1. Pelosi, Reid shunning Ten Commandments?

Comment #181287 by MelM on May 16, 2008 at 8:49 pm

It has not escaped notice by some supporters of House Res 888 (the Declaration of Theocracy resolution) that, if passed, they could show up at state legislatures and point to it.

I quote from an important article by Chris Rodda:

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/2/6/212428/8596

On what grounds could anyone object to a school in their state having a religion week if the United States House of Representatives has designated it a religion week? Barton and Forbes even urge their audience to try to get their state legislatures to pass similar resolutions to reinforce this. That way, according to Barton, the response to any objection would be: "It's state law. You'll have a state law that designates the first week of May as faith in American history week." Co-host Green explains it like this: "When you get this type of thing passed, it opens the door for you to go to your local school district and encourage them to do something on this, and it allows for those teachers that have been wanting to get this curriculum into the classroom and teach it. There you go. It's a perfect way to do it." And if this isn't bad enough, Barton and Green even go as far as saying that the resolution itself -- with its 75 lie packed "Whereases" -- would be the perfect curriculum.

2. Pelosi, Reid shunning Ten Commandments?

Comment #181273 by MelM on May 16, 2008 at 8:25 pm

An e-mail I sent back on April 3:

Judiciary Committee Chairman: Senator Leahy,

I'm writing to urge you not to support S.Res 483, "Ten Commandments Weekend".

This resolution is just more "Christian Nation" theocratic propaganda and certainly violates the wall-of-separation: it's religious preaching. Really, it's the people's job to preach (or not) and the Senate's job to protect our right to do it. For the Senate to get into the act of preaching is grossly outrageous.

If the Founders had wanted to create a theocracy, they had plenty of models to choose from--but they didn't do it; they created a secular government for very good reasons.

Thanks for your attention.
X
California

If members of Murray's church want to celebrate the Commandments and erect them for all to see, no one's going to stop them. He could even stick them up in his back yard or make tiny versions into paperweights. Be creative. Knock yourself out, Bill.

3. Richard Dawkins Interview on TVOntario

Comment #181209 by MelM on May 16, 2008 at 4:07 pm

It's amazing how adults who believe in infantile fantasies are so concerned about respect. IMO, this is a real sore point with theists--and rightfully so. It may just be that respect from others is one of the "mainsprings" of the religious mind; they can indulge in the bullshit as long as everyone pretends that it's not bullshit. So, stop pretending; break the mainspring.

4. Richard Dawkins Interview on TVOntario

Comment #181204 by MelM on May 16, 2008 at 3:57 pm

About political action:

I don't think atheism can be a political movement. But, ...

Atheism is not a political philosophy nor even a well defined set of concrete views. Right now, I vote for the party who'll do the least fundamental damage--the least theocratic most likely. I wouldn't vote for atheist candidates just because they're atheist.

Create an "alert" web organizaion.
One thing that could be done, at least in the U.S., is to have a really good legislative alert service on the web. It would be tasked with keeping up with legislation and other government actions (both state and federal) that have an impact on the wall-of-separation.

Give us a warning; we'll take it from there.
The aim would be to give us warning so that we could contact political allies, contact government officials, write letters to the editor, write op-eds or magazine articles, or even mount some special purpose lobbying effort. The nutters are pushing legislation forward 24/7 and it's hard to keep up. (We just dodged a bullet on the "10 commandments weekend" but I still don't know exactly what happened.)

An alert-only organization.
I'm thinking of a "modular" approach where the legislative alert organization wouldn't engage in lobbying; atheists are going to differ on many pieces of legislation that have an indirect impact on the wall. For example, a recent court decision--which may be overturned soon--in California almost made home schooling illegal. Some atheists approve and some don't (I happen to find the decision shockingly horrid). Unfortunately, I don't even believe that issuing press releases from the alert organizaion would be a good idea. It would surely be tempting, but sooner or later, the inclusiveness would be blown and people would stop supporting it. Let other organizations issue press releases.

Too many causes packaged with atheism
Anyway, an atheist lobby would be a difficult thing to hold together and be inclusive. There'd be a temptation to create package-deal causes and certainly to "take over" such an effort for some specific political movement. What's sold as an inclusive atheist lobby, would most likely end up just a "front" organization and a scam. If one wants of create a lobby out of a set of social etc views plus atheism, that's ok, but it should be honest and not spend money on fighting for corn subsidies that most supporters don't know about.

