On ("New") Atheism

Real Mericans (still) hate ("New") Atheists

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Atheism is as much of a religion as not collecting baseball cards is a hobby.
- Jessica Ahlquist’s Facebook Page

American attitudes about “atheists” haven’t changed much. Most still don’t trust us because they can’t understand how we can be good without being part of something larger than ourselves. Even on the left, where most atheists who vote, do, we are sometimes seen as arrogant racists who are blind to the problems of “whiteness, class oppression and patriarchy.”

Americans wonder why we’re so angry…

Listen to Greta explain…

Americans don’t trust us because they think we don’t see ourselves as part of something larger than ourselves….

Americans are still afraid of us because we embrace doubt and uncertainty and not knowing…

Unfortunately, most Americans would still rather have answers which might be wrong than to see reality as it is. So they still pray for us atheists and ~~convert~~ baptize* our dead. They still get enraged when we speak up.

But even their clergy are standing up for us and starting to come out! And you can too! In reality we are, in doubt and cleverly designed experiments we trust, in human survival we seek. When will you join us?

Update 1: I have just been informed by a Mormon that their Baptism of the Dead practice is opt out only (like Facebook privacy). So I have contacted LDS to formerly request this for me and my immediate family. I will keep you posted….

Update 2: For the “non-theists,” “agnostics,” and “deists” out there, I will let Einstein respond: “From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist.” Same probably goes for most of you “pantheists,” “pagans,” and “witches” by the way!

Keeping your fantasies to yourself

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:43:00 +0000

“I try to deny myself any illusions or delusions, and I think that this perhaps entitles me to try and deny the same to others, at least as long as they refuse to keep their fantasies to themselves.”

― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22

Case in point: SNL lampoons Tebow. The religious right is confused…

I don't understand why there is such a public outcry because of Tim Tebow projecting his faith.

Jesus responds:

Matthew 6:5-6: And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father in secret shall reward thee openly.

American Taliban: Hitch burning in Hell

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 03:19:00 +0000

Christopher Hitchens is burning in hell because God loves him, according to Bryan Fischer, of the American Family Association, which it should be noted is called a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

God loves us enough to, in the end, give us what we insist on having....Because that's what you do for people you love.

Yeah, that must be why parents let their kids play in the street! Or ride in cars with no restraints.

But seriously, why do some people take intellectual and moral imbeciles like this seriously?

Update 1: The AFA has been “educated” by Newt “Freddie Mac” Gingrich. OK, that explains it! Never mind.

Update 2: Almighty God responds: “Bigot predictably says Hitches is in hell. The twist: He thinks I torture because I love.” But earlier AG said: “After a 30-minute discussion with Christopher Hitchens in my office, I'm now convinced that I don't exist.” OK, so maybe this is an unreliable witness.

Update 3: Yes, this is the same homophobic American Taliban involved in the Lowes Muslim flap.

Twitter hashtags: #AmericanFamilyAssociation #BryanFisher #GodIsEvil #AntiFamily

God is not great

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 06:23:00 +0000

God is not good, God is Not Great.
Let us condemn Him and His followers for poisoning everything.
But let us thank Hitch, for his integrity, honesty, decency, and dignity!

“There can be no progress without head-on confrontation.”

“What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof.”

Twitter Trends: #ReligionPoisonsEverything #GodIsNotGreat

#GodIsNotGreat trending on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 04:53:00 +0000

Christopher Hitchens is dead. His book title trended on Twitter and nicely demonstrated how religion poisons everything. He would have been so proud.

It may not be said that there is no god. It may be said that there is no good reason to think that there is one…

- Hitch

Russell Brand's proof that God exists: Dawkins is a terrorist, the Dalai Lama isn’t a dickhead, and TM makes me feel good

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 06:30:00 +0000

A colleague (whom I respect) recently shared an article on Facebook by Russell Brand, the host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. Heard enough yet?

The article, from last April, is entitled “Why Richard Dawkins is the best argument for the existence of God.” Brand calls it his “opportunity to prove the existence of God.” Here’s his argument as best I can make it out….

