In which I admire Matthew Inman

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Michael

Matthew Inman is the creator of the wonderful site TheOatmeal. He routinely makes hilarious, intelligent comics and that’s why he’s one of the three comic-based websites I have in my bookmarks (the other two are memebase.com and xkcd.com). He has recently found himself in a bit of legal trouble from the horribly ugly, punch-me-in-the-balls-so-I-don’t-feel-the-pain-in-my-eyes-anymore website FunnyJunk.com. Apparently he complained awhile ago about how much of his material the website had stolen. He got a fundamentally dishonest response, but basically moved on from there. As he said:

I realize that trying to police copyright infringement on the internet is like strolling into the Vietnamese jungle circa 1964 and politely asking everyone to use squirt guns. I know that if FunnyJunk disappeared fifty other clones would pop up to take its place overnight, but I felt I had to say something about what they’re doing.

Fast forward a year and FunnyJunk still hasn’t let things go. (That reminds me of someone.) Now they want $20,000 in damages. Take a look at the website. (It’s in image form, so I can’t just copy and paste excerpts. And I’m too lazy to type it all out by hand.) It’s one of my favorite responses to anything ever. In fact, I think it’s only second to Richard Lenksi’s slapping around of Conservapedia.

For people too lazy to click links, here’s the summary: Inman tore apart the details of the threatening letter he received, drew a picture of the owner’s mother seducing a Kodiak bear, then asked for $20,000 in donations so he could take a picture of it to send to FunnyJunk’s lawyer before donating the money to the National Wildlife Federation and the American Cancer Society.

via theoatmeal.com

via theoatmeal.com. Because citation is not that difficult.

So how has the donation request been working for Inman? Let’s see:

Monday afternoon, he posted to Facebook that his fundraising campaign reached $20,000 in just 64 minutes. At the time this blog post was published, donations had almost reached $53,000 with over 3,700 funders.

And how about now? He’s nearing $113,000. It’s been about 21 hours as of now and he has 15 days left of fundraising to go. I think he’s earned the last word:

I’m hoping that philanthropy trumps douchebaggery and greed.

Filed under: Humor | Tagged: , , | Leave a comment »

Flashing your headlights to warn of speed traps is free speech

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Michael

This is wonderful:

A judge ruled Tuesday that a man who flashed his headlights to warn drivers of a nearby police speed trap was exercising his right to free speech, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Ryan Kintner, 25, of Lake Mary, Florida, was ticketed last August in Seminole County for what police said was a violation of a state traffic law that outlined appropriate headlight use.

Kintner contested the ticket and sued the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office for violating his civil rights, reported the Sentinel.

The circuit judge hearing the case ruled last October that using headlights for communication didn’t fall under the state law.

After a second hearing, the judge took his ruling a step further Tuesday, saying Kintner was protected by his constitutional right to free speech under the First Amendment.

What makes this even better is that Kintner wasn’t merely driving down the road when he saw the cop. He was sitting at home, saw the cop park and pull out a radar gun. He then got in his car, drove a few blocks ahead, and sat there flashing his headlights at oncoming traffic. I’ve always wanted to do something like that. I admire Kintner for his follow-through. Not only did he stick it to ‘the man’, but his actions made sense from a safety standpoint anyway:

At an earlier hearing Circuit Judge Alan Dickey said, “If the goal of the traffic law is promote safety and not to raise revenue, then why wouldn’t we want everyone who sees a law enforcement officer with a radar gun in his hand, blinking his lights to slow down all those other cars?” reported The Crime Report.

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

Thought of the day

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Michael

When I really have no desire to do some particular exercise is when I know I should do it.

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

Hitting your child is abuse. Stop it.

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Michael

Prov 13:24 has to be one of the most wicked verses of the Bible:

“He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.”

This goes along with the idiom “Spare the rod, spoil the child” – which, of course, is total hokum. Literally billions of children have been raised in a hit-free environment without being spoiled. It would be ridiculous to even attempt to claim otherwise. Besides that, the phrase doesn’t even make sense. Just think about it for a second: To spoil a child means to pamper the child, to indulge his every desire and wish. In other words, for a person to spoil a child, it requires something active to be done. Refraining from abuse is the exact opposite of something active. The entire mantra is incoherent.

Of course, incoherency has never stopped people from thinking they can do what they please with their children because, ‘Why, that there child came from my seed!‘. As if children are crops. Corporal punishment is even still legal against schoolchildren in 19 states. Not that a teacher striking a child would go by without a lawsuit in most instances, but this is sort of like when Southern states wait decades to remove anti-miscegenation statutes from their constitutions. A majority of adults know it’s wrong, but so many people are downright stupid about this that it would be a pain to correct such human rights (and moral) transgressions. And don’t even think about outlawing parental spanking. The majority is not right on that one. Not even close. But that isn’t to say there hasn’t been at least a little progress:

A man who was elected to direct a California water agency was arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse after a neighbor caught him on video beating his stepson.

The video shows Anthony Sanchez, 34, playing catch with his stepson. When it appears the boy drops the baseball, Sanchez approaches and allegedly whips him with his belt.

An outraged neighbor, Oscar Lopez, filmed the incident from inside his home and knew he had to step in.

“That’s enough. I’m having a (expletive) problem with you for beating the (expletive) out of him because he won’t catch the damn ball,” Lopez tells the angry stepfather.

Sanchez asks if he knows his son.

“I don’t know your son but I’m watching you. I’m a (expletive) father too,” Lopez says.

A felony charge seems excessive, but I’m not sure what the charge would be if Sanchez was caught hitting any other minor with a belt. If he would get a felony charge for smacking around someone else’s kid, then I have to agree that he should get one here. Take a look at the video:

There are other recent outrages over alleged parent-to-child child abuse. Of course, there was the judge in Texas, but now there is a pastor in Atlanta:

The 15-year-old daughter of megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar told authorities her father choked and punched her, and hit her with his shoe during an argument over whether she could go to a party, according to a police report.

Dollar’s 19-year-old daughter corroborated most of her sister’s story, but Dollar disputed it, telling a sheriff’s deputy he was trying to restrain her when she became disrespectful. When she began to hit back, he wrestled her to the floor and spanked her, according to the police report.

Dollar faces relatively minor charges compared to Sanchez, presumably out of pity for his ridiculous name. If he is guilty, I hope he gets at least some jail time and a long probation period – if he hits his daughter again, I would like to know he would be spending an appropriate period of time in order to correct his misbehavior. Of course, not everyone cares about stopping child abuse:

And they go on and on at the above link. Apparently violence is a solution to a problem when children are involved.

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

Thought of the day

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Michael

I can’t stress this enough: feminism and atheism are not linked in any significant way.

Filed under: Misc | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

June 6

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Michael

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Sorry, Christians, but gays are people, too

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Michael

Good news has been popping up over the past week or so for the rights of gay Americans:

A federal appeals court in California has denied a petition to have Prop 8 -the 2008 California ballot initiative that defines marriage as between a man and a woman – further reviewed by a larger panel of judges, which means the case likely is headed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

In February , the majority of a three judge panel sitting on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Prop 8 ruling that the initiative “serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California and to officially reclassify their relationship and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.” The court ruled on narrow grounds specific to California and Proposition 8. It did not find a fundamental right of same sex couples to marry.

Supporters of Prop 8 – opponents of gay marriage – had asked for “en banc” review of the case. This would have meant that the Chief Judge of the circuit along with 10 randomly selected judges would have mooted their colleagues’ decision and started anew. But in a filing today the court said that a majority of judges had voted to deny the petition.

We all know that Political Figure Scalia made his decision on this matter a few decades ago, and we all know that once Political Lapdog Thomas gets word of his lawless colleague’s position he will also be voting against equal rights. But that said, it’s hard to imagine the Supreme Court, even with 4 devoted bigots, will ultimately rule against fair treatment under the law. Sure, it took them until the 1950’s to make the right call on the mirror issue of racial segregation, gays in America have been swift with showing just how much of this country they are. Now that over half the nation is ready for equal rights for gays, I think the Supreme Court may be ready, too.

