Day: May 26, 2010

Just got back from the Anti-Vax Rally in Grant Park

~ Jeremy ~ 11 Comments

I just got back and I have to tie up some loose ends and make dinner and stuff.

Some quick thoughts:

  • The rally was very poorly attended. There was some news media there, and there appeared to be a documentary film crew. I’d say the attendance was below 200.
  • I get their cause. I really do. But when you act stupid, you need to be treated as such. When a guy on stage says, “They can’t even make just ONE flu vaccine. They have to keep updating it every year. Can’t THEY make ONE flu vaccine? Seems kinda dumb right?” When you don’t get the basic science of evolution, you should probably go ahead and hang up your cause. There were Ls painted on everyone’s foreheads in attendance, because they were all charismatically screaming out, “Yeah, brother! Say it loud! That’s right!”

Part of me wanted to be empathetic to their cause, especially when mothers cry for their babies, but nonsense is nonsense.

I’ll post more later with photos and video.

Anti-Vax rally in Chicago today

~ Jeremy ~ 2 Comments

There’s an anti-vaxxers rally in Chicago today, and I’m going to head on down to get some photos and maybe some video.

A group from Skepchick will be on site flyering information. I’m hoping to lend a hand if I can hold two cameras and flyers at the same time.

I mean, Andrew Wakefield — the recently de-licensed fraud — will be there giving a talk. How can I miss this clusterfuck of great photo opportunity?

If you want to meet me up or possibly lend your face and voice to a video segment I’d throw together, please contact me.

Common Sense Atheism, the best blog that I don’t read every day

~ Jeremy ~ Leave a comment

Common Sense Atheism is the best blog that I don’t visit every day. It’s the brainchild of Luke Muchlhauser. He’s a guy that is so smart that I feel insecure within seconds of one of his posts.

Maybe that’s why I don’t go there enough. I feel really dumb next to him.

I post Muchlhauser’s work here on occasion. This one is too interesting not to link to. It’s an article about a pastor that I think some of my believing readers should at least take a look at.

The title of the post is, “Greg Boyd’s Godless Sermon”. Muchlhauser says:

As a believer, one of my favorite preachers was Greg Boyd. I listened to his sermons online, attended his church a few times, and my friend Kevin Callaghan works directly with him (Kevin is now helping people in Haiti).

Greg believes some astoundingly implausible things about the universe. But he is not stupid or evil. He is compassionate and driven to reduce suffering in the world.

Greg also gets props from me for a 2006 sermon series about how the Christian church should avoidpolitical power like Jesus did, not try to take it over like Republicans want. He lost 20% of his tithe-paying members because of it. But he kept preaching.

Muchlhauser posts a sermon from Boyd that is nothing short of great.

So go over and read the post and digest it for a while.