1. Prayer refusal pupils 'disciplined'

Comment #204711 by huzonfurst on July 5, 2008 at 3:03 pm

huzonfurst, would you consider testing on the content of the Christian Lords prayer for RE purposes to be an affront to British secular politics?

Straw man, Beno. The incident in question involved a physical exercise which should not have been forced on any student.

Or maybe not a straw man, if you look at it the way I do, as any religious *instruction* is inappropriate in a public school. Requiring the memorization of any creed crosses the line, in my opinion.

The great teapot asked why do public schools bother with religion at all, since they don't bother with other equally absurd superstitions like astrology.

2. Prayer refusal pupils 'disciplined'

Comment #204628 by huzonfurst on July 5, 2008 at 11:49 am

Benocrates, I am saying that letting anything that smacks of religious coercion slide is the equivalent of pounding nails into our own coffins. This doesn't mean I think any one incident will lead to another Dark Age, but it does mean that I prefer to err on the side of caution, exposing every possible threat to the light of day and *not* letting it pass!

"All that's needed for evil to triumph is for good men (*and* women, as in Life of Brian) to do nothing" and all that.

3. Prayer refusal pupils 'disciplined'

Comment #204603 by huzonfurst on July 5, 2008 at 10:47 am

Zara, I find your comment much too accomodating. If it turns into a positive thing it will be because what the teacher did is recognized to be as outrageous as it is.

By now I must freely admit to a strong anti-Islam bias, which is an eminently rational position to take based on its record. What would you do, wait until sharia is imposed on all of Britain "just to be sure" Islam really is that bad?

Same to you, Benocrates. Haven't you ever heard the expression "Give them an inch and they'll take a mile?"

4. Sharia law 'could have UK role'

Comment #204269 by huzonfurst on July 4, 2008 at 2:41 pm

Please, not all liberals are politically-correct, multi-cultural hand-wringers. I'm a "liberal" and I *despise* this naïve, defective take on things.

I think a lot of it is based on the received, unthinking respect for religion. Hand-wringers know how easy it is to inadvertantly insult almost any religious belief, so rather than realize that perhaps this is because religious beliefs are inherently idiotic and don't deserve respect they take exactly the wrong approach and assume something must be wrong with their own culture instead of the foreign one (not that any culture is perfect), no matter how glaringly stupid and inhumane the foreign one might be.

This allows them to feel superior to their own countrypersons (ha!) and also saves them from having to make actual value judgments which would result in someone, somewhere inevitably calling them "racist," the worst thing in the universe to a hand-wringer - worse than ignoring the gruesome facts about FGM, beheadings, amputations, beatings, child rape and on and on.

These people should be made to watch about 12 hours of video with examples of all of the above in living (and dying) color and stereo sound for the full experience (with no vomit bags so that the theater would gradually fill with an odor to match their cloying presumptiveness). Maybe then a small percentage might be persuaded that they've gotten it wrong about Islam, and possibly others as well.

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

Comment #203706 by huzonfurst on July 3, 2008 at 12:00 pm

First of all, it is unfair to expect that someone who does not live in the U.K. would know that the Daily Mail is a right-wing rag.

Second of all, even if this story has been exaggerated it has credibility because it is consistent with all the other stories about Muslim thin-skinnedness (is that a word?).

Islam has created its own PR problem by its violent actions around the world (so has George Bush but we'll be rid of him soon) and only Islam can fix it, which it does not seem interested in doing.

The "moderate" Muslims who disagree with their jihadist brothers but don't make the slightest protest must be hanging out with the moderate Xtians in the US who practice deafening silence about those who blow up abortion clinics and murder their doctors "in the name of life."

6. Faith schools undermined by 'Government witch hunt'

Comment #202341 by huzonfurst on July 1, 2008 at 10:53 am

Clodhopper, your avatar is grotesque. What's it supposed to be, anyway?

7. Aliens need Christ's redemption, too

Comment #201912 by huzonfurst on June 30, 2008 at 11:59 am

This article should go into psychology textbooks as a magnificent example of verbal diarrhea.

Besides, all his questions about preaching to aliens were answered in the South Park episode called Starvin' Marvin in Space (or something like that), where missionaries raced to evangelize the Marklar. The frequent cuts to Pat Robertson asking for billions to pay for the latest hyperspace drive were priceless.

8. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #198971 by huzonfurst on June 24, 2008 at 11:04 pm

Right on, Quomak. It's total BS to demand that one's critics become experts in the superstition at hand before they can form a reasonable opinion of it. I've had a number of newagers insist that I read all their UFO books before I dare say that they're full of it. Like RD said, you don't need a PhD in fairies to disbelieve in them!

9. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #198745 by huzonfurst on June 24, 2008 at 12:30 pm

"The Prophet is our model." - Islam

"Moe is their leader." - Homer Simpson, expounding upon the Three Stooges.

10. Teen's death blamed on faith healing

Comment #198304 by huzonfurst on June 23, 2008 at 2:28 pm

Outrages like this make a strong case for vigilante justice. Whenever governments become ineffective the people eventually take the law into their own hands out of sheer necessity (the fact that these groups easily turn into criminal gangs themselves does not negate the initial need for them).

A mass necktie party for every "adult" member of this death cult would certainly get people's attention, possibly even to the point of doing something about this crap! Meanwhile, of course, Oprah will be "praying for their souls..."

I had the nauseating experience of being present at a debate between lawyers for CHILD (Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty) and those for the Christian Scientists, and was sickened by the sneering, smug attitude of the civilized-appearing but downright *evil* apologists for faith-killing.

These assholes had placed religious exemptions for faith-killers in every single state and were worried that they were getting overturned in a very few of them thanks to years-long efforts by truly dedicated people. One way to help would be to contact this organization and volunteer some time or money, as I did several years ago.

CHILD was founded by Rita Swan, a former xtian scientist who was pressured into praying her own child to death and left the church as a result:

www.childrenshealthcare.org

The kid we're discussing here is already on their website.

Reply to al-raw: No need to use bullets; ropes are recyclable and they cause more well-deserved suffering if applied correctly.

11. Where do US lawmakers stand on science?

Comment #198224 by huzonfurst on June 23, 2008 at 11:54 am

My grandfather was an engineer. He drove a train.

12. On this Day: Galileo Sentenced for Believing Sun Is Center of Universe

Comment #198222 by huzonfurst on June 23, 2008 at 11:49 am

Galileo knew what he was doing. In his Dialogue, the defender of the Church's position was named Simplicio and made to sound that way.

13. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #198213 by huzonfurst on June 23, 2008 at 11:38 am

In memory of George Carlin:

PISS ON ISLAM!!

I WIPE MY ASS WITH THE KORAN -- AFTER I USE IT FOR TARGET PRACTICE!!!

14. Christianity 'could die out within a century'

Comment #197371 by huzonfurst on June 21, 2008 at 10:40 pm

I'd love to believe this, but everyone thought religion would die out at the end of the 19th century too. That ghost meme is a tough mother!

15. Should Strident British Atheist Richard Dawkins Dictate Education Policy to US States? Barbara Forrest Apparently Thinks So

Comment #197033 by huzonfurst on June 21, 2008 at 12:39 am

How come these "equal time" crusaders never offer to have evolution taught in Sunday school?

Could it be they're lying hypocrites...?

16. Rapture site sends unbelievers their last chance ... via email

Comment #194760 by huzonfurst on June 17, 2008 at 8:40 am

Why didn't I think of this?? Oh well, back to churning out tortillas with Jesus on them...

17. Breaking the Silence

Comment #194303 by huzonfurst on June 16, 2008 at 3:31 pm

Zoltix,

Not all leftists are poltically-correct, multi-cultural hand-wringers, as you imply. I myself am extremely left-wing but for *rational* reasons and have never supported the kind of knee-jerk nonsense that you mention (how's that for a hyphenated response?).

I used to get upset when people called me "racist" for being against illegal immigration or Islam, now I laugh in their clueless faces. They don't get someone who puts George Bush in the same category as Usama bin Laden and hates both of them equally.

18. From Big Bang to Us - Made Easy

Comment #192826 by huzonfurst on June 14, 2008 at 2:41 am

Not only should these videos be shown in every school in the world, fundamentalists of every faith ought to be forced to watch them - a la Clockwork Orange with their eyelids held open - until they get it!

