I referred to an excellent site a while back that kind of explains things about today, St. Patrick’s Day:

Into this world of the Irish Celts entered a highly energetic and devoted Christian Priest named Patrick. Because he believed so strongly in the tenets of Christianity, he thought that anyone who was not Christian had to become one in order to be “saved”. He came to Ireland to convert the Irish people to Christianity. The Irish people at that time were happy and doing quite well without Patrick and his ideas, but he was persistent. He noticed that the Druids were really the important people of the society. He thought that if he could convert the Druids to Christianity, the rest of the people would follow. Patrick’s main problem was that the Druids were very comfortable with what they had already learned, and were not willing to change. Druids had spent their entire lives learning the ways of the people, and were the last people who were willing to change. Although Patrick was not willing to abandon his vision of a Christian Ireland, he was getting desperate. He knew that because the strength of the people rested with the Druids, he had to get rid of them in order to get the people to listen to him. Patrick was not alone in his efforts. He had brought many people with him from Britain to establish the new religion. Patrick began to destroy the influence of the Druids by destroying the sacred sites of the people and building churches and monasteries where the Druids used to live and teach. Gradually, the might of the Druidic class was broken by a bitter campaign of attrition. Instead of hearing the teachings and advice of the Druids, the people began to hear the teachings of Rome. Because the Druids were the only ones who were taught to remember the history, with the Druids dead and their influence broken, the history was forgotten. Patrick won. By killing off the teachers and the wise ones, his own religion could be taught. For this mass conversion of a culture to Christianity, and for the killing of thousands of innocent people, Patrick was made a Saint by his church. Today the story is told that Patrick is the patron Saint of Ireland because he “drove the snakes out”. We now know that the “snakes” were the Druids.

And now we get drunk.

So, back to my Jameson’s…

Slainte!

While I’m not going to blame the ID movement for all of the US school systems’ problems, there’s a big issue that gets fairly unexplored: that of funding.

Academia is always notoriously short on funding. Having once worked for a liberal arts college, I know this. And we have these folks who’re pushing their religious agenda (who should in fact, be donating all the millions of dollars they spend on this frivolous nonsense into the schools) contributing to the wreckage of today’s American schools.

We have these frightening statistics: that in 2006, 55% believed ‘gwad’ created humans in their present form. 27% think that ‘gwad’ used evolution to bring us to where we are now, and 13% think that it was an unguided process. Further down the page, I found it amusing that the statistics favor evolution among Internet users. Hmmm…I wonder if this is indicative of anything?

Despite constantly experiencing defeats in the courts (we’ll exclude Kansas from those, though it appears that there’s been a flip-flop as of last year), from Edwards v. Aguillard to the debacle in Dover, these people keep getting their asses handed to them.

But this doesn’t stop some ‘philanthropist’ millionaires from pitching in their ‘2 cents’. Money better spent feeding the poor and improving the schools, I might add.

The central point here is, that this ridiculous polarization (especially of those vehement anti-evolutionists who obviously have little more than an abysmal understanding of the topic) is costing us, the US citizen, hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Pretty much for a one-sided point of view that has rendered absolutely zero, zilch, nada (or any other word you might substitute for fucking nothing) in the arena of science.

On a personal level, I’d like our representatives in the government to pro-rate all the tax-payers’ expenses in regards to this ludicrous expenditure of our hard-earned money: let the creationists/IDiots pay out of their wallets. Let their tax money get spent on this foolishness. Hey! Howzabout anyone who ‘believes’ in evolution (:roll:) get a freakin’ tax cut out of this.

(I know, I know: it doesn’t work that way. A guy can wish, can’t he?)

Let’s forget all about the SOCAS. Oh, wait, we can’t, can we?

I’ll top this off with an eloquent ending from Jerry Coyne (yet another evolutionist that creationists misquote), from his excellent article titled:

THE CASE AGAINST INTELLIGENT DESIGN The Faith That Dare Not Speak Its Name

In the end, many Americans may still reject evolution, finding the creationist alternative psychologically more comfortable. But emotion should be distinguished from thought, and a “comfort level” should not affect what is taught in the science classroom. As Judge Overton wrote in his magisterial decision striking down Arkansas Act 590, which mandated equal classroom time for “scientific creationism”:

“The application and content of First Amendment principles are not determined by public opinion polls or by a majority vote. Whether the proponents of Act 590 constitute the majority or the minority is quite irrelevant under a constitutional system of government. No group, no matter how large or small, may use the organs of government, of which the public schools are the most conspicuous and influential, to foist its religious beliefs on others.”

