Religulous

The irony of religion is that because of its power to divert man to destructive courses, the world could actually come to an end. The plain fact is, religion must die for mankind to live. The hour is getting very late to be able to indulge in having in key decisions made by religious people. By irrationalists, by those who would steer the ship of state not by a compass, but by the equivalent of reading the entrails of a chicken. George Bush prayed a lot about Iraq, but he didn't learn a lot about it. Faith means making a virtue out of not thinking.

It's nothing to brag about. And those who preach faith, and enable and elevate it are intellectual slaveholders, keeping mankind in a bondage to fantasy and nonsense that has spawned and justified so much lunacy and destruction. Religion is dangerous because it allows human beings who don't have all the answers to think that they do. Most people would think it's wonderful when someone says, "I'm willing, Lord! I'll do whatever you want me to do!" Except that since there are no gods actually talking to us, that void is filled in by people with their own corruptions and limitations and agendas.

And anyone who tells you they know, they just know what happens when you die, I promise you, you don't. How can I be so sure? Because I don't know, and you do not possess mental powers that I do not. The only appropriate attitude for man to have about the big questions is not the arrogant certitude that is the hallmark of religion, but doubt. Doubt is humble, and that's what man needs to be, considering that human history is just a litany of getting shit dead wrong. This is why rational people, anti-religionists, must end their timidity and come out of the closet and assert themselves. And those who consider themselves only moderately religious really need to look in the mirror and realize that the solace and comfort that religion brings you actually comes at a terrible price.

If you belonged to a political party or a social club that was tied to as much bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, violence, and sheer ignorance as religion is, you'd resign in protest. To do otherwise is to be an enabler, a mafia wife, for the true devils of extremism that draw their legitimacy from the billions of their fellow travelers. If the world does come to an end here, or wherever, or if it limps into the future, decimated by the effects of religion-inspired nuclear terrorism, let's remember what the real problem was that we learned how to precipitate mass death before we got past the neurological disorder of wishing for it. That's it. Grow up or die.

-Bill Maher, from Religulous

Drug tests for driver's licenses

For years now, I've been seeing the "MAKING DRUG TEST MANDATORY FOR WELFARE" meme pop up on Facebook. It has 1.5 million fans... that's a lot for something on Facebook, so obviously people support the idea and it gained enough traction to be made into law in Florida.

Of course, it's a laughable failure, but in our current political climate, that doesn't matter. Much like the 2012 GOP candidates, the concept is failing upward and Ohio is expected to institute a similar law.

I get the idea behind it, we've demonized poor people so much, it's easy to get people to rally against them, even if a small portion of them are truly the "lazy, drug-addled drain on society" that they're painted as. Never mind the fact that it's demonstrably a waste of money, once people have their minds made up on something like this, the details don't matter, they "won." The only way these kind of "kick 'em when they're down" laws go away is when they start to affect the lives of everyday folk.

So it's time to start drug testing for driver's licenses! Aren't we all tired of drug addicts and alcoholics killing innocent people on the road, costing taxpayer money in terms of police, rescue workers and court costs? Why should we continue to allow dangerous criminals to drive on our taxpayer-funded roads?

Oh sure, we're assuming that everyone behind the wheel is a criminal, but a driver's license is a privilege, not a right. If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't mind going into the DMV, waiting in that excruciatingly long line, dropping your pants in front of a low-paid bureaucrat and pissing in a cup every time you get your license renewed. You don't want to do that? Well I suppose we could just take your blood instead. What's a little humiliation in the interest of saving money and lives?

I promise you, the minute some overpaid, coked-up, midlife-crisis douchebag in a Porsche has to pee in front of a grumpy DMV employee, these "drug test for (x)" laws will dry up pretty fucking quick.