The second and final round of the French regional elections were held Today (the 13th of December 2015). The regions are roughly approximate to the US states, except they have much less political autonomy. The regional presidents are elected in a run-off voting system: if no one wins at least 50% of the vote on…
Gun Debates Mean Not Having to Confront That God Is Dead
Note: this used to be a much larger essay that also looked at multiple sources on gun violence and data analysis thereon. That info has been moved to a separate article here. Recently, there was a high-profile mass shooting in my country of America. The specifics aren’t all that essential to my thoughts. It’s functionally…
Are People Who Disagree With You Politically Mentally Ill?
Just because you want it to be true doesn’t make it so. Or, Science says: “No association between hostility and homophobia” http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/09/13/is-homophobia-a-mental-illness/ “Is homophobia actually mental illness?” Well that’s a hell of a question. What constitutes a mental illness is an interesting question itself. Most people in the West tend to accept a number of mental…
You Know How College Costs A Ton of Money…
You know how college costs a ton of money, and you need a bachelor’s and 3 years of experience to work some piece of shit job, and how a lot of young people seem to be delaying major “adult” purchases because they’re strapped for cash? It’s because the economy is doing well. Sic. That is…
You Could Wake Up Kim Davis Tomorrow
Christian martyr or Christian bigot? That is the dichotomy with which we are presented vis a vis a formerly faceless small-town bureaucrat turned celebrity. The presidential election is a mere 14 months away, so the media is striking while the iron is hot to polarize the nation which has considerably less polarity than we’re all…
When You Wish Upon Ishtar, Or, Easter is a Christian Holiday
After its inception on Reddit, this image-macro has been making its rounds on the internet as an indictment to Christians as being grossly ignorant of their own cultural history. However, almost everything stated in the picture is completely wrong. Let’s be fair, though; at a glance it may all seem pretty plausible to certain people….
When Are We Ever Going to Use This? Probably Never, TBH.
“When are we ever going to use this?” asks a beleaguered middle schooler as she stares morosely at her algebra homework drowning in a sea of red ink. There are any number of canned responses to give to this question, an inevitability in the classroom. I sigh as I look over her sheet. We’ve covered…
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
This is a question asked by adults to children everywhere, without the slightest realization of how completely insane that is. Most people, let alone children, have no idea what they want for dinner. But what they plan on doing for 40 or so years of their life day-in and day-out is apparently an easy question….
#theyrenoangels
Ned: “You mean, like an angel?!” Lisa: “Well, obviously that’s impossib—” Moe: “Lisa’s right, it’s an angel!” For a far more trenchant and insightful version of everything I’m about to say. It’s not the exact same product/commercial, but the major principles are entirely the same. According to the refuse aggregate that is FB’s trending topics,…
There Are Two Kinds of Atheists
I came across this article in a group that concerns itself with American evangelical Christian culture. I didn’t find it the least bit offensive, and while I think it’s way too brief and coming from a position of significant naiveté, I have no ill will against the author. She seems perfectly pleasant. My biggest gripe…