faithtard

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Florida Committee Passes ID Bill

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National Secular Society - Saudi King wants monotheisms to unite to defeat atheism

Business Owners, Customers Upset Over Controversial Billboard - News Story - WFTV Orlando

Sam Harris: What Obama Could Not and Should Not Say - On Faith at washingtonpost.com

Skepchick: Critical Thinking at its Finest

nanopublic: Religion and nano … what the data show
Why would consumers and citizens have moral qualms about a technology they know little about?

Obama UCC IRS Flap
“This investigation smacks of the Bush administration using the IRS for political purposes.”

Bod4God: Faith-based fitness

The founder of Bod4God, Reverend Steve Reynolds, says, “Jesus Christ was not obese.”

Archives

In this issue of the Urban Dharma Newsletter, my favorite monk takes an oblique stab at explaining just how it is that the Buddhists have the closest major thing to the Church of What’s Happenin’

236 - The Room - Logical Fallacies: Correlation vs. Causation

“Think about this for a second. What do Osama bin Laden, Ted Kazinski, Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin and Charlie Manson have in common? The FBI was unable to read their emails.”

One Nation, Under Gods

As one church leader in Yelwa put it, “Our God is different than the Muslim God … If he were the same God, we wouldn’t fight.”

….. stolen from st.petersblog

Because a magical superhero in the sky said so

“I mean, if we’re opening the door for competing ideas here, then it means that finally, the door is open for the teachings of the great Flying Spaghetti Monster to be taught in earnest in our schools. Hey, you pick your magical superhero in the sky and I pick mine, you mouth-breathing fuckwit.”

Blogs are great, except when people write all those comments on them.

clipped from forums.fark.com Tampa Bay newspaper published article about Scientology protests on Feb. 10, then systematically removes almost every public comment about the story. All hail (this word removed by site staff)

FaithNews Network

…’Cause He done rigged the game!

Online Bookies Back Barack Obama in US Election - 02-15-08

Leading online gambling website, Bodog, is offering odds on who will be named Democratic candidate for the 2008 US Presidential Election. As of today ‘[02-15-08], Bodog is offering odds of 3.33 for Clinton and 1.27 for Obama.

AlterNet: Rights and Liberties: John McCain Sells His Soul: Backs Off on Torture Ban

Has there ever been a more repugnant example of political pandering than John McCain’s decision to vote against a bill banning waterboarding, putting hoods on prisoners, forcing them to perform sex acts, subjecting them to mock executions, or depriving them of food, water, and medical treatment?

Prologue to Anus Sale- A Bush Smear Campaign

March 19 Iraq War Blogswarm

Hating Islam Is the Same Thing as Hating Muslims

He calls Islam “the ideology of a retarded culture”…

On The Media: Transcript of “FOIA’s Foil ” (February 8, 2008)

Romney Quits — ‘This is a Great Day for our Nation and Many Unsuspecting Souls’ Says Founder of Liveprayer.com - Christian Newswire

The world’s leading Internet evangelist, Bill Keller of Liveprayer.com, was the first national Christian leader to speak out against Mitt Romney’s bid to become America’s next President when he launched his now infamous statement, ” A vote for Romney is a vote for Satan” last spring.

The Buzz: Florida Politics | tampabay.com - St. Petersburg Times

A St. Petersburg Times poll found 50 percent of registered voters want only faith-based ideas in the curriculum.

Only 22 percent want public schools to teach an evolution-only curriculum, while 50 percent want only faith-based theories such as creationism or intelligent design, according to a new St. Petersburg Times survey.

Opinion: Florida facing key test on science
By wide margins, Floridians question the legitimacy of evolution as the sole scientific explanation for the origin of species and nature’s diversity, even though there is no debate on this point within the scientific establishment. Evolution is the basis of modern biology, and the fact that so many Floridians don’t accept its validity does not suggest the state should ease off the teaching of evolution, but rather underscores the need to devote more educational resources to it.

Possible reprisals from Florida’s many hick parents are to blame, to paraphrase. I’m shocked, personally.

State: The evolution of a sensitive lesson

“I am one of the teachers who is willing to talk about evolution in the classroom. But I’ve been advised by other teachers, ‘Don’t touch that subject.’ They say, ‘I’m afraid the parents will be angry. I’m afraid of the feedback I’ll get.’” Michael Simmons, a biology teacher at Osceola High School in Largo.

Travel guru Rick Steves, ACLU team up on marijuana | ajc.com

Travel writer Rick Steves and the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington have formed a partnership to tackle a topic they call the equivalent of the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s: the criminalization of marijuana.

While listening to Rick Steves’ podcast last year I discovered that he is much more than the affable dweeb he presents on Public Television

All that time talking to them foreigners has evidently done him good. And now he is takin’ it to the streets, keepin’ it real, and stickin’ it to to whitey. Good on ya, ya big lug. Now maybe we can get the cast of This Old House to go after war profiteers or something.

If they can stand up against the fruits of religion, so can we. Oh wait… no, we can’t. We have an appointment, and the kids need a ride to soccer practice. Nevermind.

