God dammit!

     So, here's the difference between modern Christian crusaders and Islamic jihadists.

     Christians believe the world and universe were created in 6 days and the first man and woman lived in a garden where they were convinced by a talking snake to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Therefore, they were cast out of the garden (which hasn't been found again) and were cursed with sin, the curse was thereby passed to subsequent people.
     Then Jesus came along and his disciples wrote books about him and he is the Son of God and also God. He died for our curse and for our sins.

     Muslims believe the universe was created in 6 days and the earth was created on the last 2 of those 6 days. The first modern humans lived in the garden, which was in heaven, until they gave into temptation and were cast out of heaven and lived on earth and took the form of beings fashioned from clay. After a while, they were forgiven by God, but were left on earth.
     Being that their new forms were of clay, they were flawed and therefore needed divine guidance. This guidance first took the form of the Torah, which became corrupted, then Jesus was sent to bring a message of peace and love, and to tell of a final prophet. He wasn't the son of God (He begets not and is not begotten). He did not die for our sins or for any curse; God is just and merciful, making us accountable for our own sins.
     The final prophet came, Muhammad. He gave the final message from God.

      Being the ENTP I am, a lot of questions and thoughts come to mind. A rib woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree, so we're all fucked? O.K....
     The idea that a beloved supposed servant of God was beaten, tortured, and mutilated to cleanse that curse sounds horrific. I mean, if that is your iconic religious image, then your religion is violent.
     If Jesus' story were true, why isn't there a Book of Jesus written by him, instead of a bunch of people all claiming accounts of Jesus? "Yeah, I saw him, and this stuff happened." Says who?
     Why accept the accounts of anyone claiming to speak for God, whether they wrote the Torah, New Testament, or the Quran? If some coworker came to me and said "Hey, yeah, the boss said you had to bring lunches tomorrow. If you don't, he'll fire you. If you question what he's told me to tell you, he'll fire you." would I believe them? I'd be like "Fuck off."

     Since Christianity is an older religion, the world's Christian population (for the most part) has already let go if trying to establish a theocratic society. Islam hasn't yet, being around 1300/1400 years old. When Christianity was that young, people were still sitting on Judas stools, being tied to Catherine wheels, getting stuck with heretic's forks, getting the saw, etc. Now, people with that same mindset have their hands on higher technology.

     So, what do I believe? Well, people put too much emphasis on beliefs, and less emphasis on thoughts and ideas that can be modified as we understand and learn more.
     I'm a huge Matrix fan. When explaining my beliefs, I describe it as a combination of Deism, secular Luciferianism, and Laveyan Satanism.
     The people who wrote about these philosophies expounded on ideas and thoughts, and never said "This is the word of God/Satan; kill over this."
     A deist seeks to understand the great equation that underlies everything. Recommended reading: "Age of Reason" by Thokas Paine.
     A Luciferian seeks to be Morpheus to the world around him, and encourage people to free their mind, no matter how forbidden the knowledge might be.
     A Laveyan Satanist seeks to unleash his own inner Neo. Recommended reading: "The Satanic Bible" "The Devil's Notebook" and "Satan Speaks" by Anton Lavey.

Does Godwin's Law apply to Trump?

GODWIN'S LAW - "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1"

     Whenever I find myself in an internet discussion regarding subjects such as gun control or healthcare reform, someone's bound to say something like "Hitler confiscated guns, and that led to the Holocaust!" or "Guess who else wanted free healthcare to all citizens... Hitler!"

     After a while it's ridiculous. But now we have a two-part problem. We have someone who's being seriously looked at as a potential presidential candidate. This person, of course, is Donald Trump.

