Mon - April 23, 2007
Category: "Only in America"
In the Indy
Star
:
"The “In God We Trust” license plates that have quickly become a fixture on Indiana roads came under a legal attack today claiming the law authorizing them is unconstitutional for favoring that message over those on other plates.
The lawsuit (by the ACLU) filed in Marion Superior Court claims the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles gives preferential treatment to motorists wanting the plates, which also feature the American flag, because they don’t have to pay the $15 administrative fee that the agency collects on sales of most other Indiana specialty plates."
There is, of course, no plate for skeptics either at the full price or the subsidised price. Nor is there an "end the war" plate for much the same reasons. But you can buy Notre Dame, Purdue, and IU plates which says a lot about American interests and priorities. I wonder how they would charge for a plate like "Whom would Jesus bomb?" or "Whom would Jesus torture?" I'd pay a premium for the privilege.
"The “In God We Trust” license plates that have quickly become a fixture on Indiana roads came under a legal attack today claiming the law authorizing them is unconstitutional for favoring that message over those on other plates.
The lawsuit (by the ACLU) filed in Marion Superior Court claims the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles gives preferential treatment to motorists wanting the plates, which also feature the American flag, because they don’t have to pay the $15 administrative fee that the agency collects on sales of most other Indiana specialty plates."
There is, of course, no plate for skeptics either at the full price or the subsidised price. Nor is there an "end the war" plate for much the same reasons. But you can buy Notre Dame, Purdue, and IU plates which says a lot about American interests and priorities. I wonder how they would charge for a plate like "Whom would Jesus bomb?" or "Whom would Jesus torture?" I'd pay a premium for the privilege.
Posted at 10:08 PM Read More
You can fool some of the people all the time
Here are two articles which show how many people
can be easily fooled. The first is about James
Randi, the magician and debunker of the paranormal, who shows how
well meaning but distracted journalists can be fooled through clever
improvisation. The second is by Chris
Hedges who shows some of the techniques used by fundamentalist
Christians to get converts. Both are instances of false magic and willing
gullibility.
Posted at 08:17 PM Read More
Wed - April 18, 2007
Chris Hedges on Christian Fascism
Another author is warning us about the dangers of
fascism in America. Chris
Hedges is worried that fundamentalist Christians are preparing for a
theocratic state. He has a short book on the subject,
American Fascists: The
Christian Right and the War on
America. In this article he
focusses on the crazies who believe in Armageddon, which they believe is on its
way in Iraq/Iran following biblical prophecy. A
passage:
"The global nightmare that leads to
the end of history is a visceral and disturbing expression of what believers
feel about themselves and our world. The horror of apocalyptic
violence—the final aesthetic of the movement—at once terrifies and
thrills followers. It feeds dark fantasies of revenge and
empowerment. This theology of despair is empowered by widespread poverty,
violent crime, incurable diseases, global warming, war in the Middle East and
the threat of nuclear calamity. All these events presage the longed-for
obliteration of the Earth and the glorious moment of Christ’s
return. But until then believers are told they must battle Satan.
And Satan comes in many guises. In churches across the United States
believers are being girded for a holy war, one as self-destructive as that
preached by radical Islam."
Posted at 05:08 PM Read More
Dinosaurs in the news again
Dinosaurs are in the news again. Firstly, in a story with references to Jurassic Part (pedants would call it Cretaceous Park because most of the dinosaurs depicted came from that era not the Jurassic, but never mind) about scientists finding evidence of soft tissue in dinosaur fossils found in Montana and Wyoming. This means that some of their DNA can be sequenced. A second story is about an expat Aussie, Ken Ham , President of Answers in Genesis, has raised money for a Creationist theme park in Kentucky (Part of the US bible belt) to educate Americans about how dinosaurs lived peacefully side-by-side with humans until the Fall turned them into predatory carnivores, how the Grand Canyon was dug in a flash flood after The Flood, and so on. The BBC, like many Brit and Aussie papers, has a section set aside for stories like this - under the "only in America" could this happen.
Posted at 02:28 PM Read More
Ayaan Hirsi Ali interview
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, originally from Somalia then a Dutch MP, is interviewed in Guernica magazine. What caught my eye were two things: her uncompromising dislike for all religions and her affinity to John Stuart Mill. So what is she doing at the Heritage Foundation one might ask?
Posted at 02:18 PM Read More
Mon - February 20, 2006
In a parallel universe not far away....
