Whether you love or hate this polarizing writer/atheist/pundit/alcoholic, Christopher Hitchens has a new book out today, Hitch-22: A Memoir, and the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive so far. It’s practically impossible to agree with the man on everything, but when he gets something right, goddamn does he ever get it right. While he’s known for his frank manner and brutal honesty, this is arguably his most truthful work yet, as he’s not examining religion or the founding fathers in this book, but himself. This is not an easy task for anyone – never mind this obscenely critical and eternally cynical author. Appropriately, his publisher put together this great little video of 22 quotes from Hitchens to promote Hitch-22, so I’ll just let the man speak for himself…

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Christopher Hitchens’ New Memoir, Hitch-22, Released Today

If there are two things that I love discussing, it’s politics and comic books, so it seems that this story was just tailor-made for me to rant about.

About two weeks ago, some tea party leaders (How you can consider yourself a leader of something that isn’t really organized under one roof, I’m not sure, unless you call that roof “the Republican party.”) went straight to the press crying over a recent issue of Marvel’s Captain America comic after a conservative blogger found an obvious reference to the tea parties (who won our “Worst Muckmaker” award this year) within its panels. Here’s the gist of it…

Issue 602 of the comic features Captain America investigating a right-wing anti-government militia group called “the Watchdogs”. Hoping to infiltrate the group, Captain America and his African-American sidekick The Falcon observe an anti-tax protest from a rooftop. The protestors depicted are all white and carry signs adorned with slogans almost identical to those seen today in Tea Party rallies like “tea bag libs before they tea bag you” and “stop the socialists.”
The Falcon mentions that the gathering appears to be “some kind of anti-tax protest” and notes that “this whole ‘hate the government’ vibe isn’t limited to the Watchdogs.” He then tells Captain America that he doesn’t think their plan will work because “I don’t exactly see a black man from Harlem fitting in with a bunch of angry white folks.” Captain America then explains that his plan entails sending The Falcon in among the group posing as an IRS agent under the thinking that a black government official will most certainly spark their anger.

(You can read the actual comic pages here.)

The teabaggers are pissed at their portrayal, but what is untrue about it? They’re mostly white, carry signs with those exact slogans, and have made many, many bigoted remarks against our black president to the press, on their signs, and in countless videos found on YouTube. The vocal core supporting this astroturfing “movement” is made up of a bunch of dumbass (often gun-toting) hillbillies, so why can’t Ed Brubaker, the writer of the comic, say so? For a group that spends so much time complaining that their freedom of speech is going to be revoked by the oppressive regime of the White House, they certainly wasted no time in condemning Marvel Comics for exercising theirs.

And they effectively censored them too. Both Brubaker and Marvel’s Editor in Chief, Joe Quesada, have blamed the signs on “stupid mistakes” by letterers under a deadline who did not approve the lettering with the creative team before it hit the presses. Quesada, in a stunning move, even publicly apologized for the offending panels, saying that “There was no thought that it represented a particular group.” While he may have done this to placate his new bosses (Disney now owns Marvel, in case you missed that one.), there’s really no reason to lie to us; maybe that particular panel really did have some last-minute edits (maybe), but let’s be honest – Brubaker makes his politics abundantly clear throughout his Captain America books. Even though they’ve agreed to censor the books by editing future printings of the comic to have different slogans on the signs, it’s as apparent as Cap’s stars and stripes that “the Watchdogs” are satirizing the tea parties…and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

In fact, if you know your comic book history, you’d realize quite easily that Captain America is no stranger to stirring the pot, and he’s certainly no stranger to liberalism. Ever since writer Stan Lee revived Steve Rogers in Avengers #4 in 1964, he has transformed him from a one-dimensional WWII propaganda character into a man who must constantly struggle with being the symbolic representative of America and all its ideals. He alone must shoulder the responsibility of being truth, justice, and the American way to everyone, and that’s not always an easy task in a country that’s often divided over what exactly “the American way” is. For Lee, this was progressing along with the times, adapting to whatever changes are coming along and making the best of them, learning and growing from them. Rogers was a traditional young man of the 1940s who, frozen in time for over a decade, wakes up in the 1960s to find that America isn’t quite the same as when he left it. This was a time of “free love,” shifting household and gender roles, and the Civil Rights movement, so Cap had a lot to learn. He adapted quickly, however, as he could see that this was the way America was headed, and he became a symbol for a new America – one that wasn’t afraid to challenge the status quo and fight against the grain when necessary.

