1. Did newborn Earth harbour life?

Comment #203833 by asupcb on July 3, 2008 at 6:56 pm

Whenever we figure out how abiogenesis occurred it will probably involve a semi-accident with some guy saying, "that's interesting."

2. Band T-shirt draws charge

Comment #199491 by asupcb on June 25, 2008 at 8:38 pm

Freedom of Speech is definitely the best thing about the US if not one of the few things we have left that is better than the rest of the world. I wouldn't personally wear a shirt like this but surely it shouldn't be illegal to wear a shirt like this. Also if people or stores don't like the person's shirt because it may prove offensive to their customers than they should kick them out of their store or have we finally finished off what's left of individual property rights as well. You do not have the right to not be offended even if you are five years old.

3. Unlike Others, U.S. Defends Freedom to Offend in Speech

Comment #192355 by asupcb on June 12, 2008 at 8:47 pm

I personally am not even a big fan of libel and slander laws as they tend to be abused, IMO, and create a situation in which people assume that if someone really is lying about someone then they will get sued and if they don't then there must have been some truth to the accusations despite the fact that most libel/slander cases are lost and simply cost large sums of money to lawyers (not that there is anything wrong with being a lawyer, mostly;). Such laws don't really help protect against libel or slander as the definition of being "in the public eye" keeps expanding here anyway, especially with the advent of the growing number of bloggers. Without those laws people would just assume the person making false and/or inflammatory accusations was just lying, exaggerating, or seeking their 15 minutes of fame like a significant minority of Americans try to do. Most people I know have a pretty thick skin and you could still sue for fraud which is basically what libel and slander are. For better or worse you can sue for almost any reason in the US.

As for yelling "Fire!" in a theater there is still no need for criminal prosecution. Anyone injured could sue the person who yelled it for fraud and the owner of the business could also sue for damages. If the person couldn't pay then they would have to declare bankruptcy at the very least. Besides how often does this actually happen? I've seen situations where fire alarms have gone off and people just basically ignore them and then get up and leave rather peacefully when asked to do so.

Fighting words are a little bit different because you are threatening someone else with bodily harm but even then I don't support their criminal prosecution so long as violence does not actually ensue in which case they would be prosecuted with assault in any case. It is also hard for me to want to prosecute people who advocate (not use) rebellion and terroristic tactics because that would mean the people who founded America would fall into the same category as they used tactics which our government now refers to as terrorism and they incited hatred against George III. Whether someone is a terrorist or a freedom fighter usually depends on whose side you're on.

I don't need the government to protect me from offensive and inflammatory language, only violence from my fellow human beings. Being gay and atheist living in the South though I guess I'm just used to such things. I believe good ideas can win if they are allowed to and the people with those good ideas are willing to stand up and fight to spread those ideas.

As for gun violence in the US most of it occurs due to drug prohibition. The US murder rate has more than doubled since we began its prosecution back in the late 60's and it has shot up to levels even greater than those associated with alcohol prohibition. Drug prohibition needs to end. The "War on Drugs (and our rights)" has done little more than allow the government to violate our rights and cause violence and poverty on a massive scale. Drug prohibition is just another stupid way in which people try to perfect other human beings at the barrel of a gun. The US now has more than 1% of its population in prison and most of that has to do with Drug Prohibition. If all drugs were legalized things would be crazy for like 5-10 years but the violence levels would return to pre-prohibition levels within that same time frame just like with alcohol. People would still get addicted to drugs (like they do now) but it is 7 times cheaper to get people treated than to throw them in jail for such a non-crime. Drug prohibition has also had no effect on usage rates except perhaps an increase in more dangerous drugs like meth and crack which were originally designed to be cheaper versions of other substances such as cocaine. Ending Drug Prohibition would not solve every problem but it would allow our society to begin to deal with problems such as the cycle of poverty in poor communities, especially the black community which accounts for 63% of all convictions due to racism, more effectively.

