Skip to Main Content (access key 1)
Skip to Search (access key 2)
Skip to Search GO (access key 3)
Skip to comments (access key 4)
Skip to navigation (access key 5)
Skip to top of page (access key 6)

Comments by toddaa


1. Group Asks for Divine Intervention to Ease Oil Prices

Comment #204160 by toddaa on July 4, 2008 at 8:59 am

The Saudis don't have capacity to increase their output by 1.2 million barrels a day.It would truly be a miracle if they did. If I wasn't wiser, I'd say these people are about to have a learning moment. But then, they are Christians incapable of accepting reality for what it is.

Morons.

2. Muslims outraged at police advert featuring cute puppy sitting in policeman's hat

Comment #203111 by toddaa on July 2, 2008 at 11:28 am

Is there a list of things that don't offend Muslims? I think that would be very helpful. And short.

3. Can't Darwin and God get along?

Comment #202383 by toddaa on July 1, 2008 at 12:13 pm

Dogmatic Atheist: An atheist who does not apologize for being an atheist.


Hope this helps.

4. Charles Darwin was not the father of atheism

Comment #201978 by toddaa on June 30, 2008 at 2:06 pm

Should atheists, such as Dawkins, really adopt Darwin as their champion? ..no


I, for one, agree with Mr. Pitcher. We already have a perfectly good set of atheist champions in Stalin, Pol Pot, and Hitler.

5. Vatican bans Dan Brown film Angels & Demons from Rome churches

Comment #193945 by toddaa on June 16, 2008 at 8:28 am

The Vatican asked the faithful to boycott the film of The Da Vinci Code, which Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, then Archbishop of Genoa and now, as Secretary of State, the right-hand man of Pope Benedict XVI, described as a "phantasmagorical cocktail of inventions" and "a pot-pourri of lies".


DANG IT!!! I just bought that irony meter.

6. Trailer for Religulous

Comment #190823 by toddaa on June 9, 2008 at 4:13 pm

I agree with earlier posts about accepting Bill Maher as an ally against theistic idiocy - we don't have to agree with him about everything under the sun to appreciate the point of this film.


Yes, by all means accept Bill Maher as an ally against theistic idiocy. Heck, you could even claim Deepak Chopra as an ally against theistic idiocy. Or Rupert Sheldrake. But don't for a second of think the guy is somehow an advocate for science and reason.

What isn't funny is the damage they do to education and policy.

Ironic. It's because he has a big platform in which to spread pseudo scientific nonsense that is damaging to education and policy. Antivaccination conspiracy theorists, which includes Bill Maher, are to blame for recent outbreaks in malaria and mumps. That is every bit as much a threat as fundamentalists trying to remove evolution from schools.

7. Trailer for Religulous

Comment #190735 by toddaa on June 9, 2008 at 1:20 pm

This same claim was made in the last discussion about Maher and nobody presented any evidence to support it.


Courtesy of Orac:

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2007/10/is_bill_maher_really_that_ignorant_part.php

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2008/01/is_bill_maher_really_that_ignorant_part_1.php

8. Trailer for Religulous

Comment #190640 by toddaa on June 9, 2008 at 10:14 am

The problem with defending Bill Maher is that he is not an advocate for reason. I'm sure the movie will be funny, but Maher denies germ theory. Completely. He belongs in the same category as Ken Ham. He's got a big podium on his HBO show to spew out all sorts of pseudo scientific nonsense and nobody challenges him on it because he's good at telling jokes about pedophile priests.

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

Comment #190637 by toddaa on June 9, 2008 at 10:05 am

Quick. Someone get Daniel Dennett's Darwin's Dangerous Idea and throw it at Clayton Smith.

10. Lab agrees to test Shroud of Turin for new theory

Comment #182950 by toddaa on May 21, 2008 at 6:34 am

Forensic data shows the blood stains on the shroud are real. Jackson said blood stained the cloth before the body image appeared. This rules out scorching the cloth to produce the image because the blood was not degraded by heat.

Forensic experts have documented that stains around the head are consistent with punctures by thorns. The scourge marks on the back are consistent with those made by a Roman whip called a flagrum.

A large puncture wound to the man's side is consistent in shape and size with a Roman spear of the era.


The stench of bullshit became so over whelming after reading this, I had to stop. Forensic scientists are able to discern blood markings caused by Roman spears, whips, and thorns. Right. This reads like something written by the dopes who claim that no human hoaxster could possibly be responsible for Sasquatch footprints or crop circles.

Vizzini: Inconceivable!
Inigo: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

11. Group finds Starbucks logo too hot to handle

Comment #180910 by toddaa on May 16, 2008 at 4:44 am

For a big heapin' helpin' of crazy, go take a look at the Resistance web site. Don't post there, though. Atheists and their brothers in arms Satanists are not welcome.

http://www.theresistancemanifesto.com/

12. The detail in the Devil

Comment #175976 by toddaa on May 6, 2008 at 10:00 am

I guess I'm slightly in the minority on this one. I find this subject fascinating. Not that I don't think this Bradshaw character is playing with a full deck. And the fact that a institution of higher learning is encouraging this nonsense is troubling.

But all that aside, I think it would be so fucking cool to be demon possessed.

13. Religious education as a part of literary culture

Comment #160731 by toddaa on April 14, 2008 at 10:29 am

Your confusion is due to the fact that there are two versions of the God Delusion. One can be found in many fine bookstores everywhere, and the other can be found in the poor imagination of people who with reading comprehension problems. Sadly, it's that second one that appears to be the more popular version.

For your next book, I recommend a how to guide on the proper operation of a book.

14. A New Flea

Comment #160724 by toddaa on April 14, 2008 at 10:22 am

I find it interesting that Kevin Ward advertises himself as a philosopher-theologian. Why not just philosopher? Kierkegaard was a philosopher. A pretty damn good one. But I don't recall that he ever referred to himself as a philosopher-theologian.

I guess it's because a philosopher-theologian is to philosopher as a pseudo-scientist is to scientist.

15. Anti-gay Okla. lawmaker attracts 1,000 backers

Comment #154511 by toddaa on April 3, 2008 at 11:42 am

I want Sally Kern as visible as possible. I want to give her the loudest megaphone and the highest podium possible. I want 24/7 media coverage of everything she says. I want to make sure her freedom of speech is not only protected, but encouraged. She is the best thing to happen to Christianity since Bob Jones University.

When the moderates come whining that Sally Kern does not represent Christianity as a whole, then I will demand they do something about it. It's their stupid religion. I am not responsible for fixing it.

16. Sue Blackmore debates Alister McGrath

Comment #149123 by toddaa on March 25, 2008 at 6:35 am

To further Bonzai's point, fundamentalism is a strain of Christianity that developed from the writings of John Nelson Darby and Cyrus Scofield, who both had a rather bizarre way of reading the Bible. To say fundamentalism is a more "authentic" version of Christianity ignores the history.

17. Add another flea to the list...

Comment #132935 by toddaa on February 25, 2008 at 12:23 pm

wyattroberts tut tuts:

Many of the posters here sound like they are judging these books *without* examining whatever evidence (if any) they claim to present.

Isn't that exactly the opposite of what atheists are supposed to be about -- examining the evidence?


Paula Kirby wrote a nice review of four of them.

But fair is fair. Having read some of the online responses to Dawkins' book, I can only surmise that his critics haven't read his book either.

18. Add another flea to the list...

Comment #132922 by toddaa on February 25, 2008 at 12:07 pm

Chapter 5 - The problem of wicked atheists. Stalin, Hilter, Mao and Pol Pot.


I've come to the conclusion that the only proper response to this line of argument is to use PZ Myers patented response, "YOU ARE A DEMENTED FUCKWIT." No matter how many times we debunk it, they come back for more. At some point you have to conclude that they so fucking stupid that they require written instructions on how to keep food from dribbling down the front of themselves when they eat.

19. 'Frog from hell' fossil unearthed

Comment #129417 by toddaa on February 19, 2008 at 5:04 am

The name they chose for this creature is just more proof that scientists are all in league with Satan.

