Author Archives: brucefp

Look on the Bright Side

Posted on by

Chad Farnan, a high school student, successfully sued his European history teacher, James Corbett, for disparaging Chad’s religious beliefs.

In all fairness, he had a point. Mr. Corbett, was probably a little too free with his opinions given his position of authority in a public institution like a high school.

What was very interesting was the number statements about religion that the court failed to find afoul of the First Amendment. Statements like, “when you put on your Jesus glasses, you can’t see the truth” and “conservatives don’t want women to avoid pregnancies — that’s interfering with God’s work”.

It took calling creationism, “superstitious nonsense” to cross the line. Now, I personally feel that stating a fact like that should be legal anytime and anywhere. It is unfortunate that the courts were unwilling to defend free speech in the one instance where the teacher was on VERY solid ground.

So, what is the bright side in this?

By saying that Mr. Corbett was “displaying hostility” towards religion with that statement, the court clearly equated Creationism with religion. That is useful precedent when they try to preach it in the science classroom.

“Every man has a right to his opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.”
— Bernard Baruch (American financier, stock-market speculator, statesman) via
The Skeptics Guide to the Universe

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Tribute to a Fallen Ninja (Joe Murphy 1972 – 2007)

Posted on by

I never had the chance to meet Joe Murphy in person, but I spent many hours listening to his contributions to Slice of SciFi, Dragon Page, Wingin’ It and the Kick Ass Mystic Ninjas.  Joe was opinionated, but thoughtful and I took away many insights into genre fiction from him.  You can learn much from those you respectfully disagree with.

So, I lift a virtual glass of something fruity to your life, Mason Rocket, it was much too short.

Tee Morris’ 2009 tribut to Joe Murphy

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Apparently a strong theological education is not useful for public health policy

Posted on by

Pope Ratzinger, apparently, knows better than the majority of medical and health professionals counseling an audience in Africa that condom use “increases the problem” of AIDs.

This puts the Vatican firmly in the camp of the witch doctors and ‘traditional’ medicine practitioners in Africa, and directly opposed to all of science based medicine.  Why is it that anyone listens to a priest when it comes to public health policy?

To make it worse, in the face of international outrage, the vatican doesn’t retract or correct Ratzinger’s irresponsible statement.   They attempt to spin it.  Well, even their spin is still wrong.  Condoms in no way increase the problem aids, they do not aggravate the problem and they do not ‘risk’ aggravating the problem.  They improve the situation of people in a country where AIDs affects millions and millions.

OK, so while I can be very frustrated with Ratzinger and ruling body of the Catholic church, the Vatican, but they have a job to do and it isn’t protecting people from sexually transmitted disease.  It is all about pushing their dogma on more and more people.

What could be worse, is if there was an organized effort to willfully discourage people from safe health practices that could save lives.  Who would possibly do that?

“Formerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic.”
— Thomas Szasz, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, State University of New York

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Watchmen

Posted on by

By now, you’ve probably read many reviews of Watchmen if you’re interested.

I still feel the need to, briefly, put my thoughts out there.

First, I thought it was an excellent movie.  A loving rendering of Alan Moore’s graphic novel to the big screen.

That casting was spot on, the emotional content was very, very close and it was visually stunning.

It managed to carry with it the thing that makes the graphic novel such a classic piece of science fiction literature.  It tells a complete compelling story with complex characters and while all your questions about plot are answered, you are left with all the real questions to answer on your own.  Questions about the nature of humanity, life and morality.  That is what made the novel one to read over and over.

I will be watching this movie again, as well.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

As bad as we thought the Bush presidency was….

Posted on by

we may find out it was worse.

It is definitely worth reading this memo from the Bush justice department.  Recently released by the Obama administration, after being held secret by the Bush administration.  The memo leans heavily on resolutions from the Nixon administration and from three days after the attacks in 2001 to justify the president having extremely broad powers to take any action almost any where on the planet.

“Further, the President has the constitutional power not only to retaliate against any person, organization, or State suspected of involvement in terrorist attacks on the United States, but also against foreign States suspected of harboring or supporting such organizations. Finally, the President may deploy military force preemptively against terrorist organizations or the States that harbor or support them, whether or not they can be linked to the specific terrorist incidents of September 11.”

Reading the memo, it seems like the author continually goes to lengths to remove any restraint on the office of the president.  The focus does not seem to clarify the power of the presidency, it really seems it is to justify any action of the president as long as it can be remotely connected to countering a terrorist threat.

“Third, it should be noted here that the Joint Resolution is somewhat narrower than the President’s constitutional authority. The Joint Resolution’s authorization to use force is limited only to those individuals, groups, or states that planned, authorized, committed, or aided the attacks, and those nations that harbored them. It does not, therefore, reach other terrorist individuals, groups, or states, which cannot be determined to have links to the September 11 attacks. Nonetheless, the President’s broad constitutional power to use military force to defend the Nation, recognized by the Joint Resolution itself, would allow the President to take whatever actions he deems appropriate to pre-empt or respond to terrorist threats from new quarters.“

Read the entire memo, here. Definitely interesting. You’ll probably still read it before Bush does.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Repeat after me, "Natural and Herbal are marketing terms aimed at suckers"

Posted on by

Really, it is 2009, you know this.  Don’t you?

In a market where ‘Homeopathic’ is used a positive claim, even when it isn’t true.  (Zicam has, or had, homeopathic on the label even when it wasn’t diluted to the point of being useless.  It may be useless, but it does actually have zinc in it.)  I guess it isn’t surprising that the mere suggestion of something being “Natural” or “Herbal” carries an implication of safety.

Why should this be?  Have you ever really thought about?

Some rat poison is naturally derived, so is rattlesnake venom.  That would be nice, wouldn’t it?  A dietary supplement with rattlesnake venom!  All Natural!

