1. A cast-iron case for a secular society

Comment #224596 by Blondin on August 5, 2008 at 7:54 am

Sargeist

I can't quite yet put my finger on why

I think the reason why is because we acknowledge the fact that we can't change the colour of our skin or the place of our birth (or that of our parents) but we CAN change our belief system (if we so desire). I know you and I probably wouldn't (never say never). Race is determined by things that happened in the past and can't be changed; religion is determined by what we believe which can (in theory) be influenced by events and information.

2. A cast-iron case for a secular society

Comment #224567 by Blondin on August 5, 2008 at 6:44 am

Religion is not the same as race because, no matter how you came to be whatever religion (or lack thereof) you are, you can change to a different one should you so desire.

You might say the same applies to nationality because we can become a citizen of a different country and renounce our birth nationality but it's not the same. We can never change the fact of our ancestry.

3. New legal threat to school science in the US

Comment #207299 by Blondin on July 9, 2008 at 1:18 pm

It's tempting to adopt al-rawandi's attitude but we have to remember that the slack-jawed, mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging kids of today are the tradespeople, realtors, clerks, jurors, dentists, and *VOTERS* of tomorrow. We and our offspring may be at their mercy some day.

4. You big, fat pile of bacteria

Comment #84779 by Blondin on November 3, 2007 at 2:35 pm

I remember my dad saying a boy had to eat a PECK of dirt before he became a man. I don't remember how old I was but I was young enough to think he meant it literally and old enough to ask somebody how much was in a peck. I did not relish the prospect. I actually remember wondering who was going to keep track of the dirt-eaten-to-date tally and whether you could beat the system by just claiming to have eaten a whole peck of dirt.

5. A hole lot of nothing found by astronomers

Comment #65695 by Blondin on August 25, 2007 at 6:12 pm

I propose we call it "the SFA Nebula".