Comments by MBC Morgan

Comment #269697 by MBC Morgan on October 23, 2008 at 8:46 am

We don't have a choice about whether country X wants to attack us. We do have a choice not to drink, smoke, do drugs, have sex, or do other things that make us sick. The problem with universal healthcare is that I get no reward for living a good healthy life, except being healthy. Even if I do my best, I still have to pay for that other person who just doesn't give a shit. The other problems is that universal healthcare will not have a cap on it. Its not like the government will say "Well we will only spend X amount of money". programs like that tend to just get bigger and bigger. The bigger they get, the more taxes we have to pay. Eventually I will end up going to work not to just support my family but to support someone elses family. This country was created on a belief of people having individual rights and responsibilities. You are allowed to do all those things that will cause you to get sick because it is your right to live life the way you want to, but that does not make me responsible for you. I have my own life to worry about, I should not now have to worry about everyone elses. That is freedom. I am free to do what I want but I am also free of being responsible for someone else.

Really? Do you have insurance, DP? If you do, you can rest assured that you are paying in so that someone else can get a pay out - you just might pay in a little less than someone who doesn't jog to work. Please, for the record, since I live in one of these Socialist countries, can you define what freedoms you have, exactly and specifically, that you have that I do not, and can you truly say that you are better off for not having any form of socialized health care?

52. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #269667 by MBC Morgan on October 23, 2008 at 8:05 am

Several,

I wasn't trying to do that, but I think that the article raises an interesting point. Palin lives in a world where everything is going to work out for the best so long as you really, really believe that it will, and in later episodes, have the right blood parasites. That's all right, so long as you remember that at the end of the day, it is a fantasy, and designed to entertain children.

53. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #269650 by MBC Morgan on October 23, 2008 at 7:53 am

Apparently we've all got this wrong with Palin and Star Trek.

http://io9.com/5059126/sarah-palin--star-wars-hillary-clinton--star-trek

54. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #269643 by MBC Morgan on October 23, 2008 at 7:48 am

Tez, of all the science fiction programs taking place on a space station, it was the best. Buy the DVDs.

55. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #269626 by MBC Morgan on October 23, 2008 at 7:39 am

Fact. William Shatner has two albums.
Fact. Leonard Nemoy has one album.
Fact. George Takei has NO albums.

This doesn't really prove anything, actually. I just felt that if Sarah Palin were to listen to music by star trek cast members, she would be limited to the heterosexuals, which would conform to her religious stance.

To Titania's question, since she encourages her children read fantasy fiction, which was once categorized similarly to science fiction, why would she not allow them to watch, say, Babylon 5?

56. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #269535 by MBC Morgan on October 23, 2008 at 5:47 am

Answers (in no particular order)
1. The pants are perfectly-normal-pants. They go with everything.
2. I refuse to accept Quetz' judgment as to word meanings. I fail to see how the ruling of a feathered serpent is applicable on matters of terminology, however I will grant that he may have some insight into the cloak/shirt/hat combination. Equally, I would submit this combination to those who pay 150k to dress *Sarah Palin*, just to bring this back on track.

57. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #268978 by MBC Morgan on October 22, 2008 at 1:27 pm

Titania - I'll only wear the Petulant Hat if it goes with my Obdurate Cloak and Callous Shirt.

58. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #268963 by MBC Morgan on October 22, 2008 at 1:13 pm

A lot of very smart people take jobs that are personally rewarding (research, non-profit, government, etc...) and don't pay well. Or they enjoy their free time, and don't want 90 hour weeks I-banking in New York. There are plenty of smart people who are out making money. But figuring out how to make money, isn't always synonymous with critical and/or advanced thinking.

And then there are some EXTREMELY intelligent people who like working in IT because of the constant problem-solving opportunities it provides regardless of hours worked or salary earned. I call these people "Morgans". Morgan. I'm taking it back. I don't care what the ruling was.

59. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #268915 by MBC Morgan on October 22, 2008 at 12:18 pm

It could be even worse than that, you could be named Barack Obama and everyone would say you are a socialist that hangs out with radicals

Everyone, or just those who would take a person whose name is Sarah Palin seriously?

60. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #268906 by MBC Morgan on October 22, 2008 at 12:00 pm

This is what comes of having such a common name, I suppose. Some ass is bound to ruin it for the rest of us. It could be worse. I could be named Sarah Palin. No one would take me seriously then.

61. Palin: average isn't good enough

Comment #268883 by MBC Morgan on October 22, 2008 at 11:27 am

Is it too late to suggest that Morgan NOT be used as a term for post deletion? We're not all dicks like Richard (morgan).

62. God is not the enemy of reason

Comment #267904 by MBC Morgan on October 21, 2008 at 8:47 am

Hungarian - Dreamcatchers ARE religious mumbo-jumbo, from the Ahnishnabe First Nation. You're correct about not going to war over it, though.

63. Religion out of medicine, a new message for Ontario doctors

Comment #232514 by MBC Morgan on August 18, 2008 at 8:45 am

Fanusi - In Ontario, all doctors are employed by the state, so as there are no private doctors, this question is moot.

As to your rejection of socialized systems, that is all fine and dandy. Stay in the US. We, in Canada, by-and-large, however, value different things than our neighbours to the South, such as equal access to basic health care, and to having an educated population.

64. Religion out of medicine, a new message for Ontario doctors

Comment #232499 by MBC Morgan on August 18, 2008 at 8:17 am

Fanusi -
Another consideration is that education is largely subsidized in Ontario, and that the same doctors who are taking advantage of tax dollars to receive their educations in the understanding that they will help everyone, regardless of belief or ethnicity, with what they need, as paid for almost entirely through government dollars, are neglecting to do so.

Although for some reason I think that you will see fault with subsidizing education as well as health care.

65. Optimism in Evolution

Comment #229303 by MBC Morgan on August 13, 2008 at 10:49 am

moderndaythomas:
The travisty here is that these species have not been selected by nature but rather by us.

We are a part of nature. I find is strange that we separate natural from "artificial" selection, when as an apex predator we have our part to play as well.

66. The Afterlife for Scientologists

Comment #229283 by MBC Morgan on August 13, 2008 at 10:22 am

RTF: If these things are not open for all to see, then almost by definition that makes it a cult

Rod, current nomenclature is New Religious Movements (NRMs) instead of cults. Oh - and per the fancy-pants book-learnin' I got at the Ol' University, by definition all religions are therefore NRMs (at some time or another). I think we should accept your proposal (have all religions investigated by local authorities) post-haste, and continue to "investigate" until they just...go...away.

As an aside, in the "Cults" class, the scientologists were invited to come and demonstrate their recruiting techniques (although I'm certain that it wasn't phrased to them as such). After listening to how scientology would change our lives, making us better, smarter, more attractive people with the capacity to make more money, it wasn't too hard for even the most naive of students to see the disconnect between their words, and what they actually were. If these were the best that scientology in Toronto had to offer, I would hate to think of what they were (or more appropriately, thought they were) like before they were made "clear". Standard stuff. Obvious audience plants, emotional appeals, etc.

Edited to include silly scientology anecdote.

67. Richard Dawkins replies to Libby Purves

Comment #228057 by MBC Morgan on August 11, 2008 at 12:26 pm

Tera:
You don't see too many moderate drunks who want to mention, let alone seriously consider, the fact that alcohol kills about 100,000 people in the U.S. every year, and similar proportions in other advanced countries that are similarly foolish enough to permit alchohol consumption.

Really? Directly? 100,000 in the US? I suppose that by this you are implying that in "foolish" civilized countries we should be literally falling over the corpses of those killed by cigarettes, alcohol, car accidents, etc. Yet I find that I am able to wander the streets freely, escaping this avalanche of corpses that must be heaped up around the corner. I have seen several bodies this year, and they all appeared to have died of natural causes to me, however I'm sure they can fit into a statistic somewhere, as I've seen all of them have at least one drink, all have at least on cigarette, and all drive a car on occasion. Get a grip, Tera, or validate that statistic.