David Aaronovitch of the
Times , has a nice, sly take on the cartoon uprisings which are
sweeping the Muslim world. In this world Dan Brown,
author of The Da Vinci
Code, takes the place of Salman Rushdie and the
Danish cartoonists, and the Catholic Church takes the place of the mad
mullahs.
Posted at 09:50 PM Read More
The American Association for the Advancement of Science calls for science to be taught in schools
Rupert Cornwell of the Independent
reports that the American Association for the Advancement of Science is lobbying
"mainstream" religious groups in America (i.e. not fundamentalists) to oppose
legislation pending in 14 states to give "equal time" to "intelligent design" in
the science curriculum. They note that enrollment by American-born students in
science courses has dropped dramatically and that a majority of PhDs are granted
to foreign-born students (many of whom are returning to China or India to pursue
their careers when once they would have stayed in the US). Unless the teaching
of science in American high schools is made more rigorous and more attractive US
industry will face shortages of skilled personnel in the future. Maybe we'll see
the American Mathematical Association defending the teaching of the "theory of
zero" in mathematics classes after challenges against it for it being a foreign
Hindu-Arab concept which is one of many equally plausible and competing theories
such as the Christian-Roman theory of counting.
Posted at 09:25 PM Read More
Sun - February 19, 2006
Western hypocrisy on free speech
A number of commentators have pointed out the
double standards and hypocrisy of several western nations in the Danish
cartoons affair. The first is that the Danish paper which originally published
the cartoons of the prophet had some years before refused to publish cartoons of
Jesus because they were "offensive". So it seems that what is sauce for the
Islamic goose is definitely not sauce for the Christian gander. Then of course
there are all the bans on other "offensive" depictions of Christ like the film
The Last Temptation of Christ (still banned in a number of bible belt states in
the US - don't forget this is the "land of the free") or art exhibitions of
works like "Piss Christ". In Germany there is a strict ban on selling copies of
Hitler's Main Kampf and severe penalties on anybody who might wish to express
their right to freedom of speech in denying the facts of the Holocaust. Many
nations as well as some states in the US still have on their books laws which
prohibit blasphemy [I found an interesting satanist website (link now lost)
which had a good discussion of current blasphemy laws as they blasphemed against
every religion and were proud of it]. They may not be enforced anymore (or only
selectively) but they are a reminder that not too long ago Christian western
nations behaved towards dissidents much the same way Islamic states under sharia
law do today. The demonstrations against blasphemous cartoons of the prophet may
be the trigger for much deeper resentments against the west [Jim Lobe Uzma Aslan
Khan ] for things such as British and French imperialism in North
Africa and the Middle East, the American support for compliant dictatorships
such as Saudi Arabia since the end of WW2 in exchange for a guaranteed supply of
oil, the overthrow of democratically elected governments such as Iran's in 1953,
the uncritical support for Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands and its
unwavering protection in the UN, and last and by no means least, the invasion
and occupation of Iraq by the US and its "coalition of the
willing".
Posted at 05:42 PM Read More
Sat - February 11, 2006
Free speech is like a Ferrari
The cartoonist and columnist Ted Rall
has an interesting take on the Muslim cartoons controversy. He
asks:
"Which is why, in a nation with a truly free media,
there is no line. To hell with the nanny media. Free speech is like a Ferrari:
What good is it if you don't use it or if you barely use it, only driving it in
town, in stop-and-go traffic? It's useless until you can head out to the Arizona
desert and push it past 150 mph. Short of libel, slander and impersonation,
anything goes--that is, if you believe in the First Amendment."
I would go further and say that even libel and slander
might be justified if what is said is true and said in the public interest. In
Australia and Britain free speech can be severely limited if what one says can
be shown to harm the reputation of, say a corrupt politician, even if what one
says is true. The truth of what one says is not at issue, it is the harm caused
to the corrupt politician's reputation. He might not get re-elected. All
instances of foolishness, ignorance, and gullibility should be fair game for the
cleansing satire of cartoonists, especially political and religious foolishness.
In the Danish cartoon controversy one might ask the
question, is this in the political interest of the neo-cons trying to drum up
anti-Muslim feeling in order to push for more invasion and conquest in the
Middle East? Maybe, but I would say the invasion of Iraq has done far more to
stir up anti-American and anti-western feelings in the Muslim world. The killing
of scores of thousands of innocent Iraqis is far more offensive to Muslim
sensitivities than a few tasteless cartoons published in a conservative
newspaper.
Posted at 06:21 PM Read More
Mon - February 6, 2006
Yet more anti-religious cartoons
As Danish and Norwegian embassies are ransacked and
burned my search for more anti-religious cartoons continues. The Guardian
has a report on the conservative Danish newspaper which sparked the
riots, Jyllands-Posten, that it refused to carry some anti-Christian cartoons
three years ago. It seems that what is sauce for the goose is not necessarily
sauce for the gander in Protestant Denmark.
Robert Fisk reminds us that there are lots of things European nations will not permit "free speech" to challenge or satirize, such as the Holocaust in Germany, and even in "free" America fundamentalist Christians protest modern art exhibitions which show Christ or the virgin Mary in novel and disrespectful ways.
A number of papers have photo slide shows of of some of the rioters (Juan Cole reminds us that there are over 1 billion muslims in the world and that rioting has been largely limited to Damascus and Jordan, fundamentalist Iran is largely quiet). As a classical liberal, this photo of a protest in London caught my attention (note that liberal London is the only place where Karl Marx was free from persecution to write his socialist tracts condemning the free market):
The Australian press has a long tradition of political and social cartooning, some of which is quite funny (unlike the fairly crude Danish cartoons). There is a strong tradition of anti-authority which means the Aussie cartoons are ecumenical - all politicians and religious leaders are equally targeted for their foibles and stupidities. Here are a couple by Bill Leak of The Australian :
And Martin Rowson of the Guardian has this one inspired by the embassy burnings:
Robert Fisk reminds us that there are lots of things European nations will not permit "free speech" to challenge or satirize, such as the Holocaust in Germany, and even in "free" America fundamentalist Christians protest modern art exhibitions which show Christ or the virgin Mary in novel and disrespectful ways.
A number of papers have photo slide shows of of some of the rioters (Juan Cole reminds us that there are over 1 billion muslims in the world and that rioting has been largely limited to Damascus and Jordan, fundamentalist Iran is largely quiet). As a classical liberal, this photo of a protest in London caught my attention (note that liberal London is the only place where Karl Marx was free from persecution to write his socialist tracts condemning the free market):
The Australian press has a long tradition of political and social cartooning, some of which is quite funny (unlike the fairly crude Danish cartoons). There is a strong tradition of anti-authority which means the Aussie cartoons are ecumenical - all politicians and religious leaders are equally targeted for their foibles and stupidities. Here are a couple by Bill Leak of The Australian :
And Martin Rowson of the Guardian has this one inspired by the embassy burnings:
Posted at 10:02 PM Read More
Sat - February 4, 2006
Why "intelligent design" should not be taught in sceince classes
It might seem reasonable to teach ID alongside
evolutionism in science classes as a matter of "fairness" but Richard Dawkins,
Charles Simonyi professor of the public understanding of science at Oxford
University, and Jerry Coyne is a professor in the department of ecology and
evolution at the University of Chicago, disagree
. Only theories which produce testable hypotheses and which can be refuted merit
being taught in a science class. And IT is not such a theory.
Posted at 06:22 PM Read More
2 more anti-Islamic cartoons
I will finish with two more anti-Islamic cartoons
which I thought were quite good. One depicts the clash of cultures between the
secular west and the traditional Islamic
world:
and the second the hypocrisy of focussing on religious bigotry alone and forgetting about the treatment of women, the penal code, and the practice of bombing civilians:
and the second the hypocrisy of focussing on religious bigotry alone and forgetting about the treatment of women, the penal code, and the practice of bombing civilians:
Posted at 06:01 PM Read More
Some anti-Christian cartoons
As an atheist I would like to consider a few
anti-Christian cartoons as well, just so I am not accused of being partisan. In
the light (but not necessarily "enlightenment") of the recent controversies in
Kansas and Pennsylvania over the teaching of so-called "Intelligent Design" in
the science curriculum I thought this cartoon had an interesting point - God as
a pointy headed wizard playing with a plastic game of DNA trying to create the
full spectrum of evolutionary development as depicted on the
box:
Here is one, with a nice reference to Bob Dylan's savage anti-war song "With God on our Side", about christian conservative congressmen, sent to congress to clean up the corruption of the wicked godless liberal democrats, playing the very same game of pork barrel politics. We impatiently await the outcome of several court cases where such fundamentalist christian republicans have been indicted.
Here's one where many iconic figures - religious, political, and cultural - get the same treatment as the prophet did in one of the Danish newspaper's cartoons. Are these so shocking in comparison? As I said in a previous post, the "incendiary device" is in their heads and so suggests the explosive power of their ideas. Muslim martyrs who blow themselves and others up do so by strapping bombs to the chest or in the cars they drive, not to their heads. So a literal interpretation is implausible.
