So much of what happens on the internet is petty squabbles between strangers. Arguments which flare up and then fade away, which will have no effects outside of making some people temporarily inflamed/enthused/bewildered. But if you dismissed every internet disagreement on that basis, you’d be highly naive. Reputations are built and ruined on the internet. … Read more
He’s also nearly the only football player I could name, but only nearly. Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe writes again in response to another banal, thoughtless anti-gay marriage diatribe, and his essay is just superb. The diatribe in this case was written by his former team member Ravens center Matt Birk, who trots out the … Read more
On the news this morning I listened to a report about a new virus discovered in Saudi Arabia. But after talking about how scary and disturbing that is, it was mentioned that it has infected a total of two people and is believed to be only transmissable from non-human animals to humans, so it probably … Read more
If you had to vote for one of two hypothetical candidates for president, and one was a liberal Christian and the other was a conservative atheist, and that’s all you knew about them…who would you vote for? This question, originally posed at Atheist Revolution, has been labeled a stupid question and an easy question by … Read more
I’ve taken the ISideWith quiz before with similar results, but that time I basically zipped through it and this time I actually expanded all of the questions using the “see more” function on each one, and then decided from all possible answers. And this was the result: Generally speaking, I vote. I don’t consider it … Read more
https://www.facebook.com/events/440034722701608/ Blasphemy. Noun: The act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk. In other words, the act or offense of speaking about religion as though you are not religious. Speaking about a religion as if you are not an adherent of it. And all of us are at least non-adherents … Read more
Yesterday some Jehovah’s Witnesses came to the door. I was not available, but fortunately they left a pamphlet curled under the door handle. I say “fortunately” because while I would rather wash a battleship with a kitchen sponge than engage in five minutes’ worth of theological debate with any sort of evangelist, I do appreciate … Read more
She should show up at the next public appearance buck naked. So should William, holding her hand.
So, I’m going. Registered, got a hotel room, time off work scheduled, etc. Haven’t been since 2010, and I’m sure a great deal has changed since then, well beyond a good portion of the speakers. It should be really interesting and a lot of fun…hopefully things like sleep and wifi will be included rather than … Read more
At Dispatches, Ed mocks Washington Post writer Jennifer Rubin for being aghast at an image of Barack Obama sitting on the desk in the Oval Office, conferring with a denim-clad staff adviser: There are few things more ridiculous in politics than when some right wing shill cues up the righteous indignation machine over something utterly meaningless. … Read more