Tag: politics

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Good ol’ O’Reilly…

Here’s something amusing for your day…from Chortler.com…

Winning Entries In The Say Something Nice About Bill O’Reilly Contest

10) He’s not Ann Coulter.

9) I like his tie.

8) His pointer finger is very well muscled.

7) They’ve been doing a better job with Bill’s makeup lately. He looks almost life-like.

6) He?s not a twin, is he? If not, that would be good.

5) …..(still thinking)…….I got it! O wait, no……..

4) There is no odor when I watch him on TV.

3) Bill O’Reilly is not solely responsible for the demise of American democracy over the past five years.

2) It’s very nice of Mr O’Reilly to consider leaving!

1) At least he’s not Kevin Federline.

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New Quotes

I’ve added some new quotes to the New-ish Quotes section…here’s a sample:

“Let’s be honest – this electorate has switched because that Christian right has taken over the Republican Party. They started it in the 80s with Reagan and Pat Robertson. And like a parasite on a host, they now own it. Let’s examine what ‘moral values’ are. Because I don’t think religion always corresponds with moral values. To me, and they’re very good at conflating morality with religion, just the way George Bush won election by conflating integrity with monogamy. He ran against Bill Clinton and his terrible blowjob by saying ‘I have integrity.’ That’s different than monogamy. Okay, the same way, when we talk about values, I think of rationality in solving problems. That’s something I value. Fairness, kindness, generosity, tolerance. That’s different. When they talk about values, they’re talking about things like going to church, voting for Bush, being loyal to Jesus, praying. These are not values.”
— Bill Maher; “Real Time with Bill Maher”

…so, so true…glad he got another show after ABC canned his ass for speaking the truth…

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Score one for the Catholics…

So, Tony sent me this link from FOX News…ironically… Apparently, an astronomer from the Vatican has said that Intelligent Design has no place alongside evolution in the science classroom. He’s the highest-ranking Catholic to make such a statement.

a). FOX News finally put out some useful information that isn’t conservative in nature.
b). The Catholics apparently aren’t completely incompetent in leadership as previously believed…
c). Now, we just need to get the Catholics to admit that open communion and women in the clergy are alright and we’ll be making some progress…

Hey, it’s a step in the right direction, right?

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Good vs Evil

You know, I tend to try avoiding preaching when I post on here…as in, trying to talk about Christianity as a religion in any way, shape or form…yet, the subject does enter into my opinions on things like teaching Intelligent Design in our public (non-Christian) schools. Therefore, let me digress from “the norm” a bit…and in light of that, let me quickly propose my definition of a “good Christian:”

One who believes not only that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that He gave His life for us, but also that this person lives their life as an example of what God envisions for His people.

If you have an addendum to that statement, please post a comment. Personally, I think it’s the latter part of that definition that gives people some contention, since many of us tend to disagree as to what “God envisions for His people.”

I, therefore, wish to put forth a statement from someone I consider to be a “bad Christian:”

“I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover (Pennsylvania): if there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. And don’t wonder why He hasn’t helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I’m not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that’s the case, don’t ask for His help because he might not be there.”

This statement is not an example of what a “good Christian” would say, for obvious reasons. A good Christian does not wish ill will upon others. As the Bible dictates, Jesus was all about living his life and being an example of what we should be doing, even though that may be difficult. At no point in my recollection of the Bible (and I could be wrong…and I’ll correct this if proved otherwise…) does Jesus ever wish God’s wrath upon anyone. Note: the statement written above does not explicitly express “ill-will,” but I think it’s implied…again, perhaps I’m wrong on that…

Pat Robertson, you are indeed a terrible Christian and a very bad example of what Christians are taught and seeking to accomplish. You are, however, doing an incredible job of putting lies in the heads of non-Christians who now, due to your innate stupidity, have no good reason to change their minds about the religion. Good job, you worthless, lying, bastard.

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Oh, Kansas…

Excerpt from the November 2005 issue of Popular Science, where they reported their annual “Worst Jobs in Science” article:

#3. Kansas Biology Teacher
On the front lines of science’s devolution.

