http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Tue, 4 Oct 2005 11:29:54 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/10/04/112954.php RudicusIt's been a little quiet in the ongoing battle between Texas and Florida for which state has the title of most intolerant and stupid population. Florida, who was already winning the homophobia category, put the final nail in Texas to win the 2005 top honors with this gem:In an elementary school in Orange Park, FL, two 6th graders we're mouthing words to each other while the teacher was lecturing. Not an uncommon occurrence, about on par with passing notes and whispering, something each of us has done at one time or another. While it is often considered rude by teachers, usually students face admonishment, detention or in rare circumstances, a trip to the Prinicipal's office.But not in Florida. No, teacher Larry Eager decided to really teach these kids a lesson, by making them get up in front of the class and tell everyone they were gay. That's right, this brilliant genius, who up until a couple of days ago was teaching children, thought it would be a good idea to get these kids up and make them sit closely next to each other with their knees touching and holding hands and announcing to the class that they were gay.It goes without saying that this kind of humiliation technique is completely inappropriate for a teacher to engage in, as well as it being a little overboard for kids, who were probably not paying close attention, but also not disrupting class in any way.But the larger issue is the idea that being gay is some sort of punishment and should be considered a thing that was a threat or humiliation. It just goes to show how deep this kind of bigotry runs in this country.Remember that guy (from Florida) who beat his 3 year old kid to death because he thought he was gay? Remember those other kids (in Florida) who burned down the home of two gay men? Where do you think that kind of mentality comes from? Right here in this school. This teacher was obviously way out of bounds, but for someone who is obviously educated enough to be a teacher to think that this kind of thing was OK, is wrong on so many levels.This sort of behavior maintains the idea that being gay is so horrible that you should be traumatized for life or killed because of it. It's absolutely outrageous that this teacher did this, but I also think it is even more outrageous and contemptible that the teacher resigned. Good riddance you say? You bet, but that means he wasn't fired immediately. He was put on 97-day probation. To me that says that the teacher was only disciplined because the students and their parents complained.And that's at the heart of it. When the school, the community and the church do not openly condemn this kind of thing, but conversely give it tacit approval by not responding with definite action and also turn around and preach discrimination and hated of gays in the houses of god and seats of government - where are people supposed to learn that this is wrong?Can we really blame this teacher for taking his hatred of gays just a step further than the church, government and community are comfortable with? Actually yes, because it's his non-thinking, prejudiced action that is at fault, but equal blame must reside with the society that not only allows it t happen, but clandestinely condones it.This is not the kind of country I'd be proud to call home.This article originally appeared on The Rudicus Report. ED/PUB:LM Politics37385@blogcritics.org Tue, 4 Oct 2005 11:29:54 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/26/161820.php RudicusMore of our democracy and formerly "free" country got flushed down the toilet last week when the House of Republicans voted to allow states to freely discriminate against American citizens on the basis of religion.That's right, we can already freely discriminate against gays in this country, now we can add religion to the list of the discriminated.The Republican-led House approved a bill that lets churches and other faith-based preschool centers hire only people who share their religion, yet still receive federal tax dollars.Yay! Free discrimination with no consequences - and the government will even pay you to do it!That's right, Head Start Programs that are run by Catholics, now would have the right to refuse employment to anyone who is not Catholic. And the same would hold true for any faith. So what we have here is government funded discrimination. I'd love to see what would happen if a traditional company decided not to hire Christians because they disagreed with their religion - how fast would that company be slapped with lawsuits and lose any form of federal assistance or support?This is just another case of theocratic policy making - letting the Christians have their cake and f--- everyone else. We've already seen the separation of church and state go away when Bush & Co. authorized the federal government to allow funds to go to faith-based organizations. Then we had that very enjoyable law that allows doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare workers to refuse to participate in treatment or prescribe or dispense medicine to people if they disagree with their lifestyles for religious reasons. Now we have the Equal Opportunity Laws being discarded in favor of hiring along religious lines.This administration has gone out of its way to spit and piss on every civil right or human right ever awarded and they have gotten a 100% approval rating on their goal of splitting the country along religious lines. America is now the most polarized nation in history that hasn't started a civil war...yet.While we focus our attention on wars and hurricanes, our civil liberties are being carted out the back door. The Republicans are acting alarmingly like fascists and the Christians are acting surprisingly like The Taliban - and nobody is saying anything about it.And while I am deeply troubled that our government has been systematically destroying our