Edited: For Grammar

4. Bible Theme Park Faces Opposition in Tennessee

Comment #180963 by asupcb on May 16, 2008 at 7:59 am

So is this going to be like Parc Asterix in Paris? I got to sit on Thor's throne there it was pretty cool. Think of all the fun Bible themed rides you could have with this thing. What if atheists wanted to build a mythology theme park and used gods from all the mythologies including Jesus and Yahweh themed rides? The parting of the red sea could be a water ride. You could have a creation myths museum/ride. You could have a messianic end-times religion ride. Good times could be had by all.

5. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #172183 by asupcb on April 29, 2008 at 10:18 am

Stalin and Mao were just two of many tyrants who disposed of anyone who they felt threatened or could threaten their power. Power can go to people's heads quick. I believe Lord Acton said it best, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

6. Scientists take drugs to boost brain power: study

Comment #159288 by asupcb on April 11, 2008 at 9:30 pm

Would someone remind me again who's bright idea drugs prohibition was and why the hell we're still trying to (selectively) enforce it? Seriously why do I need a prescription to buy this stuff if I own my own body? Why can't I legally decide what should and should not be placed into it? I mean at least here in the states it is used primarily as a tool by racists to jail massive numbers of black people (63% of drugs convictions are committed against people who are black. Link here: http://www.haverford.edu/publications/spring00/sterling4.htm ). The US now has the largest prison population in the world largely due to drugs prohibition. Why can't we legalize it all and stop convicting people of non-violent "crimes?"

/rant

7. Iowa county board gives initial OK for ghost hunters to investigate asylum

Comment #151744 by asupcb on March 29, 2008 at 9:48 am

What's sad is that one of my friends who calls himself an atheist believes in ghosts. Is is just me or if you believe in ghosts you aren't really an atheist?

8. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150352 by asupcb on March 26, 2008 at 6:52 pm

Happy Birthday Professor!

9. Expelled Overview

Comment #149537 by asupcb on March 25, 2008 at 9:42 pm

Professor Dawkins should sue these charlatans for libel or slander (I'm not sure which covers video). I've seen libel and slander cases prosecuted on much less evidence than what I've been reading about in the reviews of this movie. It probably wouldn't fly under the excuse that Richard would be considered a "public person" at least in the United States but still these bastard fundamentalist charlatans deserve whatever can be thrown their way. At the very least they should be sued by the "non-public" biologists who were interviewed for this piece of snuff for fraud.

Sorry for the rant and outrage I feel and expressed but I suffered mental abuse as a child from creeps like these (grew up gay and backwoods hardcore Baptist and believed in it) and I would like them to suffer too or at least to stop spreading their lies and bullshit. I was a creationist as a teenager and it's because of propaganda like this. Thank Gene Roddenberry for Star Trek though especially "Who watches the watchers" and "Devil's Due". Star Trek and PBS were the only exposure I ever got to rationality.

10. John Templeton: God's sugar daddy

Comment #148788 by asupcb on March 23, 2008 at 11:29 pm

I am so tired of hearing this myth about huge disparities of wealth being something inherent to capitalism because such disparities are most certainly not inherent to capitalism. Huge disparities of wealth do not exist in capitalistic regimes until corporations are extended the limited liability and sovereign immunity of the state to the contracts that make up said corporation through the passing of either corporate enabling laws or through the bribery in creating and regulating corporate charters such as the East India company of old. It is the removal of liability and personal responsibility from contractual relations that causes these problems which are associated incorrectly with capitalism in general, instead of the state intervention into voluntary markets which is where the problem actually arises from.

Here are some select quotes dealing with this topic which I feel explain the concept better than I can at this current time:

"The directors of such [joint-stock] companies, however, being the managers rather of other people's money than of their own, it cannot well be expected, that they should watch over it with the same anxious vigilance with which the partners in a private copartnery frequently watch over their own.... Negligence and profusion, therefore, must always prevail, more or less, in the management of the affairs of such a company." ~Adam Smith

"A corporation or an industry is, if we were to think of it in political terms, fascist; that is, it has tight control at the top and strict obedience has to be established at every level â€" there's a little bargaining, a little give and take, but the line of authority is perfectly straightforward.... I'd love to see centralized power eliminated, whether it's the state or the economy, and have it diffused and ultimately under direct control of the participants." ~ Noam Chomsky

"Corporations, which previously had been considered artificial entities with no rights, were accorded all the rights of persons, and far more, since they are "immortal persons," and "persons" of extraordinary wealth and power. Furthermore, they were no longer bound to the specific purposes designated by State charter, but could act as they chose, with few constraints." ~ Noam Chomsky with regard to corporate "enabling laws"

"Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining [individual] profit without individual responsibility." ~ Ambrose Bierce

In the United States you did not see widespread disparity of wealth (outside of the slave states) until after the civil war because corporate enabling laws were not passed here until after the Civil War in the 1860's in Delaware and which were quickly extended under the rather tyrannical control of the "Radical Republican" Reconstruction era regime which later became known for its widespread corruption, including corruption which would lead to enriching many of the robber-barons of 19th century America.

The power of government is more typically used to enrich one group of individuals over another than prevent massive accumulation of wealth as is seen in the so-called "mixed market" or "social market" economies of Westernized civilizations. This should not be surprising to anyone as the rich have more resources with which to influence the state and those who control it than do the masses who are easily propagandized into believing the most outrageous things.

11. The coming religious peace

Comment #131999 by asupcb on February 23, 2008 at 9:03 pm

We need to figure out how to market atheistic belief systems better if they are to start to gain acceptance in the United States. The religious know how to market and that means that we must also learn how to market ourselves. I know that makes many of you uncomfortable but touting the benefits of atheism is the only way it will gain acceptance in the USA. We basically have to figure out how to package it and market it to different groups of people. I'm not sure how to do that but I do believe that is what must be done for rationality to beat out irrationality in the long run.

12. Shermer's 'Mind of the Market' Reviewed in L.A. Times

Comment #116974 by asupcb on January 27, 2008 at 11:45 pm

I'm interested in reading this book but I already partially feel this way anyway and I would just be adding it to my list of books to read. Maybe one day...

As for those who want to understand Shermer's economics better may I suggest the following books:

"Whatever Happened to Penny Candy" by Richard Maybury (Short Jr. High level economics book)

"Economics in One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt

"Human Action" by Ludwig von Mises (available for free online at mises.org)

13. Can Atheists Be Parents?

Comment #112361 by asupcb on January 17, 2008 at 12:57 am

Huckabee and others in Arkansas are actively pushing to make it illegal for gay people to adopt children or from what I understand if there is even a gay person living in the home that would prevent an adoption from occurring.

Arkansas really sucks sometimes :(

14. Huckabee Wants A 'Faith-based' Constitution

Comment #112352 by asupcb on January 17, 2008 at 12:26 am

At least he wasn't governor of your state for 10 years :(

Huckabee doesn't stand a chance. Most people in Arkansas despise him as it is. The Democrats want to face him because he will be an easy target. Even if he somehow did become President which is incredibly unlikely then he still couldn't pass his agenda with a Democratic Congress in control.

15. Why people believe weird things about money

Comment #112342 by asupcb on January 16, 2008 at 11:31 pm

I've studied enough economics that this really just backs up my own personal theories from my economic readings. Many economists will not be surprised by this at least the ones that have to live in the real world.

16. U.S. Congress Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

Comment #100643 by asupcb on December 19, 2007 at 3:22 am

Does this Congress not have better things to do with its time than to pass pointless resolutions? Maybe they missed that whole sub-prime loan fiasco, the furthering collapse of our dollar, the treacherous war in Iraq and the threat of its spread to Iran, and the hundreds of other issues they could be dealing with.

17. Finding My Religion: An Interview With Shalom Auslander

Comment #94118 by asupcb on December 4, 2007 at 8:54 pm

This sounds really familiar to me. I feel mostly the same way. Intellectually atheist but unable to get rid of the emotional need for belief. Religious fundamentalism sucks.

Being gay and raised Southern Baptist is one of the most wicked forms of mental child abuse imaginable. The sad thing is my parents were just trying to do the right thing for me.