In 1974, during the midst of the real-life Watergate scandal, Steve boldly quit being Captain America for a time after becoming disillusioned with the government he had been defending all these years. And just in 2006-2007, during the immensely popular Civil War storyline (which affected almost every Marvel character), he bravely fought against the Superhero Registration Act, which was symbolic for the Patriot Act and its violations of individual freedoms and privacy. This led to his assassination, which he was only recently resurrected from. During his absence, his old crime-fighting partner, Bucky Barnes, took over as Captain America, and that is the Cap we see in the panel talking so highly of the tea party protesters. So even though it’s not exactly the same Captain America, the point remains the same – the character has never been a big fan of Republicans, and he can always see through their bullshit. Brubaker knows this, and Quesada knows this. This guy clearly doesn’t…

“When I was a child in the ’60s Captain America was my favorite superhero,” [Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips] said. “It’s really sad to see what has traditionally been a pro-America figure being used to advance a political agenda.”

Not only can they do whatever the fuck they want with their own character, they’re staying true to that character’s personality and history as well. If Phillips was actually a Cap fan, as he claims, then he’d know about his long record as a progressive and that he would always reject something as close-minded, bigoted, and counter-productive as the tea parties. He’s far from pro-government, as demonstrated, but he’s also anti-corporate America, which is all these protests are a front for. FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity whipping morons into a frenzy for profit and political gain is not an “independent grassroots uprising,” and even a fictional character can see that.

Speaking of which, it may seem silly to speculate on what a fictional character may or may not believe, but that’s not really the absurd part – asking an artist to change his work so that he doesn’t offend the delicate sensibilities of others is. No one should have to apologize for expressing themselves creatively, and Quesada should have stuck by his artistic team and simply laughed at the criticism. And who was he apologizing to? Some self-important blogger who spends more time ripping other people’s work than he ever will creating his own? A jumbled mess of rich Republicans hoping to wrangle some poor citizens into voting a party back into office that is even more corrupt than the one currently in power? The only thing inaccurate in that comic book was the fact that those signs were actually spelled correctly…and the protesters should have been drawn way uglier. The Captain has spent over 50 years fighting for what he believes in…Marvel backed down within a month. It seems that even they can learn some lessons in courage from the heroes they create, and the teabaggers should do some reading of their own – the Constitution might be a good place to start. The First Amendment includes the right to peaceably assemble (“Douchebags assemble!”), but it also includes the right to criticize that assembly as well.

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Captain America Vs. The Tea Party: A Geek’s Perspective

It’s the awards show you’ve all been waiting for…no, not the Oscars. That’s next month. No, not the MTV Movie Awards. Let’s be honest – even the Golden Globes are more watchable than that crap. It’s the 2010 Muckmaker Awards, where we dishonor the worst people, organizations, businesses, and ideologies of 2009 by awarding them the beautiful golden toilet trophy you see above for flushing our world down the shitter. The Muckmaker Award is given to one candidate (or a group, when applicable) in each of the following 10 categories:

Worst Newcomer
Worst Pundit
Worst Blog
Worst News Source
Worst Corporation
Worst Religious Leader
Worst Religion
Worst Politician
Worst Businessman
Worst Muckmaker

Start reading about the “winners” right here!

And as a special bonus this year, we’ve included a podcast version of the Awards for those of you too lazy to read the whole damn thing, or if you just want to know more details about these particular muckmakers and our selection process. (You can download it right here.) Plus, we curse and rant a lot more, if that’s your thing. Either way you choose, we hope that you enjoy our picks from 2009 and hope to see your feedback. Agree with us? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Muckmakers Proudly Presents the 2010 Muckmaker Awards!

