Here's a Story

what you say about other also says a lot about you

Any Christians out there who have converted FROM atheism? (reddit) (probably not the best forum for a positive answer)

When you stop being snarky, do you really think that Christian mythology is as silly/implausible as Greek mythology? (reddit again)

How to beat a dead horse:



Here's a story:

Whilst serving his country diligently in the Peace Corps, Joe was asked by an Alpaca Wool company to consider working in a small town on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. They offered to take him up there by truck to appraise the site. So he went and returned, decided against it, finished his 2 yr. contract, and later returned to the states to become a hippy artist living in a van for 20 years, and trying assorted kinds of self medication. One of them was Mandrake root which is legal and available through health food stores. Joe was curious about the lore associated w/ Mandrake, and not having anything else to do one evening, made up a strong cup of tea (every cup of Mandrake is strong). After a couple of hours, Joe began to spontaneously remember the events that took place on that excursion in Bolivia years before, but the story seemed to be narrated, and the narration revealed another parallel story from the perspective of a neutral (less self obsessed) observer. As if though the etiology was factual rather than based on casual opinion.

The main upshot of the revelation was that the wool company was actually a front for cocaine production and Joe's presence was needed on the trucks return trip to intimidate indian soldiers (read "Peons") at the contraband check stations. With an authentic Gringo on the truck, the peon wouldn't make a thorough search of the trucks contents and risk reprimand for wasting the time of someone who might be important, and also not find a wool sack on the bottom tier packed with cocaine. When the truck first arrived at the wool station, the station "owner" wasn't expecting "Americanos" and met them at the gate with a military full auto M3 Grease Gun under his coat. When giving a tour of the hacienda, the "owner" made a big deal of a cast iron stove for burning Llama dung for heat like poor indians (no wood on the Altiplano), especially since Kerosene is also used in cocaine production, so naturally they didn't have any around. Cast iron wood stoves are expensive, and kerosene heaters are common and cheap. Everyone there used them, even indians. On another occasion, Joe was sitting on a bale of coca leaves and noticed it didn't have a band of print that govt. tax collectors put on legally grown coca. Joe naively asked one of the workers what they were doing w/ so much coca leaf, the worker said it was for the herders, and called one of the managers. The manager put his hand in his coat pocket & said grimly "Come on, lets go for a walk". Joe survived the walk by being a genuinely clueless American redneck gringo kid, not understanding the Quechua language, and enjoying the scenery (really nice mountains). He was threatened w/ guns several times w/ that company but couldn't figure out why & decided they were just screwed up people (and in fact they were outlaws and murderers). The revelation wasn't a stoned illusion, it was factual, and every non sequituer on that trip (there were more than just the ones described here) made sense from that perspective. But that's the way it is w/ conspiracy theories.

While walking out from the hacienda with Carlos the "manager", they walked to a nearby adobe house where a Quechua woman was working on a ground loom. Carlos spoke to the woman in Quechua and watched Joe to see if he understood. He didn't. Joe knew a few phrases and words in Aymara which is similar, like spanish and portuguese, but not enough to follow a conversation. The woman looked extremely uncomfortable while he spoke, and glanced at Joe, looking him directly in the eyes, Joe had the impression that she wanted to warn him about some danger associated with Carlos and his friends. When Joe caught the cue, she looked away and refused to look at either of the visitors. Carlos asked Joe if he wanted to ask her anything. Joe asked if she would be interested in obtaining a portable loom that she could bring indoors at night (so nobody could steal her weaving). Carlos actually sneered when he spoke to her. She hid her face and said "maman" (no). Joe felt he was being ridiculed as a Gringo (a popular pastime in Bolivia). So he decided that if he didn't participate in the situation, it would wear out for lack of fuel. He turned his back and looked at the mountains. After a bit, Carlos asked if Joe was expecting someone (maybe to come and save him?) Joe said no. Carlos said what are you looking for? Joe said the mountains are beautiful. Aparently it blew Carlos away because he was sure Joe knew the purpose of the hacienda and was expecting to be killed.

