You might recall Rabbi Boteach as the annoying idiot who doesn’t do more than just make statements without any evidence. In fact, his first turn at the microphone is spent simply insulting Hitchens and his book, and he doesn’t say one thing of value. The most hilarious/tragically ironic part of the video occurs about 46 minutes in when he accuses Hitchens of character assassination not 10 minutes after having done the very same thing (and he continues to do so for the rest of his speech).
Author Archives: Jacob Fortin
Uganda and “The Family’s” anti-LGBT agenda
If you’ve never heard of the not-so-secret-anymore “Family”, I might suggest you look them up before continuing to read this post. In a nutshell, these guys are a group of powerful and influential individuals who believe the true message of Christianity isn’t about charity, forgiveness or any of the other typical conventions; they covet power, and believe firmly that Jesus came to Earth to take over, not pick sides. They’re essentially the worst nightmare of any secularist, since many of these members are currently in government.
Jeff Sharlet, the guy who exposed this secret organization in his best seller: The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, was doing a little digging and found the Family is behind a proposed bill in Uganda that would make Homosexuality a crime punishable by death. The so called crime of “aggravated homosexuality” even includes punishment for not indicating to authorities suspected gay activity. It’s essentially one of the worst human rights offenses in recent memory, and it’s expected to pass.
The list of scumbags who are supporting this bill include adulterer Mark Sanford (hey, isn’t adultery a crime punishable by death in the Old Testament?), Sen. Sam Brownback (who supports the Discovery Institute and is a creationist), Sen. Jim DeMint (who wants abortions to be illegal, even if the mother’s life is at risk), Sen. Chuck Grassley (who claimed that Americans need to fear government “death panels”, despite him being a part of that same government ), Sen. John Thune (who supported the invasion of Iraq as a way of getting Christianity in there), and Sen. Joe Pitts (the co-founder of the amendment to the health care reform bill that would make it so abortions wouldn’t be covered). That’s just the tip of the iceberg, I’m sure.
How insane is it that they are allowed to do this? Where is the outrage from everyone? I feel a deafening silence from the American public who elected these jerkoffs. Regardless of how you feel about the “homosexual lifestyle” (a term I have come to revile), you cannot sit idly by as members of your own government seek to facilitate the murder and torture of other human beings. Even the very existence of this secret organization violates the principles outlined in your Constitution. Do something about it, people, before it’s too late.
Iron Jesus, or Led Zeppelin?
Get ready to be humiliated once more, humanity, as some of your brethren believe that a burn mark on a shitty clothing iron is divine proof that an illiterate dessert nomad was the creator of the Universe. Mary Jo Coady lives in Methuen, Massachusetts, and she’s been Catholic all her life, and feels this is a sign God listens to her prayers. I think it’s just a sign she’s either cheap or poor and using rusted old equipment to iron her delicates, which is just insane. I agree with one of the commenters on Boing-Boing who said that it looked like Robert Plant. Is it a sign of Led Zepplin getting back together and touring?
Murphy report buries Catholic Church
I get emails from Catholics all the time asking me why I’m “picking” on their religion. It’s true they certainly aren’t the only game in town, but they are perhaps the most influential and financially wealthy religious organization in the world. It must be strange for them to hear so much criticism. It’s only been recently that any of us have actually been allowed to speak ill of the church without having to worry about being put on a rack, so my dear Catholic friends, you’ll forgive me if I take the opportunity to stretch my legs a little.
Of import is the latest report on clerical abuse straight out of what was perhaps the Church’s last great stronghold: Ireland. You might recall a few months ago the bombshell that was the Ryan report; it was only the tip of the iceberg, and now the Murphy report is outlining the exact extent of the conspiracy of silence and aid for pedophiles from both the Archdiocese of Dublin and the Vatican. Here’s one of the conclusions outlined in the report:
The Dublin Archdiocese pre-occupations in dealing with cases of child sexual abuse, at least until the mid 1990s, were the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the Church, and the preservation of its assets. All other considerations, including
the welfare of children and justice for victims, were subordinated to these priorities. The Archdiocese did not implement its own canon law rules and did its best to avoid any application of the law of the State.
Did you expect anything less? The Archdiocese actually took out insurance in the 80s expecting trouble, proving once more that they were more than aware something terrible was going on, and it’s doubtful everyone wasn’t aware at least on some level of the serious issue of pedophilia in their organization.