I’m sure you’ve all seen this by now, but you may have only caught it in clips, so here’s the entire interview/debate for those who missed it…

Just when you think that you’ve heard and seen it all with these two, they come out with this. Now why can’t the rest of the mainstream media make the news this interesting and thoroughly entertaining?

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Bill O’Reilly Vs. Jon Stewart: The Entire Interview

Never one to waste any moment he can get in the spotlight, Rush Limbaugh used the press conference after his hospital visit on New Year’s Eve to pontificate about the merits of our current health care system, claiming that his situation was proof that no reform is needed. And since he can’t seem to open his cigar hole without lying, he claimed that he received no preferential treatment for being a celebrity. Here’s his version of the story…

And here’s the truth…

When Limbaugh called 911, he received special treatment from the Kahala Resort Hotel to start his king-like medical service. The hotel staff got him out of the venue in such a way that he could not be seen by on-lookers. When Rush arrived at the medical center, the hospital managers made sure the entire wing that Rush was on was placed on restricted access status.

That means even if you had a loved one who happened to be on the floor Rush Limbaugh was on at the hospital, you could not just walk up there to see the person you were concerned about. You had to check in, and may have been turned away depending on who you were. All of this was done by others to benefit Rush Limbaugh’s peace of mind so that he could recover faster. He did.

I just took my mother to the hospital to have surgery today and we were supposed to be in and out within two hours – it took over six. Four of those hours were spent waiting for the doctor to return to the building. According to her nurse, the doctor had to “step out” for a little while. When I saw him come back in, he had a cell phone to his ear and a shopping bag in his hand. My mom wasn’t allowed to eat or drink for the entire previous day, she sat with an IV in her hand for more four hours after her surgery was scheduled to begin, and this guy thought it would be a good time to go to the mall and spend some of that fat paycheck of his. Yes, this wasn’t an emergency, as in Rush’s case, but my point here is that the rest of us don’t get an entire wing dedicated to our care and recovery – we get what the rest of the peons get.

Rush is so clueless as to how things actually work in the real world that he didn’t even realize that this particular hospital that he was praising was staffed by union nurses and “is a shining example of progressive health care reform.” As it turns out, Hawaii has one of the greatest percentages of organized workers of any state and also has the highest percentage of organized RNs…but we shouldn’t expect a moron like him to know something like that. He’s paid to talk, not to research, after all. (The wing closing, however, was obviously connected to his celebrity…another reason he’s so out-of-touch.)

So I found it hilarious that we received this comment from a reader when we posted about Limbaugh’s chest pains and our strong hopes for a not-so-successful recovery…

david
Why is it that you libs are the ones to “save the earth” through your taxing bleeding hearts yet are the most mean spirited of all? You are the real terrorists this country should be fighting and may be in the near future. You are the ones that our forefathers came here to get away from. Try Cuba I think they need you

Right off the bat, let me just point out that when Bush’s tax cuts for the rich expire this year, the wealthiest people in the nation will be paying more, which, according to your “tea parties,” is exactly what you wanted, right? And comparing liberals to terrorists makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, considering terrorists use violent religious extremism to get what they want, whereas the current administration was democratically elected by a landslide. Our forefathers were fighting to build the democracy that put the Democrats in office, if I remember my history classes correctly. I may not agree with everything they’re doing, and I certainly don’t think that they as “liberal” as they should be in many of their policies and decisions, but to imply that “this country should be fighting [them] and may be in the near future” sounds like your side is hoping to incite violence, which sounds way more like terrorism than health care reform.

