1. Puncturing the Acupuncture Myth

Comment #286361 by comet tail on November 18, 2008 at 1:57 pm

I am skeptical of this report. Have these tests been done on other medical treatments? Are medical trials by drug companies trustworthy?
I think the percentages of 43% to 55% of people getting better with a placebo, would be the same result for other more "modern" medicinal practices. Most of it is dependent on placebo effect, except a small percentage that actually works because it is an aggressive addition of a chemical into your body, sometimes doing more damage than good. Most people eat so much fat, they can not achieve any relief unless by some form of chemical intrusion.
Proper eating is the best cure. And that is backed up by research and clinical trials but it is never recommended by medical professionals, only your so called quacks.

2. Obama Should Re-Think His Faith-Based Agenda

Comment #220536 by comet tail on July 28, 2008 at 2:42 pm

I gather that few of my fellow posters here, or the author of this blog on HuffPost, have needed to depend on a soup kitchen for a meal.

Where does charity fit in? In my opinion it is the only worthwhile occupation of a church. Should charity be government run?
Just curious.

3. Fury at funeral songs ban

Comment #211921 by comet tail on July 16, 2008 at 11:50 am

These posts are great! A lot of experiences from religious funerals are memorably horrible to say the least. Here is my favorite:
My father in law had a military funeral, mostly to save money. It was never clear what he believed in except being practical, but most of the family is religious (born again crazies) so at the funeral, after the 21 gun salute, the army minister presented my mother in law with 3 bullets and said "here is the father, son and holy ghost". I was sitting right behind and did an audible guffaw spit-take. This story always amuses my family, all atheists thank god, as I say! Every visit to mom in law we take out the 3 bullets, sitting on the credenza in a place of honor, and have a good giggle.

4. The Return of Religion

Comment #211890 by comet tail on July 16, 2008 at 11:25 am

Religious apologists always site consciousness, and the awe that it produces, as a justification for a god. Why is consciousness denied to other life forms, why is it only given to humans? As more research emerges that religion is just another prescribed mental trait- possibly mammalian more than human-- of organizing the self in relationship to the other, in a simplistic, economic pattern, one that keeps it's organism insular and procreating, humans may have to face a lot of the biases that our consciousness have created that support religious beliefs and some scientific ones too. It is a self fulfillment strategy; "we humans are so special, there must be a god" that has kept us as top carnivore of the planet, and that is all. Science is always denounced for not creating awe or satisfying the needs of the inner consciousness in these apologies. These rebukes of atheism give religion more credit than it deserves.

5. Obama Wants to Expand Role of Religious Groups

Comment #203429 by comet tail on July 2, 2008 at 11:09 pm

This is not scary - it is practical. I listenend to his speech and he does not make it about religious values, it's just a practical reality to deal with a multitude of issues in a grassroots way. I do not know of too many atheist groups that are set up in poor communities offering support for the homeless and food kitchens, etc. That is what this is about- providing different levels of aid to communities. It is a practical way to get help to people in communities. You should read Bill McKibben, an author who believes the only way we will be able to change human behavior fast enough to deal with global warming is to get church groups on board with environmental issues. This is just starting to happen with less neo-con churches. It's great that we here don't need religion, but it seems that a lot of people do. If schools taught critical thinking in the US I think we would all be in a better place.
Meanwhile- chill out- this is not pandering. The guy believes in this stuff so that is technically not pandering.

6. Pastors Challenge Law, Endorse Candidates From Pulpit

Comment #197289 by comet tail on June 21, 2008 at 3:32 pm

A month before I made the sermon I talked to the church leadership. I told them, 'If we do this we could lose our tax exempt status. Are you prepared for that?' We spent a week in prayer, and I felt God was telling me to make that speech.