tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398122095604163442023-11-15T08:41:31.542-08:00Off LabelMy mildly coherent musings and meditations on religion, politics and other inappropriate dinner conversation.just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-73920168780302070472012-09-14T16:15:00.002-07:002012-09-14T16:15:38.874-07:00Why there is no futureI was working job number two today (substitute teacher). I was assigned for the morning to a fourth grade class. The lesson was probability. After a half hour of explaining vocabulary, problem-solving strategies and examples, the students were assigned a few problems from their books. Most did ok deciding if an outcome was certain, likely, unlikely or impossible. However, when it came to working with actual numbers, I realized it is no wonder so many people can't maintain a checking account or hold a job. The economy is in trouble because apparently, kids today don't even know what a number is.<div>
Here's the question in the book:</div>
<div>
Use numbers to describe the probability of choosing a cube that is not yellow.</div>
<div>
<img src="webkit-fake-url://56220FD7-C1F9-4166-AD1A-78C63D816B68/image.tiff" /> They had a few minutes to think about it and write down an answer. I started going around the room asking for responses. The first kid said "10 out of 2". At least the format was right, but there are still two things wrong with this answer. One, there can't be ten desirable outcomes if there are only two possible outcomes. Secondly, the kid had answered the question for yellow, rather than anything except yellow. This shows not only a complete lack of understanding of the math topic, but also demonstrates poor reading comprehension skills.</div>
<div>
The second kid who offered an answer said "2 out of 10". I made the mistake of feeling hopeful and optimistic at this point, thinking at least the math was on the right track even if the reading skills left something to be desired. Oh , how foolish and naive I was. </div>
<div>
After suggestion they all carefully read the question again, FIVE individuals claimed to have figured out the answer:</div>
<div>
Blue.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Huh. Who knew blue was a number. Maybe I should ask for a red% raise after dealing with this.</div>
just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-29127214813497104282012-09-13T11:49:00.000-07:002012-09-13T11:49:29.390-07:00Is it November YET?OK...I try really hard not to answer the question "Who are you voting for?" for three reasons:<br />
1. It's none of anyone's fucking business.<br />
2. The correct question is "<b><i>For whom</i></b> are you voting?"<br />
3. This year, I honestly don't know.<br />
<br />
I strongly believe that voting is not only a right, but also a responsibility. If those of us who are reasonable, moderate people willing to consider all sides of an issue don't vote, then the nation's future is left up to the wing-nuts. With so many idiots <i>running</i> for office, leaving the voting to idiots doesn't seem wise.<br />
However, I don't feel that I can, in good conscience, vote for either presidential candidate this time around. Romney would set civil rights back 50 years: women's rights and the LGBT community would suffer under his administration. He's too quick to cater to the tea-partiers. And he proved that he is a selfish twit when he immediately attacked the current administration before expressing genuine sympathy for the loss of American life at the embassy in Libya. On the other hand, Obama seems to be trying for less restriction on welfare rather than more: I feel almost ill at the sight of a woman pulling her food stamps out of a designer bag and typing on her smartphone with her acrylic nails while I'm feeling guilty about buying the lean ground beef instead of the cheap stuff even though I work three jobs. The Obama presidency has also left a lot to be desired when it comes to supporting and respecting military personnel. I just don't see a clear choice when the issues I care about most don't fit into either platform.<br />
There is one thing I am certain about, however. This is the point I really want to make:<br />
Whichever way I decide to vote, my choice will be based on issues and job performance. I am truly appalled at the right-wing blowhards who insist that Romney is better for "Christian America" because Obama is a Muslim. First and foremost...a candidate's religion should NEVER be considered because of a little thing called<i> separation of church and state. </i>Secondly, I was under the impression that the Obama family attends a Christian church (Christ Church in Chicago and a Baptist church in DC) while Romney is a Mormon. IF one was to take a candidate's religion into account, wouldn't an established world religion with similar core values AND a belief in Jesus (granted, only as a prophet) be desirable over what is, at best, a 'new' religion filled with magic and secrecy even stranger than the other religions in question?just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-34280283727584988732012-02-16T17:31:00.000-08:002012-02-16T17:31:40.160-08:00preachers and pastriesThis morning, I was enjoying a delightful danish with my husband in the local bakery. This random guy walks up and asks if we're from the area. Thinking he may want directions, we confirm. He proceeds to explain that he is the minister at a nearby church and invited us to a service. A thousand replies, none of which would have been nice or necessary, pop into my head. The result of keeping those thoughts to myself is that I start laughing. My more disciplined, military husband was able to keep a straight face and politely nod as the man finished his spiel. After the man walked away, my husband scolded me for my response. I asked him if he would have felt obligated to be polite if our breakfast had been interrupted by someone selling insurance or vacuums. Of course not. But he still didn't see why I was offended. Here's why:<br />
If I had interrupted his breakfast with an invitation to the upcoming <a href="http://www.reasonrally.org/" target="_blank">Reason Rally</a> , or a gay pride event, or a Planned Parenthood fundraiser, he would have been offended and outlined his convictions. (While this is conjecture regarding this specific individual, I have found this to be the general reaction.) Why should I be expected to keep quiet when someone imposes on my time and space?<br />
It's like those Jehovah Witness people...who thought knocking on the doors of busy people, expecting them to drop everything and listen, was a good idea? What would they think if I showed up on their doorstep while they were trying to make dinner and handed them a copy of a Richard Dawkins book?<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"> Bottom line: Don't bother me when I have a danish. </div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-36600469942485783142011-04-07T06:00:00.001-07:002011-04-07T06:00:51.738-07:00why our schools are to blame I got a call from my daughter's school complaining that there were hurt feelings when not everyone got a birthday party invite. I told them I refused to force my kid to be friends with people who are mean to her. I thought about and realized that this "everyone is special" bull$h!t is what's wrong with America. The snotty girl can treat others like crap all year and still go to all the parties. The C-student gets the same gold star as the A-student. The fat kid is told they are perfect and pretty just the way they are. Fast forward to when they're 30... the mean girl has been divorced twice. The C-student wonders why he's been passed over for a promotion for the fifth time in a row. The fat kid is now diabetic and has arthritis in her knees. Our country can't compete globally because our schools are afraid competition will make kids feel bad about themselves. Oh, boo hoo. <div style='clear: both; text-align: center; font-size: xx-small;'>Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5</div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-41580383116061461052011-03-02T11:52:00.001-08:002011-03-02T11:52:44.826-08:00its a shame<a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/us/03scotus.html?_r=1&hp'>Justices Rule for Protesters at Military Funerals - NYTimes.com</a> <br/> <br/> I am all about free speech. I mean, hey, I'm a blogger, right? Free speech means I can rant and rave about how much the world sucks & my government won't (probably) shoot me. But these protesters are stepping over the limits of human decency. If you don't agree with the war, protest at the pentagon or white house. If your issue is gays in the military, picket a military base. If you think your god hates America, get out and don't look back lest you turn into a pillar of salt. It's ok to have lost all respect for your government and its decisions. It's very much not ok to show disrespect to an individual who died trying to do their job, and worse, to add to the pain of those mourning the loss. <div style='clear: both; text-align: center; font-size: xx-small;'>Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5</div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-16813885337861492222011-01-27T20:34:00.001-08:002011-01-27T20:34:49.725-08:00The first iterationSo some scientists have extracted DNA from a woolly mammoth and plan to create a clone. (Have they not seen Jurassic Park?) This comes up in discussion with RR, who is all excited because he heard on Christian radio how scientists know DNA can only survive for thousands if years, so they must have been wrong about earth being millions of years old, proving scripture accurate. He fails to see some obvious flaws in that logic- 1) science may have misjudged when woolly mammoths went extinct 2) they may have underestimated the time DNA can survive in certain conditions. What's more likely: #1 and/or #2 are correct or God didn't put dinosaurs and such in the arc? <div style='clear: both; text-align: center; font-size: xx-small;'>Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5</div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-8436904171776957142011-01-17T17:00:00.000-08:002011-01-17T17:24:34.569-08:00thoughts from my daughter<div>After spending the day with her Pop-Pop (the churchy type), my seven year old daughter asked to be a guest writer for my blog. The following is therefore being dictated to me by Little One:</div><div><br /></div>"In the movie "Fantasia," a ghost touched a rock and it turned into a volcano and then she cried when the forest was destroyed by fire from the eruption. Her tears made all the trees and flowers grow back. It doesn't make sense for people to believe things like that because volcanos explode because of pressure and things grow back after fire because of nutrients in the soil. I think those people who believe that spirits cause bad things like fires and storms are weird. Spirits don't cause good things either. Spirits are just silly. It's all science. Hey, has the precipitation started? There was a 100% chance snow-slash-sleet tonight."<div><br /></div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-73312420752014674792010-10-07T19:25:00.000-07:002010-10-07T19:46:36.409-07:00Islamic Center in NYC?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of hearing people rant and rave about a "mosque" at Ground Zero. One, it's really more of a community center, like the YMCA (Christian in name, but I've never heard of any indoctrination going on there either). Two, you cannot judge an entire religion just by its extremists. If we could, we would say that because the KKK invokes the name of Christ, all Christians are white supremacists. Three, many Muslims were killed in the attacks as well. And atheists. And Jews. And Christians. And probably some Buddhists, Taoists, agnostics, and anything else you can think of. It was a WORLD trade center, after all, and culturally diverse. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But a Senate hopeful from Nevada seems to think that not only should the Islamic center a few blocks from Ground Zero be blocked, she is convinced that Islamic law has taken control in a couple American cities. Talk about delusional! Read about it </span><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101007/ap_on_el_se/us_nevada_senate_angle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I suggest you Google a list of names of the five dozen Muslims who died that tragic day, and as you read them, think of them with the same compassion you would show for anyone else.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then read more about this </span><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-03-1Amuslims911_CV_N.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">story</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> that talks about a young man named </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Salman Hamdani. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> He was on his way to work when he stopped to offer his skills as an EMT. The pieces of his body were found nearby later. Some of my fellow ambulance crew members in my small little town are very against the community center, but they should think of Hamdani along with the 343 FDNY firefighters who died as heros that day and realize that this center is not an affront to America's freedom, but rather an affirmation of it.</span></span></div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-82156818012206647442010-10-07T09:38:00.000-07:002010-10-07T10:22:07.105-07:00Meditation: Sacred or Sin?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><blockquote></blockquote><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101007/ap_on_re/us_rel_southern_baptists_yoga">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101007/ap_on_re/us_rel_southern_baptists_yoga</a></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It seemed to me that the main argument this preacher has against yoga is meditation. But Psalms </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Monaco, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">12:4 says </span><blockquote></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"Consider, and hear me, O Lord, my God. Enlighten my eyes, that I never sleep in death"</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Monaco, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Monaco, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Hmmm.... enlightenment...isn't that one of the goals of meditation? But what does this preacher's holy book have to say about meditation itself?<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:18px;"> </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Monaco, serif;font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Monaco, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:18px;">And the words of my mouth shall be such as may please: and the meditation of my heart always in thy sight (Psalms 18:15)<br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Monaco, serif;font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Monaco, serif;font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:18px;"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Monaco">My mouth shall meditate truth, and my lips shall hate wickedness. (Proverbs 8:7)</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Monaco"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Monaco">Sounds to me like these Southern Baptists ought to read a bit before denouncing what many people would say is a healthy practice. And have they even looked at their own rituals? What is kneeling if not a pose/posture, and what is prayer if not meditation and those recitations of the Lord's Prayer and the Doxology sound an awful lot like chanting to me. Where do you stand?</p></span></span></div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-22122885282806124552010-10-03T15:14:00.000-07:002010-10-03T15:17:56.875-07:00No Parking<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Dear people who parked in front of the ambulance bay: I apologize if you feel the inconvenience of walking a few extra feet in the rain outweighs the value of a timely ambulance response. However, you cannot block firetrucks and ambulances with your vehicle. One, the time it takes to track you down and have you move your car are minutes that make a life-and-death difference to someone in need of emergency care. Two, it is illegal. Please do not cuss and argue with us. K, thanks, bye.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">(The kicker to this is that they were using the fire station for a church dinner. You'd think church people would not be so mean, argumentative and selfish. Proves my point of hypocrisy once again.)</span></span></div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-16403291938925680782010-10-03T11:52:00.000-07:002010-10-03T11:54:11.193-07:00PINK!New profile pic...pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month.just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-84729825552411068102010-09-23T17:19:00.000-07:002010-09-23T17:37:06.654-07:00Moderates UniteAt first, I wasn't sure <a href="http://www.rallytorestoresanity.com/">this was a real thing</a>, but I really hope it is, because it makes perfect sense. The recent Beck spectacle made me embarrassed to admit I'm registered to vote as a Republican. I'm not one to go to rallies, but I live within a couple hours of this one, so if I find myself in the area, I might check it out.just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-36699055691880760362010-09-19T11:07:00.000-07:002010-09-19T11:32:21.300-07:00I know what I believe. But I wonder what to tell my daughter sometimes. I have spent the past week out of town helping my grandparents. My grandfather has been fighting lymphoma for five years, has been just been referred to hospice. They will need constant help now. Being the oldest grandchild and the only one in the family with medical training, I took the first shift so I could work with the nurses to set up medication schedules and help get a routine started. My family has a very deep Christian faith and I am glad my grandmother gets some comfort from her prayer and devotions, because the Xanax she's on isn't quite enough. But what do I tell my daughter in response to her questions about death? She completely rejects the idea of the Easter story as illogical nonsense. But I'm worried that she may need a myth or two until she's older and her information processing centers in her brain have matured a bit more, just something vague. On the other hand, I don't feel comfortable telling her something I don't believe myself. Any advice to share from somewhere who's been there?just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-9464470918376123202010-09-04T13:03:00.000-07:002010-09-04T13:06:41.955-07:00Implicit AttitudesA lot of people think they know what they think, but these guys think you don't really think what you think you think about a lot of things. <div>I'm not convinced that the test isn't flawed, but it does give you an interesting little something to think about.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/">https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Try it out, especially one that will really challenge your most cherished beliefs. Return, discuss, and tell me if you think the test is biased.</div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-72543430857397895092010-08-30T09:46:00.000-07:002010-08-30T09:52:51.778-07:00Southern Style Granitehttp://ambulancedriverfiles.com/2010/08/southern-style-granite-good-old-southern-style-bigotry/<div><br /></div><div>Helping out my favorite blogger...pass it along. Apparently, this particular business would rather refuse to work with a specific portion of the population than expand its client base for more profit. That's their choice, of course, in this great land of freedom and capitalism, but a little encouragement to be a little more open-minded is a good thing. Read the link, then consider re-posting it yourself. Thanks.</div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-5760263581990850162010-08-27T05:59:00.001-07:002010-08-27T06:04:29.789-07:00Follow UpAbout a month ago, I posted a link to an NPR story about anti-gay legislation in Uganda. Here is the link to the follow-up story. It is even more disturbing. The National Prayer Breakfast organizers in this country are the same ones who helping design the legislation that calls for the death penalty for homosexual acts. I find it unbelievable that Americans who are taught to value individuals and freedom could become so twisted by their religious zeal that they lose sight of the value of human life.<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.npr.org/129422524">http://www.npr.org/129422524</a></div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-56325551629975285042010-08-02T12:26:00.000-07:002010-08-02T12:30:22.625-07:00I have finally created a Twitter account. Follow me @iblamereligionjust a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-58760907597972925792010-07-29T19:38:00.000-07:002010-07-29T20:01:26.872-07:00I pledge allegiance...The ongoing debate over the Pledge in schools has caused a lot of outcry from the Christian ranks. They claim removing the recital of the Pledge from schools is another attempt to undermine the values upon which they believe this country was founded. Those who wish to remove this tradition from the daily routine of the classroom don't object to a show of patriotism and respect, they only take issue with two words: "under God." The answer to this seems simple- why not revert to the original version (1892), or at least the 1923 version:<div><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, times, serif; line-height: 21px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 21px;">Notice the conspicuous absence of those two pesky words. Maybe this country wasn't founded on the ideals that some claim. Maybe they would be surprised to learn that a writer of another great document in our nation's history, Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence), was in fact, an atheist.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 21px;">So let's dispel this delusion that to be patriotic one must be Christian. I believe the most patriotic position is that of tolerance and freedom of choice, the opposite stand of mainstream Christian voices.<br /></span></span><div><br /></div></div></div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-85444663655090929012010-07-20T15:21:00.000-07:002010-07-20T16:20:34.925-07:00CCC: Earthquakes 101RR: "Welcome class, to Earthquakes 101 here at Christian Community College. I'm your professor, Reverend Rick. Today we will be discussing the earthquake in Haiti. 6 months ago, a devastating earthquake left Haiti in a pile of rubble. We will look at how and why this terrible disaster happened."<div>Independent Thinker: "I know how earthquakes happen, Rev Rick. They are the result of shifts in tetonic plates."</div><div>RR: (Completely ignoring IT's comment) "The Haitian people made a deal with Satan and have been worshipping darkness for generations. God sent visited this devastation upon them as punishment for their evil ways."</div><div>IT: "Isn't Roman Catholicism the national religion of Haiti?"</div><div>RR: "That's just a cover-up by the government to hide their voodoo rituals from decent society. Moving on, God unleashed his wrath on the Haitian people in the form of this terrible earthquake. Can anyone tell me why God is angry at them?"</div><div>Brain-Washed Student: "Because God is a jealous god who has commanded 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me' and wanted Haitians to stop worshipping Satan and spirits?"</div><div>RR: "That's right, BWS. This was a warning. If they don't change their ways, they might be wiped out like Sodom and Gomorrah."</div><div>IT: "Sounds more like a pouty kid trying to get attention than an all-powerful god to me. What did he do, stamp his foot and make the earth shake? That sounds way more likely than plates under the earth's crust shifting."</div><div>RR: "I don't appreciate your tone, IT. I'm assigning you a research project to assist in tomorrow's lecture."</div><div>IT: "Research, seriously?"</div><div>RR: "I want you to look up statistics on earthquakes. Find out how many occur each year, their strength and the amount of damage. I want to show the class how rare a quake as massive as this are and what a record number of people died and how as the world moves farther away from God, there are more and more quakes."</div><div>The next day...</div><div>IT: "My research shows that earthquakes are random events with magnitudes and frequencies all over the board. While there does seem to be a bit of an increase in recent years of stronger quakes, this is likely due to natural processes. Although this particular quake was quite strong, the USGS lists over twenty of a stronger magnitude world-wide since then. The extreme damage incurred in Haiti is due to poor structural integrity and large population of the urban Port-au-Prince area. Most other quakes occurred in less populated areas and/or in places with stricter building standards."</div><div>RR: (obviously surprised at the facts differing from his theory) "Thank you for your research, IT. Moving on, let's take a quick peek at next week's topic: 'Hedonism in Hollywood: Why California is prone to Earthquakes'. Class dismissed."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Author's Note: This fictional college scene is based on an actual conversation I had with my father, a lay minister, after his relief trip to Haiti. For further research, please visit usgs.gov to see a year-by-year breakdown of quakes world-wide. This post in no way intends to make light of the suffering of victims of this and other natural disasters.</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: medium; "><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p></span>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-81251641828544929072010-07-20T14:28:00.000-07:002010-07-20T15:19:05.468-07:00Religious Education: An OxymoronSo I heard an ad today for a Catholic school on the radio. They were explaining the consolidation of the schools in a local district and said how they hoped they could "keep your children in the Catholic education system." I found this interesting. Imagine if you heard an ad that went like this:<div>"Send your children to us to learn dead languages, superstition and dogma. Our classes will fully prepare them for a future of fear and guilt."</div><div>I suppose it would appeal to those who have no wish to communicate in a global market or understand the emerging science of a new <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">millennium</span>. As a mother, however, I would prefer to give my child the best possible educational foundation for her future. I want her to know that there are microwave signatures at the center of the universe, clear evidence of a big bang. I hope she chooses a language class that will be useful, maybe something Asian since there are such rapidly growing economies in China and India. I want her to grow up full of curiosity: I want her to look at the stars and wonder how many have already exploded into supernovas before their light reached us, not simply say "Wow, God made it so pretty." </div><div>I guess my point here is that religion would have us believe that a supernatural being made everything and would rather we didn't ask how. That is in direct opposition to the goals of education. </div><div><br /></div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-76291135146308694572010-07-17T13:30:00.000-07:002010-07-17T13:35:15.904-07:00a link to check outThis story from NPR is a wonderful (although very upsetting) example of why I blame organized religion for the vast majority of the problems in this world.<div><br /></div><div>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128491183&sc=fb&cc=fp</div><div><br /></div><div>Give it a read, do your own research, and return to discuss. </div>just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1639812209560416344.post-51531442531598968682010-07-17T11:49:00.000-07:002010-07-17T12:10:42.411-07:00IntrosHello. If you are here, you probably fall into one of two categories. You may be one of those devout types of any flavor looking for people to harass or use as examples. Or you may be one of those who prefers actual evidence on which to base their ideas. If you are belong to the former group, you are welcome to keep reading, and who knows, you might learn something. If you belong to the latter category, you are a minority in this country. Depending on the source, estimates for our population average around 3% of Americans. So welcome to a blog full of science, reason and independent thought and completely deviod of magic, superstition and cat pictures with grammatically incorrect captions.just a girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12760396477379290192noreply@blogger.com0