Brief interlude: Altiplano Indians are seriously religious and they blend old and "new" elements to get along w/ the church. One of the old elements is the sacredness of water. Ponchos of Aymara men often have vertical brown stripes that represent fertility by showing vertically plowed hills. The Peace Corp tried to get locals to plow horizontally so water would have more time to soak in for root uptake instead of running down the furrow to carry topsoil away, but that fell flat because it was an insult to Pachamama (mother earth). Mountains are where water comes from, and they're protected by mountain gods callled Apus, who demand respect or they'll kill you (like with cold, a rockfall, or a gust of wind that knocks you off a ledge), but they absolutely favor the innocent. That's why Carlos was blown away.

So was Joe blessed by an Apu? Or maybe clueless self obsession is necessary for our survival anyway. People who contemplate doom all the time are probably more likely to test it out than people who never give it a thought.

Brain study shows that thinking about God reduces distress -- but only for believers

Babies see human hand behind ordered events

Mandrake lore from the middle ages tells of fatuously improbable procedures for collecting the root, but (IMO) those instructions may be either for 1) cornering the market through a "proper, harvesting technique", or 2) for maintaining the users perspective (read: sanity) through the trip. For example, it's said that one should only pick it on the new moon, and to plug ones ears when it's removed from the ground because the root shrieks when pulled, and the sound is fatal to whoever hears it. One imagines that lore was collected by a 14th century scholar from some rural curandero-bumpkin, who was locally famous for using Mandrake, & who spoke an obsolete dialect full of colloquialisms which the good scholar took at face value. (Visit rural Kentucky some time but don't bother trying to find a phrase book, because 1): they don't make them, 2): you won't understand what they're saying anyway) It's reference to "magical" procedure is also a possible reason why the root isn't more widely used in christian countries (ghastly flavor might be a factor too though).

So the secret mandrake message is:
New moon is for dealing with personal, not public business, which would be on the full moon. ie. don't invite gawkers and don't let anyone know of your intention, here's why:
The tea's effect causes sensitivity to social cues (similar to Datura, also in the Solanaceae plant family, Also see Hallucinogenics) which, if interrupted by social cues from other people present, can cause confusion and "inappropriate" responses w/ possibly dire results. The shrieking root pulled from the ground refers to that too. Earth = the native soil of ones consciousness. But Mandrake is also said to be used for an aphrodisiac, possibly by focusing on social cues also, but simple Joe has never used it that way, so he couldn't say. He's a bumpkin though.

Acts of free will (wired) "... It is this sense of being the possessor of a consciousness that makes us feel responsible for it.” ... and also allows us to go around in a semiconscious state of self absorption.



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Beyond a certain minimum, wealth doesn't bring happiness. That people are driven by an irrational belief that it will, and persist in spite of all contrary evidence, is a form of madness. The definition of happiness is sometimes transposed to equal domination, power, or success. (for example Dick Cheney got a new tin heart in the belief that he would eventually find contentment) The same can be said for knowledge: it's just not possible to read all scientific papers that are produced in even one day. In Newton's time that was possible, but now, w/ hundreds per week, software does that job and also sorts for relevancy, draws conclusions, forms hypotheses, and publishes results. Eventually puny humans will become obsolete and waste away from irrelevancy.

A common denominator of these 2 disciplines (acquisition of wealth and acquisition of knowledge) is OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). The belief that contentment or safety or a desired outcome will be produced w/ enough repetition. Human brains are good at organizing repetitive tasks to produce complex results, like assembly line production. Two somewhat comparable biological corollaries are the Limbic nervous system(controls fight or flight,) vs Autonomic nervous system (breathing and heart functions) which are repetitive tasks. With luck, our new robot overlords will not confuse the 2 systems.

Anyone who reads this blog hoping for a conclusive thought should be aware that the writer gets substantial kicks from simple plausibilities, (they give almost the same hormonal sense of gratification w/ a lot less work). As an avid conspiracy theorist, I'm often satisfied w/ implications as much as proven conclusions. So I offer this warning to others: this is not a survival trait, and one must constantly guard against becoming a slave to Republicans and religious cannibals because they prey upon this common weakness to gain our confidence before they eat our babies.

Confirmation Bias

in other news:
UK government acts to prevent arrest of Pope, petitions ensue.

Joe's flash for the day: Greater or lesser versions of Obsessive compulsive disorder as a survival trait are selected for by reward for community group efforts. Obsessive people as leaders are only valuable in politics where some kind of program or process has to be driven by popular mandate. Otherwise they're given jobs that are repetitive and boring, requiring detailed attention and conscientious responsibility. When robots rule the world, these people will either be their proponents or they will become obsolete. As a general rule, people don't value the trait in mates, it's something employers might look for though.

