This made me laugh . . .

From Fundies Say the Darndest Things:

"In Kansas you can go to jail for evolving"

As various Fundies commenters point out, someone has fallen for the old "The Onion is a real newspaper" bit.

Be back soon!

P.S. I would appreciate your thoughts on whether it is worth my while upgrading to Blogger Beta, and if it affects Haloscan commenting.

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What we're up against . . .

Out of curiosity I popped my head into the Matt LaClair thread on the Kearny discussion boards. The thread is still alive, and has reached eight pages. Halfway down page four, Paul LaClair weighs into the debate, addressing points raised hitherto thoughtfully and sincerely.

How does the first Paskiewicz supporter respond? Thusly:

Paul,
Are you an atheist?

Sigh. It doesn't improve from there, I'm afraid. Paul doggedly persists in conversing with his interlocutors in reasonese, and the rubes keep bringing up his religious beliefs and his occupation as a lawyer (not to mention the odd spelling error) as if they constitute valid counterarguments. (Not to mention ARGUMENT BY CAPS LOCK!!!!! and the repeated refusal to acknowledge the lies of St. Paskiewicz.)

UPDATE:

GodMen: the Devil in Mr. Flanders

I don't know how this slipped under the radar, but back in October Newsweek ran an article on the latest phenomenon in American Christianity: GodMen. In its own words:

GodMen believes that being a guy is a reason to be proud - not a problem to be fixed. We connect men to their spiritual masculinity - making them dangerous in a righteous way. [. . .] GodMen reflects a fresh movement among Christian men, a return to biblical patterns of masculinity. Its purpose is to create better disciples, citizens, husbands, and fathers.

GodMen is opposed to pornography, masturbation, single-mother families, and "Christian nice guys." They reserve particular opprobrium for the latter, complaining that Christianity has become "feminised" and a church is no longer a place for a Man's Man. They stand for "Moral purity, integrity, honesty, simplicity, and humility"--everything "nice Christians" and women aren't, presumably.

GodMen sounds like a throwback to the Muscular Christian movement of the nineteenth century. It wouldn't surprise me if these guys agonise over the amount of elan vital they have wasted away on the doona-covers of their youth, never to be regained. (To the strains of typically Godawful country music, of course--check out the music video for "Testosterone High.")

Hugo Schwyzer provides a Christian take.

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The Truth Hurts

Your 'Do You Want the Terrorists to Win' Score: 96%

You are a terrorist-loving, Bush-bashing, "blame America first"-crowd traitor. You are in league with evil-doers who hate our freedoms. By all counts you are a liberal, and as such cleary desire the terrorists to succeed and impose their harsh theocratic restrictions on us all. You are fit to be hung for treason! Luckily George Bush is tapping your internet connection and is now aware of your thought-crime. Have a nice day.... in Guantanamo!

Do You Want the Terrorists to Win?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Via PZ Myers

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Unpleasantville

Small-town USA is certainly not a healthy place to be a minority teenager, particularly if you're all "uppity" about defending your rights as a citizen in a functioning liberal democracy. We saw what happened to the Dobrichs, the Jewish family run out of town in Delaware for voicing their opposition to religious proselytism in their children's public school. We saw what happened to the atheist student Matt LeClair when he took a stand against Bible-bashing in his high school history class. And now a hat-tip must go to Cheryl, who informs us of C. J. Bills, a victim of gay-bashing who was subsequently railroaded by his school administration who were simply not interested in his attempts to have something done about homophobic bullying in the school:

We Belong

Producer: Joe Wilson

This is the story of two rural teens who had the courage to stand up to bigotry and intolerance in their schools – and the determination to tell their stories to the world.

Homophobia is one of the last “permissible” forms of prejudice. Its effects are especially acute for youth, who often suffer alone and in silence. Two thirds of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth experience harassment or violence in school, and the suicide rate for this group is four times the average.