20. Machines 'to match man by 2029'

Comment #128529 by toddaa on February 17, 2008 at 10:00 am

Kurzweil has been making these sorts of predictions for a few years now. He's beginning to sound a lot like Hal Lindsey. He went off the deep end when he threw his lot in with the extropians.

21. US military accused of harboring fundamentalism

Comment #127923 by toddaa on February 15, 2008 at 6:13 pm

This is not the scary part.

The scary part is that the most fervent of these fundamentalist warriors are going to work for Blackwater, which is not obligated to defend the Constitution.

22. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #127812 by toddaa on February 15, 2008 at 4:12 pm

The educational system in America is geared towards employment. People don't go to college to get an education, they go to get a job. People thought I was wasting my time taking philosophy courses while pursing a comp sci degree, but I found them to be more interesting than anything else I took in college.

I dropped out of school when I was young and finally went back as an adult, so perhaps my perspective is a bit different from people who followed a more traditional path, but I found the liberal arts courses more satisfying personally. If I could afford it, I'd go back and get a "useless" degree.

23. Bill Maher on Larry King Live

Comment #125605 by toddaa on February 11, 2008 at 5:04 pm

If Bill Maher specifically stated that antibiotics are bullshit, then I missed that, and would disagree. My point is that there are better alternatives than prescription drugs for the biggest causes of disease that I just listed.


Not to beat this into the ground, but Maher has denied the benefit of all vaccines and antibiotics. On last week's show, he said that disease is caused by toxins in our body. Not viruses, not bacteria, but toxins. That is the opinion of a man who denies the overwhelming evidence of Germ Theory. In short, his attitude towards medicine is the same as the attitude of a creationist in light of the overwhelming evidence of evolution. Denial of evidence based reason.

Bill Maher may say some good things about religion, but he is not an advocate for science and reason. We need to find a better spokesman.

24. Bill Maher on Larry King Live

Comment #125557 by toddaa on February 11, 2008 at 3:28 pm

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss his opinions on medicine until you're better read on the subject.


Right. He denies the efficacy of vaccinations because he denies Germ Theory and you're telling me I need to do research. He's just as batty as Tom Cruise railing against psychiatry. In short, he is anti-science.

It's one thing to be critical of the pharmaceutical industry and it's political power, but to deny the efficacy of science based medicine is irrational.

25. Bill Maher on Larry King Live

Comment #125496 by toddaa on February 11, 2008 at 1:10 pm

Bill Maher denies Germ Theory. Stop holding him up as a paragon of rationality. He's as bat shit insane as Tom Cruise.

26. The New Atheist Movement

Comment #123147 by toddaa on February 6, 2008 at 2:05 pm

Dan Brown?

Anybody else catch that?

27. Apologetic billboard replaces atheistic sign

Comment #123137 by toddaa on February 6, 2008 at 1:53 pm

Oh those evil atheists and their deceptive ways. The poor truthful Christian was lied to.

28. Some non-Christians feel left out of election

Comment #121470 by toddaa on February 3, 2008 at 1:07 pm

Got to be a Democrat, presumably; but who do you guys see as the "most secular" candidate?

Edit: would you, in fact, "single issue" it like that, when deciding?


If we "single issue" it, we stay home because I have yet to hear a politician at any end of the American spectrum, which is mostly moderate right to extreme right, say anything positive about secularism. As far as what's left, none of the candidates thrill me. Obama seems to have bamboozled a lot of nonbelievers into thinking he would be respectful towards them, but he panders to the delusional more than anyone outside of Baptist preacher Huckabee.

29. MySpace: No place for Atheists?

Comment #118118 by toddaa on January 30, 2008 at 11:12 am

Pulling accounts will do no good. Yanking your personal account costs MySpace nothing. MySpace has to feel it in the pocketbook and feel it bad. For years we've just sat around and whined about how mean religious bigots are towards us and where has it gotten us? Appeasing them by playing by their rules, when most of them don't even acknowledge our very existence ISN'T WORKING.

