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It was nice to see Jon Stewart finally have a chance to weigh in on last week’s absurd push from the Catholic Church to win the exemption from the law requiring employers to provide health insurance that covers contraception: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The [...]
Archive for the ‘Authoritarianism’ Category
The Vagina Ideologues
February 14th, 2012 
Daniel Fincke 
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Comedy, Comedy, Politics, Politics, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Satire, Satire, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocrats, Theocrats 
Tags: Catholic Church Demands Contraception Exemption, Catholic Privilege, Catholics and Obama, Contraception, Obama's Affordable Care Act, The Daily Show 
8 Comments »Dad Shoots Laptop
February 10th, 2012 Daniel Fincke Here’s a guy who apparently never learned how to instill discipline in his daughter with love. He cannot reason with her or teach her healthy negotiation skills. He takes the natural process of teenage rebellion extremely personally. He cannot allow her the privacy to develop a self distinct from him. He cannot harness the 20 [...]
Religious Privilege and Grievance-Based Catholic Identity Politics on Full Display
February 7th, 2012 Daniel Fincke In a column last week, Melinda Henneberger criticized the Obama administration’s refusal to exempt the Catholic Church from requirements it provide for its employees health insurance which would cover birth control at organizations it runs which have secular functions. The column is an extraordinary exemplification of religious entitlement, identity politics, and anti-secular, anti-democratic demands for [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Atheism, Atheism, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Barack Obama, Barack Obama, Christianity, Christianity, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Faith, Feminism, Feminism, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Law, Law, Law & Politics, News Discussion, News Discussion, Philosophy Of Religion, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Rape, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocrats, Theocrats, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Issues Tags: Affordable Care Act, Bart Stupak, Birth Control, Catholic Identity Politics, Catholic Voters, Conscience Exemptions, Faith and Politics, Grievance Politics, Liberal Protestant, Melinda Henneberger, Obama National Prayer Breakfast, Obama's Faith, obamacare, Religious Rights, Religious Tests For Office, Reproductive Rights, Ressentiment, Secularism 11 Comments »“What Are The Limits of Church Authority In the Public Sphere?”
February 5th, 2012 Daniel Fincke This is part 2 of a debate with Roman Catholic theology graduate student named Mary. In part 1, we introduced and began to debate the topic of whether or not universities, hospitals, and social agencies run by the Catholic Church should be exempted from laws requiring employers to provide their employees health insurance that covers [...]
Posted in Abortion, Abortion, Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Authority, Authority, Autonomy, Autonomy, Barack Obama, Barack Obama, Bio-Medical Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Christianity, Christianity, Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Feminism, Feminism, Gay Marriage, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homophobia, Law, Law, LGBTQAA, News Discussion, News Discussion, Personal, Philosophy, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Issues Tags: 1st Amendment, Affordable Care Act, Conscience Exemptions, Discrimination Against Gays, Free Exercise, Freedom of Religion, Gay Rights, Health Coverage For Gay Spouses, Mary C. Young, Pharmacists Rights of Conscience, Relig, Religious Discrimination, Reproductive Rights, Roman Catholic Adoption Agencies Refuse Gay Adoptions, Roman Catholic Charities, Roman Catholic Church 55 Comments »“Should Catholic Employers Be Exempted From Paying For Health Insurance Covering Contraception?”
