A train in India strikes a crowd of people on the tracks, killing 37. I have seen conflicting reports investigating this story, some claiming 20, some claiming 37 dead. All of the stories are pretty consistent with what happened after, a mob dragged the driver from the train and was beat to death, or near death, another inconsistency.

Okay, lets look at the facts here, a train moving at a high rate of speed (50 mph) simply cannot stop on a dime. It takes a long time to slow that much mass traveling with that much speed. Simple physics. One story I read claimed the group thought they could get the train to stop. Most of the other related stories just claimed they were on the tracks. Either way, an act of sheer stupidity. Darwin Award stupid.

So we have a tragic incident (I try to avoid using the term accident, as I believe there is no such thing as an accident. Someone did something that wasn’t too bright, resulting in an incident) A great deal of people, on the track with an oncoming train moving at a high rate of speed. Train is physically unable to stop and tragically, many dead. That is bad enough. The story should end there, but it doesn’t.

A mob, clearly as well educated as the people on the tracks, then decided it was the driver of the train at fault, so they beat him either to death, or just short of death. Then set fire to the train. Then, according to one story on the subject, hampered rescuers/authorities responding to the scene.

Snowball effect of ignorance and hate. This is why we will never know world peace. This is why the Middle East will never be a  region of calm. This is why people the world over simply do not have the capability to react to a bad situation, whatever it may be, in a calm rational manner, and think things through, before they react violently.

This is why, in certain situations, we are no better than fucking wild animals. This is the ugly side of being human.

http://wfpl.org/post/kentucky-education-officials-ok-new-science-standards-despite-criticism-evolution

I have been watching this scenario with interest  for a while, the Ky. Board of Education passed the updated science standards, despite the moaning,  groaning, and ignorance of creationists. The B.O.E cited the fact that evolution was already included in state standards and evolution is “the fundamental, unifying theory that underlies all the life sciences.” It goes on to say, “there is no significant ongoing debate within the scientific community regarding the legitimacy of evolution as a scientific idea.” (I would like to note that evolution is way past the idea stage and sits comfortably in the fact column) 

Also, concerning the notion to teach ID, which by definition is creationism wearing a cheap lab coat, they turned it down because “The overwhelming majority of scientists do not consider creationism intelligent design,” and…they also also “point to court decisions that have repeatedly declared teaching creationism and intelligent design as unconstitutional.” Well done, right on the money.

They also included presenting the facts on climate change for students to consider. Another thumbs up from me.

I am thrilled the approved (by the B.O.E of KY.) standards are moving on in the process, however they still have to pass Kentucky’s Administrative Regulation Review Committee. I expect more creationism nonsense along the way, but hopefully good sense will prevail.

The comments there were surprisingly supportive, at least till some idiot x-ians showed up, blaring their incomprehensible ignorance loudly and proudly. I do look forward to the day when reason and fact based evidence become common place modes of thought. I just may not live to see it.

http://news.yahoo.com/post-romney-gop-reject-advice-moderate-173258146.html

Exactly. Besides being intolerant, racist bigots, they are also out to strip women of their rights, enact immigration laws, support the idiotic so called Intelligent Design malarky as well as replace the facts of evolution in public schools with it, and cut science funding among other things. All the while helping their rich buddies get richer while watching the rest of us rot.

The GOP is so out of touch they might as well all move to Texas and secede. There they would be in good company, and the rest of us could do our best to move on and improve our lives. With the Wigs out of the way we could look for real answers to the economy and the looming ecological impacts we face as a result of global warming. One of which they deny altogether and the other a direct result of their own policies and lack of oversight. 

The more you look, the more you see, and it ain’t a pretty sight. If they have any hope for future success, they need to wise up, clean house, and start over with a more modern outlook to modern problems. I sincerely doubt they have the foresight or the willingness to moderate. Let alone start looking at things from a perspective of “how can we help?” instead of ” how can we screw things up even worse, and line our pockets with cash while we do it?”

The second in the “Quote of the Month series”, this one by Thomas Jefferson.

“Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced an inch towards uniformity.  What has been the effect of coercion?  To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites.  To support roguery and error all over the earth.”       – “Notes on Virginia” 

Indeed, any one with an objective view would see this. This quote pretty much sums up what I have seen in so called x-ians throughout the years, and read about in the history books. Once you realize how much blood and suffering religion has on its hands, it is difficult to maintain any support for it in any sense at all.

The other point made here is about hypocrisy. Once you see hypocrisy in action it is almost impossible to see anything else. Claims of peace and love on one hand, death and brutality on the other. Pious and righteous on Sunday, drunken bums who smack around the wife the rest of the week. Claims of the utmost respectability, priests raping kids and covering it up. This is what religion is in my eyes…and no religion is free from these criticisms.*  Never mind the fact that no religion is based in a testable, provable, falsifiable, reality.

How people steeped in religious belief can ignore these issues, all the while claiming they hold some imaginary high ground, is beyond my ken. How people like to claim this country was founded on x-ian principles is a damned lie.

Source for the Quote of the Month here: http://freethought.mbdojo.com/foundingfathers.html   There are many other sites out there with the same quotes. Google, as always, is your friend. Try “Founding Father Quotes” in the search box.

* So, you want to claim those kinds of people aren’t true x-ians, or true  [insert religion here] ? Click this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman