Tom Launder, an "American" Terrorist

When we think of terrorists our mind usually follows with Islamic radicals or cartel members. It's not the grown men who still dress in vampire costumes or a catholic crusader that we'd expect. Nor would you expect to run across one in a chat room that men, women, and children frequent on a daily bases. However, it is a small world we live in. A small world with Tom Launder talking to your friends and family.
To justify asserting that someone is a terrorist I will provide the dictionary definition. Terrorist : a person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism. Terrorism : the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes. In this case it would be for religious purposes. Calvinism, to be exact. Am I claiming that all Calvinists are terrorists? Absolutely not!
In all seriousness Mr. Launder has spent nearly a decade in the christian chat section of yahoo promoting violence in the name of Calvinism. Not only is Launder advocating violence but is actually working to create a following that will carry out this task. I'm sorry, did anyone hear Charles Manson in there? Kill the infidel much? Why is this being ignored? In fact Launder has made propositions to other Calvinists to move in with him to perpetuate this so called "ministry." And sadly, but fortunately few, people actually agree with his views after he scolds them and coerces them to his twisted views. People who once had peaceful stances on life.
Why is it that people excuse this type of behavior and propaganda? Is it because Tom Launder is using the Internet? It isn't so cheesy when you figure Islamic terrorists promote terrorism on the Internet all the time. Videos of soldiers being decapitated and quotes from the Qu'ran supporting the genocide of all non-Muslims is hardly a game. So why take it lightly that this man is doing the same with the bible? Obviously this sort of brainwashing works. Otherwise we wouldn't be fighting a war against these atrocities. Again, Tom Launder is nothing more than a terrorist.
Launder, in his own words, states that homosexuals are to be executed. Not only homosexuals but anyone that doesn't support his views. He said to myself once that his intentions are to recreate the crusades. Kill all Atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews. You name it. If it conflicts with his perception of reality, Launder wants them dead. It is only a matter of time will people like Tom Launder get their way unless people who enjoy their rights and personal freedoms are actively against this type of behavior.
In a world where religious terrorism is a serious threat it is absolutely necessary to keep a watchful eye on the people that seek to destroy our pursuits of life, liberty, and happiness. Even if Tom Launder fails at provoking others to carry out acts of senseless violence who is to say his cult following won't be dropping their votes on elections to deteriorate the seperation of church and state? We need to educate ourselves, our friends, and family on the tactics of malicious people. We cannot completely stop men and women from advocating violence in the name of God but we can definitely stand against its influence.

(Tom Launder is not the actual name of the man described in the above writing. Tom Launder is a pseudonym for a man that is currently spreading this propaganda in the Christian Chat rooms of Yahoo.com and various places of the Internet)

-Him

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Faulty Logic of Theists

1. Theists assert that they cannot be wrong, without proof of their beliefs, while expecting conflicting views to contain consistent and well established evidence to support itself.
2. Theists support belief in claims that have insufficient or no evidence but deny empirical evidence that is contradictory.
3. Theists, in many cases and extreme amounts of debate, will adapt their beliefs to become seemingly cohesive with conflicting evidence.
4. Theists who cannot effectively debate conflicting evidence find it logical to adhere to metaphysics to substitute when metaphysics are built entirely upon bare assertion fallacy.
5. Theists will appeal to scientific laws and theories that don't conflict with their beliefs to support an argument and immediately rule out the ones that do.
6. Theists will argue that the universe is intelligently designed but cannot swallow the occurrences of down syndrome and whales with leftover leg bones.
7. Theists often argue that something is wrong or evil if it isn't natural, i.e.: homosexuality (which has been shown to occur naturally) but have beliefs structured entirely around metaphysics and the supernatural, i.e.: god, miracles, and talking animals.
8. Theists appeal to the idea that the age of a religion reflects its validity. Centuries ago we thought the earth was flat and bloodletting was an acceptable medical procedure, so it's safe to assume older is definitely not synonymous with correct.
9. Theists assert that their view is the only acceptable one when their beliefs are no more proven than any alternative theistic beliefs.
10. Theists will state that their religion is necessary and beneficial to humanity when nothing substantiates a necessity and history shows that religion often exacerbates human error. Also, on that note, should we also believe the Sasquatch and Lochness monster?

