http://www.pewforum.org/2013/12/30/publics-views-on-human-evolution/
"A majority of white evangelical Protestants (64%) and half of black Protestants (50%) say that humans have existed in their present form since the beginning of time."
Probably the same people that think animal slaughtering religious pedophiles like Phil Robertson make entertaining TV.
Being an ignorant cracker like Phil is a sin and a affront to human dignity. May he rot for the rest of his unnatural life in a Louisiana jail getting butt-fucked by his black guards. But, remember, I don't hate him -- only his sin
---Steve
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Asshole of the year
It is official:
@TheDailyEdge: In 2014, 5,400 poor Texans will die because of Rick Perry, our choice for Asshole of the Year
http://assholeoftheday.us/post/71326173163/is-rick-perry-asshole-of-the-year
---Steve
@TheDailyEdge: In 2014, 5,400 poor Texans will die because of Rick Perry, our choice for Asshole of the Year
http://assholeoftheday.us/post/71326173163/is-rick-perry-asshole-of-the-year
---Steve
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Punk Rockers Knock Christmas
But there's another kind of Christmas denial: the kind that simply stomps on Christianity as ridiculous and kicks over the nativity set. Take the atheist punk band Bad Religion and its new record of Christmas songs they found "hilarious" to record.
Co-founder Brett Gurewitz told LA Weekly, "Clearly, it's a satire. We were rolling on the floor a lot of the time ... it felt like a Monty Python skit to me."
Greg Graffin, the other co-founder, is a part-time professor of biology and author of the book "Anarchy Evolution: Faith, Science, and Bad Religion in a World Without God." This is Graffin in a nutshell: "Our faith should be expressed in working toward a better planet for our children and not the selfish, juvenile hope for a better afterlife for ourselves. I don't think anyone is going to Hell, because it only exists in the minds of people who wish ill will on others."
---SPSmith
Monday, December 23, 2013
Father on “attacking Christians”.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2013/12/father-on-attacking-christians/
First, most atheists do not attack Christians, but they often attack the idea of Christianity. I have to agree that attacking PEOPLE is wrong. However, once you bring an IDEA—such as Christianity— into the marketplace of ideas, it is subject to criticism just like any other idea, such as socialism, trickle down economics, or the theory of gravity.
---SPSmith
First, most atheists do not attack Christians, but they often attack the idea of Christianity. I have to agree that attacking PEOPLE is wrong. However, once you bring an IDEA—such as Christianity— into the marketplace of ideas, it is subject to criticism just like any other idea, such as socialism, trickle down economics, or the theory of gravity.
---SPSmith
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Not just the Koch brothers: New study reveals funders behind the climate change denial effort
Powerful funders are supporting the campaign to deny scientific findings about global warming and raise public doubts about the roots and remedies of this massive global threat
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-12-koch-brothers-reveals-funders-climate.html#jCp
---SPSmith
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-12-koch-brothers-reveals-funders-climate.html#jCp
---SPSmith
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Slate: Utah Judge “Agrees with Scalia,” Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban
Pretty funny: Scalia must be proud: Not many people can say they were integral in bringing about the end of anti-gay-marriage bans.
Utah Judge "Agrees with Scalia," Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2013/12/20/utah_gay_marriage_judge_agrees_with_scalia_strikes_down_ban.html
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2013/12/20/utah_gay_marriage_judge_agrees_with_scalia_strikes_down_ban.html
---SPSmith
The Economist’s country of the year: Earth’s got talent | The Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21591872-resilient-ireland-booming-south-sudan-tumultuous-turkey-our-country-year-earths-got?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709
we think, are path-breaking reforms that do not merely improve a single nation but, if emulated, might benefit the world. Gay marriage is one such border-crossing policy, which has increased the global sum of human happiness at no financial cost. Several countries have implemented it in 2013—including Uruguay, which also, uniquely, passed a law to legalise and regulate the production, sale and consumption of cannabis. This is a change so obviously sensible, squeezing out the crooks and allowing the authorities to concentrate on graver crimes, that no other country has made it. If others followed suit, and other narcotics were included, the damage such drugs wreak on the world would be drastically reduced.
---SPSmith
we think, are path-breaking reforms that do not merely improve a single nation but, if emulated, might benefit the world. Gay marriage is one such border-crossing policy, which has increased the global sum of human happiness at no financial cost. Several countries have implemented it in 2013—including Uruguay, which also, uniquely, passed a law to legalise and regulate the production, sale and consumption of cannabis. This is a change so obviously sensible, squeezing out the crooks and allowing the authorities to concentrate on graver crimes, that no other country has made it. If others followed suit, and other narcotics were included, the damage such drugs wreak on the world would be drastically reduced.
