Thursday, December 31, 2009

Maybe "alternative" is the way to go

If you're not a visitor to http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/, you may not be familiar with Amy Tuteur. Her recent article on "Big Floss" (as opposed to "Big Pharma") is a scathing indictment of the "Big Floss" organization. If you want "all natural" and to not be "pushed" products by "Big Floss", alternative dentistry might be just your thing. Amy explains:

We survived almost all of human history without it. Yet in the last 100 years people have allowed themselves to be hoodwinked by a huge corporate conspiracy into believing that we “need” their products. They cite studies and claim we don’t understand science; they ignore ancient folk wisdom and have no respect for our intuition. They peddle their products without regard to the dramatic increase in chronic diseases and weakened immune systems of recent decades. I’m speaking, of course, of “Big Floss.”
It’s time to take our mouths back from corporate domination. It’s time for alternative dentistry. Continue Reading @ ScienceBasedMedicine.org.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Sorry Elsie, It's Not Freedom From Being Offended

A blog reader sent me a link to a recent Letter to the Editor from an "Elsie Morrison" in Sarnia.

Elsie, though probably pleasant and a shitload of fun at parties, decided to write a letter that made her look silly. Here it is:

CANADIANS MUST STAND UP FOR FREEDOM
Sir: As a Canadian who loves this country so much, a country based on freedom for all, my heart is heavy.
When our country was founded, it stated "In God We Trust" (No it didn't. The preamble says "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognized the supremacy of God and rule of law." It is the preamble and completely contrary to section 2 of the ACTUAL charter.). To hear that some other faiths, who we have so freely welcomed, now want to destroy that is heart-wrenching. (Imagine what the native population thinks of you, you ignorant fool.)
Canadians stand up for freedom. (Yes, freedom to believe whatever you want and also the freedom of speech - you are not free from being offended.) Christianity is the only religion that gives others the freedom to worship as they choose. (Is that so? I'm sure there are a few people (Galileo, "witches", etc
.) who would disagree with that statement. Oh.. and your letter to the editor doesn't quite suggest that.)
Government officials get some backbone, protect our freedoms. How horrible that we have welcomed all and you seek to destroy the very choice of freedom you came to Canada to find. (Do immigrants immigrate to be oppressed? Sorry, I must have missed that in their list of reasons for immigrating.) Everyone please help. (Help Elsie understand that she worships a middle-aged mythological god that was copied so heavily from other mythological gods that he/she's a worthless poser. Yes, Elsie, there is no god.)
--Elsie Morrison Sarnia


This reminds me of a line from Finnian's Rainbow: "My family has been having trouble with immigrants ever since we came to this country." Canada is a diverse nation - a secular nation at that.

Monday, December 21, 2009

God is not an idiot - No non-existing entity is (or can be)

We all know that whatever happens to our planet (ie. global warming) is in god's plan and we shouldn't do anything to stop it.

Keep that in mind the next time something bad happens - ie. a car accident. Do NOT stop to help someone, it is in god's plan. Stop screwing with god's actions!

I bring this up because a religidiot recently wrote in to the paper to encourage us to read our bible because it has so many truths in it. He also points out the environmentalists are pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia. Read the letter yourself: (note: for people who can't handle the idiocy of Harry's email, there is a response to him that follows)

WHY SAVE THE PLANET WITHOUT HUMANS?
Sir:A Toronto newspaper made an urgent appeal for public support for global governments regulating man-made gas emissions, in order to save the plant from destruction. Not necessarily true for the newspaper's editorial staff, but generally speaking, there are those, be it a minority, in this push for climate control (even if it means all nations will go bankrupt and lose their sovereignty to big-brother government(Competition for non-existent sky-daddy alert)) that are interested in saving the planet and all that it contains, except for its human inhabitants.
These pro warming or green globalist elites haven't any qualms for controlling or limiting the human population by mainly abortion and euthanasia. (Over population IS a problem but not solved by either abortion or euthanasia, it is best solved by encouraging priests to make more kool-aid.)
What good is it to save the planet without its human beings? (Ummm, we're not talking about saving the planet, you idiot. We're talking about enabling survival of humanity.)
The newspaper even had to admit reluctantly the unfortunate situation (for them) that there were scientists for global warming who were caught covering up by somehow distorting the scientific data. (Clearly Harry hasn't read his bible (see below) nor has he read past the headline for "climategate" is not what "climategaters" would like to think it is. They must figure that most people will, like themselves, not look it up.) Nevertheless, they stated the evidence was still there that the sky is about to fall unless we all do something quick about the climate.
That's an oxymoron. If anything, what this tampering and falsifying of scientific facts reveals is that the evidence must point in the other direction (False dichotomy - look it up. And I mean to suggest that even if his point were true about the falsification - which it isn't) -- that the universe is not about to implode upon our heads after all. (Nobody said anything about AGW causing the universe to implode. Okay, 'cept maybe idiots like Harry and his ilk.)
How insulting it must be to God (I've done my best to insult sky-daddy and his followers and thank you, Harry, for giving me such credit. Jesus loves you.) for us mere (you're mere, not I) mortals to think that we can upset the apple cart of God's finely precision-tuned, ever-expanding universe, but not so wonderfully created that man-made smoke, smog or whatever type of gas we spew into the atmosphere can knock the universe all out of kilter. (And not so finely precision-tuned that 99.9999% of the universe is not hospitable to his focus of creation. I'm not saying "God" is an idiot - you shouldn't be anthropomorphizing non-existent entities so I'm not going to!) Would that not mean that man is, in a sense, more powerful than God (Yep! I'm more powerful (really) than Santa Claus, unicorns, talking snakes, dragons, 600 year old boat builders, etc. Imagine it up and I'm more powerful than it.) or that man controls the climate and not God?
The Bible paints a scenario, especially in the Book of Revelation, of global warming of all sorts, all directed and controlled by Him alone. (If it is "Him" alone that controls all that, geez, what an assface! And I mean that in the "love your neighbour" kind of way. Damn it, I gave his imaginary friend human characteristics but Harry did it first.)
We would all do well to read the Bible -- for many reasons, of course (especially 'cause it has some pretty cool shit in it - Threesomes - two daughters with their father(and bible lovers wonder where porn studios come up with the ideas!), women bringing other women home for their husbands, murder, genocide, contradictions, absurdities and a whole bunch of other stuff common to mythology!!!!) -- but also to stay current with today's events. (Actually, "but also to keep your head shoved up your middle-age-worshipping ass")
-- Harry DeBoer Wyoming


