Jody at Naked Writing and I have been trying to figure out if the recent adoption of Ohio school standards regarding teaching evolution was a win for the forces of reason or not. Jody had originally found an article from Americans United for Separation of Church and State that claimed that the approved standards opened the door to creationist intrusion into the classroom, and reacted with appropriate disappointment. I had found other articles claiming victory. Seeing that there was substantial disagreement, Jody searched out some other articles, especially one from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:

The State Board of Education yesterday unanimously adopted a set of science standards that makes Ohio the first state to require students to examine criticisms of biological evolution. But board members also agreed to a last-minute disclaimer stating that their action should not be construed as support for the controversial concept of intelligent design, the idea that life had to be guided by a higher power. Without the disclaimer, at least a half-dozen board members had intended to vote against the standards because they feared it would give schools a green light to bring religion and philosophy into science classes.

Considering the above research, Jody and I have both decided to claim limited victory. It could have been much worse.

Law isn't archbishop anymore, but he still has friends. In fact, the Pope thinks quite highly of him. We know he follows orders very well.

It's important to make the distinction that he remains a cardinal. He has resigned from being the archbishop of Boston, but he will be a cardinal until he dies. So, he will be given another position in the church. In fact, the pope holds this cardinal, despite all of the problems, in high esteem.

Congratulations to Ohio for joining the rest of Western civilization in the teaching of science in public schools!

On December 10 the Ohio Board of Education unanimously voted to adopt new science standards which will guide public school curriculum and testing across the state. For the first time Ohio's standards will explicitly include the concept of evolution. Local supporters of science education consider the new standards a great improvement over the previous statewide guidelines, especially in their treatment of biological evolution. In a last-minute addition, the board also unanimously adopted a disclaimer stating The intent of this indicator does not mandate the teaching or testing of Intelligent Design. Opponents of evolution education had worked hard all year to dilute or remove material from the new standards which reflect the current scientific understanding of biology, but failed in the end to do so.

No word about this in the main-stream press, but then again, there wouldn't be. The AHA did weigh in, however. Next battleground: Alabama and Louisiana.

The whole US Catholic scandal is not limited to the US. It isn't even that similar things happen in other countries. the policy comes from the top:

The Pope ordered that a defrocked priest convicted of paedophilia in America should move to a new area where his behaviour was unknown – unless his presence in the parish where the abuse took place caused no scandal. Pope John Paul II's decision was revealed yesterday with the release of a document that deepened the crisis over sex abuse by priests in the Catholic Church. Joseph Gallagher, the co-founder of the Coalition of Catholics and Survivors, said that the document, one of thousands from the Boston Archdiocese made public by court order, was the "smoking gun" that uncovered secret Vatican policy of keeping under wraps its problem with abusive priests. Mr Gallagher said: "This would explain why [other] bishops have done the same thing as [Boston's] Cardinal Law – they've moved sexual offenders from parish to parish without notifying the parishioners."

Thou shalt not criticise another Republican Well, Dumbya has just done it. Someone is doing the thinking over there.

President Bush, in rare criticism of a fellow Republican, said Thursday it was offensive and wrong for Senate Republican leader Trent Lott to have said a segregationist candidate for president should have won in 1948. Any suggestion that a segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive and it is wrong, Bush said to loud and long applause in a speech about his faith-based agenda. Recent comments by Sen. Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country, Bush said.

No call for resignation. So, Dumbya thinks that it is OK to have a racist as number 2 in the GOP, as long as he keeps his mouth shut. And, Lott agrees.

Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi agreed with President Bush on Thursday that it was wrong for him to have said a segregation candidate for the White House should have won in 1948, Lott's spokesman said. Senator Lott agrees with President Bush that his words were wrong and he is sorry, said Lott spokesman Ron Bonjean. He repudiates segregation because it is immoral.

Nothing like a death-bed conversion.

It isn't just the ungodded that can find fault with the individual religions. The higher moral authority of the Episcopal Church is taking the Catholics to task over their gay-bashing:

In what was described as a rare challenge to the Catholic Church, the Boston Globe reports Episcopal bishops in Massachusetts said a steady stream of anti-gay invective from the Vatican is creating a potentially dangerous situation for gay and lesbian Americans. Bishop of Massachusetts, M. Thomas Shaw, head of the largest Episcopal diocese in the United States, joined other Episcopal church officials in warning that the danger posed by anti-gay pronouncements from Vatican officials left them little choice but to speak out.

From Naked Writing.

The latest priest to be convicted of sex-crimes: John Banko of Flemington NJ.

Banko denied the charges when he testified Monday. But during cross-examination, he acknowledged sexual liaisons with men and women. He also told investigators his vow of celibacy made no direct mention of abstaining from sex. Prosecutors said he displayed a pattern of sexually inappropriate behavior toward minors 30 years ago, when he was in Baltimore's St. Mary's Seminary.

You'll notice that I didn't use the traditional title for Banko. I don't use titles for clergy. They aren't my father, they do not tend any flock that I am a part of, and they certainly are not reverend. Disrespectful? Yes. Purposefully. The mantle of respectability that is automatically conferred on purveyors of imaginary friends is something I find ridiculous.

Since Lott won't be stepping down (yet), it is OK to pile on. Turns out that Lott has also been a long-time supporter of racist Bob Jones University.

While a young GOP congressional leader two decades ago, Trent Lott declared that racial discrimination does not always violate public policy as he tried to save the tax exemption of a Christian university that banned interracial dating. In his 1981 friend-of-the-court filing with the Supreme Court, Lott cited court rulings upholding affirmative action programs at colleges and compared them to the dating ban between black and white students at Bob Jones University. If racial discrimination in the interest of diversity does not violate public policy, then surely discrimination in the practices of religion is no violation, he argued, in asking the justices to block the Internal Revenue Service from stripping the school's tax exemption. At the time, he was the Republicans' new whip, the second highest position in the House GOP hierarchy.

I know how much Kerry pays for his hair, but how much does Lott pay? Whatever it is, it isn't enough.

From CNN:

President Bush is enacting by executive fiat key pieces of his divisive faith-based initiative, including one that lets federal contractors use religious favoritism in their hiring. ... By far the most contentious of the changes is Bush's executive order informing federal agencies that religious organizations refusing to hire people of any faith can still win contracts. Additionally, new regulations being unveiled Thursday from the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Housing and Urban Development also preserve the right of religious groups providing certain government-financed services to hire based on religion. Broadly, Bush's directive tells federal agencies to ensure religious groups are treated equally with others in all respects, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Federal contractors also can no longer be denied federal money for displaying religious icons, such as a cross or a menorah.

It is nice to see a main-stream news organization calling it divisive.

I am here today, scouring the net for something to talk about, but nothing is striking me. Yes, lots of important and scary things are happening, but none that I feel I can add to the discussion on. You may have noticed that I totally ignored (here in blog-land) the Catholic priest issues about cocaine and nun-sex, etc. I ignored it 'cause I had nothing to add to such a sad display of the problems in the Catholic Church. They speak for themselves.

Actually, maybe I do have something to say. (You knew I would.) I heard this morning on the radio the Council of Catholic Bishops are not prepared to say that any theoretical war with Iraq is a "just war", whatever the hell that means. It struck me that the only reason a statement like that could have any weight is that the Council holds the moral high-ground, that it has the moral standing to judge others. If someone of doubtful moral standing (Trent Lott) takes a moral stand, no one cares. This is why the Catholic scandals are a tragedy for a larger group than just the victims of priests, or even the Church itself. A morally-questionable Church has no standing on which to protest war, something that could be a benefit to the world. The Catholic Church hasn't just failed Catholics, they have failed us all. When we need them most.

Critical thinking is the basis of intelligence in my mind. In support of this I suggest you spend some time at Tim van Gelder's Critical Thinking On The Web. The site has a nice collection of links for the ungodded.

From the Nobel autobiography of Paul D. Boyer, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry in 1997:

I wonder if in the United States we will ever reach the day when the man-made concept of a God will not appear on our money, and for political survival must be invoked by those who seek to represent us in our democracy.

It is disappointing how little the understanding that science provides seems to have permeated into society as a whole. All too common attitudes and approaches seem to have progressed little since the days of Galileo. Religious fundamentalists successfully oppose the teaching of evolution, and by this decry the teaching of critical thinking. We humans have a remarkable ability to blind ourselves to unpleasant facts. This applies not only to mystical and religious beliefs, but also to long-term environmental consequences of our actions. If we fail to teach our children the skills they need to think clearly, they will march behind whatever guru wears the shiniest cloak. Our political processes and a host of human interactions are undermined because many have not learned how to gain a sound understanding of what they encounter.

I also highly recommend the Nobel bio of Sir Harold W. Kroto, laureate in Chemistry in 1996. He has a much more extensive explanation of his atheism, too long to quote here.

