01 January 2007

what's going on here (part XIV)...

Shooting of 6 at party may be hate crime
Two masked gunmen kicked open the side and back doors of a South Side home known as the "Gay House" and started shooting up a party there early Sunday morning.

tolerance? violence? diversity? Iraq? our great leader's influence? war mindset? Love thy neighbor...? just asking...

The shame of punishment as pornography
Nietzsche's warning that "he who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster" has seldom seemed more apt. The rhetoric of a war launched in the name of civilisation has degenerated into the cackling of a tricoteuse at the foot of the guillotine. We should be bloody ashamed.

tricoteuseguillotine_model

Purported to be the most humane form of execution - there is only a small cold tingling sensation when the blade touches the back of the neck according to Dr. Guillotine - it was not thought to be a cruel and unusual punishment. What punishment? The guillotinee is removed from all earthly pains, problems and stresses. Saddam knew he could never return to the life he once had. His country is in shambles. He was older. He was not in the best of health. He was defiant right up until the end. He had nothing to loose. He already lost it all. On the other hand, what do the Shia and Sunni have to gain with his execution? The antics by the people witnessing the execution were obscene - dancing, chanting, applauding. Aren't they the ones stuck in a centuries-old conflict that has no immediate settlement with which they are unwilling to deal? just asking...

Overlooked Stories of 2006: Scientists Prove That Homosexuality Is Natural
Here's an overlooked story of 2006: Museum-goers were finally exposed to the widespread evidence that homosexuality is a naturally-occurring phenomenon throughout the animal world. Scientists have long known that many animals exhibit homosexual behavior, but a popular museum exhibit finally gave the general public the chance to learn all about it for themselves.

Oh, wait. That museum exhibit was in Norway. You aren't too likely to see something like that in this country any time soon. The censorship that the fundamentalist lobby exercises over American museums is so powerful they're afraid to discuss evolution, much less something as inflammatory (for them) as homosexuality.

Yes, wait. there's more...

HOW OLD IS THE GRAND CANYON? PARK SERVICE WON’T SAY — Orders to Cater to Creationists Makes National Park Agnostic on Geology
Washington, DC — Grand Canyon National Park is not permitted to give an official estimate of the geologic age of its principal feature, due to pressure from Bush administration appointees. Despite promising a prompt review of its approval for a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's flood rather than by geologic forces, more than three years later no review has ever been done and the book remains on sale at the park, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

“In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “It is disconcerting that the official position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is ‘no comment.’”

AND...

My New Year's Eve Dream About Fundamentalist Atheism (And a Word About Mom)
The fundamentalist atheists are an active and highly vocal subset of atheists who object to a great many things, not the least of which is being described as 'fundamentalist atheists.' But here's why I still think it's the right term:

They're dogmatic. Their movement is based on a piece of dogma which can't be challenged without enraging them. It's sociological and historical in nature, not theological, and can be summed up as follows:

"Humans would be better off if religion in all forms was eradicated."

Why would natural homosexuality, an ageless Grand Canyon, and fundamentalist atheism have anything in common? Think about it. is there no end to the low level of tolerance? you got it - just asking...

Sources: suntimes.com, telegraph.co.uk, Night Lite, PEER: (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility), The Huffington Post

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