Monthly Archives: May 2011

How Italy’s “8 per mille” religious tax works

Posted on May 31, 2011 by

I don’t have much time right now to write a lengthy post on the “8 per mille” (that’s “8 per thousand”) religious tax. It’s an obligatory tax, and the taxpayer must choose which religious confession gets the money. If the … Continue reading →

Posted in Italy, Separation of church and state | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Low-hanging testicles

Posted on May 28, 2011 by

Jerry Coyne has a post commenting on a review of his book Why Evolution Is True at the BioLogos site. Jerry is always funny, and not at all deserving of his reputation in some circles as a misanthrope. If you … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Humanism & Freethought, creationism, Science | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The greatest

Posted on May 24, 2011 by

When I sent a fake Bob Dylan tweet last night before going to bed, I didn’t realize he was turning seventy today. Seventy! I’m not going to go into a long spiel about how Dylan is the greatest songwriter since … Continue reading →

Posted in Marc's Record Collection | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Belief (almost) made me a complete asshole*

Posted on May 22, 2011 by

I’ve been having a debate (what else to call it?) on Facebook lately with a couple of friends over whether religion can be held responsible for its homophobic teachings. I say it can and should, whereas my friends disagree. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Humanism & Freethought, Religious Faith | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Miracle in Petrignano

Posted on May 19, 2011 by

One of the perks of living in Italy is that, no matter where you end up, you are in the realm of miracles. They happen all the time here. But like UFO sightings, hauntings or any other paranormal activity, miracles … Continue reading →

Posted in Man About Rome, Religious Faith, Skepticism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Gotta share!

Posted on May 18, 2011 by

Here’s a funny musical video. Now share it. (via Proud to be an Overseas American)

Posted in Humor, Miscellaneous | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Italian politicians playing on their iPads in Parliament

Posted on May 17, 2011 by

Here are some photos of Italian politicians using their time wisely. In these photos only right-wing parties are represented, but you can be sure that center and left parties are doing the same. If you’re on a Northern League mailing … Continue reading →

Posted in Italy | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Archy the Cockroach takes on the Universe

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

From the incomparable Lives & Times of Archy and Mehitabel by Don Marquis: the universe and archy the inspired cockroach sat and looked at each other satirically you write so many things about me that are not true complained the … Continue reading →

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Ann Widdecombe on the Ten Commandments

Posted on May 15, 2011 by

This woman is a masochist. Via @GodlessAtheist.

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Why Osama’s porn stash matters

Posted on May 14, 2011 by

[The text for this post has been removed.]

Posted in Humor | Tagged | Leave a comment