Atheist Revolution

Idiot of the Week: Mark Sanford
Palin Resigns
Reaching Those Who Doubt
Comment Policy

Posted: 04 Jul 2009 04:18 AM PDT

Image by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com via Flickr

It is Saturday, and that means another helping of idiocy in the form of the Idiot of the Week series. Idiocy of this magnitude deserves attention, and that is exactly what it gets here each Saturday.

This week's winner is South Carolina's Republican Governor Mark Sanford but not for the reasons you are expecting. Sanford may have been competitive simply because he is a "family values" spouting hypocrite who went after former President Clinton with a vengeance and now refuses to step down himself. And yes, comparing himself to King David was certainly worthy of idiot gold. I will acknowledge that this hypocrisy was what initially brought him to my attention, but it isn't what put him over the edge for Idiot of the Week.

I actually feel somewhat sorry for Sanford. He clearly has not been in love with his wife for some time now, does not appear capable of leaving her to be with his "soul mate," and lacks the judgment to be quiet about it. What an awful predicament! Sanford wins the Idiot of the Week distinction for anchoring himself in a failed marriage when it seems quite obvious that his heart is elsewhere. He is not being fair to himself or his family here. Gov. Sanford, divorce your wife and pursue what makes you happy.

I do have to give Sanford credit for one other thing. The phrase, "hiking the Appalachian Trial" will live in infamy as a synonym for cheating on one's partner.

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Palin Resigns

Posted: 03 Jul 2009 02:05 PM PDT

Image by Jon Person via Flickr

Christian extremist favorite, Sarah Palin, has resigned as Governor of Alaska amidst rumors that Todd Palin was "hiking the Appalachian Trail." Okay, the part about Todd is just in my head, but she really did resign.

This is great news for the people of Alaska. It is also likely to be great news for the Democratic Party if it has anything to do with Palin's plans to run for President in 2012.

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Reaching Those Who Doubt

Posted: 03 Jul 2009 01:23 PM PDT

Image by alles-schlumpf via Flickr

Most atheist blogs end up writing to their largely atheist audience. This is as it should be, but it is nice to address a different audience every once in awhile. Daylight Atheism has a great post written especially for religious people who find themselves doubting their faith, "To Those Who Doubt Their Religion," up now.

I wrote something similar in January of 2008 that I keep meaning to update: "Doubting Your Faith?" This is a good meme to spread, and I'm happy to see as impressive an atheist blog as Daylight Atheism doing so.

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Comment Policy

Posted: 03 Jul 2009 07:53 AM PDT

The presence of Christian trolls on this blog prompted me to develop the first draft of this comment policy in May of 2007. What you are reading now is the July 2009 revision.

Introduction

First and foremost, please understand that this is an atheist blog. I am an atheist, and the intended audience is made up of atheists, secular humanists, and other freethinkers. In fact, 88% of those who read this blog are atheists.

I welcome believers in various gods who are genuinely interested in learning something about atheism. However, those interested primarily in argument, antagonism, or proselytizing should go elsewhere. Blogs are not intended as places for readers to debate each other. If this is what you are seeking, check out this list of great forums. You'll see that some have entire areas devoted to debate.

What is a Troll?

There are several forms of blog trolls, ranging from those who engage in "drive-by link sharing" as a form of self-promotion to those who camp out and hurl insults, make threats, or otherwise try to disrupt the blog. Many trolls do not seem to understand how blogs work; others are bent on converting atheists to their particular brand of superstition. However, nearly all trolls share a common feature: They are not here to learn but to argue, and the nature of their argument is irrational.

The best way for rational readers to deal with blog trolls is to ignore them. This deprives them of what they want most - argument. But since many readers cannot resist engaging them, the following policy represents an alternative to full comment moderation.

Comment Policy

The following comment policy was adapted from Lifehacker, Making Light, and God is for Suckers!, with modification to increase applicability to this blog.

Stay on topic (i.e., the post topic).
Contribute new information to the discussion.
Don't comment just for the sake of commenting.
Know when to comment vs. when to e-mail the author. Use e-mail when what you want to say doesn't contribute to the public conversation.
Be respectful and remember that nobody likes a know-it-all.
Own your comment (i.e., anonymous commenting is discouraged and will probably not be allowed much longer).
Remember that brief comments are more likely to be read.
Be courteous and avoid personal insults.
Avoid Christianspeak. It makes you look stupid and contributes nothing of value.
Absolutely no religious proselytizing will be permitted here.
Do not feed the trolls. They thrive on argument (the less rational, the better) and will keep returning as long as they find folks willing to debate them. If you find yourself tempted to argue with a Christian troll, please read this first.

Minor violations may result in selective moderation of the violator, but more serious violations will result in deletion of offending posts. Repeat offenders may be banned if deemed necessary.

Tags: blog, blogging, comment policy, comment, Christian, atheist, troll

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