The National Secular Society in the UK is running the following story on their news page:

The Vatican is considering seeking full membership of the United Nations. At present the political wing of the Roman Catholic Church "the Holy See" has permanent observer status - which allows it to participate in debates but not vote in the general assembly. It is allowed to vote, however, in UN-sponsored international conferences, and has used this power to thwart measures aimed at helping women in developing nations to take control of their own fertility.

The only other nation to have permanent observer status was Switzerland, but the Swiss became full members of the UN in September. Now the Vatican is seriously considering following suit.

The difference is that the Swiss are a real nation, whereas the Vatican is a small city-within-a-city populated entirely by men and without any of the responsibilities of a real nation.

Cardinal Angelo Sodano said that the Vatican could have a particularly strong voice in opposing the war in Iraq. But once that crisis had passed, the Vatican would be free to interfere in all kinds of areas.

Keith Porteous Wood, of the National Secular Society, said: "Roman Catholicism is the only religion with the privilege of permanent observer status. It has shown that it uses this power in dogmatic ways that are to the detriment of innocent people. Far from being given full recognition as a state at the UN, the Holy See should be downgraded completely, and take its place with the other interest groups that lobby at the UN. There is absolutely no justification for the Vatican's privileged presence at the UN - in fact, it is dangerous."

I have added a real comment system from Haloscan. Very easy. The old system was just a mailto: link, but this should allow people to see the comments right with the content. Please use the comments feature, as I'd love to know who is reading, what they like and what they hate.

Atheistparents.org has a great comic today:

I just found an interesting paper by Susan Blackmore written in 1996. The subject was the "me" meme, but it also covers a host of other meme-related ideas, including religion and spirituality.

Some say there is no point in striving for an intellectual understanding of spiritual matters. I disagree. It is true that intellectual understanding is not the same as realisation, but this does not mean it is useless. In my own tradition of practice, Zen, there is much room for intellectual struggle; for example, in the cultivation of the “don’t know mind”, or in working with koans. You can bring a question to such a state of intellectual confusion that it can be held, poised, in all its complexity and simplicity. Like “Who am I?”, “What is this?” or (one I have struggled with) “What drives you?”. There is also a terrible danger in refusing to be intellectual about spiritual matters. That is, we may divorce our spiritual practice from the science on which our whole society depends. If this society is going to have any spiritual depths to it, they must fit happily with our growing understanding of the workings of the brain and the nature of mind. We cannot afford to have one world in which scientists understand the mind, and another in which special people become enlightened.

I think that the idea that all memes come from the outside world smacks of the blank slate fallacy that Steven Pinker is on about in his new book. It would seem to make more sense to me that some "memes" are in-built, at least minimally. The root "selfhood" meme might be decorated with various flavors as socialization and communication proceed.

The paper also brought back to me the idea that atheism needs to have a theory of spirituality. That is, we need a coherent response to the very personal enlightenment experiences that have historically been hijacked by the dominant local myth structure. I have had a number of these events in my own life. But, thankfully, I had enough of a rationalist world-view at the time that I resisted interpreting them as "visitations of divine spirit" or some other nonsense. I interpret these experiences as growths in consciousness, that at these moments I became more awake, or that I had made some connection that had made thinking easier. It is very easy to see how opportunist god-pushers could take advantage; either in person through conversation, or by having previously implanted the idea that this experience was somehow a validation of what they believe. An atheist theory of spirituality would help us compete during these moments.

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has indefinitely postponed a disciplinary hearing Sunday that could have led to excommunication of a scholar who challenged a church tenet that dark skin is a curse from God. Thomas Murphy, the lifetime Mormon whose writings were at issue, said candlelight vigils - scheduled at the Mormon church in north suburban Lynnwood, where the hearing was planned, and at others around the country - had been postponed as well. ... In a Saturday letter to supporters, Murphy said the intent of that gathering was "to bring attention to the racism and sexism in Mormon scripture and to object to homophobia and intellectual intimidation in the LDS Church."

The Guardian makes the case that outgoing Treasury Secretary O'Neill was flawed, but basically one of the few adults in the Repug administration.

Look at the charges that are made against Mr O'Neill: that he did not believe that tax cuts for the rich are the best way to revive the economy; that he did not consider Wall Street traders are necessarily the best judges of a good economic policy; that with his background in the aluminium industry he was too concerned about manufacturing; that he was critical of the short-termism of America's boardroom culture; that he was soft on the possibility of taxes on gasoline and carbons; that he spent quite a lot of time thinking about Africa and international economic development; that he was a sceptic about tariffs to protect US steel manufacturers; that he was concerned about the federal deficit; and that he was not happy about the financial cost of a war with Iraq. Mr O'Neill may not have been a very effective treasury secretary, but he was often right.

