Doublethink in Religious America

42% of Americans in general reject the notion that life on earth evolved and believe instead that humans and other living things have always existed in their present form. However 65% of white evangelical Protestants, most of whom regard the Bible as the inerrant word of God, hold this view.*

21% of those surveyed say that although life has evolved, these changes were guided by a supreme being.*

26% of those surveyed say that they accept evolution through natural processes or natural selection alone. *

87% think that scientific developments make society better. *

87% the same number, among those who describe themselves as being very religious, share the opinion. *

(62%) say that they believe that scientists agree on the validity of evolution. *

* 2006 Pew poll

64% or nearly two-thirds of Americans say they would continue to hold to what their religion teaches rather than accept any contrary scientific finding.**

81% say “recent discoveries and advances” in science have not significantly impacted their religious views.**

14% say that these discoveries have actually made them more religious.

4% say that science has made them less religious.**

**October 2006 Time magazine poll.

Many of the people who reject natural selection also recognize that scientists themselves fully accept Darwin’s theory.

How can Americans say that they respect science and know what scientists believe and still disagree with the scientific community on some fundamental religious questions?  Much of the general public will simply pick and choose and not believe the scientific theories and discoveries that contradict any important long-held religious or other beliefs.

The data from these two polls shows that in the minds of most people in the United States, there is no clash between science and religion. When the two realms offer contradictory explanations, religious people, who make up a majority of Americans, rely primarily upon their faith, rather than reason, for answers.

Parts adapted from: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

Doublethink: The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them….To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies — all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth. George Orwell’s 1984

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A Government Gone Crazy

A Canadian citizen Peter Watts who holds a doctorate in Zoology and works as a marine biologist and also writes science fiction (six published) novels, was crossing the border back into Canada after helping a friend move to the United States when he was singled out for a search and because he asked what they were doing HE was assaulted, punched in the face, pepper sprayed and thrown in jail and HE was charged with assaulting a customs officer?????

It seems at least once every week or two I hear stories like this. Innocent people are wrongfully assaulted and charged by border guards or customs officials.  They are basically acting like Nazi SS Storm Troopers…at least they don’t have the authority to kill whomever they decide to attack, although the way they use force does sometimes cause the death of innocents.

Although I do not know the man, he is a fellow writer and a human after all, and I feel terrible that he was treated that way by paranoid American officials who have obviously gone power mad and psycho.

I have personally witnessed police officers using their power in unprofessional manners and the only consequence they have faced is a slap on the hand, and the persons that suffered at the hands of this ugly use of police power were subject to humiliation and physical abuse.

It has gotten to the point here in America that the various and sundry abusive political enforcement squads have no respect for our own people or our human rights.  They indiscriminately use massive amounts of weaponry and manpower for the slightest reason, for the slightest infraction.

We as a nation are sinking deeper and deeper in to a fascist state where there is no justice for anyone who questions the powers that be, and the only thing that matters is the unquestioned power of the federal government to do what they want…no matter how wrong they are.

It’s already admitted by the feds that they have unfettered access (no search warrants needed) to ALL citizens’ communications no matter what form they take.  Anyone who speaks out against the abuses of the federal government; you know, things like asking your congressman when the various constitutional amendments are going to be honored again, or when will Habeas corpus be reinstated in our courts, or when our elected officials will quit lying to us, will be checked out by Homeland Security or the FBI or some other lettered federal agency and put on a watch list.

We are always told that the measures the government takes to control us are for our own good, and somehow many people believe this lie and sheepishly go about their business, and if they are ever confronted by authority they just put up with whatever indignities “the man” bestows on them. This keeps up long enough and these “helpful” authorities become Overlords and we are screwed…again.

Presidential Oath or Affirmation:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Article 2 section 1, US constitution

“The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall NOT be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” Section 9, paragraph 2, US constitution.

Because of the nature of the religious warfare waged against the United States by Islamic religious personnel, are we somehow in a constant state of Invasion and the government cannot reinstate Habeas corpus?

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” 4^th. Amendment – Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791.

We are no longer secure in our person, papers, and effects. Government officials may at their own discretion search and seize you or your personal papers and property…no search warrant needed anymore…and you will play hell getting back any property seized.  These government officials can search anything, anything at all…with no restrictions.  They may also search your house and computer by breaking in to your property when you are not there and they can tell any neighbor who happens to see their dastardly act that they will be arrested on a felony charge if they tell you what happened while you were away.

They can retrieve your records of checked out books at the local library, the local bookstores and Amazon or Barnes and Noble, etc. online and forbid the librarian or seller from telling you. I don’t mind telling you that although I am squeaky clean as far as nefarious deeds go, I am chilled to the bone and damn mad that my countries government has and uses this power. This clandestine act is dangerously close to mind or thought control. It precisely matches cowardly acts committed by Nazi, Fascist, and Communist Secret Services forces in Europe and other far eastern parts of the world.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness…”
From the Declaration of Independence

Parts of the 5^th, 6^th, and 8^th Amendments are in jeopardy as well.

We are seeing an Orwellian mindset in all parts of what used to be a government of the people, and I’m really scared for my family, my friends, and my country. No one seems to give a damn any more.

First Known Binary Star Discovered to be a Sextuplet System

In ancient times people with really good eyesight could look at the Big Dipper at night and see that one of the brightest stars in the handle was actually two stars. The two stars, Mizar and Alcor, were the first binary stars, a pair of stars that orbit each other, ever known. This knowledge of stars goes back many thousands of years.  It is known that the city of Babylon had what could loosely be considered astronomers in its halcyon days.

Since that early time men have built mighty telescopes and explored and plotted the universe and discovered many things about our humongous worlds within worlds within worlds. These modern telescopes have since found that Mizar is itself a pair of binary’s, revealing what was once thought to be a single star is actually four stars orbiting each other. Many consider Alcor a fifth member of the system, in orbit far away from the Mizar quadruplet.

Now two astronomers at the University of Rochester have made a surprise discovery; Alcor is actually two stars gravitationally bound to the Mizar system making the whole group a sextuplet.  This makes the Mizar-Alcor sextuplet the second nearest such system known.  Considering that Alcor is one of the most studied stars in the sky makes the discovery all the more surprising.

Can you imagine living on a world close to these stars and looking up into the sky.  What a wonderful sight that would be.

You can read the whole story HERE at Science Daily

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No God?…No Problem!

“No god? … No problem!” reads the advertisement featuring the smiling faces of people wearing Santa Claus hats. “Be good for goodness’ sake.”

Over the next two weeks, 270 of the ads will go up on city buses and trains in the Washington area as part of the holiday kickoff to campaigns sponsored by secular groups in cities around the country and abroad. If last year was any indication, the signs are likely to spark a theological war of words.”  From a New York Times article, go HERE for full story.

I can just hear all the bitching and moaning that going to come from this campaign.  It will run in New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, as well as in London; Barcelona, Spain; Genoa, Italy; and Toronto, Montreal and Calgary, Canada.

Of course the theist wimps will proclaim that atheists are targeting them and being hateful to them, and I say that the religious folks have done the same thing to atheists for many centuries….see how it feels

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