18. Why Science Will Triumph Only When Theory Becomes Law

Comment #88133 by asupcb on November 14, 2007 at 9:38 pm

Evolution is a fact and the theory is the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. Most people just leave off the last part when in fact that is the part that is the theory aspect. Natural Selection is the theory that explains the fact of evolution.

19. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #84009 by asupcb on November 1, 2007 at 2:04 am

An excellent article. I hope that others will rate it. I'm going to share in the AANR group on facebook if no one else has already.

I direct this to nother person. This is strictly my opinion and you can take it for what it is. I would argue that it takes more than just good natural resources to make a country prosperous it takes a political philosophy and government based on enlightenment principles, some form of market based capitalism (some forms are better than others), private property and a general respect for upholding contractual relations (so long as they obey the laws of the land and are not entered into based upon fraudulent knowledge), and a desire to enter into trade with other nations and an avoidance of overtly isolationist/protectionist practices. You shouldn't ask what is the difference between Sweden and North Korea but what is the difference between North and South Korea? This will lead you toward a more accurate answer. Or why is it that an island nation such as the UK which has fewer natural resources than many other countries became at one time one of the most powerful empires to ever exist in our history? It's empire is one reason but I think the larger issue is that they understood that trade was positive for their country in the long run and they tended to trade more than other more protectionist nations on the continent. This is of course a vast oversimplification but it is an interesting line of thought none the less when thinking about why some countries are better off than others.

Also slavery did not make the United States a nicer place to live for anyone. Slavery is a bad economic system. It places more wealth in the hands of the plantation owners than could exist otherwise in a free market due to the disparities it causes in prices for the products they produce and the effects upon wages in areas where it is legally allowed. Slavery is part of the reason the South did not industrialize as quickly as the North. Also slavery caused farmers in the South to be poorer than their neighbors to the North in the long run due to the nefarious effects that Slavery (and segregation) has upon local economies.

The North became America's bread basket without the need for slaves and the same could have happened in the South as well without slavery. In fact the nation as a whole would have been far better off if our founders had demanded that slavery be ended in the US at our beginning due to the negative effects it had in undermining everyone's freedoms and our nation's economy in the long run but unfortunately economics was a new field then and they were unable to foresee the very damning consequences of their actions in this regard. Slavery and segregation also further undermine savings and capital accumulation as well which further damages an economy in the long run. In short slavery is only a good economic system for people at the top and not for a society in general.

20. Norway flourishes as secular nation

Comment #76138 by asupcb on October 4, 2007 at 8:17 pm

Rtambree, the USA does not have a free-market economy it has a mixed market economy and has always practiced at the very least protectionist measures for various aspects of its economy (even Adam Smith complained about these measures). The US has never had a free market economy as most historians of economics should be able to tell you. It has typically been freer than most other countries in the world but that does not make a country have a free market economy in the same way that being the soberest drunk in a bar doesn't make a person sober. The US has lots of rhetoric about being free market when we're really not. Capitalist yes supporters of laissez-faire no. In fact our current economic system is based on the corporatist supply side economic model that favors the rich over others.

Also the US has a partially socialized/corporatized healthcare system. If you are poor you can get free health care otherwise you are on your own and when combined with how we regulate our corporations it essentially ensures that our citizens are screwed over. Essentially we have taken the worst of a socialist healthcare system and the worst of a corporate healthcare system left out a vibrant private business community and created the monster that we have today.

21. Jerry Falwell Deconverted on Deathbed!

Comment #45470 by asupcb on May 28, 2007 at 1:00 am

I really despised Falwell (Robertson and Dobson as well) because I grew up gay and Southern Baptist. When I was a teenager I was a religious fundamentalist and I can remember agreeing with pastors and others that all of "the gays" should be shipped to an island somewhere or executed in mass, especially at various church camps. At that time I told myself I was bi because I couldn't admit "defeat" and I thought that I just didn't love God enough and that I didn't pray hard enough. I hated myself so much. I don't know why I'm gay but I am and I have finally accepted that while I was abroad. I have suffered so many mental problems and from so much depression, almost to the point of suicide a couple of times, because of those pricks and the particularly nasty brand of Christianity that they sell and had me indoctrinated into by their proxies. I hate the Southern Baptists' religion because they made me hate myself.

