Fish Wars Update

Ring of Fire Enterprises Blog Page: "Fish Wars in the News
From The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 1999, p. A24:

Take a look at the bumpers in this northern California town normally known more for wine than religious controversy. Skip Keyser, a nuclear engineer turned real estate agent, has a Darwin fish on his pickup truck. 'It shows my belief in evolution as opposed to creationism,' he says. Joel Levitt, a therapist in town, put a fish emblem emblazoned 'Gefilte' ... 'I'm Jewish and I thought it was cute,' says Mr. Levitt. 'I often see people in my rearview mirror staring and trying to figure it out.'"

The Rev's Blog

The Rev's Blog: "School has anti-discrimination policy. US Military discriminates against openly gay people.

So the School says that the US military cannot recruit on its campus because they violate the schools anti-discrimination policy.

Then the Justice department says 'As we argued in our brief, we believe Congress may deny federal funds to universities which discriminate, and may act to protect the men and women of our armed forces in their ability to recruit Americans who wish to join them in serving our country.'

Congress can deny funds to a school for discriminating against people who discriminate against gay people?

My head hurts...."

Fish Wars

Ring of Fire Enterprises Blog Page: "Fish Wars in the News
From The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 1999, p. A24:
Take a look at the bumpers in this northern California town normally known more for wine than religious controversy. Skip Keyser, a nuclear engineer turned real estate agent, has a Darwin fish on his pickup truck. 'It shows my belief in evolution as opposed to creationism,' he says. Joel Levitt, a therapist in town, put a fish emblem emblazoned 'Gefilte' ... 'I'm Jewish and I thought it was cute,' says Mr. Levitt. 'I often see people in my rearview mirror staring and trying to figure it out.'"

Fish Wars in the News

Ring of Fire Enterprises Blog Page: "Fish Wars in the News
From The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 1999, p. A24:
Take a look at the bumpers in this northern California town normally known more for wine than religious controversy. Skip Keyser, a nuclear engineer turned real estate agent, has a Darwin fish on his pickup truck. 'It shows my belief in evolution as opposed to creationism,' he says. Joel Levitt, a therapist in town, put a fish emblem emblazoned 'Gefilte' ... 'I'm Jewish and I thought it was cute,' says Mr. Levitt. 'I often see people in my rearview mirror staring and trying to figure it out.'"

Fresh Fish

For Entertainment Purposes Only: : "Nona Williams is a co-proprietor of Ring of Fire, a Darwin fish vendor and creator of freethought-friendly plaques and stickers. Several customers called ROF asking for something with which to fight back, against the Jesus-eating-Darwin sticker.

Williams is not a violent person. The new plaque she created is sure to provoke some violent reactions, however. It depicts the Darwin fish and the Jesus fish forming what Shakespeare jauntily termed the beast with two backs."

Capture the Jesus flag: 'Darwin fish'

Ring of Fire's Darwin fish emblem is seen as a symbol of capturing the enemy's flag.

Science Blog : "In several respects, displaying the Darwin fish is the symbolic equivalent of capturing and desecrating an enemy's flag, an act of ritual aggression,' said Dr. Tom Lessl, an associate professor of speech communication at the University of Georgia who studies the rhetoric of science. 'The Darwin symbol's obvious emulation of a religious symbol gives it unique power to express ridicule in a vivid and symbolically pointed fashion.'"

The Fish Wars

The Fish Wars: "The Darwin fish decal affirms a person's acceptance of the scientific evidence for evolution. People who use Darwin decals may think that evolution disproves the existence of God -- a worldview opposed to religious belief. As a parody of the Christian symbol, it expresses a not-so-subtle attack on Christianity. One company who sells Darwin fish, California-based Ring of Fire, says that they consider it a parody of the 'creationist theory supported by fundamentalist Christians.' "

Darwinists Strike Again In Ichthus Fish Car Emblem Battle

The Holy Observer: Darwinists Strike Again In Ichthus Fish Car Emblem Battle:
SAN FRANCISCO, CA The creators of the notorious Darwin Fish car emblem have developed a controversial new product designed to win a decisive victory in a battle that has raged for a decade now. In a move hailed by supporters as the final blow in that battle, Ring of Fire Enterprises is set to release their newest product, a silver outline of a Tyrannosaurus Rex eating the creationist Truth Fish"

Prevent Dogma Attacks

From Ring of Fire Enterprises : "Prevent Dogma Attacks with this "No Preaching Sign"

This molded plastic sign has padded adhesive strips on the back with which to attach it to your front door. Imagine never having to interrupt your meal to answer the knock of door-to-door disciples. " Ring of Fire Enterprises also sells Darwin fish and various other fish symbols for cars.

We Are Stardust

"Scientists tell us that an ancient supernova may have jump-started evolution. Scientists from the Technical University of Munich found radioactive dust on the floor of the Pacific Ocean that is likely to have come from an exploding supernova. They dated the stardust to around 2.8 million years ago. The supernova that sent matter flying across space to Earth would have been relatively close, and would have caused an increase in cosmic rays battering Earth, team leader Gunther Korschinek told Discovery.com.
The bombardment of cosmic rays, which has lasted about 300,000 years, might have caused a slight warming of Earth's climate. Scientists note that 2.8 million years ago, Africa became warmer and more arid, causing trees to decline and giving rise to grasslands and marshes. It was this climate change, anthropologists believe, that prompted early hominids to climb down from the trees and start walking upright. "

For those of us who do believe in evolution and honor science, we proudly display our symbol, the Darwin Fish.

Chilling News

Ring of Fire Blog Page:

Just when we thought things couldn't get much worse, Susan Crawford of the Cardozo Law School found a brief suggesting that the FCC aspires to control and ostensibly censor the internet. She comments:

We should care because if the FCC has the power to act on anything that has something to do with communication, we have only the FCC's self-restraint to rely on when it comes to all internet communications. We should care because we want open platforms and open communications to continue. We should care because the future of the internet is at stake -- the FCC will use its 'ancillary jurisdiction' to impose 'social policies' on any services that use the internet protocol, and will point to its broadcast flag action as support for its jurisdictional claims.

The internet is one of the few remaining instruments of democracy left to us but how much longer?"

Censorship by the FCC

Ring of Fire Enterprises Blog Page:
"Can you say 'reproductive rights'? Not, if you're a sponsor of NPR radio station, WUNC, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The general manager of the station has a sponsor interested in women's reproductive rights internationally, but the station made them change the term to 'reproductive health'. The reason was to avoid trouble with the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC prohibits public radio stations from airing underwriting announcements that advocate political, social or religious causes.

'We can accept sponsorships and make announcements from advocacy groups, but we can't use advocacy language,' said general manager Joan Siefert Rose. 'Unfortunately, the FCC doesn't specify what that is. There's no list of forbidden terms. The only way to find out if you've stepped over the line is if someone challenges it and the FCC issues a fine. So we are always pretty conservative in interpreting the announcements we make.'

The FCC will act on complaints from as few as three people. Buzzflash obtained the following information through the Freedom of Information Act:
... the latest big fine by the FCC against a TV network -- a record $1.2 million against Fox for its 'sexually suggestive' Married by America -- was brought about by a mere three people who actually composed letters of complaint. Yes, just three people

I examined the complaints and found that all but two of them were virtually identical. In other words, one person took the time to write a letter and 20 other people then photocopied or merely emailed it to the FCC many times. They all came from an automated complaint factory... Only two letters were not the form letter.

So in the end, that means that a grand total of three citizens bothered to take the time to sit down and actually write a letter of complaint"

Double Standard

Ring of Fire Enterprises Blog Page: "Double-Standard
There was a time, not so long ago in our history, when our society's dress code required that women wear dresses. Only men could wear pants. I sometimes wonder how those frontier women managed to do all that work in those long, uncomfortable skirts. Thankfully, times have changed and now we can wear pants, shorts, etc., but the dress code for men is still proscribed, although Brad Pitt believes that men will eventually wear skirts.

Mel Gibson wore a skirt in Braveheart, Russell Crowe wore one in Gladiator, heck, even that dude who played Shaka Zulu wore one. Now, Reuters reports that Brad Pitt believes that men may start wearing skirts in general:
'Actor Brad Pitt said Sunday that fashion-conscious men may be wearing Greek-style skirts soon after his big-budget film about the Trojan War opens this week.

''... Men will be wearing skirts by next summer. That's my prediction and proclamation,' he said with a laugh. 'The film answers to both genders. We were going for realism and Greeks wore skirts all the time then.''
Men won't be wearing skirts any time soon if the homophobes in the red states can stop it.

A homecoming tradition in which boys dress like girls and vice versa in a tiny Texas school district won't be held Wednesday after a parent complained about what she regarded as the event's homosexual overtones.

