1. MORE GOOD NEWS for US taxpayers

Comment #72285 by Beave on September 20, 2007 at 4:31 pm

Yes please, a Canadian RDF would be greatly appreciated I'm sure. The fact that a mainstream politician in my province (Ontario) is running his education platform on the basis of publicly funding ALL faith-schools should be evidence that even the Great White North is fighting a battle against irrationality.

2. Pedal power takes Islamic shape in Iran

Comment #42729 by Beave on May 19, 2007 at 8:39 am

Well done Newton30. However, all that refutation doesn't even get into the fact that in order for 9/11 to be a conspiracy the American government would have had to have pulled off the most perfect, elaborate, secret plan ever. The fact that such a scenario is orders of magnitude more unbelievable than Islamic fundamentalists crashing planes into the twin towers renders the consipracy theory utterly ridiculous.

3. Pedal power takes Islamic shape in Iran

Comment #42478 by Beave on May 18, 2007 at 9:19 am

Forwards did he flyeth into his crossbar with his balls and cryeth did he with much gnashing of teeth and pain!

That's gold, Jerry. Gold!


...OK I'm still laughing at that line 5 minutes later. Nice one Philip1978. :)

4. Freethinking Ruins All Things

Comment #42465 by Beave on May 18, 2007 at 9:02 am

It means that it is not always immediately self-evident and clear which is the true religion, and it means that those who have opted for the sterile, sad path of "freethinking," which is simply to inhabit a particularly wearisome set of prejudices, have simply lost patience in trying to discern the truth of the matter.

HA! The mental gymnastics this guy has gone through to reach his conclusions are something to behold. Just how has freethinking lost the patience to discern truth? It's the EXACT OPPOSITE you douchebag! Freethinking is always dynamic and neverending, never satisfied with "oh that's just the way it is."

They do not want free inquiry--they want easy inquiry, an inquiry that never leaves one in aporia, but always promises explanation and resolution.

Oooohhhh, we're always looking for real explanations to what we see in the world, what a horrible a sterile life I lead. I should just drop out of grad school now and fall into a mindless stupor accepting everything some anonymous person said about the son a carpenter 2000 years ago.

5. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens

Comment #40916 by Beave on May 15, 2007 at 7:46 am

Believers could indeed argue that religion is hardly the sole reason that people inflict unimaginable violence upon each other, that if it wasn't religion it would be something else. Racial differences, arguments over money, take your pick. Surely, though, the loyal opposition could (and indeed should) say in response, Do we need one more reason to kill each other?

What a simple and elegant response to an argument I've heard over and over again from others, but have usually just had to concede as true.

6. Why Christopher Hitchens is not Great

Comment #40602 by Beave on May 14, 2007 at 3:06 pm

"Evangelicals make the argument that the sexual behavior leads to the sexual disease and that in educating people on the realities of the actual actions - lives can be saved. If education is the key, teaching someone that using a condom "may" protect them from a deadly disease is far less helpful than teaching them that a certain action will "always" protect them from it. And to assert that Africans are so animal-like in their ability to control themselves that they are incapable of making such choice is racist and violates the most fundamental of humanist's beliefs."

I don't think an article on this site has ever angered me as much as this one. This self righteous moron talks about strawmen and then builds them himself. We're not saying we shouldn't educate people about abstinence, but that in addition we must distribute condoms because people are people and they have sex. DUH! He then smugly stands behind his now dismantled strawman and claims that we're racists and violating our own beliefs! What a coward and what a disgusting article.

That said, good on ya Christopher Hitchens, the more these morons reply to sound argumentation the more people will realize the ridiculous nature of their dogmas.

7. We aim to misbehave

Comment #35058 by Beave on April 26, 2007 at 5:24 am

Bravo. I've been reading PZ's blog pretty much everyday for the past 8 months and this is the best rant I've seen him post. Inspiring is the best word I can use to describe it.