Myspace seems to be cencoring me now. I tried to post three things today and none have gone through. So now I may have to resort to putting these up through an intermediate. I am thinking about starting an e-mail based newsletter, as well, or maybe advocating a mass "exodus" (to use an ironic term) from myspace to another social networking site. I have a couple in mind at the moment.

Feedback on this would be greatly appreciated, and much thanks go to all of you have been reading and supporting this endeavor. I have been enjoying this project and would like it to continue, so you can respond to me directly HERE to give me your comments and suggestions. I would like to hear from the people who have been reading and enjoying these.

I also have been a little busy the last couple days entertaining an out of state visitor. Way to much alcohol was consumed to assemble a coherent newsletter for the last couple days. (Contrary to popular belief, I do have a life! lol)

Thanks for reading, and understanding,
Jack,
and the RRS MI team

Table of Contents

Rational Response Squad News

RRS Michigan News

Science News

My contributions for today Complete Neanderthal Genome Possible You're not who you were. Human-like altruism shown in chimps

Religion

My contributions for today The Present Threat of the Religious Right.... Stupid Design And god so loved the world My advise for Muslims: LIGHTEN UP! More creationist junk!!!

Government

My contributions for today Supreme Court nixes suit over faith-based plan Bong Hits for the Supreme Court Urgent! Call Your Representative Now

Community

My contributions for today The "Ignorant Fury" of Atheists Fox News asks priest about atheism--who else would they ask?

Entertainment

My contributions for today Owned. Tribute to Kent Hovind (homegrown comedy gold!)

Here is our youtube channel, view it before we're banned for rocking the boat!

Challenge to married Christian couples to abstain from murdering millions of potential humans.

Here is our burqa challenge video, referenced in the video below.

Question for muslim woman who wears burqa:

Why the double standard?

What should the next big Rational Response Squad project be?

Talk about this topic on our message board instead.

Sapient would admit his mother to a mental hospital if...

Back to Table of Contents

The first RRS MI meeting

The first meeting for the Rational Response Squad Michigan chapter, a 4th of July BBQ party!

Hosted By: Jack Wynne
When: Wednesday Jul 04, 2007
at 2:00 PM
Where: Jacks house
321 Central
Inkster, MI 48141
United States
Description:
This will be an informal event, a chance for us to meet an discuss what we want to see out of this chapter. This will be a BYOB event, but I will be cooking the main courses, including baby back ribs, various grillable fish, chicken, some game, burgers, and hot dogs. If anyone feels so inclined to bring a side dish to add to the spread, I will not object! Space to crash for those who may need it will be available, so I hope to see all of you locals here! You schmucks in Canada and Ohio too!

Click Here To View Event

Back to Table of Contents

Back to Table of Contents

Hubble Space Telescope - Chapter 8

Hubble Space Telescope - Chapter 9 pt.1

Hubble Space Telescope Chapter 9 pt.2

Carl Sagan on birth of Science

Back to Table of Contents

Complete Neanderthal Genome Possible

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 26, 2007 2:07 PM

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Invisible Pink Unicorn
Date: Jun 25, 2007 9:13 PM

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Mon Jun 25, 5:00 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Researchers studying Neanderthal DNA say it should be possible to construct a complete genome of the ancient hominid despite the degradation of the DNA over time.

There is also hope for reconstructing the genome of the mammoth and cave bear, according to a research team led by Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

Their findings are published in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Debate has raged for years about whether there is any relationship between Neanderthals and modern humans. Some researchers believe that Neanderthals were simply replaced by early modern humans, while others argue the two groups may have interbred.

Sequencing the genome of Neanderthals, who lived in Europe until about 30,000 years ago, could shed some light on that question.

In studies of Neanderthals, cave bear and mammoth, a majority of the DNA recovered was that of microorganisms that colonized the tissues after death, the researchers said.

But they were able to identify some DNA from the original animal, and Paabo and his colleagues were able to determine how it broke down over time. They also developed procedures to prevent contamination by the DNA of humans working with the material.

"We are confident that it will be technically feasible to achieve a reliable Neanderthal genome sequence," Paabo and his researchers reported.

They said problem of damaged areas in some DNA could be overcome by using a sufficient amount of Neanderthal DNA from different individuals, so the whole genome can be determined.

"The contamination and degradation of DNA has been a serious issue for the last 10 years," observed Erik Trinkaus, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis. "This is a serious attempt to deal with that issue and that's welcome."

"I'm not sure they have completely solved the problem, but they've made a big step in that direction," said Trinkaus, who was not involved in the research.

Anthropologist Richard Potts of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, called the work "a very significant technical study of DNA decay."

The researchers "have tried to answer important questions about the potential to sequence ancient DNA," said Potts, who was not part of the research.

Milford Wolpoff, a University of Michigan Anthropologist, said creating a complete Neanderthal genome is a great goal.

But it is "sample intensive," he said, and he isn't sure enough DNA is available to complete the work. Curators don't like to see their specimens ground up, he said.

The research was funded by the Max Planck Society and the National Institutes of Health.

___

On the Net:

PNAS: http://www.pnas.org

The A-Team and we approve this message.

So, here we are again. Some interesting things in the "Government" section today, and science as well. Beyond that, not much more to say today from me. Slow day all in all.

Thanks to all you who have been reading and all those who've been reposting! May the LSD bus get confused on the way to your bunkers! As always, do not hesitate to comment, make suggestions, or point me in the direction of something noteworthy!

Stay rational,
Jack
and the RRS MI team

Table of Contents

Rational Response Squad News

RRS Michigan News

Science News

My contributions for today Science is under attack, as usual

Religion

My contributions for today Religious groups led the NYC gay pride parade Freedom + Islam = Atheism Is Ray Comfort now competing with the RRS?

Government

My contributions for today Another child added to Iran's Execution Row - Now 69 known

Community

My contributions for today Barbara Forrest: Inside Creationism’s Trojan Horse (Video) ATHEISTS, RESPOND! New Atheist Profile

Entertainment

My contributions for today Landover Baptist Pastor Preaches to Atheists (comedy)

RRS Marathon Day 4 airing now! Hosted by Rook Hawkins!

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: RATIONAL RESPONSE SQUAD
Date: Jun 25, 2007 1:28 PM

Come join us in our chatroom as we bring you yet another day of RRS Shows. Right now we're playing show 64 - Who Are The Rational Responders? Ever wonder where we got our start? Why we became atheists? Now you can find out! Your questions answered in this show! Additional shows as the night goes on, along with great Atheist and Freethought Music!

Pass on!

Back to Table of Contents

The first RRS MI meeting

The first meeting for the Rational Response Squad Michigan chapter, a 4th of July BBQ party!
Hosted By:
Jack Wynne
When: Wednesday Jul 04, 2007
at 2:00 PM
Where:
Jacks house
321 Central
Inkster, MI 48141
United States
Description:
This will be an informal event, a chance for us to meet an discuss what we want to see out of this chapter. This will be a BYOB event, but I will be cooking the main courses, including baby back ribs, various grillable fish, chicken, some game, burgers, and hot dogs. If anyone feels so inclined to bring a side dish to add to the spread, I will not object! Space to crash for those who may need it will be available, so I hope to see all of you locals here! You schmucks in Canada and Ohio too!

Click Here To View Event

Back to Table of Contents

Back to Table of Contents

This is an awesome site I was just informed of!

The Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online

Hubble Space Telescope - Chapter 5

Hubble Space Telescope - Chapter 6

Hubble Space Telescope - Chapter 7

On The Day Carl Sagan Died

Back to Table of Contents

Science is under attack, as usual

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Mr. G.A.W.N. Date: Jun 25, 2007 2:50 AM

this is older and you might have seen it but whether you have or havent, here is a fresh reminder that god doesnt like facts. . . Always remember, religion ruled at one time and it was called the dark ages. . . _gawn

Back to Table of Contents

Back to Table of Contents

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Religious groups led the NYC gay pride parade

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 24, 2007 9:43 PM

Gay Pride Focuses on Religion, Marriage
Sunday, June 24th, 2007 at 7:21pm EST

AP Photo/Noah Berger

NEW YORK

Religious groups led the city's gay pride parade on Sunday, lending gravity to an often outrageous event that also featured a jumble of drag queens in feather boas, marching bands, motorcycle-riding lesbians, rugby players and samba dancers.

"We stand for a progressive religious voice," said Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of New York City's Congregation Beth Simchat Torah. "Those who use religion to advocate an anti-gay agenda, I believe, are blaspheming God's name."

The annual parade, one of dozens around the world, commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots in which patrons at a Greenwich Village gay bar fought back against a police raid.

At San Francisco's festival, the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards marked the occasion by splitting with her husband over support for legalized gay marriage.

"I don't know why someone else's marriage has anything to do with me," Elizabeth Edwards said at a news conference before the parade. "I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage."

Kleinbaum, who heads the world's largest predominantly gay synagogue, and the Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, were the New York parade's grand marshals, waving from hers-and-his convertibles.

The march took place days after the New York State Assembly passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, which Gov. Eliot Spitzer supports. Although the bill is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled state Senate anytime soon, parade-goers said they were cheered by the Assembly's action.

"This is one very important step toward full equality for all New Yorkers," Kleinbaum said.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, one of the nation's most prominent openly gay elected officials, said she could not predict when the Senate might approve same-sex marriage.

"All conventional wisdom in New York state on gay marriage is out the window," she said. "I think we are really doing better than anyone would ever have thought we could be doing on this."

As in past years, exhibitionism was also on display as the parade inched down Fifth Avenue and into Greenwich Village. Revelers gyrated in bikini briefs and pranced in spike heels.

But the placement of the Christian, Jewish and Buddhist religious organizations near the head of the march _ ahead of AIDS service groups and political advocacy groups _ gave them unaccustomed prominence.

A Buddhist group carried signs that said "Construct Dignity in Your Heart" and "Don't Block Your Buddha."

"We're all Buddhas," said Hortense De Castro, a teacher from Manhattan. "It's just a matter of letting it come out."

In San Francisco, Elizabeth Edwards made her remarks on same-sex marriage almost offhandedly after delivering a standard stump speech during a breakfast hosted by the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club. California's presidential primary is Feb. 5, one of the earliest in the nation.

"John has been pretty clear about it, that he is very conflicted," she said. "He has a deeply held belief against any form of discrimination, but that's up against his being raised in the 1950s in a rural southern town."

In December, John Edwards said: "It's easy for me to say, civil unions yes, partnership benefits, yes," he said. But on gay marriage, he said, "I'm just not there yet."

New York's parade featured contingents of gay police officers and firefighters, as well as ethnic gay groups including South Asians, Haitians and American Indians.

An Argentinian and Uruguayan group featured an Eva Peron impersonator in a flowing gown.

Tens of thousands of people attended the march. Spectators lining Fifth Avenue included gay people sporting rainbow flags and curious tourists.

Andrew Stanley of Shrewsbury, England, said the march was "very colorful."

"I've never seen one before," he said, "but I think it's a good idea."

___

Associated Press writer Paul Elias in San Francisco contributed to this report.

The A-Team and we approve this message.

Hello again, all! I trust you all had a fun weekend, or at least a boring one. I spent a good deal of time watching some videos on youtube, and I will be sharing those with you all in installments. Three separate series, each one at least 6 parts each. Two of which deal with astronomy, and the third deals with biological chemistry. All you science geeks out there should love 'em! I certainly did. I will take them one at a time, posting three parts everyday until they're all used up. So this will take me well into next week, at which time I will probably have new ones to share.

Todays newsletter is pretty heavy on the videos, too. So for those who've had a rough weekend, don't worry, not much reading involved today. Just push play and veg!

My room mate and his girlfriend attended a local American Atheist picnic today, and brought back some cool flyers. I've posted one here, at the top of the "Community" section. I was unable to attend this function, since I had to work today (and i got up late, ahem).

That's about all for now,
Thanks for reading,
Jack
and the RRS IM team

Table of Contents

Rational Response Squad News

RRS Michigan News

Science News

My contributions for today We're Pretty Small To Be So Big Physics The Scientific Method

Religion

My contributions for today THOSE WACKY PREACHERS PART I Bottled Holy Water: No sadly, it's not a joke. Check out this video: History of the Dying and Resurrecting

Government

My contributions for today Impeach Bush & Cheney! Only 5 to 7 years in jail for religiously motivated rape.

Community

My contributions for today Why I am a secular humanist by Taslima Nasrin Ayaan Hirsi Ali: It's Just Another Book

Entertainment

My contributions for today Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? Jesus will get you elected sooner than Santa Claus GOD: TROUBLED ARTIST Why the U.S. will never legalize Gay Marriage

Here is our youtube channel, view it before we're banned for rocking the boat!

Challenge to married Christian couples to abstain from murdering millions of potential humans.

Here is our burqa challenge video, referenced in the video below.

Question for muslim woman who wears burqa:

Why the double standard?

What should the next big Rational Response Squad project be?

Talk about this topic on our message board instead.

Sapient would admit his mother to a mental hospital if...

Back to Table of Contents

The first RRS MI meeting

The first meeting for the Rational Response Squad Michigan chapter, a 4th of July BBQ party! Hosted By: Jack Wynne
When: Wednesday Jul 04, 2007
at 2:00 PM
Where: Jacks house
321 Central
Inkster, MI 48141
United States
Description:
This will be an informal event, a chance for us to meet an discuss what we want to see out of this chapter. This will be a BYOB event, but I will be cooking the main courses, including baby back ribs, various grillable fish, chicken, some game, burgers, and hot dogs. If anyone feels so inclined to bring a side dish to add to the spread, I will not object! Space to crash for those who may need it will be available, so I hope to see all of you locals here! You schmucks in Canada and Ohio too!