5. Richard Dawkins Interview on TVOntario

Comment #181171 by MelM on May 16, 2008 at 2:22 pm

This is the second time in the last few weeks that I've seen Pascal's Wager put forward while Dawkins wasn't on-camera. In the first case, it was done before the conversation and I assumed that Dawkins heard it but just forgot to rebut it before the main conversation began. In the current case, however, it was put on the screen after the conversation. Apparently, some find it to be an overwhelming argument and have decided that an off-conversation insertion is the best way to make their little point--IMO, it's a sleazy way to do things but I don't expect much better from theists.

6. UC Berkeley is going to court over Evolution website

Comment #180704 by MelM on May 15, 2008 at 3:18 pm

This is shameful:

Misconception: "Evolution and religion are incompatible."
...
Response: Religion and science (evolution) are very different things. In science, only natural causes are used to explain natural phenomena, while religion deals with beliefs that are beyond the natural world.

In contrast, a debate pitting a scientific concept against a religious belief has no place in a science class and misleadingly suggests that a "choice" between the two must be made.

Religion, on the other hand, deals with spirituality and the supernatural world. Its explanations often involve supernatural forces. Since science and religion deal with different realms, there doesn't need to be a conflict between them.

7. Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens

Comment #180278 by MelM on May 14, 2008 at 1:32 pm

The RC god is all-powerful; so...

Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.

8. Richard Dawkins discusses Einstein's new letters

Comment #179837 by MelM on May 13, 2008 at 9:06 pm

For what it's worth.

Turns out that John Hedley Brooke has already been discussed both on the Dawkins blog and at PZ's Pharyngula.

According to Wikipedia, he's involved with the Templeton Foundation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hedley_Brooke

In 1998 he joined the Templeton Oxford Seminars Steering Committee...

9. Richard Dawkins discusses Einstein's new letters

Comment #179790 by MelM on May 13, 2008 at 6:41 pm

Walter Isaacson's view (not an atheist) on an MSNBC video:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24579466#24579466



The MSNBC article about the letter:
If correct, Brooke's view would again imply that Einstein was not an atheist.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24598856/

John Brooke, emeritus professor of science and religion at Oxford University, said the letter lends weight to the notion that "Einstein was not a conventional theist" --although he was not an atheist, either.

...
Brooke said Einstein believed that "there is some kind of intelligence working its way through nature. But it is certainly not a conventional Christian or Judaic religious view."

I don't hang my hat on what Einstein did or didn't believe, and nor should anyone else.

10. 'My daughter deserved to die for falling in love'

Comment #178530 by MelM on May 11, 2008 at 2:46 pm

All the woman in this story (from the Boston Globe) wanted was to live like you and I.

http://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/212/honor-killing.htm#2

For Muslim women, a deadly defiance
'Honor killings' on rise in Europe
By Colin Nickerson, Globe Staff | January 16, 2006
...
BERLIN -- Life was just starting to look up for 23-year-old Hatun Surucu when the bullets cut her down.

...
After four years of grueling courses in vocational school, coupled with the demands of single motherhood, she was only weeks away from receiving certification as an electrician, a trade that would give her the independence she desperately craved.

...
Further enraging her family, she abandoned the hijab -- the traditional head scarf worn by some Muslim women -- in favor of earrings, makeup, and blue jeans. Her son, now 6, was the light of her life, friends say. But Surucu also loved movies and going out dancing.

...
''A murder happened nearby; a young woman was killed. She died because she wanted to live freely," Steffans said. ''But we are shocked by the fact that students approve of this murder and say [Surucu] deserved to die because she 'lived like a German.' "

11. Richard Dawkins interviewed by John Humphrys on Cardinal Murphy O'Connor

Comment #178178 by MelM on May 10, 2008 at 5:38 pm

"I believe." = "I don't have any evidence and please be kind to my feelings and don't ask for any."

It's just pathetic begging by the "poor in reason" who want to prattle about the most senseless sort of drivel but don't want to look like fools.

12. Atheists are nice people who will roast in hell, says Cardinal

Comment #177878 by MelM on May 9, 2008 at 9:45 pm

Start chastising these nutters!! Thus:

Press release:

We thank the Cardinal for acknowledging that atheists are decent people. However, we insist that he stop filling people's minds with senseless Bible myths and, in particular, stop terrorizing them with tales of hell.

