Non Fluffy Wicca

I'm still laughing :-)

Beware the Magical IPhone:


Beware the Magical IPhone
06.27.07 | 2:00 AM
There's been a lot of media attention directed at the iPhone recently. Some of it has been positive, some negative, but none have come forth to acknowledge the obvious, sinister context of Apple's latest toy. This device, portrayed as a harmless product of science, is obviously designed to introduce our children to witchcraft and sorcery.
The central pentagram in Apple's vile altar of temptation takes the form of "gestures," hand movements used to control the device. Wiggle your fingers at the iPhone and it does your bidding. Does that not sound familiar? Is that not one of the main ingredients in the blasphemous bisque of sorcery?
Keep in mind as you consider this dire news that Apple is also one of the main proponents of so-called "voice recognition" technology. Every Macintosh computer they ship includes this "feature," allowing you to command your computer using the power of your voice, much as Harry Potter commands demons to do Satan's work.
Another feature provided by the iPhone is the ability to play videos from anywhere in the world. Think of your child gazing into this device, viewing events taking place elsewhere on the planet and even looking back through time. The device itself has a "friendly" rounded look to it. Is this Apple's way of introducing children to the concept of a crystal ball? Will the next iPhone be a perfect transparent sphere? Very likely.
In addition, the iPhone has the ability to sense the environment around it. For instance, it can tell when you've turned it on its side. No doubt you're thinking, "You move it? Like a magic wand?"
It's worse than that, much worse. Certainly there is a similarity to that obscenely phallic symbol of a sorcerer's Satan-fueled power, but it goes much further. The iPhone's ability to sense motion, proximity and light is clearly designed to make it seem less like an object and more like a "familiar spirit," a sort of witch's helper explicitly banned by Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
Not convinced? The iPhone also includes a built-in web browser, one that has no limitations on the sort of filth it can access. The internet is well known for being willing to answer any question posed to it, at least from an atheist perspective. Right-thinking people realize that knowledge should be limited to that which is healthy for the mind and soul, but the internet does not agree.
And finally, what do iPhone users and witches have in common? Contracts. The iPhone requires a two-year contract with a cellular-phone company, while witchcraft requires an eternal contract with the Devil, but the parallels are clear.
Now consider the implications of all this. A child growing up in this secular age is introduced to a little technological "friend" that it can control with gestures and words, one that lets it look at other places and times, one that is happy to answer any question, especially if the "correct" answer denies God and the Bible. Shortly thereafter the child -- your child -- is approached by a witch or wizard with similar "devices" like magic wands and crystal balls, which require nothing more than the signing of a contract. Is there any reason the child would resist these overtures?
This is no coincidence! Apple is not working alone under some sort of cloak of secrecy. This has been planned for decades, if not centuries! Science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, a noted secular humanist, gloated over this sort of "innovation" when he revealed that future advanced technologies would make people unable to distinguish them from magic.
The media are not the watchdogs of these evil devices that are being shoved down our throats and the throats of our children, they are Satan's salesmen!
Avoid the iPhone! Avoid all of Apple's products, and Microsoft's as well! If you're reading this online, it may already be too late.

Posted by mikki at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Daily Kos: Christian Right attacks Pagan Democratic Party officer (updated):


Christian Right attacks Pagan Democratic Party officer (updated)
by Eddie in ME

Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:36:32 PM PDT

This is one of those diaries I hoped I'd never have to write. But as the Vice Chair of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee, this duty falls to me.

On Monday, the Christian Civic League of Maine decided to attack our county chair, Rita Moran, on the basis of her Pagan faith. This comes two weeks after a major victory in a special election in our county. Flip for more...

Eddie in ME's diary :: ::
Two weeks ago, we had just completed one of the first major accomplishments since taking over leadership of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee in 2005. Between the combination of hard work by our candidate, Deane Jones, and his team, and the efforts of our County Committee and its volunteers, we won a special election for a State House seat.

Very soon after, the Christian Civic League was irate, attacking Planned Parenthood of Northern New England for paying for a "push poll" condemning Penny Morrell's abortion stance:

Over $918 has been spent within the last week by Planned Parenthood of Northern New England's Action Fund -- MEPAC on the campaign of Maine Democrat State Representative Candidate Deane Jones of Mount Vernon.  Jones is running for the Legislature's vacant House District 83 seat against Republican Penelope "Penny" Morrell. Morrell is employed by Maine Right to Life.  Jones was endorsed by EqualityMaine in his failed bid for the same office last year. (source)

And, in another article, they state "Pro-Sodomy, Pro-Abortion Forces Pick Up Legislative Seat" in the headline. They also state that Morrell "handily won" her hometown of Belgrade- but when you only win your Republican-leaning hometown by 80 votes, that's telling a different tale. One that involved someone calling to congratulate us on that achievement at the victory party, actually.

So, so far, so good. Nothing out of the ordinary. Right-wing crazies are pissed off that we beat them, and handily at that- by about 60%-40%. But this is where it gets weird.

On Monday, our county chair received an e-mail from the state party chair, Ben Dudley. He was forwarding a letter from Mike Hein of the Christian Civic League. I won't post the content of the e-mail here, but the gist was it was demanding her resignation because she was Pagan. The Pagan listservs are lighting up, talking about the action being taken by the CCL, and referring to this article:

Democrat County Chair Worships Witchcraft Goddess; Promotes Paganism

Rita Moran is well-known in Central Maine as the longstanding Kennebec County Democrat Chair and the the owner of Apple Valley Books at 121 Main Street in Winthrop. Less well-known is Moran's involvement in one of Maine's thriving underground pagan worship circles.

And it goes on from there. You can imagine that by now, people are a little nervous- they are posting the location of her store, her home, and multiple methods of contact. Anyone who visits Daily Kos regularly knows that they are inviting hatemongers to attack her. And it gets even more interesting in the comments section of the website.

Right in the comment submission form, it states that an e-mail is required, but will not be published. If you read the comments, you will see that there are e-mails in the comments supporting Rita, that have been posted there by the CCL. There is also personal information, as much as they could find on Google- including addresses, phone numbers, and even dates of birth. The comments themselves have been heavily edited, as stated by some commenters on some of the Pagan blogs (I won't source this, to respect their privacy- but Googling "rita moran pagan" should cover it if you're curious).

At first, we were hoping that this attack would be a simple deal. Crazy wingers attack, we ignore, they remain in obscurity. Rita wanted her privacy, as we keep our politics and our religion separate around here. But the actions of this organization are dangerous, to say the least. Contact with the hate crimes division is being considered.

Also, as Paganism is poorly understood, we stand to lose donors to the County Committee. Her small local bookstore also stands to suffer. So I will do what I'm supposed to do when we're attacked, and that is ask the progressive blogosphere to jump in and get our backs.

If you support our work in electing good Democrats to office, and fighting back against the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, and the referendum to repeal the gay civil rights, then get our backs. Join the Pagan community which has already been so generous, and help both the Kennebec County Democrats and Rita herself.

We have no overhead costs, and no paid staff. Every dime you give us goes directly to work, and we work for every Democrat in the county. Our State Senate is only held by a one-seat margin, and we plan to take back one of those seats in the heart of Kennebec in 2008. As many of you know, Maine is the testing ground for many types of legislation- Clean Elections included. "As Maine goes, so goes the nation." We intend to stay blue.

The Kennebec County Democrats ActBlue page is here.

And, the next time you want to buy a book, please consider buying it from Rita's bookstore, by clicking here.

I thank you for all that you do. Let's kick some winger ass!

(Crossposted at Turn Maine Blue)

UPDATE: I received from Rita a couple of notes she sent to the Pagan community and felt she should have posted here to break her silence. Some of the information is also included in the diary I wrote up, but better to post what she said than try to edit it like crazy. Also, some of the info is now a tad old, since we have received some donations from some folks in the Pagan community since this broke.

Sadly, as of now, none from DKos.

I've been a bit shaken up by all this. While I've never denied being Pagan, I considered it a private matter. Lots of folks figured it out; lots of folks enjoyed the plausible deniability my privacy offered. Perhaps even more disturbing is how Michael Hein and Company have both edited the comments supporting me, and investigated folks posting those comments, posting additional information about them which they did not want posted.

I have the full support of the Maine Democratic Party, and the Executive Committee of my own county Dems, and resignation is not in the picture.

My primary concerns are financial. When this happened, I "zeroed out" the donation total on our county Dems website ( http://www.kennebecdems.org). There has not been a single donation since I've been "outed". I'm even more concerned about the loss of business here at our bookshop as Michael Hein's attack turns to even more vicious rumors.

