  Depends on how well the coding goes.

William ~ WWJV4.com

Senator Ted Kennedy Diagnosed with Brain Tumor

Ted Kennedy

I really wanted to write about this yesterday as the news came out but didn’t have time. As you probably know Kennedy was taken to the hospital after having seizures on Monday. Obviously a malignant brain tumor was not the news the nation was hoping to hear. We are all pulling for him and his family.

Kudos to Kathleen Sebelius!

I feel kind of embarrassed that I haven’t been covering this as well as I should. I have a project in the works for a local Kansas news site so I apologize. As a Kansan I am incredibly proud of our Governor. She has consistently made the right choices even when they were not the most politically expedient. Since I have dropped the ball on her recent acts here are links to others who are picking up the slack.

Kathleen Sebelius Vetoes Voter ID Law. Read Think Progress and Crooks and Liars. Everything I said about the SCOTUS ruling on the Indiana law applies here. Reading local news and blogs it is apparent that most Kansans are unaware of the true effect of these kinds of laws. Either that or their a bunch of assholes. The jury is still out on that distinction.

All the Rest of the News thats Important

• A federal appeals court has ruled Virginia’s late term abortion ban unconstitutional!
• Openly gay Sam Adams has been elected mayor of Portland making him the first openly homosexual mayor of a major American city. It seems like every day I get to write about another accomplishment in LGBTQ equality.
• On the other hand LGBTQ hate crimes rose by 24% in 2007 over the 2006 rates. This just proves that there is still a long way to go. It also shows how needed hate crime protection is.
• A top aid for McCain has stepped down out of respect for Barack Obama. I haven’t followed politics long but can anyone remember this happing before? More at The Carpetbagger Report.
• Tim Haab has a good piece up at Environmental Economics about what we as consumers can do about $4 gas. Read the comments.
• Bush has issued a formal apology after a soldier apparently shot a Koran. Keep telling yourself that its our freedom that they hate.
• I have found out why American schoolchildren compare so poorly to children from other countries. 16% of biology teachers are young earth creationists. The same survey shows that 48% of the general population believes that “God created human beings pretty much in their at one time within the last 10,000 years or so”.

Video of the Day

Henry Waxman Threatens to Have Rep Issa (R-CA) physically removed from hearing. Awesome.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thats all for today folks. I’ll try to have something up over my lunch break. Also Summer finally had a chance to comment on a story yesterday. If you havn’t been reading long it may surprise you to know that this is a multi-author blog.

In fact we accept story submissions from anyone with a progressive viewpoint. Writing for us couldn’t be easier. Just sign up for an account then when you log in you will have the ability to write a story. We will then post it assuming that its appropriate for our viewers.

Have a wonderful day

William ~ WWJV4.com