Ben Stein Movie Opens Today

The new Ben Stein movie, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" opens today. It is only showing in Wehrenberg Theaters farther out from the city. (Movies.com link). Before today, it has only been seen by fundamentalist congregations, hand-picked audiences, and selected legislatures. If you've read my earlier post and long comment thread…

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Discovery of world’s newest oldest tree means it’s time to revise the Bible.

In 1964, when a living bristlecone pine tree in California was determined to be almost 5,000 years old, it gave Bible literalists a big scare.  After all, literalists (young earthers) believe that the earth is only about 6,000 years old.  Was that bristlecone pine tree around for the "big flood?"   Not quite: young earth adherents argue…

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Why Atheism Doesn’t Matter, but Skepticism Does.

Summer of 2004. I have considered myself an atheist at least since the summer of 2004. For the sake of feeling smart and consistent, I believe I’ve considered myself an atheist for much longer. But I only have documented evidence of such a stance dating back to the summer of 2004.

Did I have some great logical awakening that roused me to critical thinking and clear-headedness? No. I know I did not. I know I didn’t become a perfect bastion of scientific thinking because, in the summer of 2004, I believed in handwriting analysis.

A knowledge-thirsty little 10th grader, I still believed then that if someone with a PhD wrote a book, that book had to contain gospel truth. I didn’t know the difference between bad science and good science. I didn’t even realize such a rift existed. So handwriting analysis, with all of its certain language and its sheer lack of cited empirical evidence, seemed as valid as medicine or geology.

Only half a year or so later, as I struggled to tell a friend that the dominating middle region in her script belied a permanently childish outlook, did I begin to realize exactly how idiotic this whole graphology thing sounded.

Ouch. It still stings to admit. Should I also admit that I used to take multivitamins? That I preferred bottled water over tap? Evidence supports none of these beliefs.

I hope I’ve made my point clearly: atheism did not protect me from having moronic …

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Center For Inquiry questions politically-skewed high school textbook for classes on U.S. government

I read quite a few textbook quotes from this report and I must agree:  they are shockingly inaccurate.  This book repeatedly pushes the conservative line, even when the facts don't support it--just like the Bush Administration.   The existence of this high school textbook is yet more evidence that we are…

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Cowardly hypocrisy of "Darwin fish" displays

My friend Russ sent me this link to an article in our local paper entitled, "Cowardly hypocrisy of Darwin fish displays". The title does a good job of strongly framing a weak argument. After I read it, I decided to post my response here: The article begins by framing anything…

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