Fair and Balanced

Here's a great response to the ridiculous CNN slander piece against atheists. We don't have to look far to see the complicity of the media in why atheists are thought of as the least trusted minority in the country.

Paula Zahn - discrimination against atheists part 2

After showing how two families were discriminated against, this ridiculous CNN panel of non-expert attack dogs belittle and yes, openly discriminate against the idea that atheists should have equal rights. I guess we don't need an actual atheist there to defend their position since these panelist are so dull they prove the point that they are railing against.

Stand Up for Your Rights

Yet another reason why the US is fast becoming NOT the best place to be:

A story out of Exeter, England shows the difference between the courage of at least one British politician and our own collection of American wusses.
http://nomorehornets.blogspot.com/2007/07/stand-up-for-your-rights-remain-seated.html

Cartooning science misuses

The Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoon Contest votes are in and the winner is
All 12 winners and more sad info on recent goverment abuses here http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/53452/

Why are we so scared of offending Muslims?

Quote:
"Why, then, should we be commanded to "respect" those who insist that they alone know something that is both unknowable and unfalsifiable? Something, furthermore, that can turn in an instant into a license for murder and rape? As one who has occasionally challenged Islamic propaganda in public and been told that I have thereby "insulted 1.5 billion Muslims," I can say what I suspect—which is that there is an unmistakable note of menace behind that claim. No, I do not think for a moment that Mohammed took a "night journey" to Jerusalem on a winged horse. And I do not care if 10 billion people intone the contrary. Nor should I have to. But the plain fact is that the believable threat of violence undergirds the Muslim demand for "respect.""

Read on about an NYU student now charged with a hate crime over leaving a few Koran's in public restrooms. As stated by the author "this has to stop and it has to stop right now."

http://www.slate.com/id/2171371/fr/flyout

CA decertifies virtually all e-voting systems!

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4914

I hope the rest of the country follows suit. That's right, I'm talking to you, Florida!

The Case Against Brigham Young University

Ouch - academic freedom takes another hit from religion. What's to fear from openly discussing ideas in order to discover the truth?
http://www.secweb.org/index.aspx?action=viewAsset&id=764

Jack the cat

Apparently, Jack the cat has treed a bear cub. Jack doesn't like trespassers in his backyard. Remember, "it's not the size of the man in the fight..."
www.flicker.com/photos/grrlscientist/1009291959

The Truth About Denial - Newsweek

Once again, "follow the money" -- see on which side the monied iterests lie and you're virtually guaranteed that it's not in our collective best interest -- just in their interest.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20122975/site/newsweek/page/0/

Quote:
..."Look for the next round of debate to center on what Americans are willing to pay and do to stave off the worst of global warming. So far the answer seems to be, not much. The NEWSWEEK Poll finds less than half in favor of requiring high-mileage cars or energy-efficient appliances and buildings. No amount of white papers, reports and studies is likely to change that. If anything can, it will be the climate itself. This summer, Texas was hit by exactly the kind of downpours and flooding expected in a greenhouse world, and Las Vegas and other cities broiled in record triple-digit temperatures. Just last week the most accurate study to date concluded that the length of heat waves in Europe has doubled, and their frequency nearly tripled, in the past century. The frequency of Atlantic hurricanes has already doubled in the last century. Snowpack whose water is crucial to both cities and farms is diminishing. It's enough to make you wish that climate change were a hoax, rather than the reality it is."

Speak with conviction

by Taylor Mali

Taylor Mali on what teachers make

Fourth grade math genius calculates a high probability of getting beat up

http://www.thegiantnapkin.com/math%20genius.htm

...To put his findings in layman’s terms, Mosley’s pretentiousness and poor conversational skills make him decidedly annoying. Pair that with his propensity to raise his hand for most teacher-posed questions and his past run-ins with more aggressive and popular peers, and one would have to believe Mosley will get his beating sometime soon."

True Religious People™

Well, PZ Meyers has another post responding to a different but very common misconception that most people don't see -- that anytime a religion is wrong, it must be because it's a metaphor.

Everyone should read this clear and articulate post:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/07/all_the_mistakes_of_the_godly.php

... it would go far in opening people's minds to hopefully reflect on what value they truly find in religion and how much of that value is truly contingent upon the truth value of the religion -- ie. other than merely being a cherished family tradition, would it really matter if it were Judaism, Christianity or Buddhism? My guess is that it probably wouldn't. This would explain why so many self-professed religious people don't take it all that seriously -- not to mention the frequency of conversions.

Bush, NOT an expert

So how many unexperts do you think we have in our goverment? Maybe some questions are best left unasked.
http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2007/07/george_w_bush_e.html

Thanks Daily Show

Christopher Hitchens in Seattle

His debate partner was a no-show but he gave a nice speach and good Q&A:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=3DBA5424D37A2E76