If someone criticizes me for being too outspoken, or criticizes my atheism for being obnoxious, honestly? I stop listening. It's not a valid criticism of an idea. If you are going to criticize me or the ideas behind my atheism, criticize them for being wrong. Show me I'm not right. Otherwise shut up.

And if you do criticize me for being wrong, back it up with evidence or sound argument. Don't tell me I'm wrong because of the tone of my voice, the stridency in which I speak or write, or because you think I'm a dick. When I hear that, your opinion becomes irrelevant to the argument, and I move on.
My recent post Top Ten Creationist Arguments

Actually, I hope Newt is the nominee. The Republican primaries only tell us who Republicans will vote for, but in the general election, I can't see his past being so well ignored. He has far too much baggage. Obama has a better chance against Newt than Romney, since Mitt can change his colors like a chameleon to please a far broader spectrum of the electorate. Newt pleases only one - the crazies.

And for all those reasons, you're probably right in your prediction.

My recent post is Sexual Hypocrisy which is also about Newt.

Live by the sword;die by the sword. Matt 26:52. If you are going to live as if only one book is relevant to your life, then you have to assume that the same book counts the misses along with the hits.

Fans of good jurisprudence might remember Witold Walczak as the ACLU attorney involved in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case.

My recent post is Guns, Redux

That was worth it for your top graphic alone. ;)

Not being a big sports fan, I can never understand this cult of personality that surrounds quarterbacks. Either they do their job and lead their team to win games (notice "lead their team", not simply "win games" - it takes a team) or they don't. Frankly, I feel sorry for Tebow, because of his pathetic need to display his religiosity while doing his job. It's as if he knows he's not that good, so he does his Jesus Schtick to deflect discussion of his inadequacies.

Can you imagine what a Judge would do if every time I showed up in court, I "Tebowed" before the trial, then forgot the Rules of Evidence?

I would love to see the rule book that demands that all atheists present a monolithic front. There is a place in the national dialogue for in-your-face, rude atheists, and for friendly atheists, and for a broad spectrum of everyone in between. Some will convince one recipient of information, the other will convince others. Hopefully, the end result is more atheists.

Hemant went through this on another post, with a local director of the AA who I know personally. The one thing we should not be criticizing atheists about is their speech, if we also believe in free speech. If you don't like the tone, let the listeners decide. That's what free speech is all about. Criticizing each other for speech makes atheists look like the hypocrites, when we turn around and criticize theists for their hypocrisy.

My recent post is Romney Strikes Out

Personally, the Creche, or the manger scene or anything similar doesn't really bother me all that much. Intellectually, I recognize the violation of church and state, but I grew up in an environment where I knew it was Christmas, a fun season after all, when I saw all of these displays go up, no matter where they were. I still enjoy the visceral tingle. It's no different than when I see Santa ringing a bell, or garland wrapped around utility poles, etc. I don't really care. It's part of my personal upbringing. Why spoil it for someone else?

That being said, I fully support anyone who wants to do whatever it takes to enlighten the public about this particular delusional aspect of religion. If that means creating a placard to set up next to the manger scene, with a big arrow pointing to it, and a short, pithy explanation about how what you are looking at is just another myth humans create, that Christmas was stolen from the pagans, and frankly, if you're a good Christian you believe life begins at conception anyway, so why are you even bothering to celebrate Christmas in December? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to celebrate it nine months earlier?
That would be fun too. Maybe create another Christmas tradition in the process. ;)

My recent post is Split Personality

You like to pick the low hanging fruit, vjack, don't you? ;)

Though Mr. Fecal Residue is easy pickins.
My recent post is Split Personality

In this day and age, people still believe that garbage?

Unfortunately, we're still in a minority, and it's not even close.

My recent post is I Get Email Too

It's just sad, really pathetic, that a post like this needs to be written in 21st century America. Maybe 14th century Spain, but not now.
My recent post is really, really Crazy