But let’s get to the main reason that you are an absolutely misinformed simpleton, David – Rush isn’t one of you. You probably consider yourself Mr. Average Joe, standing up for freedom in the free world by working 9-5, watching football, and drinking beer, and guys like Rush play people like you like a fiddle. While you scraped together your last few bucks to buy a bottle of champagne for New Year’s, Rush Limbaugh spent his holiday at the Kahala Hotel & Resort in Hawaii, probably snorting lines off a hooker in a grass skirt. Tell me the last time you and your family (I’m going out a limb and assuming that you have people that care about your sad, pathetic soul, which is a stretch, I know.) were able to even go a vacation at all, never mind to a classy resort in Hawaii. This guy pulls in over $38 million from people like you annually, yet you still buy into his “I’m just a middle-class schmuck like you!” shtick and nod at every one his agenda-laced opinions like a good little dittohead. If America is about rebelling against the establishment, as you say it is, then you’re the philosophical equivalent of a policeman in full riot gear beating down a teargas-blinded protester with a nightstick. You say that we’re mean-spirited? This is a guy who has made his living from offending people and crossing the lines of decency (and truth), spouting hateful, racist, and spiteful comments on a daily basis, and we’re mean-spirited for giving it back to him? It’s funny how hateful words are only wrong if you don’t agree with their sentiments. I think anyone who wishes the president (and, therefore, the country) to fail simply because of their political leanings is way more unpatriotic than a blogger wishing death upon a cigar-chomping elitist who brainwashes 20 million weekly listeners into voting against their own interests for his personal financial gain, but I guess that makes me a Godless-Cuban-Nazi-Anarchist-Socialist. Next time, show us your sources, not your ignorance, jackass.

(And as for Rush, please fucking die next time…if only your heart would fail as bad as your listeners do at making a well-reasoned political stance…but at least your survival is a great example of what an improved health care system can provide, even if it doesn’t always save the right people.)

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Rush Limbaugh Survives to Lie Another Day

Could it be? Perhaps a belated Christmas gift? The internets are ablaze with buzz that Rush Limbaugh has been hospitalized this morning due to chest pains. Could the slobs heart finally have given out?

Hopefully, I’ll be able to update this post later on and spread the word that this piece of shit is dead. Fingers crossed.

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Rush Limbaugh Hospitalized

Patton Oswalt‘s stand-up has always been superb, but he’s really topped himself with his latest album, My Weakness Is Strong. This little story about the origin of religion is priceless…

Oh, sky cake…

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Video: Patton Oswalt – Religion Is the Old Sky Cake Dodge

This November the 5th, I thought that it might be interesting to revisit a film that took the world (and certainly the internet) by storm in 2006 – V for Vendetta. While I feel that no introduction is probably necessary, the movie was about a masked freedom fighter in a dystopian future, known only as V, who hopes to inspire the people of London to overthrow a corrupt dictatorship. It was based on a graphic novel by the brilliant Alan Moore, who was unhappy with the changes the screenwriters made to his original work, which mostly focused on the clash of two extremes – anarchism vs. fascism. The Wachowski brothers instead took the core of the story and made it more of an attack on right-wing American conservatism, with V representing American liberalism and democracy instead of anarchy and the government he was fighting against became an obvious satire of the Bush administration. The movie was overall a critical and financial success, but the religious right was quick to stir up controversy (re: butthurt). For example, Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, called it “a vile, pro-terrorist piece of neo-Marxist, left-wing propaganda filled with radical sexual politics and nasty attacks on religion and Christianity.” And with the fictional British Television Network in Vendetta being a pretty distinct parody of Fox News, you can imagine how favorably they were discussing the film.

But now the tables have turned – the Bush regime has been out of power for almost a year now, and they have been replaced by one of the most liberal administrations that the United States has ever seen. The conservatives now know what it’s like to live under a government that doesn’t support their exact ideology, so their views on protesting have gone from “un-American” to “a necessary exercise of freedom,” and the vision of one man taking on the government has gone from “supporting terrorism” to “fighting against tyranny.” Just a few short years ago, you hated America if you didn’t support the president, and now you hate America if you do. This complete flip-flop of ideals begs the question – What if V for Vendetta was released today?

Well, first of all, it wouldn’t have been written by liberals like the Wachowski brothers. Sure, the message is timeless, but the script felt relevant because it was – we know that at least one of the brothers lives an “alternative lifestyle,” and I’m sure he felt singled out by the party that constantly condemns homosexuality. Between the passing of the Patriot Act and the rush to a war that was more about greed than it ever was about defense, one couldn’t help but feel powerless under a government that seemed to do whatever it wanted, whenever it wanted. Even the popular vote didn’t have a voice, and fear overtook reason as buzzwords like “terrorism” and “freedom” were thrown around in place of rational discussion.

