Posthumous Baptisms

Apparently some Mormons feel it their duty to save lost souls, even if they are long dead. They posthumously baptize people. Lately, they have offended Jews by baptizing Anne Frank, a victim of Nazi Antisemitism. How does any thinking person imagine that this actually matters? A meaningless ceremony to an imaginary sky fairy cannot possibly be worth getting upset about! Sixty years after death and without her consent, what can it possibly mean to baptize someone? We don’t have enough real problems in the world we have to make really stupid shit up to get worked up about?

Afghan Offense at Burning of the Koran? (So What!)

Here is another story about religious nonsense. When I first heard about the Americans burning copies of the Koran and how upset the Afghans were, I assumed that the burnings were deliberate, like the pastor in Florida who burned some. As I read more about this it looks like the books were being burned with the rest of the trash and there was no malicious intent by the soldiers involved. These people are rioting and killing Americans and blowing shit up because of their supposed outrage over burning a few scraps of paper? And somehow this is something we should apologize for? The President apparently thought so, because he did. I wouldn’t have. Not for that. Maybe for invading their country and saving them from the rule of fanatically religious despots who forced their medieval views on the populace with violence and terror. Okay, maybe we shouldn’t apologize for that either. However, since they don’t appreciate our efforts and apparently would rather live in medieval times, let us leave. Declare victory and walk away and let them blow each other up!

These people daily burn American flags, shoot or blow up American soldiers, force their own people to adhere to their bizarre superstitions and medieval punishments yet somehow they are offended by someone inadvertently burning some pieces of paper?

Let’s face it. Nothing in Afghanistan is worth one American soldier or even one American dollar. It is time to stop throwing good money after bad and just get out of there. Let them have their barren rock and spend their time contemplating the glories of Allah or whatever sky fairy or other superstitious nonsense they want to. Just leave us out of it. And don’t send any more American youths to die over it. Or waste any more American aid money. If they want to go it alone, let them.

This story is a terrible tragedy. A three year old boy was hit by a car and killed. It is a terrible thing to happen and it must have been horrible for his family and for the driver of the car, too. However, the reporting on this story has been awful. There has been very little reporting of facts and a lot of sensationalism and a rush to judgement against the driver. Reported as a “hit and run” accident, the 19 year old driver actually did stop and the passenger got out to try to aid the child that got hit. The driver ran away on foot and  he claims he “feared for his life.” A lot of questions remain unanswered.

Was the driver speeding? Was he driving carelessly or recklessly? Why was the four year old playing in the street? One version stated that he was crossing the street, another that he was playing in the street, and the latest that he was playing near the street and ran out in front of the car. With all this boy’s family around, who was watching him?

Now, the story is that the driver and his passenger were driving in park looking for a place to get stoned. And the boy ran out in front of the car and he had no chance to stop. In fact, the family got so agitated when the driver was brought into court that the court had to be cleared. It does seem likely that he was afraid for his life at the scene. This story is awful and nobody seems to be in the right. A three year old is dead and a 19 year old is going to wind up in jail for a very long time.

I know this one has been done to death and it really is trivial, but I feel compelled to weigh in on this one, too. This points out the total folly of “Zero Tolerance” policies. There was no malicious intent on the part of this young man and why the school principal feels it necessary to draw this line in the sand is beyond me. “Zero tolerance” sounds far to much like “I was just following orders”. The principal of this school is being well paid, and it should be for being able to exercise her judgement, not to blindly follow “policy”.