Archive for category politics
The Mind Boggles
Posted by Rational Dreamer in atheism, politics, religion on May 2nd, 2010
One of my favorite webs site for whiling away a few minutes between tasks is WordSplay, which is by far the best Boggle site I have seen on the Interwebs. Written completely in JavaScript, it has a 4×4 board and a 5×5 board to choose from, and once your three minutes of furious typing is up, your score is tallied and displayed along with all the others who competed in that round.
I am at somewhat of a disadvantage since I’m a hunter and pecker, not a touch-typist, but I can still win the odd 4×4 round when the word count is low (and the real pros aren’t racking up massive totals). As for 5×5, well, if I get on the first page of the scoreboard I am doing well!
One of the interesting aspects of the site is the number of people who use their screen name (which can be changed at any time) to make a political statement. Hence you get the Obama supporters, and the Obama haters, and a fair number of people proclaiming “Jesus Loves You”, “Jesus Is Lord”, or “U Have a Friend In Jesus” and so on. I must admit that occasionally they would prompt me to change my screen name to something like “Jesus, Your Imaginary Friend” — a little petty I know, but it used to irritate me that they would pester the rest of us with their proselytizing when all we want to do is play Boggle for a few minutes. In the end I just used the screen name “Above Us Only Sky” and left it at that.
Another cool aspect of the site is that you can form teams with other players—particularly fun if you’re not one a regular high scorer. Since I started playing the 5×5 board, I have noticed that it’s the religious teams that get the most traction, followed by the usual pro/anti-Obama teams. Thus you will almost always see a “Team JesusIssovereign” (of course it’s got to be more explicit than “Team Christian”), a “Team Atheist,” a “Team Jewish,” and even a “Team Catholic.” Thus the religious divide that exists in society reaches even into Boggleland! The one notable exception is the regular “Team Pirates, Aarrgh!” because you can never have too many pirates playing Boggle. 
Federal Judge Rules National Day of Prayer Unconstitutional
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics, religion on April 16th, 2010
(CNN) — A federal judge on Thursday struck down the federal statute that established the National Day of Prayer, ruling that it violates the constitutional ban on government-backed religion.
“[I]ts sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function,” a Wisconsin judge wrote in the ruling, referring to the 1952 law that created the National Day of Prayer.
“In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience,” wrote the judge, Barbara B. Crabb.
So, in the time it took for me to (almost) finish my taxes, the story changes from the silly email rumor that President Obama has canceled the National Day of Prayer to a federal court ruling that declares the 1952 National Day of Prayer statute unconstitutional!
Now, nothing is actually going to happen between now and May 6th since the statute will stand until all avenues of appeal are exhausted, and President Obama has already stated that he will be issuing the proclamation on scheduled, but this is going to drive the conservative Christians to apoplexy nonetheless.
Should be fun.
Obama Cancels National Day of Prayer?
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics, religion on April 15th, 2010
Er, actually no he didn’t. Despite what the conservative Christian hysteria machine would have you believe, on May 6th, the National Day of Prayer will be recognized by President Obama by issuing a proclamation just as all his predecessors have done since its inauguration in 1952.
All Obama has done is decided against holding a prayer service in the White House on that day, an event was only started under the last president as a rather empty political gesture to his evangelical Christian constituency. And, by the way, he didn’t hold an NDP service in the White House last year either, so it’s not like this should be shocking news to anyone.
That decision President Obama made last year made Shirley Dobson cry:
Naturally, prominent evangelicals, including National Day of Prayer Task Force Chairman Shirley Dobson, and her husband, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, expressed disappointment in Obama’s decision.
“At this time in our country’s history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer,” Shirley Dobson said in a statement.
I suspect that in the three weeks between now and May 6th, the outrage of the religious right will serve to prove that the President did the right thing by returning to the usual practice of just issuing a proclamation. Thanks mostly to the efforts of Dobson’s sectarian NDP Task Force, the day, and the celebration of the day had become little more than a political football in the hands of the religious right.
Conservative Christians everywhere will be able to pray to their heart’s content on May 6th (or any other day), whether or not the current president panders to their wishes.
