Welcome Aboard Brother Marc

Brothers and Sisters - as our church expands we welcome aboard our newest clergy member, Brother Marc. In the past our ministry has been mostly a West Coast effort and we felt that the East coast was being under represented. Dock workers, Union reps, Mafioso - rejoice!.Brother Marc has your back.    So raise your glass,(Merlot in the west, Bud Light in the East) and thank God that the opinions and commmentary posted here strive to be representative of both coasts. Fair warning though - Brother Marc is East Coast. Rumour is political correctness is not the menu of the day. Agree? Disagree? Coastal differences are no longer an excuse. Put up, PROVE UP, or shut up. What Do YOU Think? Comment on this Post!] [Testify!]

Hey New Yorkers - You're Being Played For A Fool!

New York Times: For years, at thousands of New York City intersections, well-worn push buttons have offered harried walkers a rare promise of control over their pedestrian lives. The signs mounted above explained their purpose:

To Cross Street
Push Button
Wait for Walk Signal
Dept. of Transportation

Millions of dutiful city residents and tourists have pushed them over the years, thinking it would help speed them in their journeys. Many trusting souls might have believed they actually worked. Others, more cynical, might have suspected they were broken but pushed anyway, out of habit, or in the off chance they might bring a walk sign more quickly.

As it turns out, the cynics were right.

The city deactivated most of the pedestrian buttons long ago with the emergence of computer-controlled traffic signals, even as an unwitting public continued to push on, according to city Department of Transportation officials. More than 2,500 of the 3,250 walk buttons that still exist function essentially as mechanical placebos, city figures show. Any benefit from them is only imagined.

By the late 1980's, most of the buttons had been deactivated, their steel exteriors masking the lie within. But city officials say they do not remember ever publishing an obituary, and the white and black signs stayed up, many of them looking as new and official as ever. [What Do YOU Think? Comment on this Post!] [Testify!]

How Can We Be Good Without God? Answer:

Uh-Oh - ready to challenge your belief system? It's scary - I know. I have faith in you though. Just try to get through the next few paragraphs.

The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule.
In The Science of Good and Evil, psychologist and historian of science Dr. Michael Shermer tackles two of the deepest and most challenging problems of our age: (1) The origins of morality and (2) the foundations of ethics. Embedded within these two problems are questions that have occupied the greatest minds in history:

Is it in our nature to be moral or immoral?

If we evolved by natural forces then what was the natural purpose of morality?

If we live in a determined universe, then how can we make free moral choices?

Does evil exist, and if so, what is the nature of evil?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Is there justice in the world beyond the social order?

If there is no outside source to validate moral principles, does anything go?

Can we be good without God?

"This is an ambitious book, and it does not disappoint. The questions Shermer addresses are as old as rational thought, but they have taken on a new urgency as we come to understand ourselves through the sciences of mind, brain, genes, and evolution. His analyses are sophisticated and filled with good sense, and are enlivened with fascinating material from science and history. The Science of Good and Evil is an excellent snapshot of contemporary thinking about the nature and sources of morality."
Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and The Blank Slate.

"Morality must have arisen long before modern religion came around to lay claim to it. Michael Shermer engagingly brings this controversial topic to life. This is the most convincing argument to date that the origin of our sense of right and wrong is to be found within us, that it is part and parcel of human nature."
Frans de Waal, author of Good Natured

"Michael Shermer's brain is a place where science, history and psychology meet in the service of common sense. He uses his insatiable curiosity to penetrate the fog of fuzzy thinking, shedding light on the most controversial issues of science and society. Yet another courageous book."
K. C. Cole, author of Mind Over Matter and The Hole in the Universe

"There is no other volume on evolutionary ethics and its history that is as stimulating, critical, and comprehensive as Michael Shermer's. All of us are daily challenged by ethical dilemmas, and one's solutions are rarely satisfactory to everyone; this is particularly true of some of the solutions based on religion and philosophy. In the end, we must construct a Darwinian answer to the daily challenges of living a moral and ethical life. The best guide known tome is Shermer's profound analysis in The Science of Good and Evil."
Ernst Mayr, author of What Evolution Is

Kirkus Review
Imagine there's no Heaven (as John Lennon suggested): what, then, is the foundation for morality? Skeptic magazine editor Shermer (In Darwin's Shadow, 2002, etc.) seeks to answer that question and to discover a scientific e xplanation for our notions of good and evil. He quotes Darwin to the effect that all scientific observation must be either for or against some point of view and avers his own viewpoint to be "non-theistic agnosticism": the decision that, since God's existence is unprovable, he will live and act as if there is no God. The origins of morality and ethics, common to every society on Earth, must then lie in human institutions, Shermer concludes. Over hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors arrived at moral principles designed to maintain peace and order in communities of ever-increasing size and complexity. The earliest "moral" principles are those that many animals recognize, such as protecting one's mate or young. As human society grew, the needs of larger and larger groups became the basis of morality; at the center of many of them lies somethinglike the Golden Rule, treating others as we would wish to be treated. At the same time, early superstitions coalesced into religions, each of which took on the role of sanctioning the moral principles of its parent society. Shermer goes on to argue that evil has no independent existence but is inherent in human nature. Yet no outside authority is needed to make us moral, he argues; atheists (or temporary doubters) seem no more inclined to kill and steal than the religious. The true dignity of our morality arises from its basis in our common humanity. Shermer draws effectively on familiar instances, from the Columbine killings to the Holocaust, to illustrate and support his thesis. Thought-provoking and well-honed examination of deep questions. [What Do YOU Think? Comment on this Post!] [Testify!]