Launch an ad hominem attack on Richard Dawkins for being the "Abu Hamza of atheism." Abu Hamza is a Sunni jihadist in prison for murder in the UK!
Create a straw man to attack instead of Dawkins: to “condemn all religion and spirituality on the basis of…slack-jawed, knee-jerk saliva-flecked vitriol” from “low-browed creationists chutney and “knee-jerk fundamentalists,” he proclaims, “is as unfair as the simplified dogma that the choir of pious atheists harmonise against…I don't see atheists queuing up to call the Dalai Lama a dickhead. These are the examples to which we should turn when questioning the existence of a power beyond man. Not Glenn Beck or some other capillary blob on Fox News.”
Share a personal revelation about TM making him “feel the bliss of the divine.” If anyone challenges him on it, claim that they are still bitter about how the Church treated Galileo.

"It would be so nice if something would make sense for a change."
- Alice, from Alice in Wonderland

Bing AutoSuggestions on the Presidential Candidates

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 05:07:00 +0000

Bing AutoSuggestions on the presidential candidates:

Ron Paul is an idiot, crazy, a nut.
Michele Bachmann is an idiot, hot, crazy.
Rick Perry is an idiot, crazy, a crook.
Rick Santorum is an idiot, dumb, pro life.
Mitt Romney is an idiot, a mormon, a liberal.
Newt Gingrich is an idiot, a globalist, a joke.
Barack Obama is your new bicycle, the antichrist, a muslim.
John Huntsman is a bad candidate, a liberal, a good candidate.

To repro, go to Bing (or Google, where results are similar but vary) and then type “Candidate Name is “ in the Search box.

Republican primary update

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:12:00 +0000

Cain is pulling out (AP). Paul is a "clown-like candidate" (Trump). Bachmann is "factually challenged" (Gingrich). Perry "ignores reality" (Santorum). Romney is "on both sides of the issues” (Bachmann). Gingrich is guilty of 'serial hypocrisy' (Paul). And Santorum believes mutually consenting adults do not have a constitutional right to privacy with respect to sexual acts" (AP). But they all agree that Obama is a 'socialist'...except for Huntsman who believes he is a "remarkable leader."

"Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here."
- Cheshire Cat, from Alice in Wonderland

First Amendment protects Palin from media criticism

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:08:00 +0000

So dumb it hurts, as Glenn Greenwald explains here. Next thing you know, she'll want to use her Second Amendment rights to protect herself against these attacks on her First Amendment rights...

Heads up to mainstream media outlets: stock up on body armor!

Dole & Hagan put atheism on trial in North Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:10:00 +0000

Yes, it is desperate and ridiculous. But I'm not embarrassed for my state, my nation, or our mainstream political parties. I'm embarrassed by them! But not surprised.

I mean Obama hasn't sued anyone for slander yet, but he hasn't been very vocal in defending Muslims either. And now Hagan is "outraged" by this "personal slander" (libel actually) - a false statement that harms your reputation or standing in the community.

How sad. We are apparently so intolerant in this country that suggesting you are an atheist or Muslim is considered slander or libel. Are Jews and Catholics acceptable yet? What about Buddhists or Hindus?

To paraphrase Colin Powell: What if she is? Is there something wrong with being an atheist in this country?" The answer's "No, that's not America." Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old atheist American kid* believing that he or she could be President? This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

*Like Dawkins, I flinch when someone says "Muslim child" or "Christian child" so I'd certainly never refer to a seven-year-old as an "atheist kid" but that's a separate discussion....

UPDATE I. See here for some more opinions on this.

UPDATE II. Hagan's defamation and libel complaint is that this "maligns her character and reputation," "subjects her to contempt," and "injures her good name and reputation in the community." Despicable! Archie Bunker would be proud of them both!

UPDATE III. More discussion on this at Pharyngula's pox on them all.

UPDATE IV. Hagan staff responds privately to the Friendly Atheist.

Bombshell: John the Redistributor video uncovered

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:15:00 +0000

Dear John: if you keep talking, you can't stop making a fool out of yourself!

"That is what change means for Barack the Redistributor: It means taking your money and giving it to someone else."

- John McCain (today)

- John McCain (2000)

How STUPID do you think we are?

Palin wants xenophobic "freedom fries" with her neurodevelopmental disorders

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:00:00 +0000

Ugh...well, what else is there to say here?

Andy, Opie & The Fonz for Obama...North Carolina too?

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 02:32:00 +0000

Will NC be Obamalina this year?

Will Ron Howard's call to action make a difference in the state?

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Video hat tip: PZ.

Cynicism...about limited political choices in the US

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:39:00 +0000

This post is a response to Almost Diamonds, who takes issue with my "cynicism" in the comments to Greg Laden's giddy post about the endorsement of Obama by Colin Powell. Apparently I'm brainless for not seeing that there are "big differences between Obama and McCain--of policy, of personality, of integrity."

In response, I would humbly suggest that one must have a fairly narrow perspective on the issues in order to see "big differences" between the two "mainstream" candidates. Don't get me wrong. There are certainly differences, and those differences can have a real impact on people's lives over time. However, the differences are small and fall within a narrow right-wing, authoritarian political spectrum.

Case in point: Almost asks how it is "evil" to suggest that people should have access to affordable health care (emphasis mine). Note that the question cynically presupposes that health care is a commodity to be bought and sold instead of a basic human right that should be available to everyone regardless of their ability to pay for it. This is the same narrow political discussion that Obama and McCain have engaged in during this campaign. Talk about cynicism. Isn't it time to expand our political discourse?

Swat that...Almost.

Agent of change endorsed by Neocon's most effective weapon of mass deception

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:54:00 +0000

Sometimes life imitates satire. Today is one of those days. Obama is "beyond honored and deeply humbled" to receive the endorsement of Colin Powell - a man who knowingly deceived the world about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This speaks volumes about how limited and cynical the differences are between Republicans and Democrats. War without justification? Yes we can!

Memo to McCain Nuts - change the subject to ACORN

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:45:00 +0000

Attention desperate John McCain supporters: Ayers didn't stick, so change the subject to ACORN. Don't talk about the economy, don't talk about Timmons...

John McCain: We need to know the full extent of your relationship with Saddam Hussein

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:24:00 +0000

Dear John,

As you said in your last debate with Obama, we need to know the full extent of any questionable relationships between the candidates and washed up terrorists (or those who support them). Therefore, will you please explain the full extent of your campaign's official ongoing relationship with a lobbyist for Saddam Hussien. No more non-denial denials please!

Regards,
An undecided voter

Dear God, your reputation is at stake!

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:09:00 +0000

You're followers are making you look, well, judge for yourself...

From the invocation at a McCain rally in Davenport, Iowa yesterday:

"I would also add Lord, that your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, because there are millions of people around this world praying to their god—whether it's Hindu, Buddha, Allah—that his opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that you would guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their God is bigger than you, if that happens. So I pray that you would step forward and honor your own name with all that happens between now and Election Day."

- Arnold Conrad, former pastor of Grace Evangelical Free Church in Davenport, Iowa

The McCain campaign responds:

"While we understand the important role that faith plays in informing the votes of Iowans, questions about the religious background of the candidates only serve to distract from the real questions in this race about Barack Obama's judgment, policies and readiness to lead as commander in chief.”

- McCain campaign spokesperson Wendy Riemann (CNN).

But talk about poor judgement and questionable associations, McCain's campaign rallies appear to be full of it lately! "Energizing the base" I suppose?

I'm Barack Obama, and I approved these mixed messages

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:17:00 +0000

"Erratic in a crisis. Out of touch on the economy."

- Barack Obama campaign ad to be released next week

"We need a steady hand in the White House. We need a president you can trust in times of crisis," instead of someone who is "lurching all over the place" and prone to "erratic behavior."

- Barack Obama on the stump this week

"I believe John McCain is a good man and a genuine American hero. And we honor his half-century of service to this nation."

