Why does the TSA hate children?

Coming on the heels of the story about the TSA’s aggressive handling of a four-year old child, we now have an even worse case of an aggressive pat-down given to a seven-year old girl with cerebral palsy who uses crutches, resulting in the family missing their flight. Add to this the charges of stealing, and the TSA is well on its way to becoming the most hated agency of the government. [Read more…]

Stephen Colbert pokes fun at Cardinal Dolan

TIME magazine publishes an annual list of the 100 most influential people. At a dinner given for this year’s mentions, Stephen Colbert gave a speech that included the following comments aimed at the Catholic church and Cardinal Thomas Dolan who is a smug example of Catholic homophobia and sexism. (Unfortunately I have not been able to find a video of the speech.) [Read more…]

Book Review: God and the Folly of Faith by Victor J. Stenger

Victor Stenger has had a long career in experimental high-energy physics. He has become a prolific writer on the intersection of science and religion and I have referred to him frequently in past blog posts, especially to material in his 2007 book God: The Failed Hypothesis. Stenger is an unabashed ‘new atheist’ who thinks that science and religion are fundamentally incompatible and does not shy away from saying so bluntly. The title of his latest book (and its subtitle The Incompatibility of Science and Religion) leaves the reader with no doubt as to where he stands. The book was released this month and I have just had the pleasure of reading it. It essentially updates and expands on the arguments of that earlier one. [Read more…]