Sapere Aude!

GOP Crowd Boos The Golden Rule

Jon Stewart Mocks the "Normal Muslims Shock Our Worldview" Crowd Over TV Shows

If the representation of Muslims as normal people is a shock to your worldview, it's because you're probably prejudiced against Muslims.  If merely being exposed to ideas that are inconsistent with your worldview is troubling to you, then you are the product of a successful indoctrination program.  Beavis and Butthead made fun of this attitude about being exposed to different ideas in "Dumb Design." 

 

Jon Stewart on Fox News' War on Christmas

Jon Stewart illustrates what's wrong with Fox News' reasoning about their phony "War on Christmas."

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The conservative religious types that complain about the "war on Christmas" are, of course, the same ones that often complain about political correctness. But, the "war on Christmas" is just their version of it.

Jon Stewart Rips Fox News Religious Hypocrisy

Herschel Telescope Spots a Star Spewing Powerful Water Jets into Interstellar Space | Popular Science

Researchers looking for signs of life elsewhere in the universe often start by looking for one key ingredient necessary to complex life as we know it: water. And just 750 light-years away, they’ve found quite a bit of it spewing from the poles of a young, sunlike star that is blasting jets of H₂O into interstellar space at 124,000 miles per hour.

This discovery is interesting on a number of levels. For one, it indicates that throughout the universe young protostars could be distributing vast quantities of water, potentially seeding life elsewhere.

via www.popsci.com

One of the key premises of the contemporary design argument is that the conditions required for life to emerge as so improbable that they must have been fine-tuned by a supernatural, intelligent designer.  But findings like the one above as well as here on Earth suggest that the conditions required for life are not as narrow as traditionally thought.

Catholicism: No Faith Needed.

Catholicism and Islam have objective content: one is true, the other false;

via www.whatswrongwiththeworld.net

It's true?  WTF?  At best it's some stuff he hopes is true.  Religion involves faith.

Philosophy Is Useless Because "No Two Philosophers Agree About Anything"

Here's another poorly reasoned, pseudo-intellectual attack on philosophy.

This guy is talking out of his ass.  The idea that no two philosophers agree on anything is simply false.  It's an absurd statement.  So absurd that he cannot possibly mean it literally if he has an informed view of the subject he's talking about.  But, moreover, let's just run his argument the other way.  There's widespread disagreement among religious people over which religion is correct.  Theologians in different religions disagree with one another, but they also tend to have internal disagreements within those religious traditons as well.  So, according to this guy's reasoning, religion is useless too.

Skepticism about Michele Bachmann's Divine Calling

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) appears to be inching ever closer to a run for president -- and as she has now said in her latest public statements, her prayers on the subject have now yielded a calling from God himself.

via tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com

 If God wants Michele Bachmann to be a Congresswoman or President, then he should give the rest of us a clear, public, and unambiguous sign that this is his will so that we don't act contrary to divine will and thus immorally.  I doubt we'll get such a sign.

Tennessee Senate Bans Teaching the Debate Over Homosexuality

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A bill passed Friday by the Tennessee Senate would forbid public school teachers and students in grades kindergarten through eight from discussing the fact that some people are gay.

Opponents deride the measure as the "don't say gay bill." They say it's unfair to the children of gay parents and could lead to more bullying. Supporters say it is intended to give teachers clear guidance for dealing with younger children on a potentially explosive topic.

The bill isn't likely to be taken up by the House before lawmakers adjourn this spring, but the sponsor there has said he would push it forward in 2012 when the General Assembly comes back for the second year of the session.

Passage would make Tennessee the first state to enact such legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 2003, Washington defeated a proposal similar to Tennessee's, as did California in 2005 and 2006. A Louisiana law forbids the use of sexually explicit materials depicting homosexuality in sex education classes.

Under the proposal, any instruction or materials at a public elementary or middle school would be limited to age-appropriate lessons about the science of human reproduction.

The legislation was amended from the original version, which said no elementary or middle schools will "provide any instruction or material that discusses sexual orientation other than heterosexuality."

via www.huffingtonpost.com

To review. Do not talk about homosexuality, but be sure you "teach the debate" over Evolution. As another critic of the law points out, it may have other consequences.

However, a critic said the new wording could create other problems.

Sen. Roy Herron, D- Dresden, said it "may inadvertently prevent the teaching of ethics, morality and abstinence."

 

 

Identity Politics: From the Founders to Malcolm X and Obama

It's been an interesting couple of weeks in identity politics.  David Barton and Prof. Richard Beeman were each on The Daily Show discussing religion, the Founders, and the Constitution. Some basic Dead White Male stuff regarding what the Founders intended regarding the sepeartion of church and state.   Cornell West made some, er, suprising, criticisms of Obama.  And, a Black Studies Professor and a Harlem activist debate black history and black consciousness on Democracy Now.  Check out some highlights below the fold.