The Year in Review

The year has been eventful. It began soberly, with the assassination of a woman who had been working for peace in the Arab world. February was incredibly slow, with only two posts (the blog was a different color back then).

The blog exploded when I posted a link to a post on Monique Davis, which created a huge outcry in the atheist community and got a half sincere apology.

We saw the death of one of the most public and prominent atheists, George Carlin.

I learned about brains, the Constitution and the war on Christmas.

Oh, yeah, and saw the election of a new President.

It was a good year, and with the addition of Ryan Anderson to the crew (and possibly more additions to come) the next year is going to be even better.

To all of you regulars, thanks for reading. It's much appreciated.

New Year's Eve

I started really blogging here a year ago tomorrow, and so I think I'll probably do a review of the last year at some point today.

I don't know how the weather is in other parts of the country, and of the world, but in Oakland it's cold, crisp and beautiful out today. I'm going for a run this morning, because my kid brother is sleeping on the couch and my dad's house backs up into a park (one of the things Teddy Roosevelt got very, very right).

I'll definitely a nice, juicy year in review piece today where I'll talk about some of the biggest issues of the year and some of the biggest posts, as well as some of my favorite posts that didn't get all the much attention.

I've learned a lot and expanded a lot, and while I started with virtually no readers, I'm not at a point where I have plenty of readership, and am actually going to start making money with other internet writing ventures (this, though, is still very much a labor of love).

I've also been thinking about marriage in a secular context a lot (it came up in a conversation and I've been trying to work out, logically how an atheist should feel about it).

My Morning

I've spent today working in my other life (as a fight journalist) talking to a mixed martial arts legend in Pat Miletich and WAMMA COO Michael Lynch.

Sorry that the blogging has become less regular, but as I start to focus on other stuff, I'm going to have to cut back the blogging a little bit, and I'll post some referral pieces.

Blagojevich names Senator Obama's successor in the legislature. I'm not too happy with the result, but he's giving it to the guy who lobbied for it.

Israel talks about the truce offer.

Ford announces the self-parking card.

Hitch's Second Shot at Rick Warren

Warren is an easy target, but since he's a good illustration of everything that's wrong with conservative Evangelical Christians, it's nice that someone as public as Christopher Hitchens (for more eloquent than I am) should take him on.

In his second piece, he has focused his attention on something that I was not entirely familiar with, Warren's connections to terrorism. They are far more notable than Bill Ayers or even, in the case of Senator Obama's opponent, G. Gordon Liddy.

He more or less concludes with:

Warren wanted to be on video for his open-mouthed followers as he posed "on the road to Damascus." And he didn't care what deals he had to make, with Baath and Toothbrush Central Command, in order to bring off such a fundraising coup. But now it's the sandals of Obama that are being exploited by the same tub-thumper, and one has not merely a right but a duty to object to having as an inaugural auxiliary a man who is a pushover for anti-Semitism, Islamic sectarianism, "rapture" theology, fascist dictatorship, 10th-rate media trade-offs, and last-minute panicky self-censorship all at the same time.

Great stuff.

WBC to Picket the Inauguration

I don't know what possessed me to take a look through the Westboro Baptist Church's picketing schedule, and I don't really feel like rationalizing, but I looked over it and, as I expected, they plan to picket the inauguration of President-Elect Obama.

Of course, they think that the Senator is the Anti-Christ, which is not shocking given the typically incoherent nature of their babel.

Frankly, I think most people get the message: god Hate Everything! Fags are bad, dead soldiers are good, and blah, blah, blah.

Still, there is something that makes me curious about their message, because the more I read into it, the more I realize that the notions that they are talking about are incredibly Biblical. I mean, they take care of all of their source citations and, when I do the references, everything is in context (though absurd and undesirable, and ignorant of some important passages).

It seems that while having the positions of the WBC is not the only result of a Biblical interpretation, the position is a rational one if the literalist worldview is espoused.

Obviously, any literal worldview is absurd anyway, but this is the extreme that Mike Huckabee claims to deal with. The only difference is, these people are so far into it that they don't realize how nuts they are.

At least most Christians are self conscious and aware of the inanity of their beliefs.

Creationist Idiocy on Comfort and Cameron

Way of the Master Ministries is one of the stupidest organizations in apologetics.

Luke takes on one of their best fallacies. Hopefully there's more to come.

The Problem with the Bible

I read the Christian Bible on a regular basis, and I have a great deal of experience reading the "Old Testament" (or the Jewish Bible, depending on your point of view). My problem with it, in reading as an atheist, is not that it reads a transcending document, but just the opposite.

The Bible reads exactly like you'd expect it to if you were reading it as a biased, recent historical record of history, completely lacking a firm understanding of physics, biology and mathematics. It doesn't have any mind boggling poetic form, nothing shocking or ethically profound, at least not with respect to it being new.

If the authors of the Gospels had been college English students, they'd all have been flunked for plagiarism, especially if they had my Communications teacher (I can still hear her plagiarism seminar ringing in my ears). They borrowed from dozens of mythologies and couldn't get a story straight, just like you'd expect them to if they were uninspired by some divine entity.

When people ask me what it'd take for me to believe that a book was divinely inspired, it's pretty easy to shrug it off, but if I really think about it, I always find myself at the same conclusion:

It needs to be more than I'd expect from four guys writing 1900 years ago.

In fact, it should supersede everything I've ever read, in wisdom, eloquence and accuracy. It needs to contain not simply lasting truths (after all, there are like 20 substantial truths in any good book of poetry, and no one attributes those to a higher power). It should demonstrate an obvious understanding of science that those writing it could not possibly understand, but the Biblical writers don't even demonstrate an understanding of atomism.

First, I suppose, I'd have to be convinced of a higher power willing to intervene in our lives, and I'm definitely not, but still, that's the issue with the Bible.

How can a book that is exactly what you expect be the product of the supernatural? How can a book that is not even well organized, intelligently structured and unimpressive with regard to content (no more credible than any other piece of mythology coming out of that era) be held in such high esteem?

It befuddles me.

Eddie Current's Animation Skizzles

This is a fun way of illustrating my restructuring of Pascal's Wager.

There are no second chances at life. Do it right.

Creepy Girl From Jesus Camp

The kids were interesting, but the most disturbing, in my opinion, was the uninhibited daughter, Rachel.

The News is Slow

And when the news is slow, I find random crap on the internet.

Still, I'll think twice about talking during the movie, because apparently people get shot for that kind of stuff life.

