July 2014 – Sumogirl Blog

The Need for Philosophic Counseling

Not every problem is psychological. Some are philosophic and moral and can benefit from philosophic counseling.

Life Isn't Easy

The military rejected the first application for a Humanist chaplain. Why does this matter? (See: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/05/humanists-in-the-military/371874/)

It matters because different people need different help. Sometimes they need professional psychological help. Sometimes their problem is actually medical. And sometimes it’s philosophic. Some people can read a book and improve their lives through self help. The point is that there is no one size fits all solution.

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Why Humanists Needs Community

The healthy and psychological benefits of community are real. Why would Humanists deny themselves those benefits?

Why HUmanists Need Community

There is a really cool article in The Telegraph (See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10914137/What-God-does-to-your-brain.html) The first half of the article is a review of neurotheology, the study of how brains create or experience religious experience. But it’s the 2nd half of the article that interests me most. That is where the author, Julia Smith – an atheist, discusses the medical and psychological benefits of community.

“Spirituality, after all, serves a vital human purpose. Numerous studies show that religious belief is medically and psychologically (not to mention socially) beneficial. Reports have shown that churchgoers live an average seven years longer than heathens. They report lower blood pressure, recover quicker from breast cancer, have better outcomes from coronary disease and rheumatoid arthritis, have greater success with IVF and are less likely to have children with meningitis.”
Her conclusion? “if I want to be psychologically healthy, I need to ape the faithful.” And I think we should.

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The stupidity of Standardized Testing

Comparing Apples to Melons To Cherries

The stupidity of Standardized Testing in America

Refuse to accept the status quo when the status quo sucks!

Testing is big business. Every time you change the test, which is happening yearly in Florida now, you change the curricula (which now supersedes the state curricula). Here’s why. Every time you change the test, you are now testing against a specific curricula and a specific set of text books. If you don’t have the correct books for the test, you probably won’t pass the test.

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Corporations vs. The People

Corporate Rights vs. Human Rights

Not all religious beliefs are harmless. Some cause real damage

Corporate Rights are supposed to be restricted so that they don’t interfere with the rights of individual humans. Or why the Hobby Lobby Ruling is so problematic.
What really pisses me off about the Hobby Lobby decision – is that that the court ruled that everyone is equal, but some people are more equal than others.

To translate – people who own businesses – have more rights than you do. They now have the right to restrict your rights. Hobby Lobby has the legal right to not abide by a law designed to protect you, the individual. And they have this right because they were offended. Not that this law harmed them, but because they were offended. So, if your rights offend a rich business man, according to the SCOTUS – business can seek exemption from the law that protects your rights. Thus giving business owners the right to restrict your rights.

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The Need for Philosophic Counseling

Why Humanists Needs Community

Comparing Apples to Melons To Cherries

Corporate Rights vs. Human Rights

Advice to Israel