tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post94288653847852454..comments2024-03-27T14:50:47.345-04:00Comments on <center>Sandwalk</center>: Watch what happens when a Canadian politician says he doesn't believe in evolutionLarry Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-83180832146337869602015-03-03T14:26:03.899-05:002015-03-03T14:26:03.899-05:00Yes. I read about it this morning. At one time the...<i>Yes. I read about it this morning. At one time the LEADER of the Conservative Party (Canadian Alliance/Reform) was a creationist of the sort that's unacceptable in Canada.</i><br /><br />But he had to downplay it. Whereas it seems to me in the US, at least if one is a member of the GOP, it's unwise to clearly state that you accept evolution, even if you do. Faizal Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00937075798809265805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-41838107142352237132015-03-03T13:07:30.614-05:002015-03-03T13:07:30.614-05:00So, Larry, have you heard the story about the crea...<i>So, Larry, have you heard the story about the creationist MP from BC?</i><br /><br />Yes. I read about it this morning. At one time the LEADER of the Conservative Party (Canadian Alliance/Reform) was a creationist of the sort that's unacceptable in Canada. Larry Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-17993784597364543882015-03-03T12:34:16.816-05:002015-03-03T12:34:16.816-05:00Unfortunately, no.Unfortunately, no.John Harshmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06705501480675917237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-7130505056872480792015-03-03T10:51:56.123-05:002015-03-03T10:51:56.123-05:00I don't believe in evolution either cause ther...I don't believe in evolution either cause there's no evidence to support this pseudo-science based theory.Topgooszhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05460155425551195039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-23715939883681556682015-03-03T10:30:19.454-05:002015-03-03T10:30:19.454-05:00Is this the start of a limerick ?
Is this the start of a limerick ?<br />steve oberskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14067724166134333068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-10153883178085472962015-03-03T10:18:52.539-05:002015-03-03T10:18:52.539-05:00So, Larry, have you heard the story about the crea...So, Larry, have you heard the story about the creationist MP from BC?John Harshmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06705501480675917237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-31716175077706692332015-03-02T00:00:14.347-05:002015-03-02T00:00:14.347-05:00@Jonathan Badger
I'm pretty sure that you wou...@Jonathan Badger<br /><br />I'm pretty sure that you would be upset and offended if I were to suggest that America should murder President Obama.Larry Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-30807973789744764202015-03-01T20:09:48.058-05:002015-03-01T20:09:48.058-05:00I'm also waiting for the USA to convert to the...<em>I'm also waiting for the USA to convert to the metric system.</em><br />I'm also waiting for Canada to guillotine Elizabeth. After all, the metric system was created by the same system that guillotined Marie Antoinette.... BTW, please adopt the metric calendar as well. I've written an Android app for that and could use the downloads.Jonathan Badgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04921990886076027719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-70596944306573061412015-03-01T13:34:08.248-05:002015-03-01T13:34:08.248-05:00It shows the poWER of the creationist revolution. ...It shows the poWER of the creationist revolution. People in power must be held accountable for conclusions on origin issues even amongst obscure prov members.<br />Excellent. Its that damn important. This would never have mattered ten years ago.<br />If it matters at the place of power then the whole public must be involved and have our say and get our way.<br />Rgey should leave sleeping dogs lie.<br />How do these politicians know whats true/<br />jUST GET NEW POLITICIANS,<br />Robert Byershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05631863870635096770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-21692620145499124612015-02-27T07:34:27.900-05:002015-02-27T07:34:27.900-05:00At the time, Great Britiain was not particularly C...<i>At the time, Great Britiain was not particularly Calvinist. </i><br /><br />Or at any time, as far as I know.Athel Cornish-Bowdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05993242236208061356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-56435165626892896512015-02-27T06:25:37.812-05:002015-02-27T06:25:37.812-05:00I fear I did Weber a disservice by using the word ...I fear I did Weber a disservice by using the word "roots" unmodified. It would have been more reflective of what Weber actually wrote to say the growth of capitalism in the West has roots in (in the sense of "was nourished and supported by") Protestant theology, particularly Calvinism.<br /><br />The book itself is very much worth reading. It's rightly considered to be a tremendously significant, seminal sociological work. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protestant_Ethic_and_the_Spirit_of_Capitalismjudmarchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111006189037693272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-73703319652372734012015-02-26T23:01:16.674-05:002015-02-26T23:01:16.674-05:00Byers!!
