Author Archives: Jacob Fortin

Arkansas OK’s bill to make Bible study an elective course

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Apparently legislators in Arkansas are convinced the ills of society can be fixed if they ensure students are brainwashed into Christianity. In order to do so, they’ve passed a Bill that would lay out “guidelines” for public schools who want to offer elective classes on the Bible.

Republican Rep. Denny Altes called the Bible the most accurate history book and says students could learn about its influence on literature, culture and politics in a nonreligious setting.

It’s highly doubtful these electives will be critical of the Bible, and the fact that Denny-boy thinks this book of mythology is the most accurate history book indicates he’s never actually bothered to study any other texts. He’s seeing the world through his “faith goggles”, and like their beer counterpart, they severely affect judgement.

The Bill now heads for the House to be voted on, and it’s my hope that people there have their heads screwed on right. This kind of indoctrination has no place in public schools. I’m not too hopeful for any sanity from equally moronic politicians, but a man can hope, can’t he?

Philadelphia archdiocese still rampant with pedophiles

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The archdiocese in Philadelphia is in serious trouble. Since 2005, they’ve been subject to 2 grand jury reports that found rampant sexual abuse on the part of over 100 priests. The first report, which found 63 priests have been involved in some form of ritualistic abuse, provided no convictions since the statute of limitations had run its course. Another recent report found another 37 priests who had either raped or acted inappropriately with minors, and while some steps have been taken to try and get convictions, most are still under the employ of the Church, and some are still in active duty.

The possibility that even one predatory priest, not to mention three dozen, might still be serving in parishes — “on duty in the archdiocese today, with open access to new young prey,” as the grand jury put it — has unnerved many Roman Catholics here and sent the church reeling in the latest and one of the most damning episodes in the American church since it became engulfed in the sexual abuse scandal nearly a decade ago.

Lots of Catholics in Philly are having problems reconciling their faith with the news the Church appears to have little concern for the well-being of their children. Had they bothered to actually study the thing, they would have found this behavior isn’t at all recent; we’re all just more aware now.

When the archdiocese learns of reports of sexual abuse, it is now supposed to report them to the district attorney, which is what led to the most recent grand jury investigation. Extensions on the statute of limitations also made prosecutions possible this time.

This, at least, is an encouraging sign. The Church’s policy of secrecy has always relied on the fact there is a 10 year statue of limitation on sexual abuse once the victim reaches adulthood. Personally I’ve never understood why it’s necessary to limit the amount of time a pedophile can be prosecuted, especially considering sex abuse victims are traumatized for years, sometimes decades. That’s slowly changing, and yet convictions for these bastards is moving glacially slow. Maybe it might go a little faster if their idiot sheep stopped giving them a bunch of money all the time. Just sayin’.

Bad Creationism debating tactics obliterated

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Are you an idiot who wants desperately to continue to believe in a supernatural entity despite no evidence to do so? Are you intimidated by science, and how it conflicts with your supernatural understanding of the world? Are you concerned evolution makes your Cosmogony seem infantile and basic by comparison? Then head on over to Creationtips.com*, where you can learn a whole slew of idiotic talking points, such as.

1. How did the Universe come about?
There is of course no scientific law or demonstrable process that would let something evolve from nothing. If there was nothing in the universe to begin with, obviously nothing could happen to cause anything to appear. [Jake’s Note: You’ll read this whole “there is no scientific law” rhetoric all the time on the site. Evidently these clowns have no real understanding of what scientific laws are all about.]

Translation: Something can’t come from nothing, therefore my Creator God who willed himself into existence did it.

In any case, this question is supposed to confuse non-believers who aren’t super familiar with astrophysics. How can a Universe come from nothing? Well, Laurence Krauss has some good answers to this question, but it’s still an argument I find quickly paints religionists into a corner. If it’s true you can’t get something from nothing, then why does this rule not apply to their Creator God?

2. How could living creatures come from Non-Life?
There are no provable mechanisms for how molecules could increase in complexity without cells to produce and utilize them. For example, you cannot assume proteins before you have the DNA that codes for them.

Translation: There are no provable mechanisms for life, therefore my improvable deity did it!