The American Prospect has a good article on an organization responsible for assaulting science education in the US: the Center for Science and Culture at Seattle's conservative Discovery Institute. This is the snake pit that has hatched "Intelligent Design", the creationist crap that has traded obviously stupid ideas (brontosauri on the ark) for cryptic mumbo-jumbo (complexity theory can find optimal fits for design selection algorithms). The problem is, it is working.

ID theorists posit that living things, due to their organizational complexity and magnificent design, simply must be the creations of some form of intelligence. Where evolutionary biologists see species evolving through a blind process of natural selection acting over millions of years, ID theorists assert that life as we know it simply could not have arisen in such a manner. Furthermore, they claim that this is a scientific observation. ID advocates don't always articulate precisely what sort of intelligence they think should stand in lieu of evolution on textbook pages, but God -- defined in a very nebulous way -- generally outpolls extraterrestrials as the leading candidate. ID's home base is the Center for Science and Culture at Seattle's conservative Discovery Institute. Meyer directs the center; former Reagan adviser Bruce Chapman heads the larger institute, with input from the Christian supply-sider and former American Spectator owner George Gilder (also a Discovery senior fellow). From this perch, the ID crowd has pushed a "teach the controversy" approach to evolution that closely influenced the Ohio State Board of Education's recently proposed science standards, which would require students to learn how scientists "continue to investigate and critically analyze" aspects of Darwin's theory. This language may seem innocuous enough, but it clearly allows teachers room to bring up ID if they choose. Moreover, the proposal is insidious because the standards don't ask for the critical analysis of any other bedrock scientific theories, such as plate tectonics or quantum mechanics. Unless there's a shift in the political winds, however, Ohio will finalize the troubling new standards in December.

Secular Blasphemy has a short comment on why debunking bunk is necessary. There is no story specific link, so I'll reproduce the whole thing here and you can find the original for yourself.

It's not popular being a naysayer. I often hear complaints by people who may or may not themselves believe in various pseudo-scientific theories or outright crackpot ideas, and the consensus seems to be that it is not polite to debunk ideas that are near and dear to people. Not polite, maybe. But necessary. We have a civilisation built on science and technology, and we're having a population that gets more and more alientated from the hardcore of reality, believing all sorts of wacky things: creationism, UFO theories, homeopathy, conspiracy theories, astrology, you name it. Ideas lead to actions. If you have a population of irrational and ignorant people, they make irrational choices most of the time. Like refusing lifesaving medical treatment for crackpot ideas or prayer or whatever. A lot of serious decisions comes down to knowledge of some complicated facts. Think environmental issues, for example. People making these decisions are mostly lawyers and economists, who don't have a smattering of an idea what it is about, and thanks to the negative rap science gets in the mainstream media (journalists, for one, are almost always scientifically near-illiterate), politicians are less and less likely to listen to scientists. I think, in fact, scientists should say loud and clear what is crackpot ideas and why they are crackpot ideas. Critical thinking is a crucial quality in the modern world that is more and more lacking of it.

I run into this al the time. People think I am somehow mean-spirited for pointing out the reality around them. Since when was it cool to be disconnected from the real world?

Kuro5hin has a good article by a US citizen that summarizes the state of repression that passes for a secure US under Ashcroft.

I was told that things like political persecution, detainment without trial, and beating of prisoners were things that happened in other countries, that they would never happen in America. I was told that we fought the American Revolution and wrote the Constitution specifically to ensure such things would never again happen in America. But today I see the ugly face of repression rising in America. And it is brought to you by the United States Government. I am not proud to be an American today. I understand well why people in many other countries hate America. I love America, but I despise what it is rapidly becoming.

There is an even better follow-up article that asks for you to get a position in government. My wife is currently angling for a position on the local Planning Board, so I claim my family is doing its part.

John Bice writes:

This is a surprising level of hostility toward secularism, especially in a country whose constitution never mentions the word God, and prohibits the establishment of any religious doctrine - even that of monotheism. I used to be a relatively content atheist; why care if the majority of people believe in one god or another? After all, everyone rejects the existence of most gods; it's only a matter of degree. I'll bet most Christians don't believe in the existence of Zeus, Oden, Vishnu, Mithrus, Horus or the tree Druid spirits. Count me in. I don't accept any of that primitive mythology either. I differ only by including the God of the Hebrew Scriptures to the long list of hypothetical beings that I see no compelling evidence for.

