Friday, October 25, 2013

FOX: Megyn Kelly Brawls With Atheist Over 'God' in Air Force Oath


October 24, 2013 on Fox News
Megyn Kelly took on former Air Force office and atheist Mikey Weinstein on Wednesday over the invocation of God in the Air Force oath, with the conversation getting so heated Kelly had to practically shout, "Mikey, chill!" at one point. Weinstein also sporadically mocked the "Fox world" he jumped into and got so frustrated he told Kelly he would try to speak in one-syllable words only.

Kelly asked Weinstein why he just can't let the invocation of God be optional. Weinstein shot back, "That's like saying why don't you just opt out of robbing a bank! Because robbing a bank violates the law."

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Creationism is fine ‘as long as you don’t confuse it with actual science’


From Raw Story:
Wednesday on his radio show “Star Talk,” astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson addressed a reader’s query about the Creation Museum and the theory of a “Young Earth,” which is part of the Christian Creationist myth, the idea that the Earth is only a few thousand years old.

“I visited the Creation Museum,” wrote the listener, “purely out of a sense of mystified curiosity. The recorded narration in their planetarium said that contemporary astrophysics predicted [sic] that certain stars were older than the known age of the universe and cited this problem as evidence against science and for Young Earth creationism.”

“I was hoping Neil might tell me a little bit more about the problem and its solution,” the note concluded.

“Which problem?” asked Tyson. “That the Creation Museum exists at all?”

He went on to say that while he has nothing against Creationism museums, per se, “just keep it out of the science classroom.”

“We live in a free country,” he continued, “and you can say whatever you want about whatever. That’s what it means to be free. Just don’t confuse it with actual science.”
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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

An Appetite for Wonder: Richard Dawkins in Conversation with Adam Rutherford


Professor Richard Dawkins discusses the influences and inspirations that have shaped his life and thinking.

Chatting to science broadcaster Adam Rutherford in the world-famous Ri Lecture Theatre, the pioneering scientist and public thinker reveals how he developed an "appetite for wonder" for the biological sciences.

From his upbringing in Nairobi and Nyasaland (now Malawi) to his early experiences with religion, Dawkins talks about his motivations for becoming a scientist and his experiences at Oxford University and Berkeley, California during a period of social and political unrest.

Find out how he arrived at the idea of the "selfish gene" -- the basis of his seminal 1976 publication, one of the best-selling popular science books ever written -- and discover more about his research and writing process.

Plus, the Ri audience ask a range of revealing questions -- from how he overcome his natural shyness and stutter at school to what his advice would be to an 18 year old who wants to get into popular science.
"An Appetite for Wonder" author Richard Dawkins discusses the relative existential dangers of science and religion.