First the Creation Museum, now this: Ark Encounters Theme Park

Megan Carpentier's take on this is ... well, not sure what it is. All I know is, I couldn't stop laughing for a while. Check it out. Click on title of this post for the original Raw Story piece (and corresponding links). And next time you're in Kentucky, you can enocunter it in person! sj


Top 5 suggested attractions for the Ark Encounters Theme Park
By Megan Carpentier
Wednesday, August 10th, 2001

Between a 30-year property tax break, a county development grant and a 10-year package of state tax incentives, the Ark Encounters theme park seems set to open on time and under budget in 2014. The project, which is partially owned by the same people that brought us the Creation Museum, promises visitors a full size ark, a replica of the Tower of Babel (no word as to whether it will be felled regularly) and a petting zoo.

But what else might be in store? We had some ideas.

1. Can You Spot Your Daughter-In-Law?
Fun for the extended family! Inspired by the story of Judah, Tamar and Onan in Genesis 38, female visitors are invited into a room and given historically-accurate prostitutes' clothes. Once veiled, they are placed with similarly-dressed re-enactors by a shrine and encouraged to hit on their male relatives. Those who manage to escape with their father-in-laws' belts win (a.k.a., avoid a public burning)! In a comedic note, any men caught masturbating are struck by God's Lightning (TM).

2. Die Like An Egyptian
Inspired by the plagues God sent to torment the Egyptians in Exodus 7-11, visitors must make their way through an obstacle course that includes: swimming a river of "blood"; traversing a range filled with frogs, flies, lice, locusts and dead livestock; being sprayed with a substance designed to induce hives in all that encounter it (lancing the boils at the end got too messy!); a trail on which they are pelted with balls of ice as thunder crashes overhead; and a pitch-black room the leads to the exit. Eldest sons are then chloroformed to simulate death and the entire family is de-loused before exiting into a "desert paradise." (Please note: Jewish guests will be led straight to the desert after a brief wading excursion.)

3. When Is It Rape?
In this girl's-only exhibit, women are schooled on the finer points of Deuteronomy 22. After surviving ritualistic shaming for the sin of wearing pants (Deuteronomy 22:5), ladies are offered a range of dresses and skirts for purchase before continuing on to the Two Doors Of Decision. Women who choose one door are led to a field (22:25); those who choose the other are led onto a historically accurate street (22:23 and 28); all women are then "discovered" by a strange man who will attempt to put them in sleeper holds. Those who scream get to advance to the "wedding chapel" with their assailants, where they are reunited with male relatives; those who don't are pelted with rubber "stones" and forced to exit the park. Childcare services will be provided to families whose daughters don't pass, so they can continue enjoying the attractions while their daughters think about what they've done.

4. Wrestling With Angels
One of the most popular attractions at Ark Encounters, male guests are encouraged to doff their clothing to wrestle with the park's "angels" in a secluded room, away from friends and family, to experience the joy that Jacob did while wrestling an angel in Genesis 32:24-30. In order to preserve the verisimilitude of the experience, guests are paired exclusively with superhumanly attractive young men in the best physical condition, oiled so as to make it more difficult to win the wrestling match, and led to darkened rooms designed to look like a riverfront beaches. The match is ended when the "angel" touches the hollow of each guests' thigh: guests are encouraged to limp back to their families as Jacob himself did.

5. Cast Away
As Ark Encounters is no common theme park, the exit itself is an encounter with our Biblical past. Like Adam and Even before us, guests -- because who among us is not a sinner? -- are cast out from the park at the end of each day, as recounted in Genesis 3. Forced to walk over super-heated pavement three miles over a field filled with thorns and thistles, with dust and dirt whipped into the air with industrial fans, our guests will finally reach the parking lot three miles from the gate.

It's a Tea Party World - You Just Live In It!

clik on title of this post to take you to original post (if cliking on this pic isn't big enough). Tom Tomorrow is STILL the man!

I always knew she was the cool one...

After dozens of agonizing and horrific generations of Bush family members, one of them finally - mercifully - breaks the mold and does something compassionate, reasonable, positive, and with people's best interest in mind.