What Happens When You Ask GWB A Question?

[What Do YOU Think? Comment on this Post!] [Testify!]

Urban Legends Updates From Snopes

A four-year-old bit of fiction about Mel Gibson's being the inspiration behind the film The Man Without a Face is circulating anew.

The refund checks resulting from the CD Antitrust Litigation Settlement have finally been mailed to consumers.

Are parking lot carjackers placing flyers on the rear windshields of automobiles, then taking the cars when drivers step out of their vehicles to remove the flyers?

Did Donald Rumsfeld deliver a stinging rebuke to Senator Ted Kennedy during a Senate committee meeting?

Did commentator Andy Rooney say that God asked him to "tell your viewers that both Pat Robertson and Mel Gibson strike me
as wackos"?

Were John Kerry's Vietnam War service medals earned under "fishy" circumstances?

Are mobile phone users in Britain being scammed into returning calls to numbers for which they will be charged exorbitant rates?

Legendary tale: Groom's indiscretion with a bachelor party stripper is revealed by his failure to remove the condom.

[What Do YOU Think? Comment on this Post!] [Testify!]

Update To Google Toolbar Released

Google Toolbar v2.0.108 has been released. Download it. It contains miscellaneous fixes and improvements.
• Search the web with Google from any site
• Eliminate pop-up ads
• Fill in forms with one click
• Highlight search terms on a page
Requires Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later, The pop-up blocker requires Internet Explorer 5.5 or later. [What Do YOU Think? Comment on this Post!] [Testify!]

Simpsons Humour For The Elite?

If you don't "get" The Simpsons you may be missing the depth to which the humour goes. On the surface it's a cartoon and with some topical social commentary. Dig a little deeper and you'll see a treasure trove of references sure to delight the most broadly read and well educated of fans.

The staff at WestEgg.com have a list of references they have found to be particularly witty, often with their humor derived from subtleties of language, esoteric allusions, or just plain wit. Some examples:

Grandpa: "Grover Cleveland spanked me on two non-consecutive occassions." Cleveland was the only President of the US to serve two non-consecutive terms. Episode: 3F09 Two Bad Neighbors

Sign outside Cape Canaveral says, "Cape Canaveral Formerly Cape Kennedy Formerly Cape Arbuckle"
Cape Canaveral was formerly named Cape Kennedy, and before that was named Cape Canaveral (yes, the name was changed, then changed back). But it was never named Cape Arbuckle.
Fatty Arbuckle was a popular silent-movie comedian whose career was ruined after he was tried for the rape & murder of actress Virginia Rappe at a wild party. Even though he was found not guilty, he was essentially blacklisted, and his very name became disreputable. So, the writers were making fun of the Cape's name-changing by IMAGINING that it was once called Cape Arbuckle in honour of Fatty, but changed to Canaveral after the scandal. There is also an implicit comparison between Kennedy's sexual scandals and Arbuckle's.
Episode: 1F13 Deep Space Homer

Lisa: Why are you dedicating your life to blasphemy?
Homer: Don't worry, sweetheart. If I'm wrong, I'll recant on my deathbed.
Episode: Homer the Heretic

Faith: Lisa, I'm Faith Crowley, Patriotism Editor of Reading Digest.
Homer: Oh, I love your magazine. My favourite section is How to increase your word power. That thing is really, really... good.

A second site explores Ivy League References on The Simpsons. Some Examples:

Mr. Burns and Smithers are riding back from the Yale-Harvard football game in a Pullman Railway car. This is significant because, Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the Pullman Railway Company and the Vanderbilt family is a huge benefactor of the university. Oddly enough, Cornelius Vanderbilt had many of the same ogre-ish tendancies as Burns... he even looks like him.

Sign outside Springfield College: "Ask about our latin motto contest". Cornell is the only Ivy League school that's motto is in english. [What Do YOU Think? Comment on this Post!] [Testify!]

We All Wish We Could . . .

Perhaps on of the funniest clips I've seen in a long time. Thought I'd share.Thanks to Jeff H for the link. [What Do YOU Think? Comment on this Post!] [Testify!]

What The Heck Is Wikipedia?

Wikipedia ( Wikipedia.org), a volunteer-created, multi-language encyclopedia, announced today that the project has reached a milestone of 500,000 articles, spread across 50 different languages. If you've never seen it, go take a look. You'll be sure to bookmark it!

More than 300,000 new articles were created in the last 12 months alone, making Wikipedia the world's largest and fastest-growing open content encyclopedia. Every day, another two thousand articles are added to this collaborative endeavour. All articles on Wikipedia can be edited and improved by anyone at any time. The English-language Wikipedia has also revamped the design of its front page and created a community portal to welcome new editors.

Wikipedia is a public WikiWikiWeb, where anyone can edit nearly any page at any time. Wiki wiki means "quick" in Hawaiian: no registration or special knowledge is required to participate. Users build upon one another's edits, working together even on sensitive issues, by trying to find a neutral point of view. Incorrectly edited pages are quickly repaired by others.

The Wikipedia project was founded in January 2001 by Internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales and philosopher Larry Sanger. Bomis ( bomis.com), an Internet web portal owned by Wales, supplied the financial backing and other support, while Sanger led the Wikipedia project during its first year, as a full-time paid editor. Since then it has operated mostly on consensus, using policies refined over time by its contributors. [What Do YOU Think? Comment on this Post!] [Testify!]