This is my reply to Brian McClinton of Humanism Northern Ireland, here: The assertion: Most of the world endures American cultural imperialism. The truth: Most of the world chooses the products of American culture. Nobody forces anybody to wear T-shirts which iconize American culture, or to watch Hollywood films, or to eat burgers and fries. [...]
Dude. I wrote this.
Human rights are the most important component of a sensible conclusion on a political topic; not cultural sensitivity, religious history, civil privilege, nor any of the other complicated contributing factors to a controversial issue. There are two reasons we need to ensure that our politicians come to believe this: a) by upholding equal freedoms alone, [...]
Pastor urges his congregation to bring their guns to church
I understand that people think this pastor and his church are utterly bonkers. But this action must be seen in the context of the wider debate it represents. I support him. I don’t expect this story to translate well to those outside the U.S., but it makes perfect sense and the only way I can [...]
Six brief movie reviews
This past week I’ve watched a movie almost every night, three at the theater and three on DVD. That’s ridiculous enough that I have to comment on them. Saturday: The Hangover It’s true what they say – this movie is hilarious. What could be funnier than a bunch of idiots going to Vegas for a [...]
RIP: Michael Jackson
For recent generations, Michael Jackson is synonymous with embarrassing headlines. But while I was growing up, the man was an idol, a hero of pop music that everyone I grew up with knew. We admired his artistry, his talent and loved his music. He was the definition of a ‘superstar’. Later, he became bizarre and [...]
Banning the burqa
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says the burqa is not welcome in France. I understand his concern. The head-to-toe covering worn by some Muslim women is considered by most of us in the West as an element of religious oppression. Muslim women who wear the burqa have traditionally been subjugated and the neighbourhood boys have called [...]
Obama swats a fly, PETA upset
If the alleged connections to terrorism, killing of animals and fallacious arguments don’t provoke mocking of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), this should. President Obama, in the middle of an MSNBC interview, killed a fly with his hand saying, “That was pretty good, wasn’t it? I got the sucker! What you think, [...]
Sirius XM iPhone app launches WITHOUT HOWARD STERN?
Over the past year or more, people have been calling on satellite radio provider Sirius XM to release an app for the Apple iPhone that would allow people to listen to its exclusive content on the device. A small company called NiceMac devoted themselves to building such an app. They finished it and even submitted [...]
The Church That Jim Built
My response to this story (this will only make sense to Northern Irelanders): This is the church that Jim built. These are the pastors that preach in the church that Jim built. This is the lie that was told to the pastors that preach in the church that Jim built. These are the lies that [...]
Topless coffee shop burns down
In this clip I react to this news story in which a coffee shop with topless waitresses was burned down in an act of arson, presumably by someone opposed to its existence.
The best charity comes from self interest
This week, members of the largest Christian denomination in Northern Ireland are disagreeing about the role of capitalism in their lives as they debate the collapse of their Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS). The PMS was set up to help churches borrow and to help members save, by offering a higher rate of return than normal [...]
Why I bought a Toyota Prius
I didn’t think the world was going to end if I continued driving my SUV. I didn’t think my SUV driving was significantly contributing to any environmental strife, or that the climate was warming because people like me were driving them. I didn’t think my SUV was intimidating to other drivers (and wouldn’t care if [...]
North Korea tests Obama
In this video clip I react to the news that North Korea has conducted another nuclear weapons test with three short range missiles:
History of Weed
2727 BC • China begins using marijuana as medicine 500 AD • Cannabis reaches Europe by way of India and Africa 1492 • Christopher Columbus brings cannabis sativa to the new world 1619 • Jamestown colony law: all settlers required to grow cannabis 1797 • George Washington’s primary crop at Mount Vernon is cannabis 1876 [...]
Catholic child abuse in Ireland: the Ryan report
Today, the findings of Mr. Justice Ryan’s report on child abuse in Ireland was released, making news in every paper in every major city in the world. The result is a five-volume report nine years in the making that reads like a horror story of hundreds of individual incidents of child sexual abuse at the [...]
John sees a UFO
From California to New Mexico, people reported seeing an object in the sky. Before reading some of the news stories from across the southwest on the subject, I set the mood by recounting my own observation of it the night before. See one such news report here.
Hitchens berates Wanda Sykes
Thank God someone seems to understand why Wanda Sykes was so devastatingly unfunny at the White House Correspondents Dinner, the annual “roast” of the sitting president at which Sykes this year took the opportunity to rail against the previous administration. Hitchens says it all so wonderfully: Sykes’ time was spent vocalizing the talking points of [...]
Liz Lacy on Seasteading
Ever get so fed up with government bureaucracy, stupid laws or high taxes that you just wish you could take to the high seas and form your own little country? That is, essentially, exactly what The Seasteading Institute is proposing. Here is my chat with Liz Lacy, TSI’s Director of Development, about the organization’s idea [...]
Was Jefferson a deist?
Although he never described himself that way, Thomas Jefferson was indeed a deist. Here, I respond to the conservative ideas that America was ‘founded on God’ by men like Jefferson, arguing that Jefferson’s beliefs would not remotely resemble today’s evangelical conservatism. He didn’t believe that Jesus was the son of God, nor in the Trinity, [...]
If I ruled the world: online gambling
Both the political Left and Right have their favorite freedoms to support. People on the Left wish to keep drugs and sex free, people on the Right wish to keep guns and earnings free. But both infringe on liberties by wishing to curtail the freedoms of the other side. That’s why I’m a libertarian! I [...]
