Recently, I caused quite a stir on my Facebook news feed about comparing some militant atheists to a form of terrorists because of a recent news post out of Virginia. I’d like to clarify my statements, and examine some key components that I can see backing up my statement.

Let’s first look at a few definitions.

Definition of TERROR

1: a state of intense fear

2

a: one that inspires fear :scourge
b: a frightening aspect <the terrors of invasion>
c: a cause of anxiety :worry
d: an appalling person or thing; especially:brat

3

:reign of terror

4

: violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands <insurrection and revolutionary terror>(From Merriam-Webster)

It’s been an exciting, sad, and creepy week for us. That Heathen Girl and I got engaged (Same weekend two other awesome people I know got engaged), Twinkies will be no more (from Hostess) and an awesome discovery of something so insanely creepy.

Let’s first look at this very informative image about Hostess:

That really says a lot. This company has had nothing but failures, greedy CEO’s, and complete lack of caring for their employees. I’d love to see all the behind-the-scene plays that was done in board rooms. Sure their food wasn’t very healthy for the body, but man oh man did a twinkie make you feel good mentally. They were good stuff. A lot of memes are floating around the interwebs like this one:

Of course America had nothing to do with it, but the coincidence of timing is pretty humorous.

Now onto awesomeness. That Heathen Girl and I got engaged on the 8th of November! We spent three days in a secluded cabin in Upstate Arkansas to consummate our engagement. We were going to go to Skepticon 5 that weekend, but you know what? Love is more important than a secular convention. JT Eberhard got the best of both worlds when he proposed on-stage. Way to go JT and Michaelyn!

That’s us enjoying our Cabin (ironically titled “Morning Star”) at Silver Run Cabins. If you ever think about a log cabin getaway… this place has cabins of all shapes and sizes. I would highly recommend booking your next getaway with them!

Last, but not least… Take this Lollipop! I won’t spoil it for you, but it is the creepiest thing you have ever seen. Brilliant, just brilliant.

-The Secular Nerd

It has been such a very long and hard campaign. Facebook ablaze every day with Romney’s antics, fact checks, and some good old fashioned poking fun pictures. Thank the flying spaghetti monster it’s all over. There were quite a few victories on the 6th, for a country divided in two. What does this mean though, for the red states?

My opinion on this, based on being in a red state (Arkansas), is that it’s time to either get with the program, or be left in the dark ages. Marijuana became legal for recreational use in Colorado and Washington last night, while medical Marijuana was blocked in the south (Arkansas) by people with pitch forks. Yes it’s an exaggeration, but I’d be lying if I said they didn’t have anything in their hand (the bible) while they made that choice to block medical marijuana from people who could greatly benefit from its uses.

A good friend and co-worker of mine has a daughter, who is going through the harsh lifestyle of treating cancer. The synthetic cannabis that she uses has been helping her get through it, in the ways that it can. If Marijuana was legal for medical purposes, it could of helped thousands of people dealing with glaucoma, cancer, and more. I wonder sometimes, if these people who are so greatly against it, are so blinded by their faith, that they forget about everyone else around them. I think a lot has to do with experience.

My good friend is religious, yet he strongly supports medical marijuana. Why? Because he’s compassionate. Because he’s living with the worry every night, for his daughters recovery. That’s just one man, and one person, out of thousands upon thousands of others every day, worried for their loved ones or friends. It’s almost in comparison to preventing people from getting flu shots, because X god will take care of those people. If it’s “his” will to take that person to heaven, then people accept that. Instead of preventing that person from getting sick in the first place, or treating the illness, people commit legal murder every day.

I stayed away from Facebook until Obama’s victory speech, because I was sick of the politics, sick of the bashing, sick of the worrying. It’s over now. We have four more years to stick with the plan, rebuild America, move it forward, and make red states realize that child abuse, legal murder, and bigotry has to go. I’m going back to my secular humanism side now, and dumping my militant tendencies since the election is over, and rational people got what the country needed. Now it’s time to focus locally.

-The Secular Nerd