Good point about showing people that there are more atheists out there. I think that's important, especially for those of us who live in areas where it is easy to feel like we're the only ones. It becomes easier to consider the possibility that gods might not exist when one encounters atheists from time-to-time. I suppose that probably explains at least some of the bigotry directed at atheists by some religious believers.

I wish he was still with us too. I miss his contributions, and there are plenty of issues about which I'd like to hear his thoughts.

Yes, I think the emotional abuse is pretty bad too. It is plenty damaging all by itself, and it also helps provide a context in which the sexual abuse can occur. Some victims even end up believing that they deserved it, etc.

We often hear about how our politicians are subservient to the NRA, going along no matter what. I can't help wondering whether the Catholic Church puts the NRA to shame in some ways.

I agree. They do remind me of the religious believer who wants me to believe in his or her "god" but cannot articulate what this "god" is or how it is different from nothing.

I think I can understand their appeal to some degree because I was fascinated by the so-called paranormal as a child. I would have loved those shows back then. Fortunately, I didn't have them and that meant I read books on the subject instead.

As far as their appeal to adults, I'd guess it is a combination of entertainment (some do manage to be mildly entertaining) and confirmation of one's desire to believe in ghosts. They don't do much for me, but I'd probably still take them over Ancient Aliens if those were my only options.

Aren't some of his policies far worse than racism? Wouldn't shining a light of some of the things he's doing be at least as important as continuing to return to the (largely answered) question of his racism? If he's turning the presidency into a bad reality show, it seems like we're eagerly helping him do so.

That's strange. I don't believe there has ever been any requirement to log in to see posts, and I have not set up anything that would require a Facebook log in. I'm not even sure that's possible.

I suppose that one of the things that make coming up with an optimal strategy difficult is that not everybody agrees on what we should be trying to accomplish. Some want to shut down rallies like this, going so far as to ban them. Others want to publicly shame everybody who participates in them. Still others would rather let them speak and then counter their message. Different strategies would probably be more or less effective in accomplishing different goals.

It was pretty impressive at the time, mostly because shooting something like that in the ocean was virtually unheard of. I think it ended up being a better film than it probably would have been if the shark they built had worked like it was supposed to.