MERRY CHRISTMAS- IT'S FOR ATHEISTS TOO

McCarthyism for the Klan of theists.

The post at right is from Face book with names and the faces removed.

I have seen similar threads from ANTZ posts, but this is Christmas, and this is a recent post.

A very good illustration of the diversity of belief systems.  The Muslim sects that take jihad to an extreme are unfortunately how many view Islam.  Would not this portrayal of Christianity or the Jewish faith, paganism, rastafarianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism (just threw that in because I love the sound), The Deity based South American Shamanistic beliefs send the same message to others that all members were radical zealots?

The concept of God is plentiful in H(h)is or H(h)er interpretation and expression.  The core to almost every religion humankind has adopted is an attempt to explain the unexplainable and give a meaning to death and life.

Merry Christmas- whether Christian or not- is a time of joy and family.

In the New York Times an article declared "God Is Dead" appeared and is dated March 24, 1968.  One could say that is true again, in metaphor.  God is increasingly moving from the spiritual concept of the Creator, Director, Embracer, Forgiver, and final place of rest after death (those who believe in reincarnation or other endpoints of course are included in the concept) to a textual man written directive.  The spiritual belief, written to convey a concept, is becoming a reason to be right and to make non-followers somehow evil and threatening.

I had a very learned friend with a non-religion based Doctorate, who was a devout Southern Baptist say to me, "It says in God We Trust- there is no godhead or Allah or Earth Mother crap- it says God."

Marshall McLuhan is known for coining the expression "the medium is the message". This is a concept that is often misinterpreted as saying the facts are seen as presented and may be biased by language and frame of reference.  Albeit this is correct, it is not the intent of the cultural viewpoint of McLuhan, who was a Canadian who wrote profusely in the 50's, 60's, and 70's.  He is saying that the actual factual material presented is a sign of the way society, which he foresaw as becoming a "global village", interprets the world.  Thus the cultural setting of what is portrayed is really a mixture of what is occurring and the time frame in which it occurs.  One can be concrete in thinking and define God as the biblical entity- hence my friend's interpretation, or one can take the stance that God is a metaphor for all forms of interpretation of a common good, a common spiritual ideal that is inherently just and comes from the accumulation of ideas of the global village.  In this stance an atheist would look at "In God We Trust" as acceptable in its meaning as the metaphor of God could include scientific studies, the Big Bang and Darwin.

The recent 99% vs 1% of the Occupy [insert locale] movement illustrates the unfortunate splitting of societal and individual views of the world.  If 1% of a religious sect is fanatical and poses perverse means of dealing with non-believers, the medium elects them as their model for the global village's  interpretation of that sect. 

Yet look at the parallels- Lent a traditional Christian time of fasting, Ramadan is a month of fasting, Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur is 10 days of fasting ending in a day of atonement, Imbolc in Wikkan is awaiting the coming of light (as you interpret this)... These are all times of spiritual reflection, fasting, reflection on belief and attempts to reconcile behaviours with beliefs.  All end in some celebration of "faith" or hope.  Even atheists have been defined scholarly as not without religion.  Their (and I have been a full fledged atheist in periods of my life), let me say my beliefs at that time were that religion was man made and exploitative (inquisition, jihad, holocaust) of differences to obtain power.  As I would ask my Muslim brother to understand my celebration now, so should I understand his and accept his.  And if agnostic- understand that they are just people. As said in Deteriorata- whether your God is a Cosmic Muffin or Hairy Thunderer- I am not to judge, I can evangelize- but as is in the core of most religious systems- take your beliefs and share them, conversion is the will of the one with whom you speak.
 
Not all Christians, Muslims, Jews, Pagans, Atheists and so on are fanatics.  Unfortunately the ones that get the press usually are extremes.  There are have been true spiritual beings that cross all religions that teach through their actions- Gandhi, Pope John Paul II, Jesus, Abraham (Jewish, Islam and Christian traditions share his teachings in their basic texts), Mother Teresa, St. Augustine, St. Francis, the Shaman I spent a day with in Ecuador, Muhammad, Buddha, Lao Tse, Jimmy Carter (amazing man that I have gone to Plains, Ga several times to hear his Sunday School teachings- and that was in my Unitarian/atheistic/science is God time)... and many others. 