I can see a scenario where society crumbles with out them because of poor interface w/ the machines, another possibility is OCD will become the only game in town as a necessity for dealing w/ the machines. I more expect the latter because without OCD, there would be no machines and they would probably program their keepers to look out for their own.

God Comics (god-comics.com). My apologies to people who feel strongly about ridicule of religion. I expect if god made the known universe he probably has a broad enough mind to allow self ridicule, so any reflection would be on the limited experience of the believer. If objections stem from the perceived damage to the belief system, then the believer must admit the beliefs are vulnerable, so why "defend" those beliefs in the name of god. (shakes head) Alas, it comes from ignorance.

The Just World Phenomenon

Fundamentalist Christian Evangelism in the US Military, it's still there.

“Read other people's myths, not those of your own religion, because you tend to interpret your own religion in terms of facts - but if you read the other ones, you begin to get the message.” ~Joseph Campbell
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How is it that possible pathways work out? A person imagines something like space wars with ray guns and fantastic aliens. Then somehow these things work on their imagination to come about. (I think Niels Bohr said that but I can't find the quote) No they don't always come about, but that part that captures the imagination often does.

Satellite relay for transcontinental communication was first a si-fi story by Arthur C. Clarke, and the shape of the needle for the original singer sewing machine was taken from a dream. There seems to be a capacity of the mind that selects for possibility, of putting 2 & 2 together till e=mc2. For example NPR has Car Talk w/ Click & Clack the Tappet Bros. who are pretty good (genius) at identifying mechanical problems on practically any car, from call-in descriptions of symptoms. They do it down to which wire of which part is loose, on which year of which model of which car, what caused it, & how it was missed by the mechanics at the shop.

How does that work? The internal adversary, that's used to bench test hypothesis is Assigned Symmetry (IMHO), & can usually be trusted not to go rogue because it has the same survival priorities as the protagonist. Real world adversaries (like the Wolf Man) draw on a broader source of negative responses (he rips peoples heads off), whereas the internal adversary is learned from someone who advocates your survival. The survival benefit of taking the side of the protagonist is low stress, better sleep, & an overall more agreeable disposition, so that you get social perks like getting laid instead of living in a dumpster. In other words, the internal protagonist may be subjective, but the internal antagonist must be purely objective in order to be reliable.

For that to occur, the native needs to be Descartes or learn that skill set from someone else (like maybe Science 101), because it won't happen by itself if you get lies.

Sapolsky on Religion (blip.tv)
Reason & Un-welcom Evidence (The Guardian)
Carl Sagan & the Garden of Eden (youtube)
Platos code Cracked Religions supression of science didn't begin w/ Gallileo.

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So who is responsible for protecting the sanctity of our kids butts? Kids are people after all & just as curious as adults. Any bureaucratic remedy will only be as successful as the prejudice of it's reviewers. church, parents, police, industry(?!) all go about it differently, each has pros & cons. but the total is that there is no universal solution. They ultimately profile all adult males as potential predators, and that doesn't work either.

Assuming that all males are potential child predators is pretty much the same as assuming that males are all selfish sociopaths, so that the males fear of prison is their only control. Those kinds of reasonings require men to prove innocence of intent, which can't be done, it's requiring proof of something that doesn't exist, proof of a negative. GW said Saddam had to prove there was no nuclear program, & then used his authority to frame Saddam over Yellowcake Uranium. I recommend that legal institutions (or media, or someone) define which situations require negative proofs, and make it a social faux pas issue of gigantic dimensions so that ordinary people will be aware of it's destructive potential, not just random bloggers.

Better Courts Now, the right-wing group that is seeking to get judges with a Christian bias elected to the courts in California, and eventually nationwide. (rightwingwatch.org)

One of Joe's (many) pet peeves is that dog owners are legally responsible for the actions of their pets but cat owners aren't. The state is responsible for wild animal control but not if your car gets smashed up by a deer jumping into the road, which would be an act of god. However when the state acts in it's own interest to preserve it's survival, the state is behaving like an independent life form. In which case, the definition of legal "Entity" is altered from judiciary to metaphysical, and is a conflict of church & state & said to be prohibited by the constitution.

