DiscoTute stepped in it again

I read an article yesterday by PZ Myers titled, Forever Disappointed. The gist of the article was the inability of the Biologic Institute, funded by the Discovery Institute, to provide evidence for their claims. In this case, they deny that fusion in chromosome 2 in humans, by which they branched off from other primates ~6 million years ago, ever took place. Biologist Carl Zimmer, among others, took exception to DI's ongoing jackassery, and asked them for the evidence to their claims on BI's Facebook page. It wasn't long before the BI went from going on the offensive to damage control, insisting that they were being "pestered" by Zimmer.

After a few attempts at getting an answer, followed by deafening silence, BI finally gave sneering reply to Zimmer, asking "Carl, you write books for a living. Do you rehearse their content on your blog for anyone who asks?" BI later stated that Facebook is no place intended for debate. They ultimately threatened to put the kibosh on the whole conversation, then stated that their comments would be moved to BI's website. Of course, you shouldn't be surprised there are no public comment threads at their site.

We don't want any kind of true scientific inquiry, do we, DI?

DI's David Klinghoffer has since invited Zimmer to a "debate", to which Zimmer has said no. As Myers asks, why should he? He asked for evidence to DI/BI's inane claims in an open forum, which they denied providing that evidence, and then sneered at him. Now they're proclaiming victory, and I won't let that happen in light of their flagrant dishonesty.

I'm no mathematician, physicist, or biologist. I am simply a guy from Pennsylvania who cares deeply about the pursuit of science and detests when science is intentionally misrepresented by creationists in order to indoctrinate the public.

Take notice of a few things here:

1. Intellectual dishonesty by DI.
2. The inability to provide evidence to their claims.
3. Lack of real scientific research by DI.
4. BI does not welcome scrutiny by the scientific community (1, 2, 3).

Also, keep in mind that chromosome 2 was used as evidence in the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial in 2005 by Kenneth Miller, a professed Catholic and evolutionary biologist. Furthermore, the judge, John Jones III, is a professed Christian who ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, stating that the teaching of creationism in a high school science class was unconstitutional.

As of the time of this writing, Zimmer is still asking BI to disclose the source from which they base their denial of chromosome 2, and they're still not answering.

The Promise of Living

Speaking of Americana, take some time during this hot, humid, summer day to enjoy some beauty from the greatest American composer that ever lived.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLVyRvp2Qbg

Proper flag etiquette

Like any other town in the United States, State College is patriotic. Drive around town and you're sure to find flags being mutilated as they are torn apart by the wind on the back of a Harley, cars with red,white, and blue ribbon magnets with messages that admonish us to remember P.O.W.s/M.I.A.s and "Support Our Troops" -- those magnets are probably made in China.

If you're lucky enough, you might even find a house with a flag proudly displayed that is frayed with holes in it, bleached by the elements, no lighting on it at all, or dragging on the ground. But if you're really lucky, you might find that there are a few of us who actually know a thing or two about proper flag etiquette.

Last night at the Central Pennsylvana 4th Fest, there were a few things that got on my nerves. Fast.

First, as the National Anthem was being sung and the order was given for all to rise, there were a few around me who bitched and moaned about having to get off their rear end. Second, as the Star-Spangled Banner was being sung, I noticed that the most patriotic of those in attendance (you know, the ones wearing red, white, and blue and wearing t-shirts with some patriotic commentary), did not place their right hand over their heart. Rather, they opted to put their hands in their pockets or fold their arms.

While these two things irritated me, I wasn't ready for the douchebag with Old Glory draped over his shoulders and a flag bandana wrapped around his head, running around like he's some sort of neo Captain America. For those of you who know me, you know that while I tend to bitch a lot, I rarely get heated enough to say anything about things that upset me; I tend to keep my mouth shut. But this time, I had to say something. I simply yelled to this malcontent that it wasn't a cape. He turned, looked around quizically, then summarily blew me off.

