I know I posted this before, but I like it and so I'm posting it again. If you don't have a sense of humor, then read this first, it's my favorite philosophical concept:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum

If marriage is to only be between a man and a woman, and we think this is such a matter of public policy that an amendment to the constitution is even discussed, then I think we need to really go for it. When someone applies for a marriage liscense, they should have to get naked so everyone can see their genitals to perform the first test that they're man and woman. Pictures should be taken and made accessible for anyone who wants to see. Now, I know surgery and stuff can change these things, so blood tests must also be performed. Additionally, people can have gender identity problems, so even someone biologically and physically one gender may not mentally be that gender, making whether they're fully man or woman questionable. Full inquisition for all of them, subject to any test any citizen deems appropriate to protect the sanctity of marriage. Once a person is stripped, tested, interrogated, and finally approved, then they can ethically get married and live happily ever after, for the next 4 years when 50% of marriages end in divorce.

  I have been kind of more of a mess than usual lately. I don't want to do the things I should do. I don't do the things I need to do. I do the things I shouldn't do. I want to do the things I can't do. Who knows what the end result is.
  I feel my relationships are strained. The more I want them to work, the more distance seems to appear. All relationships have felt just a little distant lately, and maybe I am kind of desparate for a connection where in the back of my mind I'm not stressing about what the other person is thinking, if I'm being cool enough, or whether I'm making the person hate me. Really desparate for a real connection. I have become very self defeating, and the fact that my school and work feel like I'm running as hard as I can in place instead of even strolling anywhere are just contributing. I can't live like this, I'm out of things to be passionate about and I feel most people can't understand the things I think about.
  For example, I have comcluded that faith and knowledge are mutually exclusive. Once you have proof, faith is futile because there is no trust in the unknown. As it is, then, the search for proof of things that require faith (let's say, in the case of Christianity, a belief in god) is a search to negate faith as it should be understood. Coincidentally, then, knowledge of something that contradicts faith is meaningless to the faith. If faith requires no positive proof, how can it be affected by negative proof? Now, as an atheist, I'd love to make all religious people believe what I believe to try to do away with all the spiritual BS that stands in the way of things I want, but really, I'd be content if everyone happily coexisted with mutual respect. With that, I pose this question to a religious person who follows intelligent design and negates evolution. When presented with evidence in favor of evolution, why can't you just say, "Ok. I see your evidence, it's compelling, true, it conflicts directly with what I believe, but I don't require evidence for what I believe and still believe it. I don't know how, but somehow if your evidence is true it is because the two systems mesh in a way I don't understand but trust is true." This is what faith should be about.
  Additionally, I've become conflicted on the concept of Christmas decorations and wishing people Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays. Ben Stein wrote a post about being Jewish and not caring when people wished him a Merry Christmas, because he knew Jewish people were the minority and in general people were just wishing nice things. Honestly, you have no idea what holiday people celebrate, or if they celebrate at all, so even Happy Holidays isn't reasonable. I got to thinking. Let's say 2 people walk up to each other, one speaks spanish, the other speaks English, neither know what the other speaks. The English person will say hello in their native tongue, and the spanish person will say hellp in their native tongue, no one will be offended and both will have meant good things. Look, minorities in this country must acknowledge to some degree that they're a minority. That being said, there's a huge difference between putting up a sign or a tree in a store and saying Merry Christmas, and committing the Holocaust. All symbols and messages only have meaning once someone gives them meaning. I, as an atheist, still recognize Santa, trees, and all that hubbub as symbols of a nice time of year where we all give gifts and are with friends. I am not offended by them at all and separate them from their religious origins. I propose that as a society, we collectively examine statistics on population ratios, and no matter what decorations an individual or company decides to put up, know that they are expressing their wishes for this season in their own "language" and not renouncing yours should it be different. Let us recognize that all symbols, though rooted in different traditions, are pretty much all saying "have a good time with your family eating good food, baking cookies, and receiving gifts." I will continue to say "Merry Christmas" because it is the way I define my holiday season, but if you are Jewish or any other faith, please do not be offended, but instead with me a "Happy Chaunukkah" (sp) or whatever it is you celebrate.
  I am piecing together a view of the world in my head and I feel I'm making great internal strides, the only problem is the more truths I find the more the defy societal tradition. I must keep working on this, at whatever the cost, until I can optimally interact and adapt with my environment.

   Here's some links I liked this last few weeks:

Articles on how neat Turtles are.

A Marine gives his view on Iraq.

Well, my b-day is coming up and I've been getting a lot of questions as to what I will be doing. My mom will be in town, we're going out to a nice dinner, then going to my place and it will more than likely involve Guitar Hero and one of my amazing Vortex of Weird situations. Who knows what will transpire. That's how I roll, who knows, a midget may hit me, lightning could strike, I could weld another body part shut.

Gotta love that rhetoric, I sure do! I Support Our Troops, without questioning what their conduct or attitude is, gotta support em!

Teach the little ungreatful kids not to waste money on bottled water when it comes out of the tap for free! Plus he looks fat from eating all the time, he needed the exercise! And a good lesson in hard knocks that you don't always get what you work for. Support Our Troops!

See, this is why profiling works, now we know to look out for kids as terrorists. Let's start screening them at airports and stuff extra careful. And to think that the orders didn't come down to use deadly force. I almost used deadly force when a rock got kicked up by the car in front of me on the turnpike and broke my windshield, this officer must be unAmerican. Let's shoot those kids dead so they know not to throw rocks at us again. It's little terrorists like that that take away from the joy of the victory over there and how much the people love us. Support Our Troops!

Sorry, I can't even joke about this one, if they love being in the army, it's time to support our troops stay there so they don't come back home and become a burden on our country.

Man, I've come to incorrectly consider myself an atheist. Always defiant with the whole "there's no proof" argument, I have finally seen scientific, irrefutable proof that God does exist and has created every facet of the universe to cater to our needs. Oh praise be to the almighty Lord for thine wisdom and grace, and I beg Thee for forgiveness for my bold and brazen questioning of thine Holy existance!

Irrefutable Proof.