Update: Corrected post to reflect that Dobson’s quote was actually made before last year’s NDP.
National Day of Prayer Hijacking, Part 2
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics, religion on April 13th, 2010
As if there needs to be any more evidence to prove that under Shirley Dobson’s leadership, the National Day of Prayer has been hijacked to serve the partisan political purposes of Christian conservatives, I just came across this little Q&A on the Focus on the Family web site:
Question
When is the National Day of Prayer? Where can I get more information about the event?
Answer
The 2010 National Day of Prayer (NDP) will take place on Thursday, May 6. Shirley Dobson continued as Chairman of the NDP Task Force; Dr. Franklin Graham is the Honorary Chairman for 2010.
The National Day of Prayer has its own Web site (www.nationaldayofprayer.org) that offers information about how the day is observed across the United States.
The first paragraph is highly misleading. There is no Honorary Chairman for the National Day of Prayer. It is a position that has been created solely by the NDP Task Force and thus Graham is only the Honorary Chairman for the National Day of Prayer Task Force’s observance of the National Day of Prayer, which is a completely different matter.
The second paragraph is completely untrue. The domain name nationaldayofprayer.org is owned by the “National Day of Prayer Committee” which operates out of the same building as “Focus on the Family” and runs the NDP Task Force solely for the benefit of conservative “Bible-believing” Christians. The site has no information about how the day is observed across the United States unless you happen to be a right-wing moral majority type of Christian.
I filled out the feedback form to (politely) point out the erroneous information in the answer. It will be very interesting to see if they do anything about it.
Praying for President Obama, the “Right” Way
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics, religion on April 12th, 2010
“Religion and politics don’t mix” so the old saying goes, but it can be very entertaining (or downright scary) when you decide to mix a little religion with far right-wing politics. And where better to find examples of that than the Free Republic web site, home of the lunatics in the lunatic fringe.
One of their long time contributors used to start a daily thread called “Pray for President Bush.” A laudable endeavor, if you happen to be religiously minded, and the prayers he invoked were certainly uplifting enough:
Family News In Focus : Worried for the Gays?
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics, religion on April 8th, 2010
Family News In Focus engaged in some concerned trolling today when they warned gay couples that they could be risking a fine of up to $500 for lying about their marital status on their census form.
You see, the Census Bureau has told gay couples that they can check the “married” box if they consider themselves married, even in states that do not allow same-sex marriage. This would seem to be a sensible move (for those without an axe to grind) since it provides the government (and posterity) with a more accurate picture of gay households around the country, but I guess Family News In Focus is just worried that gay people could be misled into placing themselves into legal jeopardy.
Yeah, that must be it.
Orson Scott Card Joins the National Organization for Marriage
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics on April 22nd, 2009
Well that’s the final nail in the coffin. I remember discovering Card’s famous first novel, Ender’s Game, and being completely taken with it. On the strength of that and his other early efforts, I read all five books of his Homecoming Saga, the first few books of The Tales of Alvin Maker, and the sequels to Ender’s Game. I knew nothing of his religious or politics views, and since they didn’t seem to be influencing the quality or tone of his writing, I had no interest in finding out what they were.
But, as seems to happen with all too many authors, when they get a wee bit famous, they start injecting all kinds of personal views and prejudices into their stories. I guess they feel that they have earned that right, and I suspect that editors tend to have less control over the content and tenor of their prized authors’ later novels.
Creationists Sue the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics, religion on April 22nd, 2009
Last year, the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) applied to have its “Master of Science” program officially recognized in Texas but was rejected by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) which oversees all applications, who found that whatever it is the ICR Graduate School is teaching, it ain’t science.
Now they’re back, in full whine mode, and with a law suit claiming that their academic freedom and their constitutional right to free speech have been violated. Not surprisingly their press release is laughable, and full of lies and distortions.
Read the rest of this entry »
The Bias of Reality
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics on April 17th, 2009
“Reality has a well known liberal bias.”
So sayeth the sharp-witted political wit, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert.
It is probably the most famous quotation to come out of his brilliant show, The Colbert Report, and it has the merit not only of being funny, but of having a large ring of truth about (or should I say “truthiness”?) too, at least it does in America.
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