country both internationally and domestically, my undiluted ire is reserved for the stupid, lazy, self-centered and non-thinking American sheeple who are being anally raped each day, and who's only response is "thank you sir, may I have another."So from everyone who has not bothered to say anything because it didn't affect them to those who blindly follow without thinking because someone told them to - I say, the day is fast approaching when no one will speak up for you.And on that day I will look out upon you from my new home in Canada and laugh as Christians are put in camps for not being Christian enough while others are jailed and robbed of their freedom, money and minds by the very people they selected to protect them. Let the games begin.This article originally appeared on The Rudicus ReportEdited: GS Politics36847@blogcritics.org Mon, 26 Sep 2005 16:18:20 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/19/131238.php RudicusWell gay marriages have been legal in Massachusetts for a year now and for some reason society has not collapsed.This hot button issue. which many credit as leading the Republicans to victory in 2004 elections, has lost some steam since it was used to whip Christian Conservatives into a holy frenzy of frothy rabid goodness that led 11 states to pass anti-gay legislation.It looks like it may be turning around, at least in one state. The Massachusetts Legislature just voted 157-39 against the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage and overturn the court ruling in the state.How could this happen - wasn't gay marriage a threat to the very fabric of our society? Wasn't it the slap in the face of traditional marriage that would make all heterosexual marriages null and void? I guess none of that happened.So how do you account for this seemingly 180-degree turn in the attitude toward gay marriage in Massachusetts? Let's hear from one of the co-sponsors of the proposed amendment. "Gay marriage has begun, and life has not changed for the citizens of the commonwealth, with the exception of those who can now marry," said state Sen. Brian Lees, a Republican who had been a co-sponsor of the amendment. "This amendment which was an appropriate measure or compromise a year ago, is no longer, I feel, a compromise today."Well what do you know about that? Adam and Steve got married and nothing bad happened to anyone.I guess I would like it if this event somehow opened people's eyes to the fact that all the gay marriage doomsayers were manipulating people and not actually threatened. Or that two people getting married regardless of their orientation is a fine thing and not in any way dangerous or confusing for society. But I suspect it will just be business as usual, combined with looks of disgust at the Massachusetts liberals and their hell-bound married gay pals.But then it is the belief of Christian Conservatives always to err on the side of dogma and stupidity, which is why Ahhnold will probably be the mook that he is and veto the same-sex marriage bill that passed the legislature in his state. Way to be progressive buddy.However I do think the defeat of the amendment in Massachusetts WILL have an effect. Hopefully Massachussetts' example, combined with the much more forward-thinking Canadians' support of gay marriage, will show that society is not in danger because two people love each other and might just loosen some of the fire and brimstone rhetoric being spewed by the people of very little brain.Kudos to Massachusetts - I'm proud of all of you, now hopefully for your next trick you can chuck that poo-head governor of yours and send him on his way.This article originally appeared on The Rudicus Report. Ed/Pub:NB Politics36459@blogcritics.org Mon, 19 Sep 2005 13:12:38 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/15/211833.php RudicusThe Pledge of Allegiance with the 1954 addition of "under God" was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge yesterday.The decision clears the way for the pledge to be barred in the schools affected by the suit; however, it also puts the case on the fast track back to the Supreme Court.The Pledge was already ruled unconstitutional by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals when it ruled in 2002. This is the same body that the appeal is going to, so it seems likely that they will stand by their precedent and reaffirm their decision.When the case came before the Supreme Court previously, they dodged the case by saying that it could not proceed because the claimant was not an authorized representative in the suit. This time that's not the case, so it looks like the Supremes will either have to tackle the case or let the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stand.What's the big deal you say? Isn't this harmless, is it worth all this fuss? Complainant Michael Newdow sums it up as follows:"All it has to do is put the pledge as it was before, and say that we are one nation, indivisible, instead of dividing us on religious basis," Newdow told The Associated Press."Imagine every morning if the teachers had the children stand up, place their hands over their hearts, and say, 'We are one nation that denies God exists,'" Newdow said."I think that everybody would not be sitting here saying, 'Oh, what harm is that.' They'd be furious. And that's exactly what goes on against atheists. And it shouldn't."To me this case highlights the very reason that politics and religion do not mix. Religion is divisive and does not represent all people. This is the purpose of separation of church and state as it was devised by the founders. Because religion and belief are so polarizing, leaving it completely out of government allows the state to govern based on the needs of society, not on the agenda of a particular faith or representatives of that faith.As a priest, a Republican, a former senator and former UN ambassador, John Danforth is in a great position to speak on this issue and he says, "The problem is not with people or churches that are