68. On TV: The Genius of Charles Darwin: Presented by Richard Dawkins

Comment #223057 by MBC Morgan on August 1, 2008 at 11:33 am

Why is it that we never get programming like this in Canada? If we ever received anything of the sort, I might even consider getting cable again.

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

Comment #217826 by MBC Morgan on July 24, 2008 at 5:21 pm

Awww...Teddy did a post-and-run. What are the ODDS? Must be a god at work in that somewhere.

70. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #217820 by MBC Morgan on July 24, 2008 at 5:16 pm

Having just spent the last 30 minutes or so getting caught back up on this thread, I must say that I agree in principle with Al. Feminist movements, in my experience, have focussed too much on a citizens plus type of method (in Canada, where this type of behaviour is rampant), demanding lower standards for female fire-fighters, paramedics, police officers, and receiving them. Whatever happened to the idea of judging people individually based upon their merits, and considering the requirements of roles (a meritocracy), thus holding everyone to the same standard?

By separating themselves off into a separate silo, as mentioned above by earlier posters, feminist groups are generating a negative overall effect, in my opinion, for as soon as the first fat, bloated, corpulent IT worker (don't let it be me) cannot be carried to hospital because the paramedic attendants cannot move him or her, even here (where we aren't as given to protest) the shit would fly. Perhaps harsh letters would be written, and an inquiry would even be held!

But aside from that, yeah, human = human. We've already got laws for the other stuff.

71. Red hot enlightenment led me to believe in one fewer god

Comment #217591 by MBC Morgan on July 24, 2008 at 12:57 pm

Shaden:

I see. Then what do you call automobile blinkers?

I'm just guessing here, but in Australia wouldn't it be something like "bajermidoos"?

72. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216682 by MBC Morgan on July 23, 2008 at 11:59 am

TWP:

You know how I noticed a lot of religions sucker people in? They use the "feel good" thing. They do things that are good for humanity. Feed the poor, reach out to addicts, charity work..But they all do it in the name of their religion. Perhaps we would benefit in doing the same thing.

Some of the major foundations in the US that I can think of that promote helping out humanity are all rooted in a religion cause.

This really should change.

I agree - they seem to get all the good press. Despite many corrections, we still get "Hitler was an atheist". I'm really fucking tired of refuting that. We need a charity event. It isn't just the US, either - here in Canada charities are by-and-large just as religiously dominated, because they are willing to take the financial hit, what with collecting their 10% gross from their diminishing pool of adherents. We simply don't have the resources at hand to start-up a charity, I don't think.

It isn't just limited to charity, either. We need outspoken, media savvy people who enter the public consciousness, and not as trivia factoids. In Canada, we have Mohammed Elmasry speaking out for the Canadian Islamic Congress in the news every freakin' week, but we don't get the counterpoint position from anyone - and we will lose because of this. We are never heard, or worse, we are heard and ignored, because we aren't "victims" of anything. It has been pointed out before here that we are, on average, more intelligent and better educated than most. Yet this will not help us if they get all the good press, the public opinion, and generally out-breed us.

73. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216662 by MBC Morgan on July 23, 2008 at 11:30 am

Doing great, thanks, TWP, however it is mid-afternoon here. Back to the topic, however.

I'm trying to reconcile a few thoughts on this issue. One is that it would be completely inappropriate for anyone to block, or attempt to block the cranks at whyislam.com from posting their advertisements in a free-market economy largely accepting the notion of free speech. Equally, I would personally find any vandalizing of their ads to be a rather disgusting act, as I do any other example of vandalism. I suppose the question then, is what can possibly be done about this type of thing? While it is all right and good that here people discuss issues of this nature, what next?

I think the primary problem that we are encountering is that ignorance is easy, as is apathy, and (apologies to those who have already joined some form of social group promoting reason/secularism) we, by and large, are a very apathetic bunch - to this I do not mean that we do not care, we just do not care to really do anything to change the gestalt. I certainly know this about myself - given a choice between going out on a Tuesday night to promote a free-thinking event and having a beer at the pub, I choose the pint. That doesn't, of course, preclude me from arguing this type of issue over that pint with complete strangers, but I'm not sure that helps the cause any.