Also, the founder of Flood Geology, Georg...Byers!!<br /><br />Also, the founder of Flood Geology, George M. Price, was from Newfoundland.Diogeneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15551943619872944637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-87276521565711842492015-02-26T20:18:45.716-05:002015-02-26T20:18:45.716-05:00Re Prof Moran
Convert to the metric system? It&#...Re Prof Moran<br /><br />Convert to the metric system? It''s been a long time since I heard about this issue. This was supposed to happen in the 1970s and 1980s but Ronnie the rat put the kibosh on it.colnago80https://www.blogger.com/profile/02640567775340860582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-54329119512997132632015-02-26T18:22:37.916-05:002015-02-26T18:22:37.916-05:00Still, I will admit to a bit of schadenfreude that...<i>Still, I will admit to a bit of schadenfreude that you have creationists in the Ontario parliament at all. That and Denyse O'Leary.</i><br /><br />And don't forget Robert Byers!Faizal Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00937075798809265805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-24915874516779695322015-02-26T18:21:19.867-05:002015-02-26T18:21:19.867-05:00She wasn't indeed. This is a master stroke fr...She wasn't indeed. This is a master stroke from someone who is revealing herself to be quite a savvy politician. The Tories were already trying to figure out a way to make political hay out of the discomfort a few voters feel regarding the revised sex-ed program, while avoiding coming across as a bunch of bigoted hayseeds. Wynne (with a big assist from Nicholls and McNaughton) has just made that task all the more difficult. Faizal Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00937075798809265805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-49005960488936760572015-02-26T16:53:59.460-05:002015-02-26T16:53:59.460-05:00Petrushka says,
The United States gave Women the ...Petrushka says,<br /><br /><i>The United States gave Women the vote before England did.</i><br /><br />Get back to me when Americans stop obsessing about nudity and sex and when the USA bans capital punishment, allows gay marriage in every state, permits assisted dying, stops whining about abortion, allows universal health care, controls guns, has a decent minimum wage, and stops putting so many people in prison. <br /><br />I'm also waiting for the USA to convert to the metric system. Larry Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-7692986199007736132015-02-26T16:31:16.741-05:002015-02-26T16:31:16.741-05:00judmarc asks
What's your opinion of Weber'...judmarc asks<br /><br /><i>What's your opinion of Weber's thesis?</i><br /><br />I know nothing about it.<br /><br />If what you say is true ...<br /><br /><i>Weber traces the roots of capitalism to Calvinist theology.</i> <br /><br />Then it's crap. I think capitalism began long before Calvin and it flourished in Great Britain after the enlightenment. At the time, Great Britiain was not particularly Calvinist. <br /><br />Larry Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-89225148604290541112015-02-26T16:05:24.744-05:002015-02-26T16:05:24.744-05:00The cultural differences between Americans and Can...The cultural differences between Americans and Canadians are complex.<br /><br />To start with, Canadians believe that a good person should defer to authority, while Americans think a hero should defy authority. <br /><br />Compare the difference in the way that anti-science works in Canada vs. the USA. In Canada, as we've seen under the Harper government, anti-science policies-- e.g. suppressing evidence of environmental damage from oil extraction, toxins in cetaceans, etc.-- antiscience works by having some pompous officials trot out and say, "Oh, those scientists who say we should reduce use of fossil fuels are SPEAKING OUT OF TURN. It's not their proper place to make policy or express their values or beliefs. <i>Those scientists need to learn their proper place, and defer to the establishment."</i><br /><br />In America, anti-science works by employing the exact opposite, 180 degrees opposite, argument. In America, the anti-scientist will say, "Oh, those scientists who believe in evolution constitute an <i>all-powerful orthodoxy.</i> I AM SPEAKING OUT OF TURN. By opposing scientists, I am a brave hero <i>who will not defer to the establishment.</i>"<br /><br />They're both assholes, but the asshole style is different. The American asshole is like, "Yah I'm an asshole, I'm in your face. You got a problem with that?" The Canadian asshole is like, "I'm standing on your neck, and if you speak up and complain, then you are the asshole."Diogeneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15551943619872944637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-67957214537230493352015-02-26T15:55:50.916-05:002015-02-26T15:55:50.916-05:00"Hey, Ted Cruz is a native Canadian!"
W...<i>"Hey, Ted Cruz is a native Canadian!"</i><br /><br />Well, THAT explains it. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjoNucs20Vw" rel="nofollow">Only one thing to do.</a><br />Diogeneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15551943619872944637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-21776965680949842752015-02-26T14:55:16.283-05:002015-02-26T14:55:16.283-05:00What? No True Canadians?What? No True Canadians?John Harshmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06705501480675917237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-57463485399423123692015-02-26T14:48:50.610-05:002015-02-26T14:48:50.610-05:00For a minute there I thought Larry said "Just...For a minute there I thought Larry said <i>"Just about every country in Western Europe is socially and <b>ethnically</b> more advanced than the USA"</i>. But no, it was <i>ethically.</i><br /><br />Look, I oppose rah-rah America #1-ism. However, Larry's anti-Americanism is not particularly rational. I don't mean to demean other people's countries, but the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) and also Italy have serious social and "ethical" problems as Larry must admit.<br /><br />Italy, obviously, kept re-electing a molester and out-and-out millionaire criminal Berlusconi as their PM and let him control all their media. That guy'd be dead in the USA. Whatever America's other problems, starting from Bobby Kennedy on, the US government kicked the mafia's ass. The Italians still have a big problem with organized crime.<br /><br />Greece's political and economic disasters and its incompetent mishandling of the Olympics are outside the norm in the USA.<br /><br />As for Ireland, they recently had a real estate bubble exacerbated by free- market policies that was worse than America's. And their religion not only led to widespread terrorism, but all kinds of negative policies. Until just a few decades ago, Irish doctors, when delivering babies, would cut the mother's pelvic bone in two with a bone saw to make a larger opening for the baby-- note that this horror did <i>not</i> obviate the need for C-sections-- because Catholic doctors following church policy wanted to increase fertility. The subjects of enslavement of orphans in orphanages and sexual abuse of children by the Church are too huge to even cover here. <br /><br />The Irish did not begin addressing these subjects of Church sex abuse until several years after American began grappling with them. Are they "ethically more advanced"? Was Catholic-Protestant religious terrorism "ethically more advanced"? <br /><br />Having said all of that, I'm a strong opponent of rah-rah USA #1-ism and insist that the US should learn from the better aspects of other people's cultures. German industry is clearly doing something right, and we should learn from their social democracy and/or their apprenticeship system. As for health care, it's still absurdly expensive and we still need to learn from other countries, perhaps adopt a single payer system or something. USA #1 exceptionalism is stupid, but the reverse, America as Dystopia, is not much of an improvement.Diogeneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15551943619872944637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-14748107508913677822015-02-26T13:37:25.718-05:002015-02-26T13:37:25.718-05:00As for the status of gay politicians, it was ubiqu...As for the status of gay politicians, it was ubiquitous for conservative politicians to equate homosexuality with bestiality and/or pedophilia. In recent years, conservatives have backed away from pedophilia equations, but bestiality references are still common, e.g. former Sen. Rick "Man on Dog" Santorum. <br /><br />Still, the extreme Right (WorldnetDaily, RenewAmerica, Bryan Fischer/AFA) accused Obama of being a homosexual who years ago murdered his gay roommate over a drug deal.<br /><br />Sen. Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, has been openly gay for many years, was repeatedly re-elected, and thus a target of countless slurs. Here is a typical one.