politically active. It is with a party that has gone so far in adopting a sectarian agenda that it has become the political extension of a religious movement."If he and others in the Republican party are starting to feel a little skittish about being so bound to Christian conservatives and their agenda, imagine how the rest of us feel?You need no further proof of this that to watch the nightly news. The vast majority of issues dividing this nation are along religious lines. Every story you read about the Ten Commandments, activist judges, prayer in school, homosexuality, gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research, the right to die, censorship in TV and movies, sex, art, you name it - those are ALL about religion. And if you go back over that list, see if you can name all the different politicians and government agencies that have some sort of association with those topics. In a place where politics and religion are supposed to be divided, it sure seems like we are up to our eyeballs in unity.The problem is that this creates division, it creates marginalization and it creates exclusivity and corruption. Perhaps not corruption in monetary terms but in terms of fairness. How do you think a person who is staunchly religious is going to interact with someone who is not? What if your life choices go against the religious choices fed to you by a united church and state? Do you really think people are going to be operating impartially? We already have pharmacists, nurses and doctors who can choose not to treat you if they disagree with you on religious grounds. That's staggering. And you know who allowed that to happen legally? The federal government.This is why it's so critical that we maintain a separation - laws and government must be free to make decisions based on the best thing for the society, not the best thing to promote an agenda based on beliefs. The sooner we realize that this lack of separation is tearing us apart as a country, the sooner we can get back on the road to fixing it.It is unconstitutional to promote religion, and that's why the Pledge is unconstitutional. Freedom of religion allows us all to practice or not practice as we see fit. Religion is a private choice and a private relationship. Let's keep it private where it belongs, I promise you we will all get along much better.This article originally appeared on The Rudicus Report.Ed/Pub:LM Politics36226@blogcritics.org Thu, 15 Sep 2005 21:18:33 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/12/111547.php RudicusAbstinence education: like intelligent design, teaching abstinence in place of sex education is the Christian right's way of injecting religion into our education system. They promote abstinence as the only true way to avoid pregnancy and STDs and the ultimate evil, abortion. And you know what, they're right.But just like communism and all the other ideas that sound good on paper, reality has a funny way of proving how wrong you really are. Abstinence-only education is no exception.Anyone who has ever been a teenager or currently is one, knows full well that the idea of abstinence is about as realistic as jumping from here to the moon in a single bound. Bodies are primed and ready, hormones are going crazy and the urge to merge is flying right in the face of society's man-made age of consent and social mores. We want to protect our children, so what's the best way to do that? Is it to tell them simply, just say no and that's final? I suppose this is the sexual equivalent of "because I'm your mother and I say so".Is that simple prohibition enough to override the forces of nature, peer pressure, human curiosity and the first feelings of love and attraction? Let's take a look.As expected, the answer is no. A study in the American Journal of Health Behavior was conducted to analyze the sexual behavior of more than 2000 students in the Cleveland area. Researchers led by Elaine A. Borawski, Ph.D., in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, found that after going through the program, teens reported significant increases in their HIV/STD knowledge, their personal beliefs about the importance of abstinence and their intentions to remain abstinent in the near future.That sounds nice.But the program did not affect students' confidence to avoid risky sexual situations, and sexually inexperienced and female students actually reported a decrease in their intent to use condoms in the future.Whoa.In the end, the study showed that abstinence-only education had NO effect in preventing teens from becoming sexually active.This evaluation reveals that abstinence-only intervention can influence knowledge, beliefs and intentions..." Borawski said, adding that the intent of teens to reduce their condom use merits further study to determine long-term implications.Well let's see what those implications may be.Just south of Cleveland, in Canton, OH there is another school that preaches and teaches an abstinence-only sex education program. I wonder how that turned out. Thirteen percent of the female students at Timken Senior High School in Ohio are pregnant.Wow. I guess they could have used those condoms over there.The statistic at the school in the heart of this old steel city contrasts with a decade of declining teen pregnancy rates nationwide.I wonder what could have happened."Joanne Hinton, whose 16-year-old daughter, Raechel Hinton, is eight months pregnant, said she believes the school's abstinence-based sex education program isn't enough.""It's time to take the blinders off and realize that these kids are having sex," she said. "Obviously, abstinence is not working. If we have to, just give them condoms."Last school year, both high schools in the city's district reported 55 pregnancies. Ninety-nine pregnancies are expected in the district this year, most of them at Timken, where expecting students get six weeks of maternity leave.WOW! What the heck could be going on over there? Hmmm. Maybe this has something to do with it:Abstinence-based programs