Remember when LePage was against special interests?

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Michael

Yeah, that was Friday. But come Saturday he must have had a change of heart.

The activists rallied Saturday at Augusta’s St. Michael School and later marched to the State House to trumpet the anti-abortion cause. Gov. Paul LePage, an abortion opponent, joined them for part of the rally, which was organized by the Maine Right to Life Committee.

St Michael’s School is where the last Maine governor, Baldacci, sent his children. As it happens, back when it was known as St. Mary’s School, I also received a big hunk of my education there. I never saw Baldacci. But then, he wasn’t the sort of governor to say he believed one thing one day and another thing another day. At least not this blatantly.

And LePage’s handlers in all this? Not very good so far.

Asked Saturday whether the Maine Right to Life Committee represented a special interest, [Dan] Demeritt said special interests inevitably would end up on LePage’s schedule.

“This isn’t about politics,” he said of Saturday’s rally. “This is about supporting a group that’s worked very hard to make sure that life is a choice that everybody can make.”

What about supporting groups that have worked very hard to make sure a chance at equality is possible for people who are actually alive? Or maybe giving black people as a group the time of day in Maine isn’t something political advantageous enough for LePage.

Filed under: Local, News | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Thought of the day

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Michael

Atheism as a movement faces a number of issues. There is, of course, the fact that it is a purely descriptive position; it isn’t easy to gather together people with varying worldviews and philosophies. Then there’s the public vilification. If we’re to believe the attacks, atheists are arrogant and closed-minded and intolerant and bigoted and all sorts of other nasty things that are really just code for “I don’t like that atheists disagree with me”. And there are a whole host of other impediments to letting people know we exist. (Hell, even saying that we’re a part society is often received with foaming vitriol.) But one of the biggest issues I see is that of moving goal posts.

When atheists look at a specific belief to point out its flaws, why, that isn’t what most Christians believe! Or when atheists point to a widely believed idea in America’s dominant religion, why, that isn’t what True Christians believe! Or when atheists criticize so-called sophisticated theology, why, that’s just what one Christian believes!

It’s a depressingly effective strategy.

Filed under: Misc | Tagged: , | 35 Comments »

Carl Sagan on the new astrology

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Michael

We can all get a little attached sometimes.

Filed under: Hiking | Tagged: , | 6 Comments »

Black people are a special interest group

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Michael

At least Maine Gov. LePage said as much.

While attending a meeting for business leaders in Sanford, Governor Paul LePage spoke out about why he would not attend Martin Luther King ceremonies on the upcoming holiday.

LePage has declined invitations from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The organization has already expressed its displeasure with the governor’s plans to not attend the events.

“They are a special interest. End of story…and I’m not going to be held hostage by special interests.

He also points out that he has an adopted black son, so I don’t think anyone is about to accuse LePage of being racist. But if he’s right that the NAACP is a special interest group, then doesn’t his logic dictate that EVERY INSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT is just special interest? Ya know. For whites.

LePage really doesn’t get it. I mean, he gets his core constituency, but he doesn’t get why he needs to attend this Martin Luther King Jr. day ceremony. This isn’t about special interest. It’s about honoring a man who fought dearly for civil rights – not special rights, but fucking civil rights – so that we might remind ourselves of our very (proclaimed) values.

Update: From other articles I’ve been reading, it seems one of the big sticking points for people is that LePage said the NAACP can “kiss my butt”. Who cares? I’m glad he’s using direct and overt language. The real issue is that he is dismissing an equality group as being merely “special interest”.

Filed under: News | Tagged: , , , | 11 Comments »

A challenge to theists

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Michael

Or anyone, really:

Demonstrate how atheism inherently leads to any particular philosophy.

Does atheism lead to libertarianism? If so, how? Nihilism? How? Utilitarianism? Humanism? Pragmatism? How, how, how?

Filed under: Atheism/Humanism | Tagged: , | 17 Comments »

Oh, rule internalization, when will you go away?

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Michael

This story offers two instances of rule internalization.

