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Comment by Joan Denoo on September 23, 2012 at 12:20am

What’s the Harm in Religion?

"People often ask atheists, “Why does it matter what other people believe? Isn’t it their own choice? Isn’t it okay as long as it doesn’t harm anyone?”

"The answer to this is “Of course it doesn’t matter, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else.” And herein lies the problem with religions; they, by their nature, encroach upon the non-religious areas of life and influence decisions on a social and political level.

"People can believe what they like in private; this is a very important part of living in a free and equitable society, the freedom of and from religion."

"Religion is the opposite of humanism; it raises the few up above the masses, it harms in the name of a non-human entity, it interferes with social rights and hijacks progress over and over and over again."

~ Martin S Pribble on September 22, 2012

Comment by Joan Denoo on September 22, 2012 at 10:46pm

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Intelligent Design

Are we seeing a trend? First Bill Nye, now Tyson.

 

Comment by Joan Denoo on September 22, 2012 at 10:39pm

Buffoon Award Winner — The Intelligent Designer

1.  Teeth are troublesome, they decay, they don’t replace themselves, and there are too many of them for the size of our jaws.

2.  spines seem to cause trouble for half of humanity.

3.  hearts are inadequate, 

4.  knees cause trouble, 

5.  eyes go bad, and even when our vision is “good” we’re blind to most of the spectrum. Were we able to see infra-red radiation we’d be much better equipped for night vision. Ultra violet vision might have informed us about the universe long before we had to fashion instruments to augment our senses.

6.  sensory equipment is inadequate compared to “lower” animals. that have far superior senses of taste, smell, and hearing.

7.  control system for the disposal of solid waste defective.

8.  lost limbs or organs cannot be regenerate.

9.  In human males, the urethra passes through the prostate gland that is very prone to infection and subsequent enlargement.

10. intake for air, water, and food all goes through our throat, one all-purpose intake orifice, making choking a high probability. 

11. output system for waste water is entwined with our reproductive system. Our system for the output of waste product (urine) and our system for the output of real products (reproduction) are scrambled together. They use the same duct-work.

Even a dog food factory would be better designed than we are. If we were designed, that is.

 

Comment by Joan Denoo on September 22, 2012 at 10:12pm

Denial and delusion: beliefs that involve denial of reality and delusions of some magic or mystical power will come and rescue us from our faulty thinking. Our bodies give us clues if we are victims of such coping strategies. When we deny our reality, our bodies give off symptom such as headaches, upset digestive systems, depression, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. Denial becomes compounded when delusions take the place of effective and efficient action. We may wish or hope or dream or wait and if these work, the physical symptoms go away. If they don't go away, search for something else to try. Of course there may be something physical that is not yet diagnosed, so that is a good place to start. Faulty thinking, such as trying to survive in a high conflict, or unhealthy situation, or a situation over which you have no control creates internal stress and our bodies send out signals in the form of pain, anger, fear, guilt, shame and avoids seeing what is really happening.  

Comment by Steph S. on September 22, 2012 at 12:54am

Hey Joan! I got behind on the posts here - lots to read so I better get started. Thanks for all the links to the articles.

Comment by Chris Breman on September 22, 2012 at 12:39am

Poor child!, But this one escaped!

Comment by Joan Denoo on September 21, 2012 at 10:46pm

Sins of a "Good Mormon Boy"

How many times have I heard stories from men and women whose minds were bound by traditions that not only brought on depression and thoughts of suicide, but also were sick. Denial of one's own body and its processes is the easiest way to create a neurotic adult. It is almost like making a chocolate cake, follow the recipe and you get a chocolate cake, and a neurotic adult. 

Comment by Joan Denoo on September 21, 2012 at 10:25pm

Shocking Report Explodes 5 Myths About American Education

http://www.alternet.org/education/shocking-report-explodes-5-myths-...

Myth #1: Our educational system provides more upward mobility than any other in the world.

Fact: "Of the 28 countries listed, USA is third from the bottom."

 

Myth #2: Our teachers (protected by their greedy unions) work less and get paid more.

Fact: "Teachers in the USA spend between 1050 and 1100 hours a year teaching, much more than in almost every country. Of the 38 countries surveyed Argentina and Chile had teachers who worked more hours. Hours worked per years by our primary school teachers, USA are number one!"

 

Myth #3: Big government (via our tax dollars) funds higher education.

Fact: “In the USA 38 percent of higher education expenditures come from public sources, and 62 percent are from private sources. Across all OECD countries, 70 percent of expenditures on higher education come from public sources, and 30 percent are from private sources.”

 

Myth #4: We provide excellent early childhood education

Fact: “On average across OECD countries, 84 percent of pupils in early childhood education attend programmes in public schools or government-dependent private institutions, while in the USA, 55 percent of early childhood pupils attend programmes in public schools, and 45 percent attend independent private programmes. In the USA, the typical starting age for early childhood education is 4 years old, while in 21 other OECD countries, it is 3 years old or younger.”

 

Myth #5: We have the highest percentage of college grads in the world.

Fact: “The USA ranks 14th in the world in the percentage of 25-34 year-olds with higher education (42 percent).”

 

“during the post-WWII era the United States invested in its people. The GI Bill of Rights provided free higher education to more than 3 million returning GIs. Enormous investments in education helped us catch up with Sputnik and win the race to the moon. The super-rich faced high tax rates so that we could pay for education, a national highway system, and the defense budget. Unions were supported by the federal government and moved wages up across the board. And the burgeoning civil rights movement began to bring the promise of America to African Americans. The middle class was rising. We went to school. And we created the fairest income distribution in our history.”

 

Comment by Joan Denoo on September 21, 2012 at 11:40am

Chris Martenson's presentation at the Gold & Silver Meeting in ..., recorded on November 16, 2011, at the Gold & Silver Meeting in Madrid.

Author of 'The Crash Course' explains the coming 20 years look completely different than the last 20 years. He focuses on three "Es": Economy, Energy and Environment. It is no longer possible to view any one of those topics separately from one another. He later adds Exponential growth.

All our money is loaned onto existence, our economy has to grow exponentially. He proves this point empirically by showing a 99.9% fit of the actual growth curve of the last 40 years to an exponential curve. By continually increasing our debt relative to GDP we are making the assumption that our future will always be wealthier than our past; this assumption is flawed and the debt loads are already unmanageable.

Our economy is based on exponential growth. He illustrates how unimaginably fast things speed up towards the end of an exponential curve. Due to natural limitations on resources, Martenson concludes we face a serious energy crisis.

Comment by Greg LeGore on September 21, 2012 at 9:34am

@Joan:  thank you for sharing the artwork.  Jack Miles, in his wonderful 'God, a biography,' explores how humans have expressed themselves via the changes in how the xian god is quoted and depicted in their bible.  He astutely questions how it is that their god appeared to a bunch of illiterate goat-herders but has gone walkabout since then.  Definitely recommend the book.

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