Saturday Morning Zen: Buddha's Zen

The 101'st of the 101 Zen Stories is simply a quote from the Buddha, and it is as elegant as it is deep.

I consider the position of kings and rulers as those of dust motes. I observe treasures of gold and gems as so many bricks and pebbles. I look upon the finest silken robes as tattered rags. I see the myriad worlds of the universe as small seeds of fruit, and the greatest lake in India as a drop of oil on my foot. I perceive the teachings of this world to be the illusions of magicians. I discern the highest conception of emancipation as but a golden brocade in a dream, and view the holy path of the illuminated ones as flowers appearing in ones eyes. I see meditation appearing as the pillar of a mountain, Nirvana as a nightmare of daytime. I look upon judgment of right and wrong as the serpentine dance of a dragon, and the rise and fall of beliefs as but traces left by the four seasons.

The first thing that should be said is that this is easy to mistake for fatalism, and it's not. The Buddha does not say that life is pointless, but rather that the things we think of as massive (the largest ocean in India) are really only minute.

This is a matter of seeing the cosmic context, something that the Buddha was one of the earliest philosophers to really understand the concept of, as well as the implications of such an understanding.

In coming to terms with our own smallness, with the relative size even of things that seem as monstrous and all consuming as religions and governments, we gain a more appropriate awareness of our place in the universe. That is the Buddha's message, not that this is something that should be disastrous to our self esteem, our sense of grandeur, but that it is something we should try to understand.

Now, if I were the Buddha, I would have added an addendum to this sentence. I am not the Buddha, but I think the point is still worth making.

In understanding smallness we embrace all of the other small things, all other simple pleasures, and enjoy them in the same way we were before only able to enjoy that which we were deluded enough to believe had a superior position in the universe.

The (potential) Benefits of a Celebrity President

The more I listen to all of the stupidity, whether it's about the shirtless photos or the crowds coming to see him at a shopping mall, the more I wonder what impact this will have on politics, and on the American awareness of the state of our nation and the political system.

With the complete and objective failure of the last President, we all knew that the next guy was going to be under a microscope, we all knew that people were going to care a little more and watch far more closely than they had to any President in a long time. I was certain, at the time, that the voyeur-esque technologies were going to play a major roll in that.

Still, with the President-elect's charisma and personally, and the optimism that he has stirred, especially in young people (who are the only people in the country who really care what kind of sandwich he's eating), I've started to wonder if this will translate to his policy making.

I would love to have a celebrity President, where everybody knew his name and, in order to follow him, everybody knew what kind of policies he was legislating, what kind of platforms he was proposing. Still, in considering my generation, I wonder if they're continue to care one they are force to learn where Iraq is on a map. I wonder if they will bother to pay attention when he's sworn in and starts to attempt to create the change he had preached.

There is a part of me that really hopes young people actually start to give a crap about the way the world works, because that awareness in the young voter, which has now been shown to be a powerful and committed voting block, is something that can create a lot of great political movement.

Young people are aware of the impact of global warming, because they know that they're going to have to live for another 60-80 years. Young people will, in time, start to worry about Social Security, because they know it will go bankrupt long before we ever get any, or at least the taxes will become severe to the point of debilitation, and that we will be the ones shouldering that inordinate burden.

The real question is over whether or not having a politician that people follow will translate to a sincere desire to understand the issues.

One can only hope.

Dana Perino Defends The Penguin

Not the cute kind in the tuxedo.

It's embarrassing to see the White House Press Secretary grilled over this stupidity. I'm sure that when she talks about legal scholars, she's referencing that Ann Coulter book of Constitutional Law. I'm ready for this administration to be gone now.

IE Post: Find Compassion

As always, I encourage you guys to check out the little side project, even though I haven't updated it in a while. I did today.

If You're an Idiot, Raise Your Hand

That means you, Rick Warren.

In following a link PZ posted on evolution, I found that Warren, big shocker, is completely nuts. I mean, I knew that, but this is the hard evidence.

Of course, there's the absurd claim that Christians make that god cannot "hear your prayers" if you don't believe. As Hitch points out, there isn't a god to hear your prayers anyway, but, lets be realistic, and intellectually honest about the whole thing, if you have to qualify your answer with "well, sometimes god says no" then you're trying to wipe away the data that conflicts with the statement. You're reconciling the fact that things just happen by saying god will not always deliver. Like many statements, though, it's rhetorical, and in John it says that god answers the prayers of any of those who ask through Jesus, which is completely untrue.

Warren thinks that he has some special invocation, but has no evidence to back that up. Of course he does, because he takes it on faith. Oh, I forgot about faith. Back to the rhetorical lexicon.

Prayer is one of the great groin strikes to faith, and while things like prayer studies may seem to be a cheap shot, what is even more corrosive to this understanding that we should believe without evidence (and that such a thing might, in some way, be good for us) comes later.

This laughable notion that god allowed man to live alongside the dinosaurs completely ignores basic scientific fact like carbon dating. Christians like Warren decide to accept the existence of certain properties of fossils (like, that they really indicate the existence of dinosaurs at some point in the past) and then ignore (and they do ignore, they don't even address the issue) carbon and isotopic dating that totally destroys the biblical timeframe.

This notion of Biblical history is as corrosive to science as honest studies, as real data, is to faith, and it's good to understand that.

Ryan: Stupid People and Stupid Science

I realize that I said that I would probably not be making posts for a while.  However, that was apparently a horrible, horrible lie.

For you see, I have something to rant about now, something that I'm sure that a great many of you readers can complain about during this festive time of year: relatives.  Well, actually it's the habits of my particular relatives, so maybe you won't identify with it.  Regardless, if you keep reading, you're going to hear about it anyway.

My relatives who come over on every major holiday are victims to a very annoying, time, money and happiness consuming plague common among many Americans, and probably lots of non-Americans, although I can't say for sure, as they generally don't fly over here to knock on my door and tell me about it, and I only read the blogs of people intelligent enough to know better.  This plague is called idiocy, or more accurately, the specific branch of idiocy often described as gullibility.

Everywhere that you look, somebody is promoting this dietary supplement designed to align your chi, that diet which will resonate your energy fields, or some other delightfully ambiguous or useless claim.  And worse, people everywhere are buying it, and promoting it among their friends.  Every time that my relatives come over, as soon as somebody says something along the lines of "Wow, I stayed up four nights in a row for work and preparing for you to come over.  I'm so tired,"  they immediately pull out an amount of medication that would put most pharmaceutical companies to shame, assuming that there is something blocking this person's "energy field," and only all of these expensive magical pills and juices derived from ancient Chinese wisdom and made from seaweed extract (i.e. salt water) can put it right.

