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Republicans Reject Evolution in Favor of Devolution

ppo – Yep, it would be rather amusing to try and have a philosophical/theological discussion in the middle of a food fight.

Whether they believe what they say or not, the goal of such people is to disrupt others from raising the level of conversation and thought above simple binary thinking and conflict (right vs. wrong, us vs. them, etc.) because as people become accustomed to connecting with others they come together…the last thing these people want to happen.

It is why we think of this site as the home of a unique community where any concept or issue can be brought up for discussion and lead to a substantive and rewarding conversation.

And not a single mention of “libtard” in sight. Well, maybe just that one.

» Posted By AdLib On December 31, 2013 @ 10:29 am

Thanks for the Paul Simon song, KT! Really appreciate it.

» Posted By AdLib On December 31, 2013 @ 12:55 am

Fergie1, yes, that would be an even bigger landmark if the U.S. elected an atheist as President, as Australia has with your PM.

Of course it has no effect on policy, in fact just the opposite, when one is not driven by religious dogma as a politician, one can truly make decisions on behalf of all who they represent, not just those of the same religion.

JFK had to defend his Catholicism because of how Christian voters saw it as outside of their religious beliefs so it was actually evidence of how religious voters were even back then and why JFK had to affirm that he would not set policy according to his religious beliefs.

Whatever religious films may be coming out, they won’t outgross the big superhero movies. In fact, Rick Santorum’s Christian movie company released their first film this Christmas…and it bombed. This is indeed more of a pursuit of exploiting that demographic more than anything else.

There is nothing more obnoxious than that atheist who ridicules or talks down to those who have religious beliefs he sees as illegitimate. Such people make the best argument against their own beliefs, appearing to only be an atheist to be able to feel superior to others.

Religious or atheist, those who are comfortable with their beliefs have no need to attack others for believing differently or showing them disrespect. They know what feels most true to them and show the same respect to others that they expect.

I completely agree, the marriage of religion and politics in this country has gotten way out of hand and does need to be reigned in. Obama has had way too many controversies on his shoulders, especially being the first African American President but maybe in the not too distant future, when we have our first atheist President, some words of reason on keeping religion and politics apart could be had.

» Posted By AdLib On December 31, 2013 @ 12:54 am

KT, what are mythologies but ancient religious beliefs? But there are universal truths in myths and religions and that is what Campbell really helped highlight. And how important such beliefs are to society and the character of people.

Whether kids grow up believing in religion or connecting with stories and myths, they bind themselves to society and can be inspired by the better traits of human beings.

We do need that and as a society, we are lacking in shared beliefs of what is good and worthy. When self-described Christians go on rants against feeding the poor or the unemployed getting UI payments, something has really gone haywire.

As a society, we should at least be able to agree on the very core and shared religious and humanist value that we should take care of those who need help.

When we cant agree on that, those who disagree need to be given a societal time out and only be allowed back at the adult’s table when they understand the error of their ways.

» Posted By AdLib On December 31, 2013 @ 12:36 am

Celestial hard drive? Wonder if the NSA will get pissed off if God put spyware on it!

Or maybe we’re just part of a galactic video game and eventually after losing enough lives, God just pushes the reset button?

» Posted By AdLib On December 31, 2013 @ 12:24 am

Agreed, KT, an honest and fair-minded fan of logic, reason and science would have no choice but to accept the possibility that they don’t have all the answers…since none can ultimately be proven. Thus, who knows if others may be more correct in the long run about their beliefs.

One thing I don’t believe in though are the negative, human-emotion-charged concepts of a vengeful God, Hell and damnation for those who don’t believe in God the “right” way. Those types of beliefs seem so transparently human, not spiritual at all but more about supporting and enforcing the religion itself.

But as for what happens after we die or when the universe finally stops expanding, anyone’s belief is as fair as mine.

» Posted By AdLib On December 31, 2013 @ 12:22 am

Let’s see what happens this upcoming year. I think the prevalence of Establishment Repubs getting punished by Tea Partiers and being “primaried” when they don’t toe their outrageous lines have solidified the opposition to continued Tea Party power.