Creationists are always a little confused as to how non-living materials create living entities. While we cannot yet fully explain how the necessary proteins arranged themselves to create DNA, it’s important to remember this molecule is not “alive” in the same sense that we are. It’s simply a biological mechanism for replication, and there are other non-organic examples of this as well.

Any creationists using the word “DNA” is a fool; if they believe humans are separate from animals, they should choose a different molecule: this one suggests humans share a common ancestor with all animals. It’s a far cry from their Adam and Eve bullshit.

3. How could new genetic information arise?
The theory of evolution teaches that complex life-forms evolved from simple life-forms. There is no natural law known that could allow this to happen. The best that evolutionists can come up with to try to explain how this might have happened is to propose that it happened by mutations and natural selection.

Translation: I’m confused about evolution, therefore God did it.

Creationists are always confused about how evolution works. They have to be, otherwise it kills their little delusion that Earth was spawned by an invisible deity. They always claim you can’t see evolution in action, even though you can with something as mundane as using anti-bacterial soap. It’s even clearly spelled out for you on the label: if they kill 99.9% of all bacteria, the 0.1% that survived have developed a greater resiliency to this particular soap. Over time, these traits make their way into the population and your soap becomes increasingly ineffectual as we slowly train bacterium to resist us through our germophobic habits. Tada!

More sophisticated creationists (Intelligent Design) admit this kind of evolution exists, but somehow these types of changes can’t possibly lead to different traits leading to separate species over long periods of time. Even if evolution were wrong, it would not make their magical-spontaneous-sky-man hypothesis any more correct.

…mutations and natural selection do not show gain in information, just rearrangement or loss of what is already there — therefore there may be beneficial mutations without an increase in genetic information.

There’s a wonderful video explaining how a kind of “loss of information” was responsible for humans branching off into a separate species, and you need to check it out.

4. Where is the proof that apes turned into humans?
Thousands of fossils and fossil fragments of apes and humans have now been found — and they don’t show a steady progression from apes to humans at all. Fossils have been found in the wrong time-frames, put into the wrong categories before all the evidence was in, and what was once thought to be the ape-human family tree now actually has no trunk — just unconnected branches.

Translation: I don’t even understand the notion that human beings ARE apes!

This one makes me the saddest, because it reminds me we’re still a long ways away as a species from admitting what we are. You’d think the fabric of society would collapse like a balloon as soon as we all realized we are animals like any other. The fact that we are offended by the notion of being apes goes to show we have little appreciation for the truth, and even less appreciation for how extraordinarily fortunate we are to be alive.

As for debunking this claim the “fossil record keeps changing”, keep in mind the chance of actually finding human fossils is already a rarity (land species always leave less evidence of their existence, and we haven’t been around for long). Our entire collection of ancient hominid bones could fit in the back of a pickup truck, for God’s sake! But to say there’s no evidence we share a common ancestor with apes is simply a pious lie. The evidence is overwhelming (one of the proofs is in the video I mentioned before), and keep in mind so far, the best alternative explanation these creationists offer is the equivalent of magic. How are they so endlessly impressed with themselves?

*(Update: The site no longer exists)

Christians protest Muslim fundraiser for homeless shelter

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Now all of you are acutely aware of how disdainful I am of religion in general, but I have the common courtesy not to yell either obscenities or jeers at Muslims just going about their business. These Tea Party racist jackasses are upset because people of a different flesh tone are praying to an equally ridiculous God, and they can’t stand the idea.

Them chanting “USA, USA” during a hate rally is the cherry on top of this shit sundae, isn’t it?

The story of Lot

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The messed up thing in all of this seems to me to be the fact that rather than head to the nearest town to find some eligible guys (non-Jews), Lot and his daughters decided to “keep it in the family”. Oh, Biblical incest: you have so much to teach the world!

The price of free speech

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Whenever I hear some stupid rhetoric about soldiers dying in a foreign land for our “freedom”, I’m reminded that we really aren’t accustomed to the kind of actual sacrifices we have to make to maintain our liberties. In truth, freedom isn’t about the kind of conflicts that involve bombs and bullets: it’s about the right to say what you want, even when it happens to be horribly offensive.

The Supreme Count recently ruled in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church’s right to picket the funerals of men and women that die in combat. You may remember these tasteless fuckwads who show up with signs so vile they normally get censored by TV stations covering their exploits.

The court ruled 8-1 in favor of Phelps, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing the opinion. Roberts said that despite the pain the protests can inflict upon families and friends, “On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker.”

A lot of people are outraged by the decision, which is why the rights of individuals aren’t decided democratically. If we could, most of us would vote our fundamental rights away. As much as I hate the WBC, I’m glad the Supreme Court isn’t catering to the whims of easily offended citizens. If you have a problem with free speech, and all that entails, I suggest you try one of the countries where such options are more in tune with your precious sensibilities.

Peter Popoff is at it again

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There are few men with the batting record of Peter Popoff. The man seems to have an innate ability to scam people out of their hard-earned money, and does so without breaking a sweat. He’s been largely free to bamboozle people out of their hard earned money using the best shield against rationality, responsibility and accountability: religion.

He began in the 70’s as a faith healer, racking up millions of dollars by making eerily accurate and dramatic “revelations” about his audience’s illnesses, until James Randi exposed him on Johnny Carson in 1986. Turns out Popoff was using a hidden ear-piece and his wife’s rather unprophetic reading of pre-filled prayer cards to make his convincing “miracles” happen. Shortly after, Popoff’s ministry went bankrupt, and he disappeared.

But much like the plague, which lies dormant until our collective immune system is once again primed for infection, Popoff has had a number of resurrections. He first started popping up in Canada in the late 90’s selling holy water he claimed could work miracles (he also said the water came from a magic source near Chernobyl where animals had no diseases).

Apart from selling snake oil, he’s now turned his sights to those in need of debt relief. His latest scam, which he heavily advertises on BET (black entertainment television), is to ask people to make donations, and in exchange promises to ask God to relieve their debt.

When asked to answer critics who say he takes advantage of desperate people, Popoff issued a written response.

“As for religious leaders calling me a fraud, that places me in good company,” Popoff said. “The religious leaders of Christ’s day called him a fake and a demon-possessed fraud. They went so far as to crucify Him. I have no time for my critics, I have a job to do and I’m doing it for God’s glory.”

God’s glory, so far, has netted his ministry roughly 24 million dollars a year, and allowed him to command a salary of more than half a million dollars.

It would be easy to stop this man were it not for the fact he is part of a whole industry of deceit and unaccountability. Prosperity gospels do very much the same thing he does, and the fact all of this is considered a form of religious expression means they aren’t doing anything illegal by lying to people in order to make money. After all, if you prosecuted every single preacher who took money from gullible people in exchange for some improvable supernatural blessing, every single God-pimp would be broke or behind bars.

So long as people continue to believe in absurdities without any critical thought, scumbags like Peter Popoff will enjoy all the luxuries afforded to them by such profound ignorance. You want to make people scam-proof? Start by teaching them enough critical thinking skills to see through the deception of religion. Otherwise, someone like Popoff will always be waiting to pounce on the weak minded and gullible.

Christian morality in all its glory

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Man, talk about a spanking…No wonder Christians think we’re all terrible sinners: they keep attracting scumbags to their organizations!

Bigot Couple denied right to adopt

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A couple in their mid 60′s was recently denied the right to adopt children by a High Court in England because of their anti-homosexuality views.

…Lord Justice Munby and Mr Justice Beatson ruled that laws protecting people from discrimination because of their sexual orientation “should take precedence” over the right not to be discriminated against on religious grounds.

The truth is, because of the risk they might foster a gay son or daughter, the court decided the well being of the child was more important than the dogmatic, nonsensical belief that same-sex attraction is considered a bad thing by sky-daddy. The couple, oblivious to the fact society has stopped accepting bigotry outright, is confused society is still making a big deal about “all them homos”:

“We are prepared to love and accept any child. All we were not willing to do was to tell a small child that the practice of homosexuality was a good thing.”

Is there a small tinge of irony these people are of African decent, and only a few decades ago their skin pigmentation would have made them subject to similar discrimination? Perhaps. It makes me sad an otherwise nice couple seems to be completely unaware of just how poisonous their views actually are. You can thank the power of religion for that, folks!

Sam Harris doesn’t want you to identify yourself as an atheist

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What’s the solution to not accepting the label of atheist, Sam? What does “fly under the radar” mean exactly? I assume it’s not something anyone gets paid massive lecturing fees to do, quite honestly.

