Things I don’t have to think about…

From Whatever. "Today I don’t have to think about those who hear “terrorist” when I speak my faith. Today I don’t have to think about men who don’t believe no means no. Today I don’t have to think about how the world is made for people who move differently than I do. Today I don’t have to think about whether I’m married, depending on what state I’m in. Today I don’t have to think about how I’m going to hail a cab past midnight." "Today I don’t have to think about whether store security is tailing me. Today I don’t have to think about the look on the face of the person about to sit next to me on a plane. Today I don’t have to think about eyes going to my chest first. Today I don’t have to think about what people might think if they knew the medicines I took. Today I don’t have to think about getting kicked out of a mall when I kiss my beloved hello." "Today I don’t have to think about if it’s safe to hold my beloved’s hand. Today I don’t have to think about whether I’m being pulled over for anything other than speeding. Today I don’t have to think about being classified as one of “those people.” Today I don’t have to think about making less than someone else for the same job at the same place. Today I don’t have to think about the people who stare, or the people who pretend I don’t exist." [More . . . ]

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Pressure, Temperature, Volume!

Warning - Science Geekery ahead! Am I the only person in the world who gets that we can control for Boyle's Law? While reading a (Science Fiction) book, by a very respected author*, I encountered a scene where a character brews some coffee. Yum! I love coffee! But my delightful anticipation was immediately spoiled by the character's complaints about how the low ambient pressure makes for lukewarm coffee! Seriously? Have people never heard of these amazing newfangled devices called pressure cookers? Heck, Europeans have had little stovetop espresso makers for many many years, that are essentially little one-shot pressure cookers! With the correct setup such equipment can produce strong, hot coffee regardless of the ambient pressure! Whenever I come across such obvious stupidity it kills the story for me. Get the little details right, people! Let me enjoy my stories and enjoy my coffee (regardless of ambient)! * in defense of the Author, he is an older American, so can be excused for not really understanding the difference between coffee and the pale brown caffeinated beverage that shares that name in the States.

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Dialog with a Republican.

My neighbor, B, is a progressive republican and a tax partner in a large CPA firm. We had a conversation... "Obama needs to go", said B. Why? He's doing pretty well considering the mess he inherited! "Because all he wants to do is raise taxes! If we don't get control [of congress and senate] my taxes will go up by almost 20%. I already pay almost half my income in taxes: income, property, FICA and the rest" What? How do you get a 20% increase? "FICA - is capped at about 100k. As a partner, I pay FICA at 15%. Lose that cap and my taxes go up immediately by 15%. The top rate of income tax is set to climb to 39%, which is an extra 3%. And there are a bunch of others, too" No -- that's just wrong. Even assuming that happens... an example, if you earned $200k your effective FICA rate would be 7.5% on that $200k, right? So even without a cap, your effective FICA rate will never be greater than 15%. If you earn $200k, that means an increase of 7.5%, not 15%! "OK! But that wouldn't be a 7.5% increase if I earned 300k or 400k or 500k. It would be much greater than 7.5%" B, Sure it would, but if you earn $500k and can't absorb that kind of increase I'd advise you to start looking for a new tax accountant! LOL "Well ok! But do you think it's fair that 60% of the people in this country don't pay any taxes?" Where did you get that number? Do you think it's right that the US has such a large population of poor people they fall under the threshold for federal taxes? "Most of those people aren't poor!" But all of them pay taxes. You included property taxes in your 50%. I assume you included sales taxes, 7% for most everything here in GA? Then those people who pay nothing are paying way more in effective taxes than you - for food and energy and shelter [More . . . ]

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Separation of Church and State?

I was on my way to lunch today, when I saw an ad on a local 'mega-church' billboard. It was promoting a "Restoring America Conference". This is a church. It pays no taxes. It should have no say, as an entity, in our political process. Based on the speakers, this will not be about Restoring America in any social sense - something that a church should indeed participate and lead. This 'conference' will undoubtedly be a rabidly right-wing diatribe from start to finish. I have absolutely no problem with free speech, not do I have a problem with Partisan speech. I do have a problem when political speech is not only associated with religion, but sponsored and promoted by a religious organization.

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Is religion honest?

Most religious adherents would be aghast if one suggested that they, or their religion, were fundamentally and consistently dishonest. However I believe that is indeed the case. I read a comment on a recent blog post by Ed Brayton (honesty vs intellectually honest). Ed's post argued about the distinction between honesty and intellectual honesty, and noted that intellectual honesty must recognize not only the arguments in support of a position, but also any evidence or arguments against that position. One of the commenters (Sastra) then made the following case that faith was fundamentally intellectually dishonest:

[...] An intellectually dishonest person blurs the distinction [between being intellectually honest, and being emotionally honest], and seems to confuse fact claims with meaning or value claims. To a person who places emphasis on emotional honesty, strength of conviction is evidence. An attack on an idea, then, is an attack on the person who holds it. The idea is true because it's emotionally fulfilling: intentions and sincerity matter the most. Therefore, you don't question, search, or respect dissent. A person who is trying to change your mind, is trying to change you. For example, I consider religious faith [...] to be intellectually dishonest. It is, however, sincerely emotionally honest. [...] "Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of what is not seen." There's a huge emotional component to it, so that one chooses to keep faith in X, the way one might remain loyal to a friend. You defend him with ingenuity and love, finding reasons to explain or excuse evidence against him. He cannot fail: you, however, can fail him, by allowing yourself to be lead into doubt. Being able to spin any result into support then is a sign of good will, loyalty, reliability, and the ability to stand fast. The focus isn't on establishing what's true, but on establishing that you can be "true." This emotional honesty may or may not be rewarded: the real point, I think, is to value it for its own sake, as a fulfillment of a perceived duty.
This is exactly the case with religion, and religious adherents. Their faith in their god is entirely emotional, and no amount of material evidence will alter their belief. They may be entirely honest in their belief, and may be entirely honest in their objection to evidence (cf Karl, Rabel, Walter, et al) but in doing so are being intellectually dishonest, because they refuse to recognize valid and entirely relevant evidence - they conflate with great consistency and verve fact claims with value claims, and deny any difference between them stating it's all 'interpretation'. No, it isn't all interpretation. It's dishonesty.

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