To those who wish to "spare the feelings" of believers, it's time to show these cretins the same regard they've shown for atheists throughout history (short of burning them alive perhaps).

Religion can't be stomped out of existence soon enough for me.

19. Court Claim: Chimps Are People, Too

Comment #192016 by huzonfurst on June 12, 2008 at 10:09 am

Why limit rights only to animals we think of as "sentient"? Any creature that is capable of suffering ought to have some enforceable rights against maltreatment.

Western countries do have some laws against animal cruelty but they don't go nearly far enough, in my opinion, and not all Western countries are equally diligent about it (there's something about Latin culture which approves of bull/cock/dog-fighting and Dawkins knows what other disgustingly atavistic "entertainments," for example).

Third world countries (and I include Muslim societies in this category) are hopeless as far as their treatment of animals is concerned. Some would excuse this on economics, although how simply being kind to animals requires a certain level of income escapes me.

To change the subject, Doctor Dee's picture of the Far Side's "God as a kid tries to make a chicken in his room" resulted in an islamically surreal response by San Diego's fundies when the (extremely right-wing and pro-christer) paper first published it some 20 years ago: a few days afterwards the paper was flooded with letters squawking "Blasphemy in the Union Tribune!" and telephone poles everywhere were covered with flyers urging good xtians to boycott any company that advertised in the paper...

Btw, jimbob, our current excuse for a president was never actually elected, you know. Not that that excuses the millions of boneheads who did vote for him.

20. Hints of structure beyond the visible universe

Comment #191558 by huzonfurst on June 11, 2008 at 8:16 am

Rebelest, the relative velocities of those two spaceships can never even equal the speed of light, even if they are flying in opposite directions at 99% of c!

But that scenario is about objects moving in space, whereas the inflation of space is thought to have happened at thousands of times light speed (or millions; I don't recall the figure).

21. Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind

Comment #191555 by huzonfurst on June 11, 2008 at 8:04 am

I didn't mean to imply that the English 'kludge' was derived from the German 'klug,' as the meanings are quite different. It's an accidental resemblance; after all, German 'ass' means 'I, s/he/it ate.'

German and English both, however, adopted the Latin adjective 'intellegens/intellegentis' (derived from the present participle of intellegere, 'to understand').

22. God and Science Collide in Nation's Capital

Comment #191433 by huzonfurst on June 11, 2008 at 12:55 am

Ugh - there's that agenda-laden bullshit word "scientism" again. These people are as transparent as cretinists (sic - couldn't help myself) saying "evolutionist" or Republicans saying the "Democrat" party. All bullshit, all the time!

Scientists who have anything to do with the Templetons are sleeping with the enemy, by the way. I saw the Templeton fakes in action at Beyond Belief 2006 and was outraged at their slimy, disingenuous tactics. They were walking examples of physics envy at its most vile, another fifth column no different in its ultimate goals than the waves of Muslim immigrant invaders intent on changing the face of Europe by sheer numbers.

Why waste time and breath on religious wankers? Declare them the enemy and be done with it!

PS to 3legcat from last month: How can anyone "affirm that no gods exist" when there has never even been an unambiguous definition of "god" in the first place?! You are using outsiders' definitions of what they think (or want to think) what atheism means. I don't give a rat's ass what Wikipedia claims is the definition of "strong atheism" and you shouldn't either, if you're serious about the discussion. It's bad enough that religion has given disbelief a negative-sounding name that stuck, but when some atheists themselves roll over and accept a bad definition it's very disheartening.

I rip believers new ones on a regular basis, sometimes gently so they don't realize it until later, and sometimes aggressively if they get in my face about it (these are the ones who can dish it out but can't take it, and they inevitably try to change the subject or freak out and leave). You may be a nonbeliever but you also sound like an appeaser, trying to bring "peace in our time."

And calling Anthony Flew a philosopher is quite a stretch, in my opinion. However, my all-time favorite in the pretentious academic oxymoron department is the vaunted title of "Doctor of Theology" - ROFLMFAO!!

23. Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind

Comment #191377 by huzonfurst on June 10, 2008 at 6:43 pm

Jawohl, 'klug' ist ein deutsches Wort, meaning the same thing as 'intelligent,' another German word.

24. Hints of structure beyond the visible universe

Comment #191215 by huzonfurst on June 10, 2008 at 11:53 am

I have a Bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics and still think the concept of faster-than-light inflation of space is absurdly ad hoc, considering the leap of 'faith' it takes that such a thing is even possible. Apparently it's the only way to get from the early Big Bang to the present universe, but what the theorists really mean is "it's the only way we can think of so far." It was still called the inflationary *hypothesis* the last time I looked.

Einstein never fully accepted quantum physics and I've never fully accepted inflation. Another example of the essential similarity of our thought processes ;>).

PS: Deepak Chopra is a frickin' idiot!

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

Comment #190786 by huzonfurst on June 9, 2008 at 2:48 pm

Was this secretly written by Alan Sokal?

26. Couple charged in Norway over genital mutilation of daughters

Comment #190319 by huzonfurst on June 8, 2008 at 8:42 pm

Ramzid, the fear of malevolent Islamic influence on Western cultures is hardly unreasonable. In fact it is a very rational fear, based upon recent history and flat-out statements by more than a few Muslims - make that thousands if not millions - that they want to destroy the West.

The solution is simple: ignore politically-correct tripe of the kind you are spouting (implying racism at every turn) and put severe restrictions on immigration - including mandatory assimilation with deportation if it is not accomplished. And if it comes to internment camps - although I never, ever thought I'd be saying this - so be it. I'm sick of hearing threats from this INFERIOR culture and I'm willing to fight back, no matter what racial group they happen to belong to!

27. Albinos, Long Shunned, Face Threat in Tanzania

Comment #190074 by huzonfurst on June 8, 2008 at 10:24 am

"But that's not real witchcraft. It's the work of con men."

Oy gewalt!

28. Male circumcision is a weapon in the sperm wars

Comment #189922 by huzonfurst on June 7, 2008 at 4:42 pm

Ack! Appleby, why did you have to say "swallow" in reference to this article? Eeww..

RedPen, how is circumcision not a form of genital mutilation?! I resent having it done to me since it supposedly reduces sensitivity, although I can hardly imagine how it could be more sensitive than it is. It's the idea of carving up one's own children when they have no ability to protest that is absolutely abhorrent to anyone with a conscience.

It's also a good question to ask of a Jew or Muslim when they're defending their different lunacies: why is it okay to mutilate one of God's perfect little creations in the first place?

29. Faith no more as World Youth Day fans flames of disbelief

Comment #189921 by huzonfurst on June 7, 2008 at 4:37 pm

FF, I have never heard anyone say that removing churches' tax exemptions would make them *more* of a problem! That strikes me as unconvincing, to say the least. Tax exemptions allow these undeserving schmucks a free ride at everyone else's expense and gives them more influence than they would have otherwise. With no tax exemptions half the churches would go out of business in short order, and good riddance to the lot of them.

Cartomancer, I'm an exception to your proposed atheist generation gap, that is if this gap is real which I doubt. I turned 60 this year and am more of a flaming anti-theist than ever. I've become notorious among my business clients, believe it or not, for being the most outspoken atheist they've ever met. However, they already know what I can do for them and their computers so they will actually listen to me as long as I don't overdo it. I've turned them on to several videos from this site, and it's been gratifying to see a light go on when they hear an argument that's never occured to them before. Doing my part to encourage the death of religion once and for all.

30. Faith no more as World Youth Day fans flames of disbelief

Comment #189848 by huzonfurst on June 7, 2008 at 11:07 am

Fighting Falcon, I used to agree with tolerating the private practice of religion, but I got over it. A person's beliefs don't leave him when he walks out of church: they influence everything s/he does in all walks of life.

We have such a long way to go in the US to counteract religious foolishness that we still legally allow believers to commit crimes in the name of their religion - the ones who withhold medical treatment from their own children being the worst example.

This kind of valueless tolerance is wrong and immoral, or do you disagree, and why?

I'm firmly in Dawkins' corner, the part where he states that religion must be challenged at every turn, with the eventual goal of still allowing it to exist (sigh) but reducing its status to just another bit of brainless nonsense like astrology and other newage excreta.