Lots in the works behind the scenes with the GOP to take back power from the Tea Party. We’ll see more in 2014 and especially in 2016…but that doesn’t mean the Tea Party will take it sitting down on their tricorner hats…

» Posted By AdLib On December 31, 2013 @ 12:01 am

KT – And then we could get into alternate dimensions and universes, where every variation of what could happen, does/has happened…and where multiple universes can be expanding and contracting and having their Big Bangs at this very moment.

Fascinating to imagine…

» Posted By AdLib On December 30, 2013 @ 11:58 pm

Thanks so much, Aquarius 1027!

Glad you brought that up, it is affirming to see that Akin, Mourdock and the occasional Tea Partier who isn’t a witch are repeatedly rejected by an electorate that is not comfortable with religious extremists.

The anti-science crusade is joined by the pro-corporate/anti-regulation Repubs and the Know-Nothings who view science as poison for religion. Yet, they fortunately represent a minority of Americans and in the end, they won’t and can’t prevail.

Same here, nice to see you at The Planet and a very Happy New Year to you!

» Posted By AdLib On December 30, 2013 @ 11:55 pm

KT – I don’t think there’s a question that fear has historically lead to superstition as part of the quest to answer what isn’t known. That’s not to say religion is superstition, for many enlightened people it isn’t but most religions are infused with a degree of superstition because that is a natural trait of human beings.

When people lived before astronomy could explain the lights in the night sky, it was scary not to know what they were. So stories were created to put people’s minds at rest. Yet one can’t help but find it fascinating that the concept of God is so universal in societies and religions, with some but few exceptions. Many religious stories are echoed even in the religions of people isolated from those of religions with similar stories.

As Joseph Campbell mused, is there just an innate component in the human mind that seeks and desires God and is bound to create the same kinds of primal stories about God or is there something more to it that we just can’t identify?

I enjoy the questions like this and embrace the truth that no one can know what is or isn’t the case with absolute certainty. The only thing I don’t enjoy is when someone believes they have the absolute answers when none can truly be had.

Life, the universe, existence and God are all mysteries we each get to explore and seek answers for ourselves. That’s an important freedom we have as human beings and with the abilities to imagine and reason as built in apps, we’re pretty lucky to be able to do so.

» Posted By AdLib On December 30, 2013 @ 11:49 pm

ppo – I’m with you in that belief, the universe is doing what it does. It expands until its mass attracts it back in then contracts and compresses into another in a series of Big bangs and the cycle of expansion and contraction begins once again.

What does tickle the imagination are propositions such as, each cycle re-creates everything that previously existed and we keep being recreated too and experiencing either the same lifetime or alternate lifetimes.

Maybe there is something to Hinduism too, the concept of coming back in other forms could be echoed through such an eternal unmaking and remaking of the universe.

I love this stuff, it’s invigorating to widen one’s mind beyond the trivial day to day and imagine about the whole of time and existence and what’s really going on all around us on this planet and in time and space.

» Posted By AdLib On December 30, 2013 @ 11:34 pm

Wisdom indeed, KT. That which transcends our human understanding and existence can never be understood or proven to or not to exist.

It is a question which will never have a particular and correct answer and allows us to either believe what we choose to believe or simply accept that we can never know what can’t be known.

The one absolute I do feel comfortable expressing is that no absolute about God’s existence can ever be proven. It is a matter of personal belief and no one can ever prove another’s belief wrong.

Therefore, respecting others’ beliefs seems to be the only logical choice, especially for those who respect the scientific process.

» Posted By AdLib On December 30, 2013 @ 11:25 pm

Dbos, yep, these are indeed the oblivious pawns of the wealthy who have gotten a bit out of their control but nonetheless are victims of the America they have aggressively supported.

Repubs have been working to undermine education and dumb down more people to build their ranks because anyone who isn’t wealthy would have to be very poorly educated to support them.

» Posted By AdLib On December 30, 2013 @ 11:13 pm

PPO – The good thing about all zealotry is that it is a pendulum that always swings too far to the right before swinging back the other way.

I think we have seen the high point of the know-nothing Tea Bagger mentality as a national thing. The majority has turned against them. They will continue to wreak havoc in the communities and states where they number in the majority but there too, as scientific theory has proven time and again, actions eventually produce equal and opposite reactions. As things get more miserable in the areas Baggers drag down, the people who look around and see the rest of the nation doing well will push back to change their leadership.

And as for the less-irrational GOP pushing back against the radicals, I think we’ve seen that gaining steam and after losing so many winnable races due to unelectable Bagger loons, I think the Establishment GOP has had enough.

Not that I want Repubs to become more palatable but I think the shut-down-government and let-the-US-default trolls have their best days behind them.

» Posted By AdLib On December 30, 2013 @ 11:10 pm

That is one of the huge mysteries that The Big Bang Theory opens up and that I doubt can ever be answered. To those who are religious, the Big Bang doesn’t contradict the existence of God at all(though it doesn’t affirm the Bible’s version of creation).

Whatever instigated the Big Bang or brought about the atomic material that was at the heart of it, can’t be known.

I’ve also found the concept of an expanding universe mind-bending. If the universe represents all matter and existence, what is it expanding into, what was there before the universe expanded to encompass it?

BTW, I had a friend many years ago who tried to illustrate his concept of the expanding universe, he drew a circle that was intended to represent the universe. I asked him what was on the outside of that circle and he said “nothing”. So I tried to get him to define nothing and it made him question his belief. Credit to him though, being able to question a long held belief he had previously needed to give himself a concept of the universe that he could imagine.

» Posted By AdLib On December 30, 2013 @ 10:58 pm

Thanks Beatlex. I think that since Nixon, the Republicans crafted their party to appeal to the South and the evangelists. We all remember the Christian Coalition during the Reagan period. Reagan really set the benchmark for pandering to the extremist religious crowd and enforcing RW religious dogma through government.

And very conservative sensibilities are more in tune with evangelicals. There is a rigid belief in authority and simple dualities. You’re with us or against us, you’re good or bad, The Bible is the only truth or the truths of science undermine The Bible’s legitimacy and God.

The U.S. has a very unique marriage between religion and politics that you don’t see in much of the rest of Western democracies. You wouldn’t hear politicians in Canada, Australia or Europe go on at length about their belief in religion when they campaign but it is expected and a necessity in U.S. politics.

It is hard to imagine an atheist ever being elected President even though most Americans don’t want the President to make decisions based upon his religious beliefs.

BTW, I’ve seen very hostile, narrow minded atheists too, the RW religious types don’t have a monopoly on that. Some atheists seem to be on as much as a hateful crusade as RW Evangelists, to attack religion and those who belong to religions and IMO, it displays the same kind of insecurity. They need to denigrate religion and the religious because they aren’t confident enough in their own beliefs to live and let live.

It is for the best for those politicians who are supposed to represent all of their constituents, including those of different beliefs, to not mingle their religious beliefs with their duties to those they represent. But in the U.S., that often isn’t the case.

» Posted By AdLib On December 30, 2013 @ 10:49 pm

KT – As I was writing this I was thinking of your post and saw it as an extension of the conversation you began.

I did watch the video and found it very enlightening. I do think Tyson’s point is well taken on Intelligent Design as being filler for those who can’t conceive of the scientific reasons for natural occurrences. But he didn’t address the psychological motivations behind the intensity of those who express such hostility towards science revealing truths.

That’s what fascinates me. Why is it you can’t just lay out simple logic to evangelists on scientific matters to convince them of a truth but you could lay out simple logic on other issues to convince them of something else.

It’s a conditional thing, only where there is a challenge to their belief in an absolutist validation of every word in the Bible as literal fact and every religious belief they have, will they be petrified and invulnerable to logic. But they can be reasonable on other issues.

Of course, the logic is inescapable that if you fill any finite thing with something deadly, no matter how massive it is, eventually, when enough time passes, it would become contaminated. They know that if they parked a massive dumpster in their backyard and tossed just a little garbage in it each week, it would eventually will up. Yet since they’ve been brainwashed by the corporate GOP to exhibit a simple knee jerk reaction, whenever Climate Change is discussed, they need to deny it and ridicule it because it is an attempt to disprove God and their religious beliefs.

