Easter is surely coming up in a while now...and people around are getting excited about it..it's truly a wonderful celebration filled with fun and joy...and to share some of this wonderful spirit also visit my blog on Easter Greetings sometime and enjoy all that i've posted there!!!!    

I just love the fact that you wrote about porn and rubbing one out. This is becoming a naughty, dirty, nasty little blog. It needs a good spanking.    

I get so angry when I read the grocery ads and they advertise kosher foods for Passover! Jews CLEARLY control the media!

That's my way of saying I think you should chill out about some paid advertising segment. You're reading a bit too much into it. And an entire industry geared toward pleasing those who want to "rub one out" DOES exist.

So, I think you need to consider the possibility that you are, a tad, prejudiced against Christians?    

I was being sarcastic in my first paragraph. I just meant to say that goods and services are advertised, and sometimes those goods and services are related to religious beliefs.

I do not feel that Jews control the media, nor am I angry about Kosher foods. Except Mogan David wine, which is nasty.    

Daverichards - you have such delightful holiday-themed merchandise. Go Je$u$!

Terasits - Can't help it. I'm a self-loathing atheist.

Brooke - You caught that shout out.

Ubie - Of course I'm a tad prejudiced. But that's almost besides the point.

Newspapers are supposed to be objective. "Supposed" is the operative term.

Now, when the baseball season starts, the Chicago papers will have special sections talking about the pending seasons for the hometown teams, and lesser amounts of coverage for the other teams in the League.

We understand that. That caters to our interest and favoritism of our hometown teams. People who root for out-of-town teams surely think the local coverage is biased.

When the paper has a special section devoted to the celebration of a religious holiday, the one celebrated by a majority of their readers, they're doing a variation of the same thing. They're saying the religion favored by the masses is the one to celebrate. pomerantzAnd the other religions are less important.

You might/will say that I'm reading too much into things.

And I'll agree.

BTW, The Daily Herald was founded with the motto "Our aim: To fear God, to tell the truth, and to make money."

To quote one of the greatest philosophers of our time, Marvin Lee Aday, "Two out of three ain't bad."    

Paid. Advertising. Section.

Are you saying Christian Churches should have fewer rights than True Value Hardware?    

Ubie - Yes. Exactly. You've paraphrased my point perfectly.

Would this paper devote a paid. advertising. section. to a woman's right to choose?

Would this paper devote a paid. advertising. section. to the anti-war movement?

Would this paper devote a paid. advertising. section. to a protest against our eroding constitutional values?

Would this paper devote a paid. advertising. section. is support of the right to gay marriage?

They would?

Okay.

Then I guess doing a paid. advertising. section. catering to a group of people holding views that are held as controversial, blasphemous or heretical by others in their circulation area is consistent with their equal-opportunity offense policy.

Oh wait, the group of people that would be offended by this is so small that it's not worthy of consideration. They wouldn't have the financial resources to warrant their own paid. advertising. section.    

I think you're WAAAAAY overreacting, but I still love you.

Here's how it works: Every year, the paper makes money selling ads to churches for their Easter schedules. Every year, a salesman goes to the houses of worship and says, "Can we count on your ad again this year?" It's about money, not some sort of conspiracy to promote Christian values.

If there was an annual Pagan fest that predictably generated dollars, they would put that in the paper, too.    

I'm going to have to agree with Sysm on this one. But then I'm a person that thinks religion should keep itself to itself and stop being so in our collective faces.

But that's just me.

I've just finished reading a v.good book on the Big Bang by Simon Singh btw - I highly recommend it.    

Big Bang    

In Soviet Russia sins died for Jesus.    

Ubie - I'll let you know if they do a NASCAR special this year.

Richard - I'll be on that one. An interesting note. The day I snapped that picture of the Yakov/Jesus portrait, I was in Wheaton, Illinois. Wheaton is known for being a town with a particularly high concentration of Christian-centric activity. I was just a few blocks from Wheaton College. Wheaton College is an Evangelical Protestant institution. It's made headlines a few times recently. In 2003, it lifted its ban on student dancing. I'm not kidding. And in 2004, they fired a philosophy professor for converting to Roman Catholicism.

That said, I was sitting in their new public library, when I decided to see if they stocked Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion". Yes. They did. And it was checked out, with a wait-list queue of eight people. That pleased me.

On a similar note, I am trying to make it through C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity".

Just as I'll pay attention to Conservatives, I'll listen to what the religious have to say.    

Nick - I have a great respect for the Russian citizenry who tried to keep their traditional practices intact during the Soviet era. I'm just concerned that, in our country, "Freedom of Religion" maintains a tolerance for those who prefer "Freedom From Religion".    

That's basically what I was saying.    

You sure know how to sweet talk a girl, Sysm.

I so, so heart you.    

I vigorously oppose the ridiculous "moment of silence" and school prayer. I don't need Eric Zorn to tell me it's wrong.

Not that I would curtail Mr. Zorn's freedom of speech or expression even if I DID disagree with him.    

In Soviet Russia, freedom of speech curtail you.    

I need Mr. Zorn to cut up my pancakes.    

I don't believe Eric Zorn exists. But you're entitled to your beliefs. I just never took you for a Zornian before.    

Thanks for adding that Feynman snippet. I have a new post I think you may want to check out.    

Sysm, I'm with you completely.

Thankfully the outrageously loud, pushy, self-righteous evengelical right hasn't become so loud and pushy here in England YET but they are definitely growing. Our Prime Minister has changed the rules on new schools being built so that more and more 'faith groups' can 'sponsor' them. And they get the right to influence practice, intake, curriculum, etc. I wish people here would wake up and put up a dam to stop it before it's too late. Because when I hear some of the stuff going on on your side of the pond (eg.Wheaton College) I worry- isn't it meant to be the freedom centre of the world or something? What about those of us who DON'T believe in any religion? More and more legislation going through to protect the rights of this faith and that faith, I'm like, ahem Hello? And for us non-believers???

It riles me enough when I get people from churches knocking on my door to preach to me, the patronising, pitying look they give when I shut the door to them. If I had it coming through the letterbox in my newspaper too, I'd be as angry as you, so I don't think you're over-reacting!

Oooooo it's enough to makeyou want to chew your own foot off!!!!

ps.
found my way here from Monkey's. Nice blog.