FSM Courthouse Installation

This is one of the greatest things to happen in the history of Pastafarianism. The Cumberland County Courthouse lawn in Crossville, Tennessee now features an enormous statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Behold:

I think I might cry.  All praise him and his carbohydrate goodness…Ramen.

(credit: the FSM himself)

Animal Intelligence, Perception, and Art

It’s difficult to overstate the gravitas a video like this brings. It raises so many questions begging in depth studies to better understand animal consciousness, personality, and their perception of the world. The concept of “animal rights” suddenly sounds far less loony or radical and instead becomes glaringly obvious and even necessary. It is difficult to not be moved by this.

UPDATE:

I was as amazed as many out there and I wondered if this was real or a hoax.  Here I give you another video from a BBC news story that seems to confirm that the paintings are in fact done by an elephant.

Quote Of The Day: Mark Twain

“Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.”

— Mark Twain, “Puddinhead Wilson’s New Calendar,” I, Ch. 12, p. 132, Following the Equator, (1894).

Army Of Monkeys Build Bridge, Then Fling Poo From It

As Reported in BBC News

The Indian government has withdrawn a controversial report submitted in court which questioned the existence of the Hindu god Ram. The report was withdrawn after huge protests by opposition parties.The report was presented to the Supreme Court on Wednesday in connection with a case against a proposed shipping canal project between India and Sri Lanka.

Hindu hardliners say the project will destroy what they say is a bridge built by Ram and his army of monkeys. (emphasis added)

Scientists and archaeologists say the Ram Setu (Lord Ram’s bridge) - or Adam’s Bridge as it is sometimes called - is a natural formation of sand and stones.

Honestly, I have about 20 clever comments I could make about this but they all pale when you realize there are people out there seriously claiming they have a bridge built by Ram and his army of monkeys.

Does someone want to remind me again how religion isn’t suppressing our critical thinking faculties?

Evolution Conclusively Proven Wrong

In an attempt to be more sensitive (dare I say gentle) to other opinions I thought I’d post something that takes a closer look at the other side of the argument. Now I think I might have rushed to my evolution conclusion a bit.

Quote Of The Day: Richard Dawkins

On this date in 1941, evolutionary biologist and freethought champion Richard Dawkins was born in Nairobi.

“My respect for the Abrahamic religions went up in the smoke and choking dust of September 11th. The last vestige of respect for the taboo disappeared as I watched the ‘Day of Prayer’ in Washington Cathedral, where people of mutually incompatible faiths united in homage to the very force that caused the problem in the first place: religion. It is time for people of intellect, as opposed to people of faith, to stand up and say ‘Enough!’ Let our tribute to the dead be a new resolve: to respect people for what they individually think, rather than respect groups for what they were collectively brought up to believe.”

– “Time to Stand Up,” written for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Sept. 2001. See Dawkins’s Emperor Has No Clothes Award.

(credit: ffrf)

Fox Kabuki Theater

In a rare moment of apparent sanity Chris Wallace takes the hosts of a Fox morning show to task for repeatedly taking an Obama quote out of context. In fact I recall that might have been the same morning show where one personality trying defend Obama became so offended that he stormed off the set while still on the air.But my liberal BS senses are tingling…this seems so unlikely.

Am I being too cynical to think that Fox is intentionally setting this up to try and get a few personalities in Obama’s good graces (after spending hours slamming him) so he will end the boycott and come on their network? It could just be me but this just seems almost too blatantly obvious.

Religion Politics And Reason

A Gallup Poll produced some very interesting numbers. I will provide some of the more interesting data points and graphs here but I encourage you to read the article for a more complete view of this survey.

When Americans were asked the single question “Do you believe in evolution?” the simple statistical response was 49% believed in evolution while 48% did not. But it’s WAY more interesting than that. When challenged to answer more targeted questions they found that 24% of Americans believe that both the theory of evolution and the theory of creationism are probably or definitely true. There’s a grid that breaks it down on the Gallup site.

Influence of Religion and Politics:

The graph shows the relationship between church attendance and response to the straightforward question of belief in evolution.

The group of Americans who attend church weekly — about 40% in this sample — are strongly likely to reject the theory of evolution. The group of Americans who attend church seldom or never — also about 40% — have the mirror image opinion and are strongly likely to accept the theory of evolution.

Republicans are much more likely to be religious and attend church than independents or Democrats in general. Therefore, it comes as no great surprise to find that Republicans are also significantly more likely not to believe in evolution than are independents and Democrats.

I would assert that this data implies that a majority of religious people (and Republicans by statistical correlation) appear to have impaired critical thinking skills in regards to the sciences related to evolution. Please, feel free to explain to me how my conclusion is incorrect.

Let Me Tell You Something About God: Typography

Oh c’mon, that’s some great stuff there. Pacino? No? Fine…Well here’s a little palate cleanser for you. Don’t say I never did anything for you.

4,000 U.S. Soliders Dead

The U.S. military said four American soldiers were killed by a bomb in Baghdad, raising The Associated Press’s count of the U.S. death toll in the war to at least 4,000.

And  Dick Cheney says…”So?”

When does this all start to make sense?  The needless deaths?  The squandered trust?  The reputation ruined?

When does this administration start to admit mistakes?  Confess their lies?  Admit defeat?  Hang their heads in shame?

How can we make this right?  Fix Iraq? Restore the peace?  Act with pure intentions again?

When do we get to lick our own wounds?  Mend our broken soldiers? Restore our Constitution?  Bring some honor back to being an American again?

Who can bring the resurrection of our integrity?  The diplomacy abandoned?  The international conventions disregarded?  The rights shattered?

Their incessant lies and deceptions have only left behind questions.  No ethics.  No answers.  All without and for no reason.