I guess what I'd ask from the community is whatever support they can offer. Tranquil energy, book orders, donations to our county committee if you wish to recognize that aspect of my community service.

and

Thanks to all for your words of support. Some of you have contacted me off-list to ask if I knew why I became a target, and why at this particular time. It wasn't until I had a great discussion with one of our local legislators that I was able to understand this.

Here goes: I've worked hard to become an effective county chair, leading a county which has many, many swing voters. If I were forced to resign, there is nobody with the time and experience to take over and do the job as it needs to be done in this critical cycle (a targeted US Senate race, plus a presidential election coming up next year). That's the "why".

The "why now" seems even clearer. On June 12th a special election was held to elect a representative to the Maine House. The principal difference between the two candidates was the issue of choice, with the Republican candidate actually being on staff at Maine Right to Life. We won, they lost and, two weeks later, the smear campaign began. Coincidence? You tell me.

UPDATE 2: The Christian Civic League has purged their website of comments. Anyone know how to find 'em in a Google cache?

Posted by mikki at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had enough of 12-14 mpg of my lovely AMG ML55 SUV. It was a great truck, except for the palpable pain I experienced with each fill up. The other significant annoyances with the truck included brake replacements ever 15K miles or so (not the way we drive... this is "normal" according to the techs), and the use of proprietary crap telephone technology, essentially locking me into a vintage 2000 motorola StarTac, that could not be upgraded without using the functionality of dialing through the center console.

I kinda went to the other end of the spectrum and bought myself a green Prius named Booger. I've had Booger for almost 1000 miles thusfar and it's been great. We're getting approximately 47 mpg (could be more if I drove it less like a regular car), it has bluetooth connectivity that pairs with most cell phones, allowing me to sync my address book with the car and use hands free. I can pair up to 6 phones with this set up. It also have DVD navigation, upgraded sound system, etc. One of the most hilarious things it has is a 'backup camera" that activates when I put the car into reverse, showing up a fisheye picture of what's behind, along with the "beep beep" backup sound like I was driving a garbage truck :-)

Now, the car DID have its flaws. The ones that drove me most insane were the nanny features, where someone at Toyota decided to force me to conform with their definition of safety. If the car was in motion, certain important features are "greyed out" of the touch screen display, including not allowing you to use your phone book to dial out, or to dial out using the pseudo keypad. You CAN, however, dial out on your speed dial numbers, or 911. The other major disabled feature is changing your destination or programming a destination in your GPS.

The idea that someone else decided for me what I could do and could not do in my own car that I paid for, and they would make my safety decisions for me, really ticks me off. If my passenger wants to reprogram the GPS, who are they to tell me I can't do that? If I'm lost in SE DC at 2 am, and I want to call a friend to help me figure out how to get out of the area, I shouldn't have to pull over to do that.

Luckily, enough engineers own the Toyota Prius so that there are detailed instructions along with lovely pictures on how to disable these ridiculous lock outs. Between their instructions and Wes' expert installation, the mission has been accomplished and Booger is now damn near perfect :-).

Posted by mikki at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vatican approves of rape and torture:

The Vatican has told Roman Catholics not to support Amnesty International because the organisation considers that criminalising women who want to control their fertility, especially those who have been raped, is counterproductive. This is, according to the Vatican, a much worse thing than rape, torture and judicial killing.

Amnesty International does not have any position at all on whether abortion is morally acceptable and accuses the Vatican of misrepresenting its position.

We are saying broadly that to criminalise women's management of their sexual reproductive right is the wrong answer, Amnesty's deputy Secretary General Kate Gilmore told Reuters news agency.




The Catholic Church, through a misrepresented account of our position on selective aspects of abortion, is placing in peril work on human rights, Ms Gilmore said.

Vatican urges end to Amnesty aid—BBC News, 13th June 2007.

Posted by mikki at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been very very busy of late with many insane things, which has caused posting here to be not as regular as I'd like. My dad has quintuple bypass surgery and a carotid artery roto rootering, a very good friend had his quad bypass fail and needed stents (damn glad they could even DO the stents given what happened). Other friends have had other weird things happen to them, and I was cast in a play that is eating my life but is great fun.

I have also created the Form Apology Generator which will help me generate all of the apologies I will need for this absence :-). Have at it.

Posted by mikki at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tribunal to fundie whiner: bugger off!:

United Kingdom: A teaching assistant who quit her job after refusing to let a child read from a Harry Potter book has lost her case for religious discrimination. Some interesting details of the case have emerged, including her strange beliefs about the books and their author.

She also said author JK Rowling was a 'real witch' and hearing the seven-year-old girl reading out spells from the story would leave her cursed...




She said: I said this because it is known that the subject of the Harry Potter books is white magic. The main character himself is a wizard who casts spells and uses the supernatural in order to triumph in various plots.




I do not believe that there can be such a thing as a mild form of witchcraft as the Holy Bible gives express instructions against some of the practices contained in the book and I therefore objected to the child reading this book to me. It would compromise my religious beliefs.

The tribunal also found that her other claims were not true, and that she had lied about the assistant headmaster insulting the Bible to her, and belittling her faith.

Harry Potter Teacher Loses Tribunal Claim—Life Style Extra, 9th June 2007; see also Teaching assistant wants compensation for her own bias—Pagan Prattle, 8th June 2007.

Posted by mikki at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reading helper told pupil: Harry Potter's against my religion | News | This is London:


A teaching assistant refused to listen to a child read a Harry Potter book because she believed its magic theme was against her Christian faith, a tribunal heard.

Sariya Allan, 47, was disciplined by her employers after she told a seven-year-old girl pupil "I don't do witchcraft in any form" and said she would be "cursed" by hearing the J K Rowling novel.

Miss Allan, who quit her job on grounds of religious discrimination, is now claiming around £50,000 damages from her former school.
She had been working in her £12,000-a-year job at Durand Primary School in Stockwell, South London, for nearly four years when she resigned in July 2006.

In her evidence to the hearing in Croydon, South London, she said that a girl brought in a Harry Potter book to read in February last year. She said: "I admit I said to the child that I don't do witchcraft in any form.

"I said this because it is known that the subject of the Harry Potter books is white magic, the main character is a wizard who casts spells and uses the supernatural to triumph in various plots throughout the stories.
"The Holy Bible gives express instruction against some of the practices contained in the book, and I therefore objected to the child reading this book to me.
"I was put in the position that listening to the child reading this book would compromise my religious beliefs."

Miss Allan, from Stockwell, who described herself as a "committed Pentecostal Christian", has also claimed the school stopped her from holding early morning prayer meetings in a classroom.
She was suspended by the school and said that she resigned on July 21 last year as she felt "harassed, humiliated, and discriminated" against.

Ben Oduje, counsel for the school, said: "This incident with the Harry Potter book says an awful lot about the claimant's attitude towards the school. Her suspension was due to her obstructive conduct over time. It was not down to that day alone.
"There was criticism of the claimant's conduct towards the child but it was not a criticism of her religious beliefs.
"She was dealing with a seven-yearold child. Her expressing her disapproval of the child's choice of book had the effect of imposing her own religious beliefs on the child.
"By any stretch of the imagination, to say that to a child is wholly inappropriate."

Durand's is a foundation school run by a company, London Horizons, outside local authority control.
The case continues.

Posted by mikki at 03:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Church leaders plead guilty of money smuggling into U.S - Pravda.Ru:


Brazilian leaders of one of their country's largest evangelical Christian churches became convicted felons Friday when they pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling more than $56,000 (41,950 EUR) in cash into the United States.

Estevam Hernandes Filho, 53, and 48-year-old Sonia Haddad Moraes Hernandes also are charged in Brazil with stealing millions of dollars from parishioners. They will likely be deported home once their U.S. case is resolved.

The couple - known as Apostle Estevam and Bishop Sonia to their thousands of faithful - pleaded guilty to evading U.S. currency requirements and conspiracy charges at a hearing in Miami federal court.

"Yes, guilty," Hernandes and his wife both said in Portuguese to U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno, according to a court translator.

The charges carry a maximum of 10 years in prison, but the couple would probably get far less time than that under U.S. sentencing guidelines. A maximum fine of $500,000 (374,560 EUR) each also could be imposed by Moreno, who scheduled sentencing for Aug. 17.

The guilty pleas came a few days before trial was scheduled to start next week.

Hernandes tightly hugged his wife, who was fighting back tears, after they entered their pleas, but both refused comment, as did their lawyers. Moreno said the couple would remain under house arrest and electronic monitoring until sentencing at a house they own in a gated neighborhood in Boca Raton.

The couple leads Brazil's Reborn in Christ Church, which they founded in 1986 and which now claims hundreds of thousands of followers and about 1,200 temples in the world's largest Roman Catholic country. The church has temples in Orlando, Deerfield Beach and Boston and their empire also includes newspapers, TV and radio stations, a recording company and the Brazilian patent on the English word "gospel."