It doesn’t even concern consideration of the proposition, it doesn’t get that far. For that type, it is simply a threat that must be immediately and fully blocked.

Meanwhile, they may personally suffer from having their air, land and water polluted by the very people brainwashing them against believing that pollution is damaging the air, land and water.

They are being victimized too.

And Tyson’s point about the decline of civilizations coming when they fight against and demonize science is well made. Though that sentiment is prevalent in the GOP and some parts of the country, it could never prevail nationally so I don’t worry that the U.S. would ever see such a smothering of reason and progress as happened with Islam.

» Posted By AdLib On December 30, 2013 @ 10:29 pm

The Year in PlanetPOV Parody Art

Cheers Kalima!

We do protest and push back against the awfulness the Repubs, corporations and the wealthy shove at us but I do think that what is unique about The Planet is that we don’t limit ourselves to applause and boos to the latest news.

We analyze, investigate and reason here, trying to suss out what is really going on behind the one-dimensional stories pumped out by the MSM.

And we do like to put a Republican face on ridiculous figures…well, ridiculous figures other than their own.

Thanks Kalima, you’ve got a whole new year’s worth of silliness coming your way!

» Posted By AdLib On December 27, 2013 @ 5:16 pm

Thanks so much for all the kind thoughts, CL!

What passes for politics today has become so absurd as to be comparable only to fiction and fictional characters.

Really appreciate your props for The Planet, you’ve described exactly what we strive for, thoughtful analysis, insight and of course humor. There are plenty of sites where people can read an aggregation of news headlines, we do try to be a place where we put all of it into perspective as a community.

And you are a very appreciated member of that community!

Happy New Year to you and hubby too! Right with you on working hard this upcoming year to make a real difference (with a real different House I hope)!

» Posted By AdLib On December 27, 2013 @ 10:56 am

Thanks Nirek, just a lead up to the Sunday Funnies!

» Posted By AdLib On December 27, 2013 @ 10:38 am

The Capitalism That Stole Christmas – The Anti-Materialism Theme of Classic Christmas Films

Heh! I’m full from dinner but you’re making me hungry anyway! I know it will be a wonderful meal!

Hope you enjoy the film clips! I love black and whties, introduced my daughter to them when she was young so unlike many kids, she’s just as happy watching those as color films.

And of course, there were so many wonderful films in black and white. She loves Hitchcock and Charlie Chaplin, Marx Brothers and musicals. And of course the Christmas classics!

Santa will be coming soon, don’t forget to hang your stocking by the chimney with care!

» Posted By AdLib On December 23, 2013 @ 11:02 pm

VB – I have been suspicious of Booker since he came out against Obama in 2012 during the campaign when Obama was attacking Bain Capital for merciless practices.

Ever since then, I’ve regarded Booker as a bought-and-paid-for type. So this action by him isn’t so surprising but it is another in what I’ll bet will be an ongoing list of betrayals of Progressives and Obama.

But Obama will win this one, even if he has to fight Corporate Dems too.

A wide majority of Dems want this Iran deal to happen, there will be a huge price to be paid by Dems who betray their voters and President on this.

» Posted By AdLib On December 23, 2013 @ 10:55 pm

Hey PocketWatch, it is amusing but I don’t know if that’s so far fetched. What’s the difference between Mr. Potter and and the Repubs most recent Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney? Mr. Potter didn’t destroy anywhere near as many lives and jobs.

I do love the leg lamp story in the film, I think guys especially know that feeling of how valuable something is that you’ve won…no matter how questionable it might be as a prize in the eyes of others. Hey, I like it because I won it!

My connection to A Christmas Story is that I went to school with a kid who would have been the spitting image of Scut Farkus (the bully) and was a bully (though I don’t recall him bullying me in particular). He had red hair, yellow eyes and yellow teeth just like him, it’s really kind of amazing.

Now…did your dad every take you to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas?

