Liberalism, atheism linked to IQ

You know if I'm linking to it which way it leans. IQ leaneth for the Liberal.

(CNN) -- Political, religious and sexual behaviors may be reflections of intelligence, a new study finds.

Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa at the the London School of Economics and Political Science correlated data on these behaviors with IQ from a large national U.S. sample and found that, on average, people who identified as liberal and atheist had higher IQs. This applied also to sexual exclusivity in men, but not in women. The findings will be published in the March 2010 issue of Social Psychology Quarterly.

As if that weren't fun enough, here's the bit that makes sense out of all those whacked fundies-

Religion, the current theory goes, did not help people survive or reproduce necessarily, but goes along the lines of helping people to be paranoid, Kanazawa said. Assuming that, for example, a noise in the distance is a signal of a threat helped early humans to prepare in case of danger.

"It helps life to be paranoid, and because humans are paranoid, they become more religious, and they see the hands of God everywhere," Kanazawa said.

Participants who said they were atheists had an average IQ of 103 in adolescence, while adults who said they were religious averaged 97, the study found. Atheism "allows someone to move forward and speculate on life without any concern for the dogmatic structure of a religion," Bailey said.

"Historically, anything that's new and different can be seen as a threat in terms of the religious beliefs; almost all religious systems are about permanence," he noted.

Amen.

VIDEO- Boston Legal's Alan Shore: "Enough of this Freedom of Religion Crap"

By GottaLaff

This was tweeted to me in response to my previous post, Christians claim Matthew Shepard hate crimes law "criminalizes the Bible":



You can't "license persecution":

Alan Shore (James Spader) of Boston Legal argues to cut down on freedom of religion.

H/t: Nanotyrnns

Christians claim Matthew Shepard hate crimes law "criminalizes the Bible"

By GottaLaff

:sdrawkcab denmad os era elpoep esehT

A Christian group in Michigan has filed a lawsuit alleging that a package of hate crimes laws named after murder victim Matthew Shepard is an affront to their religious freedom.

Conversely, Shepard's murder was an affront to his, you know, life.

Filed by the Thomas More Law Center -- which bills itself as the religious answer to the American Civil Liberties Union -- the complaint claims that protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people "is an effort to eradicate religious beliefs opposing the homosexual agenda from the marketplace of ideas by demonizing, vilifying, and criminalizing such beliefs as a matter of federal law and policy."

Thomas More chief counsel Richard Thompson:

"Of the 1.38 million violent crimes reported in the U.S. by the FBI in 2008, only 243 were considered as motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation," he wrote on the group's Web site. "The sole purpose of this law is to criminalize the Bible and use the threat of federal prosecutions and long jail sentences to silence Christians from expressing their Biblically-based religious belief that homosexual conduct is a sin."

So... silencing a life because of sexual orientation is okay. Laws making that illegal aren't. .sdrawkcaB

However, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act clearly stipulates that it does not apply to constitutionally protected speech.

See, what the actual act stipulates doesn't matter. Legalities don't matter. Justice doesn't matter. Bigotry, hatred, homophobia, and "belief" trumps law, decency, and ethics.

It's the naciremA yaw.

Video- President Obama Speaks at National Prayer Breakfast

Video- Howie Kurtz on Brit Hume proselytizing from the news desk

Gotta love the "analysts"- a straight media critic and a top reporter with the "Christian Broadcasting Network". I especially like-

"He is, as in he Jesus, is the god of creation, if he's the god of creation, he can make the rules and and look, he did, he does make the rules, so the bottom line is that is what Brit is pretty much saying, and as to the whole, I think people are getting lost in the whole Buddhism, I mean he wasn't trying to diss Buddhism at all and I mean he was simply trying to proclaim some good news to Tiger Woods, and look at the end of the day, that's exactly what it is."

Back when I went to school, that was called a bullshit factory.

