Happy Yule

Merry Christmas, Happy Festivus, Happy Winter Solstice, etc...

And I Thought It Was Cold Here in Arkansas

This morning it was 10°F here in NE Arkansas but get a load of this!



Yipes! That's just nuts!

The Beauty of Nature

Just in time for Winter Solstice!

Click here to see more beautiful microphotos of snow flakes.

This is Perfect for Festivus

For several years I've considered celebrating Festivus instead of Christmas at this time of year. You know, the holiday that was made popular on Seinfeld. Anyway, I ran across this video on a great Festivus Website. It's perfect for Festivus:



------------------Happy Festivus!------------------

A Moving Story on NPR

I heard this commentary by Benjamin Tupper, a captain in the Army Nation Guard (who also just happens to be an atheist), on NPR's Morning Edition this morning and just had to share it. The link will take you to a transcript of the story and also allow you to play it. His story is very moving. It is also refreshing to hear an atheist speak out and be heard by the nation. And, have us portrayed in a positive light.

Repelled by Expelled

Well Roger Ebert has finally reviewed Ben Stein's horrible, piece of crap, pro-ID film Expelled. To say he didn't like it is an understatement. I always knew that Ebert was a good movie reviewer but now I find out he's also a rational, thinking person! Here's a quote from the review:

This film is cheerfully ignorant, manipulative, slanted, cherry-picks quotations, draws unwarranted conclusions, makes outrageous juxtapositions (Soviet marching troops representing opponents of ID), pussy-foots around religion (not a single identified believer among the ID people), segues between quotes that are not about the same thing, tells bald-faced lies, and makes a completely baseless association between freedom of speech and freedom to teach religion in a university class that is not about religion.

The Nigerian Spam Scam

Did you ever wonder what happens if you respond the one of those "Nigerian" emails promising to let you in on a bunch of money? Well you can find out in this funny article at Silicon.com.

“The widely held fear that a Godless citizenry must experience societal disaster is therefore refuted.”

That's the conclusion of an article in the online version of the London Times. It summarizes a 2005 study that was published in the Journal of Religion and Society, a US academic journal. It provides strong evidence that a high incidence of religious belief correlate with higher rates of various social ills such as STD s, teen pregnancy, abortion, murder, violent crime, suicide, etc. And, though correlation is not the same as causation, it does show that even though a country is highly religious it isn't necessarily highly moral.

In Honor of Charles Darwin's Birthday

Drink a toast to Charlie with Chumbawamba:

Darwin Day is Coming

Mark you calendars now and start planning your Darwin day event! February 12th 2009 is the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin. There are sure to be celebrations all around the world. There's all kinds of great information on the Darwin Day Celebration website. Incidentally, last July 1st was the 150th anniversary of the theory of evolution.

Smak Dem Christians Down

This song speaks for itself:

Whew...

...I know... it was a landslide. But still, when I think back to 2004 I can't help but feel like we just dodged a bullet. One thing's for sure, the new president has his work cut out for him. A lot of people are expecting him to work magic with the economy. I hope that Obama can get it across to them that there are no easy quick fixes for this mess. After all it took eight years to get us here.

I thought Obama's speech was quite good. However, I was a little disappointed by this line:

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled.

I know it was just wishful thinking, but I half expected him to include "atheists" in the list. Oh well, I can dream, can't I?

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!

Today is election day. I know, I know, it sounds trite, but this is probably the most important election day we've ever faced in our lifetimes. We have the opportunity to make a change in the direction that this country is going and, maybe, just maybe, restore it's standing in the world a little bit. In case you're confused and haven't made up you mind yet, here's a little video to watch:



Now... go out and VOTE!

I'm back

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. We've had a very eventful October. Everything from my father-in-law's death/funeral to my daughter's 18th birthday. But, I'm back and ready to go...

Another PSA from NationalBanana.com

It sure is a good thing we're getting rid of this guy. I just hope we don't end up with This Guy 2:

A Solution for the Abusive "Holy Men" Problem

This sounds like a great product. Not only would it help with the pervert catholic priest problem but I'll bet it could handle these misogynistic fundi-jewish assholes too!

The Attack of the Chronophage

I've always been fasinated with clocks. Especially unusual designs. This one has got to be the most unusual I've seen in a long time:

Alaskan Women Against Palin

There was an anti-Palin rally held in Alaska on September 13th. It was bigger than than the pro-Palin rally that was extensively covered by the press and yet we didn't hear anything about it in the media. I was made aware of it by Snopes.com and found the video on YouTube. But, it's important for everybody to know that Sarah Palin doesn't represent the views of all woman (or men).

Roy Zimmerman Explains Bush Foreign Policy

Here is a new video by Roy Zimmerman that really explains the Bush Iraq Policy. The song is from his Thanks for the Support CD:

Great Video

Here is a truly inspiring video made by the Center For Inquiry. Sure wish this could be broadcast during prime time: