goodreasonnews:

christiannightmares:

DMV employee sends letter to transgender woman warning of Hell (Click image for story)

Face it, if you really thought hell were real and you thought transgendered people were destined to go there, wouldn’t this be the only decent and humane thing to do? It’s not the person, that DMV employee isn’t evil or hateful, they’re acting in a way that causes the transgendered woman to feel marginalized and maybe even terrorized, but in the eyes of the DMV employee it’s a small price to pay to save the person’s soul from eternal torture.

It’s a humane act, but it’s faulty. It’s based on a myth and that causes heartache in the real world to real people. No lengths are too far when eternal damnation is involved. There is no line to cross, everything’s appropriate. Any means are justifiable. Religion makes you think this kind of harassment is more akin to pushing someone out of the way of an oncoming bus.

Often people tell me there is no harm in religious beliefs, only harm caused by those who misinterpret the religion. Beside from being a clear example of the ‘no true Scotsman’ logical fallacy, it’s just plain wrong. This DMV employee is causing considerable harm and yet is not misinterpreting the religion one bit. In fact, he’s trying to help. Every bit of harm he’s causing is because of his religious beliefs. So, there it is: Harm of belief, right there.

royalfun:

ex-genius:

The Terrorists Won?

I’m really dreading the next time I have to fly; I really hate the idea of these backscatter X-Ray and millimeter wave scanners they’re putting in airports these days. 

The scanners see through clothing to attempt to detect if someone is carrying a device or weapon. 

Now it’s not the idea of some TSA random seeing my junk via x-ray that bothers me, please by all means get a good look. What bothers me is the fact that I’d really rather not be compelled to be bombarded with radiation. X-Rays are ionizing radiation! You know, the kind that gives you cancer. X-Rays and Gamma Rays are essentially the same thing, the only difference is what part of the atom they come from.  

But how dangerous are these scanners really?

Well, nobody really knows. The FDA says they’re safe, but they also say FourLoko is illegal so I don’t trust them. 

Peter Rez, a Physics Professor at Arizona State University at Tempe concludes that per screening, there’s a 1:30,000,000 chance of developing fatal cancer from a single screening. So if we conclude that the average citizen takes 2 flights a year for a period of 30 years, there’s a 60:30,000,00 - or 1:500,000 chance of developing fatal cancer from airport screening with backscatter X-Ray.

Statistically over 600 Americans will die of cancer from Backscatter X-Ray Airport Screening over the next 30 years. 

Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that there was a 1:25,000,000 chance of dying aboard an Airliner in a terrorist attack during the decade of the 2000’s. Lets assume, for a moment, that these statistics hold true for the next 30 years. Over those same 30 years one’s chance of dying in a terrorist attack aboard an airliner are 3:25,000,000 - or 1:8,333,333. 

So that’s 1:500,000 for Backscatter X-Ray, 1:8,333,333 for Terrorism.

Over 16 Times More Likely That You’ll Die from the Screening than the Terrorism. 

Oh, also, the Backscatter X-Ray machines don’t detect PETN, the explosive the underpants bomber was trying to use, making them effectively worthless, and they rake in billions of dollars for companies with gigantic congressional lobbies! 

Welcome to America!

this makes me want to vomit.