Frist

Please make the hurting stop! I said I was not going to write about ID any more ... but I can't resist. Evidently in a move to get himself back in good graces with Dubya after he bucked him on stem cell research:

Frist backs 'intelligent design' teaching

It's laughable how many people (including a so-called "man of science" like Frist) continue to equate general theories with scientific theories. They are not the same thing!

Vigil for Cindy Sheehan

My son Alex and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend the candlelight vigil for Cindy Sheehan at 24th St. & Camelback in Phoenix tonight. It was heartening to see 500+ people together in a common cause against this unjustified war. The great attitude of the attendees was expected ... it was the reactions by the traffic going by that I didn't expect. It was overwhelmingly positive!!


In a red state like Arizona, you can usually plan on more than a few expletives shouted out windows or people flipping the bird. But in the hour or so we were there, the worst thing I saw was someone driving by holding a Bush/Cheney sign out their window ... that was it. Everyone else waved, honked their horns, gave thumbs up, etc.


You really get the feeling that the middle part of the political spectrum is getting sick of the war and high gas prices. And it's not lost on them that a soft-spoken mother of a fallen soldier has scared the leader of the free world into his little hole in Texas.

Rolling Stones -- "Sweet Neocon"

Political song of the day:

You ride around your white castle,
On your little white horse
You lie to your people,
and blame it on your war of course

You call yourself a Christian,
I call you a hypocrite
You call yourself a patriot,
well I think you're full of shit

Oh, sweet Neo Con,
What path have you led them on?
Oh, sweet Neo Con,
Is it time for the atom bomb?

You parade around in costume,
Expecting to be believed
But as the body bags stack up,
We believe we've been deceived

The horror you've unleased,
Will backfire with more grief
When will you ever learn,
Sweet Neo Con, as the world burns?

Oh, sweet Neo Con,
What path have you led them on?
Oh, sweet Neo Con,
Is it time for the atom bomb?
Oh, sweet Neo Con,
What path have you led them on?
Oh, sweet Neo Con,
Is it time to drop the bomb?

Proud Left-Wing Liberal

Great description by James Moore on the Huffington Post about what it means to be a liberal:

Proud Left-Wing Liberal

Intelligent Falling

My friend at the Jewish Atheist brought my attention to this great The Onion article:

Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity with New "Intelligent Falling" Theory

And, I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but here's one of the most comprehensive and cogent explanations of why Intelligent Design fails. Be warned, the article is fairly long ... but worth it.

The Faith That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Jewish Atheist

In navigating among your guys' posts and posts to your blogs, I came upon The Jewish Atheist. This is a great blog that has many well-reasoned posts on the nature of religion and morals. The blogger also had an interesting perspective because of his time as a Modern Orthodox Jew. Check it out if you get the chance.

Categories listings updated

It's long overdue, but I updated the archived posts under the Categories listings.

Hybrids

Interesting article on hybrid mods:

Experimental hybrid cars get up to 250 mpg

Machinist

I watched one messed-up movie last night, called the Machinist. Without giving too much away, it tells the story of an insomniac machinist who has not slept in a year. Due to his lack of sleep, he becomes increasingingly paranoid. The narrative basically follows his attempts at figuring out who is after him (real or imagined).

It reminded me a lot of Memento because of the main character's disorientation with time and his surroundings. In Memento, the ailment was lack of long-term memory. In the Machinist, it is extreme insomnia.



The Machinist is also remininiscent of Hitchcock movies, especially Vertigo. Ostensibly it's a mystery, but ultimately the truth that is discovered says more about the main character than anything else.

The physical transformation of Christian Bale required for this movie makes that of Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones' Diary piddling in comparison. He went down to 120 pounds. In comparison, he weighed 220 when filming Batman Begins. He was so emaciated that he looked like a walking skeleton. He definitely took method acting to the next level ... a la Robert De Niro.

I recommend it but only if you like depressing character studies. I do.

James Dobson

Further proof that James Dobson is not only a moron but a dangerous moron:

Helping Boys Become Men, and Girls Become Women

It would be funny if he weren't serious. It's time to tell it like it is ... anyone who follows the beliefs and teachings of this man are completely disconnected from reality. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, has commentaries carried on about 3500 radio stations. It's scary to think how many people listen to him. Other organizations like the Family Research Council are just as bad, pushing a radical Christian right-wing agenda.