Here is one, with a nice reference to Bob Dylan's savage anti-war song "With God on our Side", about christian conservative congressmen, sent to congress to clean up the corruption of the wicked godless liberal democrats, playing the very same game of pork barrel politics. We impatiently await the outcome of several court cases where such fundamentalist christian republicans have been indicted.
Here's one where many iconic figures - religious, political, and cultural - get the same treatment as the prophet did in one of the Danish newspaper's cartoons. Are these so shocking in comparison? As I said in a previous post, the "incendiary device" is in their heads and so suggests the explosive power of their ideas. Muslim martyrs who blow themselves and others up do so by strapping bombs to the chest or in the cars they drive, not to their heads. So a literal interpretation is implausible.
Posted at 05:56 PM Read More
More anti-Islamic cartoons
I have been investigating further anti-Islamic
cartoons after the riots and Embassy burnings of the past few days as the
Islamic fundamentalists vent their fury. Oh where is the Islamic Voltaire when
we need him/her? Daryl
Cagle has a good discussion and links to many good political
cartoons. This
site as well as images going back centuries. The cartoonist Ted Rall
chimes in with defence of the freedom to
offend.
This one makes the point that pens too can be hurtful;
This is a just a pedantic point but I can't help asking it. If it is forbidden for Muslims to depict the prophet Muhammad, presumably they don't or at least aren't allowed to, so how do they know what he looks like and if indeed any of these cartoons do in fact depict him? There is no labelling in the cartoons that "this is the prophet" so it could be any arab male dressed in traditional attire. A small point I know.
The Danish newspaper which started the furor printed some fairly crude, badly drawn, and not all that clever cartoons. The exception I think is the one depicting the two all-seeing women standing behind the blinded prophet. This is well drawn and has a powerful message about the oppression of women's rights, so it is a successful cartoon on a number of levels. The others are quite forgettable.
I have found some other cartoons which are much more pointed in their barbs against religious intolerance and bigotry and stupidity. So why haven't the authors of these cartoons been stoned and their country's embassies burned?
Here is one which is cleverly drawn, makes a good political point about freedom of speech, and comes on the heels of the deaths by panic and crushing which took place during the last pilgrimage:
An even better one which conjures up images of Escher and Guenter Grass as well as the traditional Islamic punishment for theft:
This one makes the point that pens too can be hurtful;
This is a just a pedantic point but I can't help asking it. If it is forbidden for Muslims to depict the prophet Muhammad, presumably they don't or at least aren't allowed to, so how do they know what he looks like and if indeed any of these cartoons do in fact depict him? There is no labelling in the cartoons that "this is the prophet" so it could be any arab male dressed in traditional attire. A small point I know.
The Danish newspaper which started the furor printed some fairly crude, badly drawn, and not all that clever cartoons. The exception I think is the one depicting the two all-seeing women standing behind the blinded prophet. This is well drawn and has a powerful message about the oppression of women's rights, so it is a successful cartoon on a number of levels. The others are quite forgettable.
I have found some other cartoons which are much more pointed in their barbs against religious intolerance and bigotry and stupidity. So why haven't the authors of these cartoons been stoned and their country's embassies burned?
Here is one which is cleverly drawn, makes a good political point about freedom of speech, and comes on the heels of the deaths by panic and crushing which took place during the last pilgrimage:
An even better one which conjures up images of Escher and Guenter Grass as well as the traditional Islamic punishment for theft:
Posted at 05:37 PM Read More
Mon - January 9, 2006
The religious divide between the US and Europe (and Australia)
Ian Buruma in The Guardian
argues that the US and Europe (and I would add other Europe-derived societies
like Australia) are drifting further apart on the grounds of religious belief.
Although these societies have much in common concerning civil and political
liberties they are radically different when it comes to belief in God, church
attendance, and the idea that state legislation should reflect religious ideas
(or "values" as they are termed in the US). This is odd given the strong Deist,
even agnostic views, of the "Founding Fathers" of the US republic. I think
Jefferson would be appalled at the growth of religious fundamentalism in the US
over the past 25 years, especially at its political agenda.
Posted at 07:49 PM Read More
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About David M. Hart
I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and now work for a non-profit educational foundation in the US. Before moving to the US with my family I taught modern European history at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. I have studied at universities in Australia, Germany, the US, and Britain and consider myself a citizen of the world and a supporter of no particular nation state. [More]
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Published On: Apr 23, 2007 10:08 PM
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