Ghandi, Stephen Colbert, Jesus Christ, & the GOP.

Stephen Colbert is one of the greatest comedians, simplifiers and messengers of my generation. This video proves it. Here are two quotes from this 4-minute clip.

"If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy and then admit that we just don't want to do it."

"Jesus was always flapping his gums about the poor, but not once did he call for tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Romans."

(damn embed code is broken from Colbert site, so all I can do is link it for now; click HERE, nonetheless, and watch. it kills!)

Perhaps Mahatma Ghandi said it best:
"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians.
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Cliff Lee rejoins Phillies!

this happened just moments ago. as a Phillies fan and Philly fan, I am beyond stoked. Of course, it never hurts to see the Yankees get fucked either. Is this now the best rotation in the modern era; all time? Who knows? Not me! But my other thought is this: how much longer until there are LeBron James comparisons, with regards to Cliff Lee's decision? There are some similarities, no? ...going to play w/ friends...loves the city...taking advantage of free agency...took less money....spurned New York... going to the team he felt had the best chance of bringing him a ring.. just sayin!

"get ready, criminals: hell is coming to breakfast"

Obama nails it. No ambiguity. Elizabeth Warren has been hired to protect Americans from evil, and put financial institutions, predatory lenders, and other criminal entities in check. This is what real change looks like, baby!

clicking on title of this post will bring you to HuffPo piece, filled with mad information and details on who she is, why she rules, and what the particulars are; including an incredibly-simple breakdown of just how easy it was for the mortgage brokers and financial services industry to hoodwink americans and just how they were responsible for the near-depression we find ourselves still in. Following are some excerpts....sj

"Anyone who knows her knows that she would only take a position that had real meat to it," said one source who had worked closely with Warren in the past. "I mean, seriously, you've seen her in action. Do you really think she's going to be anyone's lapdog? She bites hard."

"Republicans, too, began to endorse her. A former top official in the Reagan administration said a vote for Warren was akin to a vote for capitalism and free markets."

"Later that year, her opposition widened to include much of the House GOP. Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee introduced an amendment to the pending financial reform legislation intended to prevent Warren from ever heading the agency. It was defeated."

Wanna see why she rules? Watch this...

the silly "mosque at ground zero" debate

Keith Olberman sums it up best. There are also some interesting facts in here I'm sure the readers were unaware of.... sj

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

CA split evenly on Prop 19: the full legalization of marijuana

"..oh the times, they are-a changin'.." Bob Dylan said it best. Medicinal marijuana? Science has spoken; old news now. So here's where we are now with legalizing recreational use of weed, the same we all recreationally use coffee, beer, rum, whiskey, wine, cigarettes, prescription meds, and everything else (except, without all the the side effects and people dying). Once a state or two makes this law, the rest will surely follow. There just isn't a reason not to: it's safe, the legalization, taxation and distribution of it will save oceans-full of money on fighting the crime now surrounding it, and of course, most importantly, governments (local, state, federal, if it wants to) will make lots of money. Oh yeah, and the people like it (and the people are the government, right?). Here's an update from Firedoglake on CA's upcoming referendum to fully legalize marijuana (clik on title of this post for original piece).-sj


By: Jon Walker
June 30th, 2010
California Split Almost Evenly on Prop 19; Few Left Undecided about Marijuana Legalization

Proposition 19, the newly numbered California initiative to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis, would lose by a very close margin if the election was held today, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll:

"The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, also found that 48 percent of voters would support legalizing marijuana, compared to 50 percent opposed."

While voters who oppose Prop 19 slightly outnumber those who support it , the two-point difference is well within the poll’s margin of error, so the state is effectively evenly split on the issue. The numbers mirror the findings of a poll from the Public Policy Institute of California (PDF) taken back in May. It gave the pro-marijuana legalization side a slight edge, 49-48, also within the poll’s margin of error.

An interesting thing to note in both of these polls is how incredibly few undecideds there are. It seems almost all Californians have already taken at least a tentative initial position on the issue. Previous experience will tell you that persuading people to change their minds one way or the other is often a fairly difficult endeavor.

