RSS
Home
Get ready! Voting for the Bad Faith Award 2009 has begun
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Every year New Humanist magazine opens the polls to decide who will receive the prestigious Bad Faith Award. Each year, the person deemed by the voters to have made the most outstanding contribution to the cause of unreason. 2008's winner who, with 33% of the vote, was the hands-down victor in a field of nine contestants, was Alaska governor and vice-presidential nominee, Sarah Palin. Here's what New Humanist had to say about her qualifications:The charges: Being an election and a heart attack away from controlling the world’s largest thermonuclear arsenal while simultaneously believing that the End Times may arrive during her lifetime.
What they (she) said: “You’ve heard about some of these pet projects. They really don’t make a whole lot of sense and sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not.”
What we say: “In dismissing fruit fly research to the great delight of her audience Palin was actually belittling basic science, something that has actually advanced our understanding of autism, and at the same time throwing in this nationalistic jingoism. She deserves the Bad Faith Award, she’s an awful person.” (PZ Myers, biologist)
This year's ten nominees (suggested by New Humanist's readers) are:
- Adnan Oktar, aka Harun Yahya
- Anjem Choudary
- Anthony Bush
- British Chiropractic Association
- Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor
- Dermot Aherne
- Damian Thompson
- Pope Benedict XVI
- Terry Eagleton & Karen Armstrong
- Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
There's no need to despair if any of the names are unfamiliar. New Humanist provides convenient information on each enemy of reason. Here's a couple samples:
Adnan Oktar, aka Harun Yahya: The Islamic world's leading creationist charlatan will be looking to go one better than last year's second place finish, when he polled a staggering 1,091 votes on the back of his attempt to have Richard Dawkins' website banned in Turkey. Oktar must fancy his chances this year though – back in 2008, we mostly knew him as the producer of slapdash creationist literature, but in 2009 the stakes have surely been raised by his exposure in our own pages as the leader of what essentially amounts to a creationist sex cult. If you're looking for a good reason to vote Oktar, look no further than the many comments left by his minions on this blog post.
Pope Benedict XVI: The Pope was up for the award in 2007, but failed to make the shortlist in 2008. Having stated in March that AIDS "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, and that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems", could 2009 finally be his year?
Voting is open to anyone who visits the New Humanist website and the current standings of the nominees can be viewed when a vote is cast. Interestingly enough, New Humanist also provides bookmaker's odds on the chances of each candidate just as if they were horses! Better vote soon. The race has already begun and the polls close Dec. 5th!
Photo Credit:
1) Bad Faith Awards 2009 (provided by New Humanist)
If you enjoy my articles, you can click on "Subscribe by email" to receive notification when new ones are posted.
You might also enjoy these:
Related Articles:
Comments
Catholic League President Bill Donohue is not happy with the way MSNBC Hardball host, Chris Matthews handled Rhode Island bishop Tobin in yesterday's …
Whew! They don't call Chris Matthews' MSNBC program "Hardball" for nothing. When Matthews interviewed Rhode Island's Catholic Bishop Tobin …
- Secular Coalition for America
- Camp Quest (summer camp for freethinker children)
- Freedom From Religion Foundation
- Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers
- Atheist Alliance International
- Atheist Nexus (exclusively non-theist social network)
- Index to Creationist claims
- Mojoey's atheist blogroll
- Americans United for Separation of Church & State
