A Pagan's Blog

There is little people of genuine religious faith owe the Christianist Right, but one thing we do owe them is their bringing religion back into a prominent place for public discussion. Their attacks on evolution, stem cell research, sex education, physics, and science in general has brought some of the sharpest minds in modern science…

Over at Liberty and Power I’ve started a discussion as to whether there is such a thing as the democratic peace – that democracies are unique among forms of government in that they do not fight wars with one another. The comments that are likely to arise there may interest readers of my own site.…

One of the greatest losses to clear thinking in America has been the demonization of the term “liberal.” All that is best in America is entirely the outcome of or compatible with liberal values and liberal political principles. The Declaration of Independence is liberal to its core. So is the Constitution. The federalist papers written…

NOTE:This post originally appeared earlier, on May 8. It has been plagued with spam – noxious spam. I have erased it from its original site and moved it up to here because the points it makes are serious ones and hopefully a slight change in url will eliminate the garbage thrown at it. Intelligent Design…

The famed evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, gave a spirited criticism of religious faith at his Pop!Tech address, comparing it to a virus that,once it infects the mind, undermines a person’s rationality. As an example, he described the case of Curt Wise, a highly trained geologist and paleontologist who, when he finally confronted the disparities between…

Tom Friedman, the noted New York Times columnist and author, spoke on “This Is Not Your Parents’ Energy crisis.” I came to his talk with a lot of skepticism, for Friedman helped mightily to gin up support for our attack on Iraq. Indeed, after the Bush administration’s lies and evasions were exposed, Friedman still supported…

I think future historians will write that the midterm elections of 2006 were the most important in American history. Had the results gone the other way, either through scaring voters or outright corruption (here, here) , we could probably kiss our Constitution good bye, and settle instead for an elective Caesarism supported by massive corruption,…

Rob Loftis at Big Monkey, Helpy Chalk has a great link to an account describing how Marvel’s Captain America periodically reminds young Americans what this country should be all about. Given how many so-called conservatives have forgotten it these past six years, it is fascinating to see how comic books have kept the message of…

Many Pop!Tech participants found Thomas Barnett’s presentation the most exciting of the conference. I am more critical for reasons to be explained below, but his was among the best overviews on America’s future place in the world that I have ever heard. Thus, in terms of praise, my more critical reaction does not fall far…

This afternoon we had a teach-in at St. Lawrence University. the first in a long time on the campus, and my first since the Vietnam era. The subject was “Save Our Constitution” and while some right wing professors sneered that it was hippy stuff, the gathering was well attended by those faculty and students who…

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