Click Here To View Event

Back to Table of Contents

Mathmatical Proof of Advanced Civilizations?

The Hubble Deep Field: The Most Important Image Ever Taken

Hubble Space Telescope - Chapter 1

Hubble Space Telescope - Chapter 2

Hubble Space Telescope - Chapter 3

We're Pretty Small To Be So Big

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 22, 2007 11:58 PM

Theists constantly claim that the possibility of our world having the conditions necessary for life is far too great without an intelligent designer. However, when you view the immensity of what little universe we know of, the conditions necessary for the evolution of life are not so unlikely.

The Scale of Our Planets and Stars

..

Beyond Our Galaxy

Physics

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Human evolution
Date: Jun 23, 2007 12:03 AM

The Scientific Method

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The Secret Delusion
Date: Jun 24, 2007 4:42 PM

The Scientific Method

eltower, 24/06/2007 | Gospel of Reason

Hello, fellow free thinkers. This is another long one, but before you think to yourself, "screw this, where's one o those surveys", look over the New Table of Contents. There is some really good information in this one that everyone should be aware of!

Huge thanks go to Voiderest over at RRS Texas for help with the html coding I needed to make the new "Table of Contents" feature happen!

Please do not hestiate to throw me a comment, a suggestion, an article or video you think might make an interesting addition, or just to bitch at me. All are equally welcome!

As always, thanks for reading,
Jack
and the RRS MI team...

Table of Contents

Rational Response Squad News

RRS Michigan News

Science News

My contributions for today What makes circadian rhythms tick?

Religion

My contributions for today Earth's Greatest Lawsuit Are science and religion compatible? Don't ask Dawkins and Hitchens, ask Isaac Newton? God is beginning to judge us as atheism continues to grow

Government

My contributions for today Raped - Want the morning after pill? Sorry, can't do it… Fargo City Commission Votes To Move 10 Commandments Off City Property What does Being President Have To Do With Evolution? (I/D) Barack Obama Wants to Inject His Religion into Politics

Community

My contributions for today Atheists: stand up and be counted This is unbeleiveable! Nation's Children Call For Cuts In Math, Science Funding?

Entertainment

My contributions for today Chasers war on everything: Evangelicals Creation Science Sing-A-Long!

Rational Response Squad MARATHON ALL NIGHT!

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: RATIONAL RESPONSE SQUAD
Date: Jun 22, 2007 8:11 PM

Come join us in the chatroom for a RRS Marathon hosted by Rational Response Squad co-founder, Rook Hawkins!

Going on all night! Pass on!

The first RRS MI meeting

The first meeting for the Rational Response Squad Michigan chapter, a 4th of July BBQ party!
Hosted By:
Jack Wynne
When: Wednesday Jul 04, 2007
at 2:00 PM
Where:
Jacks house
321 Central
Inkster, MI 48141
United States
Description:
This will be an informal event, a chance for us to meet an discuss what we want to see out of this chapter. This will be a BYOB event, but I will be cooking the main courses, including baby back ribs, various grillable fish, chicken, some game, burgers, and hot dogs. If anyone feels so inclined to bring a side dish to add to the spread, I will not object! Space to crash for those who may need it will be available, so I hope to see all of you locals here! You schmucks in Canada and Ohio too!

Click Here To View Event

Questions for Christian: Don't Believe in Evolution?

Add to My Profile | More Videos

What makes circadian rhythms tick?

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Reverend AtheiStar Date: Jun 22, 2007 7:03 PM

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-06-18-circadian-rhythms_N.htm

What makes circadian rhythms tick? By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY

Tired, hungry, busy or sad? Maybe your circadian rhythms are having their way with you. Again.
"What are these rhythms good for? That is the basic question everyone is asking," says neuroscientist Colleen McClung of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

Circadian rhythms are mental and physical changes in characteristics like temperature, alertness and hormones that take place over the course of a day. Circadian is a Latin term that describes a cycle roughly 24 hours long.

They are controlled by the biological clock at the heart of a rapidly expanding scientific field, a region of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Although this nucleus — a collection of about 20,000 cells located close to where the optic nerve connects with the base of the brain — was discovered three decades ago, researchers are in hot pursuit today of the secrets behind the bodily mechanism that plays such a big role in jet lag, depression and hunger, not to mention sleep.

Last week, McClung joined several hundred circadian rhythm researchers at Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.) Lab's "Clocks & Rhythms" symposium.

"On so many levels, this is a very exciting area for biologists," says Harvard University's Charles Weitz. "There are so many things we know nothing about — we don't even really know why animals sleep — and this is a good way to ask those questions." Scientists don't understand the mechanism behind a body's need for sleep. Why does it need to restore itself in this fashion? And, in the case of people, why do we need eight hours of sleep and not two?

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Scientists | Clocks | Medical Research | SCN
Folks with a healthy SCN, even if left in a dark cave, typically conform to a slightly longer than 24-hour day, sleeping and waking in regular patterns, notes chronobiologist Claude Gronfier of the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research. Damage to the SCN — by stroke, for example — starts people "free-running," waking and sleeping with no set routine.

Every day, the brain takes in light from the eyes to the SCN, resetting the daily clock.

Animals, plants and microbes display circadian rhythms, Weitz says. "This is a very deep part of biology, with (related) genes driving the process." Those genes, with names like CLOCK and PER, became obvious to researchers working in mice and fruit flies in the last decade, he adds, opening a "golden age" of circadian research.

In daily life, body temperature is the basic indicator of a healthy circadian clock, says exercise scientist Christopher Kline of the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Your temperature drops to its lowest from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., a time of deep rest. It rises as morning approaches, rousing you to wakefulness. Hormones also start to flow. For example, testosterone in men increases in the morning. Literally, the juices start flowing.

Help for the sleep-deprived

For folks just looking to get a better night's sleep, circadian rhythm studies offer a leg up. Last month, Gronfier and colleagues unveiled a light pulse trick for fooling the circadian clock onto a new rhythm in a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences report. Working with 12 volunteers for two months, the researchers found they could shift the natural rhythm's duration one hour backward or forward with exposure to bright pulses of light.

The idea behind the study was to see whether someday astronauts on Mars, which has a longer, 25-hour day, could have their natural rhythms reset. But the research might also help shift workers and travelers, Gronfier says.

Researchers are also investigating the effects of circadian rhythms on obesity, suspecting that disruptions in sleep and eating routines throw the body's clock off balance, setting the biological stage for weight and metabolic disruption.

An out-of-whack circadian system seems to be at fault for jet lag, Weitz notes. But the culprit isn't the SCN, which adapts to sunlight cues to a new time zone, but rather "peripheral" body clocks located in virtually every organ: "heart, blood vessels, lungs, ovaries, muscles, liver," he says.

The SCN cues these organ clocks to start ticking. But their activity seems more tied to food intake, and they respond more slowly to changes in meal times. Jet lag means your muscles and organs are expending energy at a time their internal clocks are trying to husband it. So, you feel crummy.

