The atheist martyrs

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Michael

A group of harmless atheists (sorry for the redundancy) in Cincinnati had to take down a welcoming sign due to violent threats.

In the wake of multiple, significant threats, the downtown billboard that says “Don’t Believe In God? You are not alone” came down early Thursday morning.

Oh, how dangerous. A group telling other people that they need not feel alone. Give me a break. It’s a well-known fact that atheists constitute one of the most hated groups in America. More Americans would vote for a homosexual than an atheist. (The fact that either group would be denied votes on such illegitimate grounds is astounding in itself, actually. The first isn’t exactly making a choice. The second shouldn’t matter since there’s that whole separation of church and state thing.)

“Everything that has happened shows just how vital our message is,” said Shawn Jeffers, co-coordinator for the Cincinnati Coalition of Reason. “It proves our point, that bigotry against people who don’t believe in a god is still very real in America. Only when we atheists, agnostics and humanists come together and go public about our views will people have a chance to learn that we too are part of the community and deserve respect.”

It’s a good point, especially because it notes the respect earned by the named groups. Putting one’s self out there for criticism is a good thing and should be appreciated. Most atheists, agnostics, and humanists want to engage their fellow humans in discourse. That cannot be said of most religions, and if so, only quite temporarily (basically until you make them think or question too hard).

The billboard was moved to a location now viewed by drivers heading west on the Sixth Street viaduct. Some say they find it offensive.

“My thoughts? I think the sign needs to come down. Its atheist. Its going to cause problems around all the churches, not just catholic, but lutheran, baptist, all of them,” said Jack Jones of Downtown.

Please excuse the myriad typos in that. Well, actually, don’t. What the hell. And Jack Jones “of Downtown”? Was this journalist imbibing something as s/he wrote, gradually getting more and more grammatically chaotic?

But I digress. I hope this causes problems for all churches. But let’s not stop there. The synagogues and mosques need a smart dose of rational inquiry thrown in their faces.

“We are dealing with it the best way we can. We are not going away so talk to us,” said Welte.

How militant.

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Carl Sagan Day

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Michael

Today is Carl Sagan Day. That means you should appreciate science and have a Cosmos marathon. Also, watch this video. It’s hilarious.

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Does this make them proud?

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Michael

There was an election day recap article in the local paper for 11/5. One part of it was very striking.

“It just makes me very, very sad,” said Diane Sammer, 49, of Harpswell.

Her partner of 28 years died last year. For many years they wanted to be married in Maine, and their hopes had risen since same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts in 2004.

When Sammer’s partner died, Sammer was not allowed to claim the body, and she was excluded from the arrangement process at the funeral home.

“They didn’t want to deal with me. They just wanted her parents to come and sign documents,” Sammer said. “Because we weren’t married, they didn’t acknowledge me as a legal participant in her life.”

Twenty-eight years. Does anyone for a moment believe that Diane’s partner didn’t want her wife-in-everything-but-legalities to take care of her final arrangements? Who in his right mind believes it is okay to do this to people. What in the fuck did Diane Sammer and her partner ever do to anyone?

I wonder. When these on-par-with-racists bigots read things like this, are they proud? Do they dance and cheer? Do they really think they’ve done any family a service? Do they believe that gay couples all of a sudden have just gone away?

And just to cap off the inanity in this article, lead bigot Bob Emrich tells this lie.

“No on 1 (supporters) were much more organized,” he said. “They had that down to a science. They had a remarkable strategy of early identification of voters.”

Yes on 1 bigots had the ENTIRE FUCKING CATHOLIC CHURCH on its side. You don’t get more organized than that. Or ignorant.

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Bad news

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Michael

It looks like outright contempt for civil liberties will be victorious tonight. I cringe at the interviews where these fucking bigots are so proud of their ability to oppress a minority. It’s utterly disgusting. I have seriously run through my mind the likelihood of being able to move out of state to a place where my civil liberties are not so at risk. (This rejection of rights is not merely a rejection of rights for one group; my neighbor’s rights are my rights.) In all objectivity, it’s anger which drives me to this consideration, but that makes it no less real.

The single consolation in the all-but-certain results from tonight is that they are not the end of this. Maine spent roughly a decade fighting to protect sexual orientation in education, housing, employment, and other areas. Voters rejected this fight multiple times until it finally won in 2005. Soon after, another petition was generated to yet again attempt to repeal these protections and it had to be aborted due to lack of support. The exact same thing will happen with same-sex marriage – unless of course someone brings the issue to court. I hope that doesn’t happen for a couple years since it could trigger a constitutional amendment vote; it’s too early for that.

But I think it’s important to start asking certain questions. Those who voted to repeal Maine’s bill on personal liberties as they pertain to marriage have no concept of the gravity of what they have just done. Where does this all end? They have just affirmed that marriage is a religious institution that is to be legally sanctified by the state. Religion is such a dangerous weapon always, but that is especially true here. If marriage is a religious institution, then it is only really valid in the eyes of these bigots if it is done in front of their particular sky fairy. So what group faces the chopping block next? Muslims? Probably not too soon since Lewiston has a large black* Islamic population. Hindus? Not enough of a threat, really. Buddhists? Too amorphous to attack. Atheists? That’s a good target. It’s an unpopular group (even more so than gays), and not only do they not have the right god, they have no god at all. Why not take away their rights to marriage? And really, it isn’t taking away any rights. Marriage is now legally defined as a privilege. It can be taken away by the whim of the majority at any time, principles, rights, and liberties be damned.

*I specifically mention that they are black because a disproportionately high number of blacks in California voted against same-sex marriage. In Lewiston they went 3:1 against it. It’s astounding. This is a group with a still relevant history of oppression and discrimination against them (which specifically includes marital rights), yet they go and pull these tremendous stunts. They should know better. Stupidity knows no racial bonds; it is ubiquitous.

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Dumbfounding the skeptics

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Michael

There’s yet another case of a person making up some miracle and pretending like it was her god that did it.

In an incident that has generated a storm of publicity in devout Poland, Professor Maria Sobaniec-Lotowaska, of the medical university in Bialystok, has dumbfounded sceptics by saying she considered the material found in the container as heart tissue.

It, too, would dumbfound me to hear a professor at a medical university claim such nonsense. But is there anyone being dumbfounded beyond that? Of course not.

Pawel Grzesiowskia, a leading biologist from the National Medical Institute, has attributed the miracle to nothing more than bacteria growing on the small piece of wafer, which fell into a water container during a mass in the eastern village of Sokolka.

This actually isn’t so bad. I mean, yes, rational people everywhere can make Professor Sobaniec-Lotowaska look dumb with this comment, but why not combine it with what she said? Maybe God is manifesting himself as bacteria now. Of course! That’s it! He has become bacteria and that’s how he’s going to guide evolution. We all know no one can point to any intention in any mutation or natural selection, so they can squeeze God in through this new (invented) gap. He is now a sort of bacteria that will infect various people and animals (remember people AND animals: we get our very own special separation – we aren’t even subject to taxonomy!) and he will drive the evolution of species that way.

But wait, drats! It won’t work because it will only make that absurd idea of the trinity all the more confusing. The religious already have their hands full with so many other logically impossible things.

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Republicans hate science. Still.

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Michael

Republicans move to delay climate bill progress because they hate science and deny it for the sake of petty politics and big business.

All seven Republicans on the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee plan to boycott next week’s work session on a climate-change bill, an aide said on Saturday, in a move aimed at thwarting Democratic efforts to advance the controversial legislation quickly.

“Republicans will be forced not to show up” at Tuesday’s work session, said Matt Dempsey, a spokesman for Republican senators on the environment panel.

Under committee rules, at least two Republicans are needed for Chairwoman Barbara Boxer to hold the work sessions that would give senators an opportunity to amend the controversial legislation and then vote to approve it in the panel, which is controlled by President Barack Obama’s fellow Democrats.

And then there’s the big business love.

Republicans on the environment committee say the climate-change bill would cause significant job losses by encouraging manufacturers to relocate more of their plants in countries that do not have as strict carbon controls.

…aaaaaand the denial.

The senior Republican on the committee, Senator James Inhofe, has been an outspoken opponent of legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, saying there is no sound scientific evidence that the world is suffering due to carbon emissions resulting from human activities.

They make my case for me.

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Fla. man lies, claims religious discrimination

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Michael

Okay, maybe the article doesn’t say “lie”, but that’s what he did.

