51. Bright Chunks At Phoenix Lander's Mars Site Must Have Been Ice

Comment #197178 by catskill on June 21, 2008 at 9:41 am

I am amazed by Phoenix. I watched the launch live on the web. I also watched the landing live on the web. That was particularly awesome. They were calling out the altitude... 100 meters... 75 meters... 50 meters... so cool!

What I don't understand is the excitement over the ice. Is the excitement due to the fact that it is within reach of the lander? Because there is a massive polar ice cap to the North of the lander site. They say its water ice, but Mars scientists have been saying for some time now that the ice caps are both CO2 and water ice in composition. So how do they even know its water ice and not CO2 ice? Regardless, we KNOW there is ice on Mars. Show me the fossilized bacteria then we got somethin'!

52. Should Strident British Atheist Richard Dawkins Dictate Education Policy to US States? Barbara Forrest Apparently Thinks So

Comment #197168 by catskill on June 21, 2008 at 9:26 am

I am surprised by the post from Richard. He seems to be going out of his way to confirm that he has no (official) opinion on the LA fiasco.

Why?

I would think that he would be more than willing to criticize this bill! Is there some aspect of his title that implies UK public understanding only? Is there a legal issue here?

53. Science teacher dissed evolution

Comment #196745 by catskill on June 20, 2008 at 11:59 am

What I learned from this article is that even if you are a total wacko with religious materials all over the classroom and you teach creationism openly you can go on for years without any interference. What about all the other teachers who do the same thing but without the Bibles and branding? They go on.

54. We Urgently Need Your Help Now!!

Comment #195846 by catskill on June 18, 2008 at 10:40 pm

I didn't realize people were going to post what they wrote to the Gov. Mine is easy to remember:

"Support the United States Constitution! Veto SB 733!"

Not much for grammar, but I think it makes the point. Besides, he will never read any of these, but he will probably get a breakdown of for/against emails received. Tell everyone you know to write in, help the for/against ratio!

55. Darwinists for Jesus

Comment #195835 by catskill on June 18, 2008 at 10:25 pm

Quine has got the right idea here. Believing in magic, fanciful gods, and every ridiculous superstition under the sun is foolish and bizarre there is no doubt about that. Rejecting truth and pushing nonsense in our schools is absolutely unacceptable though. Let someone who speaks their language have a go at it.

56. We Urgently Need Your Help Now!!

Comment #195564 by catskill on June 18, 2008 at 1:20 pm

Email the Governor here:

http://www.gov.la.gov/index.cfm?md=form&tmp=email_governor

57. Oystein Elgaroy - the Christian defender who became an Atheist

Comment #195199 by catskill on June 17, 2008 at 9:55 pm

I wish one wacko posting would not hijack a whole thread of comments.


This is good evidence as to why we need intelligent material FOR atheism to always be available. This guy was making his own way towards reality over time but having books and lectures promoting non-belief is something concrete to analyze. Also as much as we would like to deny it, knowing there are many others with the same non-belief is important. This just proves that many critics of "militant" atheism, or in fact of anyone who professes non-belief, is due to the fear that common sense might actually take over.

58. Rapture site sends unbelievers their last chance ... via email

Comment #195191 by catskill on June 17, 2008 at 9:12 pm

I agree with Raiko, its only a matter of time until there is a code error or a server outage that causes a mass email confirming the rapture to those who probably believe this stuff. Should prove to be quite interesting when that happens.

59. Only a Theory

Comment #193530 by catskill on June 15, 2008 at 7:30 pm

Hey FightingFalcon - I usually tell anyone that uses the 'just a theory' line that I am glad they said so because it absolutely proves they have no idea what they are talking about. Its hard to get mad when you are laughing.

"atomic theory states that all matter is composed of atoms but I am not convinced, after all, its just a theory"

60. George W Bush meets Pope amid claims he might convert to Catholicism

Comment #193522 by catskill on June 15, 2008 at 7:04 pm

It costs an absolutely insane amount of money for the Pres to travel abroad. And the only reason given for the travel is that he is on a farewell tour? Plus he gets to meet his superhero the Pope. Wonderful.

61. As the world becomes smaller, the need to understand each other's faith grows

Comment #192903 by catskill on June 14, 2008 at 7:36 am

So sad Mr. Blair. You have so much potential to do good and it seems you intend to squander it. What a waste.

"bring together people of different faiths to help to eradicate deaths from malaria"

Huh? Maybe if they all pray together instead of separately malaria will disappear! Tony you are a genius! This cannot fail!

62. Debating creationism in Louisiana schools

Comment #191668 by catskill on June 11, 2008 at 12:26 pm

Video plays for me using WinXP-SP3 and Firefox2. Nothing new here as far as content. The guy defending the 'academic freedom' bill comes off as a weasel.

63. Trailer for Religulous

Comment #190734 by catskill on June 9, 2008 at 1:16 pm

Looking forward to him hitting all the talk shows to plug this movie. Should make for some good clips! Wish it was coming out sooner.

64. Logical Proof of the Existence of a Divine Creator, Why Atheism is Not Logically Sound

Comment #190726 by catskill on June 9, 2008 at 1:01 pm

Simply put, a book that claims to have been Divinely given to millions cannot take hold on a widespread level if it is not true.


So he must believe that the Qu'ran, the Book of Mormon, the Veda, as well as the Bible are all true. Does that mean he is a practicing Mus-Mor-Hin-Chris?

