Author Archive for Sapient

Conflict among groundhogs, humans and myth.

Published
by
Sapient
on February 3, 2012
.

 Groundhogs around the world are in an uproar as conflicting nonsense reports are issued by humans who pretend to believe that a Groundhog can predict seasons. (do they actually believe this shit?)  The original groundhog (Phil) indicates 6 more weeks to winter.  But some copy hogs don't agree. 

Quote:

According to folklore, Phil’s sighting of his own shadow means there will be 6 more weeks of winter. Had Phil not seen his shadow, it would have meant “there will be an early spring.”

 

 

Some copycat groundhog in Canada  (they even copy the top hat and suit tradition) had a groundhog that indicates winter is over.  And the article says another copycat groundhog thought the same thing in Nova Scotia.  Why didn't they just refer to Phil?  No they had to make up a story to promote local business (or whatever the ulterior motive is).  Their blunder has led to this dilemma that proves conclusively that groundhogs are simply out to confuse you (or something).  
Quote:
WIARTON Groundhog celebrity Wiarton Willie has predicted the end to a winter that never was. The famed groundhog, who was dragged from his lair just after 8 a.m. this morning, failed to see his shadow.
 
Quote:
Willie’s prediction falls in line with Nova Scotia’s own Shubenacadie Sam, who couldn’t find his own shadow earlier this morning.
  Could someone please get all these groundhog wackos together and at least make their bullshit match?  I can't wait until groundhogs rule the earth and they trot out human captors to predict seasonal changes. 

 

Like this new logo?

Published
by
Sapient
on January 29, 2012
.

 I've been working with a friend on a logo for the new website.  I've done tons of tweaking on this and really like where it's at.  I would like to know you're thoughts.  It might be more appropriate to refer to this as a header design for the site.

 

 

 

SOPA and PIPA bills affect RRS writers and readers

Published
by
Sapient
on January 13, 2012
.

Rational Response Squad website and affiliate sites are in a black out on Jan 18 to draw attention to SOPA and PIPA which threatens our existence...

Have you noticed how some of our members like to cut and paste news articles for discussion on our forum?  Did you know that in many cases you're not supposed to do that?  Did you know that it's not always easy to tell if you can or can't because of tough to understand copyright rules and potential for fair use treatment since the post is being used for critique, parody, or criticism?  What do you think would happen if corporations and the government worked together to control the copyright problems on the internet?  

For the last few years some companies have been fighting for a bill that protects against online piracy.  They pushed for a bill to come along that they could support.  Many of those same people today are leading the charge against SOPA and PIPA which go too far, give the government too much control, put too much fear into the webmaster, and should put fear into everyone talking about anything on the internet. These rules would stifle internet development.  The next big thing will not happen, it'll cost too much in legal fees for the start up.  Only mega-corps will stand a chance at innovation.  

Maybe you kept quiet over the last 10 years as our Constitution has been trampled on by our government.  Maybe the Iraq War built on a lie didn't bother you because it was so far away.  Maybe you let the Patriot Act slide because you didn't think they'd torture you.  This time you should not be quiet.  This time you have to speak up... or you may not be able to later.  

The internet and the free exchange of information that we have been afforded has helped catapult our society into a much more knowledgeable one.  A more efficient society that is more informed about anything it chooses to be informed about.  SOPA and PIPA help put the control of our information in the hands of government officials and massive corporations.  It is an attack on the grass roots nature of the internet.  As an atheist site webmaster it is the biggest fear I have today.  

Let me run you through what would happen if a bill like these get passed...

There are probably thousands of instances of people posting trademarked or copyrighted information on our site.

When SOPA and PIPA are passed I will have a team of mods scour over 100,000 pages to censor, delete, or eliminate conversations that have any possible violation.

I will instruct my team that if it's borderline, delete it.  

We might find that the problem is too rampant, so we may choose to simply delete everything that has ever been written on any of our sites, and start over.  (you may know that maintaining our old information is about the most important task I have put on myself... this would be devastating to me personally)

During this process we may find that the laws are too restrictive or too scary, or too costly to fight.  We may at that point decide to close our doors for community posts. 

Internet dark ages... here we come... unless you speak up.

 

EXTERNAL LINKS 

http://my.americancensorship.org/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57329001-281/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/

http://gizmodo.com/5870405/sign-this-sopa-petition-to-get-obamas-attention

http://americancensorship.org/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2012/01/13/wikipedia-mulls-sopa-blackout-as-other-sites-join-in/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2011/12/20/official-veto-sopa-petition-gets-25000-signature-in-two-days/

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/how-sopa-pipa-can-affect-you/

 

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

 

Quote:

http://www.geekosystem.com/anti-sopa-petition-whitehouse/

So we’ve been covering SOPA a lot, specifically how horrible it is and how horribly it’s going. On the dim, but bright side, someone listed as Ji S has created a beautifully simple illustration of how utterly ridiculous SOPA really is. Under SOPA as it currently stands, this anti-SOPA petition on Whitehouse.gov would lead to a nationwide block of Whitehouse.gov on the whole. The irony is delicious, isn’t it?

One of the many issues with SOPA that is so offensive is that it allows any and all sites with links to copyrighted content to be summarily blocked. A recent amendment has made this even more egregious, allowing ISPs to block entire domains even when a court order specifies one certain link or page. The petition, which provides a link to this copyrighted image in its description, would, under SOPA, classify Whitehouse.gov as a rogue site and flag it for censorship. Need I say more?

 

The new server has been purchased!

Published
by
Sapient
on January 12, 2012
.

I recently updated the server fundraiser thread to ask for a few last minute donations because after a week of hits to the wallet I was only prepared to cover $5,000 of the $6,000 server I was about to buy.  I had almost $2,000 of unexpected expenses in the last week, half of which was a new computer, the one I'm typing this on.  The one that will make it all happen in the next 5 yrs.  I posted on the forum asking for help and got a $25 donation instantly.  I called my rep at Dell and worked some magic on him... some jedi secret atheist stuff... and he brought the final cost down to $5,000.  I did the Tebow!  

We should have it before Feb 1.  Not sure how long it'll take for us to get it up (hopefully by Feb 15), I do know that site building wont be anywhere near complete until March.  Much of the configuration is actually going to happen after we go online.  We'll be online before we're fully configured. 

For the daily Rational Responder reader, you can expect the site to handle our text exchanges without problem.  You'll have an easy to understand forum, a better forum, and a place to exchange ideas on day one of the new site.  Many of the other details will be added slowly over the following 2 months, like color scheme for example that may be tweaked after the fact.  Speeds of course will be lightning fast.  As I have always said, I place a very high importance on maintaining our old discussions.  Care will be taken in that regard.  

We have had year over year growth for atheism.  As information spreads freely online, people are able to look up that religion is lying or ignorant.  In each consecutive year on the internet atheists have had an increasingly more visible voice.  Here's to a good 2012 for atheism on the internet.  Not just for the projects coming out of our recent server upgrade, but to the various conventions, gatherings, billboards, and efforts of many other atheists.  This is going to be a good year.  

 

Happy New Year and as Hitch would say, "don't keep the faith."

Atheists rule the internet!

Published
by
Sapient
on January 7, 2012
.

 Check out this video by Cult of Dusty in which he tears religion apart.  He talks about the inevitable end of Christianity and how the internet has caused religion to become a mocked and laughable idea.  The internet has made it possible to look religion up on a google search and find out that it is full of lies.  The internet has shown that atheism is the only logical position, and that using logic is a powerful weapon.

Cult of Dusty comes across like a cross between Christopher Hitchens, Penn Jillette, and George Carlin...

 

Merry Christ My Ass!

Published
by
Sapient
on December 25, 2011
.

Jesus was simply a copy of other gods before him. If you accept the bible as true then you'd believe Jesus was born in the spring months. There is not enough historical proof of Jesus Christ in order to warrant belief in him. There isn't a single source or witness of his life that wrote about him within 30 years of his death. If he did exist, he was nothing more than an ordinary man, who might have been a narcissistic pot head. He probably didn't exist. And if that idea has you shaking your head in disbelief then you need to do more research. Do it.

