It doesn't matter what people on the internet find funny. That is irrelevant. Again, the intentions of both parties were openly communicated by their actions, and more importantly in the context of a society that understands that the hobo jackets were exploitative (why not just give them regular jackets?) and that…

It's part of the douchebag conspiracy. The douchebags only step forward to defend, when they are sure he's one of their own.

Agreed. I don't see how that is even an argument against what he did. So what if it was staged? (Something I doubt.) Aren't all of the ways we behave in public staged to a degree? That man was wearing a policeman's uniform. Is it really that appalling that he would behave in such a way to bring some honor to that…

It's easier to know people's intentions when they freely communicate them. I don't think that the intentions of the guys giving away shirts are in question. This officer has given no indication that his intentions were the same. As a matter of fact, it seems obvious that he had no intent of his actions even being…

Speaking of humors, I consider Aristotle to be a good example of one of these types of thinkers. Most of his conclusions were wrong, but his ideas were systematic enough to be systematically challenged and tested by later thinkers. Eventually, when medieval scholars stopped using Aristotle as an endless appeal to…

When I said Gulf of Mexico, I was referring to Texas

The earliest thinkers on a subject are always the risk-takers; they are most at risk of being wrong, and they often are. In my opinion, they are still an important part of the process.

Oil: making powerful, influential billionaires out of backwards, uncouth barbarians since the 19th century from the Gulf of Mexico to the Persian Gulf.

Funny, for Republicans Maverick = crazy enough to actually cave in to rational thought from time to time.

I looked up to him, then, and still do.

God really needs to get some better PR people at least.

Yet another reason anti-blasphemy laws are a dumb idea. This is a Mormon practice that has been a part of their religion from the beginning which also happens to be blasphemous to other religions. For example, how would Muslims feel if one of the baptized were Mohammad? I'm sure a lot of Jews aren't very happy with…

this needs to be here

I was upset with the Americanization of Constantine for the same reason. It has little to do with race. The nationalities of the characters in Constantine as well as the characters in Akira are important elements in their stories. Among the examples you described, the Daredevil and GI Joe examples don't do any harm…

I can agree that Einstein does seem like a Deist at times. I find it hard to believe it was something that occupied his mind that often at all, really. Many of his quotes on God were prompted by questions relating to theology, so it's hard to say if he's just being diplomatic or is genuinely unconcerned (which I…

None of his theories are safe from testing. I don't see any distance from strict empiricism there. As for his public statements, he was a man who was fond of metaphor. To him, "God" was a metaphor. Unlike a literal deity who is a being with agency, Einstein's "God" was a poetic god not a literal one. And I agree…

If religion was seen as purely metaphorical, it wouldn't be regarded as religion by people, but as myth. The problem is the notion of a deeply-held belief, a belief that is clung to irrationally in the face of contradictory evidence. This applies not only to religious beliefs, but political, philosophical, ethical,…

I'll just leave this here:

You should hate the belief, not the believer. Just like they say, "hate the sin, not the sinner". Makes sense to me.

But it is precisely because of the doctrinal details that one is perceived as more offensive than the other. Making the distinction that certain sets of ideas are theological or not does nothing to change the efficacy or inefficacy of such ideas. An idea has the same merit whether it is found in the Bible, a…