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Ghost Rider

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me

My name's Scott, but because my last name is a pain in the ass for people to pronounce, everyone just calls me Koz.As a Free Thinker I am open to any and all possibilities and I like to do my own thinking and make up my own mind. I don't take anyone's words or ideas to heart without examining all the facts available and I believe that knowledge and fact is infinitely more important than dogmatic beliefs, faith and talking points.Because of this, one of my favorite things to do is talk about the important issues in life. I like to call it 'debate,' while others say that I like to argue. To me, an argument implies emotional outbursts or irrational content. The idea of debate is to compare the ideas held between two people or groups and see which makes for a more rational point of view in the hopes of reaching a compromise or winning converts.If you hold some idea or some world view as true, then asking you to defend that point or explain your views isn't asking you to move mountains, it's simply seeking to understand. However, if you cannot explain the how and why of your world view, or you feel that examining or challenging your world view is grounds for an emotional or irrational outburst, you KNOW your point of view is either wrong or based on a questionable foundation.I am a recovering Christian and an Agnostic Atheist, and no that's not a cop out.The word Agnostic comes to us from Thomas H. Huxley. He coined the term by adding the prefix 'a' (meaning without or not) to the word Gnostic which comes from the Greek word gnosis, meaning knowledge.As an Agnostic, I cannot deny the existence of a creator god or an afterlife. There may very well be a "first cause" or a "creator," however I can say that no one really knows the truth of the existence of such a god or gods. Anything capable of creating everything we know and see around us would be so far beyond human knowledge that it flies in the face of reason that we somehow figured it all out around the Bronze Age.Now for the easy part. The word atheist comes from the Greek word atheos which means "denying the gods" or "Without God." Again, we add the prefix of 'a' to the word 'theos,' meaning "god."While I am agnostic about the existence of a 'first cause' or a 'creator god,' I am 100% atheistic in regards to all of the man-made gods of this world.On the political side of the coin, I'm a Classical Liberal/Modern Conservative Libertarian. I long for the day when we can get the Imperial Federal Government out of as much of everyone's lives as humanly possible, restore the original Federalist Government as envisioned by the founding Fathers, and bring TRUE freedom to this nation.Because of my belief that government is a necessary evil that needs to be limited by the governments of the state and by the people of this nation, I cannot vote for the average 'big government' Modern Liberal/Socialist/Fascist Democrat even though I'm very liberal when it comes to social issues. We SHOULD take care of those who cannot take care of themselves, but not those who actively CHOOSE not to or try and game the system.However, I have real problems with the Republicans as they tend to swing too far to the right and into trying to impose the religious and moral ideals of the Christian Church on the entire nation.Sure, I like lower taxes, free markets, freedom from government control, and the right to own and use my guns, but It's getting harder and harder to 'pull the lever' for the Red State Party because of the influence of the Dominionist Christian Evangelicals on the GOP. So I'm stuck voting for the lesser of two evils until the Libertarians can field a candidate who can actually get elected.

My Interests

Words to Live by:"The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal,genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." - Richard Dawkins"Whenever we read the obscene stories the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindicitiveness with which more than half the bible is filled, it would be more consistant that we call it the word of a demon rather than the word of god. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my part, I sincerely detest it as I detest everything that is cruel." - Thomas Paine"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson"For me, it is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan "The universe is cool enough without having to make up crap about it." - Dr. Phil Plait"I contend that we are both atheists. I just go one god further than you. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen Robert"Religion ends and philosophy begins, just as alchemy ends and chemistry begins and astrology ends, and astronomy begins." - Christopher Hitchens"Good people will do good things, and bad people will do bad things. But for good people to do bad things -- that takes religion." - Steven Weinberg"It has been asserted, that a moral Atheist would be a monster beyond the power of nature to create: I reply, that it is not more strange for an Atheist to live virtuously, than for a Christian to abandon himself to crime! If we believe the last kind of monster, why dispute the existence of the first?" - Pierre Bayle"An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret, and to misapply even the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." - Thomas Paine

I'd like to meet:

Well, for starters I guess that I'd like to meet a fellow free-thinking revolutionary how just happens to be a rich, green eyed, red headed, gothy, bisexual, asian dominatrix porn star who wouldn't mind being my sugar momma... :)But since that's not likely to happen in my lifetime, I guess that I'd like to meet:Dr. Ron Paul, Richard Dawkins, Ron Paul, Christopher Hitchens, Denis Leary, Sam Harris, Penn & Teller, Angelina Jolie, Eric Cartman, Jack Fuckin' Bauer, Tera Patrick, and A Fundamentalist who I can actually talk some sense to...