Because of how similar his story is to other myths before him it leads one to believe that he likely was just another figment of our imagination. The feast and gathering that Christians enjoy on December 25th is a tradition based on a gathering celebrated by Pagans called Saturnalia. Today it makes more sense to celebrate a Winter Solstice, in which we gather with family and friends, enjoy the last harvest of the year, and unwind together as we prepare for a new season.

Please share this message of reality. Clarity and education is the best gift you can give on this day full of sharing.  

The God Who Wasn't There Movie on Amazon.com

Best New Hitchens like blogger of 2011 goes to Louis Cypher

Published
by
Sapient
on December 17, 2011
.

We lost Christopher Hitchens last night.  Many of us have a feeling of emptiness today, we know how amazing he was.  Many of us have been influenced by his style, and because of this he will live on.  Because we read his books and use his arguments, quote him in arguments, and are influenced by him, he will live on.  Christopher Hitchens seems irreplaceable.  It's only in the strength of our collective voices do we consider the notion that we could possibly fill his shoes.  And we will try, this is obvious to us, all of us had a collective atheist head nod today.  We know we must pick up where he left off.  

I would like to recognize for a moment a new blogger on our website.  He reminds me a little of Hitchens, and ironically Hitchens is his greatest influence.  I posted this on Facebook an hour ago, but thought I should make a blog post for it.  

 

The winner of the most Hitch like new blogger on RRS for 2011 is Louis Cypher! 

Hitch lives on!  He lives on in all of us, but please check out Louis Cypher.  He's making waves, he's intelligent, known to curse from time to time, and not scared to confront any aspect of religion.  I'm so happy he's posting here and going to be an Atheism United blogger.  You can follow Louis Cypher via RSS feed if you want, or just go to Louis Cypher's Blog.

"But it was his out front, wholehearted and passionate stance on religion and theistic chicanery that captured my unabashed admiration for the man.  His no prisoners,  confrontational approach was a breath of pure oxygen. His skills at both lecture and debate were astounding in their clarity, wit, and sheer persuasiveness.  His presence alone on the stage was enough to make the most outspoken theist cringe in fear.  He stood astride the once safe harbour of rhetorical discourse like a veritable colossus, wielding his enormous intellect like a club." - Louis Cypher on Hitchens

 

Quotes from Louis Cypher

"My ethics and morality derive from the culture in which I was raised and reinforced by the pressure of my peers. As I grew, I incorporated much of what in had been taught into my world view, rationalizing and reasoning out the purpose and place of the various ideas, making them part of my essential character. On top of my personal ethic, we have laws, society's way of codifying a common ethic. Even if one lacks an ethical stance on certain issues, the fear of societal retribution tends to keep most in line.

 

Morality is mutable, changing with time and custom. I knew several people in my youth who were only a generation removed from slavery. Once slavery wasn't immoral, it was in fact validated by the holy scriptures as right and moral. Once, a wife could not refuse her husbands sexual advances, the concept of marital rape was unimagined. We've changed, we've grown as a people.

 

Christian morality doesn't exist. Yes, they have rules and a huge litany of sins, but most are for the purpose of pointing out the failings of others, many are outdated, barbaric and non nonsensical." - Louis Cypher, The Myth of Christian Morality

 

"Unless of course, we are talking about the human sacrifice that is the root of our most prominent western religion, Christianity. Then it becomes a beautiful and moving act. One that essays, books, even entire careers have been built around, extolling the virtue of a death on a Roman torture device. A favorite of the artist, thousands of paintings have lovingly detailed the blood and gore, the sense of suffering. Millions of little children wear the image of this near naked man hanging in torment, dieing on a torture device, around their necks." - Louis Cypher, It has to be blood

 

"Faith is a mental defect made into a virtue by those with an agenda to fleece the gullible. Faith isn't sloppy reasoning, it's no reasoning at all by simple definition. There is a lot of equivocation about the word, other than 'spirit' I can think of no other word more horribly abused from a semantic standpoint. Faith is belief without evidence. If you have evidence, you don't have faith you have a reasoned belief. How hard is that to grasp?" - Louis Cypher, Faith is a mental defect

 

Notable Louis Cypher threads

 

Belief is Irrational

Evidence, please.

Faith is a mental defect...

 

 

 

Zynga Poker tonight on Facebook (atheist night in)

Published
by
Sapient
on December 2, 2011
.

I like playing poker and need a night to relax and hang out.  If you are on facebook you can use the Zynga poker app and play poker with fake chips tonight with me.  I've got a handful of people from facebook that are joining in.  I'll make myself available via IM on facebook and we'll create a group chat for folks who want to play.  Once we get around 8 people we will be able to get all of us at the same table to socialize and play no limit texas hold em.  

http://apps.facebook.com/texas_holdem/

Thread on Atheism United about the poker game.

Brian Sapient facebook

 

Try to be there around 8 pm est.  If you come at 9 or 10 est you can probably get a few hands in before we break up.

 

 

 

Implosion at CFI Canada because of accomodationism vs confrontationalism

Published
by
Sapient
on November 27, 2011
.

A blog was written today on the implosion of CFI Canada.  As long as we keep having these accomodationist vs confrontationalist arguments we will continue to have implosions. Frankly, it disgusts me that we have done this. I felt the wrath of the accomodationists when I was known for being a confrontationalist. I probably will still have the perception of being one. Even though I am creating a feel good project that supports all atheists.  I think I am a blend of both.  I hope you are too.  

Being able to adjust your method depending on who you interact with is a strong suit.  And if someone sees you are confrontational, why must they label you as always confrontational?  It is also highly hypocritical to be an accomodationalist but be confrontational on the issue of confrontationalists.  It's time for us to elevate our game.  This division has gone on long enough.  We must think critically and with reason.

I have always supported the efforts of those who are excessively passive, and think they should support mine. We must embrace each other even when we don't completely agree. Part of the reason I started Atheism United was to show people how there can be a united front. I look forward to universally supporting both camps.  It's sad how I know the only way to make it work is to not rely on these groups to actually unite.  I will support them whether they support me or not.  And would you believe that there will actually be people who will kick this gift horse in the mouth?  For what?  Because I told someone Jesus was fake on twitter?  
 
Please people, ponder it... we must work together, share a planet together. We can't make such a big deal over tact and approach. Vocalize your disagreement so that your position is known, but you can't let it get to the point where you are shooting yourself in the foot.
 
And if we're really going to make these labels "accomodationist" and "confrontationalist" can we at least admit there are more groups than that?  If we do, we must include a class of people who are still so downtrodden by religion and brainwashed by it's followers that they refuse to speak up and would argue vehemently against someone who does.  Accomodationists aren't a problem... people who are scared to speak up are.  Those people need to sit back and allow everyone else to help humanity move forward, they need to go work on something else.  Maybe environmental clean up, helping the homeless, or relaxing at the pool would be a better activity for people who are so beat by religion that they argue everyone should be quiet.  I used to call that group "Chicken Shit Atheists" but you can come up with a politically correct 15 letter name if you'd like.
 

 

There are two types of atheist groups

Published
by
Sapient
on November 27, 2011
.

Wow Darrel Ray is brilliant. He nails it on "First generation leadership." Because of my type-a personality and my inability to trust easily I was unable to spot future dedicated activists when they aligned with me early in their activist "careers." Ashley Paramore and Shelley Mountjoy were by my side at the beginning. If I could have known to expand their leadership role early enough, they might have never needed to go become superstars elsewhere. 

Check this article out if you would like to learn more about how atheist groups function, and how we can improve them.