I’d love it if we could all somehow agree non-belief isn’t a “thing” either, but so long as we’re clearly identified as atheists simply for refusing to believe in the norm, the name has a purpose. We don’t get to choose what we call ourselves, since the religious have already decided we should have an identification label.

Prince tried the whole “I’m a name but not a name” shit and everyone realized it was ridiculous.

Annoying Pastor is actually secret pervert

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You know, I’ve always believed people who claim to want to stop debauchery, sin and vice were secretly engaging in these same activities. It explains why they think whatever they are railing against is a bigger deal than it actually is.

One such hypocrite is Pastor Grant Storms, a man who’s been fighting against the “debauchery” of New Orleans for nearly a decade:

A self-styled “Christian patriot,” Storms led a small West Bank congregation called The Reformer Church and for 10 years hosted “The Reformer Radio Show” on WSHO. Storms has railed against the Roman Catholic church, calling it “satanic” and “demonic.”

His merry band of assholes have been disrupting the festival for years, shouting hateful obscenities and forcing the city to issue an ordinance against bullhorns at the event (takes only a few people to ruin something, doesn’t it?).

He might have a bit of a harder time attracting his group back after he was caught masturbating in a van near a kid’s park by two female witnesses. When the police showed up to arrest him, he claimed that he was in fact trying to urinate in a beer bottle. Nice defense, dude.

Illinois school board backs creationism

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Illinois’s 95th District school board has just joined a distinguished group of ignoramuses who continue to undermine the educational futures of their progeny. The members of the board are all up for re-election, and all 4 candidates have said they support creationism being taught alongside evolution in science classrooms.

One even claimed it was evolution, and not his stupid Judeo-Christian based belief, that was “just a theory”.

Pietro [one of the candidates] believes creationism should be taught in science class to give students “as much information as possible” about the origins of life.

“I think we can say this is a theory,” he said Thursday. “None of us were here when man was created.”

I guess we can assume from his highly scientific “roundup” he’s the best person to dictate what students should be learning about biology here…

Creationism isn’t a theory. It makes no predictions, has no way of being tested, and is believed DESPITE the evidence. It’s a faith-based belief, and nothing more, and it deserves to be in science class as much as Holocaust denial deserves to be in a history class. Teach the controversy, people!

Think I’m being overly dramatic? If you lower the criteria of “theory” to the point where anyone with a bullshit crackpot idea is allowed to “teach the controversy”, how can we hope the education of our children has any fucking integrity?

Philippines joins Dark Ages

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Thanks to the progressive beliefs of Christianity, citizens in the small suburb of Alabang will need a prescription to buy birth control pills or condoms.

Violators of the ordinance’s provisions will be fined an amount no less than P1,000 but not exceeding P5,000 for the first offense. A second offense will be fined not less than P5,000 and will merit imprisonment for not less than one month but not exceeding six months. Violators will also be held civilly liable to the offended party.

So you risk jail time and getting sued because you put a piece of rubber over your penis? That seems totally reasonable.

According to the ordinance, the barangay views contraceptive pills, hormonal contraceptives, and IUDs as products that can kill children and injure the health of women who use them.

People have a pretty fucked up idea of what “children” means. If by kids you mean gametes that have half of the necessary chromosomes to even make a functional human, then yes, you’re “killing babies”.

Another great example of religion imposing stupid beliefs and making the world less safe as a result.

Sectarian peace in all its glory

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Nigeria is currently the battleground between Christianity and Islam. Since last year, over 2000 people have died fighting. Despite communities trying to sign various peace treaties with one another, every once in a while they just start attacking one another again. It’s a perfect example of the kind of division and strife that mutually incompatible beliefs cause.

The latest incident involves 18 Christians who were killed, and 12 were injured after being attacks by a roving gang armed with guns, cutlasses, and arrows (that’s pretty damn old school).

I can only imagine the situation getting worse, especially considering revenge killings are just a fact of life. All hail the religions of peace, and their uncanny ability to civilize mankind!

(update: That figure has since jumped to over 43,000 christians killed)

Hebrew concept of the earth

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Wow, it’s so close to the real thing, isn’t it? If this is the best God can do in terms of informing his “children” on the technical specifications of the Universe, it certainly explains why he did such a piss-poor job teaching other things, like morality and civics. Fail.