"This is not about limiting somebody's Free Speech" ~Sacha Baron Cohen

I sincerely believe Mark Zuckerberg dropping out of college before he finished is one of the greatest tragedies of our generation. Our society constantly praising and celebrating the "underdogs" who succeed despite eschewing education hurts everyone.

Edward Snowden Appears at Flagship TED

Colbert on "Pulpit-Freedom Sunday"

Stephen Colbert takes his satire to a whole new level here. He can hardly keep his contempt for Jim Garlow and his anti-church-and-state-separation mentality.

Lessons from the fall of Thunderf00t

Once upon a time there was a young man named Phil Mason. Using  the pseudonym Thunderf00t, Phil became famous on the interwebs by making a series of  youtube videos he dubbed "Why people laugh at creationists." Over and over he pleased his audience, pointing out the absurdly backward logic adopted by young-earth creationists. His audience watched in awe as he pwned one crazy zealot after another. One of the my favorites was his  refutation of Ray Comfort and his assertion that the banana is proof that god designed all living things in their current form and plopped them on earth's surface around six thousand years ago. Thunderf00t made many a video where he was the hero and his vanquished enemies were exposed as utter slime-balls. The Westerboro baptists, Ray Comfort, and VenomFangX being some of the most egregious creationists he refuted over the years.

But making yourself look good when pitted against idiots is an easy task I suppose. It is much more difficult to convince someone who you mostly agree with about some subtle point you happen to differ in opinion over.  As Thunderf00t and his droves of fans made their way to a new internet venue, Free Thought Blogs (FtB), things got a bit hairy. Phil Mason decided to test his boundaries in this new internet-hood right off the bat. Keep in mind, he was invited to this forum in an attempt to include more video participation at the FtB network.  He came in at the same time as other famous free-thinking rationalist video-bloggers like Cristina Rad.

Phil decided to make his debut on FtB by taking serious swings at some prominent feminist bloggers, namely the founder of the Skepchick network - Rebecca Watson. Phil accused Rebecca of causing unnecessary rifts in the skeptical community by shouting "Rape" at conferences without warrant in his opinion (Google 'elevatorgate'). Less than a week after publishing his first few blog posts at FtB Thunderf00t was stripped of his blogging privileges there and banned from the network.

Edit: Ian Watson kindly points out in the comments that Phil is not banned from commenting at FtB just writing a blog there.

I understand why the FtB leaders (namely PZ Myers) gave Phil the axe almost immediately. FtB is turning out to be a Juggernaut in the identity-politics coalescing around the freethinking, humanist, atheism+ community. Thunderf00t is free to keep on making you-tube videos and writing at whatever internet venue he creates, but the leaders at FtB decided they did not want him as a front-man on their network. I get it, and I do not see this as a violation of his freedom of speech or press or whatever. We are all allowed to choose our associates especially on the internet. We can choose to ignore whoever we want. The bigger your tribe the harsher the effects of a public shunning. 

Now, I’d like to explain why I see the demise of T-f00t on FtB as a good thing even though I am a staunch advocate of free speech. What are we (free-thinkers) fighting for? The big issues for me are the anti-vaccination movement, any kind of faith healers, homeopathic quackery, religiously induced bigotry and a slew of other social justice and environmental issues. I have witnessed self-proclaimed hardcore feminists also argue against vaccination and talk about how western medicine is "patriarchal" and how they need to fight it tooth-and-nail. Please do not get me wrong, I am not saying all feminists do this, just a vocal sub-group. As a white, able-bodied male in my late twenties it is nearly impossible to even start a conversation with a person in this camp because I am written-off before I open my mouth. So, rather than having a front-man on FtB loudly defending his rights to be a bit sleezy at skeptic conferences I’d much rather have strong feminists like Rebecca Watson and Jen McCreight who also speak out against anti-vaxers and other charlatans front and center on the most prominent free-thinking forum in the English speaking world. 

The biggest lesson I take from the fall of Thunderf00t is “Choose your battles wisely.”

