Recent Blog Posts
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National debt blamed on pussification of America
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,…
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Have we evolved to reject evolution?
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…
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The Pope misrepresents evolution
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…
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Update
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…
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Some thoughts on religious anthropomorphism for Easter
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…
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Quote of the day
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…