In just over two weeks, Australia will go to the polls and elect a new government.

My voting intention this year is to vote for the Secular Party Of Australia for the senate.

The secular party is my choice for a progressive, multi-platform party that has the will and drive to enshrine the separation of church and state, something lacking in this country.

The secular party of Australia places emphasis on formulating policies based on evidence, rather than dogma. What a refreshing change that will be!

The secular party favours dismantling the National schools Chaplaincy program – a program that cost Australians over 200 million dollars. You remember the NSCP, the program that wasn't supposed to be about religion but violates the Australian constitution? The same program that had funding deemed 'invalid' by the high court of Australia. The same program that puts unqualified counsellors into schools. The same counsellors who may or may not know a damn thing about counselling children. The secular party is intent on replacing it with a program that supplies qualified counsellors. Counsellors who wont advise children on spiritual issues as some of them currently do. What a novel concept, it sounds a bit like seeing a doctor instead of homoeopath.

Speaking of homoeopathy, did you know that Australians spend more on complementary medicines than on realmedicines ? You know, the medicines that actually have been tested and approved ? The Secular party has proposed cracking down these questionable remedies by tightening regulations and asking for some actual proof of efficiency before Medicare rebates will apply.

As I said at the start, this party is not a single-issue party, it has many policies. Sensible, evidence based policies that aren't the result of some dogmatic interpretation of a 2000 year old book put together by a bunch of semi-nomadic goat herders who were writing down recollections of their ancestors.

Policies for example that will end the tax breaks and exemptions for religious institutions. Tax breaks will still be available for not-for-profit organisations of any particular religious or non-religious persuasion provided they can pass a public benefit test. You know, the sort of test that shows that the tax-free money is actually helping the community at large, and not just 'advancing religion'. Once again, the commitment to evidence-based legislation makes sense.

The Secular party specifically deplores the demonisation of asylum seekers. With the two major parties engaging in a contest to see who can kick the shit out of the most vulnerable of vulnerable, it's rather nice to see a party prepared to treat people as.. well... people. Migrants to Australia will be expected to understand that fundamental to Australian values is the idea that women and men are equal. New Australian citizens will have to understand that their primary loyalty will be to Australian values, including freedom of religion and not to their religion (assuming they have one!).

The secular party proposes that oaths for public offices that currently reference religion should be replaced with a more inclusive and secular oath, with an optional religious oath to follow the legally binding affirmation. See! No coercion and you can still swear your allegiance to the carpenter zombie if you want.

While we're talking about authority and government, don't you think it might be time for an Australian head of state? The secular party favours a republic, rather than the current system of an English woman who is head of our state because of archaic hereditary laws. Sounds like a great career path to me, but I can't see much room for promotion.

Was that blasphemy? Let's hope not, because in Australian there are still blasphemy laws on the books. Laws that should have been removed long ago like a the malignant cancer they are. Laws just waiting for the opportunity to be hijacked by some offended religious nutter in the name of their chosen all mighty myth.

I'll be voting for Secular party in the senate because of a commitment to evidence based policy, a commitment to separating church and state, and a commitment to end the National School Chaplaincy program. I'm voting secular australian party because secularism is central to religious freedom. Freedom is something we can all get behind.

Who is responsible for the US debt?

In true economic revisionist style, it seems the nutbag right is trying to blame the US foreign debt on Obama.

I decided to do some research of my own and compiled this spreadsheet.

It's true that the debt has risen under Obama - but the bulk of it - by far, was generated under Bush. 

Seriously, how do these disingenuous right wing nutters sleep at night ? Considering what Obama inherited it's amazing that it's not higher now.

I guess those wars didn't come cheap.

Paul Begley Is A Dishonest Fear-monger.

I'm talking facts.

I have watched Paul's Youtube channel go from 6,000 subscribers to now over 20,000. It must be said that Paul gives a good performance - from his catch phrase "Are you serious" to dire warnings that "something Biblical" is happening, this man has all of the drama of an episode of Desperate Housewives and none of the depth of character.

Some of Paul's questionable tactics:

1. Paul will make videos about any major current event. Construing the events of the time in question to have some Biblical significance is his standard stock-in-trade. For example in his latest video Paul states that the 900 dead pigs in China are related to Mark chapter 5. Of course his take on what is essentially a single similar incident (pigs drowning in verse 13) would make a PR consultant for a major cigarette company blush. Making videos about current events assists with his YouTube views and thus his partnership earnings.
2.  Paul rarely links directly to any article he reads from. Paul will often cite an article on, say, the BBC website and put the main home page link but he will almost never directly link to the article. The reason is that the last thing Paul wants would be people actually reading the full story themselves. Knowledge as usual has to be suppressed in the name of saving the unclean.. or something like that.
3. Paul censors his channel. Paul seems to take issue with people pointing out verifiable truths to him (or indeed, the other people who leave comments) on his channel. I was blocked simply for calling out his lies with regards to the so-called Obamacare RFID chip. My comments were removed, even though they simply pointed out his error and the facts of the issue. I have heard from other posters that he is a repeat offender in this regard. Please bear this in mind if you interact with Paul. He has such an egg-shell like ego.(Incidentally Paul has never admitted his mistake here and as far as I know he continues to peddle this line of flim-flam, debunked here.)
4. Portraying himself as someone who needs to be deferred to. Pauls seems to have this notion that heads of state should be consulting him when it comes to important decisions, as illustrated by his letter to Kim Jong Il. I'm sure that, as a man of the people, Kim Jong Il took everything on board that Paul Begley had to say. Needless to say, this video speaks volumes about just how humble Paul really is.

Paul's Cottage Industry.

Paul will often push his wares during his videos in such a seamless manner that it would make any infomercial director jealous. You can purchase his fine assortment of coffee cups and other detritus here. His books are a 'must read' he tells us. Of course you don't need to do something as crass a purchase a material item to support his ministry, you can just.. make a donation. None of that icky materialism to worry about.

Paul's cottage industry of Coffee cups and (most likely) vanity published books are no doubt providing financial assistance for the poor and homeless. I assume that's where the money is going.. but as yet in all of his videos I have never seen or heard of him doing charitable or selfless acts.

I assume that Pastor Paul is familiar with Acts 20:35 and Proverbs 19:17 ?

Of course he is, after all, 'something Biblical' is happening.