I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!

Not much of a blog entry today. I'm just happy to be home and to see my family again. I have a lot of "stuff" to do though now that I am home and actually able to do all the things I should have been doing over the past four months. One of the first things I did was drop $1000 at Jos. A. Bank. OUCH! Although the suits are pretty damn nice! Now I am set for interviews and even to do some actual work outfits. Thankfully my wife has a wonderful sense of style and great tastes, so I will at least look good.

I am missing all my friends back at Al Udeid, but such is the life of us military folks! We make many friends throughout the world, only to leave them. As a matter of fact, since today is Memorial Day, here is a link to a writeup by a friend of mine who served as a Nurse in Iraq back in 2006. A very moving sotry, and a great picture.

Without the Intertoobes

Okay, so I am finally about to depart for home. I am bouncing off the frikkin' walls! I just want to be home. Of course, while I am on the road (actually in the airplane), I will not have any internet connectivity. So I am going to be silent for a few days. I hope you don't mind, and will allow me the excitement of returning to my family.

I'll just leave you all with a few braindroppings: Should the anti-vax pro-disease nutters be held legally responsible if someone dies from a perfectly preventable disease? Hint, I think so!

More cool evolution news. Yes, I know, now there are two gaps where before there was only one... Seriously, someone will say that!

I am also still blogging daily for Facts, not Fantasy. Of course, with this trip, I'm going to have to take a pause. Although, I am having a hard time beating through all the swine flu non-sense to find relevant news about vaccines. As for the page itself, I need to probably do some maintenance on it so it actually looks the way I want it to...

See you guys in a few days!

Open Letter to Oprah

I encourage and implore you to read this open letter to Oprah! Copy it to your Facebook page, tweet it, blog it, put it up on MySpace even! Thankfully most of the comments are supportive, although now that the lette is getting attention, beware the wrath of the anti-vax pro-disease brigrade. Not to be outdone by the Bad Astronomer, here is a particularly well worded excerpt:

To me, it is clear that a significant number of people look up to you, and trust your advice and judgment. That is why it is such a huge mistake for you to endorse Jenny McCarthy with her own show on your network.

Surely you must realize that McCarthy is neither a medical professional nor a scientist. And yet she acts as a spokesperson for the anti-vaccination movement, a movement that directly impacts people’s health. Claims that vaccines are unsafe and cause autism have been refuted time after time, but their allure persists in part because of high-profile champions for ignorance like McCarthy.

I sincerely wish that I was this eloquent! Again, if you know Ms Winfrey, or know how to get in touch with her, please pass this along. Spread the word! And of course, direct them to Facts not Fiction in case they are confused about anything (yes, I know, the page is still under construction).

God: The Failed Hypothesis

Richard Dawkins and the other members of the so-called “Four Horsemen” of atheism base their position on the lack of evidence for the existence of "God", and admit that it is possible that "God" might exist in spite of the lack of evidence. Their position, stated simply (perhaps too simply), is that they see no reason to believe in "God", although they do not go so far as to say that "God" does not exist. Victor Stenger takes this view one step further, and says that science can establish that "God" does not, in fact, exist.

This book is properly seen as a follow-up to Stenger’s earlier book, Has Science Found God? The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe (Prometheus Books, 2003), in which he examined (and dismissed) the various claims that science had found something supernatural or unexplainable that could only be attributed to a deity. In relation to that book, as well, this new book can be seen as a step further.

Stenger’s exercise is qualified very early on, as he restricts the "God" he is disproving to the Judeo-Christian-Islamic "God", which he defines as having the following characteristics:

• the creator and preserver of the universe;
• the architect of the structure of the universe and the author of the laws of nature;
• able to step in whenever he wishes to change the course of events, including violating his own laws;
• the creator and preserver of life and humanity (humans being “special in relation to other life forms”)
• endowed humans with immaterial, eternal souls;
• the source of morality and other human values such as freedom, justice and democracy;
• revealed truth in scriptures and by communicating directly to select individuals throughout history; and
• does not deliberately hide from any human who is open to finding evidence for his presence.

While some theologians would doubtless take issue with some of these characteristics, it is probably fair to say, as Stenger does, that these are the attributes traditionally associated with the Judeo-Christian-Islamic "God". Stenger does not posit that "God" is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent; such a "God", he says, is already (philosophically) disproven by the Problem of Evil. In any event, he does not need to give "God" these attributes in order to establish his non-existence, and the case he builds will (he says) apply to even an evil or imperfect "God".