Pussy Riot takes down Putin

I would love to read that headline in the coming weeks.

A Russian punk-rock band named Pussy Riot has been sentenced to two years at a penal colony.  The trio of women were convicted of hooliganism after performing their music at an orthodox cathedral wearing masks. 

Their conviction is resonating with people across the globe who hold human rights above the power of governments. Their lyrics are strongly femisist and highly critical of Vladamir Putin and his lingering control of the country.

They cry out to expose the fascism that accompanies an internally rotten government backed by religious institutions.  As life imitating art they are now prisoners in in the very chains they sing to break.

"The phantom of liberty is in heaven" - one line reads from their new single.

Below is an excerpt from  Miriam Elder's article appearing in the Guardian.

The three women were arrested in March after performing an anti-Putin "punk prayer" inside Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The case against them is seen as serving two functions: a warning to other dissidents, and an appeal to Putin's conservative base. Russia's growing campaign against gay rights is seen as a part of that effort, and on Friday Moscow's main court upheld a 100-year ban on gay pride rallies.

In the spirit of Thomas Paine join with me in reading the story of Pussy Riot as it unfolds and calling on the Russian Government to stop being such ass-holes.    

Incidentally, Chess-master turned politician Gary Kasparov was arrested outside the court for protesting when the verdict against Pussy Riot was announced. Crazy.

Read the lyrics to one of their songs below and see a video the Guardian so kindly put together.

Punk-Prayer "Virgin Mary, Put Putin Away"

(choir)

Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away

Рut Putin away, put Putin away

(end chorus) ...

Black robe, golden epaulettes

All parishioners crawl to bow

The phantom of liberty is in heaven

Gay-pride sent to Siberia in chains

The head of the KGB, their chief saint,

Leads protesters to prison under escort

In order not to offend His Holiness

Women must give birth and love

Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!

Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!

(Chorus)

Virgin Mary, Mother of God, become a feminist

Become a feminist, become a feminist

(end chorus)

The Church’s praise of rotten dictators

The cross-bearer procession of black limousines

A teacher-preacher will meet you at school

Go to class - bring him money!

Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin

Bitch, better believe in God instead

The belt of the Virgin can’t replace mass-meetings

Mary, Mother of God, is with us in protest!

(Chorus)

Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away

Рut Putin away, put Putin away

(end chorus)

We were anonymous

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Where do we get morals? Each other.

Colbert lays into Limbaugh

Though Stephen Colbert often impresses me with his unabashed satire this clip is particularly noteworthy. He really takes off his kid-gloves to call Rush out on his recent excursion into the depths of shock-radio.

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SEND ME TO ICELAND!

‘We the people’ takes on a literal meaning for the people of Iceland this year as the government has reached out to the populace to help draft a new constitution. In the wake of economic collapse, and protesting, the government of Iceland has decided to script a new constitution. Brand new, unlike the original drafted in 1944 which is a tweaked version of Denmarks constitution.

This truly transparent new document is on the internet and citizens have a duty to examine it and send in their own tweaks, truly making it by the people and for the people. It can go without saying that everyone won’t get what they want, however if enough voices are heard on enough issues, the document will be the greatest example of democracy in the world.

The great communicator (internet) is proving to make leaps and bounds for this world in a very short time it seems. The people are able to come together, as we have seen in Tunisia , Egypt, Libya and others. I have hope that our species will persevere. Speak Out!

On the other hand… Back here across the water. Ego’s continue to get in the way…

Daniel Ellsberg on Wikileaks

"The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals"

Montana Woman Destroys Controversial Art. 

[Loveland, Colorado] The woman has been identified as 56-year-old Kathleen Folden - a truck driver from Kalispell, Montana.   One of the frantic museum curators told me she smuggled a crowbar into the museum wrapped in her sweater.  The panel on the lower right of the series pictured below was the piece that moved her to vandalism. Entitled - "The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals" the piece was composed by Enrique Chagoya while master print maker Bud Shark produced this iteration. Though the damaged art was removed by police there are many other pieces still on display at the Gallery Museum on the North West Corner of Lincoln and 5th Street in Loveland.  Many prints are arranged in three dimensions and are extremely engaging.  My favorite is a piece entitled "Frontier Justice."

