A Michigan couple were accused of sexually abusing their severely autistic daughter. Julian and Thal Wendrow were jailed and their children taken from them and placed in foster care for months before prosecutors dropped the charges. Their daughter Aislinn had supposedly made these accusations– not verbally, as she is mute, but through Facilitated Communication, a method of.
Also: If there is no bulb, do not turn on the light.If you have no car, do not drive.If there are no clothes, do not get dressed.If there is no food, do not eat.If you have no voice, do not speak.
Gawker reports that the Westboro Baptist Church were met in Mississippi by some people who decided to try and out-douchebag them. And succeeded: The feel-good blog item of the day is the story of when the small town of Brandon, Mississippi successfully foiled Westboro Baptist Church’s plan to protest a Marine’s funeral. (Here is a.
From Mother Jones: Freshman Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) has been known to say some pretty outlandish things from time to time. He’s told constituents that “Islam is not a religion,” called the President of the United States a “low-level socialist agitator,” and asked supporters to “grab your muskets!” Now, he’s outdone himself. Late last week,.
Following on the Pope post, there are various theories about whether people might reject evolutionary theory because it contradicts their intuitions. One was described by developmental psychologist Paul Bloom in an article he wrote for Natural History magazine entitled “In Science We Trust.” Bloom, who lays out a theory of intuitive mind/body dualism in his.
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew himas an Australopithecine. Apparently in his Easter address last night, the Pope had some unflattering words for evolution: Pope Benedict XVI marked the holiest night of the year for Christians by stressing that humanity isn’t a random product of evolution. Benedict emphasized the Biblical account of creation in his Easter Vigil.
The ACLU of Michigan has filed a brief on behalf of Terry Jones: The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has weighed in on the Terry Jones saga, filing a brief supporting the controversial pastor’s right to protest this afternoon in front of a mosque. In the eight-page brief to the 19th District Court, the ACLU.
Michael Blume writes concerning the “personification of the universe” model of religion: Religious traditions seem to derive their motivational, cooperative and then reproductive potentials from the belief in superempirical agents – ranging from deceased ancestors to various spirits, angels and demons to gods, bodhisatvas and alien visitors from outer space to God. . . In.
From Glenn Greenwald, via Ed Brayton of Dispatches who says it’s true for him as well: I always tell people who want to start blogs, it’s a great way to have an outlet. I don’t think I’d be able to pay attention to political issues if I didn’t have the outlet of my blog, like.
On Monday the 18th a trans-woman attempted to use the womens’ restroom at a McDonald’s in Baltimore, MD and was beaten by at least two women. From the video (taken by a McDonald’s employee) it looks like a manager tried to prevent the attack for a while, but then disappeared as it continued. The other McDonald’s.