Would you give personal information to Dyami to read your fortune?

I don’t claim to be famous, just one of many gadflies on the web who draws enough cartoons to relevantly upset and amuse in order for people to repost or comment on, so it seems reasonable to me that before a SEO person submits a link request that they simply Google my name or my site or at least read a little bit of Freethunk as part of the background research before making contact. Instead, I get compliments on how good Freethunk is and, oh, by the way, can you add our link to this “Psychic Support” website? I can’t stand psychic scams! Jesus Christ, Almighty!

I’ve gotten two requests in the last week. The first one I replied to the SEO contact with, “Are you effin’ kidding me?”  and the second, “You should have predicted that I would turn you down on this scam.” My wife said I was being mean, but I think I was being pretty nice considering these sites con hundreds of people every month out of their hard-earned cash.

I realize these are probably generic email templates slapped together for SEO fishing expeditions, but it also shows poor judgment on the part of whoever is doing the SEO work and doesn’t understand what my site or someone else’s site is about. I always thought smart SEO was to find like-minded websites to gain links from, not just an old website simply because it’s been around for ten years or more (maybe it no longer matters?). What’s worse is these kind of sites try to leave template style comments on my posts with their URL which I have to delete. If they were smart, they would read one of my articles that might have some association with their supposed profession and make a unique comment. I would actually consider allowing them the URL in that case, just as I allow any religious website to leave their URL if they make a legitimate comment (negative ones included).

And just how do you become a “psychic expert” like Dyami? Is there a 4 year degree program? I can tell you the idiot in marketing doesn’t have an expertise degree. I’ve been watching the Discovery I.D. series “Wicked Attraction” about couples who murder and Dyami looks like every serial killer featured from the seventies.

I was listening to the evil NPR radio affiliate and heard a discussion about how Megadeth was endorsing Rick Santorum.

“… You know, I think Santorum has some presidential qualities, and I’m hoping that if it does come down to it, we’ll see a Republican in the White House… and that it’s Rick Santorum.”

Does Dave also support Rick’s stance on birth control? From Rick in a 2006 interview:

“I don’t think it works. I think it’s harmful to women. I think it’s harmful to our society to have a society that says that sex outside of marriage is something that should be encouraged or tolerated, particularly among the young. And I think we’ve very, very harmful longterm consequences to our society. Birth control to me enables that, and I don’t think it’s a healthy thing for our country.”

Now unless Rick Santorum needs to qualify this statement by saying that all birth control is not bad if used in the proper context (the marriage bed) he seems to be generalizing contraceptives as a bad thing. Women need to take note, especially Republican women. Mitt Romney may not be the greatest choice since he bends with the wind, but I don’t think he’s going to be this extreme.

Part of the controversy has to do with new government requirements to provide for birth control even if you are a religious institution–in other words, healthcare  requirements violating religious morality. To compromise on this, an exception has been made and the burden of contraception will be shifted to the insurance companies who may not mind since in the long run it saves them money if women are planning for children they can afford.

Honestly, if religious institutions do not want to provide for women–which is what we’re really talking about here in terms of birth control–then so be it. As long as they’re not taking government assistance or affiliated with the government in any way and are completely private it should be their choice to stay in the dark ages. Maybe this will wake many women up as to how sexist their religion is. Or maybe, under Obama healthcare there is no option to remain completely private from Government? There will always be some government regulation. I can’t claim enough expertise to know how the new Obama healthcare laws will affect private institutions in that regard (feel free to comment if you know).

As a society, while the majority does not rule per se, birth control is no longer controversial. It’s mainstream and having to provide “faith-based” exceptions, even for the sake of private businesses, is appalling (abortion I can understand, but birth control?). It’s true, I may agree with allowing for exceptions because sometimes the free market has to allow for stupidity, but let’s call it what it is–appalling stupidity! Catholic women use birth control as well as other Christian women who find it is better to control their biology then let it run amuck. The only ones who tend not to use birth control are religious anti-abortion zealots and these are the people most mainstream religions distance themselves from.

As for Dave Mustaine, you can listen to his music for the sake of nostalgia, but his Christianity is hard to take seriously which also makes his music hard to take seriously. I would love to see him open for Santorum (who would have been on the side of the PMRC in the eighties trying to ban his music).

As the security guard suggests, it’d probably be better to just walk on by, but if there is going to be a confrontation there’s nothing better than cleavage versus a Christian…fundie that is. There’s some truth to this scene in that American society is both afraid of tits and obsessed with tits. Possibly this appears immature to some, but considering the argument about women being submissive and considering that in some other countries women are asked to cover up for the sake of men and religion, flashing some cleavage may be the correct way to protest.

From Voice of the Copts, a site exposing religious bigotry, comes an article on Iran’s objections to Barbie in all her blonde, accessorized glory. Why? Well, the usual feelings towards a doll promoting the clothing of loose moral values, but more importantly Barbie represents the Western ideal woman…or so they think. Barbie has been just as contentious for Western feminists as she has been for Muslim clerics. However, the average American woman and apparently the average Iranian woman don’t really have a problem with the poseable gal. Barbie has infiltrated Iran to the extent that she has become a concern for the government and religion (often tied together in the Middle East).

Feminists, or rather I should say hardline feminists as feminism has diversified since the bra burning days, may want to rethink Barbie. Yes, she’s an unrealistic woman, but then she’s also a toy. The question is, what do Muslim clerics find threatening about Barbie? So much so that the goverment of Iran has come out with “Sara and Dara”, appropriately dressed dolls for little girls, one of them wearing a head scarf.  Voice of the Copts quotes a press release from the Islam for Today website saying the dolls promote traditional values (sound familiar?) and pro-family backgrounds. In other words, Sara and Dara should tell little girls their goal in life should be to get married, keep house, produce babies and probably not question male authority.

Barbie in comparison, looks like a powerful woman. She drives a car, plays sports, wears the newest fashions, dates Ken and other men of her choice, and can have a career if she wishes. She is an ideal no Western woman can live up to, but most women settle for part of the Barbie dream. Her toy selection does include “domesticated housewife” kits, but the point is that Barbie can choose. Some women want to stay at home, others like the hustle and bustle of business and others want to juggle both.

I think if Barbie scares Iran, as well as other countries like Saudia Arabia, there’s more to her than shopping and beautiful hair. She seems to be a woman in control, for better or worse.

SIDENOTE: Check out one of Barbie’s careers at Barbie.com: Architect Barbie. Seems like the blonde is expected to have a brain now. Good! Brains and body, a perfect mixture. When are they coming out with Astro Physicist Barbie?

I just finished watching the beautifully crafted film by director Lu Chuan, City of Life and Death (2009).

And yet, these films do not play in Japan. In fact, Japan now has “Nanking deniers” similar to what we refer to asl “Holocaust deniers”. Per Wiki, “…filmmaker Satoru Mizushima called the film a “setup by China to control intelligence,” and plans to release his own documentary, The Truth about Nanjing.”

It’s one thing to have “history deniers” but it’s another to not even show the films. I’m not saying they would make money and, yes, they would be protested–but it’s an issue of truth. It’s hard for me to believe that there isn’t a Japanese conscience that wants the truth to be known? Culture be damned. Saving “face” be damned.

In the United States we have deniers of The Holocaust, our mistreatment of African Americans, Native Americans and other races, but if you look at the material that has been put out by writers, artists and filmmakers you can see that historical nastiness is not swept under the rug. We have numerous films, award-winning ones, exposing our past injustices and there’s plenty more to come. Japan has nothing. No exploration of a reckless, maniacal WWII past, no historical guilt for atrocities, no recognition of the brutalization of China. It’s not that the present Japanese people are collectively guilty for Nanking or responsible in any way–but they are responsible for truth, no matter how ugly.

Somehow the atomic bomb has become the excuse for avoiding this past too. Bring up Nanking and inevitably Hiroshima and Nagasaki are brought up too. Certainly there is a historical debate on the devastation and morality of dropping nuclear weapons on Japan. The main argument was they wouldn’t surrender and the allies were damned tired of fighting a supposed god for an emperor (Hirohito got off easy). Moral or not, if you want to claim Hiroshima as the sin of the United States, then claim your own sins too. How would Hiroshima victims feel if they were told it all “never happened” and it’s just propaganda?

This wouldn’t be such an issue if there were any Japanese filmmakers taking an opposing viewpoint to the right wing Japanese nationalists calling the films on Nanking “bunk”. It’s pretty amazing not to even see an anime piece of anti-war introspection. The best we have is Hayao Miyazaki’s Grave of the Fireflies (1988) which is sympathetic to the Japanese experience. Say what you want about The West, but German filmmakers have made a variety of films exploring their dark Nazi past including 2004’s excellent Downfall.

On top of my main complaint, I did a search to see if City of Life and Death was nominated for an Academy Award? I couldn’t find any indication that it was considered. Being a film that is worthy of an Academy Award, I kind of wonder why not? Maybe Hollywood is complicit in Japan’s silence.

With word of the upcoming The Truth About Nanjing (spelling is with a “j”) isn’t it time for Japan to have an internal dialogue about history and then be open with the rest of the world on accepting a historical event? The rest of the world’s filmmakers are calling Japan out.  Per Wiki on the views of the director of the  Nanking denial film, “Less than a month before the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre, the director said in an interview that Japanese war criminals were martyrs who were made into scapegoats for war crimes as Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross in order to bear the sins of the world, and they died bearing all of old Japan’s good and bad parts.” Comparing rapists to Jesus Christ?

No one is saying anything bad about present day Japan. I love the pop culture and the people. Historical Japan is pretty nasty though. Will any Japanese artists stand up for the truth or are they all gutless?

SIDENOTE: If you are aware of any Japanese films, writers, or artists speaking truthfully about the historical accuracy of the rape of Nanking, feel free to comment. I’ve been searching for any films that might come close and I keep coming up empty.

SIDENOTE 2: I don’t mean to make light of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the denial of it is equal to Holocaust and Nanking denial. I think it’s a fair comparison It’s pretty obvious by the end of WWII we had dehumanized the enemy and just didn’t care about the collateral damage.