I got to thinking about this, and then I realized that it might not entirely be his fault. Maybe nobody took the time to tell him that doing such a thing was a grave disrepect to the flag, veterans, prisoners of war, those killed in action, or active duty members of the military. With that in mind, if you'd like to become more savvy about the flag, I direct your attention to United States Code, Title 4, Chapter 1 - The Flag.

Ray Comfort's ongoing lies and plagiarism.

Hey -- guess what! I caught Ray Comfort in yet another tangled web of lies and plagiarism!

Shocked? Neither am I.

Over the past week, Ray has been leading a very cherry-picked study of the Book of Job, which used to be my favorite book in the Bible, followed very closely by The Book of Esther. In June 2009, I wrote my own study on the Book of Job, and gave you my personal opinion on what the book is really about -- a fictional tale of an innocent man who lost nearly everything, including his children, as a result from a cosmic pissing contest between Jehovah and Satan.

True to form, Ray would have you believe that he's more of an astrophysicist than Stephen Hawking, conveniently skirting the overwhelming evidence that supports the Big Bang theory. In his blogpost on Thursday, June 28th, Ray resumes his arrogance and smug sense of superiority by inferring that those of us who do not subscribe to his spiritual point of view have "a few intellectual problems."

He goes on asking questions that have already been answered hundreds if not thousands of times, but Ray just keeps ignoring the answers. Yet Ray continues, "What was in the beginning? What produced this huge, incredible natural world in which we live? If you say it was the 'big bang,' then where did the materials come from to make the big bang? If the Big Bang was the product, who or what was the producer?" Ray has received answers to these questions repeatedly and he knows it, but like a terrified puppy, he just runs with his tail tucked firmly between his legs.

Something about Ray's writing at this particular post didn't feel right. Not that it ever does, mind you. But I just had a feeling the words I read weren't his. I copied just one sentence from that post, pasted it into Google, and hit enter. Sure enough, I was right.

When Ray talks about science, his audience, Christian or non-Christian, must research what he says because when he speaks on matters of science, he lies. All the time. I don't just mean some of the time -- I mean all of the time. Ray likely lifted the forementioned sentence from this article written by Fraser Cain, publisher of Universe Today, and co-host of the AstronomyCast podcast. I could beat Cain with a wet trout for a week due to his shoddy writing; Cain should know better. Cain's article is based on this paper published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, May 2011.

Ray:

"Sound travels in waves as does light and heat, but unlike light and heat, sound moves by making molecules vibrate. So, for sound to travel anywhere there must be molecules for it to travel. Sound travels on earth to our ears by vibrating air molecules, but there are no molecules in space."

Fraser:

"Sound travels in waves like light or heat does, but unlike them, sound travels by making molecules vibrate. So, in order for sound to travel, there has to be something with molecules for it to travel through. On Earth, sound travels to your ears by vibrating air molecules. In deep space, the large empty areas between stars and planets, there are no molecules to vibrate."

Ray was then properly educated by the guests at his blog about cosmology and physics, which he will probably ignore. I'm still waiting for his response to my question regarding the source is for his claims.

Having my suspicions confirmed that Ray is a plagiarist, I did a simple Google search on Ray's plagiarism, and even I was a bit surprised at how much of this clown's work is not his. You may recall that in 2009, Ray pulled a stunt by releasing his version of Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species". In Ray's bastardized version, he offered a brief biography of Darwin. As it turns out, large portions of the introduction were lifted from a paper entitled "A Brief History of Charles Darwin" written by Dr. Stan Guffey, Ph.D., professor of biology at the University of Tennessee. Read more about this story here.

They don't call it the Information Age for nothing, Ray. All I have to do to learn about any topic is punch in a few words and entire digital libraries are at my fingertips. Why, then, do you think that you're the only person who's smart enough to use a search engine? How stupid do you think the rest of us are?

We all know that you're a cowardly, lying, thief, Ray. By your own admission, lying thieves will be sent on a one-way ticket to Hell. Are you willing to finally face your opponents, look them in the eye, and admit that you're a charlatan? Have you ever apologized to Cain, Guffey, or anybody else for presenting their work as your own?

For a person who implores us to examine a religion you claim is the ultimate guide to morality, which condemns lying and stealing, why do you resort to these things, Ray? Do you ever feel even slightly ashamed for your intellectual dishonesty?

To the followers of this charlatan, how much of his intellectual feces are you going to eagerly consume while ignoring the fact that Ray is a liar? You readily accuse atheists and agnostics of being lying thieves without evidence, but you don't dare raise an accusatory finger at somebody who actually deserves it like Ray. A child could tell you that Ray's a lying thief, but grown adults give him carte blanche for no other reason than he professes the same faith that you do. If you know he's a liar, and you still refer to him is a good Christian, you're just as much of a liar as he is.

Here are some cosmological and astrophysical terms for Ray, other creationists, and even Fraser Cain to research:

• Interstellar molecules
• Redshift
• Blueshift
• Molecular vibration
• Cosmic background radiation
• Cosmology

For a list of Ray's lies, click here.

Just for fun, watch the video below to see just how much of a dishonest, hypocritical douchebag Ray really is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbBYUgurfRU

CreationTalk, you guys are absolutely pathetic

Believe it or not, I was once a creationist. I believed in a Universe that was no older than 10,000 years and that evolutionary biology was a lie that professors and scientists used in some sort of secret kabal to keep funding coming in while blinding us to what I thought was the truth. I always wrestled with astronomy and the Big Bang, though. It was the knowledge I had of astronomy, as well as mythology and symbolism, that freed me from the mind-numbing cult known as creationism.

Around 2001-2002, I became a member of a little-known creationist website, CreationTalk.org. The site has gone through some changes since I became a member. As a matter of fact, I can't even find any of the posts that I made long ago. I can't even find my profile. You used to be able to log in and discuss all matters on evolutionary biology, cosmology, cosmogeny, Big Bang -- you name it. Now, however, you need one thing in order to talk about any of these topics -- a statement of faith in Jesus and belief in creation as is stated in the Bible. As the site says, "All applicants must subscribe to a belief in the Biblical creation to join this group. A promissory statement verifying this profession is submitted before membership is granted."

That's it.

Apparently, these halfwits have had enough of having their asses handed to them by those who know a thing or two about science. Now they have can have a feel-good party of their own without even the slightest hint of reality by having a bunch of non-believes raining on their parade.

As is typical of creationism, you are not required to have even the slightest clue about mathematics, taxonomy, botany, biology, astronomy, physics, geography, chemistry, or paleontology. You need to have absolutely no knowledge of science at all. All you need to accept is a myth built up on myth after myth after myth.

Once again, why is it that some agnostic blogger stuck in the middle of Pennsylvania have to be the one to stand up for freedom of speech, no matter how offensive it might be or how much it challenges your beliefs?

Science is a bitch, guys. Learn to love her.

A Response to Rep. Rick Saccone

If you live in Pennsylvania, you have probably heard by now that the state House of Representatives has passed legislation to recognize 2012 as the "Year of the Bible". The bill was passed after some sleight of hand. Some who voted for it later stated that they were deceived into voting for the bill.

The bill's sponsor, Rick Saccone, states that the purpose of the bill is simply to illustrate the importance that the Bible has had with regard to the founding of the Commonwealth and the nation as a whole. Like most ardent Christians in America, Rep. Saccone tries to distort history and would have you believe that our nation and it's founders were absolutely immersed in the blood of Jesus. But even a brief glance at history proves otherwise.

A page at Saccone's website about his bill offers up evidence from some of our founders about what he believes is proof of their Christian faith. While it is true that many of our nation's founders were Christian, Saccone simply can't accept the fact that many were also deists, including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Thomas Paine, Ethan Allen, and James Monroe.

Honestly, Mr.Saccone -- of all the bills that you could have sponsored that might have had any real impact on the well-being of the Commonwealth, you choose this? Nothing more than a silly resolution in an attempt to make yourself feel good and promote yet another opportunity to shove your religion down the throats of your constituents? Our governor is raping our state's education system, we're drowning in debt, we're 27th in the nation in unemployment, and you want to eviscerate the First Amendment by reminding us that we're in your god's hands? Do you're damned job, Mr. Saccone: start taking care of your Constituents and not your fragile ego.

To the House members who voted in favor of the bill, only to later realize that they've been duped and apologetically distanced themselves from the bill, good for you. Now, from now on, read the damned bill, especially when it says "non-controversial"!

To the House members who voted in favor of the bill and stood firmly by their vote, you have slapped the face of non-believing taxpayers across throughout the Commonwealth, violated the First Amendment, and continue to promote a religion that is based on a book is filled with rape, murder, incest, abortion, child abuse, genocide, child sacrifice, and war. Most, if not all of you, have no absolutely no idea of the true, mythic origins of your religion. If any of you want true equality and freedom in Pennsylvania, then start by repealing or amending Article 4, Section 1 of the State Constitution.

The Duggars. Again.

Everytime I even hear the name "Duggar" my knuckles turn white and I grit my teeth. I don't know whether to shrug them off, laugh at them, take pity upon their kids, or take issue with their latest episode of inane bullshit.

As if their previous miscarriage wasn't enough to teach the halfwits known as Jim Bob and Michele Duggar that eventually, the female womb reaches a time that it just won't produce anymore children, these assholes have decided to give it a shot at having yet another kid.

 

You might remember my first post way back in 2008 about Jim Bob and the brain-washed sheep he calls a wife. In that post, I told you that he claims his house is a church and therefore claims tax-exempt status. Can you say crook, boys and girls? I knew you could.

I also told you that only the boys are allowed to attend college, meanwhile the girls are meant to stay at home with their slavemaster husbands and pump out a baby every nine months.

Do I lament for the child that would have been? Absolutely. Do I lament for Jim Bob and Michele? Absolutely not. They continue to ignore science, basic human biology and common sense for the sake of dogma, and continue pushing their parental duties upon kids who are still in grade school. Meanwhile, they continue to continue to be absolute media whores. Anything for a buck -- right, JimBo?

 

Michele, if you're reading this, stop being such a sheep and live your life for your children and not your abusive, scumbag husband.

 

If you're a child of the Duggars, do not live by your parents' example. They are frauds and charlatans, and have completely brainwashed you to the point that none of you have any hope of thinking for yourselves. You should be embarrassed and ashamed to call them parents.

 

If you're a member of the media, stop caving into these assholes everytime Michele gets knocked up. They're media pigs and can never get enough attention. The more spotlight you give them, the more it pisses me off. Stop wasting your time and energy on them because they don't deserve it. There are far greater people and issues to spend your time and energy on. Besides, all you're doing is encouraging even more charlatans to pursue the same path.

If you're an employee or executive at The Learning Channel (there's a joke), then do what TLC is supposed to be about -- learning! Any American with a brain and decency doesn't give a shit about:

• Insecure mothers who live vicariously through their daughters by shamelessly parading them in front of cameras in skimpy, whorish outfits.
• Somebody that ate to the point that they need to be lifted by a forklift after a hole was cut through their bedroom wall just to get to the hospital for emergency gastric bypass.
• Somebody who's too lazy and/or chemically imbalanced to get off their ass and clean their home.
• Somebody who has way too much time on their hands.
• The mentally ill.

And they damned sure don't give a shit about the Duggars.

 

You might ask, "What difference does it make to you if the Duggars decide to have more kids?" to which my response is my eldest nephew. He's in his mid-20's and has impregnated his wife four times, going on five. They recently stated that they wish to have at least ten kids. The kicker is that he has no solid, full-time employment, no advanced education of any kind, yet parades himself around as an ordained Baptist minister. Even more, he receives $20/hr in compensation by local retirement homes because he continues to lie to them by convincing them that he's fully ordained and legally recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to spread his lies and dogma as a part-time job.

One of these days, the state will catch up to him and when it does, he will spending a long time inside a jail cell.

And where does my dear, brainwashed nephew and his wife get the idea of having so many children? Yep, you guessed it -- JimBo, Michele and the Quiverfull Movement. Oh, and the mass media that keep feeding him this crap which he readily gobbles up like candy.