So let’s say that conservatives were to adapt the comic to film instead. Gone would be the depictions of clergy pedophilia and religious hypocrisy. Instead, V would be on a mission from God, a pious man who would be a much more accurate reflection of the historical Guy Fawkes than the character of V ever was. Like an angel of death, he would storm the headquarters of the atheistic regime with guns blazing, spouting one-liners instead of philosophical quips over a soundtrack of hard-rocking guitars, not a symphony orchestra gracefully conducted from a rooftop. Would the crowd of citizens taking to the streets during the climax have been wearing straw hats instead of masks, raising pitchforks and torches in the air as they prepared for a lynching? V would become the cliché superhero movie than fans were dreading when the project was first announced, and if Alan Moore was unhappy with Wachowskis’ adaptation, just imagine him tearing out his extensive beard to that piece of shit.

But in all seriousness, the conservatives just would have never made the movie at all. In fact, they probably would have never heard of the source material to begin with. The sad truth is that these traditionalist morons just wouldn’t have been that creative. When a liberal wants change, he or she creates a work of art representing their frustrations or writes a comedy skit cleverly satirizing their opponents. What did Republicans do when Obama was elected? They immediately started thumping their Bibles, preaching that he was the anti-Christ who would abort their babies with his eyes. Jokes about welfare, fried chicken, big lips, and watermelon started circulating in e-mails and pundits found whole new meanings for terms like “fascist” and “socialist.” The peaceful, hippy-like protests of the Bush era that called for the arrests of war criminals were replaced by angry teabaggers threatening violence as they touted their big guns in front of the cameras. Everyone from cops to abortion doctors were gunned down by right-wing extremists as television personalities and radio hosts continued to profit by fanning the flames of ignorance. Watching V in action was symbolic wish fulfillment to liberals (Who doesn’t like to see bad guys punished?), whereas conservatives would be loading their guns in the theaters. It seems like Republicans will always be the party of weapons over ideas, and that is simply missing the point of V. Ideas are bulletproof, after all.

I will admit that the fascism metaphor does go a bit too far on both sides, however. As bad as things got under Bush, to compare him to Hitler is an insult to everyone who died in WWII, and especially to victims of the Holocaust. (Comparing him to Nixon would be a bit more accurate.) But keep in mind that Republicans have always been the ones advocating the revoking of people’s rights, not protecting them. Anyone who says that they believe in freedom while telling one group of people who they can and can’t marry and telling an entire gender what they can and can’t do with their own bodies clearly needs to reconsider what it means to be free. Let’s not forget that the party of “less government” not only wants to tell you who you can fuck and how many babies you should have, but they want to wiretap your phone and listen in on your conversations without a warrant or probable cause as well. And if you don’t like it, there’s no need for a trial if you look like a terrorist – we just toss you in Gitmo with a bag over your head. The Democrats are no angels, since most of them went along with it, but at least Obama has made serious attempts to end these kinds of restrictions, while Republicans have only fought to extend them. You tell me which one sounds most like Norsefire.

So let us remember, remember our past Novembers so a movie like V for Vendetta will not be necessary to shake even the most non-political citizens out of complacency and into the conversation. I say “conversation” because that’s what this should be – a conversation starter, not a call to arms. And that is what the book and the movie have been doing for years now, and I’m sure will continue to do into our dystopian future. No matter which version of the man in the mask you prefer, and no matter which of our two corrupted parties is in power, the philosophies behind freedom and authority will always be applicable to our daily lives…sometimes we just need someone to remind us that we, the people, are in charge of our own destiny. America prevails!

Post from: Muckmakers.com

What If V for Vendetta Was Released Under Obama Instead of Bush?

In the ongoing religious flamewar that is the internet, it’s rare that you’ll find one side or the other admitting that not every “solider” in their army is fit for duty. In other words, if a religious nut goes berserk and shoots a place up, Christians or Muslims are as quick to disown that psycho as nonbelievers are to say, “See, I told you so.” And any time an atheist or agnostic acts like an arrogant know-it-all on some random message board, there will be a believer right there ready to call him out on it and point out his typos. While humorous at times, it’s a war that proves very little and converts none, and it fails to address a very simple truth – people, despite their beliefs, are generally just fucking stupid.