13. Atheists are nice people who will roast in hell, says Cardinal

Comment #177868 by MelM on May 9, 2008 at 9:25 pm

Never mind his "after death" prattle; he told everyone that atheists--in this life--are nice people. (Hey, I'll take it!)

Nice people burning in hell? Perhaps there will be some in his herd who can still turn the crank on their own and figure out that there's something unjust in this viewpoint.

14. The detail in the Devil

Comment #176065 by MelM on May 6, 2008 at 1:34 pm

Bradshaw is needed in Florida. He really must look into the wizard unmasked recently at a school there. PZ has the story:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/05/i_cant_believe_in_florida_anym.php

15. Bill Good Interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #174887 by MelM on May 3, 2008 at 6:09 pm

A thought about how to counter the atheism implies mass murder accusation.

Theists try to scare us into their bullshit life-after-death Jesus ethics by putting forward the idea that tyrany and eugenics are logical consequences of atheism. It is a theist view--coming from inside of religion itself--that ethics requires a god and that the god forbids thought about ethics (commandments). Atheism just claims that we should end the pathetic practice of mindlessly sponging up drivel out of holy books, and that no conclusions about anything can be based on the existence of god(s); that's all it says! Atheism can lead one only to the conclusion that a moral theory (or any other theory) must be based in naturalism just like any other science. Giving up on god(s) but keeping the religious "non thinking" perspective on ethics is mistake.

16. Bill Good Interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #174863 by MelM on May 3, 2008 at 5:08 pm

A consciousness can exist without the organs of consciousness? I don't think so.

Dawkins:...there's no reason to think that we can think without a brain.

17. Evolution's Critics Shift Tactics With Schools

Comment #174821 by MelM on May 3, 2008 at 3:34 pm

The Florida legislative session ended yesterday with NO ACADEMIC FREEDOM BILL. There's a good deal of talk about Florida and the problem in Louisiana (including a post by PZ of a message from Barbara Forrest) today on Panda's Thumb:

http://pandasthumb.org/

18. Science leads to killing people

Comment #171822 by MelM on April 28, 2008 at 9:34 pm

I've finally found some data on how EXPELLED did this last weekend. From the web site "Box Office Mojo": Dropped to 13th from 10th the week before, dropped to $1,394,940 (down 53%), with a grand total of $5,297,860. Let's hope that the half-life of this movie turns out to be 1 week.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/

19. Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats

Comment #171650 by MelM on April 28, 2008 at 4:44 pm

Comment #171388 by BCReason,

Re: the online pole.

32,500 at this time and changing rapidly.

70% yes, 21% no, 9% undecided.

20. Science leads to killing people

Comment #171602 by MelM on April 28, 2008 at 3:44 pm

This must be a nightmare and I'll wake up soon.

21. Religion a figment of human imagination

Comment #171599 by MelM on April 28, 2008 at 3:40 pm

Religion is just a fantasy.

22. Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats

Comment #169733 by MelM on April 26, 2008 at 4:37 pm

You can leave a comment supporting Jeremy after the story on "Kansas City Star" site (Fort Reley is in Kansas). No login or account is required.

http://www.kansascity.com/440/story/592901.html#recent_comm

23. Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats

Comment #169685 by MelM on April 26, 2008 at 2:52 pm

Remember the "Aroma of Jesus" video? I don't recall reading about the outcome of the investigation of the vidio. It turns out that Mr Weinstein (of The Military Religious Freedom Foundation) got a victory.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1649845,00.html

...the Inspector General's office of the Department of Defense released a report concluding that a former Pentagon chaplain and several generals inappropriately loaned the prestige of their positions--and that of the Pentagon and the U.S. government--to make a fundraising film for a non-governmental evangelical group, the so-called Christian Embassy. The report identified Christian Embassy as affiliated with the group Campus Crusade for Christ.

...

In the course of defending himself to the Inspector General's office, one of the generals asserted his belief that the Christian Embassy had become a "quasi-federal entity." This seems to support assertions by Weinstein that there is real confusion in high ranks of the military regarding armed service's secular status.

24. Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats

Comment #169669 by MelM on April 26, 2008 at 2:04 pm

From the AP story:

"...took several bullets in its protective shield. Afterward, his commander asked whether he believed in God, Hall said. I said, 'No, but I believe in Plexiglas,'" Hall said

25. Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats

Comment #169657 by MelM on April 26, 2008 at 1:33 pm

The organization: Military Religious Freedom Foundation:
http://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/


The book: "With God on Our Side: One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military"
http://www.amazon.com/God-Our-Side-Evangelical-Americas/dp/0312374836/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209241979&sr=1-1

26. Is religion a threat to rationality and science?

Comment #168130 by MelM on April 24, 2008 at 2:42 pm

Is religion a threat to rationality? Yes, I think so, and I place this in evidence:

From Americans United for Separation of Church and Statre. "Sackcloth And Ashes: Birmingham Mayor Schedules Prayer Of Repentance"

27. Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital

Comment #167304 by MelM on April 23, 2008 at 9:36 pm

Here's a video about "witch villages" in Ghana. Note the bizarre trial that invokes the gods.

You'll have to use the search box first: type "ghana" then click. On the search result page, click the right center item titled "Assignment Africa: The Witch Villages of Ghana". The "Enlarge" button on the top left of the image works nicely--at least on my system.

http://cbs5.com/video/?cid=130

28. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #167186 by MelM on April 23, 2008 at 5:41 pm

OT

Yoko Ono is suing!

From PZ:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/04/imagine_this.php#comments

29. Investigating Atheism

Comment #166951 by MelM on April 23, 2008 at 2:03 pm

Google for "psychopathology of religion" got me this interesting site: Link-> Derbyshire Secular Humanists.

Psychology: the study of the mind.

Psychopathology: the study of the mentally ill.

No, we are not saying that all religious people are mentally ill (though we do think that religion can be cured) - please read on!

...
It is interesting that most of the books and papers on the psychology and psychopathology of religion have been written by the religious - enquiring into why they believe as they do. They simply cannot leave it alone - "I believe because I believe" - they have to find some reason for why they believe (other than impartial logical proof which, as we have seen elsewhere, is denied to them.)

30. Investigating Atheism

Comment #166928 by MelM on April 23, 2008 at 1:47 pm

Why not an "Investigating Theism" site and a "Psychopathology of Religion Research Group"?

31. Investigating Atheism

Comment #166883 by MelM on April 23, 2008 at 1:24 pm

Check the "About Us" link:

The website has been put together by a group of academics and researchers at the faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, and at the University of Oxford.

...
Many of the team are also members, or former members, of the Psychology and Religion Research Group (PRRG) , based at the Margaret Beaufort Institute in Cambridge.

...
Fraser N. Watts, Ph.D.
Director, Psychology and Religion Research Group
...
Fraser was ordained in the Church of England in 1990 and is now Vicar-Chaplain of St. Edward King and Martyr, Cambridge

32. Yoko Ono, Filmmakers Caught in 'Expelled' Flap

Comment #162413 by MelM on April 16, 2008 at 10:36 pm

Comment #162398 by maureen

I'm looking forward to see what maureen can come up with. Should be interesting.

33. Teacher Expelled Over Religion

Comment #162367 by MelM on April 16, 2008 at 6:49 pm

Which reminds me. Sam Harris had an interesting comment about Islam in a video showing on "Atheist Media Blog".

"Liberals are clueless..."
http://atheistmedia.blogspot.com/2008/04/sam-harris-liberals-are-clueless-about.html

I've started checking out this site regularly; they often have some great videos.

34. Teacher Expelled Over Religion

Comment #162359 by MelM on April 16, 2008 at 6:16 pm

PZ is advising that we link to the EXPELLED Exposed site using the word "Expelled". He says it will give the site a higher ranking by the search engines.

Link to the "EXPELLED Exposed" site: Expelled

35. Evolution fray attracts top scientist

Comment #162356 by MelM on April 16, 2008 at 6:00 pm

Today, I found this Wikipeia entry about DI's "Free Speech on Evolution."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Speech_on_Evolution

Free Speech on Evolution is a Discovery Institute intelligent design campaign.

...
Part of the campaign's approach has been to position the Institute as opposed to any required teaching intelligent design while other Institute campaigns, Teach the Controversy and Critical Analysis of Evolution, introduce high school students to design arguments through the Discovery Institute-drafted lesson plans.

36. Evolution fray attracts top scientist

Comment #162351 by MelM on April 16, 2008 at 5:37 pm

About the "Crackpot Freedom" bill in Florida:

The situation isn't looking good in Florida. The Florida Citizens for Science blog is advising people not to bother trying to make a case for evolution or about anything else. Just talk about law suits and costs.

http://www.flascience.org/wp/?p=547

From the post "Yup, I was wrong":

As this drama plays out, I am getting the rude awakening that our opponents are not fighting on the science battlefield or even the education battlefield. This is politics all the way.

