Archive for The Skeptic
EiH asks, What is “the Sanctity of Marriage?”
Posted by: | CommentsWith Maine voters heading to the polls to vote on same-sex marriage today, I’ve seen a couple of fear-mongering commercials about the collapse of civilization should gay couples have the right to marry. Will same-sex marriage really open the door to a terrible new world? Currently, 1 in 2 marriages in the U.S. end in divorce, while 15% of married women and 25% of married men commit adultery. Then there are the arranged marriages and marriages of convenience, which people around the world use to gain wealth. You may think these are new trends, but they’re not, as illustrated by the following examples:
- In an effort to have a son, Henry VIII married six different women, beheading two of them, and created a religion just so that he could divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
- The most exclusive club in the world, the American ex-Presidents Club, is known for its philandering members.
- Lucius Aurelius Verus, Roman co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, once famously said to his wife, “Uxor enim dignitatis nomen est, non voluptatis (Wife is the name of dignity, not bliss).”
- Abraham, progenitor of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, fathered a son, Ishmael, with one of his wife’s servants.
- The spouses of European royalty were often chosen based on what each family would gain.
With conservative groups going on about preserving the sanctity of marriage, it makes you wonder what all the fuss is about. All it takes is a quick glance at a history book to see that there is no sanctity to preserve. Marriage has always been treated so superficially, so what right does anyone have to say who can and cannot marry? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments, but please keep it civil.
Patriots or Politics?
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Ever since that fateful night in November 2008, conservatives have come out of the woodwork waving (or wearing) the flag, protesting the Obama administration, and professing their hatred for socialism. But what has gotten these folks so riled up? Obama has promised us an open, transparent administration, and so far has held up his end of the bargain. I’m all for individuals engaging in more political activity than in the past, but I have to ask, where were all these so-called patriots during the previous administration? These patriots were eerily silent while the Bush administration all but eliminated habeas corpus through the Military Commissions Act of 2006, illegally invaded the privacy of American citizens through the PATRIOT Act, and lied about Saddam Hussein’s connection to al Qaeda in order to gain support for invading Iraq, in addition to other criminal acts.
Isn’t it odd that these patriots decide to come out of the woodwork now, as opposed to when we had a president that was actually screwing us over?
10 Questions You Should Have Asked About 9/11
Posted by: | Comments“Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.” -Ben Franklin
The above quote is one that my grandmother repeated almost daily during my formative years, although I didn’t fully understand what it meant until I reached adulthood. I’d probably never fully understand it if not for the great disaster that was 9/11 that happened during my 20th year on this planet. Like most people, in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 Incident, I was shocked, hurt, and most of all, full of vengeance. As that subsided, however, I came to realize that we, the American people, may have been duped. The greatest crime of all time may very well have not been perpetrated in the manner in which we’ve been told. Now, I’m not saying it was an inside job because I honestly don’t know. That is why I’m posting this; 8 years later, the greatest crime in American history shouldn’t have so many unanswered questions. This post is not meant to disrespect the victims of the 9/11 attacks, it is merely a quest to shine light where there is darkness. There are countless more questions that could be asked, but here’s a few that I hope will get you started.
- Why were plans finalized on September 10, 2001, to attack Afghanistan and remove the Taliban from power? Both Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell admit that without 9/11, there would be very little domestic support for an incursion against the Taliban.
- Why did World Trade Center towers 1 and 2 collapse so quickly, so cleanly, and in free-fall speed? The first plane struck Tower 1 at 8:46 AM, and it collapsed at 10:28 AM; 1 hour 42 minutes later. Tower 2 was struck at 9:03 AM and collapsed at 9:59 AM; 56 minutes later. Once the towers fell, they each took approximately 10 secs to collapse in on their own footprint. It was the first time in history that a steel-trussed building collapsed from fire, and it hasn’t happened since.
- Why did 7 World Trade Center collapse at all? 7 World Trade Center was a 47 story office building located across the street from the World Trade Center Plaza, tall enough to stand out in just about any other city’s skyline. It collapsed at 5:20 PM, supposedly from fire and debris from Towers 1 and 2. This one is decidedly more suspicious because only 8 floors were on fire, only 2 of which were visible from outside the window. However, it too collapsed in on itself at near free-fall speed. Here’s a side-by-side comparing a controlled demolition to the collapsed of WTC7: Interesting Note: The NE Regional Headquarters of the Securities and Exchange Commission was located at WTC7. The SEC was in the midst of its investigation into Enron, one of the biggest corporate accounting scandals in history. Enron was George W. Bush’s biggest political backer, former CEO Kenneth Lay was a close friend of Bush, and Bush frequently flew on Enron’s corporate jets during his 2000 campaign. With the collapse of WTC7, most of Enron’s SEC filings were likely lost.
- Why wasn’t there more extensive damage at the Pentagon? A photo of the immediate aftermath at the Pentagon shows no scars or skid marks on the lawn immediately in front of the impact site. Also, that hole in the building is awfully small considering a Boeing 757 has a wingspan of 124 ft. 10 in.