“The evolution debate is consuming almost everything we do,” says Brad Williamson, a 30-year science veteran at suburban Olathe East High School and a past president of the National Association of Biology Teachers. “It’s politicized the classroom. Parents will say their child can’t be in class during any discussion of evolution, and students will say things like ‘My grandfather wasn’t a monkey!'”

First, a history lesson. In 1999 a group of religious fundamentalists won election to the Kansas State Board of Education and tried to introduce creationism into the state’s classrooms. They wanted to delete references to radiocarbon dating, continental drift and the fossil record from the education standards. In 2001 more-temperate forces prevailed in elections, but the anti-evolutionists garnered a 6-4 majority again last November. This year Intelligent Design (ID) theory is their anti-evolution tool of choice.

At the heart of ID is the idea that certain elements of the natural world?the human eye, say?are “irreducibly complex” and have not and cannot be explained by evolutionary theory. Therefore, IDers say, they must be the work of an intelligent designer (that is, God).

The problem for teachers is that ID can’t be tested using the scientific method, the system of making, testing and retesting hypotheses that is the bedrock of science. That’s because underpinning ID is religious belief. In science class, Williamson says, “students have to trust that I’m just dealing with science.”

Alas, for Kansas’s educational reputation, the damage may be done. “We’ve heard anecdotally that our students are getting much more scrutiny at places like medical schools. I get calls from teachers in other states who say things like ‘You rubes!'” Williamson says. “But this is happening across the country. It’s not just Kansas anymore.”

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Damn The Man

…so now that I’m living in St. Louis, I’m listening to radio quite a bit more than I was able to over the past few years. Therefore, I’m now getting exposed to Howard Stern on weekday mornings as I drive to class. As many of you may know, Stern’s show draws a great deal of FCC criticism (among others…) and, thus, he’s leaving “terrestrial radio” and heading to Sirius satellite radio beginning in early January. Therefore, he’s being replaced by a few different personalities depending on the listening region (Adam Carolla and David Lee Roth, among others).

Stern, in the past few weeks, has been really laying it on thick for how glad he is to be moving to satellite, and how much easier it will be to do his own thing, keeping the FCC and conservative groups off his back, etc. All this discussion has gotten me thinking about my thoughts on the subject, generally relating to free speech…which also spills over to video games and TV, I think.

In my opinion, which is generally correct, Stern shouldn’t be censored as much as he is. He’s being censored because the FCC and various groups don’t want children listening to his program. Stern’s show is (primarily…I think…) a morning show, beginning at 7:00 or 8:00 and going to 10:00. When will children listen to it? They’re supposed to be in school! And if they aren’t in school, they’re supposed to be supervised by an adult! During summer is the only time I could think when children would listen to the stuff…and even then, I’m pretty sure that kids would either a). not be awake yet or b). would (read: should) be under supervision of an adult.

Of course, the same thing goes for video games and TV. If you aren’t willing to raise your own kids and keep an eye on them, then you shouldn’t be complaining. If kids are “exposed” to such things, it’s (more often than not) the fault of the parents, not the fault of the person broadcasting/producing the game).

I listen to Stern ’cause there isn’t much else on. There are many times when I’ll switch to something else since I’m not being entertained anymore… There are times when it’s funny and there are times when it isn’t so funny… Stern is a very arrogant person and it shows almost every minute of the show. There are people who love the show and listen to it religiously, and I have no problem with that. But I believe that he has a right to say what he wants if he wants to under the First Ammendment to our Constitution, just like the rest of us. I can write anything I want here and not be regulated. I can actually type out everything that he says and not be regulated. It’s very easy to access…arguably more accessible since a website can be viewed from anywhere in the world, while Stern can only be heard on the radio in certain venues. The fact that he’s moving to satellite is bad not because I like his radio, but because the man is giving up and laying down before The Man. Granted, he put up a good fight over the years, but it’s finally coming to this. The FCC will only begin to regulate satellite radio as it becomes more prevalent. They’ll continue to regulate the internet and censor it. They’ll continue to regulate TV. They’re currently trying to regulate video games as well. This isn’t stopping anytime soon. Mark my words, by the time I’m 40, the face of broadcast television, radio, etc. will change dramatically to the proverbial “right” and our children will be so “protected” that they won’t be able to think for themselves. These kids will be mindless and void of creativity. Just like everything else, there need to be liberals and conservatives, good vs evil, Spider-Man vs Green Goblin… You can’t have one without the other. Howard Stern is a “necessary evil,” of sorts, to allow for the rest of us to think for ourselves and to put ideas out there that cause contention and debate.

Reading over this, I realize I’m not making a whole lot of sense, but I think the basic idea has been presented. I summarize with a good quote from a great movie: “Damn the Man.”

So yeah, any thoughts?

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…here we go again…

I’ve got my second exam tomorrow…and I really haven’t studied all that much for it… Honestly, I could very well get burned on this one, but it’s hard to see how…and at the same time it is… We’ve been learning about basic genetics and replication/repair mechanisms for DNA…which, again, are all things I’ve seen before (some of it as early as 10th grade…). At the same time, it isn’t necessarily the easiest stuff in the world, frequently involving somewhat complicated probability calculations. So yeah, I’m unsure as to whether I’m supposed to be really worried or not. Since it’s graded on a curve, as long as I stay where I am right now (i.e. in the middle), I’m completely golden for keeping above a “B” average. Therefore, I’m spending today in full-speed cramming mode to get all this stuff back in my head…since a great deal of it was there a few years ago already…

Other than that, I’m trying to decide whether to go to Kirksville next weekend. Brooke is working, so she can’t go…but Stu/Angela are going (it’s Homecoming…geez, I’m a dork…) and I wouldn’t mind seeing the new science building in completion…let alone a few folks that I haven’t seen in awhile (i.e. since the wedding, in some cases). Besides that, I’m looking forward to two things this week:

1). “The Colbert Report” premieres on Comedy Central this Monday after “The Daily Show“… The latter is a show of complete genius, so I’m hoping the new one lives up to the standard. Stephen Colbert is a damned funny guy, so I don’t think it can suck too much…

2). Oh, it’s baseball season again…and the NLCS/ALCS are both going on strong. I never really follow baseball at all, but it’s always fun to watch games this time of year. Going for the Astros, anyone? 😉

…I guess I’m also looking forward to this test being done…but let’s take one thing at a time, shall we?

P.S. La Russa and Edmonds have both been thrown out of game 4 in the NLCS…I’m highlyamused…

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Well played…

step up on soap box

From an article at ABC News regarding the most recent “Intelligent Design” trials in Dover, TN (which you all should be paying attention to…since the U.S. Constitution itself is being undermined and trivialized…), the following was quoted. “Miller” refers to Kenneth Miller, a biologist at Brown University; “the statement” refers to a reading that the faculty at Dover’s public schools have to read prior to discussions on evolution in science classes, also offering an “alternative” textbook that was referred to by me in a previous posting…:

The statement read to Dover students states in part, “Because Darwin’s theory is a theory, it continues to be tested as new evidence is discovered.” Miller said the words are “tremendously damaging,” falsely undermining the scientific status of evolution.

“What that tells students is that science can’t be relied upon and certainly is not the kind of profession you want to go into,” he said. “There is no controversy within science over the core proposition of evolutionary theory,” he added. On the other hand, Miller said, “intelligent design is not a testable theory in any sense and as such it is not accepted by the scientific community.”

During his cross-examination of Miller, Robert Muise, another attorney for the law center, repeatedly asked whether he questioned the completeness of Darwin’s theory.

“Would you agree that Darwin’s theory is not the absolute truth?” Muise said.

“We don’t regard any scientific theory as the absolute truth,” Miller responded.

Well played, Miller…well played… Indeed, the beauty of science is that things can be proven and disproven, including Newton’s Laws (and in some instances, they’ve been proven wrong…quantum physics, for example…). Intelligent design advocates, however, are unwilling to allow for proof/disproof (because what they advocate cannot be proven or disproven). Therefore, by definition, what they advocate is not science at all and has no place within the science classroom (except for mention that theories alternative to evolution exist…I have no problem with that…it’s just treating theories other than evolution as “just as plausible”…’cause there aren’t any…).

…I just love how the Constitution is being tossed around like it’s nothing by folks…it was written for a reason, protecting civil liberties and separating church and state. It was done for a reason. That’s the way it should stay, or we may as well rename our country as “Saddam’s Iraq: where you have to believe what I tell you or I kill you.”

step down from soap box