Jones: I don't know who you think is calling women helpless. I only see Mitt Romney treating women with contempt, thinking he's entitled to their votes because his wife is a stay at home mom, a slam against working women everywhere, in the home and the workplace.
Any president comes from a background. We've had wealthy champions of the poor (FDR, Kennedy). We've had self-made supporters of the job creators (Lincoln, Clinton). But no matter what their background, a president must be ready to be president of all the people.
Mitt Romney has shown zero ability to be a president of the country as a whole. His occupation of choice was to be a shark among capitalists, draining working companies vampire-style for quick profit before unloading the carcasses, along with countless thousands of jobs, as opposed to building strong growing organizations like a traditional businessman. Politically he has proven himself to be chameleonlike, willing to say anything at all for the sake of power, never mind what he was saying yesterday.
And the glib shallowness of his comments about women - holding up his privileged wife, mother of five and boss of more than a dozen household staff, as a representative of their daily concerns, needs, and fears, was revealing in more ways than one.
Women are not stupid and will not be fooled. America is already tired of this phony. The more they know him, the more they realize he can't possibly lead them.
You are an example of the woeful state of evolution education in our country.
Every animal that ever lived was a link between what came before it and what came after.
Although we haven't dug up every species that ever lived yet, we find more every year, and they either fall into place in the evolutionary chain, or they enhance our knowledge by showing us more clearly how the chain really runs.
We could dig up every individual creature that ever crawled, swam, or flew, and it wouldn't convince some people. They'll just wave their hands and deny the evidence, because it doesn't say what they want.
That's fine, but such people should keep their "beliefs" out of the science classroom. Their beliefs are not functionally equivalent to the evidence-based opinions of countless thousands of knowledgeable actual scientists.
When you are a practiced believer in the impossible, when your belief is based on faith instead of reason, then what is left to challenge your biases, your errors, your prejudices, and your ignorance? People either open themselves to reason, or they cling to whatever fantasies please them, flatter them, let them feel good and superior. Inconvenient facts are breezily dismissed.
Look at the history of stem cell research. Look at the number of Americans entering scientific fields vs the number of foreigners, in AMERICAN universities. Look at the decline of American dominance of Nobel prizes.
I don't think we've fallen off a cliff, but over the long term we could go forward, or not. It's up to us.
People are entitled to their own beliefs, however useful or not.
But science education should not be corrupted by beliefs that are unscientific, no matter how psychologically useful they supposedly are.
(Wouldn't it be better to teach people how to be well with the real world rather than depend emotionally on a false conception of it anyway?)
Evolution is important in biology: Medicine, Agriculture, Genetics, and Environmental studies. Furthermore, all fields of science depend on a rigorous application of the scientific method and cannot survive a sloppy wishful thinking kind of substitute. A population of voters and consumers who believe ignorant things about these scientific fields will seriously hamper American competitiveness in the future.
We can't afford to create a new American Dark Age of anti-science while Europe and Asia advance in these and other fields of knowledge.
Many religious people believe in the "God of the Gaps," accepting scientific explanations for whatever science can explain, and ascribing to God the mysteries of the universe.
Scientists cause trouble when they do their jobs and expand human scientific knowledge, and come into conflict with ideas and explanations in realms previously claimed by religionists. Just ask Galileo, or today's biologists.
The earth is not flat. The sun does not orbit it. Linguistic diversity did not spring into existence at Babylon. Biological diversity did not begin in Eden 600 decades ago.
As humans evolved, we came to understand the nature of our own mortality. At the same time, we could not survive without retaining our animalistic survival instincts. The impossible conflict between our desire to live and the knowledge of our inevitable deaths was solved by developing the ability to believe (without evidence) an absurdity - that we will live forever.
Furthermore, as social animals (like wolves for example, that have to cooperate to hunt for food) we have hierarchy and we crave "purpose," that is, we need to feel that we belong to the group and to feel useful to the group. Religion satisfies these deep, evolved emotions by letting us believe (without evidence) that "God" loves us, and that we have a Purpose. It hurts our feelings to think we might just be an accident - look at the visceral reactions of any theist when you suggest such a thing.
Religion offers other goodies too, like an excuse to feel superior to non-believers, and the promise of being reunited someday with our loved ones.
It's tricky to hold beliefs without evidence. Theists must constantly reinforce their beliefs through mental conditioning (prayer), self-deception, and constant discipline enforced by the laws of the church.
Theists often defend their beliefs (without evidence) using irrational arguments that they themselves choose not to examine too closely for obvious reasons. Instead, they attempt to suppress their own doubts by attacking the doubts of others, as Doubt itself is a threat to their fragile beliefs (without evidence).
The happiness or success of a non-believer threatens their constructed world-view, that tells them that theists are special and chosen, and non-believers are enemies of God. So theists tell themselves that non-believers are either NOT actually happy, or will suffer later (after death). Theistic opposition to gay marriage is an example of theistic oppression of those who don't accept their beliefs (without evidence). How dare gay people defy their
God by being happy?
Theists are masters of irony, often accusing those who disagree with them of arrogance or fear, when it is theists who live in constant fear of losing the faith on which they have hung their feelings of self-worth, a lifelong struggle for many of them.
People who have religious beliefs (without evidence) are not stupid. They are human. There is nothing wrong with comforting yourself with a little "speculation" about the nature of the universe. Just please don't force your beliefs (without evidence) on others, through indoctrination in our shared schools, or by force of law through our shared government.
Conservative, don't lie and say that I have besmirched the marines! I would never do that! You did that by implying that there is something wrong with people who have tattoos.
The Romney Plan
Jones: I don't know who you think is calling women helpless. I only see Mitt Romney treating women with contempt, thinking he's entitled to their votes because his wife is a stay at home mom, a slam against working women everywhere, in the home and the workplace.
The Romney Plan
Any president comes from a background. We've had wealthy champions of the poor (FDR, Kennedy). We've had self-made supporters of the job creators (Lincoln, Clinton). But no matter what their background, a president must be ready to be president of all the people.
Mitt Romney has shown zero ability to be a president of the country as a whole. His occupation of choice was to be a shark among capitalists, draining working companies vampire-style for quick profit before unloading the carcasses, along with countless thousands of jobs, as opposed to building strong growing organizations like a traditional businessman. Politically he has proven himself to be chameleonlike, willing to say anything at all for the sake of power, never mind what he was saying yesterday.
And the glib shallowness of his comments about women - holding up his privileged wife, mother of five and boss of more than a dozen household staff, as a representative of their daily concerns, needs, and fears, was revealing in more ways than one.
Women are not stupid and will not be fooled. America is already tired of this phony. The more they know him, the more they realize he can't possibly lead them.
Busted!
FlyingP:
You are an example of the woeful state of evolution education in our country.
Every animal that ever lived was a link between what came before it and what came after.
Although we haven't dug up every species that ever lived yet, we find more every year, and they either fall into place in the evolutionary chain, or they enhance our knowledge by showing us more clearly how the chain really runs.
We could dig up every individual creature that ever crawled, swam, or flew, and it wouldn't convince some people. They'll just wave their hands and deny the evidence, because it doesn't say what they want.
That's fine, but such people should keep their "beliefs" out of the science classroom. Their beliefs are not functionally equivalent to the evidence-based opinions of countless thousands of knowledgeable actual scientists.
Busted!
When you are a practiced believer in the impossible, when your belief is based on faith instead of reason, then what is left to challenge your biases, your errors, your prejudices, and your ignorance? People either open themselves to reason, or they cling to whatever fantasies please them, flatter them, let them feel good and superior. Inconvenient facts are breezily dismissed.
Busted!
Jack_Dennis:
Look at the history of stem cell research. Look at the number of Americans entering scientific fields vs the number of foreigners, in AMERICAN universities. Look at the decline of American dominance of Nobel prizes.
I don't think we've fallen off a cliff, but over the long term we could go forward, or not. It's up to us.
Busted!
BigRidge,
People are entitled to their own beliefs, however useful or not.
But science education should not be corrupted by beliefs that are unscientific, no matter how psychologically useful they supposedly are.
(Wouldn't it be better to teach people how to be well with the real world rather than depend emotionally on a false conception of it anyway?)
Evolution is important in biology: Medicine, Agriculture, Genetics, and Environmental studies. Furthermore, all fields of science depend on a rigorous application of the scientific method and cannot survive a sloppy wishful thinking kind of substitute. A population of voters and consumers who believe ignorant things about these scientific fields will seriously hamper American competitiveness in the future.
We can't afford to create a new American Dark Age of anti-science while Europe and Asia advance in these and other fields of knowledge.
Yano
Somebody read it, thank you.
Busted!
Many religious people believe in the "God of the Gaps," accepting scientific explanations for whatever science can explain, and ascribing to God the mysteries of the universe.
Scientists cause trouble when they do their jobs and expand human scientific knowledge, and come into conflict with ideas and explanations in realms previously claimed by religionists. Just ask Galileo, or today's biologists.
The earth is not flat. The sun does not orbit it. Linguistic diversity did not spring into existence at Babylon. Biological diversity did not begin in Eden 600 decades ago.
Busted!
Religion is an evolved psychological phenomenon.
As humans evolved, we came to understand the nature of our own mortality. At the same time, we could not survive without retaining our animalistic survival instincts. The impossible conflict between our desire to live and the knowledge of our inevitable deaths was solved by developing the ability to believe (without evidence) an absurdity - that we will live forever.
Furthermore, as social animals (like wolves for example, that have to cooperate to hunt for food) we have hierarchy and we crave "purpose," that is, we need to feel that we belong to the group and to feel useful to the group. Religion satisfies these deep, evolved emotions by letting us believe (without evidence) that "God" loves us, and that we have a Purpose. It hurts our feelings to think we might just be an accident - look at the visceral reactions of any theist when you suggest such a thing.
Religion offers other goodies too, like an excuse to feel superior to non-believers, and the promise of being reunited someday with our loved ones.
It's tricky to hold beliefs without evidence. Theists must constantly reinforce their beliefs through mental conditioning (prayer), self-deception, and constant discipline enforced by the laws of the church.
Theists often defend their beliefs (without evidence) using irrational arguments that they themselves choose not to examine too closely for obvious reasons. Instead, they attempt to suppress their own doubts by attacking the doubts of others, as Doubt itself is a threat to their fragile beliefs (without evidence).
The happiness or success of a non-believer threatens their constructed world-view, that tells them that theists are special and chosen, and non-believers are enemies of God. So theists tell themselves that non-believers are either NOT actually happy, or will suffer later (after death). Theistic opposition to gay marriage is an example of theistic oppression of those who don't accept their beliefs (without evidence). How dare gay people defy their God by being happy?
Theists are masters of irony, often accusing those who disagree with them of arrogance or fear, when it is theists who live in constant fear of losing the faith on which they have hung their feelings of self-worth, a lifelong struggle for many of them.
People who have religious beliefs (without evidence) are not stupid. They are human. There is nothing wrong with comforting yourself with a little "speculation" about the nature of the universe. Just please don't force your beliefs (without evidence) on others, through indoctrination in our shared schools, or by force of law through our shared government.
Parental guidance best way to keep youths from getting tattoos
Conservative, don't lie and say that I have besmirched the marines! I would never do that! You did that by implying that there is something wrong with people who have tattoos.