-Barack Obama on the stump in February

Obama may ask McCain to spearhead a bipartisan overhaul of veteran's affairs.

- A Democratic strategist who talks regularly with Obama's senior advisors (The Telegraph - this week)

I'm John McCain, and I approved these mixed messages

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:38:00 +0000

"Barack Obama: Too risky for America."

- John McCain campaign ad released this week

"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."

- Sarah Palin on the stump this week

"I have to tell you, he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States...I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments."

- John McCain on the stump this week

Will the real John McCain please stand up?

Defrost pizzas in 30 nanoseconds or the end of the world as we know it?

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:04:00 +0000

There's a lot of buzz going around right now about the startup of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), including some sensational headlines about the end of the world...or perhaps just the end of the world as we know it.

The alleged safety of the LHC aside, anything that can defrost a pizza in 30 nanoseconds is pretty darn scary! So...as a public service, several new Web sites promise to provide with us real-time monitoring of this threat:

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Drill here, drill now - not much better than nothing at all

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:14:00 +0000

In her RNC speech, Sarah Palin said "the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all." Of course no one is arguing that we do nothing, but more domestic drilling is pretty close to it. As Kurt Zenz House explains in an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:

What we're watching is the thread of a decent argument--that when oil prices are very high, the United States should expand oil exploration and extraction--get oversold by liars and fools who cannot perform basic arithmetic...the NPC estimates that if the moratoria were completely lifted, by 2025, the United States would be extracting an incremental 1 million barrels of oil per day--or about 5 percent of current demand. The Energy Information Administration estimates that U.S. oil demand will increase by about 10 percent by 2025. Likewise, conventional crude extraction from areas not under a drilling moratorium is projected to more or less stay flat for the next 15 years. Therefore, even with a complete repeal of the drilling moratoria, U.S. oil imports will have to grow in both relative and absolute terms to meet business-as-usual demand.

So if more domestic drilling will not even allow us to keep up with demand over the next 15 years, then why were all those RNC attendees chanting and holding up "Drill Here, Drill Now" signs? Why are there several hundred "Drill Here, Drill Now" groups on Facebook, with thousands of members? Why is a "grassroots" group (chaired by former Republican U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey!), advocating more exploration and production as the solution?

Perhaps the "Drill Here, Drill Now" crowd has been doing too much drilling with ice picks in their prefrontal cortex?

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A Bridge to Nowhere, from the Spinmeister's Mouth

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:41:00 +0000

Sarah Palin, in her own words...

"We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge, and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that's so negative...The window is now, while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist"

- August 2006

"It's clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island...Much of the public's attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened."

- September 2007

"I told Congress, 'Thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere'"

- September 2008

Pledge Nazis

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Sun, 11 May 2008 01:36:00 +0000

From the Star Tribune in Minneapolis: 3 suspended for not standing for Pledge of Allegiance. We can do better than this...

I pledge allegiance to my brain.

And the right to think for myself.

One mind, under assault.

But you can't control my thought.

To demonstrate, I don't stand!

Political posturing and rants not grounded in truth

noreply@blogger.com (SkepticalPoet) — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:28:00 +0000

I am not surprised by the spectacle that we saw yesterday.

First, His Holiness the Dali Obama expects us to believe that he was unaware of the views of his pastor for twenty years -- the man who married him, baptized his children, and prayed with him when he announced his candidacy.

Second, His Holiness the Dali Obama expects us to believe that his distancing himself from this man is not political posturing on his part.

Third, His Holiness the Dali Obama thinks it is ridiculous to suggest that the U.S. government might be involved in creating the AIDS virus. Certainly this particular claim is not grounded in any truth, but it is not completely out of character for our government to do stuff like this. And having spouted some ridiculous propositions of his own, the outrage here is ironic to say the least.

Fourth, His Holiness the Dali Obama thinks it is ridiculous to equate the United States wartime efforts with terrorism. As I discussed in my last post, this is just special pleading.

There are no excuses for this political posturing and rants not grounded in truth.