Atheists

I got all fired up after watching "Why do atheists inspire such hatred?" on CNN's Paula Zahn Now online yesterday.

There are so many things to identify as wrong with this segment, not the least of which include:

• The title of the segment. Atheists don't inspire hatred ... Christians and others often feel hatred towards atheists when they're unsure of their own beliefs, so anything that is contrary to their beliefs scares them and they declare it stupid.
  
• Zahn herself, who shows the depth of Paris Hilton in facilitating this discussion. No probing questions, no calling out the dismissive remarks made by the panelists, absolutely no meat to the discussion at all. This woman has her own show on CNN?! Pathetic.
• The panelists. Always a good idea to have a discussion about atheism without any actual atheists on the panel. Tomorrow: The War in Iraq with guests Nick Lachey, Snoop Dogg, and Sponge Bob Square Pants.
  
• The entire dismissive tone of the discussion. If you think it's a stupid discussion, as two of the panelists thought, why are you in it?
  

The best part of all this is that the blond woman (can't be bothered to find her name) in the clip posted on her blog today that she is receiving all sorts of hate mail about the clip a week after it was aired with people "claiming" to have just viewed the clip when there is no clip available online any where. Huh? Clearly, this woman does her research before spouting off on national TV. Anyway, I actually sent an email (in which I misspelled atheist - high five!) to CNN complaining, as did numerous other Digg users. As a result of the complaints, they're having another debate on the show with an actual atheist - what a great concept. CNN should stand for Crack News Network since they're so excellent.

In lighter fare, today my blog reading paid off when I got the clue "Capital of Ghana" in my NYT crossword puzzle and knew the answer to be Accra. I knew the answer because I read the blog of an American ex-pat living in Ghana with her husband and son. How about that! I can also now identify all countries in Africa and South America. Next I tackle Europe. Online geography quizzes make learning through repetition fun!

Dad - see Sea Bass in Papillote for the outcome of my Chilean sea bass. Summary: delicious!

Random Item of the Day
Check out the air traffic leaving the Superbowl at 10 AM EST on Monday. The pink planes are corporate planes, the blue planes are commercial aircraft. Click to enlarge.