en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/635888 Comments by AlexPendragon http://wildhunt.org/blog/2010/02/syracuse-gets-a-pagan-chaplain-and-other-pagan-news-of-note.html#IDComment57146980 Why do we have to prescribe "Good" and "Bad" to Gaia when she/he/it is nothing more than a "system" which doesn't have the capacity to care one way or another whether we or any aspect of her makeup suffers or succeeds? The Killer asteroids that have pummeled the Earth certainly didn't arrive here with malice, it was simply an unfortunate intersection of orbits and nothing more. As a pagan, and not an atheist, I happen to believe that sentience is an actual force that exists within AND outside of the biological vessel (Yes, I think animals have souls too), but that is not to confuse the devine with the state of the universe which is merely operating according to the laws of physics. And Robin, as far as your "Lord" Jesus Christ and his dear old Dad is concerned, YOU may grovel at the feet of your owner to your hearts' content, just don't think you're going to make the rest of us think we are "owned" by some celestrial slave owner with a psychotic bent. It's nice to hear how you defend murder by virtue of "authority". By that same reasoning, Hitler was fully justified. How sick is that? Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:05:13 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2010/02/syracuse-gets-a-pagan-chaplain-and-other-pagan-news-of-note.html#IDComment57146980 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2010/02/pantheacon-day-3.html#IDComment57020196 I really wish events of this calibre would happen in my neck of the woods. And yes, I suspect most of the participants would have to fly in since the locals would not threaten to crowd out a venue like this. This IS the bible belt....... Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:20:57 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2010/02/pantheacon-day-3.html#IDComment57020196 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2010/01/the-dangers-of-praising-harry-hay.html#IDComment50582000 Kinda reminds me of how Rock Hudson was the role model for every American boy until...uh-oh.....gasp! Wed, 6 Jan 2010 03:12:51 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2010/01/the-dangers-of-praising-harry-hay.html#IDComment50582000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2010/01/what-do-the-babalawos-see-in-2010.html#IDComment50275122 I predict that humanity will behave pretty much as they always have.....llike humans. This will result in further degradation of all that is good and natural, with increasing consequences for all living things. One year from now, you are all welcome to prove me wrong. Mon, 4 Jan 2010 01:29:22 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2010/01/what-do-the-babalawos-see-in-2010.html#IDComment50275122 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/hollywoods-rampant-pantheism.html#IDComment48581357 I haven't seen the film yet, but do they have the standard Baptist chaplain pleading with the General to please let him take a shot at bringing those heathens to Christ before they kill every last one of them for DARING to exist in the way of superior, God blessed human capitalists? I wonder if we ever get a visit by an alien missionary, is that the signal that WE need to just kiss OUR butts goodbye......... Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:21:31 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/hollywoods-rampant-pantheism.html#IDComment48581357 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/the-uu-post-theist-city-councilman.html#IDComment47858455 I like the way you think. Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:13:50 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/the-uu-post-theist-city-councilman.html#IDComment47858455 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/the-uu-post-theist-city-councilman.html#IDComment47658099 The Christians in this country need to get this straight; they do NOT run my life, and if they try to, they are going to get bit back. If they want to take on the US Constitution, then fine, I could use the money. Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:29:26 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/the-uu-post-theist-city-councilman.html#IDComment47658099 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/just-how-pagan-is-copenhagen.html#IDComment47492201 I would like to think that all the "awareness" I seem to witness here in the end makes some sort of difference, but as an avid observer of the human condition, I have come to the unarguable conclusion that between lemmings and humans, the former seems to possess a more solid sense of self-preservation. So much for sentience; we are screwed. Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:02:45 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/just-how-pagan-is-copenhagen.html#IDComment47492201 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/pagans-at-the-parliament-update.html#IDComment45683817 When it comes to people representing an "obscure indiginous pagan religion", is there any particular vetting process to prevent someone from trotting in with a totally made-up tradition, at the expense of those of us trying to take everyone seriously? Just wondering..... Thu, 3 Dec 2009 14:39:55 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/pagans-at-the-parliament-update.html#IDComment45683817 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/c-o-g-s-got-a-blog-and-other-pagan-news-of-note.html#IDComment45347797 The minute you mix culture with celebrity, both get bitch slapped by the absurb...... Tue, 1 Dec 2009 03:50:12 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/c-o-g-s-got-a-blog-and-other-pagan-news-of-note.html#IDComment45347797 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/the-literal-witch-hunts-in-saudi-arabia.html#IDComment44700770 Explain to me why any person on this planet can claim that this world is under the thumb of an "intelligent" species? We might be sentient, but we are not "civliized", nor have I detected any intelligence. Any species capable of arriving here from some other place in this galaxy cerainly will consider us a pest that needs to be removed before the planet can be returned to it's "normal" dynamic. As a Wiccan, I find precious little solace that Gaia has allowed us to persist this long......... Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:11:19 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/the-literal-witch-hunts-in-saudi-arabia.html#IDComment44700770 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/final-winter-pledge-drive-update.html#IDComment44401524 Jason, I am REALLY feeling guilty now, because I have been a voroucious consumer of National Public Radio for far longer than I've been following your blog, and I have YET to contribute to them. Now I'm going to have to, lest my Catholic guilt resurfaces and I start carrying around this nagging feeling there's some sort of hell waiting for me. You, my friend, are the equal of any mainstream press I have followed, and you truly seem to have our interests at heart, without falling victim to "the silly shit" I see so much of the pagan community fall victim to. I value rationality above all things, otherwise I'd have remained a Catholic. You also help me to avoid becoming an atheist altogether. Thank you and I hope my small subscription helps you live your dream, which is actually a dream we ALL share. Now, if only we could get Deo and Mandy back, all forgiven..........hehe Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:06:30 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/final-winter-pledge-drive-update.html#IDComment44401524 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/a-few-quick-notes-12.html#IDComment44206399 As a Wiccan, I do not recognize or allow to occur within my sphere of influence any ill intention (spells or whatever) towards another person; I take the invocation "Do NO harm" seriously. However, I will never hesitate to defend myself or those I care about. No, I have no worry whatsoever that there's some sort of satanic God out there actually honoring some sort of homocidal assasination prayer, but if any asshole fundamentalist Amercian Taliban type dweeb spouts off in MY presence this kind of idiotic ideation, I WILL press his/her ass to the wall and demand they explain why they are not the tool of this devil they continue to rant about. Sometimes I just wish I was an atheist.......... Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:58:29 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/a-few-quick-notes-12.html#IDComment44206399 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/more-on-the-pagan-angle-to-those-i-believe-plates.html#IDComment43131162 I'm starting a new religion. It includes Jesus. The name of this new religion is "The Holy Stupid Idiotic Jesus Freak Trailor Trash Chosen of God" Church. And WE will demand our OWN license plate, with, you guessed it, the name of our church,which, incidently, if you don't belong to it, you will indeed go to hell, and have a nice day. It is, afterall, our "right" under the constitution, right? Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:23:32 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/more-on-the-pagan-angle-to-those-i-believe-plates.html#IDComment43131162 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/pagan-news-of-note-26.html#IDComment42609170 “Most occultniks,” says Rachleff, “are either frauds of the intellectual and/or financial variety, or disturbed individuals who frequently mistake psychosis for psychic phenomena.” Excuse me, but what exactly is untrue about this statement? I am a practicing Wiccan, and yes, I will be the first one to assert that not everybody associated with Nature religions necessarily plays with a full deck. This is no different than the fact that many, if not most, Christian pastors are money grubbing fraudsters who in the privacy of their money storage rooms laugh at their mislead congregation's willingness to be played so easily in the name of Jesus. We had better be prepared