Great Brunch! We're all a-twitter!

Excellent turnout for brunch this morning with a nice broad spectrum of age groups represented, including three new people. Yay!

About half the table spent most of the time talking about religion, and the other half about science and stuff. There was even a moment when a calculus textbook was whipped out to settle a debate. Thankfully, it wasn't used to beat anybody over the head.

Let's all give Martha a big virtual high five for organizing this event. There were hints of somebody else possibly organizing a movie night in the near future, but I won't out them until it's official and scheduled.

M.A.S.S. now has a presence on Twitter. If you're on Twitter, start following us. If not, get signed up so you can receive last minute updates right on your phone of where we'll be meeting up. Should be easier to find us in crowded places when we can pinpoint the exact table we're at.

Break for Brunch (Spring only comes once a year!)

Spring is almost here and it's been a while since M.A.S.S. got together, so to celebrate the Spring Equinox, member Martha Thayer has volunteered to get us all to gather downtown at Break Espresso.

Where: 432 N. Higgins
When 10:00 AM, Saturday, March 21st

If you're not sure who to look for, Martha says she'll be wearing a plaid shirt and she says Russ will have a bald head. And just in case that's not enough, we'll be sure to have a Buddy Christ Bobblehead prominently displayed on the table. ( http://jayandsilentbob.com/buchbo.html )

So, don't be shy. Mosey on down and join us.

The Missoula Area Secular Society (M.A.S.S.) is a loose knit group of Missoula, Montana area atheists, secular humanists, agnostics, skeptics, free-thinkers, rationalists, pastafarians, non-theists, teapot agnostics, post-theists, empiricists and other citizens unencumbered by superstition who enjoy socializing with other like minded Missoulians.

M.A.S.S. Discovers "HMS Beagle" (The Drink)

Thanks to those M.A.S.S. members who came out tonight to help celebrate the 200th Birthday of Charles Darwin. The turnout was a little light (probably due, in part, to the late notice), but we had a good time anyway. The excuses given by some for not attending (ranging from children's recitals to studying for an organic chemistry exam) were all good and would have been approved by Charles himself.

We had a fun discussion on whether or not an interbreeding population of non-microscopic organisms could ever diverge into two distinct species. A potential scenario or two were suggested, but since none of the attendees were willing to claim expertise in the subject, the topic went unresolved.

We then migrated to the pool table and were eventually down to just Dan, Nick, and I plugging our quarters into the table playing "Survival of the Fittest" (aka "Cutthroat"). About that time a group of people sat down at a table near us and told the server they wanted to invent a drink named "The Beagle" in honor of Charles Darwin's Birthday. I searched for and quickly found an inopportune moment to butt into their conversation and ask if I heard right (which I did).

We ended up talking a few times and it turns out that one of them is actually a member of the M.A.S.S. Facebook group (Amy, I think?). I suggested their drink should actually be named "The HMS Beagle" which they didn't object to, and we talked more about the drink's evolutionary history.

Apparently, it's original form was part Captain Morgan's Rum, and part Liquid Ice. However, like any good drink honoring the discoverer of Natural Selection, it immedietly began to mutate and evolve. The particular mutation I tried included pinapple juice (very sweet, but good). The final verdict, as I understood, was that the drink's base pair is Captain Morgan's and Liquid Ice, but should then be selectively bred with other concoctions to fit your particular taste.

Maybe on November 24th (the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On The Origin of Species") we'll discover a Blue Footed Booby drink. I hear that it makes the drinker amusingly clumsy yet fills men with an overwhelming desire to do elaborate dances involving stomping their feet, looking at the sky, stretching their arms out, and flaunting their feet to the nearest female. Women who partake of the drink are said to find this behavior highly arousing..., or so I hear.

Happy Birthday Charles Darwin!

Charles Darwin turns 200 years old on Thursday, which seems like as good a reason as any to gather for drinks and dialog.

Who: You!
When: Thursday, Feb 12th, 7:00pm
Where: The Chicken Lounge (122 W. Alder. Go in the front or back door of Double Front Chicken, then go downstairs. If you go in the front door, walk part way through the dining room and the door to the stairs will be on your right. If you go in the back door, you can't miss the stairs.)
Why: To celebrate the birth of one of the most important scientists in history.

If you're new and not sure who to look for, Jon will be wearing his "DARWIN08" Campaign T-Shirt.

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What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate

Thanks to one of our newest M.A.S.S. members (Bill) for letting me know that any email sent to me at this domain wasn't getting through (and apparently hasn't been since mid November). It should be fixed now though. So, if anybody has tried sending anything (words of wisdom, well wishes, event ideas, death threats, etc) to jon@that-domain-up-there-in-the-address-bar.org, anytime since mid November, please go hunt it down in your sent mail box and send it again. Thanks.

Birds, Beer & Blasphemy

Now that we've all recovered from the Solstice Holiday celebrations (hopefully), it's about time we got together again to share some good conversation over good food and good beer.

This time, we'll meet at the Chicken Lounge. To get there, go downtown to Double Front Chicken (122 W. Alder) (you can also go in the back door off of Railroad street), then find the stairs and go down. A juke box and pool table are available to accept any coins you'd like to feed them.

If you're new or not sure who to look for, Jon will be wearing his Easter shirt, which should be hard to miss.