Faulty Logic of Theists (Explained)

1. This is in regards to childish behavior as much as faulty logic. Simply put, we come across theists that expect people to accept their beliefs as true without having done any research. They then expect men and women of different beliefs to have gone through excruciating leaps and bounds to substantiate theirs.
2. I get this all the time. Science has proven something that contradicts a theist's beliefs and it goes in one ear and out the other. This is a problem with theism. Theism cannot admit when it is wrong while science must accept the possibility.
3. For the theists that cannot refuse the evidence any longer but want to maintain their beliefs they will interpret them differently. In most cases this causes a mistranslation. An excellent example of this is the Hebrew word "Yom" for a 24 hour day in the biblical creation story. Science tells us that the Earth is well over six days old so they deny the literal translation and say that it was one of God's "super long days." How illogical do you have to be to make up new definitions to support your argument? When you are wrong you are wrong!
4. To paraphrase a complete moron, after I had shown all of his arguments to be based entirely from conjectures, he said to me, " My beliefs are true because my evidence is based from metaphysics. Metaphysics are not testable and so your sciences cannot prove me wrong." WHAT!?? Are you serious? Something is NOT true because it says it is true. This kind of willful ignorance gives me a migraine.
5. This came from the same genius that I referenced in point number four. He said that life must come from life because it is the law of biogenesis. I reminded him that this is true from an observational standpoint, however abiogenesis is a feasible theory cohesive with The Big Bang. Also, with the conservation of mass and energy, if matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed then God couldn't have created it, according to the same logic. It was at this point he began to tell me about "metaphysics."
6. If God looking down at Adam and realizing that he forgot to make women is not enough for you, perhaps deformed babies and exploding appendixes are. I don't think our intelligent designer will be able to explain that one very well.
7. Anal sex isn't natural you say? So what about the talking snakes and zombie Jews? This is Naturalistic Fallacy, by the way.
8. If you didn't understand this point the first time then there is no hope for you.
9. I come across plenty of theists that will actually admit they have no proof that their beliefs are true. Now how is everyone Else's wrong, exactly?
10. Man is not born religious. If you don't believe me then read a book about feral children. There is nothing in science that states mankind has a physiological need to believe or go to heaven. Especially when heaven is not proven. Nor is their a need to be religious in general. Why entertain religion when you can be an upstanding citizen without it? More people have been killed in the name of God than any other source so let's please refrain from putting unnecessary demands on ourselves.

-Him

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Socially Accepted Delusion

Delusions come in all types and sizes. To some degree, we all have them. No, I'm not claiming we're all crazy. To suggest that everyone is insane would be far-fetched and untrue. Insanity denotes an extreme psychological peculiarity that inhibits individuals from functioning in society. However, according to How To Win Friends And Influence People, by Dale Carnegie, we're lead to broader understanding of this condition. In his book he writes , "What is the cause of insanity? Nobody can answer such a sweeping question, but we know that certain diseases, such as syphilis, break down and destroy the brain cells and result in insanity. In fact, about one-half of all mental diseases can be attributed to such physical causes as brain lesions, alcohol, toxins and injuries. But the other half - and this is the appalling part of the story - the other half of the people who go insane apparently have nothing organically wrong with their brain cells. In post-mortem examinations, when their brain tissues are studied under the highest-powered microscopes, these tissues are found to be apparently just as healthy as yours and mine." So astonishingly enough, only about half the people with diagnosable insanity have physical neurological flaws that cause hallucinations and radical behavior. The other half suffer a famished and traumatized mind struggling for healthy validation, gratification, and understanding. In many cases pathological liars perpetuate this insanity because parts of it substitute their needs. In both those of physical neurological flaws and those without live in their own versions of reality.

Not all of us are stricken with mental disorders or are unable to have healthy and law-abiding lives. However many people are convinced or create fabrications that lead humanity into severe malfunction and wrong-doings. Millions upon millions of people entertain seemingly innocent or legitimate falsehoods which lead us into a state of malfunction, neurosis, and destructive behavior. These things aren't harmless like believing a wish from a shooting star, thinking the prom queen has the hots for you, or rationalizing eating one more chocolate. In our fear of death, we've created religions and with them, a festering extremism that's managed to bleed all its ignorance into the veins of society. Still not convinced? What about the countless examples of men and women who choose a marriage of livable hatred, or worse, because they think divorce would traumatize the children? Or the criminals and gangs who pillage, slaughter and steal, and consider themselves heroes because their "work" pays some one's rent?

Would you have burned a teenager at the stake for owning a cat? Many would have centuries ago and neither of us may have thought twice about it. I bet you eat eggs for breakfast. Would you protest the dissection of human eggs when it could aid the regeneration of limbs and organs for hospitalized people because you think it's immoral? People do it all the time. It's called stem cell research and Christianity hates it. Drug addicts pretend they don't have a problem, Islamic terrorists strap themselves with bombs for the glorious afterlife, and teenagers become pregnant because contraceptives are considered a sin. People don't vote because they choose to believe one more vote won't make a difference.

What if we all thought like that? Operating under these delusions massacre our future? It's happening for many of us. We cannot accept our situations so we blame it on another race, organization, or gender, or we live the illusion that we are elite members of society. We're all guilty of this to some degree, but it doesn't mean we have to roll over and die. When will people quit living the lies for instant gratification? Can we establish lifestyles and thoughts that aren't responsible for the deterioration of everything we cherish? Are we able to let go of the delusions and act upon our responsibilities?

