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Alabama Senator Hank Erwin is the worst kind of moron politician.  This guy once remarked that the Katrina disaster was God's retribution for the gulf coast's "sin".  Well, now he is supporting the idea of an "I Believe" license plate for the good citizens of Alabama.  I can't even begin to discuss why this is wrong so I will take the logical and academic route. 

These kinds of tags are a drain on taxpayer dollars and should be discontinued.  I am talking about ALL special tags.  "But those tags are paid for by the extra dollars the licensee must pay right" you might say and you would be wrong.  Some of the extra costs are covered in that fee but not all.  Thing about the extra time it takes DMV workers to get the special tags, solicit and approve the designs, advertise the availability of new tags, etc., etc., etc.  Do you really thing $50.00 a tag covers all of those costs?  What about the distractions caused by personalized and logo tags on our nations roads?  Of course let's not forget how much more difficult it is to recognize where a tag originates.  This can't be good for law inforcement.  By that reasoning alone these kinds of tags should be eleminated and we should go back to the days of one design per state.

Let us assume, however, that my solution is a bit too draconian for your tastes. What happens when we approve the "I Believe" branded tag.  Can I get one that says "I Don't Believe"?  How about "Allah Saves" or "Pastafarians Unite!"?  You can bet the answer is going to be no.  Open up that floodgate and where does it stop? 

The government has a right to tax citzens for the construction, use, and maintenance of infrastructure which includes roads.  Car licensing serves this purpose.  Government, however, really has no business in helping citizens express personal messages.  This includes favorite imaginary deity, favorite sports team, favorite video game or any thing else.  Any moron can put on a bumper sticker so why should taxpayers be saddled with the burden of personalizing license plates?  Let Lerory put an "I Believe" sticker on his F-150 right next to his "Roll Tide" sticker.  Problem solved.  He gets his message across and the government doesn't have to deal with it.  Plus, bumper stickers are cheaper than license tags so it is a win/win.  Actually, the people that have to read this stupid shit while driving down the highway lose but we'll just ignore that fact for now.

I guess this is an important issue for Hank Erwin.  My only hope is that he can settle this quickly so maybe he will have time toward other,s econdary issues like quality education for our children and clean air and water for the citizens of Alabama.  Really Hank, go on ahead with your religious grandstanding.  The kids can wait.  No hurry.   

I just love that every day court cases are decided by out of touch, old, white, Christian males in the United States.  It practically guarantees fairness and justice because these men certainly are the wisest and most learned among us.  I have every confidence that our court system is based on the single principle that a complete understanding of the facts of a case will lead to a logical conclusion and a well thought out judicial opinion.

Wait, who the fuck am I kidding here?   Some of the statements made by judges in this country prove our judicial system is full of pompous, blowhards that have no idea what they are talking about and are incapable of looking at a case based on facts and not opinion.  Take, for example, the current litigation surrounding some the Harry Potter books.  I read the following statement today which is quoted from The Times Online.

"District Judge Robert Patterson Jr said that he had read the first half of the first Harry Potter novel to his grandchildren, but found the "magical world hard to follow, filled with strange names and words that would be gibberish in any other context."

This District Judge found Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone hard to follow?  How in the hell can he understand legal opinions, legal precedent, and written law if he can't follow a story that my 4 year old has no problem understanding?  I won't argue with the "strange names", and "gibberish" as that is all true but any work of fantasy fiction is going to have such things.  Try reading Lord of the Rings.  That book is considered one of the greatest books of the English language and it is full of words that didn't exist before Tolkien put them to paper.  Would this judge consider that classic work nonsense?   Even given that there is a lot of "gibberish" in Harry Potter how is the book hard to follow?  It's not.  The judge's REAL problem with the work is that he has no imagination and thus doesn't enjoy or relate to the material.  Since he doesn't like it, it is very easy for him to dismiss the book.  I wonder if Rowling's banker find the book/books so easy to dismiss.

I don't care what happens with the litigation.  Rowling is not a struggling writer and Scholastic is not a struggling publisher.  If they want to produce a guide book then they just need to do it.  Do it in a way that makes the book the choice of fans.  The creator and publisher should be able to product a book that exceeds anything a third party could produce which would beat the other lexicon in the market.  However, I also understand intellectual property and copyrights have to be defended or they can be lost.  In this sense the case has merit.  It can set a precedent for fair use and thus I am interested in the ultimate outcome no matter which way it turns out. 

What concerns me most is that the judge is making critical statements on the artistic merit of the work instead of looking at the legal issues in the case.  The content of the work is only relevant when it comes to deciding what a third party can use in derivative works.  The quality and relevance of the content itself should not be under discussion.  If the books contained nothing but logs of Rowling's bowel movements it should not matter.  If someone then wanted to make a derivative work from such logs then the judge should give opinions on the legal fair use of the original source material and not make any statements on the literary value contained therein.  Judges are supposed to "stick to the facts" and how they relate to the written law, legal precedent, and legal traditions of their jurisdiction.   The fact that this particular judge can't follow the plot of the book is a whole other concern but I don't think a judge needs to understand the plot of a novel to decide on fair use issues. 

