Pray Real Hard.....

[Cranky]

At my Federal Agency, we had regular monthly meetings in the auditorium.  The usual motivational crap.  

Some of those have a fervour to them that's almost... religious.  I hated those things back in my pre-retirement days.  The one that really drove me round the bend is where we were encouraged to "chant the brand mantra"...  Umm no, just no.  I was an IT analyst and had no interest all that brand shit.

[pattylt]

At my Federal Agency, we had regular monthly meetings in the auditorium.  The usual motivational crap.  

Some of those have a fervour to them that's almost... religious.  I hated those things back in my pre-retirement days.  The one that really drove me round the bend is where we were encouraged to "chant the brand mantra"...  Umm no, just no.  I was an IT analyst and had no interest all that brand shit.

I worked in a hospital lab.  Management probably would have loved us to chant our “motto” but since we had changed ownership three times, no one knew what the hell it was and we were so disgusted with management crap, they wouldn’t have liked what we would have chanted.  They knew we were disgusted with them so they left us alone.  Just how we liked it.  Heck, they never came down to the lab anyway.

[1Sam15]

god sure is killing and destroying a lot of the bible belt


Sending thoughts and prayers

[Minimalist]

I would think that "thoughts and prayers" are something they had in abundance..... that, and those stupid red hats!

[Thumpalumpacus]

I would think that "thoughts and prayers" are something they had in abundance..... that, and those stupid red hats!

Prayers and red hats, yes ... thoughts, not so much.

[Minimalist]

Well, you know, stupid thoughts.  That's all they can muster.

[SYZ]

Classic

This video raises two questions in my mind...

Why did Blitzer push this woman to "thank the lord" for her
and her family's survival—twice in fact?  Is he a god-botherer
in another off-camera life?

Secondly, why was she obviously so embarrassed to tell Blitzer
she was an atheist?  The coy head tilt, and the awkward giggle.

Whatever happened to being "out and proud" about one's atheism?
I found her demeanour subservient to Blitzer's religiosity, and
embarrassing in its unnecessary awkwardness.      Or is she typical
of the average American atheists' public discomfit when questioned
about their religion, or lack thereof?

[1Sam15]

I’m guessing if she acted any other way it wouldn’t have made it on the xian new station.

[pattylt]

Classic

This video raises two questions in my mind...

Why did Blitzer push this woman to "thank the lord" for her
and her family's survival—twice in fact?  Is he a god-botherer
in another off-camera life?

Secondly, why was she obviously so embarrassed to tell Blitzer
she was an atheist?  The coy head tilt, and the awkward giggle.

Whatever happened to being "out and proud" about one's atheism?
I found her demeanour subservient to Blitzer's religiosity, and
embarrassing in its unnecessary awkwardness.      Or is she typical
of the average American atheists' public discomfit when questioned
about their religion, or lack thereof?

This happened in Oklahoma, deep in the Bible Belt.  Being an out and proud atheist is similar to being an out and proud gay…it depends where you are and safety concerns often come first.  Atheism is still a minority, especially in the south, and comfort levels can be all over the place.  That she sounded apologetic and/or meek is often the default down there.

[Minimalist]

Ever notice how xhristards never think that all those tornadoes are their fucking god sending them a message to stop being such judgmental shits?

Either this god has shitty aim or he doesn't exist.

[Inkubus]

Ever notice how xhristards never think that all those tornadoes are their fucking god sending them a message to stop being such judgmental shits?

Either this god has shitty aim or he doesn't exist.

Or maybe they don't listen:

[Cavebear]

At my Federal Agency, we had regular monthly meetings in the auditorium.  The usual motivational crap.  

Some of those have a fervour to them that's almost... religious.  I hated those things back in my pre-retirement days.  The one that really drove me round the bend is where we were encouraged to "chant the brand mantra"...  Umm no, just no.  I was an IT analyst and had no interest all that brand shit.

Well, I was experienced enough to just politely sit through the motivational meetings. Though at least we didn't have to chant a mission-message. It was the opening of one with a clearly religious message that caused me to get up and leave.

Being retired now, I sure don't miss the motivational meetings. And I'll add I don't miss staff meetings, either. They lasted 45 minutes while the supervisor droned on about useless stuff that could have been summarized in an email that took 2 minutes to read. But he had to show that he was doing something as boss. And he would have had to actually write and email, which would have required thought and organizing. For him, it was simpler to just basically read the talking points he was given by his supervisor.

[Cavebear]

Some of those have a fervour to them that's almost... religious.  I hated those things back in my pre-retirement days.  The one that really drove me round the bend is where we were encouraged to "chant the brand mantra"...  Umm no, just no.  I was an IT analyst and had no interest all that brand shit.

I worked in a hospital lab.  Management probably would have loved us to chant our “motto” but since we had changed ownership three times, no one knew what the hell it was and we were so disgusted with management crap, they wouldn’t have liked what we would have chanted.  They knew we were disgusted with them so they left us alone.  Just how we liked it.  Heck, they never came down to the lab anyway.

I worked in Federal Govt, so there was no change in "ownership" and no real mottos, but a l-o-n-g institutional memory...  Routines had great influence.

Slightly off-topic, but you mentioned "they wouldn’t have liked what we would have chanted".  Most employees know to avoid "suggestion boxes".  But one year, Management set up an "anonymous comment" website.  As if most of us would fall for that.  Nothing done on the office network was "anonymous".  

