Teaching Naama

It isn’t that we’re horrible; it isn’t that we’re mean—
That outfit that she’s wearing, though, we’ve noticed it’s obscene!
It stimulates! It irritates! It positively rankles!
A skirt so short that anyone can clearly see her ankles!
An outfit so immodest, you can tell just what it’s for,
So we’re only being honest when we tell her she’s a whore
We’re protectors of morality, the keepers of the locks,
We’re honor-bound to spit at her; we’re justly throwing rocks
Not even shameless prostitutes should dare to be so bold
So we’re teaching her a lesson… After all, she’s eight years old.

A bit of a wandering thought, after the jump: [Read more…]

The Essay

What a brilliant exposition of the writer’s point of view!
What an eloquent analysis, and so well written, too!
So insightful and so polished, so well-worded and concise…
Though an answer that related to our coursework would be nice.
[Read more…]

One Last Christmas Post

…Cos I completely forgot about this one. If you’re sick to death of Christmas verses and songs and stuff, don’t click. If you could stand one more, and can read sheet music, though, I wrote this one years ago, and last year a generous reader took my lousy attempt at sheet music, and made it work. And (although I can’t get it to work, maybe you can) got a sound file out of it, too.

More than friends this Christmas

It’s a Christmas-time love song, and it’s not snarky in the least.

It *Is* A Wonderful Life

I read it in the news, today,
And thought it rather odd:
“The world would be much better
If we all believed in God”

The heart of Christian charity
Depends on our belief;
It’s love of God that separates
The giver from the thief

Our movies and our novels serve
To highlight this conviction;
Though just like Aesop’s fables, they
Are moralistic fiction

The books about morality
Have overflowed the shelves
They show the hell that comes of people
Thinking for themselves.

Belief is what determines
How the common man behaves;
And everything goes smoothly
When we’re willing, happy slaves.

A bit more, after the jump: [Read more…]

The GOP’s Bright Shining Light Of Freedom

God bless the GOP.

I hope you know me well enough to read that with the appropriate ironic tone. The GOP have allowed me my first chance to repeat a post written originally by me, not on the old blog but on this one! The “Gilding Our Past” party, faced with the effects of G.W. Bush’s energy-efficiency law, have decided that before they do anything about …well, anything… they are gonna save the 100-watt incandescent light bulb. For freedom. (more, after the jump:) [Read more…]

Hey! A New Book!

With me in it! How did I not write about this yet?

The Young Australian Skeptics have put together a Skeptical Blog Anthology, which is now available–proceeds from sales go directly to the Young Australian Skeptics, which is only part of why you should buy several copies. The other reason is, well, the stuff between the covers.

My pal Kylie has the details. And (I don’t think she mentions this on her post, but she reminded me in email, cos I had completely forgotten), I’m in it!

Assuming God Exists…

Let’s assume, for the moment, God loves us.
Let’s assume, for the moment, He’s real.
Let’s assume that He helps us fight Satan,
And He answers our prayers when we kneel.
Let’s assume that His power is infinite
Let’s assume that we bask in His glow
Let’s assume he’s beyond our perception…
Then tell me… just how do we know?

Let’s assume God keeps holding back earthquakes
Let’s assume He is calming the storm
Let’s assume that without Him, the devil
Can cause one, then another, to form
Let’s assume we would all die of cancer
Were it not for God keeping us well
Let’s assume we’d be worse off without Him
Now, tell me… just how can we tell?

Let’s assume God is here, all around us
Let’s assume He’s an infinite force
Let’s assume there is nowhere without Him
Let’s assume as a matter of course.
Let’s assume He’s in each observation
There’s no place without Him, to compare
Tell me, how could a human discern this
From a God who is simply not there?

Musing just a bit, after the jump: [Read more…]

It’s A Miracle (Officially)!

The medical team was in a race
Against some resistant bacteria;
A colony found a young boy’s face
To treat as their own cafeteria

The miracle team investigates
Against some religious criteria;
The “promoter of justice” tries their fates
As they battle with strep or listeria

The desperate parents said their prayers
As conditions grew frankly horrific
They pleaded for help from the man upstairs
Whose germs were a bit too prolific

Operations and antibiotics combined
Broad-spectrum, as well as specific
Saved young Jake’s life, although we’ll find
The church is more unscientific

The search for answers sometimes leads
To a cultural bit of division:
A difference that comes from their separate needs
May find science and church in collision

A team of priests has been working for years
As a bishop provides supervision
And if adequate evidence really appears
Well… they won’t let that stop their decision

Well… I was right. (More after the jump: ) [Read more…]