Ok, that’s a fair question. The word “forced” is too strong. In the article, the employee was offended by the email. I mean “forced” in a similar way. The issue is corporate culture, and indeed, the broader culture. You asked where I work. I have worked in higher education for over 35 years as staff and recently as faculty, and…[Read more]

I’ve watched some of Discovery, but didn’t like it as much. I also watch a few episodes of a new series, Star Trek Academy.  Finally, I’ve watched several Strange New Worlds and it feels a little like TOS but upgraded to modern cinematic technology.  Even so, the real science of space travel and many other things in the S…[Read more]

“Well, I don’t believe in learning other languages. I believe God gave men different tongues and divided them at The Tower of Babel and that’s how it’s meant to be.”

How very sad!  The woman’s faith system that said that statement… that thinks humanity should be divided this way has completely missed (a) the point of Babel a…[Read more]

There is fundamental flaw in the Fine-Tuning Argument that many Christian apologists use. If a god created the universe, then it would not appear finely tuned—it would simply be as it was designed to be. The need to invoke fine-tuning actually undermines the premise of an all-powerful creator in s…[Read more]

@TheEncogitationer – There may be hope for the philosophy of Libertarianism to gain greater acceptance, but not with this vehicle.

Yes, I agree.

Also, it would be cool to bring the Ross from Friends along to a Trump convention. You never know what he…[Read more]

Blood Pressure and A1-C (which includes cholesterol, blood sugar, and enzyme levels) are very important, I fully agree. I aim, usually with success, to keep both readings in a normal range.

However, BMI, as well as the means of measuring it, I am not yet sure about.

I fully accept the not too scientific nature of the BMI.…[Read more]

I sometimes hold up a blank sheet of A4 (Letter) to show the religious beliefs of atheists on one side and a portrait of (their) God on the reverse. I follow up by suggesting that they hold onto it for a few days…[Read more]

Exactly and that is the approach I take.  When theists stop me to ask if they can tell me about their god(s) I will say “Okay then”. I remain silent until they stop talk…[Read more]

Here in the U.S. we’ve seen Catholic Churches & youth programs, then Boy Scout programs, then other church youth programs, then college and university programs, then youth sports programs.   And always, everywhere, the foster care and K-12 systems here.  The story is always the same… years of se…[Read more]

@TheEncogitationer

And to top it all off, he still didn’t answer my questions of how is Kirill blaspheming Christianity’s morally inverted doctrines and how can Christ be a God if there are people he can’t persuade.

Jake, Autumn. and Davis all need to recalibrate their Turing Tests. If they are looking for a Bot, Michael17 is definitely it!

[Read more]

As I mentioned earlier,…[Read more]

But it is a cannibalistic cult. Catholics MUST believe that the bread and wine becomes the b…[Read more]

Another Atheist more  Christian than billions

Critical Thinking should be taught in schools instead of undergoing religious indoctrination classes. It is a skill that improves with use.

The Metallica video is loading for me but I will link here again.

I understand the sentiment about requiring antidotes to theistic nonsense. Lee “the former atheist” Strobel offers a Degree in Applied Apologetics which has an elective in Critical Thinking and Logic. “Well fuck me pink” was the wording that echoed in my mind when I first discovered that.

Every religious person is a former…[Read more]

What I am waiting for is not an apology from Catholics. It would, given what we have heard over the last 20-30 years, a meaningless effort. I do not believe them when they…[Read more]

You survived and they are forever stuck in their own private feedback loop. Like it!

That is the thing with most Christian forums. They all say that “Everyone is welcome” but once they can’t counter a point I make they “cancel culture” me. This usually happens when they quote someone like Aquinas or St. Augustine at me or…[Read more]

Come on, how many landlords are demanding a one-year deposit? No landlords who actually want to get someone into their property.

What is much more imaginable is OFFERING a significant discount for a prepayment of one year.

However, you apparently know where landlords are “demanding” a one-year deposit, which is quite an…[Read more]

On Facebook I’m in a constant tug of war with a rightwinger who’s a bottomless pit of reasons not to get vaccinated. It always comes down to “You can’t trust the CDC’s statistics” and the reason is that when people die of other things, he says, and they test Covid-19 positive. they will count it as a Covid death.

I explained…[Read more]

Here is some info on Frederick Douglass’ trip to Ireland when he met with Daniel O’Connell.

** the links I have inserted below show scenes of blood, cruelty to animals…[Read more]

Have you seen Life is Beautiful? I think it is a great movie.

There are plenty of very practical “lifeboat situations” when it comes to terrorism. In the case of cyberterrorist ransoms, they can shut down water systems, hospitals, maybe even take control of nuclear weapons.

I think that you did, basically, an end run rather really answering my question. In as many words, I asked you not…[Read more]

It gets hard when the rubber hits the road, doesn’t it?

Once again, good for you, but like I said, for most Americans, it isn’t going to happen.

BUT NOW…

I have a thought problem for you to see how consistent you are with this never deal with terrorists thing.

You’re kidnapped by a group of masked terrorists wearing black garments with white Arabic slogans and clenched fist…[Read more]

Maybe you’re ready for a cyber attack, an alien invasion, or the zombie apocalypse but the public will never follow your lead in any numbers and the government can’t just throw them under the bus in the name of a principle that works in a far more regimented society that’s nothing at all like America.

TheEncogitationer wrote:
What is not needed is harping on a “rape culture” without firmly defining terms.

I think @TheEncogitationer has a point – “rape culture” is a massive downer.  Why not frame it in more neutral or positive and less gruesome terms, such as misogyny, sexism, or consent culture?  Who wants to be thinking about rape the whole…[Read more]

In laying out all the things a pleasure robot could do, consider that robots could replace us just about everywhere save, perhaps, in the arts. But I’m not sure that a hyperintelligent AI would have much use for the arts. What is Bleak House, Macbeth, Blade Runner, or a Gauguin painting to an AI?

Caravaggio was a murderer, Socrates hated democracy, and Mel Gibson is a big schmuck, but they are/were all geniuses (if you doubt Gibson, you probably haven’t seen or truly appreciated Apocalypto).

I get your dislike for Musk, who isn’t alone in giving his kids bizarre names (Moon Unit 2 and Dweezil Zappa?), but thanks for…[Read more]

I think you might enjoy this video: Weekend at Jesus’s.

Now, whether they can land vertically reliably may be another matter entirely.

I think many of these laws are restrictive of personal freedom and the pursuit of happiness. What one does, either alone or with other consenting adults, in the privacy of their own “castle” should be no-ones concern.

But conservative Christians can’t bear to think that what they consider to be “vices”…[Read more]