As part of an effort by the National Science Foundation to enhance numeracy and improve math education, the U.S. House today passed a resolution designating March 14 (a.k.a. 3-14) Pi Day. The resolution passed on a 391-10 vote:
“I’m kind of geeked up about it,” Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) told POLITICO. “It’s crazy, but I’m a whole lot more excited about that than congratulating the winner of last year’s Rose Bowl.
“I’m not making this up. I have been fascinated by pi since I was a kid. It blows my mind. It’s lovely. The fact that it’s sort of this infinite number. I just think it’s this magical thing. … There’s a real beauty to mathematics.”
That’s the problem with Baird: he’s so…irrational.
And this is news how?
“That’s the problem with Baird: he’s so…irrational.”
You’re so punny!
In Tehana, Texas, it’s illegal to own a car, cell phone, cash, jewelry, or other valuables — if you’re black.
“TENAHA, Texas — You can drive into Tenaha, a dusty fleck of a town near the Texas-Louisiana border, if you’re African American. But you might not be able to drive out — at least not with your car, cash, jewelry or other valuables.
“That’s because police have stripped motorists, many of them black, of their property without charging them with a crime.
“Instead, out-of-towners were offered a grim choice: Sign over your belongings to the town or face felony charges of money laundering or other serious crimes.
“… [C]ivil-rights lawyers called Tenaha’s practice … highway robbery. The attorneys filed a federal class-action lawsuit to stop what they contend is an unconstitutional perversion of [property seizure laws] aimed … at African Americans who have done nothing wrong.
“Tenaha officials ‘have developed an illegal ‘stop and seize’ practice of targeting, stopping, detaining, searching and often seizing property from apparently nonwhite citizens and those traveling with nonwhite citizens,’ asserts the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas. …
“According to a prominent Texas state legislator, police agencies across the state are wielding the asset-forfeiture law more aggressively to supplement their shrinking budgets. … [S]tate Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate’s Criminal Justice Committee [said] … ‘I think that’s theft.'”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....eit13.html
(Quoted under fair use.)
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Another reason not to live in, or visit, Texas. Never shoulda let ’em into the Union.
Hmmm
I suspect Baird is reflecting the need of some of his constituents t find reason to believe in God. Pi, however is the wrtong place to look for a Deity. Let me help.
Unless there is an Intelligent Designer, then one would assume that some number would describe the ration of diameter to circumference but what intrinsic property of reality, other than ID, would mean that value was 3.0? Pi is, well lets face it, pretty sloppy.
Personally, I think there is better evidence for an underlying intent in this here world. That is the value of the speed of light in km/sec: 300,000! Since meters are based on the diameter of the Earth and were invented in France, That value, called “c” seems to me to prove there is God, that the God used the speed of light to determine the diameter of the Earth, and, of course, that God is French.
cross posted at SJ
SeattleJew,
But…but…but….the speed of light is 299,792,458 m/sec.
“I refuse to prove that I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.” “But,” says Man, “c=300,000,000 is a dead giveaway, isn’t it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don’t. QED.”
“Oh dear,” says God, “I hadn’t thought of that,” and promptly
disappears in a puff of logic.decelerated light slightly and tweaked Euclidian space to mess up the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.Now you know…the rest of the story.
Main question is what Nationality god has. Is she American or perhaps Mexican?
Darryl, if C.C. Li had been appointed Deity, you can bet that c would precisely equal 300,000,000 m/sec, and that pi would be 3.0 (or maybe 22/7).
BTW, at this time I have in front of me two of C.C.’s texts from my grad school days. In Path Analysis (1975), I find this page in the front matter:
Pi – an irrational number like the irrational comments of most libtards. Pelletizer@3 proves my point.
If you don’t know what an irrational number is…
Baird could be worse – he could be imaginary.
(Or exponential, for that matter….)
@9: I know a number of irrational troll posters – does that count?
They also go on and on forever.
Their philosphy is similar to pi – except it is let them eat pie.
NutRight, that’s exactly the PuddyPoint of the Puddy last sentence of #8 regarding Pelletizer. He goes on forever and ever irrationally.
@11: OK, I give you credit for the first “pie insult” :) You get the pi in the sky award.
Back to that depression era song:
“Let’s have another cup of coffee, let’s have another piece of pie”….
or was that “Let’s have another cup of soup from the soup line”?
I see the ATHEIST PROGRESSIVES are at it again.
Look, all the proof you need that Christ is the Son of God is found here in John 20:19-31.
It’s called an EyeWitness account of 11 Apostles and then re-affirmed for Thomas as the 12th (Consider yourself Doubting Thomas!)
John 20:19-31 (New International Version)
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may[a] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Thomas didn’t even need to touch Jesus wound in his side or wrists. His proclamation of “My Lord, My God” is the heart of Christianity to this day.
I find it telling that most of you ATHEIST PROGRESSIVES who claim to be such sleuthing intellectuals so conveniently deny EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS of the Apostles. Do you think these 12 cooked up a mass conspiracy??
Jesus was much, much more than just a Teacher.