<br /><br />In 2008 or 9, on Fox News, Bill O'Reilly is discussing Sen. Frank with right wing has been comedian Dennis Miller. Frank was involved in overseeing Fannie Mae, a quasi private loan institution that went bust during the 2008 crisis. O'Reilly wants to pin the blame on Frank.<br /><br />"Will he go to jail?" O'Reilly asks of the has been comedian.<br /><br />"I think Barney Frank wants to go to jail," says Dennis Miller.<br /><br />Ha ha. And thus is Sen. Frank's sexuality introduced into every discussion.<br /><br />In O'Reilly's defense, he seemed to cringe a bit at that "joke."Diogeneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15551943619872944637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-74516812163455489672015-02-26T13:24:33.666-05:002015-02-26T13:24:33.666-05:00You can't explain the modern culture in Americ...<i>You can't explain the modern culture in America by invoking what people believed back in 1776 or 1676 even if you get it right.</i><br /><br />Of course it's not sufficient. I think it's helpful. What's your opinion of Weber's thesis?judmarchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111006189037693272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-85470830690015911822015-02-26T13:18:06.500-05:002015-02-26T13:18:06.500-05:00First, American liberal politicians are pussies. T...First, American liberal politicians are pussies. They want to be liked, and they do not confront. Right wingers say, "You liberals are socialists, you hate America, you oppose all moral values, you are degenerates, you are closet Muslims who want the terrorists to win..." and liberal politicians bleat "It's not unpatriotic to criticize the system..." which sounds insufferably defensive. Liberals elected to public office in the USA do not hit back. They do "complexity" and "nuance". <br /><br />Liberal politicians in the USA want their enemies to like them. They labor under the delusion that if they reasonably and calmly say things like, "I don't hate America, I just think criticism can be patriotic too," that Rightists will like them. Even Obama suffers under this delusion. They don't grasp that Rightists love hate for hate's sake, that Rightists need enemies and narratives about "traitors" to distract the voters from learning about their abysmal plutocratic policies, and that much of the appeal of rightism is conspiracy theorizing, Appeal to Motive fallacy, the belief that violence really does solve problems, and that those who disagree are unpatriotic or secretly hate America or are terrorist sympathizers. <br /><br />The Right in the USA routinely states that our President, who killed Osama bin Laden and Anwar al Awlaki and launched thousands of sorties against ISIS, secretly hates America and is a closet Muslim who wants the terrorists to win. Liberal American politicians believe that they can reason with the conservatives by making themselves likeable and harmless looking.<br /><br />The most confrontational liberals do humor and satire, like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Cobert took satire to giddy heights of genius, but he did so because liberals do not hit back. They have not developed a language with which to hit back against accusations of unpatriotism, socialism, sympathizing with terrorists etc. (In case you're wondering, I'm working on it.)<br /><br />Jon Stewart sometimes yells at Barack Obama: "THEY WILL NEVER LIKE YOU! THEY WILL NEVER LIKE YOU!"<br /><br />Liberals don't need to be liked. They need to be feared.Diogeneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15551943619872944637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-1285621959488634662015-02-26T13:01:46.122-05:002015-02-26T13:01:46.122-05:00Re Prof. Moran
I don't consider Alberta to be...Re Prof. Moran<br /><i><br />I don't consider Alberta to be part of Canada. It's an opinion shared by many people in Alberta. </i><br /><br />Well, as to the second part of that, there are a lot of folks in Texas who think likewise relative to Texas being part of the US (including the former governor of that state). In fact, they were so adamant about it 154 years ago that they went to war over it. colnago80https://www.blogger.com/profile/02640567775340860582noreply@blogger.com