An assistant manager at a Minnesota McDonald’s found herself kicked to the curb recently after her boss found out that she’d broken the rules by letting Minnesota Vikings superstar Adrian Peterson use the restaurant’s restroom after hours.

The woman, who considers McDonald’s to be a career for her, not merely a job, was reinstated at her position once local media caught wind of the bullshit the company was pulling. That’s great, but this is still an excellent example of rule internalization. She broke a rule that was probably there for some sort of insurance purpose or safety of the employees. At any rate, Peterson is a massive star, especially in that area, so it isn’t like he posed any threat to the reason for the rule. Is he someone who would sue for some bizarre reason? Would he try and rob the place or employees? Obviously not.

The other instance of rule internalization comes from the user comments at the end of the story.

Wait, wait, wait. She knowingly violated company policy by letting someone in the facility after hours who had no reason to enter the facility. She was fired for doing that (too much? I don’t know what McD’s insurance policy states) and went complaining to get her job back? Ugh.

and

But again, those are the policies of the company and she’d been there long enough to know them. She broke them, she suffers the consequences.

and

The rules are there for a reason… she violated them and was fired. I don’t care who the person she let in was.

My favorite is that last one. Yes, the rules certainly are there for a reason. I fail to see how enforcing them without reason is somehow a good in the world.

Filed under: News | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

An answered prayer

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Michael

This is an old story, but I think it’s important to retell it.

Timmy Yu was just 5 years old when he was involved in a terrible car accident in 1996. Both his parents were killed. His spine was mangled, vertebrae shattered.

At 7 years old in the above picture, Timmy had a lot of faith. In fact, I’m willing to wager he still has it judging by his story. He would pray and pray and pray to God. One cannot help but have pity for a child who wants nothing more than to just run and play with his friends once again.

But there’s good news. Timmy’s prayers were answered.

God’s response came at approximately 10 a.m. Monday, following a particularly fervent Sunday prayer session by little Timmy. Witnesses said God issued His miraculous answer in the form of a towering column of clouds, from which poured forth great beams of Divine light and the music of the Heavenly Hosts. The miraculous event took place in the Children’s Special Care Ward of St. Luke’s Hospital, where Timmy goes three times a week for an excruciating two-hour procedure to drain excess fluid from his damaged spinal column.

Said Angela Schlosser, a day nurse who witnessed the Divine Manifestation: “An incredible, booming voice said to Timmy, ‘I am the Lord thy God, who created the rivers and the mountains, the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon and the stars. Before Me sits My beloved child, whose faith is that of the mustard seed from which grows mighty and powerful things. My child, Timmy Yu, I say unto you thus: I have heard your prayers, and now I shall answer them. No, you cannot get out of your wheelchair. Not ever.”

and

Asked for comment, God said: “This kind-hearted child’s simple prayer hath moved Me. Never before have I seen such faith. His trusting soul, so full of innocent devotion to Me, hath offered seventy times seven prayers asking, ‘God? Can I please walk again?’ It was indeed right and fitting that I, in My infinite wisdom, should share with him the One True Answer to this long-repeated question he put before Me.”

“My will be done,” God added.

and

Despite all the attention he has received, Timmy remains humble in the face of his newfound notoriety as the only human ever to have a prayer directly answered by God Himself.

“I know that God loves me, because it says so in the Bible,” Timmy said. “So right now, I am just glad that God took the time to answer my prayer. If only I could walk, this would be the greatest day of my life.”

As an atheist, I have no explanation for this. This is a unique event that not only provides powerful evidence for the existence of God, but also really demonstrates the high moral character of the Christian deity.

It warms the heart.

Filed under: Humor | Tagged: | 4 Comments »

She no longer eyes him like a pisces when he is weak

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Michael

Ten points if you can guess what the title to this post is referencing before reading on.

I’ve been seeing a disconcerting amount of astrology bullshit on my Facebook feed today. I guess some arbitrary assholes decided to arbitrarily change things up.

Astronomers have restored the original Babylonian zodiac by recalculating the dates that correspond with each sign to accommodate millennia of subtle shifts in the Earth’s axis. Prepare to have your minds blown, all you people with easily blowable minds.