Quote:

 

Two Types of Leadership in the Secular Movement

Leadership among secular groups tends to come in two general flavors, those that are led by one or a few charismatic leaders (often the founders) and those that are led by a less centralized executive group.  There is plenty of room for both types of groups in the movement, but it is important to be conscious and intentional in understanding and recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of both.  For purposes of discussion, we will call these groups “first generation” and “second generation,” respectively, although they may not always fit that classification.

First-Generation Leadership

First-generation groups are often led by charismatic leaders. These are lean and activist groups.  The founders have a sharp vision for what they want to accomplish and move fast to get the job done.  They are often the leading edge of the movement and have influence out of proportion to their numbers both within the movement and in the larger society.  Their strengths are invaluable because they are pacesetters, influencing the overall direction of the movement.  

Despite their major strengths, it is also important to understand the weaknesses of first generation leaders.  They are often an insular group and less democratic. Since first-generation leaders are generally autocratic, they tend to attract members who respond to strong, direct leadership.  This limits membership, since only a fraction of the target population responds to this type of leadership.  

Challenges to their leadership or vision are not welcome.  It may be easy to join one of these groups but hard, if not impossible, to gain a position of influence. For this reason, the leaders have difficulty grooming the next generation. Upcoming, promising new leaders often see no opportunity to take part in the core functions of the organization and, therefore, don’t stick around long.  Further, the boards of first-generation groups are generally a reflection of the leader and, therefore, typically very insular as well.  The age range within this type of board is often similar to the age of the founder.  This makes for a leadership structure that has a limited view and tends to be resistant to change.  

 

Further, he talks about how groups led by charismatic leaders suffer when the external environment changes.  The decision to start atheismunited.com was born from that change in environment.  The atheist world is much different today than 6 years ago.  RRS is still needed, but atheism united will be more current and relevant.  The project was born from the idea that we didn't care what banner we impacted the world under, we just wanted to have the biggest impact possible.  We decided it was necessary to create something different.  How justified Darrel Ray makes us feel.

Quote:
"As long as the external environment remains consistent with the conditions in which the organization was founded, it will continue to 

function. But when the external environment changes, it can present difficult challenges. To the degree that an organization influences the surrounding culture, the target of its efforts must change. Culture is a moving target, and organizations that don’t adjust their influence strategy run the risk of using yesterday’s successful methods on today’s culture. 

A good example is the civil rights movement, where many of the first-generation leaders continued following a vision that was rendered obsolete with changes in legislation and social norms."

 

Buy on Amazon through these links to support online atheism!

Published
by
Sapient
on November 18, 2011
.

Parent Claus is bringing the kids presents?  Don't want to hear O Holy Night while you shop for those gifts?  Want to help support online atheism while buying Grandmom a necklace for the Winter Solstice?  

Please shop at Amazon and they will help pay for our new server!  This really works and it's a huge help.  We are on the cusp of something great, help push us over the edge.  This is a great way to help the cause while buying stuff for yourself.  The customer service at Amazon is incredible, they won't let you down. 

Please make your purchases by clicking any of these links and starting your Amazon shopping experience there.  As long as you start shopping by going to Amazon from any of the links on this page, we will get credit.  If you are concerned about giving us credit, you can strip the amazon link to it's simplest form and add this code to the end after a slash: ?tag=httpwwwration-20

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My timeline on becoming atheist. What’s yours?

Published
by
Sapient
on November 13, 2011
.

I saw someone ask a facebook group to state when they became agnostic/atheist.  First of all, please feel free to answer the question yourself, in the comments below.  I responded, and then I expanded on it briefly for facebook.  After 30 minutes it's got a bunch of likes and comments, I realize it's a moving story to some and so I'll expand just a little more about it here.  But I also ask that anyone who has a similar story share it below.  I know I am not unique, religion has caused the destruction of millions of relationships over time.  