And then, this weekend, someone with some sense actually gets a letter published in the same paper (Woohoo for another sane person in Sarnia)

WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION TO PRESERVE OUR SPECIES
Sir: I'm writing to rebut a dangerous opinion advocated by Mr. DeBoer in his letter to the editor, "Why save the planet without humans?" (The Observer, Dec. 15, 2009).
In his criticism of taking action against global warming, he says that "The Bible paints a scenario... of global warming... all directed and controlled by Him 1/8Christian God 3/8 alone." The implication is that we, humans, need not worry about issues like global warming because it is all God's will. This is a dangerous philosophy. This is the same line of thinking that allows sick children to die while devout parents delay travelling to the hospital waiting for God's healing. This is the line of thinking that advocates the suppression of birth control because God will feed the planet even at 10 billion. This is the line of thinking that promotes complacency in a world of 25,000 stockpiled nuclear weapons.
We need to take action to preserve our species. Acting against climate change isn't for the planet, it's for us and our current way of life.
Mr. DeBoer jokes that climate change advocates think that "whatever type of gas we spew into the atmosphere can knock the universe all out of kilter," but I assure him that is not the case. Our planet is only one of nine, orbiting a star that is one of 400 billion, in a galaxy that is one of billions. The universe, and the planet, will be fine, even without us.
Human history has been shaped by people taking action and, regardless of the deity fashionable at the time, will continue to be so shaped. It is irresponsible and dangerous to sit back and wait for God to save us. -- Brendan Wilson Sarnia


My only problem with Brendan's letter is his lack of ridicule. Otherwise, great work Brendan.

Video: Debunking the Detox Myth

A video from the SkepticZone Podcast:

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

If my prayers are answered, must there be a god?

Oral Roberts is dead so prayers must get answered - it is just a shame that it has taken god 11 years to answer them.

Maybe god will save a few more people from the 2004 tsunami, he just hasn't had a chance to get to it.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/15/oral.roberts/index.html

It is times like these that I truly wish there were an afterlife - Oral would be getting anal ;-)

Monday, December 14, 2009

Trevor Hopwood: ENROLMENT PROCESS MAKES NO SENSE

Apparently I missed this letter to the editor in The Sarnia Observer.

http://theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2215125

ENROLMENT PROCESS MAKES NO SENSE
Sir:My wife and I read your articles about the Catholic school board having to close St. Patrick's High School for declining enrolment. These articles infuriated us.

We are non-Catholic. We tried to enrol our son into Junior Kindergarten at St. Anne's Elementary for September 2009. We were willing to transfer our portion of the school taxes to the Catholic system. We were denied due to "numbers."

We also have a daughter that would have started in September 2011.

There is another family on our block in the same situation. Their daughter started Junior Kindergarten this year as well and was denied to St. Anne's due to "numbers." So it is no wonder that they have a declining enrolment.

We only live a block away from the school and our son could have walked to school from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. I am sure there are a lot more people in our situation around the Rapids Parkway community. All the public school kids get bused out of this district and then all the buses line up every day bringing Catholic school kids into St. Anne's and St. Christopher's. This doesn't make sense.

Some rezoning needs to be reviewed which would allow more revenues to the Catholic school system. My son and many other public school kids would not need to use a bus for their entire elementary and high school years (which would save the system money).

I also read that the Catholic board wants $10 million of public funding to expand St. Christopher's School. Funny how they want public money but they won't let public kids enrol.

-- Trevor Hopwood Sarnia

Trevor is absolutely right - public money for public schooling, period. Ontario would not be the first province to ditch the two school board system and, believe it or not, kids in a single school system don't rob, kill or rape any more frequently than Catholic priests do (I would compare the statistics to kids raised in a Catholic school system but the priests are far worse).