In celebration of the silly season that is Xmas, Brent Rasmussen at Unscrewing the Inscrutable has leaked a memo from the North Pole Industries on their right-sizing plans. He also lists TRIP under evil godless baby eating atheists. It is all so true.

The recent announcement that Donner and Blitzen have elected to take the early reindeer retirement package has triggered a good deal of concern about whether they will be replaced, and about other restructuring decisions at the North Pole. Streamlining was appropriate in view of the reality that the North Pole no longer dominates the season's gift distribution business. Home shopping channels and mail order catalogues have diminished Santa's market share and he could not sit idly by and permit further erosion of the profit picture.

The Agonist found this: a blogger in Iraq! The guy seems to have a better ISP than I do, too.

From the Data Lounge:

The American Family Association, a far right lobbying group in Washington, released results from a recent survey that shows mainstream Americans see evangelical Christians as one of the least likeable groups in the country. Researchers from the Barna survey asked respondents how they felt about evangelicals, born-again Christians, ministers, and other groups of people in society. According to the survey, evangelicals came in tenth out of eleven, narrowly beating out prostitutes.

And behind lawyers, Repugs, and lesbians. From the AFA article:

The survey also found the more highly educated a person without a Christian connection is, the less likely he or she is to have a positive impression of Christians.

In the spirit of the Landover Baptist Church, here is Adult Christianity. Also, for your amusement, Celeb Atheists, The Truths Behind Religion, Heresy House, and The Door. For the atheist parent, Café Jezebel, Atheist Alliance Family Issues, and On Parenting an Atheist Child by Madalyn O'Hair.

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Wiccan Priestess Cyndi Simpson sued the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors yesterday for refusing to let her volunteer to lead prayer at one of the board's meetings. Simpson, who has been a witch of the Wicca religion for about six years, claims the board is violating her constitutional rights. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court, is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. It asks for a court order requiring the board to allow Simpson "and members of other minority religions in Chesterfield County" to deliver prayers at meetings on a basis equal with other clergy, or to cut out praying altogether. Government officials do not have the right to discriminate when it comes to religion, said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of the church-state separation group. The county supervisors shouldn't be sponsoring prayers at all, but when they do, they certainly can't play favorites.

She once turned me into a newt! ...I got better.

No amount of derision from me can possibly cover this: WuzupGod.com. I am not making this up. "Chill... Don't kill -- God." "Lookin' for a phat place to hang? Try my crib. -- God." It does appear to be written in the first person, which leads to some very interesting questions...

Ray L. Wallace, the man who created the Bigfoot myth as a prank has just died. He did not want to admit the prank while alive because he didn't want the embarrassed true believers to be angry with him:

The fact is there was no Bigfoot in popular consciousness before 1958. America got its own monster, its own Abominable Snowman, thanks to Ray Wallace, Mark Chorvinsky, editor of Strange magazine, told The Seattle Times. He did it just for the joke and then he was afraid to tell anybody because they'd be so mad at him, explained nephew Dale Lee Wallace, who says he still has the carved-alder feet that Wallace used to kick off the legend.

In 1948, Strom Thurmond ran for president for the Dixiecrat Party on a pro-segregationist platform. Trent Lott had this to say recently about that run:

I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either.

Lott seems to have forgotten that the Repugs are supposed to be the party of Lincoln in public.

In 1998 and 1999, Lott was criticized after disclosures that he had been a speaker at meetings of the Council of Conservative Citizens, an organization formed to succeed the segregationist white Citizens' Councils of the 1960s. In a 1992 speech in Greenwood, Miss., Lott told CCC members, The people in this room stand for the right principles and the right philosophy. Let's take it in the right direction, and our children will be the beneficiaries. Asked to comment on Lott's remarks at the Thurmond celebration, Gordon Baum, CEO of the Council of Conservative Citizens, said, God Bless Trent Lott.

McCain is angry that the White House has been purposefully getting in the way of his campain finance efforts.

McCain, an Arizona Republican, said he will "assume all future assurances and promises by this administration to be quite possibly insincere." He told the Washington Post that the White House delayed the appointment as part of an "orchestrated and systematic undermining" of campaign finance reform legislation he championed and Bush only grudgingly supported.

Keep pushing, Georgie Boy. Make McCain think about leaving the Repugs.