It was occurring to me last night, while watching The Seventh Seal at the Castro in the wake of reading Orson Scott Card's "Ender Quartet", that free will is an illusion in the same way the Buddhists describe phenomenal existence as an illusion-not that it doesn't exist, but more that it doesn't exist the way that we think it does. In the end, ( Read more... )

Try the Christian Nationalists on for size. Terry Gross, on WHYY's Fresh Air radio show, interviews journalist Michelle Goldberg, a senior writer for the online magazine Salon, and covers the Christian Right. In her new book, Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, she writes that Christian nationalists believe the Bible is literally ( Read more... )

People often claim that I hold elistist views because I believe that "most people" are stupid. Well, I may be elitist, but I'm also right, according to Dr. John D. Miller as quoted in the NY Times. This, in addition to other studies showing that over 50% of Americans still believe things like the Genesis model of creation, or that Jesus spoke ( Read more... )

Ah, the delights of living in a country where healthcare is expensive even when you're employed. Had an odd blister on my gum again for the past few days - not all that odd, really, as this has become a fairly regular occurrence since I ceased having dental insurance. Usually it just goes away as the lymphocytes do their work. This time my lymph ( Read more... )