tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87409172011-04-21T18:22:13.434-07:00Living without a purpose since 1971.Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1115948166979191282005-05-12T18:25:00.000-07:002005-05-12T18:36:55.296-07:00

This is one of the best posts on Intelligent Design and other nonsense I've read lately. I wish I had written it, but at least I get to read it. Kansas is also challenging evolution in the classroom, and Intelligent Design Theory is making a splashy debut. Intelligent Design Theory, otherwise known as Creationism Lite (Now with half the God!™) points out the fuzzy areas of evolution, and

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1113611846090233332005-04-15T17:36:00.000-07:002005-04-15T17:38:38.206-07:00

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1106407958726500302005-01-22T07:32:00.000-08:002005-01-22T07:32:38.726-08:00

George Bush, Summer 2004. What a guy! 

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1105840334776094512005-01-15T17:48:00.000-08:002005-01-15T17:52:14.776-08:00

Well, I'm not in the mood to write anything lately, but I've still been reading a lot, and I can at least steal some of the things I've been reading. Here's a great quote from the incomparable Richard Dawkins: What has theology ever said that is of the smallest use to anybody? When has theology ever said anything that is demonstrably true and is not obvious? I have listened to theologians,

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1103391431241250282004-12-18T09:32:00.000-08:002004-12-18T09:45:45.830-08:00

I just signed the One Declaration. Have you? WE BELIEVE that in the best American tradition of helping others help themselves, now is the time to join with other countries in a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty. WE RECOGNIZE that a pact including such measures as fair trade, debt relief, fighting corruption and

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1102735106702419022004-12-10T19:04:00.000-08:002004-12-10T21:15:49.253-08:00

John 3:16 is probably the most famous bible verse (you don't see too many fans waving "Hosea 13:16" at football games, do you?). It tells us that God loves us so much that he was willing to pay an unimaginable sacrifice for our wellbeing. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1101273649224923312004-11-23T21:08:00.000-08:002004-11-23T21:20:49.226-08:00

The school board of Cobb County, Georgia, might improve their scientific literacy by reviewing these alternatives to their anti-evolution disclaimer. If nothing else they're good for a laugh.

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1100933678525457662004-11-19T23:50:00.000-08:002004-11-19T22:54:38.526-08:00

I just found the archives of NPR's "Science Friday." I may be listening to these all night. Today's episode is a fascinating discussion of the attempt to insert religious fundamentalist beliefs into our public schools under the guise of "intelligent design."

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1100325235069019302004-11-12T21:36:00.000-08:002004-11-12T22:00:26.036-08:00

Evolution is a theory, not a fact! That has got to be one of the top ten most ignorant things coming out of the Christian Right these days (I know, it's so tough to choose, but I'm pretty sure on this one). I've always found it remarkable that so many people could repeat such drivel so many times without getting sick of listening to themselves. This particular bit of tired wisdom betrays a

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1099971932479127432004-11-08T18:55:00.000-08:002004-11-08T20:29:32.403-08:00

I've been hearing a lot about the importance of the "morality vote" in re-electing George W. Bush. Well I refuse to cede the term morality to the Christian Right — a group of people who insist on the infinite mercy of their god and somehow reconcile that notion with the childish tyrant described in their "inerrant" Bible. Take a look at the Bible. You don't need to go far to see what I mean:

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1099543548125401262004-11-03T20:41:00.000-08:002004-11-03T20:45:48.126-08:00

A word of advice: if you want to have gay sex, or visit a library, it's probably your last night to do those things. Personally, I'll be killing two birds with one stone. Ed Helms, The Daily Show

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1099452738566879982004-11-02T19:29:00.000-08:002004-11-02T19:32:18.566-08:00

My friend Jason Nordby called last night to ask "how would an educated man cast a ballot tomorrow?". Well, I told him, but he didn't listen. I wonder if my cell phone company will refund my money for the 20 minutes I spent talking to him.

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1099239574290560502004-10-31T08:06:00.000-08:002004-10-31T09:23:38.973-08:00

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby He is a careless person, George W. Bush — he smashes up things and creatures and then retreats back into

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1099101985904272592004-10-29T18:33:00.000-07:002004-10-29T19:06:25.906-07:00

Watching the fourth game of the World Series on Wednesday night, I was impressed by the commentators' comparison of life in 1918 (the last year the Red Sox won the series) with life today. Among the bits of trivia was this: the life expectancy in 1918 was 54 years; today it is 77. Think about that for a minute. Over a period of 86 years, science has increased your expected life span by 23 years!

