Hall and Oates?

I've been a closet Hall & Oates fan for years, but now with their recent surprise appearance on the "hip and irreverent" Daily Show with Jon Stewart, maybe I can finally come out of the pop music closet. Here is their appearance paying tribute to the lone liberal on Fox News.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Hall & Oates Pay Tribute to Alan Colmes

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

FFRF in the News

FFRF (the Freedom From Religion Foundation) has created quite a stir recently in my state. They installed an engraved sign at the state capitol that reads:

"At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail.
There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.
There is only our natural world.
Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts
and enslaves minds."

Somehow these words have deeply offending the "silent majority" (as a reporter on Fox referred to our Christian residents.)Isn't it funny how their faith is never quite strong enough to withstand a little criticism. The reason that the sign is on display is because of a legal decision that declares that the state cannot favor one religion over any other with displays on capitol grounds. That great defender of Christian morality, Bill O'Reilly, has been quite vociferous in his condemnation of the sign and called for protests (what a surprise!) Maybe the whole story of the Crucifixion has given the Christians a perpetual persecution complex, even though they are the majority in this country, and not exactly a silent one. They have said that the sign equals hate speech. I guess they would know about hate speech. Witness the recent passage of prop. 8 in California. The sign may offend these normally loving Christians ("love thine enemy as thyself" and all that), but we still have a thing called "free speech" in this country. Bush and his cohorts haven't done away with that yet (not for the lack of trying.) Nonbelievers need a voice too, and I'm glad that FFRF (of which I am a proud member) is there to lead the way.

Speaking of Christmas: a lovely (and reasonable) gift to give friends and family this season has just been released on DVD. Julia Sweeney's latest monologue Letting Go of God is available on DVD from Amazon.com. I was lucky enough to see Julia perform this live last year, and I saw the film at this year's Seattle International Film Festival. It's brilliant, funny and poignant. Yes, I laughed. I cried. It inspires me when I feel like the "lonely atheist." Here is the trailer from "Letting Go of God."