Day: December 14, 2017

#writephoto — Brotherly Love

Fandango28 Comments

img_0260James and Amy crawled out of the tunnel and into the open air. They both had on their protective masks as they emerged from their underground dwelling. James took out a kit he used each week to test the air.

“This is a positive sign,” he said to Amy. “The particulate level is down significantly from last week’s reading. Maybe by next week we’ll be able to come to the surface and remove our masks.”

Amy looked toward the horizon beyond the large tree just outside of the tunnel’s hidden entrance. “The haze also seems to be lifting a little,” she said. “The sun is a little brighter and I think I can even see some hints of blue in the sky.”

This was the latest bit of encouraging signs the two had witnessed since the bombs came close to destroying the planet and civilization a few months back. “We are the fortunate ones to have survived,” James said. “So many others were either killed instantly or died shortly after the bombs.”

“Or maybe they were the lucky ones,” Amy observed. “We are living in a hole in the ground, barely surviving. We’re cold and hungry all the time. And who knows, once it’s safe to return to the surface full time, what will be left? How many others, like us, survived?”

“I don’t know,” James admitted. “But perhaps we’ll find ourselves a new Garden of Eden and we’ll be a modern day Adam and Eve.”

“Eww,” said Amy. “I know it’s been tough living together in that hole and I’ve seen you jerking off in your corner. But you’re my brother, James. Don’t be gross.”

Written for the Thursday Photo Prompt from Sue Vincent.

The Legend of All Legends

Fandango5 Comments

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The Christian Bible was written over the course of 1,600 years by about 40 different authors on three different continents. This unique collection of stories serves as the foundation for the world’s largest religion, Christianity.

Every word of the Bible has been studied and parsed. The book has been weaponized and wars have been fought over it. Non-believers in the “truth” of the Bible have been persecuted and killed. It has been questioned and ridiculed as much as it has been revered and prized.

So is the Bible a factual accounting of the creation of everything by an omnipotent being, or is it a book of legends and myths, no different from the legend of King Arthur or the mythologies of the pre-Christianity gods?

To me, the Bible is an interesting, sometimes fascinating, book of fables and parables. But it’s not a text book, a history book, or a science book. Too much of the Bible is simply unbelievable to my practical, pragmatic mind.

Many of the “facts” in the Bible are simply wrong or are scientifically impossible. For example, according to Genesis, the universe is just over 6000 years old. We know that is not true.

Or take the tale of Joshua stopping the sun moving across the sky. This story assumes that the earth was flat and was at the center of the universe. And for the sun to stop, the earth would have to cease rotating on its axis, which would destroy the planet. We know these stories, and many other biblical stories, to be false.

Further, the Bible is full of inconsistencies. How can it be an accurate historical record, when the various books of the Bible contradict one another?

We also know that other world religions also contain rich histories of mythology and fantastical sounding stories, many of which stories are similar to those found in the Bible.

I have no quarrel with those for whom the Bible brings solace and comfort and serves as the anchor for their spiritual and religious beliefs. I would hope that they have no quarrel with me for believing that the Bible is simply a book of legends.

Written for today’s one-word prompt, “legend.”

 

The End of the Blogosphere?

Fandango7 Comments

Comedian and political satirist Jordan Klepper, host of Comedy Central’s The Opposition, said on his show a few nights ago, “Net Neutrality isn’t for everyone. It’s not like guns.” Of course, he was being sarcastic. At least I think he was.

I don’t own a gun, but like every one of you who is reading this post, I use the internet. A lot.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is going to vote today on whether or not to repeal “Net Neutrality.” In case you don’t know what that is, it’s a term used to describe a set of regulations designed to ensure that all information flowing over the internet is treated equally. It means companies cannot block websites or offer certain companies faster loading speeds for money. Net Neutrality prohibits internet service providers (ISPs) like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon from speeding up, slowing down, or blocking any content, applications, or websites you want to use.

Here’s a short video that helps explain Net Neutrality and what’s at stake.

If Net Neutrality is rolled back, ISPs would be able to block websites or content they don’t like or applications that compete with their own offerings. For example, now that Verizon owns Yahoo, it could force you to use Yahoo as your search engine. If you wanted to use Google instead, you might have to pay more to use it.

Under President Obama, the FCC adopted strong Net Neutrality rules, giving internet users equal protections. But President Trump wants to roll back everything Obama accomplished while he was president. Because, well, Trump hates Obama.

Trump appointed Ajit Pai as chairman of the FCC, and Pai is on record for wanting to end Net Neutrality. The FCC is made up of five commissioners appointed by the sitting president and right now Republicans have a 3-2 majority. All three of the Republican commissioners are going to vote to repeal Net Neutrality. So today, the FCC is likely to do Trump’s bidding.

This is yet another GOP giveaway to large corporations and the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us. And for those of us who are bloggers, this could also mean the end of the blogosphere as we know it.

So what can we do to protect the internet? Probably not much in the short-term. But in the longer-term, we can vote to get the damn Republicans out of the White House and Congress.