Monthly Archives: December 2013

A Get Rich Quick Scheme Using Religion That Actually Works

Posted on December 30, 2013 by

The basic formula. How might you make big bucks in the religion racket? Try using the following formula on people: God is mad at you, pray this prayer, God won’t be mad at you. It’s that simple. Selling this psychologically … Continue reading →

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You Are a Giant Tongue! The Five Key Adaptive Traits That Made Us Human

Posted on December 28, 2013 by

__________ Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Vitruvian Man and its variants (such as that done by William Blake) present human beings as the pinnacle of creation, unusually beautiful beings of perfect proportions obviously arising to their impressive stature in the cosmos … Continue reading →

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Improvisation, Nude: The Emperors of Contemporary Art and Art Criticism Have No Clothes. Is that Okay?

Posted on December 26, 2013 by

Would somebody please, please, please save the art world from itself? Jed Perl, the great art critic, recently gave it his best shot, writing an Emperor-has-no-clothes piece for The New Republic: The cash registers are ringing and that’s the only … Continue reading →

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Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?

Posted on December 23, 2013 by

This shouldn’t be hard. If you’re an atheist, and you greet somebody who you know is a practicing Christian, decorum would suggest that you say “merry Christmas.” If you’re a Christian, and you know you’re greeting an atheist (or a … Continue reading →

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We’ve Entered the Atheist Holiday Season

Posted on December 19, 2013 by

___________ Magician and atheist James Randi magically levitates a holiday bird with occult powers given to him by Satan. Via James Randi at Facebook.

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Do Democracy, Mass Education, and Economic Prosperity Weaken God Belief?

Posted on December 13, 2013 by

Michael Shermer thinks so, and he has some data that supports him. Writing at Scientific American, here he is on democracy and mass education: One factor [in the decline of God belief internationally] is the dramatic spread of democracy around … Continue reading →

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Surprise, Surprise: Obamacare Works for a Small-Business Owner

Posted on December 12, 2013 by

This was in The New York Times earlier this week: Rachel Bryant, a small-business owner who lives just outside Winston-Salem [N.C], felt unlucky when she received a notice from Blue Cross saying that her plan was being canceled and that the … Continue reading →

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Fresh Water! Mars Rover Curiosity Finds 3.5 Billion-Year Old Lake Sediment in Gale Crater That Could Have Supported Life

Posted on December 10, 2013 by

There was some big news yesterday that you might have missed. It appeared in the science section of the The New York Times (December 9, 2013): [L]ife [on Mars], at least in the ancient past, is at least plausible. John P. … Continue reading →

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Why I Favor a Minimum Wage of $12.50

Posted on December 8, 2013 by

Because $12.50 translates to just $500 dollars for a 40 hour work week ($2000 a month; $24,000 a year). Combine this minimum wage with Obamacare subsidies for health care, and you’ve got every full-time worker in the U.S. with a … Continue reading →

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God is Dead, the Earth is Not Our Mother, and We are Alone?

Posted on December 6, 2013 by

Dr. Peter Ward, a paleontologist at the University of Washington, Seattle, is an atheist and prolific author (he’s written about a dozen books over his career). He’s also a skeptic concerning two things that a lot of secular people (including … Continue reading →

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Saint Ranieri, Meet George Jetson: Deconstruction Illustrated with a Catholic Painting

Posted on December 5, 2013 by

__________ What is deconstruction? In postmodern theory, deconstruction (in a nutshell) is the undoing of an author’s controlling intentions by time and audience reception. This can only happen because texts are made of parts, not coherent wholes. Over time, parts … Continue reading →

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Glasses, Not Mirrors: Richard Rorty’s Whole Philosophy In 900 Words

Posted on December 2, 2013 by

I’m going to try to sum up the whole of Richard Rorty’s philosophy in just 900 words. Do you suppose I can do it? Here goes. The religionist, the scientist, and the ironist. There are three types of people in … Continue reading →

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Televangelist Paul Crouch Dies at 79; Leaves Behind Two Mansions in Newport Beach

Posted on December 1, 2013 by

The news. Paul Crouch died yesterday. He had quite the racket going, laughing all the way to the bank. This is over now. Here’s a quote from The New York Times obituary on him this morning (written by Emma G. Fitzsimmons): … Continue reading →

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