"Nothing in evolution prepared us for jet travel or jet lag," Weitz says, but peripheral body clocks help the body to shepherd its energy for when it really needs it, ramping up the release of hormones needed for tasks like digestion or exertion when they are needed, not all the time.

Triggering serious disease

In people, circadian rhythm disorders can trigger serious problems, notably depression. Seasonally affective disorder is a winter depression tied to a lack of the sunlight cues that trigger the SCN into proper rhythm.

Also, there are indications that bipolar disorder also involves circadian problems, McClung says. This disorder causes unusual shifts in mood and energy, with episodes varying between extremes and afflicting some 5.7 million people nationwide, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. "People might sleep all the time or not sleep at all," says McClung. Body temperatures and hormone levels similarly race, all pointing to a body clock with its springs missing.

At the Cold Harbor conference, McClung presented a mouse engineered to lack a specific clock gene which "looks as close to a bipolar person in a manic state as we can determine in a mouse," she says. The manic mice are hyperactive, sleep little, disregard signs of predators and voraciously consume cocaine.

For medical research, the most intriguing thing about the manic mice is that lithium, which human bipolar patients take to treat their illness, cuts their symptoms. "We don't know why lithium works, and we hope the mouse gives us an opportunity to explore its mechanism," McClung says.

Opening up the mechanism by which clock genes work, or don't work, is the task before scientists today, McClung adds. "Everyone on this planet has a 24-hour internal clock, and it is deeply ingrained in our biology," she says. "If we lived on a different planet, we'd have a different rhythm — that's how fundamental they are."

Crazy Preacher says 9-11 WTC was abortion

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Another BAD Creationist: Joe's Earth Balloon

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Anointed-One, Atheism is against the law?

This site is just full of self contradictions and fallacies. You all should check this out.

Earth's Greatest Lawsuit

----------------- Bulletin Message ----------------- From: Bill Date: Jun 22, 2007 11:53 AM

Repost from Net

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Net
Date: Jun 21, 2007 8:14 PM

Has anyone heard about this? I haven't been in the loop lately but I thought it was a great task. For anyone who feels like they were ripped off by a religion institution. As a former faither I was a victim of Rod Parsley & Billy Graham both. Send money, get prayers, get rich, send more money, get free book, get rich. You know how it goes. Anyway...check it out. Evidently they're trying to find people who have been swindled by preachers or televangelists to sign up.

Earth's Greatest Lawsuit

Isn't it about time that televangelists and preachers begging from money from their congregation be put to a stop? Religion is business, plain and simple and it should be treated as such. Pay taxes like everyone else! The only two people who don't pay them are illegal immigrants, preachers and nonprofits. Which of these does not belong.

Someone on RRS mentioned going into churches during election season and recording the events and words of preachers to find out if candidates are endorsed or not or asking for opposing parties to come participate and see the response. If they endorsed someone then the recorder should send the tapes and reports to the IRS here: http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=106778,00.html.

I think politicians going into churches should be illegal because if that's not "endorsing" I don't know what is. I know I've been told a preacher we know literally told his congregation that they must vote for Bush or they aren't real Christians (of course I wasn't there so I could never prove that). With several hundred of Falwell's graduates from his bottom of the barrel college in the White House ... it's easy to see why it's so dangerous. It's like they're attempting to create a Protestant Vatican in the USA.

Anyway...just thought I'd pass this info along.

Are science and religion compatible? Don't ask Dawkins and Hitchens, ask Isaac Newton

----------------- Bulletin Message ----------------- From: Reverend AtheiStar Date: Jun 22, 2007 6:32 PM

Are science and religion compatible? Don't ask Dawkins and Hitchens, ask Isaac Newton Yeah, don't ask a modern scientist -- most of those are nonbelievers. Theists remind us of that all the time with their complaints! Oh no, go back in time when we knew so very little -- before even On the Origin of Species was published (1859)! Go back in time when religion had a stranglehold on everything. Go back in time where admitting Atheism was akin to admitting murder, only much worse. Gee, why were there so few Atheists? I wonder!

~RAS

http://newsbloggers.aol.com/2007/06/19/a-war-between-science-and-religon-ask-isaac-newton/

Dinesh D'Souza

A War Between Science and Religon? Ask Isaac Newton

Posted Jun 19th 2007 10:38AM by Dinesh D'Souza
Filed under: Breaking News, Science, Religion, Christianity

A Jerusalem exhibit of Isaac Newton's manuscripts has some newly-discovered papers showing Newton's calculations of the exact date of the Apocalypse. Using the Book of Daniel, Newton argues that the world will end not earlier than 2060. "It may end later," Newton writes, "but I see no reason for its ending sooner. This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophecies into discredit as often as their predictions fail." Newton also interprets biblical prophecy to say that the Jews would return to the holy land before the world ends.

Yemima Ben-Manehem, curator of the exhibit, remarks that "these documents show a scientist guided by religious fervor, by a desire to see God's actions in the world." Newton's massive corpus of work reveals that he wrote almost as much about Scripture as he did about science, and indeed he saw his discoveries as showing the handiwork of the divine creator. All of which raises the interesting question: if arguably the greatest scientist of all time was such a fervent believer, indeed if most of the great scientists of the past five hundred years have been practicing Christians, what can we make of the insistence by contemporary atheist writers--from Dawkins to Pinker to Hitchens--that there has been an unceasing war between science and religion?

The atheist case relies on a few key episodes, mostly involving Darwin and Galileo. In my forthcoming book What's So Great About Christianity I will show that these episodes have been ideologically manipulated, and that the "lessons" drawn from them are largely fictitious. Here's a small example of that. We have all heard about the famous showdown between "Darwin's bulldog" Thomas Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce. When Wilberforce asked Huxley whether he was descended from an ape on his grandfather's side or his grandmother's side, Huxley famously responded that he would rather be descended from a monkey than from a cleric who used his learning to prejudice people against scientific discoveries. The only problem with this incident is that it seems not to have occurred. Huxley apparently made it up to make himself look good. It's not reported in the minutes of the scientific association meeting. Darwin's friend, the botanist Joseph Hooker, was present at the debate. He gave Darwin a full account, which says nothing about Wilberforce's alleged jibe or Huxley's supposed rejoinder. In fact, Hooker told Darwin that Huxley had failed to answer Wilberforce's arguments so that he (Hooker) felt compelled to come to Darwin's defense. Nevertheless Huxley's winning rebuttal lives on in atheist propaganda.

Are science and religion compatible? Don't ask Dawkins and Hitchens, ask Isaac Newton.

God is beginning to judge us as atheism continues to grow

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Reverend AtheiStar
Date: Jun 22, 2007 6:56 PM

There is a wonderful modification of the blanket prejudice found in Psalms 53:

The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. The wise man shouts it out loud!

