stcynic
Posts by this author
August 23, 2006
Folks, they don't make an irony meter strong enough to withstand this post by Dembski. Presumably with a straight face, he actually typed:
Here's what recruiting the right people means to an ad campaign (which is what Darwinism has become)
Darwinism is an ad campaign, while ID - promoted by a huge…
August 23, 2006
Christopher Ortiz, editor of the reconstructionist journal Faith for All of Life and communications director for the Chalcedon Foundation, has authored a weakly reasoned defense of reconstructionism. In it, he takes on critics like Chip Berlet and Frederick Clarkson. Ortiz seems to miss completely…
August 22, 2006
From the "you can't be fucking serious" department...this will leave you staring at the screen in utter disbelief. Some idiot former military guy wants to bring treason charges against a sitting congressman for disagreeing with the Bush administration's foreign policy. Naturally, he gets quoted by…
August 22, 2006
A few weeks ago I stopped replying to Larry Fafarman and his constant screeds against me at his blog, mostly because with that whole impersonating his brother things it became clear that the man really is mentally ill and needs serious help. But I have to respond to this comment:
Here is what Ed…
August 22, 2006
I can't be the only one who finds this story funny. According to a woman who says she was kept against her will as Bin Laden's mistress in 1996, Osama was obsessed with Whitney Houston. She says he talked often about having Bobby Brown killed and taking Whitney as one of his wives. Two things come…
August 22, 2006
The Worldnutdaily actually has an article up responding to PZ Myers' criticism of D. James Kennedy's ridiculous TV show claiming that Darwin led to Hitler. PZ had initially reacted to the involvement of Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project and a staunch defender of evolution (and a…
August 22, 2006
While reading Sandefur's book I came across a wonderful quote from a businessman explaining why he left a big company to start his own business:
I was going to move to a place I didn't like to work for a boss I didn't respect, devoting my energies to office politics for which I had little talent. I…
August 22, 2006
Men go crazy in congregations, they only get better one by one
Sting, All This Time. And that isn't just about churches, it's about humans in groups and our tendency to engage in madness when we assemble a mob.
August 22, 2006
There's also lots of interesting debate going on around the legal blogosphere concerning Judge Taylor's recent ruling in the NSA lawsuit. Orin Kerr raises some interesting questions in a post at Volokh. He points out something that concerned me as well when I first read the ruling. I was not…
August 22, 2006
Another outbreak of debate about originalism as the proper mode of constitutional interpretation has broken out all around the blogosphere, particularly among some of my favorite legal scholars. It began with Larry Solum lamenting the fact that so many legal scholars continue to use original intent…
August 21, 2006
ScienceBlogs continues to be the New York Yankees of the blogging world, scooping up every great science blogger in the world (though we're still waiting for one of those $20 million contracts to come around). The latest acquisition is Thoughts from Kansas, Josh Rosenau's excellent blog that…
August 21, 2006
Jon Rowe has another terrific post at Positive Liberty on religion and the founding fathers. This one examines the question of whether the revolutionary war was consistent with Calvinist theology. Based largely on the work of Christian historian Gregg Frazer, he concludes that it was not. I have to…
August 21, 2006
I'll gladly join Radley Balko in promoting the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). LEAP is a group of 5000 former DEA agents, prosecutors, police chiefs, and judges who are speaking out against drug prohibition and the corrosive effects it has on our legal system and our society. The…
August 21, 2006
Thanks to Mike Horn for sending me a link to this story about a guy convicted of a drug crime for nothing more than carring a lot of cash. Emiliano Gomez Gonzolez was pulled over while driving a rental car. He had a cooler with almost $125,000 in cash in it, which the police claimed was connected…
August 21, 2006
Last night I hosted a BBQ and poker party at my house, but at 10 o'clock I had to turn on the William Shatner roast on Comedy Central. I love roasts to begin with, but what better target could you have than William Shatner? It was brilliant, as expected. The young comics - Jeffrey Ross, Patton…
August 21, 2006
Glib Fortuna has written a response to my post on the NSA ruling from Judge Taylor the other day. Predictably, it's full of illogical arguments and inflated rhetoric. He begins with a false dichotomy:
It would be redundant for me to provide my own analysis at this late date, so my focus is on the…
August 21, 2006
I have to admit to being absolutely fascinated by Tiger Woods. I've followed his career closely, despite doubting him initially. I remember watching the press conference when he announced that he was leaving Stanford and turning pro. I particularly remember watching Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, talk…
August 20, 2006
Religious right fraud D. James Kennedy has a special coming up called Darwin's Deadly Legacy (which, naturally, the Worldnutdaily is pimping). In it, he will make the standard "evolution leads to naziism" argument that creationists have tried to peddle for decades (they also claim it leads to…
August 19, 2006
Glib Fortuna has a post at STACLU about a recent ruling in an Oklahoma ten commandments case that went against the ACLU. And in this case, I'm going to agree with him (not with the ridiculous "oh my god, the ACLU is so evil" rhetorical style with which he and every other STACLU devotee writes, but…
August 19, 2006
Burt Humburg just gave me a link to this Daily Show story on gay marriage in Massachusetts. It's hilarious.
August 19, 2006
I've written many times of the need for moderate Muslims to take a stand against their reactionary brethren, and the need to support mass movements toward reform in the Islamic world. One of the key voices for reformation today is that of Irshad Manji. Born in Idi Amin's Uganda, Manji's family fled…
August 19, 2006
I had to laugh reading this essay by John Lofton where he scolds Susie Essman, a very funny stand up comic, for being unladylike. Essman was apparently featured on an episode of Nightline and Lofton was appalled that a woman would - gasp - swear. He strikes the prissy schoolmarm pose to perfection…
August 19, 2006
Well, maybe. DaveScot left a comment at UD and Dembski replied:
DaveScot: Glad to see you again. You've done inestimable service for this blog, and your insights have been missed. I've upgraded the account under which you posted this comment to "Author" -- same as Sal. I want to see you posting…
August 18, 2006
I'm just stunned by this. The famous penis pump judge was sentenced to four years in prison today - four years. That strikes me as an absolutely ridiculous sentence for such a minor offense. I was sure he would get probation and that was it. The fact that he lost his job, his pension and his public…
August 18, 2006
I often agree with Glenn Greenwald on constitutional questions, but I think he's out to lunch in this post, where he criticizes those who criticized Judge Taylor's ruling in the NSA lawsuit. Many legal scholars have criticized many aspects of the ruling, and I think rightfully so. Personally, I…
August 18, 2006
A family in Germany who says they have to scream and sing while praying, loud enough that they wake up the entire building, because the volume is necessary in a battle with Satan:
A seven-member family faces eviction from an east Berlin apartment tower after neighbors complained about loud prayer…
August 18, 2006
The famous Jesus picture that is the subject of a Federal lawsuit in West Virginia has been stolen. Police believe it was stolen by a current or former student at the school, for obvious reasons, and they've got a fingerprint apparently. Whoever did it is an idiot. The theft will only reinforce the…
August 18, 2006
Before I ever read the STACLU response to yesterday's ruling by Judge Taylor, I could easily predict two things:
1. They would declare her an evil, activist, terrorist-loving liberal demon.
2. They would either misunderstand or misrepresent the ruling.
Just call me Nostradamus. Here's John…
August 18, 2006
Yet another example of our European allies just not understanding freedom of speech. Prosecutors in Germany have announced that they'll be watching Madonna's concerts there to make sure she doesn't violate the law against insulting religious beliefs. There's a point in her concert, apparently,…