I didn’t think they would be crazy enough to do it, but they just may be. When the National Intelligence Estimate came out last December, where a dozen U.S. intelligence agencies agreed that the Iranian nuclear development program has been shut down since 2003, it put a pretty massive roadblock in Bush/Cheney’s increasingly fired-up anti-Iranian [...]
READ MORE »Monthly archives for June, 2008
On the issue of privacy and protecting civil liberties.
Let me ask you a question: How would you react if one day came home to discover that every room in your house had two or three CCTV cameras installed in it? You don’t know who’s watching them or when or why? Would you be OK with this? Let’s say someone came to your door, [...]
READ MORE »Capital punishment and gun control.
The Supreme Court has handed down a couple of very important decisions recently regarding crime and punishment: High court strikes down sweeping gun ban. This one’s easy for me to comment on: _Liberal delusion of gun control._ The other ruling is just as heated of an issue (I suppose if it weren’t it wouldn’t have [...]
READ MORE »Freethinking comics.
Found some freethinking comics; here’s a couple of good ones: . .That one has got some poignant comments under each comic. Here’s another that has a good comment under it (on the source site)… .And of course this one shows a perennial argument between atheists and believers… (I’m afraid I don’t have a link for [...]
READ MORE »The danger of belief.
When discussing and criticizing New Age, New Thought, pseudoscience beliefs (like The Secret, crystals, homeopathy, chiropractic, ESP, psychics, Tarot, astrology, chi, feng shui, ghosts, reflexology, etc. ad nauseum) people often say “Oh, what’s the big deal? It’s harmless; let people believe what they want,” it’s often because they themselves have some belief or three that [...]
READ MORE »Liberal delusion of gun control.
Ugh! Sometimes I just can’t stand the people I’m closest to in politics. It’s times like this that reassure me that I’m a free thinker and not a lemming: I’ve slowly gone from pro-capital punishment to against, war admiring to war hating, and am slightly becoming more non-animal-eating*… but on the issue of gun control [...]
READ MORE »Turn-about is fair play, so it seems.
Most anyone who has driven along the highways and byways of America has surely seen the “God Speaks” billboards: basic black with plain white text saying things like “One nation under me” “All I know is…everything” “Life is short. Eternity isn’t” “You think it’s hot here?” “Big Bang Theory, you’ve got to be kidding” “Have [...]
READ MORE »New “In the name of security†update.
Last month I posted a few scary tidbits in a post: ♦ “In the name of security†update. Here’s some more recent developments in our great, declining empire. ♦ US freezing Danes’ money A dress maker, in Denmark, had a couple hundred in US dollars frozen by the US government because it was going to [...]
READ MORE »Support teaching the controversy!
…with one of these great tees! ♦ Wear Science- Teach the Controversy (Thanks BoingBoing!)
READ MORE »Here Be Dragons.
Brian Dunning of the Skeptoid blog/podcast has made a spiffy little movie (40 min) as a primer for critical thinking: ♦ Here Be Dragons – Movie It’s got some nice visuals, but I let it play in the background and just listened to it while I worked. It’s a little rough (for example, there are [...]
READ MORE »The meaning of life.
I recently listened to a recording of a debate between theologian William Lane Craig and scholar Keith Parsons* titled “Why I Am / Am Not a Christian.” It was held in 1998 and can be downloaded here: ♦ Craig/Parsons Debate on Why I Am / Am Not a Christian Much of it involves the supposed [...]
READ MORE »Refutation of the “facts” of the Resurrection.
There’s a great refutation of the supposed four basic and indisputable “facts” regarding the resurrection of Jesus. These four facts are often used by Christian apologists, especially the preeminent William Lane Craig as proof of the Resurrection. Yet, they’re easily refuted by a critical thinker, like Jon Curry: ♦ My First Rebuttal Good page to [...]
READ MORE »Critical thinking vs. emotional appeal, and Einstein.
The latest Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe podcast is really fantastic. ♦ Skepticast #150: 6/4/2008 It starts with a wonderful criticism of the anti-vaccine/autism movement versus reasoned thinking. For example, one of the main tactics of the anti-vaccine movement is to claim vaccines contain known dangerous chemicals. But to do this, they scan ingredient lists [...]
READ MORE »Protecting the Homeland from its citizens!
A couple of interesting articles: ♦ D.C. to require ID to enter certain neighborhoods? I, like half the commentors, hope that this will be short-lived. Unless everyone in the government and the legal system has gone crazy, this is too far. But if it does stand up to challenge, woe to us all! ♦ John [...]
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