American Atheists are putting up the country’s first atheist monument on the grounds of a Florida Courthouse where the Ten Commandments on June 29th. It will consist of a 1,500 lbs granite bench with atheist quotations. They have invited anyone who can to attend the dedication ceremony that AA president David Silverman will conduct. [Read more…]
I am a conscientious reader of Miss Manners, the weekly column on etiquette by Judith Martin. What I like about her is that although she can tell you all the arcane rules, she is by no means a prig emphasizing rules for their own sake. Her main emphasis is on the role that manners play in being gracious and kind and considerate of others, and how it can smooth the rough edges that can arise in social interactions. She is sharp and funny and can be quite acerbic, especially when asked for advice about what to do with nosy or rude people. This recent column illustrates all these qualities. [Read more…]
Recently I met with a government delegation from Nigeria. During an evening dinner with the group, their leader suddenly went on a rant against gays. I was nonplussed and was mentally debating whether it was appropriate to push back against this since I had been invited as a guest and did not want to jeopardize any agreements that my host was negotiating with the Nigerian government. On the other hand, I feel it is wrong to let such statements go unchallenged because silence can be construed as agreement. Much to my relief, my host herself stepped in and said that she disagreed with the sentiments that had been expressed. [Read more…]
The trial of Bradley Manning begins today. I am not hopeful that he will be acquitted or even receive a fair trial. The Obama administration is determined to punish him harshly and has gone to extreme lengths. After not only keeping him for extended periods under abusive conditions, they have now put him on trial before a military tribunal and rigged the system in such a way as to favor the prosecution. There have been large protests outside the military base where the trial is being held. [Read more…]
When I came across this story about a person getting killed in an attempt to retrieve a cellphone that had fallen on rail tracks, I was saddened but not surprised. Some people are really attached to their phones, seeing them as almost their lifeline to the rest of the world and feel lost and isolated if separated from it. [Read more…]
Take a look at this ad for Cheerios cereal.
My reaction was that it was a cute ad. Of course I immediately noted that child and mother had different skin colors. I thought that was a clever touch in that it is unusual enough in commercials that viewers are likely to watch it to see how it ends since it was clearly a deliberate choice on the part of the company and ad creators. [Read more…]
Radiolab had a show on the thin line that separates certainty and doubt. The first segment dealt with someone named Jeff who began with a solid conviction that there is a god and what happened to him and his god-believing fiancée. [Read more…]
So Michele Bachmann, one of Congress’s most colorful people, has decided not to run for re-election in 2014. It was a rapid fall from winning the Ames (Iowa) Straw Poll for the Republican presidential nomination in August 2011, to finishing sixth in the same state’s caucuses in January 2012 that resulted in her dropping out of the race, and barely holding on to her congressional seat in November. [Read more…]
As The Daily Show reports, the government goes vigorously after breakers of the law who are small fry while letting the big-moneyed violators go free.
(This clip aired on May 23, 2013. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post.)