Please, for the sake of all of your friends, and quite possibly yourself, think what you are putting into your body, and tell everybody else to do the same.  Leave the medication to the trained medical professionals.  What our doctors may have to say is often less pleasing to hear than what all of these false medicines can claim, but at least they generally work, and a lot more often than all of the malpractice suits you hear about would lead you to believe.  Not everyone is the prophet of the gods, able to receive a cure to cancer and prophetic visions from hallucinogenic drugs.  You aren't Laura Roslin from Battlestar Galactica.  In fact, according to all scientifically recorded data, nobody is.

Regardless, however good that may have felt to write, I'm sure it only made a couple of you readers who agree with me feel smug, and a lot of readers who disagree with feel really angry. However, however you feel about the issue, you should watch this video.  It's a bit long, but it really is very well thought out, and has some very good suggestions about how to deal with and identify superstitions and fake science.

I guess that's it for now.  Merry (insert whatever holiday you celebrate here) and good night, at least all of you within a time zone or five of California.

Ryan's Introduction

Josh has already mentioned me once or twice in passing, but he has been bothering me to introduce myself since he added me as an administrator a couple days ago, so here goes.

I am Ryan, Josh's acquaintance since elementary school, and friend since middle school, and although we went to different high schools and now, colleges, as I am currently enrolled at UC Santa Cruz, we have mostly stayed in touch.  I am generally not as philosophical as Josh, and am nowhere near as politically active, although I do dapple in such things from time to time.   However, for any of you out there looking for a different viewpoint and balance to the blog, I suggest that you look elsewhere, as agree with what Josh has to say, although since I have reached most of the same conclusions much earlier, I am infinitely more awesome.  In case you haven't noticed by now, I am also very humble, and not sarcastic at all.

However, I am not here for that.  Josh added me as a poster in his blog as an attempt to add more "variety" to his blog, most likely as a lame stunt in order to try to boost his pageviews.

As for what specific type of variety I'll add, we have yet to see, but do not expect me to become a regular poster by any means.  I have too many hobbies to pursue than I have time for, and I find the concept of posting a tenth as often as Josh does a horrible idea, especially when you take into account my excessive wordiness.   Also, I'm lazy.  Hey, according to the Catholic Church, I'm already guilty of sloth for being an atheist, so why not?

Anyway, I may be posting soon, or I may not.  But on the offhand chance that I do, now you'll know who that other weird guy is.

(And Josh, for future reference, I think that we need to do something to the formatting so that readers can tell who's talking without having to rely on that little microscopic "posted by" thingy in the corner.)

Harold Pinter Died at 78

Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter died today after a long batter with cancer.

He led the charge against the war in Iraq, denounced President Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, but, more importantly (in my opinion) he was a great playwright and a brilliant author.

He had a long, illustrious career, wrote one novel (strangely, the year I was born) and 29 plays. His mind and pen will be missed.

Dick Cheney Broke the Law

I know you're all as shocked as I am. Still, this is very, very illegal, whether or not intent is an issue. He could have gotten a CIA operative killed, because he didn't like her husband's position on the Iraq war. What a jackass.

A Little non-Christmas Music

What's better in the depths of winter than Ben Harper and Jack Johnson covering a Bob Marley classic?

I have no idea. Enjoy the day, and every other day.

Hitch on Totalitarianism

This is how I like to spend my Christmas, listening to Hitch bash Christians. Still, this is one of the best bits ever, with a reference to Dickens.

A Very Irreverent Christmas

I'm looking forward to the holidays, as they're always fun. Whatever the religious significance, I just ignore it and enjoy the time spent with my irreligious family.

I hope that all of you, especially those atheists out there, find something to enjoy. If you really want to stick it to the WASPs, or the religious psychos, enjoy the holidays.

Who Cares?

Who cares if he's in Hawaii? Let him have a break before he goes on to handle the country.

Who cares if he's in shape? Maybe it will serve as a good example to a fattening America.

Pat Condell on Christmas

We missed Pat. Hopefully I'll be able to join him on his next atheist drug binge, or maybe I can join him and Hitch for an atheist drinking binge. Lots of fun.



Still, this is much of the same, but a powerful statement. I'm always glad when Pat sticks it to the clergy: potent and honest.

The UN Supports Religious Fanaticism

I guess it's not surprising, since many religious fanatics sit in the UN, but even for a non-binding resolution (aka. a resolution that doesn't actually mean anything), this pisses me off.

The notion that the UN thinks that there is such a thing as religious defamation is absurd. I mean, do they think that some of these things are untrue? Do they think that there are factual errors when we point out that Islam demands the beheading of women who show their wrists?

This notion that any attack on Islam is defamation is ridiculous, and it's exactly what's wrong with how we talk about religion. There is no freedom to speak out against religious institutions, and that's disgusting. The UN shouldn't support this kind of garbage.

Best Flowchart Ever

Hitch's Three Question about Warren

Christopher Hitchens posted a great Slate piece about Rick Warren and, as always, he hit the nail on the head, but he also pointed out something that I've been bringing up a lot during the Jewish festival of lights.

Warren is more than just a homophobe, he's an anti-semite, and the Jewish population should be upset about all of this.

Hitch recounts a very interesting, telling story about Warren that I honestly hadn't heard before, but it just makes me that much angrier.

It is a fact that Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif., was present at a meeting of the Aspen Institute not long ago and was asked by Lynda Resnick—she of the pomegranate-juice dynasty—if a Jew like herself could expect to be admitted to paradise. Warren publicly told her no.

Well, that's the Christian face of anti-semitism, and it shouldn't surprise anyone.

But Hitchens' point is way more potent, and stated bluntly, up front.

In the same way, if someone publicly charges that "Mormonism is a cult," it is impossible to say that the claim by itself is mistaken or untrue. However, if the speaker says that heaven is a real place but that you will not get there if you are Jewish, or that Mormonism is a cult and a false religion but that other churches and faiths are the genuine article, then you know that the bigot has spoken.

Damn right, Hitch. Damn right.

Morning Laugh

Luke O'Dell over at Creationist Idiocy runs a bit called "Creationists who look like Apes."

As always, this one is entertaining.

Trying god as Genocidal

I'm curious if there are any law scholars who want to do what Bugliosi did for the Bush Administration, and build a fictional murder case.

The god of the Hebrew Old Testament is a terrible figure, as Richard Dawkins has pointed out, and it'd be interesting to see someone with the balls to try this character in a court of law, not as a point about the legal system, but as a point about the god character himself.

