Back in September, 2006, I bemoaned the lack of a real plan by any Democratic leaders regarding Iraq. Things have not changed since September. It has not been easy to find any leader stepping up with anything other than a symbolic plan or a wish. That is the context of…
Isn’t it striking how many highly intelligent freethinkers are ineffective speakers and writers?
Not all of them, mind you. Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins are notable exceptions in my mind. They both get right to the point using ordinary words. They both look at their audience while speaking. Harris is one of the more affable speakers out there, while Dawkins excels at communicating with an earnest intensity. Their approaches to delivering their ideas explain their popularity. They stand out from the crowd with their ability to convey their ideas. Many other freethinkers (all of them intelligent, sincere and committed to following evidence where it leads) could greatly improve on the way they deliver their ideas. By failing to work on their delivery, they are losing opportunities to communicate their valuable ideas.
I base this conclusion on my viewing of the presentations at the La Jolla conference, “Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival.” You can watch videos of the sessions here. I briefly discussed the conference here.
While watching some of the presenters, however, I imagined being a fundamentalist; In short, I imagined feeling threatened by the ideas of the La Jolla freethinkers. If I were a fundmentalist, I might think I disagreed with the ideas of the scientists and philosophers while I was actually much more repulsed by the manner in which those ideas were presented.
For instance, some of the freethinking scientists and philosophers appear arrogant. They might not actually be arrogant, though they appeared…
If you couldn't make it to Washington, DC, many local communities sponsored their own anti-war protests today. The one I attended was sponsored by the St. Louis Instead of War Coalition. The sponsors assembled the several hundred participants into groups to be photographed, those photos to be delivered to new Missouri…
Because I’ve taken the time to read my local newspaper today, I am well-informed. I now know that everybody at the South St. Louis County Dierberg’s grocery store is excited that the winning Powerball ticket was sold right there.
But that’s not all.
Under “Top News,” I can read that the St. Louis Cardinals probably will not be signing a pitcher who was with them last year.
But there’s more: From a local trial, we now know how a St. Louis area man allegedly broke his girlfriend’s neck. And there’s even more news: The colorful banner at the top of the front page reminds me to get ready for this week’s Auto Show at the downtown convention center. Don’t forget the teaser at the bottom right: Buy Sunday’s paper and you can read an article about beer and the Bible.
All of this important information on a single front page! Can you believe that they make their reporters spend years at journalism schools in order to write things like this?
If I were a journalist who worked for this newspaper, this front page would embarrass me. I would keep it a secret that I worked for this paper.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch is not a locally-owned newspaper. It is owned by Lee Enterprises. If you visit the website homepage of Lee Enterprises, you will see lots of web headlines about growing the revenue, increasing the circulation and controlling the costs. You will not see the word “journalism.” …
At his recent State of the Union address, President Bush pointed out a modern American hero:
After her daughter was born, Julie Aigner-Clark searched for ways to share her love of music and art with her child. So she borrowed some equipment, and began filming children’s videos in her basement. The Baby Einstein Company was born — and in just five years her business grew to more than $20 million in sales. In November 2001, Julie sold Baby Einstein to the Walt Disney Company, and with her help Baby Einstein has grown into a $200 million business. Julie represents the great enterprising spirit of America.
What does Baby Einstein sell? An “entire line of playful and interactive DVDs, videos, books, music CDs, and toys.” It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that products this good will turn millions of babies into . . . well, pooping drooling little Einsteins. Once we harness all of the nation’s cognito-baby-power, solving of the Grand Unification Theory can’t possibly be far behind, I tell you! In fact, whenever a few of those Baby Einstein babies are together in a playpen, you’d better not stray too far away, for those moments when they collaborate and start chanting solutions to Fermat’s Theorums.
It was good to see President Bush getting solidly behind a serious educational initiative like Baby Einstein.
Or has Bush shot crookedly again? It turns out that Baby Einstein excels at convincing you to entrust your baby to the boob tube. …