When C.J. Bills is gay bashed in the school locker room, then arrested for disorderly conduct because he protests to an administrator about the harassment he has experienced, he decides to fight back by making a documentary about discrimination. With his family’s help, he also initiates an investigation by the state human rights commission and shames the school district into developing an anti-bullying and diversity training program.

C.J.’s documentary project also leads him to Tim Dahle, a former high school student who challenged the years of anti-gay harassment he suffered in a neighboring town. In Tim’s case, the school district that failed to protect him agreed to one of the largest sexual harassment settlements in history, sending a signal to school districts around the country that such behavior can be costly.

We Belong demonstrates that young people have the power to change their communities and the world, and that helping youth to tell their stories, in their own way and on camera, is enlightening, empowering, and effective.

More at The Derrick. You can view the short film here.

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Unconscionable--in anyone's language

As a teaching graduate, I cannot let this pass without comment:

From the Independent:

Disembowelled, then torn apart: The price of daring to teach girls

The gunmen came at night to drag Mohammed Halim away from his home, in front of his crying children and his wife begging for mercy.

The 46-year-old schoolteacher tried to reassure his family that he would return safely. But his life was over, he was part-disembowelled and then torn apart with his arms and legs tied to motorbikes, the remains put on display as a warning to others against defying Taliban orders to stop educating girls.

Mr Halim was one of four teachers killed in rapid succession by the Islamists at Ghazni, a strategic point on the routes from Kabul to the south and east which has become the scene of fierce clashes between the Taliban and US and Afghan forces.

Drawing and quartering a man for the "crime" of educating girls. Like an image from a medieval woodcut, that such a thing can take place in the 21st century almost defies the imagination. "Fascist" is about the kindest word I have for the perpetrators of this unspeakable travesty. This is a crime against humanity in every sense of the term.

Via Dispatches From the Culture Wars. More at Spero News.

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UnAustralia

Forwarded email:

UNAUSTRALIA:
A School of Creative Communication conference, University of Canberra, December 6,7,8 2006

The conference features an International Keynote Address in the Great Hall of New Parliament House by Professor Jacques Rancière, Emeritus Professor of Aesthetics and Politics at the University of Paris VII. Professor Rancière will address the question: 'What Does it Mean to be 'Un'? The Thinking of Dissensus Today'

Professor Rancière's address, at 18.15 on Thursday December 7th, will be followed by a cocktail party in the Marble Foyer of the house. Members of the public are warmly invited to attend these event (cost to attend public address: $20; further details: http://www.unaustralia.com/rego.php)

Our Australasian keynote presenters are:
* Professor Larissa Behrendt, who will deliver the conference's keynote opening address at the University of Canberra
* Doctor Klaus Neumann, author of Not the Way it Really Was
* Associate Professor Catharine Lumby, author of Bad Girls: The Media, Sex and Feminism in the 90s
* Professor John Frow, who will close the conference with the 2006 Don Aitken public lecture, which is being co-programmed with the UNAUSTRALIA conference
* Professor Roger Dean, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra, who will introduce Professor Frow's lecture with a live sound art performance.

The conference features a gallery opening in the National Museum of Australia's Garden of Australian Dreams at 18.00 on Wednesday December 6th, a workshop on 'Fashion and Dress in Unaustralia' convened by Professor Jenni Craik, the launches of two new books and one journal issue, and over 150 refereed and general streams of papers on the topic of UNAUSTRALIA.

Registration: Attendees can register for: the full 3 days ($395 waged; $220 non-waged) for 1 day ($190 waged; $115 non-waged) or just for Professor Rancière address ($20) (or $65 including Parliament House cocktail party). * To register, and for all further information: http://www.unaustralia.com

Radio National's Australia Talks Back devoted a programme to this topic on Wednesday. I blogged on it back in June, when they put out the initial call for papers. (And apologies for the image. That's meant to be a disco ball underneath the flagpole.)

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