I've been wondering how long it would be before the Republican faction of the Tea Party would start trying to appeal to marijuana smokers, since dope users are a very large demographic, & even more credulous than Christians.

On the bright side, since the church and state are essentially inseparable, I'm suggesting that a "state entity" could actually become legally impartial. Because when the state (like god) acts in it's own behalf, it becomes selfish/exclusive and justice becomes a matter of opinion. When in fact, God is demonstrably unbiased (except in the opinion of it's support groups). So that for the state to become an entity by any definition, it must be unbiased, and not use concepts like "imminent domain" or "gerrymandering" to defend itself or it's believers.

"We follow the teachings of a man named Charles Darwin ... " (youtube)

Poll: 83% say God answers prayers, 57% favor National Prayer Day (usatoday)

Israel the victim (newmatilda)

The far side 1994

Ugh it's hard to write down a flash days after it occurs, one of 2 things are gonna happen, either it's matured somehow in my subconscious, or else it's evaporated.

here's the flash:
either we make the world or we're it's result. I'm of the opinion that we make the world but we're always living a few steps after it happens & are trying to catch up, this makes us look for patterns that indicate future events, and takes responsibility for the world out of our hands. Buddhism says the only control you have over the world is how you react to it. But that's because our perception is a few microseconds slow. Whatever happens might be a quality of a single continuum (this one), but it doesn't rule out others.

Remote viewing, (a sanctioned spy technique used by the govts of both the US & Soviet Russia) uses a squiggle line to represent the immediate impression before any interpretation, it's there so the mind can go back to something original and "permanent" for reference. OK that's pretty close, but it's not the event itself. The "event itself" is some kind of singularity that we can only observe in retrospect. It's gamely plausible that reflecting back on an event, places the observer in a different time than the event, as it places the event in memory. But it's also evident that time affects the world around us and leaves archaeological evidence that other stuff is going on. So it's the mechanism of perception that is actually at fault.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." The above speech by Nelson Mandela was orignally written by Marianne Williamson who is the author of other similar material." source

The trouble with having power beyond measure is that it's freakin' lonesome at the top. In Joe's years as a vagabond, knowing that there were other people in the world made the trip worth observing, but he despised them because their territorial insecurities kept him from settling down.

I just got back from a road trip to visit my daughter. The traveling might have been a nightmare, or an Aircooled VW mechanics dream vacation. The engine has run wonderfully for 8 yrs but chose the middle of NM to reveal why the guy who rebuilt the head told me I should think about buying a new one. Two of the valve guides began to disintegrate. Pieces fell into the combustion chamber & sounded like a slapping rod. I had it towed to Bozo's Garage in Santa Rosa (hey Bozo!) & he let me work on it on his lot. I pulled the engine & found the problem. His crew were so amazed at the insanity of driving an old vw from CA to OK, that they all wanted to be in on it, "Baby Jesus watches over idiots". Ok, even as an atheist, I can't argue w/ that.

I cleaned out the pieces imbedded in the piston, drove it on to Oklahoma leaking oil like a sieve, and rebuilt it there again using new(er) parts. Okies are in no hurry to do anything when they sense desperation as an opportunity to raise prices. Fortunately, having grown up in the San Joaquin valley CA (Grapes of Wrath), I had a perfect Oklahoma accent, though somewhat rusty. It kept me from getting shot, but not from getting overcharged. Here is where years of meditation comes in handy: I decided not to care (much), & had my landlady send some pistons & cylinders from my garage workbench at home. My kid was occupied w/ finals so I sat around her place wasting away from ennui while she finished her year & I waited for parts & eventually wrote this post.


Richard Dawkins to file for the Popes arrest when he visits England in Sept. 2010

Babies see human hand behind ordered events (sciencenews.org)
Anthropologists Develop New Approach To Explain Religious Behavior (Sciencedaily.com) Check the links on the right of the Sciencedaily page.
Chief exorcist says Devil is in Vatican (Telegraph)
The List: The Catholic Church’s Latest Abuse Scandals (foreignpolicy.com)

Intelligent People Have "Unnatural" Preferences and Values That Are Novel in Human Evolutionary History (Satoshi Kanazawa, American Sociological Association)
"... religion is a byproduct of humans' tendency to perceive agency and intention as causes of events, to see "the hands of God" at work behind otherwise natural phenomena. "Humans are evolutionarily designed to be paranoid, and they believe in God because they are paranoid," says Kanazawa. This innate bias toward paranoia served humans well when self-preservation and protection of their families and clans depended on extreme vigilance to all potential dangers. "So, more intelligent children are more likely to grow up to go against their natural evolutionary tendency to believe in God, and they become atheists."

