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Comments by RickM


51. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #126987 by RickM on February 14, 2008 at 3:39 pm

... she just has to hang on to that good old comfortable magic.

52. Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'

Comment #126966 by RickM on February 14, 2008 at 3:13 pm

....it takes religion.

53. Cal scientist reflects on Darwin's genius

Comment #126471 by RickM on February 13, 2008 at 10:03 am

Comments on the article are at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/comments/view?f=/c/a/2008/02/11/BAGBUSGBL.DTL

54. Hitchens and Boteach Debate on God

Comment #125863 by RickM on February 12, 2008 at 7:33 am

Always enjoy Hitchens. For me, Boteach was a complete inane, bloviating twit and the weakest opponent to face Hitchens so far.

55. Inventor Doesn't Dare Say 'Perpetual Motion Machine'

Comment #124051 by RickM on February 8, 2008 at 8:34 am

There ain't no free lunch.

56. The New Atheist Movement

Comment #123355 by RickM on February 7, 2008 at 2:58 am

Incredible. So now they need a higher level of brainwashing for little babies.

Can some one please tells these twits, Yahweh is a mythology.

57. Exploding black holes could expose hidden dimensions

Comment #123069 by RickM on February 6, 2008 at 12:27 pm

Crap; I can't afford any more books!

58. Female Muslim medics 'disobey hygiene rules'

Comment #121425 by RickM on February 3, 2008 at 11:38 am

I'm speechless. Not really, but I just won't say what I think. This is insane!

59. The Repeater

Comment #119425 by RickM on January 31, 2008 at 3:20 pm

Great article; thanks for the post.

60. Richard Dawkins on The Big Debate

Comment #118376 by RickM on January 30, 2008 at 4:12 pm

I'm curious. In the religious classes in GB, do they teach about Baal, Mithra, El, Mot, Osiris, Isis as well as Yahweh? And how they beat up on each other. How Yahweh beat up some great monster and became the God of gods.

Also, do they teach that there is no archaeological evidence for Exodus?

61. Richard Dawkins on The Big Debate

Comment #117995 by RickM on January 30, 2008 at 7:04 am


BigChief:

Notice faith-school supporters were repeatedly backed into a corner where they had to redefine, avoid the question, attempt a diversion and finally throughly murky the waters with wishy-washy pseudo poetic nonsense.
Exactly. Each faith teaches "my God is right, your God is wrong". So at their very roots they teach social conflict. And they begin their brain-washing with little children who are in no way capable of making any critical judgment about what they are being taught. As if the could decide for themselves. What a sham!


nogodsever

Funny how you can pick out the religious folks in this video. How? They are wearing costumes. With the exception of the rabbi and the obese catholic woman, the rest were wearing costumes. How fucking ridiculous. How can a muslim woman wearing a sheet wrapped around her, in the 21st Century, look at herself in the mirror?
Well they just have to have their billboards, don't they; announcing "I'm better than you" or "I'm a member of the Priest Class; respect me".

62. The Science behind the Large Hadron Collider

Comment #116764 by RickM on January 27, 2008 at 11:00 am

Steve,

Agree. However, as you say, if "near-future" results (and other satellite experiments) reveal B-Mode polarity in the background radiation, Inflation is in big trouble and String Theory gets a major boost.

Going out on a limb here, it's my understanding that Inflation predicted Multiverses add to the problems of Inflation (aren't we back to the hated "something from nothing" and a "beginning" of time?).

63. The Science behind the Large Hadron Collider

Comment #116753 by RickM on January 27, 2008 at 10:36 am

BLACK HOLES

Any black holes created in LHC will decay in a few Planck increments. They ARE NOT the same black holes that gobble up material at the center of active galaxies.

64. The Science behind the Large Hadron Collider

Comment #116745 by RickM on January 27, 2008 at 10:22 am

Rational_G;
… there's a lot of skepticism about string theory and supersymmetric particles - since these theories make no claim that be proven false. They can always "adjust" their theory to fit the evidence.
But Rational, you failed to mention the fact that there is a lot of skepticism regarding Inflation; clearly an "adjusted" model if there ever was one.

And how about infinite "pocked universes" that fall out of Inflation?

All in all, HEP has lots of problems. I suspect LHC will lead to a lot more head scratching; the kind that will lead to, "holy crap, now what?"

I wish they would get the darn thing running.

65. The Science behind the Large Hadron Collider

Comment #116537 by RickM on January 26, 2008 at 5:47 pm

Exciting! Can't wait to hear about the results coming out of this monster.

66. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #116510 by RickM on January 26, 2008 at 5:17 pm

I wonder if John will visit a museum.
I wonder if John will do some research on fossils.
I wonder if John will ask his priest, "what's this crap about no intermediate fossils?"
I wonder if John will stick his head in the sand and continue to be deluded.

I wonder if Paula will share her Bordeaux.

67. Dinesh D'Souza: Winner of the 2007 Bad Faith Award

Comment #112120 by RickM on January 16, 2008 at 11:13 am

Damn! I voted for the Pope.

Oh well, what the heck. I'll hop on the bandwagon and shift my support to D'Shit.

Congrats, D'Shit, you jerk.

68. Huckabee Wants A 'Faith-based' Constitution

Comment #112097 by RickM on January 16, 2008 at 10:20 am

Huckabee a nice guy?

I was born in Hope, Arkansas in 1944 in the same hospital as Bill Clinton and probably delivered by the same doctor.

The first time I saw Clinton on TV I knew he was just another one of those "smooth talk'n, fast talk'n" southern boys; absolutely full of crap.

Huckabee is the same. I wouldn't trust him as far as could throw a Farmall 300.

69. Huckabee Wants A 'Faith-based' Constitution

Comment #112052 by RickM on January 16, 2008 at 8:55 am

This pisses me off. Has anyone heard/seen anything on the news channels about this? I haven't. This twit needs to be drilled on this.

70. Why (Almost All) Cosmologists are Atheists

Comment #110787 by RickM on January 12, 2008 at 2:08 pm

I enjoyed the article and the comments. The thought I am left with is the following.

Perhaps it's too much to ask, but I wish those involved with debating theists before large audiences would become sufficiently familiar with physics such that they may answer the (incredibly annoying) question "so why is there something from nothing?", with;

"That is an ignorant question because …."

71. For the Love of Christ

Comment #101910 by RickM on December 21, 2007 at 6:31 am

What are the chances of some really big dude walking in on one of these sessions attended by his kid and discovering it's a nutcase snake oil deal?

Would it be moral justice to see the snake oil Jesus freak get the "holy" crap beat out of him?

Me thinks ... perhaps ... possibly.

72. Interview with Richard Dawkins: On Christmas

Comment #100509 by RickM on December 18, 2007 at 6:49 pm

No way. I am not a "Cultural Christian".

Okay, so you have the right to believe whatever you like. However, I think your belief in a ridiculous late Iron Age copy-and-paste superstitious mythology is sick, insane, absurd.

You will not get a Christmas card from me. No, it's not alright for me to play nice-nice and reinforce your stupid belief that it's your fabricated, fictitious, Greco-Roman spin-off superstar's birthday.

And as far as the public square; it's light and sound pollution. I'm sick of it being stuffed down my throat.

I love Prof. Dawkins as a champion of science and reason and a fighter against superstition, but I disagree with him on this one. We need to break the spell.

73. Synthetic DNA on the Brink of Yielding New Life Forms

Comment #99838 by RickM on December 17, 2007 at 4:51 pm

Murphy's law, anyone?

74. Jumbo shrimp, creationist astronomy

Comment #98630 by RickM on December 14, 2007 at 12:51 am

As usual, these videos are specifically created to influence the ignorant (kind'a like the bible).

75. U.S. Congress Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

Comment #97983 by RickM on December 13, 2007 at 12:32 am

As Quine says above, this is a resolution and not a law. It is basically a bunch of political garbage.

Here's what the voting means to me:

372 voted YES (Hey, folks back home, "I'm a good Christian")
9 voted NO ("This resolution is bull shit")
10 voted PRESENT ("I ain't say'n nothin")
40 DID NOT VOTE (They were out of town or had to go potty)

Some resolutions are meaningful, but many are just crap.

76. U.S. Congress Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

Comment #97931 by RickM on December 12, 2007 at 8:58 pm

I demand a fuck Jesus resolution!

77. Ayaan Hirsi Ali versus Timothy Garton Ash

Comment #97930 by RickM on December 12, 2007 at 8:56 pm

No workee; any other route?

78. Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty

Comment #97319 by RickM on December 11, 2007 at 9:55 pm

Interesting. Now I know why Dinesh D'Souza makes me feel disgust. Really. After he rattles off a line of false statements, one actually feels disgust (one of the primary emotional responses).

79. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #97190 by RickM on December 11, 2007 at 5:08 pm

Wonder when the Pope is going to apologize for these killings:

http://ffrf.org/books/bas/bas5.php

80. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96821 by RickM on December 11, 2007 at 1:18 am

it is estimated that 5,000- 10,000 people were put to death in the name of orthodoxy
Interesting. Apparently, the survivors got the point. Wonder how many more murders would have been required had there been 6 billion people on the planet.

81. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96813 by RickM on December 11, 2007 at 12:45 am

I give up.

I copied the letter into Word and yellow highlighted all the distortions I wanted to rebut. Half the letter was highlighted and it would have taken me 'til three in the morning to comment. But what could I say that hasn't already been said?

Interestingly, the last word I highlighted was "Father".

Mr. Morris. You are not my father. You are no one's father. To give yourself the title Father is an obvious manipulation; an effort to somehow acquire a respectability we give real fathers.

I give you the benefit of the doubt. I assume you are smart enough to know what you are. You are a lying, disgusting little priest.

82. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96786 by RickM on December 10, 2007 at 10:46 pm

Well, this is going to be interesting (maybe). I will read the comments first then read the letter.

I am looking forward to the distortions and lies this disgusting priest will invariably write.

83. Is Infant Male Circumcision An Abuse Of The Rights Of The Child?

Comment #96076 by RickM on December 9, 2007 at 11:59 pm

Not only that, but one could make the case that circumcision allows one to last longer in bed...
Quite the opposite. Just think about the mechanics of copulation. On the withdrawal stroke the foreskin moves forward partially or fully (depending), somewhat reducing the friction and stimulation required to reach orgasm. I strongly suspect premature ejaculation occurs more frequently with circumcision. How could a raw penis head (where all the nerves are) not be over stimulated relative to a natural one?

I'm 63 yo and was not circumcised. I have always been single and had more then my share of relations with our wonderful opposites and have never had any problems with being uncircumcised. (It's not an important point here, but with respect to oral sex, it is certainly more beneficial being uncircumcised.)

Hope I haven't grossed out the ladies.

Anyway, being circumcised, to me, would be like landing with your gear up. (Pilot humor.)

If we are ever to achieve civil rights for little children (religious brainwashing, etc.), then perhaps this business about circumcision may be the place to start.

PS – Just one more reason to loathe the priest class (IMHO).

84. Richard Dawkins on 'Have Your Say'

Comment #96015 by RickM on December 9, 2007 at 5:58 pm

Corylus said;
RickM

Try "blockquote" :)

Thanks

85. Richard Dawkins on 'Have Your Say'

Comment #95984 by RickM on December 9, 2007 at 4:04 pm

If I were a totalitarian ruler, I don't think I would like priests running around influencing people.

PS - What's the syntax for "quote boxes"? I've tried [quote]but it doesn't work[/quote].

86. Richard Dawkins on 'Have Your Say'

Comment #95979 by RickM on December 9, 2007 at 3:32 pm

Holy crap! They had the Fox News moron priest on the program. What a twit. I'm glad they segued him out leaving him holding his dick (LOL).

I suspect he will be on Fox News on Monday bragging about how he beat up Richard Dawkins.

87. Colouring book warns kids of pedophile priests

Comment #95000 by RickM on December 7, 2007 at 6:29 am

Where's the coloring book titled:

"Beware of Priests Brainwashing Innocent Children with Bronze Age Myths"

88. Mitt Romney's Faith In America address (as prepared for delivery)

Comment #94989 by RickM on December 7, 2007 at 5:49 am

"Freedom requires religion…", Wrong!

"…I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion." Excuse me, you just did.

"When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God. …. I will serve no one religion…" Ah, what?

"We are a nation 'under God' and in God, we do indeed trust." Bull shit.

And it goes on …

89. Mitt Romney's Faith In America address (as prepared for delivery)

Comment #94983 by RickM on December 7, 2007 at 5:22 am

Mr. Romney says. "…There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his church's distinctive doctrines. To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution."

Then he says, "They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America - the religion of secularism. They are wrong."

First we have Mr. Romney declaring the constitution prohibits a religious test, which makes it a secular constitution. Then he claims secularism is a religion (which it is not) and implies it is not expectable.

There's something wrong with this picture. May I suggest Mr. Romney has his head up his ass.

90. Springer opera court fight fails

Comment #94538 by RickM on December 6, 2007 at 12:39 am

How do I go about getting on the BBC so I can say, "Fuck Jesus and the donkey he rode in on".

91. Double-checking Dawkins

Comment #92912 by RickM on December 1, 2007 at 6:20 pm

LOL. This takes me back to the old days of debugging a program by stepping thru instructions and reading the lights off the console of am IBM 1130.