Arizona Chain Reaction

This is a great organization and site for letting you know the independent businesses in your own community(in Arizona) that you can shop at:

Arizona Chain Reaction

Retain chain stores takes jobs and tax revenue out of your community. I encourage all of you to find similar organizations in your state and shop locally. Knowing how most of your are, I'm probably preaching to the choir.

It's not just about keeping the money in your community. It's about getting a superior experience. Harkins Theaters and Bashas Groceries are two examples of local businesses that are every bit as good(or better) as retail chains in price and selection but offer an enhanced product.

"Attractive bodies"

Bush To Determine Scentific Curriculum Of American Schools Based On His Own Experiments

I'd never read this guy's blog before. GreatWhiteBear has a link to him. Too funny.

Compassionate Conservatism?

I hate to use blue state/red state descriptions and dislike painting with a broad brush, but as my pappy used to say, "If the foo shits ...":

On Immigration, The Right Loses All Compassion

When a right-wing governor like Huckabee even thinks it's too extreme, you know you've went overboard. But that's not the suprise, it's the public's reaction in Arkansas ... callers to the governor's office have been 1000-1 against his position. The fact that Clinton was governor of this state indicates that there is some hope for them, but if these callers are any indication of the rest of the state, "whoa, nelly".

Just Add Water

Voila! Instant backyard ... just add water. They finished the water lines, planted the trees and layed down the grass all today. That's it for now. We'll plant some small plants in spring and will probably bring in some gravel before then.

Jim Kelly

Very sad news in the world of sports: Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly's 8 year-old son Hunter died of Krabbe disease, an incurable nervous system disease. The Kelly's have been very active, raising over $6 million for neurological disease research, in trying to find a cure.

Hunter Kelly, 8, dies of Krabbe Disease

Whenever I hear of a young child dying for any reason, my heart aches for his/her parents and family. While I can't say I know exactly how they feel, I do know how it feels to worry every day if you child is going to live to the next day. Our son Alex, who is 4 now and the picture of health and energy, was born 10.5 weeks early and spent the first 6 weeks of his life in a hospital intensive care ward. Every day that we visited the NICU, we agonized over the news we hoped we'd never hear. I'm sure the Kelly's have went through that every day for 8 years. We've had several friends and family members that have also had premature babies or babies with physical issues and you can feel their pain.

Obviously, Hunter Kelly's death is no more important than any other child's death. But because of the prominence of his dad, it just reminds us that every child should not be taken for granted. Cherish every day you have with them because you don't know when they can be taken away. And not all families are as lucky as the Kelly's or ours to have the money and insurance to give the best care possible for their children. No child should go hungry. No child should be uninsured.

Landscaping

Finally, they've started on our backyard landscaping. We've be in the place over a year, so it's about time we got it done. They've put in the water lines and put in the curbing that will surround the grass. The grass and trees will be done in the next few days.

Stadium

Latest pic of the work on the new AZ Cardinals stadium:

Global Warming

How much more evidence do we need before this administration will admit there is global warming ... and to take the steps necessary to do something about it:

Antarctic ice shelf collapse linked to global warming

Environmental damage seen from shuttle

This rapture mentality that pervades some of the right allows them to discount any global warming talk because it won't really matter when Armageddon comes. There are others who may not believe in the rapture but still think you can do anything to the Earth because it will recover. They are right ... it will recover, long after we have exterminated ourselves.

As we have seen from previous posts, religion is not a substitute for science. That is not a criticism. It just means that you can have your beliefs but still respect the world you live in and those who live in it. Many churches, thankfully, are coming around to this way of thinking:

God’s Earth is Sacred

But unfortunately, some have not.

Novak goes postal

Our good friend Bob Novak is starting to show his ass more and more:

Novak Explodes

Church and State

Hello! Is anybody paying attention? This administration is ignoring our Constitution:

Group assails Bible study course taught at schools. What a shocker this happened in Texas.

Bush: Intelligent Design Should Be Taught.

Perhaps they need a reminder:

"...I contemplate with solemn reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State..." - Thomas Jefferson

"Strongly guarded as is the separation between religion and Government in the Constitution of the United States, the danger of encroachment by Ecclesiastical Bodies may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history." - James Madison

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." - 1st Amendment of the Consitution

**A great extension of this discussion is on Laura's blog: Unintelligent Design**