Exhibit A:  The display after Kathleen Folden made her "modification."

When asked by Fox News about  the vandalism of his art Enrique Chagoya responded eloquently.

"Should we as artists, or any free-thinking people, have to be subjected to fear of violent attacks for expressing our sincere concerns? I made a collage with a comic book and an illustration of a religious icon to express the corruption of something precious and spiritual.

There is no nudity, or genitals, or explicit sexual contact shown in the image. There is a dressed woman, a religious icon's head, a man showing his tongue, and a skull of a Pope in the upper right corner of the controversial page. I did not make a picture of Christ. I used symbols as one would use words in a sentence to critique corruption of the sacred by religious institutions."

 

Loveland Mayor Cecil Gutierrez stands with a local police officer in the lobby of the Museum Gallery. He had a nervous look on his face as he texted frantically.  For me it was a happy introduction to this place there is an amazing sculpture mimicking Picasso's tormented "Guernica"  made from old car hoods in the lobby as well. I would not have been aware of the deep significance of Guernica were it not my philosophical experience discussing this piece while blogging about the World Science Festival in New York City this past June.

I purchased a free-expression souvenir!

Free Speech: South Park Censored

This story has a special place in my heart as it echoes the origin story of Tom Paine's Ghost. Since Comedy Central will be bleeping it out let me reiterate Jon's eloquent language. "To anyone who is threatening death in the name of religion or politics... GO FUCK YOURSELF"

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South Park Death Threats
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Speaking of vulgarity

A good friend of mine lamented today about the decline of journalism as he took offense to the use of the phrase "getting shafted" in this Star-Telegram headline. Though I think it unprofessional I also see a kind of merit in using it for dramatic effect. Though I can see it could be argued that this particular phrase pangs of misogyny, in general I think it safe to say people get too uptight about vulgarity in print or any other media for that matter. This brings us to a controversial film - Blazing Saddles. Perhaps knowing that my parents' first date was to see this film can explain my fascination with it. Can you imagine?!?! But when I saw this in the NYT movie critics corner I thought of my friend and how oversensitivity can sometimes have a chilling affect on the issues that need to be talked about the most!  The concept of a lampoon is too frequently lost in translation.

Cheating Death - Colbert on Fire!

Oprah is a prominent gate-keeper and her constant promotion of quackery opens up the topic of responsibility when using free speech from certain platforms. I surely can not, with good conscience, stand by while Oprah spearheads the charge to flay the hypothetical Hypatias of our time.

How do you think these matters of free speech vs. phony speech should be handled? Perhaps a network sponsored special running for several weeks consisting of a panel debate on each claim inviting experts from academia and clinics in for each issue - vaccines, the secret, Dr. Phil etc etc.

Some would argue that this would be a bad idea because it gives equal footing to those making fraudulent health claims. But I say the truth should be able to defeat any imitations using the "disinfectant of sunlight" as justice Louis Brandeis might have put it.

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The Four Horseman

OK, which one of these guys came up with that name? Next they'll be "the four horsemen - men in tights"

Anyway, I couldn't help posting this mainly because of two new YouTube features - one - the colored border and - two - the HD button - you can watch it in high definition! Vimeo is cool but I knew YouTube wouldn't be that far behind.

Within the first two minutes of this video I was reminded that the UN is considering a resolution banning blasphemy. Talk about the religious folks playing the "hurt feelings card." Now it will be illegal in the eyes of the UN to question any religion's authority anywhere in the world.

Freedom to Write in Stone

USA Today has announced that humanists are happy about the recent supreme court decision regarding free speech. I consider myself a humanist yet I am not so happy about it.