Any good lawyers out there who might be interested?

Ken Ham Should Not Be Allowed Near Children

Josh: What a retard!

Ryan: Don't insult retarded people. Retarded people don't try and inflict their retarded on children.

Josh: Well what about Rain Man. That's a clear pushing of pro-retarded propaganda.

@ "The Bible is the History Book of the Universe"

Josh: Man I wish history was like that.

Ryan: What? Completely fictional?

Josh: Yeah, and full of wishful thinking and rationalizations. I have trouble in history, but I could get an A in rationalizations.

Ryan: And it could replace your science class. Just imagine how easy life would be.

Josh: Yup, the answer would always be "god did it." Easiest final ever!

A Thought on Religulous

Voltaire once said, in all of his elegant, satirical hilarity, "I only ever prayed 'Lord, make my enemies ridiculous,' and it was answered." One gets the feeling Bill Maher made the same petition.

In our time, for better or for worse, there is no shortage of religious lunacy and, just as the exit of the Bush Administration will make it hard on comedians like Maher and Jon Stewart, if reason were to take grip on these people we would really lose out on films like this.

Only a handful of the loonies in this film were self aware, self-conscious, about their own inanity, and it really leaves one to wonder whether or not we live in a society were reason is preached as a virtue. We know that faith and free-thought are not compatible, but it seems almost inconceivable, at least to me, that there are those who do not understand how ridiculous they sound to someone like Maher.

The Mormon's (who escort Maher off of the reservation where he tried to film) seem to understand, perhaps because even fundamentalist Christians are aware of how ridiculous they sound, but people like Ken Ham provide a sense of delusion so great that it really puts the good fortune of reason in perspective as a product of good fortune.

Those of us informed about Mithras and Horus can appreciate the inanity of those who think that the Christian myth is creative and original, but so many can't. So many people are frightened of life as it could be, so many people are afraid of leaving, to invoke Plato, the cave, and leave behind those pleasant shadows on the wall.

Maher understands, and he says so in the movie, how religion could bring hope to a convict, how it could bring a sense of belonging and significance to the lost, but there is something to be said of the elegance of honesty, for the beauty of being able to see the world as it is, and be happy in its context.

We, you and I (assuming you are like me with respect to your rationality), are lucky. I live for today, because it brings me satisfaction in and of itself. I laugh and I cry and I feel and I love not because some divine entity move me, but because it suits me, because it is appropriate to the moment.

I behave and I feel because it suits me, not because my pastor tells me to, and to look, closely, at the religious leaders in the world, I am quite glad of that.

Maher ends his movie with a plea that will bother most people, that religion should be released, in its entirety. It is not the plea of Dennett, that religion should be taught so that it might be evolved out of. It is not the plea of Hitchens, that religion should be removed of the public square.

Maher pleads, to all in earshot, that they should release religion, pure and simple. He fears that doing otherwise is detrimental to the future of our planet.

I don't think that religion will bring the end of the world. I would not allow myself to be such a whistle blower. But I will say, simply, that I think those who follow, those who do not think for themselves, need to stop.

So many religious leaders preach wicked, perverse things, and so many more babble stupidly from their pulpits.

Listen to these people. Really listen to these people. And, in doing so, try to see what's wrong with this picture, what doesn't belong.

Big Day Today

My friend Ryan and I went to go see Religulous this afternoon, and I'm going to post a review later because, while I think it was brilliant, I have some criticisms for the end of the film and some thoughts about the nature of the interviews, as well as some things for us to consider about the nature of religion, some aspects that Maher uncovered that we don't talk about as much as we should.

The real development, though, is that Ryan is going to be joining the blog as a poster. He'll do a longer introduction of himself later, to be sure (he hasn't been added to the "about me" portion of the blog yet, but he will when he accepts the invite and sets up an account).

Still, it should be good to get some alternation in the quality of voices, and it'll take some of the weight off of my shoulders with regard to posting all of the time (which is what I try to do).

Religulous

I haven't been to see Bill Maher's latest movie, but I'm going to see it in San Francisco with my friend Ryan.

Obviously, all of my religious friends in Fresno would have had a hard time watching it (though I've convinced them to watch Jesus Camp on youtube).

Still, I'm juiced. We're going to laugh our way through the movie and take public transit there and back so we can catch up after college.

All Wars are Crimes

There's something to be said for being at home with family. My dad and I have a habit of watching the West Wing and, though we disagree on a lot of political issues (he's fairly liberal fiscally and I'm, obviously, not), we agree that there are a lot of problems, and that Sorkin's show provides a colorful way of illustrating them.

I love the writing and find Toby Ziegler, whatever his political preference, to be the most interesting and articulate character on the show, but the bit I wanted to talk about tonight was distant from Toby.

There's a scene in the Secretary of State's office where they're talking about a war crimes tribunal and a general points out to the Secretary that, during his time in Vietnam, he participated in war crimes. Then there is that line, simple: All wars are crimes.

We've been hearing a lot of talk about the possibility of the current administration being persecuted for war crimes. The more I hear them talk about it, the more I think it must be a liberal delusion because, as much as I'd like to see a President and Vice President (and many, many more) get sent to prison over these crimes, but it won't happen.

We are incapable of holding ourselves accountable. While money was paid out to those we interned during WWII, there was no real recompense.

The problem is simply that we want to believe that we're the good guys and our enemies are the bad guys. We want it to be that simple, or at least most of us do. The reality is, they think they're right. They think that if they kill enough Americans we'll pull our troops out. They think that if they kill enough Israelis the state of Israel will disappear.

That's they're delusion.

Ours is that they are absolutely evil.

I don't like Islam. I don't like theocracy. These people, Islamofascists or whatever term you want to throw around, believe in it, and this attempt at rationality, based on a shameful distortion of ridiculous premises, leads them to kill people.

Still, this notion that we are fighting a war of absolute right and absolute wrong is just as absurd as their belief in a cosmic struggle between good and evil, as we should give it up, because that makes us criminals.

Let us not be so quick to anger, and instead fight wars rationally, and not in the abstract conjuration of good v. evil.

Gretchen Carlson is a Moron, Again

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

When Michelle Malkin tells you to chill, you know you're out of line.

Eddie Current on "Lies" About Christianity

Is Rick Warren Homophobic?

I've heard a lot of talk about Rick Warren being called a homophobe, and he insists that he is not homophobic because he talks to gay people. I've heard this defense so often that I just can't stand it anymore.