I was born an atheist,  at 5 I was sure God existed because I was told by the person I trusted the most that God existed.  As I learned about the bible and started to understand the world I became a little more agnostic on the idea and was an agnostic catholic at 8.  At 13 my mother decided the Catholic Church wasn't exciting enough and we joined a born again Christian Church, I was 13.  I said the special password prayer you need to say to let Jesus know you want in to heaven.  Literally, this was the argument and justification, say this prayer and you won't burn in hell, you'll go to heaven.  What 13 year old that still trusts his mother wouldn't do that?  I did it... I was an agnostic Born-again Christian.  I talked to Jesus at night before bed, and I tried to get my father on the proper path as well.  I was tortured over the thought of him going to hell.  

As I learned about science I leaned towards being an agnostic deist.  This process lasted several years and I happily with any type of theistic belief.  I was living with a non-practicing Jewish father who I thought of as very "Jewish" and now know him as someone who believes in Spinoza's God or Einstein's deistic leanings.  When I was about 20 I looked up atheism for the first time on the internet, I found Jake who helped me think myself out of my deism.  I was able to call myself an agnostic atheist less than a week later.  For the first time I was able to call myself an atheist without thinking I was evil because of the word that my mother brainwashed me about, that was 14 years ago. It was at that point I decided to spend my life correcting the wrongs of religion.

Mom, if you're reading this... keep in mind, your completely ridiculous religion helped cause our family breakup.  Religion kills families.  My efforts come in large part because of how religion was forced on me as a child, but also because of all the other people who have told me about their upbringings, some of whom can use the word "Cult" to describe how they were brought up.   I was about 14 when you started praying for me to want you in my life, it's been 20 years, where is that getting you?  

 

 

 

Syqnys has a new album out (atheist hip hop rap)

Published
by
Sapient
on November 12, 2011
.

I just had the chance to listen to the new Syqnys album.  I was surprised to see I could listen to the whole thing free online.  That's smart, it made me buy it.  His messages we're on point.  He said lots that made me think, and lots that made me want to go back and hear it a second time.  Syqnys once wrote a song called "I am Rational Response Squad."

Syqnys had all kinds of original thought in his album, which usually makes it one of those albums that you can listen to over and over.   You should check it out, listen to it... then buy a hard copy for $10, once you buy the hardcopy you get the download for free. He also allows individual downloads for $1. I told Syqnys that my readers would want to know more, so I asked him a few questions and here is what he had to say:

What is the main theme of your new album?

Syqnys: The album is called "Hypatia's Reign, which is a reference to the fourth century philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, who was brutally murdered by a Christian mob for reasons that mainly had to do with her ungodliness and general lack of docility. This album represents the hope the secular community has for an era where rationality and reason dominate our public discourse. Where religion and other “conversation stoppers” have become as antiquated as alchemy is to modern medicine. “Hypatia’s Reign” is what the “Age of Enlightenment” was supposed to be.

By no means is the era a reality at this moment, but that is the point; it should be! It would be the ultimate historical irony, or rather justice, if the image of Hypatia came to represent the “Death” of unreason. The following line from the intro song sums up the idea perfectly, “Welcome to the Reign/come and feel the pain/ of the brilliant woman who was persecuted then slain/cut up into pieces by the followers of Jesus now the flames of ignorance will drown in her rain.” The album is also a reflection on my daughter Hypatia, who was still born nearly four years ago.

What do you hope the audience will take away from this album?

Syqnys: First and foremost I want people to really dig the music. If you are a fan of rap music already, there is no doubt in my mind you will appreciate this album. I’m not a conceited person at all, but I can rap my ass off, man. I try to be as creative and tricky with my word play as possible. With every song I want to say something that will either keep you on your toes, surprise you, impress you or simply plant the seed of a new idea, or even to validate something you’ve thought before, but never really had someone clarify it or express it in a way that left you confident that you were right about it the whole time. I’ve had this same experience reading Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, and I hope I can have the same effect through music. Even if you’re not a fan of rap, you’ll find something on this album that will leave an impression. I’m willing to bet I can change the minds of a few anti-rap people out there.

What motivates you to speak out?