Missoulian Letter to the Editor

There's a wonderful letter to the editor in last Friday's Missoulian that I just noticed. What's even better is that (now that the Missoulian has finally enabled people to post comments on the website) all the comments (so far) to the letter are generally positive (by my standards). Since the Missoulian doesn't like to keep "news" around for more than a day or two, I'll post the full text of the letter and the responses as of today below to keep for posterity.

In 2005, a Bush-appointed judge brought the “intelligent design” movement to a halt - yet another case lost by creationists. Decidedly not an activist judge, John Jones wrote, “(t)his case came to us as the result of the activism of an ill-informed faction on the (Dover, Pa.) school board.”

“ ... (P)roponents of ID make a bedrock assumption which is utterly false ... that evolutionary theory is antithetical to ... religion.” On the contrary, “evolution represents good science, is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, and ... it in no way conflicts with ... the existence of a divine creator.” (Google Kitzmiller v. Dover for the complete text.)

Unwilling to make themselves knowledgeable about why the board’s actions were unconstitutional, good Christians sent death threats instead. Turning Christian against Christian, Pat Robertson tells Dover: “If there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God. You just rejected him from your city.”
Thoroughly contrived, fundamentalists maintain the debate by distortion and compulsory ignorance of what evolution is, or is not. And the Dover school district paid a huge price for it ($1 million). Yet, the ignorance doesn’t have to be.

One can begin with Humes’ “Monkey Girl,” a well-written overview of the Dover trial. But, additionally, this year is the 150th publication anniversary of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” and the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth. The first edition of “Origin” is a great read.

I have read the Bible; you read “Origin.” If that is too intimidating, read Quammen’s “The Reluctant Mr. Darwin.” Even this month’s Scientific American is dedicated entirely to evolution: past, present and future.

Making one’s self better informed about the inanity of this endless debate - which has less to do with God than faulty ideology - may require some reading outside the box. But, after all, can more Dovers be the answer?

W. Bennington, Polson

Vrede wrote on Jan 9, 2009 9:00 AM:

" Darwinists argue that species evolve through the natural selection of populations with advantageous mutations.

Alternatively, creationists claim that some species could only have arisen through "intelligent design." This is the 'God is a Practical Joker Theory,' since she/he left so much evidence supporting natural evolution.

I agree that any opinion, no matter how lacking in evidence, should be presented in science classes. So, I demand that my own 'Theory of Stupid Design' be taught in our schools.

Evolution would never have led to the arrival of a species that destroys its own habitat, wrecks the climate and threatens mass extinction through nuclear irradiation. This contradicts evolution's tendency towards survival and would have already led to all species' elimination.

Further, "intelligent design" could not have resulted in humanity selecting as our leaders George Bush, Pat Robertson and some of the nation’s school boards. Nor could "intelligent design" have led to the most powerful nation on earth believing that, after 1,000 years of failure, a white, Christian occupation of Iraq would work this time.

It's just common sense to realize that our planetary situation could only arise if someone really dumb were calling the shots. It's too far-fetched to be an accident. "

Lucky wrote on Jan 9, 2009 9:24 AM:

" Nice try W., but you don't really expect the whackos to actually read books do you? As to your question "...can more Dovers be the answer?". It looks like the answer is a resounding Yes. Oklahoma is trying to pass the "Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act", designed to address "scientific controversies" like evolution and Mississippi wants another stupid textbook sticker. And of course there is also the Louisiana "Academic Freedom Act" which Bobby Jindal signed into law. So,I don't really see a lot of progress since Dover.

I would also add to your list "Evolution: What the Fossils Say & Why It Matters" by Don Prothero. To everybody else: Please gather all your friends, seek out and attend local Darwin Day (Feb. 12) events. At least try to get some facts before making stupid remarks. Vigilance! "

Mulligan wrote on Jan 9, 2009 4:55 PM:

" Amen, W. The "good" Christians don't practice what they preach very often. Instead of turning the other cheek, they'd rather kill those who disagree.

I like Vrede's Theory of Stupid Design, too. That would explain a lot, wouldn't it?

I'd add that people could Google Richard Dawkin's website and find out quite a bit about evolution science. "

Gene Johnson wrote on Jan 10, 2009 11:58 AM:

" Here's another easy-to-read thin book as an introduction: WHY DARWIN MATTERS: THE CASE AGAINST INTELLIGENT DESIGN by Michael Shermer (2006).

Lucky, I agree about getting more public awareness of the Feb 12 Darwin Day. In Oregon a skeptic group makes quite an educational day of it.

I would like to see several communities (certainly Polson) have monthly discussion get-togethers on this and related topics. And then occasional larger combined meetings for interested people. There are a lot of people in Montana who think like Mr. Bennington - but very few speak out or write letters. Too bad. By default, religion just goes on and on and on. Daniel Dennett's book, BREAKING THE SPELL, gives a compelling explanation of why religion sustains so well - great book...but not one theists would enjoy. It would make a fantastic "book club" discussion. Anyone interested? "

Way to go letter writer and commenters. The last writer makes a note of upcoming Darwin Day and refrences an Oregon Skeptic Group. He might be interested in learning that the local Missoula Skeptic Group is planning just such an event. Stay tuned, I'll link from here to anything I hear about it.