Comments by flobear
51. Atheists An Increasingly Outspoken Minority
Comment #129620 by flobear on February 19, 2008 at 11:39 am
"Where do you place your trust in times of need? Where do you place your hope in the time of a crisis of confidence?" Hanson said.
Yes, this question is certainly ill conceived. When people are in dire straights, when it seems that there is no way out, when their very lives are at stake, this is the time when they are most likely to behave irrationally. No wonder, when people are in these situations they grasp wildly for any possible assistance, real or otherwise. The question then becomes "who do you turn to when you are most likely to behave irrationally?" Many people cry out for a deity. Obviously this doesn't prove anything.
52. New meat-eating dinos identified
Comment #126931 by flobear on February 14, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Great stuff.
movingshadow: would it have been so hard to say "therapod" instead of meat eating dino?
I wouldn't have known what a therapod is!
53. Christopher Hitchens Debates Timothy Jackson
Comment #122680 by flobear on February 5, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I don't know how everyone can make it to the end of these debates. The fallacies Timothy Jackson utters feel like physical blows. The most frustrating part of these debates is that inane arguments come faster than Hitch can refute them. Still, Hitch always does a bang-up job.
Keep on them Hitch!
54. Atheists to celebrate at Darwin Day in Coconut Creek
Comment #121819 by flobear on February 4, 2008 at 7:51 am
I'm going to celebrate Darwin Day by sacrificing a few Christian babies to our non-god and using their blood to make Darwin cookies. Nothing special, just a normal, wholesome atheist family affair.
Epinephrine: I celebrate pi day
Ooh. There's a Pi day? Who are we supposed to sacrifice for that?
55. Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights
Comment #118919 by flobear on January 31, 2008 at 6:55 am
My heart goes out to that poor Afghan student. Just terrible.
For those of us in the USA, here's how to contact your state representative. I plan on doing so and will encourage everyone I know to do the same.
https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml
56. Mixing Mammals
Comment #115600 by flobear on January 24, 2008 at 11:43 am
What, exactly, is the purpose of this experiment?
I'm not a biochemist, but I believe historically, scientists were mostly concerned with mutations in the actual genes themselves. In this paper perhaps they were trying to show that a mutation in the regulation of a gene (which occurs in a location outside the gene) is just as important.
57. Pacific Islanders' Ancestry Emerges in Genetic Study
Comment #114915 by flobear on January 23, 2008 at 7:17 am
There might be some reason for a belief in Micronesia, but there is no evidence WHATSOEVER for Macronesia.
58. Mandrake: Charles's letter in support of Islamic 'fundamentalism'
Comment #114910 by flobear on January 23, 2008 at 7:09 am
The Americans on this board are in no position to feel sorry for our British cousins on this issue. Our ACTUAL leader achieved his station by only SLIGHTLY less hereditary means. And, as Paula points out:
...Dubya's pretty stupid and he's in control of the nuclear button.
I'd take a ridiculous antiquated moronic figurehead over Bush any day. In fact, I propose we do an even swap. Bush becomes your figurehead and Charles becomes our president. Any takers?
59. We're All Going to Hell (Music Video)
Comment #114639 by flobear on January 22, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Lycosid: Yuengling Lager...HELL YES!
Oh yeah, I missed that. You usually can only find that in Pennsylvania and is mostly the beer of choice here in Philadelphia.
That was a pretty horrible song though.
60. Jay Spears: Smak Dem Christians Down
Comment #114631 by flobear on January 22, 2008 at 1:39 pm
bwana ndege: Scientology can only be considered a cult if you think belief in an evil alien super-lord who tricked people into flying to earth on DC-8-like space ships to be killed with H-bombs and that those dead people's souls stick to you unless you pay lots of money is crazy. Lets give Tom Cruise a little more credit than that.
61. Top 10 Reasons to Believe Logic Over Religion
Comment #114521 by flobear on January 22, 2008 at 11:09 am
rthille: I'm with you. I like his libertarian views but if only he wasn't well... crazy.
BicycleRepairMan: The host in the first video scares the hell (no pun intended) out of me. If I ever invent a realize-you're-crazy ray gun, he's the first one I'll zap with it.
