Weaponizing atheism

Here’s my take on the wikileaks exposé of DNC emails: there was nothing illegal done (other than the hacking of private servers, that is). We’ve got a set of private communications that confirm that Hillary Clinton was the establishment candidate, and the establishment was working to skew circumstances to favor Clinton while trying their best to seem impartial, when they weren’t. It’s the politics of deception, saying you’ll do one thing while doing something different, and nobody should be surprised that politicians do that sort of thing. It does not invalidate the Clinton nomination, because every politician is working within an institutional framework, and is part of a team — Clinton just had deeper roots and a more effective team than Sanders.

But it still disappoints me.

One thing that Charles Pierce points out about it is that it was just plain stupid. If the establishment wants to support an establishment candidate, be forthright and competent about it. This makes the DNC look like a pack of babbling amateurs.

Further, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been exposed as a political hack, and not a very good one at that. She is an embarrassment too prominent to hide, and so has resigned as DNC chair…which is only appropriate. But then Hillary Clinton has immediately re-hired her to co-chair her election committee! If Clinton wanted to confirm that she was not running a fair nomination campaign, she couldn’t have come up with a more effective strategy. Appearances matter in politics, and that is one ugly relationship.

And then there is the reminder that not even the Democrats represent me, and that the Democratic establishment sees atheism as a useful tool for sliming candidates. This email is simply repellent.

It might may no difference, but for KY and WVA can we get someone to ask his belief. Does he believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.

It would also serve to highlight his Jewishness to the electorate: win-win!

Isn’t it nice to know that the citizenry of the USA are more bigoted against atheists than Jews, and that the DNC would consider exploiting that? And that now, thanks to the incompetence of their staff, the Republican party, which is even more bigoted, will be using this information against the Democrats?

I take it back. This is lose-lose.

Evidence that atheism has failed!

In a remarkable feat of unlogic, a Christian reveals the evidence that atheism has been defeated. I include his argument below, but I haven’t copied over his links, all of which are to his own blog, or to that paragon of trustworthy truthiness, Conservapædia, so just take his backing support as given.

1. Most atheists are men.

Yes, this seems to be true. Point, Christian!

However, I don’t see how this shows that atheism is weak or has failed. Many of us do take this as a sign that we have biases that we need to correct, but as you’ll see, that’s not why this guy has a problem.

I would also point out that most priests are men. Which means…?

2. Feminist women conquered atheism.

Uh, what? He’s just announced that atheism has a male majority. How does it follow that feminist women have “conquered” atheism? What does it even mean to say a set of ideas has been “conquered”?

Unfortunately, this is one of his claims that lacks a supporting link, even to Conservapædia.

3. Despite atheists being a minority in the world, atheists activists engage in constant bickering among themselves which reduces their effectiveness in terms of turning things around. Behold the poor interpersonal skills of atheists (See: Atheism and interpersonal skills and Atheism and romance and Atheism and love).

Why do so many atheists have such poor interpersonal intelligence? For further evidence of the poor social skills of atheists, please see: Atheists are quarrelsome, hypersensitive, egotistical crybabies. Atheists have no chance of victory over the global evangelical Christianity explosion

Many atheists adhere to an anti-authoritarian philosophy called freethought. It is not about poor interpersonal intelligence, it’s about a refusal to submit to dogma and a willingness to argue to converge on the truth. It is a strength, not a weakness.

It’s curious to see someone arguing that we’re weak-willed because we refuse to follow the Christian model of submission to authority.

But also, speaking of bickering, how many Christian sects are out there?

4. Atheism, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and other philosophy reference works, is the denial of the existence of God (see: Definition of atheism).

Paul Edwards, who was a prominent atheist and editor of the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, defined an atheist as “a person who maintains that there is no God.” .

Atheists lack proof and evidence that God exists. The academic field of atheists apologetics (defense of atheism) has stagnated (see: Stagnation of atheist apologetics ).

There is a abundance of evidence that God exists and an abundance of rebuttals to the spurious claims of atheists (see: Evidence that God exists).

Therefore, most atheists are weak-minded.

The logic showing that most atheists are weak-minded is inescapable!

I looked at this abundance of evidence that God exists. It’s mostly crap from Answers in Genesis and the Institute for Creation Science, and a collection of well-worn and often rebutted nonsense from conservative Christian apologists. Citing a definition of atheism is in no way a refutation of atheism, and asserting that gods exist is not evidence that they do exist.

But what does this point have to do with the previous points about feminists “conquering” atheism or atheists being argumentative? Nothing in this follows. There is no chain of logic here. It is a succession of feeble brain farts.

But you ain’t seen nothing yet. He is kind enough to tell us what atheism needs to do to correct its flaws.

If only boorish and quarrelsome atheist men did not spark atheist women resentment (a potent seedling of atheist feminism). In evangelical Christianity, Christian husbands are instructed to love their wives as Christ loved the church.

If only atheists were more like evangelical men whose wives were taught to obey them. In biblical Christianity, women cannot teach men and they cannot exercise authority over men as far as church matters. If only atheists women could not exercise authority over atheist men about atheist matters. The humiliation of atheism being conquered by feminist women could have been avoided!

Oh, atheist men! Feel the sting of atheism being conquered by feminist women.