And of course there are social values that one religious viewpoint may accept and another frown upon.  Stem cell research, social dress, eating of certain foods and many others.  We do not condemn the stance, it is their stance and one they may follow.  The problem arises when interpretations are turned into sanctifications from a religious group and passed into the lives of others as law.  My God says this so you, who do not follow my belief system, must do this. 

Welcome war and political beverage parties.

Not all Muslims are bin Ladens, all Christians Cardinal Richelieus, all Jews Judas (albeit he may be the most misunderstood person in history and one rendition of his betrayal is that of martyrdom at the request of Jesus). 

Hilliary Clinton spoke of the global village- which she stole from McLuhan.  Al Gore of the Web,   which was developed at CERN but first postulated 30 years earlier by McLuhan. Andy Warhol's famous line that we all will have our 15 minutes of fame is a McLuhan paraphrase.

The place, the idea, the action, the groundwork of the belief and the historical precedents to that belief are all part of the message's reception. 

So Merry Christmas- if it upsets you, I apologize but I respect your opinion.  I will gladly dance with you at Summer Solstice, aid a pilgrim on his way to Mecca or follow the Jaguar with my Shaman spiritual advisor.  But with Christmas be merry with my joy and the meaning behind the celebration. I am not asking all to share a belief, only to share that it is important to me.

As for politically being correct- in a true global village that word would be historically incorrect, but then we have yet to evolve to that point as a world community. 

To put it in simple terms- we are at a beginning, always at a beginning.  We are also at an ending and at a middle point,  it depends on how we see each other and more importantly ourselves.

Rage, rage before the dying of the light

Why is this man happy?

1. He's come to believe that that mankind is his business.
2. He has survived a night of self reflection and been transformed
3. He has discovered the true meaning of Christmas
4. All of the above

All  of the above (4) is correct.

So, bring on the spirits, I am losing faith in humanity,

The most reported "factual data" seen today in e-cigarette ban material:

Authorities don't necessarily know what's inside of e-cigarettes, but the FDA tested a small sample just a few years ago and found a number of toxic chemicals including diethylene gylcol - the same ingredient used in antifreeze.

• at least we won't freeze.
• sub clinical and below FDA allowable limit
• did you know that dihydrogen oxide is also in those sample. If frozen it can cause severe injury if slipped on and if ingested in large amounts causes severe problems.

The American Lung Association issued its own warning about e-cigarettes. “This is a buyer stay away, a buyer health hazard, potentially."

• The great associations love to shroud their data with, Maybes, mights, could. untested
• Make statements like Dr. Mike Feinstein, a spokesman for the American Lung Association said, “People are inhaling some type of chemical vaporized compound into their lungs without really knowing what's in it.
• You could ask?
• Micheal Greens states, "He says with no real data on e-cigarettes, the three-year-old tobacco alternative may actually be more harmful that traditional cigarettes. "The doses of nicotine that you get could conceivably be higher than what you would get in a typical cigarette."
• Another "could" word-- and didn't early studies point to lower nicotine
• "May" also a used

The first clinical trial that looked at e-cigs, published in BMC Public Health, concluded that “the e-Cigarette can help smokers to remain abstinent or reduce their cigarette consumption. By replacing tobacco cigarettes, the e-cigarette can only save lives. Here we show for the first time that e-Cigarettes can substantially decrease cigarette consumption without causing significant side effects in smokers not intending to quit.”

• Noto bore- no coulds, shoulds or maybes.
• The word "can help" is used.
• This is a study, not a speculation based on personal opinion.

Yet personal experience is a valid and fairly reasonable method for the finding of fact in the e-cig landscape.  Listen to the stories of vapors who have gone through years of attempting to stop inhaling the carcinogenic products of the combustible cigarette.  The cold turkey failures, the Chantix horror stories and the plethora of patch and gum litanies are their history. The e-cigarette revolution is at hand and the use of these devices is skyrocketing.  It's like this is the App for smoking cessation.