You might recall that the current Pope also wrote a secret memo (which has since been leaked) urging the Diocese to put the interest of the Church ahead of the welfare of children. He was also granted immunity from prosecution in the US by President Bush, so you can thank Dubya for that one too. The Catholic Church has never been particularly interested in stopping the plague of child abuse (or more specifically rape).
Naturopaths strike back!
The National Post let a quack naturopath write an op-ed, and as you might have guessed, it’s pretty terrible (the article has since been taken down). Here are some highlights:
Many Canadians aren’t aware of how safe, scientific and effective naturopathic medicine is…Naturopathic doctors are likely to undertake additional diagnostic testing to understand what else might be going on, and take the time to talk to patients about lifestyle and environmental factors, all in the interest of identifying the potential underlying causes of a patient’s complaints.
The only reason naturopathy can be considered safe is it literally has no discernible effect. And how exactly do you and your deluded ilk perform your “diagnostic testing”? It’s not revealed in the article, but a simple visit over at the Vancouver Naturopathic Clinic gives us a a glimpse into their methods:
Electrodermal Testing: Electrodermal testing combines Traditional Acupuncture theory and Classical Homeopathic theory. It enables an experienced practitioner to quickly obtain information about many of these stress factors that come from the environment and which are not usually considered in normal medical testing but which can be responsible for many conditions. Unexplainable conditions, conditions in which conventional testing finds nothing wrong, vague or unusual symptoms and failure to respond to treatment. Electrodermal testing is useful in assessing the following:
- Food sensitivities and intolerances
- Environmental insensitivities and intolerances
- Organ weaknesses
- Mineral deficiencies
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Potential harmful reaction from medications
Ok, now you might be wondering what the hell “Electrodermal testing” is (I’m curious about “organ weakness”), since even the site doesn’t go into much detail about it. It’s a device similar to Scientology’s e-meter; it measures the skin galvanic response (in other words, how conductive it is). They claim these devices can be used to test for allergies, and are more effective than regular skin prick tests (which I presume look less exciting). Man, wouldn’t it be great if someone had done a scientific study to see the efficacy of Electrodermal testing…oh wait, someone already has!
Results: …The results of the electrodermal tests did not correlate with those of the skin prick tests. Electrodermal testing could not distinguish between atopic and non-atopic participants. No operator of the Vegatest device was better than any other, and no single participant’s atopic status was consistently correctly diagnosed.
Conclusion: Electrodermal testing cannot be used to diagnose environmental allergies.
See, this is the essential problem with bullshit treatments; the people practicing them are convinced they are effective, despite the best scientific evidence that shows quite clearly they aren’t. This is precisely why they are likened to magic or other superstitious nonsense. If their diagnostic tools fail to detect something as basic as an allergy (which is quite easy for real doctors to test), then what the fuck is the point?
You might recall that these are the same douchebags who undermine current accepted medical treatments. Naturopaths are against vaccination, and this is no joke folks; in many countries around the world, previously eradicated diseases like the measles are back with a vengeance because of consorted efforts of snake oil salesmen to question the validity of vaccines while simultaneously espousing their nonsense. What guys like Scott Maniquet don’t understand is we’re sick and tired of their stupid bullshit, and we aren’t afraid to get in their faces. Fuck your bullshit therapy, and fuck you for trying to pass your quackery off as real medicine. When you’re sick and tired of being a living joke, you’re more than welcome to come to the grown-up table where we use the scientific method to treat illness rather than magic.
By the way, if you still don’t think there’s any harm in this shit, check out this guy’s site.
Cry me a river
So, according to Greg Craven, atheists are a plague; a bunch of unimaginative accountants of rationalism, unable to appreciate the beauty of a Picasso because we have yet to surrender our reason to dogma. Likewise, the audience that Greg Craven tries to appeal to (disgruntled Catholics who feel attacked by “new atheists”) believe every single nonbeliever is a crusty curmudgeon hell bent on ruining everyone’s “good times”.
One thing I find particularly irritating is the baseless claim we nonbelievers are unimaginative; lacking poetic resolve and supposedly unable to appreciate the beauty of the natural world. I would argue the exact opposite; we don’t feel any need to invoke the supernatural to appreciate the power and subtle elegance of nature. The very fact that we are able to appreciate this beauty fills me with awe, but it doesn’t suddenly make me foolish enough to credit an imaginary friend for its existence.
