Pew Research - Secular America On the Rise

The latest values survey, conducted Dec. 12, 2006-Jan. 9, 2007, finds a reversal of increased religiosity observed in the mid-1990s. While most Americans remain religious in both belief and practice, the percentage expressing strong religious beliefs has edged down since the 1990s. And the survey finds an increase in the relatively small percentage of the public that can be categorized as secular. In Pew surveys since the beginning of 2006, 12% identified themselves as unaffiliated with a religious tradition. That compares with 8% in the Pew values survey in 1987. This change appears to be generational in nature, with each new generation displaying lower levels of religious commitment than the preceding one.

In addition, political differences in levels of religious commitment are larger now than in years past. Republicans are at least as religious as they were 10 or 20 years ago, based on the numbers expressing belief in God, citing prayer as important, and other measures. By contrast, Democrats express lower levels of commitment than in the late 1980s and 1990s.

At the same time, the survey records further declines in traditional social attitudes. The poll finds greater public acceptance of homosexuality and less desire for women to play traditional roles in society. Both represent a continuation of trends that have been apparent over the past 20 years, and have occurred mostly among older people. The younger generations have changed the least, as they have consistently expressed more accepting points of view over the past 20 years.

Divides on some once-contentious issues also appear to be closing. In 1995, 58% said they favored affirmative action programs designed to help blacks, women, and other minorities get better jobs. That percentage has risen steadily since, and stands at 70% in the current poll. Gains in support for affirmative action have occurred to almost the same extent among Republicans (+8), Democrats (+10), and Independents (+14).

Changes nationally in the beliefs of Americans on social, political and religious values tell a revealing but incomplete story. The proportion of voters who hold certain politically relevant core beliefs varies widely from state to state, further complicating an already complicated 2008 election campaign. For example, politically conservative, white evangelical Christians make up 10% of all Republicans and Republican leaners in New Hampshire – currently the first state to hold its presidential primaries in 2008 – but 39% of all GOP partisans in South Carolina where primary voters go to the polls several days later. On the Democratic side, the proportion of Democrats who say they are politically liberal ranges from 38% in California to 25% in South Carolina. (See pages 10-11 for a fuller ideological profiling of key primary states)

More information and full report

Where Bad Science Comes From

Dear God . . .

There was a man who worked for the Royal Mail whose job it was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses.
One day, a letter came addressed in a shaky handwriting to God with no actual address. He thought he should open it to see what it was about. The letter read:

"Dear God,
I am an 83 year old widow, living on a very small pension. Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had £100 in it, which was all the money I had until my next pension cheque. Next Sunday is Christmas, and I had invited two of my friends over for dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with. I have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. Can you please help me?
Sincerely yours,

Edna"

The postal worker was touched. He showed the letter to all the other workers. Each one dug into his or her wallet and came up with a few pounds.

By the time he made the rounds, he had collected £96, which they put into an envelope and sent to the woman. The rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of Edna and the dinner she would be able to share with her friends.
Christmas came and went. A few days later, another letter came from the same old lady to God. All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened.  It read,

"Dear God,
How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me? Because of your gift of love, I was able to fix a glorious dinner for my friends. We had a very nice day and I told my friends of your wonderful gift.

By the way, there was £4 missing. I think it must have been those bastards at the Royal Mail.
Sincerely yours,

Edna"

The 30 Most Unsettling German Halloween Costumes

This had me laughing out loud. Read the commentaries that accompany the images. There are 3 pages, be sure read them all!

 

Here's Robin Hood, standing proudly with the weapon he's least famous for. What's wrong Germany, couldn't you find a boomerang to give him?  More.

The Truth About Ethanol - Sounds Great! Unrealistic.

I have been hearing all this buzz about how ethanol is the next big thing. Ethanol will save the world from anthropogenic global warming. Ethanol is in the pocket of the corn lobby. Ethanol will save us from our oil addiction. Etc. etc. etc.

What is the truth? The Week magazine run what has to be one of the most succinct, unbiased one page articles I have read to date.

Is ethanol something new?
Not at all. For centuries, people have distilled ethanol, a form of alcohol, from various plants, including grains, potatoes, sugar cane, and prairie grass. Henry Ford's prototype Model T was powered by ethanol. But ethanol- specifically, ethanol derived from corn - was first promoted as an alternative to gasoline in the 1970s, when the Arab oil embargo led to gas shortages, long lines at filling stations, and record-high gas prices. Then as now, agribusiness and legislators from farm states touted corn-based ethanol as a way to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil. More recently, ethanol has played a valuable role as a replacement for the fuel additive MTBE, which contains carcinogens that have shown up in groundwater. Like MTBE, ethanol helps conventional automobile engines burn cleaner, but with fewer toxic byproducts. "Everything about ethanol is good, good, good," says Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley.

But is corn the best ethanol source?
Not by a long shot. Ethanol produced from sugar cane has an energy balance of 8-to-1-that is, sugar cane generates eight times more energy than is used to produce, transport, and refine it. Other ethanol sources, such as prairie grass, also have a high energy balance. Gasoline itself has an energy balance of 5-to-1. But corn's energy balance, according to one study, is only 1.3-to-1-meaning that corn-based ethanol produces barely more energy than is consumed to make it. Other studies have concluded that making ethanol actually consumes more energy than the fuel produced. Nonetheless, almost all ethanol produced in the U.S. comes from corn-about 5 billion gallons this year, equivalent to 20 percent of the U.S. corn crop.