62. Stop revisionist Christian nation House Resolution 888
Comment #114239 by flobear on January 21, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I'm sure most of us here disagree with Summer Seale but lets be careful of our ad hominem attacks. We should make sure to practice the rational thought and cogent argument we claim to cherish.
63. Mitt Romney Defends Himself Against Allegations Of Tolerance
Comment #114224 by flobear on January 21, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I love the Onion.
64. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS
Comment #113034 by flobear on January 18, 2008 at 1:35 pm
George,
I'm glad to have someone like you by my side in the fight for reason, secularism and science.
Here's wishing you an easy and speedy recovery from the US.
-Rob
65. Gigantic fossil rodent discovered
Comment #112933 by flobear on January 18, 2008 at 9:52 am
More evidence for my hypothesis that God made all modern animals from Shrinky-dinks.
Comment #104362 by flobear on December 28, 2007 at 11:22 am
Lets call this article what it is - an attack on Christmas.
67. Huckabee Stands by Christmas Campaign Ad
Comment #102878 by flobear on December 23, 2007 at 7:56 pm
I can't believe a presidential candidate can even say this without being laughed out of the race.
Oh the humanity!
68. Atheists' sign sparks controversy
Comment #96417 by flobear on December 10, 2007 at 1:53 pm
seqnwupton: This simply isn't news. Do we have news reports when a xmas tree is erected in the middle of a town? No we do not. The fact this made the headlines is an embarrassment.
It's good that it did make the news though, isn't it? Every time an atheist sign or public statement makes the news, the more common place it will seem. Slowly, people in these places will come to accept the fact that there are good alternatives to their superstitious beliefs.
I think this is the only way to combat the faith heads in the US. We're in a publicity race, whether we want it or not.
Good job CT Valley Atheists.
69. Sherri Shepherd needs to go away now
Comment #95040 by flobear on December 7, 2007 at 8:09 am
Cycik: But some of us never considered a career in the clergy.
Good one!
70. Sherri Shepherd needs to go away now
Comment #94710 by flobear on December 6, 2007 at 10:07 am
Everyone admit it. You enjoyed watching that, didn't you? For all of our despair about humanity and ignorance, I bet not a single one of you wouldn't watch half a dozen clips of this woman making a complete fool of herself.
Barbara, this is not a weakness, but a strength of America! Where else can a complete idiot make tons of money by simply BEING an idiot? Also, don't forget the network execs who are raking it in. Don't be ashamed! Who knows, maybe one day you'll find an idiot and exploit him/her as well.
71. Nurses Told to Turn Muslims' Beds to Mecca
Comment #94312 by flobear on December 5, 2007 at 9:01 am
Great work Veronique.
Still, I see no problem with having a bed rotating service if a patient wishes it. They should just be made to pay for it.
72. Sunday School for Atheists
Comment #90700 by flobear on November 26, 2007 at 7:04 am
I think this is a great idea. As an American, I can see how children or parents might feel isolated in communities that have high Sunday school and church attendance. It's part of our national character to torture and brainwash our children. I'm in favor of removing the brainwashing and just keeping the torture part.
Cartomancer: I find the idea of the American style summer camp ... quite sinister myself as it happens.
The only camps I knew about growing up had nothing to do with religion. Though this might have to do with the region I grew up in (not the bible belt). Mostly the camps around me were about sports and games. Since both parents have careers these days, it's a good way to get the little ones out of their hair during the summer.
I'm for it!
73. Same Flea, Different Name?
Comment #85933 by flobear on November 7, 2007 at 2:02 pm
jesus_christ_himself: That silhouette of a crucified jesus on the front cover looks like it's made of dogshit.
JCH: That literally made me laugh out loud. My guess is that the author's dog made it, he recognized it as a miracle and then decided to write the book. It's only a matter of time before we see St. Rex.
74. Response to Dinesh D'Souza op-ed
Comment #85400 by flobear on November 5, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Great job Kelly.
Keep on doing your thing RRS.
75. A problem for Israel's farmers: The seven-year hitch
Comment #73309 by flobear on September 24, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Don't you just wish you could snap your fingers and make them realize how ridiculous and unnecessarily tortured they make their own lives? What a waste of intelligence and industry!
