Name this molecule. You must be specific. We need the correct common name. 
Dennis Doherty (Denny) of The Mamas & The Papas is dead [Doherty from Mamas and Papas dies]. I find this all very frustrating. People like Harris point to specific, irrational fact claims made by certain religious traditions, establishes the harm that comes to society when large numbers of people believe those claims, and encourages people to think a bit more critically about religious beliefs. He is so militant about the subject that you know what he does? He writes books about it. He speaks publicly about it. And he tries to persuade people with nothing more formidable than rational argumentation.
For his trouble he is criticized for being extreme and intolerant. He is branded a fundamentalist. He is lectured for taking clearly stated and widely-held religious beliefs seriously, when everyone knows that real religion is all nuance and metaphor and paradoxically inexpressible cravings. He is told to shut up lest some ignoramus on the local school board hear what he is saying. He is told that he is the one sowing social discord, unlike all those religious folks who are perfectly happy to live together in peace and not engage each other on theological matters.
The following is a statement by Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of GrassrootsFreedom.com, regarding legislation currently being considered by Congress to regulate grassroots communications:Does this spell the end of PZ Myers and Ed Brayton?
"In what sounds like a comedy sketch from Jon Stewart's Daily Show, but isn't, the U. S. Senate would impose criminal penalties, even jail time, on grassroots causes and citizens who criticize Congress."
God is the Supreme Being. Period. Full stopThe locals came out in force to support the council. Apparently they want to make sure everyone who attends Council meetings gets the message. Durham is a Christian county—nobody else is welcome.
One of the main reasons I wrote The Language of God was to try to put forward a comfortable synthesis of what science teaches us about the natural world and what faith teaches us about God. Yet it seems to be a pretty well kept secret these days that the scientific approach and the spiritual approach are compatible.It used to be a well-kept secret when the believers dominated the discussion. But now the cat's out of the bag. Science and religion are at war and only one of them is going to emerge victorious.
I think we've allowed for too long extreme voices to dominate the stage in a way that has led many people to assume that's all there is.Repeat after me ..
ATHEISM IS NOT AN EXTREME VOICEIt only seems that way to believers because they can't conceive of anyone not believing in God. But, in fact, almost everyone rejects 99.99% of all Gods. Atheists just go one God further. It's really not that much of a stretch.
The thesis of my book is that there is no need for this battle. In fact, it's a destructive battle. And we as a society would be well served to recover that happy middle ground where people have been for most of human history.There is no middle ground between belief and non-belief, or between rationalism and superstition. You can't occupy something that doesn't exist.