Having defined "God", Stenger then sets out to establish that, in relation to each of the defining characteristics, there is none of the evidence we should expect to see if a supernatural being with that characteristic existed. Over the course of six chapters, he sets out in convincing detail what we should expect to see if "God" existed, and what we do in fact see. He bases his arguments on the most current science available, and always frames them in terms of the scientific method. While his science and philosophy are both sound (Stenger is an emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at one university and adjunct professor of philosophy at another), his language is always clear and understandable to the layperson, never getting overly philosophical or overly technical.

The next chapter is less satisfying, and feels somewhat “tacked on”, as Stenger tackles the Problem of Evil and summarizes both theistic answers to the problem and atheistic rebuttals thereto. This is a topic that really deserves a more thorough treatment than Stenger can manage in one chapter, and is not really needed in a book devoted to the scientific approach. He is not wrong so much as sparse in his treatment, and he does not give this age-old topic the full examination it deserves.

Having convincingly dismissed the possibility of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic "God" existing, Stenger moves on to ask what possible gods are left. Here he provides a wonderful and convincing argument against a “hidden” god – albeit one who is still “perfectly loving”. Similar to the argument from evil, the argument basically says that a perfectly loving god would not deprive creatures of a positive and meaningful relationship with him, so cannot exist. An imperfect or evil (or even just not perfectly loving) god, of course, is not excluded by this argument, and Stenger quite properly admits that such a god cannot be totally ruled out, but “that we have not one iota of evidence that he exists”.

Finally, Stenger turns to the question of how we should live in the godless universe. Again, this is a topic that deserves a fuller treatment, and one hopes that Stenger might turn his talent to such a treatment in the near future. In this book, he contents himself with pointing out the negative impact of religion on society (something several other authors have done better recently) and discusses how we can find meaning, comfort and inspiration without "God".

All of the arguments presented in God: The Failed Hypothesis (aside from the few quibbles previously mentioned) are cogent, comprehensive and convincing. They will be useful in any serious discussion of the existence of "God". This is a book that deserves a place on the bookshelf of every agnostic, atheist and open-minded theist along side Dawkins, Dennett, Harris and Hitchens.

Add Authors?

Just an idle though... Does anyoe else want to have fun with this blog? Heck, I don't even know if there are people who read this, or if I am just typing to an empty room. Sure, my website tracker says this page gets lots of hits, but I have no idea as to the real substance of those hits. And I did notice that with this blogging software, you can collaborate. So, anyone want to join in on my ramblings? Just drop me a line or leave a comment. Let's see if this generates any interest.

Oh, sorry about not getting any pictures in lately. My web host changed the way they do FTP, and I am unable to upload photos to my host. And it's kind of rude to piggyback on other people's bandwidth, so I am just not going to put up pictures until I get back home and am able to access my FTP again.

More Evolution Stuff

One of the sites that I am working on (along with some other most excellent people) is Facts, not Fantasy. Each day, I go there to enter a blog about evolution, vaccines, and autism (or at least that's the format I am using now). So today I had a praticularly good entry on evolution, and thought I would repost it here.

While abiogenesis has nothing itself to do with evolution, it is considered one of those "defining gaps" that are used to bludgeon evolution with. That's why it's exciting to see this article about how RNA could be the starting point for life itself. Once you have any polymer capable of self-replication, you'll end up with more of those (and more of the ones that do it better). Since these are more abundant, they're more likely to be trapped inside vesicles that spontaneously form and divide by mechanical forces. That's basically a cell. Pretty much everything else is gravy that can be explained by natural selection. (There is also this article on the RNA chemistry.)

I guess what this really means is that yet another gap for that god fellow just shrunk. Don't you just wish that people would stop resorting to the supernatural when they aren't intelectually capable of saying that they don't know? *sigh*

There is also news of a new primate fossil that was found. This one goes back to about 47 million years ago, so is an even further precursor to the primate line. What is fascinating about this one is that basically evolution predicts that this type of fossil would exist, while ID or creationism says nothing about it. Not that I would expect IDiots and people with their brains stuck in the bronze age to actualy have the neural capacity for predictions and the scientific method.

Herschel and Planck

With all the hoopla over the Hubble Repair Mission, it's almost easy to forget about the other astronomical observation devices. Today the Herschel and Planck satelites were launched by the ESA. I guess it's a good time to get observatories up there. The James Webb telescope is up and training the earth, these guys are heading over to L2, Hubble still going strong. I just love how we keep learning more and more. Peeling back the mysteries, only to expose more mysteries I bet. A while back, the Bad Astronomer even outlined what these two will do.

