Category Archives: Culture

Conservative values

Posted on Thursday 13 February 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s long been my impression that conservatives, especially of the extreme Tea Party variety, are motivated largely by fear – of the unknown, of the ‘other’ (people unlike themselves), of the implications of rational engagement with the real world. And … Continue reading →

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Answers for Creationists

Posted on Thursday 6 February 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Today both Phil Plait at Slate and Mike D on his blog respond to the Buzzfeed listsicle of 22 messages from Creationists who held up questions to those who ‘believe’ in evolution. (‘Believe’ is not the right word; as Plait … Continue reading →

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The Narcissism of Today’s Homophobia

Posted on Wednesday 5 February 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

[Reposted from Facebook a couple evenings ago] The Narcissism of Today’s Homophobia Insightful deconstruction of the motives behind homophobes like Bizzle (who put out an anti-gay version of Macklemore’s “Same Love”, the controversial Best Song nominee that was performed at … Continue reading →

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Five Reasons Why Secular Humanism Is Winning

Posted on Wednesday 5 February 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Despite the anguishing of right-wingnuts over science and gays, the trend in society is apparently away from fundamentalism. http://civitashumana.wordpress.com/2014/02/01/5-reasons-secular-humanism-is-winning/. To summarize: 1, the current generation is more secular than ever 2, religion has become less fundamental 3, modern scientific research … Continue reading →

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Link Dump: Sites and Resources

Posted on Saturday 25 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I’m going through a whole bunch of links that I’ve bookmarked over the past couple years — some of which I should link as ‘resources’ in my right sidebar, perhaps — but for now will note in this post. Sites: … Continue reading →

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Are Some Folks Beyond Rational Thinking?

Posted on Friday 24 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

A classic post from Alternet that popped up in my Fb feed today for some reason — Human Stupidity Is Destroying the World. Do you believe in angels? Forty-five percent of Americans do. In fact, roughly 48 percent – Republicans … Continue reading →

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A-Unicornist

Posted on Monday 20 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

There are dozens or hundreds of blogs on the web to reflect any interest, and there is only so much time in the day to keep up on any set of them. So my bookmarked list of sites to check … Continue reading →

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Homosexuality and Morality

Posted on Thursday 16 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate’s Nathaniel Frank explores the reasoning of the Oklahoma judge who, for now, struck down the state’s gay marriage ban. Last para: What courts really mean — or should mean — in barring “moral disapproval” as the basis for laws … Continue reading →

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Debate Consternation

Posted on Monday 13 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

There is some consternation in the science/atheist community that Bill Nye, the Science Guy, has agreed to debate Ken Ham, the Kentucky Creation Museum guy, about evolution vs. creationism. The attitude many others in the science community (names too numerous … Continue reading →

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Atheism as Luxury?

Posted on Thursday 9 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Connor Wood, at Science on Religion: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scienceonreligion/2014/01/does-atheism-arise-from-wealth/#more-1015 Because ritual and conformance are easy. There’s good evidence that atheism and secularism are much more costly, in terms of sheer energy expenditure, than religious ways of organizing society. Conclusion: So is atheism … Continue reading →

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