1. Penn & Teller's Bullshit - Holier Than Thou With Christopher Hitchens

Comment #44780 by franciebrady on May 25, 2007 at 9:26 am

I read that the reason they refer to a lot of the people on the show as "assholes" and "fuckers" is because if they were to refer to them as "liars", they could be sued for slander, while "assholes" and "fuckers" is merely namecalling for which they cannot be sued.

2. Christopher Hitchens Is a Treasure

Comment #43687 by franciebrady on May 22, 2007 at 9:45 am

Re: Comment #1 from Robert Maynard.

In "God is Not Great", Hitchens does summarize an argument made by Sam Harris, but he properly cites it, and includes it in his endnotes.

3. Interview with Christopher Hitchens

Comment #36462 by franciebrady on May 1, 2007 at 7:50 am

Anybody got a link to the video that is *not* Quicktime?

4. Mormonism: A Racket Becomes a Religion

Comment #35520 by franciebrady on April 27, 2007 at 12:59 pm

I just read this chapter, and I was perturbed by one small error: Nephi's father in the Book of Mormon was named "Lehi", not "Lephi". A small difference, to be sure, but the Mormon attitude to such a typographical error is "Whoever wrote this mustn't have given it much thought or research, after all they can't even spell the name Lehi."

Hitchens makes reference to Fawn Brodie's book, but I wonder if he is aware of the book "By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus" by Charles Larson, which systematically and devastatingly proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the so-called "Book of Abraham" is an utter fabrication. I would only recommend that the reader skip the last chapter, where Mr. Larson (whom I've personally met, he's an extremely kind and decent man) suggests that the reader not throw the baby out with the bathwater, and then professes his faith in Christianity.

http://www.amazon.com/His-Own-Hand-Upon-Papyrus/dp/0962096326

5. Jesus 'Love-Bombs' You

Comment #35146 by franciebrady on April 26, 2007 at 10:38 am

This article hits the nail on the head. I was raised Mormon and saw all this first-hand. I have a friend who is also "ex-Mormon" who had the unfortunate experience of spending two years as a Mormon missionary, and he said that one of the tactics employed by some (a minority, to be sure, but some) missionaries was to read the obituaries to find prospects. To any outside observer, this tactic is obviously targeting people who are grieving or otherwise emotionaly compromised, but these missionaries rationalize their tactics to themselves as offering "spiritual solace" to those most in need.

When I decided I was no longer Mormon, I was utterly cut off from my social support network. My girlfriend left me, my friends from church wouldn't talk to me, I could no longer attend school (I was enrolled at BYU at the time), my parents were chilly and angry at me, and my brother, with whom I was living at the time, forced me to move out because he said I "brought a bad spirit into his house." And I blamed myself. At the time, my convoluted thinking was "This is all my fault, everyone else I know can believe, there must be something wrong with ME." I was hospitalized that summer for a suicide attempt.

That was over ten years ago. I still feel the memory of that hurt today.

My most visceral objection to religion (among all my other objections, this being the most personal) is that, though it purports to "bring people together" and teaches people to "love one another", in truth religion manipulates people by witholding love, and micromanaging their interpersonal relationships, dictating not only "who" but "how" they are to love.

6. One Hell of a Religious Read

Comment #34552 by franciebrady on April 24, 2007 at 1:10 pm

I just picked up "god is not Great" a couple days ago, and I'm halfway through chapter 3, and I must say, there's quite a lot to make you laugh, a lot of excellent barbs, but the strength of the work seems to rest on his ability to make a point. In this respect, he is terrifying and does not disappoint.

7. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32811 by franciebrady on April 18, 2007 at 10:01 am

rabidchihauhau:

If something seems odd, it's always best to dig around a bit. I was getting a bit worried there myself. Cheers.

8. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32767 by franciebrady on April 18, 2007 at 8:00 am

gcdavid:

According to excite.com white pages, the domain whois information checks out okay. Maybe someone should call this guy?

9. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32763 by franciebrady on April 18, 2007 at 7:52 am

I just did reverse lookups on the D.O.C. telephone number (2064656636) on three directories (Excite.com white pages, Verizon directory assistance, and FastData) and none of those brought back any information on that telephone number. If it's indeed a cell number, that may explain why, since cell numbers are rarely listed in directories. But it gets me thinking: why would a supposedly reputable organization list an unverifiable cell number as their contact? I have a day job as a credit analyst, and I see people trying to commit credit fraud every day, and more often than not they list their main contact at a cell number. In my opinion, this definitely needs more investigation.