Go science. It works bitches!

Baptism or Molestation?

Holy shit, talk about creepy. I just came accross this story where some church crazies are luring children into a van to baptize them... Why do I imagine the van having "Free Candy" painted on the side. Yes, this isn't typical behaviour, but it is not in the slightest surprising... The forcing of a belief onto someone despite their wishes is what has over time caused me to not only be an atheist, but an anti-theism atheist. It's because of this type of despicable behaviour that I actively fight theism in all its guises.

The Story:
In Colorado Springs, Colorado, members of the Cornerstone Baptist Church have been aggressively proselytizing children at local public elementary schools. The proselytizing efforts took a decidedly disturbing turn a few days ago when they tried to lure a 7th grader off the school playground and into a waiting van — apparently where he could be baptized, even if against the will of his parents or his own wishes.

Remember, though, that it's all those vile atheists who are actually trying to force their "religion" on god-fearing Americans through underhanded behavior like announcing that they exist, or daring to tell others that there's nothing wrong with atheism. What America needs is fewer public atheists and more Christians driving around in seedy vans, ready to jump out and grab random kids for impromptu baptisms.

Students at nearby Keller and Fremont elementary schools also have been approached by church members, and church proselytizing has been escalating in recent weeks at Russell. Still, officials were unprepared for what happened Thursday, district spokeswoman Elaine Naleski said Friday.

"We have never had a problem like this before," she said. "We are shocked by their actions."

A few weeks ago, officials at the school met with the church's leader to complain about members coming on school property to preach the Bible, Naleski said. But rather than stop, church members started proselytizing from public sidewalks outside the school.

The school will seek a no-trespassing order if church members resume harassing children on school property, Naleski said. But it will be up to parents to take legal action against the church if their children are approached in public areas outside the school.

Source: Denver Post

As shocking as this incident is, I'm not surprised that it would happen in Colorado Springs, home base of the American Family Association and a disturbing array of far-right evangelical groups, churches, and activism.

I recognize of course that such behavior is not typical of Christians in America, but at the same time it can't be denied that it's entirely consistent with traditional, orthodox Christian doctrine. I can't think of any arguments against this behavior which are dependent on Christian doctrine — all the arguments against it depend on independent social codes, social expectations, pragmatism and prudence, or civil legal obligations. There are no Christian doctrinal prohibitions against proselytizing to kids, but there are plenty of traditions and doctrines which encourage proselytizing generally.

Does Evolution Contradict Religion?

With the work I have been doing lately on the Facts, not Fantasy site, I have been just doing a lot of research. Now, to be honest, I am quite the anti-theist type of person, but since that site is supposed to be more educational, I am taking a much more neutral approach to the conflict between science and religion. So I was interested in this particular article I found. Especially considering that the writer is also an avowed atheist, and writes about it a great deal more than I do.

Here is the text of the article:

Does Evolution Contradict Religion?

This is a very important and fundamental question; there is so much debate in America over evolution and the nature of life that it is worth considering whether or not the theory of evolution contradicts religious beliefs. However, the question is also too broad. There is no such thing as "religious beliefs," without context or content.

Because of this, the only way to really answer the question is to say: sometimes yes, sometimes no. Evolution does contradict certain religious beliefs and even at times, certain religions. Evolution is also readily compatible with other religious beliefs and other religions. Indeed, it should be noted that there does not appear to be any contradiction between evolution and any one entire religious tradition.

The reason for this is that any large religious tradition with much of a history behind it will contain enough variety that even if there are groups which object to evolution, there will be groups which either welcome or simply ignore evolution. Sometimes this multiplicity of ways in which a religion can be interpreted may be a source of embarrassment - after all, it is hard to claim a religion to be True when there is so little agreement as to just what the religion really is.

On the other hand, it is also a principle of evolution that those individuals which are best able to adapt to changing environments are the most likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on their genes. Perhaps it also true for belief systems - those with the widest internal variety are best able to adapt to changing social circumstances and pass themselves along to succeeding generations. It may be difficult for some religions and some religious traditions to survive in the scientific environment of evolutionary theory, but not impossible.

Cool Website (Documentaries)

Just found a cool website that has collected a bunch of documentaries (click on title of blog entry for today). Was just surfing around looking up some information on the nature of time, and remembered some of the work by Dr. Brian Cox. Come to find out, he had made a documentary about time itself even. I figured I needed to geek out and try to relax since I am still fuming about the fuctarded incompetence of the Air Farce...