Lou Dobbs wouldn't have a problem talking to illegal aliens (though I think pay per view could do a great job selling that), but he's still a xenophobe.

If you think that there is a homosexual agenda, then you're homophobic. Warren thinks that the gays are trying to infest Hollywood and corrupt the morals of good Christians, that's homophobic. It's also a delusional conspiracy theory, but that's another point altogether.

Warren thinks that homosexuality is something to be encouraged, to be impressed on the young. Why is he so ashamed of being called a homophobe? He's afraid of a society where homosexuality is accepted.

Just as Joe McCarthy wouldn't have had a problem saying that hated communists, Rick Warren shouldn't have a problem with saying he hates gays. In fact, his interpretation of his religious text should require that he hate gays openly.

The problem, though, is that Warren wants to be perceived as a civil mind, as a normal person who is just defending "traditional marriage."

Warren doesn't care about marriage between a man and a woman, and he shouldn't. King's Soloman and David had massive numbers of wives, but that's another argument for another day.

What Warren is trying to do is oppress gay rights, and most people recognize that. What annoys me is that those people who run for political office find themselves refusing to peg him as a bigot and risk losing his political clout.

Warren is a homophobe, and should be happy to be one. In fact, I'm shocked it's not part of his message to assert that all Christians should be homophobes, just as it was never a problem for southern religious leaders to say that all of Christians should be racist in defense of the separation of the Sons of Ham.

Al Franken Opens Up a Lead

Franken opened up a lead over Norm Coleman with all of these decisions to allow ballots to be counted.

I'm glad to here Franken might be going to Washington, not because we need more Democrats, but mostly because I can't stand Coleman.

Either way, the Libertarian values lose out, but the change Franken has to offer might be nice. Plus, he'd be a Senator that's fun to listen to, not just boring.

Wait a Minute Mr. President Elect

For those of you who haven't seen Countdown, it's worth watching if only for the sobering opening segment on Pastor Rick Warren.

This is my problem, and this is starting to make me very, very frustrated with the President elect, is that in Obama's statement about the choice of Pastor Warren, he [Obama] lied.

"I think that it is no secret that I have been a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans. It is something that I have been consistent on."

Now, he goes on to say that Warren invited him to speak at Saddleback even though Warren knew quite well that Obama dissented from his opinion on this issue.

The problem is that Obama doesn't support gay marriage. He supports civil unions, but he has said over and over that he does not want to use the term marriage. Still, he was more liberal on the issue that his opponent, and has been more liberal on the issue than Rick Warren, but he is mischaracterizing his position in making this statement, and it bothers me that no one has mentioned it.

I like Olbermann, but that's a huge thing for a major news network to miss.

I like Obama, and I supported his campaign for President, but if he is going to say something so obviously untrue, then I am going to have to revisit that support. Obviously, it could be that I'm mincing words, it could be that he meant simply to point to his liberalism, but this is still a disgusting mistake.

I hope that the Obama campaign will get rid of Warren, but I doubt it. Still, I want to put a bigger piece up on the hypocrisy of Rick Warren later. Hopefully you all will enjoy that (as it's something that's been ruminating for a while now).

This was just a thought for tonight.

Home, Sweet Home

I'm at my dad's house, and it's going to be a nice break. There will be more regular blogging and some longer pieces of analysis.

Tomorrow will be a good day, for those who read regularly.

Worst Persons: Gretchen Carlson is a Moron

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This is hysterical.

1,000 Post: On Passion and Compassion

I've had a quite a year on the blog. With the election of a President, the collapse of an economy and so much else to talk about, there has been no shortage of material. I didn't expect this to happen the way that it did, to get so much attention (though I've had to do my share of jumping up and down and waving my arms) and to increase from 10 hits a day to well over 100 unique hits a day. It's a step in the right direction. So thanks to all of you who have helped.

Instead of just writing a regular post, or even posting something particularly significant as I've passed other base ten milestones, I thought I would simply offer something a little more personal, a little more meaningful, and what is really at the core of why I do this.

I don't do things because I should, and that gets me in trouble a good deal of the time. If I don't want to do something, then I generally don't do it. Perhaps it's just the result of too much time considering that Khalil Gibran line on the nature of work and passion.

Still, I love to write. I love to talk about these things, even if I'm just talking to myself (and a great deal of the time it feels like I am). There are few things I am more passionate about, and nothing I enjoy more, than trying to make a point, however I struggle with it.

In revisiting my mission statement, though, I remembered I did not start this blog for the sake of enjoyment, though I certainly never would have started it if I didn't enjoy the act. I started doing this because I wanted to tell people what was going and, more importantly, why they need to know.

Why does it matter to you when people on a news network you don't watch make a comment that's ignorant and absurd?

Why does it matter when politicians start talking about raising taxes on children not yet born?

There is a great deal that cannot be done simply by the transfer of information, but the simple act of typing, of posting, of displaying information in a way that makes it enjoyable and comprehensible, can transform the world. I'm just trying to make sure that we heighten our awareness of everything around us and do not simply accept the world as it is.

I'm trying, with what limited skill I have, to write a book outlining a way that we can live that improves upon the way that we live now, from an ethical standpoint. In trying to work out a way for us to be better people, I've realized that the evolution of modern memes, of essential characteristics in our behavior, is still progressing, and it is essential for those of us who can, who want to try, to push it along and foster that growth.

Young and naive as I am, uneducated (or, at the very least, roughly self educated) as I may be on issues of economics and foreign policy and philosophy, I have found day after day that there is something to be said for saying something.

Whether I am speaking to a wall or not I still am not sure (though I wish I had more commenters so I would know), but the very act of speaking up feels, in a large way, significant, and the act is liberating.

I hope that people are reading because they enjoy it, because it offers them something interesting, something new, something profound, and I hope that the next 1,000 posts are better than the last.

Bill O'Reilly on Torture

I can't stand this crap.

Waterboarding is torture. The technique, as the American military uses it, is found in a manual about getting false confessions.

As for O'Reilly's condemnation of Iraqi hatred for out government, he should really cram it. They're upset that we're still there. They want to run their own country.

Bill O'Reilly wants to defend Cheney because he suffers from the delusion that these methods work, and from the delusion that we are popular in Iraq. Neither have any base in reality.

Hostility on the Hill

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This is one of the reasons why I don't like watching Congress. I'm not a huge fan of the strong armed Rahm Emmanuel, but I have way more problems with Pelosi, who comes off as utterly incompetent from time to time.

The talk of filibusters aside (which I have mixed feelings about, because though they keep stuff from getting done, they offer a minority some control over legislation), this Democratic congress has to prove something, and while I hope they don't do it just by spending, chances are they will find a way to do that.

A blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut, and a stupid squirrel sometimes falls off the tree. It remains to be seen whether Pelosi's Congress is blind or stupid.

Christopher Hitchens' War on Christmas

Hitchens, contrary to what some people say, does want to wage a war on Christmas. The piece on Slate is fantastic.

I know I'm going to enjoy any article that opens by acknowledge a note sent by Phyllis Diller reading:

Money's scarce
Times are hard
Here's your f******
Xmas card

Hitchens' writing is as sharp and witty as always, tearing apart liberal theologians and attacking the notion that, some how, the Jesus portrayed in the Bible would be a great leader today.

Hichens writes a little about his reading of the Weekly Standard:

The second essay is a review by Mark Tooley of a terrible-sounding book called Jesus for President by a terrible-sounding person named Shane Claiborne. You know the sort of thing very well: Jesus would have been a "human shield" in Baghdad in 2003; the United States is the modern equivalent of the Roman Empire. It's the usual "liberation theology" drivel, whereby everybody except the inhabitants of the democratic West is supposed to abjure violence.

It's no secret that I envy Hitchens' ability as a writer, and I aspire to his skill and fame. That said, the notion of a war on Christmas as a way of making a point of the war on Christianity, the propagation of atheism, is interesting.

Hitchens uses the season as a way of getting to the crux of the issue and attacking the mythology at its heart.

In closing, Hitch puts the sentiment of the separation of Church and State eloquently:

It takes a totalitarian mind-set to claim that only one Bronze Age Palestinian revelation or prophecy or text can be our guide through this labyrinth. If the totalitarians cannot bear to abandon their adoration of their various Dear Leaders, can they not at least arrange to hold their ceremonies in private? Either that or give up the tax-exempt status that must remind them so painfully of the things of this material world.

This is, and always has been, his complaint. He doesn't argue "don't be religious" as much as he argues "don't be religious out here where we all have to watch." While he advocates against the notion of religion from a philosophical standpoint, the legal grounding of his argument, separating church from state and faith from fact, is poignant and hardly seems disputable.

Most Corrupt Politicians, Conclusion

Keith concludes his segment on the most corrupt politicians with a few great ones, including Rod Blagojevich and the winner is... Big Boss Tweed. Some great details about his reign in NYC.

The Hypocrisy of WBC

I've been reading a lot on the Westboro Baptist Church, an open hate group and a Christian cult with the potential of becoming a terrorist organization.

Their godHatesFags website is pretty infamous and their signs are incredibly stupid. What bothers me, though, is the inherent hypocrisy of their anti-American propaganda.

They think that disrespect will get them attention, but all it does is mobilize more moderate Christians against them. Obviously, they don't care about moderate Christians (and certainly not about Catholics, but it is unhelpful for them to be so stupid, so rude and so blatant in their protest.

They are entitled, by the U.S. constitution to speak their mind, but if they leaved in a theocracy, where the religion of the people reigns supreme, their crackpot cult would have been long extinguished for being too radical.

Organizations that foster hate, like the WBC, are lucky to live in America, and not in a 13th century Europe ruled by the Catholic church, where they would be burned alive for saying the things that they do. Of course, the theocratic oppression might have been more to their liking, but only until they spoke out against the Pope.

This is normal, though, among Christian hate groups in this country, whatever size. The First Amendment is designed to give a pulpit to the minority, to keep the majority from crushing them with the iron fist of numbers and governmental power, which is more than possible in a democracy without that protection.

While the first amendment may be more important, in our culture, than the ten commandments (and it's a much better idea, in my opinion), every religious group should acknowledge that they exploit it, just as a blasphemer does.

Bernard Maddoff Accused of Fraud

When a major Wall Street investor is accused of fraud, it's bad for everybody. The financial markets are in a seriously delicate states, and when a guy with $50 billion in assets is dealing with something this major, there's no way it can turn out well.

Maddoff has hundreds of private investors, including the New York Mets. No major banks (which also employ Maddoff) seem to have issues.

Man Group, the worlds largest hedge fund manager, had $360 million in exposure. A few other entities have had similarly huge losses.

We'll see what happens with this. I think they may just be allegations, but when something like this comes out, the very thought is devastating.

This is one of the most powerful men in American economics, so we should really be keeping our fingers crossed that its not true, but truth is more important that what's good for us.

Bush Dodges Shoes

In his time in Iraq, Bush is getting a positive response, and by positive response I mean he got a shoe thrown at his head.

This is pretty funny, just to see how we succeeded in pissing off Arab reporters enough that they will throw shoes at our leader.

Happy Bill of Rights Day

It's a beautiful day, even though its raining.

I like it, though. It's beautiful and it smells nice and the sun is going to come out.

Plus, Ron Paul sponsored this legislation and did a good job pushing it through. Who could object to the Bill of Rights? Oh, I forgot about the rest of the politicians.

Still, I'm forgetting about that junk today (until I watch Olbermann later, at least).

Finals

I've got a final at 11 today, but I'll be online most of the afternoon bringing you guys the latest breaking news.

I've kind of ignored the whole SNL/Governor Patterson thing, because it's petty and kind of stupid. I'll post something on it later.

Censorship and Catholocism

For those of you who haven't heard, the Catholic church is calling for the censorship of the Playboy with a depiction of a model as the Virgin Mary on the cover. It's a Mexican publication, and I don't know how that plays into it, but we'll see as this unfolds.

So I saw a clip on Faux News of their general correspondent with the Catholic church, Father Jonathan, and the guy really annoyed me. As a theocratic American, he had no respect for free speech, no understanding of what the term meant.

I understand that his religion demands that he be outraged, and that he want this to go away, but this notion that his religion somehow goes above and beyond the morality of others is what's most frustrating about religious dogmatism.

I consider porn a fair exercise of free speech and freedom of the press, and encourage those who don't like it not to buy it, and this censorship issue is a perfect example of why religion is not compatible with the modern legal system. It demands censorship, and that's not tolerable for those of us who don't agree. We won't be silent because someone else's faith demands it.

Tolerance is one thing, silence in another. Speak out against censorship.

"Judeo-Christian" Law

I like the picture, but I might O.D. on patriotism.

As a libertarian who likes to bring up the Constitution when talking about the separation of church and state and likes to bring up the importance of "no religious test" and the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom, I get a lot of people protesting that the Constitution has Judeo-Christian roots, that it professes the values of Christian fore-fathers.