VIDEO- Brit Hume: Tiger Woods must become Christian to be forgiven

By GottaLaff



Of course, we all know that Tiger is a Muslim terrorist, because he's, you know, black:

Buddhism is inferior to Christianity when it comes to forgiveness of sins, according to Fox News pundit Brit Hume. Tiger Woods should turn his back on Buddhism and become a Christian to be forgiven for cheating on his wife, Hume told Fox News' Chris Wallace Sunday.

David Shuster tweets:

I respect everybody's faith, different from mine or not. But don't use a sunday news show to preach your faith. Analyze the news.

In the interest of fairness, that sunday show should make time for a member of Bhuddism given Brit's criticism of that religion.

David, David, David, have you forgotten? There is no room for fairness on ClusterFox.

As for news analysis, that's becoming an anachronism, having been replaced by polarizing shouting matches passed off as balanced discussions that give each side equal time.

Separation of Church and... Health Care

By GottaLaff

Paddy's earlier Tuesday Linkage post mentioned this briefly, but when I opened my L.A. Times this morning, I opened my eyes, too... wider and wider.

Abortion is one of the favorite health care reform sticking points that the punditiots opine about daily, but we haven't heard a peep about equating prayer with clinical medical treatment:

Backed by some of the most powerful members of the Senate, a little-noticed provision in the healthcare overhaul bill would require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments as medical expenses.

The provision was inserted by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) with the support of Democratic Sens. John F. Kerry and the late Edward M. Kennedy, both of Massachusetts, home to the headquarters of the Church of Christ, Scientist.

The measure would put Christian Science prayer treatments -- which substitute for or supplement medical treatments -- on the same footing as clinical medicine. While not mentioning the church by name, it would prohibit discrimination against "religious and spiritual healthcare."

I understand the premise, but that creaking sound you hear is the door opening... too widely.

It would have a minor effect on the overall cost of the bill -- Christian Science is a small church, and the prayer treatments can cost as little as $20 a day. But it has nevertheless stirred an intense controversy over the constitutional separation of church and state, and the possibility that other churches might seek reimbursements for so-called spiritual healing.

It would be part of the policies offered in the "exchange" we've been hearing about. The so-called marketplace could now include prayer.

But critics say the measure could have a broader effect, conferring new status and medical legitimacy on practices that lie outside the realm of science. [...]

[T]he opportunity to receive payment for spiritual care could encourage other groups to seek similar status.

Nancy Pelosi agreed that this would be unconstitutional and took it out of the House bill.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law, said the provision raised serious questions about government support of religion.

There would be no mandate for spiritual care, but Dr. Norman Fost, a pediatrician and medical ethicist at the University of Wisconsin, said:

"They want a special exception for people who use unproved treatments, and they also want to get paid for it," he said. "They want people who use prayer to have it just automatically accepted as a legitimate therapy."

Why would religious consultation be acceptable when end-of-life counseling wouldn't? Church panels v. death panels. One is faith-based, one is option-based. So, if I have blind faith in options, would that pass muster enough to slip into final legislation, too?

During the day, Davis may see multiple patients and pray for them at different moments. He charges them $20 to $40 for the day, saying, "I think that it would be considered modest by any standard."

So as long as it doesn't cost an arm and a leg, separation of church and health care doesn't apply? Is that all it takes? Bargain basement prices and you get a thumbs up! It's the Wal-Mart of health care reform.

I'm not at all religious, but I pray this gets a little more attention. If we're trying to cut costs, and if every dollar counts, and it's not clinical medicine, then how is this justified?

Your thoughts?

Raw Video: Obamas Attend Church Near White House

Some tell the bohunks all confused over that anti-christ thing that the church is still standing.

"In the battle of wits, our enemy is only half-armed"

By GottaLaff

I posted about the article in question. Here's an L.A. Times letter responding to original piece. I especially love the last line:

Politics as religion

Re “Armageddon politics,” Opinion, Oct. 2

Gabler could use some Prozac. I agreed with everything he wrote except his abysmal conclusion.