have been growing nationwide at schools over the past few years. In Ohio, the Bush's administration and the state's health department have awarded $32 million in grants to Ohio agencies for abstinence education since 2001.Well, nice work George, I guess that settles it.Let's tell our kids not to have sex, even though we know they are going to. Then lets compound our mistake by not giving them the knowledge, tools or support for making smart healthy choices about the sex we already know they are going to have. Then let's add funding for already cash-strapped schools thanks to 'no child left behind' so that we keep promoting the non-reality based ignorance of abstinence-only education.What's the result? A total and complete mess. More kids born to single teenage mothers who can now add to the growing roles of people on public assistance programs that are being cut by the same stupid government that helped put those kids there in the first place.As you may have guessed, I think George Bush is a moron. But I'm starting to reconsider this opinion. All this time I've been thinking about things from the perspective of someone who wants to help make this country great. But what if you take a different viewpoint? How would things change if President Bush woke up one morning in 1999 and said, "What can I do to fuck up this country, not just for 4 or 8 years, but for an entire generation?" If you look at his and his administration's actions from that perspective, suddenly he looks like a genius. There is no way he could be this successful in that plan through sheer luck and incompetence. It had to be part of a grand scheme. No, I think that George W. Bush is one of the most brilliant tacticians of our age. Bravo!This article originally appeared on The Rudicus Report.Additional reporting courtesy of CONNIE MABIN, Associated Press Writer Ed/Pub:NB Politics35999@blogcritics.org Mon, 12 Sep 2005 11:15:47 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/06/131249.php RudicusHave you ever tried to have a conversation about religion with a devout Christian only to find them completely unable to debate rationally? It seems no matter how many sound arguments you make or how many glaring contradictions you bring up, they still hold hard and fast to their beliefs and give you that "you are SO going to hell" condescending kind of look?To me it seemed they would scoff in the face of obvious errors and contradictions and were singularly unwilling to entertain any counterpoint or other questioning of their faith and only seemed willing to engage in debate so as to have a forum for conversion. Well think I finally figured out the reason... They have to.Unfortunately the Christians themselves have set this up from the beginning and it is ultimately the fuel that is firing their furor, their seemingly odd behavior and beliefs and their apparent inability to debate rationally.Let's go back to the beginning. Before Christians and Jews and Muslims, Gods were simply more powerful versions of humans. They laughed, they played, they ate ambrosia, they drank wine and they carried on (for you kids, this means screwing). Sometimes they would drink too much and destroy a town, other times they would see some hot babe or dude and anoint them with they godly favors (this also means screwing). Sometimes they would get pissed off at something you said or did and turn you into a goat or chain you to a rock so buzzards could peck out your liver or make you roll a rock up a hill for all eternity. They were jealous, showed favoritism and generally acted like spoiled children. This attitude of the gods and their frivolous behavior extended pretty much everywhere, from the Incas and The Maya to Babylon to Greece to China and Japan.Then the Christians came along with their all-knowing, all-seeing, omni-everything God. Which if you are trying to overshadow a bunch of fallible pagan gods is a pretty good strategy. How do you compete with a god that knows everything and sees everything? That would be the best guy to have on your team, because the implication is that if your god created the heavens and the earth and the universe, then he also must have created all the gods and demons including Satan and would have supreme power over them. (which immediately brings up the whole question of if god is all powerful why does he allow blah blah blah blah blah - but that would be a logical question and thus does not apply here).So how does this scenario create the whole Perfect God Syndrome. Well imagine this: if you believe that your god is a perfect being that is incapable of error or wrong doing or any other failing and your entire belief system is based on that, then imagine what would happen if you questioned it? The entire thing would come apart, since there can be no room for error with a god who is perfect. So, with this in mind, how would you react to questions or contradictions or anything contrary to the perfect god system? Deny, Rationalize, Deny.They double screwed themselves with the idea that the bible is the divine word of god vs. a book of parables and teachings written by men - now you can't question the bible either. All of this would be fine 2000 years ago before anyone could read the bible or talk with other people in any real capacity, but now we have mass printing, computers and the internet - the age of information has really put a damper on the perfect god - so deny, rationalize, deny.Well, why not adapt the bible and the faith to fit modern times? The U.S. constitution is only a couple hundred years old and we already have almost 30 amendments along with a group of highly educated people whose sole purpose is to interpret and adapt the constitution to our times. Why not do this with Christianity, certainly it could use an upgrade after 2000 years, couldn't it? Oops, Perfect God Syndrome again. An omnipotent being could easily craft a religion that would be just as applicable today as it was to middle eastern shepherds 2000 years ago. Thus to say that the religion or the bible needs tweaking means god is imperfect. So what's the result? They cherry pick the scriptures they follow - like homosexuality is an abomination, but skip the part about not eating shrimp and shellfish or follow "thou shalt not kill" as it pertains to abortion and stem cell research, but skip the inconvenient commandment about keeping the Sabbath.I'll give them credit though, they HAVE been able to create a nice little Teflon screen that easily deflects logic or counter arguments that has made all this denial and rationalization possible.Anything that would potentially be contradictory or questioning, they would simply consider as a test of their faith - sent by god, like he did to Job - thus they are immune to critically thinking about anything pertaining to their beliefs or belief system.Ultimately this situation creates a pattern of behavior which forces the devout Christian to ignore anything contradictory and avoid any and all questions that they don't have prepared answers for. Try it next time you come across one. You'll get stock answers to questions and contradictions and when you probe deeper and exceed their programming, you'll probably either get a lot of repeating of the pre-programmed answers or simply an end to the conversation and some derogatory under the breath comments finished with "I'll pray for you".So in the end, there is no real discussion because ultimately you cannot have an honest debate with someone who has no ability to examine their point of view. Besides, when you come to the debate armed with the holy trump card of "no one can know the wisdom of god" where do you think you are going to get? Which is why no matter what happens they will always cling to their belief because to let go of it, they risk their entire belief system crumbling and if you have built your entire life around the church and your church friends and your church world - why do anything to risk it and either be ostracized or cut off completely?We've all seen first hand the net result of this belief system. It's the very same Perfect God Syndrome that fuels most of the religio-ethical debates. Take intelligent design. The rational person asks how someone could possibly believe in things like Noah's Ark or 6-day creation, but now see this through the lens of Perfect God Syndrome. To even entertain the idea that life evolved through a natural process, takes God out of the equation. As such for a Christian to support evolution or other non god-centric science it puts them in the uncomfortable position of God not being involved. As a result they must come up with all sorts of nonsense to explain the contradictions and non-sequiters which is how you get support for 6-day creation despite mountains of geological information or crazy ideas that dinosaurs were only a few thousand years old and roam the earth with mankind. It is all a necessity because EVERYTHING is at stake. There is no line item veto or concession of the point - it's all or nothing. You can't have a perfect god running around with chinks in his armor, it just doesn't work.Either God is omnipotent and omniscient or he isn't, there really isn't a middle ground. As a result of this conundrum you have people who's only recourse is to develop more and more complex denials and rationalizations so that their God stays intact - this is what causes Perfect God Syndrome. Unfortunately it's only going to get worse as more and more science reveals historical evidence or lack therof and the secrets of the universe continue to be explained. The fact is that the further we go down this path the worse it will get, which is why Pope Eggs Benedict is so dead set against relativism. Relativism leads to questions and conditions which then lead to thinking. Absolutism provides inflexible and unquestionable directions so no thinking is needed. It's also why we have such incredible polarization over religion. The more we learn, the less viable superstitions and controlling beliefs become, so in response, people get even more "faithful" and then start to use it as a defining characteristic.This is how the Republicans managed to take over the country. By nominating themselves as God's party with God's chosen candidates and the keepers of the covenant and defenders of the faithful - a vote against them is a vote against God and what Christian would dare do that? But we can already see the damage that Perfect God Syndrome is causing for them. Why else would they have to fight so hard over Terri Schaivo so as to make a well-respected and learned doctor like Bill Frist come out with something so obviously bogus as his "diagnosis?" How else can you explain rational people flouting a life changing breakthrough like stem cells because it goes against God? This syndrome is so dangerous because it sets up a mental condition where reality and rationality are routinely ignored for religion, so it becomes increasing easy for that mentality to spill over into other aspects of life.The irrational and non-sensical thinking that allows someone with Perfect God Syndrome to function in a fantasy land is the same one that keeps a person from seeing Iraq as a quagmire or admitting mistakes or taking responsibility. As a result you get continual slippery slope that people are more than willing to belly surf down. In the end, since no self-respecting Christian would or truly could question their faith, no amount of evidence, science, rational thinking or logic will help. The only really viable action is to try and catch as many people who are still questioning before they go past the point of no return, and for the rest, the only option is to wait it out until the entire system crashes under it's own illogical weight.Originally posted on The Rudicus Report Politics35570@blogcritics.org Tue, 6 Sep 2005 13:12:49 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/30/124122.php RudicusIf you ever want to find a place where Evolutionists and Creationists can get along in pure non-sensical peace, take a trip to the Museum of Earth History in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.Here you can see wonderful exhibits of dinosaurs right alongside exhibits for The Garden of Eden and The Tower of Babel.The museum offers "high-quality, scientific exhibits displayed in a totally biblical setting." "Viewers will journey through three epic periods of ancient history often overlooked by modern historians: life before the Fall, the post-Fall world, and life after the devastating effects of the great Genesis Flood."Take a reality-bending jaunt over to their website where you can see all about these fine historical and scientific exhibits:The Curse: a vivid pictorial rendition of the effects of the Fall of man upon the earth. (Presumably taken from the fossil records and National Geographic story written at the time.)The Flood: An 8ft X 28ft foot mural depicting the Noahic Flood event from the breaking open of the Great Deep to the landing of the Ark on Mt. Ararat. (Since no archaeological evidence exists)The Garden of Eden: A large, panoramic still-life display featuring a representation of how Eden might have looked. This exhibit includes a 20-foot waterfall and lush vegetation, with a full-size skeleton of a Thescelosaurus and a skeletal skull replica of Stan, the Tyrannosaurus rex. (Stan as you all know was the fouth member of the biblical Fab Four, whose identity, like Ringo and George, was lost in the shuffle along with the serpent to the bigger stars Adam and Eve. A piece of word history: "Stan" is actually a translation of the bibilical Aramaeic term for "big fucking monster".)The Tower of Babel: This exhibit represents the very important time of the dividing of the nations, not too long after the Flood. Because of the sin of the people, God confounded their languages, which resulted in the dispersal of the different tribes and peoples across the world. (The exhibit doesn't contain any actual archaeological material, but it looks really cool and is next to dinosaurs so it must be real.)The Fish Aquarium: This exhibit has as its center-piece a 400 gallon salt-water aquarium, featuring some of the oceans' most beautiful specimens. Mounted above the aquarium is a 15-foot skeletal replica of a Platecarpus tympaniticus. (The Fish Aquarium has nothing whatsoever to do with either creationism or evolution per se, but fish are cool, and the thing wouldn't fit in the living room so it had to go somewhere. Oh wait, Jesus was a fisherman - there you go!)You can also read such gems of true knowledge as:"...dinosaurs are mentioned 25 times in the Old Testament.""Dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark.""The dinosaurs on Noah's ark were probably juveniles." (why? Because full size dinosaurs would have been too big to fit the dimensions of the Ark, so this must be the answer)"There are some indications that dinosaurs lived after the flood. For example, in the Book of Job, the author discusses the behemoth in chapter 40. The animal described clearly matches the description of a Sauropod (commonly known as a Brontosaurus).""Evidence from fossilized footprints, ancient artwork, literature and fossils all strongly support the fact that dinosaurs and humans did co-exist."I can see this one happening myself:"I have found the tracks Kemosabe.""What do they say Tonto.""It looks like a Mexican, a White Man and a Velociraptor.""Dammit! First those damn Stegasaurus gangs attacked Fort Sam Houston and now these Velociraptors. I think we're in big trouble Tanto.""What do you mean "we" white man?"Yessirreeeee. Look at all the amazing things you can accomplish when your brain has left the building. What amazes me is the idea that people not only invested thousands of dollars to put this museum together, but that they will most likely get people to pay thousands of dollars to come see it.What kind of substantial loss in cabin pressure do you have to have to think that the Tower of Babel story was real? Or that there were Brontosauruses roaming around the Middle East 2,500 years ago. They must have wreaked havoc on all the flocks of sheep, since I don't think a kid with a wooden stick is going to do much damage to a triceratops.If you think that anyone who could believe this kind of nonsense is functionally retarded, just remember that these same people are building your house, performing surgery on you and running your country. ed/pub:NB Politics35082@blogcritics.org Tue, 30 Aug 2005 12:41:22 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/26/173632.php RudicusI really don't like a lot of things going on in the world, but one of my biggest pet peeves besides bad customer service, is people who refuse to take responsibility for anything in life and go out of their way to blame others for their own problems. We have another story on the same subject today.In New Hampshire, a doctor is under fire and threatened with sanctions ranging from a reprimand to the revoking of his state medical license. What did this doctor do to incur this? He told a patient the truth. He had the audacity to tell one of his patients, an obese woman, that she needed to lose weight because her health and quality of life were at risk."I told a fat woman she was obese," said [The Doctor]. "I tried to get her attention. I told her, 'You need to get on a program, join a group of like-minded people and peel off the weight that is going to kill you.' "So rather than take her doctor's advice, she instead complained to the State Medical Board that the Doctor had offended her. The worst part to me? The Board took action and opened an investigation.What the hell has gone wrong in our world when a medical professional can't even tell someone the truth about their health without being called into a hearing? And what kind of world have we created where we even allow this kind of abject stupidity to go on?Every fat person knows they are fat. But a lot of people don't fully realize the danger that their weight and lifestyle have on their lives. Doctors are there to help people be