- If the hijackers were such terrible pilots and opted not to learn to land, how did they strike the Pentagon in such a manner as to be able to penetrate to the 3rd ring of the Pentagon without skidding the ground?
- What’s the deal with Flight 93? We’ve all heard the heroic story of the passengers taking it to the hijackers, whereby the plane crashes in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It really is a powerful, emotional story, but it obscures the facts. Where were the bodies and the debris? Every plane crash in history, even the fiery, explosive ones have left behind bodies, yet Flight 93 only yielded bone and tissue fragments. As the Shanksville Medical Examiner put it, “I stopped being coroner after about 20 minutes because there were no bodies there.” And what of the debris. Here’s a view of the Flight 93 crash site (notice the lack of debris, lack of flames, and the single, relatively small crater):

And here’s one from the 1988 crash of Pan AM Flight 103 in Lockerbie Scotland:

- How come the FBI never changed the suspected hijackers’ list despite the fact that none of the hijackers’ names were on the passenger manifests, and at least 7 people are alive who claim ownership of those identities?
- If Osama bin Laden is responsible for 9/11, why isn’t he wanted for it? Bin Laden is on the FBI’s most wanted fugitive list, as well as the most wanted terrorist list for the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings, not for 9/11. Here’s the exact text from his wanted poster:
Usama Bin Laden is wanted in connection with the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. These attacks killed over 200 people. In addition, Bin Laden is a suspect in other terrorist attacks throughout the world.
On September 12, 2001, Al Qaeda denies involvement in the attacks. On September 16, Osama bin Laden personally addresses the accusation against him and denies involvement. On September 28, in an interview with a Pakistani newspaper, bin Laden again denies involvement in the 9/11 Incident.
- Why hasn’t there been a criminal investigation into 9/11? The closest thing was the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, more popularly known as the 9/11 Commission, which was made up of politicians appointed by George W. Bush and Congress. It was only meant to tell the story of 9/11 and provide recommendations for the future. Of note, it completely ignored the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, and had other serious omissions, including the testimony of former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, that there were serious cover-ups at FBI Headquarters. Furthermore, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney refused to testify under oath, Bush and Cheney testified together, and Condoleeza Rice, then National Security Advisor, was not required to testify.
- Would elements of the government kill me in order to foster international support for a war? Ever heard of Operations Northwoods?
“It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts… For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.”
-Patrick Henry
TIME on Unsustainable Farming Practices
Posted by: | CommentsUpton Sinclair’s seminal work, The Jungle, exposed the corruption and exploitation prevalent in the meatpacking industry, and transformed Americans’ attitudes toward food safety practically overnight. Today, we face a new issue in American agriculture; that of unsustainable farming, but most people are unaware of it. Hopefully this article will elicit the same sort of revolutionary response as The Jungle did 100 years ago.
Somewhere in Iowa, a pig is being raised in a confined pen, packed in so tightly with other swine that their curly tails have been chopped off so they won’t bite one another. To prevent him from getting sick in such close quarters, he is dosed with antibiotics. The waste produced by the pig and his thousands of pen mates on the factory farm where they live goes into manure lagoons that blanket neighboring communities with air pollution and a stomach-churning stench. He’s fed on American corn that was grown with the help of government subsidies and millions of tons of chemical fertilizer. When the pig is slaughtered, at about 5 months of age, he’ll become sausage or bacon that will sell cheap, feeding an American addiction to meat that has contributed to an obesity epidemic currently afflicting more than two-thirds of the population. And when the rains come, the excess fertilizer that coaxed so much corn from the ground will be washed into the Mississippi River and down into the Gulf of Mexico, where it will help kill fish for miles and miles around. That’s the state of your bacon — circa 2009.
Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food – TIME (via Boing Boing)
Remember Ruby Ridge?
Posted by: | Comments“Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.” ~Voltaire
17 years ago today, federal agents began a siege of the Weaver family home in rural Idaho, the official reason being that US Marshals were trying to serve a warrant for Randy Weaver’s (father) arrest. The 11-day standoff resulted in the death of Vicki Weaver (the mother), Sammy Weaver(the son), and Bill Degan (a federal agent). The circumstances surrounding all 3 deaths, and the siege in general were so controversial, that the there was a Senate investigation. Ultimately, Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris (a friend) would be found not guilty of the most serious offenses, including murder and conspiracy to provoke a confrontation with the federal government. The Weavers ended up filing a wrongful death suit, and Randy Weaver was awarded $100,000, while each of his 3 daughters was awarded $1 million. Despite the outcome of the siege, and the ensuing investigation, the public continues to be mislead about the events and about the motives of the Weaver family. I’m not saying the Weavers were perfect; nobody is. But isn’t it odd that the story continues to be distorted or suppressed to this day? Alan W. Bock, at Reason Magazine, put it best in October 1993 (by this time the federal government had bungled Waco, too), “The notion that religious nuts with guns are always a threat to public safety becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.” Follow the link below for more info into one of the more tragic instances of attempting to punish thoughtcrimes.
Human Experimentation in America
Posted by: | CommentsSince 1945, hundreds of thousands of military personnel became human guinea pigs in experiments and intentional exposures conducted by the U.S. government–often without their knowledge or consent. Aided by recently declassified documents, this video reveals the truth about human experimentation, once hidden as a threat to “National Security”.
Watch History Undercover: Declassified: Human Experimentation in Activism & Non-Profit | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

We’ve had nearly a week to consider the announcement that Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. In doing so, he became only the third sitting U.S. President to receive the award, following in the footsteps of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Yet many throughout the world have considered the award premature and undeserved. Few people argue against the effort that Obama puts forth in the name of peace, but should effort alone be rewarded? Well, if you look back at the history of the Nobel Peace Prize, I say, why not? It is the most subjective of all of the Nobel Prizes, and it has been the center of controversy and hypocrisy before. Here are just a few examples.







