There aren't a lot of opportunities to be proud of your government these days. As a beleaguered young(ish) male anxious to blame others for his failures, I see every incompetent bureaucratic farce (of which there really are too many to name) and forget that occasionally, they get something right. In this case, it was refusing the appeal of two unnamed parents who wanted their children pulled from a religiou ...

I realize that when you're trying to make a billboard express an esoteric point, there will be occasions when you'll fail to make the point. Attempting to reach out to people feeling isolated by their unbelief is a challenge, no doubt about it. It's why I'm going to try and be nice to this billboard that has recently appeared in Orange County, which claims that: "Atheist make better lovers (after all, no on ...

I've had an image in my head ever since I've thought about writing "Bible Stories", based on a very famous drawing of Gustave Doré entitles "Jacob Wrestles with the Angel". I've wanted to do my own subversive version, so this weekend I put pencil to paper to produce a rough sketch. It was then that I was hit with a flash of inspiration: why not offer some potential patrons the opportunity to be featured in ...

I won't lie to you folks: things have been tough. My financial struggles notwithstanding, site troubles had conspired to sap the last ounce of enthusiasm I had about running this crazy operation. With the indignity of moving back in with my Mom (with a fiancée in tow, no less), the humiliation seemed complete. There's nothing like hitting rock bottom to learn that you're a lot tougher than you expected. Onc ...

I generally dislike when celebrities try and participate in the political discourse. Sure, I might not mind if someone famous agrees with me on every issue (which has yet to happen), but most of the time, celebrities use the spotlight to demonstrate how little they know about important topics. Such cause célèbre also tend to make them look foolish. Remember Brad and Angelina's attempt to re-invigorate Louis ...

It was a valiant effort, folks. I tried, hard as I might, to make a living spreading the "gospel' of atheism, but in the end, I failed. It took me a little while to realize just how desperate the situation had become, but my failure to secure even the most modest of loans served as a cold reminder that outside of my tiny group of supporters, there is no recognizable value in what I do. Part of me is honestl ...

When you think of the word courage, what's the first thing to cross your mind? If you happen to be gay and a Catholic living in Connecticut, that word is about to take on a disturbing new meaning: The Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, this month is beginning a program that ministers to gays and lesbians...The Vatican-endorsed program, called Courage...was started in 1980 by the late Terence Cardinal Coo ...

Here's something I've learned in all my years of blogging: if you look for something hard enough, you'll find it. In my case, it's examples of religious stupidity that I zero in on. I realize that cheap laughs and easy jokes may not give the complete picture of a particular religion (usually Christianity or Islam), but if I was trying to be fair I wouldn't be having any fun. I want you to keep this in mind, ...

Things I find hilaro-tragic about this video: 1. Bolling assuming that the group, which was founded out of state, is intent on forcing their agenda on Texans, despite the fact that he's told several times that the group responded to complaints from residents of the town. 2. No one on the program seems to understand the difference between free speech and government sanctioned religion. 3. Fox News crew makin ...

We all knew it was coming, but somehow we had managed to ignore the cruelty of reality for a little while. For a moment there, it almost seemed as though Hitch had managed to defeat his cancer. Unfortunately, life is a cruel bitch that kills your heroes prematurely (it's true that Jack Daniels and Phillip Morris had done most of the damage, but still). Now, the world is a little duller, a little dumber, and ...