...

Trying to convince lawmakers that the bills are religious Trojan horses, and that the scientific community is fully against this garbage, and that Storms and Hays are not being entirely forthcoming about their intent--well, it's all a waste of breath.

...

Don't waste any time on other efforts. Ask them about the trial lawyers and litigation. Ask them until they hear you.

37. Teacher Expelled Over Religion

Comment #162246 by MelM on April 16, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Here's a YouTube audio session of Mark Mathis with some Scientific American editors. Mathis showed the film to the editors. It's on the "Atheist Media Blog" site:

http://atheistmedia.blogspot.com/2008/04/scientific-american-vs-mark-mathis.html

38. Teacher Expelled Over Religion

Comment #161751 by MelM on April 15, 2008 at 3:48 pm

What's "news" in this is the link to NCSE's new "EXPELLED EXPOSED" web site. It even looks into the real stories behind the people that were "expelled." Check it out.

http://www.expelledexposed.com/

I think this new web site really should have been the main point of this post.

39. Teacher Expelled Over Religion

Comment #161653 by MelM on April 15, 2008 at 1:26 pm

Here's a link to the NCSE story along with the e-mail at issue.

http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/TX/950_texas_education_official_force_11_29_2007.asp

will young (#161645 by will young)
found the old Dawkins link.

Recently, some important elections results in Texas were pro-evolution.

40. Teacher Expelled Over Religion

Comment #161638 by MelM on April 15, 2008 at 1:15 pm

haris,

Yes, she's the one. Good link.

41. Teacher Expelled Over Religion

Comment #161633 by MelM on April 15, 2008 at 1:13 pm

This story isn't accurate. She was a memeber of a Texas state committee. It was a big shot at the state level who came up with the neutral bit. Because of her position, the consequences are worse than if it had been a teacher firing. I'll see if I can find a link.

42. Religious education as a part of literary culture

Comment #161139 by MelM on April 14, 2008 at 11:10 pm

#161122 by Blake C. Stacey
#161123 by Blake C. Stacey

Thanks for the informative comments. I've checked the Asimov book on Shakespeare and it looks quite valuable for providing the large context Asimov requires for Shakespeare. I'm impressed. This and annotated editions should allow English lit to remain alive without making the Bible a central component of a child's education for perhaps many years. For high school kids, I'd rather see a course in the history of philosophy; explicitly take up some of the big basic ideas--faith vs reason would be a requirement for inclusion.

http://www.amazon.com/Asimovs-Guide-Shakespeare-Understanding-Enjoying/dp/0517268256/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208237202&sr=1-1

So, with a guide and some footnotes, the problem looks headed for a solution without bibliolatry.

Edit: Surely, there's no need to immerse kids in a book of toxic woo woo that's helping to destroy the world. Ideas matter.

And what about the Greek plays? They're wonderful.
Henrik Ibsen too.

43. Richard Dawkins' secular army must be stopped. God is behind some of our greatest art

Comment #161052 by MelM on April 14, 2008 at 5:38 pm

The second to last Christian will not be stopped from making the last Christian painting nor will the last Christian be stopped from enjoying it and all the other art with Christian content. And, I cliam no right to destory any art. So, there's nothing for Christians to worry about on this score.

44. Religious education as a part of literary culture

Comment #160991 by MelM on April 14, 2008 at 4:27 pm

Put the expressions in footnotes or a book.
There are lots of sayings and expressions in common use that didn't come from the Bible; anyone can find books of them on Amazon.com. So, why not put the Bible expressions and stories truely needed for English lit into a book. Or, why not put explanations needed for Shakespeare into editions of Shakespeare--foot notes or end notes etc. Even a companion to Shakespeare might be in order--perhaps also including some history or whatever else is needed to make the plays more understandable. (I like Henrik Ibsen anyway. I'm reminded to try looking for a good English edition again.) I have a great deal of trouble with the idea of giving the Bible to little kids or spending a half or full year course in high school.

At this point, I find the literary argument and the use of the Bible to understand history to be the only reasons to have anything to do with the disgusting book--I include the "Jesus Love" drivel so nicely trashed in the "Brick Testament". Future generations--at least for a few hundred years--will need to know about Genisis to understand the opposition to Darwin--for example. In a thousand years, perhaps only specialists will have a reason to be interested; the religious counter attack on Darwin will just be a footnote--Darwin will still be famous.

As for religious culture, I'm willing to give up every scrap of it. I will go to religious weddings and funerals but I only tolerate them; I don't like them. "Tradition" and "heritage" are not virtues.

45. Religious education as a part of literary culture

Comment #160951 by MelM on April 14, 2008 at 3:20 pm

Every time this topic comes up, I nearly panic for fear of what might happen.

Bible literacy Trojan horses
In the U.S., there are two main Trojan horse "Bible Literacy" programs for high schools. One says what its religious intentions are, right up front. The other is much slicker and digging is required, including looking at the founder's background. In an email reply to me, a textbook reviewer whose team--as part of their work--looks for and finds religion snuck into history books, informed me that the companion book for the slicker of the programs is an "outrageous fraud."

Fundies for Shakespeare? Give me a break.
There is no massive feeling of outrage from fundies because their kids can't read Shakespeare--the idea is ludicrous. The faithful are being enlisted to promote "Bible Literacy"; but, they don't give a rat's behind about Shakespeare or any other literature--except perhaps the "Left Behind" series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

Prof Dawkins, please, please, please, do not get tricked into endorsing any of these "Bible Literacy" Trojan horse programs.

46. A New Flea

Comment #160285 by MelM on April 13, 2008 at 10:12 pm

#160170 by Elles

THE REASON FOR GOD, by Timothy Keller has been on the NYT bestseller list for 7 weeks and is now at 13th, down from 7th last week. This was the guy who filled Wheeler auditorium at U.C. Berkeley just 4 days before Richard came (Richard filled it too).

From the book description at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Reason-God-Belief-Age-Skepticism/dp/0525950494/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208144371&sr=1-1

For years, Tim Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced "doubts" skeptics bring to his Manhattan church. And in The Reason for God, he single-handedly dismantles each of them. Written with atheists, agnostics, and skeptics in mind, Keller also provides an intelligent platform on which true believers can stand their ground when bombarded by the backlash

47. 'Expelled' ripped off Harvard's 'Inner Life of the Cell' animation

Comment #159294 by MelM on April 11, 2008 at 10:29 pm

Even if it had been Hitler himself who wrote "The Origin of Species", it wouldn't make evolution false and Genisis true. The character of the writer has nothing to do with the truth or falsehood of the writer's views. It's important to stress this commonsense fact over and over again. The anti-evolution nutters pretend, every chance they get, not to know this; so, it's vital that we remind listeners every time and not allow ourselves to become totally sidetracked in a debate about a red herring, irrationally thrown out by the creationists. To debate a red herring while leaving the irrational premise behind it unchallended is, itself, irrational.

48. 'Expelled' ripped off Harvard's 'Inner Life of the Cell' animation

Comment #159156 by MelM on April 11, 2008 at 2:02 pm

So, what's going on now? David Bolinsky's name was on the letter sent to Premise Media. So what's he saying about legal action? The letter said "...of material produced by XVIVO LLC, in which XVIVO holds a copyright"

From the email posted above: XVIVO has no intention of engaging alone, in asymmetrical fighting against an ideological entity with orders of magnitude more resources than we have. That might make great theater, but would resemble a hugely expensive game of whack-a-ID. Boring!

...

Once we uncover the EXPELLED animation dollar trail, and bring it to light, we will have even more fun. The sublimely ridiculous claim that EXPELLED uses completely original animation, in light of copying our work so closely that a budget was reserved to pay for an infringement suit by Harvard, is delicious! Why should I try to take you guys down when you are doing such a splendid job yourselves? For free! So go ahead and release your movie. Just keep track of how many tickets you sell. We may just find that data valuable, too.

49. The simple falsehood at the heart of Expelled

Comment #158318 by MelM on April 10, 2008 at 10:36 am

I found this from news item NCSE in my email box today.

"Expelled producers accused of copyright infringement" April 9 by NCSE

http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2008/US/301_expelled_producers_accused_of__4_9_2008.asp

50. Rep. Davis: The Worst Person in the World

Comment #157862 by MelM on April 9, 2008 at 4:09 pm

The Lincoln page at "Positive Atheism"; amazing.
There's one accusation of an attempt to fabricate Lincoln's piety.

http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/lincframe.htm