From World Daily News :

A 13-year-old boy has been suspended for three days by an Arizona public school because he sketched a picture that resembled a gun, something school officials said they “absolutely” believed could pose a threat.

According to a report by KPHO-TV in Phoenix, it’s not the type of greeting the Mosteller family expected when they moved from Colorado Springs to Chandler, Ariz., a few weeks ago.

“My son is a very good boy,” Paul Mosteller told the television station. “He doesn’t get into trouble. There was nothing on the paper that would signify that it was a threat of any form.”

The principal at Payne Junior High School kept the actual drawing, and officials with the Chandler Unified School District declined to release any information about the situation.

WorldNetDaily is running an article reporting Ohio customer Michelle Incanno’s problems with her Starbucks cup, which came with the quote:

“Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure.”

She says:

“As someone who loves God, I was so offended by that,” Michelle Incanno, a married mother of three who is Catholic, told the Dayton Daily News. “I don’t think there needs to be religious dialogue on it. I just want coffee.”

Haha, religious dialogue? This is philosophy, not religion. Plus, I’m not sure how a note on a cup constitutes a *dia*logue. But let us engage in the dialogue that Mrs Incanno did not want, since that’s what bloggers do. My problem is that Mrs Incanno is implying that God is this separate entity, this thing inside a church that she goes every week to worship. Frankly, viewpoints and protests such as these are exactly the kind of problems that result from blind faith. The unification of the “self” and the “almighty”, as opposed to the recognition of God as an object of worship has existed in many religions. In Vedic Hinduism, one is reminded of “Aham Brahmhasmi”, which loosely translates to “I am almighty”, referring to the same the power inside of us that the Starbucks quote talks of. Why do you have a problem with that, Mrs. Incanno? What of the symbolism behind the consumption of wine and bread? Does that not then represent an attempt to capture some of the magic in our own material body? My understanding is that Christianity in most of its forms forbids idolatry — and it is not the only religion to do so. It is a recurring theme across religions, where the crux of faith lies inside the believer. Then why have a problem with the quote? For all you know, there’s probably some frustrated, depressed suicidal yuppie who will want to have his last Venti Mocha Quadruple Espresso to go wash down that jar full of sleeping pills, who will read this quote and and realize that God Almighty is not going to fly down and hand him a pile of cash, that he needs to get off his ass and get his act together. Given the potential benefits, I think Mrs. Incanno is better off ignoring messages she does not understand.