The only thing that makes me laugh more at Bill “Eye of Sauron” Donohue getting his rosary in a bunch is hearing him complain that “They only pick on the Catholics–they wouldn’t dare pick on the Muslims.” Which begs the question: why does the Eye only complain when “they” pick on Catholics, but never says a word when “they” pick on the Muslims? I wonder if ol’ Bill has seen this German lingerie commercial? (And when will the Muslims start their riots?)
Archive for October, 2009
What does Bill Donohue wear under his burka?
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
Another SC Republican hikes the Appalachian Trail
Thursday, October 29th, 2009Gotta love those South Carolina Republicans. They cheat on their wives–on government time, no less–all the while preaching about the sanctity of marriage. Thank goodness the gays can’t marry. Anyway, this time it was Roland Corning, assistant state attorney, who was caught in flagrante delicto in a cemetery at high noon with a stripper, a Viagra pill and several sex toys. (He keeps those last two in his SUV, “just in case.”)
We need to talk about your flair
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009Trevor Keezer claims Home Depot fired him for wearing a button saying “One nation under God” on his work apron, a violation of the company’s prohibition against religious messages. What may be problematic for the company is the Keezer claims he wore the button for over a year before management said anything.
The Book of Genesis by R. Crumb
Saturday, October 24th, 2009
Review by John C. Snider © 2009
Underground comics and counterculture icon Robert Crumb is widely praised as a brilliant satirist and is one of the most recognized pop artists of the 20th century. The seminal–and often misunderstood–creator of such characters as Mr. Natural, Fritz the Cat and Devil Girl has also been called sick, perverted, racist and misogynistic.
So who better than to illustrate the Book of Genesis? After all, Richard Dawkins once infamously described the Old Testament God as a “misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” Crumb’s got nuttin’ on YHWH.
The Tangled Bank
Saturday, October 24th, 2009
Review by John C. Snider © 2009
I haven’t had a biology class since I was in high school in the late 1970s. Despite two college degrees filled with math, engineering and chemistry, I never took any more biology; as a result, most of what I know about biology in general, and evolution in particular, I’ve picked up from magazine articles, internet resources and the occasional TV documentary. So I was very excited when I heard that Richard Dawkins’ new book (The Greatest Show on Earth) would be devoted to the evidence for evolution by natural selection. I was equally excited to discover that the latest book by science journalist Carl Zimmer is a textbook titled The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution (pub. by Roberts & Company, Oct 2009, 385 pp hdcvr, $59.95)
The Greatest Show on Earth, Chapter 13
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Chapter-by-chapter thoughts on Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by John C. Snider © 2009
Chapter 13: There is grandeur in this view of life
Well, here we are: the big finish. Dawkins chooses to close his book by taking the last half of the last paragraph of Charles Darwin’s magnum opus On the Origin of Species and offering his own ruminations one each phrase. It’s a little awkward, to be honest; in the end, it comes across like the overly-detailed commentaries offered by fundamentalist evangelicals, where they provide whole essays on the meaning and context of each word in a Bible verse.
The Greatest Show on Earth, Chapter 12
Monday, October 19th, 2009Chapter-by-chapter thoughts on Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by John C. Snider © 2009
Chapter 12: Arms races and ‘evolutionary theodicy’
More bad news for the Creationists. Not only is the Creator apparently whimsical and inept–He is also heartless and cruel!
The Greatest Show on Earth, Chapter 11
Monday, October 19th, 2009Chapter-by-chapter thoughts on Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by John C. Snider © 2009
Chapter 11: History written all over us
Creationists will find it increasingly difficult to explain away the evidence presented in the later chapters of this book. In Chapter 11, Dawkins shows how our bodies–and those of our animal “cousins”–show not only common ancestry, but the wondrous and inefficient ways in which we have evolved.
The Greatest Show on Earth, Chapter 10
Monday, October 19th, 2009Chapter-by-chapter thoughts on Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by John C. Snider © 2009
Chapter 10: The tree of cousinship
Homology. The fact that, say, mammals all share the same basic body plan, and that each species is more or less a variation on a theme, could either be evidence of shared ancestry, or evidence or a shared Creator. Dawkins points out that bats and humans (for example) share the same skeletal structure, nearly bone for bone; the differences in the relative proportions.
Q1 threatens gay marriage in Maine
Wednesday, October 21st, 20092009 is an off year for most voters, but citizens across the nation are keeping an eye on the November 3rd election in Maine, in which Mainers will decide whether or not to overturn a law passed last spring by the legislature and signed by the governor that legalized gay marriage. A “No” vote on “Question 1″ on the upcoming ballot will uphold the legality of gay marriage.
(more…)
Tags: gay marriage, maine, question 1
Posted in christianity, civil rights, commentary, gay rights, politics, religion, religious rights | No Comments »