In addition, I will be collecting The Littlest Atheist for Kindle as I am a Kindle reader myself. It should even be readable on cell phones. If you don’t already know, Freethunk Best-of Cartoons from the original print edition is on Kindle in two volumes. Because they’re one panel cartoons they look pretty good on a cellphone, not to mention a tablet or traditional Kindle reader. Find it by typing Freethunk into Amazon or your Kindle app.

I did hear the song on TV, but I did not catch that lyrical change. All I remember was that the singer was doing a horrible job of actually singing “Imagine.”

The original lyrics were: “nothing to kill or die for/ and no religion too.” The idea being that with no religion there would be no gods to kill for or commit martyrdom for. I think John Lennon would have been appalled to hear an endorsement of all religion.

Maybe “Imagine” is an idealistic song, as in all likelihood, if religion goes away we’d find something else to fight about (though killing would be harder to justify without God), but it’s a good ideal to strive for. It takes some pretty big balls to change a classic song and if you’re going to do it you better have the genius to back it up. Cee Lo Green failed in multiple ways and his balls have been deflated.

That said, I think Cee Lo Green is talented as I have listened to his work with Gnarls Barkley, but he made a major error on this creative move. Sometimes an artist should apologize, take a step back and reflect.

The beauty of John Lennon’s song shouldn’t be diminished in regards to religion. Like I said, we probably would find other things to fight about (politics, land, etc), but imagine no Allah for a Muslim extremist to die for or no Christian god for an anti-abortionist to kill for? Or no god to justify bigotry against homosexuals? Imagine if people in general didn’t fear hell and they didn’t block scientific progress? Imagine if education taught kids real science and  history instead of a dumbed-down, censored version because of school board politics? Violence would be curtailed and minds would be expanded beyond the restraints of an ancient mythology. It would be one hell of a step in the right direction.

From Lyrics007.com…

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today

You, you may say
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

In the scene in question, Myrna Loy’s character Lillian Gilbreth is approached at her home for her expertise as a psychologist to speak at a local chapter of Planned Parenthood. The Planned Parenthood lady is shown as stuffy and uptight and there are hints that she is basically a child-hater of sorts. Lillian decides to show her up after receiving her invite by calling in her husband who tromps in with sarcastic politeness and then proceeds to whistle for his twelve children to appear within seconds. This of course stuns the Planned Parenthood lady and thus we are amused. The Planned Parenthood lady comes off looking like a bitter single woman and you can chalk one up the happiness of family excess.

I wonder how many women these days would be amused by the prospect of not having access to birth control, birthing 12 children and having the house run by their dominant husband, Mr. Efficiency Expert? The movie is very lighthearted, sometimes funny, and is what we might expect of the time period, but ohhhhh how times have changed. I will say the movie does reflect a pro-woman stance on education and accomplishment. Mr Gilbreth didn’t want any female dummies in his squad and they were all expected to go to college. However, how does a woman have a career if they are constantly pregnant?  The end of the film indicates that Mrs. Gilbreth goes on to lecture in place of her husband on efficiency and is successful enough to become woman of the year–but then her childbearing years are over for an obvious reason (which I won’t give away if you haven’t seen the film).

I would be curious to see women’s reactions watching this film again as most Christian women these days use birth control to usurp God’s domain–the womb. “He” doesn’t decide when they get pregnant, they do. My wife didn’t care much for the Steve Martin remake and I’m not going to be able to get her to sit still to watch this one. She likes children but not THAT many children.

If you don’t think there are people who are against birth control any more, since this is a movie from 1950, think again. I knew the fringe for a short period in my youth in the nineties (pre-atheist days) when I was involved in the Pro-life movement and they had a no tolerance stance on birth control. They’re still around, though.  Ironically enough, mainstream pro-life women still use birth control even as it can be considered an abortifacient.

I guess I can’t blame people for being sentimental about such movies (it’s a kind of fantasy we love), but if someone came to your door today and suggested the opposite–that you join a group against birth control–you’d probably close the door in their face and think them a nut. Cheaper by the Dozen is a decent film from the past, but it’s one you watch with amusement about how times and attitudes have changed. Looking at the NetFlix members’ reviews I wonder how many of them realize it.

SIDENOTE: Inevitably, someone will comment that Planned Parenthood did this or that in the past (“Margaret Sanger was a Nazi!”). Yes, there are skeletons in the closet, not denying that. The organization is a far cry from the Sanger days and so family planning has had its moments of ignorance too. Debate it all you want, but birth control is here to stay and most women love it.

SIDENOTE 2: Clifton Webb’s Frank Gilbreth character gets on my nerves at times. This is supposed to be a true story and we’re to assume that Lillian is using feminine wiles to steer her loud husband so he isn’t as dominant as he thinks. She is the ideal wife (submissively quiet but also clever enough to get her way). Do we really think that a woman pregnant 12 times never snapped back at her constantly barking husband and wanted to murder him in his sleep? Thankfully the daughters start to rebel in what is the repetition we constantly see with kids who turn into parents and then are dismayed by their own kids’ actions (“Kids these days!). Remember that showing a pretty knee leads to sex.