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1099024485989777922004-10-28T20:35:00.000-07:002004-10-28T22:16:57.650-07:00

I can't get enough of this story. Little people (3-feet tall) lived alongside human beings until at least 13,000 years ago, and may have died out only 500 years ago! They hunted pygmy elephants and giant rats, used fire and tools, and "almost certainly had language." The island the small humans lived on, Flores, was a "lost world" inhabited by creatures as strange as they were - giant rats

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1098665241457374712004-10-24T17:18:00.000-07:002004-10-25T20:16:55.343-07:00

I was watching the CNN Presents program "The Fight over Faith," which tells the story of the rise of Evangelical Christianity in the United States. A little girl (perhaps 9 years old), when asked what happens to people who never come to accept Jesus, answers with no hesitation: "You go to hell." The same little girl claims to have been "born again" at age 3. When asked whether it's reasonable

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1098465135353726582004-10-22T11:06:00.000-07:002004-10-22T10:12:15.353-07:00

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog exposes the stench of "Spin Alley". This is one of the funniest clips you'll ever see.

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1098413106079444182004-10-21T19:44:00.000-07:002004-10-21T21:18:36.866-07:00

The Purpose-Driven Life is a remarkable book. Well, OK, I haven't actually read it. I've only got one life, and it's much too short for that! But I did start on page 22 and read half way through page 24, and that's more than enough for a fair evaluation. Let's start with this: You are not an accident. Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1098388201847495942004-10-21T12:41:00.000-07:002004-10-21T12:50:01.846-07:00

Today 24 olympic and professional athletes signed an open letter endorsing President Bush, because he shares the qualities that make a great athlete: The same qualities that make a great athlete make a great President - the determination to do what is right, regardless of the latest polls, the personal strength to bear the weight of the nation on your shoulders, and the faith that a higher

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1098369333366076912004-10-21T07:33:00.000-07:002004-10-21T07:35:33.366-07:00

A man drives to a gas station and has his tank filled up. The gas-pumper spots two penguins sitting in the back seat of the car. He asks the driver, "What's up with the penguins in the back seat?" The man in the car says "I found them. I asked myself what to do with them but, I haven't had a clue." The clerk ponders a bit then says, "You should take them to the zoo." "Hey, that's a

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1098156206265597572004-10-18T20:17:00.000-07:002004-10-20T20:40:20.080-07:00

I was just watching The Daily Show (the best news show on television), and they did a bit on The Curse of the Bambino. In early September, a kid got his teeth knocked out by a Manny Ramirez fly ball, and thereby lifted the curse "under which the team has labored since Ruth was sold to the Yankees in 1919." Say what?! Oh, wait, now it makes sense: the kid lives in the former home of Babe Ruth.

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1098068309288681832004-10-17T19:53:00.000-07:002004-10-17T20:02:43.803-07:00

U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes told a rally Saturday that incest was "inevitable" for children raised by gay couples because the children might not know both biological parents. "If we do not know who the mother is, who the father is, without knowing all the brothers and sisters, incest becomes inevitable," Keyes told the Marquette Park rally held to oppose same-sex marriages. "Whether

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1098025917285344782004-10-17T08:07:00.000-07:002004-10-17T09:52:57.953-07:00

In one of the most remarkable articles I've read in this or any election season, I found this, one of the most remarkable stories I've read in this or any election season. There is one story about Bush's particular brand of certainty I am able to piece together and tell for the record. In the Oval Office in December 2002, the president met with a few ranking senators and members of the

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1097935105660792092004-10-16T06:55:00.000-07:002004-10-16T20:10:56.766-07:00

Today I read this bit of wisdom in the Star Tribune: The Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and correspondence from signers of the Constitution strongly indicate a belief in the existence of God. Interesting. Now the writer may have a point about the Declaration of Independence (although references to a "Creator", and the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" seem designed more for

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8740917.post-1097891913544234412004-10-15T18:35:00.000-07:002004-10-16T20:08:26.226-07:00

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.The Skeptic's Annotated Bible Have you ever wondered how Noah managed to get two of every sort of "living thing" onto a boat? How did he find them all? How did they get back where they belonged? Why do polar bears, which apparently lived in Eastern

Penguin Onenoreply@blogger.com2