Monthly Archives: November 2013

Thinking “Stress Can Kill You” Can Kill You

Kelly McGonigal explains: __________ At the end of this YouTube TED talk, in interview with the host, McGonigal offers two take-away recommendations: pursue meaning in your life, not the avoidance of stress; and trust yourself to cope with the stress … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Our Collective Existential Situation in a Nutshell (In Case You Missed It)

Here’s the two-fold problem: (1) each of us is limited to a body we did not choose and that dies, and (2) science since Darwin has revealed living things to be machines that evolve by competition (the proteins in cells, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Agreement with Iran

It doesn’t mean peace with Iran, but it’s a first step. And Iran is one of the big reasons I supported so vigorously President Obama’s reelection in 2012. I didn’t want to see a war between the United States and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Does This Image Debunk Evolution?

A pastor in Colorado apparently thinks the above image scores big points against evolution, writing the following: This snowflake was photographed in Russia. Is this not a most amazing picture? Let’s see, this is either the result of evolution or … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Gay Marriage: Liz Cheney’s Antigone Problem

In her bid to become a Republican Senator from Wyoming, Liz Cheney is in a bind. She wants the love of her sister, Mary, who is lesbian, but she also wants the love of Tea Party primary voters (who hate … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Awesome Example of Confounding Variables!

__________ Talk about deep doo-doo! So much of life, philosophy, and critical thinking resonates in this ironically captioned image. Take the atheist-theist debate, for example. Is God, though silent and invisible, lurking beneath the yellow noise of the cosmos? Do … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A False Choice: Believe in Evolution or a Divine Architect!

A pastor in Colorado recently posted the above image on his Facebook page and made the following comment: This snowflake was photographed in Russia. Is this not a most amazing picture? Let’s see, this is either the result of evolution … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

What Makes Shakespeare So Good? (Hint: Mimesis Might Have Something To Do With It)

In the preface to his eight-volume edition of Shakespeare’s plays (1765), the literary critic Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) had some opinions about what makes Shakespeare so good. Here they are (and notice how many of them are grounded in mimesis): Shakespeare … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Germans Rapping with Helium

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

A $10 Dollar Minimum Wage: Who Would Benefit?

Democrats want to increase the minimum wage to $10 an hour. Who would benefit from this? Surprisingly, it’s not primarily teenagers. Here are some interesting statistics: According to the Economic Policy Institute, 80 percent of workers affected by a minimum … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

What the Elections of Terry McAuliffe and Chris Christie Mean

In an off-year election when the make-up of the electorate is maximally conservative (in terms of turn-out), Terry McAuliffe still won Virginia’s governorship last night. Think about that. He was a deeply, deeply flawed and unattractive candidate running in a … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Two Needles In The Global Haystack Found One Another Through The Internet

Then they started Skyping:

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Jesus Prayers in City Council Meetings?

Atheist v. religionist. The old (inconclusive) back-and-forth. I hope the Supreme Court sides with the atheists on this one. And as an agnostic, if these sorts of prayers get upheld, I want my turn on the invocation list. If someone … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Republicans Face a Demographic Tsunami in 2016

Ruy Teixeira explains: How bad could 2016 be for Republicans? Pretty bad. Start with the likelihood that minorities, who voted 80 percent for Obama, will increase by 2 points to 30 percent of voters. Add to that the continued growth of heavily … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Film Worth Seeing?

Blue is the Warmest Color, a lesbian coming-of-age film, is three hours long, but Richard Corliss of Time calls it unmissable.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fair is Fair: Like Abortion, Slavery Should Be a Matter of Choice, Not Illegal, Says Chisago County Republican Party

It’s the kind of image and message you’d expect to stumble upon at a white supremacist website, and it’s been taken down after outrage about it spread, but the Chisago County Republican Party in Minnesota posted on its Facebook page … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments