While I am out thinking up new posts and finding time to write them, here is a little I found on the Why Evolution is True blog. Enjoy 
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Finally, Snow!
We finally got some snow worth mentioning, so I got a few pics for you all to enjoy.
We’re halfway out of the Dark
Congratulations, we are halfway out of the dark.
For those who don’t get the reference, I watched the Doctor Who “A Christmas Carol” special again last night. The Doctor refers to Christmas or the Solstice (they are considered basically the same in the story) as “halfway out of the dark.”
So celebrate today. We are halfway out of the dark!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Once again it is the special day of the year (at least in the USA) to acknowledge and accept the good things in our lives. Especially those good things which we did not earn: care given to us when we were helpless, rights won for us even before we were born, an entire social structure built up for us so we don’t have to live in daily fear. So easy to take these for granted, but where would we be without them!
And here’s a song called Gratitude by Shelly Segal.
“Community Tree” has Christians fuming in Louisville, KY
Apparently, the supposed “War on Christmas” has already come to my home city, even before Thanksgiving. A press release went out calling Louisville’s big Light Up Louisville spruce a “Community Tree.” And this has stirred controversy and hurt feelings.
It’s Called the Community Christmas Tree - WDRB.com
But not to worry, the city is not going to be “PC” or anything horrid like that. The tree is going to be called the “Community Christmas Tree.”
Don’t misunderstand, I have no problem with calling it a Christmas tree. It would still be a Christmas tree to me even if the city did officially call it a “Community Tree.” I am, after all, a product of a Christian upbringing and I have plenty of warm fuzzy memories of sitting under the Christmas tree. What shocks me (though maybe it shouldn’t by now) is the response of the Christians in this city to the naming of a tree. I have a small sampling of reactions pulled from Mayor Fisher’s Facebook wall (names masked for privacy, of course). Most are negative reactions, though I threw a couple of interesting positive reactions in for balance.
My favorite negative comment is the “what have we turned into??” comment. I mean, what have we become for calling a Christmas tree a Community tree? A bit more pluralistic? Many of the comments make it clear that the authors think that the city Christmas celebration ought to be a blatant state endorsement of their religion. After all, it’s tradition, right? And tradition is always right. /sarcasm.
It’s not just Louisville of course. Any time a government pronouncement around the winter holidays does not explicitly endorse CHRISTmas, this happens. There is no pronouncement coming from our government regarding how or when or why anyone will be allowed to observe Christmas or any other holiday. America has no government religion, and any county, city, state, or national observance has to be for all citizens, not just the traditional majority. Neither belief in, nor deference to, Christianity or any other religion is required for full participation in civic life in this country. And that, my friends, is the core of our beloved religious freedom.
See also: Wiki Article on Christian Privilege.
Kentucky FreeThought Convention
The first ever Kentucky Freethought Convention is today. And we have a great turnout!
A Patient's Story
From a Patient of EMW Women's Surgical Center
I was at the clinic recently as a patient. I was the first patient to arrive. My mother came with me. The escorts were very helpful and warned us ahead of time about the protesters.
We sat on the little brick part of the building and then the protesters started their rants.
I just read this, and it touched me enough that I want to share it. I spent some time a couple of years ago escorting at this same clinic with this same group of people, but the stress of dealing with the crazy protestors caused me to stop. They make me so angry, and I don't like being angry. But stories like this make me want to go back to escorting again.
SkeptiCamp Kentucky 2012
Today I am attending SkeptiCamp Kentucky 2012. I’m not quite good enough at multitasking to live blog, but i will be taking notes and will provide a full report within the next couple days.
The Thinking Atheist on the Reason Rally
Here is a short video documentary on the Reason Rally by one of my very favorite podcasters, The Thinking Atheist. Enjoy
Lasik: One Month Update
It’s been one month since my Lasik surgery, and I must say I am quite pleased with the result. I went to my optometrist for my one month post-op exam, and he informs me that my vision is now 20/20, aka normal. The slight irritation and feeling of having something in my eye has gone away, and over the past couple of days I have been experiencing less of the dryness as well. I still see a halo effect around bright lights, but they have diminished somewhat and are not an issue with driving at night.
The things we do with science. Absolutely wonderful.