Does the Devil Really Wear Prada? The Psychology of Anthropomorphism and Dehumanization (psychologicalscience.org)
"Anthropomorphism in reverse is known as dehumanization — when humans are represented as nonhuman objects or animals. There are numerous historical examples of dehumanization including the Nazis’ persecution of Jews during the Holocaust and torture at the Abu-Ghraib prison in Iraq. These examples also suggest that those engaging in dehumanization are usually part of a cohesive group acting against outsiders — that is, individuals who feel socially connected may have an increased tendency towards dehumanization. The authors note, “Social connection may have benefits for a person’s own health and well-being but may have unfortunate consequences for intergroup relations by enabling dehumanization.”

While I don't have any references to support this, it never the less bears asking: Will a person who is exposed to sex at a young age, perceive their value to society differently than one who's never experienced it. Because their first teachers (including clergy) didn't provide alternative direction, that kid might be more inclined to wonder "why am I here?". From my own experience, kids don't tend to ask that question without prompting, (a question that the church claims to be qualified to answer, and indeed propagates inquiry as well. So a valid question might be: How many sexually repressed religious people have been "victims" of sexual abuse but don't admit it?)

wondering like that develops when a "victim" of underage sex realizes that they are equal somehow to anything the so called authorities have to offer. So how to relate? compete or be ignored? If one believes the traditional lore that something terrible has happened, and orients ones life around it, then yes, a self fulfilling prophecy has occurred. However, if one experiences it as just another mammalian social event, then they're diverging from the social norm into some kind of pervert universe. Most kids prefer social inclusion, so they accept it as abuse, unless maybe it was with another kid because there they have some control over how it's perceived among their peers.

I would like to read your comments on this.

Lobbyist on behalf of AZ. state bishops says a statute of limitation on sex crime is necessary so that churches can buy pedophile insurance.

From klenow:

"The writings included in the Bible were not intended as complete & definitive history books. This is evidenced by the fact that the historical portions (Chronicles, the Samuels, Kings, etc) often suggest the reader see other, more definitive works for greater detail. These referenced works have been lost. The whole "All scripture is God-breathed" line used by so many Christians is an out of context sentence fragment. It's not even half of the sentence.

The historical writings of the Old Testament are there to give context to the Prophetic writings of the Old Testament, they are not there to give a complete history of Israel. This context is intended as a record of judgement on Israel for becoming unclean or being unjust and doing nothing about it. You can't hold a text accountable for dropping the ball on something it never intended to do and does not claim to do.

Extraordinary claims only require extraordinary evidence if you're trying to convince someone. Which I guess is implied in the word "claim," but I don't know what claims was made by who or whatever. Anyway.

In the post you linked, the poster is the one making the claim; he's saying Christianity is wrong and should not be believed. It's up to him to now make that argument, it's not up to me to convince him Christianity is right. (Which is a good thing, because I can't. That's why I won't make the claim; I will only claim that I believe it is right). I do not not think his arguments are strong, for the reasons outlined above and decsribed in a bit more detail here. Again, I make no counterclaim because I can't back it up. I only say that his arguments are weak.

If you want to disprove something scientifically, you have to find evidence to contradict. To use another relevant cliche to counter your relevant cliche, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Invisible pink flying spaghetti unicorn monsters included.

And yes, I do give Christians a hard time about making claims they can't back up."
Here's a link to that thread on Reddit.

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belief (faith - conviction) obtains permission from the greater community. without permission, experience is the source. For example: Belief in a caring god improves response to medical treatment for depression. (Eurekalert, Journal of Clinical Psychology) And without which, there's no social support. So to cultivate social support, one adopts the ways of a selected group, probably in response to the perceived degree of threat (like from subjective (deamons) or objective (terrorists) territorial threats).

Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon' (BBC) ... idiots.
Indian state confiscates 'blasphemous' Jesus textbooks (BBC) wot? Would look cool on a T shirt though, like 'Comrade Jesus'. That poster looks familiar from the '70s, except then he was holding a joint & Budweiser.

