The Orca’s Thumb

This is not an auspicious beginning. Guess who is going to deliver the invocation at Obama’s inauguration? None other than the smilin’ face of right-wing fundamentalism, Rick Warren.

As we’ve pointed out several times before, in 2004 Warren declared that marriage, reproductive choice, and stem cell research were “non-negotiable” issues for Christian voters and has admitted that the main difference between himself and James Dobson is a matter of tone.

He criticized Obama’s answers at the Faith Forum he hosted before the election and vowed to continue to pressure him to change his views on the issue of reproductive choice.

He came out strongly in support of Prop 8, saying “there is no need to change the universal, historical defintion of marriage to appease 2 percent of our population … This is not a political issue — it is a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about.” He’s declared that those who do not believe in God should not be allowed to hold public office.

Obama had a chance to set a non-sectarian, progressive tone at this event. Too bad he didn’t take it.

There are people out there who think that vaccines are linked to autism. They are wrong. There is no evidence to support their belief, and tons of evidence against it.

However, because they have celebrity spokespeople who are loud but appealing, and because their targets are worried parents, they have made seriously headway in society. For that reason, I consider antivaxxers to be one of if not the largest health threat in the US. We have already seen a drop in vaccinations in the US and UK and an increase in measles outbreaks due to their efforts (pertussis is on the rise, too, though the cause is as yet unclear), and while there have been few deaths from their antiscientific crusade so far — and even one is too many — you can bet there will be more. Many more.

And now there may be a further impact. It appears some insurance companies are refusing to pay for some vaccinations. It’s not clear if this is due to the drop in requested vaccinations because of antivax efforts, or if rising costs and the usual insurance company reticence to provide actual coverage is to blame. The survey on which this article is based doesn’t say, but it would be an excellent idea to find out why this is happening.

If we start to see an even higher increase in childhood diseases — and fatalities — that can be traced to the exhortations of Jenny McCarthy and Andrew Wakefield, then it is critically important that parents of young children know exactly what and who is behind the problem.

The Muslims have entered the fray now — one crazy lawyer, Anjem Choudary, is calling Christmas evil:

The very concept of Christmas contradicts and conflicts with the foundation of Islam. Every Muslim has a responsibility to protect his family from the misguidance of Christmas, because its observance will lead to hellfire. Protect your Paradise from being taken away - protect yourself and your family from Christmas.

Here’s a typical interview with George W. Bush:

MCFADDEN: Is it literally true, the Bible?

BUSH: You know. Probably not … No, I’m not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it, but I do think that the New Testament, for example is … has got … You know, the important lesson is “God sent a son.”

MCFADDEN: So, you can read the Bible…

BUSH: That God in the flesh, that mankind can understand there is a God who is full of grace and that nothing you can do to earn his love. His love is a gift and that in order to draw closer to God and in order to express your appreciation for that love is why you change your behavior.

MCFADDEN: So, you can read the Bible and not take it literally. I mean you can — it’s not inconsistent to love the Bible and believe in evolution, say.

BUSH: Yeah, I mean, I do. I mean, evolution is an interesting subject. I happen to believe that evolution doesn’t fully explain the mystery of life and …

MCFADDEN: But do you believe in it?

BUSH: That God created the world, I do, yeah.

MCFADDEN: But what about …

BUSH: Well, I think you can have both. I think evolution can — you’re getting me way out of my lane here. I’m just a simple president. But it’s, I think that God created the Earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty, and I don’t think it’s incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution.

As of this posting, 42 days, 7 hours, and 50 minutes until Bush is out of office, and it’s not soon enough.

There was a protest against the atheist sign in the Washington state capitol this weekend. As was to be expected, those people don’t seem to pay much attention what B.S. they spew:

“The No. 1 thing is, we want the state of Washington and the governor to represent everyone in the state,” said the Rev. Kenneth Hutcherson, the pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond. “But just because you must represent everyone in the state doesn’t mean that you put up with intolerance from the people that you represent.”

Eh, what? Represent everyone, unless they do not agree with Christians?
Ah, yes, I forgot about the Christian idea of tolerance…

After being stolen and returned, the atheists’ sign is now cordoned off in an upstairs hallway next to the bust of George Washington, a sign from Hutcherson’s church mocking the atheists’ sign, a traditional nativity display and two other religious signs.

The double standards of these people are just woeful.

A Texas couple has been arrested for murdering their 1-year-old daughter with a hammer. Twenty bite marks were also found on the child.

These superstitious woos were trying to “rid her of demons.”

Of course Bill O’Reilly is outraged at the news from Washington state (see below).

How dare they allow atheists to express themselves? This is a Judeo-Christian nation, and only Christians are allowed to have a voice in the public square (Jews, too, as long as they’re quiet and willing to pretend that they’re pre-Christians).

This is political correctness gone mad. There’s no reason to post an anti-religion sign next to a Christmas display.

Au contraire. There is.