Looking for an excuse to be a psychopath or a sociopath? Try "The Secret".

It's no secret (see what I did there) that skeptics don't like the Law of Attraction or "The Secret". That's because it is complete and total bollocks invented by charlatans to fleece money out of people who don't bother to stop and really think about it, but who do like its feel good message.

But it is more than that as well. It's the type of attitudes it promotes and the implications of its claims. It also attracts a lot of complete wankers to it. Take this recent anonymous commenter who showed up on a previous Secret post I'd made.

This is what they had to say, the quote lifted right from Wikipedia:

"In a letter written shortly before his escape from the Glenwood Springs jail, Bundy said "I have known people who...radiate vulnerability. Their facial expressions say 'I am afraid of you.' These people invite abuse... By expecting to be hurt, do they subtly encourage it?""

Yea it is the victim's fault. Shut the fuck up.

Yes that's right folks - this defender of "The Secret" uses a quote from Ted Bundy to defend it. Ted Fucking Bundy. Unless this is a Poe, you really couldn't make this shit up.

I have a confession to make...

... I'm an atheist and skeptic and I'm happy. I know that this may come as a shock to some. I know that some will simply find their brains oozing out of their ears at their simple inability to process this fact. I know that some may find it just heart breaking that someone who doesn't buy into their beliefs (of whatever stripe) could function as a well rounded and happy individual.

Tough.

I don't need to believe in capricious, conceited, spiteful, angry, hateful, divisive, unimaginative invisible and/or unknowable imaginary sky fairies of any kind to find my life fulfilling. Or to live it morally. Or to have fun living it. Or to find meaning and purpose in living it.

I don't need to believe in your particular brand of idiotic anti science, anti medicine, touchy feely, woo woo gibberish to be happy, or to feel loved, or to find meaning or purpose. Or to be healthy.

I don't need to believe what YOU believe to find meaning, happiness, purpose or peace for ME.

Is that really so hard to understand?

I mean really, get over yourself. Because that is really what it is about isn't it? You. You think that you have got it all right and so the key to being awesome is basically to be you. No thanks, I'll pass.

I'm happy that you go all dewy eyed at the thought of a god, just don't assume that I must be a pent up ball of rage, hate and immorality because I like to point and laugh at you for doing so. First, its insulting. Second, its patronising. Third, I'll be fucked if I'll take crap from anyone who takes seriously the idea of an invisible super being who created the entire Universe in seven days, or that they can cure illness by covering your body in needles and sending positive thoughts your way.

Bollocks to that.

What prompted me to write this was a Facebook update I'd made:

For the record - why the fuck would I want to raise my kids in any format based on this bloody book:


http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/

Scientific and historical inaccuracy, genocide, rape, incest, every kind of bigotry you can imagine and swearing allegiance to an imaginary invisible sky fairy who demands it all and... laps it up, or the promise of eternal pain and torture - to just scratch the surface. If I suggested this now as a way to live your life I'd be locked up as a complete nutter, so why should we trust it because it's a few thousand years old, exactly?

 
Someone I know quickly responded with "Have fun going through life with that kind of mean and angry point of view."
 
I'm sorry what now? Pointing out facts means I have a mean and angry viewpoint? I guess it must be mean and angry because I am one of those gosh darned uppity atheists. I mean, it's fine when I am rejecting other people's gods but how dare I reject theirs? Right?
 
Good grief. I'm under no illusions that if I had been speaking about the Qu'ran I wouldn't have upset anyone - but point out something wrong with the Bible and suddenly I must be mean and angry. Oh, and right.
 
And that is really the problem she had, isn't it.

The Lord gives us a sign

And that sign reveals to us all a message, and that message is:

"American Football - bag of shite".

In this, the time of the 2010 World Cup, the Lord has sent us all a sign to follow. A sign that tells us all what the one True Sport is - football (real football, the one played with your feet).

For one day the unbelievers did create an idolatrous calamity. A monument to corruption and moral turpitude. And 45 minute sports that last 4 hours. They came forth and constructed their monument of steel and foam and threw their weight behind the NFL, implying falsely that the Lord favoured that game of "Rugby for nancy boys in body armour".

Behold their foolish works:

For the heathens did raise up a statue that proclaimed "Touchdown!" And this did anger the Lord greatly.

So he sent his opinion down to us in the form of a lightning bolt, which did destroy the Touchdown Jesus. Hallelujah!