to stare long and hard at our own laundry before claiming that only the "other" guys get THEIRS dirty........... Mon, 9 Nov 2009 21:31:50 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/11/pagan-news-of-note-26.html#IDComment42609170 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/10/the-village-voice-examines-halloran-odinism-conservative-pagans.html#IDComment40903223 Pah-leeeease! I am about lilly white as they come, and I have precious little to defend about being "European-American", that one tribe so famous for it's racial depridations. EVERY tribe has SOMEthing it shouldn't be proud of, so let's just accept that many of us of all colors and creeds have evolved, while others, a minority, thank the Gods, have not, and just move on. Many if not most caucasion cultures have a superiority complex that has not endeared them to other cultures, so remember that next time you want to give a knee-jerk "everybody hates me" reaction to what they fear might be the rise of yet another white engine of terror. And no, the is no one representative for Wicca, Odanism, or any other pagan spiritual or good-old-boy club. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:24:36 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/10/the-village-voice-examines-halloran-odinism-conservative-pagans.html#IDComment40903223 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/10/paganism-and-the-conservative-mind.html#IDComment38554922 I am getting rather bored with this insistence, even amongst ourselves, that there was never a Goddess-centric society in the far-distant past nor did very many pagans get burnt during the inquisition. Hey, I think it hardly matters that a whole lot of people by any standard were tortured and put to death simply because they thought or acted differently, yet were'nt really pagan, it was the intent that counted. Even today, Gauntanamo was crowded with poor suckers who pissed off the wrong people but weren't actually terrorists, and were framed simply for revenge or the bounty. It was the INTENT that did the damage just as much as the actual results of that intent, so let's get over this mantra that pagans and witches have no basis for complaint. Even now we have to worry about people like Sarah Palin and her preacher/witch hunter mentors getting into government and starting another witch-hunt. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:29:50 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/10/paganism-and-the-conservative-mind.html#IDComment38554922 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/10/the-dangers-of-secularizing-the-cross.html#IDComment38030165 Scalia was making some pretty illogical suggestions there, that "to make a leap from Jewish cemetary practices to the idea that war dead of ANY faith would not happily laying at rest beneath a cross is outrageous...."? Where in the hell does he get THAT assumption? Some of us would consider being buried beneath the symbol of our prosecution through the ages to be TOXIC! Scalia is showing his true colors, and maybe should resign if he can't seem to grasp the concept of the seperation of church and state. I can guarantee you that the government is NEVER going to use slight of hand public land transfers to preserve a Wiccan pentacle! Fri, 9 Oct 2009 21:19:26 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/10/the-dangers-of-secularizing-the-cross.html#IDComment38030165 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/10/the-free-things-i-receive.html#IDComment37539611 I rarely do reviews on my blog because, one, nobody knows who the hell I am; two nobody cares what I think; and three, I utterly refuse to wear t-shirts with corporate logos on them if I'm not going to get royalties for doing so. I have no problem whatsoever with the idea of having to declare that the media/product I am raving about was sent to me for free by the producer, especially since Apple is NEVER going to send ME a free iMac just because I have been a rabid fan of those computers since the first Macintosh came out. But it would be nice if they did........... Tue, 6 Oct 2009 22:27:25 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/10/the-free-things-i-receive.html#IDComment37539611 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/10/nature-religion-for-real-a-review-of-national-parks.html#IDComment37070895 As much as I loved this series, I still consider it cowardly that he did not address the efforts of the conservative administrations of late to rape and pilliage our natural resources and sell all these treasures to the private sector to "administer", for profit, no less. Conservative/Christians will be the death of our entire ecosphere if nothing is done to reign them in, and the effect that present day conservative administrations have had on our ecosystem should have been highlighted, because this great idea of ours, our national parks, will be nothing but a memory at the rate we are going. Sat, 3 Oct 2009 20:09:16 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/10/nature-religion-for-real-a-review-of-national-parks.html#IDComment37070895