If you’d like a less intemperate and bloodcurdling review of The Spiritual Brain than mine, here’s one from a professor of religion.
He doesn’t seem to like it much, either.
Since we have a few people who seem to like poetry here, I thought you might be amused by some Christian poems. Actually, if you like and respect poetry, you might not want to click through that link—this is poetry like throwing a cat in a woodchipper is music. I’ve included a few small fragments below the fold if you just want a taste.
November 13, on PBS’s Nova: “Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial.”
I think I’ll try to catch that one.
David Horowitz (you all remember him, right? Deranged anti-intellectual wanker?) He has declared 22-26 October to be Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, to be represented with talks by such towering intellects as Rick Santorum, Ann Coulter, and Sean Hannity.
Brian Leiter has a complementary suggestion: the week after should be Christian-Fascism Awareness Week.
Now I don’t want to interfere with Horowitz’s effort, which is in the spirit of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan: "fundamentalism is the enemy of all civilized humanity." So one week devoted to Islamic fundamentalism seems right; but why not devote the next week to Christian fundamentalism? The rise of Christian Fascism has gotten some attention lately, but not nearly enough in our "politically correct" culture. Sure, the Christian Fascists aren’t quite as scary, since they rarely commit terrorist acts (except against abortion service providers); on the other hand, they’re right here in our midst (even in the White House some say), while the Islamic Bogeyman-In-Chief is in a cave somewhere in Pakistan.
I’d suggest that the Christo-Fascists have done far more damage to our country than any Islamo-Fascist — after all, the Islamic hordes haven’t been responsible for stripping away our civil liberties, nor did they force us to spend trillions on a fool’s war, nor did they turn Jesus into Mammon, nor did they replace education and science with ignorance and piety.
I’m all for this suggestion. I’m sure that Santorum, Coulter, Hannity, Dobson, Perkins, Robertson, etc., etc., etc. will all happily join us in fighting this grave threat to American security and freedom, too.
Prison doesn’t seem to be helping Kent Hovind face the facts. He has these blog entries where he writes down these little imaginary conversations with god, who tells poor Kent how wonderful he is and how important his suffering is; in the latest, Hovind insists that he’s innocent — of course God agrees — but the real sign of growing insanity is that Satan is now having conversations with him, too.
You have also dared to try to take dinosaurs away from me. I have used dinosaurs for nearly 200 years to teach billions of people that the earth is billions of years old and that God’s Word is not true. Your seminar on dinosaurs strikes at the heart of my kingdom. I intend to destroy both your ministry and your reputation for good. Dinosaurs are especially effective for me to deceive children. You are taking children away from me, so I took yours away from you!
Strangely, instead of sowing doubt and feeding Hovind’s fears, even Satan is confirming his delusions. Funny how that works.
I wouldn’t normally just publish a press release here, but in this case, 1) it’s an important issue, the Republican squashing of the SCHIP bill to reauthorize a health insurance program for poor children, 2) it’s about Michele Bachmann, a truly contemptible creature of the far right wing, and 3) my son Alaric has been working with Americans Against Escalation in Iraq on turning out the opposition to Bachmann — so it’s a good cause, a wretched villain, and a little family connection.
The story is that Cruella deVille Michele Bachmann was one of the conservative drones who voted to let poor children suffer; worse, she afterwards tried to claim that she was actually a supporter of SCHIP, that the bill would have benefitted the wealthy so she really wasn’t trying to hurt poor kids, and that her critics should “bring it on”. The Star Tribune editorialized against her position, and there have been vigils outside her office to try and persuade her to change her vote and override the president’s veto.
The argument that this bill would have advantaged the already rich means Michele Bachmann has joined the ranks of the repellent Republicans who gleefully attack children.
The press release is below the fold.
This is a nicely done periodic table on the web — I particularly liked the little slider that would let me change the temperature and see which ones would melt and boil.
I think we’re going to have to name Cuttlefish the Pharyngula Poet Laureate. Since so many people liked the sweet little poem about Gary Aldridge left in the comments, here it is for more to admire. (If you have no idea who Gary Aldridge is, here’s a reminder).
We gather here to eulogize
The Pastor and the Man
Old Gary Aldridge, often wise,
Though not his latest plan.A member of the Christian nation,
Friend of Jerry Falwell,
His last attempt at masturbation
Didn’t go at all well.For fifteen years, he’d preached the word
A Southern Baptist minister
His death–now, is it just absurd
Or something rather sinister?How does a person come to wear
Not one wetsuit, but two?
(Although, I know, I should not care
I’m curious–aren’t you?)I tend to think that, years ago,
He spied a rubber glove,
And wondered “Should I–well, you know–
When God and I make love?”He tried it on, and found a tube,
Half hidden on his shelf,
Of KY–smiled, and murmered “Lube
Thy neighbor as thy self.”And minutes later, hard at work,
He felt a little odd
Was this a sin, or just a quirk?
He talked it out with God.“Is what I’m doing here a sin?
Or is my pleasure Thine?
Is this as bad as skin on skin?
Lord, please, give me a sign!”So God produced a pamphlet: “Your
Vacation in Aruba!”
And pointed out–right there, page four–
The wetsuits used for SCUBASee, God’s not really how you think
A deity might be
He’s got a wicked bondage kink
(Just ask His son, J. C.)So Gary died, not steeped in sin
But following God’s plan;
So straight to Heaven–come on in!
And bring the wetsuits, man!A story, sure, but it may yet
Explain what happened then.
The moral is, please don’t forget:
Your safeword is “Amen”.
Speaking of bad teaching and schools that screw up under community pressure, it looks like we have an ugly story here in Morris. Last week, the student at the Morris Area High School were released from classes (you know, those sessions where they are supposed to learn something) to listen to some motivational speaker babbling about healthy lifestyles and abstinence, and apparently telling them that Madonna was a lesbian, among other tidbits. I’ve only heard third-hand about the event itself — Skatje‘s still in touch with friends at the high school, but she didn’t actually attend herself — but now there’s an article in the local paper on it.
The creationists don’t have to win their court cases to have an effect: all they have to do is threaten and badger teachers, and they effectively intimidate many into avoiding evolution, or work to make sure qualified science teachers don’t get hired at all. It happens here, and now it’s happening in the UK.
Teachers in UK schools are avoiding teaching evolution in science classes to avoid conflict with students, especially Muslims, who believe in creationism.
I don’t have any sympathy for students or their parents who think an education is a process of affirming what you think you already know.