And so the Lord has spoken, hear it for yourself, understand this, the Lord's message - "American Football is shite. Look, I'll even burn down this statue of Jesus signalling a touchdown just to prove it." Cast down your idols and turn to the One True and Beautiful Game before it is too late.

Alternatively, God didn't much care for Platoon:

You be the judge.

Libertarianism - that's some dumb shit right there

I'm going to nail my colours to the mast right from the start on this one - libertarianism is one of the dumbest political ideologies/philosophies I've ever had the misfortune to come across. It's some dumb shit. Which is why it still surprises me that so many skeptics and critical thinkers cling to it so desperately and react so vehemently to criticism of it.

Now, it could be that I think it is some dumb shit because the only proponents of it I've argued with have been clueless half wits acting under the guise of intelligent critical thinkers and skeptics, after all my main exposure to it and its disciples was the idiots commenting and blogging on Goosing the Antithesis a couple of years ago (Francois Tremblay is an unbelievably arrogant first class arsehole, just in case you were wondering). But hanging around the skeptical blogosphere I regularly come across libertarians and they are almost without fail patronising arrogant wankers convinced of the absolute superiority of their own beliefs who utterly fail to convince me or any other nonbelievers that what they cling to is worth more than a leaky bucket of sheeps' piss.

Jimmy Blue gets email too, believe it or not

I know I know, how could I possibly compete with PZ on this one? Well I don't hope to, but this email did tickle me.

One word before I continue - if you email my gmail account I may take a while to reply because I keep forgetting to check it - it isn't because I don't like you, it's because I have a memory like a sieve and the attention span of a 2 year old at times. So bear with me and I will one day discover I've been an ignorant arse and I'll get around to responding to you. Unless I don't like you.

Believers - Why so threatened?

After a conversation with a colleague at work I've been asking myself this question - why are believers so threatened by atheist non-belief? I think I know many of the possible answers anyway, so this is more rhetorical than anything else, but just exactly why do theists or believers of so many different stripes immediately begin the "Convert the non-believer" sub routine upon finding out that we don't hold to the same superstitions that they do?

Blogging downtime

Yes I know, haven't written for a while, but no I am not going away. Visit from my folks, started a second job, busy time at the first job and the World Cup is just around the corner - don't expect anything for a little while longer.

Although the recent shootings in Cumbria did get me back on to gun control, so hopefully I'll summon the fortitude to finish replying to old posts from last year on that subject.

So back to the internet equivalent of a deserted town and blowing tumbleweed.

Andrew Wakefield - Dishonest lying assbag

Via Orac I saw this great summation of the Andrew Wakefield MMR controversy, and I also found out something about Wakefield I didn't know before.

Apparently, before his paper was published in the Lancet, he had filed a patent for a single measles vaccine. And what did Wakefield recommend after his paper came out? Why, that parents should not use MMR but single vaccines for measles and mumps.

Mother fucker. And the anti-vaccine morons have the cheek to call "Big Pharma" (and by that they mean real science and medicine) dishonest?

This just highlights one point I always try to make to woos and their like when they claim you can't trust a source I or other skeptics give out but you can trust the ones they use:

What makes your source completely trustworthy and reliable when ours aren't and why?

I have never had an answer yet. This is a good example of why.

Jimmy's rants: Automobile design

Before I begin this rant I should add a disclaimer just to make sure nobody takes my Man Card away (ooh starting with gender stereotypes, very controversial). I like cars. Sports cars are cool. I enjoy watching Top Gear. I have nothing against people who like fast cars and who own fast cars. Pimping your ride out is just super with me - I don't care. I don't wear tight jeans and a sports jacket. I don't whiten my teeth. I may have some things in common with Captain Slow. The target for my venom is luxury cars, their designers and owners.

However, with that said I have a rant about cars and their designers.

Sylvia Browne's 2010 predictions

Back from a couple of weeks off hanging with my folks I thought I would start off with a nice juicy topic - tearing Sylvia Browne's 2010 predictions into little tiny pieces. Alright, it wouldn't be that juicy since it would be easier than breathing, but it would have been fun.

Of course I soon stumbled into a problem with this - you can't actually read Browne's 2010 predictions in full unless you are a member of her inner circle. And I'll be fucked with a rusty Buick before I give that charlatan any money, even if it is just so I can have the pleasure of showing her to be the useless fraud that she is.