Well birther dumbasses, is this enough for you?
Author Archive for Jake Collyer
I am so fucking tired of these ads while I’m watching Jeopardy!. Every day they have some sob story about a “sign from God” or some form of Divine intervention that reaffirmed their faith and changed their lives. It pisses me off because God doesn’t heal amputees or cure cancer. Why the hell are you special? Why wouldn’t God just fix everybody who prays hard and really wants to be better? This whole Christian superiority “our God can do anything” mentality is aggravating. I’m so damn tired of seeing these ads. UGH.
(Via LandofMind)
A popular idea in the atheist community recently seems to be enlightening the religious to their foolishness and then trying to convert them. Kind of like what they do to atheists. The problem is that no matter how hard you try or how right you are, you’ll never get everybody. It simply is not going to workout like that. I’ve met people who believe in Revelations word for word and fully intend to die before they’d deny Christ. I am the exact opposite of the spectrum but I am still in a similar place. There really is not a high chance of any conversion being successful. Some people just cannot be changed and that’s alright. It’s okay to talk about things and present your argument but be aware that sometimes it just is not worth it. Just something to keep in mind.
Okay let me preface this with a statement, migraines suck. They really suck. They’re worse when things like Excedrin and even your prescriptions like Maxalt for migraines fail as well. Want to know something that would be even worse? Being uninsured and getting stuck with a $3000 bill to cover the treatment for said migraine. This could have easily been my fate if I was without healthcare.
I visited the neurologist after 2 days of pain and was given the option to go to the ER and be administered the “Raskins Procedure.” That 30 minute visit alone would have cost me $400 out of pocket without some form of insurance. Then it is off to the ER to be pumped full of many different chemicals to alleviate migraine, and it worked. If you have severe migraines, ask your doctor if any local ERs can perform this procedure. Seriously. Even with insurance, this is not an applicable solution to every migraines but it is good to know that there is an option that will work if it is absolutely necessary. The most fun part is seeing what the bill would have been. $2600 for 3 hours in the Emergency Room. That leaves a grand total of $3000 in one day. I can only wonder what the cost would have been had I been treated for something life threatening like heart surgery or something more severe like that. Am I the only one who seems to think this is a bit much? I’m not familiar with exactly how much ends up being doled out by the insurance company and all that but this still seems ridiculous. Yet there are some out there who are fighting plans to help the uninsured have access to this fairly great healthcare system.
Today I have a guest post from Jane Sanders about the Christian Debt Consolidation scam.
Debt relief and consolidation have become a major industry in the United States as unsteady housing markets and a turbulent economy have left millions of people unable to keep their heads above water financially. These organizations provide a necessary and valuable service to the public. As with any industry, however, some debt relief companies are fully legitimate, some are only partially so, and some are complete and utter frauds. In recent years, a group of these companies has turned to unorthodox and unsavory marketing practices to lure in new customers. One of the most odious of these sales techniques takes the form of false expressions of faith on websites and in commercials. So-called “Christian” debt relief companies are in many cases nothing more than a scam.
Foundation of Trust
As with all religious groups, Christianity builds a foundation of trust and mutual support among its members. Churches are safe places where trustworthy people may be found. “Christian” debt relief companies prey on this foundation of trust and convince people who have found themselves in financial hardship that the company is trustworthy due to its proclaimed religious affiliation. Modern society strongly conditions people to trust others that they see as members of their own “group,” whether that be their ethnicity, their classmates, or their fellow Christians. The biggest obstacle a debt relief company must overcome in attracting each consumer is convincing that consumer to choose that company in particular out of the many and various options; a (false) sense of trust, security, and belonging is an easy tool to open that door.
Messages of Salvation
The Christian religion in particular heavily emphasizes transformative salvation through God’s grace. Like that of many other religions, Christian doctrine strongly equates trust and giving with reward and salvation. While the religious message is meant to apply to the individual’s soul, debt relief companies have easily adapted it to their financial products. Due to the volume of text and ease of interpretation inherent in the Christian bible, locating (or outright faking / misquoting) scripture to back up any desired position is not difficult.
Counting on Panic
More than anything, these companies know that their target customer is in dire straits. No one who is secure and stable financially speaking seeks out debt relief; in fact, most people who do have reached a point where drastic measures have become necessary in order to keep going. As people grow more and more desperate, their ability to think critically diminishes. They ignore warnings and see only what they perceive to be their last, best hope for fiscal salvation. All too often they pay a hefty price for their trust.
This article was contributed by Jane Sanders from Debt Management. Visit her site for more personal finance tips, like how to create the perfect debt management program.
This is one of the most thought out and interesting campaigns I’ve seen and I really like it.The campaign is called “None Exist” and here’s a copy of their purpose from their site:
Are you tired of religious bullying? So are we. Our societies have religious people who want us to live according to their rules because they believe they have superior morals. In addition, they proclaim they respect all other beliefs and that all religions can peacefully coexist.
The inherent problem with this thinking is many religious texts teach followers that the world will not be at peace until everyone believes in the tenets of its particular religion. This is why we have everything from Christians influencing public policy to religious terrorists murdering innocent people.
They also have a cool logo to serve as a conversation starter. One can order it on mugs, shirts, hats etc. Basically anything that CafePress has to offer.
The logo not only looks interesting but each individual letter represents a form of science, education or equality and they explain them all in detail on their site. I’ve got the shirt and it definitely attracted a few looks and questions. The shirt is also emblazoned with the phrase “All religions are man made” below the logo. Check them out at NoneExist.com to get more info and to order your own gear.
It is not exactly a secret that I do not particularly like guns. In general, I believe they tend to cause more problems than they can solve. Some people would be quick to point to the tragedy in Tucson as an example of the dangers of guns, but that is not really fair. The man had a past of mental instability and even crime. The problem is how easily he was able to legally obtain a weapon. One solution would be to outright ban guns and take away the whole Second Amendment. That would never work though. Besides the fact that we are Constitutionally guaranteed the rights to bear arms and the challenges of instituting such legislation, people could still resort to buying guns from the black market and I highly doubt any criminals would surrender their weapons. If anything, a ban would make the situation many times worse. One could simply look at Prohibition or even the “war on drugs” to see the efficacy of a ban like this. So what should we do? I think that the best option is to setup a federally mandated method to ensure citizens are fit to carry a weapon. States like Arizona that have such loose laws are an endangerment. Sure, those who are highly determined to buy a weapon to commit a crime could still do so but we should at least attempt to make this more difficult for those with mental problems or a criminal history from obtaining a weapon.
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