Is the Pope Catholic?

Pope urges Czechs to not think for themselves and blindly follow what he says rather than using their own rationality and morals.

Why are we reporting on what this man says? He's an idiotic bigot. Maybe if we left him alone he would go away and stop saying stupid shit like

History had demonstrated the absurdities to which man descends when he excludes God from the horizon of his choices and actions.

or

Your country, like other nations, is experiencing cultural conditions that often present a radical challenge to faith and therefore also to hope.

Can the Pope go visit one country without feeling the need to degenerate large swathes of that country's (and other countries') population? And why does he keep getting invited places?

Best respect the UN now, rogue nations

I can't believe I missed this when it was originally published.

The United Nations, a highly organized governing body bent on world peace, has obtained a nuclear warhead and intends to use the dangerous device to pursue its radical human rights agenda, sources reported Monday.

Will the overwhelming majority please stand up? Please stand up

Christianity is plummeting in America, while the number of non-believers is skyrocketing.

Well, when you have a supermajority, there's really no place to go but down. Although, it could lead you to becoming a... minority! Just read this!

In the coming months, America will become a minority Protestant nation for the first time since the pilgrims.

s/minority/plurality/

The implications for American society are profound. Americans’ relationship with God, which drove many of the country’s great transformations from the pilgrims to the founding fathers, the Civil War to the civil rights movement, is still intact. Eighty-two percent of Americans believe in God or a higher power.

But at the same time, the study offers yet another wake-up call for religious institutions.
...
Today, the rise of disaffection is so powerful that different denominations needs to band together to find a shared language of God that can move beyond the fading divisions of the past and begin moving toward a partnership of different-but-equal traditions.

Or risk becoming Europe, where religion is fast becoming an afterthought.

When I was reading this, I was reminded of the morons who think any kind of move towards equality is oppressing them. White people becoming less of a majority? Racism. Women on average getting paid slightly more (but still less than men)? Sexism. Same-sex marriage? Asking for special rights. Affirmative action? Reverse discrimination.

However, this did give me a brilliant idea for how to fight the real bigotry in America: look only at the first derivative. Don't look at numbers, look at the change in them. Demand that the change be equal across all groups. Every time a group that's behind starts to catch up, you get affirmative action to get back ahead further!

For example, the number of men in congress has gone down over the past few decades while the number of women has gone up. Obviously, this is oppressing men. To make up for it, we need to require that all congressional candidates next election be men. It's the only way to stop the oppression.

Considering an abortion? How 'bout two?

I was recently pointed to this. I really like the argument, but I think it could use a few more examples.

1. A man who was an illegitimate child's wife is pregnant. This would be their fourth child. They are poor and would be forced to have the child in an inn. Would you abort the fetus?

2. Two serfs are expecting a child. The previous two died in infancy. The father is an alcoholic and regularly beats his wife (and presumably, he would also beat any children). Would you abort the fetus.

If you said yes to case 1, then you murdered Hitler.

If you said yes to case 2, then you murdered Stalin.

Remember, if abort a fetus, then you are preventing a potential genocidal dictator from ever being born and fulfilling their destiny. Something to think about.

Happy Holiday!

Today is the best of all holidays!






Software Freedom Day!

Celebrate by using Free and/or Open Source Software! If your OS isn't free, change it to one that is! Replace MS Word with LaTeX! Use open source compilers!

Also, something about talking like a pirate. Don't forget to also celebrate and worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster today.

You've gotten your bonds in my gaps!

I don't--can't--grok some people.

This is in response to a NYT piece in Thursday's paper on perceived "gaps" in American politics... Why is it that some journalists always want to trumpet what they perceive as things that divide us instead of the things that unite and bind us together?

Let's look at one of the gaps in America:

a religious-secular gap

And now let's look at one of the bonds:

our cherishing of our God-given rights

That would explain it. The gaps are mentioned, rather than bonds, because one, they exist, and we shouldn't ignore the truth because it makes you uncomfortable. Racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. are still alive and well in America, and we need to recognize that if we want to change it. Secondly, some of the bonds don't exist. Hell, most of them probably don't exist. Lies shouldn't be spread just because they make us feel warm and fuzzy.

If Jesus Hung Around on the Internet, He'd Probably Hang with the Hackers Too

In what I assume is an extension of the Biblical story about Jesus chillaxin' with republicans and sinners and beggars, we have this group.

This is a particularly amusing page of theirs.

Don't worry, they do more than evangelism! Just look at these helpful tips on computer security you can find from them:

What can Christian Hackers do?

1. First, make sure your own computer network is secure
2. Then, help as many family members and friends to secure their computers this month.
3. Make sure the operating system patches are up to date
4. Lock down configuration settings and policies
5. Scan for malicious code using anti-virus and adware scanners and rootkit detectors
6. Check firewall settings
7. Pray for God's blessing on the computer usage
8. And too many other steps to list here...

Because step 7 is going to do anything to help you.

("Christian Hackers" is possibly the greatest phrase I've heard in a long while.)

About Media Outrage

No doubt you've heard about Kanye West's asshattery at the MTV music awards. No doubt you've also seen all the outrage over it, with some counter-outrage thrown in. It's a regular media circus; everyone is talking about it.

Fuck all of you, both those in the media and consumers, who are making this an event.

You want to be outraged about something? How about the fact that the public option for health care is dead? How about the war crimes going on in various parts of the globe? How about the millions of people around the globe dying of starvation or easily preventable/curable (given proper medicine/medical equipment) diseases? How about the economic problems that continue around the world? How about the danger of global warming? How about the fact that some people are still denied equal rights in America? How about any of the many other actual problems with our nation and planet?

Of all the possible things to be angry about, why be angry about a self-important asshole interrupting another self-important asshole at an event for self-important assholes to get together and wank off and give each other awards, so that they can be self-important assholes? Why not something that actually matters?

Alan Turing Gets an Apology (Long After the Fact)

The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has officially apologized for the inhumanities perpetrated upon Alan Turing by the British government.

The cynical side of me notes that this doesn't change the fact that the UK government drove to suicide one of the most brilliant minds of his generation (not that it's okay to drive less brilliant people to suicide), who was arguably one of the most influential on the outcome of WWII. Turing is still unjustly dead, and the ones who who forced him to be chemically castrated (because he happened to be homosexual) didn't have to answer for their crimes. This apology also comes about 50 years after the fact.

The slightly more optimistic side of me notes that although it's too late for Turing, it's not too late for everyone else. Once you've publicly stated that something was appalling, it's harder to do it again. Of course, that doesn't mean that the UK and everyone in it is going to suddenly stop all their bigotry. It is a step though.

Protect the Sanctity of Marriage

By illegalizing divorce. Via boingboing, I saw this. It is most delicious satire. A few key highlights:

People who supported Prop 8 weren't trying to take rights away from gays, they just wanted to protect traditional marriage. That's why I'm confident that they will support this initiative, even though this time it will be their rights that are diminished. To not support it would be hypocritical.

Sometimes other people need to sacrifice in order to protect my ideas about traditional marriage.

I don't want the government teaching my child [divorce] is "cool" or "legally permisable." That's a conversation that should happen in the family. It's the parents' role to teach the kids about reality -- not the state's.

Happy Socialist Holiday!

Today is the day of the most socialistic federal holiday the USA has: Labor Day. Celebrate by doing something socialist or communist!

Eugene V. Debs '12!