Comment #71694 by flobear on September 19, 2007 at 1:25 pm
We can't expect everyone to be versed in evolution theory, so I won't fault them for their poor explanations - even though it hurt my ears to hear it.
Somehow lay-people believe they are qualified to discuss the legitimacy of scientific theories. This is the real problem here and it's prolific where evolution is concerned.
77. Youtube hater, I respect your right to free speech.
Comment #70580 by flobear on September 16, 2007 at 6:39 am
Yorker: Hear hear!
I would also like to emphasize how your point applies to our most important audience, the youth. They're not going to read The God Delusion, or any other philosophy book if they can get away with it. But they *will* watch Youtube. The funnier and cruder, the more it will appeal to them.
Our job should be to encourage the movement to spread. Just think of all those trapped individuals that don't even know there's an alternative to their religious lifestyle. If they grow up knowing that there is, they'll be much more likely to change when the chance comes their way.
78. New age therapies cause 'retreat from reason'
Comment #61416 by flobear on August 5, 2007 at 5:01 am
I'm glad Prof. Dawkins is making a public statement about these issues. Another leader in this field of debunking silly supernatural ideas is James Randi. He's a former stage magician and his foundation offers a $1 millon prize for demonstrating, in a controlled setting, any supernatural phenomena. He constantly challenges psychics and healers to take the test. Obviously, nobody has won it yet. Here's his website, I think many people here will enjoy it.
http://www.randi.org/
79. Majority of Republicans Doubt Theory of Evolution
Comment #49978 by flobear on June 14, 2007 at 10:45 am
I'm 84% sure that this article is definitely interesting and 78% sure that it's definitely not.
80. Statement of Concern about Impact of AIG's Creation 'Museum'
Comment #41289 by flobear on May 15, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Veronique: Ohh. Good Asimov quote!
I don't see how that has anything to do with Jesus being a Stegosaurus though.
81. Statement of Concern about Impact of AIG's Creation 'Museum'
Comment #41058 by flobear on May 15, 2007 at 12:41 pm
If you read your Bible carefully - I mean *really* carefully, you'll find that Jesus was not actually a Jew, but a Stegosaurus.
Comment #36248 by flobear on April 30, 2007 at 4:06 pm
I've actually tried this product too. I felt the presence of a higher being at first, but then realized that it was just indigestion from some chili.
83. Pundit Christopher Hitchens picks a fight in book, 'God is Not Great'
Comment #35905 by flobear on April 29, 2007 at 8:50 am
Actually, I think this review is great. He complements Hitchens' writing style, says it's "accessible to the causal reader" and claims that "Hitchens' may be the best since Bertrand Russell's" book. I read his review twice but couldn't find any real criticism with the book's content. Only perhaps that Hitchens uses familiar arguments (and what's wrong with that?)
Comment #34906 by flobear on April 25, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Devolution,
www.evtales.com
Maybe I'm dense, but is this satire?
Comment #34891 by flobear on April 25, 2007 at 2:10 pm
It's weird. When I was reading this, it felt like I was reading a page out of my own history. When I entered my graduate program in engineering, the same exact situation occurred. Except that instead of giving me complements, my adviser gave me journal papers. Also, once I became a "member" of the student body, I didn't feel a sense of euphoria, rather, a deep sense of dread and hopelessness that I'd never graduate. Instead of going out and trying to convert the unfaithful into glorious engineers, we were encouraged to shun social contact and the outdoors in general. Oh yeah. Also, we were not allowed to use Iron Age books as references for our journal papers or presentations.
But other than those things, it was basically the same exact thing.
Comment #30930 by flobear on April 10, 2007 at 11:08 am
If we can find out who it is, I'll send him a present for Christmas!
More Pages: Previous | 1 2
Over 1.5 million copies sold
Books by Richard Dawkins
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing
by Richard Dawkins
The Selfish Gene
by Richard Dawkins
The Blind Watchmaker
by Richard Dawkins
The Ancestor's Tale
by Richard Dawkins
Unweaving the Rainbow
by Richard Dawkins
