Sunday, December 27, 2009

Mojoey & The Atheist Blogroll

We've been added to The Atheist Blogroll. You can see the blogroll in my sidebar. The Atheist blogroll is a community building service provided free of charge to Atheist bloggers from around the world. If you would like to join, visit Mojoey at Deep Thoughts for more information.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Not even FAKE SNOW?! How offensive...

Comment Date: Dec 15 2009 11:02 PM
Rating: Christmas-Offensive
Comment: The Gap has been intentionally offensive to Christmas for years. I remember about 4 years ago they decided not to decorate their stores during the holiday. Not even trees or fake snow..just completely ignore the season. It is weird for a retailer to take such a bold approach, after all it is a time that they make money! My family decided not to shop there that year. I would not shop there now, ...


I've never been a fan of "Focus on the Family." I'm pretty sure James Dobson had absolutely nothing to do with my personal upbringing...so I, even in my Christian heyday, did not feel it necessary or remotely tempting to invite him into my home to help me with my family.

This Christmas, good ole James has done an excellent job of 2 things:
1. Wasting money on a comment-monitored public website
2. Bringing the most ignorant (we'll call them less fortunate from here on out) Christians out of the woodwork.

Before I did any Christmas shopping, I visited FOTF's "Stand for Christmas" website to check out how Christmas-Friendly, Christmas-Negligent, or Christmas-Offensive some of my favorite retailers are. Boy, am I glad I did! I can't imagine the embarrassment that would come with giving a Christmas gift from Banana Republic! And I can't even bring myself to say or write The G-P anymore. 80% Christmas-offensive...oh the horror.

I'm not linking to this site because I don't want a bunch of track backs to my blog. I'm sure if you google "Stand for Christmas," it'll be the first choice on the list.

*note: all typos following "Comment" are [sic]able, but I'm just not gonna go there. All comments were CTRL+C --> CTRL+V straight from where they were posted

Some Christian-Offensive reviews of some of the biggest stores around:

The G-P tops the list at 80% offensive:

Comment: Some businesses just don't get it. Why would you offend the majority to please the minority? Most americans celebrate Christmas...Wake up. You've lost my family's business forever!
Comment: Their Holiday commercial was very offensive with the message celebrate what ever you feel like. Including Solstice. I dont plan on ever shopping there unless they change their message.
Comment: I will NOT buy anything else from GAP (which I am a HUGE fan of). By ignoring Christmas and offering "Happy Solstice," a WICCAN witch-warlock acknowledged dedicated day, they have GROSSLY OFFENDED not only ME but the MAJORITY of Americans. I will get the word out to others as well.
Comment: The commercials are horrendous. They are completely uncalled for and are most definitely a defiant attack on Christmas....
Comment: ...no Christmas displays. They want the Christmas $$$, but why--- you don't celebrate
Comment: ...Don't you guys understand that taking Christmas out of your store is discriminating against most Americans?
Comment: ...offensive that they would compare the BIRTH of our SAVIOR to other "holidays"....

Best Buy comes in at 74% Christmas-Offensive:

Comment: As a Christain and a freedom loving American patriot I was extremely offended by Best Buy choosing to with the Muliums a happy holiday and have yet made any attempt of wishing the Christians a Merry Christmas in their ad campain which I am checking weekly. I went into the store and shared my opinion as well as with their 1-800 number. They lost my business and I have encourage all my family and friends to do the the same. Merry Christmas to you all!
Comment: We have been watching the Stand for Christmas website and we are very disappointed to see where Best Buy's ratings are. As much as we love that store - we AVOIDED Christmas shopping there this year and kept them off our Christmas wish lists to others.
Comment: I was just about to purchase a lot of gift cards from best buy for grandchildren,but heard Bill O'Reilly's report on Christmas Friendly stores.I decided to ONLY shop CHRISTmas friendly stores..
Comment: Absolutely nothing anywhere about Christmas..not even a tree outline, wrapped gifts, etc. You can tell they are going out of their way to get your money but steer clear of Christmas. I was wished a "Happy Holidays" when I checked out. This will be my last trip to Best Buy until they reverse this anti-Christmas (and in my book, anti-Christian) attitude. See ya later BB.
Comment: I went to the Best Buy in Thousand Oaks today to buy Christmas gifts. There was not one sign it was the Christmas season. I left my gifts there. On the way out I asked the man at the door were their Christmas signs were. He said "We don't do that." Well I don't need to spend my money there. They want your money but they can't put out any Christmas decorations. I will not be back. Hello Costco, Target or Walmart
Comment: Was not playing Christmas music. Employees said happy holidays instead of Merry Christmas. After reading here, I decided to take back the two camera we bought on black friday. It is not worth the 30.00 total savings.