Prop 19 supporters’ best hope might be to find a way to increase turnout among young people (under-25 voters overwhelmingly favor legalizing marijuana, but tend to vote in very low numbers in midterm elections). If the issue remains this closely divided all the way through to November, Prop 19’s fate could easily rest on whether or not the issue gets young voters politically engaged in higher-than-usual numbers.

wow. she'll run naked through the streets if Paraguay wins it all? like woah.

I was pulling for Japan in their recent match against Paraguay, and I like Ghana and Netherlands, as well. But unless the Netherlands pull, what I consider to be a fairly big upset and beat Brazil, it will be an Argentina/Brazil final match for the biggest & bestest bragging rights ever. But nevermind them bollocks for now. Perhaps it might actually be best if Paraguay wins it all (though they have almost no chance of beating Argentina, even if they beat Spain this Saturday). Check this out. And don't you just love where she keeps her cell phone?!-sj


















Paraguay's success at the World Cup continued on Tuesday, with the country's soccer team beating Japan on penalty kicks to advance to the tournament's quarterfinals. Now, with only eight teams remaining, the Paraguayans may have a few more fans to help win it all.

Larissa Riquelme, a curvy lingerie model who loves her national team, has been cheering the Paraguay squad on from Asuncion, clad in revealing outfits. The 24-year-old beauty has pledged to run naked through the streets "with my body painted with the colors of Paraguay" if Paraguay wins the World Cup.

The gorgeous football fanatic is not the first person to promise to streak in the event of a World Cup win. Argentina's coach Diego Maradona was the first prominent person to issue such a guarantee, and his team has also made the quarterfinals.

click title of this post for HuffPo story (and more pics).
click here for more.

None Dare Call It Sedition

This is a must-read, in light of the arrest of the militia nutjobs that planned to attack police officers, and the violent and overheated "eliminationist" rhetoric of the right.

From Campaign for America's Future:

it's time to openly confront the fact that conservatives have spent the past 40 years systematically delegitimizing the very idea of constitutional democracy in America. When they're in power, they mismanage it and defund it. When they're out of power, they refuse to participate in running the country at all -- indeed, they throw all their energy into thwarting the democratic process any way they can

Full article: None Dare Call It Sedition

Read this article by Al Gore, on global warming. Seriously.

"...January was seen as unusually cold in much of the United States. Yet from a global perspective, it was the second-hottest January since surface temperatures were first measured 130 years ago....Similarly, even though climate deniers have speciously argued for several years that there has been no warming in the last decade, scientists confirmed last month that the last 10 years were the hottest decade since modern records have been kept."

This editorial by Al Gore was originally run in last week's NY Times. It's a good read, with some good links. Most importantly, it's filled with facts. Remember those? - sj

We Can't Wish Away Climate Change
by Al Gore
Op-Ed Contributor
The New York Times
Published: February 27, 2010

It would be an enormous relief if the recent attacks on the science of global warming actually indicated that we do not face an unimaginable calamity requiring large-scale, preventive measures to protect human civilization as we know it.

Of course, we would still need to deal with the national security risks of our growing dependence on a global oil market dominated by dwindling reserves in the most unstable region of the world, and the economic risks of sending hundreds of billions of dollars a year overseas in return for that oil. And we would still trail China in the race to develop smart grids, fast trains, solar power, wind, geothermal and other renewable sources of energy — the most important sources of new jobs in the 21st century.

But what a burden would be lifted! We would no longer have to worry that our grandchildren would one day look back on us as a criminal generation that had selfishly and blithely ignored clear warnings that their fate was in our hands. We could instead celebrate the naysayers who had doggedly persisted in proving that every major National Academy of Sciences report on climate change had simply made a huge mistake.

click here for rest of original piece, with great and informative links throughout

Thoughts On Not Being Gay

great thought here, from a person named Paul, I've never met; I completely agree. Perhaps we'll see more of him on cx3 blog... - sj

Thoughts On Not Being Gay
by: Paul Lubaczewski

I spend alot of time and effort on gay rights,and Im straight. Why? Because I dont care.

What do I mean?