Music:

As you can tell by listening to my playlist, I like a LOT of different kinds of music. Let the playlist continue on to get an idea of my taste in Music. I can listen to just about anything except gospel music and most rap. I like Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, but beyond that I can't stand most rap and R&B.My primary interests are Heavy Metal, Black Metal and Hard Progressive rock followed closely by the new Classicaly influenced Heavy Metal. I love heavy music paired with symphonic, classical styles of orchestral music. Probably because I like Metal and classical music almost equally. Hey, It's a chocolate/peanut butter thing.I also dig female vocalists. I really love Sarah Brightman, Sarah McLachlan, and Tori Amos (though mostly her older stuff). This is probably why I like the new trend in metal of women fronting metal bands. I really like groups like Lacuna Coil, Evanescence and Withing Temptation.

Movies:

If it doesn't have liberal doses of Violence, tits, Guns, ass, swords, explosions, car chases, loud music, excessive cursing, special effects, giant fucking robots, total fucking destruction, and asian women, I ain't watchin' it.Seriously though, here's my current top twenty list from my DVD Collection:1 300 2 Hot Fuzz 3 (tie) Clerks 1 and 2 5 (Tie) Kill Bill 1 and 2 7 Sin City 8 Dogma 9 Bubba Ho Tep 10 Army of Darkness 11 Ghost Rider 12 The God Who Wasn't There 13 Dawn of the Dead (new version) 14 Hostel 15 The Empire Strikes Back 16 Star Wars 17 Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back 18 The Matrix (original Movie) 19 The Matrix: Revolutions 20 Shaun of the Dead

Television:

Here's what's on my Tivo Season Pass List:24 Heroes Lost Penn & Teller: Bullshit Dexter Battlestar Galactica (new) The Shield Rescue Me Eureka South Park Myth Busters Deadliest Catch Future Weapons.The best of those shows that have moved on:The X Files (though only the first 5 years or so) Babylon 5 Firefly Twin fuckin' Peaks Dark Angel Buffy the Vampire Slayer Farscape

Books:

An Inconvenient Book - Glenn Beck A very funny and Libertarian/Conservative view of the state of our society and the issues facing America today. Say what you will about Glenn and his being a Mormon and an unapologetic Modern Conservative, a LOT of this book makes PERFECT sense if you can take off the Modern Liberal glasses and just think about things. Likely to make blood shoot from your eyes if you're a Modern Liberal.For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto - Murray N. Rothbard This book should be REQUIRED reading for anyone who fancies themselves a Libertarian or thinks that our personal freedom is the most important aspect of our lives. A classic book on TRUE freedom, Classical Liberalism and the "new" Libertarian Movement that once again is catching fire in this country today.What Has Government Done to Our Money? - Murray N Rothbard Simply put, you MUST read this book if you give a DAMN about the future economic health of the United States of America, or the world for that matter. Rothbard TEARS the Dollar, the Federal Reserve, and Governmental control of money to pieces and makes one HELL of a case for the return to Gold as money. This book borders on Prophetic as almost EVERYTHING Rothbard warns against in the book is coming true and anyone who is curious as to why our economy right now is in as much trouble as it is now need only read this book...The Ethics of Liberty - Murray N. Rothbard and Hans-Hermann Hoppe This is next on the reading queue so I'll let your know as soon as I'm done!Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning - Jonah Goldberg For a Conservative leaning book, this one so far is right on the money regarding the Fascist movement in America that looked at both Communism and National Socialism as the wave of the future (To quote Sam Kinison; "Yeah it's the wave of the future! Here it is! Goodbye!") and how it was the BASIS of the Modern Liberal/Progressive movement, and the "Compassionate Conservative" movements (which basically means Progressive Lite with a little God thrown in for the Jesus Freaks out there) as well.The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man - Robert Price Currently reading this one.The Fair Tax Book and The Fair Tax: The Truth both - Neal Boortz and John Linder Irradicate the IRS! Everyone should read these books!The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming - Christopher Horner The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism is good for a few things. Primarily, it's going to open your eyes to the reality of the Global Green movement and how the "Green" agenda is really more about population control, anti-capitalism, and energy control than it is about doing anything to "stabilize" the climate.Unstoppable Global Warming - Dennis Avery and S. Fred Singer Another Global warming book. This one is more about the evidence that no one is talking about, the evidence of a roughly 1500 year climate cycle that seems to be primarily driven by Solar activity and how the environmental movement doesn't want you to know about the natural causes of all the warming and cooling trends in the history of the world.God is Not Great - Christopher Hitchens As damning an piece on religion as I've ever read. Hitchens disects the mind virus known as religion with wit and precission and makes it all easy to read and enjoyable. Hitchens offers no quarter here...The Jesus Puzzle - Earl Doherty Earl Doherty opens the bible and historical tests and asks the question; Did Jesus really exist? A MUST READ!The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins Dawkins, like Hitchens above, opens fire on the idea of religion in general and takes it apart piece by piece. Dawkins is a bit more hostile in this book than in previous works (I LOVE The Blind Watchmaker) but it's still a source of great information and entertainment.Letter to a Christian Nation - Sam Harris Never before have I read a book that so clearly explains my own personal feelings on God and religion. Written in the style of a long letter to a Christian, this book has a laser-like focus on making the religious among us understand the point of view of the non-believer.The End of Faith - Sam Harris Sam Harris wrote this book before Letter to a Christian Nation and this covers a lot of different religions and anti-religious points of view. A great read.Illustrated Stories from the Bible - Paul Farrell The shear genius of this book cannot be praised enough. The idea here is simple: Make a book that takes some of the most idiotic, brutal, sexist, racist, and moronic stories that are contained in the bible and tell those stories with artist renderings and modern language and then provide a commentary on those stories that includes chapter and verse quotes and the Christian "reasoning" for the brutality, murder and rape that their god has seen fit to include in the Bible. The end result is a book that showcases the shear ignorance of many theists out there as to just what exactly is contained in "the good book."Someboby's Gotta Say It - Neal Boortz The High Priest of the Church of the Painful Truth is at it again. Neal Boortz tears apart issue after issue in this funny, informative, and inspiring text. I dare anyone to read this and not walk away pissed off or quivering like a pile of Jell-O left out in the sun...The Athiests are Revolting - Nick Gisburne First off, let me say that I/m glad that Nick wrote this book because it's infinitely easier to digest than some of his You-Tube videos. This is a very entertaining read that seems to balance witt, facts, theology and religion in a way that few books I've read have done. While it's not on the same level as Say a Dawkins or Harris, what this book has is humor. And lots of it. If you are a fan of Nick from his Youtube days, then this is going to be one of your favorite books. If you're looking for an introductory book on reasons for atheism and arguements against theism then pick it up as well. It's worth it for the wonderful CHAPTERS (yes, more than one) on the Noah's Ark story.Think! - Michael R. LeGault This book by Mr. LeGault is a brilliant counter balance to the Book "Blink" and shows how emotionally driven split second decisions do more harm than good and how taing the time to think about your decisions is infinitely more productive.The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. TolkienShould be required reading for everyone. This is a rare example of fiction that I can actually read.

Heroes:

Heroes should be examples to which one looks as guiding forces in their lives. So my list of heroes is very odd, to say the least.Ron Paul Christopher Hitchens Carl Sagan Thomas Paine Sam Kinison Ronald Wilson Reagan Denis Leary Richard Dawkins Thomas Jefferson Sam Harris The Infidel Guy Jack Fucking Bauer Penn & Teller General William Tecumseh Sherman