Monday, September 23, 2013

Apostacon, In One Photo - Plus Some Others

David Silverman, Photobomber
Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[1]
Some Apostacon[2] organizers were taking a picture during the "Meat" Ball and David Silverman joined in.  Nothing sums why Apostacon is Apostawesome better than this picture.

Although, there's a few others from the costume party well worth sharing here.  Starting with, Silverman's reaction to the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[3]
Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[4]
Photo Credit:  @Apostacon[5]
Skepticon's[6] Micah Weiss as a Tie Fighter
Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[7]
Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[8]
Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[9]
Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[10]
And, yes, I've plugged Biblename Foto[11] in two posts in a row[12].  He's that fucking good.  See here[13] for the entire album of photos most of these are taken from.

I'm not quite done talking about Apostacon.  I've got at least one more planned.  For now, it's just the fun pictures and some bragging about some praise we received this morning[14].

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1.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384954464965172&set=pb.288486691278617.-2207520000.1379990124.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-frc3%2F981596_384954464965172_590448480_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash3%2F1230015_384954464965172_590448480_n.jpg&size=960%2C1200
2.  http://apostacon.org/
3.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384953631631922&set=a.384952888298663.1073741853.288486691278617&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-prn2%2F1277673_384953631631922_212152041_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-prn2%2F1376431_384953631631922_212152041_n.jpg&size=800%2C1200
4.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384953268298625&set=a.384952888298663.1073741853.288486691278617&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash3%2F1273267_384953268298625_1193310202_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-prn1%2F32410_384953268298625_1193310202_n.jpg&size=800%2C1200
5.  https://twitter.com/Apostacon/status/381604101827866624
6.  http://skepticon.org/
7.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384953898298562&set=pb.288486691278617.-2207520000.1379990124.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash3%2F1272237_384953898298562_696829085_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash3%2F558289_384953898298562_696829085_n.jpg&size=800%2C1200
8.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384953381631947&set=a.384952888298663.1073741853.288486691278617&type=3&permPage=1
9.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384954078298544&set=a.384952888298663.1073741853.288486691278617&type=3&permPage=1
10.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384954524965166&set=a.384952888298663.1073741853.288486691278617&type=3&permPage=1
11.  https://www.facebook.com/BiblenameFoto
12.  http://aparticularblogbyaparticularatheist.blogspot.com/2013/09/apostacon-finally-done.html
13.  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.384952888298663.1073741853.288486691278617&type=1
14.  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2013/09/apostacon-has-set-the-standard-for-atheist-conferences/
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Sunday, September 22, 2013

Apostacon... Finally Done

I'm finally home from Apostacon[1].  Walking into the house felt like getting home from a long road trip, even though it was a 20 minute drive from home.  I'm exhausted from a great weekend.  And I'm far from who put the most into this, so I can only imagine how exhausted the main organizers are.

At these conventions, I usually don't spend much time watching the talks[2].  This time was even more so.  I only got to see 4 of the talks, and 2 were only because they were during lunch (Shelley Segal[3] & Dan Barker[4]).

Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[5]
I was so exhausted, I nodded off during Amanda Knief's talk despite her being one of my favorite people on Earth.  I also got myself a signed copy of her book, The Citizen Lobbyist: A How-to Manual for Making Your Voice Heard in Government[6], and am excited to read it.  If you're at a conference she's speaking at, she's a must see.

Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[7]
Another must see is Fred Edwords[8].  He's a genius.  He knows many things about organizing groups, and he has a way of telling us these things in a way that makes you motivated to go do it.  If you ever want to start a group and need help getting it going, the help of Fred Edwords is invaluable.  And he's dedicated to providing that help.  Atheism simply wouldn't be the same without him.

Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[9]

I'm sad that I missed Matt Dillahunty's mentalism show.  Especially considering how impressed I saw people were with it.  It was so involved that we had to clear the room for him to set up.  Sadly, it was the only thing we didn't record (at Matt's request because he's got some special plans related to it).

Luckily, Matt wasn't the only thing people were impressed with.  It's a huge relief to have had Apostacon go so well.  Attendees really seemed to like it.  I've seen several positive reviews on the Facebook.

Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[10]
JT Eberhard has had nothing but high praise for us[11].  That's a lot of pressure for next year.  Although, we've already got some ideas for next year, and have already had our first meeting for next year.

I think my favorite part of the weekend was seeing Jamila Bey wearing a shirt familiar to me.

Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[12]
She bought a shirt for REASON[13], Omaha's skeptics group and our oldest existing non-theist group.  Seeing someone of prominence, who I respect. give some love to a group I love makes me happy.

Photo Credit:  Biblename Foto[14]
Another highlight was a conversation I had with Greg Lammers, American Atheists' National Affiliate Director[15].  It's always good to see him, since he's the kind of guy you're always glad to see, but this time was especially good.  I learned about American Atheists' plans for upgrading their support of local groups, including polling groups for what kind of support they'd want and potentially customizing it for each individual group.

I'm sure I'm missing a lot, but I'm sleep deprived so that's inevitable.  Plus, I'm saving certain bits to put into their own posts.

Some great pictures of the event are up on Biblename Foto[16], with more promised to come.

Next stop is Skepticon 6[17].  Based on what Skepticon organizer, Micah Weiss, has said, Skepticon is sure to even better than it has been in the past.  I won't go into it any more than that because I don't want to ruin their surprises.  But it's going to be good times.

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1.  http://www.apostacon.org/
2.  http://aparticularblogbyaparticularatheist.blogspot.com/2013/04/why-i-come-to-atheist-conventions.html
3.  http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=shelley%20segal&linkCode=ur2&sprefix=shelley%20se%2Caps%2C226&tag=omahathe-20&url=search-alias%3Dpopular
4.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1569756775/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1569756775&linkCode=as2&tag=omahathe-20
5.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384469755013643&set=pb.288486691278617.-2207520000.1379910182.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-prn2%2F1264653_384469755013643_1918970101_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-frc1%2F580285_384469755013643_1918970101_n.jpg&size=1200%2C960
6.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1939578019/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1939578019&linkCode=as2&tag=omahathe-20
7.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384468758347076&set=pb.288486691278617.-2207520000.1379910229.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-prn1%2F1075398_384468758347076_586575868_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-prn2%2F1375727_384468758347076_586575868_n.jpg&size=1200%2C960
8.  http://unitedcor.org/national/page/fred-edwords
9.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384469281680357&set=pb.288486691278617.-2207520000.1379910182.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-prn2%2F1294429_384469281680357_741267513_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-prn1%2F14513_384469281680357_741267513_n.jpg&size=800%2C1200
10.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384110405049578&set=pb.288486691278617.-2207520000.1379910230.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-prn2%2F1094527_384110405049578_1320002432_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-prn2%2F1186164_384110405049578_1320002432_n.jpg&size=1200%2C800
11.  https://twitter.com/jteberhard/status/381202089143046144
12.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384469915013627&set=pb.288486691278617.-2207520000.1379908327.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash3%2F857805_384469915013627_1086066699_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-prn2%2F1240016_384469915013627_1086066699_n.jpg&size=1200%2C800
13.  http://www.reason.ws/
14.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=384469175013701&set=pb.288486691278617.-2207520000.1379910182.&type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash3%2F856770_384469175013701_375635843_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ash3%2F1374175_384469175013701_375635843_n.jpg&size=800%2C1200
15.  http://news.atheists.org/2013/05/07/american-atheists-names-greg-lammers-as-national-affiliate-director/
16.  https://www.facebook.com/BiblenameFoto
17.  http://skepticon.org/
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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Are Atheists Being Ignored?

The last time atheism was mentioned in Omaha local media was when people got mad about our billboard last summer[1].  In other words, the last time they talked about us was to talk about how people hated us.

With Apostacon[2] coming up, the organizers have been offering our local media the opportunity to talk to any of the speakers[3], highlighting Nathan Phelps[4] and David Silverman[5].  They even approached the local radio show hosted by 2 atheists[6].  After speaking to some of the organizers about it, it appears that what's happened is the local media intentionally ignoring the atheists.

With our proximity to Topeka, Omaha is familiar[7] with Westboro Baptist Church[8].  And, with them currently suing our state[9], it makes sense that they'd want to talk to a member of the Phelps family who got away from Westboro's hate.  But no.  Complete silence from local media.

And, of course, they should familiar enough with David Silverman[10] to consider him worth talking to.  Complete silence.

If you'd like to help, please contact, POLITELY, any our media outlets and request they give the atheists the attention they deserve.