Why is old Scrooge smiling- because he has been transformed overnight into a person who feels the glory of success and the freedom from bondage to the cylinder of tobacco doom.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the misers of the FDA could see the light- that the ingenuity of people have provided a solution that addresses am issue of such dramatic importance.

• Are there no NRT's, are there no support groups.
• Why must a government entity always seem to need to shut the door on the public good?

What ever happened to the notion of American ingenuity, freedom to engage in personal ventures for the public good and the ability to assume a moderate risk?

Congress and bureaucratic minions, the FDA.

This was spelled out beautifully by a friend in a letter to Congress:

Another area where congress can “flip the switch” to shut off micro-managing people’s lives is in the area of smoking. A relatively new product to hit the marketplace is the e-cig. This electronic device allows people the option of inhaling vapor rather than tobacco smoke. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has put up a roadblock under the guise that this product (known to be 1000 times safer than inhaling smoke!) is untested. The real reason for the ban is that this increasingly popular product threatens the loss of millions of dollars in cigarette taxes, taxes that have been ostensibly increased to discourage smoking.

And the band played on.  Ball of confusion.  That's where the world is today. 

The experts know nothing of the vapor and the relief, they see the world through punitive eyes that fill their coffers with money to appease their constituents.

Is their a way to change the minds of the Nanny State of America? 

Hopefully there is, and it lies in the vocal power of the masses.

1. Go to CASAA.org, join, read the Calls to Action and write your Congressman and Senators
2. Use CASAA's direction.
3. Sign the petition at:  http://actsmoking.epetitions.net/sign_petition.php
4. Keep informed and keep informing your leaders of the benefits of this product from personal experience.

The pundits with their maybes and coulds are forcing false information into the face of the public.

IOM- what the f---

How your Government Makes a Good Thing- Bad

There is a remarkable opportunity, a choice for tobacco users that cannot quit.  Smokeless tobacco products are available to consumers. What a great opportunity for death cessation from pulmonary disease.  What an opportunity for Anericans who cannot quit!   What an opportunity for the FDA.

This is not what is evolving.

 

The FDA is going to do nothing research wise, not their style. They will await the BT research and ENDS proposal. They will expect the usual trials, clinical research and proof it is better than NRT's on market- or different. BT and Pharma will market as prescription medications in non-refillable (Nicotrol inhaler) cartridges with an approved ENDS. As time evolves there will be the same loosening of Rx status, like Nicorette and it will be available at your local Wal-Mart pharmacy. BT will do same research with slightly different and more secure ENDS that will be marketed as a cigarette replacement at similar prices. There is no interest in freedom, personal choice- there is paperwork and bean counters.

And to the IOM, you are lily livered pompous higher than mighty murderous charlatans. You did not think of this, are embarrassed that it is so successful and won't admit it so in the name of science you will violate your Hippocratic Oath and murder a multitude of humans unnecessarily to save face. Are we grinning ear to ear at the grant money that will come from this that will be spent on brilliant ideas such as nicotine reduced tobacco or vaccinations that will produce another host of Guianne Barre reactions, anaphylaxis and increased carditoxicity as smokers quadruple their tobacco intake to overcome the vaccine's nicotine binding antibodies. It is obvious that there is a belief system inherent in this esteemed organization that tobacco dependence is a willful addiction.

The research community, the IOM and ALA/ACA seem to believe that lung cancer is fear enough to stop smokers.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Bias is obvious, selectivity of investigation apparent and as such you have nothing to gain by exploring vaping or SNUS.

AN EYE FOR AN EYE LEAVES US BOTH BLIND. It is just that vapors did nothing except find an alternative that appears safer. Your vanity and arrogance is obvious.

May you sleep soundly in your beds at night, please do not trip over the poor souls you are dooming to an early demise and by all means put the effort in prevention and saving the children.

At first do no harm. Interpret these words as they are, not as you want them to be.

I suggest you stock up on hand sanitizers and soft soap- they're will be a lot of blood on your hands.