It's also an odd position for a Christian to take. How many of these same believers say 'in their heart' that there are no gods or goddesses - save for theirs? They disbelieve in almost the same amount as we do, and that's a pretty large number!

~RAS

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070619/OPINION03/706190317/1014/OPINION

God is beginning to judge us as atheism continues to grow

The book of Psalms53: 1 says "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." If a person is an atheist, he's a fool. I didn't say that; God said it in His word.

In the Old Testament, God dealt with the patriarchs in a personal way by one means or another. He walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. He talked with Moses from the burning bush and on Mount Sinai.

In those days, there were no atheists. There were a lot of polytheists, and they believed in many gods.

We have come so far from creation and the Old Testament and patriarchs who had a personal relationship with the living God. We now have atheists.
You couldn't tell those people there is a God, since we have put him out or our schools and public places and are trying to get rid of Him.

He's starting to judge us. I think it's happening right now and if we don't repent, it's going to get worse. Chronicles7: 14, says: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

LOU JOHNSON

Raped - Want the morning after pill? Sorry, can't do it…

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The Secret Delusion
Date: Jun 22, 2007 6:18 PM

Raped - Want the morning after pill? Sorry, can't do it…

Michael, 22/06/2007 | Atheist Perspective

Good days to you all! Todays post is a bit shorter than it has been in the past few days. I'm also very excited to announce that I have added a Table of Contents to these newsletters! Now all you have to do to get to the section or article you are interested in, is click on the section or article you want to read! If this doesn't kill the length issues a few people have had, I don'tthink anything will, lol. It will also inspire more people to read these, I think, since there is no more need to troll through the stuff you don't want to see to get to the things that may interest you! Still some bugs to work out, mainly in my html abilities, but I hope you all enjoy it!

Thank you for reading,
Stay rational
Jack
and the RRS MI team

Table of Contents

Rational Response Squad News

RRS Michigan News

Science News

Liquid Mirror Could Peer From Moon New biological Anthropology video

Religion

Skulls Smuggled for Monks' Chalices Christian Terrorism in the USA UK Government says no to creationism ID in science NICOLE SMALKOWSKI On BBC AMERICA! HERE

Government

Help Americans United fight religious descrimination

Community

Richard Dawkins, Science and Spirituality Students May Soon See Video Explaining Atheism

Entertainment

Julia Sweeny on Mormons ">How to choose a god

Here is our youtube channel, view it before we're banned for rocking the boat!

Challenge to married Christian couples to abstain from murdering millions of potential humans.

Here is our burqa challenge video, referenced in the video below.

Question for muslim woman who wears burqa:

Why the double standard?

What should the next big Rational Response Squad project be?

Talk about this topic on our message board instead.

Sapient would admit his mother to a mental hospital if...

A great article on a possible liquid mirror telescope projected to be installed on the Moon!

Liquid Mirror Could Peer From Moon

New biological Anthropology video

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Human evolution
Date: Jun 21, 2007 7:37 PM

"Thanks Nicole"

So you think Buddhists are unthreatening, huh?

Check out his article, and get back to me. It shows how the Buddhist monasteries in India are supporting the Black Market trade of Human skeletons!

Photo in the News: Skulls Smuggled for Monks' Chalices

Christian Terrorism in the USA

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 21, 2007 3:36 PM

Substance D TPO

Christian Terrorism

Daylight Atheism, 19/06/2007 | Daylight Atheism

My appologies for no post yesterday, a friend was in from out of town unexpectedly. This edition promises to be pretty interesting, though, a bit long. Be sure to check out the latest from the main HQ. Sapient inquires for help from you, the members, to decide on their next big project.

Thanks for reading,
Jack,
and the RRS MI team

Here is our youtube channel, view it before we're banned for rocking the boat!

Challenge to married Christian couples to abstain from murdering millions of potential humans.

Here is our burqa challenge video, referenced in the video below.

Question for muslim woman who wears burqa:

Why the double standard?

What should the next big Rational Response Squad project be?

Talk about this topic on our message board instead.

Sapient would admit his mother to a mental hospital if...

The first RRS MI meeting

The first meeting for the Rational Response Squad Michigan chapter, a 4th of July BBQ party!

Hosted By: Jack Wynne
When: Wednesday Jul 04, 2007
at 2:00 PM
Where: Jacks house
321 Central
Inkster, MI 48141
United States
Description:
This will be an informal event, a chance for us to meet an discuss what we want to see out of this chapter. This will be a BYOB event, but I will be cooking the main courses, including baby back ribs, various grillable fish, chicken, some game, burgers, and hot dogs. If anyone feels so inclined to bring a side dish to add to the spread, I will not object! Space to crash for those who may need it will be available, so I hope to see all of you locals here! You schmucks in Canada and Ohio too!

Click Here To View Event

Studies you should know about

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The A-Team
Date: Jun 19, 2007 7:36 AM

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Invisible Pink Unicorn
Date: Jun 18, 2007 4:04 PM

From: Damned Goods
From:
ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE

Special thanks to Baltazar for format.

(1) Faith & Intelligence

Intelligence & Religion

Religiousness, Spirituality, and IQ: Are They Linked?

Plus: Scientists & Belief

Leading scientists still reject God

Scientists' Belief in God Varies Starkly by Discipline

(2) Faith & Violence

Does biblical violence cause aggressive readers?

When God sanctions killing, the people listen

(3) Faith & Morality

Divorce: Born Again Christians Just As Likely to Divorce As Are Non-Christians

Prison: The results of the Christians vs atheists
in prison investigation.

Secular Nations:

The following is taken from Sam Harris' An Atheist Manifesto (a).

Countries like Norway, Iceland, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom are among the least religious societies on Earth. According to the United Nations' Human Development Report (2005) (b) they are also the healthiest, as indicated by measures of life expectancy, adult literacy, per capita income, educational attainment, gender equality, homicide rate and infant mortality. Conversely, the 50 nations now ranked lowest in terms of human development are unwaveringly religious. Other analyses paint the same picture: The United States is unique among wealthy democracies in its level of religious literalism and opposition to evolutionary theory; it is also uniquely beleaguered by high rates of homicide, abortion, teen pregnancy, STD infection and infant mortality (c). The same comparison holds true within the United States itself : Southern and Midwestern states, characterized by the highest levels of religious superstition and hostility to evolutionary theory, are especially plagued by the above indicators of societal dysfunction, while the comparatively secular states of the Northeast conform to European norms (d). Countries with high levels of atheism also are the most charitable in terms of giving foreign aid to the developing world (e). The dubious link between Christian literalism and Christian values is also belied by other indices of charity (f). Consider the ratio in salaries between top-tier CEOs and their average employee: in Britain it is 24 to 1; France 15 to 1; Sweden 13 to 1; in the United States, where 83% of the population believes that Jesus literally rose from the dead, it is 475 to 1(g).

(a) An Atheist Manifesto

(b) Human Development Report 2005

(c) Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiously and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies

(d) Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side'

(e) US and Foreign Aid Assistance

(f) Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

(g) Europe vs. America

(4) Faith (Prayer) & Healing

Prayer does not heal the sick, study finds

INQUIRER
Director, ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE

The A-Team and we approve this message.

Well, yet again, there seems to be a lot to get into today. I have heard that the length of these newsletters has been putting some people off, but understand, that's why I've categorized them, and made the Headlines of each story in larger, bold print. Simply scan through, and read what interests you. To those people, I also say that my praises for this endeavor have outweighed the criticisms, but feedback is always much welcomed and encouraged. I did, however, leave out a few things today to keep this on from getting REALLY long, and it very well could have.

Well, thanks for reading, and enjoy!
Jack
and the RRS MI team

The Creation Museum Project: We need your help!

Please repost!

We all know that the Creation Museum that recently opened in Petersburg Kentucky (15 minutes outside of Cincinatti) has been a terrible tragedy to the state of Kentucky. We do realize that it is their constitutional right to be there, and they are privately funded (even though they do have a state-funded sign leading to it on the highway). However this is beside the point. This so-called 'museum' is a slap in the face to science. They are portraying themselves as a scientific installation while not having a shread of scientific evidence for any of the claims they are making inside.

So what can we do?

We are not going to shut it down. Because it is privately funded there is nothing that we can do in regards to that, and after all, it is their constitutional right. However, it is our responsibility and our consitutional right to show that it is bad science.

It is not science.

One of our members Dan came up with a pretty good idea that will help to educate children.

The ultimate goal is to be able to run tours through the museum with children and show them why the museum is bad science, along with educating them on what good science is. We will be teaching them to how to question everything by using critical thinking skills.

Additionally, we will be creating a website debunking all of the claims online. The website will have several resources, along with downloadable flyers for people to print out and take to the museum with them.

This is going to be a large project, and we need your help! Here is what we need/may need from people:

Research the museum's claims Webdesigners People in the Petersburg KY area & Cincinatti area to do tours through the 'museum' Possible financial funding for a website debunking the claims (and to possibly cover the $15 that is the museum entry fee for the people running the tours.) Advertising when we near completion and prepare to run tours. Any other help you have to give!

We already have the support of the Secular Student Alliance, American Atheists Kentucky, and Camp Quest. We just need to start putting things into motion.

If you are interested in helping please contact us though our MySpace or by e-mail at [email protected]. I can provide you with more details from there.

Please re-post this! We need all the help we can get!

Take care, and stay rational!

healthyaddict Ashley Call me free! Rational Response Squad Ohio Rational Responders

This may be of interest to you locals, volunteer if you can, I urge you. Thanks go to HealthyAddict of Ohio RRS for this one.

Camp Quest of Michigan

Or for my out of state readers, go to the main site here for information on a Camp Quest near you

Camp Quest is the first residential summer camp in the history of the United States for the children of Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists, Brights, or whatever other terms might be applied to those who hold to a naturalistic, not supernatural world view.

The purpose of Camp Quest is to provide children of freethinking parents a residential summer camp dedicated to improving the human condition through rational inquiry, critical and creative thinking, scientific method, self-respect, ethics, competency, democracy, free speech, and the separation of religion and government guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.

Camp Quest was first held in 1996. The idea for the project originated with Edwin Kagin. From 1996 until 2002 Camp Quest was operated by the Free Inquiry Group, Inc. (FIG) of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Since that time it has been operated by Camp Quest, Inc., an independent 501(c)(3) educational non-profit. Edwin and Helen Kagin served as Camp Directors for the first ten years of the original Camp Quest, retiring at the end of the 2005 camp session. Six Camp Quest summer camps currently offer programs across North America. Camp Quest, Inc. operates the Ohio Camp Quest, and works to coordinate with and support the other independently governed Camp Quest programs.

Richard Dawkins : On Evolution

From a new contributorReverend AthieStar

Dual-Coding Genes "Nearly Impossible by Chance" (ID idiocy)

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Reverend AtheiStar
Date: Jun 18, 2007 5:07 PM

What, then, does the creationist camp think of organisms, being believers in a loving god, such as ebola, west nile virus or HIV? How do they explain the existence of such nasty, life threatening pathogens? Ah yes, it was original sin! Put the blame on two fictional human characters, not the designer who would have created all the Malevolent Design in the first place! Dumb fuckers! They only pretend to embrace science and critical thinking skills!

~RAS

"What, then, does Ayala think of organisms whose design is intelligent and highly functional?"

http://www.evolutionnews.org/2007/06/dualcoding_genes_nearly_imposs.html

Dual-Coding Genes "Nearly Impossible by Chance" — How Would Francisco Ayala Respond?

We mortals are easily impressed by palindromes – words that have the same spelling forwards and backwards – but try writing a sentence which has two different meanings. One meaning is gained when you start with one letter of the first word, and then an entirely different meaning is understood when you start reading with the second letter of the first word. Such a sentence would be most impressive, but what if such "sentences" existed in our DNA?

Leading evolutionary biologist Francisco Ayala recently wrote in Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that "Chance is an integral part of the evolutionary process." Ayala then explained why he thinks Darwinian evolution is right and ID is wrong: "Biological evolution differs from a painting or an artifact in that it is not the outcome of preconceived design. The design of organisms is not intelligent but imperfect and, at times, outright dysfunctional.” ("Darwin's greatest discovery: Design without designer," PNAS, 104:8567–8573 (May 15, 2007), emphasis added) This questionable standard and conclusion is Ayala’s punchline against ID.

What, then, does Ayala think of organisms whose design is intelligent and highly functional? A recent article in Public Library of Science discussed how dual-coding genes – genes which overlap and code for multiple proteins when read through different reading frames – are "hallmarks of fascinating biology" and "nearly impossible by chance" to the extent that evolutionary biologists have held "skepticism surrounding" their very existence. Now it seems they do exist, and they don't quite match Ayala's vision of biology, where "[c]hance is an integral part" of the "design of organisms is "dysfunctional" and "not intelligent." As the article, "A First Look at ARFome: Dual-Coding Genes in Mammalian Genomes," states:

Coding of multiple proteins by overlapping reading frames is not a feature one would associate with eukaryotic genes. Indeed, codependency between codons of overlapping protein-coding regions imposes a unique set of evolutionary constraints, making it a costly arrangement. Yet in cases of tightly coexpressed interacting proteins, dual coding may be advantageous. Here we show that although dual coding is nearly impossible by chance, a number of human transcripts contain overlapping coding regions. Using newly developed statistical techniques, we identified 40 candidate genes with evolutionarily conserved overlapping coding regions. Because our approach is conservative, we expect mammals to possess more dual-coding genes. Our results emphasize that the skepticism surrounding eukaryotic dual coding is unwarranted: rather than being artifacts, overlapping reading frames are often hallmarks of fascinating biology.

