I have railed against the abuse of the US government’s notorious ‘No Fly List’, where the government keeps a secret list that tells airlines not to let people fly without telling them why they have been forbidden, what they need to do to get their names removed, nor even (in the early days) that they have such a list at all. This is such an arbitrary abuse of government power and due process that it boggles the mind
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Thanks to Mark Tiborsky of the Cleveland Freethinkers, the Q/A portion of my debate last Saturday with Joe Puckett has been posted. I find the Q/A parts the most interesting because I enjoy dialogue more than giving speeches because you often address specific points.
The creators of the videos were hampered by not getting a direct sound feed from the microphones but had to pick it up from the air which is the reason for the slightly inferior quality.
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There are many songs from the past that I really like but I usually identify them with the performer and not the songwriter. Hence the name Gerry Goffin meant nothing to me until I read last week that he had died and they listed some of the songs he had written and they are really great.
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[The podcast, either just audio or audio/video, can be obtained here.]
I thought the radio show went pretty well. These shows always tend to generate interest and we run out of time for the callers. Craig Bauman, the president of the University of Akron Secular Student Alliance who put up some of the atheist billboards in the region, contributed via phone and I thought he made some excellent comments, both about the billboards and his own disbelief that he said started in fourth grade, helped by a supportive family. Tracy Lind, a well-known minister of a local church, also called in and made the often-heard point that some people in her congregation are scientists and see no problem with science and a belief in a god. She is a liberal Christian and so speaks of god in more abstract terms, unlike Joe who is an evangelical and more literal in his approach to the Bible.
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I can understand people flying into a murderous rage because of anger or jealousy or a whole range of factors that arouse strong passions in someone who does not have proper self control. I can understand them killing the object of their anger and even themselves. Yes, these things are inexcusable but not beyond the bounds of comprehension.
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Just a reminder that I will be on the radio today at 9:00-10:00am Eastern Time discussing the state of religion in America. You can access it online live or as a podcast later.
The music group OK Go is known for doing elaborate and complicated music videos that are filmed in just one single take, an incredible feat. I showed one three years ago involving a whole lot of dogs, which must have been a real challenge.
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When my debate with Joe Puckett was announced, some members of the skeptic community expressed dismay that it would be held in a church. Some said that by choosing such a venue, it stacked the deck in favor of the religious advocate because they would be speaking on their home turf in front of a friendly audience. They felt that it should be held in a neutral venue with a neutral moderator.
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I am not a soccer fan, although it is globally the most popular. My interest in the sport, like that of many people in the US, peaks in a strictly quadrennial way, rising briefly during the World Cup tournaments and disappearing soon after. Part of my lack of interest is the lack of a team to root for.
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