Category : Atheism
So this poor excuse for an Article was posted over at RD.net and I just had to piece my brain back together after the inanity contained in this article blew it up. Has this guy managed to travel from an alternate universe where Atheists are tyrants? Or is he just another "Reality is optional" deluded moron?
"There is something profoundly un-American about demanding that people give up cherished, or even uncherished, beliefs just because they don't comport with science"
Y'know, call me crazy, but that sounds to me like a very manipulative and negative way of describing education. After all, pretty much everything I learned in school was allowed to be taught to me because it had passed through the filter of science.
'Science' gives us the most accurate description of reality, the use of the scientific method informs us of what we know, what we don't know and how well we do or don't know something. If your beliefs are at odds with the endeavours of scientific rigour you'd better have a damned good reason beyond "Well I reckon...".
But returning to my original point; he just described Education. When you go to school you're taught, you're told what IS and what ISN'T and they will fail your ass for not learning what they teach you. IE. They demand you give up your beliefs and replace them with knowledge. Is this idiot suggesting that education is Un-American? If he were to offer himself up as an example I might be inclined to agree.
"...allow people "the right to be wrong," especially when the beliefs in question do not interfere with us. Nothing is gained by loud, self-promoting and mean-spirited assaults on the beliefs of fellow citizens."
He seems to be suggesting that Atheists are trying to take away, forcibly, people's rights. I'm fairly sure that unless you're less intelligent than a small puddle of piss that I don't need to explain why that is patent BS.
But what I will point out is the hypocrisy in his statement. He is essentially saying "You shouldn't and can't silence people, just because you think they're wrong" whilst suggesting that Atheists should STFU.
And you'll excuse me for laughing milk through my nose at the last sentence. I think he'll find that religious groups are louder (they have control of education boards, have huge political pull), more concerned with self-promotion (Churches, Mosques, Statues, Indoctrination of Children) and EASILY a billion times more mean spirited (Anti-homosexual laws, 'you're going to hell', death threats over billboards) then any atheist I've ever known.
People have every right to be wrong, But I have every right to call them wrong.
This article is full of nothing but distortions of reality, arguments from authority (in the cases of the Nobel prize winners) and is just ANOTHER insipid article that is more worried about tone than content. I swear, I would not be surprised if these kinds of people would praise Osama for being so calm in his videos and tapes; since tone is just that important.
Far more important than content.
Tuesday 25 May 2010
Thursday 20 May 2010
Friday 7 May 2010
The Results are in
Category : Politics
So Election night happened, which turned into election early-morning, and the results are in!
We have awell hung parliment! Yay?
Honestly, this was the most likely result that I would of thought possible, It would of been nice to see the lib dems gain power but, as it turns out, no matter how much momentum and popularity they had going into the election absolutely none of it transferred into votes and they did as well as they always have - Poorly. This came as quite a surprise, but then It seemed less shocking when took off my "Optimist" hat, and put on my "Realist" hat.
There HAS, however, been quite a scandal with the polling stations, as many hundreds of people all over the country ended up being unable to vote, for various reasons including "Ran out of ballot paper" and "Only had 4 voting booths for 30,000 people"; ie, incredibly poor organisation. This will most likely be the hot topic for politics, Political reform, now that the election is over.
In the End the conservatives had the most votes, won the most seats, but didn't get enough of either to win an outright majority AND with a Hung parliament, comes the rare opportunity for a coalition government to be formed and this is pretty damn good news for the lib dems.
The short version of what any of that means is this - Party's need 326 "Seats" in parliment to be able to take power on their own. The Tories got just over 300 and Labor got just over 250 meaning that to make up the remaining seats to take power, they have to join forces with ANOTHER party. So now the Lib dems can essentially bargain with the Conservatives OR Labor to give them some things they want in exchange for the seats they won...basically making the lib dems the king makers.
It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out.
So Election night happened, which turned into election early-morning, and the results are in!
We have a
Honestly, this was the most likely result that I would of thought possible, It would of been nice to see the lib dems gain power but, as it turns out, no matter how much momentum and popularity they had going into the election absolutely none of it transferred into votes and they did as well as they always have - Poorly. This came as quite a surprise, but then It seemed less shocking when took off my "Optimist" hat, and put on my "Realist" hat.
There HAS, however, been quite a scandal with the polling stations, as many hundreds of people all over the country ended up being unable to vote, for various reasons including "Ran out of ballot paper" and "Only had 4 voting booths for 30,000 people"; ie, incredibly poor organisation. This will most likely be the hot topic for politics, Political reform, now that the election is over.
In the End the conservatives had the most votes, won the most seats, but didn't get enough of either to win an outright majority AND with a Hung parliament, comes the rare opportunity for a coalition government to be formed and this is pretty damn good news for the lib dems.
The short version of what any of that means is this - Party's need 326 "Seats" in parliment to be able to take power on their own. The Tories got just over 300 and Labor got just over 250 meaning that to make up the remaining seats to take power, they have to join forces with ANOTHER party. So now the Lib dems can essentially bargain with the Conservatives OR Labor to give them some things they want in exchange for the seats they won...basically making the lib dems the king makers.
It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out.
Thursday 6 May 2010
No longer a Voting Virgin
Category : Politics, Personal
So today I voted for the first time, i've looked into the grizzled yet eager face of Democracy and shook it firmly by the hand.
And I even managed to learn something new during the process! I knew that I was partaking in two votes; One for my local MP and One for the Parliamentary elections. So I expected to see one voting form with the names of my local MP's up for election, unfamiliar names next to more familiar party logo's, and another voting form with the names of the Prospective Prime ministers on them, more familiar names that would make me feel accomplished by simply knowing who the hell they are. But I was Wrong! Kind of.
I was right about the Local MP electoral form, it was just a list of names I've never seen before and their parties BUT To my dismay I found that the parliamentary electoral form had equally obscure names all over it! Apparently, in this crazy System of voting that we have, I at no point vote for the prime minister; I vote for his underlings.
So today I voted for the first time, i've looked into the grizzled yet eager face of Democracy and shook it firmly by the hand.
And I even managed to learn something new during the process! I knew that I was partaking in two votes; One for my local MP and One for the Parliamentary elections. So I expected to see one voting form with the names of my local MP's up for election, unfamiliar names next to more familiar party logo's, and another voting form with the names of the Prospective Prime ministers on them, more familiar names that would make me feel accomplished by simply knowing who the hell they are. But I was Wrong! Kind of.
I was right about the Local MP electoral form, it was just a list of names I've never seen before and their parties BUT To my dismay I found that the parliamentary electoral form had equally obscure names all over it! Apparently, in this crazy System of voting that we have, I at no point vote for the prime minister; I vote for his underlings.
Wednesday 5 May 2010
Tomorrow is the Big day
Catergory : Politics
Tomorrow, May 6th, is the big day; Election day.
Although there is not quite as much electricity in the air as there was during the last American Election, There is certainly more than you would expect coming out of our isolated little island. For the first time this millennium, British politics has finally managed to peak its head just above the waters of 'interesting' and is thoroughly enjoying a few well needed gasps of air; It can't last, but I intend to enjoy it while it does.
If you're able to vote tomorrow, do it. Forget how unfair the system is, push aside that nagging thought that tells you that your vote is worth slightly less than spitting in a river and exercise your democratic right to have a say in who runs your country. Human beings have not had such a privilege for long, and indeed many still don't, so don't squander your freedom.
On the subject of who to vote for, Might I suggest this interesting website if you are unsure, on the fence, or just want to see which party lines up to YOUR values. But whoever you vote for, make an informed decision, think for yourself...and whatever you do don't 'vote tactically'. If you want a particular party in power, vote for THEM, not the party which is similar, but worse, but more popular; If you want to see YOUR party in power then how the hell is voting for someone else ever going to help? People, and the media, pay attention to the parties which garner the most support and it's very hard to show support for a party whilst voting for another.
Have fun being democratic
Tomorrow, May 6th, is the big day; Election day.
Although there is not quite as much electricity in the air as there was during the last American Election, There is certainly more than you would expect coming out of our isolated little island. For the first time this millennium, British politics has finally managed to peak its head just above the waters of 'interesting' and is thoroughly enjoying a few well needed gasps of air; It can't last, but I intend to enjoy it while it does.
If you're able to vote tomorrow, do it. Forget how unfair the system is, push aside that nagging thought that tells you that your vote is worth slightly less than spitting in a river and exercise your democratic right to have a say in who runs your country. Human beings have not had such a privilege for long, and indeed many still don't, so don't squander your freedom.
