As a cat lover, this article from Huffington Post caught my eye: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cats-mental-illness-toxoplasma_us_58adc06ae4b03d80af714072? The “study” debunked here is just one example of many, many such junk “studies” that come out all the time. This junk science does enormous harm. There are all sorts of ax-grinders that sit in waiting for some purportedly scientific “study” to confirm their … The Harm of Junk “Studies”

I just got this in a message from the Center for Inquiry about measures before the Florida Legislature: “Legislation that would grant special privileges to religious beliefs in public schools has been introduced by Florida Rep. Kimberly Daniels (D-Jacksonville), and Sen. Dennis Baxely (R-Ocala). The sponsors of the “Florida Student and School Personnel Religious Liberties … More Dangerous Silliness from the Religious Right

I was pleasantly surprised to see an op/ed by a professional philosopher in Sunday’s (1/29) Houston Chronicle. Karen Stohr’s essay “Our new age of contempt is on full display,” was first published in the New York Times. Stohr is an associate professor of philosophy at Georgetown and a senior research scholar at Georgetown’s Kennedy Center … A Qualified Defense of Contempt

It seems like a good time to re-post and update this. If Jesus had been a Republican… He would have said: “Render unto Caesar. And if thou catchest an illegal immigrant, render him also, yea, limb from limb.” “Blessed are the rich, who are the ones who REALLY inherit the earth.” “Love thy neighbor, unless … If Jesus had been a Republican…

I recently spoke at Christ the King Lutheran Church near the Rice University Campus. The topic was “Science and Religion.” This, of course, is a very big topic. How to deal with it in a single short presentation? I think the first thing to do is to some models for simplifying the multifarious complexities here. … Science and Religion: Four Models

In an editorial titled “Women at Risk,” today’s Houston Chronicle presented some very alarming facts: Put simply, the State of Texas is waging a war against women. This is not partisan rhetoric, but a sober statement of the unavoidable conclusion implied by these facts. Texas has conducted a furious vendetta against Planned Parenthood, the Affordable … The True Cost of Fundamentalism: Women’s Health

Here are the opening paragraphs about Isaac Newton in Wikipedia (his birthdate in Wikipedia is based on the Jullian calendar which was still in use in England when Newton was born; January 4th is his birthdate according to the Gregorian calendar) : ================================ Sir Isaac Newton PRS (/ˈnjuːtən/;[6] 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27[1]) … Happy Birthday Mr. Newton

Mr. Loftus is on a crusade against “faith”, but it is not at all clear what dragon it is that he intends to slay. A part of his point, I believe, is to boldly assert that religion and religious belief is irrational.  I’m reluctant to disagree with this point. There is a good deal of … Unapologetic Review – Part 8: Religion & Irrationality