"Any time you deal with the realm of the demonic, there are people who become uneasy." (Chris Hayward, president of Cleansing Stream Ministries network). "Witchcraft - It's More Common Than You Think." (Larry Huch, founder of the Texas megachurch DFW New Beginnings and a former director of John Hagee's Christians United for Israel). The growing obsession with demons imperils reality-based discourse on issues. (talk2action.org)

Before science got invented, etiologies were anthropomorphic, I mean they had to be because that's all there was to go by. Survival depended on being part of a group w/ more total experience and skill than any individual, so the cosmos had a social structure too. Like Horus was the son of Osirus, or Raven created the world, & whatever that implied. It was only a loose plan w/ no verification process because that would challenge the social order & ultimately ones place in it. The fact that the Cleansing Stream Network exists, proves that ancient social order is alive and well (for lack of a better word). To be fair though, that perspective is what defines animate consciousness from rocks. It's the result of a billion years of evolution of sleeping w/ one eye open so you won't get eaten. Our senses probably evolved to support it. Now along comes science & egghead nerds demand proof.

So: Are 'they' really out to get us?
Yes, it's a statistical certainty. Even bugs will eat you if you hold still long enough.
Are they a credible threat?
There's the rub, without resources of group knowledge, each individual must find out alone.
It's the writers contention that a demand for proof evolved from social exploitation. On the one hand, It was necessary to frame the demand so that it can't be screwed with using concepts like souls and angles. On the other, the church doesn't use math to explain phenomena.

Why We Don't Need Religion to Give Life Mystery

Micro/macro evolution doesn't exist

"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." ( Ambrose Bierce) I'm relieved that most responses to that post on reddit have practically nothing to do w/ religion. Of course this may be a subliminal expression of my own weariness with the issue. I mean that I noticed this & found it worth posting... maybe I'm loosing my grip! OK here's some more scandal: Religious faith in government accusations (Salon.com)

From "aimless_arrow" on reddit:
"If you really think there's an invisible man in the sky who gives even the remotest shit about what goes on down here, you should do some reading about the Congo and pretty much anything going on there in the last 30-odd years. In the words of George Carlin, "Results like these do not belong on the resume of an omnipotent being"."

Morality research sheds light on the origins of religion "It seems that in many cultures religious concepts and beliefs have become the standard way of conceptualizing moral intuitions. Although, as we discuss in our paper, this link is not a necessary one, many people have become so accustomed to using it, that criticism targeted at religion is experienced as a fundamental threat to our moral existence." Citing several studies in moral psychology, the authors highlight the finding that despite differences in, or even an absence of, religious backgrounds, individuals show no difference in moral judgments for unfamiliar moral dilemmas. The research suggests that intuitive judgments of right and wrong seem to operate independently of explicit religious commitments." (physorg.com)

What is the Religious Left (umm ...)

The problem with god is: We don't know what we don't know until we know that we don't know it (Rumsfield's axiom). That is, to assume the unknowable exists, presumes a definition (which is contradictory), but to refer to it as a coherent self aware entity, is psychopathic (so the contradiction is beside the point).

However, that same tendency (to animate a concept with anthropomorphic properties), also drives conspiracy theories, motivates and supports politicians, and draws people to churches and monster flicks. This mental loophole has become a gateway to an industry that exploits our ancient reptilian mental wiring. It's also curious that the same industrialists, also demand blind adherence to their particular dogma as defense against it: If your faith is strong enough, your dreams come true. If ______________ (fill in the space) then the terrorists have won.

Dick Cheney is a war criminal who belongs in jail (Atheist Review)

Devil replies to Pat Robertson

Tired of political whitewash? Go to Angry Voters & sign their list of petitions.

How Group Think Rules What We Like (Clive Thompson, Wired)

Ten More Blasphemous Quotations and a lot of good comments.

Ireland just passed a law prohibiting blasphemy with a fine of €25,000, so Atheist Ireland publishes 25 blasphemous quotes (with salt).

The attorney of a Minnesota marketer of communion-wafer dispensers, said in a telephone interview that the lawsuit “comes down to a pure business issue, even though it is the dispensing of the embodiment of Christ that we are talking about.” (Wired)

Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged? (Psychological Science) New Kellogg School Research Explores 'Moral Hypocrisy' in Powerful People



Paraphrasing Rumsfield: We don't know what we don't know until we know that we don't know it.