One of the great works of philosophy that has always grated on my nerves is Rene Descartes “Meditations on First Philosophy”. His proof of God’s existence is ridiculous :

There only remains, therefore, the idea of God, in which I must consider whether there is anything that cannot be supposed to originate with myself. By the name God, I understand a substance infinite, [eternal, immutable], independent, all-knowing, all-powerful, and by which I myself, and every other thing that exists, if any such there be, were created. But these properties are so great and excellent, that the more attentively I consider them the less I feel persuaded that the idea I have of them owes its origin to myself alone And thus it is absolutely necessary to conclude, from all that I have before said, that God exists.

There’s no way I could come up with the idea of an all-knowing, all-powerful being, so God must have planted the idea there himself. To me, this has always seemed like the foundation for all of those cheezy books sold in Christian bookstores in which a scientist or journalist offers conclusive “proof” that God exists and is the creator of everything we see (as if blind faith were something that you can argue your way into or out of).

Fast forward 366 years and there’s an even more powerful argument to prove the existence of God from former sitcom star Kirk Cameron :

“Darwin said in order to prove evolution, which is the #1 alternative to God, you’ve gotta be able to prove transitional forms. One animal transitioning into another. And all through the fossil record and life, we don’t find one of these…a croco-duck.”

Nice try Descartes, but with the croco-duck and finding out that bananas are an “atheist’s nightmare”, I’m finally convinced. Amen.

Quick question for you American Idol watchers out there. Looking at guest mentor Barry Gibb…

…does he look more like Dr. Zaius (I believe this is a yearbook photo)…



…or the Geico caveman?



I’m leaning more towards the caveman, but I’ll never turn down an opportunity to post a photo of Dr. Zaius.

You know what really bugs me? When people smugly pat themselves on the back for being “politically incorrect” as if being an asshole somehow makes you more intellectually honest. The biggest offender is the “Politically Incorrect Guide” series that has given us the conservative spin on American history, women, Darwinsim, Islam, science, the South, and capitalism, all with the promise that these new guides are giving readers an antidote to the liberal bias found in well, everything apparently. According to Amazon, the next installment of this series will be out this November as “The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible”. If you’re releasing a conservative book about the Bible, are you really being “politically incorrect”??

With the teachings of Jesus being used to justify pretty much every line item on the Republican party’s platform, it seems to me that the conservative interpretation of the Bible is the one that people have to tiptoe around. If you wanted to publish a guide to the Bible that’s truly “politically incorrect”, you should start by pointing out that Jesus said more about hypocrisy, wealth, and greed than abortion or homosexuality. Point out that contrary to the fundies who insist that the United States is a “Christian nation” and that the Ten Commandments are the “moral foundation of American law”, Jesus never repeated all ten of the commandments in the gospels. In fact, Jesus had just one commandment “That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”

So if you really want to be “politically incorrect”, you should stick it to the political conservatives who favor a tax code that rewards the rich, an inefficient medical system that leaves millions of people at risk, and a brand of “family values” that divides families and tries to keep people from loving each other. Any interpretation of the Bible they offer that would justify their greed, xenophobia, heartlessness is a self-indulgent perversion of the teachings of Jesus. To say otherwise would just reek of political correctness.

Is Glenn Reynolds being willfully obtuse here or does he really think this is a decent analogy?

ANDREW SULLIVAN ASKS: “If gun rights are civil rights, why would anyone feel the need to hide the fact that they own one?”…But I’ll turn the question around: If abortion is a civil right, why would anyone object to having a newspaper publish a searchable database of people who’ve had one?

Ummmm…I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that there have been dozens of violent attacks by abortion opponents, including shootings, bombings, arson, and a stabbing.

Wanna know one of my favorite things about L.A.? The fires.

A fire broke out in Griffith Park today above the Greek Theater and fire officials were trying to determine its size and source.

Large amounts of smoke were reported below the observatory about 1 p.m.

Authorities said the fire had burned 15 acres east of the Greek Theater near the Hollywood sign. Scores of firefighters from the L.A. city and county fire departments were fighting the blaze from the ground and air. No homes were threatened.

The view outside my office :

Normally there’s a hill there.

This one’s better than the one a couple of months ago that burned the neighboring hills, but not quite as good as the one from a year and a half ago that scorched the Burbank hills. And it can’t hold a candle to the wildfires from a few years ago that covered everything in Los Angeles with a thin layer of ash. That was an awesome fire.