KMTV[11]:
402-593-2700 or 212-975-3247
news@action3news.com[12]

WOWT[13]:
402-346-6666
sixonline@wowt.com[14]

KETV[15]:
402-978-8954 or 402-345-7777

KPTM[16]:
402-554-4282
news42@kptm.com[17]

KFAB[18]:
402-556-5060
news@kfab.com[19]

Todd & Tyler[20]
877-931-4868
tnt@tntradioempire.com[21]

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1.  http://aparticularblogbyaparticularatheist.blogspot.com/2012/07/uncontroversial-billboard-is.html
2.  http://www.apostacon.org/
3.  http://www.apostacon.org/speakers/
4.  http://youtu.be/WLFUaOWRlDA
5.  http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/are-you-serious-face-seriously
6.  http://www.tntradioempire.com/
7.  http://youtu.be/EQ7Bnzg7YgU
8.  http://youtu.be/7mJD1sqB0Ts
9.  http://www.omaha.com/article/20130903/NEWS/130909612/1707
10.  http://www.ibtimes.com/nj-motor-vehicle-commission-backpedals-after-rejecting-atheist-vanity-plate-david-silverman-1401389
11.  http://www.kmtv.com/contact/
12.  news@action3news.com
13.  http://www.wowt.com/
14.  sixonline@wowt.com
15.  http://www.ketv.com/tv/contact
16.  http://www.kptm.com/category/106683/contact-us
17.  news42@kptm.com
18.  http://www.kfab.com/pages/contactus.html
19.  news@kfab.com
20.  http://www.tntradioempire.com/contact/
21.  tnt@tntradioempire.com
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Friday, September 13, 2013

Atheist Conference's Website 'Hacked'

This morning, Apostacon[1] announced on their Facebook[2] that their website had been hacked.  The hackers left signs all over the site and even affected the pricing of the conference tickets.  The good news is we know who the hackers are.

Cartoon ninjas.


With what they did to the Speakers page[3], they seem to have implicated two of the speakers in this crime as well.

Sarah Morehead as a ninja
JT Eberhard
Some of the other speakers have taken on the pirate role, to fight off the ninjas.

Darrel Ray as a pirate
Jamila Bey as a pirate
I can't tell which side David Silverman is on based on his hat.


I suspect that you've figured out by now that they weren't actually hacked.  It's a clever campaign by the Apostacon people to lower prices for one day and get some attention.  Anyone following their Facebook should have seen some hints of this coming.

August 25
You're Next[4]
August 26
Not a butter knife[5]
August 29
Nunchucks on the poop deck[6]
August 31
Pirate surgeon?[7]
September 2
Weird nails[8]
September 4
Sketch of the suspect[9]

September 10
I guess pirates don't play jacks[10]
September 13
Ninjas reveal themselves[11]

These ninjas might not be very good at ninjaing.  They foreshadowed their attack for weeks and have revealed their departure time (prices go back up at midnight tonight).  But anyone familiar with Shirt Woot already knows that cartoon ninjas aren't always good at their jobs[12].

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1.  http://www.apostacon.org/
2.  https://www.facebook.com/Apostacon
3.  http://www.apostacon.org/speakers/
4.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=506464889428603&set=a.143615919046837.37149.134097119998717&type=1
5.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=506871406054618&set=a.143615919046837.37149.134097119998717&type=1
6.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=508125502595875&set=a.143615919046837.37149.134097119998717&type=1
7.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=509017545840004&set=a.143615919046837.37149.134097119998717&type=1
8.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=509628425778916&set=a.143615919046837.37149.134097119998717&type=1
9.  https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/q71/1231209_510475369027555_1543215635_n.jpg
10.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=513276575414101&set=a.513276615414097.1073741827.134097119998717&type=1
11.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=514409421967483&set=a.143615919046837.37149.134097119998717&type=1
12.  http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=unstealthiest%20ninja&linkCode=ur2&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aunstealthiest%20ninja&sprefix=unstea%2Caps%2C269&tag=omahathe-20&url=search-alias%3Daps
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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

What To Do When Someone Says Something You Don't Like

For a variety of reasons, Calvin & Hobbes was a huge part of my childhood.  If any piece of fiction can define me, it's Calvin & Hobbes.  I identified with Calvin in ways I didn't fully appreciate until years after Bill Watterson stopped writing it.  Calvin's a loner, primarily preferring to spend his play time alone.  He's misunderstood.  But he's still happy, because he knows what he wants and what he likes.

If you saw Firefly during its first run and were mortified at its premature cancellation, then you know a sliver of what I felt when I learned Calvin & Hobbes was ending.  I still had the books, but I knew it meant no more new Calvin & Hobbes.  And even with how I felt, I understood and agreed.  Even the end of Calvin & Hobbes is part of who I am today.