To truly understand, you must read the Gospels.
Question for you Sleuthing Intellectual Atheist Progressives:
How can you reject Christianity when you haven’t even read and studied the Gospels?
Seems mighty shallow for a group of folks that hold themselves in such high-esteem.
Perhaps we ought to start a HorsesAss Bible Study??
What do you think Puddy?
Sharing the Gospel is precisely what these HA’ers need!
Your hero Obama is a “Reactionary Psycho”.
After years of screeching how bad things are, Obama is FINALLY figuring out his job is to call people’s frazzled nerves about the economy.
Obama spent the 1st 2 months in office in doom & gloom campaign mode…only NOW is he becoming enlightened.
That’s Leadership??? NOT!
That’s a Change you can believe in?? Fear-mongering?
Obama has failed and lost tons of political capital.
What a horrible leader.
He should go back to community organizing voter fraud!
@13 & 14;
There are eyewitness accounts of Horus and Mithra too. And Zeus, Odin and Krishna. Each of them has just as much basis in fact as the eyewitness accounts you quote.
@13 & 14;
Quetzalcoatl just told me all other gods are false charlatans.
16. David spews:
Show me the evidence?
Were they well-documented 1st person eyewitness accounts….or 2nd hand??
Methinks you will struggle making an equivalent case…but go ahead & try.
I cite the Gospels…writeen by EyeWitnesses…12 of them.
Something tells me I won’t see David’s “evidence”.
David–
I have challenged you..
Give me the direct EyeWitness written accounts and your sources.
Sort of an infinite number? How cute.
@15: hahaha
AS if anything cynical says can actually be backed up in any way.
Yeah, all that poltical capital – you mean like the disapproval rating of Bush – your hero? Over 65% disapproval rating when the jerk left office. the recession started last december according to economist and the idiot Bush kept saying the economh was sound until august.
Then he did nothing until it really collapsed and then we don’t know what he did – becuase Paulson hid it all.
What is Obama’s dissaproval rating? Last I saw it was 25%. the same 25% that liked the idiot buhs. Most real Americans support Obama and can’t stand Bush. Period.
Maybe Obama should quit running the government and vacation the whole time like Bush.
@18: And when were the gospels actually written? Most scholars place the writing of the gospels at least 40 years after the event and probably up to 90 years.
Mark is supposed to be the earliest gospel – but recently most scholars think that Mark was actually later. And Mark was definitely NOT an eyewitness – he was a disciple of Peter.
John was the only real eyewitness and his gospel was probably written no earlier that AD 90 – so it is possible he was a 90 year old writing back on what he had seen or…..maybe not.
Not very definitive evidence from one gospel writer at the age of 90. Religion is a matter of faith – trying to prove by eyewitnesses is not very reliable anyways. Either you have faith or you don’t.
If you are going for eyewitnesses and corroboration – the Mormons probably have the most since they have one of the most recent religious events.
This really proves nothing. People will believe what they want to believe.
NutRight, you seem to forget all the negative press coverage GWB received. Some was spot on but the continuous monotonous attacks can change many a shaky person’s opinion.
Fer instance did you watch Chris Matthews get SMACKED by Ari Fleischer? Priceless! Did you see Chris backtrack a few times? More Priceless!
Need to see the journalism evaluations again from the Pew Center?
Can you say Hilarious? HILARIOUS
cnr–
As usual, you are wrong, wrong & wrong.
As usual, you come to your conclusion first and try to glue together some justification like Dr. Frankenstein.
Believe what you will cnr.
I challenged David at 16 to provide his evidence….David has disappeared as predicted.
Another rambling ATHEIST filled with such hate…sucks to be him.
cnr–
The EYEWITNESS accounts are what distinguish Christianity from every other religion.
These 12 Apostles were EYEWITNESSES to both the Teachings of Christ…and the Resurrection.
Read ACTS 1:30.
Did you know Christ spent 40 days with the Apostles as the Risen Christ…giving them all the training and knowledge they needed to be Apostle’s.
Also read Ephesians 2:23.
It’s much more about what Jesus did while teaching AND Risen than what he said cnr.
We have been Liberated thru what Christ DID…not what he said.
Keep SEEKING the Lord friend.
You won’t be disappointed.
KKKynical: There were many witnesses to the life of the Prophet, Mohammed. Some say upwards of 100,000.* No doubt, you believe their stories, too.
No? Then your entire line of reasoning is built on sand. Go pound it. QED.
*(Unlike the historical Jesus, there is little doubt the guy actually lived.)
PS: May you mom get well.
@5: Darryl wins this thread, hands down.
@24: Most christian scholars disagree with cynical – but hey, cynical is soooo brilliant that he knows more than the scholars who study this stuff.
Can cynical point to a single non-christian witness account of ANYTHING about the resurrection of Jesus or even of his life?
Hmmm, just because there is no historical back-up does not mean that the accounts of the Gospel are false.
But implying that these documents written up to 100 years after the event were “eyewitness” accounts? No.
Just like he knew that global warming was false because it snowed.