February 5th, 2012 Daniel Fincke If you were reading Camels With Hammers regularly before we made the move to Freethought Blogs, you would have frequently been treated to the long, insightful, and vigorously argued comments of my friend Mary. Mary is a Roman Catholic and is politically liberal in many (but not all) respects. We met when I was a [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Authority, Authority, Barack Obama, Barack Obama, Christianity, Christianity, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Feminism, Feminism, News Discussion, News Discussion, Personal, Philosophy, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Issues Tags: 1st Amendment, Affordable Care Act, Catholics and Obamacare, Conscience Exemptions, Discrimination, Freedom of Religion, Mary C. Young, obamacare, Obamacare and Contraception, Religious Discrimination, Reproductive Rights, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Universities 48 Comments »In Memory of Christopher Hitchens, A Nietzschean Lion
December 16th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Christopher Hitchens was not fond of Nietzsche. When I picked up his Portable Atheist I flipped to the table of contents to see what Nietzsche selections he’d included. And saw none. None?? Possibly the most famous, unabashed, and irreverent atheist of all time was not worthy of inclusion in Hitchens’s compendium? A brief remark found [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheism, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Christopher Hitchens, Christopher Hitchens, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, News Discussion, News Discussion, Nietzsche, Nietzsche, Personal, Philosophy, Philosophy Of Religion, Why I Am Not A Christian, Why I Am Not A Christian Tags: and Child, Camel, Christopher Hitchens, Hitchens and Nietzsche, Lion, lost a lion, Nietzsche, Three Metamorphoses of the Soul, Three Transformations of the Soul, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Tribute to Christopher Hitchens, Truthfulness 11 Comments »Full Video of Republican Theocratathon
November 22nd, 2011 Daniel Fincke Last weekend the Republican candidates met for the “Thanksgiving Family Forum” where, except for Ron Paul, they each tried to prove they were the holiest Christian and, therefore, the most deserving candidate for president of our theocracy democracy. The actual discussions with the candidates do not start until 36 minutes in. And, as Jerry Coyne [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Christianity, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State 2 Comments »Maryam Namazie Attacks Shari’a And Defends Muslim Immigrants Against The Far Right
November 20th, 2011 Daniel Fincke A great lecture and Q&A my estimable Freethought Blogs colleague Maryam Namazie: . An important excerpt from the Q&A: Look, George Bush says he attacked Iraq for women’s rights and I’m a women’s rights campaigner, but I don’t believe him. It’s possible that a politician will say something, that they’ve done something for a reason and, [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Feminism, Feminism, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, George W. Bush, George W. Bush, Islam, Islam, Koran, Koran, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, Theocrats, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Rights, Women's Issues No Comments »A Critique of Noble Lies And The “Theologies” They Create
November 10th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In this long post, I begin by explaining Plato’s formulation of the concept of a noble lie for those unfamiliar with it and then I explain in detail numerous problems I see with employing noble lies and with attempts to persuade people through “theological” arguments. I think all theology is either an explicit or an [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Atheism, Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Ethics, Ethics, Historical Ethics, Historical Ethics, Historical Philosophy, History, Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, Intellectual Virtues, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Morality, Morality, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, News Discussion, News Discussion, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy Of Religion, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religion and Science, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Moderates, Religious Moderates, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocracy, Theocracy, Theocrats, Theocrats, Virtues, Virtues 34 Comments »How Scalia Judges Based On Faith-Based, Religious Metaphysics
November 6th, 2011 Daniel Fincke The blog Doggy Style quotes Justice Antonin Scalia making a disturbing analysis in 2002: “So it is no accident, I think, that the modern view that the death penalty is immoral has centered in the West. That has little to do with the fact that the West has a Christian tradition and everything to do with the [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Christianity, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State 13 Comments »Jon Stewart Considers “In God We Trust” Debate Just A Waste of Time Distraction. Is It?
November 6th, 2011 Daniel Fincke The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook After watching that clip from The Daily Show, I think I can finally crystalize what I hear from the average secular progressive voting in Congress, writing for The Daily Show, or watching at home when a [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Comedy, Comedy, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Cutural Criticism, Cutural Criticism, Law & Politics, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, Political Satire, Political Satire, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Pop Culture, Pop Culture, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Satire, Satire, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocrats, Theocrats 13 Comments »“Jar Jar Binks is George Lucas’s critique of democracy.” Discuss.