Enlightenment has always defeated the forces of ignorance and darkness, and this time is no exception. Despair is our enemy, and it is exactly what the opposition would like us to succumb to. We won't.

So buck up, Neal. In the battle of wits, our enemy is only half-armed.

Politics as religion in America

By GottaLaff

Neal Gabler has an op-ed in today's L.A. Times that he titled, "Armageddon politics". Take a look:

Perhaps the single most profound change in our political culture over the last 30 years has been the transformation of conservatism from a political movement, with all the limitations, hedges and forbearances of politics, into a kind of fundamentalist religious movement, with the absolute certainty of religious belief. [...]

The tea-baggers who hate President Obama with a fervor that is beyond politics; the fear-mongers who warn that Obama is another Hitler or Stalin; the wannabe storm troopers who brandish their guns and warn darkly of the president's demise; the cable and talk-radio blowhards who make a living out of demonizing Obama and tarring liberals as America-haters -- these people are not just exercising their rights within the political system. They honestly believe that the political system -- a system that elected Obama -- is broken and only can be fixed by substituting their certainty for the uncertainties of American politics.

As we are sadly discovering, this minority cannot be headed off, which is most likely why conservatism transmogrified from politics to a religion in the first place. [...]

Rationality won't work because their arguments are faith-based rather than evidence-based. Better message control won't work. Improved strategies won't work. Grass-roots organizing won't work. Nothing will work because you cannot convince religious fanatics of anything other than what they already believe, even if their religion is political dogma.

And therein lies the problem, not only for liberals but for mainstream conservatives who think of conservatism as an ideology, not an orthodoxy. You cannot beat religion with politics, which is why the extreme right "wins" so many battles. The fundamentalist political fanatics will always be more zealous than mainstream conservatives or liberals. They will always be louder, more adamant, more aggrieved, more threatening, more willing to do anything to win. Losing is inconceivable. For them, every battle is a crusade -- or a jihad -- a matter of good and evil.

There is something terrifying in this. The media have certainly been cowed; they treat intolerance as if it were legitimate political activity. So have many politicians, and not just the conservative ones who know that if they don't fall in line, they will be run over. This political fundamentalism has also invaded the general culture in deleterious ways. The ugly incivility of recent months is partly the result of political fundamentalists who have nothing but contempt for opposing viewpoints, which gives them license to shout down opponents or threaten them, just as jihadis everywhere do.

Those who oppose the religification of politics may think all they have to do is change tactics, but they are sadly, tragically mistaken. They can never win, because for the political fundamentalists, this isn't political jousting, this is Armageddon.

With stakes like that, they will not lose, and there is nothing democrats -- small 'd' and capital "D" -- can do about it.

Please follow the link to read the rest.

Florida high school students sent home for wearing ‘Islam is of the devil’ t-shirts

By GottaLaff

Via Think Progress, once again we witness the ugliness of the rejection of anyone different... in this case, Not Christian:

High school students in Gainesville, FL were sent home recently for wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Islam is of the devil.” The children wearing the shirts belong to the Dove World congregation, an evangelical “New Testament Church” which urges followers to “bring Godly changes to our entire society.” Tom Wittmer, an attorney for the Gainesville school district, said the clothing was inappropriate and a violation of the dress code because it disrupts the learning process.

No wonder this family's last name is Sapp.

Watch the video of the Sapp children's comments about "saving" Muslims. Yes, children... and then grab a couple of Advil for your head, and some Pepto for your stomach.

May I just say

That I find it erm, interesting that both CNN & MSNBC covered President Obama's uber churchy speech at the Hispanic Prayer Breakfast but Fox went with chasing tornados.

How did 100,000,000 women disappear?

Go read Link fixed.

