• The Christian God is a being of terrific character- cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust
  - Thomas Jefferson
• To talk of immaterial existences is to talk of nothings. To say that the human soul, angels, god, are immaterial, is to say there are nothing, or that there is no soul, no angels, no god. I cannot reason otherwise...I am satisfied, sufficiently occupied with the things which are, without tormenting or troubling myself about those which may indeed be, but of which we have no evidence
  - Thomas Jefferson
• Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone upon man
  - Thomas Jefferson
• During fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been it its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolences in the clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution
  - James Madison
• Lighthouses are more useful than churches
  - Benjamin Franklin
• This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion in it
  - John Adams
• As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how it has happened that millions of fables, tales, legends have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed
  - John Adams
• I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind
  has produced- the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced.
  - John Adams
• As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion, as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitian nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of harmony between the two countries.
  - 1797 Treaty with Tripoli drafted by George Washington
• Shake off all fears of servile prejudices, under which weak mines are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.
  - Thomas Jefferson

 

My favorite flag!

Click Here for my tribute to the July 4th Independence Day holiday!

 

 

Washington, DC

Since the early 80s I've taken many business and personal trips to our nation's capitol. I really enjoy "DC" and am proud of how well it represents our country (despite its infamous crime rate, corrupt mayors, and incompetent city government...). The Smithsonian, parks, government buildings, memorials and statues are all worth the visit. The Metro is one of the easiest to use, well-kept subway systems I've been on and, I've been on a lot of 'em (from San Francisco's BART and Japan's Shinsanken to London's Tube and Amsterdam's Metro).

So, although it's obvious I love "DC" I am becoming more concerned about it and the impact it has on the rest of our country.. The cost-of-living in and around Washington is sky-high with the crime rate following right behind. And, all those monuments and buildings I love so much have become armed fortresses since 9-11. Even a simple visit to the Library of Congress or Supreme Court requires passage through a gauntlet of police, undercover agents, X-ray machines and surly guards. I know it's a necessary evil in an age when we've created so many enemies but I can only wonder what the cost is in not only dollars, but to our freedoms and access to open government as well?

Anyway, below are a few photos of our nation's captiol - a place I always enjoy visiting and encourage others to do so as well!

Some trips I've taken to our nation's capitol:
(September '06 and April '07)

US Capitol

White House

White House

White House roof gunmen

25 Year Peace vigil

Library of Congress	Smithsonian	Me & the Secretary of Defense!	Metro Center	Supreme Court building
Korean War memorial	WWII CO Memorial	Vietnam War memorial	Vietnam War memorial	Vietnam statue

Senate ticket

Metro tickets

I took most of these photos from
the top of the Washington Monument:

Washington Monument	Waiting in line...	Dave, Bill, Grant & Dave	The top	White House	Washington Monument
Looking from the top	Lincoln Memorial	Jefferson Memorial	Capitol Building	Department of Commerce	Lincoln Memorial

A side trip to Georgetown:

Lynn, Danny & me

Tony, Lynn, Danny & me

Onion volcano

Benihana

Metro subway

Foggy Bottom

Quotes

"If you listen to a lot of conservatives, they'll tell you that the difference between
them and us is that conservatives love America and liberals hate America.... They don't
get it. We love America just as much as they do. But in a different Way. You see, they
love America the way a 4-year-old loves her Mommy. Liberals love America like grown-ups.

"To a 4-year-old, everything Mommy does is wonderful and anyone who criticizes Mommy is
bad. Grown-up love means actually understanding what you love, taking the good with the bad,
and helping your loved one grow. Love takes attention and work and is the best thing in the world."

"America wasn't built by conformists but by mutineers - we're a big, boisterous, bucking people and now is our time. Our democracy is being dismantled right in front of our eyes by our own ruling elites. This is a crucial moment when America desperately needs you and me to stand up as citizens. We are not only what democracy counts on, we are what democrcy is."

"The United States is unique among wealthy democracies in its level of religious adherence; it is also uniquely beleaguered by high rates of homicide, abortion, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, and infant mortality. The same comparison holds true within the United States itself: Southern and Midwestern states, characterized by the highest levels of religious literalism, are especially plagued by the above indicators of societal dysfunction, while the comparatively secular states of the Northeast conform to European norms."

- Sam Harris
Letter to a Christian Nation, p. 44

America:
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good

1. The U.S. Constitution, especially the 1st Amendment...
2. Jimmy Carter
3. National Parks
4. Hybrid cars and bicycles

1. The USA PATRIOT Act
2. George W. Bush
3. War games
4. Hummers and gas guzzlers

1. Detainee operations in Guantanamo Bay
2. Off Road Vehicles and Shopping Malls
3. Nuclear test sites
4. Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump

The American Dream (a parable)

A boat docked in a tiny Greek village. An American tourist complimented the Greek fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Greek.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The Greek explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings I go into the village to see my friends, dance a little, play the bouzouki, and sing a few songs. I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have a MBA from Harvard and I can help you.
You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Athens, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Greek.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?" "Afterwards?

That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing.
When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?"

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife, and spend your evenings singing, dancing and playing the bouzouki with your friends."

America's Religious Problem

"...the biblical God is a fiction, like Zeus and the other dead gods whom most sane human beings now ignore. Can you prove that Zeus does not exist? Of course not. And yet, just imagine if we lived in a society where people spent tens of billions of dollars of their personal income each year propitiating the gods of Mount Olympus, where the government spent billions more in tax dollars to support institutions devoted to these gods, where untold billions more in tax subsidies were given to pagan temples, where elected officials did their best to impede medical research out of deference to The Iliand and The Odyssey, and where every debate about public policy was subverted to the whims of ancient authors who wrote well, but who didn't know enough about the nature of reality to keep their excrement out of their food. This would be a horrific misappropriation of our material, moral, and intellectual resources. And yet that is exactly the society we are living in. This is the woefully irrational world that you and your fellow Christians are working so tirelessly to create."

Links:

4th of July ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union Bad Guys Capitalism and its failures CCR center for Constitutional Rights CIA World Factbook - United States Colorado! Constitution of the United States, Bill of Rights and other Amendments Declaration of Independence Hawaii Nevada Patriotic Quotes Peace Politics San Francisco Spooks and Spies United Nations Unites States of Jesus - Pat Condell War and Terrorism Wealth and Power Writing by me...

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