Bill Watterson was sick of the corporate pressure to sell out[1].  He was being pressured to do merchandising, but he felt that would take away from the art.  Everyone involved, from the syndicators to Watterson, to the readers knew how much money he was walking away from.  It would have easily been millions.  Personally, I thought then, and still do, that Calvin & Hobbes merchandise would have dwarfed Garfield[2], which was everywhere at the time.  For Bill Watterson, his artistic integrity meant more than money.  It was inspiring, and it may be the single biggest influence on the way I view money today.

I'm so into Calvin & Hobbes that when a friend shared this[3] today, I immediately recognized the drawing style.  The message wasn't unfamiliar to me either.  I suppose you could say that Calvin & Hobbes defines my childhood, and its absence defines my adulthood.

So, when I saw that the Onion took a shot at Bill Watterson[4], I didn't like it.  The fact that the article is 2 years old is irrelevant, because it was new to me.

I typically enjoy The Onion.  One of my favorite things is still their bit about the trailer for Iron Man[5].  But the post about Watterson felt almost like an attack on a big part of my identity.  I had 2 choices in how to react.

I could take that post as representative of The Onion's entire character, take it personally offensive, completely write off The Onion, and begin telling people how evil The Onion is.

Or I could realize that not everyone is me.  Not everyone shares my opinions on everyone, so they might be offended by different things.  I could understand that my perception of this one post is not representative of the whole Onion.  I could understand that my perception of that one post isn't even representative of that one post.

I chose the latter.  It is the reasonable of the 2 choices, after all.  But too often, when presented with a similar situation, I see people choosing the former.

Ron Lindsay says something offensive, so people call for boycotts[6].  He did later apologize, which was accepted[8] by many.  But the damage to CFI will continue[8] because so much of the initial reaction wasn't to say he'd done something wrong.  Much of the initial reaction was to completely write him off.

JT Eberhard said something some feminists didn't like[9], so they lose their shit[10] and vilify him[11].  Some people declared JT dead to them, while others did the same to Jen & Greta.  JT & Jen McCreight eventually made up, but neither blogged about it.  So many who blindly wrote off either of them probably still hate whichever one they decided was the devil.

Rebecca Watson suggests guys shouldn't creepily corner women in elevators[11] and the Internet loses their goddamn minds and is STILL freaking the fuck out[12] on her[13].

On Twitter, people of all ideologies block at the drop of a hat.  There's enough willing to block unknown masses that the Block Bot[14] was popular enough to get the attention of the BBC[15].

Heads of national organizations make one mistake, and people call for their heads.  Popular bloggers get into one disagreement and their readers take sides as if a full on civil war is happening.  Complete strangers block each other on a whim.

This won't solve our problems.

If we don't argue, we don't learn.  If we don't argue, we don't teach.  If we don't deal with people who we disagree with, we don't have our ideas challenged.  And all ideas should be challenged.  It's how we figure out which ideas are good and which ideas should be shed.  It's how we are able to abandon bad ideas, even when they've been held dear for two thousand years.

If you're too eager to get rid of people over one disagreement, you'll end up with an ever shrinking circle jerk of people more and more less likely to ever challenge you.  You end up building an echo chamber.  All you get from an echo chamber is the reinforcement of bad ideas.  Even if the people challenging us are assholes about it, they're still giving us the opportunity for your ideas to be improved.

Don't put yourself in an echo chamber.  Have the courage to let your ideas be challenged.

You'll be better for it.

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1.  http://www.chron.com/life/books/article/Why-Bill-Watterson-quit-Calvin-and-Hobbes-1952901.php
2.  http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/
3.  http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/browbeat/2013/08/27/watterson_advice_large.jpg
4.  http://www.theonion.com/articles/bill-watterson-writes-illustrates-shreds-new-calvi,21240/
5.  http://youtu.be/YBM3j7x4Lcw
6.  http://skepchick.org/2013/06/so-much-for-center-for-inquiry/
7.  http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/2013/06/24/accepting-ron-lindsays-apology/
8.  http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/2013/06/24/accepting-ron-lindsays-apology/#comment-103522
9.  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2013/08/on-the-bria-crutchfield-outburst-at-the-great-lakes-atheist-convention/
10.  http://freethoughtblogs.com/blaghag/2013/08/on-silencing-anger-to-silence-minority-voices/
11.  http://youtu.be/QqU9JFbtucU
12.  http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=QqU9JFbtucU
13.  http://skepchick.org/page-o-hate/
14.  https://twitter.com/The_Block_Bot
15.  http://youtu.be/R0UqtZMqxT8
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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