On the subject of who to vote for, Might I suggest this interesting website if you are unsure, on the fence, or just want to see which party lines up to YOUR values. But whoever you vote for, make an informed decision, think for yourself...and whatever you do don't 'vote tactically'. If you want a particular party in power, vote for THEM, not the party which is similar, but worse, but more popular; If you want to see YOUR party in power then how the hell is voting for someone else ever going to help? People, and the media, pay attention to the parties which garner the most support and it's very hard to show support for a party whilst voting for another.
Have fun being democratic
Sunday 2 May 2010
How much my vote counts
Category : Politics, Equality
As you may, or may not, know it is election time in the UK. Come May 6th Democracy will find itself, once again, under the scrutiny of nations as we, the people, decide who will be running the UK on May the 7th. One person, one vote, right?
Wrong.
I had always known that our electoral system was more complicated than, in my opinion, it should be, "One Person, One Vote" Seems to me to be both the fairest and the most accurate way for democracy to be run. But although I'd always had an inkling that the electoral system was unfair I never knew how it was unfair, or indeed just how unfair it really was...After all, politics (up until 6 or so months ago) Was mind-cripplingly uninteresting to me.
But today I was shown http://www.voterpower.org.uk/ and all of a sudden, in the plainest of ways, I have been shown just how unfair the UK Electoral system is, how much my vote counts and why my vote counts how much it does.
According to that website, everyone who lives where I live does not get a vote equivalent to "1 vote". According to that website, My vote is worth exactly 0.342 votes.
I, as a person living in a modern democracy, am worth slightly over a third of a vote. And, according to that website, I'm pretty lucky to have that paltry amount of power as the average voter in the UK is worth 0.253 votes...and the spectrum is as varied as it can get.
Depending on where they live, an individuals vote can be worth a pathetic 0.002 votes to an exaggerated 1.308 votes. Or to put it another way, for the crime of being born in Knowsley it would take 654 votes to counter ONE vote from Arfon.
It is times like this that it makes me wonder if there is a point voting at all, but then I stop and think about it; YES it IS worth it. It may not effect anything in the coming election, true, I may be only worth a third of a person right now, true, But change is not made in leaps and bounds. By doing nothing I am certain to change nothing, but by doing something, no matter how small or trivial that thing is, it will have an effect.
And whats more, is that if every person who has convinced themselves "There is no point in voting" actually voted, they might just find that they swing more power than the current system would like to give them.
Come May 6th, I hope that everyone who has the power to Vote in the UK does.
And I hope you vote for the Lib Dems.
Up until the election, I will most likely be blogging about the election (But not exclusively)
As you may, or may not, know it is election time in the UK. Come May 6th Democracy will find itself, once again, under the scrutiny of nations as we, the people, decide who will be running the UK on May the 7th. One person, one vote, right?
Wrong.
I had always known that our electoral system was more complicated than, in my opinion, it should be, "One Person, One Vote" Seems to me to be both the fairest and the most accurate way for democracy to be run. But although I'd always had an inkling that the electoral system was unfair I never knew how it was unfair, or indeed just how unfair it really was...After all, politics (up until 6 or so months ago) Was mind-cripplingly uninteresting to me.
But today I was shown http://www.voterpower.org.uk/ and all of a sudden, in the plainest of ways, I have been shown just how unfair the UK Electoral system is, how much my vote counts and why my vote counts how much it does.
According to that website, everyone who lives where I live does not get a vote equivalent to "1 vote". According to that website, My vote is worth exactly 0.342 votes.
I, as a person living in a modern democracy, am worth slightly over a third of a vote. And, according to that website, I'm pretty lucky to have that paltry amount of power as the average voter in the UK is worth 0.253 votes...and the spectrum is as varied as it can get.
Depending on where they live, an individuals vote can be worth a pathetic 0.002 votes to an exaggerated 1.308 votes. Or to put it another way, for the crime of being born in Knowsley it would take 654 votes to counter ONE vote from Arfon.
It is times like this that it makes me wonder if there is a point voting at all, but then I stop and think about it; YES it IS worth it. It may not effect anything in the coming election, true, I may be only worth a third of a person right now, true, But change is not made in leaps and bounds. By doing nothing I am certain to change nothing, but by doing something, no matter how small or trivial that thing is, it will have an effect.
And whats more, is that if every person who has convinced themselves "There is no point in voting" actually voted, they might just find that they swing more power than the current system would like to give them.
Come May 6th, I hope that everyone who has the power to Vote in the UK does.
And I hope you vote for the Lib Dems.
Up until the election, I will most likely be blogging about the election (But not exclusively)
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