I don't hate Episcopals or others but I don't attend their churches because in my search for peace and understanding I eventually starting reading skeptical pieces of literature like the End of Faith by Harris. I still have a lot of self-esteem problems and I have to constantly lie to my family because I am not in a financial situation in which I can afford to have them cut me off for being gay or an atheist. I just returned from 5 months of study in Paris and my friends there all told me that people's parents are supposed to love them unconditionally and they wouldn't cut me out of my family just for being gay but I know deep down that there is a significant risk that my merely telling the truth will destroy my family because of people like Falwell and the curse on the world that is Christianity. While I was in Paris I read the Tao Te Ching and I found more wisdom in its 81 pages than the hundreds of the Bible. I'm not saying I'm a taoist just that there is significantly more wisdom contained there in without all the craziness and bad of the Bible.

I also have a very hard time fully rejecting religion. It's very odd it's like my mind is compartmentalized to having a logical part and then other parts. I've been back in the states for about 3 days now and I've seen a lot of my family because we just had a family reunion on my dad's side over the weekend and it hurts a lot to know that they will probably reject me and any future partner that I have because of the bullshit that they (and me) were raised on. It hurts to know that I won't be able to bring my (hopefully) future boyfriend/husband with me to family gatherings and why? Because of the hatred that Christianity preaches. Religion is a curse to me and others and yet for some reason I never want to confront others about the issue. I've been coming to this site since it was founded and the AANR (Atheists, Agnostic, and Non-Religious) facebook group for several years now since that site allowed for "global" groups.

Normally I would never speak badly of dead people but I make an exception in Falwell's case because of the pain he caused me personally, the suicides committed by gay kids, my lack of equal rights, and the sometimes scarring events of several of my friends "therapy" at Christian counselors and "straight" camps that they suffered through in order to try to make their parents happy by trying to be straight in order to satisfy their parent's religious beliefs. I feel like I am obsessed with being gay sometimes but its hard not to make it a big deal when everyone around you is making it a big deal. I would prefer to have my equal rights and for it to just be normal but until that day gets here I've got to keep up awareness of our issues because of dicks like Falwell. I love Kristine's line of "He had an attack where his heart should have been." Thank you for sharing your wit.

I hate him for his spreading of hate. Hate begots hate and I offer no condolences to anyone for his death. The world would have been better if he died 40 or 50 years ago. I don't like being hateful but I blame him and his ilk for what they have done to me and my community and for making so many of us meek and weak in the face of their hatred. No more I say. I will be reading some Dawkins, Dennet, and others this summer. Good day to you all.

22. Believe in God Spray

Comment #36212 by asupcb on April 30, 2007 at 1:54 pm

I saw this stuff being sold for 6EUR in Amsterdam the last time I was there.

23. Atheism's Big Night In Little Rock

Comment #36206 by asupcb on April 30, 2007 at 1:28 pm

This is such shit. I grew up in South Arkansas about an hour from Little Rock and I attend uni at Arkansas State in Jonesboro, except for this semester because I am studying abroad in Paris. Not only did I not know about this so I could inform my free-thinking friends back home about it but I used to intern for Senator Pryor in Little Rock and I've been to the Clinton School on multiple occasions. This is so frustrating the one time that Professor Dawkins will be in my state and I'm on his continent. Is there some kind of schedule so that we can see where he will be presenting along with others in the movement such as Sam Harris and Professor Dennet? If Professor Dawkins goes to Memphis or Nashville or even St. Louis I want to attend.

24. 'The Day They Kicked God out of the Schools' & Rebuttal

Comment #34654 by asupcb on April 24, 2007 at 7:55 pm

The AFA also got the actual locations of both locations in Arkansas incorrect. Stamps is not located at Texarkana and Jonesboro (the city that I attend uni at) is not located in Fayetteville but in Northeast Arkansas by Memphis. By the way I do know people from the Westside School shooting that occurred there many years ago and I think that the video is atrocious on many levels not just geography. Sadly most of the people back home in my uni city would agree with the first video (I'm studying in France for another month).