War is sin

By GottaLaff

Since we've been so into religion these days:

War is always about betrayal. It is about betrayal of the young by the old, of cynics by idealists, and of soldiers and Marines by politicians. Society's institutions, including our religious institutions, which mold us into compliant citizens, are unmasked. This betrayal is so deep that many never find their way back to faith in the nation or in any god. They nurse a self-destructive anger and resentment, understandable and justified, but also crippling. Ask a combat veteran struggling to piece his or her life together about God and watch the raw vitriol and pain pour out. They have seen into the corrupt heart of America, into the emptiness of its most sacred institutions, into our staggering hypocrisy, and those of us who refuse to heed their words become complicit in the evil they denounce.

That was the last paragraph. Now please go read all the other ones that came before it.

Abortions More Frequent for Private Religious School Students

By GottaLaff

Oh really?

There's an interesting new study reported in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior showing that unwed pregnant teenagers and women in their 20s who attend or have graduated from private religious schools are more likely to have abortions than young women who go to public schools.

Go figure.

Follow the link for more.

Muslims, Jews, and Catholics Are Obama's Biggest Fans

Wow, he even does pretty good with the Mormons.

• 85: Percentage of Muslims who approve of the job Obama's doing as president
• 7: Percentage of Muslims who disapprove
• 79: Percentage of Jews who approve
• 16: Percentage of Jews who disapprove
• 67: Percentage of Catholics who approve
• 22: Percentage of Catholics who disapprove
• 58: Percentage of Protestants who approve
• 30: Percentage of Protestants who disapprove
• 45: Percentage of Mormons who approve
• 40: Percentage of Mormons who disapprove

VIDEO-- Military Preacher urges "hunting people for Jesus" in Afghanistan

By GottaLaff

I just heard Thom Hartmann mention this on the Radio Machine. It's called crossing a line:

A U.S. church raised money to send Bibles, printed in the Pashtu and Dari languages, to American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, a report on Al Jazeera documented Sunday night.

It is against military rules to proselytize -- a regulation one of the soldiers filmed by the network readily acknowledged. "You cannot proselytize, but you can give gifts," says the soldier. It is a crime in Afghanistan to attempt to convert anyone from Islam to any other religion. "I also want to praise God because my church collected some money to get Bibles for Afghanistan. They came and sent the money out." The footage is said to be roughly a year old.

The Al Jazeera report also shows a military preacher urging army parishioners to "hunt people for Jesus."

"The Special Forces guys, they hunt men. Basically, we do the same things as Christians. We hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them down. Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the Kingdom. That's what we do, that's our business," he says.

A White House spokesman referred questions to the Department of Defense, which did not immediately return a call. A military spokesman did tell Reuters, however, that none of the Bibles were, as far as she knew, ever actually distributed. [...]

President Bush created an international uproar when he referred to the "war on terror" as a "crusade."

No. Just, no. Wrong.

Poll-itics: Christians, Jews, Muslims back Obama

By GottaLaff

The only word that the Rushpublics will see is "Muslim":

U.S. President Barack Obama has widespread support among Christians, Muslims and Jews, a poll indicates.

The Gallup Poll Daily tracking released Friday indicates the president has an 85 percent approval rating among Muslims and a 79 percent approval among Jews. Catholics give the Democrat a 67 percent approval, while Protestants give him 58 percent support.

Among those with no religious affiliation, Obama has a 73 percent approval, Gallup said.

"The commonality between U.S. Jews and Muslims in their broad approval of Obama is notable given the global friction between Jews and Muslims with respect to Mideast politics,'' Gallup noted in its analysis.

Churchgoers more likely to back torture, survey finds

I hate to sound naive, but this ain't my parents religion.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new analysis.

More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified. Only 42 percent of people who “seldom or never” go to services agreed, according the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified — more than 6 in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only 4 in 10 of them did.

Obama Approval Stays High

Yeah, all this while the carpetbagger idiots are still trying to make a big deal over his commencement speech here.

One hundred days in office, President Obama has a 58% to 30% job approval rating from American voters, including 53% to 35% among white voters, millions more than voted for him in November, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

Interesting: There is a big religious split as white Catholics approve of the President 57% to 33% while white Protestants split 44% to 42%. Jewish voters back Obama 76% to 12%.