(Wen-Yu Chung, Samir Wadhawan, Radek Szklarczyk, Sergei Kosakovsky Pond, Anton Nekrutenko, "A First Look at ARFome: Dual-Coding Genes in Mammalian Genomes," PLOS Computational Biology, Vol. 3(5) (May, 2007)

Does this sound like a "dysfunctional" process that is "not intelligent" in its design?

Posted by Casey Luskin on June 17, 2007 7:52 AM | Permalink

TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.discovery.org/scripts/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2489

Truth about islam from an ex-muslim lady

These cute little things were just recently brought to my attention. This ranks right up there with the Westborough cult in terms of hate mongering and utter infuriating ignorance in my book!

A Chick Track - In The Beginning

From a new contributorReverend AthieStar

Students burn effigies of UK's queen (Religion of 'Peace')

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Reverend AtheiStar
Date: Jun 18, 2007 7:26 PM

Creating religious hatred? Do they have no idea that they are the ones to blame? They are creating their own hatred by reacting in this infantile way. And what does knighthood have anything to do with Muslims, anyway? Why should they even care? Don't they have lives? ~RAS

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/18/pakistan.britain.ap/index.html

Students burn effigies of UK's queen POSTED: 11:10 a.m. EDT, June 18, 2007

• Cabinet minister says honor provides justification for suicide attacks
• In Multan, students burn effigies of Queen Elizabeth II and Rushdie
• Britain announced decision to award Rushdie a knighthood on Saturday
• Iran issued fatwa on Rushdie's life in 1989 because book allegedly insulted Islam

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan has condemned Britain's award of a knighthood to author Salman Rushdie as an affront to Muslim sentiments, and a Cabinet minister said the honor provided a justification for suicide attacks.

"This is an occasion for the (world's) 1.5 billion Muslims to look at the seriousness of this decision," Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, religious affairs minister, said in parliament.

"The West is accusing Muslims of extremism and terrorism. If someone exploded a bomb on his body, he would be right to do so unless the British government apologizes and withdraws the 'sir' title," ul-Haq said.

In the eastern city of Multan, hard-line Muslim students burned effigies of Queen Elizabeth II and Rushdie. About 100 students carrying banners condemning the author also chanted, "Kill him! Kill him!"

On Saturday, Britain announced the knighthood for the author the of "The Satanic Verses" in an honors list timed for the official celebration of the queen's 81st birthday.

Lawmakers in Pakistan's lower house of parliament on Monday passed a resolution proposed by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan Khan Niazi who branded Rushdie -- who was born in India into a Muslim family -- a "blasphemer."

"The 'sir' title from Britain for blasphemer Salman Rushdie has hurt the sentiments of the Muslims across the world. Every religion should be respected. I demand the British government immediately withdraw the title as it is creating religious hatred," Niazi told the National Assembly.

Lawmakers voted unanimously for the resolution although one opposition member, Khwaja Asif, said it exposed a contradiction in the government's policy as an ally of Britain in the international war on terrorism.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said Rushdie's knighthood would hamper interfaith understanding and that Islamabad would protest to London.

"We deplore the decision of the British government to knight him. This we feel is insensitive and we would convey our sentiments to the British government."

Iran on Sunday also condemned the knighthood for Rushdie.

Iran's late spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a 1989 fatwa, or religious edict, ordering Muslims to kill the author because "The Satanic Verses" allegedly insulted Islam. The threat forced Rushdie to live in hiding for a decade.

The British High Commission in Islamabad defended the decision to honor Rushdie -- one of the most prominent novelists of the late 20th century whose 13 books have won numerous awards, including the Booker Prize for "Midnight's Children" in 1981.

"Sir Salman's honor is richly deserved and the reasons for it are self-explanatory," said spokesman Aidan Liddle.

This from Wikipedia on the topic:

On February 14, 1989, the Ayatollah broadcast the following message on Iranian radio: "I inform the proud Muslim people of the world that the author of the Satanic Verses book, which is against Islam, the Prophet and the Qur'an, and all those involved in its publication who are aware of its content are sentenced to death." As a result, Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese language translator of the book was stabbed to death on July 11, 1991; Ettore Capriolo, the Italian language translator, was seriously injured in a stabbing the same month, and William Nygaard, the publisher in Norway, survived an attempted assassination in Oslo in October of 1993. On February 14, 2006, the Iranian state news agency reported that the fatwa will remain in place permanently.

Another of these little gems, (there are a multitude of them).

A Chick Tract - Apes, Lies and Ms. Henn

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 18, 2007 8:00 AM

The Son of the Self-Aware Universe

A Chick Tract - Apes, Lies and Ms. Henn

Creationist critics often charge that evolution cannot be tested, and therefore cannot be viewed as a properly scientific subject at all. This claim is rhetorical nonsense.
~ Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002)

This just in from Steve, (albiet through an intermediate) thanks go to him.

Rival to evolution may enter schools

Intelligent design considered for science curriculum By Adam Forest

INTELLIGENT DESIGN, a controversial alternative theory to evolution, could become part of the science curriculum in Scottish schools.

The Sunday Herald has learned that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is considering provision for the theory as part of a review of the science course curriculum.

Intelligent design (ID) is one of a wide range of theories of origin currently taught as part of the Religious, Moral and Philosophy Studies (RMPS) SQA course, but could be moved elsewhere as part of the review. A spokesman for the SQA said: "It happens to sit in RMPS just now. If and when it does becomes part of the curriculum for science, which it may well do as part of this review, then that's where it could sit."
advertisement

Scientists have already expressed fears that ID theory is entering science classrooms. An organisation called Truth in Science (TiS) sent teaching resource packs to every head of science in Scottish schools in September 2006. The material critiques the Darwinian theory of natural selection and promotes the idea that biological mechanisms are best explained by the idea of an intelligent designer.

Professor Andrew McIntosh, a director of Truth in Science, said: "We've had a lot of positive feedback about the DVDs, which included Scottish schools. There are quite a number of people who are indicating they are happy to use the resources."

Dr Simon Gage, director of the Edinburgh Science Festival, believes the influence of Truth in Science and ID theory is "worrying and dangerous". He said: "This is creationism with a wrapper on it, dressed up as pseudo-science. These people prey on ignorance and should be forbidden at the school door."

Alastair Noble is an educational consultant who has been invited by both denominational and non- denominational secondary schools to present ID on a scientific basis. He said: "I gauge a growing level of interest from pupils and teachers. My guess is that the (TiS) DVDs are being used by a small but significant number of teachers."

"It deserves formal consideration. It presents a scientific challenge to the construct that the world is the result of blind and purposeless forces."

Ian Fraser, director of education for Inverclyde, is not in favour of prohibiting Truth in Science material and accepts teachers are free to present ID informally. He said: "I have no objection to intelligent design being advanced as one theory, but most teachers don't have time. I trust head teachers to make their own decisions about what is appropriate."

Simon Barrow, director of the faith think-tank Ekklesia, urged Scottish education authorities to prevent private organisations gaining undue influence. He said: "The UK education secretary and the English curriculum authority say clearly that ID is not to be taught in science. Scotland should follow suit."

Without clear guidelines, many scientists fear the ID controversy will create the appearance of significant debate among scientists over the validity of Darwinian evolution. Roger Downie, professor of zoological education at Glasgow University, said: "It's certainly worrying. ID hasn't got any testable hypotheses so it cannot be considered science. It is purely an acceptance, in a literal way, of a particular set of religious texts. Teachers may be being misled into regarding Truth in Science material, which sounds respectable, as bona fide. They should be sent some kind of guidance that this is not science."

An education spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said: "We're not prescriptive as to books or materials. We provide guidelines, and within those guidelines it's up to schools to decide."

Michael McGrath, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service, made it clear intelligent design was not part of science teaching in Catholic schools. He said: "There is a distinction between what is appropriate for religious education and what is appropriate for science. We wouldn't confuse one with the other."

A 2006 UK-wide Mori poll suggested 41% believed intelligent design should be taught as part of science education.

To comment go to sunday herald .

Onward Christian Terrorists

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: ATHEISTS AGNOSTICS SKEPTICS & HUMANISTS ON MYSPACE
Date: Jun 18, 2007 3:45 PM

mike

Via Pharyngula

This is really sickening.. Memorial to terrorist Paul Hill, complete with a reenactment of the killings.
*Check out the links at the bottom of the memorial page, for an idea of just what these people are up to.

I've been accused of being a hateful atheist because of my sarcastic rants about the antics of some wacky fundies, but I hope nobody on my list is planning to defend these dirtbags.

CNN crosses the line

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Rich Rodriguez
Date: Jun 18, 2007 7:54 AM

From: TPO

CNN Crosses the Line: Faith Forum Imposes Religious Test for Public Office

Debunking the North American Union Conspiracy Theory

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: The Secret Delusion
Date: Jun 18, 2007 9:11 AM

From:
Substance D
BlueGreenEarth / ESEI

By Joshua Holland, http://alternet.org.

Debunking the North American Union Conspiracy Theory

The North American Union, an increasingly popular conspiracy theory about a group of shadowy international "elites" who are planning to "replace the United States" with a transnational government, is a manifestation of xenophobia that would do the John Birch Society proud.

Just what is the North American Union (NAU)?

There are several ways to answer that question. First, the NAU is an increasingly popular conspiracy theory about a group of shadowy and mostly nameless international "elites" who are planning to "replace the United States" -- in the words of Jerome Corsi, a key figure in the SwiftBoat Veterans for Truth project and a leading NAU conspiracist -- with a transnational government. The theory holds that the borders between Mexico, Canada and the United States are in the process of being erased, covertly, by a group of "globalists" whose ultimate goal is to replace national governments in D.C., Ottawa and Mexico City with a European-style political union and a bloated EU-style bureaucracy.

The North American Union story is an offspring of the John Birch Society right, with its attendant xenophobia and paranoia. It comes complete with a shadowy international cabal intent on stabbing decent, hard-working Americans in the back -- Dolchstoss! Articles and websites condemning the NAU flourish in that political space where right- and left-wing populism become indistinguishable, along with a dozen other fundamentally reactionary theories of what's really going on with our contemporary political economy.

To fully understand the growing fascination with the NAU in various corners of the internet, one has to view it also as a cultural phenomenon; it's an entirely logical reaction to a process of corporate-driven global integration that feeds into Americans' very real and wholly valid economic anxieties. As David Moberg recently noted, Americans, "by a margin of 46 percent to 28 percent, [believe] that trade deals have harmed the United States," and four times as many people surveyed by Pew said U.S. trade deals had lowered wages than the number who believed the deals had raised them. According to Public Citizen, opponents of NAFTA-style trade deals picked up 37 seats over defenders of the status quo during last year's midterms.

But, despite that political landscape, one of the first things the new Democratic majority did when it got into power was cut a new "Grand Bargain" with the White House to push through more of the same kind of trade deals. As David Sirota pointed out, the Democratic leadership did it in secret, behind closed doors. And it did it over the objections of many of the freshman lawmakers that gave them their majority in the first place.

With that as a backdrop, it should come as no surprise that people tend to look for a wizard working behind the curtain. The idea that shadowy forces beyond our perception are really in charge of steering the most powerful country in the world is reinforced every time a bipartisan "trade" deal with little or no support gets jammed through Congress.

Ultimately, though, the answer to the question "What is the NAU?" is this: It is absolutely nothing. The NAU exists only as a proposal contained in one of a thousand academic and/or wonky papers published each year that advocate all manner of idealistic but ultimately unrealistic approaches to social, economic and political problems. Most of these get passed around in their own circles and eventually filed away and forgotten by junior staffers in congressional offices. Some of these papers, however, become touchstones for the conspiracy-minded and form the basis of all kinds of unfounded fears.

Such is the case with the monograph, "Building a North American Community," which was produced by a group of eggheads at the Council on Foreign Relations and their counterparts in Mexico and Canada. It calls for a North American economic union to stretch from Canada's northern border to Mexico's southernmost point. It would basically be a customs union -- similar to the old European Community before it became the European Union -- with expedited travel between countries, a single market with standardized external tariffs, etc.

One should never say "never," but barring a remarkable change in all three countries' political cultures (but most importantly that of the United States), the kind of formal North American political union described by the theory's proponents has zero chances of getting off the ground any time in the foreseeable future.

A kernel of truth

I am the last person in the world to argue that there's no reason to worry about the push for more and more regional economic and security integration. At its heart, as is always the case with these kind of dark plots, are some real dots. The analyses go off the rails when those dots are connected.

For those of us who have spent years trying to raise awareness of what's really going on in the movement to blanket the earth in "free trade" deals -- geared as they are more towards compelling countries to deregulate and protecting investors than by any genuine desire to free up trade -- it's somewhat satisfying to see new interest being paid to an issue that gets far too little attention. Like other conspiracies, the problem with the North American Union is that it is a distraction; it represents a massive energy drain.

The NAU monograph explicitly rejects an EU-style political union and the kind of supernational institutions that have grown up like mushrooms in Brussels. One of the principles that guided the committee that drafted the proposal was that the NAU would not resemble the EU:

"North America is different from other regions of the world and must find its own cooperative route forward. A new North American community should rely more on the market and less on bureaucracy, more on pragmatic solutions to shared problems than on grand schemes of confederation or union, such as those in Europe. We must maintain respect for each other's national sovereignty."

Despite that rather clear statement of principle -- and the fact that the paper lays out a series of recommendations that do not include the creation of some new continental supergovernment -- it does call for new "dispute" resolution mechanisms, the free flow of people between the United States and Canada (but not between Mexico and its northern neighbors as long as a large disparity between workers' incomes remains) and a unionwide regulatory framework.

Another "dot" that makes up the supposed NAU is the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), a chat-shop for American, Canadian and Mexican leaders to meet annually and discuss common security and economic issues.