Genetics is the cause of autism, Ms. McCarthy. Sorry.

Personally, I think Jenny McCarthy is pretty funny, and I'm sure she'd be a great conversationalist. But when it comes to science, she just doesn't have the facts on her side.

After years of debate and fear-mongering over vaccinations as the cause of autism and Aspergers Syndrome, scientists are zeroing in on the their true cause - genetics. Click here for the full story.

God is pro-life...supposedly.

I was driving through Bloomsburg last evening when I was passed by a car with the bumper sticker you see to the left. I laughed.

If you're a Christian, you need to understand that it's possible to not believe in Jesus and be pro-life, no matter what the far-right fundies tell you. It is also possible to be a Christian and be pro-choice. However, the biggest pro-choice advocate in the world is Jesus himself. I know that's hard for you to believe, but it's true, and I'm going to prove it to you.

Read the following verses. Think about them, be honest, and ask yourself if the god you serve is truly pro-life.

"Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves."

Numbers 31:17-18

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"And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:"

Deuteronomy 2:31-34

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"And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:"

Deuteronomy 28:53

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"Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."

1 Samuel 15:3

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"And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."

2 Kings 2:23-25

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"And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child."

2 Kings 8:12

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"Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up."

2 Kings 15:16

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"O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stone."

Psalms 137:9

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"Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished."

Isaiah 13:16

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"Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children."

Isaiah 13:18

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"Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?"

Lamentations 2:20

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"Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house."

Ezekiel 9:6

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"Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts."

Hosea 9:14

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Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

Hosea 13:16

I know many of you will try to justify the actions of your god by stating something to the gist of, "Well, it's God, so he can do whatever he wants"..."These people were picking on God's people, so they had it coming"..."Burn in hell, you God-hating, anti-American, leftist scum!"..."You're taking the Bible out of context." But how you can take smashing a baby's head against a boulder over and over and over out of context is beyond me. Hate is hate, evil is evil, and killing an innocent child, regardless of religion or political affiliation is the greatest evil of all.

But ask yourself, if Jesus told you to go forth into someone else's land and kill their children, would you do it? If you say yes, you're in dire need of psychological help.

No flyover for you!

I love the First Amendment. But I don't love when it's stretched out of context.

During the July 7th edition of Fox and Friends, anchor Gretchen Carlson and guest Patrick Mahoney took exception to the Pentagon's denial of a flyover request at the "God and Country Festival" at Nampa, Idaho. They're in a tizzy because this is the first time in 42 years that a flyover request has been denied, and apparently it's all Obama's fault.

Carlson read part of the Pentagon's response on air:

"Air Force and DoD policy prohibit support for events which appear to endorse, selectively benefit, or favor any special interest group, religious or ideological movement."

Carlson continued, "But Reverend Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition says the rally was not designed to promote any one religious faith, but rather to celebrate the troops."

A quick visit to the event's website proves otherwise:

The God and Country Festival in Nampa, Idaho is organized by a volunteer-driven organization called the God and Country Association, Inc. The organization is made up of Christians who are committed to strengthening the fabric of the Treasure Valley community through the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are also interested in helping believers around the nation get an independent God and Country event started. We believe that Christians in America should have a natural affection for their country because it was founded on the godly ideal that liberty is derived, n ot as a gift of governments and politicians, but as a gift of our Creator.

So much for that theory, Mr. Mahoney.

Carlson then asks, Maloney, "So, when I first read this story, I found it hard to believe. Because for 42 years at this rally in Idaho the Pentagon has authorized a flyover. Suddenly, this year, a new president in office, and a new policy. What do you make of it?"

There is no new policy, Ms. Carlson. It's just an old policy that is simply, finally, being enforced.

Mahoney responded, "Well, we're stunned actually. And it's a reminder that the Constitution promises freedom of religion, not freedom from religion."

The Constitution protects everyone, reverend. It is there to provide Americans with the freedom to worship however they choose - even if they choose not to. It protects, theists and non-theists alike. It protects Christians, Jews, Wiccans, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, deists, and even Satanists. If you don't like this, perhaps you should leave the country.

By the way, Mahoney is the same clown that paid a visit to Obama's office in July 2008 when he was still a senator. Mahoney showed up with this sign.

Nice.

So, I have a question for Carlson, Mahoney, and other fundamentalists like them - how would you like for tax payer money to be spent on the Thunderbirds having a flyover at an Islamic rally, or even a Satanic rally? It makes all of you very nervous, doesn't it?

Here is the rest of the response letter from the Pentagon that Carlson didn't want you to read:

Thank you for your request for Air Force aviation support during God and Country Festival on 01 Jul 2009 in Nampa, ID.

We have carefully reviewed this particular event. As you may recall from the request form's instructions, the Department of Defense (DoD) authorizes the Air Force to participate in flyovers for those recognition events held in direct support of the five patriotic holidays (Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, POW-MIA Day and Veterans Day) and for aviation-related events, such as airshows and airport dedications. Sporting events that fall on one of the five patriotic holidays mentioned above are not considered to be events held in direct support of a holiday commemoration and will require a waiver.

Your Air Force aviation support request doesn't fall into either approved category, as such, we are unable to approve it. Air Force and DoD policy prohibit support for events which appear to endorse, selectively benefit, or favor any special interest group, religious or ideological movement.

With an increasingly high operations tempo and limited resources to meet our training and operational commitments, we are required to take a hard look at all of our requests and carefully follow our policies and guidelines. In denying your request, we are not questioning the worthiness of the event, but rather enforcing DoD and Air Force policy to preserve the operational and training requirements of our aviation units and to practice the prudent stewardship of taxpayer-financed resources.

We hope that you can appreciate and understand our position. We believe that your event will, nevertheless, be a success. Any further questions can be referred to me at 703-695-9664.

Tech. Sgt. Roy Utley

Aviation Support
703-695-9664 Phone
703-693-9601 Fax
www.airshows.pa.hq.af.mil

Hit the play button.

Frank Lloyd Who?

Every now and then, something or someone comes along and absolutely humbles you. This is one of those moments.

A 25 year-old art student from Japan did this with paper, a knife, and a hole punch. That's it. Wright couldn't touch this kid on his best day.

Attention, Mr. Boehner

House minority leader, John Boehner (R-Ohio) has been on the warpath against the president lately. On one hand, I can understand since he's trying desperately to hold his party together. At the same time, voters in Ohio are breathing down his neck, as well as the president's. The economic scene is bad in Pennsylvania, but it's even worse in Ohio. As a result, Boehner has attacked the stimulus package that the president has signed into law. I can understand Boehner's frustration - if I were him I'd be asking where the promised money is, too.

On the other hand, Congressman Boehner is annoying me simply by virtue of the fact that he's ignorant about the recent economic events not only in his own state, but his district as well.

Earlier in the week during an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace, Boehner condemned the stimulus plan and claimed that the money was nowhere to be found. "The infrastructure dollars that were sent there months ago..there hasn't been a contract let, to my knowledge." So far at least $83 million dollars has been distributed to Ohio, with Boehner's own district receiving a significant amount of that money. That money is being used to fund 52 infrastructure projects.

Here in Pennsylvania $16 billion worth of stimulus money will be distributed.

Meanwhile, our fearless leader is under intense fire from Republicans and Democrats alike for refusing money for state universities - primarily Penn State, Pitt, and Temple. Pennsylvania hasn't had a budget since Rendell took office, and now he's kicking our most trusted learning institutions in the stomach. I can't think of one good thing this man has done since he moved to Harrisburg, other than help keep the Pens in Pittsburgh.

My day - ruined

Arts Fest is a pretty big deal in State College. It brings artists from all over the country to our humble little town to sell their wares, and the talent that these people display is absolutely amazing. The food is great, the music is great, and the atmosphere is great.

But leave it up to douchebags like this to ruin the fun for everyone.

If you were anywhere near the intersection of College and Allen today around 2:00 o'clock, surely you heard him warning festival goers that they're all doomed to hell. Men, women, children, infants, it makes no difference - his god is an equal opportunity hater.

For those of you who know me, you'll know that I'm a pretty easy-going guy. But the moment I heard him spew his vitriol to those around him, it made my blood boil. Unfortunately, the First Amendment and the State College Borough Ordinances 1460 and 1530 give him the right to do so.

So, if you see him or any of his cohorts handing out chick tracts or preaching, give them a little protest in your own creative, yet lawful way.

Scary

Even after Sarah Palin shrugged her duties as the elected governor of Alaska only 18 months after she was sworn in, many Republicans still believe she's the GOP front-runner for the 2012 presidential election. A recent Gallup/USAToday poll revealed that approximately 72% of Republicans would vote for Palin. Keep in mind this is a woman who left Wasilla $20 million in debt, thinks that mankind walked side-by-side with dinosaurs, and ignorantly slammed the use of fruit flies for autism research. If she can't handle the position of governor, what makes you Repubs believe she's a quality candidate for Commander-in-Chief? Just think - this woman was one heart attack away from receiving the title of president.

When will you Repubs ever learn?

Even more (or less) surprising is her overall ignorance of the White House judicial system. In a recent interview with ABC News, she was asked if she could avoid the "political bloodsport" in Washington like she's tried to in Alaska, to which she responded:

“I don’t think it will be the day after day after day of ethics violation charges that are frivolous, that are ridiculous. I think on a national level your department of law there in the White House would look at this, the things we have been charged with, and automatically throw them out, not make somebody hire their own personal attorney to get out there and fight.”

By now you've probably heard this statement, and that there is no "department of law" in the White House. Even if there was a "department of law", it would have nothing to do with protecting the president.

Realizing that Sarah Palin isn't the most articulate woman in the world, I'm giving her the benefit of a doubt. But given her questionable decision making, that's a pretty tall order.

Watch this clip. If only Terry Tate were a science book.