De-Baptising Ceremonies? Srsly?

I don’t get it. According to USA Today the idea seems to catching on.

A Brilliant Take On Pareidolia

This is excellent:

Another Reason Not To Like The Yankees

Not content with inflicting that detestable “Gob Bless America” on their fans, they have to chain the exits so folks can’t leave while the dreck is being sung:

Crackers and Chocolate Jesus: What a Difference A Year Makes

The Cracker kerfluffle reminded me of the the Chocolate Jesus affair. In each case Bill Donohue played a prominent role.

Illinois and the Mandatory Moment of Silence: Playing Games with Legislation

You may have noticed the red “A” on the sidebar of my blog. I am, of course an atheist. I tend to lean towards the militant side of the atheist family, although I am a lot less feisty about it than some, but more than others. At any rate, it is a subject I have written very little about and now I am being scooped on stories in my own backyard. What makes this particularly painful is that Chris is, far, far, away in California.

Framing Things Correctly: What Should PZ Have Done?

This NPR story comes at a perfect time given the current discussion over framing. Although ostensibly about rumors, the story makes several good points that can be applied to the current “troubles”.

The Fallacy of the Excluded Middle: A Response to Mooney and Nisbet

There have been a wide variety of responses to the PZ incident. Quite a large number of us a busy laughing at the irony of it. There has been some criticism, for example see here, here, here, here, and here. The critics argue that we are playing into the creationists hands by providing free publicity (much the same way christian protests over The Last Temptation of Christ ended up promoting the movie and increasing attendance). They also argue that we should be seeking the middle and joining with liberal and moderate christians who value science. When we point to, say Cheri Yecke, Ken Ham, or William Buckingham, we get told we are focusing on the extreme outliers, that we should work with people like Francis Ayala or Ken Miller. So, okay, let’s look for the middle. Since I live in Missouri let’s start there.

I Find Mitt Romney Deeply Disturbing

Consider this exchange on Meet the Press:

Mitt Says Atheists Can Still Be Free People: Lucky Us

Lucky us we won’t be denied our freedom if he gets elected president. On the other hand, apparently the Constitution was written for people of faith and religion and not for us atheists. So, although we can be free we have no constitutional rights, or something, it’s all very vague and defensive. So I will let you interpret it for yourself.

The Simpsons and Religion

Last nights episode had Homer and Bart converting to Catholicism. Marge, at one point, kidnaps Bart to try and show him that Protestants can have fun too. Says Homer “why does she always interfere with my occassional interest in my children” and wants to know why he can choose his own faith. Lisa chimes in with something to the effect that everybody has the right to choose their own religion “…that’s why I choose Buddhism…” she says. A nearby catholic priest says “Yes, every child has an imaginary friend” I almost fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard at the irony.