This is a historical argument that can be made any number of ways, but in looking into the Westboro Baptist Church and other religious fundamentalists that think that law should be a branch of their scripture, I realized something about the difference between scripture and the Constitution (apart from the incredible difference in the quality of values).

The first amendment in the Bill of Rights reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This is a passage that we are all familiar with (at least all of us who live stateside, and I highlighted that bit about free speech because it directly conflicts with the scripture that Jews and Christians hold in such high esteem.

After all, the third commandment is a restriction of freedom of speech. There is no legal protection for god in terms of the violation of the third commandment, nor the second commandment, which allows us to build idols if we want to, as protected by the freedom of religion clause.

I wish I were a Constitutional scholar, but it seems to me that the very fact that there is no reference to the commandments in the Constitution, and that many of the things suggested by the ten commandments (not to mention countless commandments that come later) cannot be legislated against, cannot be made illegal.

Even honoring your mother and father is a first amendment issue (though most parents, if the act is committed by a child, have the ability to take their own, familial legal action). Laws against coveting are equally tricky, and we don't have any officially set up, though if you covet your neighbor's wife a little too openly, he might give you a fat lip.

The point stands. The Constitution of the United States, a document that liberates instead of oppresses (a statement which cannot be made about the Judeo-Christian law) is radically different, proposes a totally different methodology for governing.

A criminal who commits a crime in a Constitutional America is held accountable by a jury of his peers. A criminal who commits a crime in Biblical Israel is stoned to death so that he can be held accountable by the celestial judicial system. Frankly, I like the Constitutional way a little bit better, but that's just me.

Westboro Baptist Church was in on Washington

Fred Phelps and the nuts at the WBC are demanding the opportunity to put up a sign at the Washington nativity scene where the atheist sign was put up.

That's the sign, and I think there are some copyright issues with the image, so it'd be nice if you get sued.

My real problem is that while Bill O'Reilly wastes all of our time talking about his war on Christmas, there is this very real group of crazies picketing the funerals of soldiers.

Whether you support the war or not, as an American citizen and a decent human being, I'm sure you have the decency to respect the sacrifice of American servicemen.

Free speech is great, and I will never advocate taking it away from anyone, regardless of how insane they are, but I would like to see some outrage directed at these lunatics, because of their incredible disrespect.

Everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and their stupid, though colorful, signs. What's no acceptable, though legal, is such open rejoicing at the loss of American lives.

Don't Play (or Protest) With Fire

I'm as frustrated with the ethical abomination that is the Wasilla Bible Church as anyone else, and I'm as disappointed that a candidate on the national scene has no problem being seen there, and even attends services there.

Still, whoever lit it on fire needs to go to jail.

It would make me endlessly happy to learn that a Christian set fire to the church (and I think one probably did), but if it turns out to be an atheist, then PZ and all of the rest of us are in for a bad day. We don't need them throwing this kind of stuff around with their "war on Christmas." No one needs to do anything to validate their conspiracy theories.

I have no problem with people protesting this church, though I tend to think that picketing churches is a waste of time. There's a reason why the first amendment doesn't protect arson, and why no one should condone it.

Do I feel bad for those in attendance at the church? Yeah. There were kids in there at the time the fire was set.

But I don't feel bad for the church in general, because I know that they are going to get the full sympathy of every Christian in the United States, even and especially the Governor (though if she uses state funds to repair the damage, she should go to prison just like Blagojevich).

Still, it remains to be seen who the arsonist is, but I'm hoping he doesn't have a copy of The god Delusion on his bookshelf.

Technical Issues

My MacBook Pro is suffering from what I think is random shutdown syndrome. I'm going to try and figure out how to fix it. If anyone has good info on how to deal with it, let me know.

Marian Call Covers Hummingbird

Marian covers Kris Delmhorst's song Hummingbird. The original is great, but I actually like Marian's cover better than any other version. It's something about her voice.

Saturday Morning Zen: A Parable

I had a conversation earlier this week about this parable. It is one of my favorite stories that the Buddha tells, and it reveals something about the nature of enlightening experience and overwhelming joy.

This is, as always, my retelling, but the more traditional version can be found in 101 Zen Stories, from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.

In the sutra, the Buddha told a parable:

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He ran, and the tiger chased him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine growing from the cliff and swung himself down over the edge. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine was keeping him alive.

Two mice, one white and one black, started to gnaw at the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping with his free hand, he plucked the strawberry. How sweet it tasted!

This is one of my favorite stories, and one I know from memory at this point. Apart from the simple elegance of the story itself, I have always found the Buddha's point very significant, very weighty.

In our final moments and in our greatest distress the truly enlightened man finds the greatest beauty and savors it.

The man on the vine does not think about the future that awaits him when the vine snaps. He does not think about his girlfriend or his mortgage or his life insurance. He doesn't think about that time in middle school when he almost fell off of the jungle gym or that girl he'd wished he'd kissed in college.

He is present. He exists in the taste, fully aware of the moment, of the taste.

So much of our lives are spent living in the future and past. Our pre-frontal cortex requires that we consciously think ahead, and we are always reconstructing and reweaving the past, leaving the tape on in our head like a classic movie. The Buddha's point is that when it matter, when it should totally overwhelm you, taste the strawberry, smell the coffee. Exist in the present moment.

Thich Nhat Hahn talks about achieving a sense of mindfulness, a sense of Zen through awareness and focus in your action. In the parable, the Buddha is talking about the same thing: a full awareness of the taste and texture of the present moment.

Just as Hahn talks about the art of acting present, the Buddha pointed out that there is a component of feeling present. That's not to diminish Hahn's teaching, which also comes from the Buddha's words, it is a bicameral matter.

Still, take a minute today, on this beautiful Saturday nearing the New Year, and take a moment to feel in the present moment, whether the air on your face is cold or warm, whether the sounds are direct or purely ambient. Let them sink in. Embrace them, and find joy simply in being, whether you are sitting safely behind your laptop, or hanging from a vine, eating a strawberry.

Colbert on the Atheist's War on Christmas

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - The Unbearable Lightness of Supreme Being

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Mexican Playboy Puts Virgin Mary on the Cover

In a case that will inevitably get the Pope all riled up, the Mexican version of Playboy has put a model impersonating the Virgin Mary on the cover of their magazine.

I found this story fascinating, and while I am not sure how the Mexican free speech laws work, or if there even are any, I hope that they are allowed to make this statement. It has nothing to do with me enjoying the sacrilegious component, though everyone knows that I like it when religious people get offended, and everything to do with me being pro-freedom.