Currently, the FDA is not overly concerned with ‘dietary supplements’ and ‘herbal’ concoctions.  They can be introduced into the market with little, or no, regulation as long as their claims are vague.

Before marketing, drugs must undergo clinical studies to determine their effectiveness, safety, possible interactions with other substances, and appropriate dosages, and FDA must review these data and authorize the drugs’ use before they are marketed. FDA does not authorize or test dietary supplements. from An FDA Guide to Dietary Supplements.

This has been to the detriment of many people.  Mostly to their pocket books, but sometimes to their health as well.  It is at this point, the FDA steps in.

CNN.com:‘Natural’ weight-loss supplements may be a health hazard

“If you’re playing a poker game and you look around the table and and can’t tell who the sucker is, it’s you.” — Paul Newman, American Actor, b. 1925

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Celebrate Darwin!

Posted on by

This Thursday, February 12, 2009, is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth.  It is the perfect time pay tribute and thanks to the man who has brought so much to humanity.

Yeah, yeah, I know, controversy.  You’re probably thinking, “If not Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace would have published his work and it would have been just the same.”  Well, I think you’re wrong.  Wallace didn’t spend the years that Darwin did thinking about natural selection and its ramifications.  He was uniquely positioned to defend his work.  It had to be Charles Darwin.

If you aren’t convinced based solely on his wide variety of experiences and just the length of time he spent cogitating on the problem, you might be convinced by the fact that Wallace was a ‘spiritualist’ and a known supporter of nutters!

Now you’re convinced, but what is an appropriate gift for one long dead.  Well, the Center for Inquiry  has a great idea.  Help them create a tribute video with people reading from, “On the Origin of Species”, in recognizable spots all around the world.  Details can be found at Darwin Aloud, check it out.

For other activities, check out the Darwin Day site.

” Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.”  — Charles Darwin

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

The Pope makes headlines again

Posted on by

So, I’ve been trying to noodle through this one for a few days.

I guess with the withering of the Catholic Church’s influence, they need all the support they can get.  Including the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X.

Even with that, what would possibly convince Mr. Ratzinger to include a Holocaust denier in the deal (for deal it must have been).  The almost 500 priests in the Fraternity?   Is it really worth offending the world’s Jews and those sympathetic to victims of genocide?

Either Mr. Ratzinger is not as smart as I would give him credit for, or maybe he is just completely out of touch with the position the Church holds in the world.

I’d really be interested in Mr. Ratzinger’s thinking on this one.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Vatican's measure of sin shows why they are no longer relevant

Posted on by

Apparently its big news to someone that the Vatican has a secret tribunal to deal with what they consider to be “the most heinous sins”.  Really?  Shocker.  I thought the Vatican was all about transparency.  You can read the Telegraph’s version here.

The Apostolic Penitentiary, or “tribunal of conscience”, has been shrouded in secrecy ever since it was established by Pope Alexander III in 1179 and until now has never provided details of the cases it scrutinises.

They are considered so heinous by the Catholic Church that only the Pope can grant absolution to those who perpetrate them.

So, what might you consider “the most heinous of crimes”? Use your sickest fantasy of offenses against humanity and I guarantee you are not even close.

While priests and bishops can deal with confessions of sins as grave as murder or even genocide, the tribunal is reserved for crimes which are viewed by the Church as even more serious.

They include attempting to assassinate the Pope, a priest abusing the confidentiality of the confessional by revealing the nature of the sin and the person who admitted to it, or a priest who has sex with someone and then offers forgiveness for the act.

Yes, the Vatican considers an “attempt” on the life of the pope a worse sin than genocide. A little self-serving, don’t you think?

Oh, and you know what else is a worse sin than genocide and, apparently, rogering defenseless young children by a member of the clergy? Defiling the Eucharist. Toss a cracker and its papal forgiveness or you’re out.

How can they not see how ridiculous this is? Why is time and breath wasted on this nonsense?

With followers in the millions they squander their influence on petty, stupid dogmatic bullshit like this. It’s just sad.

This is why we need separation of church and state.  Can you imagine if capricious nonsense like this was the lay of the land?

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Show Adolf some love why don't ya?

Posted on by

Three year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell of Holland Township, NJ will not be getting his birthday cake from the local Shop-Rite.  They refused to write “Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler” on the cake and his parents decided to take a stand.

Shop-Rite, what you did was wrong.  Plain and simple.  In fact, it was about as short-sighted and ignorant as this poor kids’ Holocaust denier Dad.  The same Dad who, by the way, named Adolf’s sisters JoyceLynn Aryan Nation and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie.

This kid is starting out life with such a huge disadvantage and a future of teasing and torment that will probably wring any good will out of his little heart.  It is incumbent on those of us who try to be thoughtful and compassionate to show little Adolf something different.  The way to accomplish this is NOT to be dick-ish to his father by punishing the kid.  Take away the father’s cause for indignation and notoriety.    Maybe young Adolf has a chance see that a hate-filled philosophy is not the path to take.

It is equally disappointing to hear Barry Morrison,  a director for the Anti-defamation league of Philadelphia, applauding Shop-Rite’s action finding the children’s names “offensive”.  Further, he said,

“It’s doing them (the children) a tremendous disservice, and it’s cruel that parents would place these names on children,” he said. “It’s a mark upon them. It sets them apart for ridicule, derision, attacks. 

Apparently, Mr. Morrison felt there was no time like the present to get that started.  Let’s add that moron to the list of the people who learned nothing from the Holocaust.

“Once you bring life into the world, you must protect it. We must protect it by changing the world.”

— Elie Wiesel (Holocaust Survivor, Writer, Nobel Laureate)

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail