Category / News
When Galaxies Collide
Felicia Day *swoon* (and Sean Astin) try to educate the public about colliding galaxies in this hilarious NASA PSA for the Spitzer Space Telescope.
There are a lot of great little inside jokes in there. “What in the name of Joss Whedon?” And Felicia makes a wonderful point:
It just goes to show you don’t have to make up explosions or doomsday scenarios to make science interesting. Astronomy is pretty interesting on its own.
Via: The Bad Astronomer
Surrounded by ignorance
Just watch this… as the video progresses, try to NOT let your mouth hang open in disbelief.
Oh… My… God! Now, I know many people are genuinely ignorant of things that don’t really affect them in their day-to-day lives. But really, America? This level of ignorance is just absurd. Apparently there are people living among us who don’t know how many sides a triangle has and don’t see something wrong on a map where the entire country of Australia is labeled “Iran” or “North Korea”.We also seem to have had THREE world wars and Hiroshima and Nagasaki are only famous for sumo wrestling.
Wow.
Via: Unrelated TechCrunch post.
Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort are giving away copies of ‘Origin of Species’
So, banana man and his right hand guy will be giving away some 50,000 copies of Charles Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species’ at universities across the country. There’s only one problem.
Each copy will include a 50 page intro attempting to explain how evolution has never been proven and how Darwin helped inspire the Holocaust.
This is sad and pathetic at the same time. But something good can come of this.
If you are in college, then you are in a good position to help. Check your campus on November 19th, and if you see a group distributing copies of the book, then get as many as you can. Get a copy for yourself, ask if you can have extra copies for your friends, ask your friends to go ask for copies, and ask other people you see carrying the book if you can have their copy. Remove the 50 page intro, and then donate perfectly good copies of ‘Origin of Species’ to schools, libraries, and Goodwill. We can actually make this into something positive.
I guess the banana wasn’t enough proof after all.
You can watch this video for more information.
Via: Richard Dawkins
UPDATE: The NCSE has created the Don’t Diss Darwin site to combat Comfort’s copies of Origin.
2009 Cultural Humanism Awardee: Joss Whedon!
Joss Whedon will receive the 2009 Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism.
I never really knew Joss Whedon considered himself a Humanist but always enjoyed the humanistic values, morals and lessons portrayed in his TV shows and projects. I never got into Buffy, but Firefly was particularly important to me with a near-openly atheist lead character, Malcolm Reynolds. (“You’re welcome on my boat, preacher. God ain’t.”) And we all know how I feel about Dr. Horrible.
So, congratulations Mr. Whedon. Well deserved.
Via: The Friendly Atheist
Happy Freethought Day!
From FreethoughtDay.org:
Over 300 years ago, on October 12, 1692, Governor William Phipps of the Colony of Massachusetts made a decision that brought to an end the horrendous Salem Witch trials.
A Christian, nevertheless he declared that spectral evidence (supernaturalism) would no longer be admissible in court, and so the trials, due to lack of appropriate evidence, came to an end. The governor’s decision was a distinct departure from the general community’s extant thinking and a giant step on the path toward the principle of legal neutrality that would, when the United States incorporated into its brand new Constitution a Bill of Rights, assure each U.S. citizen the freedom to follow his/her conscience regarding matters of ultimate belief.
Spread the joy of being a freethinker and support these fine organizations that fight to uphold these American secular rights we all enjoy.
American Humanist Association
Secular Coalition for America
You know who I’m voting for? ‘That One’
How many churches do you need?
I’ve always been amazed at just how many churches there are in my little city of less than 20,000 residents. I used to joke that there was a different church on just about every street corner. I recently did a Google Maps search for “church” in Tullahoma, TN and nearly dropped my jaw.
Here’s the map. (scroll down the listings on the left side and start clicking ‘Next’)
With 10 churches listed on each page, I made it to page 8 before the results started to get into neighboring cities and towns.
Now, some of these churches are small, single building establishments with a small congregation and many of them disappear after a couple years of service only to be replaced by another funny named worship center a few months later. A few, however, dwarf entire subdivisions where people are struggling to feed their families. Take the newly erected Church of Christ at Cedar Lane. The size of this 15-acre complex-o-worship is gargantuan compared to the government-run Tullahoma Housing Authority subdivision right across the street and is as large as about half the apartment complex right next door. (Here’s a Google Maps image – the complex was still in construction when this image was taken, but you can still make size comparisons. THA subdivision is to the left, apartment complex is above.)
According to city-data.com, in 1999, 17.2% of Tullahoma residents live below the poverty level and 7.3% live below 50% of the poverty level. The median household income in 2007 was $36,500. So, when I think about all the money spent building, running and maintaining these houses of prayer, I’m never quite sure whether to laugh or cry. Imagine if just a fraction of that money had been spent on things that actually advance this small city and its residents (like our city’s school system and our fantastic Hands-On Science Center) instead of being spent on first century stupidity.
