IntenseDebate - Tony Sidaway

11 years ago @ The New Civil Rights M... - Prematurely Praised On... · 0 replies · 0 points

If it's that easy, I look forward to seeing the Queen signing a piece of paper condemning the death penalty throughout the Commonwealth. This too is a scandal with which her crown continues to be associated.

11 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - Lessons From the Justi... · 0 replies · +1 points

If I understand the update correctly, Justin Vacula has confirmed that he knowingly posted on the hate site in response to an invitation. If his tweet in response to Jen's announcement doesn't strike you as grossly inappropriate for anyone in the position Justin Vacula aspires to, I can't help you.

I'm dismayed at the determined attempts to excuse and accommodate such behaviour within what is supposed to be an inclusive movement. The air of sanctimony and victim-blaming is corrosive. I have watched events since mid-2011 with mounting disgust. The resistance by Justin Vacula and some other members of the movement to reasonable, decent social norms is unsupportable.

12 years ago @ The New Civil Rights M... - Same-Sex Marriage: HRC... · 0 replies · +3 points

I don't get the problem here. I'm in a straight marriage, have been for more than 25 years and it's been one of the greatest experiences of my life. If you had asked me on my wedding day in 1985 whether I supported the right of all people to marry whoever they want, irrespective of gender, I would have said "yes please" and if there had been a campaign out there to promote that idea I would have considered asking my guests to consider those who are legally barred from marrying and donate to the cause of marriage equality.

So, what has changed in the past 26 years? Is it because now those campaigns exist and are achieving amazing success? I just don't get it. Why beat up organisations that present those of us who respect marriage the opportunity to promote organisations that want to give the choice of marriage to everybody?

We should all be doing this! There is a vast constituency of straight and bisexual people who want marriage and therefore understand why some same-sex couples want that too.

12 years ago @ The New Civil Rights M... - Same-Sex Marriage: HRC... · 0 replies · +3 points

Don't mistake me, if this sounds cynical it's because I am cynical about your criticism: are you just bashing HRC because they thought of the idea first?

I think this is a very sensible way to raise campaigning funds. Nobody is forced to donate to them, but weddings are a great time for a couple to ask their guests to consider donating to an organisation working in the field of marriage equality.

13 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - How Worried Should We ... · 0 replies · +4 points

I hardly ever talk about religion and most people who have neu me probably don't know whether or not I have a religion. Maybe that's an English thing. A very close friend who has never been religious recently came to me for help selecting a religion. After some discussion about core beliefs (very stringent, she won't accept a sexist, homophobic or anti-abortion faith, so there isn't a lot of wriggle room) she asked me to help her to contact the local Quakers, which I'm very happy to do.

Religious people can be incredibly sensitive, though. For instance there was an incredible fuss recently about some signs that simply said you can be "Good without God" and gave contact information for a humanist group. Miley Cyrus's father was apparently freaked out by a sign in California simply announcing "Atheists United." What can you do?

Making fun of religious beliefs is the most offensive thing you can do, but I don't see the point of privileging them. Atheism is as welcome as a fart in a lift. It's inevitable.
My recent post TonySidaway- @glynmoody if twitter starts to fill up with crap like deckly Im out of here Enforced brevity is its only advantage over rss

13 years ago @ The New Civil Rights M... - Keith Olbermann Swims ... · 0 replies · +2 points

I wish Keith Olbermann success in anything he decides to do next. I've enjoyed his work at MSNBC since I first encountered his show when, as a Brit in London, I decided to follow the exciting 2008 US elections.

Although my cable company doesn't supply MSNBC I'm able to download the daily podcast versions of all the shows or else stream them from the site. I'm a very keen fan of Rachel Maddow's show. I get Current on cable here but I believe it's a localized version that would be unlikely to take up a show about US politics (though I think that's a short-sighted attitude.)

Elsewhere someone noted that a couple of internet domain names related to "Keith Olbermann Show" were registered a couple of days before Keith left MSNBC. I hope that means there will be streamable Keith content in the future. I miss him.

13 years ago @ The Grim Reaper Writes - Hotel owners, the gay ... · 0 replies · 0 points

I don't think you can really fault the law. It's all very well saying that the market will take care of it but we had "no blacks, no Irish" signs up until they were outlawed, and the Rachman case in the 1960s showed that leaving the market to take care of it simply drove West Indians into the arms of a slum landlord. Markets are shitty like that, they don't give a fuck about human rights. Which is why you need to have laws to enforce rights.

Libertarianism is a game for rich kids who want to keep all their toys.

13 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - Atheism Shouldn\'t Off... · 0 replies · +2 points

I think it's human nature. There are some things that are so heavily woven into the fabric of our thought. When we find a counter-example it throws us off and our response can be quite hostile. I'm still pretty freaked out when I meet an *adult* who takes Noah's Ark as world history rather than--as my Roman Catholic teachers taught me and I assumed until 1994 everybody knew--a legend akin to the Odyssey. Not only that, I have been known to get downright stroppy if I think such an ignoramus is being allowed anywhere near the reins of my country's science and education policies. I feel quite strong emotions about this. Now if I became familiar with this person, a lot of the emotional component might dissipate leaving me only with a relatively dispassionate negative they of their qualifications. On the other hand my feelings negatively affect my willingness to associate with such people so the situation is self-reinforcing.

13 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - Questions for Those Ra... · 1 reply · +5 points

I'm British living in London so my experience probably isn't typical of the kind of thing that happens in North America. I'm a father, I grew up in a Roman Catholic environment, but grew away from organized religion long before I had children.

Britain has mandatory religious education, of sorts. It also has mandatory school assemblies of a "broadly Christian" character. That's all rubbish, because most British people regard religion as very personal and private. The stereotype of the tight-buttoned Englishman is true to that extent. We don't like to offend or show offence. As a result the law is interpreted liberally. Religious education is very ecumenical, and those who complain about that are treated with kindness and pity. Those are formidable weapons!

My children have been exposed to religious beliefs and traditions all their lives. My wife's sister is a Witness and has attempted to give religious instruction to them--with the highest of motives, and without objection from us. None of our business.

13 years ago @ Blogging Tips - 5 Twitter Web Apps to Try · 0 replies · +1 points

Twitter is telling me the old web interface (known as #oldtwitter to users) won't be around for much longer. I find the new version cluttered and useless so I came here looking for web-based alternatives. Hahlo looks pretty good.

I think trying to make Twitter look like an app is exactly the wrong way to go. If only desktop app designers would make the effort to produce software as clear and unfussy as the Hahlo web interface!

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