On Atheistic Sexual Ethics

I haven't given up on my conversation[1] with Chris Attaway, the Christian author of the blog The Discerning Christian[2].  I had had a post in mind to respond to his last one to me[3] but work, activism, and home have required a lot of my time.  By the time I had time to write it, which still hasn't been much lately. I had forgotten the post I had written in my head.  Instead of starting over on it and continuing on that same topic too long, I'm responding to his post to Dan Fincke[4].  Dan has started a series where he addresses theist questions on Thursdays and Chris offered one a few weeks ago.

A common tactic of Christians discussing morality with atheists is to say we're unable to be moral.  In a rare moment for such discussions, this Christian isn't doing that.
I don’t ask this like one might ask rhetorically, “How can you be good without God?” Rather, while I find myself agreeing with many atheists more than with conservative Christians on issues of sexuality (with important distinctions), I also am unclear on the foundation of any sort of secular sexual ethic.
The basics of his inquiry come down to this question.
What are atheistic sexual ethics?
While I don't think he's suggesting it's the case, since he flat out said he wasn't doing that, I still feel the need to point out that there is no single atheist moral code.  Because atheism is the lack of a thing, rather than a thing, it can never dictate morality or anything else.  This is a common confusion, often even for atheists.  So being clear about it important to me.

Another thing I need to be clear about is the answer to this question is my own and not necessarily representative of anyone's else stance on this.  For example, I know that the intended target for the question, Dan Fincke, doesn't agree with me on morality[5].  But rather than get distracted by going into why I think he's wrong, I'm simply going to give my answer and save the rest for a later time.

And there will have to be later times because this issue is incredibly complex and the following will certainly not be everything I could say on it.  That complexity is why morality is such a common discussion topic.

To answer his question, an atheistic sexual ethic is merely a sexual ethic that does not invoke a god.  That's the simple answer to this complicated issue.

Fundamentalist Christians, and many of the more reasonable Christians, like to say the foundation of their morals is their Bible or their god.  But, like all of us, it simply comes from within themselves.  Even Christians who claim the same source for their morality cannot agree on everything.  Even among Christians, there are serious differences.  Chris takes on the morality of other Christians regularly[6].  There's a reason peoples' gods always agree with them.

Morality is dependent on each individual person, even for those who claim there's an objective morality.  Take a close look at the morality of anyone who claims it's from an objective source.  You'll find it being filtered through their personal morality.

We let ourselves believe the morality is objective if have things we agree on within a group.  Fundamentalist Christians hate gays, so they think their god says to restrict their rights.

Chris provided some of his own thoughts on his question, which I think partially answer his own question.
1. We do need sexual ethics
This goes without saying, but sexual ethics are obviously not just “anything goes.” Rape is obviously out of the question, as is sexual child abuse (we should distinguish this from pedophilia as an incurable attraction to children). Incest is certainly gross and cause for disdain from a bioethics standpoint. There are certainly more issues within sexual ethics, but these already demonstrate the need for such a thing to exist.
Rape & child abuse are indeed things we should not allow.  We don't need a god to know this.  We can see for ourselves that these things are bad.  They're bad for both the individual and society.  If we examine why, it comes down to the fact that these things do harm.  We can observe the tangible effects of this harm.  It largely involves the fact that victims of these things did not consent to what happened.  Which brings us to his next point.
2. Mutual consent is necessary but not sufficient
One of the primary maxims I hear in regard to sexual ethics is to strive for “mutual consent.” We certainly do not want one person having sex without the consent of the other — we call that rape; thus, mutual consent is necessary for ethical sex. But in the case of incest, we clearly demonstrate that the biological component of sex is a factor in sexual ethics. While an incestuous couple could theoretically remain childless (say, through a surgical procedure), I am fairly certain we would all still frown on such action.
In the morality of sex, consent is not merely necessary.  Consent is paramount.  Without consent, it's not sex.  It's assault.  Beyond that, as far as I'm concerned, consent is sufficient in most cases.  If two (or more) adults want to engage in a behavior, and all parties are of sound enough mind to give consent and do give that consent, it's not our place to tell them what to do with their own bodies.  To borrow a recent quote from the Pope[7], "Who am I to judge?"

