Category Archives: Freedoms / Rights

If you think an innocent man doesn’t need a lawyer…

By thecodepounder | Published January 25, 2010

…then consider for a moment the fact that nearly one quarter (25%) of the cases of DNA exoneration in the United States involve a false confession. Remember that the next time you say to yourself that you (or your kid) would never confess to something you didn’t do…

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Cringely on homeland security

By thecodepounder | Published January 11, 2010

Contrast these three situations: 1) you are sitting in a hotel bar in Mongolia and want to use your Visa card to buy a round of drinks for your friends, and; 2) your Mom is at the check-out counter at a Sears store when the clerk asks her if she wants to apply for a [...]

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Prop. 8 trial begins today

By thecodepounder | Published January 11, 2010

Let’s hope that freedom and equality win out over mere belief…

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Wilson County, Tennessee schools agree to end Bible distribution

By thecodepounder | Published January 10, 2010

Another victory for religious freedom.
So here’s the setup: one day, in Wilson County, Tennessee, the principal of Carroll-Oakland Elementary School brings all the students from the whole school into the gym, where she introduces representatives of the Gideons and explains why they are there, and then proceeds to tell the whole student body about the [...]

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Family Guy pisses off the Parents Television Council

By thecodepounder | Published December 16, 2009

So it must be one hell of a fucking-A good show. I hate to make blanket statements–I’m willing to bet that there’s something the PTC and I both agree shouldn’t be on TV–but as a general rule,  anything that pisses off the PTC is okey-dokey with me.
These people first came to my attention following the [...]

Also posted in Entertainment, Family, Psychology / Human Nature, Television | | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Support for same-sex marriage by age and state

By thecodepounder | Published November 22, 2009

The data supports the notion that younger people are more supportive of gay marriage than older people. I also think it’s interesting that, even in states that we normally consider quite hostile to gay rights (the ones at the bottom of the table), there is still a significant age difference: 18-29 year-olds in Alabama, [...]

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Kentucky’s god in homeland security law unconstitutional

By thecodepounder | Published August 29, 2009

The Kentucky state law requiring the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security to stress “dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the commonwealth” has been struck down as unconstitutional:
“Even assuming that most of this nation’s citizens have historically depended upon God by choice for their protection, this does not give the General [...]

Also posted in Church and State, Government / Law | | Leave a comment

Who knew? Brad Pitt really “gets” it

By thecodepounder | Published August 29, 2009

The Perplexed Observer last week linked to two YouTube clips of Brad Pitt appearing on Bill Maher’s Real Time.  I just got the chance to view the clips and must say I’m completely impressed.  Brad Pitt truly “gets” it.  In response to Maher’s question “What is it about religion you don’t like?”, Pitt succinctly stated:
You [...]

Also posted in Atheism, Church and State, Religion, Skepticism / Rational-Critical Thought, Social Commentary, Television | | Leave a comment

President Obama besieged for reversing Reagan gun control

By thecodepounder | Published August 15, 2009

Here’s one from the you can’t please them all files: President Obama was besieged today at Yellowstone for allowing firearms into National Parks.  The President in May signed into law a provision that reversed Reagan administration gun control (yes, that’s right, Reagan gun control) rules which required that firearms in National Parks remain locked in [...]

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Your god isn’t pro-life

By thecodepounder | Published July 30, 2009

Excellent piece by Daniel Florien at Unreasonable Faith.
For years, I’ve had only a few things to say about the heated and contentious issue of abortion. First and foremost, I don’t “believe in it”. As I’ve said before, I am simply unable to think of a set of circumstances where (given the choice) it would be [...]

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Hitchens: A man’s home is his Constitutional castle

By thecodepounder | Published July 27, 2009

Christopher Hitchens, writing at Slate: A Man’s Home Is His Constitutional Castle:
It is monstrous in the extreme that he should in that home be handcuffed, and then taken downtown, after it had been plainly established that he was indeed the householder. The president should certainly have kept his mouth closed about the whole business—he is [...]

Also posted in Crime and Punishment, Politics, Privacy | | Leave a comment

Tennessee’s restaurant and club owners rejecting new gun-carry law

By thecodepounder | Published June 17, 2009

Tennessee’s restaurant and club owners are rejecting the state’s new “booze it and shoot it” law in droves by establishing policies for their business(es) that prohibit the carrying of firearms on the premises.  Many are concerned with the obvious (well, obvious to everyone but the NRA’s lobbyists and the lawmakers who take their money, er [...]

Also posted in Family, Government / Law, Nashville, Politics, Social Commentary, Tennessee, Workplace / Business | | Leave a comment