---SPSmith
The Bible and homosexuality | What the Bible says about Homosexuality | Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
But, believe it or not. We Christians aren't judging them. We are informing them. God has declared that homosexuality is a sin. It isn't our preferences we're declaring. It is God's. I know. I know. Some will say the Bible isn't true, that it is archaic, sexist, homophobic...blah, blah, blah. I've heard it all before. Kill the messanger and let's all jump into bed together and have our fun. Sorry, I'm not interested in freedom without responsibility and the resulting promiscuity and diseases that accompany the politically correct, sexual freedom of abberant liberal morality. Instead, I'll follow my Lord who calls all to repentance (Acts 17:30), myself included.
---SPSmith
What Persecution Looks Like | Right Wing Watch
Conservative activists were prepared to see Phil Robertson as a victim of religious persecution because they've been primed for years with the "religious liberty" narrative being pushed by Religious Right leaders and their conservative Catholic allies. They portray criticism as persecution. They equate being on the losing side of policy debates with being under the heel of oppression. And when courts and legislatures struggle with the challenge of balancing religious liberty with other constitutional values like equality under the law, they see only black-and-white battles between good and evil.
Their rhetoric cheapens and distorts the meaning of terms like tyranny. Anti-religious persecution is a violent, heartbreaking reality for Christians in many parts of the world. But not for the privileged and powerful figures in the United States who wrap themselves in the mantle of martyrdom.
- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/what-persecution-looks#sthash.vScIOsLH.dpuf---SPSmith
Friday, December 20, 2013
Companion Animal Psychology: Can Fatal Dog Attacks Be Prevented?
http://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2013/12/can-fatal-dog-attacks-be-prevented.html
This research suggests that Breed Specific Legislation does not protect people from dog bite fatalities. At worst, it may even distract people (and financial resources) from the factors that do make a difference: close supervision of children and vulnerable adults, and good animal husbandry practices that involve the dog in family life. Given the prevalence of husbandry-related factors in these incidents, legislations should consider strengthening measures aimed at preventing cruelty and neglect and supporting responsible ownership. - See more at: http://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2013/12/can-fatal-dog-attacks-be-prevented.html#sthash.928XuoWO.dpuf
---SPSmith
This research suggests that Breed Specific Legislation does not protect people from dog bite fatalities. At worst, it may even distract people (and financial resources) from the factors that do make a difference: close supervision of children and vulnerable adults, and good animal husbandry practices that involve the dog in family life. Given the prevalence of husbandry-related factors in these incidents, legislations should consider strengthening measures aimed at preventing cruelty and neglect and supporting responsible ownership. - See more at: http://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2013/12/can-fatal-dog-attacks-be-prevented.html#sthash.928XuoWO.dpuf
---SPSmith
The Robertson Family Official Statement | Duck Commander
"We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word."
If the family admits that they get their moral guidance from a superstition-filled book brimming with hate, bigotry, murder, and slavery then why are people surprised that the patriarch of this inbreed clan is a raging bigot?
The true shame here is that many Americans enjoy Duck Dynasty, a made-up "reality" TV show, where the writers have tried to glorify a sick nostalgia for the old days and down-home family values, including a business based on devices used to aid the slaughter of beautiful animals, and a cast of unsavory inbreed evangelical characters, each proud of their inability to think rationally and each espousing discredited and outdated Biblical doctrines for their ethics and morality.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Duck Dynasty
Duck Dynasty, a made-up "reality" TV show, where the writers have tried to espouse a sick nostalgia for the old days and down-home family values, including a business based on the slaughter of beautiful animals, and a cast of unsavory inbreed characters, whose inability to think rationally or behave morally would doom a true business in the real world marketplace.
So why be surprised when the redneck scum and ridiculously bad actor that A&E hired for the show actually believes that the Old South values are to be admired? Yep, blacks were happy singing ni**ers before the government stepped in and freed them and gave them welfare. And retarded old white men, who like nothing more uplifting than munching down on some old hag's hairy pussy and then washing their mouths out with some homemade moonshine, are of course the ones chosen by an imaginary god to be better than everybody else.
---SPSmith
So why be surprised when the redneck scum and ridiculously bad actor that A&E hired for the show actually believes that the Old South values are to be admired? Yep, blacks were happy singing ni**ers before the government stepped in and freed them and gave them welfare. And retarded old white men, who like nothing more uplifting than munching down on some old hag's hairy pussy and then washing their mouths out with some homemade moonshine, are of course the ones chosen by an imaginary god to be better than everybody else.
---SPSmith
Slate: Mesmerizing Map Shows Which Way the World's Winds Are Blowing
I thought you would like this article from The Slate Magazine for iPad
Mesmerizing Map Shows Which Way the World's Winds Are Blowing
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/12/18/global_wind_map_cameron_baccario_s_visualization_of_world_weather_patterns.html
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/12/18/global_wind_map_cameron_baccario_s_visualization_of_world_weather_patterns.html
---SPSmith
Slate: The Best Jazz of 2013
I thought you would like this article from The Slate Magazine for iPad
---SPSmith
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Legal Know-How: Taming the Neighbor’s Trees | Realtor Magazine
- Clean up the debris. Clear away all of the leaves, sticks, and yard debris that come from the neighbors' trees. If the debris is on your property, the neighbors are not responsible for cleaning these up.
---SPSmith
BBC News - North Korea's way with extreme insults
Despicable human scum Jang, who was worse than a dog, perpetrated thrice-cursed acts of treachery in betrayal of such profound trust and warmest paternal love shown by the party and the leader for him," astatement by the agency said.
---SPSmith
---SPSmith
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Annals of Internal Medicine | Enough Is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
Enough Is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
---SPSmith
Slate: The Two Inequalities
I thought you would like this article from The Slate Magazine for iPad
---SPSmith
Monday, December 16, 2013
This is a modern Christmas, so eat, drink and forget about the poor and the needy - Comment - Voices - The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/this-is-a-modern-christmas-so-eat-drink-and-forget-about-the-poor-and-the-needy-9006181.html
Mariana Mazzucato, a professor of economics and innovation at Sussex University has just published a vital, incontestable new book, The Entrepreneurial State, debunking private vs public sector myths. She makes the case for a bigger and smarter state which would benefit everyone, including governments and business. I fear we will never have that again. Instead, as she points out, people have got used to the idea that social welfare should be "relentlessly trimmed" while "corporate welfare grown inexorably", by which she means tax breaks and deregulation.
---SPSmith
Mariana Mazzucato, a professor of economics and innovation at Sussex University has just published a vital, incontestable new book, The Entrepreneurial State, debunking private vs public sector myths. She makes the case for a bigger and smarter state which would benefit everyone, including governments and business. I fear we will never have that again. Instead, as she points out, people have got used to the idea that social welfare should be "relentlessly trimmed" while "corporate welfare grown inexorably", by which she means tax breaks and deregulation.
---SPSmith
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Saturday, December 14, 2013
The History and Toxicity of Chlorine
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/171547/
Although proposed as a disinfectant in the 1700s, it wasn't until 1825 that chlorine became widely used for the purpose of disinfecting. In 1825, the Royal Institute of France awarded the pharmacist Antoine Germain Labarraque for his recommendation of a chlorine solution for the enhancement of public health of France. Labarraque recommended that a chlorinated soda solution be used for disinfecting purposes and as a deodorant. After three years of various published clinic success using this chlorine solution, it became widely used and known as Labarraque's solution.
---SPSmith
Although proposed as a disinfectant in the 1700s, it wasn't until 1825 that chlorine became widely used for the purpose of disinfecting. In 1825, the Royal Institute of France awarded the pharmacist Antoine Germain Labarraque for his recommendation of a chlorine solution for the enhancement of public health of France. Labarraque recommended that a chlorinated soda solution be used for disinfecting purposes and as a deodorant. After three years of various published clinic success using this chlorine solution, it became widely used and known as Labarraque's solution.
---SPSmith
Omar Little is the gay stick-up man who robs drug dealers for a living in The Wire
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/jul/19/television.wire
When he robs an illicit card game, psychotic drug lord Marlo Stanfield fixes him with an evil glare and hisses, "Thats my money." Omar just smirks and explains, "Money ain't got no owners, only spenders."
---SPSmith
When he robs an illicit card game, psychotic drug lord Marlo Stanfield fixes him with an evil glare and hisses, "Thats my money." Omar just smirks and explains, "Money ain't got no owners, only spenders."
---SPSmith
Mormon Church Finally Says Dark Skin is Not a Sign of God's Curse | Alternet
http://www.alternet.org/belief/mormon-church-dark-skin-sign-gods-curse-no-longer?paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
So, even the Mormons admit their book is steeped in blatant racism...
---SPSmith
So, even the Mormons admit their book is steeped in blatant racism...
---SPSmith
Slate: Why Won't Anyone Take the NYC Intel Experience Store's Free Pizza?
I thought you would like this article from The Slate Magazine for iPad
Why Won't Anyone Take the NYC Intel Experience Store's Free Pizza?
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/12/13/intel_experience_store_in_nolita_new_york_can_t_seem_to_draw_in_visitors.html
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/12/13/intel_experience_store_in_nolita_new_york_can_t_seem_to_draw_in_visitors.html
---SPSmith
Slate: The Tragedy of Common-Sense Morality
I thought you would like this article from The Slate Magazine for iPad
The Tragedy of Common-Sense Morality
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/new_scientist/2013/12/evolution_of_morality_the_brain_science_of_ethical_decisions.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/new_scientist/2013/12/evolution_of_morality_the_brain_science_of_ethical_decisions.html
---SPSmith
Friday, December 13, 2013
The Manhunt for Christopher Dorner - Los Angeles Times
Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, who had stood over Crain's body at the hospital, called support for Dorner "ignorance and hate masquerading as intellectualism."
