My career as a writer was inspired by the word delusion, more than any other word which can be found in the dictionary. Delusions are defined as "fixed false beliefs or opinions" that are resistant to reason even when confronted by actual facts. For this reason, the term is frequently used to describe symptoms of mental illness. The book The God Delusion by renowned atheist and biologist Richard Dawkins was the inspiration for my first published book, Divine Evolution, after I heard Dawkins say in an interview that cars, computers, and even his book were all intelligently designed, but human beings were not. I still haven't gotten over the absurdity of his comment -- I began learning about computers while matriculating as a student at UGA, which was followed a long career as a software developer before becoming a professional writer. So I am well aware that the capabilities of an "intelligent designed" computer actually pales in comparison to the human brain, that DNA is exponentially more complex than computer machine language, and that the "software" that operates the human body works independently of our conscious brain is infinitely more complex than the source code for Google's search engine. Richard Dawkins made it crystal clear in his book that he believes supernatural phenomena does not exist. According to him, only the "real" or material world exists -- no gods, devils, ghosts, angels, or demons. No miracles, no answered prayers. Of course, I couldn't write Divine Evolution until I'd done quite a bit of research into the science of evolution … [Read more...]
Georgia Fans Who Support Mark Richt
Dear President Morehead, I only have one football team I care about -- the Georgia Bulldogs. I've been a fan for more than forty years, as long as I've cared about the game. I'm a member of a Facebook group called "Georgia Fans Who Support Mark Richt," which has more than 13,000 members. I'm going to ask these friends of mine also voice their objections to the ridiculous, ill-conceived decision by Greg McGarity to fire Mark Richt. I'm fairly certain that Greg McGarity has destroyed the future of our football team by firing Coach Richt at this moment in time and set our program back for years to come. There just aren't that many coaches of the caliber and with the character of Coach Richt. When the coach who finishes the season at 9-3 is fired and the coach who finishes 3-9 keeps his job, something is really screwed up. If somebody needed to go, it was Greg McGarity. As long as Mr. McGarity remains as your athletic director, I cannot in good conscience continue to support Georgia football until he's gone. Neither shall I wear Georgia gear, attend games, wear the UGA apparel that I already own, or donate money to the school. Mr. McGarity has been the problem, and now he just fired the solution. No Georgia fan is dumb enough to believe the reports claiming this decision was mutual. Greg McGarity fired Mark Richt, and now you need to fire Greg McGarity. Please. Today. Get rid of him before he can do any more harm. I am asking my fellow members of the Bulldog Nation and UGA alumni to consider joining my boycott of UGA until Greg McGarity either resigns … [Read more...]
Unsolicited advice for Greg McGarity
Dear Mr. McGarity, I hope you'll forgive my presumption that you might listen to me -- on the other hand, if this message resonates with the Bulldog nation and becomes viral, and you won't be able to ignore it. I tried this "unsolicited advice" tactic once before, and things worked out pretty well. While I can't claim that my effort led to things working out to UGA's advantage, what I wrote obviously didn't hurt the Dawgs. And Roquan Smith sure looks great in red. Now I know you have a very difficult job, trying to keep the Bulldog fan base happy. Some "fans" have called for you to fire Mark Richt, even though our coach has managed to win nine tough games, including both Auburn and Georgia Tech on the road. This is in spite of the fact Coach Richt currently has the highest rated recruiting class during his entire tenure, with the chance to finish strong and dramatically improve the final ranking. Georgia could finish with the top ranked recruiting class. If Coach Richt and his staff can persuade blue-chip players like Isaac Nauta, Mecole Hardman, Derrick Brown, E. J. Price, Willie Allen, Demetris Robertson, Shyheim Carter, Tyler Simmons, Brian Burns, or a few similar highly prized recruits to come to Athens to play with Jacob Eason, we could have the necessary talent needed to play for SEC titles and national championships against the likes of Nick Saban, in spite of the advantage in financial support for his program at Alabama. Most of these kids have expressed strong interest or said they want to come to Georgia, but they want Mark Richt and Jeremy … [Read more...]