As this site is run by two atheists, we do our share of religious bashing, but today my target is an atheist…or at least a guy who claims to be one. I can admit that just because you don’t buy into ancient hokey bullshit, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re an automatic genius either, so not only am I writing this in the interest of fairness, but I also feel obligated to point out what a poor representative this guy is of the atheist/nonbeliever community. He calls himself Charlie Check’m, and if that cheesy name didn’t give this away already, he’s a rapper, or as he refers to himself, an “atheist rapper.” Here is a copy of an e-mail he sent out to various websites to promote himself…

Hi, I’m informing you about a hot new Atheist rapper who has music that has the potential to crossover to the mainstream media…This is a Good way to turn Atheists views into “cool” views.
I’m informing you because if you know of any Atheist friendly radio shows, tv shows, magazines, newsletters, or ect. I would like to be a guess and tell a story and have a few songs played or even perform if it’s a tv show or if it’s magazines or newletters, I would like an article about the music.
…I need as much as support I can get from Atheist organizations. The purpose of my music is to promote Atheist views and improve the image of Atheists

Glaring grammatical mistakes aside, what stood out to me right away was his hope to turn atheist views into “cool” views. Wouldn’t a true atheist want to convince people that his views are morally justifiable and logically sound, not just the “cool” way to think? Smells like a marketing tactic, and that’s not the only reason I think that. Take a look at this cover from one of Charlie’s earlier albums…

Notice the “bling bling”? (Please read all words in quotes in a dry, disgusted tone to get the full effect of my contempt for rap “culture.”) Why would an atheist proudly display a cross on his album cover like that? As far as I can tell from the titles and samples provided on this page, it seems like almost every one of these songs are about getting laid or displaying some ridiculous male posturing…not one song about atheism. A few years go by, and all of a sudden he releases an album called Listen Without Fear. Most of the songs are now about ignorant Christians and what it’s like being an atheist in a predominantly Christian nation. Considering the music industry is all about marketing and selling your product, it looks like Charlie realized that rapping about the same old sexist, macho bullshit isn’t going to get you noticed anymore, so he found a growing niche market in the atheist community, ditched his five-pound necklaces, and reinvented himself as an “atheist rapper.” Just check out his first video from that album, “Roll with an Atheist”…

If you made it through that entire video, I commend your threshold for pain. If you made it through thirty seconds of that video without laughing at the bottom-of-the-barrel production values or the two lame-ass white boys backing up their homeboy, then you’re probably one of the five unfortunate people to slap that video together. Despite the fact that there are many, many more talented freethinking musicians out there, Atheist Nexus, an atheist social networking website, booked him for their “Live Dance Party” at the Atheist Alliance International convention. Soon after, however, they revoked their invitation and banned Charlie from their forum. As it turns out, Mr. Check’m is a homophobe. And not just that “I’m too tough and manly to hang out with fags!” kind of homophobe…the kind of homophobe that spews hate like this…

Homophobia scares off faggots and dykes which is a good thing. It doesnt matter if I’m really a homophobe or not. What’s important is that faggots and dykes think I am. I don’t want to worry about a faggot pretending to be my friend when he secretely just wants to suck my dick. I want to make sure my friends are TRUE friends and not horney ass faggots. It’s simply inappropriate…I just don’t have much in common with faggots. Faggots think about sticking their dicks in men shit holes and I think about sexy women. I talk about women a lot and I know faggots wouldn’t be interested in that.

I’m an Atheist and I’m against gay marriage. Why? it’s because it would be unfair to a man who wants to marry his daughter or a woman who wants to marry her dog or siblings wanting to marry each other.

Gay people are defined by being attracted to the wrong sex. So the very thing that makes them gay stems from a result of being molested or raped. It should be obvious that they have some kind of sexual attraction disorder. Some of them are gay because they’re suffering from GID. That’s been proven. The percentages are uncertain because gays lie a lot because they’re trying so hard to prove they’re normal.