Why is corn-based ethanol dominant?
In a word, politics. Federal mandates to produce more ethanol have been a boon to corn-producing states in the West, enriching farmers and creating thousands of jobs in struggling rural areas. These states wield great power in Washington, which helps explain why Congress has lavished more than $50 billion in subsidies and tax breaks for ethanol since 1995. At least $10 billion of that largesse has gone to agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland, which has spread around $3 million in campaign contributions since 2000. "There's a lot of ethanol money washing around, and it seems always to go to the corn states," says environmental scientist Cornelius Murphy of the State University of New York. The largest corn-producing state is Iowa, which happens to hold the first major contest of the presidential campaign season. As a result, presidential wannabes tend to come out early and often for ethanol-friendly policies. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama recently reminded Iowans that he wants to raise U.S. production of ethanol to 60 billion gallons by 2030. Not to be outdone, his rival John Edwards called for 65 billion gallons by 2025.

Is ethanol environmentally friendly?
Not especially. A recent study by Stanford University atmospheric scientist Mark Jacobson concluded that "ethanol poses an equal or greater risk to public health than gasoline." The burning of ethanol, Jacobson found, produces more lung-damaging ozone than gasoline does. Another problem is that corn growers rely on nitrogen-based fertilizers; rain washes the nitrogen into streams and rivers, where it displaces the oxygen in the water, killing marine life.

Does ethanol have other downsides?
Yes-it raises food prices here and abroad. Ethanol refiners consume huge amounts of corn, and the law of supply and demand means that food producers have to pay much more for the corn that is left. In Mexico, the price of cornmeal tortillas, a dietary staple, has risen 60 percent in the past year alone. In the U.S., corn prices have risen 58 percent this year, causing sharp jumps in the prices of everything from steak (steers are fed on corn) to soft drinks (sweetened with corn syrup). And because farmers are planting more corn to meet increased demand, they have less acreage available for other crops, reducing their supply and increasing the price of everything from potato chips and beer to milk. "We're putting the supermarket in competition with the corner filling station for the output of the farm," says environmentalist Lester Brown.

But what about replacing foreign oil?
Even that is something of an illusion. Ethanol cannot be shipped via existing gasoline pipelines, because it readily absorbs water and other impurities. So it must be transported by trucks, which burn fuel and emit greenhouse gases. "We're importing oil from Saudi Arabia and other places to make ethanol," says Cornell University environmental scientist David Pimentel. "Is that making us energy-independent?" Existing gas pumps also have to be retrofitted to handle ethanol, at a cost of about $100,000 per station. And most cars can't burn fuel mixtures that contain more than 10 percent ethanol, because higher concentrations corrode engine parts. Even if engineers overcame these obstacles and Americans consumed every drop of ethanol produced in the U.S., it would still replace only 1.5 million barrels of oil per day- 7 percent of America's daily consumption. "Forcing nation-wide adoption of ethanol makes about as much sense as mandating that all 50 states grow mangoes," says energy researcher Robert Rapier. "Yeah, it could be done, but at what price?"

~~~~

When King George made a pledge to have x amount of Hydrogen fueled cars on the road in the next 20 years I thought to myself, "WTF? Hydrogen? What about hybrids! Hybrids are here now, they work, I'm driving one!!! In 20 years the hydrogen comment you just made will STILL be a pipe dream." And I realized that the oil and automobile industry are pure evil.

I still drive a hybrid. One that is rated at 70 mpg. SEVENTY!!! It's a 2000 Honda Insight. Guess what the 2001 Honda was rated at? 63. Then the Prius came along in 2001 at 42 mpg. It's been a steady decline in hybrid gas mileage since then.

So instead of reversing the declining gas mileage numbers with vehicles that actually exist today we should just change everything and go to Ethanol? or Hydrogen? Or? C'mon people - THINK!

Atheism On The Rise

Only 6 percent of people older than 60 say they don't believe in God, but amongst those ages 18 to 22, one in four is an atheist.

This reminds me of a Christopher Hitchens comment something akin to, "Alchemy was replaced by chemistry, astrology with astronomy, phrenology with psychiatry - and someday, hopefully, religion will be replaced by philosophy.

I've Been Mindfudged

So I get a phone call from a friend of mine. She is at the library with her teenage son. Her son sees a girl he knows but can't remember her name so hey says hello. The girl is on the library computer. She ask him if he has ever seen Father Dan. He says he hasn't so she shows him the website. He see's the picture and says, "Hey, I know that guy - that's my mom's friend." Mom calls me.

Figure the freakin' odds.

Mindfudged.

5,000 Years of Religion in 90 Seconds

How has the geography of religion evolved over the centuries, and where has it sparked wars? This map gives us a brief history of the world's most well-known religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Selected periods of inter-religious bloodshed are also highlighted. Want to see 5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds? Ready, Set, Go!

Best Jack-O-Lantern Ever - Look!