Comments on: Stirring McCain’s Hagee Pot

By: bajasteve

bajasteve — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:47:47 +0000

Well, sure; why should California try to start solving the problem? It’s not like anybody else would ever follow our example. Oh, wait…there are all those other states who want to do the same thing if California’s successful. Damn!

By: Maddy

Maddy — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:09:06 +0000

Nice post

By: diogenes

diogenes — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:55:07 +0000

I disagree.

China and the old U.S.S.R. banned religion, and they are/were bloody terrors.

If you respect freedom, you must respect folk’s rights to worship (or not) as they please. Banning relegion is as noxious as banning books.

This is not to say great evil has not been done in the name of religion. Great evil has been done in the name of Manifest Destiny, socialism, communism, capitalism and on and on.

The common denominator isn’t religion - it’s us.

By: bigbrother

bigbrother — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:30:45 +0000

Don’t buy into praise blame(guilt). Religion does not have to be extreme to be intrusive. I absolve you of your alleged guilt if to deem to authorise me to. Perhaps rephasing would help.
That a thing or being could be god means it is a “higher power” above me therefore impeding my freedom. I have a mind of my own so no leadership needed here.
I admit to holding affection and sympathy along with anger and resentment and frustration that people taken in by religion can be such slow learners which I define as a learning disability.
However it has been a consistent experience when dealing with the faithful I always get burned which is one reason (there is that concept again), that I am so down on faith based decision making. Obama scares me on faith and war.

By: bigbrother

bigbrother — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:08:45 +0000

But it’s not the extreme that is the issue with religion. It’s the irrational founding of them all that is the common element.

Religion is based on faith…an assumption not founded on reason. Behavior based on faith becomes unreasonable. Please don’t be unreasonable.
As Zappa would say the universe is made up of stupidity for the is more of that than hydrogen. Maybe plasma+stupidity which equals no univesal health care,,torture for prisoners…more prisoner for America 1 in 100 than any other place…more sick people…more people dying from being sick…more rich people…more poor people…more pissed people…less food and water…more untreated excrement….higher cost of living…more work and less fun Thank God

By: cinnamonape

cinnamonape — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:08:04 +0000

He also said that he couldn’t think of a Darwinian reason for humans to be “programed” for Religion. I lost a lot of respect for him as a scientist when he gave that answer.

Well…that’s an entirely appropriate answer. He didn’t deny there could be a “Darwinian” reason for religion…he simply said that his imagination couldn’t come up with one. That’s perfectly scientific. Hypotheses have to be conceived, and then tested. But not all hypotheses are testable. If one can’t test them it isn’t a Scientific explanation.

In addition, there can be perfectly good scientific (and even Darwinian selective mechanistic) explanations for the presence of religion without attributing it to being in “our DNA”. Cultural memes can spread, and be studied scientifically, without having anything to do with the DNA [other than the very basic level of the DNA creating a brain capable of conceiving a whole range of memes]. And those memes can be “selectively favored”. Dawkins has a whole section in his most recent book on Atheism about this. It’s not as if he hasn’t considered the alternatives and ignored the issue.

By: SanderO

SanderO — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:06:31 +0000

I would be happy if there was no religion. Lots of religion is not offensive, but much of it has been very nasty.

The catholic church has so much blood and misery on its hands and is enormously wealthy, hordes it while there is so much suffering and they tell people to pray for the next life.

By: newtonusr

newtonusr — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:01:08 +0000

See here, the comments at which I originally directed my point.

By: SanderO

SanderO — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:59:02 +0000

Intolerance of what religious practice? What is the context?

While I think religious practice is a waste of time, I don’t care if others choose to do it.

By: marshen

marshen — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:57:55 +0000

I just heard this MccCain excuse for Hagee on CNN, no more no less. Once McCain explains away his surrogate’s remarks its end of story for the MSM. I wonder if this is a ploy by the GOP to keep coverage of the campaign on these people attacking Obama’s religion and ethnicity and away from the real issues which the republicans are weak on and where Obama is likely to have the upper hand.

There is no way in hell the McCain campaign does not know who these surrogates are and what they are likely to say. This is all planned to keep repeating over and over negative things about Obama’s race and religion until it sinks in and has a gathering overall negative effect on Obama’s image and his campaign. As long as this stuff is not coming out of McCain’s mouth and he keeps apologizing and excusing, it will be allowed to continue and succeed in doing damage to Obama. We all know there is a limitless supply of these surrogates in the wingnut world, and it seems McCain is getting better and better at his sincere aploggies.