And, Trevor, get your kids into the Catholic schools by doing what they do - LIE. Claim you're a Catholic - it's a far greater stretch to claim there is an all-knowing and all-powerful sky god who listens to billions of people praying. (I can promise you that there are many teachers who claim to be Catholics to increase their odds of getting job placements! And no sky pals for them!)

It's time for public education to be public education. Thanks for the letter to the editor Trevor.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Harriet Hall: The End of Chiropractic

A reader of my blog just forwarded me a link to Harriet Hall's article on Science Based Medicine.

I have some "posts in progress" that I haven't had a chance to finish - doing research is a lot more work than simply making stuff up - regarding Chiropractic but, until then, head over to The End of Chiropractic on the Science Based Medicine blog.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Inanity Continues

Another letter to the editor, in the Sarnia Observer, is published following Brian Edwards' "Christian Country" theme:
Sir: Regarding the letter by Brian Edwards published Dec. 3 ("Christ or Allah in our schools?")
Our country was founded by the Fathers of Confederation on Christian principles. The motto they chose is, "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea," from Psalm 72 in the Christian Bible, which these Founding Fathers habitually read.
Sir Isaac Newton is quoted, "There are more marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history."
Emmanuel Kant said, "The existence of the Bible as a book for the people is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity."
Let other people have their own beliefs, but let us understand that Canada was and is a Christian country.
M. H. Moir, Sarnia
M.H.: Whether or not Canada is a Christian Country (it isn't), your comments are a bit bewildering. What about comments/quotes from people like:

Mark Twain - Faith is believing what you know ain't so. / Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.
Robert Ingersoll - With soap, baptism is a good thing.
Albert Einstein - who also updated Newton's theories - I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own--a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotism. It is enough for me to contemplate the mystery of conscious life perpetuating itself through all eternity, to reflect upon the marvelous structure of the universe which we can dimly perceive, and to try humbly to comprehend even an infinitesimal part of the intelligence manifested in nature.

Are we to forget about all the bad of the Christian religions because of something someone famous has said?

If Christianity is good for anything it is keeping our contractors employed during a depressed economy. Since there are no homeless and hungry people in Sarnia, local churches have been able to spend MILLIONS on renovations and upgrades - and they're doing it with reckless abandon apparently.

Thank you, Christian churches, for spending the money where it needs to be spent. Without your elaborate buildings and fixtures for the homeless to stare at in awe, they'd have nothing to live for.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Brian Edwards' Letter to the Editor - The Observer (Sarnia)

In the Thursday, December 3rd edition of The Sarnia Observer, there is a letter to the editor from a "Brian Edwards". Rather than paraphrase it, here is the complete letter:
CHRIST OR ALLAH IN OUR SCHOOLS?
Sir:I was talking to a teacher from the Chatham-Kent school board and she told me about a program for building character in our school children. She signed up thinking it was a good idea. She went to the first meeting and was shocked to find that the program was about teaching our children that all gods are one god. This program wants to teach our children about other religions -- Muslim, Hindu, Buddhism, etc., but nothing about Christianity.


It just makes me wonder what our country is coming to, when our Christian heritage is pushed out the back door of our schools and governments. How can this be considered building character in our children by teaching them that what they see in the media about terrorism is okay to learn about in this religious program? I know that not all Muslims are terrorists, but if our children are allowed to learn about these religions and not our Christian heritage, they will end up thinking terrorism is okay if it is a religion.

I think it's time Canadians and Christians stand up for our heritage. This program should not be allowed in our schools if Christianity (Christmas, Easter, The Lord's Prayer, etc.) is not allowed in our schools. Has it come to the point where Christians and our government are too politically correct to put forward our heritage of Christianity that this country was built on?

As a Christian, I believe it is our duty as parents to teach our children about our heritage and stop worrying about other religions being insulted by Jesus Christ.

Come together Christians and stand up for Jesus. -- Brian Edwards
Sarnia



It would be one thing to argue "Religion should be kept out of schools altogether" but that is not what Brian is suggesting. Brian, "The Free Dictionary" online defines "bigot" as "One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ." To show that Brian is not a "bigot", I suspect he'll write a letter to the editor showing concern that Christianity is being taught in foreign nations that currently worship other gods or traditions. His letter will complain that Christianity should not be taught in third-world nations because of the horrible history that it has (or have Christians forgot about their even recent history?) and he'll actively support the continued instruction of their equally silly myths and traditions without interference from Christianity.

Many have suggested (and I would tend to agree with) the idea of teaching comparative religions. If the "program" that Brian is referring to is just that, it might be a great idea and could show teachers and students how silly all religions are. After all, all gods are the same - they fail to exist*.

And, Brian, does Jesus really need you to stand up for him? Couldn't your almighty, all-knowing and all-powerful (but imaginary) friend handle this battle himself? Couldn't he simply make the people instructing the course speak in tongues so no one could understand the course that is being taught? Would that not achieve your goal? And, even better, it'd be a bit of evidence to support your beliefs!

Happy Winter Solstice Brian!

*I say that in the "almost certainly do not exist" sense but until evidence is presented for the existence of a god, I would suggest that they do not exist.