This illustrates a growing problem with the US judicial system.  Our judges don't understand much of what they are tasked with giving judgments on.  I see judges woeful lack of understanding in cases regarding the RIAA, DRM, software licensing, and just about anything related to the internet or digital media.  They constantly make uninformed statements which make it clear that they do not have the understanding needed to make fair and equitable judgments.  I am concerned that the evolution of technology that I use and take for granted every day is and will continue to be hampered by judges and attorneys that are unable or unwilling to learn about the subject that will be monumentally affected by their actions. 

Maybe we need age limits for judges?

So they are predicting 3-5 inches of snow on Saturday in my neck of the woods.  You would think the people around here had gotten advanced warning of the rapture or something.  It's crazy how people freak out over some snow.  Personally, I am a little upset about the possibility because I had things to do Saturday and since Alabama does not purchase snow removal equipment, for good reason, ANY snow shuts everything down.  Also, how bad does it suck that the one chance of snow in years is going to occur on a day most people have off anyway?  

I shot this video on my cell phone at about 12:50 today.  This is between 3rd and 4th Avenue South at the Hwy 31/280 exit.

The election this year will be difficult for me.  As an atheist, I don't see much in the Republican party that interests me.  Obviously Huckabee and Romney are off my list.  I honestly don't think McCain is the right guy and I highly doubt Ron Paul will get the nomination.  Paul would get my vote, even though I don't agree with his stand on foreign policy.  The fact that he at least seems to understand freedom and personal responsibility is enough for me to give him a chance.  Sadly, he can't seem to get the press he deserves.  The media has decided he is not a contender and thus he won't be. 

On the other hand, I certainly can't vote for for this:

The holidays are fun, but they can also be dangerous.  What follows is an incident that occurred Saturday night at the Hoover, Alabama Toys 'R Us.

My wife was out doing some last minute shopping and pulled into the parking lot of the Toys 'R Us in Hoover.  The shopping center that this store is located in has been in decline for a few years and it is a bit dark in some areas.  Instead of getting out of the car, she looked around the area for a few moments and saw a group of males hanging out near one of the doors to the store.  As she watched, another lady came out of the store talking on her mobile phone and not paying attention to much of anything.  Once of the young males in a hooded sweatshirt broke off from the group and began to follow her towards her car.  He kept his head low and was constantly looking around, as if to be sure no one was watching.  As it was getting late in the evening there were not too many people around.  As he got closer to the lady who was not very aware of her surroundings, the hooded male looked up and saw my wife looking at him from inside her car which had its interior lights on.  He immediately stopped following the other lady and went back to join his group.

Now, we can only guess as to what was about to happen, but the odds are he wasn't following the lady to give her some coupons.  My wife felt very unsafe and drove away from the store to the other end of the shopping area to where a policeman sat in his patrol car.  She approached the officer and told him what she had just witnessed.  Although he appreciated her taking note of the environment, he was only told to patrol the intersection in order to direct traffic and not to patrol the area around the toy store.  He also informed her that there had been 4 muggings in that area in recent weeks.  He thanked her for her concern and told her he would do a drive by when he got a chance. 

Needless to say, she came straight home.  I heard this story over the phone as she was driving away.

What I think you, the reader, should take from this story is not that the police are lazy, but they are overworked.  They are responsible for too many things with too few officers to take care of everything.  Sure priorities were way out of whack in this situation, but I can only fault the officer so much.  The merchants are also responsible for the security of their stores and if there truly has been 4 attacks (and there is no reason to doubt this claim) the toy store maybe should have hired private security to take care of its patrons.

The other thing to note is that you are the primary party responsible for your safety.  Pay attention to where you are and what you are doing.  Most criminals prey on the weak and the oblivious.  The lady from Saturday night very likely avoided a very bad evening out of sheer luck.  She was marked from the moment she walked out of the store, if not before, as an easy target because she was more interested in her phone conversation than the world around her.  She got lucky Saturday but we all know they same can not be said for everyone.

So, even though the shopping madness is at an end, be careful out there.  If you aren't watching, someone else probably is.

So yet another school board, this one in Pinellas County Florida, has decided that intelligent design must be taught along with evolution.  Superstition has thus become part of the curriculum.  While I am not surprised that a theory of creation with NO BASIS IN SCIENCE is being forced onto a student body, what does surprise me is a statement from one of the board members.  Board member Peggy O'Shea suggests that discussions on the origin of the universe are just too controversial to be important.  I wonder if she has a doctorate in thinkology. 

From the article at Tampabay.com:

"O'Shea suggested that parents who object to evolution being taught to their children might be able to opt them out of that day's lesson. "I'd probably ideally like to keep it all out of the classroom," she said. "If it's going to create this much controversy, how important is it?""

Not only is the origin of life just too controversial to be important, apparently it is ok for students to "opt out" of parts of their education that they don't agree with.  That sets one hell of a precedent don't you think?   Maybe I don't agree with coaches teaching math...can my child opt out of that?  How about if I really think that faster than light travel is possible?  Can my daughter then opt out of physics?  Wait, what if I am a communist?  Can my children opt out of American Government, Economics, and Civics?  Really Mrs. O' Shea?  Really?

Look, those that want to learn about "Intelligent Design" already have a place to get their fill of such nonsense.  As far as I know, most churches are open 7 days a week.   I am sure someone there would love to teach a class on magic.  Public school, however, is not the place to study superstition as the basis of the universe...unless it is in history or sociology class.  Do you insist on this "evolution is just a theory" argument?  That's fine with me.  Just about everything we know is a theory.   That is a solid, scientific approach to a scientific argument.  We also theorize that the sun will come up every day.  There is no way to PROVE this is true because we can't observe every day both past and future, but all evidence points to the sun rising (it actually doesn't rise...but we won't get into that today) every day and thus we accept it as true.  Let's keep mythology where it belongs...at the church.

And since we are talking about the origin of the universe let me make a point.  Do not try to argue with me that everything has to have a beginning.  That is a regressive argument that only allows me to negate your point.  Usually the argument goes like this:

Theist:  "If you believe matter and energy are the basis of the universe, who created them?"

Atheist:  "Why do they have to be created?  Why can't they just be?  Science says matter can neither be created or destroyed so maybe that is all there is?  Even before the big bang all matter and energy existed but just in a very compressed state."

Theist:  "But where did it come from?  Surely some intelligent force created matter and energy."

Atheist:  "No, I don't need to believe that.  I can believe that matter and energy are the beginning and end.  Those things have always existed and always will."

Theist:  "But it all had to start somewhere."

Atheist:  "Ok, you argue that there has to be a beginning.  You also argue that some intelligence, God, created matter, and energy, and the universe.  So, I ask you, if you insist on there being a beginning to EVERYTHING, who created your god?"

Theist:  "Oh no, God is God.  He has always existed and always will."

Atheist:  "Funny how I have to accept your God as a possible beginning with no creator, but you can not accept matter and energy as the beginning.  If you insist on everything having a creator then there is no end to the creator, creation chain."

Theist:  "But I know God created everything."

Atheist:  "Prove it."

Theist:  'Ummm...aahhh...The Bible....umm...personal revelation...umm...ahh....faith or something."

Atheist:  "Stop right there.  I seem to have an urgent appointment to go bang my head against a wall.  We'll talk later."

The whole "Someone must have started the whole thing" bit doesn't work with me.  Don't try it.

I told you a couple of weeks ago that the movie version of The Golden Compass would stir up the media.  Fox News, of course, seems to be the first to jump on the story.  Please take a look at the following:



You will notice how biased the the news person is while the discussion of the film progresses.  You can hear him huffing and puffing as Mrs. Gaylor explains her position. Fox News is biased exactly like CNN is biased just in the opposite direction. You'll be hearing more about this I assure you.

What is so interesting is that the priest has a HUGE problem with children being exposed to atheist beliefs but obviously does not see anything wrong with indoctrinating children into the Catholic church from birth.  That is my point from yesterday.  I don't think children have the ability to understand ANY of those issues.  My question then becomes, When is it ok to expose children to philosophical ideas through metaphor, allegory, and dramatization?

It appears that I have found a purpose for this blog after all these years.  Although I never intended for this site to have a free thought focus, it seems like that topic is all I feel like talking about lately.  Maybe that will change, maybe it won't.  For all of you readers taking me off your RSS list or whatever, yes, I am talking to both of you, please take comfort in knowing that I'll still be here for you whenever you need me.  Now, on with the show.

So another southern city announces a prayer vigil for rain.

Atlanta Governor Sonny Perdue has asked Georgians to pray for rain.

How many years have you guys been praying for the Falcons to not suck?  How's that turned out for you?  Let me check....Ohhhh, not too good.  Looks like the Falcons still suck.  Keep trying though ok?

Governor Perdue:  Do you think you might be better off by asking all of those people to skip a shower once a week instead of praying?  Just a thought.

I love this quote from Ed Buckner from the Atlanta Free Thought Society:

"Does the God that Sonny Perdue believes in have to be informed about the drought?" Buckner asked. "Doesn't he know? Or have the important people not appealed to him yet?"

Imagine this scenario...God is sitting in his big King of Kings throne in heaven chilling out and watching some TV.  Probably the latest Heroes episode and all of a sudden he gets a ring on the big, red prayer phone on the table.  His worldwide prayer status monitor lights up and shows that there is a sudden increase in requests for rain in the southeastern United States.   God jumps up out of the chair and declares "OH SHIT!" Those people are in danger of running out of water!  I better help them!"  As though he somehow managed to overlook the crisis in his omnipotence.  In this situation, God is either lazy or just doesn't care.   Kind of a tough pill for his followers to swallow isn't it?

Go ahead and pray for rain if it makes you feel better.  While you're at it, can you please ask your God to protect all the innocent children of the world from starvation, disease, molestation, and abuse?  Seems like the almighty could do a little something about that problem too while working on that water issue.

Remember the days when the only thing you had to worry about as a kid was getting impaled by a law dart? A little blood and maybe some stitches and you were good as new.

Even dangerous toys were simpler in that bygone era.  Not so today.  No, today one can hurt a child in much more subtle ways.  Take yesterday's recall of Aqua Dots for example.