501. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #99178 by robotaholic on December 15, 2007 at 8:12 pm

Listen DALEJACK you Nazi, it's a free country, they're in HITCH's house and he can damn well smoke there if he pleases.

502. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #99126 by robotaholic on December 15, 2007 at 5:00 pm

lighten up on Hitch- he's a polarizing person- my best friends are like that

503. Creation college seeks state's OK to train teachers

Comment #99114 by robotaholic on December 15, 2007 at 4:00 pm

getting one of their masters is like paying to go to church- ha! now that's a scam-

504. 2007 Audiobook Download of the Year: The God Delusion

Comment #98932 by robotaholic on December 14, 2007 at 11:43 pm

PLEASE RICHARD!!! PLEASE RICHARD!!! PLEASE RICHARD!!! PLEASE RICHARD!!! PLEASE RICHARD!!! PLEASE RICHARD!!! PLEASE RICHARD!!! PLEASE RICHARD!!! PLEASE RICHARD!!!

505. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #98899 by robotaholic on December 14, 2007 at 9:21 pm

the discussion is adult

"what argument has given you pause?" by Sam Harris-
-the answers by Hitch, Dawkins, and Dennett are awesome
i love Dawkin's biological way of seeing things
i love Harris's "em" when he's "em" on things...
-i want a martini

506. Protests Over The Golden Compass

Comment #98896 by robotaholic on December 14, 2007 at 9:00 pm

ha! sidfaiwu

507. Jail for creationist row killer

Comment #98889 by robotaholic on December 14, 2007 at 8:35 pm

the irony (a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other's false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning )of a fight regarding survival of the fittest is beyond funny!

ha ha- i dunno who won or lost intellectually...but fighting over survival of the fittest seems appropo (timely and pertinent)somehow lol

EDIT

MORE INFORMATION IS NEEDED!

EDIT

LOL

508. Jumbo shrimp, creationist astronomy

Comment #98887 by robotaholic on December 14, 2007 at 8:33 pm

I personally know the answer to several of the qustions posed in that video which "seem to have no answer" and also the god of the gaps issue is something that cannot ever be solved by science - as long as we dont' know EVERYTHING IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE - anyone can say only "god" has the answer to those questions- it is by definition a straw man that is raised in this video and anyone who cannot see that fallacy DESERVEs to believe in invisible people with superpowers-

509. Creation vs. Reality

Comment #98884 by robotaholic on December 14, 2007 at 8:21 pm

I don't get this at all-

510. 2007 Audiobook Download of the Year: The God Delusion

Comment #98883 by robotaholic on December 14, 2007 at 8:19 pm

the absolute BEST audiobook I have EVER heard is The God Delusion - I love when his wife Lalla Ward reads- she's my favorite reader- and there are alot of great times when Richard reads and comes off snobby- and thats ok- when you're right, snobby is justified- audiobooks are expensive but it's worth it when the author reads- I must say Hitch's book- god is not great- is good also- I enjoy hearing him read his own work- but he has the characteristic of trailing off on sentences that sometimes makes it hard to hear on my blackberry- but a practiced Hitch makes for a good Hitch I must say

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

Comment #98234 by robotaholic on December 13, 2007 at 10:20 am

look on the bright side- after christmas there's alot of cheep chandy, some fruit cakes, and after christmas sales everywhere! and it's a paid holiday - i did get hit in the head once by a mechanical santa while going into wal*mart- so watchout

512. Controversial Anti-Muslim Dutch Film Adds to Already Simmering Tensions

Comment #98222 by robotaholic on December 13, 2007 at 9:47 am

banning the book of a death cult- sounds responsible but I guess we have to allow people the right to be in a hamfull death cult if they want

513. Ayaan Hirsi Ali versus Timothy Garton Ash

Comment #98213 by robotaholic on December 13, 2007 at 9:18 am

Im happy she's free but I'm sick of hearing about islam, iraq, or basically anything middle eastern- overload -but that's just me

514. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #97883 by robotaholic on December 12, 2007 at 7:31 pm

no I am not talking about your avatar - sorry Diacanu -i mean the "Imagine No Religion" - your avatar is alright-

515. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #97844 by robotaholic on December 12, 2007 at 5:43 pm

I just love that picture diacanu you are very passionate

516. Controversial Anti-Muslim Dutch Film Adds to Already Simmering Tensions

Comment #97709 by robotaholic on December 12, 2007 at 2:37 pm

hey you fellow Atheists and Agnostics- I just want to say I am glad you all exist and I am happy to be in the same camp that you all are in- we need to:
continue to study & learn
continue to be outspoken
be persistant

just because cats can't be herded doesn't mean we all don't agree on a single point -

