Ditch Dobson!

The Chicago based Museum of Broadcast Communications is about to induct into their Radio Hall of Fame an evangelical muppet who thinks Spongebob Squarepants promotes homosexuality.
James Dobson, best known as Chairman of Focus on the Family, also runs the biggest 'ex gay' ministry in the the US, supports intelligent design and even led the ousting of Rev. Richard Cizik, a fellow fundie, from the National Assocation of Evangelicals because Cizik had the temerity to suggest Christians should take global warming seriously.
Thankfully, the US gay community aren't about to let this fully fledged wingnut get his 'honour' without a fight.
'Dump Dobson!'is a joint campaign between the Gay Liberation Network and Truth Wins Out, which has exposed much of the twaddle behind Dobson's 'Love Won Out' scam. They're asking people to e-mail the Museum Director and sign up to a letter asking the Museum to think again. If that doesn't work they'll be amongst numerous Chicago groups who might make the awards dinner on November 8th just a tad unpalatable. Go to http://www.dumpdobson.com/ to find out more and get stuck in.

Stop Honour Killings

I'm sick to the back teeth of armchair humanists who'd rather waste time arguing with Christians about how many angels could dance on a pinhead - if there were angels - than stopping human rights abuse caused or excused by religious 'thought'.
Put your poxy Dawkins or Harris tomes down and look at the International Campaign Against Honour Killings site at http://www.stophonourkillings.com/index.php instead.
Look, for example, at the story from September 27th about women being buried alive in Pakistan.
Now get off your fat, pontificating arses and send an e-mail to some Pakistani officials.
There - isn't that better?

Is Joan Crawford God?

As with many other things, we may owe many of our misconceptions about religion to Hollywood.
Last night I realised where we have been going wrong.
Forget wise fathers, forget Charlton Heston and think 'Mommy Dearest'.
Still puzzled?
Think Joan Crawford, speeding her tits off on dodgy dexedrine and wielding an axe.
Suddenly all that cranky advice in Leviticus about diet and mixed fibres makes more sense.
Now, repeat after me...
NO (WHACK!) WIRE (WHACK!) COATHANGERS!!!

Being mugged by Teletubbies on Prozac

I’ve just joined the board of the One World Centre – which provides Manx schools with their material about the developing world, environmental and human rights issues. It was set up as a joint initiative by volunteers for Oxfam, Amnesty International, Save the Children, Christian Aid and local environmental groups, and is also a source of advice to government on overseas aid policy.
The encouraging thing is that I was asked to join by the Christian Aid worker who chairs the committee and the Anglican lay reader who runs the centre. They recognise the usefulness of a secular campaigner who will point out unwitting faith monopolies and generally challenge the lazy view that ‘morality’ should be left to churches.
This was a welcome advance. Previously, as with other ‘moral’ concerns, church leaders tended to think they should control the Centre even when they can’t be bothered to do the work.
I still thought hard before accepting. At its best, Overseas Aid can be ineffectual feel-good dabbling, and at its worst it patronises people to death and doesn’t even have the guts to admit it does it for neo-colonial reasons.
The AGM was a useful guide to the current state of affairs. The well meaning staff and volunteers were so obsessed with ‘positive thinking’ and not giving offence that it was like being mugged by Teletubbies on Prozac. After an hour of relentlessly cheerful annual reports I was ready to slash my wrists even before the ‘entertainment’ - an earnest gap year student armed with a didgeridoo. After that I ran into the night before I could be dragged back for three compulsory choruses of ‘Kumbaya’ and a group hug.