Author: Adam Lee

I like to think of myself as a basically honest person. And you’d think that, given that whole “false-witness” thing, Christians would feel the same way. So why are there so many instances where evangelical Christians misrepresent who they are and what they really want to trick people into giving them an audience? Last week,…

Just a note about what’s coming up: Posting will be as normal this week, but on Friday, the 18th, I’m going to Iceland for a week’s vacation. I’ll schedule some greatest-hits posts while I’m away so things don’t get too quiet around here, and I’ll check in as I’m able to approve comments and answer…

Atlas Shrugged, part II, chapter III Entering Rearden’s office, Dr. Floyd Ferris wore the expression of a man so certain of the success of his quest that he could afford a benevolent smile. Rearden asks why he requested an appointment, and Ferris says it’s in regard to the five thousand tons of Rearden Metal that…

This article on the Daily Beast by Jay Michaelson spotlighted a trend that I’ve noticed and wondered about the reasons for: in America these past few years, LGBT rights are making great strides, while women’s rights continue to fall further and further behind. The contrast between the health of these two progressive causes is striking,…

So far this year, a rightward-leaning Supreme Court has issued two major rulings granting sweeping new privileges to religious belief. Atheists and secularists in America are angry and frustrated, and it’s natural to wonder when we’ll have a government that heeds our wishes. Is there any prospect of an atheist president any time soon, or…

Terry Pratchett is famous for his Discworld fantasy series, but he’s tried his hand at science fiction as well. His most recent effort in this vein, in collaboration with the author Stephen Baxter, is The Long Earth, which is based on an idea that predates the Discworld books and that he’s only now decided to…

Atlas Shrugged, part II, chapter III Now that we’ve seen Lillian’s reaction to her discovery of Hank’s affair, let’s flash back briefly. Earlier in the chapter, while Hank and Dagny were in bed together, she said this to him: “Hank, I want nothing from you except what you wish to give me. Do you remember…

The Supreme Court handed down its Hobby Lobby decision this week, and it was as bad as many of us had feared. In a 5-4 ruling (of course), five conservative male justices handed down the worst church-state decision in years, possibly even worse than the atrocious Hein decision: that a privately held corporation can impose…

I used to admire and look up to Richard Dawkins; I really did. But it’s becoming harder for me to remember why. Over the last few years, my esteem for him has sunk lower and lower in response to a steady stream of callous, ill-thought-out or just plain ignorant remarks he’s made. And last week,…

Atlas Shrugged, part II, chapter III After the disastrous ending of Jim Taggart’s wedding party, Hank drops Lillian off at the train station, telling her he has to stay in New York for some more business appointments the next day. Then he goes straight to Dagny’s apartment for that hot capitalist lovin’ he missed out…