September 28th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Okay, so I posed that thesis to my Facebook friends and now I pose it to you, my Camels With Hammers readers: Jar Jar Binks is George Lucas’s critique of democracy. Discuss. To kick off the discussion, here is the hilarious Stevarious’s reply from Facebook: Every instance of democracy presented in Star Wars is rife [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Comedy, Comedy, Cutural Criticism, Cutural Criticism, Hilarious, Plato, Plato, Politics, Politics, Pop Culture, Pop Culture Tags: Anakin Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine, Jar Jar Binks, Political Philosophy, Press in Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars and Plato's Republic, Yoda 13 Comments »Questions For Those Who Oppose The Wall of Separation Between Church and State
September 27th, 2011 Daniel Fincke I imagine that nearly everyone agrees that just because you may do something legally does not mean morally that you should do it. Now, I am firmly convinced that Thomas Jefferson’s ideal of a “wall of separation between church and state” is constitutional. But, let’s say you do not. Let’s say the Founders left it [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Christianity, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Philosophy Of Religion, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Secularism, Religious Secularism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocracy, Theocracy Tags: Thomas Jefferson, Wall of Separation Between Church and State 10 Comments »American Values vs. Fundamentalist Values
September 26th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Contemporary Evangelical arguments for the mixing of Church and State usually fallaciously assume that for America’s most historically vindicated political, moral, and cultural values to be accepted as good and as true, either theoretically or in practice, or for these values to be preserved and advanced in future generations, Americans must accept and continue to perpetuate [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Christianity, Creationism, Creationism, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Intelligent Design, Intelligent Design, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State, Theocrats, Theocrats 7 Comments »The Moral Toll of Executions on the Consciences of Executioners
September 22nd, 2011 Daniel Fincke Allen Ault is the retired director of the Georgia Department of Corrections and former warden of the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison which handled Troy Davis. Ault oversaw executions for the state of Georgia. He is now Eastern Kentucky University’s dean of “College of Justice and Society” and well-informed from an academic perspective about the [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, News, News Discussion, News Discussion, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Politics, Videos Tags: Allen Ault, Anti-Death Penalty, Death Penalty, Dennis O'Neill, Ed Schultz, Ed Show, Effects of Executions on Executioners, Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison, Jeanne Woodford, Rachel Maddow, Reginald Wilkinson, Rick Perry, Ron McAndrew, Terry Collins, Troy Anthony Davis, Troy Davis 7 Comments »What A “War on Terror” Should Mean vs. What it Has Meant
September 11th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Princeton’s emeritus philosophy professor Michael Walzer is co-editor of Dissent. He is not a George W. Bush yes-man. But he thinks that “war on terror” is a legitimate concept even as many leftish thinkers oppose it as a confusion. People argue that terrorism is a tactic, not a specific enemy you can target. In “Terrorism [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Ethics, Ethics, Morality, Morality, News Discussion, News Discussion, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Politics, Politics, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Torture, Torture, World Affairs, World Affairs Tags: Michael Walzer, Terrorism, Terrorism and Genocide, Walzer on Terrorism, What is Terrorism?, What is wrong with Terrorism? 3 Comments »Bigoted Americans
March 5th, 2011 Daniel Fincke This is some powerfully hateful hypocritical harassment and stupidity right here. It creeps me out to see the American flag, which I love in a deep way, look like a fascist symbol in these nativistic, jingoistic, authoritarian, theocratically Christian Americans’ hands: The YouTube description sums up the context of the above: (ANAHEIM, CA, 3/2/11) — [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Christianity, Free Speech, Free Speech, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Islam, Islam, News, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State Tags: Congressman Gary Miller, Ed Royce 3 Comments »The Religious Conservative's False Choice: "Big Brother" Or "Heavenly Father"
February 23rd, 2011 Daniel Fincke In an e-mail to me, Caroline proposes thought provoking reasons for non-believers to encourage (or at least to not actively discourage) religious beliefs: It would also be nice if people would carry out actions in good conscience of just being decent human beings rather than in fear of reprisal in the afterlife, but as there [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Authority, Authority, Autonomy, Autonomy, Christianity, Christianity, Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Duty, Duty, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, George W. Bush, George W. Bush, Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, News Discussion, News Discussion, Nietzsche, Nietzsche, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy Of Religion, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Psychology, Psychology, Religion, Religion, Religious Extremism, Religious Extremism, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Secularism, Social Psychology, Social Psychology, Sociology, Sociology, Theocrats, Theocrats, Torture, Torture, Virtues, Virtues, World Affairs, World Affairs Tags: Political Philosophy, Social Contract, Victor Frankl 3 Comments »Fear Of Middle Eastern Democracy
February 13th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Watching this video, I’m starting to fear those who have seemingly no belief in either the intrinsic value or potential effectiveness of democracy as much as I fear Islamism: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Your Thoughts?