92. Daniel Dennett Debates Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #92829 by RickM on December 1, 2007 at 2:32 pm

Ludacrispat26,

Nice job, looks like everything went smoothly; thanks.

On the debate.

I think D'Souza is a clever debater. Not that he wins his arguments, but that he leaves the impression that he does by virtue of his model of delivery.

If I may, let me lay out his model as I see it.

Let;
aaaa = a fact, truth or some legitimate rational assertion, etc.
ffff = a falsehood, distortion or some fact taken out of context, etc.

Then D'Souza delivers, generally, in the following manner;

[aaaa]
[aaaa]
[aaaa]
[aaaa, aaaa, aaaa, ffff, ffff, aaaa, ffff] spoken rapidly
[aaaa, ffff, ffff, aaaa, aaaa, ffff] spoken rapidly

Notice he used the very same technique when he asks a question of a questioner; then fires off a bunch of cloudy assertions/conclusions.

I think it is hard to argue against D'Souza because of his style of rapidly running off statements for which false assertions are embedded; leading to a conclusion that "sounds" reasonable. You have to rewind the tape, run it forward parsing as you go. And the tape is voluminous. A hard thing to do in a live debate.

You can't just say, "stop, what you just said is false and it does not lead to Q".

In addition, D'Souza (with no help from Dan) jumps into the middle of the domain of the argument. At no time was the fact that Christ is most likely a fictious character with no legitimate historical supporting evidence. Or that the Hebrew Bible was a man-created document designed to bind and control 7th century BCE ignorant peasants of an insignificant, small fiefdom in the southern highlands of Canaan.

I had said earlier (in the post announcing the debate) that I though Dan would be at a disadvantage as he is a slow speaker (relative to D'Souza). I think that was the case, to the frustration of Dan (and me).

D'Souza, to me, is a dishonest, manipulative little twit. He would have done well as an 18th century snake oil salesman.

93. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #92207 by RickM on November 30, 2007 at 3:57 am

Nice job, Prof. D.

94. In the name of God: the Saudi rape victim's tale

Comment #91714 by RickM on November 29, 2007 at 3:51 am

The world in which people are free to express their views on whatever subject they wish is getting smaller. How long will it be before we are threatened for the posts we make here?

Something has to be done about this outrageous barbarism.

95. This Friday: Debate between Dan Dennett and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #91647 by RickM on November 28, 2007 at 7:54 pm

Here we have finely tuned critical thinking vs. intentional distortion.

I'm afraid Dan is at a slight disadvantage based on his slow speaking style.

Looking forward to the audio/vid.

P.S. Just finished "Breaking the Spell"; I love Dan Dennet.

96. Rock of Ages, Ages of Rock

Comment #90934 by RickM on November 26, 2007 at 5:45 pm

"If all the evidence in the universe turned against creationism, I would be the first to admit it, but I would still be a creationist because that is what the Word of God seems to indicate. Here I must stand."

Ad reductio absurdum?

Has it ever, ever, ever occurred to these people that their cut and paste mythological scriptures where created with an agenda in mind? With intent by the Priest Class to exert influence and control over unsophisticated, uneducated, illiterate, ignorant peasants of the late bronze age/early iron age. How can they possibly ignore this? WTF is wrong with these people?

Schizotypal magical thinkers.

97. Romney's Mormonism is fair game

Comment #89426 by RickM on November 20, 2007 at 5:03 pm

Please correct me if I'm wrong. It's my understanding Mormon's believe that if they live the righteous life they will eventually become a God and rule their own planet.

If that's not crackpot, I don't know what is.

Christians believe in virgin birth, walking on water, and resurrection (equally crackpot). But do they know that Romney things he will become a God?

I have yet to hear anyone ask this question of Romney. Perhaps no journalist know about it; perhaps they don't have the guts to ask. I strongly suspect most Americans don't know Romney things he will become a God.

98. New Ape Fossils Found in Africa

Comment #88590 by RickM on November 18, 2007 at 1:14 am

Since I'm first up, let me take the opportunity to thank those who post these great articles and give an old retired man something fun to do several times a day.

I really love reading this stuff; thanks.

99. Onward Science Soldiers

Comment #87969 by RickM on November 13, 2007 at 10:12 pm

Sane1,

Thanks for the mp3; got to get Stenger's book.

100. Malaysia firm's 'Muslim car' plan

Comment #87633 by RickM on November 12, 2007 at 4:26 pm

Martyr option: Explosive storage compartments including electrical ignition system with chrome button on dash labeled "Martyrdom". (Explosives available for nominal extra cost)

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