The WTF Award goes to..

Blake Chambers We all have that one friend that says some crazy shit from time to time, whether its them recounting the time they swear they were abducted by aliens and have confused feelings over the probing, or maybe its their concept of God or a higher power based on science fiction book that we find absurd, but despite these sometimes border line psychotic rants and storytelling we still hang out with and love these people because after all they are our friends and we still owe them money. And so we find ourselves giving little disclaimers with we introduce them or someone notices their craziness and assure people that other than a few weird ideas they are great people. This seems to be unique to our loved ones. Most people lack any kind of empathy or understanding if their waiter gets their order wrong, or heaven forbid you get an iced caramel macchiato rather than a hot one, then excuses or possible reason fly out the door, with a thought that its their job!!! So why have we made politicians more like our friend who got high one too many times on household chemicals and not hold them to the same standards we hold our neighborhood baristas to? Well, through other readings, statistics, and polls, we see that religion plays a big role in this blatant blindness to these crazy, non-scientific ideas and ramblings of our elected officials. When contemplating a topic for this blog I soon remembered that the most appalling and idiotic statements Ive heard came from outwardly religious candidates and they just so happen to be Republican men, but we wont make any connections there or at least not now. So the most recent and probably the more infamous spill was made by Todd Akin, former Republican Senator from Missouri. Mr. Akin, a member of the Presbyterian Church, has proclaimed that his political career is his mission from God, as evident in some of the causes Akin has taken up when in office, such as trying to make 2008 the, National Year of the Bible, and has been a cheerleader for the Ten Commandments to get their just due. These causes are not insulting nor are they nauseating, but its coming Todd shared his understanding of pregnancies that result from rape in an interview, First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." Thats right, the man who sat on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology believes a woman

has a goal line defense down under. This belief could be found alongside tobacco smoke enemas or the healing powers of Mercury.

Just relax

But onto an example of overwhelming power of religious views. As a competitive sportsman, Paul Broun couldnt and wouldnt let Akin out shine him, oh no. Paul represents Georgia in the House of Representatives, a known sportsman, and Southern Baptist, so at a glance, a Southern Baptist Georgian, and hunter sounds about stereotypically spot on for some of the things that have come of his sweet southern drawl like spearheading a campaign to make 2010 The year of the Bible, and co-sponsoring the Federal Marriage Amendment making, you guessed right, marriage between a man and woman. But he ignored his scientific training when Paul stated, evolution and embryology and the Big Bang Theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell, again pretty consistent with the doctrine he professes and who really likes the Big Bang Theory? Its horrible with predictable punch lines and who would believe a pretty blonde would befriend a bunch of nerds while not in school, its a ridiculous premise! But he goes on to say, "... there are a lot of scientific data that I've found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I don't believe that the Earth's but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them." And thats where he gets the WTF award, as a scientist Dr. Broun has come to believe these things, not to

mention he beliefs global warming to be a hoax. Now despite all these held beliefs Paul Broun won reelection in 2012. Its mind numbing to think that a man with such ridiculous beliefs has held and continues to hold office while sitting on the Committee for Science, Space, and Technology. But despite these ramblings Dr. Paul Broun seems to have a pretty good hold on his seat while representing Georgia, since the incumbent rates are so high and the religious affiliation in areas like the south are held to such a high standard for politicians, I wait patiently for the next gem that comes out of that Georgian accent. So what I gather from these examples and countless others like Rep. Joe Barton of Texas who said that , Wind is Gods way of balancing heat, or Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois who states that, The Earth will only end when God declares its time to be over. Man will not destroy this Earth..um well we are. And there are so many that I didnt mentioned since it would have made this even more unbearable to read, is that with the right affiliations other wrongly held beliefs are ignored and/or dont seem to matter as much. I cannot see any conclusion to be drawn other than religion matters in our political climate, with it absurd things might follow but are outshined by the glow of a label. I mean we wouldnt tolerate a barista serving us decaf during mid-terms because its against their beliefs, nor should be have our politicians unable to suspend their beliefs in order to serve the greater good and allow us to choose our own path to hell. Now I hope this doesnt give the impression Im anti-religious, far from it, all I am saying is religion is a fine standard to hold for the people you elect, but let us also hold reason to a higher level of consideration. Or could we at least try?