Plus there’s this:

Today’s ruling comes a week after a federal appeals court in Boston struck down a key provision of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In that case, legally married same sex couples argue that the federal government is denying them benefits available to opposite sex couples.

The Supreme Court will most likely consider both the Prop 8 case and the DOMA cases next term.

The tide is a-turnin’.

Filed under: News, Rights, Same-sex marriage | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

WHO issues warning about tanning beds

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Michael

This is from 2009 (though it should be from 1995), but I just came across it:

In July, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a working group of the World Health Organization, added ultraviolet (UV) radiation-emitting tanning devices – tanning beds and lamps – to the list of the most dangerous forms of cancer-causing radiation. It joins an assembly of hazardous substances including plutonium and certain types of radium, as well as radiation from the sun.

The IARC report cited research showing that tanning is especially hazardous to young people; those who use sunbeds before age 30 increase their lifetime risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, by 75 percent. The authors also pointed to studies showing a link between UV radiation from indoor tanning devices and melanomas of the skin and eyes. Melanoma will kill an estimated 8,650 people in the US this year alone. And melanoma isn’t the only problem: people who use tanning beds are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma kills an estimated 2,500 Americans a year.

I am absolutely convinced that people do not appreciate the tenacity and seriousness of cancer. There seems to be a it-won’t-happen-to-me attitude that pervades society. Or maybe quacks have lulled people into a false sense of security. Just take some garlic, laxatives, and a little black elderberry and you’ll be fine! For Christ’s sake. I recently developed a small splotch on my nose. It wasn’t a blackhead and it didn’t go away after a couple of weeks, so I made an appointment to get it checked out (alongside a physical). I figured it was nothing given its color and shape, but why take risks? It matters how quickly these things are identified. It turned out, as I figured, to be nothing more than a new freckle (probably a result of my time in Haiti or some of the nicer days we had not too long ago). I’m fine this time, but who knows about next time? I’m not somehow magically exempt from how biology works. Neither is anyone else. I am, however, exempt from a 75% increase in getting melanoma. Also, think about this:

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

Fun fact of the day

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Michael

The little brown bat is one of the most common species of bat in the world. It has a huge range across North America, from the warmth of Georgia to the chill of Alaska. Its young are usually born in May or June, but the yearly roost in my roof (and occasionally my living room – I have yet to find their access point) tends to come to life in July. This could, of course, match with the fact that it takes the young a few weeks to get flying.

One of the greatest things about these little guys is that they can eat upwards of 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour. On that basis alone I am recommending that the state of Maine heavily invest in a bat fertility program. Alternatively, if there is a way we can maim the mosquitoes, causing them to suffer before they die, I would be in greater favor of that course of action.

Filed under: Misc | Tagged: , | Leave a comment »

In which I rejoice: The Rebecca Watson-fueled implosion

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Michael

Rebecca Watson is sort of the Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton of the ‘skeptic’ world. She’s famous for no reason and not really qualified to add anything of any importance to anything. There are really only two reasons most Gnu Atheists even know who she is. First, she mentioned in passing something about a socially awkward guy making a pass at her on an elevator. From there a number of small feminist blogs made an issue of it. Second, PZ Myers jumped on the bandwagon in order to up his cred amongst his ilk because, apparently, he has decided to switch from being a leader amongst Gnu Atheists to a leader amongst the entirely unrelated feminists. (I’m fine with that. PZ is as bad at philosophy as Michael Hartwell or Jack Hudson; I’d rather not have a person who doesn’t even understand the difference between normative and descriptive claims leading things.) Soon after PZ almost single-handedly blew things out of proportion, he began lying about things and blaming others. It was rather pathetic, but not surprising given that we’re talking about someone who thinks that skepticism* and feminism are at all related.