He also has an array of classy songs to go with these views, such as “No Gay Marriage,” “Heterosexual,” “Christian and a Homo,” and “Dyke Chick,” and is even releasing an entire album called “Straight Pride” next month. Charlie was outraged that atheists, as a whole, would not stand behind him, claiming that the gays have “hijacked” the atheist movement and that he should be free to hold whatever opinions he liked amongst the freethinkers. Initially, this seems like a fair point, but what Check’m fails to realize is that there’s more to atheism than simply “hatin’ on” things like religion.

Any religion is an easy target…not one has been able to live up to its own impossible standards, and not one has been able to logically support its impossible claims. And since atheists are frequently under attack by these religions, it’s natural for them to want to fight back, and they often do in some pretty creative ways. True atheism isn’t just the opposite of religious belief, however – it’s a rational philosophical standing based in reason and science. The reason you find so many intellectual atheists (and why many of the smartest people in the world are atheists) is because they like to read, research, and study. They have an unquenchable thirst for truth, knowledge, and social justice. They’re open to just about any new idea they come across, but look at each one with a skeptic’s eye. From a logical standpoint, atheists have no real reason to hate or fear gays. Being gay is a sexual inclination that they are born with, and homosexuality occurs naturally in all kinds of species throughout the world. Gays are often attacked by religious groups as well, simply for acting on what they can’t help but feel, so atheists can easily find some common ground with them, and I’m sure many gays are atheists or agnostic themselves.

But Charlie claimed that he had purely logical and scientific reasons for believing that gays are “mentally defective.” His “proof” was mostly studies done by NARTH, a faux-scientific organization that has clear right-wing Christian ties. Now why would an atheist ever quote “research” done by a religiously biased group like NARTH? Because, as I said before, he is not a true atheist; nor is he a true freethinker. To him, it’s clearly always been a label, another term he could slap on a press release. Atheism, by nature, is controversial, and controversy sells records. Since the atheist community has, on a whole, rejected him, his latest album tries to capture the attention of another niche – wanna-be tough guys who think it’s manly to pick on “fags.” And since there’s a lot more of those out there than nerds with Dawkins and Hawking on their shelves, I’m sure, from a marketing standpoint, that’s the way to go.

The reason you’ll never represent us, Mr. Check’m, isn’t because you have an opinion that differs from most of ours. I love Bill Maher, but I hate the fact that he supports PETA. I loved reading Christopher Hitchen’s God Is Not Great, but I think his views on the Iraq War are extremely off-base. We can agree to disagree, but we can also smell our own, and the only thing you smell like is a steaming pile of bullshit. The only “freethinking” you’ve ever done is scheming your way into any niche that will generate enough controversy to get you noticed. Why don’t you stop writing songs about people you hate and just concentrate on lyrics that actually say something meaningful and work to solve the problems you only bitch about? You’re a third-rate Eminem whose insecurities about masculinity and sexuality scream much louder than the bass in your so-called music. You create fake accounts on Yahoo Answers to ask people questions about your songs to pretend that people are actually talking about your work…that’s about as “gangsta” as dealing dimebags out of the back of your mom’s mini-van. And maybe you think you’ve done your job by pissing me off enough to write this article…I may have exposed someone to your music who’s never heard of you before. But I’m OK with that, because I’m confident that any real rap fan will realize that you wouldn’t know what “flow” was if you had chronic diarrhea and any true freethinker would see right through your ruse as easily as they’ve seen through organized religion. You were a failure as Charlie Boy, you’re a failure as Charlie Check’m, and you’ll be a failure as the next idiot you reinvent yourself as. Have you ever just considered being a gay rapper? You’re just a few more shirtless Myspace pics away from nailing that one.

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Why Wanna-Be Rapper Charlie Check’m Will Never Represent the Atheist Community

Capitalism…or plagiarism?!

Either somebody’s a fan…or somebody’s getting sued.

Editor’s Note: Yes, I’m fully aware that Michael Moore did not rip us off. In fact, I ripped that image off from some clipart site I found through a Google image search and slapped our logo on it. So sue me…actually, please don’t. I’m poor as fuck because of this evil, capitalistic society we live in.

Post from: Muckmakers.com

Michael Moore Must Be a Fan