Friday Link Dump ~10/5/12

• Catholic Moral Authority?
• History of Atheism by Steven Goldman
• On Blasphemy “Blasphemy is not about offending God.  It is about offending theists.  How arrogant must someone be to believe that the creator of the universe could be offended by the speech of an insignificant creature on a random rock hurling through the cosmos?”
• Romney Goes On Offense, Pays For It In First Wave Of Fact Checks
• Obama Looks for 'the Real Mitt Romney'
• If My Guy Loses: Confessions of an Anonymous Partisan
• Global warming is going to start shrinking fish Well, maybe the water is just cold.
• What Earth Sounds Like “NASA on Monday announced the release of what it said was the clearest recording yet of “chorus,” the audio version of the radio signals emitted by the plasma waves in our planet’s Van Allen radiation belts.”
• ~I want this sound as my cell phone ring.  Can any of you “tech people” out there make that happen?
• Reasons for Atheists to Address Islam
• Skull in Underwater Cave May Be Earliest Trace of First Americans
• Pa. Judge: Dismisses FFRF suit but chastises pandering House
• Barton: [*shakes fist] DNA Evidence is a Biblical Concept
• **A Bishop Describes How The Church Invented Hell To Control People (VIDEO)
• Earth 100 million years from now I suspect that cockroaches and sharks will find a way to peacefully coexist.
• The Loom - Science Tattoo Emporium
• Common Parasite Linked to Personalit​y Changes Free Will?
• When imperialis​ts happen to be Muslim
• Energy firm uses 'land grabs' to secure fracking rights from reluctant landowners
• I Wonder A Kickstarter project for a touching book by Annaka Harris Mrs. Harris
• “Creation Evidence Expo” Exposed A skeptic’s take on the “evidence”
• Quantum Teleportat​ion Race Heats Up
• Tomb of Maya warrior queen discovered
• The Other Believers: Mark D. Hatcher, a Black Atheist It irritates me that Black Atheist is a term.  But then it sort of irritates me that we need the word atheist at all.
• More on First ever Etruscan pyramids found in Italy
• California Bans Gay Conversion for Minors This is huge.  Its a public reaffirmation that homosexuality is not  a mental illness as well as recognizing how harmful conversion therapy is.  But let’s be clear, it only prohibits conversion therapy for minors by “state-licensed therapists”.  This by no means eliminates it from use by camp counselors, youth group volunteers or religious leaders of any title.   
• Does this set a record for smug nastiness?
• God Answers Prayers Of Paralyzed Little Boy | The Onion Sometimes the answer is “no.”
• Counting the cost of abuse redress 'Irish religious orders refuse to pay their share of  the compensation bill – leaving taxpayer to pick up the tab'
• Beck: God put Romney behind in polls to prove it’s a miracle when he wins ‘Beck recently told controversial “historian” David Barton...[*shakes fist] “I am to the point that — A — God is trying to make this so clear to us that if it happens, it’s his finger. Because nothing looks good.  And yet, everybody I know who I consider a spiritual giant feels good,” he continued. “And it bothers me that I feel good because, I’m like, there’s no reason that I should feel good on this.”’
• ~Right.  I give Glenn’s mental gymnastics an 8.5.  He was a little wobbly on the dismount.