Religion is BAD- Faith is BAD-
and what are we FOR?:

Freedom &
appreciation for LIFE &
interest in science

517. Girl, 16, dies after hijab dispute with father

Comment #97695 by robotaholic on December 12, 2007 at 2:24 pm

religion causes something beyond mental illness - it makes a consciousness hierarchically messed up - which I think is what Sam Harris talks about alot lately when he talks about believing two different things simultaneously- that "phenomenon" is hard to fight

518. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #97692 by robotaholic on December 12, 2007 at 2:19 pm

my parents are Jehovah's Witnesses and I know the book that Dawkins talked about in The God Delusion- Life How did it Get Here- By Evolution or by Creation- that book is a joke- it puts evolution in the camp of Chance, Mutation, and Accident- which has NOTHING to do with Natural Selection at all...

519. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #97688 by robotaholic on December 12, 2007 at 2:17 pm

my RANT:
I absolutely HATE religion, hate what it does to people and how it seperates me and my family - I wish it never hijacked the social experience I happen to live within and anyone who has never experienced "disfellowshipping" CANT say they know what I'm talking about...religion has put up a wedge between my family and myself and it is entirely due to brainwashing-my parents actually think i am on satans's side of things - that is imaginary, it's pretty sic, and it really has cut my family off from the world in the way things are in themselves. My parenst shut OFF when they hear the word science - I HATE THAT so much- as I am a science HEAD lol- anyway when I first heard Richard Dawkins speak it was like a wave of honesty of truth and of freedom that I wish everyone had.

520. Believe it or not

Comment #97679 by robotaholic on December 12, 2007 at 2:04 pm

i love when Hitch says he's an epicurian - cuz i sure am one too oh and i love how his book is selling 21 percent better than it was before the holidays

521. Christopher Hitchens appears on the Hugh Hewitt Radio Show

Comment #97672 by robotaholic on December 12, 2007 at 1:57 pm

Hitch is great- I want him to write another book - I'll buy it big time!

522. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #97280 by robotaholic on December 11, 2007 at 8:58 pm

"President Bush is going to visit the Vatican. He says he's looking forward to meeting the Pope and Mrs. Pope."

523. The empty myths peddled by evangelists of unbelief

Comment #97244 by robotaholic on December 11, 2007 at 7:51 pm

this subject is becoming tedious- I'm letting it fall on deaf ears from now on- besides, -Who killed how many people doesn't change the substance of the argument-

524. Girl, 16, dies after hijab dispute with father

Comment #97235 by robotaholic on December 11, 2007 at 7:37 pm

wow, she was pretty, what a shame...I saw a Forensic Files episode where these muslim parents killed their daughter because she was dating a black man and I guess wouldn't cover herself up with a burka- it was called an 'honor killing' - you KNOW that any religion that can cause a parent to kill their child must be a perversion- these people are COMPLETELY brainwashed

525. Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty

Comment #97224 by robotaholic on December 11, 2007 at 7:12 pm

oh my Don_Quix- I love seeing Carl Sagan...<3

Is it me, or do you think the Sam Harris Mailing List is kind of strange...-I like Mr. Harris's work, and also am not really irritated when he goes "meditative" and talks about "going into a cave for a year"...

526. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96606 by robotaholic on December 10, 2007 at 6:42 pm

I think even you would agree that an acceptance of a neo-Darwinian "survival of the fittest" ethic is easier to swallow when one rejects the existence of a supreme being and the inherent dignity that he bestows on his creatures, made in his image and likeness.

527. A New Flea in Town!

Comment #96289 by robotaholic on December 10, 2007 at 9:57 am

sorry Tarsen- not so fast, you have to agree that calling the belief in god a Delusion- that's pretty original (relatively)and therefore the book is not a flea-
in your reasoning using the english language could be considered flea-like since other books use english...

528. Biologist fired for beliefs, suit says

Comment #96236 by robotaholic on December 10, 2007 at 8:02 am

sorry, I was posting from my blackberry and well oops- "Sprint..it's the network..." lol

529. Is Infant Male Circumcision An Abuse Of The Rights Of The Child?

Comment #96233 by robotaholic on December 10, 2007 at 7:55 am

it seems to me that the REAL story here is...is your child your property or not-I think they aren't, other people who "alter" their children or brainwash them in their formative years think they ARE- the bible even teaches that children are your property- We need to stop this kind of thinking I guess through consciousness raising...

530. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96229 by robotaholic on December 10, 2007 at 7:51 am

Oh my GOODNESS this is awesome - that sign just makes me feel wonderful. (It's the background on my blackberry lol)

The response it is evoking from the town is predicitible: "I'm so attacked"- NO, an attack is with missiles, or calling your mom a name, this is free speech- the last thing America has going right now...

531. Richard Dawkins on 'Have Your Say'

Comment #96227 by robotaholic on December 10, 2007 at 7:42 am

Wow!- I was annoyed for Professor Richard Dawkins...poor guy...
He should just send a phamplet with the standard answers...
If I could have asked him a few questions, I would have asked:
"How is Lalla?"
"Have you been privey to any cutting edge evolutionary biology or microbiology lately?- if so do TELL!!"
"How do you handle security - Is your life ever under threat?"
"What is your next book going to be about?"
"Do you ever get tired of the 'standard atheist questions' like what if god DOES exist (insert question from Debate Points), etc...?"

I still like hearing Richard Dawkins speak - even when he answers standard questions - often times he puts a new slant on them or answers them in a different way that keeps it interesting...

532. Biologist fired for beliefs, suit says

Comment #96096 by robotaholic on December 10, 2007 at 1:44 am

How can you be in a field of research and already have all the answers? I mean- there is nothing to investigate if god did it all...

not that I have hiv, but if I did, I surely wouldn't want ppl like abraham working on a cure. Just think of how the virus evolves/mutates/changes- it doesn't seem possible that a microbiologist studying it could refuse to believe in evolution)

Oh and on ADH - I think if we ignore it, it might go away - I mean anyone as vaccuous as a creationist only comes here for the attention anyway -

533. Interview with Christopher Hitchens

Comment #95796 by robotaholic on December 9, 2007 at 8:15 am

I find myself agreeing with a great deal of what Hitchens says. This is a book that needed to be brought out. As a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster I have no doubt whatever that some of the most enlightened and enlightening minds down through the centuries have been the minds of atheists and agnostics, just as an atheist can have no doubt that some of them have been FSM worshiper minds. Worshipers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster need to engage with writers like those that Hitchens has brought together in this anthology. In another of the talks accessible from this youtube interview he speaks out compellingly in favour of free speech. He says that the voice of the dissident, even if there is only one, must be heard, because hearing alternative views will make the "convinced" less complacent in their convictions. It will make them reexamine the foundations of their own belief (or non belief). Hear hear! This itself is an idea that FSM worshipers (and atheists) need to be able to engage with. Maybe they will realise that there may well be at least a grain of truth in the views that they so ardently oppose. I'm sure (from what I've heard) that Hitchens himself is humble enough to realise this, despite his apparent self assurance. I just hope that contributors to this forum are willing to take this view on board. Sometimes this forum seems like such a "hate-fest", with atheists racking their brains to out-do each other in parodying or lambasting faith and its various representatives, knowing that there is no one there (or virtually no one) who is going to spoil their party by speaking up in defense of their prey. All very entertaining I'm sure, but not all that challenging intellectually. It's no better than when FSM worshipers get together to tear the stuffing out of their atheistic straw-men. There needs to be the odd "(there is no way I will type that word) in the woodpile" (sorry about the political incorrectness!). Yet on these forums I always get the impression that dissent is not welcome, theists (of the FSM) have no business even listening in, let alone contributing here. I've learnt a lot from you guys. In the spirit of Hitchens' talk, I have found myself having to re-examine my beliefs, and my attitudes towards people who disagree with me. I hope some of you will eventually be able to say at least the same thing.

534. Bad Faith Awards: Vote for the winner now

Comment #95788 by robotaholic on December 9, 2007 at 7:59 am

one alsmost is hesitant in voting for someone completely brainwashed to the point that they don't know HOW to reason - therefore I'm voting for De'Souza - remember I said "ALMOST"

535. Islam's Silent Moderates

Comment #95785 by robotaholic on December 9, 2007 at 7:55 am

I am fearful for Ayaan. I hope nothing happens to her...

If it did...what do you think would be the reaction from islam? - ZERO - how about from the western world? - a small band of atheists spearheaded by the "new atheist" movement for like 30 second news blurbs and a book or two...

I hate the situation...

536. Holy Nonsense

Comment #95784 by robotaholic on December 9, 2007 at 7:41 am

HONESTY is not what I get out of his speach.. Pandering, brainwashing, and inaccuracy-

I hate this america and my only respite is the new atheist movement and the progression of science.

