Survey: Americans don’t know much about religion

A new survey of Americans’ knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.

Forty-five percent of Roman Catholics who participated in the study didn’t know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion is not just a symbol, but becomes the body and blood of Christ.

More than half of Protestants could not identify Martin Luther as the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation. And about four in 10 Jews did not know that Maimonides, one of the greatest rabbis and intellectuals in history, was Jewish.

The survey released Tuesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life aimed to test a broad range of religious knowledge, including understanding of the Bible, core teachings of different faiths and major figures in religious history.

Full Article

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Obama, Palin to “Star” in Archie Comics

In perhaps one of the more amicable interactions they’ll have anytime in the near future, President Obama and former Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin will “star” in two upcoming issues of the famed Archie comic books, according to Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

In what the company is touting a “two-part political epic,” caricatures of Mr. Obama and Palin will take sides in (and, if the cover is any indication, make amends during) a heated student government campaign between Archie, the series’ loveable carrot-topped protagonist, and his fictional pal Reggie Mantle.

Full Article

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Fight over McDonald’s Dollar Menu

What would seemingly be an issue of capitalism and supply and demand in any other city, or any other neighborhood in San Francisco, has instead morphed into another battle between merchants and the homeless in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood:

The McDonald’s at the corner of Haight and Stanyan streets eliminated its Dollar Menu about a month ago, making the items on it too expensive for the people who spend the better part of their day on the sidewalk in front.

Street people who for years have depended on the McDonald’s to eat say it’s become a de facto sit/lie ordinance. But the franchise owner says she’s just trying to make a little extra money.

It’s a fight over 50 cents, plus tax.

You used to be able to get a 390-calorie McDouble for 99 cents, said Nicholas Newhart, a 29-year-old with a Confederate flag tattooed on the back of his head. Without the Dollar Menu it now costs $1.49.

While that price increase may seem trivial, for Newhart and his colleagues it can mean the difference between eating and going hungry. Many homeless think taking away the Dollar Menu is the restaurant management’s ploy to get them to go somewhere else.

Full SFGate.com Article

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Bag of Randomness

  • Lots of activity at work yesterday with news crews running around.  It was a bit surreal to see the reporters in real life.  I thought Richard Ray would be taller.
  • People familiar with my hometown of Mineral Wells know about Welcome Mountain, which isn’t really a mountain, that has a large WELCOME sign at the top of it.  This is the only article I’ve ever read about it.
  • It’s been great sleeping with the window cracked.
  • I listen to a lot of talk radio, but sometimes, you just have to listen to some tunes.
  • Off hand, the Dell Zino is a tempting purchase.
  • I don’t think I could ever trust a hair washing robot.
  • A brother and a sister are drugged up from a trip to the dentist and they handle the ride home very differently – YouTube
  • The Mickey Mouse Penthouse would be a nice place to stay
  • Speaking of Disney, here’s an interesting letter involving Walt
  • Grace
Posted in Goofy, Personal | 1 Comment