The author no doubt feels as though his specific religion (Catholicism) is being targeted, but I assure you most atheists are equal opportunity anti-theists. Sure, we may seem like party poopers once in a while, but you haven’t exactly had the best record, religion. Just look at African countries like Nigeria, where deadly traditions of witchcraft and Old Testament dogma have resulted in the death and torture of thousands of children suspected of being witches. Do these tortured children worry about the poetic virtues of faith, or are they more consumed with the business of escaping from religious wackos?
Be sure to check out the comment section, where Greg is taken to task for being yet another Catholic crying foul. So sorry we think your religion is total bullshit, Greg. It’s nothing personal, I assure you. Your beliefs are antiquated, embarrassingly base, and have no foundation in reality. Catholicism is nothing more than primitive mythology taken literally, and so long as you continue to believe in miracles, transubstantiation, and the infallibility of the Pope, “crusty” atheists like myself will be there to remind you that an illiterate Jew 2000 years ago was not a God, and was certainly not the final authority of mankind. I might also need to remind you Santa Claus is also a myth. Man, I’m such a bummer!
Witch trial in Saudi Arabia
You know that argument you’re always having with religionists over whether or not religion is a force for good in the world? It seems like no matter how much misery, pain and suffering is caused in the name of religion, someone is always on hand to tell you that if it wasn’t for Bronze Age tribalism, the world would collapse into chaos (I’m so worried about that, you should see how nervous I am about that possibility…).
Tell that to Ali Sibat, a Lebanese man who made the “mistake” of appearing on television to give general life advice and make predictions about the future. The Saudi government has arrested him on charges of witchcraft, and plan to execute him shortly. Yeah, you read me correctly, and this isn’t the first person to be convicted of the “crime of witchcraft”. Others have also suffered similar fates; one guy brought in a phone book in a different language and was sentenced to 20 months and 300 lashes.
What else can we expect from 6th century platitudes? If you happen to be religious in this modern area, realize your civility and morality is a product of our modern values, not your religious texts. In fact, people who take a literal approach to religion usually act in completely barbaric and stunningly cruel fashion. It’s further proof no human being has a privileged line to the divine. The fact that people are still being prosecuted for witchcraft in the 21st century makes me want to shut myself off from the rest of humanity. When will we stop being so stupid and ignorant?
(Update: As of 2012, there were reports that he was allowed to return to Lebanon, but this has yet to be confirmed as of 2023)
Stephen C. Meyer is a moron
Man, am I sick of creationists making shit up. Unlike real scientists, who have to back up everything they say, ID fanboys like Stephen C. Meyer (head of the ironically named Discovery Institute, an organization dedicated to the ignorance of mankind) can arbitrarily claim something that has no basis in fact. Take his latest article in “CNN Opinion”, a kind of amateur journalism site for anyone desperate enough to give something to the failing news network for free (provided you do all the work, of course). Here’s a bunch of quotes that show what little care he has for intellectual integrity:
Contrary to Darwinian orthodoxy, the fossil record actually challenges the idea that all organisms have evolved from a single common ancestor. [bare assertion fallacy]
DNA functions like a software program. We know that software comes from programmers. [false analogy fallacy]
Despite the consensus view that Darwin showed that “design could arise without a designer” there is now compelling scientific evidence of actual intelligent design in even the simplest living cells. [bare assertion fallacy]
Increasingly, there are reasons to doubt the Darwinian idea that living things merely “appear” to be designed. [bare assertion fallacy]
I’ll cover just these, since the rest is essentially the same bullshit drivel you’ve come to expect from these morons. Nothing about what Meyer said is true, except for perhaps there is increased “doubt” about evolution, although Meyer fails to mention the doubters are not scientists, but rather terribly ignorant and scientifically illiterate people. The problem here is Meyer is not being questioned on any of his assertions. He just boldly states them, and has no real worries about proving their validity (despite the fact they are all fallacies). In his mind, there is a God, and he made everything with his love magic.
A high school biology student could bury this guy’s argument, which essentially boil down to “science is really hard and it can’t explain everything, so I’m going to fill in every gap in our knowledge with magic man done it“. Why don’t you let the adults do their science Meyer, and you can go play with your friends in traffic.
God wants you to be rich
I think I may have found the most obnoxious book in the whole world: Paul Zane Pilzer’s God Wants You to be Rich. Pilzer is convinced there is no such thing as scarcity, and everyone, given enough gumption and hard work, can achieve great financial success.
Pilzer exposes the key error–the belief in scarcity–that leads to a misunderstanding of the process of creating wealth. Countering this zero-sum view of economics, Pilzer shows how a society’s wealth is determined not by the supply of physical resources, which are supposedly limited, but by human ingenuity, which constantly redefines what counts as a resource in the first place.