Until we can articulate something that we do believe in, that we do know to be true, and to which we can engage others, I think we're going to lose this war, because they care, and I'm not sure that we can get enough people on-board that do until it is far too late.

74. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216608 by MBC Morgan on July 23, 2008 at 10:38 am

kkelly:

From now on I'll be thuper theriouth.

dhamma:

Don't be thuper theriouth though =)

No! Let them be thuper theriouth! Next up on the NY Subway ads - Thuper Theriouth - You deserve to know

75. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216594 by MBC Morgan on July 23, 2008 at 10:19 am

kkelly - seriously. Didn't you learn anything about not being an asshole when you got burned for asking mord if he was the one who drank his own urine?

76. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216519 by MBC Morgan on July 23, 2008 at 9:05 am

This topic is interesting and all, but I'm wondering what Fanusi makes of this:

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/07/23/karadzic-defence.html

77. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #215906 by MBC Morgan on July 22, 2008 at 1:32 pm

Joe, how does your cut-and-paste support YOUR argument? What is your argument, anyway? I've seen assertions, but no evidence that withstands any form of critical scrutiny. From what I have gathered, this is what you, Joe Morreale, believe:
Turkboy the rapist is being unfairly persecuted
Turkboy the rapist knows more about evolution than people who study it, despite being an interior designer.
Turkboy the rapist knows more because he writes any drivel that he can pull out of his pathetic, wrinkled, 000 gage anus (well, after he's done in prison at any rate) that supports what is written in the Qur'an.
As the Qur'an was written by a pedophile, TR (that'd be turkboy)likely thinks that pedophilia is okay too.
Since JM (that's you, Joe) blindly follows TR, it can be assumed that JM is okay with both pedophilia and rape.
Did I miss anything on this, Joe? Is there a cut-and-paste that you can put up that clearly indicates that you are not both a potential rapist and pedophile?

78. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #215890 by MBC Morgan on July 22, 2008 at 1:16 pm

Joe - Does "Adnan" have these letters? Can you provide a link to the scanned letters? Have you personally seen the letters? Is there evidence other than "Adnan"'s assertion to the phone call? These are quite strong claims that he is making - do you suppose, as he has been known to do in the past - that he is just lying about it? Do you not think that he might find personal gain in making such a claim, regardless of whether he could prove it or not, especially as he has been known to make equally absurd claims in the past? Evidence, Joe. Evidence.

Epeeist - I suppose you should be grateful regarding Joe's new moniker for you. "Throwing-Pebbles-At-The-Tide" sounds like a pretty good Anishnabe (or other NAFN language) name - you know, like "Dances-With-Wolves", etc. Better than Joe Morreale, which in my mind, sort of sounds like "no more reality".

79. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #215876 by MBC Morgan on July 22, 2008 at 1:02 pm

Joe:

I would like to thank Denis Giron

...Again, a cut-paste job. Simple to do, so simple, in fact, it is something that is done in kindergarten, and before. Yet it does not address the facts at hand.

How does this "prove" the invalidity of the transitional fossils already discovered? Please, when making such statements as:

IT IS YOU LOT THAT ARE SUCKING ON A COCK CALLED PROPAGANDA!

also provide evidence that transitional fossils are propaganda. The current evidence indicates that species evolved by natural selection. Do you have an alternate method that will address this, that also allows for the existence of the fossil record?

Note: Cutting and Pasting is NOT an acceptable answer, neither is advising us to check out "mohammad-is-a-child-fucker.net" or "I-care-what-a-rapist-thinks.com".

80. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #215855 by MBC Morgan on July 22, 2008 at 12:41 pm

Joe, you claim that the charges against him, which he was convicted of, are false. Do you care to provide evidence of this assertion? Is your evidence strong enough that perhaps there could be an appeal? If not, why? Is this more wishful thinking on your part, or are you again parroting everything that he has said? I'm not sure that I would be taking the word of a proven liar (see epeeist's comments).

81. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #215833 by MBC Morgan on July 22, 2008 at 12:23 pm

Joe, others have repeatedly asked you to do the following:
1) answer some simple questions
2) take off your caps lock
3) stop cutting and pasting without reference (better yet, just insert a link without cutting and pasting)

As a long-time lurker, infrequent poster, may I add my voice to those who ask you, politely, to please fuck off if you cannot engage in a civilized debate.
If you are unable to understand how debate works (which I am quite convinced by this time that you are), please look it up prior to returning here.

Your ignorant, sexist, pathetic opinions do not matter one whit should you not be able to verify anything to an acceptable standard of evidence - IE, prove it. The fact that the arguments you are presenting are not your own, but rather copied directly from alternate sources without credit, does not strengthen your position, but rather compounds your misdeeds.

Please, for the record, answer at least one question (and with all hoping, perhaps is shall be this one): Why should anyone take the words of either a raping interior designer or a goat-herding pedophile seriously in matters which do not relate to either interior design, rape, pedophilia, or goat-herding, when they seem to have no other expertise? You could also answer this question with why YOU in particular seem to think that their opinions have more merit than factual evidence as gathered through archeological records and controlled experiment. HINT: The correct answer does not include a copy-paste, or a direction to read whatever who-gives-a-shit-about-islam site it is you keep on stealing from.

Thanks,
MBC Morgan

82. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #212386 by MBC Morgan on July 17, 2008 at 6:25 am

Ladies and Gentlemen, I think you are all missing the point that Joe is really trying to get across, and that is that everything he has ever come across that isn't directly related to the Koran is either a) about cattle-roping, horse-riding, campfire-singing and chili-eating or b) written by people who engage in the above activities. As I can see no evidence that this is true from the links provided by others, which he has described as "cowboy sites", nor have I once read of any of you posting the comparative merits of one brand of chaps against another, I can assume one of the following things:

1) Joe is reaching out to us from a parallel world which exists as described in the fiction of Louis L'amour
2) Joe is a deluded idiot.

I suppose I could be charitable, and suggest that he means cowboy as a metaphor, but since he seems like such a literal guy, I really doubt it.

Joe, answer Al's question!

Joe,

Dr. Naik mistranslated the Arabic word wajada. Why;

1) He lied

2) He doesn't know Arabic very well

Which one, please answer.

83. An Irishman's Diary

Comment #208988 by MBC Morgan on July 11, 2008 at 1:25 pm

You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 87% Advanced, and 100% Expert!

Hrmm...Boo-yah?

84. PLEASE WRITE IN SUPPORT OF PZ MYERS

Comment #208164 by MBC Morgan on July 10, 2008 at 4:50 pm

Really, though, Donahue has quite the nerve to start a letter/email writing campaign against someone when his own is not listed on the Catholic League web page. You cannot even contact via email to a generic box - contact link lists only snail and fax. If this old pedophile apologist wants to have any credibility, he should first make his own contact information available. Oh yes, and stop being an apologist for pedophiles.

85. PLEASE WRITE IN SUPPORT OF PZ MYERS

Comment #208148 by MBC Morgan on July 10, 2008 at 4:29 pm

Done. Seriously, though - I'm still having a hard time believing that it has to come to this. Fucking catholics making me email outside of work.

86. Stop distorting young minds!

Comment #200373 by MBC Morgan on June 27, 2008 at 12:24 pm

Terabrat: I do agree that people should be allowed to study religion - my choice of major in University was just that, a choice (at that point in time, I was trying to study the larger issue, having already begun a reasoned rejection of the "truth" of the subject)- however this study should be performed in the manner in which we study other pathologies.

