We all know that Catholic League President Bill Donohue plays the rusty trombone. I think we are all honorary “foul-mouthed anti-Christian bigots” today.
Month: February 2007
Site Move
I moved my web site to a new, clustered server, so I’m ready to be slash dotted, farked and digg’d.
Let me know if you see anything odd or errors or anything else untoward.
M.
Another Letter to a Christian Nation
OK, so I’ve actually read A Letter to a Christian Nation now and I have to say, it is a very well done book. He’s obviously preaching to the choir in my case. It is very harsh on religion, of course. He goes so far as to say that science and religion are completely incompatible. No punches pulled. It almost makes me a bit uncomfortable at times even though I agree with him on 100% of it. The discomfort comes from knowing a lot of very smart people who believe in God. I think, in their minds, they know that their beliefs are not rational in a scientific sense. They are accepting that they are setting aside their skepticism in a way they don’t for the easter bunny.
Sam Harris, in this book is talking mainly to hardcore Christians who are anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-separation of church and state, etc. but there is a message for religious moderates too. You are not being honest with yourself if you don’t face head on some of the major and detrimental inconsistencies of virtually all religious views. For example, it is deeply evil that Catholics would rather doom people to die from HIV/AIDS than cooperate with the distribution of condoms. Most Catholics I know oppose this view of the church and yet call themselves Catholics. They are complicit in that travesty.
It’s worth a read even if you disagree with him because it really gets the wheels turning.
Surprise, Surprise! RIAA Fires Back at Apple over DRM
Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs challenged major record labels to strip copying restrictions from music sold online, but the RIAA fired back Wednesday, suggesting the company should open up its anti-piracy technology to rivals instead.
This is hilarious. Some dumb “analyst” says:
“All these music services wouldn’t work without DRM,” said David Card, music and media analyst for Jupiter Research. “(Music labels) are very nervous about distributing content that is unprotected.
Ummm…perhaps you should have actually read Jobs’s article? In it he says:
In 2006, under 2 billion DRM-protected songs were sold worldwide by online stores, while over 20 billion songs were sold completely DRM-free and unprotected on CDs by the music companies themselves.
Major labels are selling most of their music unprotected. It is trivial to rip and share this music. Steve Jobs is apparently the only one looking at this issue logically. The rest are dinosaurs sinking in the tar pits.
McCain's Logic
In regards to the non-binding resolution opposing a US troop increase in Iraq, McCain says something to the effect of a vote for this is a vote of no confidence in our troops.
This is the same ol’ warmed over Republican BS that to be critical or opposed to the actions of the administration is to be critical or opposed to the troops on the ground. It is saying that any conflict started for any reason by any administration must be supported 100% by every Senator 100% of the time.
Bullshit! We are a representative government and 70% of Americans oppose an increase of troops in Iraq. Our elected congressional representatives know this and they have a duty to try to get this voice heard.
Bush said they were in “listening mode” and their decision was to completely ignore the Iraq Study Group, completely ignore the sentiment of the populace and completely ignore the congress.
Now I personally don’t think a troop surge is the worst idea in the world if we had clear, obtainable goals and a really good plan to achieve them. This plan is too little too late.
So point 1: McCain should make his case without resorting to this incorrect notion that anything but supporting Bush hurts our troops.
Point 2: Bush has not proven that we are getting closer to achieving our goals in Iraq and it is prudent and sensible for the Congress to use whatever power it has to effect the decisions being made.
Molly Ivins
I was very saddened to learn that Molly Ivins died. She was a great and much needed voice and she will be missed.
lolife 