See the Contest on SkepChick!

verywide.net » Evolving, A Mind

It is, frankly, horrifically despicable to inflict upon a child the notion of damnation, to fill his or her head with images of an all-powerful “God” condemning unbelievers and failed persons to eternal torment. When you consider that one of the people threatened with this endless wailing and gnashing of teeth is one of the child’s parents…. Well, it’s sickening. How could that not be damaging to a child’s developing mind? What a din of cognitive dissonance! How could that not create an unbearable helplessness and thus necessitate a split from the parent ostracized by “God”? How could that not succeed at being isolating in terms of the child’s sense of place in the greater world? A scarring shame should be visited upon any adult so selfishly motivated (by delusion or stratagem) as to poison the healthy development of a mind. And yet it is that a great many people around this country would consider me to be in the wrong.

Hospital boss arrested over al-Qaeda attack by human boobytraps - Times Online The acting director of a Baghdad psychiatric hospital has been arrested on suspicion of supplying al-Qaeda in Iraq with the mentally impaired women that it used to blow up two crowded animal markets in the city on February 1, killing about 100 people.

Finally, the insane are pulling their weight, and our ally in the war on crazy loafers, Iraq, is taking the lead! Who will greet them in paradise?

Scientology vs. Anonymous - The Online Battle

“Visits to Scientology.org more than quadrupled in the month of January, with over 200,000 individuals visiting the site. Xenu.net also saw a bump in visitors, ending the month with a significant percentage increase, but still only managing less than half the traffic to the Scientology site.

This made me wonder if the Anonymous attacks may have backfired by generating new interest in the religion. Looking strictly at searches for the term “Scientology,” it’s possible that this is exactly what has happened.”

Long ago, I used to respect the veracity of the Wall Street Journal’s coverage, because it was mainly about numbers and money. That may still be the case, although I no longer read WSJ. It is really interesting to see a story about skepticism vs superstition covered as an SEO issue!

Atheists to celebrate scientific inquiry, civil liberties at annual Darwin Day
They don’t believe in God, something they share with 18 percent of Americans.

VIA

Uncertain Principles: Evolution of the Best

I’m sitting at the computer, reading blogs, when the dog comes up to me. “Hey, can I ask a question?” she says.”Sure, go ahead.”

“What’s the deal with evolution?”

This is completely made-up. I need a picture of Ron Paul in a skipper’s hat.

Northpinellas: Protesters poke at Scientology turf
“We are here to protest the actions of the Church of Scientology,” said Joshua Nussbaum, 19, a student in Hillsborough County and one of the organizers. “It is not about their beliefs. It’s about their actions.”

Okay, this is NOT video from Clearwater, but I dig the Guy Fawkes masks.

Wait– here it is!

Critical Mass St Petersburg

Well, sort of.

George W. Bush, Boy President

Funniest low-budget satire ever, several goddamned years worth! Yayy! Yayy for local radio, where ever it still exists! Yayy!

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Darwin Day Celebration
Darwin Day is an international celebration of science and humanity held on or around February 12, the day that Charles Darwin was born on in 1809. Specifically, it celebrates the discoveries and life of Charles Darwin — the man who first described biological evolution via natural selection with scientific rigor. More generally, Darwin Day expresses gratitude for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge, acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity, has contributed to the advancement of humanity.

… Its very own Fark button!

And the only one to need it. It’s why the other 49 are so proud of us!

Via The Political Whore  

Florida Baptist Witness: Publishing Good News since 1884
Coalition releases letter opposing science standards–

The Faith to Outlast Politics - New York Times
Hillary Clinton has declared that there is no contradiction between “support for faith-based initiatives and upholding our constitutional principles.” John McCain has supported the idea especially as it relates to improving educational programs for disadvantaged children. Barack Obama describes faith-based programs as a “uniquely powerful way of solving problems” especially where former prisoners and substance abusers are concerned. When he was governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney created his own faith-based office.

And that’s why the American South loves his genius ass!

Evolving in Kansas: Americans United: Public Funds Shouldn’t Support Coercive Faith-Based Ministries
Salvation Army or Salavation Army? I’m sorry, it was just standing there doing nothing. Anyway, they sound like drooling faithtards to me. Well-reasoned and polite discussion may now ensue.

An overlaying set of maps would be swell, and would lead to many convenient correlations. You know what I’m saying. Instead of arguing with tiresome folks, one could just point to a map set and say “But look, divorces rates are lowest in the bluest of states!” and stuff like that. Someone should make such a nesting map set, and that someone will not be me.

actual legible map version

via

Why Won’t God Heal Amputees?

Three GOP presidential candidates don’t believe in evolution - On Politics - USATODAY.com
“I believe in evolution,” McCain said.

And perhaps this is why his tribe hates him so. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed goitered man is viewed, metaphorically speaking, with deep suspicion.

propaganda critic: index of site dedicated to propaganda analysis

Yes, there are more.

It is likely good practice to avoid any blogs with the following words in the title or subtitle, for reasons that if not immediately obvious, will become so after some research.

life
world
thoughts
mind
musings
online
just
ramblings
random
marketing
digital
things
rants
internet
journey
words
notes
american
view
stuff
chronicles
tales
times
dreams
adventures
corner
confessions
search
truth
reality
good
brain
geek
eyes
thought
politics
personal
dream
thinking
road
lost
media
conservative

This list was called from research I found on this page.

Any blog with the word “musings” in the title or subtitle.

Prisoner 345: Campaign to free Sami Haj held in Guantanamo | Campaign to free Sami Haj an Al Jazeera cameraman held in Guantanamo

The people imprisoned in Gitmo don’t have to be faceless. They also don’t have to be guilty of anything. Let’s have some goddamned trials, enough is enough. Sunshine is the best disinfectant and all that UV radiation will kill the fungus that is growing on the soul of the U.S.