-Him

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Self Interest versus Charity

According to smallarmssurvey.org, there are nine guns per every ten people living in the United States. Granted, Americans aren't the only citizens of earth with near-unhindered access to personal weapons. Even the Canadians have managed to retain their God-given right to bear slingshots. Their military's skill with this weapon ensures we need not fear our demise at the hands of hostile pigeons. For every man there is a handgun and for every handgun there is a home. And for
every home there is a vehicle our gun-toting man drives to work where he manufactures pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals you should never, under any circumstances, feed to the pigeons. Don't ask me how I know this.
The point is, it's great being human, right? We eat the beef, take the drugs, and have outgrown the need for several of our own internal organs. We are no longer obligated to evolve physically in order to survive. I can thank rapid technological advancement for eliminating any need I might have of a club, ten pounds of body hair and antibodies that actually worked. Now I have a handgun, a leather jacket, and access to someone with a decade of medical experience who's more than willing to
write me a prescription for medications I probably don't even need.
There's no need left for humans to grow tails and swing from trees. No need to grow gills and breathe like a fish. The only step left in our foreseeable future is to evolve intellectually or not at all. We have everything we need to make this possible, and a responsibility to make it accessible to those without the ability to do so for themselves.
That said, I do not believe in charity. The title of this post was not sarcasm. I absolutely abhor charity. We have social systems in place that turn over free materials and money to people who are more than capable of working like the rest of us. That isn't to say these programs don't occasionally benefit a worthy recipient. It's just that they seem to help at least as many people who choose not to work because it's easier to sign up for a welfare check.
Then we have all those pleasant organizations that provide celebrities with endorsement deals and tax cuts and a forum in which they can tell you what to think. Sarah McLaughlin wants you to save the puppies. THE PUPPIES. Donate your dollar today to save a wiener dog in an animal shelter while starving children in third-world countries die in droves, most of them never having learned to read. Maybe if they did, one of them might have found a way to cure cancer or AIDS. Who's to say?
Scruffy needs a rawhide bone.
"OH HO," You are thinking. "We HAVE programs in place for those children," you shout gleefully at your monitor. And you aren't wrong. We do have programs in place to help those children. People donate millions a year to those organizations. It's just that most of it is in the pocket of a CEO parked at a gas pump filling up his Benz. But don't fret. The money that DOES make it overseas is being well taken care of by a government who doesn't care that their children are dying. Africa is goddamn hot,
and they need a swimming pool.
Enter complacency. It isn't always that people don't understand the fundamental causes of most of the world's problems. It's that we're not doing anything to stop it. Global warming isn't a problem that can be solved by one person recycling a bottle. One person can't change the world, no matter what your grade-school teachers taught you. The second we're thrust into the real world, we begin the process of discovering our own impotence. As individuals, we are powerless and we know it. So
it's never going to be the one person who thinks he can save the world by recycling his collection of beer cans. It's going to be all the individuals who KNOW their impotence in the face of the world's larger problems, and choose to recycle their beer cans anyway. Individuals who realize their importance and well-being is directly attached to the efficiency of everyone. In the same way, poverty can't be solved by a government handing out checks to anyone without a job. Social programs were instituted by the same brand of man who believes the one change he's making is the cure for all that ails the world. We will see an end to poverty when we come to understand that it isn't a hand-out that's going to solve the problem, but education. Providing that education is a universal responsibility. Some people have to teach, others have to learn, but all have to act.
What I am trying to say here is not that people have a moral obligation to become a Mother Teresa or that to lack philanthropy ensures an eternity of fire and brimstone. It's good if you are rich, if you are involved in the space program, or if you own a corporation. The list continues. One is made great
from his status and more because he has the ability to achieve what is truly better for himself. But mostly if he does. What I would like to make exceptionally clear is that no one made it to where they are or in any high position without self interest.
I'll explain why. I bet you like the new computer your reading this blog on, but do you ever wonder who made that computer? Who designed the anti-lock brakes on the car that transports you and your family around? Who invented the vaccine that cured your dog? Who hired you? This is where complacency begins and where we accomplish nothing because people simply don't understand that everything they have in this life is because others cared enough for each other, but mostly about themselves, to make it possible. It isn't a matter of being moral, socially acceptable, or even compassionate but a matter of do we as men and women know and do what is best for ourselves. No one does anything in this world without their own interests in mind. I would be a complete fool to expect anyone or myself to even slightly alter their lives in order to help another just to be doing it. If you want to make your life better then start realizing why your life is better. You and I will hardly jump through hoops without a reward at the end but it's a different story when you realize how to reach those rewards.



-Him/Her

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