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Eye on Sedona City Code with City Attorney Mike Goimarac
http://sedonaeye.com/eye-on-sedona-city-code-with-city-attorney-mike-goimarac
The City's sound regulations prohibit any animal from making noise for more than five minutes if continuous, or for more than 15 minutes if intermittent.
---SPSmith
The City's sound regulations prohibit any animal from making noise for more than five minutes if continuous, or for more than 15 minutes if intermittent.
---SPSmith
Failure loves company
Failed President encourages failed field goal kicker. It is heartwarming to see the mediocre stick together. http://blogs.marketwatch.com/themargin/2013/12/11/george-w-bush-to-tormented-alabama-field-goal-kicker-life-has-its-setbacks-i-know/
---SPSmith
---SPSmith
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
One more attack on New Atheism from an atheist who should know better « Why Evolution Is True
Atheism is nothing more than a commitment to the most basic standard of intellectual honesty: One's convictions should be proportional to one's evidence. Pretending to be certain when one isn't—indeed, pretending to be certain about propositions for which no evidence is even conceivable—is both an intellectual and a moral failing. (Sam Harris, 2005)
---SPSmith
Slate: Slate’s Favorite Recipes of the Year
I thought you would like this article from The Slate Magazine for iPad
Slate's Favorite Recipes of the Year
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2013/12/slate_staff_favorite_recipes_of_2013_granola_chicken_cabbage_cobbler_and.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2013/12/slate_staff_favorite_recipes_of_2013_granola_chicken_cabbage_cobbler_and.html
---SPSmith
Monday, December 09, 2013
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Florida man kills wife and son with crossbow, then slits throat - CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/05/justice/florida-crossbow-killings/index.html?hpt=hp_t3#cnn-disqus-area
No matter how you dress it up, there are some fundamental difficulties with Christianity that are pretty hard to overcome.
1. At its most fundamental level, Christianity requires a belief that an all-knowing, all-powerful, immortal being created the entire Universe and its billions of galaxies 13,720,000,000 years ago (the age of the Universe) sat back and waited 10,000,000,000 years for the Earth to form, then waited another 3,720,000,000 years for human beings to gradually evolve, then, at some point gave them eternal life and sent its son to Earth to talk about sheep and goats in the Middle East.
While here, this divine visitor exhibits no knowledge of ANYTHING outside of the Iron Age Middle East, including the other continents, 99% of the human race, and the aforementioned galaxies.Either that, or it all started 6,000 years ago with one man, one woman and a talking snake. Either way "oh come on" just doesn't quite capture it.
Friday, December 06, 2013
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Martin Bashir Says Someone Should Sh*t in Sarah Palin’s Mouth | Mediaite
Martin Bashir Says Someone Should Sh*t in Sarah Palin’s Mouth | Mediaite: " Bashir lit into Palin straight away, referring to her as America’s “resident dunce” and characterizing her remarks as “scraping the barrel of her long-deceased mind, and using her all-time favorite analogy in an attempt to sound intelligent about the national debt.”"
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
“PISA Day”—An Ideological and Hyperventilated Exercise | Economic Policy Institute
http://www.epi.org/blog/pisa-day-ideological-hyperventilated-exercise/
Today, threats to the nation's future prosperity come much less from flaws in our education system than from insufficiently stimulative fiscal policies which tolerate excessive unemployment, wasting much of the education our young people have acquired; an outdated infrastructure: regulatory and tax policies that reward speculation more than productivity; an over-extended military; declining public investment in research and innovation; a wasteful and inefficient health care system; and the fact that typical workers and their families, no matter how well educated, do not share in the fruits of productivity growth as they once did. The best education system we can imagine can't succeed if we ignore these other problems - See more at: http://www.epi.org/blog/pisa-day-ideological-hyperventilated-exercise/#sthash.JvKvAAcb.dpuf
---SPSmith
Today, threats to the nation's future prosperity come much less from flaws in our education system than from insufficiently stimulative fiscal policies which tolerate excessive unemployment, wasting much of the education our young people have acquired; an outdated infrastructure: regulatory and tax policies that reward speculation more than productivity; an over-extended military; declining public investment in research and innovation; a wasteful and inefficient health care system; and the fact that typical workers and their families, no matter how well educated, do not share in the fruits of productivity growth as they once did. The best education system we can imagine can't succeed if we ignore these other problems - See more at: http://www.epi.org/blog/pisa-day-ideological-hyperventilated-exercise/#sthash.JvKvAAcb.dpuf
---SPSmith
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Monday, December 02, 2013
Sunday, December 01, 2013
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