There’s the answer! Atheist women wouldn’t resent those quarrelsome atheist men if only they were taught to be obedient and submissive!

Don’t worry. I think there’s a subgroup of atheist men who are way ahead of this guy, and who agree that atheist/feminist women should sit down and shut up and quit bossing them around.

Oh, joy: new gurus

This article by Yvette d’Entremont is a bit discouraging: she gives a list of the usual dorkadonkulous fraudsters, like Joseph Marcola and Deepak Chopra and David Avocado Wolfe, but she also alerts us to the new loonies.

So now I’ve heard of Tracy Anderson, unfortunately.

The latest in a long line of bleach blond, tanned skinned, threateningly perky health revolutionaries Hollywood has spat forth is Tracy Anderson, pint-sized abomination of a trainer to the stars. In a home workout video industry rife with the physical prowess of everyone from Jane Fonda to Hugh Hefner’s ex-girlfriends, Tracy Anderson, at the very least, sweats sometimes.

She’s trained the who’s who of beautiful bodies — Gwyneth, J-Lo, Madonna — and isn’t that evidence that her method works?

And my image of Jessica Alba is permanently ruined. Jessica Alba, the actress?

Yes, indeed, Jessica Alba, who gave birth to a baby and then decided that she had also birthed a PhD in toxicology. While everyone else is trying to keep up with the Joneses by merely buying the latest trendy kale laced baby food, Alba mommed harder than anyone else by founding The Honest Company. She’s been scaring mothers sh*tless ever since with her hodgepodge of chemiphobic non-sense.

The Honest Company provides a handful of organic, non-GMO, gluten free, dragon-free, delivered-by-unicorn products that you need to keep your baby alive, in one piece, and moderately non-crispy. Baby formula, diapers, and non-toxic sunscreen are a few of their products available to the discerning parent.

I’m also learning that being a dishonest fraud is profitable, and that they are proliferating.

Quantum paramagnetic looping heme molecules shaped our morphology!

loopingaortapentagram

The other day, I was briefly harangued by someone named William Peters on Twitter. It was a strange comment that was simultaneously pro-evolution while trying to imply some peculiar doubts — it was just off a bit. He wasn’t rude or anything, but I was intrigued and curious, so I dug a little deeper. He says many things that are slightly off.

Like having a simple mathematical explanation for the evolution of humans from fish.


The world is spherical, not flat! Cartesian math = 19th C. Polar co-ordinate math describes evolution of fish to man

Uh-oh. I see trouble coming. This is a common attractor in crank biology, the idea that form is only superficially complex, and that underlying it all is an elegant mathematical formula that will explain all, and of course, the author has discovered the secret equation that will cut through all the shallow trivia pursued by his peers. We saw it in Stuart Pivar, in Vincent Fleury, in Erik Andrulis. I can sympathize with the seductive power of geometry, but at some point, you have to look at the data…and the data trumps all your abstract theorizing every time.

But at least Peters isn’t talking about toruses, the usual crank attractor. No, this guy is into vacuum cleaner hoses, magnets, electricity, and…


Quantum biology has arrived #persanguinemnostrum Enjoyed your talk in NZ 2014

We have “quantum”, mission control, I repeat, “quantum”.

If you’re in the mood for some grandeloquent strangeness, check out his website, persanguinemnostrum.info. The opening announcement is this:

FISH TO MAN

EVOLUTION

THROUGH OUR BLOOD

COMING SOON

[Read more…]

Ted Storck will never let it die

We suffered for several years with this godawful cheap, loud, and frequent (every 15 minutes, from 5am to 10pm) electronic chime system that was installed in the cemetery a few blocks from my home. The guy who donated it lived miles away, and eventually retired to Arizona, after which we finally got the noisy monstrosity taken down, and a blissful, hymn-free silence settled over the neighborhood.

But Ted Storck cannot let it be. He still occasionally sends letters to the local paper, and they publish them. He’s very bitter, and feels that his inability to inflict Christian hymns on strangers is yet another example of persecution.

In church, we often sing the hymn, “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, they will know we are Christians.”

Looking at the world today, you’d figure there are no Christians. This is especially evident on social media comments online, where folks are just vicious with their hateful comments. I am certain many of those comments come from Christians, or people who call themselves Christians.

I am the victim of very hateful comments over the Carillion bell system I had placed at the cemeteries in Morris. The worst came from an avowed atheist, a teacher at UMM, and his followers, but many hateful comments came from folks who claim to be Christians, or, at least, go to a Christian church here in Morris.

It has got to stop here in Stevens County and around this great country. Let folks know you are Christian by your love.

It’s true. “TURN THE DAMNED NOISE DOWN!” is a very hateful, anti-Christian sentiment, and true, loving Christianity requires turning the volume up to 11 and playing “Onward, Christian Soldiers” at everyone.

I recognize Christians not by their love, but by their sanctimonious arrogance and their pernicious whining about their victimhood.

A godless weekend

This weekend is the annual baseball game sponsored by Minnesota Atheists, and this year, co-sponsored by the FFRF. We were too late to get tickets for the Mr Paul Aints game — they sold out again! — but are planning to go to the meeting Saturday afternoon, where Dan Barker will be talking about his latest book, God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction. We may also stop by the Humanist Picnic on Sunday, before heading home.

Minneapolis is a busy place for atheists. Morris, not so much.