As much as the Pope deserves our outrage and contempt, I don’t think he deserves to be physically assaulted. A crazy person jumped the barrier during a Christmas Eve mass and knocked Ratzinger to the ground. He was unhurt, but an 87-year-old French Cardinal who was also knocked down broke his hip (which is an extraordinarily serious injury for an octogenarian).
Archive for December, 2009
Woman jumps Pope during Xmas mass
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Festivus for the rest of us!
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009Wright v. Hitch, Part Deux
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009Holy Flibbertishibbit! Robert Wright in diavlog with Christopher Hitchens twice in the same month! Me like.
Podcast #75 – Can Atheists Hold Office in NC?
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Cecil Bothwell has just been elected to the city council of Asheville, North Carolina. He happens to be an atheist. The North Carolina state constitution bars atheists from holding elected office. (For what it’s worth, seven other states still have constitutional provisions that discriminate against non-believers.) Is this a case of continuing institutionalized bigotry, or just an amusingly unenforceable “quirk” left over from the 19th century? (For more on Mr. Bothwell visit cecilbothwell.wordpress.com)
An atheist city councilman, but…
Sunday, December 13th, 2009Cecil Bothwell is a new city councilman in Asheville, NC (a liberal enclave in an otherwise fairly conservative state). Bothwell happens to be an atheist, but the North Carolina state constitution prohibits any officeholder “who shall deny the being of Almighty God.” Of course, anyone with a lick of sense knows that that provision is unconstitutional and would never stand up to a Supreme Court challenge–even Antonin Scalia would probably toss it out. It’s also obvious that no North Carolina legislator would risk his or her political career by daring to suggest amending the state constitution to remove this nasty bit of prejudice.
House Reps declare War on the War on Christmas
Saturday, December 12th, 2009House Republicans have declared war on the War on Christmas. House Resolution 951, sponsored by Henry Brown of–where else–South Carolina seeks to express “the sense of the House of Representatives that the symbols and traditions of Christmas should be protected for use by those who celebrate Christmas.”
Phil Plait steps down from JREF
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009Holy Haleakala! After just over a year at the helm, Phil “Bad Astronomer” Plait is stepping down as president of the James Randi Educational Foundation to pursue an undisclosed TV project. His worthy successor is Center for Inquiry’s D.J. Grothe. Read JREF’s press release here, and Plait’s comments here.
Podcast #74 – Margaret Downey
Monday, December 7th, 2009
We interview Margaret Downey, former Atheist Alliance International president and founder of the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia (FSGP.org), about her experiences coordinating the annual Tree of Knowledge in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which is intended to offer an alternative to the traditional Nativity scene displayed on public property. For more about Margaret visit secular-celebrations.com.
Swiss voters ban minarets
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Voters in Switzerland have passed a referendum–with a healthy margin–to ban the construction of new minarets in the country. Switzerland currently has a grand total of FOUR minarets.
There are ways to oppose the encroachment of extremist Islam, but this isn’t one of them.
Wright v. Hitch
Friday, December 11th, 2009Finally–two of my favorite pundits go head-to-head at bloggingheads.tv. Check. It. Out.
Tags: christopher hitchens, robert wright
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