Book Review: Drift by Rachel Maddow

This recent book by one of my favorite news commentators is subtitled The Unmooring of American Military Power. With the title and subtitle, you can get a good idea of what the thesis of the book is. Think of the Constitution as the dock, with the US Ship of State tied up securely to it. The lines tying the ship to the dock are the laws of the United States, the executive, legislative and judicial branches that create, administer and enforce those laws, and the people that work in those branches of government. Now, consider that two, sometimes all three, branches, or lines, have become frayed and worn, even purposely cut, to the point that they stretch and occasionally snap, leaving the ship to drift away from the dock, completely unmoored to land, subject to the vagaries of currents. And we have forgotten why we tied the ship to the dock in the first place.

Atheists And Their Quotes

Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you a car.—Dr. Laurence J. Peter

Everybody loves a good quote. Atheists are no different. We quote mine as well as anybody, although on the whole, I think we pay a little more attention to the accuracy, relevance and completeness of the quotes we use, unlike those liars for Jesus who will pick any quote out of context that even remotely seems to support them, and flog it like a dead horse. They even like to make up quotes. Atheists, in my experience, tend to use quotes more judiciously, and far more accurately.

A Great Deal

For all of you  who have moved, either partially or wholly, to digital e-readers, Al Stefanelli has a deal for you.

He needs a quick turnaround of sales, so for a few days he’s offering his book, A Voice of Reason in an Unreasonable World, for $2.00.

I’m told by someone I know who has read it that it’s very good.

Check it out.

Book Review: Godless

I haven’t posted a book review here in awhile, so this seemed like a good one to catch up with.

A couple of months ago the local chapter of the PA Nonbelievers gave me a free copy of Dan Barker‘s Godless at the meeting I went to. I gratefully took it home and once the Christmas season was over, I pulled it out and read it.

There are many different types of atheists, ranging from the insincere to the fully committed. Dan Barker is one of those who I think

Confessions of An Antinatalist

Have you ever wondered what taking logic to its logical conclusion actually results in? Have you read something that literally turned on a floating light bulb over your head? (OK, not literally, but you get my drift). Have you ever really thought about, I mean REALLY thought about the consequences of your decision to have children? Jim  Crawford has, in his part philosophical, part autobiographical Confessions of an Antinatalist.