Comments

1
Sorry but I've got to say it. He's mentally challenged as the result of religious brainwashing. It's a perfect explanation for such irrational bullshit.
2
Fucking science.
3
Fine. Don't teach science in religion classes, and don't try to insert your religious bullshit into science classes. Do we have a deal, Frothy?
4
@1 Eh, I see it as more of a chicken vs. egg problem. Did he turn in to a fucking idiot because of religion, or did he come to religion in the first place because he's a fucking idiot?

(This is not to knock the John Shores and Kim in Portlands of the world. There is a specific type of American Christianity, which I had the misfortune of being raised in, which not only attracts delusional morons like Rick Santorum, it actually tends to make them worse.)
5
deep deep end. seriously he has no following even from the lunatic right.

science should get out of education too. politics should be left to the church. in fact, the church should be the government. what a great idea!
6
If the system weren't so currupt, he'd be saying 'politics should get out of science'.
7
I'm convinced only Santorum's buffoonery, delusion and hubris are giving him press.
8
I would never have thought a high-tech dark ages was possible, but apparently it is... we just keep moving further and further from rational and fact based thinking as a society, it's a bit weird and very scary to watch.
9
@8 And if history is prologue, it ends in mass murder.
10
"Science should get out of politics"

I grasp the sentiment, but what does this actually mean?!?

- Politics would be better if it wasn't for some sort of "objective reality"
- Science should quit running for office and should certainly not be beating (the Santorum out of) [Santorum] in the polls
- [Santorum has] no idea what is this "science" of which you speak
- [Santorum's] Religion should be the basis of all political "thought"
11
There are so many obvious responses to this, but none of them are adequate. I'm dumbfounded. It has literally become impossible to discern from content alone whether a quote is from Fox News, a Republican presidential candidate, The Colbert Report, or The Onion.
12
He dreams of an oligarchic theocracy: 19th century Spain or Russia without a king or czar. There would be lots of god-fearing uneducated peasants who would do as they were told for sarvation wages and just enough skilled labor to make luxury items and houses for the rich. He says Utopia, I say Distopia.
13
grow up
14
@9 - jesus, vince. you hit the nail right on the head, but FUCK, that's a depressing thought.
15
Fuckin' magnets. How do they work?

I've been operating under the optimistic assumption that surely the Republicans have no wish to becomse the Jugalo party... but this recurring theme is making benefit of the doubt difficult.
16
@13 Eat Shit.
17
Rick Santorum should get out of politics.
18
@16: I see what you did there. And I approve.
19
Why anyone would name their child 'Santorum' is beyond me.
20
@8 high tech dark ages! yes! reality more fantastic than fiction! we always wondered what the future would be, the 21st century. some saw technological utopia, some saw nuclear annihilation. but what we get is that fantastic flux of both. we get santorum on the internet! fundamentalism and fiber optic networks! plutocracy and sex robots!
21
@4, (Hernandez)

One could wonder if his response is due to the stress of maintaining his belief system. If we consider that he was raised in the culture of his beliefs then those beliefs are connected to rituals, ceremonies, childhood experiences, group identities, and family traditions. All of which can combine to form positive emotional memories. Often times the long haul of maintaining a belief system begins to demand intellectual gymnastics which can involve selective attention (gays bad), selective interpretation (shrimp and mixed fibers good), and selective evaluation. (Selective evaluation is fascinating because it sees complimentary or congruent events as more important than incongruent ones. Hence 'miraculous' cures always outweigh reports of innumerable failed ones or one archaeligical finding that supports a biblical passage is worth more than multiple ones that contradict it.) I find life is easier to discard and turn away from things that don't pass my scrutinization, but others don't. From experience, so it is a small sample size, it comes down to those positive emotional experiences that I mentioned earlier. The individuals will extend a lot of intellectual and emotional energy defending their religious beliefs to protect those positive memories and experiences, and perhaps to avoid feeling guilty about updating/betraying family, friends, and teachers who share those memories and experiences. I imagine it is like a giant scale, when the pros and cons stay balanced or weighted to the pros individuals are more likely to employ selective attention, selective interpretation, and selective evaluation to maintain a net positive for religion. And when the scale tips to the negative then people can start letting go and some move on to other denominations and some leave all together as the weight of the cons appears insurmountable. Maybe you have some of the same experiences? For those who stay gone, I think it indicates that have found answers that many find within religion: alleviation of anxiety over uncertainty, tragedy, and death; a moral code to follow; group idenity and cohesion; occasions for joy and celebration... all very human needs. Just my $0.02 on the subject. And thanks.
22
@4 blame Santorum's parents. We're still many generations before social evolution selects out these idiots and societal Darwin wins.
23
If Santorum is so obsessed with "God's will" etc., then why are he and his wife continuing to subject their youngest to all sorts of scientific medical treatments? How does this square at all?

