Wanna talk about abortion?

Exactly. What if it was one day before.

That would be a matter for the law to decide.

But we all know that the 'law is an ass'.

I don't think so.

I'm generally pro-choice, but believe abortion-rights feminists may be caught in a huge contradiction - if an assualt occurs on a pregnant woman where the fetus is killed, they want the assailant to be charged with murder; if that same woman has an abortion, it's an abortion, and her right.

I believe that the U.S. Supreme Court will finally settle some of these issues soon (via revisiting Roe vs. Wade), so the states can enact (or retain) laws to their own satisfaction.

p.s. Do most people in England think we're all religious zealots here?

Well I don't yet get shot at as I arrive for work in my Teenage Sexual Health Clinic, or have to check my car for bombs when I leave. I believe that could be the case in the US.

quote:

Originally posted by bhazen:

p.s. Do most people in England think we're all religious zealots here?

No, we only think half of you lot are religious zealots - but that is approx 150 million of you.

quote:

Originally posted by acad tsunami:

quote:

Originally posted by bhazen:

p.s. Do most people in England think we're all religious zealots here?

No, we only think half of you lot are religious zealots - but that is approx 150 million of you.

Well, that's very annoying. And untrue, thankfully!

quote:

Originally posted by bhazen:

quote:

No, we only think half of you lot are religious zealots - but that is approx 150 million of you.

Well, that's very annoying. And untrue, thankfully!

50% of Americans (150 million) think the worldis six thousand years old. They think they will be personaly 'raptured' up to heaven by God within their own lifetime, followed by an Armageddon welcomed as a harbinger of The Second Coming.

According to a recent Gallop poll only 12% of Americans think life has evolved through a natural process, without the influence of a deity. 31% believe evolution has been influenced God. All the rest believe in Intelligent Design. The same Gallop poll reveals that 53% of Americans are creationistsand that the entire cosmos was created only 6,000 years ago - which is a thousand years after the Sumarians invented glue!

I could go on.

For a quick quide to how 150 million barking mad Americans think take a quick look Creation Museum in America

Not sure about this Gallup poll you cite, but I can assure you 50% of Americans are not zealots; more religious than UK citizens or Europeans, to be sure; and there is a sizable % that are as you describe (maybe 20-30%). Most that are even self-described as evangelical are like my relatives (most of whom are "born again"): thoughtful, civically-minded, and not rigid in their thinking. The vocal minority that support the TV evangelists and show up on Fox denouncing the teaching of Darwin are a minority. Polls can deceive.

BTW, I'm agnostic, slightly to the left in my politics, no dog in the fight. I've also observed that atheists can be every bit as dogmatic and angry as the fundamentalists. See, for example, Christopher Hitchens' new book, God Is Not Great. Why is he so angry?

I tend to agree with bhazen in the interpretation of the numbers, although I think things are going in the wrong direction.

There is a difference between clueless and superficial choices and deep convictions.

On the csicop site there is an CSICOP analysis of polls about evolution.

Note

- the concept "low information sense of relativism" (as in foggy agnosticism).
- One poll shows 80% of americans believe in continent drift happening over millions of years.

I read an article series in the NYTimes a while ago that pitted Intelligent Design against Darwinian Evolution.
The part that was obnoxious to me was the impartial objective approach. Both theories were treated equal. That's a journalistic disease.

Re: the Creation Museum

They had a guy (a "Creation Astrophysicist") on NPR today - if I were a Christian, I'd certainly be embarrassed. My faith wouldn't be buttressed by trying to foist literal interpretations of Scripture upon science...

I also hate when the news media presents two sides of an argument, and doesn't even attempt to point out when whoppers or unprovable statements are uttered.

While we're on the subject, is Sky News in the U.K. as right-wing as Fox News is?

quote:

Originally posted by bhazen:


While we're on the subject, is Sky News in the U.K. as right-wing as Fox News is?

I genuinely don't know but I am told Fox news is far more right wing.

quote:

Originally posted by acad tsunami:


50% of Americans (150 million) think the worldis six thousand years old. They think they will be personaly 'raptured' up to heaven by God within their own lifetime, followed by an Armageddon welcomed as a harbinger of The Second Coming.

According to a recent Gallop poll only 12% of Americans think life has evolved through a natural process, without the influence of a deity. 31% believe evolution has been influenced God. All the rest believe in Intelligent Design. The same Gallop poll reveals that 53% of Americans are creationistsand that the entire cosmos was created only 6,000 years ago - which is a thousand years after the Sumarians invented glue!

I could go on.

For a quick quide to how 150 million barking mad Americans think take a quick look Creation Museum in America

I've seen stats like this bandied about from time to time and they're completely at odds with my experience of living in the US for 3 years in the 80s. I found your average American to be more polite and perhaps lacking slightly in the sense of humour department when compared to your average Brit but apart from that they're just normal folk. The same mixture of nice people and idiots you get anywhere else. To believe that 50% of them are religious lunatics is frankly absurd.