I dont want to care. Frankly, I dont like to picture any of my friends knocking boots, regardless of the boots they care to knock.
And its not fair that my gay friends are pushed into a situation where they constantly feel the need to defend themselves for their own sexuality; just the basic them of who they are. They get so drawn in to a corner, that being gay becomes their identity, because they have to mentally protect themselves against the backlash they know is coming.

We can do better then that. We can and should reach a level of tolerance where we really dont give a flying fuck about what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedroom.

So as long as I have gay friends, and as long as society paints them in to a corner and tries to keep them there, I'll fight for them.
When society lets them serve in the military and the board rooms, and nobody cares one way or the other, then I'll put down my sword.

Until then, its on.

I'd pay $1000 to punch Oliver North in the face. Seriously. Just sayin'!

You know, I don't say this often, but anti-american, convicted felon, GOP-er, sorry-excuse-for-a-Marine, and all around asshole, Oliver North, deserves to get the living shit beat out of him, or run over by a car, for his latest drivel. He sincerely deserves it. I'm already looking forward to the "good riddance, asshole!" I'm going to shout out when he eventually dies. Just watch this video.

It's the height of irresponsibility, and FOX Noise should be ashamed of themselves. Seriously. They are selling this 100%, untrue ignorant garbage to tens of millions of Americans.

For Oliver North to invoke and equate NAMBLA, and other felonious, psychotic, HETEROSEXUAL adult men who rape, abuse, torture, and physically and mentally scar little boys for life, with adults who actually deserve their civil rights as law-abiding americans, is a FUCKING OUTRAGE! I hate this fucker.

for text, and original piece, go here.

They live among us! The 2010 comprehensive Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of self-identified republicans

Okay, folks this is too much. The new poll from Markos Moulitsas (a hero of my mine) and Daily Kos. And it's 100% independent and legitimate, as you can read the COMPLETE methodology at bottom of poll. There are links to the complete story, and analysis below; the poll is long, but the the findings are truly extraordinary. The summaries are short, but all are worth reading. This is too damn important to not read, and I sincerely urge you to do so.

I learned years ago, I lived among tens of millions of Americans who aren't that bright (too put it nicely), but honestly, I didn't know it was this many. And I didn't know the extent of their gullibilty (is that a word?!) and ignorance. At a time when information and facts are at everyone's disposal, we STILL have millions of people who apparently forgo fact, for fiction, and choose to believe the craziest batshit out there (it especially helps when Rush/Rove/Hannity/FAUX news tell them what to believe)! Well, in this case, it's solely republicans I'm speaking about, as only self-described republicans were polled independently for this survey. No, not all republicans are clueless (in all seriousness, I have plenty of friends and neighbors who are republicans, and many of them are far from clueless; not all of them though). But according to these poll results, LOTS of them are! These are their OWN answers! Just look at them! So w/out further rambling, I'll try and get the whole of the poll on this post, w/ a few summaries/results printed, and links to the original stuff.-sj

by Kos
Tue, Feb 02, 2010, at 08:58:03 AM PST

As I've mentioned before, I'm putting the finishing touches on my new book, American Taliban, which catalogues the ways in which modern-day conservatives share the same agenda as radical Jihadists in the Islamic world. But I found myself making certain claims about Republicans that I didn't know if they could be backed up. So I thought, "why don't we ask them directly?" And so, this massive poll, by non-partisan independent pollster Research 2000 of over 2,000 self-identified Republicans, was born.

The results are nothing short of startling.

Ultimately, these results explain why it is impossible for elected Republicans to work with Democrats to improve our country. Their base are conspiracy mongers who don't believe Obama was born in the United States, that he is the second coming of Lenin, and that he is racist against white people. They already want to impeach him despite the glaringly obvious lack of high crimes or misdemeanors. If any Republican strays and decides to do the right thing and try to work in a bipartisan fashion, they suffer primaries and attacks. Even the Maine twins have quit cooperating out of fear of their homegrown teabaggers.

Given what their base demands, and this poll illustrates them perfectly, it's no wonder the GOP is the party of no.

(just a few brief results followed by thought; click on link just below these for the rest! - sj)

Should Barack Obama be impeached, or not?
Yes39
No32
Not Sure29
...for what? who the heck knows. who needs high crimes and misdemeanors when...