The great teapot:
Normal is subjective, based on the experiences one has. As I said, this /was/ my normal. I didn't perceive this to be anything strange at the time, as I was not equipped to, and this is why such a religious upbringing is such an insidious form of child abuse. With no place to turn for rational answers, with the educational life being supported by the home life, where else can a child go? Importantly, I do not claim that this upbringing is normal. I am quite certain that the majority of people I meet have not had a similar experience, and I will not be passing this on to any children my wife and I may have, regardless of my parents' wishes. As to the nut house? I was raised in an otherwise normal household, if the only people that I ever saw held similar views to my parents, and supported them in their efforts.

87. Stop distorting young minds!

Comment #200360 by MBC Morgan on June 27, 2008 at 11:53 am

Quine:
What can I say. We weren't all fortunate enough to have been raised by reasonable people. The most unfortunate situation to arise from all this is that while my parents have learned to be rational about a great many things (such as reality, by-and-large) my brother remains wholly indoctrinated. The holidays are a blast.

88. Stop distorting young minds!

Comment #200273 by MBC Morgan on June 27, 2008 at 8:22 am

I usually prefer to lurk, but given the nature of this article, and the posts regarding it, I feel this testimony to be pertinent. I apologize in advance for the length.

I was raised by normal parents, in a normal city, in a normal part of the world. I can say this, because I was there, and as what happened to me occurred, how can I consider it to be other than normal? It was my normal. My father worked for the government, but had a part time job with a church, a junior pastor. He had completed his bachelor of theology degree some years prior to my birth, and was glad to be working in his field, as it were. My mother stayed at home, and was responsible for raising my brother and I.

From quite an early age, it was made clear to us that the religion of my parents was central to our life. Sunday school, church attendance, prayer meetings, youth groups, choir practice, every day had some activity associated with it that focused around their beliefs. People came to the house to take part in bible studies seemingly at random, prayer before every meal, prayer before bed, bible comics, bible music, the bible was everything. When I turned five, I was placed in a religious school a thirty minute (public) bus ride away from the house, as the public school (located directly across the street) was not considered to offer a proper education. I went to this school with my brother, who was five years older than I. Times then weren't much different from times now, and I'm reasonably certain that we were probably not as safe as my parents assumed, "held within the bosom of their god".

I have little memory of this time, as I was quite young, save for the interminably long bus rides, the school itself (a dark, windowless place, located in the basement of a church. Our only playground was a parking lot) being threatened with a leather strap by the school administrator, being beaten with a strap by the school administrator (for eating a cupcake during the prayer. I reiterate again that I was five), and the complete sense of shame that was drilled into me by my teachers. We were sinful. We were flawed. We were going to hell. Almost everyone we knew was going to hell. If we were really, really fortunate, and we never deviated (right up until we took our last breath!) we could then, and only then, avoid being punished for our wickedness. Since this was pretty much in accordance with what I was learning at home as well, I did not question it for a long time. It was truth. Why would they lie to me? They only wanted me to live forever and not feel pain! Of course I would be good. I would behave. I would learn what they taught me. What they didn't teach me was how to read (this was thankfully rectified by my grandfather, during a summer at our family cottage the same year).

Having gained some familiarity with the printed word, I was then provided by my parents with my first experiences with censorship. Reading was acceptable, you see, but only reading approved books, those provided by my parents. As you can imagine, this list was rather short. It included the bible, and books based on the bible. CS Lewis' Narnia was given me as a youth to explore, as was Tolkien. It was also at this time that my parents made their mistake. Seeking to encourage my growing appreciation of "creation", my parents purchased for me a set of fact cards featuring information on animals. Each week I would receive another few cards in the mail, to add to a file box provided at sign up with the company (I do not recall which one), each of which contained geographical distribution, diet, taxonomy, and closest relatives. This concept flabbergasted me. How could an individually created being have a closest relative that was not of the same kind? This idea lodged inside my mind, and beginning as a small doubt of the "rightness" of the whole package of their religion, still at this time was not sufficient to remove the whole of the nonsense I was being raised on. In response, I was provided with books of apologetics, confirming that evolutionary science was not in contention with a universal creation (the whole "microevolution" bit). Since this conformed to what I had earlier been taught, of course it was true.