The alternative is to collect as much information on MySpace advertisers and turn up the heat. Look at what GLAAD and ADL do when one of these sorts of discriminatory events occurs. The heat is ratcheted up so high that it starts costing people money. Lot's of money. It must be made abundantly clear to bigots that doing this to atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers will cost you millions of dollars.

30. Disquiet over schools' moment of silence

Comment #103050 by toddaa on December 24, 2007 at 8:53 am

Don't these schools restrooms? I cannot think of a better place to have a moment of silence than a bathroom stall. In fact, its one of the very few places left where you can truly get a moment to yourself for quiet reflection. And it's practical, too. Unlike prayer.

31. 'Atheistic fundamentalism' fears

Comment #102263 by toddaa on December 22, 2007 at 7:59 am

It's amazing how powerful we have become without ever being in charge of anything.

32. Borders Tags Atheist Book with 'O Come All Ye Faithless' Cards

Comment #100427 by toddaa on December 18, 2007 at 3:35 pm

Is there something else on the card or is that it? I think it's pretty rich that Christians are the ones whining that we are ruining "their holiday" when they stole it from the pagans. You don't see the pagans whining.

Also, Borders is a union busting shop, so screw 'em anyway.

33. The empty myths peddled by evangelists of unbelief

Comment #97045 by toddaa on December 11, 2007 at 10:38 am

How stupid is it? You can actually smell the stupid.

34. Finding My Religion: An Interview With Shalom Auslander

Comment #94025 by toddaa on December 4, 2007 at 3:41 pm

As a former fundamentalist, I know exactly where this guy is coming from. I don't believe in god any more, but a childhood spent being indoctrinated in sin, hell, and eminent Armageddon still give me nightmares and are things that will be with me the rest of my life. Shalom knows perfectly well that the God of the Torah is a lie, but it is so much a part of his identity that he cannot escape the irrational paranoia that somewhere out there is a fucking arrogant bastard who is constantly condemning him to eternal torment. If you were not raised that way, you'd never understand it. Religious upbringing truly can be child abuse.

I'm buying the book.

35. Highway to hysteria

Comment #93970 by toddaa on December 4, 2007 at 2:03 pm

I live a mile from the intersection of I-80 and I-35. Why hasn't anyone tried to lay hands on me? I've always wondered what that laying hands on stuff does to someone. Do they push you over or do you just fall on your own? The one guy without the shirt didn't seem to know what the proper procedure was for the recipient of the laying on of hands. Will a FAQ pamphlet be provided before the laying on of hands? Are you judged on how well you pass out? I could end up on Youtube as a conversion blooper and be a laughing stock. DAMN IT, I DON'T WANT TO WASTE MY FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME ON AN INTERNET VIDEO OF ME TRIPPING OVER A PARKING PYLON AFTER SOMEONE LAYS HANDS ON ME. That's it, time to move.

36. Jesus Camp: A scary movie that should frighten us all

Comment #85362 by toddaa on November 5, 2007 at 2:59 pm

As scary as the film is, I think it should be noted that quite a few of those kids are going to end up being fire breathing atheists of the Madalyn Murray O'Hair variety.

37. Help Counter the New Atheist Crusade to 'Evangelize' America!

Comment #79472 by toddaa on October 17, 2007 at 11:24 am

Man, I wish being an atheist was half as cool as these people make us out to be.

38. The Miracle Workers

Comment #73328 by toddaa on September 24, 2007 at 6:46 pm

What's left out of this article is any mention of the fact that nonbelievers are being told to shut up and stay in the closet for fear of offending these new faith and value voters with scary things like separation of Church and State and teaching science in schools.

39. Like any half-decent atheist, I'm fond of a bit of religion

Comment #67883 by toddaa on September 5, 2007 at 4:18 am

We listened to words from Proverbs about the virtuous woman who is "a crown to her husband", and felt that the surroundings of an ancient church were perfectly in tune with the messages of love and remembrance that ran through the service.

If he can't see what's wrong with this Proverb, then I'd suggest he still has a ways to go to escape the grasp of religious indoctrination.

40. Another Flea is Born

Comment #62429 by toddaa on August 9, 2007 at 5:19 pm

Who's the guy between Darwin and Marx?