Syqnys: All I do is speak out, whether it’s with music, writing or just in conversations. Before I even knew what the hell I was talking about, I felt there were some serious flaws in what many of my peers and role models believed in and promoted. I remember debating my creationist friends about evolution and not knowing “shit about fuck” (as Robin Williams so eloquently puts it), but I KNEW they knew even less “Shit” about “Fuck”. All you have to do to figure out what motivates people like Brian and myself to speak out, especially on religion/atheism, is listen to ten minutes of Kent Hovind, Dinesh D’Souza or even the nuts of right-wing talk radio and you’ll understand perfectly what motivates us. Not to mention the religious extremist (actually their just the ones who take their holy texts seriously) of all stripes. People who don’t pay much attention to these issues can brush these lunatics off with a laugh… but they scare the shit out of me!

 

If you're interested in Hypatia you can purchase Brian Trent's book at Amazon about Hypatia and the Library of Alexandria.

Ray Rice said his win was Gods will.

Published
by
Sapient
on November 7, 2011
.

Tonight in Pittsburgh a straw broke a camels back.  After the Ravens beat the Steelers, Ray Rice gets interviewed and credits god with the win.  He said he told his team last night that they need to put themselves in the right positions on the field to receive the Lords blessings.  He also said that on the field he reminded his players to be in blessings positions.  

"I kept going to em and saying 'it's his will' 'it's his will.'" - Ray Rice on what he told his team during the game

 

He finishes this epic god dick sucking fest with, "to come out and win like we did today, I tell you God is amazing." Wow.  It's moments like this that fuel my activism.  We've got to speak up to drown out those voices that have such a huge stage.  I'll start with sending him a few strongly worded tweets.  Read these from the bottom up if you want to read them in order.

 

 Brian Sapient 
 
 Does it even dawn on you that your God wouldn't choose a football team preference? Check yourself.  
8 seconds ago Favorite Reply Delete
 Brian Sapient 
 
 Kids look up to you, stop perpetuating something as ridiculous as the idea that your pretend god hates the Steelers.
3 minutes ago 
 Brian Sapient 
 
 1,000 kids died of starvation while you were on the field tonight and you think God will was deliver you blessings on the field!
4 minutes ago 
 Brian Sapient 
 
 talking about the role you think God played in your game? You're helping to perpetuate a ridiculously stupid concept. STOP.
5 minutes ago 

That second one should have read "1,000 kids died of starvation while you were on the field tonight and you think God will deliver you blessings on the field!"

 

What does Occupy have to do with non-theism?

Published
by
Sapient
on November 6, 2011
.

I along with almost everyone I know supports the Occupy Wall Street movement.  I was included in an email yesterday from Emily Paine.  I'd really like to give her piece a bigger audience, so with her permission, here is what she had to say about Occupy and how a connection to us.

 

 

Dear Fellow Atheists, Secular Humanists, Freethinkers and other Nontheists,

Why is it that we don’t see many Christian fundamentalists or Tea Partiers taking part in Occupy? Because of an alliance that began in the 70s. Back then, corporations wanted more of a voice and religious Americans needed more cash. The result was the “Moral Majority.” This 40-year alliance explains why religious right wingers, who claim to be moral and pro-family, vote with Tea Partiers against help for families and the working class – after all, we can’t afford all that and letting corporations off the hook in paying taxes.

 

Luckily the number of fed-up people has grown about as fast as a CEO’s annual bonus and we now have the power to cut the corporate influence that has infested our politics. Since six mega-corporations now control much of our prime time news flow (see Who Owns the Media?), mainstream media hasn’t been covering Occupy too accurately, to put it nicely.

 

And it’s not just FOX. The rest of corporate media minimizes the message by focusing on clashes, using words like "terrorism" and the "destruction and violence" that supposedly accompany "anticapitalist demonstrations." With the Oakland fiasco, the networks covered the police brutality but played down the message. That night ABC first treated us to a story about Bernie Madoff’s wife. Only after did they show footage of tear gas flashing through a rose-colored fog, a symphony of yells, shouts, cries and screams in accompaniment. ABC punctuated its coverage by citing an unidentified poll showing the Movement’s “unpopularity.” A fact check, however, revealed the opposite – a thumbs up from the masses. The next day they completely ignored a meeting protesters had with Tea Party kingpin, John Boehner.  