» Posted By AdLib On December 23, 2013 @ 10:42 pm

Kalima, what an awesome and amazing collection of international holiday greetings! How cool! Thank you so much!

BTW, since you don’t get to see many black and white classics, here’s part one of Holiday Inn (the original White Christmas movie with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ayDdvZ3YnI

And the ending to It’s A Wonderful Life:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k_Vsmqf6X8

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Kalima and a wonderful new year in your lovely and hard-earned new home…and of course at your other home right here!

» Posted By AdLib On December 23, 2013 @ 10:32 pm

Quick Brown Dog, first, haven’t had a chance to say it yet, welcome to The Planet!

Funny you say that, was watching A Charlie Brown Christmas tonight with my daughter and Charlie Brown asks Lucy why people can’t be the same way they are on Christmas the rest of the year and she responds by calling him a fanatic. Satire of course, it is only the sanest thing to hope for, that people would be of compassion and goodwill all year round. Why not? How does anyone benefit from only being so one day of the year? But haters gotta hate.

They made that crappy film, “Jingle All the Way” about the “funny” Christmas routine of there being “The Toy” every Christmas that parents have to get their kids no matter what.

That kind of lunacy isn’t funny, it’s capitalism gone mad. No kid has to have any particular toy to have a wonderful Christmas yet each year, it happens, a combination between herd mentality and consumer addiction.

That’s not what we’re supposed to be celebrating here. We’re trying to carve out a little space in the year for people to put aside their anxiety and upset and share their best instincts with other people. Elbowing shoppers out of the way to grab a doorbuster deal kind of misses the mark.

» Posted By AdLib On December 23, 2013 @ 10:22 pm

Hey Kes, thanks so much!

Very funny, haven’t seen this before but I can absolutely see Fox News re-editing It’s a Wonderful Life to portray Potter as a hero and job creator and George Bailey as a socialist who’s a friend of the “takers”.

BTW, have you seen the old SNL spoof on the alternate ending to IAWL?

» Posted By AdLib On December 23, 2013 @ 10:10 pm

Cheers, jj!

Haven’t seen Bad Santa but I have seen Holiday Inn, great pick!

Here’s a fave of mine from the Coen Brothers, a Christmas/New Year’s film that’s so much fun and has a corruption-by-money-and-power theme, The Hudsucker Proxy:

» Posted By AdLib On December 23, 2013 @ 10:01 pm

escribacat, it is one of my all time favorites as well, as you’ve no doubt guessed. I think Charles Dickens was one of the most remarkable and insightful geniuses to grace the literary world.

The Alistair Sim version of A Christmas Carol is fantastic.

I guess you better not show your brother A Tale of Two Cities either, he’ll be scratching his head as to why Marie Antoinette was treated so unfairly by offering a thoughtful suggestion to the poor who couldn’t afford bread to let them eat cake.

It is hard for those who immediately connect and empathize with such eternal truths to understand how some people just can’t recognize or accept them but it’s not coincidental they often turn out to be among those supporting groups like Republicans who mirror that disconnect.

» Posted By AdLib On December 23, 2013 @ 9:51 pm

Thanks VB!

There does need to be a kind of awakening in the public to build a movement to pull away from the orbit around materialism. It’s kind of an addiction right now, to deal with the stress and depression of the American economic structure pulling them down, many depend on the distractions of materialism to make them feel better. But you can’t address the root problem while remaining addicted and fortifying the existing system.

The vicious circle needs to be broken by the people and what many don’t realize is that once they stop playing this game, they gain control of it.

Happy Holidays back to you VegasBabe!

» Posted By AdLib On December 23, 2013 @ 9:34 pm

Nirek – Jon Stewart explained it pretty well on The Daily Show, he noted that the typical “news” of hatred in DC goes away over the holidays and Fox can’t rely on their usual BS to whip up their ratings and audience so they now have instituted this annual “War on Christmas” campaign.

It’s phony like everything else on Fox, they know it. Typical phony Christians too, desecrating the holiday out of greed, just to crank up ratings and ad sales rates.

The RW core are such saps and patsies but they’ll never see it.

» Posted By AdLib On December 23, 2013 @ 9:23 pm