Say what? Never mind the fact that if the rest of the world lived like we did, we would need the resources of three Earths to sustain ourselves; the answer lies in human ingenuity! Don’t worry about the future, or about wasteful consumerism; human cleverness will save the day! Did I mention how much I hate lying douchebags who claim there’s no such thing as scarcity?
The book was written in the 90′s, and if you are old enough to remember this decade, you’ll recall “network marketing” (another word for a pyramid scheme) was the latest money making trend. A bunch of very naive people (myself included) fell for the allure of easy money. What we ended up with was an empty bank account and a stupefied look on our faces. When you think about it, it’s sounds much like going to church.
Why do atheists care about religion?
Here’s a pretty comprehensive video about why atheists care about religion. No, it’s not just because we’re a bunch of crusty fucks (although I fully admit I might sometimes fall into that category). I also kind of dig the techno song playing in the background (in a cheesy electronic music kind of way).
Hitchens, Harris & Dennett Vs Boteach, D’Souza, Wright & Taleb
I personally find it pretty painful and embarrassing to listen to D’Souza talk. At least Wright takes the stance it could be some mysterious force out there in the Universe that directs evolution (it’s stupid, but lots of really smart people believe in this bullshit). D’Souza, on the other hand, tries to make the claim that Christianity is the most scientific of all faiths, despite the obvious fact his system of belief discourages skepticism and relies on a rigid and nonsensical dogma. I guess he’s got to defend what he believes, but it doesn’t stop his ramblings from being painful to hear. Luckily, he gets spanked by the Horsemen.
Daniel Dennett is awesome
I was lucky enough to go to one of Dan’s lectures when he came to Montreal a few years ago. Dan is one of the “Four Horsemen”, but he doesn’t really get the respect he rightly deserves. Dan is funny, provocative, and looks like a cross between Santa Claus and Charles Darwin. What’s not to love? I know it’s long, but WATCH THIS!
Happy Friday the 13th
Today is Friday the 13th, and considering the fact there are still lots of people out there who seem to think a number can be unlucky, I thought it would be fun to try and discover the story behind this superstition (you know, to seem all smart and shit). While there are lots of theories as to its origins, the truth is no one knows exactly why it persists. I suppose it may not even really matter; so long as people are told that they have something to fear, typically they will respond in kind. Statistically, fear of this day actually causes people to act more cautiously, and car accidents have been reported in many countries as actually being lower than most other Fridays of the year.
2009 was a bit unique, as it has three Friday the 13th’s (that’s the most you can have in a given year). The next year when this occurs is 2012. You know how disdainful I am of the crackpot theory that the earth is supposed to end on Dec 21, 2012, and I have to wonder if any of these idiots will try to make a correlation between all those “Black Fridays” and the stupid belief that an invisible planet will collide with Earth. Here’s hoping I didn’t give them another talking point!
I say spend the time walking under ladders, breaking mirrors, and stepping on every crack in the sidewalk.
Washington charity threatens services over gay rights
Remember the Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens debate about whether or not the Catholic Church is a force for good? In one part of the video, a well meaning woman stood up and commented on the fact that she was a Catholic and didn’t really have any issue with Fry’s homosexuality. Stephen responded by saying that the position of the Catholic Church regarding homosexuality is clear, and even though individual Catholics might differ in their opinion, it didn’t change the fact they support a bigoted institution.
In Washington, a Catholic Charity has threatened to cut its services if it’s forced to comply with new same sex laws making it illegal to discriminate against gays. The opposition from the church comes from the fact they won’t be able to actively promote their bigotry and hatred for homosexuals. Their arguments are, as usual, very unconvincing.
“Let’s say an individual caterer is a staunch Christian and someone wants him to do a cake with two grooms on top,” said council member Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 6), the sponsor of the amendment. “Why can’t they say, based on their religious beliefs, ‘I can’t do something like that’?
Pretend instead of having two grooms on the cake, it’s an interracial marriage, and the baker refused to bake a wedding cake because mixed marriages are against his “religious convictions”. We wouldn’t stand for that shit for a second. True, I dislike the idea of anyone being forced to do the right thing, but we cannot allow people to be treated like second class citizens, and we have to do our best to stamp out bigotry in the same way we’ve tried so hard to stamp racism (it’s a long process, obviously).
“The issue here is they are using public funds, and to allow people to discriminate with public money is unacceptable,” Rosenstein said.
The city is taking a pretty hard stance on the issue, and won’t allow itself to be bullied by the Archbishop, who wants to dangle their charitable services as a free license to practice open bigotry. I say fuck ‘em. Sure, it’s harsh and it sucks for the people who were benefiting from their services, but human beings are a charitable bunch, and I’m positive that other organizations will be more than happy to pick where the church left off. We cannot ignore the evils of an institution simply because it hides behind a façade of charity, especially when this same institution tries to use its position to blackmail secular governments.
Journalist Blames School Shooting on Darwinism
How many killers have proudly flaunted the fact that their crimes were the result of their religious convictions? It’s honestly too numerous to count, but every time such a tragedy occurs, you don’t see anyone blaming Martin Luther, Joseph Smith, or other religious leaders. That doesn’t stop ignorant writers like Dennis Sewell, who have a clear interest in attacking evolution, from blaming everything they can on Charles Darwin:
In America, where Darwin’s writings on morality and race have come under particularly intense critical scrutiny because of the enduring creationist debate, he has been accused of fostering moral nihilism and scientific racism, and even of promoting an ethic that found its ultimate expression in the Holocaust. Most startling of all, a connection has now been drawn between Darwin’s theories and a rash of school shootings.
Actually, the only one making this connection is the author of the piece, who seems convinced, like all creationist morons, that Darwin was somehow responsible for the Holocaust, racism, and just about every terrible atrocity you can think of. You would think humans had never committed mass genocide before Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.
The religious right is very good at building straw men and then tearing them down mercilessly. Darwin is one of their favorite scapegoats, and it’s not too difficult to imagine why; they fear science, and most of all the implications of natural selection. We are still the only species on this planet that refuses to accept its place in the tree of life (admittedly, we are also the only ones capable of doing so). We are apes, and no amount of kicking and screaming will change that fact. Deal with it.
The basics of evolution are much more accessible and are taught in every high school, so it should not be surprising that Darwin seems to be emerging as the inspiration for the more dim-witted schoolboy sociopath.
It seems as though the author is trying to make the conclusion teaching evolution is bad, because a few disturbed people have twisted the theory to fit their own psychopathic beliefs. Well, if we have to get rid of “dangerous” ideas, why are we allowing texts like the Bible, which condones, slavery, genocide, rape, infanticide, and the murder of adulterers and homosexuals, to exist?
This entire article tries to paint Darwin as a crusty racist who wanted the extermination of other humans. In actual fact, had this fucking scumbag bothered to read The Origin of Species, he would have remarked that Darwin himself did not advocate Natural Selection for human beings. He saw the laws of nature as entirely savage and inhuman, and he was a staunch abolitionist. Of course, there’s no reason to believe the author cares about the truth, let alone journalistic integrity, although it’s nothing compared to his flawed understanding of history:
…Truths that the founders of the United States had held to be self-evident — that all men are created equal and had certain inalienable rights — were being denied by the promoters of Darwinian science. By the end of the first World War, it was not only blacks who were deemed genetically inferior by many of America’s top geneticists and biologists, but Italian, Greek and Jewish immigrants too.
Has this fucking guy ever read a history book? Was he not aware the Founding Fathers had black slaves? Does he really think the inequity of race relations is entirely the product of Darwinian theory? It’s quite obvious these prejudices existed long before we knew all life shared a common ancestor. Natural Selection means we are all related, and anyone who twists this idea is not a true scientist, but rather, like the author, someone interested in furthering their own agenda.
This shitty writer leaves us with this closing thought:
The more sinister implications of the world-view that has come to be called “Darwinism” — and the interpretation the teenage nihilists put on it — are as much part of the Darwin story as the theory of evolution
So, he’s assuming a few teenagers who kill indiscriminately is as much a story about one of the most fundamental scientific theories in mankind’s history? Is he fucking serious? Look buddy, there will always be disturbed people who hijack an idea or ideology without properly understanding it. You’re proof that there is still a lot of learning that needs to be done from the general population concerning not only Natural Selection, but also the man behind the idea, Darwin. No, he did not “invent” the Holocaust, eugenics (that was actually his cousin, Francis Galton), slavery or racism. Stop trying to paint this brilliant (and like all humans, flawed) human being as some kind of monster. Why don’t you address the relative truth of his arguments rather than making outlandish accusations that aren’t based on any facts. For anyone interested in punishing themselves, check out this author’s latest book, which is like this article, except 320 pages long. Enjoy your torture!