...it makes me pessimistic - humankind is just not going to make it I'm afriad...

537. Merry Mithras 2007

Comment #95625 by robotaholic on December 8, 2007 at 8:22 pm

is it a tribute band? lol

538. Secret Swami - About Sai Baba

Comment #95622 by robotaholic on December 8, 2007 at 8:18 pm

what the *uck - another weird cult...

539. Keith Olbermann talks about the Romney 'Religion' Speech

Comment #95621 by robotaholic on December 8, 2007 at 8:01 pm

he sounded brainwashed... - that is as blunt and accurate as it gets

540. Beyond Belief 07: Enlightenment 2.0

Comment #94503 by robotaholic on December 5, 2007 at 8:34 pm

Patricia Churchland seems to be the only speaker who embrased the scientic method.

541. Beyond Belief 07: Enlightenment 2.0

Comment #94494 by robotaholic on December 5, 2007 at 7:52 pm

I hate the islamic terrorist dude - he's so rude to the other scientists - someone needs to smack him brb were gonna go have sex

542. Beyond Belief 07: Enlightenment 2.0

Comment #94434 by robotaholic on December 5, 2007 at 4:30 pm

HEY- Ifff your google video stops in the middle - just start it over and slide the slider to right past where it left offf!!! (yes offf with 3 FFF's)

EDIT: wow, the conclusion that it is evolutionarily advantageous to be practically rational instead of technically rational was really interesting to me -

543. Highway to hysteria

Comment #94309 by robotaholic on December 5, 2007 at 8:51 am

I see similarity between the people in front of the gay bar and the people in sudan demanding the teacher be killed - somehow it seems these people are in an emotional frenzy that only religion can develop and exacerbate.

544. Beyond Belief 07: Enlightenment 2.0

Comment #94047 by robotaholic on December 4, 2007 at 4:17 pm

oh MAN Daniel Dennett has been the best speaker and the most substantive by FAR- it's like I just got a good "fix" of intelligence - it's like a drug lol

545. Beyond Belief 07: Enlightenment 2.0

Comment #93995 by robotaholic on December 4, 2007 at 2:38 pm

I love Pat Churchland

546. Beyond Belief 07: Enlightenment 2.0

Comment #93973 by robotaholic on December 4, 2007 at 2:10 pm

yay! excited...- I so saved the first beyond belief sessions to my hard drive and about drove all my friends crazy with clips - i really loved the saturn lady Puerco and the material version of reality and how beautiful it is when stars nova/super- can't wait for 2.0 - oh and I love the moderator - he seems so cool...

547. Atheism's Wrong Turn

Comment #93607 by robotaholic on December 3, 2007 at 5:53 pm

NOTHING - I mean NOTHING is more noble than stopping enforced ignorance.- Dennett isn't even touched by this litle 'piece'.

EDIT - I loved Dennett's response:

" What I, Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens are opposed to is not religious education, but the sorts of indoctrination that depends on enforced ignorance. Now that really is child abuse-just as surely as it is child abuse to prevent a child from learning to read. "

548. Double-checking Dawkins

Comment #93060 by robotaholic on December 2, 2007 at 4:45 am

I guess before RD writes, he does alot of R&D...

549. Sudan demo over jailed UK teacher

Comment #92755 by robotaholic on December 1, 2007 at 11:57 am

so Satanburiedfossiles, do you think Islam needs a reformation just like christianity had?- because I don't wanna wait a few hundred years...

550. Poll finds more Americans believe in devil than Darwin

Comment #92732 by robotaholic on December 1, 2007 at 10:55 am

how about these figures:

North America continues to lead in scientific investment, with public and private funding accounting for 37% of the world's gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) in 2005. However, Asia is now the second largest investor, with a share of 32%, overtaking Europe which contributed 27% of GERD, according to data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) featured in the UNESCO Science Report 2006.

Today, almost one-third of the globe's science and engineering researchers are employed by the United States. Thirty-five percent of science and engineering articles are published within the U.S. and the U.S. accounts for 40% of the globe's research and development (R&D) expenditure.

The fact that The USA has alot of religious people sucks, but I would rather be a scientist here - that plus the seperation of church & state is wonderful...


I went to public school in a rural town in the southwest in this country and I was taught Evolution without one speck of creationism.

The challenge for the United States over the next decade will be to retain its role as a global pacesetter in the education of engineering and scientific talent and thereby to sustain its legacy as a preeminent technological innovator.

-I'm doing my part...majoring in magnetohydrodynamics...(that was a joke)