 

Other ways the anti-corporate message is diminished is by lowballing. Many local news channels claimed NYC had only a 1,500-2,000 protesters, while non-corporate news sources gave figures of over 20,000.

 

Local coverage mimics national coverage in painting this movement in unpalatable terms, utilizing words like “chaotic,” “anarchistic” and having “no common purpose.” I don’t know where the news crew was, but in the protest I took part in all one had to do is glance at the sea of signs to notice that the message was getting corporations to pay their share of taxes and take responsibility for the environment.

 

Then there’s unabashed neglect. A FAIR report noted that during the initial protests, only CNN briefly mentioned it. On his TV show (9/21/11), Keith Olberman said: “So five days … protesting corporate control of the economy, and you haven't heard a word about it on the news?” He later remarked, "If that's a Tea Party protest in front of Wall Street ... it's the lead story on every network newscast."

 

Moral: Conservatives calling the media liberal is like Madoff calling his investors savvy. To get the whole story on the corporate social responsibility movement, supplement your news with independent news like AlterNet, truthout, OpEdNews, NPR or foreign news. Progressive non-corporate sources will also help you keep an eye on the Religious Right Wing and the Tea Partiers, or try People for the American Way and the Center for Inquiry. For info on how your senators voted with respect to secular values, see the Secular Coalition’s Secular Scorecard.

 

Keep on protestin’,

 

Emily Paine


 

References:

FAIR Activism Update: Some Breaks in the Blackout of Wall Street Protests

Whitewashing the Blackout of Occupy Wall Street

What if the Tea Party Occupied Wall Street? Corporate media skip anti-corporate protests

4 Polls That Show Occupy Wall Street is Just Getting Started

CNN's Factcheck Failure on Occupy Wall Street

 

Jerry Coyne won a debate against Catholic, you aren’t allowed to hear it.

Published
by
Sapient
on November 2, 2011
.

Dr. Jerry Coyne is drawing lots of internet attention because of the events that transpired around his debate on October 12 at the University of Kentucky.  Coyne debated John Haught a Catholic from Georgetown University.  

What makes this event special?  Apparently both parties agreed to videotape the event well in advance of the event.  However after the event Dr. Coyne receives a correspondence from Dr. John Rabel (Coordinator of the debate) that John Haught didn't want the video to be released.  They agreed to release it before the event and therefore Rabel obviously couldn't honor this request.  Well Dr. John Rabel of the Gaines Center for Humanities agreed to not allow posting of the video because they didn't get permission from Haught in advance to post the video.  Someone correct me if my timeline is wrong.

Well what was that?  Previous videos in this series with John Haught have been posted, Dr. Coyne knows as he studied them to prepare for the event in which Haught apparently came off as unpolished.  Did Haught think this appearance was so bad it was worth censoring?  Why didn't he know there would be an annoying internet backlash?  Slews of e-mailers flooded Haught and Rabel with e-mail over the last few days with claims of cowardice. Legal action has been threatened against Dr. Jerry Coyne for antagonizing all of this.  

Of course Haught and Rabel are fully to blame.  Do atheists really come off to Christian leaders like they can just roll over us and we'll shut up?  Sorry Haught, we wont just go away.  We all want to see the arguments that you and Coyne made.  In fact, now we want to see it more.  Before we wouldn't have cared.  You drew our attention to it.  You drew our attention to it just like Kent Hovind did when he sent in false copyright claims against youtube atheists.  If you wanted it to be something that would just go away, something that you didn't become known for then it is you John Haught that should have slowly and quietly walked away and given Dr. Jerry Coyne his copy of the tape.

Kudos to you Dr. Jerry Coyne for not letting this issue die. Might I suggest everyone head over to Amazon and buy your excellent book "Why Evolution is True." 

If you decide to write Rabel or Haught please remember to be nice.

(Update: Now available! Debate between Jerry Coyne and John Haught on "Science and Religion: Are They Compatible?")