     The first part of that problem is that his rhetoric has gone past "crazy" or "nonsensical". At least Ben Carson's ramblings have stayed at the nonsense point. Trump's rhetoric has now gotten dangerous. The immediate danger is evident by the beatings that protesters have gotten at his rallies at the hands of supporters. The less immediate - but more tragic - danger comes at the core of his rhetoric, his record, and the mindset of his followers
     His rhetoric is unnerving. He scapegoats Muslims and foreigners. His swagger reeks of ultra-nationalism and harking back to the "good old days"; he often talks about "Making America Great Again". He's filled with disdain for human rights. He's always talking about flexing military muscle in both foreign and domestic problems.
     His outsources of jobs shows he is not a friend of labor, and the fact he is a corporate crony shows that he would empower the corporate elites. As a control freak, he would try to buy as many networks as possible (speculation, I admit).
     The mouth-breathers that show up at his rallies are very frightening. His followers are often religious zealots who are looking for a "Theologian in Chief". They are part of that American anti-intellectual culture. They horde guns and want to hide behind a wall from the "scary Mexicans". He even has the majority of white nationalists following him.

     What's scary about this threat is that he even said that, if he lost the Republican nomination, he would run third party. The bothersome part of that I can easily see him gathering a cult following, because he has that mass appeal with the ignorant and frightened, and standing at a podium adorned with a new red-white-blue symbol. This isn't just the rise of a new Hitler with his rhetoric, or the rise of a new Mussolini with his preening egotism and lust for corporate government power. This is the rise of Trump.

     The second part of the problem is that, with all the other people crying wolf over other politicians (especially Obama), people won't take it seriously when others point out Trump's fascist tendencies. If the badly toupeed, red-white-blue feathered motherfucker barks hate like a duck and marches like a duck, does Godwin's Law really apply?

It's no conspiracy theory.

     I was commenting on a Facebook page, where someone posted a rant about fast food workers fighting for higher wages. They made a comment that people in the military get $31,000/year. I made a comment where low-balling hard workers is an epidemic. One man commented "Australian army rates...Trainee $35K, Private $45K, Sargeant $65,,,,McDonalds Adult rates $21 to $24 per hour" The way I figure it, adjusted for inflation, dollar values, and cost of living, that's at least $10 an hour.
     Interestingly enough, if minimum wage kept up with inflation and cost of living here, it would be at least $10.50/hour.
The fear-mongering of "If people get paid more, they'll get price-gouged more" is bullshit, too. Renowned economist Robert Reich even stated that the impact on prices would be minimal, compared to having that additional income in consumers' hands.
     The Fight For 15, while taken up by fast food workers, is everyone's cause. The reasoning is that if they get paid more, so would everyone else. Yes, as many people love to point out, fast food jobs were intended to be upstart jobs for high schoolers and young college students. But there's an increase in the number of educated fast food workers who didn't jump into the grease pit because they thought it'd be a fun swim; they were pushed overboard and fell in when other jobs became more scarce.
     I think this revival of the Gilded Age has its roots in the Cold War. America didn't want to be like the Communists, so America was force-fed the mantra "Capitalism gives us the highest standard of living. It's the American way! Work hard, and you'll be rewarded. Any other way is Communist!" America swallowed it - hook, line, and sinker - along with the fast food boom and the increase in big box stores. America gorged on it, trading democracy for corporate feudalism.
     But America is still buying it! Now, case in point here, people who fight for better are painted by neocons as whiny Commies who want a handout, convincing CNAs, etc, to look down fast food workers for Fighting For 15, when they themselves need to be fighting for 20.

     Some would say that it's a crackpot conspiracy theory about how rich people are conspiring with politicians to take over the country, then the world. A conspiracy requires silence of multiple parts working in perfect concert. It's not, especially when you consider that this nation was founded by lawyers. Combine the "Corporate feudalism is American" mindset, you turn a congress of lawyers into a circus of shysters. It's less of a conspiracy, and more of a culture of corruption; it's marketing. The steps are simple:
1. Buy politicians, lobbyists, and media outlets
2. Treat workers like shit
3. Raise prices
4. When they complain, use the media to call them names like "unAmerican", "bleeding heart", and "whiny"
5. When they start to ban together, use their race ("Blacks are always looking for a handout") or jobs ("They're just service workers") to turn them against each other