This past October, while attending the TX Freethought Convention, I had the opportunity to hear Sean Faircloth speak. Directly following his presentation, I ventured to the bookstore and purchased his first book, Attack of the Theocrats! How the Religious Right Harms Us All — and What We Can Do About It (which is officially released today). Earlier in the day I had perused the bookstore and had bypassed the gaudy bookcover a few times. The maxim rings true, as the… Read more
The Purity Bear is back. And this commercial is even worse than the first. First of all… no. Just no. That bear is weird and creepy and doesn’t make me take the message seriously. Also, “I feel like we really got to know each other” sounds like something you say on a first or second date. If that’s true, you DO NOT follow that up with “I love you.” RED FLAG! You don’t need a freaky bear to tell you… Read more
***Update***: Welcome, those of you who came here by way of Ken Ham. I apologize for the lack of sexually explicit content on this site. As much as I’d love to live up to your expectations, I’m just not that scandalous. I guess you’ll just have to settle for general blasphemy. You can see an update to this post here. … The website Budget Travel is taking nominations for a list of “15 places every kid should see before 15″… Read more
There’s this article at Salon about how magic shops are going by the wayside because, nowadays, it’s so easy to learn how magic tricks are performed. Magicians aren’t the sole possessors of knowledge anymore: Today, any 10-year-old kid can type “magic tricks” into Google and gain access either via YouTube or other websites to the biggest trade secrets in a matter of minutes. He can watch a video or buy an expensive apparatus without leaving his house, seeing a live… Read more
Because a judge ruled that the Cranston High School West prayer banner was a Constitutional violation, it is currently covered up, waiting to be removed: On Thursday night, there is a committee meeting at Cranston High School East during which it will be decided whether or not the district will appeal the judge’s ruling. If the committee members were smart, they would just accept the ruling and take the banner down. But this committee isn’t known for being very rational…… Read more
What is the history of kissing anyway? Everybody does it, or wants to (asexuals excepted). But where does it all come from? The Today Show webpage at MSNBC took a retrospective to review this ubiquitous cultural practice. How does Christianity fit into all of this? The biggest kissing killjoys of all were the early Christians. Kissing is prominently mentioned nine times in the Bible, but only once, in Romans, does it refer to a romantic kiss. There are… Read more
Happy Valentines Day! Here’s hoping your special someone isn’t a fundie… Visit Ape, Not Monkey for the punchlines 🙂 Read more
***Update***: I’ve updated this post with some arguments as to why the “discrimination route” might have a chance. … When Michael Newdow sued to remove “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance a decade ago, he argued that it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It was a promotion of religion in the classroom. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court, where the justices dismissed the case, saying Newdow didn’t have standing to bring the case. Now,… Read more
If you haven’t seen it yet, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed the bill for marriage equality earlier today and her pre-signing speech is just beautiful to listen to: The only disappointing part is where she explains in a positive way how religious groups will be exempt from having to solemnize or affirm gay unions. If that’s what it takes to get the bill through, fine, but when Christians are rewriting history decades (years?) from now, never forget that marriage equality… Read more
Photographer Chris Johnson is working on a project that features 100 atheists (myself included) talking about what gives them joy and meaning in this life: Each portrait will be paired with a short message from the subject about some aspect of joy, meaning or passion in life. It could focus on the love of a beautiful relationship, the joy of a rewarding career, the pleasure of a treasured pastime, the impact of a powerful experience, or any other topics. The… Read more