Here is the zodiac as the ancient Babylonians intended it—with the dates corresponding to the times of the year that the sun is actually in each constellation’s “house”—according to the Minnesota Planetarium Society’s Parke Kunkle:

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.
Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.
Pisces: March 11-April 18.
Aries: April 18-May 13.
Taurus: May 13-June 21.
Gemini: June 21-July 20.
Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10.
Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.
Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30.
Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.
Scorpio: Nov. 23-29.
Ophiuchus:* Nov. 29-Dec. 17.
Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

* Discarded by the Babylonians because they wanted 12 signs per year.

This explains why my post of Bill Nye explaining the arbitrariness of astrology has been getting a few more hits than usual.

I find this all so depressing. No, not that my made-up, bullshit sign has changed (actually, it hasn’t). No, what I find depressing is that after all the efforts of Carl Sagan, we still hold a prominent place for astrology in our society. It undermines science. Knock it off.

Besides that, the changing of all this arbitrary bullshit really puts an asterisk on a pretty great song.


(Did you get the 10 points?)

Filed under: News, Pure bullshit | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

Sudan

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Michael

Sudan may soon become two nations.

Sudan was troubled from its birth when, in 1956, the British handed over power to the Arab northern elite, despite the country’s vast ethnic and cultural pluralities, setting the parameters for one of the world’s most dysfunctional states. So it is not surprising that the southerners — who have suffered through the two civil wars, from 1956-72 and 1983-2005, which left 2 million people dead and 4 million displaced — are pulling the plug on Africa’s largest nation. The voting in a referendum on southern independence — the key component of a 2005 peace deal — began on Jan. 9 and will last until Jan. 15; the results, not in doubt, should be announced later in the month or in early February.

“Cultural pluralities” is partial code for different religions. Of course, that is only one piece to the puzzle – and not even the biggest piece. But that said, I was reminded of something I said about Nigeria last year:

There is no permanent solution to violence. There are only best solutions. In this case, it is necessary that religious divides be destroyed – and the only way that will happen is either if one group absolutely dominates the landscape or if both groups dissipate. There is nothing like the organizing power of religion and bizarre beliefs…to get a whole pot of hate and violence stirring.

The problems of a poorly developed nation like Sudan aren’t going to go away simply because of a successful separationist movement. But the exacerbation? At least a little of the fuel? It isn’t going to be there. I predict improvements in the two Sudans in the coming years. (I will also point out that if Iraq was diced up according to its religious divisions, a notable bit of the violence there would be quelled – not as much as would be quelled if we just left, but still a notable amount.)

Filed under: News | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

On Job

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Michael

We all know the story of Job. The devil makes a bet with God that Job will lose faith and curse his Lord if he loses all his good fortune. And so God takes the devil up on that bet and Job’s life is soon all fucked to hell. Dear!

So this leaves us with a few options. First, God decided to gamble with the devil. Second, God led the devil to believe there was a chance Job would lose faith. Third, God is an inexplicable dick. What to choose, what to choose.

I don’t like our first option. If we’re going to bother arguing about the characteristics of God, we can’t use difficult- or inconvenient-to-explain scenarios to override the things which are necessary to God’s very existence (omnipotence, moral perfection, etc). Since gambling would be a sin for God to commit, and since God does not sin, there must be some other explanation.

This second option isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s exactly what God did. Since he knows everything, he clearly was not gambling (not to mention the fact that being morally perfect precludes him from gambling anyway, as just discussed). And he did get the devil to believe Job wasn’t going to curse the name of God. But wait. That would make God a liar. We can’t have that.

So we have the third option. This one seems to be the most parsimonious with the evidence, so I’m going to have to lean this way. Once the theologians figure this one out, maybe I’ll change my position. But remind me again…what objective method of inquiry are they using to interpret the actions and words of God? I don’t seem to recall ever hearing about one.

Oh. And there’s also the chance that this is all just a made-up story designed to show people that faith is important even in the face of great pain. A rather bullshit point, yes, but it strikes me as just a tad more plausible than all the others.

Filed under: Religions | Tagged: , , , , | 4 Comments »

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