31. Faith no more as World Youth Day fans flames of disbelief

Comment #189831 by huzonfurst on June 7, 2008 at 10:44 am

Who says atheists don't want to eradicate religion? Of course we do, just not by mass murder or other coercive means. Removing tax advantages for churches is one, non-coercive step that is long overdue (and after that, perhaps the imposition of an "ignorance tax" to compensate society for the effects of religious "education" and indoctrination).

32. A word for nonbelievers

Comment #189824 by huzonfurst on June 7, 2008 at 10:33 am

I thought I had a billboard approved with a "humanist" group here in San Diego several years ago with the message "The Winter Solstice is the REAL Reason for the Season" - complete with a simple diagram of Earth's orbit and axial tilt - but as it turned out this particular group was infested with crooks (and quite possibly spies intent on causing damage) who absconded with the money, so it never happened.

A San Diego suburb is the home of the Institute for Creation Research, an indication of what we're up against in this corner of the Buybullverse. I still think it's a good way to counter these obnoxious "Jesus is the Reason" billboards that show up every year, though.

Now is the time for someone out there to give this another try. I went as far as getting a nonprofit rate for six billboards around town before the money was "redirected" by the dirtbags in our midst.

33. Reality wins in Texas!

Comment #189807 by huzonfurst on June 7, 2008 at 10:13 am

Hallelujah, Brother!

34. The Expelled Evolutionist

Comment #189183 by huzonfurst on June 5, 2008 at 4:46 pm

Acs, all people have emotions, so why do you get judgmental on someone when they admit to having them? At least Pathfinder is being honest (and the word used was "despise" not "hate," unless I missed it somewhere).

I for one both despise and hate these meddling, destructive creationist freaks with a great deal of inspiring passion! That doesn't mean I intend to go around causing them physical harm or that I lose sleep from being fired up about them 24 hours a day, but it does mean I will slaughter them verbally at every opportunity and fight them tooth and nail in whatever venue comes to the fore.

These people are serious threats to civilization itself; if you don't hate and despise them, why not??

Yes, *we* want the truth to be heard, but *all* people do not! How can you say such a thing when you know that's not the motivation with religious be;lievers?

35. Stephen interviews Ayaan Hirsi Ali author of Infidel

Comment #188343 by huzonfurst on June 4, 2008 at 1:35 am

I recently finished reading Infidel and it is on the shelf right up there with Dawkins, Dennett, Harris and Hitchens, patiently awaiting its autograph.

Ayaan is an incredible woman, even if she is working for AEI; let's hope she gets over that eventually.

36. 'Uncontacted tribe' sighted in Amazon

Comment #186902 by huzonfurst on May 31, 2008 at 5:39 pm

Hi Drool, and welcome to RD.net! "Who Watches the Watchers" was also one of my favorite TNG episodes, and I actually sent a fan letter to the show commending Picard's anti-religion speech.

The scene where one of the alien women was beamed onto the Enterprise and shown her planet from space got to me as well. We could actually do this for someone from that newly discovered tribe, and the thought is fascinating whether or not it would be a good idea.

Years later I sent another letter to ST Voyager mocking their ridiculous PC that prevented the crew from scanning an alien graveyard because it would "offend their beliefs" - although I still wonder if that scene was intentional satire; we may never know...

37. Karma comedians

Comment #186896 by huzonfurst on May 31, 2008 at 5:03 pm

I concluded years ago that there is no difference at all between "god's will" and "god swill."

Btw, T.C.Toad, it's the entire Bush Crime Family that's disgusting, not merely the image of his nonexistent sons getting karmaed in Iraq.

Suffolkthinker, it's good to know some people aren't taken in by all this "Free Tibet" nonsense. Tibet was a theocratic dictatorship before China moved in, and whether the people were better off before is a legitimate question. Given a free choice, I wonder how many would vote to restore the Dalai Lama to his previous position?

M. Gilks, being a celebrity neither qualifies nor disqualifies anyone from commenting on world affairs. The value of one's opinion depends only on one's education, experience and awareness of the issues involved.

38. Mark Steyn vs. the 'Sock Puppets'

Comment #185812 by huzonfurst on May 28, 2008 at 4:33 pm

Well, I can imagine putting some restrictions on that "free exercise" clause, such as not allowing faith killers to withhold medical treatment for their own children, or cretinists and IDiots filing lawsuits against the teaching of science as science.

Al-Ra, I did say that was just my impression, but I do wish you'd throttle back on the dirty language (myself being completely guiltless in that regard, of course ;>)).

39. Mark Steyn vs. the 'Sock Puppets'

Comment #185731 by huzonfurst on May 28, 2008 at 11:33 am

It was two genuine "feminazis" (much as I hate to use a term from Rush Limbaugh), Andrea Dworkin and Catherine McKinnon, who convinced Canada decades ago to refuse to allow that slimy, evil, thoroughly perverted magazine which celebrated the most disgusting things of which humans are capable - PLAYBOY - to enter their country!

This sort of cartoon censorship has been going on up there for some time, and is apparently getting worse. The HRC is unbelievable, another Inquisition in the making.

Why doesn't somebody sue an Imam or two for making threatening statements? There doesn't seem to be any shortage of those.

PS: I'm beginning to wonder if al-rawandi isn't a mole of some kind. His comments range from reasonable to obscene to neo-fascist, and his picture practically shouts "You want a piece of me?!" - just my impression.

40. Iowa county board gives initial OK for ghost hunters to investigate asylum

Comment #185723 by huzonfurst on May 28, 2008 at 11:18 am

Do they intend to allow a skeptical observer to accompany them to make sure they don't phony up some "observations" - or would the mere presence of skepticism keep the ghosties away?

Not a day goes by when my opinion of humanity takes yet another nose dive...

41. Richard Dawkins Interview on TVOntario

Comment #185085 by huzonfurst on May 26, 2008 at 10:10 pm

Oh God, I beseech thee, pray let us have a panel of Pythons and Dawkins satirizing the shit out of every religious belief coming their way! I swear I've seen The Life of Brian at least ten times and it still send me into hysterics; a Pythons/Dawkins panel discussion would no doubt give me the world's happiest coronary.

42. Ben Stein Vs. Sputtering Atheists

Comment #185082 by huzonfurst on May 26, 2008 at 9:55 pm

Let's see, secret negotiations with the Chinese Army perhaps? A long-term stealth campaign to put thousands of troops under deep cover, ready to strike at every fundamentalist church, temple and mosque all at once when the order comes?

43. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #185077 by huzonfurst on May 26, 2008 at 9:43 pm

I repeat, there must be standards of assimilation in place which if not met according to a reasonable timetable will result in deportation. Or a country could simply place more restrictions on immigration - or would that be "racism" too?

I don't like any faith-based schools, however in the US there is a lot of social inertia which allows the xtian and jewish ones to continue. It seems to me we should start applying the brakes beginning with islamic schools, both because it would be easier and because they most definitely are more of a threat.

If this seems like picking on the poor little "peaceful" muslims, too goddamn bad! They've shown their hand and we'd be idiots to ignore reality for the sake of "tolerance."

Another way to discourage faith-based schools is to turn the tax tables on them: impose a "stupidity tax" for every student who will need remedial classes once s/he gets out and has to deal with the greater society.

44. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #184953 by huzonfurst on May 26, 2008 at 2:16 pm

Indeed. If the US truly had state/church separation there would be *no* tax breaks at all. Every time some dingy old fool wills a house to a church it comes off the property tax rolls and forces the rest of us to make up the difference. This is a huge problem, worse in the East only because it's been occupied longer. It's time to take all this property back, by persuasion if possible but if not by force as in Mexico in the 19th century. It was acquired under false pretenses, after all.

45. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #184931 by huzonfurst on May 26, 2008 at 1:02 pm

Once again this website won't let me edit a previous comment: the last line in my previous message was supposed to be "what are you, some kind of elitist (another word that is badly abused by the PC crowd these days)?"

46. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #184925 by huzonfurst on May 26, 2008 at 12:46 pm

Guess what - I *do* care what these nutters believe, because some of what they believe entails monstrous violations of basic human rights! Why must "freedom of religion" allow the continued indoctrination into such vicious ideas?

The answer is it doesn't: "freedom of religion" has become a sacred cow in too many countries. It sounds good on the surface (or used to, now I'm not so sure) but here we are facing some serious unintended consequences. We have the same kid-glove approach to faith-killers in the US, people who call themselves christian "scientists" for one example, who refuse to provide medical attention for their own children and get away with it because "it's their religion!" Anyone else would be justly prosecuted for the same level of neglect. It is simply wrong to allow things like this to happen, and enforcing universal laws does not pick out one religion over another.

You can't tell people what to believe, but we sure as hell have a right to be concerned with what they do, and also what they say if it incites true racism or violence.

The longer you avoid getting involved in doing something about this, mordacious, the harder the fight will be when the battle is joined. "The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of crisis, refuse to take sides." And stop calling these people "hicks," because I'm quite certain you don't know a single one of them; are you a closet racist yourself?

47. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #184914 by huzonfurst on May 26, 2008 at 12:11 pm

Since when is opposition to Islam a "racist" attitude? Racism is a fighting word brought up whenever any group being opposed for whatever reason has run out of excuses for its bad behavior: illegal immigrants in the US call controls on immigration racist; thin-skinned Jews call anything remotely critical of Israel anti-semitic (which doesn't distinguish jews from arabs, strictly speaking); and politically-correct idiots call damn near everything racist at one time or another!

If I ever move to another country I expect to assimilate as much as possible. What's with immigrants who want to escape an oppressive culture by coming to a Western country, yet bring their oppressive culture with them and insist that we "respect" that? That could be construed as racism on their part!

Any country has the right to preserve its own culture. Immigration should be conditional on assimilation - not a complete abandonment of their culture but a recognition by words and deeds that they now belong to a new country - and those who refuse to assimilate should be summarily deported.

This is exactly what happened in Holland, which allowed its Muslim immigrants to form enclaves isolated from the majority culture. Most of them arrived as refugees, then proceeded to continue the same atrocious behaviors that led to them becoming refugees in the first place, and many of these behaviors were illegal under Dutch law.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was one of these refugees who assimilated to the point of abandoning Islam entirely and becoming a member of Parliament besides. Her self-appointed task was to warn Holland and the West in general to be very concerned about so many Muslim immigrants flooding in and setting up Islamic societies, with all their lovely honor killings, wife-beatings and genital mutilations intact (no pun intended). Since 2002 Ayaan has needed 24-hour security for speaking truth to religious fascism, even in the US where she now lives. Read her book "Infidel" and your hand-wringing about "racism" will slink away with its PC tail between its dickless legs!

48. Kenya mob reportedly burns 11 'witches'

Comment #184557 by huzonfurst on May 25, 2008 at 5:32 pm

The old "god of the gaps" argument: if we can't figure out how something happened, "goddidit" is supposed to ba an acceptable answer. Except that it is *not* an acceptable answer, and never will be! And when science closes one of these gaps, the believers conveniently forget about it and start ranting about a different one.

I just found out you were 14, which explains a lot. You are raising questions which have already been answered though, and perhaps you are indeed learning a few things. Congratulations for daring to face the lions of atheism; that takes some nerve for believers of any age.

49. Kenya mob reportedly burns 11 'witches'

Comment #184474 by huzonfurst on May 25, 2008 at 12:58 pm

Bullet, despite what I'm sure you will insist upon, it is not necessary to be an expert in every damn religion's "holy" scriptures in order to figure out that religion is crap! The basic premises of religious belief - any religious belief - have been debunked ad nauseam, and that should be enough. It is enough for anyone who is sincerely interested in finding out the facts of the matter, but it will never be enough for the true believer who takes pride in resisting logical challenges to his or her cherished delusions. If you think you will be able to talk anyone on this site out of their rationally-derived convictions, you are sadly mistaken. What may happen is that *you* will learn something in spite of yourself!

50. How Are Humans Unique?

Comment #184473 by huzonfurst on May 25, 2008 at 12:49 pm

For Bullet, Evolution 101, first introductory lecture: Evolution is a *fact*; evolutionary theory is an *explanation* of this fact. The word does not mean "educated guess" as it does in the vernacular. Now sit quietly and learn.