A former cashier for The Home Depot who has been wearing a “One nation under God” button on his work apron for more than a year has been fired, he says because of the religious reference. The company claims that expressing such personal beliefs is simply not allowed.

It’s a private company. I agree that it should allow individuality (though it won’t because it’s just another big box store that treats its employees like numbers), but that doesn’t mean it must allow anything. It has the right to deny anyone the privilege of wearing a button, just as it can deny them the right to wear tank tops or jeans. God Button Home Depot

“This associate chose to wear a button that expressed his religious beliefs. The issue is not whether or not we agree with the message on the button,” Craig Fishel said. “That’s not our place to say, which is exactly why we have a blanket policy, which is long-standing and well-communicated to our associates, that only company-provided pins and badges can be worn on our aprons.”

This guy is planning on suing over this. He doesn’t have a shot. The company’s policy is not something newly created and applied just for him. He should have known about it. The fact that he didn’t isn’t a big deal, but he was eventually told about it by management. He was given fair warning before being fired. For him to say he was discriminated against because of religion is a lie.

This is just yet another example of the religious demanding respect for their beliefs. Ignoring for a moment that faith is not a virtue, this man has no right to tell Home Depot or anyone else that he can wear what he wants on the job. Imagine if he actually won his case. He would de facto have the right to sue any individuals who told him he couldn’t enter their homes while wearing a particular pin or other religious paraphernalia. It’s absurd.

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Launching a new blog

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Michael

I’m launching a monthly publication for my local area which I will be distributing this weekend. In conjunction with this, I am also starting a new blog. It shouldn’t take much time from For the Sake of Science because it will only feature articles which also get printed in the paper; it won’t be the exercise in near-daily posting that is this blog.

Some issues may be covered on both my blogs, but since Without Apology is also a print publication, its articles will have to be tailored in that way, so there will at least be a differences in writing between the two.

My hope for this publication is to get an honest voice into the local public sphere. Our local paper, the Kennebec Journal, prints generally boring or bad or otherwise lacking editorials. It also refuses to use a sharp tongue when a sharp tongue is needed. I recall a piece they wrote refuting a local school board member who wanted to “teach the controversy” about evolution. The guy’s main complaint was that old creationist canard ‘Evolution is only a theory!’. They did manage to call the guy stupid (even though “ignorant” is the appropriate term), but they were wholly ineffective. The piece was filled with appeals to authority. They didn’t attempt to quickly explain any evolutionary concept. Worst yet, they said nothing of the difference between a scientific theory and a laymen theory.

So visit Without Apology if this blog gets old for you (which couldn’t possibly happen; everything on the Internet is forever, right?). If you’re a person who has come across a physical copy of the paper and you want to comment, please go to that other blog. It’s your best outlet for expressing your opinion on Without Apology.

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Another couple prays child to death

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Michael

A couple from Pennsylvania has prayed their child to death.

A fundamentalist couple who prayed over their sick toddler rather than get medical help before his pneumonia death have been ordered to stand trial on manslaughter charges.

Prosecutors believe 2-year-old Kent Schaible succumbed because his parents chose prayer over modern medicine.

There may be some legitimate defense in this particular case, but there is a more important issue here.

Some states carve out exceptions to criminal neglect statutes for parents who rely on faith or spiritual healing.

These states (including my own) disgust me. Believing in magic is not a license to practice magic, especially when the life of another person is at stake.

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If they want tax exemption…

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Michael

Catholics add $86,000 vs gay vows

Catholics in Maine gave about $86,000 to fight same-sex marriage through collections at Masses in September.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland said Friday that parishioners put $41,000 into baskets during collections supporting the campaign to repeal Maine’s new law legalizing same-sex marriage.

Donations made in envelopes weren’t opened by the churches but sent directly to Stand for Marriage Maine, the political action committee organizing the repeal effort.

This seems like such a clear issue. If any given religion wants tax-exempt status, it should effectively remain a-political. In this instance, preaching a lack of acceptance should be legally acceptable (and expected of religion), but donating to political campaigns is out of the question. Telling followers how to vote should not be allowed. It’s bad enough that these organizations are allowed to influence their parishioners towards bigotry; they should not be allowed to do it without paying taxes.

As we should have learned from Kent Hovind, Jesus does not put one above the law.

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