Headline Muse 2/11

It’s non-binding—there’s no votes to gain
So to say it’s important’s insane
But Santorum, that turd
Placed a far-distant third
While that Romney jerk barely won Maine

Headline: Romney wins Maine caucuses

Again, I wish the networks would report on what incredibly small turnouts these have been. Romney beats Paul by three percent–but that’s less than 200 votes! I’ve taught a good many classes with more students than that. Caucuses, being non-binding, are mostly a way of measuring passion. And there is very little passion. It looks like people are passionate, of course, because the extreme tail of the distribution is very excited. That’s pretty much the job of the extreme tail of the distribution. The monster middle, however, is unmoved and unimpressed.

If the majority of Republicans can’t be arsed to vote for these pinheads, imagine how attractive they are to the general public.

Ultimate Morality (Or, Directions From East Orange To Hoboken)

Ok, so I’ve seen, one time too many, a flock of commenters congratulating a christian writer who pointed out that atheism must necessarily lead to nihilism, that atheists cannot have any morality whatsoever because in an atheist universe it would ultimately be meaningless.

The ultimately is key; it is the word that allows them to stroke their chins and nod sagely. “God says X, which makes it ultimately true.” The question of which god says it never arises, cos there’s only one in their universe, and they happened to get lucky and believe in that one. The question of human interpretation of that ultimate truth never arises, because their interpretation is the right one. They can’t see that they are in the same position an atheist is in, except that they have convinced themselves that the human choices they made are based on an ultimate truth.

Thing is, I’m really not looking for an ultimate truth, or an ultimate morality. I’m looking for something a bit closer to home. Something that applies to my life, and to the lives of my fellow human beings. Something that is meaningful to us, even if it is ultimately meaningless. An analogy: The fact that we are no longer considered to be the center of God’s universe, and that there is no absolute up or down, no absolute substrate against which to measure motion, no way of measuring speed or direction without some arbitrary relation to an observer… does not mean that it is impossible to give directions from East Orange to Hoboken. Directions are meaningful when relative. So is morality.

An ultimately true morality that does not care about humanity might allow some monster to believe that, say, killing children is a kindness, cos it sends them to heaven. Me, I like children. If God says “kill these children”, then God is wrong. And if God is ultimately right about that, fuck God, I’d rather be wrong.

The thing is, we can only judge whether our decisions have been good or bad through hindsight. Oddly enough, the same goes for morality–the moral codes that have worked, get to call themselves “good”; the ones that have not aren’t here to call themselves anything. So being kind to one another, saving for tough times, hard work, and so on, are things which our environment has selected as “good”. If religion disappeared tomorrow, our environment would still be selecting some behaviors over others. Morality matters, not because of ultimate decisions from some god, but precisely because of proximal usefulness. Directions from East Orange to Hoboken are not useful when phrased in terms of vectors relative to the big bang.

AAAAArrrrrgh!

I’ve called the support here at Cuttlefish U.,
I’ve watched all the viddies they’ve asked me to view,
I’ve followed each step they’ve prescribed me to do
But I can’t get the program to run!
I’ve cleared all my cookies; I’ve emptied the cache
Deleted old copies (‘twas quite a large stash)
Been nice to the laptop I wanted to bash
But the program’s not even begun

I’ve told of my problem, to techies I’ve called,
How, yes, on my desktop, I got it installed,
But failed on my laptop, and sat there and bawled
Cos it should have been done in one try
I can’t see a reason (nor, frankly, can they)
When I ran the procedure both times the same way
And it’s so very helpful to hear, when they say
“I don’t know, but good luck, and goodbye!”

So, does anyone know of particular problems loading the tegrity video recording software onto Macs? I’m at wit’s end, and I’m only a halfwit to begin with.

A Reproductive Message To You (Science Valentine Repost)

It’s a reproductive message
And I’m passing it along
I read it in my DNA
And wrote it in this song
It’s just a reproductive message
A reproductive message to you

It’s an imperative of nature
It’s not just my excuse
There is no greater calling
Than “survive and reproduce”
It’s an imperative of nature
A reproductive message to you

I’m enamored of your phenotype
I’d love to share your genotype
I never thought I’d see no type like you
Your lovely physiology
Has triggered my biology
And now, no simple “golly gee” will do

So now my message is embedded
In meter and in verse
With music as the medium
I guess it could be worse
So long as someone gets embedded…
A reproductive message to you

We all are in the bidness
Of reproductive fitness
But now I fear I’m witnessing the end
Biology is boom or bust
And when it comes to love and lust
No future comes from being just a friend

And that’s the purpose of my singing
You’ve probably deduced
The music is irrelevant
Unless you’ve been seduced
And that’s the purpose of my singing
My reproductive message to you

Stuff, after jump: [Read more…]

Canadian Intelligence Performs Miracle

No, really! Jason Thibeault, the Lousy Canuck, has worked magic. I had been trying for months (ok, trying for 2 months, and then had given up for 2 months) to get my old blog migrated to these here new digs. Impossible. Initially, I could not even download my old blog to back it up–the file did not exist.

Liars. The file existed. It just couldn’t be translated to the new site. Such is life; at least it was backed up. Mostly in theory, but backed up nonetheless.

Enter Jason. Long story short, I have a new hero, and this blog now has posts that hearken back to 2007. Take a look! See if your favorites made it over safely; see if I’ve written something on your favorite topic. Take a look around; put your waders on and slog back in time–let me know if anything is missing or screwed up. Have fun.

Arguing Against Gay Marriage (Badly)

When I marshal all my arguments,
It’s purely a pretense;
There’s no legal obligation
That my arguments make sense;
When I say that it’s unnatural
To speak of same-sex love,
I can also speak of nature as
A thing to rise above—
I can point to evolution,
Saying “Gays can’t reproduce!”
(I’ll admit, as a creationist,
That’s Darwin’s only use)
I can rant and rave that gayness
Is not natural, but choice
While selecting one’s religion
Is protected free-speech voice

If it furthers my agenda
It is right, and good, and strong;
If it means that gays can marry,
It’s immoral, evil, wrong.
It’s a logical dilemma,
And I worry for my fate—
If I cannot ask the government
To reinforce my hate.
If I cannot have the force of law
Behind me as I rant,
I’m forced to use my logic, and…
As you can see… I can’t.

rant, after yon jump: [Read more…]

A Case Of Catholic Privilege

With all of the bluster a bishop could wish up
The Catholic clergy are making some noise
We hear them defending their privilege with snivelage,
With moaning, and tears, and complete lack of poise
Their habit of unfettered spending was ending
(“Our money, our rules”, as the White House explained)
When strings are attached to a dollar, they holler—
They’d much rather work with their funds unconstrained

Though priests wish to ban birth-controlling, the polling
Says people in pews are a whole different sort;
The people are more contraceptive-receptive—
Most Catholics use them, by latest report;
The bishops’ control has been shrinking, I’m thinking,
They’re aching for relevance now, you’re aware;
But sadly, their days in the clover are over…
I’m trying real hard, but I’m failing to care.

Bit of a rant, after the jump: [Read more…]

“An Invisible Statue Of Atheism”

Comment, on a Yahoo News story on a FoxNews debate about the presence or removal of Tacky Jesus on Big Mountain:

If the statue is removed, then technically there will be an invisible statue to atheism standing in its place. Why should atheism get special treatment?

Salvador Dali created a scene
With “Invisible Bust of Voltaire”
The viewer can see it as plain as the day
But the truth is, no sculpture is there

Invisible statues may come and may go
But of course, we can never quite see ‘em
They seem to be lacking in matter and mass
So they can’t clutter up a museum.

An artist may sculpt an invisible piece
As a tribute to negative space
With a negative body, and negative limbs
And a negative head and a face

And having so done, could display it, of course,
Though I really don’t know why you’d do it—
The time and the effort, the planning and thought,
And the public just walks the hell through it!

Invisible statues hold meaning for some
While others just wish they would go—
Which brings up a question I’m dying to ask:
If it disappeared, how would you know?

I also want to ask her–if I remove the invisible statue to atheism, what remains in its place?

I guess the good news is that the vast majority of the universe, technically, is an invisible statue to atheism. Makes me feel a little better about all those red dots.

It Looks Like Measles!

According to a report by CBS Los Angeles, the upcoming Day of Solidarity for Black Non-Believers is ruffling some feathers:

The event set for Feb. 26 is part of an ad campaign by African Americans For Humanism (AAH) planned in Los Angeles and five other major U.S. cities targeting African-Americans who have privately or openly questioned their faith.

The ads are already fueling controversy in Dallas as the campaign made its debut Monday with a billboard reading, “Doubts about religion? You’re one of many.” erected within one mile of several area churches.

(continues after the jump, of course:) [Read more…]