Do you believe Barack Obama wants the terrorists to win?
Yes24
No43
Not Sure33
...not just a quarter of Republicans believe this ludicrous premise, but another third think it's a matter open to debate. How do you negotiate with a party whose rank and file are that divorced from reality?

Do you believe Barack Obama was born in the United States, or not?
Yes42
No36
Not Sure22
...We still have over a half of Republicans who don't think Obama was born in the US or think it's a matter open to debate.

click here for the summary, breakdown, captions and comments.

click here for the actual & complete poll, hard numbers, questions, answers and methodology.

silver lining for Dems? my rant on the Massachusetts special election..

so there's a social networking site I frequent occasionally. here's a rant I just posted on a friend's site (misspellings, and all, you friggin' grammar-nazis!) about the special election in Massachusetts today...

there IS a silver lining or two for us Dems: 1) we get the disillusion of the 60-seat 'majority' actually mattering, at least w/ this congress, out of the way early (instead of this November), and can use the slap in the face to remember that legislating the party platform is of paramount importance, and get to it sooner; and to do it, we SURELY don't need to meet republicans anywhere near the middle, since each one will vote against any real change, anyway (along w/ some weak-ass dems in the senate), and 2) relative to that, this sorry-excuse-for-a-healthcare-reform bill the Senate watered down from the House's version might actually not pass now, and we can start over w/ a real one, that has a true public option, no mandate, and 'gasp!,' perhaps even a single-payer option, and use reconciliation, or other maneuvers - including a couple more years of educating the masses who STILL don't have any clue why their healthcare premiums have gone up 'crazy-like' the last couple of years - and legislate some real change in this country. It was only a year or two ago, healthcare insurance companies laughed at accepting people w/ pre-existing conditions (Dems knocked down that obstacle), and a mere decade ago when the entire GOP and healthcare insurance companies laughed at the thought of healthcare for everyone (today, you won't hear a single one say they're against it). Baby steps, baby. Knowledge is power. If the mainstream media, comprised of Hannity, Rush, Bill-O, Fox and others, actually gave a crap about America, they might actually be able to educate their lobotomized followers about how the many industries the GOP fights for, and unregulated corporate, grand-scale book-cooking and scheming, is crushing their middle-class american hopes and dreams. Saw a great bumper sticker the other day: "of course it hurts: you're getting screwed by an elephant!"

Healthcare Reform Bill is "In Da House, Boy-eeee!"

The Healthcare bill is IN Da House, as we speak. An unprecedented day for America. You can follow it throughout day on huffington post's 'almost-live' blog here, or any number of blogs on the cx3 blogroll. You can also follow, live, from various tweeter feeds, directly from reporters in the chamber, here: @oknox and probably Ana Marie Cox's twitter feed: @anamariecox

I'd call this a coin flip, this vote passing: we already know every miserable, healthcare insurance-backed republican will vote against insurance for 40 million Americans, and even some Dems. But wow, what a day/weekend if the House could pass this thing!

"...KILL.....THEMMmmmm..ah!!!"

"...game #6...AWAITS!"

Rape-Nuts: John Stewart takes on the 30 GOP Senators who voted against Franken rape amendment

Rape-Nuts

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her Halliburton/KBR co-workers while working in Iraq and locked in a shipping container for over a day to prevent her from reporting her attack. The rape occurred outside of U.S. criminal jurisdiction, but to add serious insult to serious injury she was not allowed to sue KBR because her employment contract said that sexual assault allegations would only be heard in private arbitration--a process that overwhelmingly favors corporations.

This year, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) proposed an amendment that would deny defense contracts

click here for rest of great piece, as well as informative links within article.

Alan Grayson (Dem Congressman, FL) cuts straight to the chase!

smacking down the GOP, w/ humor! - sj

new poll: 35% of NJ conservatives think Obama might be anti-christ (NOT an Onion/sarcastic piece)!

Current practicing church-going Christian and co-founder of the religious right, himself, Frank Schaeffer, attempts to break down why so many of our fellow countrymen and women are just plain morons. - sj