Early Earthquake Warnings

It wasn’t all that long ago that the only system for early earthquake detection just didn’t exist. The best you could do was pray that if you were in an earthquake-prone area, God would look over you and help you survive.

Times have changed. We call that science.

So now we can actually do this.

The California Legislature has sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill that would require development of an earthquake early warning system…

Scientists are already testing a demonstration system.

Can you image the story a hundred years ago?

By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, September 13, 10:39 AM

LOS ANGELES — The California Legislature has sent Gov. Hiram Johnson a bill that would require everyone to pray for an earthquake early warning system.

The bill moved forward in Thursday’s last hours of the legislative session and the governor has until Oct. 13 to act on it.

Pastors and religious leaders have been calling for such a system ever since the Great Earthquake in San Francisco in 1906. If God had simply alerted the City, the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California history could have been averted.

 

Hmmm. I wonder why that never happened? Perhaps because science and the technology it engenders had not reached this state, where we can now detect with precise instrumentation the first evidence of an earthquake, before the rolling waves hit populated areas, giving people time to protect themselves, stop medical procedures and allow transportation systems to slow down and/or stop.

God’s had a long time to provide something similar, but apparently he doesn’t think it’s very important.

And prayer only works after the fact.

Oh, wait…prayer doesn’t work at all.

 

What’s It All About, This Christmas?

I’ve been drawn into an interesting discussion on a few other blogs. It started the other day while watching the TODAY show as I dressed for work. Matt Lauer had his panel of “experts” addressing controversial topics of the day, and one of them involved “outsourcing” Christmas obligations, like shopping, card sending etc, and the propriety of doing so. In the course of the conversation, Nancy Snyderman said she didn’t like the religious element of Christmas, in effect, it’s what ruins it for her. It was a short exchange, not well fleshed out, but it was clear there was a disagreement between Star Jones, who felt “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” while Snyderman did not.

Science Is Better Than Your God

Nyah, nyah. Do I sound like a petulant school boy? The reason I might is because the sentiment is so painfully obvious, even a child could figure it out and agree. It takes little in the way of critical thinking to do so.

In the Can-Your-God-Do-This? Department, science has done what, as usual, god cannot do. Or, to believe most believers, he could do it, so he apparently doesn’t want to.

In 1974, 13 year old Ima Jean Sanders disappeared. She was never heard from again, and for 37 years her mother has never had a day go by where she didn’t think about her, or wonder whatever happened to her. The remains of a young female were discovered in 1976, but never linked to Ima.

Follow The Money

My good friend JohnEvo (a/k/a The Ancient Atheist, tho’ he’s not so ancient)  sent me a link to this video. This is a really good example of the contention that religion has simply become a big business. Here we have a doctor, one schooled, presumably, in science and the necessity of basing the application of medicine on evidence, who’s simply shilling for a book he wrote that supposedly presents evidence for human resurrection. He travels the Extreme Christian circuit of talk shows, web sites and other forms of media hawking his book. The video blogger who created it makes a good case that there’s big bucks in the process, which, to understate it, somewhat diminishes the credibility of the claims.

God Fucked Up

I have a good friend who I’ve known for about 25 years who died the other day after losing a long bout with cancer. He won the early rounds, but ultimately his opponent wore him down and bested him. I’ll be attending his service later today, and I know it will be a mixed-emotion day, with lots of tears and lots of laughter – tears of grief and the laughter of remembrance. He was not much older than me, which at my age means that he died far too young. But he has a large and loving coterie of family and friends, incredibly supportive of each other, all who will ensure that his wife and children come away with far more positive than negative emotions. They are not having a religious service, but if they did, and they had asked me to give the sermon, here is what I would have said:

What An Incompetent!

click for cartoon

Rick Perry prays for rain to help drought inflicted Texas, way, way back in April, and the drought is worse than it was in April. Damn, is this not the stupidest, the silliest thing you’ve ever seen a Governor do? From the official State of Texas issued Proclamation:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICK PERRY, Governor of Texas, under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas, do hereby proclaim the three-day period from Friday, April 22, 2011, to Sunday, April 24, 2011, as Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas. I urge Texans of all faiths and traditions to offer prayers on those days for the healing of our land, the rebuilding of our communities and the restoration of our normal way of life.

It’s now so bad, fires have destroyed whole neighborhoods in Austin, the State capital. Let’s hope he doesn’t issue a proclamation declaring a day of prayer to rid the state of locusts.

God seems to be really fucking up in the oversight department. First we have that earthquake on the east coast which, according to Michelle Bachmann, was to let us know that god disapproves of our current fiscal policy. Then Hurricane Irene forces the cancellation of the Jimmy Buffet concert in Bristow, VA. This is serious shit! Since I had tickets, I can only presume god was pissed off at me for that time I…well, that’s between me and him.

Now, a drought so bad, despite pleas to god for just enough rain to make it go away, it’s clear he has a different agenda than Rick Perry. I hear those people in Austin, the Texas version of San Francisco, can be a little light in the loafers,  if you know what I mean <wink, wink, nudge, nudge> so maybe god’s actually trying to destroy the city.

Obviously, if he was going to fix the drought, his aim is clearly off. We’ve had so much rain here in Pennsylvania, this is shaping up to be the second wettest season in weather-keeping history, yet Texas needs the water. What the fuck is god thinking? That because Texas is south of us the water will run downhill?

Or maybe, just maybe, god’s laughing at Rick Perry for being such a twit in the science department, coming out in favor of Intelligent Design as science and all. He’s saying “if you think prayers make rain, let me show you how nature actually works.”

Perhaps everyone in Texas should stop praying for rain. Because either god is  incompetent, or Rick Perry is.

And we all know god doesn’t exist.

Heck of a Job, Craig.

Sound familiar? After the debacle we remember as Katrina, Bush 2 complimented his buddy, Michael Brown, who he gave what he thought was a plum job as head of FEMA . He said, as people were dying in the flooded waters of New Orleans, or suffering through their hellish stay at the Super Dome, “Heck of a job, Brownie!”.

It’s Hard To Take Her Seriously

She says some of the dumbest (not darnedest) things supposedly coming out of the mouth of an intelligent, well educated public servant. Irreconcilable things. Completely hypocritical statements. Self serving beliefs masked as facts. Utter nonsense.

Where’s The Tea Party When You Really Need Them?

Huh?

You know. That New American political movement that is so against big government. The one’s that want government to stay out of our business. Shouldn’t they be rushing in to save the day in cases like this?

If You Believe These Things…

… You May Be Considered Far Right.

Not to mention a hypocrite.

Credit - http://thismodernworld.com/

‎1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Barack Obama