And if evolution is political, creation is too. What shall our children be taught in biology classes then?
24
@19: much LOLs
25
@21 Kim, that was spot on. I have had some of those same experiences. When I start to hit the point where the "intellectual gymnastics" started to become necessary in order to maintain the belief system I was raised in, that was a big red flag for me and I chose to walk away. It is difficult to maintain those positive memories from childhood after the mess of it all starts to unravel, but I'm glad I've move on and I'm grateful for the answers I've found in other places.

I always enjoy hearing your $0.02 on these matters. Thanks for responding.
26
@16: I found you this.

Santorum is a moron.
27
Get your politics out of my science. Just when you think he can't get any lower. Normally when I picture people with his views I think of some 90 year old racist grandma that everyone is afraid of introducing to anyone outside their family.
28
9

too late, buzz
there're already slaughtering a million people a year...
29
21

The best form of "christianity" is the one where you make up any shit you want to believe and say "wow, that feels good" and loudly and frequently proclaim yourself a "christian".

oh look- lint in my bellybutton!
mmmmm.......lint is warm.....mommmmmy.....
30
22

So how is Darwin cumming at breeding homosexuals out of existence?

Is AIDS a shortcut Darwin invented to hasten the process?

And suicide,
is that a Social Darwinistic construct to cleanse the species of defective material?
31
@30: Homosexuality is known in bonobos and chimpanzees, which diverged from humans about 7 million years ago. Assuming the more parsimonious possibility (that homosexual behavior was present in the ancestral population), homosexuality as a phenotype has persisted for 7 million years at least. Detrimental traits tend to go to extinction in much less time than that, Alleged; the fact that homosexuality still exists (and has relatively high prevalence) suggests that it is not inherently detrimental. Please leave the evolutionary biology to people trained in the subject.
@29: Yeah, exactly like the early Catholic Church (pre-Reformation) did. Look through Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox religious traditions and see how much of it actually comes from Scripture rather than interpretation and analogy. (This is a trait common to pretty much all religions.)
32
When there is only one homophobe left, I hope it is Santorum, so he can be put on display at some museum, and parents can take their children, and say, "yes honey, those people did exist, watch, ask him something and you'll see that he's not kidding" and then afterwards take their children for ice cream or some other soul-cleansing food.
33
31

Are incest, rape, cannibalism and poo flinging also found among our primate cousins?
Is pedophilia not detrimental?
Just because something exists and persists does not mean it is beneficial to foster it among humans.

And 2% is a "relatively high prevalence"? Really?
Now a 20% infection rate; THAT's a relatively high prevalence....

.

Oh Yeah.
The Popes, Kim and ButtFuck Jews.
Perverting Scripture for 3000 years.......
34
@31: any time I see *alleged* called out, I think about our cherished commenter Uriel-238. Hope all is well with him.
35
@21 - kim, i wish there were more like you and fewer like santorum.

@25 - hernandez, i had the same experience. i left not because the cons started to outweigh the pros, but because i found that some level of intellectual gymnastics (a little with some things and an extraordinary amount with others) was required to maintain ANY of the beliefs i had cherished since childhood. a lot of my formerly golden childhood memories became tarnished as a result, but some remain. in either case, a less-falsely-rosy view of my childhood is a price i'm incredibly willing to pay to move forward in my life with intellectual honesty and integrity - or, at least, the pursuit of those things. gawd knows i'm not perfect.
36
@33: Bitch, please.
We're talking about phenotypic traits, not actions. You can't apply Darwinian reasoning to everything, you know. OH WAIT. You don't know!
37
36
there is as much evidence of a genetic link to pedophilia as to homosexuality.
38
Rick Santorum for Pope!
39
@37: Evidence, motherfucker; do you have it?
40
39

Evidence of homosexuality as a phenotype?

No.

Do you?
41
@40: Evidence of a genetic link to pedophilia.
There's loads of evidence for sexual orientation as a phenotype; some people are solely attracted to people of the opposite gender, some to people of the same gender, and some to people of both genders.
I don't think you know what a phenotype is. Can you tell me the definition?
42
41

You're stalling.

Can you cite any proof of homosexuality as a phenotype?
43
@42: Are you saying that there are not any people who are exclusively attracted to people of the same gender?
A phenotype is a physical or behavioral trait, as opposed to genotype, which is a purely genetic trait. I really think you don't know what I'm talking about.
44
I wish politics would get out of politics.
45
What level Wizard is he?
46
@45: Grand Wizard, I'd say.
47
@4 his Egotism uses religion as a tool. Was he born that way, or made? Ultimately, who cares; he's just another asshole leaking noxious effluences at both ends.
48
@46, fuckin' ZING!

*brofist*
50
Smells like Santorum!!

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.