The supreme court in essence ruled that a city government can decide which religious monuments to allow in public places. The issue at the center of this case began when a small religious group in Pleasant Grove, Utah known as the Summum church requested that the city display a three foot granite slab outlining its core principles, the "Seven Aphorisms" next to a monument listing the Ten Commandments that has stood on this public park since it was donated by eagle scouts in 1971. I have posted about this case before and you can find all the quarks surrounding this religion described in detail here.

The problem with the supreme court decision is that it allows city governments to choose which religions are allowed to mark up public places. In my mind when one religion is allowed to display their beliefs carved in stone then that automatically makes the surrounding space a public forum and therefore any person or peaceably assembled group of people have the right to place their words in that public forum as well.

As I said before...

"In the case of the Summon religion and their granite slab I feel like the only fair thing to do is tell the city of Pleasant Grove to either remove all religious writings from the public land or allow those tasteful and aesthetically pleasing views of other religions to be erected as monuments of equal size and equal real estate value. The city still has the right to refuse in this instance but has to be an equal opportunity censor."

What do you think?

Information Revolution

The following video is found on I want my rocky.com. This web site is dedicated to preserving the Rocky Mountain News, a paper that's been a Denver staple for 150 years and is on the verge of collapse.



The speed of information flow has increased in such an exponential fashion over the past three decades that I do not know what to tell people who make their living pressing ink to paper. It comes down to the ink and paper infrastructure rapidly going extinct. Like the fossil fuel infrastructure this arcane system will go the way of the dodo eventually. This does not mean the end of journalism however. With droves of citizen reporters we are entering an age of unprecedented interconnectedness. In the process we are tearing down the fiscal walls that were so long maintained by the information gatekeepers. The fear is that the quality of reporting will plummet without full time people devoted to investigating newsworthy stories. This is understandable, but this shift to people-powered media is the final verdict on over 50 years of media giants squandering their massive public exposure on cheap advertising and dumbed-down content. Along with print journalism, broadcast journalists are also facing the selective bottleneck of transition. But from the ashes of the fallen newspapers a gleaning meritocracy may rise, where credit will be given only where it is due and consciousness is raised at the speed of light.

As we collectively move beyond the age of corporate media may we heed the words of Edward R. Murrow and prevent a relapse of his already fulfilled prophecy told 51 years ago.



P.S. As a consequence of writing this piece I happened to stumble on this clip of young Marlon Brando playing the conga drums during and interview with Edward R. Murrow. No wonder McCarthy called these guys commies. More power to 'em.

A Microcosm of Communism in China

A Peace Corps volunteer in Guizhou (贵州), China shares his story of a first hand encounter with the Chinese government and its control over the press. Specifically, Dustin Ooley describes the government manipulating water supply to the school where he works in a blog post entitled Water Monopoly! (or Where is Teddy Roosevelt When People Need Him?). Particularly pertinent to TPG is the role that the reporter played, or in fact did not play in this scene. A resounding illustration of the functional role of an unfettered press in a democracy.

Cheers to Dustin for the composition and Phil for the heads up.

The culture wars hinge on reinforcing stereotypes. One popular stereotype is that liberals are communists, socialists, marxists, and what have you. Well, my friends, I would consider myself a liberal thinker but this story scares me. The issues that unify us will help end the culture wars and the most paramount of these issues is outlined in the first amendment. Liberty and justice for all requires free speech and a free press whether you are liberal or conservative.

Igniting Passion for Free Press, Advocacy and Activism.

Last September the Colorado State University school newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, ran an editorial with a heading that garnered immediate national attention. Ultimately, the editorial heading resulted in many citizens calling for the editor-in-chief of the Collegian to resign and others signing a petition urging that the editor-in-chief be fired. In the spirit of advocacy and activism, I would like to reference you to a blog account of Kristopher Hite's thoughts on his experience with this situation.

The photo of Kristopher Hite shown above, engaging in debate with the college republicans student group, appeared in the Rocky Mountain News on September 27, 2007 with a story entitled "300 at CSU urge firing of editor."  It is from this experience that our blog, Tom Paine's Ghost, would be born.