10. Mozart doesn't make you clever

Comment #32581 by franciebrady on April 17, 2007 at 12:53 pm

Yorker:

Not to knitpick, but quite a lot of truly incredible music has fallen by the wayside. J.S. Bach comes immediately to mind. After his death, his music was largely ignored until Mendelssohn began championing it over a hundred years later.

I worry that classical music is slowly losing its cultural relevance, that the particular sensitivities needed to appreciate Bach or Mahler or Mozart are being eroded.

Shakespeare is ackowledged by most to be a genius, the best to have put words on paper. How many laypersons now can claim to have read any of his plays?

11. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32575 by franciebrady on April 17, 2007 at 12:32 pm

I think a very powerful reason there isn't more disgust and outrage in America over circumcision is because those whom it is committed against are too young to protest. Imagine if every boy in America was circumcised at age twelve instead of at birth, this would be at the forefront of current events.

12. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32568 by franciebrady on April 17, 2007 at 12:13 pm

krogercomplete:

If non-medically necessary circumcision is indeed a medical procedure, then why are we not prosecuting every Jewish rabbi for practicing medicine without a license?

13. Mozart doesn't make you clever

Comment #32514 by franciebrady on April 17, 2007 at 8:41 am

I'm a classically trained clarinetist, a fond music listener of broad set of genres, and I've worked both as a performer and in the administration of various arts organizations, and I've known for some time that the "Mozart Effect" was complete bunk. I used to work in Development for the Utah Symphony and the Hartford Symphony, and I would always talk to donors who would go on and on about how classical music could enhance cognitive ability, as if it was the best reason to listen to Mozart. One woman even suggested that expecting women should place speakers on their abdomens so that their unborn could benefit.

I think that if you are listening to classical music because you think it acts like some sort of "smart pill", you miss the point entirely. The worst thing about people who jaw on and on about the "Mozart Effect" is that it reinforces the perception in many people's minds that classical music is elitist and inaccessibly cerebral. The best reason to listen to classical music is because it can be beautiful, entertaining, and deeply and intensely emotionally moving. You don't have to know a major chord from a minor chord to appreciate it, and you certainly shouldn't listen to it just because you're going to be taking a math test in twenty minutes.

14. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32509 by franciebrady on April 17, 2007 at 7:57 am

Every time I think about it, I get mad as hell that I was circumcised based on my parents' bullshit religious beliefs. I was brought up Mormon, but I when I matured I was able to evaluate those beliefs and discard them. But cirumcision can't be undone, it's a hurt inflicted by religious nonsense that never goes away.

15. Hey Mom, I'm an Atheist

Comment #30934 by franciebrady on April 10, 2007 at 11:26 am

I remember when I was a teen and beginning to seriously rebel against my strict Mormon upbringing. While at my summer job one day, I wrote "I do not believe in god" on a piece of paper, rolled it up and put it in my pocket. Kind of like a small, personal version of the "blasphemy challenge". Just something I could feel to reassure myself every time I reached into my pocket (I didn't personaly know any other atheists.) Well, my mom found it when she was doing laundry. As much as I can remember, our exchange when she confronted me with it was similar to this, albeit a bit more abbreviated.

16. Snake Oil and Holy Water

Comment #28198 by franciebrady on March 28, 2007 at 10:04 am

"We atheists are so lucky to have Richard as a leader."

I would never consider RD as my or anyone else's "leader". A prominent and powerful voice? Yes. Do I agree with him on most issues concerning atheism and religion? Yes. But I think, as a responsible free-thinker, it's very important NOT to have leaders, or at least, not in the same sense that the religious have leaders. Unfortunately, it's comments like this that mistakenly lead the religious to think that atheism is just another religion.

17. Peanut Butter, The Atheist's Nightmare!

Comment #27943 by franciebrady on March 27, 2007 at 11:00 am

FYI, the "guy on the right" in the banana video is former child-actor Kirk Cameron. Now he appears as the main character in the "Left Behind" series of feature films. Those movies are a scream, by the way. Extremely entertaining for all the wrong reasons, but I highly recommend them. Just don't buy or rent them, borrow them from the library or a well-intentioned religious acquaintance. No sense in giving Tim Lahaye more money. I actually own the first of the series (bought it for 50 cents at a yard sale.)