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Friday, February 16, 2007

CNN on Atheism

MrKen notes that the quality of CNN's 'discussions' and 'reporting' has become almost indistinguishable from what passes for 'journalism' on Fox News. Only the PBS stations, with programs like Jim Lehrer's 'The News Hour', maintain any standards of journalistic excellence - and, not all the time, either.

But on CNN & Fox, we have dopey Paula Zahn, college dropout Sean Hannity, and the dumb bully Bill O'Reilly; Philistines all who repeat their ugly prejudices over and over again to their simpleton audiences. And let's not forget Larry King & Greta Van Susteren, who spend untold hours & multiple programs on matters of great portent, such as 'who is the father of Anna Nicole's infant child'...

Recently, Paula Zahn held a roundtable 'discussion' on Atheism--which, in the 'fair and balanced' tradition of the MSM (Mainstream Media) did not include one atheist.

On Paula Zahn's segment on atheism

Some opinion that MrKen agrees with:

I learned so much from this clip:

  • "Freedom of religion" does not mean "freedom from religion". I always seem to forget that Christianity is our state mandated religion. We need to enforce that one a little more strictly so people like me don't keep losing sight of the fact that the United States is a Christian nation.

  • The atheist minority are actually the people that are intolerant and discriminatory. I mean, it's certainly true that we find countless historical examples of atheists discriminating and killing in the name of their beliefs, right?

  • Europeans are less religious now and this situation has become a scourge upon their society. I can't imagine what bloody event could have ever caused people to lose their trust in religion. I mean, it's not like Christians in Europe ever killed Jews and Atheists for having different beliefs, right? I mean, something like that would never happen because Christians are always tolerant.


It is frightening to think of the size of the audience over which this mental midget holds sway. It really saddens me when I think about the people we give a voice to in our culture: Paris Hilton, Britney, Angelina, moron athletes, reality TV retards, and Paula Zahn. If Jesus can turn that gay preacher straight then these people should pray to receive some rational thinking skills.

I don’t mean to suck up to all of you but great comments!

"Do Atheists Bring Intolerance On Themselves? Good question CNN, by insisting that others keep their sabbath day holy (blue laws) do Christians bring it on themselves? By claiming their definition of life is the only definition, do Christians bring it on themselves? Do Christians bring it on themselves when they attempt to have their theology taught in science class. When they work to prevent stem-cell research, to interfere with a women's right to choose, to forbid people to choose to die with dignity, do Christians bring it on themselves? And yes by insisting that we honor their gods on our money and pledge allegiance to our nation under the thumb of their god do the Christians bring it on themselves? In short don't Christians bring it on themselves when they subvert our Constitution? When they confuse a nation with a majority of Christians with a Christian nation, tell me CNN, tell me Christian apologists, do they bring it on themselves?"

Comment curtesy of Onegoodmove.org

Link to full story & discussion http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2007/02/atheism_1.html

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A Health Care Plan So Simple, Even Stephen Colbert Couldn't Simplify It

Excerpts from 'The New York Times' (Business Day page C3) 2/15/07 - Economic Scene, Robert H. Frank

'In his State of the Union address, President Bush proposed tax cuts to make health insurance more affordable for the uninsured. The next day, Stephen Colbert had this to say on his show on Comedy Central:'

"It's so simple. Most people who can't afford health insurance also are too poor to pay taxes. But if you give them a deduction from the taxes they don't owe, they can use the money they're not getting back from what they haven't given to buy the health care they can't afford."

'...That Mr. Bush's proposal will not shrink the ranks of the uninsured is not its most serious problem. Far more troubling is its embrace of a system under which we spend more than twice as much on health care, on average, as the 21 countries in which life expectancy exceeds ours. American costs are so high in part because the reliance on private insurance multiplies administrative expenses, currently about 31 percent of total outlays...'

'Most health economists agree that government-financed reimbursement is the only practical way to control these expenses, many of them stemming from insurers' efforts to identify and avoid unhealthy people. Canada's single-payer health system, which covers everyone, spends less than 17 percent on administrative expenses...'

'...If the single-payer system embraced by virtually all other developed countries is clearly the best solution, why doesn't the United States adopt it?...'

Link to the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/

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Saturday, February 10, 2007

Candlemas - Halfway thru Winter!

Skywatch - Sunday 2/4 NY Times

'This past Friday was Candlemas, once regarded as the first of the first "cross-quarter" days of the year, or the middle of the winter season, halfway between the December solstice and the March equinox. But winter's midpoint actually occurred last night at 7:14 PM Eastern time.'

'Although the altitude of the Sun has been climbing and the length of daylight has been increasing since the winter solstice on Dec. 21, any changes up to this point have been relatively subtle. On the first day of winter, for example, sunset occurred at 4:32 PM and the length of daylight (from sunrise to sunset) reached a minimum of 9 hours and 15 minutes. Yesterday, at winter's midpoint, the Sun set at 5:16 PM with only 57 additional minutes of daylight having accumulated since Dec. 21.'

'But it is in the second half of winter that the effects of the northward shift of the Sun's direct rays become much more noticeable. In fact, by March 20 the length of daylight will have increased by almost two full hours since Feb. 3. And because daylight saving time will now begin on the second Sunday in March, by March 20 the Sun will be setting after 7 in the evening.'

---Compiled by Joe Rao, a lecturer at the Hayden Planetarium




Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Keep on Blogging!


"Blogs are little first amendment machines".

---Jay Rosen



Curtesy of Ronni Bennett-- link http://timegoesby.net/

Monday, February 05, 2007

U.S. Empire's 'Dear Leader' Bush Seeks $245 Billion for Wars

$245 Billion More...

from Crooks and Liars by John Amato: link: http://www.crooksandliars.com/

"What do you think we could do with an extra $245 billion in our pocket?"

"Caveman Logic: Money used for wars = good."
"Money to help our own country = bad"

(AP) "...The spiraling increases in war spending — up from $120 billion approved by Congress for 2006 — are largely to replace equipment destroyed in combat or worn out in harsh conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan..."

For complete story, follow this link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070202/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_budget_1