As someone who thinks that America's protection of free speech is one of the greatest concoctions in the history of sociology, and that free speech, against any sort of authority, is something to be respected, this is something that makes me incredibly happy. Not that Playboy is standing up to authority, but simply that they're selling products the way that they ought to, by putting out a product that's exceptional.

There is something to be said, always, for people who want to censor that which is indecent, but those people are always running on the basis of a religious morality that is neither tangible nor logical. As long as the Mexican judicial system acknowledges that "because god says so" and "because it's dear to us" aren't legitimate legal arguments, I will be happy with the result of this controversy.

Of all religious institutions, the Catholic church is one of the most difficult to deal with, in that they cling so wholly to their dogmas and their symbology. The Evangelical movement is stupid, but the Catholic movement is very smart and methodical (with the exception of the idiot Bill Donohue), so I expect something to happen here.

Scientists Find Brains

And it's 2,000 years old.

Very exciting stuff. As a big fan of old things and brains, this is a pretty cool find for me, and a nice break from the political news.

Most Corrupt Politicians, Part 1

Olbermann had a great segment on his show last night, counting down the most corrupt politicians of all time. This is hysterical.



And how do we elect these guys?

Larry Wilmore on Prop 8

This is a great interview on how the black community feels about Prop 8.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Proposition 8

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Worst Persons: Anti-Semite Edition

This edition is pretty ridiculous. I really hate anti-semitism, and I have friends who are anti-semitic. It's really frustrating, but I don't see this as being the source of O'Reilly's issues.

I feel bad for Fitzgerald is going through this.

Obama Clears Staff in Scandal

Frankly, the President elect is in the best position possible, since it seems like Governor Blagojevich absolutely hated him. It doesn't get that much better, but it's important to add, also, that Senator Obama's approval ratings for the transition are great.

Edward Current's Commercial

All of the Christies should pick one up.

Colbert on Presidential Pardons

I'd like a pardon, too, if he's just giving them away.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

On Notice/Dead to Me - Forgiveness

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Done with Blagojevich

I'm, honestly, done talking about the scandal. Stephen Colbert mentioned that yesterday was the Governor's birthday. Still, the guy will go to prison, as he should, and we'll forget about him quickly.

People Looking to Exploit the Bailout

Everyone seems to want to get in on government handouts, not realizing that the government isn't subsidizing the taxpayer (they never do) or the stockholders in major auto corporations.

Most people know what spam looks like, but if people are telling you that:

YOU can get in on the auto bailout!

They're lying to you. That money isn't going anywhere as decent as your pocketbook.

The Auto Bailout

I don't know what to say about it. The bailout is worth $15 billion and will establish this absurd "auto-czar" position.

The fact is, the government continues to pass out money that doesn't exist, money that they are creating from debt coming, not out of the pockets of old jackasses sitting in the Senate, but out of my pocket, over the course of the next thirty years.

This is painful to watch, and I'm glad that so many of the government officials spoke up. I just wish like they felt they could actually do something, instead of just voicing objection.

Again, the House Republicans voiced their complaints, and the White House managed to convince people to remove the requirement that the auto manufacturers drop law suits over environmental regulations.

The Bush administration officials suggested that they were trying to "stabilize the patient." Fair enough, but I'm not happy about comparing our economy not an ER patient, not because it isn't one, but because you inject the dying man's body with whatever you can get your hands on.

For those of you who don't read the whole brief from the Associated Press, there's also a pay raise for Federal Judges. Really? All due respect to Federal Judges, but they don't need a large scale pay raise.

At least, now that we have nationalized the American auto industry, we're going to treat it like a socialist country, with full intervention in its affairs.

Just unbelievable.

Today's Worst Persons: Bill-O Wins Again

The baseball stuff is clever, the Faux News stuff is hysterical.

Skeptic Magazine Online

For those of you who are as in to science and pseudoscience as I am (honestly, one of my passtimes), Skeptic magazine is always at the cutting edge. Michael Schermer runs and excellent publication with lots of interesting articles and, given our place on the exponential curve of scientific discovery, Schermer is never at a loss of good material to publish or to tackle himself.

Of course, when he tackles the religious elements it is particularly powerful for me, and being the smart, and intellectually honest, guy that he is, he made sure to get both sides of the story when he took on the afterlife.

Deepak Chopra, of all people, wrote the other side of the story, and Chopra is one of my favorite writers, though more and more I find myself disagreeing with what he has to say. His retelling of the Buddha's life story is one of favorites, and his personal philosophy is interesting and reads like poetry. There's also something to be said for bringing Eastern thought to the masses.

Schermer gives a clean dissection of the argument, opening with what I think is the greatest gambit I've witnessed on the issue:

I once saw a bumper sticker that read: Militant Agnostic: I Don’t Know and You Don’t Either.

Chopra opens with a quote from Einstein, which is strange, but not entirely unexpected given that most deists love Einstein.

It's worth a read, as long and as in depth as it is. Both guys are such fantastic writers that it covers a lot of distance in a tiny amount of time.

Jon Stewart and Mike Huckabee Talk Gay Marriage

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Looking Forward

We have a lot of delusions about heroic figures, but the reality is that prophets are counter productive, and so is blind idol worship. So I've got a piece up on the Individual Evolution if you want to check that out.

Blagojevich Scandal

Governor Blagoblag of Illinois was busted trying to sell soon-to-be President Obama's Senate seat, and even though he had been under investigation for months, he was so not-subtle about the attempts that you've got to wonder how the guy got elected to a major political office in the first place. Still, he's a corrupt politician, and it's good to see that he'll be paying for that.

George Will: How Could You?

I was disappointed by the factual errors in George Will's column today, as he's a fantastic writer and a great thinker. Still, he ends up with Hannity and O'Reilly on tonight's Worst Person's.

The fairness doctrine stuff in talk radio could matter less to liberals, they all know that radio will be dead soon.

Illinois Governor Arrested

Apparently he was trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat. What an idiot.

The ARAB World's Contribution to Science

There's a difference between the Arab world and the Muslim world. I wish that Tyson made this distinction, but instead he goes quickly into the history of al-Ghazali. The Christians have done the same thing, co-opting Europe to suggest that Christianity has not attempted to abolish the practice of science, but the scientists were of all faiths and non-faiths.

It does give you a great appreciation for the middle east and Arabic contributions to science.

Matthew Alexander on Torture

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Matthew Alexander

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video