Honestly! How many churches do you need?
Do you know where your candidate stands?
As voter registration deadlines get closer, you may find yourself wondering just where certain candidates stand on the issues that you find important. One way to do just that is to find out how they voted on previous legislature. And Project Vote Smart has a simple system for doing just that. The site has profile pages for every incumbent and office seeking individual, highlighting their political career and previous voting records.
Go to Project Vote Smart’s website and enter your full Zip code for a complete list of office seekers (House and Senate) in your area and then check their voting records. You can also search for a specific candidate by last name as well as view all office seekers in your state.
So if negative attack ads have you worried about how your favorite candidate has performed in office, now you can go see for yourself.
Be sure to check out Obama and McCain’s profile pages and make sure you’re supporting the right person. If you’re supporting a different candidate, just hit up their 2008 Presidential Candidate page.
After all, “Knowing is half the battle.”
DO IT! Like, Nowsville.
I mean it. NOW! You’ve only got a few days left. So stop reading this and go register. I did. It only took me a couple seconds. You can spare a couple of seconds, right? For your future, I mean. Right?
A Concerned Matt Damon
And rightfully so.
Via: Ungodly Cynic
Darwin made manifest in Dayton, TN
You gotta love The Onion. A fantastic hit on creationist’s use of the word “Darwinism” to describe people’s acceptance of evolution as a religious belief system.
DAYTON, TN—A steady stream of devoted evolutionists continued to gather in this small Tennessee town today to witness what many believe is an image of Charles Darwin—author of The Origin Of Species and founder of the modern evolutionary movement—made manifest on a concrete wall in downtown Dayton.
The article has some hilarious satirical quotes to go along.
I brought my baby to touch the wall, so that the power of Darwin can purify her genetic makeup of undesirable inherited traits,” said Darlene Freiberg, one among a growing crowd assembled here to see the mysterious stain, which appeared last Monday on one side of the Rhea County Courthouse. The building was also the location of the famed “Scopes Monkey Trial” and is widely considered one of Darwinism’s holiest sites. “Forgive me, O Charles, for ever doubting your Divine Evolution. After seeing this miracle of limestone pigmentation with my own eyes, my faith in empirical reasoning will never again be tested.”
Dayton’s not that far away. I may make the pilgrimage to this holy site.
Via: The Onion
Jon Stewart lets the Republicans eat their own words
I sometimes wonder if these people remember that the videos of their previous statements are still around.
UPDATE: I don’t know why Comedy Central makes videos embeddable if they’re just going to remove them later. As a result, I will not be ’sharing’ anymore Daily Show clips. Sorry.
Obama answers Science Debate 2008 questions
It seems pretty clear that Barack Obama is at least interested in bringing science back to the White House. Despite declining the actual debate, Obama has answered the 14 questions put forth by the team behind the Science Debate 2008.
I felt really good reading through his answers. I mean, the man actually thinks the public’s understanding of science is important for the future of our nation. Imagine that. He addresses stem cell research, health, energy space exploration as well as the importance of a president’s team of science advisers.
Scientific and technological information is of growing importance to a range of issues. I believe such information must be expert and uncolored by ideology.
I will restore the basic principle that government decisions should be based on the best- available, scientifically-valid evidence and not on the ideological predispositions of agency officials or political appointees.
Sounds good to me.
Via: ERV
The 1st Carnival of Evolution
Minds more brilliant than my own bring you fascinating collections of fantastic evolution reading material in the 1st Carnival of Evolution. 3.7 billion years of molecular changes culminating in the emergence of matter inspecting its own origins and existence.
Do you care about the science behind evolution? Do you marvel at the tiny molecular machines spewing out coded messages to the microscopic inhabitants of your own bodied world? Do you grow irate at the ignorance pushers, the peddlers of relatively impotent gods, and the disintegration of science education in the modern world? Do you like to stay abreast of current topics and scientific findings in the study of the organismal existences surrounding us or those long gone?
If so, this is the blog carnival for you.
They’re currently asking for submissions for CoE #2, which will be hosted by EvolutionBlog.
Via: The Atheist Blogger
Lori Lipman Brown on The Colbert Report
Don’t miss Lori Lipman Brown, director of the Secular Coalition for America, an alliance that includes the American Humanist Association on tonight’s Colbert Report.
From her office at AHA headquarters in Washington DC, Lori has worked tirelessly to defend the rights of nontheists and the separation of church and state. Now her message, and ours, will reach millions of mainstream Americans, particularly young people.
The show air at 11:30pm / 10:30c, but check your local listings just to be sure.
UPDATE: The Friendly Atheist reports that Lori Lipman Brown’s interview has sadly been postponed until tomorrow night for a first-ever Friday Night broadcast of The Colbert Report. Who knows why… Maybe the Report is planning something special for our nontheist crusader.
Via: American Humanist Association
Update Via: The Friendly Atheist