Well, we had "desks" that were actually just surface platforms.  Which meant there were no drawers to keep pens, binder clips, paperclips, sticky note pads etc.  So I decided that was a safe thing to comment about as "desk-declutter".  A day later, some guy can by and looked under my "platform".  Mine first.  I saw him come in and he came straight to my space (in the middle of the office).  Then looked at a few others.  3 weeks later maintenance came along and installed thin drawers!

I appreciated the drawer, but it sure busted the "anonymous" part.  LOL! I only mentioned that to one co-worker who thought like I did...

[1Sam15]

Looks like god decided to kill off 90% of Georgia peaches this year

god is love

Amen

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia...ster-areas

[Cavebear]

Looks like god decided to kill off 90% of Georgia peaches this year

god is love

Amen

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia...ster-areas

Apparently, God does not love people enjoying eating peaches! Maybe he is more into Eden Apples. I got my 1st peaches of the year just last week. And plums yesterday. Last night's "dessert" was a California yellow peach, a plum, some strawberries, and some bing cherries. Who could ask for anything more?

[Minimalist]

Don't you know?  Peaches aren't kosher!

[Minimalist]

Maybe pray for this jesus asshole to turn the thermostat down?


https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/28/us/he...ecast.html

Misery Engulfs the South as Heat Wave Spreads

Temperatures will be up to 20 degrees above normal for much of the region through at least the weekend, with no nighttime relief.

Apparently, "god" isn't saying "no."   He's saying "Fuck You!"

[1Sam15]

It said it wouldn’t drown babies ever again.

Didn’t say anything about not cooking the babies

[Minimalist]

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-...-rcna91986

[color=var(--article-hero-headline--htag--color)]U.S. faces a wild weekend of weather, including extreme heat and severe storms[/color]

[color=var(--article-dek--color)]As the ongoing heat dome expands, high heat and humidity are expected to blanket parts of the South. Severe storms are also forecast across a huge swath of the country.[/color]

Pull those prayer beads out of your asses, boys. You have work to do!  


Actually, other than being a bit hot - which is pretty common for Phoenix in late June/July - it's pretty nice here.  The monsoon hasn't even started.

[SYZ]

Churches reach out with care and prayers in wake
of powerful earthquake in Turkey and Syria.



Uh... can I ask the obvious question?  Shouldn't they
have been praying BEFORE this earthquake?  You know,
for their omnipotent god to protect their lives from
natural disasters?

Religious logic is a strange beast:  Its boss wilfully kills
59,259 innocent members of his/her flock, but after
that—for some unknown reason—expects the survivors
to continue glorifying him/her in order to prevent further
deaths.        How exactly does that work?

[airportkid]

Uh... can I ask the obvious question?  Shouldn't they
have been praying BEFORE this earthquake?  You know,
for their omnipotent god to protect their lives from
natural disasters?

Clearly, there is huge ignorance about how prayer works.  In the instance of an earthquake, the disaster is only a disaster for the victims.  For the agent who prayed for a cleared couple of acres in order to build a personal mansion, that prayer was answered, albeit clumsily, as it'll take some time before the couple of acres are actually cleared of rubble.  God only fulfills the prayers of the deserving.  Virtually the entire population of most prayers begin by declaring how unworthy and undeserving they are, so of course god isn't going to pay attention to THEM.

[Minimalist]

The victims were probably sheltering a queer in their midst.... and their preachers are always rattling on about how god hates queers.

[Cavebear]

Churches reach out with care and prayers in wake
of powerful earthquake in Turkey and Syria.



Uh... can I ask the obvious question?  Shouldn't they
have been praying BEFORE this earthquake?  You know,
for their omnipotent god to protect their lives from
natural disasters?

Religious logic is a strange beast:  Its boss wilfully kills
59,259 innocent members of his/her flock, but after
that—for some unknown reason—expects the survivors
to continue glorifying him/her in order to prevent further
deaths.        How exactly does that work?

59,259? That seems amazingly precise. Where did that number come from? Just curious.

[SYZ]

59,259?  That seems amazingly precise.  Where did that number come from?  Just curious.

https://give2asia.org/turkey-syria-quake2023/

[Cavebear]

59,259?  That seems amazingly precise.  Where did that number come from?  Just curious.

https://give2asia.org/turkey-syria-quake2023/

I check charitible organizations carefully. Some are legit, some are scams, some take outrageous fees for themselves.

From https://give.org/charity-reviews/nationa...d-ca-52015...

"This charitable organization either has not responded to written BBB requests for information or has declined to be evaluated in relation to BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. Charity participation in BBB review is voluntary. However, without the requested information, it is not possible to determine whether this charity adheres to all of the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. The BBB encourages charities to disclose accountability information beyond that typically included in financial statements and government filings, in order to demonstrate transparency and strengthen public trust in the charitable sector."

It was interesting that nearly all the 1st 2 pages of google results were from Give2Asia. That "suggests" to me that they are using a helpbot to manipulate viewing, and that is not a good thing.

So, not saying either way for sure, but the lack of information about things like administrative costs and organization salaries vs charitable "output" causes me some concern. I would not give to them based on current knowledge about them at this time.