Terry Firma, though born and Journalism-school-educated in Europe, has lived in the U.S. for the past 20-odd years. Stateside, his feature articles have been published in the New York Times, Reason, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Wired. Terry was the founder and Main Mischief Maker of Moral Compass, a now-dormant site that pokes fun at the delusional claim by people of faith that a belief in God equips them with superior moral standards. He was the Editor-in-Chief of two Manhattan-based magazines until he decided to give up commercial publishing for professional photography... with a lot of blogging on the side. These days, he lives in an old seaside farmhouse in Maine with his wife, three kids, and two big dogs.
Reddit0r chuckyourface says he was in for a surprise when he took his wife to the hospital for some tests the other day. At the check-in desk, The lady asked [her] all the usual questions including “Do you have a religious preference?” She answered no, because she really has no preference. She doesn’t identify as atheist or anything else, because it’s all too stupid basically. So I asked the receptionist, “If she says ‘no preference,’ does that mean the hospital gets to pick?,” and she said she just clicked ‘no preference.’ That should have been the end of the conversation, but she went on to say in all her time doing this, she’s had two people claim [to be an] atheist. One was a typical punk teenager with black eye-liner, and just didn’t know any better. The other really surprised her though because she was a sweet lady and had two cute kids with her. “How can she say atheist in front of these kids?! You shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce if that’s how you feel. That’s just my opinion.” Read more
First he fires a semi-automatic weapon, then he tells us who the bullets are for. For infidels. Insha’Allah. Imagine this beautiful four-year-old kid, unsoiled by adult hatred and indoctrination, on a playground in Beirut or Amsterdam or New York. Imagine him drenched in late-afternoon sunlight, and in the easy, near-inexhaustible love of parents and siblings whose thoughts are free of revenge, rancor, and rage. Think of what he could accomplish, down the line, with his friendly demeanor, his engaging smile, and his bright mind. Read more
Messiah is in the Top 400 most popular baby names for boys in the United States. Strange, but no stranger than Hispanic couples calling their child Jesús. No skin off my back, I guess. But “Messiah” (below, via WBIR) gave Tennessee resident Lu Ann Ballew, a Child Support Magistrate, conniption fits. Last summer, she took it upon herself to order parents who’d given the name Messiah to their newborn son to change it. Read more
Banana king Ray Comfort has a new Facebook policy, revealed in a recent status update: Immediate banning for cussing, mockery of Christians, blasphemy, mocking the Bible, libel of Ray, rudeness, or not giving “God” or “Jesus” caps. A lot of atheists have already been banned today for not giving “God” and “Jesus” caps. Old habits die hard. One commenter was banned for responding “How pompous can you get?,” so Comfort means business. Read more