65. Prayer to feed the hungry

Comment #190103 by catskill on June 8, 2008 at 11:33 am

Why don't they ever decide to pray for the millions in donations needed to keep their organizations running instead of conduct fund raising activities? Why conduct fund raising when you can just pray for money? I wonder.

Also- GM foods are nothing like artificial selection of good crops. I was watching something about GM where they extract genetic material from bacteria then use a virus to infect plant cells and deposit the material there... its super creepy. The result is a plant with the ability to withstand getting doused with toxic chemicals that kill everything except the plant itself. Again, creepy.

66. A word for nonbelievers

Comment #189660 by catskill on June 6, 2008 at 10:54 pm

Phew! Finally one story here that does not make me cringe.

I cant drive more than two blocks here in Tampa without passing by a church. I got a flyer yesterday for a new church that just opened up the street. An old supermarket site that was purchased for 7.5 million. (Below market value, just for the Jesus freaks). They are proud to teach the literal truth of the Bible. Classes start for children at the kindergarten level, and a special program for teens. They make me sick.

67. Car dealership advert tells atheists to 'shut up'

Comment #186911 by catskill on May 31, 2008 at 6:36 pm

Ha! They are in the news again, this time because they RETRACTED the apology!

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/31/bigoted-ford-dealers.html

68. Car dealership advert tells atheists to 'shut up'

Comment #185822 by catskill on May 28, 2008 at 5:39 pm

Car dealer regrets ads urging non-Christians to 'sit down and shut up'

New article talking to Rick Kieffe about the ad and its fallout. He comes off as a decent guy, although his "it just got by us" line doesn't hold much weight after the article states the ad ran for its full 90 day run earlier in the year.

http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/456451.html

69. Louisiana's latest creationism bill moves to House floor

Comment #185459 by catskill on May 27, 2008 at 9:06 pm

If I were a science teacher in LA and this became law, I think I would seriously consider writing up the Navajo Indian creation theory and send it home to all the parents to get signed and to have their kids explain how this alternate theory of creation works.

Here is an excerpt:
But the coyote still had the children of the water monster, and First People were horrified to find the waters of their new world suddenly rising. Again they planted a reed and began to climb, but this time they could not reach all the way. Nor could they find a hole. So the yellow hawk tried to scratch a hole in the dome. The heron and the buzzard also helped, but the locust was the one who finally succeeded in getting through. Then the spider spun a rope so that everyone could climb up through the hole.

You can get the rest here:
http://www.trivia-library.com/a/navajo-creation-story-and-myth.htm

If I were motivated enough I would do a very serious write up on this and send it to everyone who voted for this bill, thanking them that finally the real truth about our creation can be taught to the students in my classroom.

70. Mail-boat record 'proves Darwin stole his original ideas from a Welsh scientist'

Comment #184653 by catskill on May 25, 2008 at 10:48 pm

The Wikipedia entry for Alfred Russel Wallace has a section titled "Natural selection and Darwin". A quick read of this material dispels any notion of controversy.

71. In God's Name

Comment #182756 by catskill on May 21, 2008 at 12:15 am

This is beyond scary.
I don't know if I am going to be able to watch this entire thing without getting sick. I am not even past part one and the kids school is going to make me blow a gasket.

72. Group finds Starbucks logo too hot to handle

Comment #181060 by catskill on May 16, 2008 at 11:17 am

How demented to you have to be to decide that a girl with fish tails for legs, covered in fish slime and scales is sexy? Yuck!

If anything, there should be a discussion on removing that image and replacing it with something even remotely attractive. I vote for the Esurance cartoon girl. Damn that cartoon girl is hot!

73. 'Spiritual' dentist fined $10,000

Comment #180216 by catskill on May 14, 2008 at 11:34 am

Makes me glad that my own dentist is smart enough to know that real results in dentistry can only be had by honoring the one true god of healing, the Greek god Asclepios!

74. Orangutan attempts to hunt fish with spear

Comment #180148 by catskill on May 14, 2008 at 9:20 am

Back to the original topic of the post. Animal intelligence and tool use.

I was at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay watching the elephants play. They are given rolls of white paper to play with, which they toss around and seem to very much enjoy. One of the trainers was calling to the youngest elephant to toss the paper over the moat to her, in exchange for a treat. The elephant tossed the loose ball of paper to her, and it immediately fluttered to the ground after having gone about a foot. I was thinking, "Aww, poor stupid elephant, I wish they wouldn't torture it with that treat like that."

Then I was amazed.

The elephant pulled out a strip of the paper from the roll, stepped on the end to break off a piece about 3-4 feet long. It then took that piece and carefully and purposefully used its trunk to ball up the paper into a tight wad, which it then tossed across the moat, easily making the distance and more, and getting a perfect hit right on the trainer. Awesome.

75. Evolution's Critics Shift Tactics With Schools

Comment #175037 by catskill on May 4, 2008 at 8:30 am

Asked what evidence he presents to bolster evolution, Mr. Cowan paused. "I don't have any," he said.

Oh man that's rough. Quoted in the Wall Street Journal too? Isn't that just like saying, as a biology teacher, I have never read any biology related textbooks myself?

How much time is left before I get a knock on the door, and am confronted with government backed fundamentalist agents who take me away to a indoctrination camp?