My religious indoctrination continued unabated throughout the remainder of my childhood and into my teenage years, and I can state with certainty today that there is nothing more frightening in my mind than the thought of what I had been, or what I could have become during those formative years. What could possibly be more outrageously disturbing than the combination of teenage certainties and fundamentalist religious values? Looking back, thinking rationally, I must have been monstrous. So certain of the "truth" of what I had been taught. So willing to judge others against the perverted standards of behaviour I had been told was right. So eager to destroy that which was "wrong". What horrors could I have committed had I not come to my senses? Had I not continued to study, to learn, to exercise free inquiry, to push beyond the comfort zones of my parents, to challenge what I had been taught, to travel to other countries, see other peoples, learn their histories and most importantly, their religions (when I eventually graduated from university it was with a comparative religions degree). It is for this reason that I encourage people to celebrate our differences, because by doing so we can actually learn something useful. As there will never be provision within a faith school to teach these differences, and to teach that we should embrace them, any form of faith schooling should be eliminated. Any form at all, for it encourages the growth of monstrosities; There is, in my mind, no difference between a Madrasah and a "Christian academy".

89. God hates Mars

Comment #199754 by MBC Morgan on June 26, 2008 at 10:23 am

Vaal/Steve - did you guys look at the banner links this guy had up? Check this one out, if you haven't already:
http://www.creationresearch.org/
I found it a little...problematic. Has this been discussed anywhere previously?

90. God hates Mars

Comment #199732 by MBC Morgan on June 26, 2008 at 9:05 am

Somehow, despite the thread, this seems pertinent.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/26/chocolate-genome.html

91. God hates Mars

Comment #199689 by MBC Morgan on June 26, 2008 at 7:37 am

Rod-The-Farmer

But she only ships to Canadian addresses.

Only in Canada? Pity.
Still - if they're good, it might be worth checking out, and three hours is a bit much to drive for chocolate.

92. God hates Mars

Comment #199640 by MBC Morgan on June 26, 2008 at 5:48 am

I'm quite partial to the Lion bar myself. Hard to find over here in Canada, however. Still, it beats the pants off of both Snickers and Mars bars.

93. Muslim countries win concession regarding religious debates

Comment #196799 by MBC Morgan on June 20, 2008 at 12:51 pm

Well, if only someone could tell me what is going on with all the oil and why the prices are REALLY going up. Teratornis, I'm looking at you.

94. The Mother, The Child, The School Board And The Psychic

Comment #196537 by MBC Morgan on June 20, 2008 at 6:11 am

Mordacious1 (post 196185)- Just for you, did a little digging (damned little, but there you have it) - It seems you can find out more about shoe distribution by ocean currents in the book Washed Up: The Curious Journeys of Flotsam and Jetsam by Skye Moody. I don't know if it will hold water, but from a reader's review:

In 1990, Nike shoes began washing up on the beaches of the Pacific northwest. Six months before, a huge container ship had lost twenty-one shipping containers in a severe storm, including five containers holding 80,000 Nike shoes. This was bad news for Nike, but good news for oceanographers who could track the shoes and improve their models of ocean currents. The flotsamists who collected the shoes realized that there were few matches; the laces of the shoes had not been tied together, so shortly after being dunked, the right shoes parted ways from the left shoes. The parting was not random. The slight change in curvature between left and right shoes caused the righties to follow the northward Alaska current and show up around Queen Charlotte Sound, while the lefties tended to follow the southward California current and wound up in Oregon.

Michael

95. The Mother, The Child, The School Board And The Psychic

Comment #196166 by MBC Morgan on June 19, 2008 at 11:53 am

Mordacious1:

What! The sharks, if they can stand the cold water, don't like feet?