As a substitute for 'TWIRP Day,' the two schools, an elementary and high school, decided to hold 'Camo Day' with black boots and Army camouflage to be worn by everyone who wants to participate.

One parent said:
'It's like experimenting with drugs. You just keep playing with it and it becomes customary. ... If it's OK to dress like a girl today, then why is it not OK in the future?'

Why, indeed?

Indiana Interstate 69

Hostettler mounting campaign to change the name of Interstate 69: "John Hostettler, the Congressman representing the 8th district of Indiana, has been convinced by local religious groups to introduce legislation in the House that would change the name of an Interstate 69 extension to a more moral sounding number."

Culture Wars = Fish Wars

Ring of Fire Enterprises Blog Page: "Culture Wars = Fish Wars
Yesterday I heard from a friend who expressed bitter feelings about the election and she commented, 'We should have let the south secede.' I understand her sentiments when I look at that sea of red in the south and midwest, but we have an army of blue people who live in red states. These are people who've written to us to report that their cars were vandalized or they were harassed by people who were angry because of a symbol of free-thought on their cars.
One of the goals in war is to capture the enemy's flag. This is what the Darwin fish accomplished when it arrived on the scene in the early 1990s. Our opponents countered by creating a large fish named truth that devoured the Darwin fish. Our first response was to create the ProCreation fish, followed by the wildly popular Reality Bites fish.

We will continue to fight for our side in this war between the blues and reds and we thank our customers and like-minded people who battle on, whereever they reside, in blue states, red states, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands. "

Letter from Bigot Bob Jones

Ring of Fire Enterprises Blog Page: "Letter from Bigot Bob Jones
From Democrat Underground:
Dear Mr. President

The media tells us that you have received the largest number of popular votes of any president in America's history. Congratulations!

In your re-election, God has graciously granted America - though she doesn't deserve it - a reprieve from the agenda of paganism. You have been given a mandate. We the people expect your voice to be like the clear and certain sound of a trumpet. Because you seek the Lord daily, we who know the Lord will follow that kind of voice eagerly.

Don't equivocate. Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ. Honor the Lord, and He will honor you."

Evolution of the Darwin Fish

Ring of Fire Enterprises Blog Page: "Evolution of the Darwin Fish
New York Times Article:
It all began on that fateful day when one fish evolved legs. Suddenly transformed from a silver swimmer into a bold pioneer, this creature stood on the threshold of what would become an explosion of evolutionary diversification. But this flowering of forms would be played out, not in the muck... "

The Poor Man

The Poor Man: "Bush has nominated Alberto Gonzales to replace John Ashcroft as Attorney General. Yup, that Alberto Gonzales. On the minus side, Gonzales thinks that the Magna Carta is a dangerous piece of judicial activism. On the plus side, he grew up in a two-bedroom house. So it's kind of a rags-to-fascism success story, which shows that the American dream is still alive, albeit with a bit more torture.
Later in the day, Bush is expected to tap Lyndie England to replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense, and later in the week Colin Powell will step down to be replaced by that dog that bit all those prisoners at Abu Griab."

Our Civil Liberties

BlogBites. like sound bites. but without the sound.: "The Bill of Rights was not written to protect the American government from the American people, nor to protect the American people from the likes of al-Qaeda or Iraq. It was written to protect the American people from the likes of Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft. "

FOXNews.com - Foxlife - Fox411 - Clint Eastwood's Mystery Political Donation

FOXNews.com - Foxlife - Fox411 - Clint Eastwood's Mystery Political Donation: "'Fahrenheit' DVD Beating 'The Passion' in Sales
Everyone's looking for an indicator in the presidential election, something besides the conventional polls. So here's one more bit of information: Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is way ahead of Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ' on the DVD bestseller list.
Moore, of course, is an outspoken supporter of Sen. John Kerry, while Gibson is firmly pro-President George W. Bush.
Gibson, in fact, had a public tiff last week with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger when the latter came out in support of stem-cell research.
Could Moore and Gibson � with the two most controversial films of 2004 � be weather vanes for tomorrow's voting?
On Amazon.com, 'Fahrenheit' is holding steady at No. 8, while 'The Passion' is well below it at No. 38."

Joho the Blog: Prayers of Mass Destruction

Joho the Blog: Prayers of Mass Destruction: "I personally pray the Rapture comes before Nov. 2 and that it takes Bush and his cronies to Hell to do some nation-building."