Storm

Jeshua Cottontail

Halloween Is The Devil's Holiday

It's just not Halloween until the Baptists remind you that you're going straight to hell for enjoying it. In this case, it's the Anchor Baptist Church in Salt Lake City.

Their little sign should read, "Baptists: Proudly sucking the fun out of everything for 500 years!"

What Obama's Doing With Fox News

What Obama’s Doing With Fox News

An interesting commentary by John Scalzi. I like his reasoning about the number of viewers of FOX News compared to the number of viewers of a recently canceled FOX network show.

If even a portion of the combined viewership of the other cable news networks is larger than the viewership of FOX News then the tactics, and possibly the overall strategy, are working.

I wonder what the current viewership numbers/ratings are for Comedy Central's "The Daily Show". As of September, 2008 it was about 2 million viewers. Combine that with any viewership of the other 24/7 news networks and you have much more than FOX's 2.5 million viewers. This would seem to safely ensconce FOX News in the "safe outlet for whack-a-moles" sub-set for all sets of "news."

The "E" Word

Sad, but interesting. I found this article to be relevant, as just yesterday my daughter told me about an experience in science class this week.

A new student approached the teacher while the class was completing a worksheet on the Doppler Effect (specifically in how it relates to measuring the distances, and movement, between galaxies). He informed the teacher that he was unable to complete the worksheet, because it was "against his religion." My daughter was unable to determine what happened next, because the student and teacher spoke too softly.

I can only hope the teacher took a stand, but I think we all know this is unlikely. I would have offered the student 3 choices:

1) Please return to your desk and complete the assignment. The classwork is not optional.
2) Do not complete the assignment and accept a failing grade.
3) Make a compelling argument for how a worksheet on the Doppler Effect conflicts with your religious view point. Be prepared to site specific reasons and sources for the conflict. If you make a convincing case, I'll consider giving you partial credit.

Fire Update (re: asteryx)

As you may know, I, asteryx, live in Santa Cruz, CA.

Here are some links that I keep an eye on for news about the largest fire in 20 years in Santa Cruz county.

First is the map of the fire boundaries and road closures.

Here is the local ISP that is really wonderful about posting updates and links.

Finally, here is the CalFire Lockheed fire update.

The short asnswer to "are you worried/scared/evacuated/close to the fire, etc" is "No." We can see lots of smoke as it crosses the bay and the air quality is questionable at times; there is ash on the cars and we get amazing sunsets, but otherwise the fire has not affected us.

Violence

If you can read past the ultra-libertarian language in this essay (I would say it borders on the language of an anarchist, but I'm not politically savvy enough to make the distinction), there are some very interesting and enlightening viewpoints about "violence" contained therein.

It's not the first time I've Stumbled™ across an article or essay which sets forth the notion that government violence should not be ignored, but this one offers a more enlightening perspective of the problem. Others more commonly rail against the use of para-military forces (such as SWAT) to serve "no knock" warrants for non-violent or "victimless" crimes.

My own non-violent nature finds sympathy in this article, even though I may not wholly agree with the political ideology of the author (these days, after much personal deliberation, I'm afraid I'm more Liberal than Libertarian). Have a look and see if your own perspective on state-sanctioned violence isn't turned up a notch or two.

Everyone and Everything, Ever, is Going To Hell

This sight is absolutely amazing. Just scroll through it and bask in its sheer insanity. It's a mind-trip like nothing you'll experience elsewhere.

David J. Stewart attacks just about anything you can put a finger on, dedicating extensive time to the usual evildoers: Harry Potter, the government, abortion, evolution, the wrong versions of the bible, beer (Beer!), Obama, vaccinations, books, movies, television, music, 9/11, the wealthy, the poor, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Science, Terri Schiavo, churches, religion, apples...You know? The usual stuff.

Though he reserves a special and particularly acute loathing for (curiously) Catholicism and Homosexuals. I was particularly amused by the reminders that "this is not a hate site" and "I love you" amidst the seemingly endless, rabid splattering of hatred.

After a while, you begin to get the sense that the only person actually not going to hell is David J. Stewart. How convenient for him.