And to balance the scales...I present the most Christmas-Friendly retailer in the history of all of the world.

...Drumroll please.....Christians, I think God will forgive you if you keep your tithe to it spend at......

BASS PRO SHOPS!!

Comment: I love Bass Pro, their Christmas village makes me incredibly happy. I had to stand for 2 hours to get my daughter to see Santa but the elves were so helpful with keeping her entertained and even when we left the village we were still told Merry Christmas
Comment: Huge Christmas village set up w/ activites for children
Comment: I love your store santas village is just the best thing i have ever seen a retailer do! My kids have something positive to do every weekend and FOR FREE! ...Just wanted you to know how great it is that you celebrate not only Christmas but families! You are to be congratulated for reaching out to the WHOLE family!
Comment: I was very surprised and very pleased to hear the Christmas carols with all verses over the P.A., even the lyrics celebrating Jesus being born as the Son of God!
Comment: Bass Pro goes all out for Christmas. It is almost worth going to the store just to look @ the decor.
Comment: Front page CHRISTMAS sale! Yay!
Comment: In last Sunday's paper, it was one of only two retailers who had "Christmas" prominently displayed throughout the entire ad. They have a Christmas village set up inside the store (not a "holiday" or "winter" village), and it's an old-fashioned Christmas village where kids can get a free photo with Santa (who sends a letter to the child in the mail), lots of free games to play, and employees dressed as elves. I give this retailer the highest rating.


In closing...you're welcome, Christians. Now go shopping and stop reading.

I didn't pick and choose the most awesome comments...they're all basically the same as what I've selected to post here. So for all you humanists and godless heathens that care about people's feelings...all you have to do to garner the Christian happy sparkly eyes and almighty dollar during this holiday, er, Christmas season is 1)Say MERRY CHRISTMAS! (as many times as possible), and 2)Set up a "Christmas" village, Christmas tree, play Christmas music, and give out free pictures with Santa. I bet free candy canes would be a super bonus.

Oh yeah...and hey Jesus, Happy Birthday.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Menopausal atheists?



Just a standard side-bar ad on a random site ...of course the giant, albeit white, Dawkins-style A caught my attention...



Jesus Junk and Xian Privilege



I think this shows that Christians can get away with just about anything...Wonder if these ethically challenged companies pray for forgiveness?



"I think you have a real tension between the legal department and the PR department," he said. "(Large companies) are very sensitive to looking like they are anti-Christian, so they are very restrained in going after the wrongdoers."


Seriously? Apparently Xians have all the money and influence in this "democracy" we live in. I bet they buy this shit in bulk at the mega churches for their highly unnecessary book stores and internet cafes.


I still haven't bought a truly "offensive" anti-Christian shirt to wear in public...maybe I should. Although, I did take my Jesus ashtray to play poker a few times, back when you could smoke in local bars...there wasn't much warmth at the table those nights.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Atheism and Cheap Books

I wasn't sure if I should be pleased or upset today when I ventured in to my local Half Price Books store and found that the "Agnosticism/Atheism" section was gone. Totally gone. I wandered around the "Religious" section for a bit, then over to "Science and Mathematics," and there was simply nothing to be had. No Dawkins. No Hitchens. No Barker. No Russell. No Ehrman. Nothing.
I went to a clerk to ask where the section was relocated. "It was relocated into non-existence." WHAT?! He showed me the "Comparative Religion" section - 3 copies of Letter to a Christian Nation just doesn't count for an atheist presence on the shelf. (And who sells that book anyway? Christians who were fooled into reading it?) I found one copy of "Breaking the Spell," and though I've not read it, we only have the paperback copy and the hardback was $12, so I bought it.
So, should I be upset that "Christian Fiction," the mother of all "duh" sections, took up not one but 6 bookshelves, and not even one shelf was set aside for my precious disbelief? Or...should I be pleased that atheists buy good books and don't sell them for pennies on the dollar to sit at a store where cheapos like me go to get a quick fix?
I'm not even sure what I was looking for, but I'm 99% sure I didn't find it.