healthy. And in a world where doctors are becoming more and more like salesmen for Big Pharma - I find it particularly offensive that one doctor who actually seems to care about his patients is now looking down the barrel of disciplinary action because some lady can't face the truth.Anyone who has ever been overweight (and even some who only think they are) knows how emotionally challenging it is. That said, if people don't take responsibility for their own health, they have no-one else to blame. And in a world where people only blame others and never themselves - that's a pretty bitter pill to swallow.Right now in my office 85% of the employees are overweight - more than 50% are obese and several are morbidly obese. On top of that at least 25% are on diabetes medication.This is not a small problem - this is a HUGE problem. If these folks would rather have their cake and eat it too - and then keel over dead long before their time, I suppose that's their right. But as other people's weight begins to affect how our planes fly as well as our healthcare costs, it's becoming a large problem for everyone. But with very few (and I mean very few) exceptions - weight is an individual problem. I will be the first to say that it is our culture that is making us so fat, and those who buck the trend and choose health are facing a difficult struggle, but it is still their responsibility.But I'm sorry, when you are faced with a doctor's commentary and advice about your health and your first inclination is to complain about the doctor, then you need look no further for why this woman is the way that she is. It's a level of abdication of responsibility that is staggering, but all too common these days.The fact that she was offended and decided to file a complaint rather than take responsibility for her own condition is deplorable. And the fact that the State board did not back the doctor and actually went ahead with the investigation is sickening. THIS is where our morals are eroded and this is why our culture is bankrupt.When our citizens act like 1st graders and we allow them to get away with it, is it any wonder that children are in charge of our schools and we get all our marching orders from lawyers and politicians rather than ourselves.Originally posted on The Rudicus Report. Culture34796@blogcritics.org Fri, 26 Aug 2005 17:36:32 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/22/115006.php RudicusFor awhile now we've been seeing an on-going war between scientific thinkers who view natural selection and evolution as the accepted theory of life on earth and the people who favor the ridiculous, yet strongly held belief in Creationism - which is basically the literal events of the book of Genesis.Well since the Creationism idea wasn't taking hold, despite years of politicking and sneaky things like putting disclaimer stickers on textbooks and such, the creationist minded folks came up with a new cause de celebre - Intelligent Design.In a nutshell, Intelligent Design postulates that aspects of life are too complex to have come about by natural selection or evolutionary science or biology and thus must have an intelligent design source. ID supporter are quick to say (in an effort to deflect creationism in sheeps clothing attacks) that ID does not specify what the intelligence is. (Let's come back to that)So basically, these folks cannot believe that life evolved from a complex interaction between natural forces, but have no problem believing that some guy went "abracadabra" and made everything.The concept of ID requires some form of "higher" intelligence to have designed life on earth. So who or what is the intelligence? By their own assertions, it could be God, Zeus, Hera, Klingons, pink unicorns or blue monkeys. But somewhere along the line some form of intelligence must have designed everything because we can't currently answer every minute question. Well part of that is true, but part of it isn't.Natural Selection is a theory that has massive support and mountains of observable data to support it. ID does not. All it has is some unanswered questions that some folks have decided require an intelligent designer vs. just questions we have as yet been unable to answer.Remember, it wasn't all that long ago that people widely believed that illness was based on an imbalance of humors and that bleeding was the way to fix it. Of course this was before bacteria and germs were discovered so it seemed like a good idea at the time. Today, of course, we know differently, but only after time and science caught up enough to answer the question.So back to the concept of ID. Do we really believe that ID supporters would be just as happy to have aliens be the intelligent designers as God? If the idea of being descended from a monkey is such a huge affront, how are they going to feel about being cooked up in a Petri dish in some alien lab on Helion Prime?If ID were merely proposing an intelligent designer and not leaning toward anyone in particular, why do you suppose that the vast majority of ID supporters are all Christian Conservatives that would gleefully support Creationism being taught in schools if they hadn't ruled against it?ID recently got a boost when a pillar of the science community George W. Bush came out in support of it. This is, of course, the same guy who doesn't believe we have a global warming problem or any environmental issues that need addressing.What kind of message does this send to kids who look at the president who tells them to ignore science and rationality in favor of a cockamamie scheme?Now we've got our pal Bill Frist jumping into the mix with his own support for teaching ID in schools. This is a Harvard-educated medical doctor we're talking about now. Of course, this same renowned physician also testified that Terri Schaivo (a blind woman with severe brain damage) interacted with people in a meaningful way and responded to visual stimuli.Now didn't Frist just buck the president by supporting stem cell research because it was a "matter of science?" Guess what bro, so is this! You can't support science one day and then scoff at it the next. This is a perfect example of the hypocrisy of this entire debate. All of the ID supporters have absolutely no trouble taking medicine, listening to weather reports, getting surgery or launching missiles all based on the exact same science that yielded evolution.So what's the problem? The problem is that ID is simply bad science used to counter evolution, a theory which explains life without giving credit to God. So we're going to happily call the ID supporters on their claim that their idea is even worthy of the title of theory, much less be a competitive theory for natural selection worthy of being taught in schools. ID supporters themselves concede that "You can't prove intelligent design by experiment." How convenient. But here again, that very idea means that ID is not science at all, so holding it up against a real scientific theory is like comparing the bible to actual archaeological evidence ... hmmm.It's complete crap people. I'll be the first one to go on record and admit I was wrong if they ever succeed in offering a shred of proof for this hogwash. As for Frist, I'm sure this was simply a political tactic to make up for the stem cell thing - at best he's pandering to the Christian Right in the hopes of saving his 2008 presidential bid or at worst to keep Bush from sending Karl Rove after him.So to sum up, ID is complete malarky, but I assume they will succeed in getting it into classrooms as an alternative theory, which will only succeeding in making children in those states even dumber that they already are and increase our status as most hated nation as well as educational laughingstock of the first world. Nice work.ED: TAS, fixed remaining mistakes Politics34604@blogcritics.org Mon, 22 Aug 2005 11:50:06 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/19/174800.php RudicusWe all know by now that Americans are too fat. For whatever reason, we are tipping the scales at an alarming rate. In addition to all the health problems and health care costs associated with American obesity, we now have to deal with a new wrinkle.Americans are so fat that airlines are having to remove life vests from planes to accommodate. That's a good sign. So I guess if we crash, I'll have to use the guy next to me for buoyancy since I won't have a vest. Already Southwest Airlines is requiring extra large flyers to purchase two seats to compensate.The problem is not just in the room needed to fit XXL folks onto the plane, but the added weight is causing all sorts of havoc with the plane physics by throwing off the weight differential and several other weight based calculations.Passenger weight is most important on small planes where the weight can produce a much bigger strain on engines. A 2003 small plane crash in North Carolina that killed all 21 people aboard was blamed on excess passenger weight.I realize that this is just another in a long string of stories and complications based on American weight. Everybody and their brother is coming out with explanations and ideas for slimming folks down - but I honestly don't think anything will make a significant or lasting difference in our current culture.The other day some soda producers group announced a plan to limit or remove the selling of sodas to schools (well actually it's only to grammar schools and middle schools - high schools can have all the soda they like). Most consider this little more than a token gesture, but it highlights what I believe is the true issue; our culture is killing us.The culture operates in a way that is completely counterproductive to health. We spend most of our lives at our desks, the rest of the time we spend eating or watching television or sitting at our desks surfing the internet. We drive everywhere (even from one store to the next in the same parking lot). We get very little exercise, very little sleep and everything is rushed and hurried - we don't even have time to sit back and enjoy a meal, let alone prepare one. So as a result, most of our food is fast too AND it's all pre-packaged so it's loaded with sugar and salt. Want to have some fun? Next time you are in the grocery store (a regular one, not a health food store) try and find a loaf of bread that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup as one of the ingredients. Even if you go out to a restaurant, the portion sizes are ginormous and you still don't know what's in your food.But what's the alternative - you can't walk anywhere unless you live in a few select cities, you can't work less hours, you don't have the time to prepare healthful and nutritious meals - either because you don't have time to shop, prep, cook and clean OR you don't really want to have to go through all that everyday because you have so little free time and such high stress as it is.Half the time you can't even get anything healthy for lunch even if you wanted to. Where I work, I'd have to drive more than 30 minutes to find a restaurant that offered any variety of healthy choices - and then by the time I got there I wouldn't have time to eat anyway.Nothing in our current culture makes it easy to be healthy and it's only getting worse. Everyday people have less and less time and fewer and fewer options. The only way we are ever going to change is if we completely change our approach to culture, work and food. And as radical an upheaval as that may be, it is not unlike the lifestyle in many parts of the world. Unfortunately our culture is corrupting other cultures and turning them into ours. Now all the people in these other countries are starting to get as fat as we are.Since I don't think we are going to change as a culture the only thing you can really do is change yourself and your life, which unfortunately is not easy. Until then you might want to pack your own life vest along with your own lunch next time you are on a plane somewhere.Ed/Pub:LM Culture34477@blogcritics.org Fri, 19 Aug 2005 17:48:00 EDT