There's room for discussion on what qualifies as a "sound mind".  Things like the desire to loss a limb[8] are something I'm unsure of my own stance on.  It's those situations where I think the discussion lies.  And that discussion is necessary because the answers aren't coming from a god or any other ultimate deciding factor.

For incest involving children, whether or not it's incest is no where near as important as the involvment of children.  Even if incest among consenting adults was accepted, it wouldn't mean allowing the involvement of children.  Children cannot really consent.
3. Children are a significant factor
The reason I would put forward for why we still frown upon incest even if the couple takes biologically responsible actions is that incest shows disrespect for sex as a procreative action, particularly if we understand its genetic implications. Her, I find myself agreeing with the spirit of the Catholic sexual ethic, though disagreeing on many, many specifics such as gay marriage and birth control, supposing that there is a telos or purpose to sex which factors into how we should treat it, and that we must respect sex as a reproductive act* as much as a pleasurable act. This would obviously discourage other more widely-accepted sexual practices (casual sex, perhaps), but I am not sure how to object to incest consistently, otherwise.
*In the case of infertile or same sex couples or couples on birth control, I only mean to suggest that sex should take place with a sense of “as if,” respecting the spirit of the sexual act as a biological act.
For incest among consenting adults, who have taken measures to prevent conceiving inbred children, people certainly would frown on such action.  But why would they?  But why should they?  Is there a good reason to disapprove of this behavior or is it an emotional, instinctual reaction no different than the emotional dislike many have for homosexuality?  There certainly isn't a Biblical reason to oppose incest[9].

For me, sexual ethics are no different than any other morality.  The closest thing you could find to a foundation of my morality is Humanism.  But that's not the foundation of it.  I derived my morality decisions the way I do long before I ever learned of the concept of Humanism.  It's a decent general description of how my morality works, but it's not a foundation.  I don't get my morality from Humanism.  I get it from myself.  Just like everyone does.  Including Christians who say their morality comes from the Bible, but still oppose incest, eat shrimp[10], or otherwise ignore the dictates of the book they say they follow[11].

We use consensus to decide what we do about our shared morality.  It's easy to get consensus on things like rape & murder.  Other things, like taxes & government spying on citizens, may never see consensus.  So the morality argument continues.  As it should continue, as long as we use reason.

Arguing over morality using reason will get us to decisions better for our society, like the various freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution.  Arguing morality using religion will get us things like kids dying because their parents believed in faith healing, the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, 9/11, the American invasion of Iraq, the Vatican's lies about condoms & AIDS, the systematic consequence free rape of children, genital mutilation, oppression of women, violence against homosexuals, fraud by assholes like Peter Popoff & Pat Robertson, and so so much more.

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1.  http://aparticularblogbyaparticularatheist.blogspot.com/search/label/Discerning%20With%20A%20Christian
2.  http://thediscerningchristian.wordpress.com/
3.  http://thediscerningchristian.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/a-response-discerning-the-bibles-stance-on-homosexuality/
4.  http://thediscerningchristian.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/what-are-atheistic-sexual-ethics/
5.  http://youtu.be/hlbKve5pjg8
6.  http://thediscerningchristian.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/why-call-it-abuse-because-mark-driscoll-is-more-dangerous-than-westboro/
7.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23489702
8.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apotemnophilia
9.  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+19%3A31-36&version=NIV
10.  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+11%3A10&version=KJV
11.  http://www.11points.com/Books/11_Things_The_Bible_Bans,_But_You_Do_Anyway
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Saturday, August 17, 2013

The Brilliance Of @PattonOswalt

If you were on Twitter tonight, whether you follow Patton Oswalt[1] or not, you may have seen some interesting tweets from him.













Well, that doesn't look good.  Each one of these tweets from his rant tonight expresses a sentiment that would be disappointing to see expressed from someone you respect.  But, there's a funny thing about Twitter.  They have a 140 character limit, so people often split thoughts into multiple tweets.  Here's the entire rant.
















Another funny thing about Twitter is how face paced it is.  It's not uncommon to only see one tweet from a series.  Sometimes people only see part of something said, and do not bother researching further to see what the entire thought was being expressed.  So they irrationally get mad at someone for something they know that person wouldn't have done instead of taking the effort to actually figure out what's going on.


Then there's the people who miss the entire point.  Some people just don't get humor.



But, some people do get it.



Some others appreciate what happened tonight.









Count me among those who appreciate it.  Context matters.  And this lesson in that was fucking brilliant.

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1.  https://twitter.com/pattonoswalt
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