UPDATE : For those worried about the fire, it’s mostly contained now, not threatening any homes, and…

Visitors at the zoo have been evacuated but zookeepers, and maintenance crews and public safety officers, as well as the zoo director, remain on the scene to keep watch over the animals and the premises, said spokesman Jason Jacobs.

“So far the animals are faring fine,” Jacobs said. “I haven’t heard any reports of anything going wrong.”

I’ve been saying for years that those Ataris and Nintendos are the cause of violence, but you fools weren’t listening. Now the video game threat has reached our shores :

F-B-I agents say one of the six men accused of planning a shooting spree at Fort Dix conducted surveillance at several military installations.

According to a complaint, nearby Lakehurst Naval Air Station, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and a Coast Guard building on Delaware Avenue in Philadelphia were cased in August 2006.

The F-B-I says it also tailed the suspect to Fort Monmouth.

Prosecutors say the suspect told an informant he settled on Dix because co-defendant Serdar Tatar delivered pizza to the post for Super Mario’s Pizza Restaurant in New Hanover Township.

From what sources are telling me, the Fort Dix terrorists were dangerously close to getting their hands on advanced flame-throwing technology.

Thank goodness we’ve got a President willing to use cheat codes to keep us safe.

Via Americablog, it seems that there’s a new reason to avoid jumping on the Straight Talk Express. John McCain is a complete dumbass :

Q: “What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.”

Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

Q: “I mean, I think you’d probably agree it probably does help stop it?”

Mr. McCain: (Laughs) “Are we on the Straight Talk express? I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception – I’m sure I’m opposed to government spending on it, I’m sure I support the president’s policies on it.”

Q: “But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: ‘No, we’re not going to distribute them,’ knowing that?”

Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) “Get me Coburn’s thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn’s paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I’ve never gotten into these issues before.”

If we give McCain the benefit of the doubt and avoid jumping to the conclusion that he’s completely retarded, then it just means he’s pretending to know the simplest facts about an important issue just to kiss the ass of a portion of the electorate that will never, ever vote for him. All the pandering in the world won’t stop the slow-motion derailment of the Straight Talk Express. It’ll be fun to watch.

Atrios is right, when you’re using something like this to convince people there’s a “thriving Republican punk music scene”, then you’re an idiot :

And, as a Republican, I’m proud to have John Cummings in our Party. You may know John as Johnny Ramone, of one of the best bands of all time, the Ramones. The Ramones are largely regarded as being the first punk rock band and they happen to be Republicans. In fact, Johnny Ramone was quoted in 2004 as saying, “I send money to the [Republican National Committee] and to Bush/Cheney. I will argue politics with people all day long. I am one of the few Republicans out here.”

Odd that conservatives would boast of having a dead Ramone in their ranks when one of the band’s most political songs, Bonzo Goes To Bitburg, was to protest St. Ronnie putting a wreath on a Nazi grave :

Remind me, how many times did the Republican candidates compare themselves to Reagan in last week’s debate?

No kidding, I had this exact same idea a few years ago. At least, the Jesus pulling a giant cross out of thin air to beat an opponent and throwing a crown of thorns as a weapon. In the exists-only-in-my-head version, however, Jesus fights Vishnu, Buddha, Allah, Zeus, and Xenu.

Ohhh…how I love political stories like this :

When asked his favorite novel in an interview shown yesterday on the Fox News Channel, Mitt Romney pointed to “Battlefield Earth,” a novel by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. That book was turned into a film by John Travolta, a Scientologist.

Here’s a painting of Johnny Goodboy Tyler, the main character in Mitt Romney’s “favorite novel” :

An excerpt from Mitt Romney’s “favorite novel” :

“The probe and the pictures were on a metal that was rare everywhere and worth a clanking fortune. And Intergalactic paid the Psychlo governors sixty trillion Galactic credits for the directions and the concession. One gas barrage and we were in business.”

“Fairy tales, fairy tales,” said Char. “Every planet I ever helped gut has some butt and crap story like that. Every one.” He yawned his face into a huge cavern. “All that was hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago. You ever notice that the public relations department always puts their fairy tales so far back nobody can ever check them?”

“I’m going to go out and catch one of these things,” said Terl.

“Not with any of my crews or equipment you ain’t,” said Char.

Terl heaved his mammoth bulk off the seat and crossed the creaking floor to the berthing hatch.

“You’re as crazy as a nebula of crap,” said Char.

Seriously? Battlefield…Earth. By L. Ron Hubbard. Mitt Romney’s favorite novel? How many books has this guy read?