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Barack Obama, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, George W. Bush, News, News Discussion, News Discussion, Politics, Politics, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, World Affairs, World Affairs Tags: Conservatives, Democracy, Egypt, Glenn Beck, Hosni Mubarak, Muslim Brotherhood, Rachel Maddow 1 Comment »Should We Fear An Influential Muslim Brotherhood Would Push Authoritarian Islamic Policies?
February 2nd, 2011 Daniel Fincke Nathan Brown is a political science professor at George Washington University and director of the school’s Institute for Middle East Studies. He gives an overview of the Muslim Brotherhood’s evolution from their found through to today, explains how their renunciation of violent means came to pass decades ago, why al-Qaeda sees them as sell outs, [...]
TOP Q: Where Are The Lines Between Peaceable Death Penalty Advocacy And Criminal Incitement?
January 29th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Last week a heinous, conscience-shocking injustice occurred when the brave, openly gay, Ugandan gay rights campaigner David Kato (pictured above) was murdered shortly after a Ugandan newspaper featured him on the cover with the headline: “100 PIctures of Uganda’s Top Homos Leak” and the words “Hang Them” next to it. The AP photo of the newspaper [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Bible, Bible, Christopher Hitchens, Christopher Hitchens, Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Free Speech, Free Speech, Gay Rights, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Homosexuality, Islam, Islam, Law, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Politics, Politics, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Today's Open Philosophical Question (TOP Q) Tags: Death Penalty, Hate Speech 1 Comment »Denouncing Political Rhetoric Which Is Indistinguishable From The Manifestos Of Paranoid Madmen
January 12th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Jon Stewart’s remarks about Tucson two nights ago were poignant, conciliatory, honest, humble, and insightful: The Daily Show with Jon StewartGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook Here he hits the nail on the head: I do think it is a worthwhile goal not to conflate our political [...]
The Pope’s Weaselly Excuses For Church Child Abuse In The ’70s
January 11th, 2011 Daniel Fincke On Christmas, the Pope Benedict XVI tried, pathetically, to minimize the Church’s responsibility for the pedophilia scandals: Victims of clerical sex abuse have reacted furiously to Pope Benedict’s claim yesterday that paedophilia wasn’t considered an “absolute evil” as recently as the 1970s. In his traditional Christmas address yesterday to cardinals and officials working in Rome, [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Christianity, Christianity, Featured, Feminism, Feminism, Politics, Politics, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Benedict XVI, Rape, Religion, Religion, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church Tags: Child Abuse, Feminism, Jason Thibeault, Pedophilia, Pedophilia in The Church, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Revolution 19 Comments »On The Uses And Abuses Of Religion In Art: The Lines Between Expression, Tolerance, Respect, Fear, and Torture
December 30th, 2010 Daniel Fincke Gary Bauer thinks Christians aren’t treated as well as Muslims in America because there are greater quantities of art works which use Christian symbols in ways that offend Bauer’s sensibilities than there are ones that use Muslim symbols in ways that would offend Muslim sensibilities: in a variety of contexts, American Muslims are treated better [...]
Posted in Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Featured, George W. Bush, George W. Bush, Islam, Islam, Koran, Koran, Politics, Politics, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics Tags: Blasphemy, Christianity, Cruelty, Danish Cartoons, Gary Bauer, Mockery, Muslims, Offending Religious Sensibilities, Respect vs. Fear, South Park, South Park Depicting Mohammed, Tolerance, Torture 3 Comments »Projecting US Pathologies Onto Muslims
October 29th, 2010 Daniel Fincke Glenn Greenwald offers a mirror for those of us who worry about the elements of theocratic expansionism which are enough a part of the Koran and early Islamic history to be considered potentially dangerous forms of the religion itself on its own terms (and not just of its appropriation by political agents): I’m always amazed [...]
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