So, creationists? You want ‘intelligent design’ taught in the schools, alongside the proven method of evolution? Fine. You pay for it. But you would be better off contributing your time and efforts and cash to actually improving conditions (do spare me the ‘evolution is contributing to the weakening moral fiber’ refrain the lot of you gibber about: it’s old news), rather than harping about and combating a proven scientific fact that spans more fields than minutes you have in your attention span.

Till the next post, then.

Been wanting to post this for a while. Just got around to it.

To any who might think that God’s design is inherent in nature, there’s a classic quote from Darwin on this issue:

But I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and as I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae [wasps] with the express intention of their [larva] feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice.

There are numerous additional examples all over the place, but below are just a couple of videos that are incredibly disturbing.

Praise Be! Glory!

Well, corporate welfare, that is…

The Federal Reserve responded swiftly to pleas from Bear Stearns that its coffers had “significantly deteriorated” within a 24-hour period as rumors about the bank’s situation fueled the Wall Street version of a run on the bank. [...] Nearly half the value of Bear Stearns, or about $5.7 billion, was wiped out in a matter of minutes as investors felt the bailout signaled that the credit crisis has reached a more serious stage, and now threatens to undermine the broader financial system — and the U.S. economy. [...] Bear Stearns, the nation’s fifth-largest investment bank, made its fortune dealing in opaque mortgage-backed securities — a strategy that backfired amid the worst housing slump in a quarter century. The bank has racked up $2.75 billion in write-downs since last year, and releases first-quarter results on Monday that could show more losses. Alan Schwartz, Bear Stearns’ chief executive, said the bank had enough money to keep operating at the start of the week. However, market speculation swelled Thursday — leading investors, customers and lenders to withdraw their business or rescind credit lines. By that night, Schwartz said the bank recognized that the pace of withdrawals could outstrip the company’s resources.

Just as a reminder: you do not live in a capitalistic society. This is not capitalism.

UPDATE:

Another straightforward article on this can be found here.

Our friend Barbie pointed us to this video/audio of Rep.Sally Kern as she goes on a paranoid rant about the “gay agenda” conspiracy.

Warning, may cause extreme anger.

I’m probably going to stir up the hornets nest again, but needed to show this in case people haven’t seen it. If I was Obama, I would quit this church and stay as far away from it as possible just as he renounced Louis Farrakhan. It’s disturbing to me that a man who says he wants to be a “uniter” supports such a church that seems to be doing little to bring people of different races together, and this pastor is crossing the line when he uses the tax exempt podium to preach his political “sermons” in support of one candidate while tearing down another, and all the rest who were once candidates.

Rev Wright says that Hillary has never been accused by “her own people” for not being white enough. “Her own people” ? I haven’t heard her talk about only serving her “own people” or putting rich corporate America before the needs of poor black Americans. However, I have had some people in my own WHITE family tell me they would never vote for Hillary because a woman does not belong in the Presidency. Most white evangelicals feel a woman has no place as a leader of a nation and should be home washing her husband’s underwear. And let’s not forget…Hillary is trailing and it will take some sort of “miracle” for her to win this nomination.

Hillary and campaigners cannot say anything at all about one’s race, but it is okay for Obama supporters like Wright to bash white people and campaign for a political candidate from the tax free pulpit. Another thing that disturbs me is that Obama seems to be above criticism. All too often, when someone criticizes or questions the Obamessiah, they are accused of being racist. People who oppose Obama must have a team of speech editors to make sure that nothing can be misconstrued as racist.

Getting back to the subject of Rev. Wright, Obama says he doesn’t agree with everything his church pastors say, but how can he be a uniter while remaining loyal to a church that does not promote unity?

Oh…and Jeeezus was a poor black man. Rev Wright conveniently overlooks the fact that Obama has a 1.6 million dollar home and is indeed quite “privileged”.Obama is far from poor.

(O/T: I don’t know how people can sit in a church pew and be screamed at by idiots like this.)