Anyway. After being out of the limelight for more than a few hours, Ms. Watson has made a self-important post about why she won’t be attending the next TAM meeting. It started when the guy in charge of the meeting, DJ Grothe, made this post somewhere in the bowels of the Internet:

Last year we had 40% women attendees, something I’m really happy about. But this year only about 18% of TAM registrants so far are women, a significant and alarming decrease, and judging from dozens of emails we have received from women on our lists, this may be due to the messaging that some women receive from various quarters that going to TAM or other similar conferences means they will be accosted or harassed. (This is misinformation. Again, there’ve been on reports of such harassment the last two TAMs while I’ve been at the JREF, nor any reports filed with authorities at any other TAMs of which I’m aware.) We have gotten emails over the last few months from women vowing never to attend TAM because they heard that JREF is purported to condone child-sex-trafficking, and emails in response to various blog posts about JREF or me that seem to suggest I or others at the JREF promote the objectification of women, or that we condone violence or threats of violence against women, or that they believe that women would be unsafe because we feature this or that man on the program. I think this misinformation results from irresponsible messaging coming from a small number of prominent and well-meaning women skeptics who, in trying to help correct real problems of sexism in skepticism, actually and rather clumsily themselves help create a climate where women — who otherwise wouldn’t — end up feeling unwelcome and unsafe, and I find that unfortunate.

I have highlighted what seems to be the most offensive portion. Apparently in Watson’s head, what Gouthe said was this:

DJ was blaming women skeptics for creating an unwelcoming environment.

(Yes, that is real. I was going to put in a fake, caricature quote, but the real deal is just as good.)

Reading skills, people. Get them. This really shouldn’t be that hard: Grothe said that a small number of people were guilty of fear-mongering without justification. That isn’t to say harassment doesn’t happen. It does. And it isn’t to say that the victim is at fault. Again, reading skills: It is to say that people are fucking fear-mongering. These skeptic-jacking feminists are the FOX News pundits of the Gnu Atheists.

Again, this shouldn’t be that hard to grasp. Grothe even quoted Watson from a USA Today interview:

“I thought it was a safe space,” Watson said of the freethought community. “The biggest lesson I have learned over the years is that it is not a safe space. . . ”

He disagrees that the environment is unsafe. I don’t really doubt him. The reports are few and far between of anything happening from his account, plus there is no reason to suspect that atheists and agnostics would be different from any other gathering of average Americans. But maybe every gathering of large crowds is hugely unsafe for women and everyone has just been oblivious. Quick, tell women to stop going to Wal-Mart!

But don’t try to argue any of this to PZ, skepchicks, or any other atheism-second people or groups. They’re all in a tizzy about this. And that gives me joy. I hope more of these people will cross themselves off the list for speaking at conferences and meetings and whatever else comes up. Gnu Atheism is interesting because it takes a hardline stance against religion from a scientific perspective. That is, it takes two descriptive angles: atheism and science. Separately, these things are fine and true, but together they can be made into a powerful normative case. The feminist faction, however, wants to take their pre-formed normative position and usurp the description of science – but not to a particular end. They aren’t interested in a strong incorporation of science into feminism but rather a strong mantle-claim. If they associate themselves closely enough with science, then maybe that objectivity will rub off on feminism a tad. It, of course, won’t be used in feminism, but the faux perception will be there. I don’t support any of that.

Anyway, I’m not sure if I’m enjoying the implosion or the take-downs more. Check out this hilarity. Also take a look in the comment section. I’ve got some great quotes from Mallorie Nasrallah.

*”Skepticism” is a meaningless word at this point and I resent its use. Simply being open to the possibility that there is a God, as Dawkins and Harris and Coyne and Dennett and I are, does not make one a skeptic. We’ve already taken up our positions, just as global warming deniers skeptics have. A real skeptical position is one where there is notable doubt. For instance, I was skeptical that this home brewed beer from Nate would be that good. (It turns out it is. Well done, old chap.)

Filed under: Atheism/Humanism | Tagged: , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

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