Apparently, with the exclusion of the most recent find, all of these feet show signs of natural separation. I recall (unfortunately, I don't recall from where) recently reading something about how this has occurred previously, and that there is something to do with the current that makes it more likely to move the right foot to these particular beaches than the left. This area is famous for beach combing in general, as all sorts of crap washes up there, from Japanese glass fish floats (the buoyant water markers, not floats shaped like fish) to shoes (in general, right foot only). What makes this a little more strange is the foot inside these ones, but since there is apparently no sign of artificial separation (no hack-marks, etc) this is likely people who have been involved in water accidents somewhere whose bodies have partially decomposed. Nothing mysterious. No serial killing left-foot fetishist.

96. The Mother, The Child, The School Board And The Psychic

Comment #196113 by MBC Morgan on June 19, 2008 at 10:08 am

mordacious1

What's with all the human feet washing up on shore in the Georgian Straits near Vancouver? Five R feet and one L in the last six months. All with socks and tennis shoes. Are there a lot of people hopping around on one leg up there? Bizarre.

Six in six months? This one is the second this week! It's probably just plane crash victims/boating accidents/illegal immigrants washed overboard. You know, the usual.
Al -

And wasn't there some killer out in the country feeding his victims to pigs

Yep. Seems he killed a bunch of prostitutes. Of course, it seems more likely that he had a little help in it, but the number is somewhere around 40. Robert Pickton is his name.

97. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #191708 by MBC Morgan on June 11, 2008 at 1:35 pm

Fizhburn,

Aren't "The God Delusion" and "The Selfish Gene" the FAQ of which you speak?

Epeeist,

Should there be a FAQ? There are debate points on this site and the ever valuable Talk Origins site which supply this sort of information.

I was thinking something more along the lines of something that could assist them more in the realm of critical thinking, rather than the invaluable and accessible information provided in those tomes/sites. [begin anecdote, I assert this to be factually correct, however doubt me at your leisure] When studying comparative religion at McMaster University, one compulsory course was in critical thinking, as the study of religion is a science, albeit a very soft one (hence the social sciences appellation). This course did much to convince those who had entered the field to "stick one to the scientists and convince them of the truth" that perhaps they had it wrong. Unfortunately it was only a requirement of an honors degree, but I suppose you must take what you can get. [/anecdote] In addition to providing constant refutation of their "arguments", you seem to have to provide instruction in basic critical thinking skills to many - identifying straw-men, etc. Would a permanent link to even the wikipedia page for logical fallacies not be beneficial?

Michael

98. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #191663 by MBC Morgan on June 11, 2008 at 12:17 pm

Can I ask why many of you constantly persist in attempting to convince those who most likely cannot be convinced to consider the world rationally? I don't have any statistics to validate the following, and don't have time to crawl through all of the message logs to see if anyone has actually abandoned their flawed, irrational creationist world-view to accept the reality of what actually is, but at the moment assume the number to be zero. Don't you get tired of beating your heads against the wall that is the incredulity of people like TXPiper? Why not just create an FAQ that handles situations like this (wherein the religiot can input their own personal /faith-based belief into a search engine to find the answers that are always going to be provided) and ask them to kindly read it before assuming that they have anything new/important/valid to say. It would certainly save you a lot of time, and even if it only linked to another external site for the answers, it would be more valuable than reiterating each and every point when one of these types show up.

Just a thought.

Michael

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

Comment #190617 by MBC Morgan on June 9, 2008 at 9:45 am

Would human beings survive if one organ or cavity was missing or displaced, even after somehow being otherwise perfectly formed with no designer?

Well, it's not a perfect refutation, but I'm shy a gall bladder and an appendix, doing just fine, thanks.

100. That's it. Texas really is doomed.

Comment #186048 by MBC Morgan on May 29, 2008 at 12:13 pm

I realize that we've moved on from the whole socialized health care bit, but if I could ask why Fighting Falcon cited the Toronto Sun as evidence of respectable journalism on any topic given that a more opinionated daily rag doesn't exist to my knowledge in Canada (a poor argument I realize, however I do live in the Toronto area and read many of the daily papers there), and especially as the gist of the article appears to be "woman receives treatment in hospital but is uncomfortable while getting it", I would be much obliged. Not quite sure how this indicates a failure of nationalized health care.

BTW - long-time lurker, first time posting.

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