But Brazilian authorities say the couple stole parishioners' donations for their own use, including the purchase of mansions and horse farms in Brazil and the United States. Brazil is seeking the couple's extradition from the United States on charges of fraud, larceny, tax evasion and money laundering.

Moreno told the couple they would probably be deported to Brazil after completing whatever sentence they get in the United States. Church officials in Brazil have blamed "religious persecution" for the charges and followers have continued to express support.

The U.S. charges were brought after the couple arrived Jan. 8 at Miami International Airport on a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil, with $56,467 (42,300 EUR) stashed in their luggage, a son's carry-on backpack, Sonia Hernandes' purse and in a Bible.

Prosecutors say they initially failed to declare on a customs form that they were carrying more than $10,000 (7,490 EUR), then declared under questioning that they actually had about $21,000 (15,730 EUR). A search of their luggage revealed more than twice that, leading to the currency evasion charges.

Under a plea agreement, the couple will forfeit the more than $56,000 (41,950 EUR) they attempted to bring into the United States.

Posted by mikki at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Worst "Company" in America:

The blog "The Consumerist" apparently has its readership vote for the worst company in America. The blog writers then suggest ways to improve the customer service at the nominated company. Why do I know about this? Because this year, the readers picked as worst the pointy end of the Cartel's jihadist sword: the RIAA.

Of course, the RIAA isn't really a company, it's a trade organization. And customer service really isn't on their agenda. What is on their agenda is passing favorable legislation, like laws creating the crime of attempted piracy. In order to pass laws, you need sock puppets... excuse me, members of Congress. Who, in turn, need money. Lots of money, something the RIAA has and gives out.

Consumerist has therefore published a list of "50 Politicians Who Take Campaign Money from the RIAA", along with their contact info. Because we can't influence the RIAA directly but in theory we can influence these fifty people.

The amounts listed are really surprisingly low - Orrin Hatch got a mere USD 6000, a pittance for this once-powerful sock puppet's dutiful service. There are also some disturbing names on the list, such as Ed Markey, whom I'd expect to have better sense than to accept money from extortionists.

Posted by mikki at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This was it... enough was enough. I loved my ML55 but it was time to go. 12 mpg was just no longer acceptable, and I had filled it with gas for the last time. Bah, and again humbug I say....

I had been looking at cars and researching cars for the past few months, and finally decided that it was time. They had the car I wanted in Springfield, so off we went to get it, and to trade in ye ole 55. So I got me a nice green (in more ways than one) Prius with the Star Trek console. And verily thus, we brought it home and named it Booger. Perhaps I'll think of a better name later.

Anyway, while we were at the dealership, the sales critter attempted to show me his brilliance by pairing my phone with Booger's on board bluetooth. DENIED! Hmmm...how could this be? Bluetooth is a standard, and should be implemented as such, carrying data blissfully through the air and into the innards of the Booger. But no... Upon further investigation I found that I must update my Treo to a more peachy version of Bluetooth in order to partake of the Booger's lovely touch screen. I thought, "how tough can an update be?" I learned.

First you wipe out ALL of the data on your phone, resync it to your computer, create a new user, download a bunch of files, upload the files to the phone, have the phone install the files, delete the new user, re-pair your phone with the computer, re-upload all your information, etc. etc. This process took a LONG time.

When I finally got through all of that and took the Treo out to Booger, I was hopeful that all the cool touch screen stuff would work and I could transfer my phone contacts from the Treo to the Booger and all would be well. Uh, no. One must "fool" the Treo into doing the right thing so that the bluetooth is even recognized by the Prius (making a phone call while the Prius is 'looking' for the Treo seems to work). Once that part is done, somehow the Prius then doesn't see the contact files you're trying to send from the Treo.

So how come Palm can't fix their damn phones so that you don't have these ridiculous issues? This be annoying! So I started doing a hunt to find out which phones are supposed to be completely compatible with Booger. Then I found they also had to be compatible with iSync, AND usable on Verizon. This part is no fun whatsoever. I finally found a phone that might work, so I ordered it to try to find out. We shall see.

For my next trick, I'll post about how the car won't allow you to dial or use most features of the navigation console while the car is moving..... There is a work around.

Despite Palm's inability to do the right thing, Booger is still pretty cool. Gas mileage on the way home, driving it just like a regular ole gas car critter thing = 42 mpg. w00t!

Posted by mikki at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)