Update…the original video I posted had been taken down at YouTube, so I found this one. I don’t know how long it will be before this one is removed, also. The quality of this one isn’t as good, but whatareyagonnado?

Pharmacists should be not be allowed to refuse to dispense prescribed medication because of personal ethical problems with that medication. Period. Pharmacists are part of a profession dedicated to help, not harm the patient. If they don’t want to fill prescriptions determined necessary by the doctor, then maybe they should find another field to work in.

As Austin Cline points out;

Refusals to dispense contraceptives because of one’s moral objections to contraceptives is not like refusing to dispense medication that will have a bad interaction with some other medication or because of a health condition that the patient has. In these latter cases, the pharmacist is making a judgment that the physician would have made if they had been aware of the relevant information — the pharmacist is not substituting their medical or ethical judgment for that of the physician or the patient.

That, however, is exactly what is happening when the pharmacist refuses to dispense contraceptives. This isn’t a medical decision and it isn’t a judgment that we can assume the doctor would have made given more information. Instead, the pharmacist is substituting their own personal and religious standards for those of the patient, something that not even the physician has a right to do when it comes to standard medical care.

Here is the latest news from Americans United of just one of the many battles concerning this issue:

Washington State Has The Right To Require Pharmacists To Fill Doctors’ Prescriptions, Says Americans United
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

“Regulations Ensuring Patient Access To Medication Are Neutral And Do Not Single Out Religious Belief, Argues Watchdog Group In Court Brief”

A Washington State Board of Pharmacy regulation that requires pharmacies to dispense all medications in a timely manner does not trample on religious freedom rights and should be upheld, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told a federal appeals court.

Attorneys with Americans United filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a case pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. In the brief, AU asks the appellate panel to send the decision back to the district court for consideration.

“Allowing pharmacists to put their religious beliefs between doctors and patients is a prescription for disaster,” said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “These regulations are simply designed to make sure that pharmacists do the job they are paid to do.”

More

First England denied him, now the Netherlands.

Mehdi Kazemi, a gay Iranian teenager fighting to stay in Europe after his boyfriend was reportedly executed in Iran, has lost a plea for asylum in the Netherlands and will be sent back to Britain, where he could face deportation to Iran, the teen’s uncle told ABC News.
…snip…
Kazemi, 19, came to Britain to study in 2005. He has said he intended to return to his country until he learned that his boyfriend in Tehran, whom he had been dating secretly since he was 15 years old, had been arrested for sodomy and hanged, according to Kazemi’s lawyer.

Kazemi appealed for asylum in Britain, writing in a letter accompanying his request, “I wish to inform secretary of state that I did not come to the U.K. to claim asylum. But in the past few months my situation back home has changed. The Iranian authorities have found out that I am a homosexual and they are looking for me.”
…snip…
A British court denied Kazemi’s request in 2006 on the grounds that Iran does not systematically persecute homosexuals.

Kazemi, terrified that he would be handed over to Iranian authorities after his application in Britain was denied, fled to the Netherlands. For the past few weeks, he was being held in detention there while a Dutch court decided whether he should be sent back to the U.K.

Unlike Britain, the Netherlands has a special law guaranteeing Iranian homosexuals are not sent back to Iran. But under the terms of a special European Union treaty, refugees are only allowed to request asylum in one EU member country.

Under the ruling, which said the Netherlands had no jurisdiction after Britain had already reviewed the request, Kazemi could be sent back to Britain before the end of the week, Palm told ABC News.

So the Dutch say their hands are tied, because one EU nation has already denied asylum, and the Brits are saying, “Oh, we don’t really think they’ll KILL you if we send you back to Iran…that’s all blown out of proportion.” But if Mehdi Kazemi steps on Iranian soil, he may as well be stepping on a trap door with a noose already around his neck.

I’m going to put my bleeding heart out there for all to see, and hope some of you will join me in raising a collective voice for Mehdi Kazemi. I’ve sent emails to the Dutch Foreign Affairs Office asking for mercy on Kazemi’s behalf. There’s also an online petition that’s going to the British government, since Mehdi is set to be sent back to England soon. We are often outraged at the savagery committed in Muslim countries, but are seldom able to do anything. Let the British and Dutch officials know that the world is aware and watching how they handle this situation. We may not change a thing, but we won’t know if we don’t try.